Does social identity matter in software engineering? Assessing the case of research software engineers
Chukwudi Uwasomba, Tamara Lopez, Melanie Langer, Helen Sharp, Michel Wermelinger + 3 more
TLDR
This study reveals a collective Research Software Engineer (RSE) identity that significantly impacts professional wellbeing, using mixed-methods analysis.
Key contributions
- Investigates social identity among Research Software Engineers (RSEs) using a mixed-methods approach.
- Analyzed over 28,000 social media posts, 1,700 blogs, and 381 RSE survey responses.
- Identifies an emergent collective RSE identity and its role in shaping professional wellbeing.
Why it matters
This paper is significant for its interdisciplinary approach, bridging social psychology and software engineering. It provides crucial insights into how professional identities form and their impact on the wellbeing of specialized communities like RSEs, offering a new lens for community support.
Original Abstract
Social identity is a concept from psychology that refers to the part of an individual's identity that derives from their group membership(s). In this paper, we explore social identity in members of the professional community of Research Software Engineers (RSEs). Using a mixed-methods approach, our study combined computational linguistic analysis and inferential statistics to examine over 28,000 social media posts, 1,700 blogs, and survey responses from 381 professional RSEs. The findings highlight the emergence of a collective RSE identity and demonstrate its role in shaping professional wellbeing. This study contributes an interdisciplinary perspective by integrating social psychology and software engineering to show how a professional identity evolves and why it matters.
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