Dr. Tobias Mettler
Institute of Information Management, University of St. Gallen;
Associate Partner at Business Engineering Group & Partners, Switzerland
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What makes Applied Research in Semantics and Services Scientific?
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Abstract:
Applied and practical research always has faced criticism of not being “scientific” as compared to natural or behavioral research. As a consequence, ever more research in Information Systems and Computer Science is conducted following the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology. Contrary to the prevailing paradigm which aims at describing, explaining, and predicting individual, organizational, or social effects of technology, DSR is concerned with the “systematic creation of knowledge about, and with, (artificial) design”.
Two major research streams exist: the study of “design” as intentional, intellectual, and creative activity for problem solving and “design” as object, entity, or artifact extending the boundaries of human and organizational capabilities. In order that applied research is “scientific”, it has thus to systematically create “knowledge about, and with, design”. Research covering semantic web and services topics must therefore be focused on the development of sufficiently new or decisively better IT artifacts. The term “artifact” is used to describe something that is artificial, or constructed by humans, in contrast to something that occurs naturally. A widely accepted breakdown of possible research outputs is to distinguish between four artifact types: (1) constructs, (2) models (3) methods, and (4) instantiations.
Constructs provide the language in which problems and solutions are defined and communicated. Research in semantics thus has a prominent role in DSR as it forms the abstract foundation to describe the problem space as well as to conceptualize the solution space. Exemplary constructs include algebraic data specification languages, lexical semantics, or modeling primitives. In DSR, models typically are descriptive or explanatory by bringing the different constructs of a particular application domain in relation to each other. Exemplary model artifacts are process models enterprise architecture models or maturity models. As opposed to models, methods are used “[...] to perform a systems development project, based on a specific way of thinking, consisting of directions and rules, structured in a systematic way in development activities with corresponding development products”. Methods often rely on formal constructs and models, highlighting again the importance of semantics in DSR. Examples of method artifacts are, for instance, systems development methods or organizational engineering methods. Finally, instantiations are the most complex research outputs as it is the operationalization or physical conversion of prior solution components. It can also be seen as “[…] the realization of an artifact in its environment” . In doing so, an instantiation may be used as proof-of-concept to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the models and methods it contains.
Based on a practical example of an ontology engineering project, this keynote highlights the promises and pitfalls of this relatively new research paradigm.
Speaker Bio:
Tobias Mettler is a research fellow at the Institute of Information Management of the University of St. Gallen and associate partner at Business Engineering Group & Partners. Prior to that he was senior researcher at SAP Research Labs Switzerland
His research interests include issues related to design science research, systems analysis, and organizational engineering in the area of health informatics. He holds a PhD in business information systems and a master’s degree in Information and Technology Management of the University of St. Gallen.
He presented his research at several international conferences, including Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) or the International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems & Technology (DESRIST). His research also appeared in several journals such as the International Journal of Healthcare Technology & Management, Health Informatics Journal and Health Services Management Research.
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