Keynote for eResearch NZ conference at Waikato University

1. kaitlin thaney
@kaythaney ; @mozillascience
eResearch NZ / 2 july 2014
making the web work
for science

2. doing good is part of our code

3. help researchers use the
power of the open web to
change science’s future.

4. (0)

5. science is still (largely)
rooted in 17th c. practices.
(with more powerful horses)

6. early forms of knowledge sharing

7. our current systems are
designed to create
friction.
despite original intentions.

8. we’re locked in old mechanisms.

9. What Des-Cartes did was a good step.
You have added much several ways, &
especially in taking ye colours of thin
plates into philosophical consideration.
If I have seen further it is by standing on
ye shoulders of Giants.
- Isaac Newton, 1676
“
“

10. existing system is imperfect

11. traditions last not because they are
excellent, but because influential
people are averse to change and
because of the sheer burdens of
transition to a better state ...
“
“
Cass Sunstein

13. power, performance, scale

15. current state of science
articles
data
patents

16. some have a firehose
articles
data
patents

17. (1)

18. leveraging the power of
the web for scholarship

19. - access to content, data, code, materials.
- emergence of “web-native” tools.
- rewards for openness, interop, collaboration, sharing.
- push for ROI, reuse, recomputability, transparency.
“web-enabled science”

20. emergence of new
communities, practice

21. research cycle
idea
experiment
lit review
materials
publish
share results
retest
analyze
collect data

22. types of information
hypothesis/query
protocols
parameters
content
non-digital “stuff”
articles
proceedings
negative results
analysis
code
datasets
models
(added complexity)
prof activities
mentorship
teaching activities

23. blocking points
idea
experiment
access
attaining
materials
publish
share results
retest
analyze
collect data
(to name a few ...)

24. how to shift practice
towards open?
routine
rewardcue

25. Source: Michener, 2006 Ecoinformatics.

26. Source: Wolkovich et al. GCB 2012.

27. wasted ...
$$$
time
resource
opportunity

28. (2)

29. looking beyond “open”
is access enough?

30. code
(interop)
community
(people)
code/data literacy
(means to learn/engage)

31. our systems need to
talk to one another.
leveraging open technology, existing infrastructure.

32. unpacking what the web
can do for science

35. code as a research object
what’s needed to reuse ?
http://bit.ly/mozfiggit

36. code as a research object
http://xkcd.com/285/
http://bit.ly/mozfiggit

40. (community driven)
metadata for software discovery: JSON-LD
http://bit.ly/mozfiggit

45. (3)

46. our practices are
limiting us.
how best move towards adoption?

48. “web-enabled science”
- access to content, data, code, materials.
- emergence of “web-native” tools.
- rewards for openness, interop, collaboration, sharing.
- push for ROI, reuse, recomputability, transparency.

49. “web-enabled science”
what’s missing?
- access to content, data, code, materials.
- emergence of “web-native” tools.
- rewards for openness, interop, collaboration, sharing.
- push for ROI, reuse, recomputability, transparency.

50. social
software
hardware
infrastructure layers

51. “the social
infrastructure”
routine
rewardcue

52. upping our digital literacy

53. upping our digital literacy

54. “Reliance on
ad-hoc, self-
education
about what’s
possible
doesn’t scale.”
- Selena Decklemann

57. current activity:
130+ instructors
(60+, training)
3700+ learners

58. instill best
(digital,
reproducible)
practice
“research hygiene”

59. building capacity locally
(join us.)

60. focus on building capacity,
not just more nodes.

62. (4)

63. shifting practice
(and getting it to stick)
is challenging.
... but not impossible.

65. 63 nations
10,000 scientists
50,000 participants
can we do the same
for research on the web?

66. tools and technology
cultural awareness, best practice
connections, open dialogue
skills training
what are the necessary components?

67. Source: Piwowar, et al. PLOS.

68. (5)

69. the future is here ...
it’s just not evenly distributed.
- william gibson
“
“

70. operating in isolation
doesn’t scale.

71. coordination is key.
open as an accelerant.
build capacity, community.

72. join us
(and the conversation.)
teach, contribute, learn.
http://software-carpentry.org
http://mozillascience.org

73. kaitlin@mozillafoundation.org
@kaythaney ; @mozillascience
special thanks: