Applying Ethnographic Decision Tree Modelling (EDTM) in IS Research

Daily people make various decisions. Understanding how people make real-life decision choices has important implications for individuals and organisations. Various approaches have been explored in studying the issue of choice as it relates to Information Systems (IS) phenomena. There is still limited understanding of how individuals make natural choices when they are faced with many alternatives. This research work presents Ethnographic Decision Tree Modelling (EDTM) developed by Gladwin as an appropriate method for understanding real-life choice in Information Systems research. EDTM has been used to study individual choice in other fields. Through a descriptive literature review, EDTM is introduced, and its philosophical and theoretical basis is discussed. The study suggests how EDTM can be used to enrich contributions in IS research. EDTM is applicable in choice related IS research when theory informing variables is at an early stage. It may be used to cross validate research findings using different methodologies.