Course Descriptions
Detailed descriptions of each required and elective IS course can be found below. For additional electives outside the program, please coordinate with you advisor or consult the university Course Listings.
Required Information Systems Courses
| MIS 6310 - Foundations in IS Research |
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Course DescriptionThis course is designed to provide doctoral level students with an overview of key classical articles pertaining to the area of IS. To do this, it is useful to understand key “anchor points” in the field over both time and domain. This course is intended to provide students with these anchor points - so that they can begin the journey of filling in the gaps and creating a logical structure of the field that will frame further absorption of knowledge. The course will be taught primarily in seminar format, with each student expected to have thoroughly read each article prior to the class. Different students will be assigned to lead the class discussion on particular articles. Additionally, the course will provide an opportunity to conduct research relevant to the place where each student is currently in the doctoral program. As part of the class, the students will write a paper that will eventually be submitted to a conference.
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| MIS 6320 - Quantitative Methods in IS Research |
Course DescriptionThis course is designed to provide doctoral level students with an introduction to the major methodological issues and techniques associated with quantitative research. Emphasis is given to the techniques that are most commonly used in information systems research, although serious attention will also be given to the statistical foundations of quantitative methods. The course will examine survey and experimental research and cover such topics as survey design, construct development, sampling, internal and external validity, factor analysis, model estimation, and multivariate analysis techniques. Readings will be comprised of classic method books with which any doctoral student in virtually any discipline should be familiar, as well as methodological papers and articles that use the various techniques discussed in class. The course will be taught with hands-on examples led by the faculty wherein students become familiar with the software used to support statistical analysis. Some class periods will be primarily in seminar format, with each student expected to have thoroughly read each article prior to the class. Each student will complete 5 analysis projects based on data provided by the professor. By the end of the semester, students should have a familiar grasp of the design of research projects involving the gathering of data and a firm grasp of the cleansing and appropriate analysis of quantitative data.
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| MIS 6330 - Theoretical Perspectives in IS Research |
Course DescriptionThis course is designed to provide doctoral students across different disciplines a broad introduction to key theories and their application in IS research. The theories originate from a variety of disciplines including management, psychology, communication and sociology. However, an emphasis is given to theories that originated within the IS discipline. The course is designed for both IS and non-IS PhD students. The readings in the course will deepen the students' understanding of the role of theory in understanding IS related organizational phenomenon and enhance their ability to theorize about IS related to their own various research themes. As part of the class, the students will research a theory not covered in the class and present the theory to the class.
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| MIS 6340 - Qualitative Methods in IS Research |
Course DescriptionThis course is designed to provide doctoral level students with an introduction to the major methodological issues and techniques associated with qualitative research. Emphasis is given to case research strategies, both positivist and interpretive, but the course will also discuss action research, grounded theory, and design science. Readings will be comprised of several classic methodological papers as well as a wide range of articles that use the various techniques discussed in class. The course will be taught primarily in seminar format, with each student expected to have thoroughly read each article prior to the class. As part of the class, students will be given interview transcripts to analyze and interpret. By the end of the semester, students should have a firm grasp of the design of research projects involving the gathering and analysis of qualitative data.
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| MIS 6350 - Conducting Effective Literature Reviews |
Course DescriptionThis course aims to help doctoral students learn to write theory-building literature reviews. Review papers are a relatively new form of publication for IS journals, although certainly not for organizational journals. Effective literature reviews can be of tremendous assistance with developing provoking theories for dissertation research. As such, doctoral students taking this class will read and discuss a variety of review papers published primarily in MIS Quarterly, but also in several others journals from Management literature. Class time will be focused on discussing the merits of the method used in the review, the framing of the review, the conclusions drawn from the review, the theory built from the review, and the usefulness of the ideas in the review toward informing a dissertation. Each student will conduct a literature review on a particular stream of research. There will be week to week milestones to accomplish in order to keep the literature review moving forward. At the end of this seminar, students should feel prepared to undertake their own dissertation literature review in such a way as to feel certain that they have thoroughly uncovered all relevant knowledge in a domain and drawn valid conclusions thereof.
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| ENT 6340 - Research Methods |
Course DescriptionSeminar designed to familiarize students with techniques for conducting research in the organizational and behavioral sciences. The emphasis of this course is on exploring: (1) the logic of research designs, (2) different types of research methodologies, (3) the advantages and disadvantages of using different research methods and (4) fit between the research question and the research design. Special attention will be paid to the topics of construct development and validation, how to control for method biases and the identification of the necessary conditions for establishing causal relationships. Although the discussion of various analytical procedures will be unavoidable, the major focus of the seminar will be on methodological (as opposed) to analytical issues.
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| ECO 5349 - Causal Inference and Research Design |
Course DescriptionThis class introduces students to the modern theory of "causal inference." We cover matching estimation, linear and nonlinear regression models, panel methods, differences-in-differences, synthetic control, instrumental variables and regression discontinuity.
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| MIS 6V99 - Dissertation |
Course DescriptionPrerequisite(s): Completion of coursework and comprehensive exam.
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Elective Information Systems Courses
| MIS 6380 - Ethics in Contemporary Topics in Information Systems |
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Course DescriptionThis doctoral seminar examines ethical issues and dilemmas in contemporary and emerging topics within information systems. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach to eight areas related to information systems.
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Support Area Elective Courses
Support area electives are courses cross into other disciplines and help give you a holistic view of IS. For potential courses, please coordinate with you advisor or consult the university graduate Course Listings.
