论文标题
40年设计代码理解实验：系统的映射研究
40 Years of Designing Code Comprehension Experiments: A Systematic Mapping Study
论文作者
论文摘要
40多年前，确认了代码理解在开发人员的日常工作中的相关性。因此，进行了许多实验，以了解如何在代码理解过程中支持开发人员以及哪些代码特征有助于更好地理解。如今，此类研究比以往任何时候都更加普遍。尽管这对于推进该领域非常有用，但出版物的数量使得很难保留概述。此外，与人类参与者一起设计严格的代码理解实验是一项具有挑战性的任务，并且许多设计选项可能使研究人员，尤其是该领域的新移民很难选择合适的设计。因此，我们对1979年至2019年之间发表的95个源代码理解实验进行了系统的映射研究。通过构建代码理解研究的设计特征，我们为后来讨论了设计选择的巨大多样性，以面对他们的后果和可比性的基础研究。我们描述了已经研究了哪些主题，以及如何设计，进行和报告这些研究。人们指出，经常选择的设计选择和缺陷为支持各个领域专业知识的研究人员设计自己的研究。
The relevance of code comprehension in a developer's daily work was recognized more than 40 years ago. Consequently, many experiments were conducted to find out how developers could be supported during code comprehension and which code characteristics contribute to better comprehension. Today, such studies are more common than ever. While this is great for advancing the field, the number of publications makes it difficult to keep an overview. Additionally, designing rigorous code comprehension experiments with human participants is a challenging task, and the multitude of design options can make it difficult for researchers, especially newcomers to the field, to select a suitable design. We therefore conducted a systematic mapping study of 95 source code comprehension experiments published between 1979 and 2019. By structuring the design characteristics of code comprehension studies, we provide a basis for subsequent discussion of the huge diversity of design options in the face of a lack of basic research on their consequences and comparability. We describe what topics have been studied, as well as how these studies have been designed, conducted, and reported. Frequently chosen design options and deficiencies are pointed out to support researchers of all levels of domain expertise in designing their own studies.
