3.2 Scientific integrity

Reproducible research

Reproducible research is research that can be exactly reproduced. This is related to replicability, in that it has to do with your ability to get the same results again, but it refers specifically to getting the same results given the same set of data. I expect that all of our research will be, at minimum, reproducible (when possible, we will also test for replicability).

Conducting reproducible research is more difficult than it sounds, because it requires that you are organized and possess sufficient foresight to document each step of your research process. There are two main things you can do to improve the reproducibility of your research: 1) extensive note-taking (i.e., as much as you can manage) and 2) programming workflows with version control.

Programming workflows help with reproducibility because they take some of the human element out, and in an ideal scenario, you are left with a script or series of scripts that takes data from raw form to final product. Programming alone is not enough, though, because people can easily forget which script changes they made and when. Therefore, all projects that involve programming of any kind (so basically, all projects) must use some form of version control. I strongly recommend git in combination with GitHub (see below), unless you have a pre-existing workflow. This is a hard requirement because a) it is the only way to definitively track the evolution of methods/files over time, b) it allows for easier detection of bugs, c) it facilitates code sharing, and d) it has nice side effects for workflow organization (e.g., thinking in terms of commits, branches, issues). Points a, b, and c are directly relevant to the mission of conducting reproducible research.

Authorship

We will follow APA guidelines with respect to authorship:

"Authorship credit should reflect the individual's contribution to the study. An author is considered anyone involved with initial research design, data collection and analysis, manuscript drafting, and final approval. However, the following do not necessarily qualify for authorship: providing funding or resources, mentorship, or contributing research but not helping with the publication itself. The primary author assumes responsibility for the publication, making sure that the data are accurate, that all deserving authors have been credited, that all authors have given their approval to the final draft; and handles responses to inquiries after the manuscript is published."

Authorship will be discussed prior to the beginning of a new project, so that expectations are clearly defined. However, changes to authorship may occur over the course of a project if a new person becomes involved or if someone is not fulfilling their planned role. In general, I expect that graduate students and postdocs will be first authors on publications on which they are the primary lead, and I will be the last author.