Why is it concerning that the analysis relies entirely on Matlab toolboxes?

1. Reproducing the analysis requires access to the exact toolbox with the exact version number. May also have platform dependencies (e.g., outputs slightly different results on macos, linux, and windows).
2. Often the version of the toolbox is not reported. It isn't in this paper.
3. Increased use of the toolbox may lead to price gouging, excluding many who can't afford to purchase it. Besides the unfairness, this impacts the ability of just about anyone to reproduce the analysis from the raw data.
4. After some years the toolbox may not be available at all, for example if the company considers its maintenance a burden with negative returns on investment.

If you are a reviewer or an editor: at the very least demand the reporting of the toolbox version and the operating system version where it was run. And ideally demand enough specification of the algorithms used by the functions provided in the toolbox that an independent reimplementation and reanalysis is possible.

#reproducibility #academia

Hello scientists in 🇫🇮 and 🌍 - @coderefinery starts next week, and everyone is invited. This isn't a programming course, but extra tools (#git, #testing, #reproducibility, #documentation, etc) needed for a scientist to do programming comfortably. T-Th, Sep 19-21 and 26-28, online.
https://coderefinery.github.io/2023-09-19-workshop/

If you're at Aalto, invite us to your research group to help put these tools into practice - we don't teach and leave you alone!
#teaching #course #RSEng #OpenScience #HPC

CodeRefinery workshop September 19-21 and 26-28, 2023

Free workshop on git, testing, documentation, and more in a workshop - for researchers and scientists.

^{coderefinery.github.io}

New study: "We find that scientists are overwhelmingly (95%) failing to publish their #code and that there has been no significant improvement over time, but we also find evidence that code sharing can considerably improve #citations, particularly when combined with #OpenAccess publication."
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3222221/v1

#Impact #OACA #OpenSource #Reproducibility

New job, new #introduction post!

I work at Heriot-Watt's #Orkney campus in the far north of #Scotland. Programme lead for MSc in #Renewable and Sustainable #Energy Transition. Research at the intersection of #renewable #energy & physical #oceanography. Member of https://www.icnz.org/

Not my first career.

I care about the #reproducibility of computational science. I'm a fellow of the Software Sustainability Inst (software.ac.uk) and instructor for Software Carpentry (thecarpentries.org).

Decarbonising Scotland’s islands

The Islands Centre for Net Zero will address the need for fundamental change in how we approach the energy transition across Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides.

^{Islands Centre for Net Zero}