TREASURE: An institutional pilot program to reward graduate students for reproducible, reusable, and open research practices and outputs

Masters’ and PhD candidates earn their degree by completing a thesis, which typically contains one or more research articles. Yet, along the research path, researchers may create other outputs (e.g., protocols, methods, data, code), use reproducible and transparent practices (e.g., evidence synthesis, reporting guidelines, use of unique identifiers) and engage academics and non-academics to develop, conduct and disseminate (e.g., public engagement) the research. Implementing and sharing these practices and outputs accelerates progress by facilitating reuse, reproducibility and replication. To change research practice and culture, however, we must recognize and reward researchers for sharing more than research articles. In this implementation-focused opt-in pilot program, we aim to offer University of Coimbra Masters’ and PhD candidates a formal reward for implementing reproducible, reusable and open research practices in their thesis research. We are co-creating the reward criteria with a Local Advisory Board (graduate students, course coordinators, and supervisors), with advice from an expert External Board. The criteria include: (a) list of practices (e.g., reporting of null results, author contributions statements) and outputs (e.g., reusable step-by-step protocols, materials) from which the students can select, (b) assessment criteria for each practice/output (focus on quality), and (c) number of practices/outputs that must be implemented. The criteria are designed to be adaptable to different disciplines and projects. The program will open in mid-2025. We will monitor participation, attrition, and effectiveness for program improvement. An implementation guide with lessons learned will be shared promoting mutual learning with other institutions aiming to implement similar measures.