To complete the assignment, respond to the following:
- Describe the ways in which you found research related to emerging topics in information technology and aligned with research concepts presented in your textbook readings.
- Document at least three ways in which theories you are exploring in this course play a role in information technology research.
- Consider your workplace for possible problems that may have solutions from academic research. Explain the workplace problem and the link between the two.
- Compare articles from the Capella library and Google Scholar to those in trade magazines to explore the difference in writing style and level of analysis and identify three differences in trade versus academic publications.
- Articulate how these articles impact practitioner knowledge in information technology.
- Identify three ways that practitioners can use academic work in their area of expertise.
- Analyze ways that a practitioner can stay grounded in theory, but also current in practice.
- Develop a strategy to identify emerging trends in IT while still maintaining a research-based philosophy.
- Describe the delay that can occur as a result of the scholarly publication process.
Submission Requirements
- Written communication:Write in a professional manner using current APA style and formatting with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.
- Resources: Identify at least three scholarly sources.
- APA formatting:Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
- Length: 12–15 double-spaced, typed pages.
- Font and font size:Times New Roman, 12 point.
Doherty
Abstract
Articles in scholarly journals have valuable information that can be applied in different sectors, including information technology. The information contained in these articles is often trustworthy because they are subjected to a comprehensive peer-review process before they are published to ensure their accuracy, validity, credibility, and reliability. Most of them contain first-hand information in addition to literature review summaries of multiple studies. The current study indicates that scholarly articles can play a crucial role in solving various challenges in the workplace and impact knowledge of an information technology practitioner positively. The paper also indicates that information technology practitioners can apply academic work in sectors such as innovation, software development, and updating information systems. The theoretical aspect of academic research in information technology has also been discussed comprehensively in this paper, and it has been indicated that it is possible for an individual to stay grounded in theory and be current in practice. Different strategies for identifying emerging trends, such as the use of Kleinberg model and data mining have been discussed in detail.
Keywords: Information Technology, Scholarly Articles, Practitioner, Emerging Trends
Identification of Emerging research Topics
Identifying emerging topics in information technology is crucial for individual researchers and research agencies as it allows them to produce relevant findings that can be applied in the current context (Huang et al., 2011). The information technology field is evolving significantly with new technologies being introduced every day, which necessitates the identification of emerging topics to keep pace with new developments. Thus, identifying emerging study topics is essential for individual researchers, policymakers, and research foundations aiming at promoting and enhancing the development of potentially promising research topics. A significant number of recent research projects address emerging research topics. New automated methods are being developed to easily detect emerging topics, which are classified into two main categories, including data mining and searching for fast-growing sets of publications (Huang et al., 2011). For the techniques based on the detection of rapid growth in publication categories or vocabularies, an identification method developed by Kleinberg proves most effective, and it is the commonly used approach (Huang et al., 2011). Kleinberg’s model consists of an algorithm that is primarily used for the analysis of new timelines to detect a sharp increase in the occurrence of emerging research topics over time by assessing their rates of emergence. Kleinberg model applies probabilistic automation to detect a single emerging topic from several unrelated documents. The algorithm used determines the increment rate of various topics, and those with higher rates are considered the most emergent terms and are, therefore, the best research topics (Martel & Nguyen, 2004).
Mining data from databases containing thousands of peer-reviewed publications such as Scopus can also help in the detection of emerging research topics (Huang et al., 2011). The method involves the creation of a structure trough the clustering of databases in different ways such as direct citation and co-citation. Direct citation clustering entails examining publications that have been directly cited by another paper, whereas co-citation involves a document citing two or more citations in the same parenthesis. The direct citation approach is more straightforward and involves forming citation clusters based on the relationship between articles, using a full set of articles from particular databases or different databases in a single clustering process (Šubelj et al., 2016). This offers a comprehensive overview of the growth of a given research topic as opposed to the co-citation clustering process that gives a more detailed picture. The co-citation approach entails forming clusters of cited publications for each year in a given database. Publications produced in a particular year are allocated to the cluster of references depending on their bibliographies. Therefore, each cluster constitutes publications from the present year and a set of references that most informed the research based on their bibliographies (Šubelj et al., 2016). Usually, clusters in the co-citation model contain current papers, the ones published in the current year, and various reference papers published earlier but can be used to inform the current research. Clusters from different years are linked depending on the references they share to create threads. For an individual conducting research, they can identify the clusters that are most emergent across both the direct citation model and the co-citation model using a mathematical formula that calculates the potential of a topic to emerge (Šubelj et al., 2016). Direct citation clusters with high growth rates and whose publications are also in the threads of the co-citation model for a particular year are selected using this formula.
