This is a preprint at Reasearch Square
Authors

Brian Maitner

Paul Efren Santos Andrade

Luna Lei

George Barbosa

Brad Boyle

Matiss Castorena

Brian Enquist

Xiao Feng

Jamie Kass

Hannah Owens

Daniel Park

Andrea Paz

Gonzalo Pinilla-Buitrago

Cory Merow

Adam Wilson

Published

August 4, 2023

Researsh Paper - PrePrint

Abstract

Biologists increasingly rely on computer code, reinforcing the importance of published code for transparency, reproducibility, training, and a basis for further work. Here we conduct a literature review examining temporal trends in code sharing in ecology and evolution publications since 2010, and test for an influence of code sharing on citation rate. We find that scientists are overwhelmingly (95%) failing to publish their code and that there has been no significant improvement over time, but we also find evidence that code sharing can considerably improve citations, particularly when combined with open access publication.

Temporal trend of code-sharing since 2010. Sample size was 77 papers per year, 1,001 total. The line shows the non-significant trend of code-sharing over time

Code sharing trend
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