• Introduction
  • Why this talk?
  • About you and us.
  • Why peer-review?
• Two crucial components
  • The way we communicate.
  • The way we build and review software.
• Wrap up
  • Takeaways.
  • Questions and comments.

The process is complex and can feel overwhelming.

This talk:

• Highlights the most important materials.
• Shows you where you can find the rest.
• Gives you the chance to ask questions.

• You may want to author, review, or edit an R package.
• You’re curious about rOpenSci’s review process.

Mauro:

• I build tools to support research in green finance.
• Before I was a biologist.
• I joined rOpenSci in 2018 and played different roles.

Noam:

• I am a disease ecologist that works with modeling and field teams
• I’ve worked with rOpenSci since 2014, primarily doing peer-review editorial work
• I’ve been Executive Director for < 3 weeks!

• Drive adoption of best practices and standards
• Increase quality in the long tail of applications
• Build a community of practice

Some quotes from authors and reviewers:

“The review process taught me a lot about different tools available for making my code more robust and resilient to future changes.”

“I learn a lot from closely reading other people’s code and it is hard to do when I’m not forced to review so closely.”

“I really love the rOpenSci pacakage review process, especially its interactivity and how much you can learn from others.”

The long tail: monthly downloads of all CRAN packages

rOpenSci evolved from

• A group of people who wrote R packages, to
• A group of people who manageed a lot of R packages, and realized we needed review, to
• A group of people who reviewed R packages, and realized we needed a process, to
• A group of people managed a review process, and realized we needed a community.

• The way we communicate: Code of conduct.
• The way we build and review software: “Devguide”.

“[Helping to improve software] in a kind and respectful way is just as important as the technical aspect”.
– Yanina Bellini Saibene

Example of a kind and respectful reviewer’s response.

“It’s like when I hold the door open for someone.”
“Even when someone volunteers their time, there is a cost of their time and effort.”
– Setting expectations for open source participation

Guide for authors

• Package categories in scope for rOpenSci review.
• Guide to building a package.
• Guide to submitting a package.
• Choose between different types of submission.

Other guides, templates, and tools

• Guide for reviewers and editors.
• Template for reviewers and editors.
• Bot commands.

• Be kind and respectful.
• The process is complex but you’ll find lots of help.

Thank you!

Mauro and Noam