Based on the papers we have read, I think conducting any study (case study, field study…) in a systematic, skeptical, and ethical study is both a form of science and art. Although there is no complicated statistics in the field study, a researcher who intends to use this method should have “a strong sense of self, an incredible ability to listen and absorb details, tremendous patience, sensitivity and empathy for others, superb social skills…” Therefore, I do not think that field study is proper for every researcher.
According to Neuman, “field research is valuable for micro-level or small-group face-to-face interaction and it is less effective when the concern is macro-level processes and social structures”. In this context, I wonder to what extent field study is applied in our discipline. For instance, is it possible to link ethnographic study to case study or perhaps to grounded theory when conducting IS research?
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