Astro2020 APC White Paper: Elevating the Role of Software as a Product of the Research Enterprise
astro-ph.IM
/ Authors
Arfon M. Smith, Dara Norman, Kelle Cruz, Vandana Desai, Eric Bellm, Britt Lundgren, Frossie Economou, Brian D. Nord, Chad Schafer, Gautham Narayan
and 35 more authors
Joseph Harrington, Erik Tollerud, Brigitta Sipőcz, Timothy Pickering, Molly S. Peeples, Bruce Berriman, Peter Teuben, David Rodriguez, Andre Gradvohl, Lior Shamir, Alice Allen, Joel R. Brownstein, Adam Ginsburg, Manodeep Sinha, Cameron Hummels, Britton Smith, Heloise Stevance, Adrian Price-Whelan, Brian Cherinka, Chi-kwan Chan, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, Matthew Turk, Benjamin Weiner
/ Abstract
Software is a critical part of modern research, and yet there are insufficient mechanisms in the scholarly ecosystem to acknowledge, cite, and measure the impact of research software. The majority of academic fields rely on a one-dimensional credit model whereby academic articles (and their associated citations) are the dominant factor in the success of a researcher's career. In the petabyte era of astronomical science, citing software and measuring its impact enables academia to retain and reward researchers that make significant software contributions. These highly skilled researchers must be retained to maximize the scientific return from petabyte-scale datasets. Evolving beyond the one-dimensional credit model requires overcoming several key challenges, including the current scholarly ecosystem and scientific culture issues. This white paper will present these challenges and suggest practical solutions for elevating the role of software as a product of the research enterprise.