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Contributing Guidelines

Guidelines for contributing materials, improvements, and feedback to the Research Data & Methods Workshop Series repository.

If you are preparing to teach a session, see the Presenter Resources for presenter-facing guidance on workshop design, materials, and technical setup.

How to Contribute

1. Workshop Materials

If you are a workshop presenter or have materials to share:

  • Slides and Presentations: Add your materials to the appropriate workshop folder
  • Handouts and Resources: Include supplementary materials in the same directory
  • Update README: Add links and descriptions to the workshop's README.md file

2. Additional Resources

  • Useful Links: Add relevant resources to the workshop README files
  • Tools and Software: Suggest new tools or provide tutorials
  • Best Practices: Share experiences and recommendations

3. Documentation Improvements

  • Fix Typos: Correct spelling and grammar errors
  • Update Links: Ensure all external links are working
  • Enhance Descriptions: Improve clarity and completeness of content

File Organization

Workshop Structure

workshops/[workshop-number]-[topic]/
├── README.md                    # Workshop description and resources
├── [presentation-files]         # Slides, handouts, etc.
└── supplementary/              # Additional materials (optional)

Naming Conventions

  • Directories: Use lowercase with hyphens (e.g., research-data-management)
  • Files: Use descriptive names with appropriate extensions
  • Presentations: Include presenter name and topic (e.g., rau-rdm-basics.pdf)

Content Guidelines

Workshop README Files

Each workshop README should include:

  • Header Information: Date, speaker, duration
  • Overview: Brief description of the workshop content
  • Learning Objectives: What participants will learn
  • Materials: Links to presentations and resources
  • Additional Resources: Relevant external links

Quality Standards

  • Accuracy: Ensure all information is correct and up-to-date
  • Accessibility: Use clear language and provide context
  • Attribution: Properly credit all authors and sources
  • Licensing: Respect copyright and licensing requirements

Submission Process

For Workshop Organizers

  1. Create Materials: Prepare your presentation and supplementary materials
  2. Update Documentation: Add information to the appropriate README file
  3. Submit Files: Place materials in the correct workshop directory
  4. Review: Ensure all links work and information is complete

For External Contributors

  1. Fork Repository: Create your own copy of the repository
  2. Make Changes: Add your contributions following these guidelines
  3. Submit Pull Request: Propose your changes for review
  4. Address Feedback: Respond to any review comments

Technical Requirements

File Formats

Preferred Formats:

  • Presentations: PDF (for universal access), PowerPoint, or Quarto/Markdown
  • Documents: Markdown, PDF, or plain text
  • Data: CSV, JSON, or other open formats

Avoid:

  • Proprietary formats without open alternatives
  • Large binary files (>50MB)
  • Files requiring special software to view

Accessibility

  • Alt Text: Provide descriptions for images and figures
  • Clear Structure: Use proper headings and formatting
  • Multiple Formats: Offer materials in different formats when possible

Code of Conduct

Respectful Collaboration

  • Be Inclusive: Welcome contributors from all backgrounds
  • Be Constructive: Provide helpful feedback and suggestions
  • Be Patient: Allow time for responses and revisions
  • Be Professional: Maintain a respectful tone in all interactions

Academic Integrity

  • Proper Attribution: Credit all sources and collaborators
  • Original Content: Only contribute materials you have rights to share
  • Accurate Information: Verify facts and provide reliable sources

AI-Assisted Development

This website was developed with the assistance of AI tools, following transparent and ethical practices. Contributors should be aware of our approach to AI-assisted development:

AI Tools and Guidelines

  • Development Process: This website was developed using AI tools following transparent and ethical practices
  • Best Practices: Review AI-Assisted Development Guidelines for responsible AI use
  • Quality Assurance: All AI-generated content undergoes human review and validation
  • Usage Log: Where and how AI tools were used is recorded in the AI Usage Log

Contributing with AI Tools

If you use AI tools in your contributions:

  • Transparency: Add an entry to the AI Usage Log describing what the tool did and how you verified the result
  • Quality Review: Ensure all AI-generated content is reviewed by qualified humans
  • Attribution: Follow our guidelines for proper attribution of AI assistance
  • Standards: Maintain the same quality standards as non-AI-assisted work

Verifying AI Output Before Submitting

AI output can be fluent and confident while being wrong. Before submitting AI-assisted changes, check:

  • Facts: Verify factual claims against authoritative sources — not against other AI outputs. This includes dates, names, version numbers, and URLs.
  • Citations and references: Look up every reference the tool produced. Fabricated or incorrectly cited references are a common failure mode.
  • Code: Read generated code before using it — check that functions and libraries actually exist and that the code does what you intended.
  • Hallucinations: Actively look for plausible-sounding but invented content (non-existent files, APIs, or statistics).
  • Bias: Consider whether the output could reflect systematic bias, especially for content that concerns people.
  • Fit: Check that the output actually addresses what you asked for.

How much scrutiny is appropriate scales with risk: a formatting suggestion needs less verification than content that makes factual claims, which needs less than code that will be run. If you could not explain a change to a colleague, it needs more review before it goes in.

Getting Help

Contact Information

  • Workshop Organizers: Luke Günther & Dr. Job Schepens
  • Email: jschepen(at)uni-koeln.de
  • Project S: 2nd floor @ House of Prominence

Resources

By contributing to this repository, you agree that your contributions will be licensed according to the type of material contributed, unless otherwise specified:

  • Documentation, workshop materials, and other non-code content: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Code, scripts, configuration, stylesheets, JavaScript, and workflows: MIT License

Thank you for helping to improve research data and methods education!