An increasing number of journals require a data and code availability statement to be included in a published paper. From the perspective of transparency, efficient use of time and resources, and replication of results, open code is very important. However, analysis code is often a second-class citizen in neuroimaging research. This is something we can change. In this session we will discuss with four experts best-practices in software development for scientists - and how those practices can result in real-world gains in research quality and output. Sharing code by making it available in some repository is only one step towards practicing open code. By adhering to certain standards, like good coding practices and quality monitoring, open code can contribute to efficiency and quality of research. We will share tips on best-practices for coding, discuss advantages and disadvantages of standardization of open code, and address the question of whether we can expect individual researchers/small labs to share code of a comparable standard as specialized programmers.

OSR 2023 | Panel 3: Standardization of code