Chapter 1Software Engineering Data Collection

10 J. Singer et al.
2. Field Study Data Collection Taxonomy
Table 1. presents a summary of the data collection techniques the second column shows the kinds of questions each can answer the third column indicates the amount of data generated by the technique, and the fourth column shows other areas in software engineering where the technique is applied. Each technique is categorized according to how much contact is required between the researchers and the participants. Direct techniques require the researcher to have direct involvement with the participant population. Indirect techniques require the researcher to have only indirect access to the participants via direct access to their work environment. Finally, independent techniques require researchers to access only work artifacts, such as source code or documentation. Selecting an appropriate technique will be influenced by the questions asked and the amount of resources available to conduct the study. Generally, direct techniques require more resources, both to collect the data and to analyse it. Direct techniques are, however, the only techniques that allow researchers to explore the thoughts and feelings of the software engineers.
3. Survey of Data Collection Techniques
In this section, we describe the data collection techniques listed in Table 1. We use the taxonomy to organize the presentation of the techniques, beginning with direct techniques, moving onto indirect techniques, and concluding with independent techniques. Each of the techniques is described in the same way. First the technique is described. Then its advantages and disadvantages are identified. Next, one or more examples of its use in software engineering research are given. Finally, some guidance is given regarding special considerations when reporting the technique for more information on reporting in general, see Jedlitschka et al., Chap. 8).

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