  Neuroscience is moving towards a more integrative discipline, where
understanding brain function requires consolidating the accumulated evidence
seen across experiments, species, and measurement techniques. A remaining
challenge on that path is integrating such heterogeneous data into analysis
workflows such that consistent and comparable conclusions can be distilled as
an experimental basis for models and theories. Here, we propose a solution in
the context of slow wave activity ($<1$ Hz), which occurs during unconscious
brain states like sleep and general anesthesia, and is observed across diverse
experimental approaches. We address the issue of integrating and comparing
heterogeneous data by conceptualizing a general pipeline design that is
adaptable to a variety of inputs and applications. Furthermore, we present the
Collaborative Brain Wave Analysis Pipeline (Cobrawap) as a concrete, reusable
software implementation to perform broad, detailed, and rigorous comparisons of
slow wave characteristics across multiple, openly available ECoG and calcium
imaging datasets.
