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International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems

DESRIST 2011: Service-Oriented Perspectives in Design Science Research pp 1–16Cite as

Theorizing in Design Science Research

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Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNISA,volume 6629)

Abstract

Theory is a central element in research. Due to the importance of theory in research, considerable efforts have been made to better understand the process of theorizing, i.e., development of a theory. A review of the literature in this area suggests that two dominant theorizing approaches are anchored to deductive and inductive reasoning respectively. In contrast, an essential part of theorizing for design may involve abductive reasoning. The purpose of design theory is not to advance declarative logic regarding truth or falseness, but to guide learning and problem solving through the conceptualization of a design artifact. This paper critically examines the process of theorizing for design by developing an idealized design theorizing framework. The framework indicates that theorizing for design operates in two distinct domains: instance and abstract. Further, four key theorizing activities are identified in this framework: abstraction, solution search, de-abstraction, and registration. The framework provides grounds for building strong design theories in the design science paradigm by explicating the underlying theorizing process for design.

Keywords

  • Design Theory
  • Theorizing in Design Science Research

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIS Department, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA

    Jong Seok Lee & Richard Baskerville

  2. Department of Communication, Business & IT, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Jan Pries-Heje

Authors
  1. Jong Seok Lee
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  2. Jan Pries-Heje
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  3. Richard Baskerville
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3202 N. Maryland Avenue, 53201-0742, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Hemant Jain & Atish P. Sinha & 

  2. Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, 721 University Avenue, 13244-2450, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Padmal Vitharana

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Lee, J.S., Pries-Heje, J., Baskerville, R. (2011). Theorizing in Design Science Research. In: Jain, H., Sinha, A.P., Vitharana, P. (eds) Service-Oriented Perspectives in Design Science Research. DESRIST 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6629. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20633-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20633-7_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20632-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20633-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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