# Software Architecture for Mobile Cloud Computing Systems
## 3 Research Methodology and Questions  
To conduct the SMS, we followed the guidelines for evidence-based software engineering that has helped us to identify, collect, and synthesize the data along with reporting the results in an objective manner [14; 15], as illustrated in Figure 2. Specifically, by following the process for conducting the mapping studies or systematic reviews, we have followed a structured process to minimize the errors and bias and tried to minimize the threats to validity of the research during different phases of the mapping study.  
Specifying the Research Questions  
To objectively investigate the studies and report the results, we have outlined a number of research questions (RQs), as detailed below. Based on these RQs, we aim to present the identified research themes, architectural challenges, and solutions along with active and emerging trends of research.  
* **Demography and Classification of Published Solutions** _RQ-1: What is the frequency and types of publications over the years in the area of software architecture for MCC systems?_ Objective(s): To analyze the progression of research in terms of publication frequencies over the years. Moreover, we also present the types of publications (e.g., conference proceedings, journal article) to assess the types of research contributions._ RQ-2: What are the existing research themes and how the themes can be classified and mapped for architectural solutions? Objective(s): To investigate the impacts of the existing research, there is a need to classify and categorize the proposed research solutions into distinct or overlapping research themes and their sub-themes. Research themes allow us to map the research themes with proposed solutions and their significance in the progression and maturation of research.
* **Architectural Challenges and Solutions for MCC Systems** _RQ-3: What are the prominent challenges for MCC systems, and what architectural solutions are provided to address them?_ Objective(s): To identify and present the architectural patterns that may exist in the proposed solutions. The identified patterns and their presentation can help to propose patterns as reusable knowledge and best practices to architect MCC systems._ RQ-4: What architectural patterns exist for MCC systems? Objective(s): To investigate the impacts of the existing research, there is a need to classify and categorize the proposed research solutions into distinct or overlapping research themes and their sub-themes. Research themes allow us to map the research themes with proposed solutions and their significance in the progression and maturation of research.
* **Active and Futuristic Research on Architecting MCC Systems** _RQ-5: What are the active trends of research on software architecture for MCC systems? Objective(s): To identify the existing research and its impact (based on classification--RQ-2) on architecture-centric solution for MCC systems._ RQ-6: What are the emerging trends of research on software architecture for MCC systems?  
Figure 2: Overview of the research methodology to conduct the mapping study.  
Objective(s): To identify the most recent research themes and contributions that are in emergence. Identification of the emerging themes can help to present the potential dimensions of futuristic research.  
We conclude that the specified RQs provide foundations to objectively investigate the qualitatively selected studies and document the results. The list of selected studies for the SMS are presented in Appendix A. Further details about data collection and qualitative analysis of the study are presented in Appendix B. The results of this mapping study as answers to the outlined RQs are presented from Sections 4-7.