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TopHow Does Critical Realism Influence Research?
Critical realism is a relatively new philosophy of the natural and social sciences developed in the late 70s and early eighties (Bhaskar, 1978, 1998b). Since then it has provided the basis for a range of social science research (Carter & New, 2004; Danermark, Ekstrom, Jokobsen, & Karlsson, 2003; Mingers, 2000, 2004d; Pawson & Tilley, 1997). In the information systems literature, the potential benefits of critical realism have already been touted (Carlsson, 2004; Dobson, 2002; Houston, 2001; Mingers, 2004a, 2004c, 2004d; Smith, 2006). Recently, more examples of critical realism actively applied in information systems research are emerging (Bygstad, 2008; Dobson, Myles, & Jackson, 2007; Morton, 2006; Reimers & Johnson, 2008; Volkoff, Strong, & Elmes, 2007).