Defining Research Software: a controversial discussion
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Abstract
Software is essential in modern research; it plays vital roles at multiple stages of the research lifecycle. The term Research Software is widely used in the academic community but, what do we mean when we use these terms? Software and research? When you think of software, you may think of a digital object that is executed on a machine. Yet software is more than just this, it is a complex and evolving artifact. It may be a concept or a project designed to solve a puzzle by a team or a community that develops its functionalities and algorithms, which might not be digital objects. Furthermore, the software artifacts are digital objects, e.g., executables and source code files for different environments. These digital artifacts, which are used in a scholarly setting, might be important in the research process, but should all these be considered Research Software? This report is the result of a discussion examining the scope of the community definition of the FAIR principles for Research Software as part of the work in the FAIR for Research Software working group (FAIR4RS). We aim to clarify the scope of the FAIR principles by identifying which software artifacts the FAIR principles should apply to. This discussion portrayed a complex landscape of software uses in research and existing definitions that can help to better understand the complexity of different types of software in academia. Finally we determine the scope of the FAIR4RS with a short and concise definition of Research Software as a separate metaphor of software in research.
Authors 20
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Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique · Software Heritage
Affiliation as printed
Inria, Software Heritage
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Affiliation as printed
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Affiliation as printed
Utrecht University
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Australian Research Data Commons
Affiliation as printed
Australian Research Data Commons
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University of Southern California
Affiliation as printed
Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California (USC)
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Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Affiliation as printed
Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin
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Radboud University Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Radboud university medical center
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Affiliation as printed
Research Software Alliance
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ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences
Affiliation as printed
ZB MED - Information Center Life Sciences
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Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
Affiliation as printed
French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE), Food and Environment
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Software Sustainability Institute · University of Edinburgh
Affiliation as printed
Software Sustainability Institute / EPCC, University of Edinburgh
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Affiliation as printed
Netherlands eScience Center
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Laurents Sesink Aachen
Affiliation as printed
Leiden University Libraries
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Australian Research Data Commons
Affiliation as printed
Australian Research Data Commons
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Affiliation as printed
University of Oslo, Department of Geosciences
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Affiliation as printed
American Geophysical Union
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OpenCitations · University of Bologna
Affiliation as printed
University of Bologna, OpenCitations
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Delft University of Technology
Affiliation as printed
TU Delft Library
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Science and Technology Facilities Council · UK Research and Innovation
Affiliation as printed
UKRI, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
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Swinburne University of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Swinburne University of Technology
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