qid
int64 1
194k
| question
stringlengths 46
29.5k
| answers
listlengths 2
32
| date
stringlengths 10
10
| metadata
listlengths 3
3
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
5,452 | <p>While I know that students are encouraged to "tailor" their applications to the particular school or program they're applying to, does the same hold true for the people writing letters of recommendation on their behalf? In other words, is it possible just to change the "addressee" portion, and use a greeting such as "Dear Members of the Admissions Committee," or is more personalization required? </p>
<p>Just to clarify here, I'm referring to the "pro-forma" parts of the letter, rather than the actual content of the recommendation <em>per se</em>.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5529,
"author": "memin",
"author_id": 98,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/98",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although it really depends on the culture you are in and the culture you are applying, tailored recommendation letters are generally 'stronger'.</p>\n\n<p>Especially in the USA it is recommended to put also the university/department/lab name in the recommendation letter instead of just stating that the student is very good. Even changing the addressee requires the author spend some extra time, which means you are valuable for the author of the letter.</p>\n\n<p>Keep in mind that most of the recommendation letters are not really read. They are there to show whether you can get them. In this perspective, tailored letters mean you have stronger relations with 'worthy people'.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5531,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I have two levels of customization. Firstly, if the letter is for an internship at a lab, or an application to grad school or a job, I tailor the qualities that I emphasize and link those qualities to the specific job.</p>\n\n<p>A second level of customization is if I have any connection to the institution (for example, when writing letters of recommendation for AT&T Labs - where I used to work - I might mention this explicitly in order to convey that I understand the local culture)</p>\n\n<p>This is above and beyond the usual pro-forma customizations for the addressee etc. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5452",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53/"
]
|
5,454 | <p>In what ways would a Professor's LinkedIn Recommendation differ from his Recommendation for Graduate School(Masters/PhD)?</p>
<p>In other words: In what was does the visibility of a Recommendation change a Professor's Recommendation?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5455,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I believe they are totally different. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>LinkedIn recommendation is more towards the visibility of student's soft/technical skills in general while the official letter of recommendation should address the student skills in a more academic/depth way.</li>\n<li>Their audience is different. Recommendation Letter is intended to particular institute/committee while LinkedIn is more to the public general and industry recruiters in particular.</li>\n<li>LinkedIn recommendations counts nothing for the admission committees while might have good impact on industry recruiters. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In short: Academia:- Recommendation Letters. Industry: doesn't hurt to let your supervisor recommending you - if they do have account on LinkedIn :-) </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16218,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Viewing LinkedIn recommendations may require to register and login. Just because you have a LinkedIn account, does not mean your employer has.</p>\n\n<p>As a result, I would suggest to include the full text of the LinkedIn recommendation, not just a reference to it. But then it becomes not much different from just an ordinary recommendation that is just placed for public viewing on some website.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5454",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3983/"
]
|
5,458 | <p>A professor once said to me: <strong><em>publication is about intelligent copy paste from one field to another</em></strong>. His claims were right in a sense that he knew what results already exist in one field and apply it to the other non-mature yet field. Ofcourse he didn't mean a literal copying.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you are working in a cut-edge research (a new obscure area) and
already familiar with another stable mature-enough area, is utilizing
one's techniques to the other is a good approach for making
contributions to the field?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>is it count as a <em>good</em> contribution?<br>
is it common in Academia? (specifically for Computer Science field) </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5459,
"author": "Leon palafox",
"author_id": 2806,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Computer Science has many subfields, I remember that there was a running gag in NLP that people just took algorithms from the 1980's and pushed papers out like a treadmill. </p>\n\n<p>Other fields like Statistical Machine Learning has a more math oriented approach and you do have to come up with novel stuff most of the time.</p>\n\n<p>However, when you do interdisciplinary research, it is very often that many good techniques just don't get tested because many people do not know how to use them, or do not have the time to understand them very well. </p>\n\n<p>But to answer your question, I think is a pretty valid practice, very good researchers have great papers where what they did was basically apply a widely known math tool to a novel problem that few people were working on.</p>\n\n<p>An example that comes to mind is how Factor Analysis, a widely known CS method (1993) was just applied in 2007 for the problem of discovering Connections in Gene Networks, not only that, people were using linear regression on that just 10 years ago.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5476,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What is important in each scientific work is that it adds to the knowledge that already exists, i.e. there needs to be a new element. Applying a known method from another field into a new field, if this has not already been done before, can be a valid new element. In my view, this is a good contribution. Also, this happens quite a lot in research in general. For example, copula's where very populor already in Financial modelling, but only recently got attention for spatial interpolation.</p>\n\n<p>People who come up with radically new ideas, e.g. Einstein, are very rare. Most of us researchers can be happy to add our little addition to the large pool of knowledge, mainly building on existing material.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5458",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532/"
]
|
5,462 | <p>I have been in my current teaching/research position for 4 years. I have just been informed that my contract is research only. I think technically this means I don't have to be teaching. My School and HR want to issue a new contract (which I am sure will take months/years). I would prefer to be research only. I think if there was a screw up and I was listed as teaching only, getting moved to teaching/research would be a real fight with HR. Do I put up a fight about the change? To what extent do contracts matter?</p>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> I took the job with the expectation of doing both teaching and research. I have had a standard teaching load consistent with other new hires on teaching/research contracts. I have been under the impression that I have to teach as part of my job. The contract doesn't say anything about teaching (in fact it says little about specific job duties). This didn't strike me as odd when I signed the contract. Now on an unrelated issue I have learned that this is odd and means I do not have to teach. The university would like to modify my contract to include teaching duties (which I am already doing and am happy doing).</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5463,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This sounds like a potential big screw up. If your contract says one thing and you were promise another, you should put up a fight. Certainly, put up the fight before signing anything. </p>\n\n<p>Contracts matter when someone tries to get you to do something you would rather not do. If you don't want a heavy teaching loads, then your research-only contract would help you avoid that. If you don't have such a contract, then you've lost your leverage. </p>\n\n<p>Informal agreements do not stand the test of time, especially if there is a contradictory written agreement (signed by you).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5464,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Yes, contracts matter</strong>, as they define the legal obligations between you and your employer. Note that it is not the contract only, but also the legal framework on which it is built (laws and decrees directly applicable to your situation). But, you have correctly identified the correct question to ask: <strong>even if the law is on your side, is it worth picking this fight? You can only answer by a careful analysis of risks and benefits</strong>. I list a few ideas below…</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><em>I have just been informed that my contract is research only.</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Haven't you been handed your contract when you signed it? If not, that's a serious misconduct on their part and gives you leverage you can use.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><em>I think technically this means I don't have to be teaching</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This probably depends on the exact details of the contract, which we don't know. Read it and have it read by a lawyer, or at least a union representative or counselor.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><em>Do I put up a fight about the change? To what extent do contracts matter?</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>What is missing most importantly here is your current relationship with your hierarchy (department chair, dean, whatever) and what is their position/wishes on this issue. <strong>Standing up to the bureaucrats is one thing</strong>, and while you may not get into their good graces, it can be a fight worth fighting. <strong>Standing up to your department chair can open a whole new can of worms</strong>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5469,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If I am understanding your situation correctly, when you were hired you had a certain understanding with your department and university about your duties, which included both teaching and research. Since you don't say otherwise, it sounds like there are \"standard\" such duties in your department. Also there was a standard contract, and by some strange mistake you were given and signed a different, nonstandard contract. After four years of fulfilling your standard duties, the nonstandard contract has been brought to your attention. Do I have all that right?</p>\n\n<p>Now you are asking whether you should \"put up a fight\" about the fixing the mistaken contract. If your question is a legal one, of course get a lawyer who is an expert in the specifics of your situation. </p>\n\n<p>But are you really contemplating fighting against what you verbally agreed to when you took the job and the job you have been actually doing for the last four years because a contract you signed says otherwise and the difference may work out in your favor? To me that sounds like horrible behavior. If your bank had noticed after four years that they had mistakenly added a zero to your account balance, would you also fight the correction of the error? Do you not have any ethical qualms about this?</p>\n\n<p>As a justification you say that you wonder that if the situation were essentially reversed, correcting the oversight would be \"a real fight with HR\". First of all: is this guess grounded in any kind of history with the HR department at your university? Have they in fact been difficult with you in the past? If not it seems like you are simply assuming bad faith. Here's what <em>I think</em> would happen if you discovered your contract was all teaching and no research and tried to change it: there would be plenty of red tape, the entire process would take an order of magnitude longer than you felt that it reasonably should and would occupy too much of your time, but the final outcome would not really be in doubt due to the essential goodwill of the various parties, including people like your department chair/head who would come out on your behalf. </p>\n\n<p>Aside from being ethically highly suspect, a decision to fight the change of your contract is likely to earn you the ill will of HR and other administration in your university and -- probably more importantly -- of the department chair/head and other faculty members. You are contemplating not doing your share of the departmental work because of some technicality that you wonder whether you might be able to get away with. To me that sounds like you are contemplating whether to reserve the right to try to screw over your colleagues at some later time. Unless that is your actual goal, I would steer well clear of this. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 89372,
"author": "Parker Posey",
"author_id": 73363,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73363",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with \"This sounds like a potential big screw up. If your contract says one thing and you were promise another, you should put up a fight. Certainly, put up the fight before signing anything.\" It never works out when you don't put up a fight. At the end of the day, whoever said that they need to give you a new contract, is correct. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5462",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929/"
]
|
5,466 | <p>I was recently asked to review for an <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/" rel="noreferrer">MDPI</a> open access journal. Is this a reputable publishing company? Their website suggests that they are 15 years old, and only do open-access publishing. The journal has a 3-year impact factor of around 2, which is not unreasonable for my field.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5467,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on the amount of spam that I receive from them (mostly calls for papers in special issues), the fact that their automated emails do not feature a “unsubscribe me” link, and the fact that I did not manage to be removed from their lists after several complaints, I would say that <strong>they are not a respectable publisher</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know how long they have been around, but most of their journals in my field (chemistry) were very recently created: see <a href=\"http://www.mdpi.com/about/journals\">there</a> for a full list, which you can sort by journal creation date. Their older journal, <em>Molecules</em>, has a less-than-stellar impact factor of 2.4. Its editorial board, apart from the occasional celebrity or two, is unremarkable.</p>\n\n<p>As a conclusion: I think they surf on the popularity of open access journals, but I don't consider them serious players.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5468,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The peer review process generally differs between predatory and non predatory journals.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Given that they have solicited a review from you is a positive sign.</li>\n<li>If you don't know the authors and the work before hand, then that is\nanother positive sign.</li>\n<li>If the article you are reviewing is good, then that would be a third\npositive sign.</li>\n<li>Finally, if you make comments in your review and the authors address\nthem in the published version, that would be a final positive sign.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If on the other hand you know the authors and work, it is crappy, and the comments are ignored, that would be a bad sign.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5633,
"author": "A.Schulz",
"author_id": 1467,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1467",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my <strong>very personal opinion</strong> MDPI is an reputable publisher, but their journals are not first-class. I did a review for them once, and the peer review process was smooth. Also, I knew the field of the reviewed paper very well, so I guess they selected me as a reviewer carefully. But I really can speak only for one of their journals.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, I won't publish in their journals since they charge quite a bit for the open access, and there are other options in my field which are free for authors and subscribers. Also I don't like to be spammed with their \"newsletters\".</p>\n\n<p><strong>Added:</strong> I have recently seen <a href=\"http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/12/17/instead-of-a-peer-review-reviewer-sends-warning-to-authors/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">this post</a> reporting a problematic peer-review case with an MDPI journal. This lets me doubt, if my initial judgement was right. I suspect, it might depend on the journal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11859,
"author": "andy wessels",
"author_id": 8162,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8162",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>About a year ago, I was asked to become editor-in-chief for one of their journals. I asked myself the same question. After doing some background research, I came to the conclusion that MDPI was, albeit rather \"young\", a reputable publisher.</p>\n\n<p>I have worked with them for a little while now and have just started as editor-in-chief on another journal under MDPI with a specific focus on my area of research. My interaction with the editorial manager is very efficient. Surely, we will not compete with Nature and Science for high profile manuscripts, but I am absolutely convinced that both journals will do well with high quality papers and manuscripts.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 13975,
"author": "Julian",
"author_id": 9374,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9374",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Having more than 10% of your journals in ISI is more than an achievement. Most open-access journals don't even care because it is impossible to them. I think it is wrong to take open-access as fake or low quality, traditional journals are also becoming open-access and there are very serious open-access journals like PLOS. MDPI journals fall short compared to PLOS but they are respectable and are building their reputation. Charges are proportional to the journal reputation and most times can be waived if the author makes its case of lack of funding and it is completely independent of the review process.</p>\n\n<p>The recent overview of the impact factors for various journals in MDPI: <a href=\"http://www.mdpi.com/about/announcements/1335\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">impact factors</a> , show that there is significant credible scientific scholarship being disseminated. (eg. 'Catalysts' 3.4, 'Energies' 2.6, 'Entropy' 2.3). As of 2017, 'IEEE Access' has an impact factor of 3.5, <a href=\"http://ieeeaccess.ieee.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">impact factor on front page</a> and its reputation is accepted and acknowledged. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 40784,
"author": "A. Prof",
"author_id": 31104,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31104",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I recently reviewed a review article about a specific disease for an MDPI journal. I did not know the authors, who were from an institution in China. I was absolutely an appropriate reviewer, as most of my publications in the last 8 years or so are on the same disease. </p>\n\n<p>I won't say that the article was great, but it did carefully cover the topics well and pulled in some of the current challenges. The journal and authors were certainly responsive to review comments and efficient in processing them.</p>\n\n<p>In summary, everything about the process indicated that MDPI is acting like a reputable journal--making a real effort to do good work and provide a venue. What I hope new journals can do is build a good set of publications and solid review process that is perhaps less subject to some of the biases in big-name established journals. Bias, for example that lets a big name in the field get by with an easy review, but is unreasonable or simply rejects new players in a field. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 163449,
"author": "pbaer",
"author_id": 120643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/120643",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that there is no definitive answer to this question.</p>\n<p>I have recently published in a MDPI Journal (Materials) and <strong>my personal experiences</strong> with the journal were okay:\nThe review times were short and the reviewers' comments were in no case different from other journals I previously published in. Communication with the editorial office went smoothly and without further complications. The editors of the special issue I published in are were well known in my field and reputable.</p>\n<p>Unfortunately, since my paper was published, I am bombarded with spam mails. I don't want to speculate if this has to do with MDPI or could be a general problem of open-access.</p>\n<p>What I have heard from others and read on the internet, however, differs greatly from my personal experience. From all of this, I personally got the feeling, that it is more about the individual journals and less about MDPI itself.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 163452,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>MDPI is an academic publisher with a relatively unique model (among major publishers) that fits a specific need in the marketplace. (Full disclosure - I have mid-authored several papers that ended up in MDPI journals, although I won't submit there)</p>\n<p>That need is volume. There are several countries which disproportionately weight volume of publications for promotion and funding. The large majority of MDPI papers are published from these countries. MDPI publishes quickly, with a very small minimum publishable unit, and reasonable apcs.</p>\n<p>As you can imagine, the quality is overall poor. However, they do peer review, and at least attempt to avoid publishing complete garbage (there are highly reputable journals which aren't any better at keeping out utter nonsense PNAS I see you over there). The editorial staff isn't strong scientifically but do a good job of moving manuscripts through (they are <strong>very</strong> author friendly). Many of the journals are indexed, but I don't think I've ever cited anything from a MDPI journal - not because I won't or can't, just because there's nothing worth citing in my field.</p>\n<p>Should you publish there? Well, if you're looking for funding from the NIH your biosketch is limited to a handful of papers, which means publishing a bunch of MDPI papers is pretty useless for you. If you included an MDPI paper in your biosketch it probably would hurt your investigator score. Mostly I see people dump dead projects into MDPI journals so students can get some publication. If you're in one of the funding systems where a large volume of papers is good for your career, go nuts. If you have actually good science you think other people will want to read, you can and should send it to better journals where it will be better peer reviewed.</p>\n<p>Also the comments on the other answer about getting spammed with rfcs and review or editorial requests once you're in their system is spot on. I ended up just making it a spam filter problem cause I kept getting added to journals (most of which I could contribute nothing to because they're like oil exploration or something that's entirely out of my field).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 163462,
"author": "Allure",
