Bridging the gap between information systems research and practice: the reflective practitioner as a researcher

This paper reports on the experiences gained while combining practical information systems development work and scholarly research. The overall framework is a development of Donald Schon’s notion of the reflective practitioner. The specific research problems are carved out of the development history of the Student Record System of the University of Helsinki. The analysis leads to the conclusion that this approach is effective in process-type studies of information systems implementation, as the data gathering is easier for someone who is inside the process.