Category: Software Curation and Preservation

"Advancing Software Citation Implementation (Software Citation Workshop 2022)"


Software is foundationally important to scientific and social progress, however, traditional acknowledgment of the use of others’ work has not adapted in step with the rapid development and use of software in research. This report outlines a series of collaborative discussions that brought together an international group of stakeholders and experts representing many communities, forms of labor, and expertise. Participants addressed specific challenges about software citation that have so far gone unresolved. The discussions took place in summer 2022 both online and in-person and involved a total of 51 participants. The activities described in this paper were intended to identify and prioritize specific software citation problems, develop (potential) interventions, and lay out a series of mutually supporting approaches to address them. The outcomes of this report will be useful for the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) community, repository managers and curators, research software developers, and publishers.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.07500v1

| Research Data Curation and Management Works |
| Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works |
| Open Access Works |
| Digital Scholarship |

"A Sustainable Infrastructure Concept for Improved Accessibility, Reusability, and Archival of Research Software "


Research software is an integral part of most research today and it is widely accepted that research software artifacts should be accessible and reproducible. However, the sustainable archival of research software artifacts is an ongoing effort. We identify research software artifacts as snapshots of the current state of research and an integral part of a sustainable cycle of software development, research, and publication. We develop requirements and recommendations to improve the archival, access, and reuse of research software artifacts based on installable, configurable, extensible research software, and sustainable public open-access infrastructure. The described goal is to enable the reuse and exploration of research software beyond published research results, in parallel with reproducibility efforts, and in line with the FAIR principles for data and software. Research software artifacts can be reused in varying scenarios. To this end, we design a multi-modal representation concept supporting multiple reuse scenarios. We identify types of research software artifacts that can be viewed as different modes of the same software-based research result, for example, installation-free configurable browser-based apps to containerized environments, descriptions in journal publications and software documentation, or source code with installation instructions. We discuss how the sustainability and reuse of research software are enhanced or enabled by a suitable archive infrastructure. Finally, at the example of a pilot project at the University of Stuttgart, Germany—a collaborative effort between research software developers and infrastructure providers—we outline practical challenges and experiences

https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.12830

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

A Preservationist’s Guide to the DMCA Exemption for Software Preservation, 2nd Edition


In late 2021, the Library of Congress adopted several exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provision prohibiting circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. In other words, they created a set of exceptions to the general legal rule against cracking digital locks on things like DVDs, software, and video games. The exemptions are set out in regulations published by the Copyright Office. They went into effect on October 28, 2021 and last until October 28th, 2024. This guide is intended to help preservationists determine whether their activities are protected by the new exemptions. It includes important updates to the first edition to reflect changes in the rule to allow offsite access to non-game software, along with a few other technical changes.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7328908

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"How Often Do Cancer Researchers Make Their Data and Code Available and What Factors Are Associated with Sharing"


One in five studies declared data were publicly available (59/306, 19%, 95% CI: 15–24%). However, when data availability was investigated this percentage dropped to 16% (49/306, 95% CI: 12–20%), and then to less than 1% (1/306, 95% CI: 0–2%) when data were checked for compliance with key FAIR principles. While only 4% of articles that used inferential statistics reported code to be available (10/274, 95% CI: 2–6%), the odds of reporting code to be available were 5.6 times higher for researchers who shared data.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02644-2

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Supporting Software Preservation Services in Research and Memory Organizations


Supporting Software Preservation Services in Research and Memory Organizationsidentifies concepts, skill sets, barriers, and future directions related to software preservation work. Although definitions of "software" can vary across preservation contexts, the study found that there appears to be wide support for inter-organizational collaboration in software preservation. The report includes 13 recommendations for broadening representation in the field, defining the field, networking and community building, informal and formal learning, and implementing shared infrastructures and model practices.

https://cutt.ly/4NJHcoF

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Who Writes Scholarly Code?"


