Ten Simple Rules for Effective Computational Research

James M. Osborne; Miguel O. Bernabeu; Maria Bruna; Ben Calderhead; Jonathan Cooper; Neil Dalchau; Sara-Jane Dunn; Alexander G. Fletcher; Robin Freeman; Derek Groen; Bernhard Knapp; Greg J. McInerny; Gary R. Mirams; Joe Pitt-Francis; Biswa Sengupta; David W. Wright; Christian A. Yates; David J. Gavaghan; Stephen Emmott; Charlotte Deane

doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003506

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Ten Simple Rules for Effective Computational Research

James M. Osborne ,

* E-mail: James.Osborne@cs.ox.ac.uk

Affiliations Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom, Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
⨯
Miguel O. Bernabeu,

Affiliations CoMPLEX, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University College London, Physics Building, London, United Kingdom, Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Maria Bruna,

Affiliations Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom, Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
⨯
Ben Calderhead,

Affiliation CoMPLEX, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University College London, Physics Building, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Jonathan Cooper,

Affiliation Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
Neil Dalchau,

Affiliation Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
⨯
Sara-Jane Dunn,

Affiliation Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
⨯
Alexander G. Fletcher,

Affiliation Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Andrew Wiles Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
Robin Freeman,

Affiliations Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CoMPLEX, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University College London, Physics Building, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Derek Groen,

Affiliation Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Bernhard Knapp,

Affiliation Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
Greg J. McInerny,

Affiliations Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom, Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
⨯
Gary R. Mirams,

Affiliation Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
Joe Pitt-Francis,

Affiliation Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
Biswa Sengupta,

Affiliation The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
⨯
David W. Wright,

Affiliations CoMPLEX, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University College London, Physics Building, London, United Kingdom, Centre for Computational Science, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
⨯
Christian A. Yates,

Affiliation Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Andrew Wiles Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
David J. Gavaghan,

Affiliation Computational Biology Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Wolfson Building, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
Stephen Emmott,

Affiliation Computational Science Laboratory, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
⨯
[ ... ],
Charlotte Deane

Affiliation Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
⨯
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Ten Simple Rules for Effective Computational Research

James M. Osborne,
Miguel O. Bernabeu,
Maria Bruna,
Ben Calderhead,
Jonathan Cooper,
Neil Dalchau,
Sara-Jane Dunn,
Alexander G. Fletcher,
Robin Freeman,
Derek Groen

Published: March 27, 2014
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003506

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Another interesting article on developing software

Posted by JamesOsborne on 04 Apr 2014 at 08:11 GMT

The following article has some other good advice on developing software.

http://www.ploscompbiol.o...

In particular the following passage

"The key to effective use of programming time is to put a high value on your time. As a guide, it can be helpful to put a value on your time based on your salary, stipend, or personal goals. If you determine your programming time to be worth $100 an hour, is it reasonable to take the time to re-implement a statistical method in code if you can purchase a commercial software library that can provide it for $50? Is it reasonable to spend weeks to optimize an algorithm if $2,000 in additional computing hardware will accomplish the same performance gains?"

No competing interests declared.

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Ten Simple Rules for Effective Computational Research

Ten Simple Rules for Effective Computational Research

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Another interesting article on developing software

Posted by JamesOsborne on 04 Apr 2014 at 08:11 GMT