Contributing to the eyeris R package

Welcome!

Thank you for considering contributing to the eyeris R package. We created this template to be community-driven, as we believe the best preprocessing practices emerge from collective expertise and rigorous discussion.

How Can I Contribute?

Scientific Contributions

• Identify potential issues in preprocessing steps
• Suggest improvements based on recent literature
• Share knowledge about best practices
• Question assumptions in our implementation
• Propose new validation checks

Technical Contributions

• Bug fixes
• Code optimization
• Documentation improvements
• Example additions
• Test cases

Contribution Process

1. Start with an Issue
   • Search existing issues first
   • Create a new issue to discuss your proposed changes
   • Wait for maintainer feedback before significant work
2. Fork & Create Branch
   • Fork the repository
   • Create a branch for your changes
   • Use clear branch names (e.g., fix-some-issue, improve-some-feature)
3. Make Changes
   • Follow existing code style
   • Add comments explaining preprocessing decisions
   • Update documentation as needed
   • Add tests if applicable
4. Submit Pull Request
   • Provide clear description of changes
   • Link related issues
   • Include scientific rationale for preprocessing changes
   • Add before/after examples if possible

Pull Request Guidelines

1. Scientific Validity
   • Explain the scientific rationale for changes
   • Cite relevant literature
   • Describe impact on preprocessing quality
2. Code Quality
   • Follow R script conventions
   • Include comments explaining preprocessing decisions
   • Maintain existing error checking patterns
   • Add appropriate logging
3. Documentation
   • Update README.Rmd (only if needed; note: README.md is auto-generated from README.Rmd)
   • Add inline documentation
   • Update parameter descriptions
   • Include clear and generalizable examples
4. Testing
   • Add validation checks
   • Test with different data types
   • Verify BIDS-like compliance
   • Check edge cases

Questions?

Feel free to:

• Open an issue for discussion
• Ask for clarification on existing issues
• Request more detailed contribution guidelines

We appreciate your help in maintaining high-quality pupillometry preprocessing standards!

–shawn