Setting the Default to Reproducible: Reproducibility in Computational and Experimental Mathematics
Developed collaboratively by the ICERM workshop participants,
Compiled and edited by the Organizers: V. Stodden, D. H. Bailey, J. Borwein, R. J. LeVeque, W. Rider, and W. Stein, February, 2013.

Abstract. Science is built upon foundations of theory and experiment validated and improved through open, transparent communication. With the increasingly central role of computation in scientific discovery this means communicating all details of the computations needed for others to replicate the experiment, i.e. making available to others the associated data and code. The “reproducible research” movement recognizes that traditional scientific research and publication practices now fall short of this ideal, and encourages all those involved in the production of computational science -- scientists who use computational methods and the institutions that employ them, journals and dissemination mechanisms, and funding agencies -- to facilitate and practice really reproducible research. This report summarizes discussions that took place during the ICERM Workshop on Reproducibility in Computational and Experimental Mathematics, held December 10-14, 2012. The main recommendations that emerged from the workshop discussions are:

1. It is important to promote a culture change that will integrate computational reproducibility into the research process.

2. Journals, funding agencies, and employers should support this culture change.

3. Reproducible research practices and the use of appropriate tools should be taught as standard procedure in relation to computational aspects of research.

The workshop discussions included presentations of a number of the diverse and rapidly growing set of software tools available to aid in this effort. We call for a broad implementation of these three recommendations across the computational sciences.

Preprint: icerm_report.pdf

Also available on the workshop webpage

See also the workshop wiki with thought pieces, additional slides, and references.

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