A Comparative Analysis of GitHub Contributions Before and After An OSS Based Software Engineering Class

This study presents a comparative analysis of contributions to GitHub by students before and after participating in a Software Engineering class based on Open Source Software (OSS). The primary objective is to understand the influence of formal software engineering education on students' engagement in OSS projects, as reflected in their GitHub activities. The research addresses two key questions. Firstly, it examines how GitHub contributions change before and after the class. The corresponding hypothesis posits that students' average GitHub contributions will exhibit a distinct pattern post-class compared to pre-class. Additionally, the study explores the potential association between students' academic performance in the class and their level of GitHub contributions after the class. The strength and direction of the potential association are quantified using the Spearman correlation coefficient, considering the potential non-linear nature of the data. This analysis uses data from over 1000 students across more than 10 years, encompassing their GitHub contribution data over multiple timeframes and their grades in the class. The study employs a combination of statistical methods, including paired tests and correlation analysis, to explore these dynamics. While causality cannot be established due to the absence of a control group, the findings offer valuable insights into the correlation between academic engagement and practical contributions in the realm of OSS development. This research contributes to the understanding of how theoretical software engineering education might relate to practical application and engagement in real-world projects.