نقش تئوری در تحقیق سیستم های اطلاعاتی و جنسیت The role of theory in gender and information systems research

۱٫ Introduction Papers on the topic of gender and information systems (IS) have been appearing in the information systems journals on a regular basis for the past 20 years. These papers fall into two broad categories. One category of research papers is concerned with gender and the information systems (IS) workforce, focusing, typically on the underrepresentation of women in the IS professions. The other broad category of gender and IS papers focuses on the adoption and use of information technology (IT),1 typically searching for gender differences. At the highest level we could say that the questions being asked are: 1) why are women underrepresented in the IS workforce? and 2) what do we know about the role of gender in technology adoption and use? Several reviews of the status of gender and IS research have been published (e.g. Adam, Howcroft, & Richardson, 2004; Ahuja, 2002; Gorbacheva, 2013; Kvasny, Greenhill, & Trauth, 2005; Trauth, 2011; Trauth, Quesenberry, & Huang, 2006). One conclusion emanating from these studies is that there isn’t enough gender and IS research being published. Another observation that has been drawn is that a considerable amount of the gender research that is being published isn’t sufficiently theorized (Adam et al., 2004; Kvasny et al., 2005; Trauth et al., 2006). As these critiques point out, some research about gender and IS that is being published in the literature does not appear to be using any theory of gender. This is not to say that scholarly papers published in IS journals are devoid of any theory. Rather, it is to say that the phenomenon of gender in such papers is not theorized. One might ask why it is important to theorize gender when engaging in gender and IS research. In response, consider Gregor (2006) paper on theory in information systems. She begins with a discussion of the role of theory in understanding any phenomenon. Theory is a lens that guides data collection and analysis. This is the case whether the research is positivist, interpretive or critical. Hence, theories are: …abstract entities that aim to describe, explain, and enhance understanding of the world and, in some cases, to provide predictions of what will happen in the future and to give a basis for intervention and action (p. 616). She goes on to identify the types of theory used in information systems research: analyzing, explaining, predicting, explaining and predicting, and design and action. Hence, in gender and IS research gender theory can be used as a lens to guide the collection, analysis and interpretation of data — whether conducted with a positivist, interpretive or critical epistemology. Alternatively, gender theory can be used to interpret findings when gender is a factor which (expectedly or unexpectedly) results from a larger analysis. Finally, gender theory can result, inductively, from the data by means of grounded theory methods. Hence, gender theory is to be directed toward understanding the phenomenon of gender in the context of IS (analyzing, explaining), establishing causality (predicting) or guiding action (design and action). In view of these roles that theory can play in gender and IS research, in what ways is this phenomenon insufficiently theorized? Trauth (2006, 2011) considers three different forms of insufficient theorization. One occurs when no gender theory is used in the research. That is, while some other theory (such as about technology or organizational behavior) might be employed there is no gender lens to guide the conceptualization of the gender dimension of the research, to inform the data collection and analysis, or to interpret the results. The focus is limited to compiling and representing statistical data regarding such topics as differences between men and women with respect to technology adoption, use or organizational impact. This is labeled pre-theoretical or atheoretical research; as such, it provides limited opportunity for future work that could test, refute or extend it. The second category of insufficient theorization of gender and IS research also employs theories about technology and organizations. And while it does not explicitly articulate a particular gender theory the interpretation of gender findings is guided by a gender theory-in-use. This is most prevalent in positivist, quantitative studies. The theory-in-use most often employed is gender essentialism, which assumes the existence of fundamental, inherent differences between men and women that are applicable to the context of information system careers and IT use. While not explicitly declared as such, this theory-in-use has been used to guide the interpretation of findings in a gender essentialist direction. This form of insufficient theorization is labeled implicittheoretical research. It is insufficient theorization because of the failure to explicitly articulate the gender lens being used to interpret the data. Hence, it is problematic for others to discuss, challenge or extend the research claims. Finally, even the body of gender and IS research that explicitly employs gender theory reveals gaps in that there are not enough theories about gender and IS emanating from within the IS field, that fully account for all of the observed relationships to information technology and the IS field. Hence, this is called insufficient-theoretical research. This paper employs this framework to review the ways in which gender theory has been used in published gender and IS research. In this analysis “theory” is used in the broadest sense to include not only established theory but also emergent theory, theoretical frameworks and conceptual models. While similar work has been undertaken before, this paper differs from them in two respects. First, this review is more comprehensive in that it considers papers published in venues beyond the Association for Information System’s Senior Scholars’ Basket of 8 journals. Second, it focuses exclusively on journals – the gold standard of archival literature upon which subsequent research is built. The paper is organized as follows. The scope of study includes gender and IS research journal articles related to: 1) gender and IT use; and 2) gender and the IS labor force. The analysis reveals the approach to theory that is in evidence in these journal articles: no gender theory, implicit gender theory, and explicit gender theory. This is followed by a discussion of some exemplar studies that employ explicit gender theory. Finally, the implications for research and practice resulting from the role that gender theory plays in gender and IS research, and recommendations going forward are presented.