Survey Research Methodology in Management Information Systems: An Assessment

Survey research is believed to be well understood and applied by MIS scholars. It has been applied for several years, it is well defined, and it has precise procedures which, when followed closely, yield valid and easily interpretable data. Our assessment of the use of survey research in the MIS field between 1980 and 1990 indicates that this perception is at odds with reality. Our analysis indicates that survey methodology is often misapplied and is plagued by five important weaknesses: (1) single method designs where multiple methods are needed, (2) unsystematic and often inadequate sampling procedures, (3) low response rates, (4) weak linkages between units of analysis and respondents, and (5) over reliance on cross-sectional surveys where longitudinal surveys are really needed. Our assessment also shows that the quality of survey research varies considerably among studies of different purposes: explanatory studies are of good quality overall, exploratory and descriptive studies are of moderate to poor quality. This article presents a general framework for classifying and examining survey research and uses this framework to assess, review and critique the usage of survey research conducted in the past decade in the MIS field. In an effort to improve the quality of survey research, this article makes specific recommendations that directly address the major problems highlighted in the review. AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES Alain Pinsonneault holds a Ph.d. in administration from University of California at Irvine (1990) and a M.Sc. in Management Information Systems from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montreal (1986). His current research interests include the organizational implications of computing, especially with regard to the centralization/decentralization of decision making authority and middle managers workforce; the strategic and political uses of computing, the use of information technology to support group decision making process; and the benefits of computing. He has published articles in Decision Support Systems, European Journal of Operational Research, and in Management Information Systems Quarterly, and one book chapter. He has also given numerous conferences and he is an associate editor of Informatization and the Public Sector journal. His doctoral dissertation won the 1990 International Center for Information Technology Doctoral Award. Kenneth L. Kraemer is the Director of the Public Policy Research Organization and Professor of Management and Information and Computer Science. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Southern California. Professor Kraemer has conducted research into the management of computing in organizations for more than 20 years. He is currently studying the diffusion of computing in Asia-Pacific countries, the dynamics of computing development in organizations, the impacts of computing on productivity in the work environment, and policies for successful implementation of computer-based information systems. In addition, Professor Kraemer is coeditor of a series of books entitled Computing, Organization, Policy, and Society (CORPS) published by Columbia University Press. He has published numerous books on computing, the most recent of which being Managing Information Systems. He has served as a consultant to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Technology Assessment and the United Nations, and as a national expert to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He was recently Shaw Professor in Information Systems and Computer Sciences at the National University of Singapore.