Making research software open and shareable | Research

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href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/data-discovery-and-reuse/symplectic-and-spiral/">How to use the Imperial data catalogue (Symplectic and Spiral)</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/">Create an ORCID iD</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/training-and-resources/">Training and resources</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/training-and-resources/imperial-guidance/">Imperial RDM training</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/training-and-resources/how-to-videos/">How to videos</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/training-and-resources/glossary/">Glossary</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/faq/">Frequently asked questions</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/book-a-one-to-one/">Book an RDM consultation</a></li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/">Open access</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-0"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/oa-policy/">Imperial's research publications open access policy</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/research-funders-open-access-policies/">Research funders' open access policies</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/research-funders-open-access-policies/ukri-open-access-review-consultation/">UKRI Open Access Review Consultation</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/ref-2029/">REF 2029 open access policy</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/">Frequently asked questions</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/">Depositing in Spiral</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/deposit-on-acceptance/">Deposit on acceptance</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/deposit-after-publication/">Deposit after publication</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-2"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/deposit-after-publication/deposit-a-paper-from-europe-pubmed-central/">Deposit a paper from Europe PubMed Central</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/permissions/">Permission to deposit</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/versions/">Publication versions</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/licences-and-policies/">Licences and policies</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/">Frequently asked questions</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/depositing-in-pubmed-central/">Depositing in PubMed Central and Europe PMC</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/applying-for-funding/">Applying for funding</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/applying-for-funding/what-happens-to-my-application/">What happens to my application?</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/applying-for-funding/publisher-memberships/" target="_self">Publisher agreements and discounts</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/">Preparing your thesis </a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/reproducing-published-works/">Reproducing published extracts, images, figures, etc</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/reproducing-your-own-published-work/">Reproducing your own published work</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/requesting-an-embargo/">Requesting an embargo</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/creating-your-pdfa/">Creating your PDF/A</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/selecting-a-creative-commons-licence/">Selecting a Creative Commons licence</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/publishing-material-from-your-thesis/">Publishing material from your thesis</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/advice-for-supervisors/">Advice for supervisors</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/masters-dissertations/">Master's dissertations</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/">Frequently asked questions</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/theses/ukri-funded-students/">UKRI funded students</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/">Frequently asked questions</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-1"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/ref-2029-open-access-policy/">REF 2029 open access policy</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/what-is-open-access/">What is open access?</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/depositing-your-work-in-spiral/">Depositing your work in Spiral</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/using-symplectic/">Using Symplectic</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/imperial-profiles/">Imperial Profiles</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/applying-for-oa-fees-article-processing-charges/">Applying for OA fees (article processing charges)</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/faq/preparing-your-phd-thesis-for-submission-to-spiral/">Preparing your research degree thesis for submission to Spiral</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/glossary/">Glossary of open access terms</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/symplectic-spiral-relationship/">What is the relationship between Symplectic and Spiral</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/book-a-one-to-one-or-training-session/">Book a one to one or training session</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/our-team/">Our team</a></li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/publishing-with-spiral/">Publishing with Spiral</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-0"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/publishing-with-spiral/intro-to-spiral/">Introduction to Spiral</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/publishing-with-spiral/how-to-prepare-your-report/">How to prepare your report</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/publishing-with-spiral/get-a-doi/">Receiving a DOI for your