Pragmatism vs interpretivism in qualitative information systems research

Qualitative research is often associated with interpretivism, but alternatives do exist. Besides critical research and sometimes positivism, qualitative research in information systems can be performed following a paradigm of pragmatism. This paradigm is associated with action, intervention and constructive knowledge. This paper has picked out interpretivism and pragmatism as two possible and important research paradigms for qualitative research in information systems. It clarifies each paradigm in an ideal-typical fashion and then conducts a comparison revealing commonalities and differences. The possibilities of combining pragmatism and interpretivism in qualitative research in information systems are analysed. A research case that combines interpretivism and pragmatism is used for illustration. The paper thus contributes to a discussion about different paradigms and methods for qualitative research in information systems.