Idea/Idee


The starting point

Even though they may not know it, researchers have three options to find a software suitable for their needs. First, they can simply buy a program. Second, they use some kind of free (and possibly open-source) software. Third they start cooperating with software designers and built their own. While no one needs information on how to buy software, there is very little information on the last option.

Our goal

The aim of  this site is to support researchers in using and enhancing free software and methods in their research.  

How we achieve this

We will provide Information for those interested in using FOSS in, or developing FOSS for research. We will try to cover three broad areas:

  1. Reviews of and tutorials for individual software and overviews of the functionality of groups for e.g. online surveying.
  2. Giving tips for collaborating with software developers, e.g. on the role of documentation.
  3. Some pointers to relevant political and ethical aspects of FOSS.   
Multilingual

As we are trying to reach out to as many people as possible we decided to try and publish the articles in as many languages as possible. Starting point will be German and English, but we are not limited to these. We are very excited about the possibility of having more than these two languages. However, translations don’t come easy so if you want to participate and think you do not have much to say about the software you are using (this is most probably wrong) , why not start by translating some of the materials?