An open science checklist
05/07/2017

One reason that research data management has advanced in the priorities of the higher education sector in recent years is the “reproducibility crisis” in science. This has led many researchers and organisations to support a drive towards open science, or open research, where the research process becomes more transparent. This has included aspects such as the requirement from many funding bodies and publishers that underlying data be shared along with journal articles reporting on the results.
An interesting post in this area is Science is “show me,” not “trust me” which proposes a checklist for open science. See the original post for more detail and tips, but here’s a summary of what it suggests you should aim for:
- You did not rely on Microsoft Excel for computations.
- You scripted your analysis, including data cleaning and wrangling.
- You documented your code so that others can read and understand it.
- You recorded and reported the versions of the software you used (including library dependencies).
- You wrote tests for your code.
- You checked the code coverage of your tests.
- You used open-source software (or proprietary software with a really good reason).
- You reported all the analyses you tried (transformations, tests, selections of variables, models, etc.) before arriving at the one you chose to emphasize.
- You made your code (including tests) available.
- You made your data available (where legally and ethically permissible).
- You recorded and reported the data format.
- There is an open source tool for reading data in that format.
- You provided an adequate data dictionary.
- You published open access.
Would your research pass the Open Science Checklist? Do you think this is a useful list with achievable aims?
Public domain image from stocksnap.
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Quarry Life and Cranfield Life
It might be thrilling to push yourself past your comfort zone, but it can also leave you feeling anxious and self-conscious. What if this is unsuccessful? What if I'm not as talented as I ...
School of Management Library closes on Thursday 31 July
The School of Management Library in Building 111 will permanently close on Thursday 31 July at 5pm. Some equipment and furniture will move to Kings Norton Library next week (w/c 21st July), staff will move on ...
Getting started on your business and management thesis or research project
Doing a research project, whether it's a thesis, business plan, internship or consultancy project can be a daunting task, and you might have some questions around how to get started. This post is intended to ...
Looking for audiobooks?
Do you prefer to listen rather than read? Maybe audiobooks suit your on-the-go lifestyle, or perhaps listening is simply how you learn best. For some students, using audiobooks or other accessible formats is essential due ...
Driving Change: A Nestlé Manager’s Sustainability MSc Journey
What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability, and how did your journey begin? I've always been motivated by roles that allow me to make a difference, and I started my career working ...
Isn’t it curious why we are curious?
Curiosity is Everywhere It’s the urge that pushes us to Google things at 2 a.m., to explore new places, to ask “what if?”, and to dive into topics we didn’t even know we cared ...
Very helpful!
Please make sure to clarify the last step. Publish to an open access journal, or, even better, publish wherever is best for your career and self-archive.
Very helpful!
Please make sure to clarify the last step. Publish to an open access journal, or, even better, publish wherever is best for your career and self-archive.
Very helpful!
Please make sure to clarify the last step. Publish to an open access journal, or, even better, publish wherever is best for your career and self-archive.
Very helpful!
Please make sure to clarify the last step. Publish to an open access journal, or, even better, publish wherever is best for your career and self-archive.