By SORTEE | October 17, 2022
[SORTEE member voices is a weekly Q&A with a different SORTEE member]
Name: Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar.
Date: 06 September 2021.
Position: Principal Investigator.
Research and/or work interests: I’m an evolutionary ecologist with a soft spot for birds and a great interest in evidence synthesis, meta-research and open science.
How did you become interested in open research?
I became interested in open research during my PhD and mostly as the result of multiple failed replication attempts of a textbook example in behavioural ecology, the badge of status or signalling status hypothesis in house sparrows. During my PhD I was also surrounded by a few persistent colleagues that would not stop talking about low reproducibility, low replicability, reduced data and code openness, etc… so it was relatively straightforward for me to become more and more interested in these topics, and to feel more and more the need for changes in the way we do science.
What’s an ‘ORT’ subject or practice that you think deserves more attention?
Pre-registration, and most importantly, Registered Reports. Although those practices are becoming more and more common in other areas of research (e.g. psychology), they remain almost unused in ecology and evolutionary ecology.
What is an open / reliable / transparent science practice that you admire but have not yet adopted in your own work?
Docker containers and alike. Super important for reproducibility, but I don’t seem to find the time to learn about those practices.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Granada.
Tell us about one of your hobbies.
I love all sports since always, but I am dedicated long-distance runner. You may now have a very good chance of finding me running like a headless chicken up in the mountains or around the city. Make sure to say hi!
What is something about you that your scientist colleagues might find surprising? I hate talking by normal phone, so don’t be surprise if you phone me and nobody picks it up. Email, Twitter and Zoom work best! (just saying ;)
Where to find you online?:
Twitter: @ASanchez_Tojar
