| name | isr-workflow |
| description | Use when deciding which isr-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing manuscript work from topic selection through rebuttal for an Information Systems Research (ISR) manuscript. Routes — it does not replace — the specialized skills. Knows ISR's sociotechnical, intradisciplinary mission and its co-equal behavioral and analytical genres. |
Information Systems Research Workflow (isr-workflow)
Overview
This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill; it tells you which isr- skill to use right now* for your Information Systems Research (ISR) manuscript.
Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as ISR — the INFORMS quarterly at the intersection of technology, organizations, economics, and society, and a member of the IS field's Senior Scholars' Basket of Eight. ISR's identity is deliberately sociotechnical and intradisciplinary: it is receptive to the design, management, use, valuation, and impacts of IT across multiple levels of analysis (individuals, groups, firms, networks, societies, nations), and it houses both rigorous behavioral/empirical research and analytical economic, econometric, and design-science modeling as co-equal first-class genres. The recurring editorial question is not only "is the method sound?" but "does this bridge IS silos and advance our intradisciplinary understanding of the sociotechnical?"
Editorial team context: Suprateek Sarker (University of Virginia, McIntire) is the current Editor-in-Chief; his inaugural editorial appeared in ISR 34(1):1-4 on February 27, 2023. The 2025 multimethod-research framework editorial (ISR 36(2)) formalizes guidance for combining qualitative, quantitative, analytical, and design-science methods. Re-check the current masthead and policies at pubsonline.informs.org/journal/isre before submission.
When to trigger
- "What should I do next?" with a half-built ISR manuscript
- You have an analytical model or a dataset but no clear sociotechnical, intradisciplinary story
- A reviewer/SE pushes on "contribution to IS" or "this is single-paradigm" and you are unsure which stage is the bottleneck
- You received an ISR decision letter and need to switch into response mode
- You keep bouncing between modeling/analysis, theory, and writing without a plan
Routing table
| Current symptom | Next skill |
|---|
| Idea is vague; unsure it fits ISR's sociotechnical/intradisciplinary bar | isr-topic-selection |
| Mechanism is thin (behavioral hypotheses or analytical propositions) | isr-theory-development |
| Front end reads as single-silo; does not bridge IS conversations | isr-literature-positioning |
| Design/genre may not match the question (behavioral vs analytical vs DSR) | isr-methods |
| Have data/model; unsure about identification, validity, or proof rigor | isr-data-analysis |
| Results exist but the "contribution to IS" is thin or single-paradigm | isr-contribution-framing |
| Exhibits cluttered, off INFORMS style, or proofs crowding the main text | isr-tables-figures |
| Prose is jargon-heavy, passive, or buries the argument | isr-writing-style |
| Ready to submit; need the ScholarOne preflight + contribution statement | isr-submission |
| Want to understand how ISR's SE/AE review works before/after submit | isr-review-process |
| Received an R&R; need to plan and draft the response | isr-rebuttal |
Default order
isr-topic-selection — lock a sociotechnical question with ISR fit (vs MISQ/JMIS/MS)isr-theory-development — build the mechanism (behavioral hypotheses or analytical propositions)isr-literature-positioning — bridge IS silos; state the intradisciplinary conversation you joinisr-methods — match the genre (behavioral empirical / analytical-economic / design-science / multimethod)isr-data-analysis — identification and validity (empirical) or proof discipline (analytical)isr-contribution-framing — turn results into an explicit contribution to IS (drafts the ~500-word statement)isr-tables-figures — finalize exhibits; push proofs/measurement to the electronic companionisr-writing-style — full-manuscript prose polishisr-submission — ScholarOne preflight (anonymization, contribution statement, editor/reviewer nominations)isr-review-process — set expectations for the SE-led, fit-gated processisr-rebuttal — after an R&R, plan revisions then draft the response
isr-tables-figures and isr-writing-style are late-stage polish. Do not invoke them while the contribution or identification/proof is still unsettled.
Difference vs. MISQ / JMIS / Management Science stacks
- ISR: sociotechnical and intradisciplinary; behavioral and analytical/design-science as co-equal genres under one cover; INFORMS (OR/economics lineage); 32-page text / 38-page total cap; SE/AE routing with an EIC fit gate.
- MISQ: sister Basket-of-Eight journal with a stronger design-science genre identity and its own theory/method conventions — different house norms.
- JMIS: Basket-of-Eight; overlapping scope but distinct editorial conventions.
- Management Science: also INFORMS, but a broader management/OR journal (and the one that charges the $79 original-submission fee) — not IS-specific.
Stage tracker (fill and re-run the router)
ISR's genre row governs the shape of theory, analysis, and contribution. Fill it first; the top unfinished stage names the next skill. Keep the sociotechnical/intradisciplinary bridge visible in the header.
ISR MANUSCRIPT — stage tracker
question : [one-sentence sociotechnical question; IT artifact = ...]
genre : behavioral-empirical / analytical-economic / design-science / multimethod
bridge : [which IS silos does this connect?]
target : ISR (vs MISQ / JMIS / Management Science) fit=[yes/borderline/no]
stage status next skill
----------------------------- ------------ ---------------------------
topic & fit (sociotechnical) [done] isr-topic-selection
mechanism / propositions [in-progress] isr-theory-development
literature positioning [todo] isr-literature-positioning
(bridge the silos)
methods / genre match [todo] isr-methods
identification or proof [todo] isr-data-analysis
contribution to IS (~500w) [todo] isr-contribution-framing
exhibits; proofs→companion [todo] isr-tables-figures (late)
prose polish [todo] isr-writing-style (late)
ScholarOne preflight [todo] isr-submission
decision / R&R [—] isr-review-process → isr-rebuttal
rule: single-paradigm result is not automatically ISR-fit — the bridge row
must be non-empty before contribution framing is marked done.
Anti-patterns
- Do not skip
isr-theory-development and jump to estimation/derivation — ISR rejects atheoretical phenomenon-mining.
- Do not let
isr-tables-figures beautify exhibits before the model and contribution are settled.
- Do not treat a single-paradigm result as automatically ISR-fit — the journal prizes intradisciplinary, silo-bridging work.
- Do not let
isr-writing-style substitute for a real contribution to IS — polish cannot rescue thin theory or a non-identified design.