report</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/publishing-with-spiral/discovering-impact/">Discovering impact</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/deposit-after-publication/">Depositing a published paper in Spiral</a></li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/symplectic/">Symplectic</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-0"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/open-access/spiral/">Add outputs to Symplectic and Spiral</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/symplectic/link-research-outputs-to-other-entities/">Link research outputs to other entities</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/symplectic/update-your-imperial-profile/">Update your Imperial Profile</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/symplectic/add-publications-to-researchfish/">Add publications to Researchfish</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/symplectic/user-guides-and-faculty-contacts/">User guides and faculty contacts</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/symplectic/frequently-asked-questions/">Frequently asked questions</a></li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/">ORCID</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-0"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/symplectic-to-orcid-for-all-users/">Synchronising Symplectic to ORCID: all users</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/symplectic-to-orcid-for-affected-users/">Synchronising Symplectic to ORCID: affected users</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/symplectic-and-orcid-permissions/">Setting Symplectic and ORCID permissions</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/maximise-your-visibility-with-orcid/">Maximise your visibility with ORCID</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/orcid/faq/">ORCID frequently asked questions</a></li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/">Bibliometrics</a> <ul class="multilevel-linkul-0"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/basics-of-metrics/">Basics of metrics</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/responsible-use-of-metrics/">Responsible use of metrics</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/available-bibliometrics-tools/">Available bibliometrics tools</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/initiatives-and-resources-on-responsible-metrics/">Initiatives and resources on responsible metrics</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/narrative-cvs/">Narrative CVs</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/bibliometrics/book-a-one-to-one/">Book a one to one</a></li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/training-and-events/">Training and events</a></li>  </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <main id="page"> <div class="show-no-js"> <div class="container"> <p class="step-1">In this section</p> <nav class="nav-fallback"> <ul class="nav-fallback__parent"> <li> <a class="lwi" href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/"> Scholarly Communication </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="container content-template" id="content"> <nav class="page-area-heading"> <a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/">Scholarly Communication</a> </nav> <div class="page-heading lg-8 sm-12"> <div class="breadcrumbs"> <ul> <li><a href="/">Imperial Home</a></li> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/">Research</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/">Support for staff</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/">Scholarly Communication</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/">Research data management</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/">Sharing data</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/research-software/">Making research software open and shareable</a></li> </ul> </div> <h1>Making research software open and shareable</h1> </div> <div class="row row--space-between flow-opposite top" id=""> <aside class="col lg-3 md-4 sm-12"> <div class="section-sidebar section-sidebar--consistent"> <div class="section-sidebar__parent"> <a class="lwi" href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/"><svg role="img" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" class="icon icon--m"><use xlink:href="/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#arrow-left"></use></svg>Sharing data</a></div> <div class="section-sidebar__content" id="section-sidebar-content"> <ul class="section-sidebar__list flow-xs"> <li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/how-to-share-research-data/">How to share research data</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/how-to-write-a-data-access-statement/">How to write a data access statement</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/sharing-sensitive-data/">Sharing sensitive data</a></li><li><a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/sharing-data/licensing-your-data/">Licensing your data</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </aside> <div class="col lg-8 sm-12" role="main" id="primary-content">  <div class="module flow-m"> <div class="row wysiwyg"> <h2>Why share research software?</h2> <p>Research software are a fundamental part of research. As with other research outputs, there are good reasons for preserving software and making it available for future use. The benefits of preserving and sharing research software include:</p> <ul> <li>allowing researchers and developers to get credit for their work</li> <li>supporting research integrity by making it easier to reproduce and replicate research results</li> <li>promoting open research by creating new opportunities for collaboration and the reuse of software in future research.</li> <li>helping researchers and research organisations track the use and reuse of software</li> </ul> <p>Many funding bodies and journal publishers now expect software that supports research findings to be made publicly available upon publication.