"author_id": 84834,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/84834",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>tl; dr: probably reputable, but they are controversial, and a significant number of academics don't like MDPI</strong>.</p>\n<p>I used to work in publishing so this answer cuts much closer to the publisher's world than the academic one. It's also going to be very long, so I'm splitting it into sections.</p>\n<p><strong>Size</strong>: MDPI has grown very large. It's approximately the fifth largest publisher in the world by paper volume, publishing >100k papers a year. It's still growing very quickly and might have overtaken Taylor & Francis at this point. This number is large enough that it's improbable they are all bad papers based only on number. E.g. for comparison OMICS, which is much more commonly regarded as disreputable, is not nearly the size of MDPI. How did MDPI grow so fast? The main reason appears to be ...</p>\n<p><strong>Review time</strong>: MDPI claims a median time from submission to publication of <a href=\"https://res.mdpi.com/data/2019_web.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">only 39 days</a>. From the perspective of other publishers this time is absurdly fast, in fact many publishers won't even calculate this number because the time taken for peer review is not something that's under their control. MDPI got this fast by accelerating their production time to nearly zero (more on this later), and by attempting to control the time taken for peer review anyway. From my conversations with an MDPI employee & by looking at the blogosphere of academics, they appear to do this by:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Requesting reviews very quickly. When reviewing for MDPI you could be asked for a review in 7(!) days. This doesn't mean they are compromising on review quality however: after all, most students will always submit their assignments just before the deadline, and most reviewers will do the same with their reviews. In other words, the request effectively says "are you free to give a quick review? If not, we'll ask someone else." MDPI are able to ask this question because their reviewers are invited by the editorial staff, not editorial board members. Full-time editorial staff can do things like react instantly when a review is submitted, or invite new reviewers the moment one declines. MDPI also have a staggering number of editorial staff per journal - I'm told in the vicinity of ~30 for a journal that publishes ~3000 articles per year - to provide 24-hour coverage. Adding fuel to the fire is that the editorial staff will usually <a href=\"https://mdpisingapore.teamtailor.com/jobs\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">hold advanced degrees</a> in the field of the journal. See also the review process bullet point below.</li>\n<li>Authors are also requested to revise their articles quickly. Their editorial staff tailors the amount of revision time to the difficulty of revisions requested. They can do this because they usually hold advanced degrees in the field of the journal. The time given to revise can be as short as 2 (!) days, although it can also be significantly longer if new experiments are requested.</li>\n<li>Finally, they accelerated their production time to nearly zero - taking only a few days from acceptance to uploading XML files online. This timetable is crazy; for comparison at other publishers I worked at, the target is 25 working days. The only way to get it to go faster is by having more manpower, which MDPI appears to have done - each journal also has hundreds of production staff that literally start working on the paper the instant it arrives on their desk. The MDPI employee who told me the above claimed MDPI has >10,000 employees. This doesn't match their <a href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/about/history\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">history page</a>, implying that most of these >10,000 employees are freelance and/or part-time, which makes sense given that the workload in journal publishing ebbs and flows.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Their astonishing speed does mean they can claim a legitimate competitive advantage over other publishers. It also means that if you submit/review/edit for MDPI, you can expect very fast response times. It's fairly common on Academia.SE to get questions about how long peer review seem to take at some journals (<a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/163445/3-weeks-with-required-reviews-completed\">example</a>). The way MDPI is set up means this will never happen to them.</p>\n<p>Summary of this section: I don't see any evidence to think MDPI compromised their peer review process to achieve this speed. They're trying to work around the process in ways that defy industrial standards, but can conceivably work.</p>\n<p><strong>Review process</strong>: The MDPI employee I talked to said the typical review process goes like this:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Paper is submitted.</li>\n<li>Paper is shown to an editorial board member specializing in the field of the paper (remember the journal staff have advanced degrees), who makes the decision whether to send it for peer review. If the decision is no, desk reject.</li>\n<li>The journal staff invites reviewers (remember the journal staff have advanced degrees).</li>\n<li>Editorial board member makes the decision based on reviews received.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>The argument for doing it this way is that MDPI wants to reduce the workload of their editorial board members as much as possible. To do #2 and #3, they hire at advanced level. Other publishers I worked at tended to leave #2 to the editor-in-chief and #3 to the editorial board member assigned to the paper.</p>\n<p>This kind of arrangement definitely cuts the time taken for peer review, but the impact on review quality is hard to quantify. I <em>want</em> to think it isn't worse (because I've done it before and the reviews received didn't seem worse), but some academics will be <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/107618/are-editors-ok-if-the-publisher-invites-reviewers\">critical</a>.</p>\n<p>This also explains why MDPI's editorial boards often have hundreds of people without an editor-in-chief, and can also explain why people seem to have divergent experiences with MDPI's peer review process (because if my experiences elsewhere are anything to go by, journal staff are more variable than editorial board members).</p>\n<p>Summary of this section: I don't see anything organically wrong with how MDPI do their peer review. At least, their intentions are benign. However, some people will object to the editorial board not handling everything (<a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/52007/how-much-does-it-cost-the-publisher-to-publish-an-academic-article/109076#comment285544_109076\">example</a>).</p>\n<p><strong>Production process</strong>: Same as standard, except they engage <a href=\"https://mdpisingapore.teamtailor.com/jobs/2035031-english-editor\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">advanced degree holders</a> in the relevant field to do copyediting. This is expensive, but doable; many professional copyediting companies offer this. From my conversation with the MDPI employee, I know they are outsourcing their copyediting a lot (apparently there was even one editorial board member who wanted to be involved with copyediting). I don't know if they are engaging these copyediting companies, however.</p>\n<p><strong>Article processing charges</strong>: MDPI charges about 1000-2000 Swiss Francs per article. Relatively speaking this is somewhat lower than average among big publishers.</p>\n<p>They are rather open about <a href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/about/apc\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">how they spend the APC</a>. Based on my knowledge of publication fees, their numbers are believable: there are fixed costs that cannot change, but journals that charge less also get less of a marketing budget, and they also have less leeway to provide discounts/waivers. The numbers indicate that the less expensive journals are making a net loss per paper, and the more expensive journals are subsidizing the less expensive ones - which is also my experience. Production costs are a bit higher than they have to be, but given that they're hiring an army of advanced degree holders, it's not surprising.</p>\n<p>For the people who associate "predatory/disreputable" with "high profit margin", the numbers indicate their profit margin is 1-6% per article, which is definitely on the low side.</p>\n<p><strong>Special issues</strong>: the MDPI employee I talked to appeared to have a different conception of "special issue" than the common one, which is an extra "special issue" of a subscription-based journal with a set number of issues per year. MDPI's special issues simply appear to be collections of papers on that topic with an invited guest editor. The special issues are often very generic (e.g. this special issue with theme <a href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe/special_issues/focus_dark_matter\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">"Focus on Dark Matter"</a> could very well be its own journal, and <a href=\"https://www.journals.elsevier.com/physics-of-the-dark-universe/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">indeed is</a>).</p>\n<p>From my perspective the special issues are simply a way to get more academics to collaborate with MDPI.</p>\n<p><strong>Publishing metrics</strong>: MDPI does well on many of the standard metrics publishers look at. All numbers in this section are from <a href=\"https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/08/10/guest-post-mdpis-remarkable-growth/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">this source</a>.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Overall rejection rate of 60%, which is not high but also not low.</li>\n<li>Their citability is improving. "In 2016, only 27 of its 169 titles were indexed on SCIE (Science Citation Index of Web of Science) and were on track to get an Impact Factor. By 2019, its leading journals were generally as citable as the average articles in the fields where they compete (more on that below). In summer 2020, 71 of MDPI’s 250 titles had an Impact Factor." (For those unfamiliar with this, to get an impact factor the journal needs to be indexed by the Science Citation Index, which is very hard; clearing this hurdle puts any new journal on very solid footing to be self-sustaining.)</li>\n<li>"All ten titles improved their citability for content published in the same year (Immediacy Index) from 2015-19, and eight of them improved their citability from 2018 to 2019. Six of the titles had a better Immediacy Index in 2019 in their leading research category than articles of other journals, and two of them had a better Immediacy Index than articles of the selective ERA 2018 journals (25,017 journals in the Excellence in Research for Australia 2018 journal list)." (Immediacy Index here is how often the articles in the journal are cited in the same year they are published)</li>\n<li>They don't have a higher retraction rate than the rest of the industry. "[MDPI] reported 19 retractions in 2019, equivalent to 0.5 retractions per 1,000 papers (assuming that retractions refer to year t-2). As a point of contrast, I could locate 352 papers on Elsevier's ScienceDirect that included the phrase 'this article has been retracted' in 2019, implying 0.5 retractions per 1,000 papers (again, assuming that retractions refer to year t-2)."</li>\n<li>They are not reliant on either a single country or a single subject area (see Fig. 6 & 7 of source).</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Summary: from other publishers' point of view, as long as one neglects the name, MDPI is a healthy publisher, maybe even one to be envied.</p>\n<p><strong>Controversies</strong>: MDPI is controversial primarily because Jeffrey Beall blacklisted them back in 2013. Although they were removed in 2015 after appeal, Beall still called them a "borderline case". I wrote more about Beall's list in <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23719/why-do-open-access-consortia-affiliate-themselves-with-questionable-publishers/115704#115704\">this answer</a>; the brief summary is that it's not a given that any unbiased observer will agree with Beall's assessment.</p>\n<p>One can still look at the controversies themselves on <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDPI#Controversies\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">MDPI's Wikipedia page</a>. In general it seems like MDPI have increased their publication standards and have gotten less controversial since 2013. Post 2015, the only really controversial incident one could associate with predatory publishing is the <a href=\"https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/09/open-access-editors-resign-after-alleged-pressure-publish-mediocre-papers\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">2018 resignation of several editorial board members</a>. Examining this in more detail the board members argue they were being pressured to accept mediocre papers. However, from the article it's clear that the argument is a well-known one in publishing, and has to do with whether one should demand novelty in articles. I wrote as much in the answer above:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Many OA journals do indeed review lightly. For example I once attended a talk by a Springer spokesperson who talked about a journal which reviews for correctness, not novelty (can't find the journal now, but <a href=\"https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/journal-information\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">PLOS ONE has the same policy</a>). Viewed one way this is laudatory - it makes peer review less random by eliminating one completely subjective facet! Viewed another way, this is terrible - it makes it seem as though the journal will publish old results known for hundreds of years as long as the author is willing to pay. Which is closer to the truth? You'll have to come to your own conclusions.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If you believe that this style of reviewing is terrible, as the <em>Nutrients</em> editors apparently did, then you'll conclude MDPI is predatory. If you take the other view that this style of reviewing is laudatory, you'd ignore the entire incident as much ado over nothing. It's not clear-cut; some academics have even published <a href=\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11017-012-9233-1\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">an article</a> defending another journal that outright didn't conduct peer review.</p>\n<p>Aside from the above there is also this:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Simen Andreas Ådnøy Ellingsen questioned the quality of MDPI's peer review based on his experiences as a reviewer for the publisher; he wrote that he was only given one week to review a paper, that he recommended rejection, that the paper was then simply published without further comment, and that he never was in contact with any editor.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>But this also doesn't look like very problematic, because <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/32397/why-do-editors-sometimes-accept-a-paper-even-if-a-reviewer-recommends-rejection\">editors can choose to accept a paper that reviewers recommend reject</a>, the one week review time is part of MDPI's standard operating procedure, and given that the journal staff are inviting peer reviewers, it's not surprising that Simen Andreas Ådnøy Ellingsen was never in contact with a member of the editorial board.</p>\n<p>There doesn't seem like much else in the controversies section post-2015, so I conclude by <em>argumentum ex silencio</em> that there is no smoking gun that they're disreputable. At least, they've raised their standards since Beall blacklisted them in 2013.</p>\n<p><strong>Email spam</strong>: This is perhaps the most annoying thing about MDPI. Submit or review a paper and they send you all sorts of emails about X or Y, some of which there is no realistic chance you'll be interested. Odds are this contributed to MDPI's growth actually, simply because it's how spam works.</p>\n<p><See "update" section below for more about this></p>\n<p>If you believe that only disreputable publishers spam, then MDPI are clearly disreputable. On the other hand if you believe that "disreputable" = "bad peer review", then their spamming doesn't seem related. At least they seem to <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5466/is-mdpi-a-reputable-academic-publisher#comment440246_163449\">respect requests to unsub</a> (but see lighthouse keeper's comments below).</p>\n<p><strong>Finally</strong>: Many people approve of MDPI - their sheer size is an indication. They have hundreds of thousands of authors, and tens of thousands of editors. Equally, many people disapprove. I have no numbers for this, but <a href=\"https://twitter.com/dutchscientist/status/1296898280606097410\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/slavov_n/status/1291695852722040832\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">are</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/udemsar/status/1191390977044471810\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">some</a> <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/post/Im_gonna_ask_whether_publishing_in_MDPI_journals_is_good_or_more_specifically_how_is_publishing_in_International_Journal_of_Molecular_Sciences\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">examples</a>. Therefore however one looks at it, MDPI is controversial. You might want to make up your own mind on them.</p>\n<p>For further information I recommend <a href=\"https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/08/10/guest-post-mdpis-remarkable-growth/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">these</a> <a href=\"https://danbrockington.com/2019/12/04/an-open-letter-to-mdpi-publishing/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">three</a> <a href=\"https://danbrockington.com/2020/07/23/mdpi-journals-2015-to-2019/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">articles</a>.</p>\n<p><strong>Update</strong>: a former colleague of mine recently joined MDPI. From conversation with her, there's no question that MDPI are seriously reviewing all papers that are submitted. In fact they might have gone overboard, because they've implemented strict guidelines for editors when inviting reviewers. Some, such as "you must have at least three reviewers per paper", are quite normal. Others are more controversial: "your reviewer must have h-index at least 5", or "your reviewer must be at least an associate professor", or even "your reviewers must be from different countries - and some countries are blacklisted". (MDPI are clearly contributing to the discrepancy for many countries in <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/164352/is-it-common-for-chinese-nationals-to-turn-down-review-requests\">number of papers submitted and number of papers reviewed</a>.)</p>\n<p>My former colleague tells me that it is a hassle to register new reviewers, because the editorial management system they use requires lots of things such as the reviewer's research interests, their institutional webpage, an institutional email address (generic ones like gmail are not permitted) and so on. My colleague further says that this is unrewarding because there're apparently a lot of academics who 1) don't believe in author-pays open access, or 2) believe MDPI is predatory. Furthermore, management keeps a close eye on what their editors are doing: they are expected to write daily (!) reports about their progress. My colleague has more than 10 years of experience in journal publishing, but she says she's still very stressed by the work.</p>\n<p>I think this explains why MDPI seems to send spam reviewer invitations - when the editors are stressed and busy, when they spend a couple of hours researching new reviewers who all decline, and they are struggling to meet their daily targets, then the easiest thing to do is to invite previous reviewers regardless of whether the research interests match. However, I'm also told that MDPI have protocols about this: you cannot invite someone who has been invited in the previous month, for example, and the data of who has been invited is stored in a common database. In other words, it's very possible someone else in the company has already invited the person you want.</p>\n<p>In conclusion, I think MDPI are aware of the problem and taking steps to fix them. Their methods result in less flexibility for their editors (my colleague cited this as a major drawback of working at MDPI), but I don't see any other realistic alternative. If they want to address the problem, then they have to do something like this. At least with these protocols in place, the next time there is a peer review failure (and those are virtually inevitable) they'll be able to defend their work (<a href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/7/693/review_report\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">recent example</a> when one of their journals accepted a paper that claimed COVID vaccines lacked clear benefit).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 176399,
"author": "Sursula",
"author_id": 133549,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/133549",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A lot of papers in my field are published in MDPI journals (higher ranking ones like Sensors and Materials). Most editors of those journals are respected and renowned experts.</p>\n<p>I have published there myself, and as other have stated, the process was smooth and in many aspects very much like with other, more "reputable" journals. There were several rounds of peer review with competent and constructive feedback from the reviewers. The whole process is just noticeably faster than with most other journals I have submitted to, which - considering that the review process is not of bad quality - is in my eyes a good thing.</p>\n<p>And yes, you do receive quite some (unsolicited) email from them, <strong>but</strong> in contrast to emails I receive from what I would definitely call disreputable journals,</p>\n<ul>\n<li>the emails are always correctly adressed to me, my full name and correct title</li>\n<li>they are always from journals within the MDPI range that fit my expertise</li>\n<li>they often include an offer to publish for less than the normal open access fees and at times even an offer to completely waive the open access fee for a speciall issue or similar</li>\n</ul>\n<p>So, from my experience, and the experience of others in my field, MDPI is not a disreputable or predatory publisher, although some of their actions might rub some people the wrong way.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 188664,
"author": "Dilworth",
"author_id": 8760,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8760",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my humble opinion, and quite extensive experience in academia, MDPI is <strong>not a reputable publisher</strong>, in general, and on average, in the sense that:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>having papers in an MDPI journal does not strengthen one's CV (and tenure, and promotion cases, on average), and also</li>\n<li>publications in MDPI do not correlate high enough to papers that constitute important or even reputable scientific progress.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>My opinion is based on the following data/information:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>I am not aware of any result of even slight importance or relevance to contemporary research in my field of study (STEM, basic research, mathematics) that appeared in an MDPI journal.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>I am not aware of any reputable academic in my community serving as an editor there.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>I have very bad experience with spam received from MDPI.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5466",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1125/"
]
|
5,471 | <p>I am writing a paper with a co-author. I need to explain some terms in the preliminaries section. I am copying the definitions from my co-authors previous paper. Afterwards, I want to include the paper into my thesis. If I use the same definitions word for word in my thesis, would that be considered plagiarism?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5472,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You could take two approaches:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Modify the text slightly, rewording, to make it different.</li>\n<li>or, easier, just refer to the other paper, i.e. \"I use the definitions of Doe (2011), which for convienience I repeat:\".</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In that way it is not plagiarism.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5473,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You need to clearly reference the definitions.<br>\nFor example, <strong>Definition 1 [paper_reference]:</strong> or <strong>Definition 1 ( as in [paper_reference] ) :</strong> </p>\n\n<p>By this, it is clearly your are copying the definition of the other paper..</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5474,
"author": "John Doucette",
"author_id": 1125,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1125",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ol>\n<li>If you are going to use their definitions verbatim, then use quotes, or otherwise make it very clear that the words are not your own. </li>\n<li>In any case, cite the sources.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>If you use other peoples' words in your thesis, without making it very clear that they <em>are</em> other peoples' words, then yes, you would be committing plagiarism. </p>\n\n<p>Granted, this case would not be extreme, compared with say, including a chapter from someone else's thesis in your own, but it does meet the definition. Given that many universities have adopted draconian anti-plagiarism policies in recent years, you should be very careful to avoid even minor infractions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5478,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your question sounds like you're asking about a math paper. Definitions in mathematics are a bit of a strange corner case for plagiarism issues because they're not supposed to be \"in your own words.\" My understanding of normal behavior is that you would never put a definition in quotes (unless you're writing about history), that you can nonetheless reuse definitions verbatim, but that you need to either cite the original source or say that they are standard definitions. A typical way to do this would be by saying \"We recall some key definitions from X.\"</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5471",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4180/"
]
|
5,475 | <p>Certain schools give you specific details about their statement of purpose. For example a maximum of a certain number of words, double spaced, two pages maximum, etc. If a school does not provide any of the above-mentioned details, what would be a good lenght in terms of number of words to engage the admission committee? Is a single space statement of purpose too compressed, or is it acceptable?</p>
<p>I know that brevity and conciseness are important, but I find it hard to fit all the information they want in a one page. And I have to list relevant experiences, future goals, research interests, and which people I would like to work with in the department.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5480,
"author": "John B",
"author_id": 3857,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3857",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Depending on the program I would keep it between 1.5 to 2 pages. I framed mine to answer the following questions:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Why am I applying to this school.</li>\n<li>What are my research interests.</li>\n<li>Previous academic accomplishments.</li>\n<li>Previous professional accomplishments.</li>\n<li>Personal story of triumph (optional, I talk about having to drop out of high school to support my family)</li>\n<li>What is your goal after graduation.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Addition:</p>\n\n<p>I would also target schools that are pumping out the research that matches with your interests... this will help when you are stating why you are applying like:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>A major factor in helping me choose Awesome University was Professor Awesome's research on being awesome. I feel that this aligns well with my research interests, and would make for a great fit between me and the department.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Also, if you talk about any abstract ideas be sure to elaborate on them to give a level of specificity. They want to see you be able to translate abstract ideas into specific thoughts.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5510,
"author": "StasK",
"author_id": 739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/739",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you have a statement of purpose written for one school, you should be able to adapt it to other schools, too. Writing a fully customized SoP is a waste of time, unless you are applying to just three places (and then you are either overconfident, or just don't know what you are doing). If you've done a 1.5-2 page SoP, as JohnB suggested, just change a couple of paragraphs, and that should do it.</p>\n\n<p>First paragraph: define yourself professionally (\"I am a professional golf player who likes to deal with computers. I assembled my first PC at the age of 7, and hacked the school district network at the age of 12. Since then, I have been receiving straight As throughout the school\")</p>\n\n<p>Second paragraph: define where you want to be after Ph.D. (\"I want to become a physicist to understand the nuances of friction between the golf ball and the air, and the ball and the grass. I also want to get involved with biology on the side, so that I could understand the ecology of the golf courses better.\")</p>\n\n<p>Two-three paragraphs: describe why this department is a particularly good fit. It's here where you describe the work you've done, and how it relates to the work other people in the department have been doing. (\"I have found the work that Prof. Feynman has performed on the stability of beer foam as a function of ambient temperature and concentration of fine particulate matter (cigarette smoke) in pubs of Ireland to be very intriguing, and cited his papers on the topic in my own research on flotation of potato chips on beer surface, see Appl. Phys. Letters forthcoming in 2013\").</p>\n\n<p>Conclude with re-stating that you think this is a great program, and you think you are a great fit for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 93786,
"author": "LambrosTuring",
"author_id": 54114,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/54114",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Just some clarifications that the other answers seem to have missed. No school needs you to tell them how awesome you think they are (I believe you are better than Harvard) or how much you love their location (I love being by the ocean / I've always dreamt living in Manhattan). Explain why they will not regret accepting you. Show them what you're good at and why you will be a good fit for their department. Describe your plans and ambitions for after you've graduated. Overall keep it short but well-written. Don't waste their time with long formal introductions and greetings. Don't be repetitive.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5475",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050/"
