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Software papers and their role in academia

Luca Ferranti


Publications are the currency for researchers and number and distribution of publications can often be a tie-breaker for getting fundings, so let's talk about where to publish research software papers.

A few inputs to start the discussion

  • What are the forums that accept research software papers? There are e.g. JOSS, JORS, ACM transactions on mathematical software, do you know others?
  • What to publish there? When is a research software "good enough" to be published in a journal?
  • How do these journals compare to traditional journals? When should you choose a "traditional" forum and when a software forum, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
  • How are these journals ranked compared to other ones? Some countries (e.g. Finland and Norway) have a ranking system of publication forums. How are these forums ranked? How should they be ranked?
  • Is there enough awareness of these forums? Are all RSEs and researchers aware of these forums and related issues? What can we do to increase awareness (if needed)?