How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research?
Geophysical research frequently makes use of agreed-upon methodologies, formally published software, and bespoke code to process and analyse data. The reliability and repeatability of these methods is vital in maintaining the integrity of research findings and thereby avoiding the dissemination of...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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McGill University
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Seismica |
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| Online Access: | https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/278 |
| _version_ | 1797622949095669760 |
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| author | Mark Ireland Guillermo Algarabel Michael Steventon Marcus Munafò |
| author_facet | Mark Ireland Guillermo Algarabel Michael Steventon Marcus Munafò |
| author_sort | Mark Ireland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Geophysical research frequently makes use of agreed-upon methodologies, formally published software, and bespoke code to process and analyse data. The reliability and repeatability of these methods is vital in maintaining the integrity of research findings and thereby avoiding the dissemination of unreliable results. In recent years there has been increased attention on aspects of reproducibility, which includes data availability, across scientific disciplines. This review considers aspects of reproducibility of geophysical studies relating to their publication in peer reviewed journals. For 100 geophysics journals it considers the extent to which reproducibility in geophysics is the focus of published literature. For 20 geophysical journals it considers a) journal policies on the requirements for providing code, software, and data for submission; and b) the availability of data and software associated for 200 published journal articles. The findings show that: 1) between 1991 and 2021 there were 72 articles with reproducibility in the title and 417 with reliability, with an overall increase in the number of articles with reproducibility or reliability as the subject over the same period; 2) while 60% of journals have a definition of research data, only 20% of journals have a requirement for a data availability statement; and 3) despite ~86% of sampled journal articles including a data availability statement, only 54% of articles have the original data accessible via data repositories or web servers, and only 49% of articles name software used. It is suggested that despite journals and authors working towards improving the availability of data and software, frequently they are not identified, or easily accessible, therefore limiting the possibility of reproducing studies.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:17:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-01b54c22b66c415480463db21b625aff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2816-9387 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:17:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | McGill University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Seismica |
| spelling | doaj.art-01b54c22b66c415480463db21b625aff2023-11-16T18:30:13ZengMcGill UniversitySeismica2816-93872023-05-012110.26443/seismica.v2i1.278How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research?Mark Ireland0Guillermo Algarabel1Michael Steventon2Marcus Munafò3Newcastle UniversityDepartment of Physics, Durham UniversityShell Research LtdSchool of Psychological Science, University of Bristol Geophysical research frequently makes use of agreed-upon methodologies, formally published software, and bespoke code to process and analyse data. The reliability and repeatability of these methods is vital in maintaining the integrity of research findings and thereby avoiding the dissemination of unreliable results. In recent years there has been increased attention on aspects of reproducibility, which includes data availability, across scientific disciplines. This review considers aspects of reproducibility of geophysical studies relating to their publication in peer reviewed journals. For 100 geophysics journals it considers the extent to which reproducibility in geophysics is the focus of published literature. For 20 geophysical journals it considers a) journal policies on the requirements for providing code, software, and data for submission; and b) the availability of data and software associated for 200 published journal articles. The findings show that: 1) between 1991 and 2021 there were 72 articles with reproducibility in the title and 417 with reliability, with an overall increase in the number of articles with reproducibility or reliability as the subject over the same period; 2) while 60% of journals have a definition of research data, only 20% of journals have a requirement for a data availability statement; and 3) despite ~86% of sampled journal articles including a data availability statement, only 54% of articles have the original data accessible via data repositories or web servers, and only 49% of articles name software used. It is suggested that despite journals and authors working towards improving the availability of data and software, frequently they are not identified, or easily accessible, therefore limiting the possibility of reproducing studies. https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/278reproducibilitydata availabilityFAIR |
| spellingShingle | Mark Ireland Guillermo Algarabel Michael Steventon Marcus Munafò How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research? Seismica reproducibility data availability FAIR |
| title | How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research? |
| title_full | How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research? |
| title_fullStr | How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research? |
| title_short | How reproducible and reliable is geophysical research? |
| title_sort | how reproducible and reliable is geophysical research |
| topic | reproducibility data availability FAIR |
| url | https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/278 |
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