University joins the UK Reproducibility Network
09 Dec 2020
Part of our commitment to developing an Open Research environment
The University has joined the UK Reproducibility Network as part of our commitment to developing an Open Research environment.
The UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) is a national peer-led consortium that aims to ensure the UK retains its place as a centre for world-leading research by promoting initiatives to improve research rigour, reproducibility, robustness and quality at both grassroots and stakeholder levels. It does this by investigating the factors that contribute to robust research, promoting training activities, and disseminating best practice. The UKRN seeks to understand the factors that contribute to poor research reproducibility and replicability, and develop approaches to counter these, in order to improve the trustworthiness and quality of research through reforming research culture and practice. The University of Manchester will join 16 other UK universities in ongoing efforts to address these factors (which affect all academic disciplines).
The University has an active community of researchers engaged in promoting open and reproducible research practices, both individually and as part of the University’s Open Research Working Group (ORWG). This includes the early-career led ReproducibiliTea journal club which provides an opportunity for researchers across all faculties to meet and discuss issues around openness and reproducibility and what these mean for different academic disciplines.
- Sign up to the ORWG mailing list to receive more information about the ReproducibiliTea club and other Open Research activities
We are pleased to announce that Dr Andrew Stewart (School of Biological Sciences, FBMH) has agreed to be the University’s inaugural Open and Reproducible Research Academic Lead. In this role, Andrew will work closely with those involved in leading the development of the University’s Open Research Programme and is a member of the University’s Open Research Strategy Group (chaired by Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research).
Professor Colette Fagan said: "I am delighted that Andrew has agreed to take on this role, building on the great contribution that he has already made for our University and the wider research community."
Dr Andrew Stewart commented: “I am very excited that our University has become an institutional member of the UKRN and am hugely honoured to have been appointed Open and Reproducible Research Lead for the University. The importance of openness and reproducibility has been brought into very sharp focus over recent years and provides a great opportunity for all of us at the University, regardless of discipline, to adopt more open and transparent practices in our research. I am looking forward to working with our fantastic colleagues in the Library and across the University on all aspects of research openness and transparency. ”
Professor Marcus Munafò, chair of the UK Reproducibility Network steering group said: “It’s exciting to see so many universities coming together to work with each other through the UK Reproducibility Network to ensure the quality of our work remains world-leading. This kind of collaborative and collective action represents an exciting and potentially transformative step. I’m extremely pleased to be able to welcome the University of Manchester to the UKRN family.”
About Dr Andrew Stewart
Dr Andrew Stewart is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, FBMH, and a Fellow of the Software Sustainability Institute. He co-founded the University of Manchester’s Open Research Working Group (ORWG) in 2018 and previously acted as the University’s ORWG representative to the UKRN. Andrew adopts open and reproducible research practices in his own research on human cognition, and teaches a number of courses on Reproducible Data Science to students in Psychology and Biological Sciences. You can follow Andrew on Twitter (@ajstewart_lang) where he (Re)Tweets about all things related to open and reproducible research, or you can contact him directly (andrew.stewart@manchester.ac.uk) if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts on openness and reproducibility in research across our University.