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Collaboration among researchers and across disciplinary, organisational and cultural boundaries is essential for addressing the increasingly complex challenges and opportunities facing international development. Despite the known advantages and various incentives, research collaboration within Africa (specifically within South Africa) is lacking. To better understand the reasons for this lack of research collaboration, this study explored collaboration between students and supervisors in an information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) postgraduate student project in South Africa. South Africa, a country with major social inequalities and asymmetric power relations, provides an appropriate context. The students’ perspectives provided a space for investigating the collaboration factors by unpacking the capability inputs according to Robeyns’ representation of personal capabilities. Data were captured from a survey and focus groups (FG) with students and supervisors in ICT4D from different universities in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to identify and link the participants’ expectations of research collaboration with their perceptions of the challenges of such collaborations. The contribution is a conceptualisation of the main components representing research collaboration viewed in terms of personal capabilities, including the factors that influence collaboration. Transdisciplinarity contribution: Research collaboration is fundamental to promoting multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research. The novelty of this study lies in applying a theoretical lens from the field of human development to explore research collaboration in the transdisciplinary field of ICT4D. Given the research application context and the theoretical lens applied, the findings have implications for initiatives and policies on funding transdisciplinary research collaboration.

Background: Management information systems (MIS) are pivotal in the efficient and effective running of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. Therefore, the evaluation of MIS success is an essential spoke in the wheel of FET college success. Based on an extensive literature review it was concluded that no MIS success evaluation model for FET colleges in South Africa exists. Objectives: The main objective was to propose a MIS evaluation model and evaluation tool(questionnaire), and verify the model empirically by evaluating the MIS at a selected FET college. The supporting objectives were firstly, to identify the most appropriate MIS evaluation models from literature. Secondly, to propose a MIS evaluation model for FET colleges based on the literature. Thirdly, to develop the evaluation tool (questionnaire) based on these models. Fourthly, to capture and analyse data from one FET college, in order to evaluate the performance of the MIS at the college. The final supporting objective was to evaluate the proposed model by triangulating the findings from the survey with the findings from the interviews. Method: The proposed MIS evaluation model is based on the integration of three existing MIS evaluation models. The evaluation tool was developed by combining four empirically tested questionnaires that capture the constructs in the underlying models. A survey and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection methods. The statistical tests for consistency, scale reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and unidimensionality (Principal Component Analysis) were applied to explore the constructs in the model. Results: Results from the empirical testing of the newly designed evaluation tool were used to refine the initial model. The qualitative data capturing and analysis added value in explaining and contextualising the quantitative findings. Conclusion: The main contribution is the SA-FETMIS success model and evaluation tool which managers can use to evaluate the MIS at an educational institution. The novelty of the research lies in using a mixed methods approach where previous MIS success evaluation studies mainly used quantitative methods.

Background:Management information systems (MIS) are pivotal in the efficient and effective running of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. Therefore, the evaluation of MIS success is an essential spoke in the wheel of FET college success. Based on an extensive literature review it was concluded that no MIS success evaluation model for FET colleges in South Africa exists. Objectives:The main objective was to propose a MIS evaluation model and evaluation tool (questionnaire), and verify the model empirically by evaluating the MIS at a selected FET college. The supporting objectives were firstly, to identify the most appropriate MIS evaluation models from literature. Secondly, to propose a MIS evaluation model for FET colleges based on the literature. Thirdly, to develop the evaluation tool (questionnaire) based on these models. Fourthly, to capture and analyse data from one FET college, in order to evaluate the performance of the MIS at the college. The final supporting objective was to evaluate the proposed model by triangulating the findings from the survey with the findings from the interviews.Method:The proposed MIS evaluation model is based on the integration of three existing MIS evaluation models. The evaluation tool was developed by combining four empirically tested questionnaires that capture the constructs in the underlying models. A survey and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection methods. The statistical tests for consistency, scale reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and unidimensionality (Principal Component Analysis) were applied to explore the constructs in the model.Results:Results from the empirical testing of the newly designed evaluation tool were used to refine the initial model. The qualitative data capturing and analysis added value in explaining and contextualising the quantitative findings.Conclusion: The main contribution is the SA-FETMIS success model and evaluation tool which managers can use to evaluate the MIS at an educational institution. The novelty of the research lies in using a mixed methods approach where previous MIS success evaluation studies mainly used quantitative methods.

Variability of goals and evolving research methodologies are fundamental characteristics of transdisciplinary research. This integration of research strategies from different fields complicates the evaluation of transdisciplinary research since the variability of goals drives variability of criteria and quality indicators. The aim of this research is to investigate the implications of using research methods across disciplinary boundaries by drilling down into the use of one research strategy in one research context (Information Systems) and a related sub-context (Human-Computer Interaction). Surveys with questionnaires as data-capturing tools were selected as an established research method which is widely used in transdisciplinary research. Questionnaires are one of the most established data capturing tools and yet the validity of questionnaire-based findings have often been questioned. The main problem areas have been identified as the sampling of the data, the questionnaire design and the interpretation of the results. This paper looks into questionnaire reporting practices - an essential determinant in the validity and reliability of survey-based research. The field of Information Systems and Human- Computer Interaction has been chosen as the research context. Information Systems research is by nature interdisciplinary in focusing on social and organisational issues regarding the development and use of software in organisations. Human-Computer Interaction studies address the challenges of making computers and computations useful, usable, and universally accessible to humans. Both Information Systems and Human- Computer Interaction studies address complex, heterogeneous, real-world problems, thereby meeting the first criteria to be classified as transdisciplinary research. The research design entails document analysis of papers presented at conferences in Computer Science and Information Systems over a three-year period to identify trends in the reporting of survey results, especially the questionnaire design. Transdisciplinary research methodology facilitates the application of research methods across fields. However, if the constraints of the method are not recognised the validity of the results may be compromised in a plethora of ways. While fusion of methods are encouraged on a theoretical level in transdisciplinary research the findings of this study are a warning about the dangers of interdisciplinary application of research strategies without due diligence in observing best practices in the parent discipline. The paper aims to advance the discussion on research design and practice beyond disciplinary research and should be of interest to researchers and practitioners who deal with multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research. Keywords: transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, mutlidisciplinary, questionnaire design Disciplines: Research methodology, Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction Studies