In some disciplines, you may need to produce or write software or code as part of your research.
Examples include:
Software files can be published and cited in the same way as any other research output, however, poor standards and norms for doing this and indexing the resulting citations, are challenges for tracking impact in this way. Publishers and database providers are improving the way full-text files are searched in order to uncover previously invisible mentions, for example in methodology sections and acknowledgments.
In addition, code repositories such as GitHub not only host these types of output but also display how many people have forked a given piece of software - that is, used it as the basis for a new project. Social media mentions, "stars" and other engagement can also be tracked.
Other examples of impact for software and code include uptake and use cases, commercialisation, patents and citations in technical reports.
For assistance, reach out to the Open Research Team at library@waikato.ac.nz.