Empirical research methods for software engineering

Abstract

This full day tutorial introduces the use of empirical methods appropriate to research in automated software engineering. Using a blend of lecture and discussion, it aims to provide ASE researchers and practitioners with a foundation for conducting and critiquing empirical studies. The tutorial covers of the principal methods applicable to ASE: controlled experiments, quasi-experiments, case studies, survey research, ethnographies, and action research and relates these methods to relevant metatheories in the philosophy and sociology of science. The tutorial presents techniques applicable to each of the steps of a research project, including formulating research questions, theory building, data analysis (using both qualitative and quantitative methods), building evidence, assessing validity, and publishing. The tutorial is relevant for researchers, who will be able to conduct and write more credible empirical studies; for reviewers who will be able to provide qualified judgments of papers; and for practitioners, who will be able to more effectively interpret published results within the context of their own organizations