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Journal ArticleDOI

Studying Software Engineers: Data Collection Techniques for Software Field Studies

TLDR
A taxonomy of techniques is provided, focusing on those for data collection, organized according to the degree of human intervention each requires, and a discussion of how to use it effectively is provided.
Abstract
Software engineering is an intensively people-oriented activity, yet too little is known about how designers, maintainers, requirements analysts and all other types of software engineers perform their work. In order to improve software engineering tools and practice, it is therefore essential to conduct field studies, i.e. to study real practitioners as they solve real problems. To do so effectively, however, requires an understanding of the techniques most suited to each type of field study task. In this paper, we provide a taxonomy of techniques, focusing on those for data collection. The taxonomy is organized according to the degree of human intervention each requires. For each technique, we provide examples from the literature, an analysis of some of its advantages and disadvantages, and a discussion of how to use it effectively. We also briefly talk about field study design in general, and data analysis.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

Guidelines for conducting and reporting case study research in software engineering

TL;DR: This paper aims at providing an introduction to case study methodology and guidelines for researchers conducting case studies and readers studying reports of such studies, and presents recommended practices and evaluated checklists for researchers and readers of case study research.
Book

Experimentation in Software Engineering

TL;DR: The purpose of Experimentation in Software Engineering is to introduce students, teachers, researchers, and practitioners to empirical studies in software engineering, using controlled experiments, and provides indispensable information regarding empirical Studies in particular for experiments, but also for case studies, systematic literature reviews, and surveys.
BookDOI

Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering

TL;DR: This book gathers chapters from some of the top international empirical software engineering researchers focusing on the practical knowledge necessary for conducting, reporting and using empirical methods in software engineering.
Proceedings ArticleDOI

Expectations, outcomes, and challenges of modern code review

TL;DR: In this article, the authors empirically explore the motivations, challenges, and outcomes of tool-based code reviews and find that code and change understanding is the key aspect of code reviewing and that developers employ a wide range of mechanisms to meet their understanding needs, most of which are not met by current tools.
Proceedings ArticleDOI

The Future of Empirical Methods in Software Engineering Research

TL;DR: Means to meet challenges to meet the vision of empirical research methods for software engineering include increased competence regarding how to apply and combine alternative empirical methods, tighter links between academia and industry, the development of common research agendas with a focus on empirical Methods, and more resources for empirical research.
References
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Book

Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook

TL;DR: This book presents a step-by-step guide to making the research results presented in reports, slideshows, posters, and data visualizations more interesting, and describes how coding initiates qualitative data analysis.
Book

Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences

Sidney Siegel
TL;DR: This is the revision of the classic text in the field, adding two new chapters and thoroughly updating all others as discussed by the authors, and the original structure is retained, and the book continues to serve as a combined text/reference.
Journal ArticleDOI

Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action @

TL;DR: There is a distinct tradition in the literature on social science research methods that advocates the use of multiple methods as mentioned in this paper, which is usually described as one of convergent methodology, multimethod/multitrait (Campbell and Fiske, 1959), convergent validation or, what has been called "triangulation".
Journal ArticleDOI

Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data.

TL;DR: This article reviewed major advances in verbal reports over the past decade, including new evidence on how giving verbal reports affects subjects' cognitive processes, and on the validity and completeness of such reports.
Book

Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data

TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed major advances in verbal reports over the past decade, including new evidence on how giving verbal reports affects subjects' cognitive processes, and on the validity and completeness of such reports.