Dealing with Socio-Technical Complexity: Torwads a Trandisciplinary Approach to

Research in the IS field has been characterised by the use of a variety of methods and theoretical underpinnings. This fact recently raised concerns about the rigour of the scientific results of IS research and about the legitimacy of the IS academic field. On the other hand, a number of IS researchers has argued for a view of diversity as a strength and necessity of the IS field. This paper supports this viewpoint and analyses the relation between IS research and concepts originating from theoretical debates around transdisciplinarity. We present results from a multidisciplinary group of researchers towards an integrative platform for the orientation of transdisciplinary IS research. The Mikropolis platform is intended to provide researchers with a common language, allowing the integration of different perspectives through exchange of experiences and mutual understanding. We also discuss some practical issues that arise from the transdisciplinary cooperation in IS research.

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