[R] Why software fails in scientific research

[Thomas Adams]

OK…

My Grandfather, who was a farmer, was outstanding in his field…

Cheers…

Murray M Cooper, PhD wrote:
> For what its worth!
>
> A good friend who also happens to be an ecologist
> told me "An ecologist is a statistician who likes to be
> outside".
>
> Murray M Cooper, Phd
> Richland Statistics
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gavin Simpson" 
> <gavin.simpson at ucl.ac.uk>
> To: "Bert Gunter" <gunter.berton at gene.com>
> Cc: <r-help at r-project.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 11:57 AM
> Subject: Re: [R] Why software fails in scientific research
>
>
>> On Wed, 2010-06-30 at 11:17 -0700, Bert Gunter wrote:
>>> Just one small additional note below ...
>>>
>>> Bert Gunter
>>> Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
>>>
>>>
>>> "But a lot of academics are not going to "waste" their time 
>>> documenting code
>>>
>>> properly, so others can reap the benefits of it. They would rather 
>>> get on
>>> with
>>> the next project, to get the next paper. "
>>>
>>>
>>> -- Indeed. My personal experience over 3 decades in industrial 
>>> (private)
>>> research is that data analysis is viewed as relatively
>>> unimportant/straightforward/pedestrian and is left to technicians (or
>>> postdocs) -- often with what is done being largely dictated by the
>>> conventions of a particular journal or discipline. The lab heads and
>>> research directors are responsible for the grand research strategies,
>>> managing resources, etc. and don't want to waste much time on 
>>> something that
>>> routine. So worrying about reproducibility of data analysis "code" 
>>> (if there
>>> is any, given the use of GUI software like Excel) falls beneath 
>>> their radar.
>>>
>>> Clearly there are disciplines (e.g. ecology?) where this may NOT be the
>>> case.
>>
>> If ecology is anything to go by (and I am an ecologist, sort of, just
>> about), there is a large body of the community doing things because i)
>> that is how they've always been done, or ii) because that's what
>> reviewers/editors expect etc. with a much smaller group of researchers
>> pushing at the boundaries (of their field) to use techniques
>> statisticians and the like have been using for a very long time.
>>
>> Reproducible research is still very much in the (very, very) small
>> minority of the work I come across reviewing papers etc. But I am
>> encouraged by the number of people I know who are starting to use tools
>> like R to conduct their research.
>>
>>> -- Bert
>>
>> G
>>
>> -- 
>> %~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
>> Dr. Gavin Simpson [t] +44 (0)20 7679 0522
>> ECRC, UCL Geography, [f] +44 (0)20 7679 0565
>> Pearson Building, [e] gavin.simpsonATNOSPAMucl.ac.uk
>> Gower Street, London [w] http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucfagls/
>> UK. WC1E 6BT. [w] http://www.freshwaters.org.uk
>> %~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> PLEASE do read the posting guide 
>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide 
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


-- 
Thomas E Adams
National Weather Service
Ohio River Forecast Center
1901 South State Route 134
Wilmington, OH 45177

EMAIL:	thomas.adams at noaa.gov

VOICE:	937-383-0528
FAX:	937-383-0033