Open Code
The public availability via an Open Access license of custom, author generated code deployed in a scientific study is referred to as Open Code. Codes are usually generated or deployed during the data collection, preparation, interpretation or analysis phase of a research an can be made open either by depositing them in a repository or publishing them alongside a research as Supplementary Information.
Why Open Code?
As with the opening of any component of a study’s methodology, opening your code to the public deepens understanding of your research, facilitates its reproducibility and extends the impact of the originating research work.
Benefits of Opening Your Code
Maximize Trust
Increase the trust readers have in the rigor of your study by demonstrating the integrity and credibility of your study’s findings through the public sharing of your code.
Facilitate Scientific Progress
Expedite the rate of scientific progress by enabling other researchers use your code as a starting point to further build upon and extend scientific knowledge. You can do this by posting codes you generated for your research to a repository, which are linked to your originating research work, to aid your research domain build upon your accomplishments and develop faster.
Broaden Your Reach
Code opened to the public as with most open methodological components, usually attracts interest from researchers across multiple disciplines, allowing reuse and multidisciplinary collaborations that enables researchers identify and fill new multidisciplinary research gaps.
Extend Your Influence
The trust and usability maximizing potential of Open Code, naturally leads to a maximization of the citation potential of your study.