Victoria Stodden’s June 2013 presentation for the Council on Governmental Relations addresses the critical importance of public access to data, code, and research narratives in contemporary scientific practice. She highlights how open data and reproducibility, rooted in the historic principles of skepticism and transparency, are now more essential than ever due to the increased centrality of computation in research. Stodden draws attention to the explosion of data-intensive research and simulations across disciplines, noting that scientific credibility is increasingly challenged by insufficient sharing of data and code, leading to a "credibility crisis" where results are often unverifiable or irreproducible.
Stodden argues for updating the scientific method to fully integrate computational approaches and underscores the need for infrastructure, policies, and legal clarity to enable reproducible research. She reviews existing funding agency requirements (such as NSF and NIH data management plans), legislative initiatives (like the America COMPETES Act), and reports from organizations like the National Academies and Institute of Medicine calling for robust data and software sharing. She examines barriers—ranging from copyright concerns to diverse research practices and lack of standardized journal policies—while advocating for frameworks and tools that enable wider sharing and verification. Finally, Stodden emphasizes grassroots efforts and evolving journal and community practices aimed at fostering open science, stressing that achieving reliable, reproducible research will require not only policy enforcement but also community-driven solutions and support for infrastructural development.
