Narrowing the Theory’s or Study’s Scope May Increase Practical Relevance
Siponen, M., & Klaavuniemi, T. (2019). Narrowing the Theory’s or Study’s Scope May Increase Practical Relevance. In Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2019) (pp. 6260-6269). University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. https://doi.org/10.24251/hicss.2019.753
Date
2019Copyright
© the Authors, 2019.
Numerous articles in top IS journals note as a
limitation and lack of generalizability that their
findings are specific to a certain type of technology,
culture, and so on. We argue that this generalizability
concern is about limited scope (e.g., explanatory
breadth). The IS literature notes this preference for
generalizability as a characteristic of good science and
it is sometimes confused with statistical
generalizability We argue that such generalizability
can be in conflict with explanation or prediction
accuracy. An increase in scope (e.g., increasing
explanatory breadth) can decrease explanation or
prediction accuracy. Thus, in sciences such as cancer
research, where explanation and prediction accuracy
are highly valued, the cancer accounts (generally
speaking) have become increasingly narrower (and
less generalizable). IS thinking has not yet benefitted
from these considerations. Whether generalizability is
valued should be linked with the research aims. If the
aim is practical applicability through explanation or
prediction accuracy, then “limited” generalizability
could be a strength rather than a weakness.
...


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University of Hawai'i at ManoaParent publication ISBN
978-0-9981331-2-6Conference
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Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2019)ISSN Search the Publication Forum
1530-1605
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http://hdl.handle.net/10125/60060Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/28829377
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