Understanding program code is a complicated endeavor. As such, myriad different factors can influence the outcome. Investigations of program comprehension, and in particular those using controlled experiments, have to take these factors into account. In order to promote the development and use of sound experimental methodology, we discuss potential problems with regard to the experimental subjects, the code they work on, the tasks they are asked to perform, and the metrics for their performance.

翻译：理解程序代码是一项复杂的工作。 因此,各种各样的因素可以影响结果。 调查程序理解,特别是那些使用受控实验的方案理解,必须考虑到这些因素。 为了促进完善的实验方法的发展和使用,我们讨论了实验对象的潜在问题、实验对象的工作代码、他们被要求执行的任务以及其绩效的衡量标准。