Reproducible Research in Collaboration: Writing Academic Texts on GitHub Together

When: 28.11.2025, 10:00–13:00
Where: Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Room 2249a (2. Zwischengeschoss)

Abstract: Collaboration is at the heart of good science. As research teams grow in size, diversity, and speed, the need for structured, transparent, and efficient collaboration increases—especially in the face of rising demands for scientific rigor and reproducibility. This workshop teaches participants how to apply techniques from agile software development to the collaborative writing of scientific documents. Using GitHub as the central platform, we guide participants through a hands-on workflow for writing, reviewing, and managing academic texts together. Researchers familiar with Git/GitHub will learn how to extend their skills beyond code to the entire research process. Those new to GitHub will gain a practical introduction to this powerful tool and discover how version control, issues, and pull requests can streamline research from collaborative writing to project management. By the end of the session, you will be able to:

• Manage a GitHub repository for a manuscript
• Use issues and pull-requests to coordinate writing and feedback
• Leverage branch-and-merge workflows to track revisions and enforce transparency

These skills will be acquired in a realistic context where all participants work together on an actual research project.

Instructors: Dr. Aaron Peikert (Max Planck Institute for Human Development) and Anabel Büchner (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Participants: Participants require a stable internet connection and a GitHub account. Some prior experience with Git, however small, is advantageous.

The workshop is supported by the Open Science Ambassador program of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA).

Registration