Written by By Dr Tatjana Kecojevic, Lecturer in Social Statistics and Director of BA Social Sciences (BASS)

At this year’s SoSS Scholarship Showcase (25 June 2025), I presented a talk titled “Reproducibility and Data E-Portfolios: Empowering Social Science Students for Transparent and Inclusive Data Practice.” The session focused on how we are  embedding reproducibility and digital literacy into our teaching, while fostering a wider community of practice that extends beyond the classroom.

The talk explored how version-controlled, transparent workflows, using tools such as Git, GitHub, R Markdown and Shiny, can empower students to develop and reflect on their data skills with confidence. Through digital e-portfolios, students not only  showcase their work but also engage with the process behind it, building critical thinking, accountability and a sense of  ownership over their learning. These approaches support inclusive pedagogy by making data practice more accessible and meaningful to students from diverse academic pathways, not just those with technical or STEM backgrounds.

As part of this wider initiative, supported by the SoSS Scholarship Support Fund, we have co-developed a number of openly accessible platforms alongside our students to support peer learning, mentoring and long-term engagement:

• rrmcrsoss.netlify.app: a resource hub to support reproducible research and open learning
• sossrr.netlify.app: a platform hosting our co-designed workshops and reproducibility guides
• dataforall.netlify.app: the home of Data4All, our student-led conference co-hosted with SoSS students and alumni, created in collaboration with the Q-Step Fellowship celebration. We are working to make this a flagship annual event within the department and the School, promoting data skills as essential, empowering, and accessible to all our SoSS students, regardless of their disciplinary background.

This year, we also launched the GitHub SoSS organisation, which supports students in learning how to build their own e-portfolios using real-world tools and reproducible practices. Students are introduced to version-controlled workflows and can fork template repositories from the organisation to create their own portfolios. The repository also includes materials for running workshops on using GitHub and building e-portfolios, all freely available to everyone in the School. Colleagues are warmly invited to use, adapt and contribute to the development of these resources as co-developers, helping to evolve this into a living, collaborative learning space.

As an educator, I have been deeply committed to empowering students with both the tools and the mindset for open, transparent and reproducible data practice. While reproducibility is often linked to research, embedding it into teaching provides a powerful foundation for learning. It invites students to learn by doing, to showcase their skills and knowledge through real-world projects, and to participate in an open, collaborative learning community. I am a strong advocate of “data skills for all”, as these are not, and should not be, the exclusive domain of STEM. Through my teaching, I aim to make data literacy accessible, inclusive and meaningful for all Social Sciences students. I am proud to bring this ethos to the School of Social Sciences, helping to shape a learning culture rooted in openness, equity and student agency, one that continues to grow through collaboration between staff, students and alumni.