Elsevier's Journal Computers & Graphics Includes First Executable Papers Published Online on ScienceDirect

NEW YORK, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Special issue 3D Object Retrieval captures executable codes within online article framework ensuring easy reproducibility

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce that its journal Computers & Graphics for the first time has published executable papers in its special issue on 3D Object Retrieval within the online article framework on ScienceDirect.

An executable paper combines the narrative of a traditional scholarly paper with embedded data sets and computer code that underlie the reported results. Readers can inspect code, change parameters, upload their own test data, and re-run code to probe the paper's computational methods and verify the author's results.

In 2011 Elsevier launched its Executable Papers Grand Challenge for the computer science community to address the question of how to reproduce computational results within the confines of the research article. First-place winner the Collage Authoring Environment, from a Polish team affiliated with CYFRONET, proposed a web-based tool that allows authors to capture their computational methods and interweave those with the online article. Computers & Graphics has now incorporated this wining methodology within the online article framework of ScienceDirect for the articles published in its most recent special issue on 3D Object Retrieval.

Professor Joaquim Jorge of INESC-ID / Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal and Editor-in-Chief of Computers & Graphics, as well as guest editors Dr. Michela Spagnuolo and Prof. Remco Veltkamp were instrumental in building support for the project from within the graphics community and the resulting pilot has longer term applications across multiple disciplines.

"Most experiments in the field of computer science are difficult or impossible to reproduce without full access to data and coding", said Ann Gabriel, Publishing Director of Computer Science Journals at Elsevier. "Executable papers allow authors to create a numerical experiment that belongs with their article. This experiment contains one or more pieces of computer code, together with all the data sets that may be necessary to execute the code. By capturing the full methodology, the Collage system ensures that results are fully reproducible. Elsevier is proud to launch this breakthrough development: a fully integrated, seamless user experience that allows the reader to explore full computational elements and coding while reading the article."

Publishing these first executable papers on ScienceDirect forms a part of the Article of the Future, Elsevier's program to continuously improve and innovate the online article format.

This first inclusion of executable papers on ScienceDirect represents a milestone for the Article of the Future project. It represents a fundamental step forward, allowing readers to also capture actual computational methodology and coding behind results. This helps to better organize research output and ensures reproducibility, both essential for the progress of science in the 21st century.

For more information go to: http://www.elsevier.com/executablepaper

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world leading provider of professional information solutions. The group employs more than 30,000 people, including more than 15,000 in North America. Reed Elsevier Group plc is owned equally by two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. Their shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.

Media contact
James Palser
Elsevier
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SOURCE Elsevier