Facilitating reproducible research through direct connection of data analysis with manuscript preparation: StatTag for connecting statistical software to Microsoft Word

Leah J. Welty, Luke V. Rasmussen*, Abigail S. Baldridge, Eric W. Whitley

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: To enhance reproducible research by creating a broadly accessible, free, open-source software tool for connecting Microsoft Word to statistical programs (R/R Markdown, Python, SAS, Stata) so that results may be automatically updated in a manuscript. Materials and Methods: We developed StatTag for Windows as a Microsoft Word plug-in using C# and for macOS as a native application using Objective-C. Source code is available under the MIT license at https://github.com/stattag. Results: StatTag links analysis file(s) (R/R Markdown, SAS, Stata, or Python) and a Word document, invokes the statistical program(s) to obtain results, and embeds selected output in the document. StatTag can accommodate multiple statistical programs with a single document and features an interface to view, edit, and rerun statistical code directly from Word. Discussion and Conclusion: StatTag may facilitate reproducibility within increasingly multidisciplinary research teams, improve research transparency through review and publication, and complement data-sharing initiatives.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)342-348
Number of pages7
JournalJAMIA Open
Volume3
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Dynamic documents
  • Open science
  • Reproducible research
  • Software

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health Informatics

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