]
|
5,479 | <p>I'm currently a Ph.D. student. I'm applying for a post-Ph.D. faculty job, and so is one of my two Ph.D. co-advisors. I think we have a good relationship, and I am thrilled they are applying, and truly hope they get the job. I think this is mutual.</p>
<p>They recently decided to apply. Prior to their decision, they agreed to review my application and be listed as a reference. </p>
<p>Now that we are both applying, they have agreed to review my application, but only after they have finished with theirs, to keep them independent. Furthermore, they suggested they should not be a letter writer, but then said they would remain as a reference if I want, since I don't have that many others to choose from (being somewhat earlier in my career, having collaborated with others a bit less).</p>
<p>I've asked the Search Committee head if they are OK with me listing them as a reference. If my advisor and I agree to do it, does the committee have a problem with it? Their reply will guide my answer.</p>
<p>But I seek advice here too. Is it OK to keep the advisor as the reference? I trust them to write a good letter, even in the unlikely event that we are both selected, or I alone am selected. Is this unwise?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5481,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would personally try and find a different reference. There just too much potential for conflict. The situation is somewhat comparable to borrowing a lot of money from family. Your former advisor is working in the same field, so you will be meeting fo the years to come. If this turns out badly, it will remain a nuisance for a very long. Short answer: just prevent the potential conflict of interest and find a new reference.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5486,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is helpful that you and your advisor have been in contact and have honest communication about this subject. It's commendable, and doesn't happen nearly often enough.</p>\n\n<p>That said,, for this particular job, if you want to have any realistic chance of getting this particular job, you really need to have someone else replace this particular co-advisor. Otherwise, a rather confused hiring panel may take a look at both applications, wonder what the heck is going on, and throw out <em>both</em> applications.</p>\n\n<p>However, for any job in which you're not in direct conflict, I think it would probably be OK to have your co-advisor as a letter of reference.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5479",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4181/"
]
|
5,482 | <p>I'm writing a scientific article and a dissertation in biology, for which I used Python for simulations. Some people in our department, especially the "non-computer-people", don't know what Python is, so I want to reference something helpful. Open-Source scientific tools such as CellProfiler usually tell you how to reference them, but Python doesn't.</p>
<p>How is the Python language properly referenced? Are there any articles in journals available I could link to?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5484,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In order to cite a programming language, a possible way is to cite the reference manual, including the version of the language you use (your approach might no longer work with the version of Python available in 20 years ...). </p>\n\n<p>For instance, you can have a citation like: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Python Software Foundation. Python Language Reference, version 2.7. Available at <a href=\"http://www.python.org\">http://www.python.org</a></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/python/python/105846\">this thread</a>, you can also cite the original CWI TR: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>\"G. van Rossum, Python tutorial, Technical Report CS-R9526, \n Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI), Amsterdam, May \n 1995.\" </p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 66664,
"author": "Doctorambient",
"author_id": 5975,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5975",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A common choice I have seen is to cite the software by name and give a link to the website or name the company (for proprietary software) or both. For MATLAB, a mathematical programming language, I have often seen:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>...for the simulations we used Matlab (The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, Massachusetts, United States)....</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Likewise in citation lists and also in text, you often see something like:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>MATLAB and Signal Processing Toolbox Release 2012b, The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, Massachusetts, United States. <a href=\"http://www.mathworks.com/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">http://www.mathworks.com/</a></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Note that it is often good to include libraries or toolboxes as well as the languages used. Most computer languages used in academic research are not used alone but depend heavily on add-on components. For these, there may be explicitly given papers to cite or the authors may provide preferred citation rules. The most important component of citing a software package is the website, especially if it is open-source, as that allows others to dig into the details of your work but actually using the same tools!</p>\n\n<p>For open-source software like Python, you could name the organization or give the website:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>...for the simulations we used the Python programming language (Python Software Foundation, <a href=\"https://www.python.org/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://www.python.org/</a>).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Obviously, check your schools formatting demands for dissertations/theses, and note that most style guides have explicit rules for software, and those would apply to computer languages as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 132085,
"author": "J.V.",
"author_id": 109940,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/109940",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think it should be standard to cite programming language and used libraries. To cite Python you can use this citation:</p>\n\n<pre><code>@book{van1995python, \n title={Python tutorial}, \n author={Van Rossum, Guido and Drake Jr, Fred L}, \n year={1995}, \n publisher={Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica Amsterdam, The Netherlands} \n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>This citation can be found also here <a href=\"http://www.citebay.com/how-to-cite/python/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">http://www.citebay.com/how-to-cite/python/</a>. At this website there are citations for many Python libraries, that are widely used (numpy, scipy, etc.).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 132700,
"author": "Dexter",
"author_id": 41246,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/41246",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is probably a late answer but now Python's official <a href=\"https://docs.python.org/3/faq/general.html#are-there-any-published-articles-about-python-that-i-can-reference\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">FAQ</a> page has information regarding 'Are there any published articles about Python that I can reference?'. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It’s probably best to cite your favorite book about Python. The very\n first article about Python was written in 1991 and is now quite\n outdated.</p>\n\n<pre><code>Guido van Rossum and Jelke de Boer, “Interactively Testing Remote Servers Using the Python Programming Language”, CWI Quarterly, Volume 4, Issue 4 (December 1991), Amsterdam, pp 283–303.\n</code></pre>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5482",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3885/"
]
|
5,483 | <p>Is it possible to apply for a graduate program in theoretical physics without having a bachelor's degree in physics or mathematics?
I'm completely self-taught. I'm half way through Jackson electrodynamics and Peskin QFT. These books are taught to students at a graduate level, let's say that I can pass the GRE exam and graduate level examinations. Is it possible that this would substitute for an undergraduate degree?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5485,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? Maybe not.</p>\n\n<p>A lot will depend on your undergraduate program. If you've done something \"related,\" such as mathematics or physical chemistry or some engineering disciplines, then it will be easier to convince an admissions committee that you have the requisite background. Otherwise, it will be up to you, in your letter statement of purpose, as well as your letter-writers in their letters, to make the case why you should be admitted to a rogram in physics when you don't have a background in the subject (or anything close to it). </p>\n\n<p>This is a big risk for a department, and especially if the department you're applying to is small and therefore needs to be more selective in who they admit. Anything you can do to show that you won't be a risk for them will help your application.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5492,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>...but I think I'm well aware of my areas of weakness and strength.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't dispute that at all. But you'd be in the minority. Most students coming into grad school think that they can handle any material, and once they're in a class, find themselves completely swamped. </p>\n\n<p>The admissions committee's point of view is this:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Will this person be at sea in their breadth requirements because we have no idea whether they have the right background ? </li>\n<li>Will they be a drag on instructors in their classes, and in general bring their cohort down (it can be dispiriting to have many students in a batch struggling to make it through the program: conversely, it's great when a batch has a number of bright spots who can pull the others up)</li>\n<li>Should this person be chosen <strong>as opposed to someone else</strong> who has a more well-defined profile ? </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you can address the third point clearly (\"why should you pick me\") and the first (\"I really do know my stuff\"), then that will go a long way towards alleviating their concerns. For example, if you can point to independent research projects that would demonstrate your command of the material, that would be even more valuable than course credits. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5493,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with the other answers — admitting a student without formal academic background is very risky.</p>\n\n<p>As a first step, I suggest contacting graduate programs asking if they allow <strong>non-degree students</strong> to take their classes. If so, taking classes as a non-degree student will let you build up a formal academic background and strong recommendation letters in your chosen field, making your case for admission much stronger. And if you're admitted to the PhD program at the same university, you may be able to use the classes you've already taken toward your degree.</p>\n\n<p>Taking classes will also give you a sanity check on your self-assessment. From personal experience, it can be <em>really</em> hard to spot gaps in the knowledge you build from self-study, simply because you don't know enough to ask the right questions.</p>\n\n<p>But once you get your foot in the door, do <em>not</em> just take classes; do whatever you can to get involved in research!</p>\n\n<p>One significant downside to non-degree classes is that you'll almost certainly have to pay for them out of your own pocket.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5504,
"author": "matt",
"author_id": 4145,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4145",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Depending on the field and department you are thinking of applying to, one piece of evidence that you have independently acquired a strong background in the proposed field of study can be a strong score on the GRE Subject Test in that field.</p>\n\n<p>In computer science, a number of graduate programmes I've looked at recommend this for applicants that don't have a CS degree. For instance, cf. UC San Diego's PhD admissions FAQ: <a href=\"http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/node/195\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/node/195</a> under \"Should I take the Computer Science GRE Subject Exam?\"</p>\n\n<p>I do not know for sure to what degree this would apply in Physics.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5505,
"author": "Herman Toothrot",
"author_id": 4050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer to your question regarding the GRE is \"it will help\". You have not specified if it is for a PhD or Master's. However what will count the most is your research experience if you are going for a PhD. If you want to apply to a Master than it will be definitely easier to get accepted with high GRE scores.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes students with different backgrounds are actually well seen by the department, especially if it is a interdisciplinary one. However you have to substantially prove how you will be able to apply your knowledge into your new field and how this makes you competitive. Students with a different background might provide insights and different perspectives on how to approach research topics.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5523,
"author": "Chelonian",
"author_id": 4209,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4209",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it possible to apply for a graduate program in theoretical physics\n without having a bachelor's degree in physics or mathematics?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, I believe it is. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>let's say that I can pass the GRE exam and graduate level\n examinations. Is it possible that this would substitute for an\n undergraduate degree?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>First, depends what you mean by \"pass\" the GRE. I'd hope that you had very high scores (90th+ percentile) on at least the Quant. and Analytical parts of it, but hopefully all three.</p>\n\n<p>Also, I'd edit your question to be clear that you do have an undergraduate degree already; just not one in physics.</p>\n\n<p>My guess would be that <em>if you find the right program</em> they would be willing to really consider your application favorably if you could provide something like the following list of goodies:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Very high GRE scores</li>\n<li>A glowing letter of recommendation from a physicist or some \"hard\" science prof speaking to your abilities to do heavy duty physics.</li>\n<li>A pristine statement of purpose that goes into specific details about your research interests within theoretical physics and your program of self-study. Here you'd really want to emphasize your <em>aptness</em> for that particularly graduate program in physics, based on your interests that match well with what (at least one of) their researchers do.</li>\n<li>Some research experience, if you can get some.</li>\n<li>A very strong academic transcript with a significant amount of hard science and math courses and mostly As (or the equivalent) in those subjects.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you can't provide most of a list like this, one might reasonably question why you would want to go on to graduate school in this field.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5483",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4185/"
]
|
5,487 | <p>I'd like to know the connection of researchers. Similar to the connection of LinkedIn. In the field of computer science, the <a href="http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/">DBLP database</a> seems to be useful. Does anyone know a tool to generate a FoaF graph out of DBLP data and a FoaF (Friend of a Friend) graph rendering tool?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5489,
"author": "walkmanyi",
"author_id": 1265,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1265",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><a href=\"http://academic.research.microsoft.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Microsoft Academic Research</a> can do something similar for you, you just need to have Sliverlight plugin installed in your browser. Search for the first author, click on it's name (orange background), click \"Geanology Graph\", Click \"Co-author Graph\", enter the name of the other person on the right and press enter.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5496,
"author": "Sylvain Peyronnet",
"author_id": 43,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A bachelor thesis of interest for you:</p>\n\n<p>Remo Lemma, Ebony - Visualizing the DBLP Database. University of Lugano, 2010 </p>\n\n<p>url : <a href=\"http://www.inf.usi.ch/faculty/lanza/Downloads/Lemm2010a.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.inf.usi.ch/faculty/lanza/Downloads/Lemm2010a.pdf</a></p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5487",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4186/"
]
|
5,499 | <p>I have BSc in computer science and entrepreneurship background with strong technical skills (software) but low GPA and no publication. I have bean away from university for few years and have not been working as employee so I can't provide any letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>As my previous businesses have not been successful (partly because of country I live in, it is one of the top worst) I'm thinking about starting over by applying for a master program and moving to a better place (preferably US). It can also help me find better ideas and like-minded people for future ventures.</p>
<p>All I can provide are few links to my previous works, some of them shiny.</p>
<p>Do you think I have any chance to get admission and grant from a good university? How should I prepare myself for it?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5502,
"author": "Leon palafox",
"author_id": 2806,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In some countries like Japan, it is ok to apply even if you do not have a good publication record. They care mostly about the entrance examination, which is focused on math and computer science.</p>\n\n<p>You could apply to some Universities as well as to the Mumbukagakusho Scholarship, which depending in the country might be really easy to get (about 50% chance) or really hard (about 1% chance).</p>\n\n<p>Good Luck</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5503,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In some countries, e.g. the Netherlands, for a lot of masters there is no problem to get in, as long as you can pay. Ofcourse some have restrictions in terms of prior knowledge you need to have. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5514,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>At least for admission to strong CS departments in the US, I strongly recommend that you <strong>take the GRE, especially the subject test in computer science, and do well</strong>. Otherwise, the evidence that you would complete an MS program is rather thin.</p>\n\n<p>Also, <strong>you <em>must</em> have recommendation letters</strong>. Otherwise, your application may not even be reviewed by the admissions committee. (In my department, for example, incomplete applications are automatically flagged by our admissions database system, and applications that are still flagged several weeks after the application deadline are automatically rejected without review.)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5499",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4197/"
]
|
5,500 | <p>Is there a non written rule to which person to use in the PhD thesis, 5 years of using "We" in the papers have brought me to the innate necessity to do it every time I describe something.</p>
<p>Recently, though, one of my lab-mates told me that I should use I, since it is your work, if the thesis were co-written, then it would be a different story.</p>
<p>Is there any standard in your universities, or do you have any preferred practice.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5501,
"author": "silvado",
"author_id": 3890,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3890",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I generally avoid \"I\" in scientific texts altogether, though some authors are in fact using it if they are the sole author. I can't remember seeing it in a thesis though. In texts with a sole author, I usually understand \"we\" as meaning the author and the reader, and I'd suggest that it's fine to use it in places where it can have that meaning. For example something like \"When substituting a by b, we get ...\"</p>\n\n<p>A generally useful advice would be to read into some of the theses written in your group, department, and university (in decreasing relevance), and see whether there is a common pattern.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5506,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The first rule, as usual, is: <strong>what is expected of you?</strong> Ask your advisor, read earlier theses from your group, etc. to get an idea of what is the established practice.</p>\n\n<p>The advice I give, and which I try to follow myself, is to mix the use of <em>“we”</em> and <em>“I”</em> depending on context. Most of the experimental or simulation work is a team effort, so <em>“we”</em> makes a lot of sense to describe that:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>From the results of the simulation, we have calculated the spatial dispersion of ∆, which is presented in Figure 42</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>However, a PhD thesis should show that the applicant has a clear understanding and autonomy in a given research project, and thus is capable of making technical and strategic decisions (though not always alone, of course). As such, <strong>I encourage the use of “I” to describe such decisions</strong>, orientations and reflexion. I try to give an example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>After consideration of the points discussed above, I decided to focus my effort for the most part in optimizing the gigawattage of the circuit, which I consider based on all the data gathered to be the factor with the largest potential for improvement.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Silvado gave an answer that is, in my opinion, perfectly applicable to mathematical derivations, and the discussion of results. In those cases, you can safely use <em>“we”</em> to mean “the author and reader”, as in “we thus derive theorem X from lemma Y”, or “we see on Figure 42 a clear correlation between A and B”.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5512,
"author": "walkmanyi",
"author_id": 1265,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1265",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Summary:\n<strong>Think about the habits and traditions in your field, think about the nature of your field and do not hesitate to take responsibility for your own (possibly not that great) ideas.</strong></p>\n\n<hr/>\n\n<p>Now, let me elaborate more:</p>\n\n<p>The question encourages personal opinions for a good reason. Various sources on writing research papers differ vastly, though it seems majority does not favor the first person \"I\" form. For one of the more serious in computer science not in favour of \"I\", see e.g., <a href=\"http://tex.loria.fr/typographie/mathwriting.pdf\">Knuth's Mathematical Writing</a> (pg.4) - although later on, the material also discusses the opposite (pg.62 and 113). </p>\n\n<p>Now to a personal position. I do make use of \"I\" in some contexts. Namely, when I write a paper as a single author and I did so in my PhD thesis. At the same time, you should have clear rules when to mix it with \"we\" and how. For the dissertation, I explained those rules very early on in the preface: I use \"I\" whenever the text speaks about my own decisions and choices I made and is the default voice. It means, that it's me who is to blame for whatever incorrect decisions exposed in the thesis. Only if I can show that there is an external force which would push anybody on my place to take the same route, I would use \"we\" to mean the (research) community, or humankind. I use \"we\", whenever the discourse is explanatory, such as an exposition of a proof. Therein, \"we\" stands for \"me and the reader\". I also strictly use \"we\", whenever I speak about an insight, or a result which was produced in a collaboration, such as developed in a joint research paper with somebody else. As a side-effect, since this voice is not the default one, occurrence of such \"we\" always enforces a citation to the joint work, which is a <em>Good Thing</em>.</p>\n\n<p>My personal opinion also is that third person is very bad writing style, since it \n offloads responsibility for the presented results to some external entity. As if it wasn't me who made the stupid decision to push that other guy from the cliff, but the guy was (somehow) pushed from the cliff. In my opinion, \"we\" solves that problem only a little bit, because now the writer admits a bit of responsibility for the act, but still dilutes it by taking into the game somebody else (either the reader, or the abstract research community). Saying \"I did this and that and by doing it I personally found this and that\" for me is fully taking responsibility for my results. It's not about bragging, or so. Now in some fields, this might be inappropriate, e.g., in pure mathematics, one studies a problem and is not pushed into any arbitrary decisions (e.g., regarding experimental setup), so a style \"we\" = \"the two of us, you, the reader, and me, the writer\" is more appropriate. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5520,
"author": "Per Alexandersson",
"author_id": 2794,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2794",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I always view \"we\" as \"you and the reader\" and you and your reader journey through the subject together.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28776,
"author": "Floris",
"author_id": 15062,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15062",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is interesting to see what Charles Darwin did in his scientific writing.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/3832\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>According to Serendip Studio:</strong></a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Darwin usually speaks in the first person plural when analyzing\n empirical evidence he has collected and only uses the first person\n singular when he is specifically speaking about his own actions, such\n as, \"..many special facts which I have collected,\" or when he is\n speaking about his own qualms, such as \"I am well aware that there are\n on, on this view, many cases of difficulty, some of which I am trying\n to investigate.\" However, when analyzing his evidence, he always uses\n \"we\", such as \"we notice\", or \"we understand\"(2). Darwin's change in\n footing when he is explaining his theory places himself and the reader\n on the same level and makes him a more \"humble\" presenter, allowing us\n to suspend disbelief for at least the time being and trust him.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>When Darwin is speaking as the scientist, he uses <em>\"we\"</em>, and when he is speaking as the human being, he uses <em>\"I\"</em>. I really like that distinction.</p>\n\n<p>I find the forced use of <em>\"we\"</em> when you mean <em>\"I\"</em> misplaced. It is important to sound as natural as possible in your writing - just look at <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Richard Feynman</a>. You don't have to use convoluted language to win a Nobel prize. Clarity is king.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 68390,
