Competing mistresses? Academic vs. practitioner perceptions of systems analysis

This study investigates whether a gap exists between academic and practitioner-oriented research within the domain of systems planning and analysis. Academic-oriented research is rooted in positivism, which assumes that knowledge is objective and independent from the knower. Practitioner-oriented research assumes that knowledge is a social construction - the meanings and values which constitute knowledge are inseparable from the knower. The research questions include: (1) what are the similarities and differences between academic and practitioner research within systems planning and analysis? (2) in which streams do gaps exist? (3) to what extent do themes emerge from the data? and (4) what are the differences in research focus, pre- and post-1990, between academics and practitioners? The findings suggest that differences do exist between academic- and practitioner- oriented research regarding what is studied, which research methods are employed, and what outcomes arise from the specific studies. These differences in research appear to rest in the ideological foundations in which each is focused.