Using text mining for research trends in empirical software engineering

Abstract

This paper intends to examine the research trends in Empirical Software Engineering domain within the last two decades using text mining. It studies published articles in the relevant literature with an emphasis on abstracts of 10658 articles published in the literature on Experimental Software Engineering domain. Using a probabilistic topic modelling technique (Latent Dirichlet Allocation), it brings forward the main topics of research within this domain. By further analysis, the paper evaluates the changes of focus in published works in the last two decades and depicts the recent trends in research content wise. Through a timely comparison, it portrays the alteration of interest within empirical software engineering research and proposes a future research agenda to develop an advanced field, beneficial both for academics and practitioners.