"author": "Peter Green",
"author_id": 42323,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/42323",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I was told that my PhD thesis should be written in the third person. In cases where it was nessacery to reffer to ones-self the term \"the author\" could be used but use of this term was discoured. The theory goes that the emphasis in acadmic writing should be on what was done rather than who did it.</p>\n\n<p>Personally I dislike this style. IMO it makes it much harder to be clear about what you did verses what is already common knowlage. </p>\n\n<p>My PhD was in Electrical Engineering at the University of Manchester in the UK. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 118379,
"author": "Renynardo",
"author_id": 99222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/99222",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a retired professor. I was taught, and I always required, that theses and dissertations be written in 3rd person or, on rare occasions, in 1st person plural. Towards the end of my career, I had students increasingly writing in first person singular. This grated on my nerves enormously. Why? It seemed arrogant and ignored the substantial assistance provided by the committee and the funding agency. Also, it flew in the face of unspoken tradition: that scientists did their work with humility for the betterment of society. Any recognition of the scientist should come later from society at large and the community of scientists.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5500",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806/"
]
|
5,511 | <p>Reading this very interesting question (<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5301/how-long-before-phd-graduation-should-i-start-applying-for-post-doc-positions"><em>"How long before PhD graduation should I start applying for post-doc positions?"</em></a>) about "<strong>when</strong>", suddenly I started to reason on the "<strong>how</strong>" issue.</p>
<p>Imagine you were going to finish your PhD program and wanted to <strong>contact a professor</strong> to express interest for a possible PostDoctoral contract within his group, and wanted to know more information about it.</p>
<p>How approach him/her in the <strong>best way</strong>?</p>
<p>What to write in the email to send him/her?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5513,
"author": "walkmanyi",
"author_id": 1265,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1265",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Depends on whether you know the person, or not. If you know him/her well, you might go for an informal inquiry. In the case the person is not your acquaintance, you better formulate it as any other job seeking inquiry. </p>\n\n<p>To the style, this template always worked for me well (as advised in some job-seeking training course I took):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Salutation,</p>\n\n<pre><code>1.- me\n2.- you\n3.- us together\n4.- conclusion and a kind request for a reply.\n</code></pre>\n \n <p>salutation.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Each of the points above should be a single paragraph. </p>\n\n<p>Firstly, you introduce yourself, possibly mentioning how you know each other if that is the case and most importantly articulating the purpose of the e-mail/letter, that is that you are seeking a job. In passing you should mention what you are doing now, position, affiliation, expected date of graduation, etc. Basically you want to motivate the other party to read further.</p>\n\n<p>Second paragraph should be about the other party. What you know they do, or did in the past and highlighting whatever other positive aspects of their work, which are a relevant reason for your application. Possibly, you can mention that you learn from somebody else/opening, etc. that there is a possibility of an open position in the group, etc. The purpose here is to prepare the ground for articulating why you fit for them in the subsequent paragraph, as well as to show that you mean it and you made your homework well (e.g., read their papers).</p>\n\n<p>The third, most important paragraph, should be about you as a fit for the position, or the group. It all revolves about how you can contribute to their work and why it should be their interest in hiring you. Here you expand on the relevant experience/projects you did, about your abilities to publish papers in top journals/conferences in the field, your abilities to solicit external funding, teaching, whatever. Still you should consider how much bragging is appropriate. The message should be clear and concise: \"there is a potential fit between the two of us\".</p>\n\n<p>Finally, I would close the letter by explaining what can be found in the attached documents and possibly what other constraints you might have. When appropriate, I also make it clear that this is of course an unsolicited application, but still I would be glad if the person would find time to review my background and reply.</p>\n\n<p>Attach your CV and the statement of your research interests. </p>\n\n<p>Worked for me. Also you should be as concise as possible. The length of this reply is probably already at the edge of acceptable length.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5516,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would treat it like a networking exercise.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Do you know each other -- Contact them directly</li>\n<li>Does your advisor know him/her -- Talk to your advisor and get the scoop on the potential advisor. Talk you your advisor and devise a contact plan. Maybe your advisor can provide an introduction at the next conference or a suggestion for a lab visit for you.</li>\n<li>Do you know someone in common -- Talk to that person. Get the scoop on the potential advisor. Then contact the potential advisor dropping the common person's name and saying how he/she thought the potential advisor would be a great fit for you.</li>\n<li><p>You know no one in common -- Networking fail. Go meet more people.</p>\n\n<p>a. Have you cited the potential advisor in a paper -- Send them a reprint as an introduction</p>\n\n<p>b. You don't know the potential advisor (or anyone who knows him) and have never cited him -- Before contacting the person, you need to know why you want to work with him/her. If you are confident, send an email introducing yourself. If you are hesitant, ask your advisor for an email introduction.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5538,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If I reply to some open position that was announced, I usually keep the email quite short, as I consider it more like a statement of interest, rather than as informal application. I usually assume that the person in charge is busy, and I'm always afraid that a long email might be classified in the folder "to be read later".</p>\n<p>My email would look like this:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Subject: Informal query about the position XXX</p>\n<p>Dear XXX, I'm writing to you about the position XXX that was posted on the mailing-list/website/forum XXX. I believe I could be interested in applying to this position, because it seems to fit within my research interests. Indeed, I'm currently working at XXX on the topic of XXX, and the topic [of the position] is something I would like to work on in the next years.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Then, it depends on how precise the announcement was written, but I usually ask all questions I have about the application process itself. Would there be further material to read? If a research statement is asked, what is expected it to contain? If the dates are not given, when would it start? (in particular if you have commitments on your side).</p>\n<p>Many open positions have a formal application process, established by the university/research-centre, so it's also important to keep such an email to an informal level. You can of course finish your email by saying that you are available for any further information.</p>\n<p>In the past, such emails have been useful for me for two reasons: it made me realize that some positions were actually not really within my research interests, and it allowed me to establish a first contact with the recruiter, and understand better what was expected of me in the application.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15365,
"author": "user3135645",
"author_id": 10259,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10259",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I came a cross a short but interesting editorial note from American Chemical Society written by a potential postdoc supervisor. She raises lots of advises like send few thoughtful emails rather than tones of thoughtless copies and pasted emails. I think it is quiet useful for every postdoc applicant regardless of his major.</p>\n\n<p>Couple of interesting quotes from the author is of value</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Funding issues aside, the majority of the\n postdoctoral applications I receive do not capture my interest,\n and I am sure this is true for most faculty.</p>\n \n <p>Many email requests that I receive appear to\n be sent by someone who has taken a long list of faculty names/\n emails and sent off their application with little thought. I usually\n do not even read such requests after the first few sentences</p>\n \n <p>My advice to potential applicants: send far fewer but personalized\n emails. Read about a faculty member’s research and tailor your letter\n to the group. Obviously, include your CV,\n prior research accomplishments, your career plans, and how a\n position in the group would help move you toward your goals.\n Provide details that help sell you, including important\n interactions with colleagues, the skills that you bring to the\n position, and other key points that may set you apart.\n When writing an email to me, for example, I like to know\n why you selected my group: was it on the advice of a mentor,\n because you like a particular aspect of my research, or hope to\n gain a specific skillset? Next, explain what you can do for me.\n Most applicants list a myriad of reasons why getting hired is\n good for them. Perhaps not surprisingly, I hire people because\n it helps my research program. I want an outstanding researcher\n and also someone who has good communication skills. Reading\n your email is my first opportunity to judge your ability</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You may find the whole text of less than a page <a href=\"http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ac402163j\">here</a></p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5511",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/379/"
]
|
5,530 | <p>Following ArXiv rules I contacted with an well-known expert in thermodynamics (he is author of a known monograph) we discussed my work during several days and finally he endorsed me. When my work was ready to appear a moderator removed it, alluding to technical problems with my submission (a embedded font problem), although more latter moderators asked me personal and even economic questions! I never answer such questions and forgot the whole issue</p>
<p>The paper is accessible in my page at <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2216383/Non-redundant_and_natural_variables_definition_of_heat_valid_for_open_systems" rel="noreferrer">academia.edu</a></p>
<p>I have participated in an Essay Contest with another work, and it has been selected as one of the finalists. It is cited <a href="http://fqxi.org/community" rel="noreferrer">here</a> together other three finalist essays.</p>
<p>I submitted this new work to ArXiV, it has been removed and I received the next response:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your submission has been removed upon a notice from our moderators, who
determined it to be inappropriate for arXiv. Please find another forum.</p>
<p>For more information on our moderation policies see:</p>
<p>http: //arxiv. org/help/moderation</p>
<p>--
arXiv moderation</p>
</blockquote>
<p>ArXiv already archives several essays submitted to the same Essay contest, such as 1209.0023, 1209.1257, 1211.1917, 1210.3575</p>
<p>Therefore it is not a problem with the Contest or with the format. Notice that only one of above four has been selected as finalist.</p>
<p>According to the moderation policy I cannot ask to moderators about the details on their decision. The excuse is that "<em>moderators are not referees</em>", but this looks a bit childish, because it seems that they are accepting that moderators cannot sustain logically the decisions that they take about others' work.</p>
<p>Would I write to the advisory committee chair? Would I take some other action?</p>
<p>EDIT: Finally the first work rejected by Arxiv mods was published in the International Journal of Thermodynamics. I no longer care about ArXiv.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5533,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As said in the comments, the situation seems to be different for each of your papers. The font problem is understandable, but it's hard to see what you mean by \"personal and even economic questions\". However, if you didn't answer the questions, it's not surprising that your paper was not published in arXiv. </p>\n\n<p>Concerning the essay, I quote from the <a href=\"http://arxiv.org/help/moderation\">FAQ</a>, \"arXiv accepts only submissions in the form of an article that would be refereeable by a conventional publication venue.\", and in particular, \" This excludes [...] papers that contain inflammatory or fictitious content, papers that use highly dramatic and mis-representative titles/abstracts/introductions\". I'm in no position to scientifically judge the content of your essay, but at first glance, it seems quite provocative (assumptions that are not fundamental). </p>\n\n<p>If you believe that your essay is \"refereeable by a conventional publication venue\", then the moderation appeal is there for this. Although the moderators do not have to motivate their decision as a reviewer would do, by bringing sufficient support that your paper meets the criteria required by arXiv (in particular by demonstrating that it doesn't fit in any of the categories listed under \"inappropriate format\", the fact that other essays have been published in the past is not really relevant, you would have to show the quality of your content on its own). </p>\n\n<p>In general, arXiv moderators are human moderators, and it could be the case that the rejection of your paper was a mistake. However, keep in mind that publishing in arXiv is not a granted right, and that \"arXiv reserves the right to reject or reclassify any submission\". </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 24187,
"author": "Gabriel",
"author_id": 18063,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18063",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course, arXiv.org is the best place to go without peer-review. Many papers that appear in arXiv are of the highest quality. Be polite with moderators, never challenge them as they have the right to reject any paper without any explanation. Try to appeal. If this does not help, address this issue to Chair. If again no result, go to vixra.org and publish your paper over there without headache. Vixra.org is the best solution when you unable to publish it in arxiv.org.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42647,
"author": "Simon",
"author_id": 32468,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32468",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If arxiv rejects your paper, go to vixra.org. You can also publish it in researchgate.net Don't get upset and try to be fast with your publication. Remember, any submission you've made is a potential leak of your idea!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/11/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5530",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4214/"
]
|
5,541 | <p>I took a class with graduate students as an undergraduate student. The grading was on a curve and combined (as in graduate students were graded along with undergraduate students).</p>
<p>Is this normal in US universities as well? Won't the undergraduate students have a disadvantage competing against graduate students (pursuing 2nd year of Masters/PhD) for a good grade.</p>
<p>What ended up was:</p>
<p>1 A Grade</p>
<p>12 B Grades (7 of which went to graduate Students and 5 to undergraduate students)</p>
<p>20 C Grades</p>
<p>10 D Grades</p>
<p>3 E Grades</p>
<p>For a class of 25 graduate students and 21 undergraduate students.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5542,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is no uniform set of regulations; every college (and perhaps even every department within a college, or even every instructor) might have its own regulations.</p>\n\n<p>However, the existence of classes open to both undergraduates and graduate students is in fact quite common, and I know I certainly took several graduate classes as an undergraduate. </p>\n\n<p>In general, the difference comes in when the class is really a graduate-level class that is also open to advanced undergraduates, or when the course is truly designed to be open to both undergraduates and graduates. When the class is really a graduate-level class, undergraduates are generally not treated with \"kid gloves,\" and are expected to compete head-to-head with the graduate students. For a truly mixed class, the options are more varied.</p>\n\n<p>With respect to the specific distribution of grades, I can't really comment on that, as those choices are specific to your course.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5543,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In the past, I've graded the pool together, and have also graded grads and undergrads separately. Ultimately this is a decision made by the instructor, who probably spelt this out in their syllabus before the class started. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5544,
"author": "Herman Toothrot",
"author_id": 4050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US, unless a class is strictly made as a undergrad/graduate mix class, graduate classes are made mostly for graduate students. Some universities require the instructors consent to enroll and you won't be able to enroll independently online, other will only let you enroll if there are seats left after graduate enrollment. Since in these cases it is up to the instructor or student discretion to take a course, then there is really no special treatment.</p>\n\n<p>In my opinion seniors are more or less on the same level as master's students when starting a class, as usually both wouldn't not have any advanced knowledge of graduate level content. So the gap is not as wide as it might seem.</p>\n\n<p>As far as the grading, that is highly subjective, and can change a lot. I know some instructors even have separate assignments.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11558,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 6110,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6110",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In math graduate programs in the U.S., it is typical (although not universal) to be quite lenient about grading. The philosophy, for better or worse, is that it should be the student's privilege to decide how important the class is.</p>\n\n<p>I have never seen such a strict distribution of grades in any class with math graduate students in it. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11564,
"author": "NDEthos",
"author_id": 7705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7705",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As an undergradute I took a computer architecture class in the spring of my junior year though it is recommended to be taken during spring of senior year. It is listed as an \"upper-level\" course. The class had 22 students, of which, 8 were grad students. The grad students got B's and C's and the majority of the undergrads got A's. </p>\n\n<p>What the teacher told me after the class when I was talking with him (I had made some off handed comment about the undergrads beating the grad students) was that most of the grad students were doing research or working in industry. As long as they kept a C and understood the foundation of what he was lecturing on they would be fine. </p>\n\n<p>It was more important for the grad students to work on their research. They did not need to Ace the classes. </p>\n\n<p>In your case the class specifically required instructor consent for you to enter. They were allowing you the privilege of being able to take a class that is normally denied to you. If you feel the instructor erred and you were not proficient enough to be able to undertake the class then it is the instructors fault. If you did not study hard enough or go into it knowing that this class was on another level then it yours. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11572,
"author": "Abraham Guchi",
"author_id": 6333,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6333",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually, you'll have an advantage in your grades if you are taking course with graduate students(assuming that you are someone who puts a moderate effort on your courses). Most graduate students measure their success by their published papers rather than by grades. To this end, they don't give much attention to course work and they study it for a day or two before the exam. This was the case with many of the grad students in my school and the undergraduates put every effort to be part of the courses as they spent most of their time in course work and chasing the \"A\" letter. </p>\n\n<p>The only exception is that when the course is related to the research area of the graduate students. In that case, the grad students might know better than you. But graduate class professors mostly have labs and are busy advisors. Which means that they repeat the same exam questions year after year and you only need to solve these problems to get A+ (at least at my university). The drawback of this is, you won't learn much out of the course as the grades come easily. That is one of the reasons I don't understand why courses are given in the first place at graduate level. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11574,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US there tend to be to models by which undergraduates take graduate level classes. The first are jointly listed classes where the undergraduate class might be 401 and the graduate class would then be 501. In these cases the graduate level class usually includes extra assignments or different examinations and the students are graded separately. For the undergraduate student the undergraduate class is listed on the transcript.</p>\n\n<p>The second way is a single class (e.g., 502) with the same work and same grading for everyone. In this system the graduate level class is listed on the transcript. Sure, the undergraduate might be at a disadvantage, but it comes with the advantage of having a graduate level class on your transcript. It would be very misleading to see a graduate level class on a transcript for a class that was tailored and graded to undergraduate standards. If you don't want to compete with the \"big boys\" stick with the little kid classes.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 50146,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In brief, to supplement other answers and remarks: first, I do try to think of \"grades\" as giving information to students, primarily, so that the \"running grade\" during the term provides some feedback on my perception of peoples' success. Significantly, I do not imagine, nor position, my courses as \"filters\" or \"challenges\", but as informational, provocative, invitations to mathematics that is within my professional scope (after all these years). So I do not want to express (directly or indirectly) \"skepticism\" that people <em>could</em> (if they wanted, and were interested) follow and assimilate what's going on. That is, \"it's not that hard\". Sure, nearly anything, even senseless, pointless activities, can be turned into filters or challenges, but... why?</p>\n\n<p>Srsly, if courses are meant to primarily test natural ability (as some of my colleagues have adamantly insisted) then we shouldn't charge tuition, pretending that we're teaching something. That is, if a thing works well, and is do-able, it should be teachable to interested parties.</p>\n\n<p>Then, to the question at hand: if the issue is communication and explanation, probably I'm not grading harshly anyway, and take into consideration <em>everyone</em>'s context, not just the undergrads. Duh! That is, my aim is not to declare winners and losers, but to give useful feedback to the people who self-selected to hear what I was talking about. The situation does not demand a competition among them \"for limited resources\". Certain resources, such as my approval, are not \"limited\" in any sense that should/could function for external entities who'd wish I'd declare winners and losers.</p>\n\n<p>It does start to be uglier when people are in the room against their will/interests. \"Required courses\"? Well, ideally, things are required (brush and floss...) because they're \"good for you\". The imputed virtues are not always easy to see, and are sometimes hijacked for various ideological purposes. Nevertheless, I do try to sway/convert people who're grudgingly present, that the \"burden\" is actually a \"help/opportunity\", despite sadly-all-too-common presentations that make everything lugubrious and awful.</p>\n\n<p>To reiterate: sure, I do grade people in different contexts differently, because the grade is an item of communication. Not the only one, in my classes. The central administration does seem to collapse to wanting a single number... but I try to ignore that, and not harm the students who have some curiosity about what I offer to discuss with them.</p>\n\n<p>(So, indeed, as in other answers and comments, the various mechanisms of self-selection present people with a great variety of motivations and interests. Responding to them individually, say with a class of 15-25, is not so terrible at all, and quite interesting, and, I fancy, a good deed. To \"rank them\" seems on most occasions to be not sane... Or maybe that's just a special case of the insanity of the bureacratic-school pressure to do this. True, many students pre-emptively operate in that context, but I do not take that as a mandate to sink to the same sad level. I.e., it's not that we \"don't leave any child behind\" by not moving forward, but that we gather them up and <em>do</em> move, etc, blah-blah-blah).</p>\n\n<p>Or, sure, cold mountain-slopes for babies, ... single combat ... :)</p>\n\n<p>Srsly, I do think that in upper-division, much less grad-level, people should not be beat-up grade-wise. They volunteered to be there! Even if they're not so very good at what they'd like to do, \"giving a bad grade\" is not helping them. The far-subtler issue is how to help a person who wants to do something that they're currently not-so-good-at. Various misunderstandings create fake incompetencies! </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5541",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3983/"
]
|
5,545 | <p>Is publishing papers before the evaluation of thesis is a good idea?
