Academic Software Development Collaboration Tools

Academic software development can take advantage of recent advances in online tools to increase participation and accelerate discovery.

1. Academic Software Development Taking advantage of online tools to increase participation and accelerate discovery.
2. Who is this man?
3. Galileo's Anagrams smaismrmilmepoetaleumibunenugttauiras = Altissimum planetam tergeminum observavi. "I have observed the highest of the planets [Saturn] three-formed"
4. "By sending this anagram, Galileo avoided revealing the details of his discovery, but at the same time ensured that if someone else - such as Kepler - later made the same discovery, Galileo could reveal the anagram and claim the credit." Reinventing Discovery Michael Nielsen http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9517.html
5. Principles • Peer review • Avoid duplication of effort • Communicate with clarity • Get credit
6. How does it work? • Share knowledge • Share data • Share code
7. Sharing knowledge
8. StackExchange http://stackexchange.com "Stack Exchange is a fast-growing network of 82 question and answer sites on diverse topics from software programming to cooking to photography and gaming."
10. Computational Science http://scicomp.stackexchange.com
11. Theroretical Computer Science http://cstheory.stackexchange.com
12. Statistical Analysis http://stats.stackexchange.com
13. Mathematics http://math.stackexchange.com
14. "My field is not represented on Stack Exchange."
15. Area 51 "Area 51 is the Stack Exchange Network staging zone, where users come together to build new Q&A sites." http://area51.stackexchange.com
16. Computer Science http://area51.stackexchange. com/proposals/35636/computer-science
17. Computer Science Education http://area51.stackexchange. com/proposals/2529/computer-science- education
18. Academia http://area51.stackexchange. com/proposals/16617/academia
22. Principles • Peer review ◦ Answers are reviewed by community, best answers rise to the top • Avoid duplication of effort ◦ Questioners are presented with existing answers • Communicate with clarity ◦ History is preserved ◦ Wrong answers are voted down • Get credit ◦ Best answerers are rewarded
23. Sharing data
24. Figshare http://figshare.com "Get credit for all your research"
26. Figshare Intro Video
27. Principles • Peer review ◦ Others can comment on data • Avoid duplication of effort ◦ Encourages publishing of negative results • Discoverable ◦ Searchable, categorizable, taggable • Get credit ◦ Citations
28. Sharing code
29. GitHub free account https://github.com/signup/free
31. Free accounts are open source Your work will be visible to the public.
32. If your work must be private Request an educational account • There is a waiting period while approval takes place • Still free!
33. GitHub educational account http://github.com/edu
35. Scipy https://github.com/scipy/scipy "Open-source software for mathematics, science, and engineering."
39. https://github.com/scipy/scipy/graphs/impact Jan 2001 - Feb 2012 Scipy Impact Graph
48. An hour later...
51. Principles • Peer review ◦ Code changes are available for all to view ◦ Commenting system • Avoid duplication of effort ◦ Open-source encourages re-use • Discoverable ◦ Code is searchable • Get credit ◦ Commit history shows who has done what
52. Moar cool stuff
53. readcube Your research literature simplified http://www.readcube.com • Desktop app • Cross platform • Organize your article colleciton • Find new papers fast • Personalized article recommendations • Cite and create references
54. Software Carpentry http://software-carpentry.org "Helping scientists make better software since 1997" • Version control • Testing • Program design