Implementing Reproducible Research

Book excerpt: In computational science, reproducibility requires that researchers make code and data available to others so that the data can be analyzed in a similar manner as in the original publication. Code must be available to be distributed, data must be accessible in a readable format, and a platform must be available for widely distributing the data and code. In addition, both data and code need to be licensed permissively enough so that others can reproduce the work without a substantial legal burden. Implementing Reproducible Research covers many of the elements necessary for conducting and distributing reproducible research. It explains how to accurately reproduce a scientific result. Divided into three parts, the book discusses the tools, practices, and dissemination platforms for ensuring reproducibility in computational science. It describes: Computational tools, such as Sweave, knitr, VisTrails, Sumatra, CDE, and the Declaratron system Open source practices, good programming practices, trends in open science, and the role of cloud computing in reproducible research Software and methodological platforms, including open source software packages, RunMyCode platform, and open access journals Each part presents contributions from leaders who have developed software and other products that have advanced the field. Supplementary material is available at www.ImplementingRR.org.