Isn't there a risk of making the idea public?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5546,
"author": "Herman Toothrot",
"author_id": 4050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You should try to publish before you finish your thesis. An idea in a published paper will be recognized as yours, there are more chances of an idea getting stolen from a thesis.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5548,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually, publishing paper(s) is a requirement for defending your thesis in some universities.<br>\nThe best thing you can do for your thesis and the field is to make your ideas public <em>through</em> publications. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5549,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Four reasons why it's generally a very good idea to publish papers before you submit your thesis:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The earlier you publish, the less likely it is that your idea will be <em>scooped</em> [1], i.e. that someone working in the same area actually publishes the same idea/result before you.</li>\n<li>Once ideas are published, they are not stolen: they are used, built upon, <em>with proper attribution</em> (usually in the form of citation). This is not theft. </li>\n<li>The goal of an academic is actually to disseminate new knowledge, not to lock it into your desk drawers.</li>\n<li>Having papers published (or at least accepted for publication) is very very important for your CV. It may also be a requirement (formal or unspoken) for defending your PhD.</li>\n<li>If said publication includes peer review, the peer review is likely to improve your work, both by vetting it thoroughly and giving you new points of view on your arguments. (I edited this in after reading gerrit’s answer; it is an important point.)</li>\n</ol>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>In some specific cases, good arguments can be made against publication before thesis submission. Most are actually not specific to the thesis itself, but generally apply to delaying publication of a research:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>If research is performed as part of a contract that requires an embargo on publication (say, imposed by one industrial partner). This is a very awkward situation, but it does happen in some fields.</li>\n<li>Sometimes, a delay in publication is necessary to protect intellectual property, e.g. in the case of delaying publication until a related patent submission is complete.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Ref. 1:<br>\n<a href=\"http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=789\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vhuuN.gif\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5551,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd like to add one important point that hasn't been raised yet: if the research that lies at the basis of your PhD has already passed through peer review, that makes it easier to defend against an opponent. You've already replied to two or more reviewers and improved the manuscript and possibly the underlying work. This makes it much less likely that awkward things turn up during the actual discussion with the opponent or the examination committee.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5563,
"author": "user4105",
"author_id": 4105,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4105",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>By publicizing an original idea at earliest possible moment, you increase your chances of being the first one to publish it, and thus make it known that this is your idea. So, in fact, this prevents it from being </p>\n\n<p>Also, I don't think published ideas can be stolen. The worst that can happen is they can be used without attribution but that is always a possibility wherever you publish them.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5545",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4219/"
]
|
5,547 | <p>I am currently doing my M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering in India and I want to do a Ph.D. in the US. Are any scholarships available for Ph.D. in the US that take care of all the expenses there (similar to DAAD scholarships offered for pursuing secondary education in Germany)? If there are other similar scholarships for other countries please inform me. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5550,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Normally, if you're doing a PhD in the United States—at least in the sciences and engineering—you shouldn't have to worry about having a scholarship. The department or advisor should be responsible for paying your tuition as well as a stipend for your living expenses. So there aren't a lot of \"scholarships\" in the same sense as for undergraduate study. However, while there are fellowships which provide \"portable\" funds for graduate study, these tend to have stringent citizenship requirements, and I can't ever recall seeing one for which Indian students were eligible.</p>\n\n<p>Your best bet is probably just to apply to the graduate programs in which you're interested, and see if they have funds to support your graduate work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5555,
"author": "TCSGrad",
"author_id": 79,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/79",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are at least 2 such scholarships, which are specifically aimed at international students:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://scienceandtech.fulbrightonline.org/eligibility\">Fulbright Scholarships for International Students</a> (applications have\nto be done more than a year before, and its extremely competitive - though now I find applications for 2013-14 have been suspended)</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.akdn.org/akf_scholarships.asp\">Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme</a>, which has the following selection criteria:\n<ol>\n<li>Excellent academic records,</li>\n<li>Genuine financial need, </li>\n<li>Admission to a reputable institution of higher learning and </li>\n<li>Thoughtful and coherent educational and career plans.\nCandidates are also evaluated on their extra-curricular interests and achievements, potential to achieve their goals and likelihood to succeed in a foreign academic environment. Applicants are expected to have some years of work experience in their field of interest</li>\n</ol></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5565,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Contact potential advisors, if you are really <em>worth it</em> for them they will provide fund for you (when accepted).<br>\nThe same when apply to universities: most universities give graduate students scholarship ( with the acceptance letter) in form of Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA).<br>\nSome of them <em>don't offer funding</em> with the acceptance letter but the bottom line is: <strong><em>if you are good you will get scholarship (either from Gradstudies Office or from department, from supervisor..etc) while you pursue your degree.</em></strong> </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5547",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3883/"
]
|
5,553 | <p>When writing papers (and even more - when revising after collaborators', or reviewers', remarks) it's hard to keep track what is done, what needs to be fixed, what cannot be fixed, when opinions of authors are equivocal (and when an issue raised by one author is not supported by the others).</p>
<p>Moreover, it generates to a lot of e-mail traffic, often with a short remarks.</p>
<p>The question is, <strong>is there a issue tracking software (or workflow) suitable for reviewing academic papers?</strong></p>
<p>(As a side note, I'm familiar with <a href="http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira">JIRA</a>, but never used it for papers. I'm the most interested in answer when someone actually uses a given method, not "well, I never tried but here is [a link to a random issue tracking software]".)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5559,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It sounds like you want to use a version control system, combined with a bug tracker. Luckily, Mercurial combined with an online <a href=\"https://bitbucket.org/\">bitbucket.org</a> repository provides a nice workflow. When remarks or notes appear, you add them to the issue tracker at your bitbucket page (note that bitbucket provides private repositories). See <a href=\"https://bitbucket.org/paulhiemstra/scm-latexdiff/issues?status=new&status=open\">this example</a> from one of my software projects. </p>\n\n<p>When working on the paper you can select one of the issues, fix it, add to your repository, with a mention of the issue number in the bug tracker. This sounds like it could provide you with two important things: managing of the growth of your paper, and organizing your workflow of handeling the interaction with the other authors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5619,
"author": "Vikas Kawadia",
"author_id": 4256,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4256",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are using LaTeX to write your papers, some simple macros can be used to add comments by each author. Moreover, the macro can be put within an <code>\\ifdraft</code> so that all comments can be omitted from the final version by setting <code>\\draftfalse</code>. \nExamples below:</p>\n\n<pre><code>% define a new \\if to certain things in draft mode only \n\\newif\\ifdraft \n\\drafttrue \n%\\draftfalse \n\n\\newcommand{\\mycomment}[3]% \n{\\ifdraft \\textcolor{#2}{{\\bf\\textsc{#1}:}~~#3} \\else \\fi} \n\n%% individual reviewer macros. \n\\newcommand{\\alice}[1]% \n{\\mycomment{alice}{blue}{#1}} \n\n\\newcommand{\\bob}[1]% \n{\\mycomment{bob}{green}{#1}} \n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Use in the main <code>.tex</code> as: </p>\n\n<pre><code>Thus P=NP. \\alice{I dont think this is a real proof.}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Advantage of this technique over issue trackers is that everything appears in the draft.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 13805,
"author": "jb.",
"author_id": 117,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/117",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I use <a href=\"https://trello.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Trello</a> which is really a generic list app, there I use <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban\" rel=\"nofollow\">Kanban</a> methodology (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban_board\" rel=\"nofollow\">1</a>, <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban_%28development%29\" rel=\"nofollow\">2</a>), so for each project there are four lists: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>TODO </li>\n<li>Doing </li>\n<li>To Verify (means that task is done according to person who did it, and someone other should verify it)</li>\n<li>Done </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>How you can use this methodology: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Split process of preparing manuscript into tasks (this is possible after you have decided outline of the article). Tasks could be: \"Prepare image depicting architecture of our system\", \"Prepare section about data acquisition equipement we use\" and so on. At this phase you should have most of needed results, but not necessarily all. </li>\n<li>You can assign tasks to particular persons, but this is optional. </li>\n<li>All tasks start in TODO sections. </li>\n<li>When someone starts doing a tasks they drag it to Doing section (you should minimize amount of tasks in this section). </li>\n<li>Done tasks are moved to Verify section where someone (may be senior member of team --- depending of the aragements) checks them and moves to Done. </li>\n<li>You might need add section: Waiting, where tasks is being done but is waiting for something external to happen (like editor response, or some computation to get time share) </li>\n<li>When in review phase you should add changes requested by the reviever/editor to TODO tasks. And then maybe add column: \"For the next communication with reviewer\".</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>But really Kanbaan's heart is: \"Start with your current workflow, and then change it to increase throughtput and minimize amount of work done concurrently\". </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 123843,
"author": "mmmonowar",
"author_id": 99792,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/99792",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm testing GitHub ( with GitHub Desktop and Atom )\nNot really adept in it, but looks like a potential candidate to me.</p>\n\n<p>Here's a project of mine, if you would like to see how it looks right now-</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://phinixgreen.github.io/Critique-of-CTM-V.2/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">CTM</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 123845,
"author": "guest",
"author_id": 103365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/103365",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unless you are doing massive compendiums, I recommend just to babysit things by the first author. Think collaborative writing programs or tracking are more of a pain than they are worth. </p>\n\n<p>Have anyone sending proposed edits do so in MS Word with track changes. To you, first author, directly, not to the group. Use separate mailings, not group ones, to avoid reply all spam. Sometimes, they will need to send numbered suggestions or the like, but just process those than.</p>\n\n<p>Use numbered version control for the files for each generation of the paper. Compile the suggested edits, drafts, reviews etc. in an electronic folder (subfolders if needed.) I really doubt you need to go back to the suggested edits much, especially if you process things in turn, but at least they are there. If people don't rename the Word file (often they won't) than you do so when you save (usually with some name and date associated with the review/collaborator). If they have emails with edits or the like save those into the folder also or into Word files (again renaming to be clear).</p>\n\n<p>Resist the impulse to let a paper become a committee report. Have a clear leader (first author) and make decisions. It is fine that reviewers or collaborators got to make suggested edits, but you should view that as enough of a gift and then make the hard decisions. Sometimes you can even blame it on conflicting edits (truthfully or not). </p>\n\n<p>Of course, you should carefully consider input and use it. But DON'T be a reed in the wind. Be a leader. Papers need that. That is a gift also. Truly.</p>\n\n<p>[All of this applies to joint work product in the corporate world as well. Give people a chance to \"have input\" so they feel a part of the process. But be an owner/leader of the end product and not a compiler.]</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5553",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49/"
]
|
5,554 | <p>I am currently working as a software developer. I have a degree in computer science. However, my country, Turkey, is not a technology favoring country, and research in the fields I am interested in is very rare, and only available at a few select schools. From job, location and opportunity perspective (too many applicants for too few places), getting an advanced degree at these schools is next to impossible for me.</p>
<p>I want pursue Ph.D. badly but I need a MS degree first because I don't have any research experience. So I have decided to apply for US schools and do some research there applying for a Ph.D.</p>
<p>Is paying for a master's degree a good idea and will I be able to do quality research there? Do master's students convert their degrees to Ph.D., if so is it easy or difficult? What to expect from a MS for getting good research experience?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5560,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In principle, a masters degree is the first steps towards a scientific career. At least in my studies it was the first time I really did a major scientific project:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Defining a research question</li>\n<li>Coming up with a plan how to answer the research question</li>\n<li>Doing the actual research</li>\n<li>Writing it down in a scientific report</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In a lot of countries, excluding the UK, it is obligatory to get a Master degree before you are admitted to a PhD position. So, in answer to your first question, if you want to get into science, you need to do a MS. Depending on your financial situation, and how badly you want a career in science, paying for your MS might or might not be a good idea.</p>\n\n<p>Your next question deals with difficulty. In general, if you really enjoyed your Masters research this is a good indicator you would like a PhD position. If you like doing research, a PhD is a nice job, but certainly not an easy job. However, if you enjoy it, it should generally be possible to finish your PhD.</p>\n\n<p>In regard to if a masters is a good preparation for a PhD, it heavily depends on where you do your masters. But in general they train you in being a scientist.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5561,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In principle, yes, that's a viable plan. But there are a few stumbling blocks to be aware of.</p>\n\n<p>First: <strong>There are two types of MS degrees in computer science in the US.</strong> Research master's degrees have a significant research component, usually ending with a formal thesis. Professional master's degrees require only taking classes; this is no expectation and little opportunity to get involved in research. A successful research MS is good preparation for a PhD program, and <em>many</em> CS PhDs started by getting a master's degree first. (I'm one of them.) But a professional MS is generally considered a terminal degree, even with a 4.0 GPA.</p>\n\n<p>Second: <strong>PhD applicants with MS degrees are held to higher standards than PhD applicants with only undergraduate degrees,</strong> because they have had an extra year to build up a research portfolio. In my department, for example, strong applicants with master's degrees <em>but no formal publications</em> are usually rejected. See the previous point.</p>\n\n<p>Third: <strong>Strong graduate programs in the US also get too many applicants for too few positions.</strong> Competition at the top departments is fierce. Even getting a research MS is no guarantee of being admitted to a PhD program.</p>\n\n<p>To address the first three points, I <em>strongly</em> recommend asking the following question of any MS program you apply to:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>What fraction of graduates from your program go on to get a PhD?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Fourth: <strong>If you don't have any research experience, how do you know that you want a PhD?</strong> Getting a PhD is not like getting an undergraduate degree; doing research is not like taking classes — it is much more open-ended, much more self-directed, and much <em>much</em> riskier. This is not a question to answer <em>here</em>, but definitely something to address in your application statement.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5554",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4222/"
]
|
5,556 | <p>As noted in <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5426/1033">this question</a>, academics should write research articles. In many fields, these are way more important than books. It's original research that counts for getting a PhD position, a post-doc, a tenure-track position, grants, etcetera. Writing a good textbook about an advanced subject is very difficult and very time-consuming. Its advanced nature means it won't sell many copies, so the money can't be much. Then why is anybody writing advanced scientific textbooks at all? What are the incentives?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5557,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>People around me that wrote a textbook almost always do that because they want to share the course material they developed for, say, an introduction to hydrology course. They are proud of the material, and feel that the specific approach their material takes is not yet represented in the current textbooks. So, I think for a lot of people they feel it is a significant addition to their field. Mind that these almost always already have tenure.</p>\n\n<p>In addition, in the German system there is an additional reason to write a book. Writing a book (or monograph) is one option to get your habilitation. This is an additional step to take in addition to a PhD thesis, often written with at least 10 years of experience. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5562,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Another reason to write an advanced text is that you have developed a body of research around a topic, and it's stabilized enough that you can present the material in a structured form. The incentive here is that the distilled understanding helps you understand your field, and it helps others work in the area as well. In addition, a well-written book can get you lots of citations, impact, and recognition (the same kinds of things you get with papers, but possibly even more). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5564,
