Methodologies for Performing Empirical Studies: Reportfrom the International Workshop on Empirical Studies of SoftwareMaintenance

  • Authors:

  • Chris F. Kemerer;Sandra Slaughter

  • Affiliations:

  • Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (ckemerer@katz.business.pitt.edu);Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (sandras@andrew.cmu.edu)

  • Venue:
  • Empirical Software Engineering
  • Year:
  • 1997

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

The International Workshop on Empirical Studies of SoftwareMaintenance workshop took place following the International Conferenceon Software Maintenance in Monterey, California. The focus ofthe workshop was on experimental quantitative and qualitativestudies of software maintenance processes. Of particular interestwere the design of empirical studies, their underlying methodologiesand techniques, and the lessons learned from them. This is thepaper resulting from the charge to the group ’’Methodologiesfor Performing Empirical Studies‘‘. A description of each paperin the group is presented, along with a summary of the discussion.The sessions were summarized as follows: continue to address so-called ’’stale‘‘ research questionscarefully define all research constructs and modelsofferinsights on the perceived level of generality of the researchresultsuse research methods well-suited to the problem, anduse them rigorouslycombine methods where this would add significantadditional insight—collaborate where necessary to achievethis goaldon‘t ignore factors relating to maintainers (e.g.,ability and experience) despite the known difficulties in theirmeasurementmaintain a strong linkage to practice to ensurethe research‘s continued relevance.The group concludedwith a high degree of agreement and encouragement that the fieldwas moving in appropriate directions.