Readers' corner: The role of experiments in computer science
Abstract It is sometimes suggested that computing research should be conducted as an empirical science, with all its algorithms, designs and models being subjected to quantitative experimental testing. I question the appropriateness of this view of research and argue that much of computing research does not, and should not, embody quantitative empirical claims. Experiments are, however, sometimes appropriate; I point out some ways in which computing experiments can fall short of normal scientific standards of rigour.