EXAMINING THE USE OF ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUM IN STACK OVERFLOW

Abstract

Purpose: The study was focused on investigating the usage and dependencies of software developers on Stack Overflow to enhance their capacities for problem-solving. And, how the quality of Q&As can impact the approach of exploring good solutions to their development problems. Theory: The theoretical frameworks applied in this study encompass Communities of Practice (CoP) and Socially Situated Learning as proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. Method: A qualitative semi structured methods research was adopted for the study. Results: The study presents that Stack Overflow plays an important role in the software development community, influencing how developers approach problem-solving and professional development. The study also found that the quality of questions submitted on Stack Overflow had a substantial impact on the quality of answers received, which is consistent with earlier studies that emphasized the value of well-formulated queries. Keywords: Stack Overflow, Online communities, Software developer, Questions, Problem solving