Content area
Abstract
An assessment of the use of survey research in the management information systems (MIS) field between 1980 and 1990 indicates that the perception that survey reseach is well understood and applied by MIS scholars is at odds with reality. An analysis indicates that survey methodology is plagued by 5 important weaknesses and that the quality of survey research varies considerably among studies of different purposes, with explanatory studies being of good overall quality and exploratory and descriptive studies being of moderate to poor quality. In presenting a general framework for classifying and examining survey research, the usage of survey research conducted in the past decade in the MIS field is analyzed. Consequently, in an effort to improve the quality of survey research, specific recommendations that directly address these major problems are cited.