[Insight-developers] "Enabling Reproducible Research: Open Licensing for Scientific Innovation"

[Luis Ibanez]

"Enabling Reproducible Research: Open Licensing for Scientific Innovation"

http://www.ijclp.net/issue_13.html

http://www.ijclp.net/files/ijclp_web-doc_1-13-2009.pdf

Abstract:

There is a gap in the current licensing and copyright structure for
the growing number of scientists releasing their research publicly,
particularly on the Internet. Scientific research produces more scholarship
than the final paper: for example, the code, data structures, experimental
design and parameters, documentation, and figures, are all important both for
communication of the scholarship and replication of the results. US copyright
law is a barrier to the sharing of scientific scholarship since it establishes
exclusive rights for creators over their work, thereby limiting the ability of
others to copy, use, build upon, or alter the research. This is precisely
opposite to prevailing scientific norms, which provide both that results be
replicated before accepted as knowledge, and that scientific understanding be
built upon previous discoveries for which authorship recognition is given. In
accordance with these norms and to encourage the release of all scientific
scholarship, I propose the Reproducible Research Standard (RRS) both to ensure
attribution and facilitate the sharing of scientific works. Using the RRS on
all components of scientific scholarship will encourage reproducible scientific
investigation, facilitate  greater collaboration, and promote engagement of the
larger community in scientific learning and discovery.