A show about nothing: why software engineering researchers need to change the conversation

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorStol, Klaas-Jan
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-28T00:31:45Z
dc.date.available2026-01-28T00:31:45Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.description.abstractIn this position paper, I lament the current state of publishing and reporting in software engineering (SE) research, and argue the SE research community should seek to change the way studies are reported. Specifically, I argue, like many others before me, that scientific discourse should resemble a conversation. I point out that the current state of reporting in SE is far from a conversation, but rather many voices shouting into a void, given that much of SE research is not actually read by, either by other researchers or SE practitioners. The position paper concludes with a number of suggestions, which should have as a side effect the reduction in the number of publications, which in turn can help alleviate the currently clogged up peer review process. While the position paper paints a, perhaps, overly negative picture of the current state of research and reporting in SE, many of the pain points articulated herein are shared with members of the wider SE community, as evidenced by Storey and Van der Hoek’s recent survey. The point of the somewhat exaggerated characterization of SE publishing is to emphasize the problems that can be observed in the SE community.en
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent5
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.authororcidStol, Klaas-Jan§0000-0002-1038-5050
dc.identifier.citationStol, K-J 2026, 'A show about nothing: why software engineering researchers need to change the conversation', Paper presented at 48th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12/04/26 - 18/04/26.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18481
dc.language.isoen
dc.rights© 2026, Copyright held by the owner/author(s).
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectPublishing as a conversation, cumulative tradition, theory building, critical reflection on software engineering research
dc.subjectCumulative tradition
dc.subjectTheory building
dc.subjectCritical reflection on software engineering research
dc.subject[ComputerScience]
dc.titleA show about nothing: why software engineering researchers need to change the conversationen
dc.typeConference item
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
FOSE26.pdf
Size:
478.78 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Accepted Version
Download
Collections
School of Computer Science and Information Technology