Data Collection Taxonomy

presents a summary of the data collection techniques; the second column
shows the kinds of questions each can answer; the third column indicates the
amount of data generated by the technique, and the fourth column shows other
areas in software engineering where the technique is applied. Each technique is
categorized according to how much contact is required between the researchers and
the participants2. Direct techniques require the researcher to have direct involvement
with the participant population. Indirect techniques require the researcher to have
only indirect access to the participants’ via direct access to their work environment.
Finally, independent techniques require researchers to access only work artifacts,
such as source code or documentation. Selecting an appropriate technique will be
influenced by the questions asked and the amount of resources available to conduct
the study. Generally, direct techniques require more resources, both to collect the
data and to analyse it. Direct techniques are, however, the only techniques that
allow researchers to explore the thoughts and feelings of the software engineers.