Version Control

Version control is a system that tracks changes to files, ensuring that no work is lost and that collaborators can safely contribute to a project. For scientific researchers, version control helps maintain an organised history of experiments, code, and data, making it easier to track progress and avoid errors. It facilitates reproducibility, as researchers can revisit previous versions of their work, ensuring that results can be independently verified. By enabling seamless collaboration, version control also simplifies sharing code and data with colleagues, enhancing transparency and improving overall research efficiency. 

Library recommendation: We recommend the use of both locally installed version control using Git, as well as the use of the institutional (e.g. GitLab) repository for cloud-based version control. 

Resources

• Git and GitHub introduction materials