Researcher Bias in Software Engineering Experiments: a Qualitative Investigation

TL;DR

This study explores researcher bias in software engineering experiments, identifying causes, perceptions, and potential countermeasures, including blinding techniques, through qualitative interviews with experts.

Contribution

It provides the first qualitative investigation into researcher bias in SE, highlighting causes, perceptions, and possible solutions including blinding methods.

Findings

Researcher bias is perceived in SE experiments.

Some questionable research practices are acceptable in certain contexts.

Various solutions, including blinding, are suggested to mitigate bias.

Abstract

Researcher Bias (RB) occurs when researchers influence the results of an empirical study based on their expectations.RB might be due to the use of Questionable Research Practices(QRPs). In research fields like medicine, blinding techniques have been applied to counteract RB. We conducted an explorative qualitative survey to investigate RB in Software Engineering (SE)experiments, with respect to (i) QRPs potentially leading to RB, (ii) causes behind RB, and (iii) possible actions to counteract including blinding techniques. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews. We interviewed nine active experts in the empirical SE community. We then analyzed the transcripts of these interviews through thematic analysis. We found that some QRPs are acceptable in certain cases. Also, it appears that the presence of RB is perceived in SE and, to counteract RB, a number of solutions have been highlighted: some are intended for SE researchers and others for the boards of SE research outlets.