Do Research Software Engineers and Software Engineering Researchers Speak the Same Language?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Research Software Engineers (RSEs) and Software Engineering Researchers (SERs) often use different terminologies for similar concepts, creating communication challenges. To better understand these divergences, we have started investigating how SE fundamentals from the SER community are interpreted within the RSE community, identifying aligned concepts, knowledge gaps, and areas for potential adaptation. Our preliminary findings reveal opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration, and our systematic methodology for terminology mapping provides a foundation for a crowd-sourced extension and validation in the future.

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Publication Details

Journal
Computing in Science & Engineering
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1109/mcse.2025.3557236
Primary Topic
Software Engineering Techniques and Practices
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Do Research Software Engineers and Software Engineering Researchers Speak the Same Language?

David E. Bernholdt, Shurui Zhou, Robert Haines, Timo Kehrer et al.
Computing in Science & Engineering
Software Engineering Techniques and Practices
article

Do Research Software Engineers and Software Engineering Researchers Speak the Same Language?

David E. Bernholdt, Shurui Zhou, Robert Haines, Timo Kehrer, Guido Juckleand
article en

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Research Software Engineers (RSEs) and Software Engineering Researchers (SERs) often use different terminologies for similar concepts, creating communication challenges. To better understand these divergences, we have started investigating how SE fundamentals from the SER community are interpreted within the RSE community, identifying aligned concepts, knowledge gaps, and areas for potential adaptation. Our preliminary findings reveal opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration, and our systematic methodology for terminology mapping provides a foundation for a crowd-sourced extension and validation in the future.

Computing in Science & EngineeringVol. 27(2)
University of Bern (CH), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US), University of Toronto (CA), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE), University of Manchester (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 92%
Software Engineering Techniques and Practices
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Do Research Software Engineers and Software Engineering Researchers Speak the Same Language? — David E. Bernholdt, Shurui Zhou, et al. · Computing in Science & Engineering (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS