Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Studies in Empirical Software Engineering Research

This technical briefing provides an overview of how quantitative empirical research methods can be combined with qualitative ones generating the family of empirical software engineering approaches known as mixed-methods. The ultimate aim of such mixed-methods is supporting cause-effect claims combining multiple data types, sources and analyses that provide software practitioners and academicians solid rationale and practical value to research results. This briefing offers lessons we learned in instrumenting and executing mixed-methods approaches for the benefit of the goal above.