Ten simple rules for implementing open and reproducible research practices after attending a training course

Abstract

Open, reproducible, and replicable research practices are a fundamental part of science. Training is often organized on a grassroots level, offered by early career researchers, for early career researchers. Buffet style courses that cover many topics can inspire participants to try new things; however, they can also be overwhelming. Participants who want to implement new practices may not know where to start once they return to their research team. We describe ten simple rules to guide participants of relevant training courses in implementing robust research practices in their own projects, once they return to their research group. This includes (1) prioritizing and planning which practices to implement, which involves obtaining support and convincing others involved in the research project of the added value of implementing new practices; (2) managing problems that arise during implementation; and (3) making reproducible research and open science practices an integral part of a future research career. We also outline strategies that course organizers can use to prepare participants for implementation and support them during this process.

Our vision is your opportunity

“…Thus, making research more open requires skills that some authors need to learn. Fortunately, there are excellent tutorials and introductions into open science (Crüwell et al, 2019;Heise et al, 2023;Kathawalla et al, 2021), some of which are included in the official GEP article template. We plan to provide further resources in the future.…”

“…Obviously you can also become an advocate of open science and diversity in ways that are independent of GEP. You can more generally adopt open science practices in your work and support your colleagues, students, or supervisor in so doing (for tips see Crüwell et al, 2019;Heise et al, 2023;Kathawalla et al, 2021). When you submit your work for publication, choose an outlet with high transparency and openness standards (see https://topfactor.org/).…”

Eleven Strategies for Making Reproducible Research and Open Science Training the Norm at Research Institutions

“…Traditional courses and workshops often cover many practices in a short time; hence, participants need to decide which practices to implement, and how to implement them, after returning to their research group [24]. In contrast, participants in hands-on courses implement practices in their own research during training.…”

“…Implementing reproducible research and open science practices often requires collaboration among members of a research team. Researchers who completed a course independently may have difficulties convincing other members of their research team to invest time and resources into learning and adopting new practices [24]. In contrast, interventions designed for research groups may facilitate change by ensuring that all team members receive the same training and can collaboratively implement new practices.…”

Pragmatic reproducible research: improving the research process from raw data to results, bit by bit

“…With these challenges in mind, we propose the idea of “pragmatic reproducible research.” Our approach is to frame reproducibility as a continuum of achievable practices ( 10 , 11 ), dispelling misperceptions that it requires a complete shift in workflow or software tools before one can claim success. Our recommendations are not intended to provide specific instructions or particular guidance for how to conduct reproducible research, although we note that an increasing number of resources are available (e.g., 12–14).…”