Reproducibility IG

Overview

This interest group seeks to advance and enable reproducibility in research based on or producing datasets that require code. Our goals are to build bridges with the many RDA external efforts addressing reproducibility, doing so in coordination with the other RDA Working and Interest Groups where appropriate. Our efforts may also produce Working Groups that can develop recommendations and solutions.

This Group follows the broad definition of reproducibility stated by Turing Way in order to provide an inclusive framework for discussions.

Charter

The charter describes what this interest group is seeking to do and how you can be involved. Below is a summary of key details.

Objectives

1. Provide a forum for a holistic discussion of RDA developments around data and code relating to Reproducibility, in the areas covered by the topics below.
2. Identify and discuss the development and adoption of relevant tools, workflows, and computational infrastructure.
3. Develop a research agenda aimed to increase the reliability of the scientific record and reduce irreproducibility and informed by current advances, challenges, and prominent areas of interest relating to reproducibility, for example, FAIR principles, open science, data integrity, research assessment, metascience, and artificial intelligence.

Topics for discussion include:

1. the identification and adoption of community-determined definitions on ‘reproducibility’, including its value, limitations, and applicability within various research domains
2. the persistent linking and availability of data and code (via repositories or other mechanisms) used in the generation of published research results, with the publication itself
3. the development, encouragement, and adoption of metadata standards for data and code, especially for those linked to publications
4. the development, encouragement, and adoption of data and code publication, authorship, and citation practices, especially for those linked to publications

Involvement

The Reproducibility Interest Group is open to all RDA members to participate. Participation is possible in three ways:

1. participation in plenary sessions once or twice a year
2. participation in the organisation of future sessions, or activities arising from specific sessions
3. coordination, planning and implementing or overseeing the above (otherwise known as co-chairing)

We welcome input and participation on technical, practical and social aspects of reproducibility. We are open to joint sessions with existing RDA groups and RDA-external groups interested in reaching the members of the RDA with an interest in reproducibility.

Please contact one of the co-chairs to let us know if you're interested.

Future Activities

We intend to hold open organising meetings in the lead up to and organisation of plenary sessions. These will be shown on the events tab.

Plenary 21 (2023)

Introducing the reestablished Reproducibility IG

Past Activities:

Plenary 20 (2023)

Computational Reproducibility: What's Next for RDA? (recording)

Past Phase of the Reproducibility Interest Group

The Reproducibility Interest Group ran from Dec 2014 to Aug 2019 before closing for several years. The full aims of the group were laid out in the case statement.

Plenary 8:

• Knowledge Preservation Tools for Researchers: You have to preserve your data before you can share it!
• Reproducibility of Data-Enabled Research: Update and Progress
• Tools Convergence: Integrating Data Management Plan and Preservation Tools

Plenary 6:

• Update and Next Steps: Reproducibility IG

Plenary 5:

• Joint session: IG Research Data Provenance & IG Reproducibility
• Joint Session: IG Big Data Analytics & IG Reproducibility

Plenary 4:

• IG Reproducibility (no link)

Co-Chairs

We are open to regular rotation of the co-chairing of the group. We particularly welcome co-chairing from members of RDA-external groups interested in the proposal and planning of plenary sessions with a focus on new audiences, needs or interests not previously covered by plenary sessions by this group.

Please contact one of the current co-chairs to let us know if you're interested, after you have read about the roles and responsibilities of RDA co-chairs.

Current (2023-)

• Lauren Cadwallader
• Mandy Gooch
• Tom Honeyman
• Limor Peer

Past (2014-2019)

• Bernard Schutz
• Victoria Stodden