Research Software Papers

Rationale

As part of the RSECon26 conference vision, we are launching RSECon26 Research Software Submissions. The goal of this new submission type is to encourage RSEs to open and share their work, gaining both visibility and recognition for their contributions to research.

This initiative is being created in partnership with the Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS), which has agreed to highlight RSECon26 submissions within the journal. Submissions accepted through this route will proudly feature both the JOSS and RSECon26 logos on the paper.

This submission route is designed for RSEs whose research software will be ready to be submitted to JOSS. Submissions from all research domains are welcome, as long as the software meets JOSS’s requirements.

Accepted and approved submissions (see below for eligibility details) will be granted a 15-minute (10+5) presentation slot at RSECon26.

Submission and Review Process

Please note that research software submissions will follow a slightly different process from standard conference submissions:

1. Submit your paper to JOSS before the deadline (see key dates):

   1. Visit the JOSS website, use your ORCID to sign in, and create a new submission. The deadline to submit to JOSS is 17th of April.

   2. In the “Message to editors” box, please include the following text: “Submitted as part of the RSECon26 conference submissions.” (You may include additional information if needed.) This ensures that the JOSS×RSECon26 editors are notified of your submission.

   3. Send an email to [email protected] with the title of your submission and the subject: “JOSS×RSECon26 paper submitted”. The JOSS editors who are also part of the RSECon26 programme team will pick this up on the JOSS side.

2. Register your submission with RSECon26:

   1. Once your JOSS submission is complete, please register it as a standard submission through the RSECon26 conference system, selecting the Research Software publication submission type. You can do that until the closing of the general submission, on the 1st of May.

   2. Include the link to the pre-review issue on GitHub, which will allow us to track the progress of your submission. Because the JOSS review process can take some time, we will consider papers that have passed the pre-review stage (i.e., recognised as valid JOSS submissions) and are under review or already accepted.

   3. Because JOSS reviews are completely independent from the conference submission review, the programme team will also need to give final approval on whether a JOSS paper submission is included in the conference programme. This will obviously not affect the outcome of the JOSS journal review.

General Considerations

When submitting your paper to RSECon26 the form will require the following fields to be completed:

• Title: Describe what your submission is about. It might just be the title of the paper. (max 50 words)
• Abstract: Give a brief and attention-grabbing summary of your submission. People will read your title and abstract in the conference programme when deciding which sessions to attend. (max 250 words)
• Link to Research Software Publication review: This is where you will copy/paste the link to the GitHub issue from JOSS.
• Prerequisites: Describe the required skills or knowledge for an attendee to fully engage with your submission. Have you considered how accessible your session will be to a diverse conference audience (attendees comprise people from academia, industry, charity and government, from beginners to experts)? (max 150 words)
• Outcomes: How will your attendees benefit from your session? What do you expect them to gain/learn? (max 150 words)
• Accessibility: Please comment on how you will ensure your content is accessible, which may include referring to relevant sections of the conference’s accessibility guidance, as well as any other considerations. Some key pieces to consider are:
  • Visually, have you considered the colours chosen as well as the shape and size of graphics and fonts?
  • You can also use automated accessibility checking tools to help ensure that you haven’t missed anything.
• Hybrid Delivery: We appreciate that you may not have fully-formed answers to these questions at this stage, but your responses will enable the organisers to support you in delivering a successful presentation.
  • How will you ensure that both remote and in-person participants have a comparable experience?
  • Is there anything that might pose a challenge to streaming your proposal?

You will also be asked to provide:

• Author list identifying the corresponding author
• Conference theme: Please select the best-fitting conference theme for your presentation (checkbox)
• In-person or online delivery (checklist)
• Mentorship: If your submission is accepted, would you like a mentor? Subject to availability.