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247 points rntn | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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N_A_T_E ◴[] No.43795965[source]
Is there any path forward to fixing the current reproducibility crisis in science? Individuals can do better, but that won't solve a problem at this scale. Could we make systemic changes to how papers are validated and approved for publication in major journals?
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1. maciej_pacula ◴[] No.43796955[source]
On the data analysis side, I think making version control both mandatory and automatic would go a long way.

One issue is that internal science within a company/lab can move incredibly fast -- assays, protocols, datasets and algorithms change often. People tend to lose track of what data, what parameters, and what code they used to arrive at a particular figure or conclusion. Inevitably, some of those end up being published.

Journals requiring data and code for publication helps, but it's usually just one step at the end of a LONG research process. And as far as I'm aware, no one actually verifies that the code you submitted produces the figures in your paper.

It's a big reason why we started https://GoFigr.io. I think making reproducibility both real-time and automatic is key to make this situation better.