This paper presents original research about the behaviours, histories, demographics, and motivations of scholars who code, specifically how they interact with version control systems locally and on the Web. By understanding patrons through multiple lenses—daily productivity habits, motivations, and scholarly needs—librarians and archivists can tailor services for software management, curation, and long-term reuse, raising the possibility for long-term reproducibility of a multitude of scholarship.

http://www.ijdc.net/article/view/839

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Paywall: "A Perspective on Computational Research Support Programs in the Library: More than 20 Years of Data from Stanford University Libraries"


Presentation of data is a major component to academic research. However, programming languages, computational tools, and methods for exploring and analyzing data can be time consuming and frustrating to learn and finding help with these stages of the broader research process can be daunting. In this work, we highlight the impacts that computational research support programs housed in library contexts can have for fulfilling gaps in student, staff, and faculty research needs. The archival history of one such organization, Software and Services for Data Science (SSDS) in the Stanford University Cecil H. Green Library, is used to outline challenges faced by social sciences and humanities researchers from the 1980s to the present day.

https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006221124619

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Introducing the FAIR Principles for Research Software"


The FAIR for Research Software (FAIR4RS) Working Group has adapted the FAIR Guiding Principles to create the FAIR Principles for Research Software (FAIR4RS Principles). The contents and context of the FAIR4RS Principles are summarised here to provide the basis for discussion of their adoption. Examples of implementation by organisations are provided to share information on how to maximise the value of research outputs, and to encourage others to amplify the importance and impact of this work.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01710-x

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Nine Best Practices for Research Software Registries and Repositories"


Scientific software registries and repositories improve software findability and research transparency, provide information for software citations, and foster preservation of computational methods in a wide range of disciplines. Registries and repositories play a critical role by supporting research reproducibility and replicability, but developing them takes effort and few guidelines are available to help prospective creators of these resources. To address this need, the FORCE11 Software Citation Implementation Working Group convened a Task Force to distill the experiences of the managers of existing resources in setting expectations for all stakeholders. In this article, we describe the resultant best practices which include defining the scope, policies, and rules that govern individual registries and repositories, along with the background, examples, and collaborative work that went into their development.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.1023

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Research Software vs. Research Data II: Protocols for Research Data Dissemination and Evaluation in the Open Science Context"

https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.78459.1

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Bibliography, Version 7 | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Emulation Practices for Software Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums"

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24482

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Emulation Encounters: Software Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums"

https://tinyurl.com/y3y983tr

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Cracking the Copyright Dilemma in Software Preservation: Protecting Digital Culture through Fair Use Consensus"

Brandon Butler et al. have published "Cracking the Copyright Dilemma in Software Preservation: Protecting Digital Culture through Fair Use Consensus" in The Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

Copyright problems may inhibit the crucially important work of preserving legacy software. Such software is worthy of study in its own right because it is critical to accessing digital culture and expression. Preservation work is essential for communicating across boundaries of the past and present in a digital era. Software preservationists in the United States have addressed their copyright problems by developing a code of best practices in employing fair use. Their work is an example of how collective action by users of law changes the norms and beliefs about law, which can in turn change the law itself insofar as the law takes account of community norms and practices. The work of creating the code involved facilitators who are communication, information sciences, and legal scholars and practitioners. Thus, the creation of the code is also an example of crossing the boundaries between technology and policy research.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"How to Use Software Heritage for Archiving and Referencing Your Source Code: Guidelines and Walkthrough"

Roberto Di Cosmo has self-archived "How to Use Software Heritage for Archiving and Referencing Your Source Code: Guidelines and Walkthrough."

Here's an excerpt:

Software source code is an essential research output, and many research communities strongly encourage making the source code of the artefact available by archiving it in publicly-accessible long-term archives. Software Heritage is a non profit, long term universal archive specifically designed for software source code, and able to store not only a software artifact, but also its full development history. It provides the ideal place to preserve research software artifacts, and offers powerful mechanisms to enhance research articles with precise references to relevant fragments of your source code. Using Software Heritage for your research software artifacts is straightforward and involves three simple steps. This document details each of these three steps, providing guidelines for making the most out of Software Heritage for your research.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap