Trusting Others to ‘Do the Math’

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Rebecca Sutton Koeser, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-06-07
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis: STM, Behavioural Science and Public Health Titles
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2016 The Author(s).
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03080188.2016.1165454
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 378
• End Page: 392
• Keywords: research software engineers; digital humanities; digital publishing; software development

Abstract

Researchers effectively trust the work of others anytime they use software tools or custom software. In this article I explore this notion of trusting others, using Digital Humanities as a focus, and drawing on my own experience. Software is inherently flawed and limited, so when its use in scholarship demands better practices and terminology, to review research software and describe development processes. It is also important to make research software engineers and their work more visible, both for the purposes of review and credit.