Open Source: Researchers Get Frisky
May 2, 2012
Group of Researchers Demand Source Code be Made Public
Phys.org recently reported on a new policy paper written by a group of academic research scientist from across the U.S in the post “Academic Group Says it’s Time for Researchers to Begin Sharing Source Code.”
According to the article, the group is arguing that due to the fact that computer programs have become an integral part of scientific research and since many researchers use public funds to conduct their research, entities that provide funding should require that the source code created be made public, as is the case with other resource materials.
The article states:
“Not providing source code, they say, is now akin to withholding parts of the procedural process, which results in a “black box” approach to science, which is of course, not tolerated in virtually every other area of research in which results are published. It’s difficult to imagine any other realm of scientific research getting such a pass and the fact that code is not published in an open source forum detracts from the credibility of any study upon which it is based.”
This is an interesting point, since as science continues to evolve, the use of computer code, both off the shelf and custom written will likely become ever more present in research endeavors. If researchers don’t begin to share their findings with one another it could easily stunt the progression of many scientific findings.
Jasmine Ashton, May 2, 2012
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