PART I EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING The Evidence-Based Paradigm What do we mean by evidence? Emergence of the evidence-based movement The systematic review Some limitations of an evidence-based view of the world Evidence-Based Software Engineering (EBSE) Empirical knowledge before EBSE From opinion to evidence Organizing evidence-based software engineering practices Software engineering characteristics Limitations of evidence-based practices in software engineering Using Systematic Reviews in Software Engineering Systematic reviews Mapping studies Meta-analysis Planning a Systematic Review Establishing the need for a review Managing the review project Specifying the research questions Developing the protocol Validating the protocol Searching for Primary Studies Completeness Validating the search strategy Methods of searching Examples of search strategies Study Selection Selection criteria Selection process The relationship between papers and studies Examples of selection criteria and process Assessing Study Quality Why assess quality? Quality assessment criteria Procedures for assessing quality Examples of quality assessment criteria and procedures Extracting Study Data Overview of data extraction Examples of extracted data and extraction procedures Mapping Study Analysis Analysis of publication details Classification analysis Automated content analysis Clusters, gaps, and models Qualitative Synthesis Qualitative synthesis in software engineering research Qualitative analysis terminology and concepts Using qualitative synthesis methods in software engineering systematic reviews Description of qualitative synthesis methods General problems with qualitative meta-synthesis Meta-Analysis With Lech Madeyski Meta-analysis example Effect sizes Conversion between different effect sizes Meta-analysis methods Heterogeneity Moderator analysis Additional analyses Reporting a Systematic Review Planning reports Writing reports Validating reports Tool Support for Systematic Reviews With Christopher Marshall Review tools in other disciplines Tools for software engineering reviews Evidence to Practice: Knowledge Translation and Diffusion What is knowledge translation? Knowledge translation in the context of software engineering Examples of knowledge translation in software engineering Diffusion of software engineering knowledge Systematic reviews for software engineering education Further Reading for Part I Part II THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWER''S PERSPECTIVE OF PRIMARY STUDIES Primary Studies and Their Role in EBSE Some characteristics of primary studies Forms of primary study used in software engineering Ethical issues Reporting primary studies Replicated studies Further reading Controlled Experiments and Quasi-Experiments Characteristics of controlled experiments and quasi-experiments Conducting experiments and quasi-experiments Research questions that can be answered by using experiments and quasi-experiments Examples from the software engineering literature Reporting experiments and quasi-experiments Further reading Surveys Characteristics of surveys Conducting surveys Research questions that can be answered by using surveys Examples of surveys from the software engineering literature Reporting surveys Further reading Case Studies Characteristics of case studies Conducting case study research Research questions that can be answered by using case studies Example of a case study from the software engineering literature Reporting case studies Further reading Qualitative Studies Characteristics of a qualitative study Conducting qualitative research Research questions that can be answered using qualitative studies Examples of qualitative studies in software engineering Reporting qualitative studies Further reading Data Mining Studies Characteristics of data mining studies Conducting data mining research in software engineering Research questions that can be answered by data mining Examples of data mining studies Problems with data mining studies in software engineering Reporting data mining studies Further reading Replicated and Distributed Studies What is a replication study? Replications in software engineering Including replications in systematic reviews Distributed studies Further reading PART III GUIDELINES FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS Systematic Review and Mapping Study Procedures Introduction Preliminaries Review management Planning a systematic review The search process Primary study selection process Validating the search and selection process Quality assessment Data extraction Data aggregation and synthesis Reporting the systematic review A Catalogue of Systematic Reviews Relevant to Education and Practice With Sarah Drummond and Nikki Williams Professional Practice (PRF) Modelling and Analysis (MAA) Software Design (DES) Validation and Verification (VAV) Software Evolution (EVO) Software Process (PRO) Software Quality (QUA) Software Management (MGT) Bibliography Index.