Senior Editors
Antony Bryant, Leeds Metropolitan University
John Leslie King, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Frank Land, London School of Economics

OVERVIEW

‘Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest.’ Mark Twain Everyone is in favour of ethics, much as everyone is ‘on the whole’ against sin. Increasingly professional and academics – teachers and researchers – are exhorted to act ethically and to sign up, figuratively or actually, to codes of conduct that will guide or govern their activities and actions. While all this is laudable, we concur with Jane Addams that ‘Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics. ’In other words the ultimate evidence of adhering to ethical principles is to be found in the way people act and the things they do and accomplish; also the things they question and may refuse to do.

In the domain of Information Systems there has been a good deal of attention paid in recent times to the ways in which ethical strictures and precepts can and should be incorporated into academic and professional practices, but in many cases this has not gone much further than the exhortatory. This is not unique to the IS domain, the recent pronouncement of the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser is headed ‘Rigour, Respect, and Responsibility’, and suffers from similar limitations.

If such statements are to be taken further, and provide a basis for practical use and assessment, then it is vital that those involved in the domain seek to develop clear and concise ways in which students, researchers and practitioners can understand how ethical precepts can be put into practice. This call for papers seeks to elicit responses that specifically address the ways in which ethical precepts can be used to frame and inform IS research. In this way we seek to build on work currently in train, including a track planned for ECIS 2008, and ICIS 2008 which itself will be centred on the theme of ‘Ethics, Design and the Consequences of Information Technologies’.

As befits one of the primary IS journals with a specific section on Research Perspectives, JAIS invites contributions to a Special Issue which will focus on the ways in which ethical precepts can be incorporated into IS research; offering clear guidance on appropriate methods, topics, and outcomes. We invite scholars from a broad range of disciplines to submit to this Special Issue. Papers may be in the form of well considered ‘think pieces’ seeking to locate IS research against key issues in ethical theories and perspectives, case studies illustrating actual ethical dilemmas and issues faced by researchers, and examples of the ways in which ethical issues or frameworks influenced and were incorporated into IS research practice.

We recognize that in some regards the general principles of ethical conduct in research are no different for IS research than for any other kind. But it can be argued that within the IS research community, these aspects have not been given the full attention they deserve. On the other hand, there are specific and important ethical issues bound up with the outcomes of IS research, particularly the ways in which these may be used and abused by others: Raising the question of the extent to which safeguards and precautionary measures can be built in to research design and evaluation mechanisms (IRBs etc.), without compromising or curtailing the IS research agenda itself.

We wish to encourage contributions that address these questions, particularly as they engage with general principles such as Incorporation of ethical frameworks and codes of conduct into IS research; Aligning ethical with methodological principles; Ethics and the IS research agenda; Policy issues and recommendations for IS researchers.

We also wish to encourage people to contribute to the debate about what actually constitutes the issue of ethics in the IS domain; recognizing that what some see as unethical or neutral, others might regard as unacceptable and immoral – and vice-versa.

In particular we are hoping that the contributions will offer insight and guidance for teachers and researchers, as well as a resource for advanced students. There is a clear need for a good textbook and source-book on the topic, one that will address the concerns of those studying and working in the realms of engineering and informatics, as well as social scientists interested in these areas. So we will encourage contributions to the special issue that offer the bases for such a resource. Moreover researchers are constantly required to link their methods and general research approaches to ethical issues, so contributions that focus on the relationships between methods and ethics will also be particularly welcome.

Given the plethora of books, papers and other sources on ethical issues, we would also welcome contributions that offer a guide to the field, specifically addressing issues of practice, teaching and research. These should aim to form the basis for a ‘living resource’ for practitioners, teachers and researchers. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Preparing bids and proposals
• Addressing legal and ethical concerns in IS research
• Issues relating to research outputs and intellectual property rights
• Research governance – anticipating the IRB
• Promoting IS Research for Social Justice
• Codes of Conduct and Issues of Social Responsibility
• Providing support and guidance for IS Professionals
• Addressing environmental issues in IS research
• Ethics, Agency, and Structure
• IS Design – embodying ethical values
• Information systems for empowerment and inclusion
• Seeking and accepting sponsorship for research
• Constraints and Demarcations of Ethical concern for IS Research

Jim Courtney Professor, MIS Department, University of Central Florida
Stefan Klein Professor for Interorganizational Systems, Department of IS, University of Muenster, Germany
Richard Mason Carr P. Collins Distinguished Professor Director, Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility ITOM Department, Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University
Jaana Porra Associate Professor, C. T. Bauer College of Business, Department of Decision and Information Sciences University of Houston
Susan Leigh Star Senior Scholar at the Center for Science, Technology and Society, Santa Clara University

If you wish, you may contact Tony Bryant (a.bryant@leedsmet.ac.uk) for an informal discussion about your proposed submission. Information about JAIS, including formatting requirements, can be found at http://jais.aisnet.org/ Information about the Research Perspectives section can be found at http://jais.aisnet.org/Research_Section.asp Papers should be submitted to jais@case.edu, with the title of the Special Issue in the Subject Line.

Timetable:
March 31 2008 Draft articles submitted
July 15 2008 Reviews returned to authors
October 31 2008 Revised version of articles due
December 31 2008 Final papers selected
March 2009 Publication of Special Issue