Abstract
Software engineering (SE) represents a dynamic interplay between technical systems and human elements. While the field has traditionally centred on functional and technical requirements, growing attention has been directed towards the profound impact of human aspects—such as geographical, socioeconomic, cultural and demographic diversity—on SE practices. This work presents a series of interconnected investigations that explore these dimensions through both quantitative and qualitative lenses.
The research begins with a tertiary study that maps the current landscape of human aspects in SE literature, identifying underexplored diversity domains. It then progresses into a global correlational analysis using Stack Overflow as a representative proxy for the broader SE community, examining how regional and socioeconomic factors influence user participation and contribution patterns. Subsequent chapters focus specifically on the United States, operationalising diversity indicators to examine more nuanced socio-technical dynamics, including user behaviour, community values, and variations in code quality across urban and rural contexts.
The final stage of the work employs a qualitative study to validate the quantitative findings by engaging directly with Stack Overflow users, offering insight into their lived experiences and perceptions. Together, these studies reveal that diversity meaningfully shapes collective intelligence, knowledge-sharing practices, and technical outputs in online developer communities. The findings offer theoretical contributions to SE as a sociotechnical discipline, as well as practical recommendations for fostering more inclusive, equitable, and resilient software ecosystems.
This replication package accompanies the work to support transparency, reproducibility and further scholarly inquiry into the methodologies employed.