Researchers at the University of Southampton are conducting an innovative study to investigate the pivotal role of research software in academic publishing. The project also seeks to better understand the communities that sustain, develop, and use research software, with the aim of elevating its status within academia.
We invite researchers, PhD students, research software developers, users and contributors to share their perspectives in a short survey. Your input will help inform policies and assessment frameworks, such as the Research Excellence Framework (REF), ensuring that software contributions are recognised and rewarded appropriately. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.
For decades, frameworks for assessing research contributions have placed almost exclusive emphasis on peer-reviewed publications as evidence of research quality and impact. However, with the rise of computational research, software has become indispensable for generating, analysing, and interpreting the data that underpins much of today’s science.
Despite its critical role, research software remains largely invisible in evaluations like the REF, which drive funding decisions and academic career progression. This oversight creates several significant challenges:
Initiatives like the HiddenREF, the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI), and the Research Software Engineering (RSE) movement have highlighted the importance of recognising the contributions of research software developers and engineers.
Building on these efforts, researchers at the University of Southampton are developing a provenance knowledge graph, constructed from metadata on platforms such as GitHub, Crossref, and other repositories. This knowledge graph will:
The project aims to provide a robust evidence base for assessing the impact of research software, ensuring its value is fully appreciated within the academic ecosystem.
Efforts such as the HiddenREF have shown the importance of recognising the invisible contributions that underpin modern research. By taking part in this survey, you can help shape a future where research software is acknowledged as a core component of academic success. Your insights will contribute to better policies for citation, transparency, and recognition of software in academia.
The findings from this survey will be shared in a follow-up blog here on the SSI website, providing insights into the role of research software and how it can be better recognised.
