Sep 11, 2019  –  Sep 13, 2019  |  Washington, DC

Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) – Washington, D.C.

BITSS hosted its Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) in Washington DC, September 11-13, 2019.

RT2 provides participants with an overview of tools and best practices for transparent and reproducible social science research. The curriculum is developed and delivered by academic leaders in the open science movement and there is space for collaborative work and hands-on skill-building. Participants are encouraged to bring their own research questions and ideas to seek support and feedback from instructors and other attendees.

Curriculum

RT2 curriculum covered the following topics:

  • Ethics and Mertonian norms for research transparency and reproducibility
  • Scientific misconduct and researcher degrees of freedom
  • Improved specification through study pre-registration and pre-analysis plans
  • Computational reproducibility and approaches to replication
  • Techniques for reproducible meta-analysis
  • Hands-on practice with version control using Git (GitHub or the Command Line)
  • Dynamic documents with R and Stata
  • Data management and de-identification for data sharing
  • Appropriate use of statistics and interpretation of statistical evidence

Find the agenda here.

Faculty

Faculty included (in alphabetical order): Luiza Andrade (World Bank, Economics), Lorena Barba (George Washington University, Engineering), Graeme Blair (UCLA, Political Science), Fiona Burlig (University of Chicago, Economics), Benjamin Daniels (World Bank, Economics), Charlie Ebersole (University of Virginia, Psychology), Sean Grant (University of Indiana, Public Health), Fernando Hoces de la Guardia (BITSS, Public Policy), Maggie Jones (US Census, Economics), Edward Miguel (BITSS/UC Berkeley, Economics), Michael Orevba (World Bank, Economics), Joseph Simmons (University of Pennsylvania, Psychology), Soazic Elise Wang Sonne (World Bank, Economics), and Alexa Tullett (University of Alabama, Psychology).

Eligibility

RT2 is designed for researchers in the social and health sciences, with particular emphasis on economics, political science, psychology, and public health. Participants are typically (i) current Masters and PhD students, (ii) postdocs, (iii) junior faculty, (iv) research staff, (v) librarians and data stewards, and (vi) journal editors, funders, and research managers curious about the implications of transparency and reproducibility for their work.

RT2 curriculum is most applicable to research that uses quantitative or mixed methods. Applicants should have proficiency in R or Stata.

Fees and Financial Support

Tuition for RT2 was $1,500 for three days, including breakfast, lunch, and a networking reception on September 13. This tuition fee does not cover costs for travel and accommodation.

Financial Support: For up to 30 participants, BITSS offered full or partial financial support by waiving the tuition fee and covering travel, lodging and child care. Financial support were awarded based on a combination of merit and need, taking into account our commitment to facilitate access to RT2 for diverse and underserved populations. Note that the deadline for applicants requesting financial support from BITSS expired on June 2.

Selection Process

BITSS selected 39 participants for this RT2.

Contact

Reach out to BITSS Senior Program Associate Aleksandar Bogdanoski (abogdanoski@berkeley.edu) with any questions about RT2 DC.

This RT2 was organized in partnership with the World Bank’s Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) group.