About RT2
 

The Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) will hold its next Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) in Berkeley, CA, June 5-7, 2024.

RT2 provides participants with an overview of tools and best practices for transparent and reproducible social science research. This year, we will highlight the credibility and reliability of findings in behavioral and social science research (BSSR), especially related to aging and health disparities (though training in this field is not required to participate). The curriculum will be developed and delivered by academic leaders in the open science movement as well as experts on aging and health disparities. The three-day training will include space for collaborative work and hands-on skill building. Participants are encouraged to bring their own research questions and ideas so they can seek support and feedback from instructors and other attendees. Learn more about previous RT2 events here.

Curriculum

The RT2 curriculum will include modules on the following topics:

• Ethics and Mertonian norms for research transparency and reproducibility
• Scientific misconduct and researcher degrees of freedom
• Improved specification through study pre-registration and pre-analysis plans
• Computational reproducibility and approaches to replication
• Hands-on practice with version control using Git (GitHub or the Command Line)
• Dynamic documents with R and Stata
• Data management and de-identification for data sharing
• Appropriate use of statistics and interpretation of statistical evidence
• Applications to behavioral and social science research

Eligibility

RT2 is designed for researchers in the social and health sciences, with particular emphasis on economics, political science, psychology, and public health. Participants are typically (i) current Masters and PhD students, (ii) postdocs, (iii) junior faculty, (iv) research staff, (v) librarians and data stewards, and (vi) journal editors, funders, and research managers curious about the implications of transparency and reproducibility for their work.

The RT2 curriculum is most applicable to researchers who use quantitative or mixed methods. Applicants should have proficiency in R or Stata.

 

Application Process

Submit an application using the form below. The application includes questions regarding (i) your motivation for participating in RT2, (ii) how you expect your participation to contribute to scaling-up education and training on research transparency and reproducibility, and (iii) how participating in RT2 will help with your current research. 

Note: Having a specific project to work on is required, as there will be a session each day dedicated to participant presentations. You will be expected to give a 5-7 minute presentation and discuss the application of the tools and practices taught at RT2 to your real-world project.

Applications should also include a Curriculum Vitae or Resume and any research materials that will give the BITSS team an idea of your work including, but not limited to: abstracts, slides, working papers, recorded presentations, etc. Letters of Reference are also accepted, though they are not required. Please submit these as attachments in the online application portal.

 

Selection Process

BITSS aims to select no more than 40 participants for RT2. As the number of applications for RT2 tends to exceed the number of available spaces, we will competitively select participants based on (i) the quality of application materials and expected impact and (ii) balance across disciplines, gender, and institutions. BITSS staff will lead the selection process with oversight from the BITSS Faculty Director.
 

Funding
Participants will need to pay for their own roundtrip travel to Berkeley, CA; 3-4 nights of accommodation; and meals outside of lunch each day (BITSS will provide lunch during the training each day).

BITSS has limited funding to offset travel and accommodation costs for the training. Please use the form to let us know how much funding you need in order to attend. Please reach out to Program Manager, Grace Han, if you require any additional accommodations to attend the training, for example including, but not limited to, support for childcare.

Application Timeline

We will consider applications until Sunday, April 21, 2024 11:59 PM PT.