Reproducible Research Software License

Prof. Joseph Harrington

Planetary Sciences Group

Department of Physics

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida 32816-2385

USA

jh@physics.ucf.edu

 

Version 0.3

8 March 2016

 

(C) Copyright 2016 Joseph Harrington

 

The goal of this license is to restore reproducibility and synergy to

science by enforcing the publication of the computer codes behind

published scientific work.

 

Preamble

 

“If it’s not reproducible, it’s not science.”

 

With the advent of computers, calculations such as data analyses and

models have become so complex that written descriptions in research

articles cannot adequately describe them.  There are too many

calculations in even an average code to describe in a normal-length

journal article.  Most of the computational decisions to be documented

would interest just a few of the hundreds or thousands of readers.

Researchers describe what is important to them, omitting minor but

crucial details requires to reproduce the calculation.  It is likely

that the paper would describe what the researcher thought was in the

code, rather than what was really there.  That is, there are bugs in

any large code that may alter the calculation from what was intended.

The ultimate documentation is the source code itself, though this is

no excuse for not writing good documentation, both as comments in the

code and in separate documents.

 

There are now numerous calculations that, when others attempted to

implement them from the descriptions in papers, turned out to be

irreproducible, despite being from respected researchers writing in

top, peer-reviewed journals.  Often, one cannot attempt to reproduce a

calculation simply because it would take years to write a similar code

from scratch.

 

Further, the progress of science has been slowed dramatically because

of the time required to re-implement complex calculations already

coded by earlier researchers.  In science, we stand on the shoulders

of giants.  In the past, if a researcher invented a model for a

physical situation that was instantiated in a sequence of equations,

those equations had to be published for the researcher to get credit

for their discovery.  Then, anyone could use them.

 

This is no longer true if the discovery is instantiated in code: the

model cannot be evaluated by peers, nor can anyone build upon it

without spending months or even many years writing a similar code.

Thus, the current practice of not publishing codes allows researchers

to get credit for their discoveries while simultaneously preventing

serious peer review of methods and use of the discoveries by potential

competitors.

 

In an ideal world, journals and the peer-review system would require

the disclosure of codes used in research, as they have traditionally

required the disclosure of the equations in a model.  Until this comes

to pass, the research community can enforce the publication of some

codes through licensing.

 

One might ask, why not use an existing free/open-source software

license?  License proliferation is a big problem already.  We have

sought such a solution, but existing licenses ignore the use case of

science.  Those licenses all refer to the propagation of code.  The

GNU licenses, for example, enforce the propagation of source code when

object code is propagated, or when a server containing the software is

offered online as a service.  In the case of science, we are dealing

with the case where there is no propagation.  For example, consider a

scientist who downloads a code, modifies it in a creative way, and

publishes a series of results, receiving great credit.  This

researcher has now built a moat: others cannot see the code to check

its correctness, nor can they carry out calculations for themselves

that benefit from the researcher’s value-added work.  The giant stands

on the shoulders of another giant, but the top giant’s shoulders are

now covered in spikes!

 

There is one existing license that does attempt to force this example

researcher to share: the Community Research and Academic Programming

License (http://matt.might.net/articles/crapl/).  This rather

humorously written license served as an inspiration to the current

license, some of its definitions are included, and we encourage others

to study it.  However, some of its terms do not match our needs.  We

feel that it applies much better to casually written research codes

and less well to codes designed from the outset to be community

efforts (i.e., true open-source codes).  The present license is

designed for both kinds of codes.

 

Licensing is at best an unfriendly solution, as it ties the user’s

hands legally.  Some choose not to use codes with restrictive

licenses, and some licenses have conflicting terms, preventing the

fruitful combination and remixing of codes licensed under each.  It is

my hope that, someday, publishing codes will become our common

expectation, enforced socially and required by journals.  Then,

licenses like this one will be unnecessary, and we can return to

standard licenses that do not mention how a code or its output are

used.

 

In the mean time, the terms below are designed to ensure that all may

both examine and reap the maximum benefit from the codes that produce

research results.  We recognize that there will be legitimate use

cases where this license will be a hindrance.  We remind the reader

that the owners of the code’s rights may always make independent

agreements on a case-by-case basis that allow use under different

licensing arrangements from those offered to the general public.

Please contact a code’s owners to discuss such arrangements.

