Six Issues in Which IS and CSCW Research Communities Differ

Abstract

Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) has become increasingly positioned as a subfield of human-computer interaction (HCI). Earlier, CSCW has had a closer connection to the Information Systems (IS) field, but this relationship has seemed to become more distant. In this paper we reflect on the distinct characteristics of the research communities of CSCW and IS. We identify similarities, but also stark differences between the two. The six identified issues of difference are the roles of theory, context, methodology, organizational layer, socio-technicality, and power-alignment. Our contribution is in making these differences visible. We hope this paper will promote diplomacy and understanding between these research communities, so that scholars may consider cross-disciplinary IS-CSCW publication strategies.