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 1, 2000
Notice of acceptance:       March 15, 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 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 1, 2000.
Authors will be notified of acceptance by March 15, 2000.

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]