Coding capability
We asked respondents a series of questions about whether they feel their coding ability is improving in their current role and where they first learned to code.
Change in coding ability during current role
Respondents who had coding experience outside of their current role were asked whether there has been a change in their coding ability during current employment.
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| Coding ability changes |
Count |
| Significantly worse |
20 |
| Slightly worse |
30 |
| No change |
46 |
| Slightly better |
88 |
| Significantly better |
73 |
| a Sample size = 257 |
Where respondents have learned to code
Respondents were asked whether they had coding experience outside their current role and, if so, where.
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| First coding experience |
Count |
| In current role |
39 |
| In education |
140 |
| In private sector employment |
12 |
| In public sector employment |
51 |
| Self-taught |
43 |
| Other |
4 |
| a Sample size = 292 |
Coding practices
We asked respondents to report how often they make use of each of the coding practices. Please note that while there are many different coding practices listed below, we understand that not all are proportionate for every coding project.
General coding practices
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|
Percent |
| Question |
I don't understand this question |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Regularly |
All the time |
| I use open source software when programming |
6.1 |
14.7 |
7.9 |
17.9 |
25.1 |
28.3 |
| I follow a standard directory structure when programming |
23.3 |
7.2 |
7.2 |
24.0 |
24.7 |
13.6 |
| I follow coding guidelines or style guides when programming |
1.4 |
7.9 |
9.7 |
31.5 |
36.2 |
13.3 |
| I use a source code version control system e.g. Git |
7.2 |
36.6 |
17.9 |
12.9 |
13.6 |
11.8 |
| Code my team writes is reviewed by a colleague |
0.7 |
9.3 |
13.6 |
29.4 |
31.2 |
15.8 |
| I write repetitive elements in my code as functions |
2.2 |
10.8 |
11.5 |
20.4 |
30.1 |
25.1 |
| I collect my code and supporting material into packages |
5.4 |
42.7 |
19.7 |
14.7 |
12.5 |
5.0 |
| I unit test my code |
28.0 |
20.8 |
12.9 |
17.2 |
14.0 |
7.2 |
| I write code to automatically quality assure data |
2.2 |
23.7 |
17.2 |
33.0 |
18.6 |
5.4 |
| My team open sources its code |
12.2 |
52.0 |
14.3 |
15.1 |
4.3 |
2.2 |
| a Sample size = 279 |
Documentation
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|
Percent |
| Question |
I don't understand this question |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Regularly |
All the time |
| Analytical Quality Assurance (AQA) logs |
15.8 |
42.3 |
12.9 |
11.1 |
11.8 |
6.1 |
| Data or assumptions registers |
17.2 |
32.6 |
15.4 |
17.2 |
12.9 |
4.7 |
| Documentation for each function or class |
10.8 |
22.9 |
15.1 |
20.8 |
20.8 |
9.7 |
| Code comments |
1.8 |
4.3 |
2.9 |
6.5 |
28.0 |
56.6 |
| Flow charts |
3.9 |
32.6 |
24.0 |
27.6 |
11.1 |
0.7 |
| README files |
5.4 |
25.4 |
15.8 |
23.7 |
18.6 |
11.1 |
| Desk notes |
16.8 |
18.6 |
12.9 |
19.7 |
24.4 |
7.5 |
| a Sample size = 279 |
Reproducible workflow packages
We asked respondents “do you use reproducible workflow packages e.g. drake, make or pymake?”.
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| Use reproducible workflow packages |
Count |
| Yes |
15 |
| No |
166 |
| Don't know what they are |
98 |
| a Sample size = 279 |
RAP knowledge and opinions
Knowledge of RAP and RAP champions
We asked our respondents whether they had heard of RAP and what their knowledge is of their own department RAP champion.
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| RAP champion knowledge |
Count |
| Have not heard of RAP |
100 |
| Heard of RAP, have not heard of RAP champions |
57 |
| Heard of RAP, does not know department champion |
84 |
| Heard of RAP champions, no champion in department |
8 |
| Knows department RAP champion |
42 |
| a Sample size = 309 |
Opinions on RAP
We asked our respondents who had heard of RAP the extent to which they agree with the following statements:
- “I understand what the key components of the RAP methodology are”
- “I feel confident implementing RAP in my work”
- “I think it is important to implement RAP in my work”
- “I feel supported to implement RAP in my work”
- “I know where to find resources to help me implement RAP”
- “I and/or my team are currently implementing RAP”
The figure and table show the percentage of respondents who picked each response option. Percentages are out of a sample of respondents who said they had heard of RAP.
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|
Percent |
| Question |
Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Neutral |
Agree |
Strongly agree |
| I understand what the key components of the RAP methodology are |
5.7 |
16.7 |
15.3 |
42.6 |
19.6 |
| I feel confident implementing RAP in my work |
13.9 |
22.0 |
24.4 |
25.4 |
14.4 |
| I think it is important to implement RAP in my work |
3.8 |
8.1 |
21.1 |
38.8 |
28.2 |
| I feel supported to implement RAP in my work |
12.0 |
14.8 |
35.9 |
27.3 |
10.0 |
| I know where to find resources to help me implement RAP |
12.0 |
25.8 |
23.9 |
26.3 |
12.0 |
| I and/or my team are currently implementing RAP |
15.3 |
27.8 |
21.5 |
22.0 |
13.4 |
| a Sample size = 209 |
RAP scores
RAP components
The frequencies for each RAP component below are derived from a series of questions on coding practices (see the coding practices page). These were used to calculate scores for each component (0/1) where respondents answered “regularly” or “all the time” to the relevant questions. The list of RAP components used here is based on the RAP minimum viable product guidance agreed by the RAP champions network.
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| Component |
Type |
Count |
| Documentation |
Basic |
78 |
| Peer review |
Basic |
131 |
| Team open source code |
Basic |
18 |
| Use open source software |
Basic |
149 |
| Version control |
Basic |
71 |
| Code packages |
Advanced |
49 |
| Continuous integration |
Advanced |
29 |
| Dependency management |
Advanced |
72 |
| Follow code style guidelines |
Advanced |
138 |
| Function documentation |
Advanced |
85 |
| Functions |
Advanced |
154 |
| Unit testing |
Advanced |
59 |
| a Sample size = 279 |
Basic RAP scores
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| Basic RAP score |
Count |
| 0 |
87 |
| 1 |
96 |
| 2 |
57 |
| 3 |
43 |
| 4 |
22 |
| 5 |
4 |
| a Sample size = 279 |
Advanced RAP scores
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| Advanced RAP score |
Count |
| 0 |
65 |
| 1 |
63 |
| 2 |
51 |
| 3 |
36 |
| 4 |
31 |
| 5 |
17 |
| 6 |
8 |
| 7 |
8 |
| a Sample size = 279 |