It is important to package research artifacts into a research
compendium that uses a logical file folder structure and standard file
naming conventions to enable others to make sense of the files and the
functional relationships among them.
The TIER Protocol is a useful framework for organizing compendium
files that supports four essential computational reproducibility
standards: sufficiency, soup-to-nuts, portability, and (almost)
one-click reproducibility.
Research is a non-linear process that often requires frequent file
revisions. Version control is critical to ensure that the files included
in the compendium are the precise ones that can be used to reproduce
reported results.
Placing scientific materials into the public domain to maximize the
potential for scientific reproducibility is ideal; however, there may be
legal, ethical, and/or professional reasons that unrestricted sharing of
the materials is not appropriate.
Licenses remove the impediment of strict copyright laws while still
providing a legal framework for enforcing conditions for use of research
artifacts.
While there are many different licenses available, it is important
to select the license that is most appropriate for the particular
artifact based on its type and the conditions under which the artifact
can be used.
The CoreTrustSeal certification is one of the benchmarks that
denotes trustworthy repositories where researchers can safely store and
share their compendium packages.
Researchers can choose disciplinary, generalist, or institutional
repositories to store their compendium packages.
If your repository of choice does not have the CoreTrustSeal
certification, that does not necessarily mean that it is not considered
trustworthy. You can still evaluate the trustworthiness of a repository
through the CoreTrustSeal’s 16 requirements.
When putting together compendium packages, researchers should be
aware of any restricted, proprietary, or complex computing materials
they are working with.
Restricted materials cannot be fully released to the public due to
the high risk they can pose.
Proprietary materials are those which are not owned by the
researcher, and generally cannot be shared publicly.
Complex computing materials such as software may require additional
considerations when included in compendium packages, such as
documentation outlining its development and use.
When working with any of these special cases, researchers should
allow for extra time in their process of compiling their compendium
packages to ensure they are balancing reproducibility goals with proper
precautions.
