ADP systems analysis : a study in role emergence

Abstract

First hand knowledge of the work of systems analysis was gained during interviews with systems analysts in the British civil service and prior to these in the discussions with computer experts in the National Computing Centre, Manchester and the Central Compute.r Agency in London. For several months I was immersed in the field. Although subjective, the experience gained led to knowing some things with a kind of certainty which absorbed the interest and stimulated the search for related ideas and facts. It was a kind of knowing "because it is so" which some philosophers find irrefutable but which the sociologists need to subject to further scrutiny~ What it meant in formulating the research was that knowledge was gained from the people who cooperated with the study and as the trust among us grew there was a flow of i nformation without constraint. If this had not taken place the work would have beenimpossible. If the relationship of researcher and subject had been kept formal the study would have been superficial. Official approval means very little without cooperation based on mutual respect. This was given and received in the climate which surrounded the work in Britain. Show more