<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="6.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kitchenham, Barbara A.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pickard, Lesley M.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Jones, Peter W.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hoaglin, David C.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Emam, Khaled El</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Rosenberg, Jarrett</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Preliminary guidelines for empirical research in software engineering</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">IEEE Trans. Softw. Eng.</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">empirical software research</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">research guidelines</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">statistical mistakes</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2002</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">08/2002</style></date></pub-dates></dates><number><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">8</style></number><publisher><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">IEEE Press</style></publisher><pub-location><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Piscataway, NJ, USA</style></pub-location><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">28</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">721–734</style></pages><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Empirical software engineering research needs research guidelines to improve the research and reporting processes. We propose a preliminary set of research guidelines aimed at stimulating discussion among software researchers. They are based on a review of research guidelines developed for medical researchers and on our own experience in doing and reviewing software engineering research. The guidelines are intended to assist researchers, reviewers, and meta-analysts in designing, conducting, and evaluating empirical studies. Editorial boards of software engineering journals may wish to use our recommendations as a basis for developing guidelines for reviewers and for framing policies for dealing with the design, data collection, and analysis and reporting of empirical studies. </style></abstract></record></records></xml>