Publish and share open research software

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Have you built a tool to analyse research data? Perhaps you have some unique code or script that is necessary to replicate the findings in your publication. These are considered research software and are viewed as important research outputs. As a result, publishing and sharing software you create means getting recognition for your work.

Publish and share open research software introduces you to the benefits of openly sharing your research software. 

  1. Publishing research software
  2. Prepare your software or code for publication
  3. Where to publish research software
  1. Choose a license for your software or code
  2. Cite your own software
  3. Help and more information

5. Cite your own software

Include a software citation in the reference list of your publication where the software or code you have published is an integral part of the research, and for replication and reproducibility of research.

Benefits of citing your software

Citing your research software, code or algorithms will help you: 

  • Get recognition and attribution for work you have done 
  • Track the reuse of any software you publish to determine research impact  
  • Verify how your software is being used in other research 
  • Enhance the reproducibility of your research.

Software citation elements 

A software citation is similar to citations for publications and datasets. Include the following core elements in your software citation: 

  • Authors/creators 
  • Publication year 
  • Title  
  • Version number 
  • Publisher/Repository 
  • Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

See Preparing your Software for Publication for more information on how to make your software citable.

Further information

Visit Data and Software Citation by the Australian Research Data Commons for more details on formatting a citation or citation statement.