Practical Guidelines for Analyzing Grey Literature from Software Engineering Community Question and Answer Platforms

Nome do aluno
 
Felipe Gustavo de Souza Gomes
 
Título do trabalho
 
Practical Guidelines for Analyzing Grey Literature from Software Engineering Community Question and Answer Platforms
 
Resumo do trabalho
 
Gray literature (GL) refers to publications that bypass formal quality control processes, such as peer review. Fields like medicine and education have long acknowledged GL as a valuable source of professional and experiential knowledge. In contemporary settings, GL often includes user-generated web content, such as tweets, blogs, and posts on Question and Answer (Q\&A) platforms. Given Software Engineering's (SE) practitioner and application-oriented nature, recognizing the role of GL is particularly important. In SE, professionals frequently use GL to discuss topics ranging from bug fixes to project management, exchange expertise, and seek solutions. Researchers increasingly view GL as a rich complement to peer-reviewed, or white literature (WL). Community Question and Answer (CQA) platforms, such as Stack Exchange, are among the most prominent GL sources in SE. These platforms allow professionals to obtain rapid and accurate responses to technical questions, explore complex issues, and share insights. Despite growing academic interest in Q\&A content, SE lacks established methodological guidelines for conducting systematic reviews in these unstructured and dynamic environments. This thesis addresses this gap by proposing guidelines for conducting systematic literature reviews in CQAs. A series of empirical studies underpin the development of these guidelines. Two studies examined data collection, filtering, and analysis of forum content related to technical problems and community-generated solutions. Another introduced an adapted snowballing technique tailored for CQAs. Additionally, a profiling study of nearly one thousand forum participants explored user behavior and content characteristics. Together, these studies inform a comprehensive methodology and set of practical guidelines for analyzing GL from CQAs. More broadly, this thesis contributes to the advancement of systematic review practices in SE by offering methodological innovations, tools, and frameworks for the rigorous evaluation of community-driven knowledge.
 
Orientador
 
Manoel Gomes de Mendonça Neto
 

Co-orientador

 

Thiago Souto Mendes (IFBA)

 

Membro externo 1

 

Emmanuel Sávio Silva Freire (IFCE)

 

Link para o curriculum lattes

 

http://lattes.cnpq.br/6459838697209307

 

Membro interno 1

 

Rodrigo Rocha Gomes e Souza (IC-UFBA)

 

Link para o curriculum lattes

 

http://lattes.cnpq.br/7697794806460975

 

Suplente do membro externo

 

Methanias Colaço Júnior (UFS)

 

Link para o curriculum lattes

 

http://lattes.cnpq.br/5575237386798588

 

Suplente do membro interno

 

Flávio Dusse (Universidade Católica do Salvador)

 

Link para o curriculum lattes

 

http://lattes.cnpq.br/1050336407353442

 

Data do exame

 

23 Jul, 2025

 

Horário do exame

 

9:00 AM

 

 

Data da Defesa: 
23/07/2025 - 09:00
Tipo de Defesa: 
Qualificação de Doutorado