Citing the list

[AJBell]

Dear list

I am in the process of writing up some of my work, but I am not sure how I should go about citing piece's of macro code I have garnered from this list. Do I just cite the name as a personal communication or do I not need to worry at all? Is there accepted general practice?

I am keen for it not to appear as though I am trying to take credit in my work, for work carried out by others.

Andrew

[Jacqueline Ross]

Hi Andrew,

You do need to cite ImageJ. Have a look at the FAQ page here: http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/docs/faqs.html

This gives you 2 options for citing the program.

Kind regards,

Jacqui

Jacqueline Ross

Biomedical Imaging Microscopist
Biomedical Imaging Research Unit
School of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Tel: [phone] Ext 87438
Fax: [phone]

http://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/sms/biru/

-----Original Message-----
From: ImageJ Interest Group [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Andrew Bell
Sent: Wednesday, 8 February 2012 10:38 p.m.
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Citing the list

Dear list

I am in the process of writing up some of my work, but I am not sure how I should go about citing piece's of macro code I have garnered from this list. Do I just cite the name as a personal communication or do I not need to worry at all? Is there accepted general practice?

I am keen for it not to appear as though I am trying to take credit in my work, for work carried out by others.

Andrew

[ctrueden]

Hi Andrew,

I am in the process of writing up some of my work, but I am not sure how I
> should go about citing piece's of macro code I have garnered from this
> list. Do I just cite the name as a personal communication or do I not need
> to worry at all? Is there accepted general practice?
>

Though I doubt you will find total consensus in the community about how to
handle it, here is what I would do:

Let's assume you found some sample macro code from the ImageJ mailing list.
Let's further assume that you took this sample code and expanded and/or
adapted it to your needs.

It is best to cite the original email message in a comment in your own
code, with a note that says something like:

  // This macro is based on code written by John Q. Public, published to
the ImageJ mailing list on 20XX-XX-XX.
  // For the original code, see:
https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind1202&L=IMAGEJ&F=&S=&P=61243

That way, if you give the macro to someone else, publish it online, etc.,
the work is properly credited. And if you decide to submit a publication,
credit has already been given and you don't have to worry so much about
citing it as a reference in the paper.

Of course, if you are using a complete software package like ImageJ, it is
good to cite it in your paper as well, as Jacqui points out. But for macro
snippets, I think a comment as described above is sufficient.

Lastly, I strongly advise publishing your code along with your paper. The
rationale for this is scientific reproducibility. See this (just published)
paper for details:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7386/full/nature10836.html

HTH,
Curtis


On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 3:38 AM, Andrew Bell <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Dear list
>
> I am in the process of writing up some of my work, but I am not sure how I
> should go about citing piece's of macro code I have garnered from this
> list. Do I just cite the name as a personal communication or do I not need
> to worry at all? Is there accepted general practice?
>
> I am keen for it not to appear as though I am trying to take credit in my
> work, for work carried out by others.
>
> Andrew
>

[AJBell]

Thanks Curtis. I think this will be the best way to proceed. I am very much in favour of open source, and as such all my code (for what it is worth) will be published alongside my work.

Andrew

Curtis Rueden wrote

Hi Andrew,

I am in the process of writing up some of my work, but I am not sure how I
> should go about citing piece's of macro code I have garnered from this
> list. Do I just cite the name as a personal communication or do I not need
> to worry at all? Is there accepted general practice?
>

Though I doubt you will find total consensus in the community about how to
handle it, here is what I would do:

Let's assume you found some sample macro code from the ImageJ mailing list.
Let's further assume that you took this sample code and expanded and/or
adapted it to your needs.

It is best to cite the original email message in a comment in your own
code, with a note that says something like:

  // This macro is based on code written by John Q. Public, published to
the ImageJ mailing list on 20XX-XX-XX.
  // For the original code, see:
https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind1202&L=IMAGEJ&F=&S=&P=61243

That way, if you give the macro to someone else, publish it online, etc.,
the work is properly credited. And if you decide to submit a publication,
credit has already been given and you don't have to worry so much about
citing it as a reference in the paper.

Of course, if you are using a complete software package like ImageJ, it is
good to cite it in your paper as well, as Jacqui points out. But for macro
snippets, I think a comment as described above is sufficient.

Lastly, I strongly advise publishing your code along with your paper. The
rationale for this is scientific reproducibility. See this (just published)
paper for details:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7386/full/nature10836.html

HTH,
Curtis


On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 3:38 AM, Andrew Bell <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Dear list
>
> I am in the process of writing up some of my work, but I am not sure how I
> should go about citing piece's of macro code I have garnered from this
> list. Do I just cite the name as a personal communication or do I not need
> to worry at all? Is there accepted general practice?
>
> I am keen for it not to appear as though I am trying to take credit in my
> work, for work carried out by others.
>
> Andrew
>