Evaluation of diagnosis support methods in program debugging by trace analysis: An exploratory study

This experiment represents a new approach to the study of the psychology of programming, and demonstrates the feasibility of studying an isolated part of the programming process in the laboratory. Thirty experienced FORTRAN programmers debugged 12 one-page FORTRAN listings, each of which was syntactically correct but contained one non-syntactic error (bug). Three classes of bugs (Array bugs, Iteration bugs, and bugs in Assignment Statements) in each of four different programs were debugged. The programmers were divided into five groups, based upon the information, or debugging “aids”, given them. Key results were that debug times were short (median = 6 min.). The aids groups did not debug faster than the control group; programmers adopted their debugging strategies based upon the information available to them. The results suggest that programmers often identify the intended state of a program before they find the bug. Assignment bugs were more difficult to find than Array and Iteration bugs, probably because the latter could be detected from a high-level understanding of the programming language itself. Debugging was at least twice as efficient the second time programmers debugged a program (though with a different bug in it). A simple hierarchical description of debugging was suggested, and some possible “principles” of debugging were identified.

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A hospital clerkship program for dental students: an exploratory study

Journal of Dental Education ◽

10.1002/j.0022-0337.1969.33.2.tb00173.x ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 224-229

Author(s):

EA Stuebner ◽

RP Johnson

Keyword(s):

Exploratory Study ◽

Dental Students

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Classifying Disfluencies in Preschool- and School-Age Spanish–English Bilinguals Who Do Not Stutter: An Exploratory Study

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_persp-19-00164 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 119-130

Author(s):

Raúl Rojas ◽

Farzan Irani

Keyword(s):

Exploratory Study ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Medium Effect ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Total Percentage ◽

Narrative Production ◽

Language Measures ◽

Mean Length Of Utterance

Purpose This exploratory study examined the language skills and the type and frequency of disfluencies in the spoken narrative production of Spanish–English bilingual children who do not stutter. Method A cross-sectional sample of 29 bilingual students (16 boys and 13 girls) enrolled in grades prekindergarten through Grade 4 produced a total of 58 narrative retell language samples in English and Spanish. Key outcome measures in each language included the percentage of normal (%ND) and stuttering-like (%SLD) disfluencies, percentage of words in mazes (%MzWds), number of total words, number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words. Results Cross-linguistic, pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences with medium effect sizes for %ND and %MzWds (both lower for English) as well as for number of different words (lower for Spanish). On average, the total percentage of mazed words was higher than 10% in both languages, a pattern driven primarily by %ND; %SLDs were below 1% in both languages. Multiple linear regression models for %ND and %SLD in each language indicated that %MzWds was the primary predictor across languages beyond other language measures and demographic variables. Conclusions The findings extend the evidence base with regard to the frequency and type of disfluencies that can be expected in bilingual children who do not stutter in grades prekindergarten to Grade 4. The data indicate that %MzWds and %ND can similarly index the normal disfluencies of bilingual children during narrative production. The potential clinical implications of the findings from this study are discussed.

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