How reliable are systematic reviews in empirical software engineering?

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aut.researcherMacDonell, Stephen Gerard
dc.contributor.authorMacDonell, S
dc.contributor.authorShepperd, M
dc.contributor.authorKitchenham, B
dc.contributor.authorMendes, E
dc.date.accessioned2011-10-12T04:07:23Z
dc.date.available2011-10-12T04:07:23Z
dc.date.copyright2010-09-01
dc.date.issued2010-09-01
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND-The systematic review is becoming a more commonly employed research instrument in empirical software engineering. Before undue reliance is placed on the outcomes of such reviews it would seem useful to consider the robustness of the approach in this particular research context. OBJECTIVE-The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of systematic reviews as a research instrument. In particular, we wish to investigate the consistency of process and the stability of outcomes. METHOD-We compare the results of two independent reviews undertaken with a common research question. RESULTS-The two reviews find similar answers to the research question, although the means of arriving at those answers vary. CONCLUSIONS-In addressing a well-bounded research question, groups of researchers with similar domain experience can arrive at the same review outcomes, even though they may do so in different ways. This provides evidence that, in this context at least, the systematic review is a robust research method.
dc.identifier.citationIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol.36(5), pp.676-687
dc.identifier.doi10.1109/TSE.2010.28
dc.identifier.issn0098-5589
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/2247
dc.publisherIEEE Computer Society
dc.relation.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TSE.2010.28
dc.rightsCopyright © 2010 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.subjectEmpirical software engineering
dc.subjectCost estimation
dc.subjectMeta-analysis
dc.subjectSystematic review
dc.titleHow reliable are systematic reviews in empirical software engineering?
dc.typeJournal Article
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