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Prepare dyadMLM for JOSS

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Assessment

Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Newbie friendliness
52/100
Issue type
Documentation
Clarity
Clearly specified
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
r
Domain
documentation

Research direction

Start from the JOSS paper requirements link and the existing README and vignette introductions, then draft paper/paper.md plus paper/paper.bib with the six sections the checklist names, drawing comparisons against glmmTMB, brms, and dySEM. Build the paper PDF to check references and figures, and run package checks confirming manuscript files are excluded from the CRAN build. Note that some checklist items (research-use evidence, the six-month public development wait) cannot be completed yet, so scope a PR to the writing and documentation-gap items.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

priority: medium

Write a short JOSS paper and fill the remaining documentation gaps, using the existing README, vignettes, function help, and tests. Explain who dyadMLM helps, what it adds to existing tools, its design choices, and its research use.

  • Choose the paper's scope. Choose the package version and features to describe. Confirm that they are documented and tested, and label experimental features.

  • Gather examples of research use. Collect projects, analyses, papers, or research workflows using dyadMLM, with links where possible. Workshops and user feedback can provide additional evidence.

  • Compare existing tools. Explain what dyadMLM adds alongside glmmTMB, brms, and dyadic packages such as dySEM, when each approach is useful, and why dyadMLM needs its own package.

  • Write the paper. Add paper/paper.md and paper/paper.bib. Aim for 1,200–1,500 words; JOSS currently asks for 750–1,750. Include the required sections:

    • Summary: what the package does, for non-specialists.
    • Statement of need: the problem and intended users.
    • State of the field: comparison with existing tools.
    • Software design: key choices and how they help users.
    • Research impact statement: evidence of research use.
    • AI usage disclosure: how AI helped with code, documentation, or writing, and how the work was checked.
    • Author details, references, and acknowledgements.

  • Reuse existing documentation. Draw on the README and vignette introductions. Leave detailed instructions and model formulas in the documentation. Add a small diagram or comparison table if helpful.

  • Fill documentation gaps.

    • Clarify the package's purpose and intended users in the README.
    • Add test instructions to the contribution guide.
    • Add complete examples for non-Gaussian models and joint analyses of multiple dyad compositions if these are important claims in the paper.
    • State the package version required by each example.

  • Check the paper and software together. Build and inspect the paper PDF, including references, links, figures, and author details. Run package checks and relevant examples. Ensure the website and paper describe the same version. Exclude manuscript files from the CRAN package build.

  • Ask a colleague to try it. Have someone install the package, follow a core example, and read the paper. Address unclear instructions and other problems they find.

  • Check submission readiness. Confirm authors, research-use evidence, and current JOSS requirements. JOSS currently requires more than six months of public development. The repository was created on 28 June 2026, so late December 2026 is the earliest possible point, assuming it was public from the start.

  • Review and submit. Review paper and documentation changes in focused PRs before merging. Submit when ready and address reviewer feedback. Prepare the tagged release and archived software DOI when JOSS requests them.

References: paper requirements, review criteria, submission requirements, and the dySEM paper.

Dominant language
R
Stars
1
Forks
2
Avg merge
9h 28m
Merged PRs (30d)
21

Getting set up

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

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