Reporting experiments in software engineering

Background: One major problem for integrating study results into a common body of knowledge is the heterogeneity of reporting styles: (1) It is difficult to locate relevant information and (2) important information is often missing. Objective: A guideline for reporting results from controlled experiments is expected to support a systematic, standardized presentation of empirical research, thus improving reporting in order to support readers in (1) finding the information they are looking for, (2) understanding how an experiment is conducted, and (3) assessing the validity of its results. Method: The guideline for reporting is based on (1) a survey of the most prominent published proposals for reporting guidelines in software engineering and (2) an iterative development incorporating feedback from members of the research community. Result: This chapter presents the unification of a set of guidelines for reporting experiments in software engineering. Limitation: The guideline has not been evaluated broadly yet. Conclusion: The resulting guideline provides detailed guidance on the expected content of the sections and subsections for reporting a specific type of empirical study, i.e., experiments (controlled experiments and quasi-experiments).