An Ounce of Preventative Research Design Is Worth a Ton of Statistical Analysis Cure

Abstract

This response addresses the data analysis issues raised by Wierenga and van Bruggen (1998) concerning Massetti (1998). Their analysis suggestions were performed and resulted in no significant differences between the treatment conditions. However, these analyses are misleading because of normality and variance problems present in Massetti's dataset. Specifically, not controlling for individual performance differences in ideational fluency ability during experimentation created the need for the complex, but appropriate, analysis approach used in Massetti. This response further suggests that ideational fluency be included as an independent factor in future research on individual creativity support systems.

A Two-Step Approach for Transforming Continuous Variables to Normal: Implications and Recommendations for IS Research

“…Of the seventy-nine articles including both phrases in the text, twelve (15 percent) included the word skewness, eight (10 percent) included -kurtosis,‖ and fifteen (19 percent) included -normality.‖ This analysis indicates that authors are not addressing normality in articles that should and many are working with non-normally distributed data. Furthermore, it has become common and accepted practice to not report attempted variable transformations in analyses in final publications [see Massetti, 1998].…”

The Concept of Creativity in the Information Systems Discipline: Past, Present, and Prospects

“…A predominant issue examined within laboratory experiments is the impact of IT systems for group work (electronic meeting systems, group support systems, groupware) on the creative capabilities of groups and individuals [e.g., Easton et al, 1990;Ocker et al, 1995;Satzinger et al, 1999;Garfield et al, 2001]. In addition to the eleven studies applying a laboratory experiment, two conceptual papers discuss methodological issues related to this type of research [Massetti, 1998;Wierenga and Van Bruggen, 1998].…”

“…There are four studies that deviate from the categorization scheme applied above. Initiated by the study of Massetti [1996a], Wierenga and Van Bruggen [1998] as well as Massetti [1998] take on a discussion on the role of idea fluency in the measurement of individual creativity. The results of their papers have thus to be regarded as methodological statements.…”