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Computational Reproducibility in Archaeological Research: Basic Principles and a Case Study of Their Implementation

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Abstract

The use of computers and complex software is pervasive in archaeology, yet their role in the analytical pipeline is rarely exposed for other researchers to inspect or reuse. This limits the progress of archaeology because researchers cannot easily reproduce each other’s work to verify or extend it. Four general principles of reproducible research that have emerged in other fields are presented. An archaeological case study is described that shows how each principle can be implemented using freely available software. The costs and benefits of implementing reproducible research are assessed. The primary benefit, of sharing data in particular, is increased impact via an increased number of citations. The primary cost is the additional time required to enhance reproducibility, although the exact amount is difficult to quantify.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Chris Clarkson, Mike Smith, Richard Fullagar, Lynley A. Wallis, Patrick Faulkner, Tiina Manne, Elspeth Hayes, Richard G. Roberts, Zenobia Jacobs, Xavier Carah, Kelsey M. Lowe, and Jacqueline Matthews for their cooperation with the JHE paper. Thanks to the Mirarr Senior Traditional Owners, and to our research partners, the Gundjeimhi Aboriginal Corporation, for granting permission to carry out the research that was published in the JHE paper, and led to this paper. Thanks to Kyle Bocinsky and Oliver Nakoinz for their helpful peer reviews and many constructive suggestions. This research was carried out as part of ARC Discovery Project DP110102864. This work was supported in part by the University of Washington eScience Institute, and especially benefited from the expertise of the Reproducibility and Open Science working group. An earlier version was presented at an International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF) meeting in December 2014 organised by Stephen Eglen, and benefited from discussion during that meeting. I am a contributor to the Software and Data Carpentry projects and the rOpenSci collective; beyond this, I declare that I have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Ben Marwick

  2. Center for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Ben Marwick

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Correspondence to Ben Marwick.

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Marwick, B. Computational Reproducibility in Archaeological Research: Basic Principles and a Case Study of Their Implementation. J Archaeol Method Theory 24, 424–450 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-015-9272-9

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