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Short communication: Evolution of secondary studies in software engineering

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Abstract

Context: Other disciplines commonly employ secondary studies to address the needs of practitioners and policy-makers. Since being adopted by software engineering in 2004, many have been undertaken by researchers. Objective: To assess how the role of secondary studies in software engineering has evolved. Methods: We examined a sample of 131 secondary studies published in a set of five major software engineering journals for the years 2010, 2015 and 2020. These were categorised by their type (e.g. mapping study), their research focus (quantitative/qualitative and practice/methodological), as well as the experience of the first authors. Results: Secondary studies are now a well-established research tool. They are predominantly qualitative and there is extensive use of mapping studies to profile research in particular areas. A significant number are clearly produced as part of postgraduate study, although experienced researchers also conduct many secondary studies. They are sometimes also used as part of a multi-method study. Conclusion: Existing guidelines largely focus upon quantitative systematic reviews. Based on our findings, we suggest that more guidance is needed on how to conduct, analyse, and report qualitative secondary studies.

Acceptance Date Jan 7, 2022
Publication Date May 1, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Information and Software Technology
Print ISSN 0950-5849
Publisher Elsevier
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2022.106840
Keywords Systematic review; Mapping study; Qualitative study; Experience of authors
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950584922000179?via%3Dihub

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