Evaluating strategies for study selection in systematic literature studies

Abstract

Context: The study selection process is critical to improve the reliability of secondary studies. Goal: To evaluate the selection strategies commonly employed in secondary studies in software engineering. Method: Building on these strategies, a study selection process was formulated and evaluated in a systematic review. Results: The selection process used a more inclusive strategy than the one typically used in secondary studies, which led to additional relevant articles. Conclusions: The results indicates that a good-enough sample could be obtained by following a less inclusive but more efficient strategy, if the articles identified as relevant for the study are a representative sample of the population, and there is a homogeneity of results and quality of the articles.