Design Science Research as a Methodology in Health Information Systems: An Overview

Abstract

Background: Research in the information system (IS) field employs diverse methodologies and paradigms shaped by assumptions about reality, knowledge, and nature of research problems. The interdisciplinary and sociotechnical nature of IS has led to ongoing debate regarding its identity and appropriate research paradigms, which can be challenging for researchers in emerging domains such as health informatics (HI). This paper provides an interpretive and accessible overview of Design Science Research (DSR) as a prescriptive research paradigm in health informatics.

Methods: A narrative review of seminal IS and DSR literature, together with recent studies applying DSR in healthcare, was conducted. Thematic analysis was used to examine targeted problems, types of artefacts, design processes, interactions with the knowledge base, and evaluation approaches.

Findings: The findings show that DSR supports the development of diverse artefacts in healthcare, including system instantiations, methods, and models, and enable the integration of theory and practice through iterative design and evaluation. DSR emphasizes rigor through continuous interaction with knowledge bases while maintaining flexibility in its processes and forms of contribution.

Conclusion: The study highlights the relevance of DSR for addressing complex healthcare challenges and provides insights to guide researchers and practitioners in applying DSR within resource-constrained developing healthcare contexts – such as the Libyan.