Why Nanoscience Needs Standardized ProtocolsAnd How to Get There

TL;DR

The paper argues for standardized protocols in nanoscience to improve data reproducibility and reusability.

Contribution

The paper introduces a set of simple rules to facilitate data management and improve reusability in nanoscience.

Findings

Standardized protocols can prevent fragmentation and improve reproducibility in nanoscience.

Adopting these practices early in a project can save time and energy in the long run.

The proposed rules help ensure data reusability and streamline the writing process.

Abstract

Nanoscience is a relatively young research field that
has been
built on the shoulders of consolidated areas ranging from solid-state
physics to biology. Its interdisciplinary nature imposes the flow
of heterogeneous data from various domains of predefined conventions
that ultimately prevents workflow standardization, raising the possibility
of further fragmentation and compromising the reproducibility. This
is the time to establish good practices for experimental nanoscientists.
This work proposes a set of simple rules that can facilitate data
management and improve their reusability. Implementing the proposed
protocol can have high initial cognitive costs but can also save energy
and time in the long term. By adopting these practices, researchers
can ensure the reusability of their data early in a project and accelerate
the writing process.

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