Importance of Theories in Information Technology Research
Theories play an important role in any research as they explain, predict, and help readers to understand various phenomena. In some instances, a theory in research challenges and extends existing knowledge within the limits of critical bounding assumptions (Halawi & McCarthy, 2006). Thus, the theoretical framework of a study presents and describes the theory that further elucidates the research problem. While emerging topics in information technology are important, researchers are not sure whether or not new advancements will be accepted by the intended users. One of the important theories in information technology research is the technology acceptance theory/model, which indicates that the perception of the user about the ease of use and significance of technology are crucial determinants of acceptance of new technology (Halawi & McCarthy, 2006). Determining the acceptance of new technology is vital in information technology research because it will help the investigators to predict the usefulness of the research. If there are high chances that new technology will be rejected, researchers can design their study in such a way to determine factors that leads to the rejection of the technology and find ways to improve it so that the targeted users can accept it. Another way that theories can be important in the information technology research is their ability to guide scholars on various aspects of the information such as information quality, system quality, targeted user, user satisfaction, impact on the individual, and impact on the organization (Halawi & McCarthy, 2006). A theory by DeLone and McLean indicates that to measure the success of an information system, investigators should logically combine these aspects. Subjecting a newly emerged information technology to these measures helps investigators to determine its feasibility during the research (Halawi & McCarthy, 2006).
Using Academic Research to Solve Problems in the Workplace
There are several problems in various workplaces that can be solved by applying for academic work. Working in a company where information technology is vital requires continuous innovation to improve manufacturing processes and the quality of products and services (Hagberg & Khalil, 2014). Information technology is largely viewed as the main driver of technology change in various industries, including engineering companies, airlines, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and telecommunication (Hagberg & Khalil, 2014). To provide services more efficiently in these industries, companies need to dispatch various teams to conduct academic research on how to use information technology to solve challenges associated with the provision of services and various processes used by manufacturing companies such as electronic, telecommunication, and sensing. Another common workplace problem that can be solved through academic research is overcoming competition. Through academic research, a practitioner can identify various marketing strategies that help a company to compete satisfactorily with its rivals. Various marketing concepts such as marketing mix, SWOT analysis, Porter Five forces, and VRIO are well documented, and research can be conducted to provide crucial insights to the company concerning competition (Hagberg & Khalil, 2014). The relationship among junior workers as well as between employees and management plays a crucial role in determining organizational performance. The various factors affecting the relationship between these groups are well documented in the literature. Thus, conducting academic research will play a crucial role in determining and applying some of the most useful concepts to help improve and solve various disputes among individuals working in a particular company (Hagberg & Khalil, 2014). There are other workplace problems such as low motivation and job satisfaction and poor corporate social responsibility that can be solved using academic research. Working in an Aerospace company, I have experienced a number of problems. One of the main challenges that we have experienced is using energy more efficiently and sustainably. Consequently, the research and development department in my organization has continuously increased budgets and investment in academic research in a bid to find ways to improve energy efficiency and sustainability (Hagberg & Khalil, 2014). Resultantly, the research has provided new possibilities such as flying planes using solar or electric power engines, which confirm that academic research could play a crucial role in solving various workplace problems and challenges.
Comparison between Scholarly Articles and Trade Magazine Articles
Having looked at various articles from the Capella library and Google Scholar, there are various notable differences. Articles from Capella library and Google Scholar are all academic or peer-reviewed works written by renowned scholars or researchers who are specialists in a given field of study. The articles from these databases provide results of the original investigation. Before their publication, scholarly articles are reviewed comprehensively by subject specialists to examine their accuracy, validity, and overall quality (Babbie, 2015). Due to the type of authors, the audiences of the scholarly article include scholars, researchers, and students. In addition, articles from the Capella library and Google Scholar have a plain academic look, usually with charts and graphs, and are lengthy. The format of a scholarly paper is designed to contain objectives, methodology, results, discussion, and bibliography sections. Lastly, page numbers run consecutively from page one to the last page.
On the other hand, trade articles contain information written by professionals to provide practical information in an attempt to promote knowledge and skills in a given industry or trade and are available either as hard paper or online format. Unlike scholarly articles, trade magazine articles target members of a particular industry or trade as their main audiences (Babbie, 2015). Trade magazine articles do not have a plain academic look and, instead, have glossy illustrations, and they vary in length, may or may not have charts or graphs, and sometimes have business-related advertisements. Regarding content, trade magazine articles contain information on business trends, organizational news, and professional skills, which is different from scholarly articles that are structured to include the content explained above. Unlike peer-reviewed articles, trade magazine articles may or may not contain a bibliography. In addition, articles are examined by editorial staff who may be the subject experts for style and format but are not peer-reviewed (Babbie, 2015).