</p> </div> <div class="heading"> <h2 class="title fake-h3 not-sr-only"> How to share research software </h2> </div> <div class="a11y-accordion-tabs wysiwyg"> <div class="accordion-tabs js-tabs" data-tabs-allowed="false" data-start-collapsed="true"> <ul role="tablist" class="tabs-tab-list"> <li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762432" role="tab" id="tab_762432" aria-controls="tabpanel_762432" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Make use of a code repository when developing your software </a> </li><li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762434" role="tab" id="tab_762434" aria-controls="tabpanel_762434" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Document and describe your software </a> </li><li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762438" role="tab" id="tab_762438" aria-controls="tabpanel_762438" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Archive key versions/releases to get a DOI </a> </li><li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762444" role="tab" id="tab_762444" aria-controls="tabpanel_762444" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Choose a licence for your software </a> </li><li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762469" role="tab" id="tab_762469" aria-controls="tabpanel_762469" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Cite your software </a> </li><li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762480" role="tab" id="tab_762480" aria-controls="tabpanel_762480" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Publish a software paper </a> </li><li role="presentation"> <a href="#tabpanel_762498" role="tab" id="tab_762498" aria-controls="tabpanel_762498" aria-selected="true" class="tabs-trigger js-tabs-trigger"> Additional resources </a> </li> </ul> <section id='tabpanel_762432' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762432' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762432' tabindex='0'> Make use of a code repository when developing your software <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <h4><strong>Make use of a code repository when developing your software</strong></h4> <p>A source code repository is an online service that supports version control and other software development tools such as file hosting, bug tracking and issue tracking. Popular code repositories include <a title="GitHub link opens in a new window" href="https://github.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GitHub</a>, <a title="BitBucket link opens in a new window" href="https://bitbucket.org/product" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BitBucket</a> and <a title="GitLab link opens in a new window" href="https://about.gitlab.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GitLab</a>.  Hosted services are especially useful for working with collaborators across more than one institution.</p> <p>Imperial has a license with GitHub that allows users to create both public and private code repositories at no cost. For further information see <a href="/dev-sites/admin-services/ict/archived-content-from-live-site/working-with-githubcom/">Working with GitHub.com</a>. </p> <p>If your project requires extra security beyond that provided by private repositories in GitHub.com you should consider using the Imperial-hosted GitHub Enterprise service. GitHub Enterprise offers similar functionality to GitHub.com, but all code is stored on-premise and an Imperial user account is required to access the service. See <a href="/dev-sites/admin-services/ict/archived-content-from-live-site/working-with-github-enterprise/">Working with GitHub Enterprise</a> for more information.</p> </div> </section><section id='tabpanel_762434' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762434' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762434' tabindex='0'> Document and describe your software <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <p>Software documentation provides essential contextual information which describes the software and tells others how the software was created, how it operates and how it can be used.  Software documentation can be embedded in the source code or included in written texts that accompany the software. As a minimum you should include a README file with your software.</p> <p> A README file typically includes information such as:</p> <ul> <li>the project name</li> <li>a description of the project</li> <li>instructions on how to install and operate the software</li> <li>copyright and licensing information</li> <li>where users can find help</li> </ul> <p>GitHub will automatically display the content of a file named README on your repository's top-level page. Consider using <a href="https://www.markdownguide.org/" target="_blank" title="Markdown link opens in a new window">Markdown</a> syntax for your README file since GitHub will format this in a manner that makes it more readable and accessible.</p> <p>Please see this <a href="https://github.com/DLTK/DLTK" target="_blank" title="example of a README file link opens in a new window">example of a README file</a> and other supporting documentation for a software project in GitHub</p> <p>Every GitHub repository includes a wiki which can also be used to add descriptive information about your software. For help with creating a README file and a wiki for software projects in GitHub see <a href="https://guides.github.com/features/wikis/" target="_blank" title="Documenting your projects on GitHub link opens in a new window">Documenting your projects on GitHub</a>.</p> </div> </section><section id='tabpanel_762438' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762438' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762438' tabindex='0'> Archive key versions/releases to get a DOI <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <p>Code hosting services such as GitHub, BitBucket or GitLab are not suitable for archiving software. If you have software that supports published findings, is needed to reproduce or replicate research results, or has potential for use in future research, we recommend archiving a copy with a data repository such as <a href="https://zenodo.org/" target="_blank" title="Zenodo link opens in a new window">Zenodo</a> or <a href="https://figshare.com/" target="_blank" title="Figshare link opens in a new window">Figshare</a>. As well as ensuring long-term preservation and access to the software, Zenodo and Figshare both assign DOI’s (Digital Object Identifiers) to software outputs making it easier to cite and track specific versions of your software.