Action research in IT studies, Assignment 1

Ann-Sofie Klareld

Department of Computer and Systems Science, Mid Sweden University

I am a PhD student in Computer and Systems Science with a specialization in Archives and Information Science. I have previously worked as archivist and registrar for a couple of years, and thus consider myself to be both a practitioner and a researcher.

My PhD project it is about the (re)organization of mandates and responsibilities of archives in the framework of e-governance. I focus especially on the official information created and used in the state public sector in Sweden. My aim is to also be able to contribute to the research and knowledge about the roles that archives play in society.

Action research is relevant to me because the research project which I am part of, called Good Information Governance (GoInfo), is pursued in close collaboration between academics and practitioners. The researchers cooperate with archivists, IT-architects and managers on different levels.

I had no previous knowledge about action research, and have learned about the fundamentals from my colleagues and supervisors, but my knowledge is still very limited. I chose this course to gain a broader and deeper understanding of AR and how it can be used in IT studies.