Scholarly Articles Impact Practitioner Knowledge
Gaining knowledge is a continuous process and scholarly articles act as valuable sources of information that can add to the knowledge of the information technology practitioner (Babbie, 2015). Scholarly articles have thousands of ideas that professionals in the information technology sector can apply in real-life situations. One of the common ways of accessing ideas from academic articles is wading through them from time to time. Although the process is time-consuming, the amount of relevant knowledge an individual can obtain from these publications cannot be acquired elsewhere. For a practitioner interested in innovation and strategy, there are several journals containing important information, and they include the Journal of Information Technology and Software engineering, Journal of Information Technology, ACM Computer Surveys, Journal of Information Science, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Research Policy, and Strategic Entrepreneurship. Each of the articles in these journals has an abstract that a person can skim through and determine whether an article is worth reading (Babbie, 2015). This helps in saving time that would be wasted reading the entire article looking for important information. Therefore, it is apparent that academic articles contain easily digestible ideas that can supplement the knowledge possessed by a practitioner. The field of information technology requires continuous innovation, and most innovative ideas can be obtained from scholarly articles. Reading these articles can equip an individual with adequate ideas that they can use to improve information systems and solve various challenges in the organization. Knowledge obtained from a scholarly article is more important than the one obtained from other types of documents because as indicated above, authors are required to document and make verifiable the source of ideas, methods, and facts they have used to arrive at their conclusions and insights (Babbie, 2015). This indicates that the information from these sources is highly credible, reliable, offers evidence for their claims, offers clarity, contains focused research, and offers case studies, among other important things. Thus, scholarly articles have the ability to impact the knowledge of a practitioner positively, which will, in turn, improve organizational performance.
Application of Academic Work by IT Practitioner
An information technology practitioner can use academic work in various ways, such as promoting innovation in the workplace (Babbie, 2015). Innovation is an important aspect in any organization, and introducing new ideas in information systems can significantly revolutionize a business. Innovation in information technology results in the discovery of new smart apps, improved data storage, wider information distribution, improved information security, and faster processing. Consequently, businesses will be able to run efficiently, increase value, boost productivity, and enhance products and service quality. For instance, an information technology practitioner in a retail company can apply the knowledge they have obtained from academic journals to introduce innovation in online shopping, digital marketing, social networking, and cloud computing. Companies, where information technology technicians have embraced innovation, tend to have more accurate business planning, effective marketing, higher global sales, systematic management, use real-time monitoring, and have instant customer support systems (Tohidi & Jabbari, 2012).
The other area an information technology specialist can apply academic work is updating organizational information systems. Research in information technology is performed every day, and new publications containing the latest information are being released continuously (Babbie, 2015). Information technology specialists can obtain crucial information from such publications, which they could use to update information systems at their workplaces. These professionals have the responsibility of tracking the system functionality and making important changes if need be. Therefore, it is important that information technology specialists keep themselves up-to-date with the latest information technology components and various other necessary aspects. Using academic work can help them to identify new hardware or software equipment that can be used to keep the system updated (Babbie, 2015). Research provided by academic scholars, as indicated earlier, is highly credible and reliable, which suggests that information technology specialists will obtain valuable information that will help them to improve information systems in a given organization.
Lastly, information technology specialists can use academic work to develop software that can solve various problems in the workplace. Software is crucial because it runs everything the user does on a computer. Information technology specialist is mandated with writing code for various programs and can boost their knowledge by exploiting information in information technology journals (Babbie, 2015). Apart from developing software, IT practitioner is mandated with the installation of software onto the computers, and they can use hardware and software knowledge they have obtained from academic articles to implement the programs and make them easier to use for non-information technology workers.
Identifying Emerging Trends in Information Technology
The most effective strategy that can be used to identify emerging trends in the information technology field is developing a digital tool. The information technology sector is unique in the sense that the trending topics are usually found online as opposed to other fields that have inadequate information on the internet. Hence, it is easier to track the emerging information technology trends by the use of a digital tool that ensures the user gets up-to-date information released daily in the field of information technology. In such a scenario, the user must follow a particular sequence of events that makes it easy to identify the information technology emerging trends (Vaishnavi & Kuechler, 2015). For example, an individual may feel that by using keywords, they can obtain the required information concerning emerging topics. Thus, it is crucial to design a digital tool in a way that it contains a keyword tool where keywords will be typed to display emerging topics in information technology. Moreover, the digital tool will play a crucial role in helping the user to identify traditional information technology topics and news and determine the relevant application of these trends in real-life situations. The digital tool should also be designed in a way that allows the recording of the latest trends, which helps the user to identify new patterns introduced in the information technology sector.
