Authors : Eric A. Jensen, Daniel S. Katz
Research software is a driving force in today’s academic ecosystem, with most researchers relying on it to do their work, and many writing some of their own code. Despite its importance, research software is typically not included in tenure, promotion, and recognition policies and processes.
In this article, we invite discussions on how to value research software, integrate it into academic evaluations, and ensure its sustainability. We build on discussions hosted by the US Research Software Sustainability Institute and by the international Research Software Engineering community to outline a set of possible activities aimed at elevating the role of research software in academic career paths, recognition, and beyond.
One is a study to investigate the role of software contributions in academic promotions. Another is to document and share successful academic recognition practices for research software. A third is to create guidance documents for faculty hiring and tenure evaluations. Each of these proposed activities is a building block of a larger effort to create a more equitable, transparent, and dynamic academic ecosystem.
We’ve assembled 44 such ideas as a starting point and posted them as issues in GitHub. Our aim is to encourage engagement with this effort. Readers are invited to do this by adding potential activities or commenting on existing ideas to improve them.
The issues page can also serve to inform the community of ongoing activities so that efforts aren’t duplicated. Similarly, if someone else has already made strides in a particular area, point out their work to build collective knowledge.
Finally, the issues page is also intended to allow anyone interested in collaborating on a specific activity to indicate their willingness to do so. This living list serves as a hub for collective action and thought, with the overall aim of recognizing the value of creating and contributing research software.
URL : From Code to Tenure: Valuing Research Software in Academia