Ideas and Questions about README.md #10
Description
The README section is great at giving a concise description of what the Mispitools library is and possible use cases. However, as a student from a non-biology background and someone new to the project, I wished there were a higher-level overview of the Mispitools before diving into specific use cases.
- Is it possible to give an overview of all the main functions and datasets available?
- The description tells how to access the documentation, but there can be an additional section that expands on “The package enables the computation of various features” by specifying which features exactly (what else other than non-genetic data based likelihood ratios (LRs) and the optimal LR threshold for identifying potential matches in database searches) and by which functions in the library.
- The following sections use the allele frequency database from Argentina; it might be beneficial to mention all possible datasets in this overview section as well.
- What is the typical workflow? Can we add a visualization (flow chart or diagram) that provides an overview of how the main functions connect to each other (e.g., simulate data -> calculate LRs -> determine threshold -> calculate posterior odds)?
- Do the sections Computing LRs for preliminary investigation data, Calculating DNA-based decision threshold and error rates, etc., follow a traditional workflow that intended users of the library follow, or are they just recommendations on how to use the functions?
- We can incorporate some of the introductory information from the paper already referenced (create a visual to show where Mispitools functions are useful in the general process described in Figure 1) in this section.
All these changes might be unnecessary if the intended audience is scholars in biostatistics and forensics and already familiar with the workflows and tools. However, additional high-level overviews can be useful for those who want to use the library but are not necessarily specialists in the area (e.g., a forensic science scholar without a statistics background) by adding a slower transition from the Installation section to the application sections.