Readings in Empirical Evaluation for Budding Software Engineering Researchers

Abstract

In CSDL, students usually write a thesis describing research in software engineering. In the CSDL research culture, this typically means (a) designing and implementing a new kind of technology, (b) performing an empirical study using the technology, and (c) writing up the results. In many cases, the hardest part is coming up with an appropriate and effective empirical study. In some circumstances, it appears to me that students look at old theses, find a survey that was given out in a classroom, and modify it slightly. While learning from examples is not a bad thing to do, it is important to develop a deeper understanding of how to do empirical studies in order to make sure that the example you are leveraging is appropriate to your situation. To help all of us become more sophisticated in our approach to empirical studies in the context of software engineering research, this technical report provides pointers to a set of readings.