 

Finally, this license is a work in progress, and future versions with

updated terms will no doubt be released.  If you wish to discuss this

license or the topic of reproducible research, please join the

reproducible@planets.ucf.edu

discussion group by visiting:

 

https://physics.ucf.edu/mailman/listinfo/reproducible

 

–jh–

Prof. Joseph Harrington

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida

USA

 

I. DEFINITIONS

 

A. Location Identifier

 

A small data item in a common, standard format that enables

appropriate software to retrieve information from computer networks.

 

B. Permanent

 

Intended and reasonably expected to remain available and unchanged

indefinitely.

 

C. Easily Discoverable Public Archive (EDPA)

 

A service that provides permanent storage and free retrieval of data.

The service must issue Permanent Location Identifiers to the data sets

it stores.  It must be broadly available on popular public computer

networks.  It must make available summary information about the data

sets it stores that popular search services use to help people

identify and locate data sets relevant to their interests.

 

D. Online Revision Control System (ORCS)

 

A service that provides permanent storage and free retrieval of

software, including tracking of changes, attribution of changes to

their authors, and labeling and retrieval of prior versions.  The

service must issue Permanent Location Identifiers to the software it

stores.  It must be broadly available on popular public computer

networks.

 

E. Program

 

The main set(s) of computer instructions to which this license

applies, and all source code, executable code, build files, scripts,

configuration files, data, documentation, licenses, and other files

associated with those instructions and normally distributed with them.

The Program does not include data supplied originally by the user or

third parties, even if such data are required for the program to

operate.

 

F. Unmodified Program

 

Any Program version that has appeared in an EDPA or an ORCS.

 

G. Modified Program

 

Any Program version that does not meet the criteria for an Unmodified

Program.

 

H. Third-Party Data

 

Information not included in the Program and not originating with the

user that is required by the Program.

 

I. Scientific Claim

 

Any statement purported to be supported by evidence.

 

J. Peer

 

One who has made similar Scientific Claims to those being made by an

individual.

 

K. Peer-Reviewed Literature

 

The set of publication media normally used for making Scientific

Claims for the first time, in which Peers evaluate and comment on the

quality of new claims as a precondition for those claims appearing in

that medium.

 

L. Published Scientific Description

 

One or more items in the Peer-Reviewed Literature describing any

portion of the Program and/or justifying any of its algorithms.

 

M. Top Level

 

The folder or directory of the Program containing all the Program

files, when listed recursively.

 

N. You

 

Anyone who does any of the following with the Program: uses it,

modifies it, copies it, downloads it, uploads it, shares it, assigns

employees or advisees to work with it, publishes it.

 

O. Reproducible-Research Compendium (RRC)

 

A data collection under one Top Level directory or folder containing:

 

1. The exact version of the Program (including modifications) used to

support a Scientific Claim, or each version if more than one was used.

It must be made clear which version applies to which claim.  For any

version that is an Unmodified Program, an easily navigated reference

to the item in an EDPA or an ORCS may be substituted for the actual

Program.  The Program inclusion or referenced archive must contain the

full source code, documentation, and all other relevant files.

Removal, obscuration, or obfuscation of the source code,

documentation, or other files is not permitted.

 

2. The input data and all configurations (whether stored in files,

command-line arguments, settings made through a graphical user

interface, or otherwise) used to produce the program behavior and

output offered in support of a Scientific Claim.  If random processes

are used by the Program and it is possible to determine and set the

random number seed(s) used in support of a Scientific Claim, all such

seeds must be reported as well.  Otherwise, the supplied configuration

must produce results that are statistically convergent to the Program

run used to produce the support or data.  Standard, publicly available

Third-Party Data may be omitted if the RRC provides a clear reference,

easily followed by Peers without cost, to a permanent and unchanging

archive of the exact version of the Third-Party Data used to support a

claim.  If You used proprietary Third-Party Data for which a

good-faith effort failed to obtain permission to place it in an RRC,

You must identify those data and their source(s), and include

information by which others can obtain them.

 

3. All the output produced by the Program in the Program runs used to

support a Scientific Claim, including status and error messages, in

their original forms.

 

4. Any spreadsheets, codes, or other calculations implemented by You

and used to process the data from the Program into display or tabular

form used to support a Scientific Claim, and any processed forms of

the program output produced by the same, whether published or not.

