Dr Rachael Ainsworth
Manchester University (Manchester, United Kingdom)
Dr. Rachael Ainsworth is the Research Software Community Manager for the Software Sustainability Institute and is based at the University of Manchester in the UK. She has a background in astrophysical research and investigated the radio wavelength properties of newly-forming Sun-like stars. She is passionate about openness, transparency, reproducibility, wellbeing and inclusion in research.
All OAI12 Sessions by Dr Rachael Ainsworth
Incentivising sustainable and collaborative research
Working in a truly open, reproducible and inclusive way is not yet fully supported within modern research culture. Metrics, rewards and progression still focus on the publication record of the individual researcher and the end product of the research, instead of the process by which the research is conducted. For example, the sustainability of software and data which underpin research is vital to ensure the work is reproducible in the future and can be built upon, but is not sufficiently incentivised or supported. Emerging roles and ways of working highlight how unfit current measures of success in research are. Systemic solutions such as promoting collaborative ways of working and professionalising alternative but essential roles to support them, such as Research Software Engineers, Data Stewards and Community Managers, can lead to more sustainable, reproducible and efficient research.
Slides available here: https://zenodo.org/record/5482495