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Cited by 245

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 232 of the 232 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The ABC of Software Engineering Research

Stol, Klaas-Jan, Fitzgerald, Brian·2018·ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology
DOI 10.1145/3241743
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Abstract

A variety of research methods and techniques are available to SE researchers, and while several overviews exist, there is consistency neither in the research methods covered nor in the terminology used. Furthermore, research is sometimes critically reviewed for characteristics inherent to the methods. We adopt a taxonomy from the social sciences, termed here the ABC framework for SE research, which offers a holistic view of eight archetypal research strategies. ABC refers to the research goal that strives for generalizability over Actors (A) and precise measurement of their Behavior (B), in a realistic Context (C). The ABC framework uses two dimensions widely considered to be key in research design: the level of obtrusiveness of the research and the generalizability of research findings. We discuss metaphors for each strategy and their inherent limitations and potential strengths. We illustrate these research strategies in two key SE domains, global software engineering and requirements engineering, and apply the framework on a sample of 75 articles. Finally, we discuss six ways in which the framework can advance SE research.

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Citations

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Items 201–232 of 232

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Metadata

Authors
Stol, K.-J., & Fitzgerald, B.
Venue
ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published
2018-07-31
Volume
27
Issue
3
Pages
1-51
ISSN
  • 1049-331X
  • 1557-7392
DOI
10.1145/3241743
Cited by
245
References
232
Language
en
Licence
www.acm.org/publications/policies/copyright_policy#Background (vor)
Funders
Science Foundation Ireland (15/SIRG/3293, 13/RC/2094)

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