The intention of this requirement is that aggregation, statistical

analysis, and plotting codes written or configured by investigators be

included in the RRC.  This requirement explicitly does NOT apply to

codes that take Program output as input to further calculations of the

general type under study, PROVIDED that: a. The data passing from the

Program to such codes is archived in human- and machine-readable

format in the RRC, and that b. You identify the code(s) and their

source(s), describe how they used the data, and include information by

which others can obtain the code(s).

 

5. Machine- and human-readable form of information deriving from the

Program and presented in the peer-reviewed publication as evidence

supporting a Scientific Claim, including without limitation values on

or in plots, graphs, videos, other data visualizations, tables,

auditory tones, or any other forms presented, even if they are from

code(s) falling under the exception in the prior paragraph.

 

6. A clear set of instructions for how to run the Program with the

supplied and referenced settings and data to support each Scientific

Claim covered by the RRC.

 

II. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

 

A. Any publication of the Program, a Modified version of the Program,

information produced by the Program, or Scientific Claims supported

by the Program must acknowledge the Author(s) and, if appropriate

to the medium of publication, must reference the Published

Scientific Description of the Program in the usual manner for that

medium.  If instructions for doing so are included in a file in the

Top Level of the Program, they must be followed and may not be

altered.

 

B. If You Modify the program, You must clearly identify Yourself,

including postal and electronic contact information, and You must

briefly summarize Your modifications to the Program, in a Top-Level

file recording changes.  If You fail to do so, You forfeit all

rights with respect to Your Modifications.

 

C. This license, as applied to the Program, may not be altered.

Modified versions of the Program must also use this license, except

as noted below, and must include this license file as it is

included in the Unmodified Program.

 

D. If any Modifications include pre-existing, modular software

licensed under another license and for which a good-faith effort

does not obtain permission to include that software under this

license, then that portion of the Modified Program may be excluded

from this license.  If the terms of its license allow its free

redistribution, it must be included in RRCs produced for this

Program.  If the terms of its license do not allow free

redistribution, then You must identify that software and its

source, and include information by which others can obtain it.

 

E. You must not make false, misleading, or exaggerated statements

regarding the Program, its authors and contributors (including any

contact information), Your or others’ Modifications to the Program,

or the credit due to You or others for the Program and its

Modifications.

 

III. PERMITTED USES AND THEIR RESTRICTIONS

 

Subject to the General Requirements above:

 

A. You are permitted to use, modify, distribute, and make derivative

works from the Published Program or any portion of it for any

purpose unrelated to producing or validating Scientific Claims.

 

B. You are permitted to use and/or modify the Published Program to

validate Scientific Claims.

 

C. If You publish, in the peer-reviewed literature, any Scientific

Claims or data that were supported or generated, in whole or in

part, by the Program, Modified or not, You must publish an RRC

documenting those data or the support for those claims.

 

D. If the version of the Program You received includes Unpublished

Modifications made by others whose Unpublished Scientific Claims

You are evaluating, You are permitted to use the Program as

Modified, and to make further Modifications, to validate those

Claims, under the condition that You keep all Modifications

including Yours confidential until those Claims have been Published

in the Peer-Reviewed Literature or the Modifications You received

have been Published.  You may not use the Modified Program for

other purposes without written permission from the authors of any

Unpublished Modifications.  Once all Modifications have been

Published, this paragraph no longer applies.  If You can apply only

Your Modifications to any Published version of the Program, this

restriction does not apply to that Modified Program.

 

E. If the version of the Program You received includes Unpublished

Modifications, You may only publish Claims or Data in the

Peer-Reviewed Literature supported by or derived from that version

of the Program if You legally may, and do, publish those

Modifications as specified in III.C. above.

 

F. If You, or a service that You own or operate, make results from the

program available to other users, You must first obtain the

agreement of those other users to be party to this license.  You

must tell them where You received the Program and what version You

received.  You must describe to them any Modifications You made to

the Program.  If there are Modifications, You must advise them

before You give them the results that they may not publish the

results You have given them in the Peer-Reviewed Literature until

those Modifications have been published.

 

IV. Disclaimer of Warranty

 

THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY

APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING, THE COPYRIGHT

HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM “AS IS”, WITHOUT

WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT

LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR

A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND

PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE

DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR

CORRECTION.

 

V. Limitation of Liability

 

IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING

WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MODIFIES AND/OR

CONVEYS THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,

INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES

ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING, BUT

NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR

LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM

TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER

PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.