</p> <p>Both Zenodo and Figshare have implemented integration tools to support the automated deposit of software from GitHub. For further information see <a href="https://guides.github.com/activities/citable-code/" target="_blank" title="making your code citable link opens in a new window">Making your code citable</a>  (for archiving GitHub repositories with Zenodo) and <a href="https://help.figshare.com/article/how-to-connect-figshare-with-your-github-account#:~:text=You%20can%20get%20set%20up,where%20you'll%20authorise%20figshare." target="_blank" title="How to connect Figshare with your GitHub account  link opens in a new window">How to connect Figshare with your GitHub account </a></p> <p>For additional support from the Software Sustainability Institute see <a href="https://software.ac.uk/choosing-repository-your-software-project" target="_blank" title="Choosing a repository for your software project link opens in a new window">Choosing a repository for your software project</a> and <a href="https://softwaresaved.github.io/software-deposit-guidance/WhereToDepositSoftware.html" target="_blank" title="Software deposit: Where to deposit software link opens in a new window">Software deposit: Where to deposit software</a></p> </div> </section><section id='tabpanel_762444' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762444' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762444' tabindex='0'> Choose a licence for your software <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <h4><strong>What is an open source licence?</strong></h4> <p>A software licence is an agreement between a developer and user which provides a set of conditions for the use and distribution of software. An open source licence allows users to use, copy, modify and redistribute the software providing that credit is given to the author. Because open source licences place minimal restrictions on how others can use software outputs, they are an important tool for making software accessible and reusable.</p> <h4><strong>Which licence should I choose?</strong></h4> <p>When you deposit your software in a repository - whether a code hosting service like GitHub or a general purpose repository like Zenodo or Figshare - you will typically be given the option of choosing a licence. Some popular examples of open source licences for software are <a title="Apache 2.0 link opens in a new window" href="https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apache 2.0</a>, <a title="GNU General Public License (GPL) link opens in a new window" href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GNU General Public License (GPL)</a> and <a title="MIT link opens in a new window" href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT</a>. Imperial’s preferred open source license is the <a title="BSD open source licence link opens in a new window" href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BSD open source licence</a>. Further details are available on Imperial’s Enterprise Division’s web site: Open Source Software Licences.</p> <p>A comprehensive list of open source licences with detailed information for each licence is available from the Open Source Initiative’s web page: <a title="Licenses and Standards link opens in a new window" href="https://opensource.org/licenses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Licenses and Standards</a>.</p> <p>If you are planning to modify and/or redistribute someone else's code check to make sure that this is compatible with the permissions granted under the original licence.</p> <h4><strong>What if my software contains IP which can be commercialised? </strong></h4> <p>Open source licences are unlikely to be appropriate for software that are subject to contractual restrictions set by third parties or where the intellectual property rights (IP) for the software are owned by Imperial and have potential for commercialisation. Imperial's <a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/research-office/research-policies/research-related-policies/ip-policy-college-login/" class="">Intellectual Property policy</a> is available with your Imperial login. Help with the IP commercialisation process is available from Imperial's Enterprise division: <a href="mailto:enterprise@imperial.ac.uk">enterprise@imperial.ac.uk </a></p> <div> </div> </div> </section><section id='tabpanel_762469' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762469' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762469' tabindex='0'> Cite your software <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <p>Research software should be given the same importance as any other research output and considered citable in the same way as an article or monograph.</p> <h4><strong>How to enable others to cite your software</strong></h4> <p>If you are making your software publicly available - e.g. via a hosting service such as GitHub or a data repository such as <a href="https://zenodo.org/" target="_blank" title="Zenodo link opens in a new window">Zenodo</a> or <a href="https://figshare.com/" target="_blank" title="Figshare link opens in a new window">Figshare</a> - you can encourage others to cite your software by including a recommended citation in your README file or by including a <a href="https://citation-file-format.github.io/" target="_blank" title="CITATION file link opens in a new window">CITATION file</a>. If the software supports published findings you should also include a recommended citation in the published paper. This can be added to the acknowledgements section or as part of a separate data access statement.</p> <h4><strong>How to cite others’ software</strong></h4> <p>If you have used someone else's software in your research project you should include a citation in your published paper. This could be in the acknowledgements, footnotes, methods section or appendices depending on publisher requirements. It is not necessary to acknowledge all the software used. The <a href="https://www.software.ac.uk/how-cite-software" target="_blank" title="Software Sustainability Institute link opens in a new window">Software Sustainability Institute</a> recommend citation only if the software played a critical role in your research and made a novel contribution.