The workshop addresses the (mis-)representation and (in-)consistency in reasoning processes in research papers. The focus is on qualitative Information Systems (IS), but many of the ideas are applicable to business and organizational research more widely. The workshop introduces “inference to the best explanation” (Lipton’s version of Peircian abduction) as a third inferential logic, alongside deduction and induction, for logically relating theory and data. The workshop reflects on both practices commonly found in current research papers, as well as the foundations in logic and philosophy of science. In the workshop, we discuss “deductive” logic (taking theory as logical priors, and often using the Popper-Hempel model), inductive “inductive” logic (taking data as logical prior, often grounded theory methods) and “abductive” reasoning as an iterative process of comparing data patterns with existing theories to find the best explanation. We discuss normative, descriptive, and prescriptive use of these reasoning approaches. While focused on qualitative research, the workshop also discusses implications for quantitative research, such as how “misrepresenting” an abductive approach “as if” deductive leads to issues such as P-hacking and HARKing and extends the discussion to Bayesianism. While the workshop includes some advanced elements, it is aimed at research students and junior academics, and as such does not assume specialized knowledge and introduces concepts starting from basic notions.

About Prof. Dr. Daniel Schlagwein

Daniel Schlagwein is Professor of Digital Work and Organization at The University of Sydney and leads the Digital Future(s) Research Group. He is the Editor-in-Chief (joint) of the top-ranked Journal of Information Technology (JIT). Daniel is a “Senior Scholar” of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), the leading organization of the field. Daniel is globally recognized for his leading research on digital work. He teaches digital work, digital strategy, and research methods to Master's, MBA, PhD, and industry audiences.

Daniel's research focuses on digital working and organizing – with particular interest in digital nomadism, openness, and crowdsourcing. He leads the ARC Discovery Project on Digital Nomadism (2019-2024, A$390,000). He has edited two special issues and chaired ten research tracks at leading Information Systems (IS) conferences (ECIS, ICIS) on these topics. Daniel has authored over 80 peer-reviewed papers, including 17 papers in the AIS11/FT50, and has been noted in several “top 100 researchers” rankings, such as by AIS (2021) and Wirtschaftswoche (2019).

 https://www.sydney.edu.au/business/about/our-people/academic-staff/schlagwein.html