Making Sense of IS Research in a Complex World

Interpreting results of qualitative research has been regarded by many as difficult fraught with accommodating multiple points of view in complex problem domains. It is recognised (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000) that there is no clear or straightforward solution to interpret qualitative research results. In this paper, sense-making conceptual models (SCMs) are explored as both a generic and an individual set of skills required by qualitative researchers in information systems. Interpretive sense-making is first put in context with the multiple meanings of sense-making. Sense-making is then situate within phase five of Denzin & Lincoln's (2000) 5-phase qualitative research framework. The important role of sense-making in coping with complexity and uncertainty in interpreting qualitative research results is discussed next. Sense-making is then situated both within the five-phase research process and six-stage reflective level model based on Bain, Packer, & Mills, (1999). Characteristics of symbolic SCMs for qualitative research data interpretations are then described and situated within appropriate interpretive thinking frameworks for static, evolutionary and revolutionary times. Although SCMs are independent of any qualitative research method, an SCM needs to be aligned with the chosen research method, the individual researcher and the research area. SCMs inhabit a theoretically rich, multifactored sense-making landscape, and provide the basis for interpreting qualitative data in information systems research. Finally, the characteristics of one revolutionary SCM are described.