An Improved Method for Taxonomy Development in Information Systems

Theories of information systems (IS) can be categorized into five types: analytic, explaining, prediction, explaining and prediction, and design and action theory. A taxonomy could be considered a type of analysis theory which specifies the dimensions and characteristics of objects of interest by defining their shared features. Developing a taxonomy can be well suited to Design Science Research (DSR), since the primary goal of DSR is to develop an artifact. DSR is a scientific method that attempts to combine knowledge about the design and development of a solution to enhance existing systems, solve problems, and create a new artifact, such as a taxonomy. Taxonomy is crucial for understanding any phenomenon. It provides a holistic view of that phenomenon, and the classification of objects helps researchers and practitioners to understand complex domains. Nickerson, Varshney and Muntermann offered a method to develop a taxonomy based on well-established literature. Their method considered the only well-established taxonomy development method in the IS discipline. However, the literature reveals that the taxonomy development process in IS research often remains vague and taxonomies are rarely evaluated. This paper aims to improve the taxonomy development method by adopting comprehensive steps from DSR. This includes developing an integration framework for all forms of reasoning logic that are used for developing taxonomy components. The improved method supports creativity by including abduction as a reasoning logic. It also facilitates the efforts of developing a taxonomy for novice researchers by providing a complete taxonomy development roadmap.

@article{Omair2020,
  title     = {An Improved Method for Taxonomy Development in Information Systems},
  journal   = {International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications},
  volume    = {11},
  number    = {4},
  year      = {2020},
  publisher = {The Science and Information Organization},
  author    = {Badr Omair and Ahmad Alturki},
  doi       = {10.14569/IJACSA.2020.0110470},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2020.0110470}
}