</p> <h4><strong>What to include in a software citation?</strong></h4> <p>The Australian National Data Service (ANDS) recommend using these core citation elements:</p> <p>Author, Publication Year, Title, Version, Publisher, Resource type (Software), Identifier (e.g. DOI)</p> <p>Example:</p> <p><em>Xu, C., & Christoffersen, B. (2017). The Functionally-Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator Version 1. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). [Software].  https://doi.org/10.11578/dc.20171025.1962</em></p> <p>Some publishers and software providers have also published guidelines for software citation. Examples can be found on the Software Sustainability Institute’s webpage <a href="https://www.software.ac.uk/how-cite-software" target="_blank" title="How to cite software link opens in a new window">How to cite software</a></p> <h4><strong>Further reading:</strong></h4> <p>Australian National Data Service (ANDS) <a href="https://www.ands.org.au/working-with-data/citation-and-identifiers/software-citation" target="_blank" title="Software Citation link opens in a new window">Software Citation</a></p> <p>Force 11 <a href="https://www.force11.org/software-citation-principles" target="_blank" title="Software Citation Principles link opens in a new window">Software Citation Principles</a></p> <div> </div> </div> </section><section id='tabpanel_762480' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762480' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762480' tabindex='0'> Publish a software paper <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <p>In addition to making your software publicly available you might also consider publishing a paper describing your software. Journals which specialise in publishing peer reviewed software papers include:</p> <p><a title="Journal of open research software link opens in a new window" href="https://openresearchsoftware.metajnl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of open research software</a></p> <p><a title="Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS) link opens in a new window" href="https://joss.theoj.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS)</a></p> <p><a title="SoftwareX link opens in a new window" href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/softwarex/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SoftwareX</a></p> <p><a title="Journal of Statistical Software link opens in a new window" href="https://www.jstatsoft.org/index" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Statistical Software</a></p> <p>For a more detailed list of journals which accept software papers, see the Software Sustainability Institute's web guide <a title="In which journals should I publish my software? link opens in a new window" href="https://www.software.ac.uk/which-journals-should-i-publish-my-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In which journals should I publish my software?</a></p> <h4><strong>Tell us about your software</strong></h4> <p>Imperial would like to know about your software and where it is. Once you have archived your software, create a record for it in Symplectic. This will increase its visibility and discoverability. This <a title="guide link opens in a new window" href="https://code4ref.github.io/symplectic.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guide</a> provides instructions on how to deposit information about your software with Symplectic. We have also created this <a href="/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/scholarly-communication/research-data-management/data-discovery-and-reuse/symplectic-and-spiral/">how-to video</a>.</p> <div> </div> </div> </section><section id='tabpanel_762498' role='tabpanel' aria-labelledby='tab_762498' class='tabs-panel js-tabs-panel' tabindex='0'> <div class='accordion-trigger js-accordion-trigger' aria-controls='tabpanel_762498' tabindex='0'> Additional resources <svg role='img' aria-hidden='true' focusable='false' class='icon icon--m'><use xlink:href='/assets/website/images/svg/icons.svg#chevron-down'></use></svg> </div> <div class='content' aria-hidden='false'> <h4><strong>Research software at Imperial</strong></h4> <h5>Web pages:</h5> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/computational-methods/software-data/" title="Working with Data and Software at Imperial College">Working with Data and Software at Imperial College</a></li> <li> (ICT)</li> <li><a href="/admin-services/ict/self-service/research-support/management-of-research-data-and-code/">Management of Research Data and Code</a> (Research Support)</li> </ul> <h5>Training:</h5> <ul> <li>Using Git to Code, Collaborate and Share (Graduate School workshop)</li> </ul> <h4><strong>The Software Sustainability Institute </strong></h4> <p>The <a href="https://www.software.ac.uk/" target="_blank" title="Software Sustainability Institute link opens in a new window">Software Sustainability Institute</a> website provides comprehensive guidance and links to resources. See in particular their <a href="https://www.software.ac.uk/resources/guides/guides-researchers" target="_blank" title="Guides for Researchers link opens in a new window">Guides for Researchers</a> and <a href="https://www.software.ac.uk/resources/guides/guides-developers" target="_blank" title="Guides for Developers link opens in a new window">Guides for Developers</a>.</p> </div> </section> </div> </div>  </div> <section class="supplementary-content row"> <div class="supplementary-content__sizer col"></div> </section>  </div> </div> </div> </main> <footer class="footer" role="contentinfo"> <section class="footer__main"> <h2 class="sr-only">Useful Links</h2> <div class="container"> <div class="row row--gap-on-collapse"> <nav class="col lg-3 sm-12"> <div class="flow-s"> <h3 class="step--1">Popular links</h3> <ul> <li><a href="/admin-services/ict/self-service/digital-education-services/digital-education-platforms/blackboard/">Blackboard</a></li> <li><a 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