Using mapping studies as the basis for further research - A participant-observer case study

By Barbara A. Kitchenham, David Budgen, Pearl Brereton. Information and Software Technology, 2011

645 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Context: We are strong advocates of evidence-based software engineering (EBSE) in general and systematic literature reviews (SLRs) in particular. We believe it is essential that the SLR methodology is used constructively to support software engineering research. Objective: This study aims to assess the value of mapping studies which are a form of SLR that aims to identify and categorise the available research on a broad software engineering topic. Method: We used a multi-case, participant-observer case study using five examples of studies that were based on preceding mapping studies. We also validated our results by contacting two other researchers who had undertaken studies based on preceding mapping studies and by assessing review comments related to our follow-on studies. Results: Our original case study identified 11 unique benefits that can accrue from basing research on a preceding mapping study of which only two were case specific. We also identified nine problems associated with using preceding mapping studies of which two were case specific. These results were consistent with the information obtained from the validation activities. We did not find an example of an independent research group making use of a mapping study produced by other researchers. Conclusion: Mapping studies can save time and effort for researchers and provide baselines to assist new research efforts. However, they must be of high quality in terms of completeness and rigour if they are to be a reliable basis for follow-on research.

Subfields: Computer Networks and Communications, Information Systems

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1f17f349981312caa8ed89bb52491c4ecbc1ced5

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Citations in the corpus

Experimentation in Software Engineering (2012, background): “[106] provided a summary of the key characteristics for mapping studies compared to systematic literature reviews, which is presented in Table 4.”
Guidelines for conducting systematic mapping studies in software engineering: An update (2015, background): “[9,16] also pointed out that it is important to have a well defined and reliable classification scheme.”
Synthesizing information systems knowledge: A typology of literature reviews (2015, background): “…understood that if we searched only for sources that provide the methodological guidelines associated with a particular type of review, we would run the risk of favoring review types that have a well-established tradition while neglecting those that are in the uptake phase of the diffusion cycle.”
Guidelines for snowballing in systematic literature studies and a replication in software engineering (2014, background): “[9] discuss the use of systematic mapping studies as a starting point for further research.”