Method-centered digital communities on protocols.io for fast-paced scientific innovation
A major goal among researchers in the age of big data is to improve data sharing and collaborative efforts. Kindler et al. note, for example, that “specialized techniques for the production and analysis of viral metagenomes remains in a subset of labs,” and other researchers likely don’t know about them. As such, the authors of this 2017 paper in F1000Research discuss the enhancement of the protocols.io online collaborative space to include more social elements “for scientists to share improvements and corrections to protocols so that others are not continuously re-discovering knowledge that scientists have not had the time or wear-with-all to publish.” With its many connection points, they conclude, the software update “will allow the forum to evolve naturally given rapidly developing trends and new protocols.”
