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Active Maintenance: A Proposal for the Long-Term Computational Reproducibility of Scientific Results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2021

Limor Peer Open the ORCID record for Limor Peer [Opens in a new window] ,
Lilla V. Orr Open the ORCID record for Lilla V. Orr [Opens in a new window]  and
Alexander Coppock Open the ORCID record for Alexander Coppock [Opens in a new window]
Limor Peer
Affiliation:
Yale University
Lilla V. Orr
Affiliation:
Yale University
Alexander Coppock
Affiliation:
Yale University
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Abstract

Computational reproducibility, or the ability to reproduce analytic results of a scientific study on the basis of publicly available code and data, is a shared goal of many researchers, journals, and scientific communities. Researchers in many disciplines including political science have made strides toward realizing that goal. A new challenge, however, has arisen. Code too often becomes obsolete within only a few years. We document this problem with a random sample of studies posted to the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) Data Archive; we encountered nontrivial errors in seven of 20 studies. In line with similar proposals for the long-term maintenance of data and commercial software, we propose that researchers dedicated to computational reproducibility should have a plan in place for “active maintenance” of their analysis code. We offer concrete suggestions for how data archives, journals, and research communities could encourage and reward the active maintenance of scientific code and data.

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Type
Article
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PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , July 2021 , pp. 462 - 466
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

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