Ethical issues in empirical studies of software engineering

Abstract

The popularity of empirical methods in software engineering research is on the rise. Surveys, experiments, metrics, case studies, and field studies are examples of empirical methods used to investigate both software engineering processes and products. The increased application of empirical methods has also brought about an increase in discussions about adapting these methods to the peculiarities of software engineering. In contrast, the ethical issues raised by empirical methods have received little, if any, attention in the software engineering literature. This article is intended to introduce the ethical issues raised by empirical research to the software engineering research community, and to stimulate discussion of how best to deal with these ethical issues. Through a review of the ethical codes of several fields that commonly employ humans and artifacts as research subjects, we have identified major ethical issues relevant to empirical studies of software engineering. These issues are illustrated with real empirical studies of software engineering.

Guidelines for conducting and reporting case study research in software engineering

“…Data collected from and opinions stated by individual employees may be sensitive if presented e.g. to their managers (Singer and Vinson 2002). The researchers must have the right to keep their integrity and adhere to agreed procedures in this kind of cases.…”

A Practical Guide to Ethical Research Involving Humans

“…Principles, if they are abstract enough, can be applied to any relevant situation. In contrast, existing regulations are not well suited to all research situations that raise ethical issues (Sieber, 2001a, b;Singer and Vinson, 2002). Consequently, simply complying with regulations can nonetheless result in violations of the principles of ethical research (Beecher, 1966a;McNeill, 1993).…”

“…Consequently, simply complying with regulations can nonetheless result in violations of the principles of ethical research (Beecher, 1966a;McNeill, 1993). The distinction between rules and principles is particularly important for ESE researchers since some of their research practices are not covered by existing regulations (Sieber, 2001a;Singer and Vinson, 2002). In order to conduct research ethically, ESE researchers must not simply rely on complying with the rules but must be able to apply ethical principles to their particular circumstances (Gotterbarn et al, 1999).…”

“…Knowledge of both these components is vital to planning and conducting research projects. Singer and Vinson (2002) reviewed codes of ethics from government funding bodies, and biomedical, social science, and computing science professional organizations to determine common principles relevant to ESE research practices. They discovered four such common principles: informed consent, scientific value, confidentiality, and beneficence.…”

Crossing the line: When does the involvement of human subjects in testing of engineering capstone design projects require oversight by an IRB?

“…For example, Trucco and Trucco (2011) in HP Labs have included students in the testing of their own man-powered flight designs. Additionally, students were included in empirical studies in software engineering education at Maryland University (Singer and Vinson, 2002), and Carver and colleagues describe in a publication how the trials went, some ethical considerations of the study, and what they suggest could be done in future similar trials. The costs and benefits of student participation in human trials are extensively evaluated in regards to multiple stakeholders, a benefit for example being that it is less costly and can easily validate a hypothesis, while a cost for example being the questionable validity of the experiment if the students are previously informed on the study instead of being blind.…”