Benefits of Dynamic Documents

'Dynamic Documents' are projects or papers that are developed using prominent tools such as R-markdown or JuPyTer notebooks (the two most prominent tools).

The salient features and benefits of this approach include:

  • Integrated data analysis and reporting means the data analysis (as well as math/simulations) is done and reported in the same space that the results and discussion are presented. This is made possible through the concealment of 'code blocks'.

  • Transparent reporting means you can track exactly what is being reported and how it was constructed:

    • Making the process a lot less error-prone

    • Helping readers understand it better (see 'explorable explanations')

    • Helping replicators and future researchers build on it

  • Other advantages of these formats (over PDFs for example) include:

    • Convenient ‘folding blocks’

    • Margin comments

    • and links

    • Integrating interactive tools

Better examples, the case for dynamic documents

Also consider...
  • Elife's 'editable graphics'... Brett Viktor?

  • see corrigendum in journals Reinhart and Rogoff error?

  • open science MOOC in R markdown ...

  • OSF and all of their training/promo materials in OS

Reinstein's own examples

Some quick examples from my own work in progress (but other people have done it much better)

Other (randomly selected) examples

Last updated

Change request #531: Pivotal questions initiative