"author": "user4105",
"author_id": 4105,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4105",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One case is where you already have the material (course notes, material you gathered from organizing a tutorial on a topic, etc): publishing it as a book used to make it widely available, a lot more than photocopies. Now, with the advent of the WWW, printed books might be less relevant for diffusion, however.</p>\n\n<p>Another incentive, in case you don't have the material ready, might be the same as for writing reviews: if your book is successful, it will be highly cited and enhances your status in your field. Also, you can try to imprint your own ideas and vision for the field in the next generation of researchers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 9376,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman\">Wiki page</a> for Richard Feynman,</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <blockquote>\n <p>Feynman has been called the \"Great Explainer\". He gained a reputation for taking great care when giving explanations to his students and for making it a moral duty to make the topic accessible. His guiding principle was that, if a topic could not be explained in a freshman lecture, it was not yet fully understood. Feynman <strong>gained great pleasure</strong> from coming up with such a \"freshman-level\" explanation.</p>\n </blockquote>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>My undergrad major is math. Among all the mathematicians, the ones I remember most (good and bad) are the authors of the math textbooks I used in college.</p>\n\n<p>As for the more advanced scientific textbooks, I believe that the efforts putting all the research results together and organizing them are <strong>no</strong> less valuable than the individual articles.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 9407,
"author": "Daniel Gottesman",
"author_id": 2746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2746",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As someone who is working on an advanced textbook, I've had to ask myself that question. It's certainly not for the money (which I expect will be not nearly enough recompense for the time spent working on it). Here are the answers:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Citations:</strong> Not a big factor for me, since I expect citations to my book will displace a lot of citations for my older papers and shorter expository work on the subject, but as other people have noted, for a lot of people it is an important factor. A book that becomes the \"standard reference\" for a topic can garner huge numbers of citations. (Also true of review articles.)</li>\n<li><strong>Creating a textbook:</strong> It can serve as a textbook for a class I have taught before and may well teach again. This is a class for which there is no existing good textbook. In this sense, for a big investment of time now I make my life easier in the future by creating a good resource for students taking my class.</li>\n<li><strong>New research ideas:</strong> Writing it presents an opportunity to organize my thoughts about the field, and to go through and find and fill holes -- or just things I think haven't been done the right way -- in the existing literature. In this respect, it is an extension of my existing research program and inspires new research to fill the holes that I find.</li>\n<li><strong>Understanding existing literature:</strong> Writing the book also provides a good incentive for me to go back and understand other peoples' results that I think should be included in the book. There's one paper in particular which is important, but very difficult to understand, and I've put off making the effort to figure it out for many years. The book provides an additional motivation to actually do it, and furthermore make it accessible to others as well.</li>\n<li><strong>Teaching new people about my field:</strong> This is partially altruism and partially self-interested. The altruism part is probably self-explanatory. The self-interest part is that if I can provide a good introduction to the field, I may convince more people to work on an area I am interested in, and furthermore can get them to think about it in the ways I like.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Just one or two of these reasons would probably not be enough by itself, but the combination makes it, I think, a good use of my time. I've written these answers as they apply to me, but I think the same mix of reasons, with different weightings, apply to other people who write advanced textbooks.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 9411,
"author": "StasK",
"author_id": 739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/739",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While this SE website mostly attracts people from more technical and scientific fields which progress through research articles, there are whole areas of academia where the first question that comes up to junior faculty is, \"So, what is <em>your</em> book about?\". In social sciences (at least in the less technical programs) and humanities, you are expected to publish your dissertation work as a book, so by the time you go for tenure, you need to have at least one, better two -- another one based on your more recent work (which, by the way, is called <em>scholarship</em>, rather then <em>research</em>). You can easily tell by looking at the CVs of professors in say sociology whether they are in a <em>research</em> department or <em>scholarship</em> department: the former list papers first on their CVs, while the latter put books first (and may not have any papers at all).</p>\n\n<p>Having said that, in the technical fields, it is often valuable to have the material summarized in one source, sometimes even for your own reference. That's how some of the advanced textbooks are formed. Some books are produced as edited collections of invited papers from a specialized topic conference, and it may have been a part of the grant funding that you, as the conference organizer, promised to the funding agency, so that your results are disseminated as widely as possible to the people who could not make it to the conference. (Other people mentioned other obvious ways for the books to shape up, mostly from lecture notes.)</p>\n\n<p>A lot of books are written on sabbaticals, when top folks move away from the daily routine and can concentrate on what they enjoy most: playing in their dirt, moving around their Greek letters and integral signs around, etc. Publishers often approach high profile people and suggest to send their books to them; even I get these generic emails from Wiley or CRC or Springer from time to time. Of course, for publishers that's their business and a way to generate money; I don't think the authors are compensated even remotely enough for the trouble of writing a book. At my consulting rate, writing a book is an undertaking worth a new BMW X5; if somebody else is paying for that, as is the case with sabbatical professors, then this may be an entirely different business :).</p>\n\n<p>If your own field moves through research papers, then you simply won't have the time to work on any books, unless this has been discussed with your chair and faculty, and everybody unanimously agreed that you are so good and so famous in your subfield as to afford spending a whole year away from the programmatic research writing a stupid book.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14324,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are many possible motivations for writing a textbook. A few textbooks bring in very large amounts of money for their authors. E.g., Jim Stewart, the author of a home-run calculus textbook, used $24 million from the book to build a <a href=\"http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123872378357585295#project=SLIDESHOW08&s=SB123869600484183257&articleTabs=article\" rel=\"nofollow\">house that is famous</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Probably the most common reason for writing textbooks is the reason that I've done it: because I thought the books already on the market were crap.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5556",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033/"
]
|
5,567 | <p>I'm starting to do some research in Asia, however, I don't know the local language. I do have some contacts, all of whom speak English, but I'm worried about finding earlier research which was published in the local language. For example, if I don't speak Thai and I am doing research in Thailand, how can I find existing research which was published in Thai (with the intent of contacting the researcher or finding a translator to translate it into English)?</p>
<p>This might be a futile exercise, and I might need to remove the question but in case anyone out there has a creative idea, I would love to hear it.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5570,
"author": "Open the way",
"author_id": 284,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/284",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Only thing I can suggest you right now is to use google translation services; for instance you can add to your browser some \"add-on\" that automtically translates from Thai to English. Good luck</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5572,
"author": "user4231",
"author_id": 4231,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4231",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Accessing research in a language that you don't speak is pain. If something seems interesting, just ask the author for any related material he/she may have in English. That should help you in a lot of cases. Otherwise, go listen to him/her at English-speaking conferences.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5578,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would ask a colleague who does speak Thai, and ask them if there are any relevant Thai publications you need to be aware of. Of course, this colleague needs to be in the same field you are interested in. If they don't know of any relevant literature, this might indicate that you are not missing any relevant research.</p>\n<p>In addition, when you are looking for papers yourself, I would Google translate the titles of the papers, and if they seem interesting, I would ask a native speaking colleague to translate the abstract. If it still is interesting, then you ask your colleague to read the paper together with you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5596,
"author": "Sylvain Peyronnet",
"author_id": 43,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer depends also on the fact that you will work on your subject for only a few months or for a very long period of time. Ultimately, in the second case, you will have to learn additional languages.</p>\n\n<p>In sciences and economical/social sciences we are not very used to that, but it is rather common in humanities. For instance, my wife works in Egyptology, and she had to learn (at least for reading) German and Italian in addition to French (mother tongue), English (that we all learn at school) and 3 or 4 ancient languages in order to be able to read the literature of the field.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/02 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5567",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692/"
]
|
5,569 | <p>I want to include a <strong>glossary</strong> in my <strong>master’s thesis</strong> explaining some technical terms. </p>
<p>My university doesn't make any specifications about the usage or position of glossaries. So I'm asking myself:</p>
<ul>
<li>Is it better to <strong>put the glossary at the beginning of the thesis?</strong> (e.g. between the Table of Contents and the main content) That way the reader would see it first and either read it or keep in mind that he can look up unfamiliar terms there. But it would disrupt the reading flow between Abstract, Table of Contents and Content.</li>
<li>Or would it be better to but the <strong>glossary in the appendix?</strong> Maybe with footnotes refering to it, each time a new term is used for the first time.</li>
</ul>
<p>The current structure of the thesis is:</p>
<pre><code>- Titlepage
- Abstract
- Table of Contents
- [INSERT GLOSSARY HERE?]
- Main Content
- Chapter A
- Chapter B
- ...
- Chapter N
- Appendix
- Appendix A
- Appendix B
- Table of Images
- Table of Tables
- Table of Literature
- [INSERT GLOSSARY HERE?]
</code></pre>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5571,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Put the glossary <strong>after any appendices and before the index</strong>.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> This advice is simply based on a very quick survey of the textbooks that I had close to hand. The sample size is therefore small, possibly subject biased (physics, mathematics, astronomy, economics), and therefore subject to argument. Thanks to aeismail for the comment prompting this edit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5573,
"author": "user4231",
"author_id": 4231,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4231",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It is utterly a matter of style. Just put it where it makes more sense to you. If you expect people actually NEED to read it before they can read your thesis, just put it in front. Otherwise, put it after the main text.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5574,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suggest to follow the order reported on <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_design\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Wikipedia – Book design</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Here is the suggested order (skip all that is not needed in your thesis; colophons are only needed in published works, and your publisher will take care of them):</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>front matter\n<ul>\n<li>title page</li>\n<li>colophon</li>\n<li>contents</li>\n<li>foreword</li>\n<li>preface</li>\n<li>acknowledgment</li>\n<li>introduction</li>\n<li>dedication</li>\n<li>prologue</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>body matter\n<ul>\n<li>content – optionally divided into volumes, books, parts, chapters, sections</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>back matter\n<ul>\n<li>epilogue</li>\n<li>outro</li>\n<li>afterword</li>\n<li>conclusion</li>\n<li>postscript</li>\n<li>appendix</li>\n<li>glossary</li>\n<li>bibliography</li>\n<li>index</li>\n<li>colophon</li>\n</ul></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14716,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The other answers already contain the conclusions of my answer. However, I'll try to give some reasoning behind.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Glossary, Nomenclature, List of Symbols, Index, References, etc.</strong> -- all these are <em>indexes</em>, and should go to the backmatter.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Table of Contents, List of Figures, etc.</strong> -- these specify the <em>contents</em>, and should go to the frontmatter.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The difference is that <em>indexes</em> are have in general logical sorting of some type (alphabetical or other), whereas the <em>contents</em> strictly reflect the order of the text in the document.</p>\n\n<p>As for the order of them: <em>the more used</em> they are, <em>the farer away from the mainmatter</em> they go (i.e. first in frontmatter and last in backmatter). This depends a lot on your reader. The reason for this is that the closer to the cover they are, the easier it is to reach them. In general, the most used index in a thesis are the references, so they go last. In textbooks, the General index goes last, since it's more interesting for the reader.</p>\n\n<p>The rule above is, on the other hand, less important than the fact that <strong>Title, half-title, dedication, preface and colophon</strong> have priority, and are obviously the outer-most elements of the work.</p>\n\n<p>So, in the end, you might get to this order:</p>\n\n<pre><code>FRONTMATTER\n Title\n Half-title\n Dedicatory\n Preface\n\n Table of Contents\n other \"Contents\"\n\nMAINMATTER\n\nBACKMATTER\n Appendicies\n Various indexes (Glossary, Nomenclature, ...)\n References / Bibliography\n Colophon (if placed in backmatter; it can go before\n half-title on the verso page as well)\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>In the end, <em>none</em> of these rules is very strict.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 103113,
"author": "Chris",
"author_id": 86855,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/86855",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A glossary in the front before the main body has less context and disrupts the flow -- people want to read the body, not get to a list of definitions first. I attended an editorial seminar once and the instructors recounted anecdotes of leading tech companies who requested user studies on content placement like LOT, LOF, TOC, glossaries, and so on. The verdict: Just give me the content first and make it lean.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/02 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5569",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4051/"
]
|
5,575 | <blockquote>
<p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/90/university-rank-stature-how-much-does-it-affect-ones-career-post-ph-d">University rank/stature - How much does it affect one’s career post-Ph.D?</a> </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Do rankings of universities matter while pursuing research or should I be more concerned about finding a suitable supervisor irrespective of the university or institute rankings?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5576,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the importance you have to attach to this criterion (university ranking) when finding a new research job (from your question, it appears to be a PhD) is limited, because:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>What counts if our research output: your results, and how you communicate them to your community. You want people in your field to recognize you as someone who can tackle difficult problems and design creative and efficient solutions.</li>\n<li>Of course, your research may not be so stellar that everyone has heard of you. So, coming from a well-known group with a proven track record is important. You want your research group to be famous, because it reflect well on you.</li>\n<li>But it's not that simple… not all group leaders are superstars! Failing that, it is better to be affiliated with a well-known department (or university). You want to be in a university/department that people think is good.</li>\n<li>But not all people know all universities well enough to be able to judge them. Those who don't rely on externally published rankings.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>See how rankings are introduced only as item #4 in the above list. Thus, even considering only the career advancement side of your question, university ranking is not a primary concern. Sure, it plays a role, but lots of students overestimate that role compared to, say, the importance of your own work and results.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5577,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In terms of employers, you will face two types of them: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>One is interested in only <em>good universities</em> and will make it as a negative point if your university ranking is not that good. Usually those know nothing about your research. It is also subjective and vague for <em>what is a good university ranking</em>? <em>is there any threshold to specify good and bad rankings?</em>. Things are not clear here. </p></li>\n<li><p>Another type of employers (specially in academia/research positions) they admire your research (if you did good research) and have zero weight on where you come from. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The bottom line here is: <strong><em>if you see your supervisor is going to help you to be better researcher (and thus publish in good journal/conferences) then why not?</em></strong><br>\nThere are plenty of good professors affiliated with <em>not-so-good</em> university ranking. </p>\n\n<p>If you could make the two (good university ranking + good supervisor) then this is the perfect solution.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/02 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5575",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4210/"
]
|
5,579 | <p>I am considering pursuing a PhD in computer science one day.
I guess specializing in (is that the way to put it)?<br>
What I want to focus my research efforts on.