As well, a practitioner can develop a research-based philosophy that will make it easy for them to combine the tasks of customizing and collaborating. In this scenario, practitioners should work together to create unique content from the insights presented by other scholars (Babbie, 2015). Tran et al. (2013) suggest that creating unique content enables researchers to take note of all philosophical aspects that have been investigated by other scholars and also improve their ability to apply the philosophy in their new strategy of identifying new trends (Tran et al., 2013). Additionally, practitioners will have the ability to make innovations to the research philosophies that are emerging in the areas of their expertise.
Analysis of the Way a Practitioner Can Stay Grounded in a Theory and Current in Practice
It is possible for practitioners to stay grounded in theory while still maintaining the current practice. First, they must ensure that they apply scholarly information in all of their operations. Remaining scholarly creates an opportunity for a strong foundation and consistency in theory-related issues while ensuring that practitioners are up-to-date with new trends in the information technology field (Vaishnavi & Kuechler, 2015). Remaining scholarly is crucial because practitioners have to learn theoretically how to put academic knowledge into practice. Practitioners can also stay grounded in theory and current practices if they become aligned with all activities they perform every day. Becoming aligned with their daily activities will increase the need for practitioners to obtain more knowledge, which will make their theoretical foundation become stronger and enhance their chances of being current with the practical side of their responsibilities (Vaishnavi & Kuechler, 2015).
It is important that practitioners remain realistic while applying what they have learned in theory into practice. Implementing some of the information technology elements that have been learned in theory can be expensive. Thus, it is fundamental that practitioners customize approaches that can tailor theories in a manner that is feasible for all contexts, challenges, and opportunities in an organization. Consequently, practitioners will be strong theoretically and up-to-date with the current practice. It is important to note that having a strong theoretical background is vital in implementing emerging practices in the information technology sector.
As Tran et al. (2013) argue, theories are important in information technology because they describe realities in this field rather than focusing on the prescribing distracting agenda. This is a crucial role because it allows a researcher in the information technology field to focus on a specific research topic and pursue it to the end to give the study a concrete conclusion (Tran et al., 2013). In addition, the researcher can summarize research findings in a way that is clear and simple to understand.
Delays in the Publication of Scholarly Articles
The process of publication of scholarly peer-reviewed articles normally involves a long wait due to a long process of peer-reviewing (Davenport, 2013). Further, the traditional article publishing technique leads to significant delays because of the requirement to bundle articles into issues and the backlogs resulting from page limits. The life cycle of scholarly articles has a number of stages. The authors write an article following comprehensive research, and when they finalize, they present the manuscript to their most trusted colleagues in a bid to receive suggestions and feedback for possible corrections. After receiving feedback from their colleagues, the author or authors of a particular article formally submit their manuscripts to a given journal organization (Davenport, 2013). Most journal organizations prefer a manuscript that has not been published, and that is not under consideration for publication in another journal. In some cases, the rule is even stringent in that author or authors are restricted from discussing or sharing the content of their paper with media or any other person. From the perspective of the entire scholarly community, there is a law restricting parallel submissions, and all individuals in this field are aware that this law plays a crucial role in avoiding unnecessary replication of unpaid referred work done by the editor of other scholars. In such a case, there will be no significant delay. However, in instances where the work of an author or authors is rejected by the journal they have submitted to, there are significant delays that result in an article taking a long time before it is published in a particular journal (Davenport, 2013). The type, extent, and quality of the peer-reviewed process undergone by a manuscript differ considerably across various disciplines and journals. In the information technology field, the process of reviewing a manuscript is stricter to ensure that the target audience gets valid, accurate, and reliable information once an article is released to the public. The process of review entails numerous cycles of review, revisions, and in some cases, editing, a process that can take several weeks, months, and even years. This further leads to delays in the publication of scholarly articles (Davenport, 2013). When a manuscript is accepted, edited, and typeset by a contractor or the publisher, the author is requested to scrutinize the final version of the paper before it is published. In the traditional method of publishing, the finalized version of the article is put in a queue waiting for it’s turn, usually according to its position in the queue. The finalized manuscript can remain in the queue for as long as a year and sometimes more in case the journal has a considerable backlog (Davenport, 2013). Therefore, queueing is another factor that contributes to significant delays in the publication of scholarly articles.
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