Speculation: Forms and Functions

Abstract

Speculation and imagination are fundamental to scientific research. Both as activities and products they take many forms and function in multiple ways. While speculation which obtains evidentiary support is well established as a source of theoretical contribution, other forms of speculation open pathways for transformation and critique. Digital geographies are proposed as an alternative form of speculation that enables researchers to foray into inhabited futures enabling critique of present research activities which ae implicated in possible futures. Quality criteria are offered to enable legitimization of speculative approaches in IS research.