Design science research as research approach in doctoral studies

Abstract

Since the use of design science research (DSR) gained momentum as a research approach in information systems (IS), the adoption of a DSR approach in postgraduate studies became more acceptable. This paper reflects on a study to investigate how a selection of IS doctoral students conducted their research and why they used DSR. The study focussed in particular on the topics of the theses, the artefacts produced, the research designs followed, the motivation for selecting DSR and the students’ experience in using DSR. The study found that the cyclic nature and the relevance aspects were DSR’s strengths when developing artefacts, but that discourse is still needed on the philosophical underpinnings. An alignment between the motivation to use DSR and the benefits of applying the approach was also found. This paper contributes mainly towards our understanding of the challenges and advantages when using DSR as a research approach for postgraduate studies.