Bachelor-/Master's Thesis: Thematic Coding of an Interview Study in Research Software Engineering

Research Software Engineering (RSE) plays a crucial role in modern scientific research, particularly in highly technical domains such as Quantum Computing. To better understand current software development practices, challenges, and improvement potentials, a qualitative interview study has been conducted at a Quantum Computing research group. The interviews focused on software development practices, project experiences, challenges, incentives, and sustainability aspects of research software. All interviews have been fully transcribed, anonymized, and preliminarily pre-categorized by topic.

Topics and Approaches

The aim of this thesis is to carry out a systematic thematic coding of the interview data. The analysis seeks to deepen the understanding of software development practices in academic research environments and to derive recommendations for improving efficiency and sustainability in research software engineering. The thesis will comprise the following main tasks:

  • Familiarization with the interview study, research context, and existing pre-categorizations
  • Familiarization with data-driven and concept-driven coding approaches
  • Thematic coding of the interview transcripts, including the development, refinement, and application of a hierarchical coding scheme
  • Consensus-building on code assignments in collaboration with other students and researchers
  • Identification and synthesis of central themes, patterns, and relationships
  • Documentation of the methodology and findings in a scientific thesis
  • Realization of one-specific outcome within in the research group.

Our Offer

  • A well-prepared dataset including interview transcripts and preliminary categorizations
  • The work will be very focused, as much of the groundwork has already been laid.
  • The work will be carried out together with other highly motivated students.
  • Clear methodological guidance and supervision
  • Insight into real-world research software development in a cutting-edge scientific domain

Your Profile

  • Pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Systems Engineering, or related fields
  • Interest in qualitative research methods and empirical software engineering
  • Ability to work systematically with textual data
  • Be available for onboarding sessions

Contact

For more information, please send a short description of your background and an overview of your grades to Marc Schmidt schmidt@se-rwth.de.