A community-led initiative for training in reproducible research

Abstract

Open and reproducible research practices increase the reusability and impact of scientific research. The reproducibility of research results is influenced by many factors, most of which can be addressed by improved education and training. Here we describe how workshops developed by the Reproducibility for Everyone (R4E) initiative can be customized to provide researchers at all career stages and across most disciplines with education and training in reproducible research practices. The R4E initiative, which is led by volunteers, has reached more than 3000 researchers worldwide to date, and all workshop materials, including accompanying resources, are available under a CC-BY 4.0 license at https://www.repro4everyone.org/.

Keywords: FAIR data; accessible protocols; none; reproducibility; rigor; transparency; transparent data processing.

Figure 1.. Factors that affect reproducibility in research.

An approximation of the classification of categories that contribute to irreproducible scientific results, including technical, human, errors in study design and statistical analysis and external. Specific examples have been listed under each category.

Figure 2.. Approaches that scientists can use to increase the reproducibility of their publications.

From top to bottom, approaches that can be used on their own or in combination to increase the reproducibility of experiments, ordered from least reproducibility to most. The column on the right includes details of tools and resources than can be used to help scientists take each specific approach.