I am interested in:</p>
<ol>
<li>Manned/unmanned space exploration (writing guidance/navigation systems for the next Mars rover, etc).</li>
<li>Finding cures for diseases (folding @ home).</li>
<li>Computer models of climate change, as I am very much a person that thinks "Global Warming is real and needs to be dealt with yesterday".</li>
</ol>
<p>But this questions isn't "what should I do research in" but more of "how can I decide what I should do research in."</p>
<p>I know a lot of people will counter with "if you don't know what you want to research then you shouldn't be considering getting a PhD", but I don't believe in that line of reasoning. I want to do research and to be involved with something that expands the boundaries of Computer Sciences as we know it. Just because I am not exactly sure what avenue I should go down in doing so, doesn't in any way change how much I know that I do want to do it.</p>
<p>So where do I start with figuring out my specialization?<br>
What are my theoretical options?<br>
Where can I see if "getting my PhD to write software to guide probes to Jupiter" is even a viable option?<br>
Must I choose a area that is currently being researched at the university I attend, or am I free to come up with my own?<br>
Can/should I be reading recently released papers on Computer Science topics for some inspiration, and if so where do I go to find those?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5580,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is one of the harder questions you'll have to ponder, and one of the most useful. First off, realize that your choices are not (completely) irrevocable. Many researchers shift areas every 5-7 years or so - the changes are not dramatic, but over time you can make useful contributions in a number of different areas. </p>\n\n<p>Having said that, what you are looking for is a broad topic that will presumably take you through the 5-6 years of a Ph.D. To look at your questions one by one:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Where can I see if \"getting my PhD to write software to guide probes\n to Jupiter\" is even a viable option?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Do you know of people working on this ? maybe at NASA ? Where did they do their Ph.D ? what kinds of topics do they publish in ? What I mean is that one way to figure out if \"Ph.D in X\" is viable is to see if there are people doing X, and then figure out what their trajectory was by looking at their publications, CV etc</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Must I choose a area that is currently being researched at the\n university I attend, or am I free to come up with my own?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It depends. You're in an MS program, and you haven't mentioned whether you're planning to apply elsewhere for a Ph.D. An MS is a good time to explore your options with people at the university, burnish your research credentials, and build some background in areas of interest. Obviously it helps if your area of interest is covered, but even if it's not, figure out related background that you need, and maybe look for someone doing research in a related area. Also see which places/people you'd like to do a Ph.D at based on the area, and that will give you a sense of what kind of extra reading/prep to do. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Can/should I be reading recently released papers on Computer Science\n topics for some inspiration, and if so where do I go to find those?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>But of course ! but you should try to focus your search a bit. There's a large body of work in each of the topics you listed, and google is your friend. Once you find even a few papers, you can figure out where they were published, and then look at other papers in those venues, and repeat. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5582,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I know that I'm going to get downvoted for this, given the preponderance of computer-science people here, but my advice is:</p>\n\n<p>Don't do a Computer Science Masters.</p>\n\n<p>Quickly work out which are you want to do programming in, and switch to a Masters in that.</p>\n\n<p>So, in your case, a Masters in Climate Science. Or rocket science.</p>\n\n<p>Domain knowledge is really crucial for building <strong>useful</strong> models. Academically pure programming will help you write code to please the computer-science purists. But if you don't have the domain knowledge, it will be useless.</p>\n\n<p>I've worked on many many dozens of successful applied programming projects. <strong>None</strong> of the <strong>useful</strong> models were written by people with postgraduate qualifications in computer science (but several of the useless ones were).</p>\n\n<p>Alternatively, finish your Masters in Computer Science, and then do a Masters in Climatology, or rocket engineering, or whatever.</p>\n\n<p>Then you'll have the best of both worlds: domain knowledge <strong>and</strong> postgrad-level programming skills. The best universities are developing in-house Research Software Development capacity, which seek to unit the two, and you could be part of that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5583,
"author": "recluze",
"author_id": 501,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/501",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would like to put in my two cents here. It looks like the type of areas you are interested in are related to Artificial Intelligence. I am not suggesting you jump the AI bandwagon but I do recommend starting to read on this area alongside your normal studies. Find some of the latest AI journals and skim through (at least) the abstracts to see what people are doing nowadays. Global warming and unmanned vehicles are huge issues. You would need to narrow this down to a particular area and make your contribution there. You can't solve world-scale problems all in one MS/PhD. </p>\n\n<p>Read up and make a small contribution to the existing knowledge. Maybe you'll one day make a huge difference but, as the saying goes, even the journal of a hundred miles start with a single step. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11605,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 6110,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6110",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some opportunities that you are likely to have:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Attend seminars, especially those given by outside visitors. Ask \"stupid\" questions after the talks.</p></li>\n<li><p>Go to dinner with the speakers after the talk. In math we always take visitors out to dinner, and usually the attendance is quite poor, even when the speaker is famous. Needless to say, this is an opportunity.</p></li>\n<li><p>Talk to Ph.D. students. Find out what they are doing. Does it sound cool?</p></li>\n<li><p>Talk to postdocs and junior faculty, who are likely to have recently come from elsewhere. How was their experience? How did their previous departments differ from your current department?</p></li>\n<li><p>Do an excellent job in your coursework, or whatever other requirements you have now. This will prepare you well for your future, and it will also prod professors to help you out and open doors for you.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 34382,
"author": "Ben Bitdiddle",
"author_id": 24384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24384",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One way is to do projects in several different areas. You'll like some projects better than others, and then you can study the corresponding field.</p>\n\n<p>Alternatively, you can talk to current grad students about their work, and try to get a sense for what their lives are like. Ask them what projects they're working on and see if you find them interesting. I would also ask them about the most interesting or fundamental papers in their field, and take a glance at those.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 145400,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a Ph.D. Student in Bioinformatics with a previous background in Computer Science. Everything is going computer-based in today and near-future world. Even wet lab stuff going online/cloud and becoming yet another type of coding. Knowledge is cheap and interdisciplinary endeavours are the key to the future. The title of degrees is not as relevant as what you actually want to do. </p>\n\n<p>If your questions are coming from other domains, you might need to pursue your research in programs that are more interdisipilanty. If you want to cure disease go study under drug discovery and computational biology programs. If you want to do aerospace research, go do it in an aerospace program, etc. Your background is being valued very much as long as you show passion to learn more about the specific domain of knowledge you want to pursue.</p>\n\n<p>Classic computer science departments, depending on the university, of course, could be disappointing for people with applied, multidisciplinary interests. The level of abstraction people follow can be a bit disheartening if you want to make a real difference. \nAlso some colleges, departments, etc don't see the computer scientist \"migrants\" as one of them in a sense that they do not consider you a \"real biologist\", or a \"real climatologist\", etc, etc. That is another for another time though.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/03 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5579",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4234/"
]
|
5,585 | <p>The title is fairly generic in nature, so I'm trying to elaborate in the body. I'm interested in answers pertaining to Theoretical Computer Science (TCS), but I'm certain the question would be equally relevant in fields which have been around for more than a couple of decades, and hence I hope to get responses from researchers in other disciplines as well!</p>
<p>What I'm trying to understand is how researchers (who have been working for quite sometime) in any specialized field (like TCS) keep track of results that have already been published - not just seminal results, but also results which have a lesser (but not insignificant) impact on the field but were published years or decades before. At the same time, one has to keep track of results being published in (at least) the notable conferences in the current year as well, in order to absorb the new ideas presented there and incorporate/extend them in one's own work.</p>
<p>I find it kind of incredible to believe that all of the above is possible without any kind of disciplined approach to reading and subsequent assimilation of the ideas on a regular basis - which is why I'm asking members of academia about their experiences/practices on this. In particular:</p>
<ol>
<li>How frequently (if at all) do you revisit "classic" results?</li>
<li>Do you keep written/electronic notes on a regular basis to keep track of continuing progress in a field (say, for instance, inapproximability results for geometric problems) - or do you prefer to keep it all in your mind?</li>
<li>To keep track of current state of art, do you only attend/read Tier-I conferences, or do you get useful ideas from results published in Tier-II/III conferences as well?</li>
<li>What kind of time/resources would you typically set aside for reading, as opposed to working on a problem?</li>
</ol>
<p>In short, I'm trying to find what kind of things would you expect a top researcher to "know" off the top of his head, and at what level of depth - and how would you go trying to maintain that level of perception over the years?</p>
<p>(I understand that the question <strong>IS</strong> subjective, but I'm hoping that it satisfies the guidelines for a "<a href="http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/09/good-subjective-bad-subjective/">good subjective</a>" question!)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5588,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm very bad at keeping track of things, so maybe all I can share is what NOT to do :), but I find it easiest to keep track of ongoing work in the community (and I'm in TCS too) in three ways:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>By working on problems and being willing to indulge in flights of fancy (which allows me to read beyond the narrow scope of the problem I'm dealing with)</li>\n<li>By perusing the list of accepted papers at a conference when it's announced.</li>\n<li>(more recently) subscribing to relevant arXiv feeds and saving papers to read on my IPad - this works only partially, but I always have things ready to read when I feel like it.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This system is not perfect - I still miss lots of interesting papers - but I've slowly come to accept that it will be impossible to keep track of all interesting results in the field (let alone the flashy ones). For breadth beyond the above I rely a lot on surveys and slides that I can quickly browse.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5589,
"author": "user244795",
"author_id": 1352,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1352",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Read review articles</strong> in your field. That's where someone else already did the hard work of reading and summarizing the literature. Tenured-track professors have a strong incentive to write invited review articles because it's prestigious and gets them a lot of citations.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Maintain a library database of papers you've read</strong> along with the dates you read them. Add your own keywords to them so you can find them later and cite them. Keep this database separate from the new databases you'll make when you start writing a new paper (don't make the mistake of trying to keep it all in the same file -- you'll never find anything when it gets too big). I do this in Endnote, though obviously you could do it in bibtex or some other program. </p>\n\n<p>Put a repeating monthly reminder on your calendar to <strong>send you an email when the new issue of each journal comes out</strong>. You can do this easily on Google Calendar or MS Outlook. Delete the email after you've looked through the new articles. (Remember to put the important ones you read in your library database!)</p>\n\n<p>Also put semi-annual reminders on your calendar with <strong>abstract submission due dates</strong> for the relevant conferences for your field. I'd suggest putting two email reminders about a month and also a week before the actual due dates.</p>\n\n<p>Carry a notebook (not a laptop or other device) with you at the conference and <strong>write down titles of the important events and what was important about them</strong>. Yes, handwritten notes! You won't have time to type up pretty documents. Managing battery life and surfing the internet is a waste of time when you could be networking with the best researchers in your field. You'll have time after the conference to go back through your notes and then add those presentations to your library database.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5591,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not <em>experienced researcher</em> but I will say what I usually do:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Subscribe for Google scholar alert.</strong><br>\nI found this very helpful specially for new topics and to keep you updated. Once google scholar indexed a paper contains your word, it will send you alert. <em>It is simply an awesome feature to know almost every new paper in your subfield.</em> </li>\n<li><strong>Subscribe in ArXiv</strong><br>\nMy goal here is to see the general field papers. (I am subscribing to Artificial Intelligence and Game Theory). You will get the abstracts along with the paper title. If you found this paper is interesting then google it. </li>\n<li><strong>Follow up with Top-conferences and journals</strong><br>\n<em>(in Computer Science)</em> Sometimes visiting the new DBLP page for the conference/journal might be useful. Same goes to visiting the pioneers DBLP pages. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I do maintain a plain text file contains some (crazy) ideas/strong statements/question related to the papers I read. When it is the time to look for new project/idea, I usually consult this file. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5592,
"author": "nonoffensiveusername",
"author_id": 4237,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4237",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You don't need to know everything. Older results only matter as much as they're relevant to what you're researching and writing about now. Also, since research is about discovering NEW things, older results can pretty much just sit there and gather dust until they become relevant for current research.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5604,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here are a few additions to Suresh's list (converted from a comment at TCSgrad's suggestion):</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Don't even try to remember details.</strong> Just remember that somebody published something related, and use Google (or Mendeley or Papers) to find the paper again when you need it.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Chase references.</strong> Interesting papers tend to cite other interesting papers. When you read any paper, also look at the papers in its bibliography.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Chase citations.</strong> Interesting papers tend to be cited by other interesting papers. When you read the paper, find other papers that cite it (via Google Scholar, for example) and look at them, too.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Follow whims.</strong> If you see a paper with an interesting word in the title, or an interesting figure on the first page, at least read the abstract.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Don't try to read everything.</strong> That's impossible. Just try to read a little more.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Stop reading.</strong> Eventually you have to do your own research. Don't worry about reinventing the wheel; sometimes the best (and even fastest) way to understand what someone else did is to ignore them, figure it out yourself, and <em>then</em> read their paper.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5608,
"author": "A.Schulz",
"author_id": 1467,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1467",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At some point in your academic career you have to be pragmatic. By this I mean you will <em>read</em> a paper when you need to, and you often read the papers only in parts. Still you will read plenty of papers: research, teaching, refereeing there are many occasions.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand you have to keep your eyes open. You should have a rough idea what is going on in your field. But you don't have to know the details, since you don't have the time for this. Many ideas how to do this were already posted. Here is what I do (I also work in TCS and Discrete Math).</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Subscribe to the arxiv's rss feed you are interested in.</li>\n<li>Read the important blogs, they will also list paper accepted at main conferences.</li>\n<li>If you are interested in a journal, subscribe to the newsletter.</li>\n<li>Talk to your peers.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Often I just scan the titles, and the list of authors. If I find something interesting I have a look at the abstract and try to understand the statement of the main result. If you don't already use a rss reader I strongly recommend to use one to keep track of everything in one single place.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 13994,
"author": "Ravi Kiran",
"author_id": 9371,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9371",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"http://cs.stanford.edu/people/karpathy/researchlei/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Research Lei</a> was an interesting attempt at visualizing groups of people working together, clustering documents with similar subjects of work, using a simple python interface. I am not sure if it still works but making such graphs and reviewing your community gives you a global view of work being done in the field.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/03 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5585",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/79/"
]
|
5,593 | <p>It seems that more and more schools are encouraging their faculty to apply for (and secure) external funding. I have not yet been awarded any research grants. If I'm applying for jobs at research schools, should I include on my CV my unfunded grant applications? The obvious argument against this is that these applications were <em>unfunded</em>, and will be viewed as failures. The obvious argument for this is that many administrations are eager to have their faculty applying for grants and reward them (very modestly) even for unsuccessful applications. Which view carries more weight?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5595,
"author": "Herman Toothrot",
"author_id": 4050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unfortunately as you already mentioned there is no clear answer. One time I was at an AAG conference at a workshop about job hunting, applications, and CV building and the speakers were a mix of young and old academics. The majority I think agreed on not listing failures and avoid to list grants you were awarded but refused. The latter might be used when you don't have many grant application but might show a signs of bad planning. As far as your question perhaps it might be useful to list only if you applied to a very competitive grant. In alternative you could briefly talk about it in your cover letter but just highlight that you have already gone through the process. Even getting a small grant ($1000) is better than an unfunded application.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5597,
"author": "Mikhail",
"author_id": 4240,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4240",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<pre><code>Success stand for itself, failure needs to be qualified. (A wise man)\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Only, include failed applications if it tells a story about your research and where it is going. For example, saying that you failed 5 years ago but then hit the jackpot and proved all your detractors wrong. </p>\n\n<p>Unless you have a very good reason, I think it only serve to confuse people. Most importantly it will may remind folks your area of research is undeserving and uninteresting. </p>\n\n<p>That is the absolute worst message that you can send.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5601,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When applying to a TT position at a research intensive school, the search committee is going to want to know want your first research project is going to be and who would likely fund it. A failed grant application along with an explanation can go a ways towards providing that information. One line on a CV probably isn't helpful and I would not include failed applications on my CV for such a position. I would however mention one of the proposal in my cover letter. Being able to say that you have a proposal and have identified potential funders (which comes first is a little bit of a chicken and egg thing) is a good thing. Being able to say you applied to funding scheme X and while you didn't get funded got useful feedback and you are now revising the application for funding scheme Y is even better. Obviously tailor this if the funding scheme gave a scores/percentiles/stage and/or allows you to resubmit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5606,
"author": "A.Schulz",
"author_id": 1467,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1467",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should ask yourself, who will read my CV and what do I want to achieve by tailoring it.</p>\n\n<p>In your case the CV is part of an application for a position in academia, it should make an impression on the people in the search committee. From my experience people usually list only funded proposals in their CV. So including unfunded proposals will be considered as something odd. I don't say this is strictly forbidden, but you should have an extremely good reason for doing this. And I can't think of any. An unfunded proposal will be (from my experience in committees) not considered as an <em>achievement</em>. On the contrary, if you have a lot of funded proposals you might want to include the unfunded, too show your \"success rate\". But I wouldn't even recommend this.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to prove that you can write about prospective future research, you should write an excellent research statement. You could address your experiences in this place.</p>\n\n<p>Again, their is no right or wrong. So this is my very personal opinion.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5607,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<h2>No.</h2>\n\n<p>Definitely list <em>pending</em> grant proposals. But <em>rejected</em> grant proposals should fall into the memory hole.</p>\n\n<p>Also, do not list your rejected journal submissions, the awards you applied for but did not win, or the graduate schools that did not admit you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5647,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the nature of the grants you haven't received and the type of institution you are applying to. For example, it is very, very difficult for young researchers to get NIH funding now, so it's no disgrace to fail there, but applications do show you are motivated, and might show you have good collaborators, plans etc. </p>\n\n<p>Don't forget that CVs can have free text. You might just put a line in such as \"Further experience in applications to NIH, NSF. Details available on request.\" Particularly if you are proud of a grant proposal & are planning to resubmit it, or have a good story to tell about how it might be further developed, or might be more successful coming from the institution you are applying to. If you can talk intelligently about the reviews you got and what you have learned from the experience, then give your potential employees a prompt to bring that up in the interview.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/03 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5593",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1069/"
]
|
5,594 | <p>I have received an offer to visit a lab for 4/5 months that could lead into a fully funded PhD. In the meantime I have other applications in the pipeline from which I will hear back in either a few weeks or a couple of months (just different educational systems).</p>
<p>I am excited about going to this lab but I want to wait to have all my offers on the table before commiting to a program. Also I am not sure yet if I will be able to develop in this lab the project I have in mind. However the PI of the lab is highly regarded in the field.</p>
<p>If I were to leave the lab I would want to leave in the best note possible not to burn my bridges with this person and institution.</p>
<p>I am sure the PI knows I might have applied elsewhere and also although it is likely that this visit will turn into a PhD there is also a small chance it will not.</p>
<p>What would be the best way to handle this situation in an ethical and correct way, and not disappointed anybody?</p>
<p>PS: I will get paid in this period but not as much as PhD student. Let me know if more information is needed.</p>
