
Third and last, there's the need for our field to enact paradigms.
Yes, I'm referring to the concept of paradigms made famous by Thomas
Kuhn in his classic book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,
first published in 1962. His book used the term “paradigm” to help
describe the work and behavior of scientists. But as popular as the
term “paradigm” became, Kuhn felt that it had come to mean things to too
many people. Kuhn wrote some follow-up essays to better explain what
he meant by the concept of paradigm. Despite this, I still get the
impression that, even today, people often use the word “paradigm” even
when they haven’t even read the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
This is a shame because some of Kuhn’s basic insights could help us shape
the IS field today.