The Relationship of IT to IS: An Inquiry into the Technoscientific Nature of the IS Field

摘要

This paper explores the philosophical questions surrounding the lack of clarity on information technology (IT) by the information systems (IS) field. It argues based on the historical origins of both terms for the IS field to position IT as the raison d'etre for the IS field. Based on the technological foundations of the field, the IS field has a bright future, not as a pure or applied science, but as a technoscience, a method of inquiry that avoids the extremes of both rationalism and empiricism. As a technoscience, IS can be positioned like other "modern" natural and human sciences such as physics and psychology, but uniquely premised on technologies that carry structures of meaning for its interpreters.