Mwapwele & van Biljon

Investigating the use of a digital platform for supporting research collaboration: An action research approach

Research communities co-exist in a complex context of relations and interactions with other communities, supported by a multi-layered technical infrastructure. Among the technical infrastructures a researcher can use are digital platforms, websites that are built with the purpose of disseminating information and offering collaboration. The design and evaluation of digital platforms for supporting research collaboration in the field of ICT4D pose a complex problem since there are conflicting factors that impact the perceived success of the platform. The research was guided by pragmatism as philosophy in an action research study with the website as IT artefact and the theory of deferred action as a theoretical lens. The sequential multi-method approach used an open-ended questionnaire for quantitative data capturing, observation of email conversations and Google analytics as a technique for quantitative data collection.
The research contributes to the body of knowledge by providing evidence-based insights on the use and usefulness of a digital platform for research collaboration. Further, the research provides a theoretical contribution by validating the theory of deferred action through the digital platform developed for the global south.