Background:

The literature concerning research methodologies and methods has increased in software engineering in the last decade. However, there is limited guidance on selecting an appropriate research methodology for a given research study or project.

Objective:

Based on a selection of research methodologies suitable for software engineering research in collaboration between industry and academia, we present, discuss and compare the methodologies aiming to provide guidance on which research methodology to choose in a given situation to ensure successful industry–academia collaboration in research.

Method:

Three research methodologies were chosen for two main reasons. Design Science and Action Research were selected for their usage in software engineering. We also chose a model emanating from software engineering, i.e., the Technology Transfer Model. An overview of each methodology is provided. It is followed by a discussion and an illustration concerning their use in industry–academia collaborative research. The three methodologies are then compared using a set of criteria as a basis for our guidance.

Results:

The discussion and comparison of the three research methodologies revealed general similarities and distinct differences. All three research methodologies are easily mapped to the general research process describe–solve–practice, while the main driver behind the formulation of the research methodologies is different. Thus, we guide in selecting a research methodology given the primary research objective for a given research study or project in collaboration between industry and academia.

Conclusions:

We observe that the three research methodologies have different main objectives and differ in some characteristics, although still having a lot in common. We conclude that it is vital to make an informed decision concerning which research methodology to use. The presentation and comparison aim to guide selecting an appropriate research methodology when conducting research in collaboration between industry and academia.

中文翻译：

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指导软件工程产学合作研究方法的选择

背景：

在过去的十年中，软件工程中有关研究方法论和方法的文献有所增加。但是，对于为给定的研究或项目选择合适的研究方法的指导有限。

客观的：

基于一系列适用于产学合作软件工程研究的研究方法，我们提出、讨论和比较这些方法，旨在为在特定情况下选择哪种研究方法提供指导，以确保成功的产学合作研究.

方法：

选择三种研究方法主要有两个原因。选择设计科学和行动研究是因为它们在软件工程中的应用。我们还选择了一个源自软件工程的模型，即技术转移模型。提供了每种方法的概述。随后是关于它们在产学合作研究中的使用的讨论和说明。然后使用一组标准作为我们指导的基础来比较这三种方法。

结果：

三种研究方法的讨论和比较揭示了普遍的相似之处和明显的差异。这三种研究方法很容易映射到一般的研究过程描述-解决-实践，而研究方法制定背后的主要驱动力是不同的。因此，我们指导在工业界和学术界合作的给定研究或项目的主要研究目标的情况下选择研究方法。

结论：

我们观察到这三种研究方法有不同的主要目标，并且在一些特征上有所不同，但仍然有很多共同点。我们得出的结论是，就使用哪种研究方法做出明智的决定至关重要。介绍和比较旨在指导在工业界和学术界合作进行研究时选择合适的研究方法。