2013 Interviews

The Challenge of Communicating Computational Research

Hong, Neil Chue; Jockers, Matthew L.; Ellis, Daniel P. W.; Stodden, Victoria C.

Computational approaches to scholarship have revolutionized how research is done but have at the same time complicated the process of disseminating the results of that research. Conclusions may be produced using mathematical models or custom software that are not easily accessible to, or reproducible by, those outside the research team. And in some fields, a lack of understanding of computational approaches may lead to skepticism about their use. The panel considers urgent questions faced by researchers across the range of academic disciplines. How can scientists and social scientists address the lack of access to the software and code used to produce many research results, which has led to a crisis of verifiability and concern about the accuracy of the scientific record? How can digital humanists approach discussions of computational methods, which may not fit into traditional forms of scholarship and can be viewed with suspicion in disciplines that prize the art of scholarly analysis? Computational researchers are examining communication practices, policies, and tools that promise to more effectively convey their research process and the results it produces. The panelists are: Neil Chue Hong, Director of the Software Sustainability Institute; Matthew L. Jockers, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Daniel P. W. Ellis, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University.