La Pontifice

Volume 2, Article 23
December 1999
INVESTIGATING INFORMATION SYSTEMS WITH
ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Michael D. Myers
Department of Management Science and Information Systems
University of Auckland
m.myers@auckland.ac.nz
TUTORIAL
Communications of AIS Volume 2, Article 23 2
Investigating Information Systems with Ethnographic Research by M.D.Myers
INVESTIGATING INFORMATION SYSTEMS WITHETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Michael D. Myers
Department of Management Science and Information Systems
University of Auckland
m.myers@auckland.ac.nz

ABSTRACT
Ethnographic research is one of the most in-depth research methods
possible. Because the researcher is at a research site for a long time - and sees
what people are doing as well as what they say they are doing – an ethnographer
obtains adeep understanding of the people, the organization, and the broader
context within which they work. Ethnographic research is thus well suited to
providing information systems researchers with rich insights into the human,
social, and organizational aspects of information systems. This article discusses
the potential of ethnographic research for IS researchers, and outlines the most
importantissues that need to be considered in selecting this method.

KEYWORDS: Ethnography, research methods, qualitative research, interpretive
research, intensive research, information systems

I. INTRODUCTION
In Information Systems we have reached the stage where many different
research methods and approaches (e.g., quantitative or qualitative, positivist or
interpretive) are accepted asappropriate for our field. As Markus [1997]
Communications of AIS Volume 2, Article 23 3
Investigating Information Systems with Ethnographic Research by M.D.Myers
commented, the “war” between the qualitative and quantitative is over. Today, IS
journal editors are happy to accept articles using any research method or
approach, as long as the research itself is of sufficient quality and makes aworthwhile contribution.
This new environment means that IS researchers now have a wide
selection of research methods from which to choose. This choice is particularly
daunting for doctoral students (and the faculty members who have to supervise
them). Clearly, it is important for anyone considering employing a certain
research method to be aware of the potential benefits and risks beforehand, andto know in which set of circumstances it might – or might not – be appropriate.
The purpose of this article, therefore, is to help IS researchers to evaluate
the potential of one particular research method for IS research, that of
ethnography. This paper is a tutorial in ethnographic research in information
systems. It attempts to outline the most important issues that should be
consideredbefore using ethnography to study information systems phenomena.
It also gives some practical guidance. This article should be especially useful to
IS doctoral students and to faculty who supervise such students. I hope that
some will become enthused about ethnographic research and will start to use it,
while others will become sufficiently interested so as to want to investigate this
methodfurther.
This paper is organized into eight sections. Following this introduction,
Section 2 defines ethnography. Section 3 discusses the benefits and limitations
of ethnography. Section 4 outlines the various types of ethnography. Section 5
offers some practical guidance for those considering doing ethnography, while
Section 6 includes suggestions on writing up ethnographic studies. Section7
discusses how manuscripts based on the use of ethnographic fieldwork can be
evaluated. The final section is the conclusion.

II. DEFINING ETHNOGRAPHY

Ethnographic research comes from the discipline of social and cultural
anthropology where an ethnographer is required to spend a significant amount of
Communications of AIS Volume 2, Article 23 4
Investigating Information Systems with...