AMCIS 2008, ECIS 2008 and PACIS 2008 MISQE Workshop on Developing Papers for Practitioner Audiences

Call for Submissions

Once again, the editors of MIS Quarterly Executive will offer half-day workshops at the AMCIS conference to help authors develop papers that are targeted for practitioner audiences.  In addition, we are hoping to offer similar workshops at ECIS and PACIS:

• ECIS 2008, Galway, Ireland – Sunday, June 8, 12:30-5:30
• PACIS 2008, Suzhou, China – Friday, July 4 [CANCELLED.  If you would like to meet with Cynthia Beath on Friday, July 4 to discuss an abstract, please see the note below in the FAQs.]
• AMCIS 2008, Toronto, Canada – Thursday, Aug 14

The purpose of these workshops is to help IS scholars develop articles appropriate for a senior IS manager readership.  During the workshop, authors of pre-selected papers and abstracts will work in small groups with MISQE editors to develop their ideas and presentation. The language of all workshops is English.

The workshop should be particularly valuable for IS academics who wish to submit their work to MISQE and similar journals. 

Authors interested in participating in the workshop must submit a paper or abstract (details on these are given below) three months prior to the workshop date, to Cynthia Beath: cbeath@mail.utexas.edu.  The workshop coordinators will make every effort to notify submitting authors of acceptance to the workshop in time for early registration deadlines for each conference.

Submissions may be in the form of either a paper or abstract:

SUBMITTING A PAPER: 

We seek papers of about 5000 words with the following characteristics:

• The paper's targeted audience is a practitioner: e.g., an IT manager or executive, or any senior executive or manager needing to know more about your topic.
• The paper has potential to offer significant, actionable insights to its targeted audience.  That is, the insights have the potential to change behavior, policy or processes.
• The paper is based on field data that was collected using high quality research methods.
• It is apparent that the author is familiar with related practice and research relevant to the paper topic.
• The paper will benefit from development at the workshop.

Papers that have been submitted to or accepted for practitioner conferences or workshops (e.g., SIM’s Paper Awards or SIM's Advanced Practices Council) would be ideal for this workshop.  Early drafts of papers for MISQE or initial efforts to convert academic papers into practitioner-oriented papers are especially welcome. Papers prepared for academic conferences or journals are likely not to be accepted for the workshop -- this is a workshop designed to develop papers based on scholarly research for practitioner audiences.  Co-authored abstracts and papers are acceptable, but papers already under review or under revision at any journal may not be submitted. 

SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT: 

If your ideas for presenting your research findings to a practitioner audience are not yet well-developed, you are encouraged to submit a short abstract or summary of your ideas.  This abstract should cover the following points in about 500 words of text (about one page, single spaced) and one or two key exhibits or graphics.  Most of these points can be addressed in just one or two sentences.

• what is the practical problem this paper addresses?
• what is the contribution this paper will make towards resolving this problem ?
• what is the kernel of your new idea or insight (in one paragraph, supported by one or two key exhibits or graphics that capture the essence of your idea or insight)? 
• what are the intellectual roots of your idea (e.g., prior research)?
• what empirical evidence do you have to support or illustrate your ideas?
• what would the interested reader be expected to do differently after reading your article?

BACKGROUND WORK: 

We strongly recommend that you read several articles in practitioner oriented journals (such as MIS Quarterly Executive, Sloan Management Review, California Management Review, HBR, CACM, JIT, ISM) before submitting your paper or abstract.  All AIS members have access to the full contents of MIS Quarterly Executive, at www.misqe.org.

PRIOR TO AND DURING THE WORKSHOP: 

If your paper or abstract is accepted for the workshop, you will be assigned to a small working group.  This group may include an MISQE Senior Editor, one or more MISQE  Editorial Board Members, and other authors of accepted papers or abstracts. Prior to the workshop, you will be asked to read the other submissions to be discussed in your group, and to provide written feedback to the author(s) of one paper.  During the workshop, the bulk of the available time will be devoted to discussing and developing the paper and abstract submissions of the group members. 

Please be aware that AIS conference rules require that workshop participants must also be registered for the conference.  Thus, if your paper or abstract is accepted for the workshop, authors participating in the workshop must register for the conference.  For some conferences, workshop participants may also be asked to pay a fee for the workshop itself.  Additional information on the conferences can be found at their websites:

ECIS Galway 2008: http://www.ecis2008.ie/
AMCIS Toronto 2008: http://www.business.mcmaster.ca/amcis2008/

If you have any questions (not answered in the FAQ below), please do not hesitate to contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. If I am not able to submit a paper or abstract by the deadline, can I still participate in the workshop?

We prefer that all workshop participants have “skin in the game” during the group discussions, so we do not allow lurkers. On the other hand, we do maintain a waiting list. If you did not submit a paper or abstract by the deadline, you could submit one and ask to be considered for the waiting list.  We will tell you if the waiting list is already too long.

2. My paper/abstract was accepted.  What do I do now?

1. Be sure to register for the conference. See the conference websites for early registration deadlines.
2. About a month before the workshop you will receive an email including the paper and abstracts that will be discussed in your group.  Abstract submitters will be asked to read the paper and provide feedback on it to the author (and your group leader) and to read the Abstracts submitted by other members of your group prior to the workshop.  Paper submitters will be asked to read the Abstracts of other group members, and to read the feedback provided prior to the workshop; the group leader will also confer with you prior to the workshop.
3. Read some additional articles in a practitioner-oriented journal that you think might be an appropriate outlet for your submission (see the list above).

3. I have another appointment during the time of the workshop.  Will it be okay if I attend just part of the workshop? 

No.  If you can’t attend the entire workshop, please yield your seat to someone who can.  The group experience depends on full participation by all group members. Please contact Cynthia Beath (cbeath@mail.utexas.edu) as soon as you know you cannot attend so that your spot can be offered to someone on the waiting list.

4. I was so hoping to attend the MISQE workshop at PACIS.  What now? 

We hope we will have an MISQE workshop at PACIS 2009, at ISB in India (http://www.isb.edu/citne/pacis2009/).  In addition, Cynthia Beath will be available to discuss abstracts with prospective authors at PACIS 2008, in the afternoon on Friday, July 4 in Suzhou.  If you would like to schedule a 30-minute time slot with her, please contact her at cbeath@mail.utexas.edu as soon as possible and no later than June 20, 2008.  She will ask you to email her an abstract prior to June 20 to make the discussion more valuable. 

Other questions?  Contact Cynthia Beath at cbeath@mail.utexas.edu

THANKS!