论文标题
当心规范谬论
Beware the Normative Fallacy
论文作者
论文摘要
行为研究可以为SE实践提供重要的见解。但是在执行它时，许多SE的研究都在犯下规范性谬误 - 它们出于描述目的而忽略了规范性和规定的理论。 SE中对决策的经验研究综述的证据表明，规范性谬误可能很常见。本文借鉴了认知心理学和行为经济学来解释这种谬论。由于数据收集是由狭窄且经验无效的理论构建的，因此融入这些理论中的有缺陷的假设会导致对观察到的行为的误导解释，并最终导致结论和缺陷的建议无效。研究人员应小心，不要仅依靠工程方法来解释人们在进行工程时的工作。取而代之的是，坚持认为描述性研究基于经过验证的描述性理论，仔细聆听熟练的从业者，并且只依靠经过验证的发现来开出他们应该做的事情。
Behavioral research can provide important insights for SE practices. But in performing it, many studies of SE are committing a normative fallacy - they misappropriate normative and prescriptive theories for descriptive purposes. The evidence from reviews of empirical studies of decision making in SE suggests that the normative fallacy may is common. This article draws on cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to explains this fallacy. Because data collection is framed by narrow and empirically invalid theories, flawed assumptions baked into those theories lead to misleading interpretations of observed behaviors and ultimately, to invalid conclusions and flawed recommendations. Researchers should be careful not to rely solely on engineering methods to explain what people do when they do engineering. Instead, insist that descriptive research be based on validated descriptive theories, listen carefully to skilled practitioners, and only rely on validated findings to prescribe what they should do.
