A Diagramming Technique for Teaching Students to Read Software Engineering Research Papers: an experience report

TL;DR

This paper presents a diagramming technique designed to teach students how to effectively read and understand software engineering research papers by highlighting their structure and scientific arguments.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel diagramming method that improves students' ability to interpret research papers' structure and arguments in software engineering education.

Findings

Students became more effective readers after using the technique.

The diagramming method helped students identify key paper components.

The approach enhanced students' comprehension of scientific arguments.

Abstract

Reading scientific research papers is a skill that many students do not learn before entering PhD programs, but it is critical to their success. This paper describes our diagramming technique for teaching this skill, which helps them identify the structure and the scientific argument of the paper. This has made our students more effective readers.