Anatomy of a Good Paper – Framing Research Contributions

Join Debbie Compeau and Steve Sawyer as they discuss how to move from a great research topic to framing an engaging research contribution. Moderated by Victoria Reibenspiess, Debbie and Steve will emphasize actionable guidance for writing a compelling academic paper. As part of this, the discussion will focus on constructing a story about the findings and why to articulate limits rather than limitations, among other topics.

About the Panelists:

Deborah (Debbie) Compeau is the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research and the Hubman Distinguished Professor of Information Systems at Washington State University. She previously held faculty positions in Canada at The University of Western Ontario (2000-2015), University of Calgary (1998-2000) and Carleton University (1991-1998). Her research focuses on the interaction between people and information technologies (IT) in organizations. Her specific interests include user training and learning and the adoption and implementation of IT. Recent projects have focused on adoption of IT in healthcare settings. Her research has been published in the leading journals in information systems. She was named as a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems in 2018. She served as Associate Editor for Information Systems Research (2000-2002) and as Associate and then Senior Editor for MIS Quarterly (1998-2005). She has taught information systems at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels, with a particular focus on IT strategy. She is an active case writer and case teacher and has conducted workshops on teaching with cases in the U.S., Canada, France, and Germany.

Steve Sawyer is on the faculty of Syracuse University’s iSchool and currently Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Association of Information Science and Technology. Steve’s research focuses on the sociotechnical basis of – and evolving relationships among – working, organizing and using information and communications technologies.

Victoria Reibenspiess is Research Associate at the University of Innsbruck and incoming Assistant Professor of Information Systems at the Carson College of Business, Washington State University. Her research interests include digital innovation, IT identity, user adaptations, and platform design. Victoria’s work has been published in Information & Management, the International Journal of Innovation Management, and the proceedings of all major IS conferences like ICIS, ECIS, HICSS, PACIS, and AMCIS. She is the recipient of several awards for her research, among others the ECIS Best Research in Progress Paper Award and the SIGADIT Best Paper Award.