Conduct a survey research study to investigate the barriers and drivers to making research software contributions with comparisons by socio-demographic categories

[dr-eric-jensen]

Potential Activity Scope
The proposed survey research study aims to uncover the barriers and drivers that influence individuals' decisions to make contributions to research software. Recognizing that these factors may vary widely across different socio-demographic categories, the study seeks to provide a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the dynamics at play.

The study will need to begin by identifying the specific socio-demographic categories to be examined, such as age, gender, ethnicity, educational background, professional experience, and geographic location. This will involve a careful consideration of the potential intersections and interactions between these categories, as well as the broader social, cultural, and economic contexts that shape them.

The research objectives will need to be clearly defined, focusing on uncovering the underlying motivations, challenges, opportunities, and constraints that guide individuals' engagement with research software contributions. This may include exploring both personal and systemic factors, such as individual skills and interests, organizational policies and practices, community norms and values, technological affordances and limitations, and broader societal trends and pressures.

A comprehensive research plan should be developed, outlining the target population, sampling strategy, survey design, timeline, budget, and ethical considerations. This plan should evince the importance of capturing diverse perspectives and experiences, ensuring that the survey reaches a representative sample of the population.

The survey instrument should be carefully crafted to include specific questions and scales that capture the complexity of barriers and drivers, considering both tangible and intangible factors. This may involve a combination of closed-ended questions, Likert scales, open-ended questions, and scenario-based items.

A review of existing literature on barriers and drivers to research software contributions, as well as relevant theories and models, would ideally be conducted. This could provide a solid theoretical foundation for the study, informing the research approach and interpretation of findings.

The survey should be pilot-tested with a diverse sample to identify potential biases, ambiguities, or issues, ensuring that the final instrument is valid, reliable, and culturally sensitive.

The data collection process should be executed with ongoing monitoring and quality control measures to ensure accuracy and completeness. This includes careful recruitment, administration, and follow-up procedures, as well as robust data management and data security protocols.

The data analysis would be expected to involve a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, as well as qualitative thematic analysis where applicable. This will allow for a rich exploration of patterns, relationships, disparities, and nuances within and across socio-demographic categories. That is, the quantitative analysis can reveal patterns/disparities, while the qualitative analysis could dig deeper into questions of ‘how’ and ‘why’.

The findings should be interpreted and presented in a way that highlights the practical implications and actionable insights for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders.

Potential Objectives

• To identify the specific socio-demographic categories to be examined, considering intersections and interactions between these categories and the broader contexts that shape them.
• To define clear research objectives, focusing on underlying motivations, challenges, opportunities, and constraints in research software contributions.
• To develop a comprehensive research plan, emphasizing the importance of capturing diverse perspectives and ensuring a representative sample.
• To craft a survey instrument that captures the complexity of barriers and drivers, using a combination of question types and scales.
• To conduct a thorough review of existing literature, providing a theoretical foundation for the study.
• To pilot-test the survey with a diverse sample, ensuring validity, reliability, and cultural sensitivity.
• To execute the data collection process with ongoing monitoring and quality control measures.
• To conduct a comprehensive data analysis to explore patterns, relationships, disparities, and nuances.
• To interpret and present the findings, highlighting practical implications and actionable insights.
• To disseminate the findings and publish the data and methods.

Targeted Impacts
If successful, this project can contribute to the following outcomes:

• Development of a robust and validated survey instrument, contributing a tool that can be used to measure changes in the field over time.
• Identification of disparities and inequalities across socio-demographic categories, informing targeted interventions and strategies for enhancing inclusivity and equity.
• Enhanced understanding of the barriers and drivers influencing research software contributions, providing valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders.
• Contribution to the broader discourse on diversity, inclusion, and innovation, shaping the priorities, paradigms, and principles of the research community.

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This potential activity was curated as part of "Charting the Course: Policy and Planning for Sustainable Research Software," a Sloan Foundation-funded project within URSSI dedicated to supporting the future of research software through evidence-informed policy work (Project contacts are: @danielskatz and @dr-eric-jensen). If you are interested in working on this, please add a comment.