Evidence Tetris in the Pixelated World of Validity Threats

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wyrich, Marvin, Apel, Sven
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Wyrich, Marvin
Apel, Sven
author_facet Wyrich, Marvin
Apel, Sven
contents Valid empirical studies build confidence in scientific findings. Fortunately, it is now common for software engineering researchers to consider threats to validity when designing their studies and to discuss them as part of their publication. Yet, in complex experiments with human participants, there is often an overwhelming number of intuitively plausible threats to validity -- more than a researcher can feasibly cover. Therefore, prioritizing potential threats to validity becomes crucial. We suggest moving away from relying solely on intuition for prioritizing validity threats, and propose that evidence on the actual impact of suspected threats to validity should complement intuition.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_08608
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evidence Tetris in the Pixelated World of Validity Threats
Wyrich, Marvin
Apel, Sven
Software Engineering
Valid empirical studies build confidence in scientific findings. Fortunately, it is now common for software engineering researchers to consider threats to validity when designing their studies and to discuss them as part of their publication. Yet, in complex experiments with human participants, there is often an overwhelming number of intuitively plausible threats to validity -- more than a researcher can feasibly cover. Therefore, prioritizing potential threats to validity becomes crucial. We suggest moving away from relying solely on intuition for prioritizing validity threats, and propose that evidence on the actual impact of suspected threats to validity should complement intuition.
title Evidence Tetris in the Pixelated World of Validity Threats
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.08608