Journal of Cheminformatics is piloting the inclusion of an additional software reproducibility and reusability review with its new submissions. Any author whose submission has an associated code repository is free to participate in this pilot, but are encouraged to read the editorial by Hoyt et al. before submitting.
Papers submitted to the pilot will undergo enhanced peer review featuring a reproducibility and reusability review that examines the following seven questions:
- Does the repository contain a LICENSE file in its root?
- Does the repository contain a README file in its root?
- Does the repository contain an associated public issue tracker?
- Has the repository been externally archived on Zenodo, FigShare, or equivalent that is referenced in the README?
- Does the README contain installation documentation?
- Is the code from the repository installable in a straight-forward manner?
- Does the code in the conform to an external linter (e.g., black for Python)?
These correspond to important details that are complementary to other considerations of reproducibility, but often overlooked. Throughout the pilot, the editors and reviewers will try to support authors in addressing each of these points during revision.
Authors should follow the Submission Guidelines for the journal as normal and select "Improving reproducibility and reusability in the Journal of Cheminformatics" from the Collection dropdown menu during the submission process.
Guest Editor
Charles Tapley Hoyt, Harvard Medical School, USA
