Beyond the Repository

Open source is much more than a repository—it is a rich, multilevel ecosystem of human contributors who collaborate and cooperate in many capacities to accomplish a shared creative endeavor. Consequently, when studying open source ecosystems, numerous interacting parts must be considered to understand the dynamics of the whole. Research on open source ecosystems is ultimately research about a sociotechnical ecosystem. Researchers should take care to retain the socio element in research and understand how both their methods and results may impact entire open source ecosystems.

This article describes best practices for open source ecosystems research through multiple overarching best practices. It offers practical guidelines for conducting rigorous, ethical, respectful research that maintains the integrity of the open source ecosystem under consideration.