InclinedPlane's comment already says it, but I think it's worth putting more strongly. The OP is nothing but a synopsis of Glass' book Facts and Fallcies of Software Engineering, which is remarkable precisely for the fact that it does provide supporting references for every one of its claims. Glass' meticulousness in this respect is nearly unique in the space (Steve Mcconnell also comes to mind) and he deserves to be better known for it.
That being said, the effect of all those references (on me anyway) was more to highlight the weakness of the research literature than to make a convincing case. But that's not Glass' fault. He does a great job of reporting what the literature says.
That being said, the effect of all those references (on me anyway) was more to highlight the weakness of the research literature than to make a convincing case. But that's not Glass' fault. He does a great job of reporting what the literature says.