*************
SUBMISSION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 25, 2000.
*************

                         BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL:
                USING MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN
               EMPIRICAL SOFTWARE ENGINEERING RESEARCH

                        Monday, June 5, 2000
                   http://www.csr.uvic.ca/icse2000/

                          Limerick, Ireland

                   Announcement and Call for Papers

Deadline for submissions:   February 25, 2000
Notice of acceptance:       March 24, 2000
Workshop date:              June 5, 2000

Overview

Theories and methods for empirical research have been developed by other

disciplines over a long period of time. Therefore, as it makes sense to
re-use
code, it also makes sense to harness theories and methods from other
fields to
advance software engineering research. The goal of this workshop is to
provide
an interactive forum to investigate the feasibility of using
multidisciplinary
approaches in software engineering research. Interested participants are

invited to submit position papers describing problems that would benefit
from
a multidisciplinary approach (either theory-based or method-based).
Then,
focusing on the position papers, expert guest speakers from other
disciplines
will address the issues brought up with the hope of encouraging more
multidisciplinary research.

WORKSHOP FORMAT

This full-day workshop will provide novice and experienced researchers
in
software engineering an opportunity to consult experts from other
emprical
disciplines. Over the course of the day, there will be 4-6 invited
expert
speakers who will respond to the position papers. Each speaker will
present a
30-45 minute talk, followed by a 30-45 minute discussion. The workshop
will
conclude with a panel and open discussion to summarize the topics
discussed
throughout the day.

Invited speakers will be selected for their expertise in dealing with
problems
similar to those discussed in the position papers. Possible speakers
are:
   * Psychologist
   * Sociologist
   * Anthropologist
   * Architect
   * Design researcher
   * Statistician
   * Medical researcher
or, in the true nature of multidisciplinary research, the speaker may
have
experience with more than one of these fields as well as software
engineering.

SUBMISSION

Interested participants should submit a position paper describing a
problem
in their current research that is benefitting or could benefit from a
multidisciplinary perspective. These problems may relate to any aspect
of
software engineering, from research design to data analysis, from theory
for
understanding a phenomenon to difficulty obtaining access to a target
population. These papers should be approximately 1500-2500 words (3-5
pages).

Position papers will be selected by a program committee using the
following
criteria:
   * relevance to the theme of the
   * educational value for participants
   * potential for lively discussion
The chairs will use the position papers to guide selection of invited
speakers,
who will discuss how empirical methods from other disciplines could be
applied
within a software engineering context.

The position papers should be 1500-2500 words long (3-5 pages).
Detailed
submission instructions are available on the workshop web site at
        http://www.csr.uvic.ca/icse2000/
The deadline for submission of position papers is February 25, 2000.
Authors will be notified of acceptance by March 24, 2000.
Although the deadline has been extended, papers should be submitted
as early as possible to ensure that appropriate experts can be found
to respond to them.

Organizers:

Janice Singer
Software Engineering Group
National Research Council Canada
Bldg. M-50, Montreal Rd.
Ottawa, ON
Canada  K1A 0R6
Tel: +1 (613) 991-6346
Fax: +1 (613) 952-7151
Email: [log in to unmask]

Dr. Margaret-Anne Storey
Department of Computer Science
University of Victoria
PO Box 3055 STN CSC
Victoria, BC  Canada V8W 3P6
Tel: (250) 721 8796
Fax: (250) 721 7292
Email: [log in to unmask]

Susan Elliott Sim
Department of Computer Science
University of Toronto
10 Kings College Rd.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M5S 3G4
Tel. +1 (416) 978-4158
Fax. +1 (416) 978-4765
Email: [log in to unmask]

Program Committee:
Steve Easterbrook, University of Toronto, Canada
Rachel Harrison, University of Reading UK
Juan Ramil, Imperial College UK
Jarrett Rosenberg, Sun Microsystems USA
Carolyn Seaman, University of Maryland, Baltimore County USA
Harvey Siy, Lucent Technologies USA