Six Years of Shiny in Research -- Collaborative Development of Web Tools in R

TL;DR

This paper investigates the adoption and impact of Shiny, an R web application framework, in research over six years, highlighting its collaborative benefits, accessibility, and associated security concerns.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of Shiny's use in research, emphasizing its role in facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and simplifying complex methodologies without extensive training.

Findings

Shiny has been widely used across diverse research fields.

It enables non-expert users to implement complex methodologies.

Security concerns are present for novice developers.

Abstract

The use of Shiny in research publications is investigated. From the appearance of this popular web application framework for R through to 2018, it has been utilised in many diverse research areas. While it can be shown that the complexity of Shiny applications is limited by the background architecture, and real security concerns exist for novice app developers, the collaborative benefits are worth attention from the wider research community. Shiny simplifies the use of complex methodologies for users of different specialities, at the level of proficiency appropriate for the end user. This enables a diverse community of users to interact efficiently, utilising cutting-edge methodologies. The literature reviewed demonstrates that complex methodologies can be put into practice without the necessity for investment in professional training. It would appear that Shiny opens up concurrent benefits in communication between those who analyse data and those in other disciplines, thereby potentially enriching research through this technology.