Information systems research themes: A seventeen-year data-driven temporal analysis

Abstract

Extending the research on our discipline’s identity, we examine how the major research themes have evolved in four top IS journals: Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ), Information Systems Research (ISR), Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS), and Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS). By doing so, we answer Palvia, Daneshvar Kakhki, Ghoshal, Uppala, and Wang’s (2015) call to provide continuous updates to the research trends in IS due to the discipline’s dynamism. Second, building on Sidorov, Evangelopoulos, Valacich, and Ramakrishnan (2008) we examine temporal trends in prominent research streams over the last 17 years. We show that, as IS research evolves over time, certain themes appear to endure the test of time, while others peak and trough. More importantly, our analysis identifies new emergent themes that have begun to gain prominence in IS research community. Further, we break down our findings by journal and show the type of content that they may desire most. Our findings also allow the IS research community to discern the specific contributions and roles of our premier journals in the evolution of research themes over time.