name: reviewing code description: how to review code effectively

Reviewing Code Effectively

• Start by understanding the motivation for the change: read the linked issue, PR description, and any relevant design discussion.
• Use git diff to examine the scope of changes and verify that only necessary files and lines were modified.
• Check for consistency with NiMARE’s style and patterns:
  • PEP8 compliance and clear, numpydoc-style docstrings for public APIs.
  • Use of the scikit-learn–like estimator pattern where appropriate.
• Confirm that new or modified functionality is covered by targeted tests, and that tests are focused and efficient.
• When appropriate, run the relevant tests locally (not the entire test suite) to validate critical behavior or bugfixes.
• Ensure documentation and examples are updated when APIs or behavior change (e.g., docs/dev_guide.rst, docs/api.rst, or relevant method docs).
• Offer specific, constructive feedback that suggests concrete improvements or clarifications, and be explicit about what is blocking versus optional.