THE INTERACTION OF RESEARCH METHODS FOR SYSTEM EVALUATION AND THEORY TESTING: A NEW VISION OF THE BENEFITS OF MULTI-METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH

A number of multi-methodological Information Systems research frameworks have been proposed to guide research in the IS field. In this paper, we describe a three-year program of research evaluating a computer-based training system for deception detection (Agent99 Trainer) using one such multi-methodological IS framework. The process and results of this research program clearly demonstrate the benefits of combining and triangulating multiple research methods. Moreover, through the experiences in the Agent99 Trainer study, we discover two different types of interactions between the research methods that were applied in this study. One of the interactions is between the results from different methods, while the other is between the results and the methods themselves. Hence, we propose an extended interpretation of multi-methodological IS research frameworks to incorporate these two types of interactions between research methods. We argue that this extended interpretation will provide a more specific explanation for why the triangulation among multiple research methods can provide benefits to IS research.