Implementing Code Review in the Scientific Workflow: Insights from Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Abstract

Code review increases reliability and improves reproducibility of research. As such, code review is an inevitable step in software development and is common in subjects such as computer science. However, despite its importance, code review is noticeably lacking in ecology and evolutionary biology. This is problematic as it facilitates the propagation of coding errors and a reduction in reproducibility of published results. To address this, we provide a detailed commentary on how to effectively review code, how to set up your project to enable this form of review and detail its possible implementation at several stages throughout the research process. This guide serves as a primer for code review, and adoption of the principles and advice here will go a long way in promoting more open, reliable, and transparent ecology and evolutionary biology.