Treffer: Case Study on the Terms Novice Programmers Use to Describe Code Snippets in Java

Contribution: Most work on languages in computing education currently focuses on non-native speakers. In contrast, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this article is the first response to the call for research on terms that takes into account the terms used by novices in their language. Background: Terms are key factors in communication, thinking, and belonging to a community, but questions about terms and their use by novices are listed as research calls that have not yet been answered for novices. Terms can be used to identify misconceptions about programming languages (PLs) and conceptions, which is an ongoing trend in computing education research. Research Questions: RQ1: What terms do novices use to describe code snippets in Java? RQ2: To what extent and in what way do the terms indicate PL misconceptions or conceptions? Methodology: An inductive-dominant qualitative content analysis (QCA) was conducted to examine the terms used by novices. The data consisted of more than 1800 free-text responses from 123 undergraduate CS1 students from the fall 2020/2021 semester. Findings: In general, novices use technical language appropriately in their terms when describing code but individual responses and terms revealed a wide diversity. The terms reflect both undescribed PL misconceptions and conceptions, confirming previous research in this area.

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