<p>EDIT: So apparently by the end of the visit I will present a PhD proposal, so I hope that at that point it will not be too late to answer other offers.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5602,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, I think so long as you and the PI in question are forthright about your mutual expectations, there should be very few problems.</p>\n\n<p>If the PI who is offering you the position is planning on having you become a PhD student, then that should be made clear. Similarly, if you'd like to consider other options, then you should let your potential advisor know that a \"competition\" will be taking place.</p>\n\n<p>However, since you said you'd be writing a PhD proposal, it's not clear that you'd automatically have a guaranteed offer for a position at the end of this position if successful. This should also be cleared up before you make a final decision.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5646,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This will depend on all of the institutions involved, but I expect it should work out for you. I am sure the laboratory making the offer must be familiar with this situation, so the first thing I would do is talk to them about the various contingencies. Then for the other offers, as they come in, you will have to explain you are getting experience in this laboratory and give them the date you expect to know whether or not you can accept their offer. If they insist on knowing sooner, then you can take it up with your PI.</p>\n\n<p>It may not be easy emotionally (decisions between good offers can feel very hard even though really neither choice would be \"wrong\"), but I think it is very unlikely that you will be disadvantaged by taking the opportunity to work in a prestigious lab. Some of the other offers may be willing to wait, and for the ones that can't, they may allow you to reapply if you don't receive the offer you want. </p>\n\n<p>There is a slight chance that the PI is taking advantage of you this way, but if so I'm sure they will have a reputation for that, and the first person to make you another offer would let you know you are better off leaving even if it does \"burn a bridge\". Then you may need to ask around a little more to be sure who to believe. But it is more likely you are in a win/win situation – you get experience either way, and if a really nice offer comes along from another lab, probably your PI will be OK with you taking it, and you can finish their work up before going and taking up the new offer.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/03 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5594",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050/"
]
|
5,610 | <p>if a current PhD student applying to another university <em>within the same country</em>, is it required to expose the fact that he/she is currently enrolled in another university?<br>
is it a right for the grad studies office to know my current status? if yes; why? what is the difference? </p>
<p>Specially in case if the student does not want to transfer the credits he/she has taken in the previous university.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5611,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Yes.</strong> If you are a student, you should say so in your application. Otherwise, your CV will have an unexplained gap for the time you've been at your current department. Unexplained gaps raise red flags with admissions committees.</p>\n\n<p>In your statement, you also need to explain <em>why</em> you are applying to the new department instead of completing your PhD at your current department. Moreover, you must do so <em>without</em> disparaging your current department, <em>even if you have legitimate cause to do so</em>; nobody likes a whiner. Good reasons to move include a change in your own research interests, your advisor moving or retiring, following a spouse.</p>\n\n<p>Above all, do everything above board. If possible, you should also request at a recommendation letter from your current advisor; if not your advisor, some other faculty member in your department. <strong>If you apply secretly, you risk burning all bridges with faculty in your current department.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Credit transfer is a completely orthogonal issue.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5645,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Absolutely. A PhD is a long-term relationship, taking two people's valuable time – not only for the duration of the dissertation but forever afterwards you will be linked to each other, affecting each other's reputations with your own. It is an expensive and rare opportunity. You should be completely honest on an application, and this certainly includes explaining any previous commitments you've made. You need to explain exactly how and why you have broken them. Frankly, I took one student who had stopped a previous PhD, and he stopped mine too, so I would be very unlikely to take such a student again. Though a strong and clear letter of recommendation from the previous supervisor might convince me.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/04 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5610",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532/"
]
|
5,625 | <p>In my master's thesis I am building on two earlier works of myself. <br />
-> One is a study project I've done together with two fellow students, <br />-> the other one is an assignment I did on my own.</p>
<p><strong>If I'm using results from these, should I include them in the Bibliography?</strong></p>
<p>Arguments against including them might be: </p>
<ul>
<li>They are not published, a reader of my thesis therefore wouldn't be able to
look these sources up. <br />(They don't qualify as quotable)</li>
<li>Also the effort involved in this works was much less than the amount
of work I'm doing for my thesis. <br />(Some doubts on them beeing worth quoting)</li>
<li>And finally I am the author or one of the authors of these works. <br />(I am not using foreign thought material)</li>
</ul>
<p>Nevertheless it feels somehow incomplete to just leave them out.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5626,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Are these works available in any published form or any other permanent online form, such as a technical report? If so then cite. If not, then there's nothing to cite. In my opinion, it would look strange to cite a project done in some previous course.</p>\n\n<p>What you can do is put an acknowledgment in the back of your thesis/paper to your previous \"co-authors\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5627,
"author": "MasterPJ",
"author_id": 4079,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4079",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In your particular case it would have no sense to cite your previous projects. As Dave Clarke wrote, the reader would have no chance to access the materials anyway, there were not published and probably <strong>there are not recognize by society as a scientific work</strong>. Of course, you should mention the co-authors contributions in the thesis, it is polite.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>However, if we would like to generalize the question a little.</p>\n\n<p><strong>If you are building your results on your previous work, you have to cite or you would commit <em>auto-plagiarism</em></strong> which is not acceptable in scientific writing. Simply, to present the same results more times is not allowed even if there are not published in a journal.</p>\n\n<p>In case you know that the <strong>reader would not be able to access your previous work</strong> (archive of your University where your thesis would be) <strong>you still have to cite</strong>. In this case, you can mention for example the chapter, or the picture you are referring to and put the important fact/results from you previous work to the text you are writing.</p>\n\n<p>In this case none of the 3 arguments you mentioned is relevant.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/06 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5625",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4051/"
]
|
5,628 | <p>Impact factors of journals are one the most commonly use indicator of their quality. As a consequence when someone is looking for a journal in which publish his results, the highest the impact factor, the better. However, over the years journal's impact factors change depending on the quality of their article. </p>
<p>My question, that is more theoretical then practical, is twofold:</p>
<ol>
<li>Should I care about the <strong>future impact factor of the journals</strong> I publish in (similarly as when buying stock market).</li>
<li>Would it be advisable to <strong>keep track of the impact factor</strong> at the time of publication in a list of paper (a bit like saying "I know to impact factor of the journal I published in five years ago is bad, but it was better then").</li>
</ol>
<p>This question is somehow related to the fact that I hear once or twice about examining boards considering only the papers published in journals above a certain impact factor when assessing the quality of a candidate. In other words, papers published in low impact factor journal are not even worth noticing. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5631,
"author": "Leon palafox",
"author_id": 2806,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would be wary of going with Impact Factors as a good metric. </p>\n\n<p>There has been recently a couple of Journals that got into trouble for artificially blowing their IFs, they basically asked any submitter to cite at least 3 articles of the same Journal.</p>\n\n<p>However, it is true that good Journals like Nature, IEEE Transactions, Elsevier, etc will give your paper a lot more credibility than unknown Journals.</p>\n\n<p>In my experience, all of that was good for a pre-Internet era, where Universities had to pick and choose their subscriptions, but now, with all the plethora of information available that is probably less the norm than ever.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5632,
"author": "MasterPJ",
"author_id": 4079,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4079",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Related to your last comment:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>boards that considered only the papers published in journal above a certain impact factor when assessing the quality of a candidate</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think that such borders are not doing well. As you said, the IF (Impact Factor) varies in time (regardless if we consider it as a relevant measure).</p>\n\n<p>According to me, there are 2 points of view by which the IF which should be considered in your question:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The point that <strong>you</strong> tried (and <strong>succeeded</strong>) <strong>to publish a paper in a journal with high IF</strong>. What would that fact say to me (if I would be in a committee)? That you were confident about your results and you <strong>trusted your work to be published in a good journal</strong>. (BUT(!) it does not meat that the journal or the paper is good, it just reflects you, the candidate). In this case relevant is the <strong>IF by the time your article was accepted</strong>.</li>\n<li><p>The point that the <strong>IF of the journal you published rises in the next 2-3 years after the time your paper was accepted</strong>. Why? Lets take a look <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor\">how the IF is calculated</a>:</p>\n\n<p>A = the number of times articles published in 2006 and 2007 were cited by indexed journals during 2008.</p>\n\n<p>B = the total number of \"citable items\" published by that journal in 2006 and 2007. </p>\n\n<p>2008 impact factor = A/B. </p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>However, can we say that articles published in 2006 and 2007 will be cited in 2008? Just very small amount of them. Someone reads your article (month 1), then does the part of research related to your article (2-3 months?), approved by co-authors (another month) and goes through the acceptance procedure (12-14 months). It takes about a year and a half to print the citation of your article. So, if the editors decide that they will accept just good articles the resulting rising of IF will be visible in 2-3 years in the future. So if I would be a committee member I would like to know how was the IF 2-3 years after the article of the candidate was printed. That can tell me that by the time the article was printed, also a considerable amount of good articles were printed as well. But keep in mind that IF consider citation just within 2 years back, and that is just too short. I think it should be 3 years at least.</p>\n\n<p>So, to answer your questions:</p>\n\n<p>add 1.: YES, for the next 2-3 years as it is effectiveness time of IF. </p>\n\n<p>add 2.: YES, because it reflect the actual state of the author by the time he decided to publish.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>But please, all this can help as a indicator but is should be taking into account with caution. I should also say that IF is very tricky and it can be easily misinterpreted (self-citation, how many review articles the Journal publishes,...). If you want to take a look at other evaluating tools, you can visit:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.eigenfactor.org/\">Eigenfactor</a> or\n<a href=\"http://journal-ranking.com/ranking/web/index.html\">Journal Ranking</a></p>\n\n<p>and:\n<strong>What really matters is how much your article is cited(!)</strong></p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/06 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5628",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/481/"
]
|
5,638 | <p>A lot of universities nowadays expect professors to be able to provide research experience to their undergraduates. i.e. in job applications for new hires. What do they actually expect- Publications? Senior projects? Funding opportunities for undergraduates? While I agree research 'experience' is a great thing for undergraduates in principal, realistically the vast majority of undergrads aren't going to be able to make progress on real problems - so how will this reflect on a new professor?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5639,
"author": "Ben Norris",
"author_id": 924,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/924",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Faculty in such situations might be expected to provide research experiences commensurate with the size and scope of the institution. Undergraduates usually cannot devote the time to a project that a graduate student does, so the outcomes are different. Publications are not generally expected; conference presentations are more common. Most importantly, the undergraduate gets experience working on a complex problem and develops transferable research skills. What the faculty member gets is <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/592/do-professors-benefit-from-undergraduate-research\">not the same as what he or she would get from graduate students.</a></p>\n\n<p>What an undergraduate does as research depends on the facilities, infrastructure, and culture of the institution. At a major research institution, undergraduates should be working on the same types of problems graduate students work on, but perhaps in a more limited scope. When I was a grad student, we had several undergrads in our lab, one of whom was grad student quality and got some publications. The others contributed valuable (if not always publishable) work to our projects. </p>\n\n<p>At a smaller institution that maybe does not have a graduate progran (like where I am now), you give an undergraduate student work commensurate with the type of grants you are expected to write. My institution (and my department especially) does not emphasize pursuit of large external grants, and so the types of projects I can give to my students are more limited. At the undergraduate stage, <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2115/how-to-ensure-a-research-idea-has-not-been-explored-previously/2121#2121\">the process is more important than the results</a>. I regularly send my students to regional and national conferences, and I hope to eventually have them publish something, but I am not given low evaluation marks. However, if you are expected to apply for and get big grants, then your undergrads should be doing work at that level.</p>\n\n<p>All in all, in the chemistry departments I have been a part of (large and small), most faculty have one or more undergraduates doing research and most undergraduates get the opportunity. However, not all undergraduates choose to, nor would their be enough opportunities to support them if they did. The onus is on the undergraduate to choose to do research, not on the professor to guarantee an opportunity is available to all students even if they do not want it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5640,
"author": "Luke Mathieson",
"author_id": 1370,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1370",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My perspective is mostly Australian on this (with a bit of UK thrown in). \"Research Experience\" for undergrads here typically means exposure to and training in the methods of research. On one side this includes simply exposing undergraduates to the latest (important) results, but also incrementally introducing them to <em>how</em> to be a researcher, capped in the final year with an offering of a small research project. Such a project would not be expected to produce new results, but to demonstrate the student's capability with methodology.</p>\n\n<p>Having said that, there does seem to be an implicit push to get people publishing earlier, which seems to filter down from the increased pressure to publish on academics - but that's another story.</p>\n\n<p>Still, in general, it tends to be in my experience about exposure, rather than an expectation that the undergraduate will actually perform (individual) research. The ones that do are just a bonus.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5641,
"author": "Per Alexandersson",
"author_id": 2794,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2794",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><s>There's always the masters thesis, which in some instances might include original research.</s> Also, at my university, some undergraduate TA's gets involved in research a bit by professors giving them some problems to work on, usually involving doing numerics.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14485,
"author": "adam.r",
"author_id": 9669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9669",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Note: my perspective is from doctorate-granting biology departments in the USA</p>\n\n<p>Undergraduate research experience comes in two flavors -- work-study (paid) or for class credit (often a senior/honors thesis). Both are valuable, and I expect that most departments do not have very specific expectations for professors aside from some basic effort to provide undergraduate research opportunities. Professors at these institutions are judged based on both research and teaching, and undergraduate research is just a small part of the teaching that these professors do.</p>\n\n<p>You can see how universities present undergraduate research opportunities to the students (e.g. <a href=\"http://uraf.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do\" rel=\"nofollow\">Harvard</a>, <a href=\"http://research.berkeley.edu/\" rel=\"nofollow\">UC Berkeley</a>), but I doubt that you will find publications describing how these programs influence faculty promotions. Faculty can receive <a href=\"http://research.berkeley.edu/distinguished/\" rel=\"nofollow\">awards</a> for undergraduate mentoring. Such awards are nice to place on one's CV when applying for promotions, but that this is secondary to research, graduate student mentoring, and teaching classes.</p>\n\n<p>Here is my personal opinion on undergraduate research. Even if an undergraduate is only washing dishes and making media (sterile technique!), they are still being exposed to the laboratory environment and learning what level of rigor is required to do research. Given their other commitments (such as class), their inexperience, and their limited conceptual preparation, undergraduates should not be expected to accomplish anything of note. Their inclusion in research projects should be structured to support and advance the work of full-time lab members, with the expectation that undergraduates will learn from any exposure to research projects. Finally, they can provide graduate students and post-docs with the opportunity to learn how to be mentors themselves, which is an essential part of their training.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/07 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5638",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4269/"
]
|
5,644 | <p>My department requires dissertations from all honours students (being England, that's basically all of them). Some of these are extremely good, even though they are written by undergraduates. My department for some years created a tech report series, which included undergraduate dissertations with high enough marks and the agreement of the supervisor, but now this system has gotten lost in a morass of web redesigns etc.</p>
<p>Is there any new norm for archiving good undergraduate dissertations? We were thinking of just putting it in arxiv.org, is that considered acceptable? We are writing an article and want to cite the dissertation for the full implementation details.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5653,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<h2>Yes.</h2>\n\n<p>Any research writing (paper, report, monograph, dissertation, preprint, etc.) approaching publishable quality is welcome on ArXiv, whether its'written by tenured faculty, postdocs, graduate students, undergraduates, high school students, or hamsters.</p>\n\n<p>(I am the ArXiv moderator for cs.DM and cs.CG. I have not, as far as I know, accepted a paper from a hamster.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5654,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Seconding the main point of JeffE's answer, ArXiv is \"only weakly moderated\", and makes no demands about status, rank, university affiliation, etc.</p>\n\n<p>However, there appear to be mild expectations about format. Beyond the lowest-level TeX/LaTeX requirements, it seems that papers should be in the format of a paper submittable for publication-in-a-refereed-journal. I can imagine the possibility that formats for undergrad dissertations might or might not be enforced, and/or might be substantially different (even if conforming to a formal requirement).</p>\n\n<p>But/and I'd think that a rewritten version of a good thesis would easily be arXiv-able.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/08 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5644",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384/"
]
|
5,655 | <p>Does someone know what are the different roles between a Program Committee (PC) member and Reviewer for conferences (e.g., in the field of machine learning)?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5661,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>PC = reviewer + administrative work. </p>\n\n<p>They are responsible for:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Assigning papers to reviewers (marriage problem).</li>\n<li>Nominate papers for best paper award/journal track.</li>\n<li><p>Set up a program for the conference.</p>\n\n<p>Usually different PCs monitor different subareas. Also, I believe they contribute on solving conflict of interest issues - if there is any. These are my observations, never been PC myself</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5669,
"author": "walkmanyi",
"author_id": 1265,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1265",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The responsibilities of a programme committee member and a mere reviewer could easily be the same, or differ. All depends on the particular conference/workshop setup. E.g., in computer science/AI there the difference is mainly a result of the venue size. Large first-tier conferences, such as e.g., IJCAI have a four layer programme committee structure. Here PC chairs, the top layer, govern the whole process from recruiting the various types of PC members, through conflict-of-interest handling, bidding on submissions, to notification and proceedings composition and publication. For such conferences the PC chairs recruit Senior PC members who are responsible for larger batches of submissions, or small sub-areas and report to PC chairs. For some conferences, the SPCs recruit regular PC members who in turn report to them and are responsible for the reviews. Regular PC members normally do the reviews themselves, but it's relatively common that they sometimes \"subcontract\" the job to other reviewers they recruit. These lowest level reviewers would do the review and get credit too, but the actual PC member is ultimately responsible for the review and the discussions among the PC members. Upon completing the review and discussion phases, SPCs give final recommendation for acceptance/rejection and possibly write meta-review summarizing discussion to each submission. The PC chairs would distribute the notifications and handle the proceedings and programme schedule composition.</p>\n\n<p>Now, for mid-size conferences, or workshops the senior PC members layer is usually missing and regular PC members report directly to PC chairs and take over the tasks of SPCs for large conferences. The mechanics of sub-reviewing stays the same. </p>\n\n<p>For small-size conferences and workshops, there are virtually no administrative tasks left for the PC members, so they do just the reviewing (possibly recruit sub-reviewers) and the PC chairs finally decide about acceptance and rejection of the individual submissions on the basis of the received recommendations.</p>\n\n<p>What I describe above is regular scheme of things in \"applied computer science\". </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5655",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4284/"
]
|
5,656 | <p>I am a junior PhD student in electrical engineering and I need ideas about how to handle my mentor. Whenever I go to her with an idea she rejects it saying it is wrong or not interesting. But after a few months she comes back with a slightly modified version of my earlier idea and takes credit for the full idea. She asks me to do experiments with her version of my idea. Then when we have results, she publishes them in a conference (includes me as an author), but she gives the talk at the conference saying she came up with the idea and I only did experiments. </p>
<p>I don't want to stop working with her because I have been working with her for two years and leaving will set me back by at least one and a half years. Can you suggest how to avoid this?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5657,
"author": "Sylvain Peyronnet",
"author_id": 43,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Continue working with her until the end without giving too much ideas. In the meantime, work on your own ideas, but wait the end of your PhD to publish them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5658,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I suspect the advisor is relative young and probably not fully even aware of the problem. Her perception of events may be completely different. She may feel that she contributed the essential part of the idea to make it valuable. She may not even remember that the idea came from you originally. But that does not mean that she shouldn't be corrected and give credit to you.</p>\n\n<p>This can probably be solved by communicating with her, or by communicating with someone more senior, who could have a talk with her. Are there any annual progress meetings where this could be done? </p>\n\n<p>Not dealing with the problem will only exacerbate it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5659,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's a common psychological thing that people treat their own ideas, and others' ideas, on a different grounding. And even there is a strategy of convincing people to make them believe that they genuinely came with the idea. The thing is that in academia, it's not only about \"making things work\" but tracking who came with the idea first.</p>\n\n<p>So:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I disagree with JeffE's \"Don't walk. Run\" (perhaps for the first time),</li>\n<li>I would talk to her, especially referring to e-mails or something when you explicitly cam with this idea, but starting a discussion, not an attack.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Surely, there are chances that:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>the idea was different (seemingly subtle differences are actually big), at least in her eyes,</li>\n<li>she honestly forgot that she came with this idea (but it is also not that impossible, that she got rather inspired and not only you, but a number of guys),</li>\n<li>she actively wants to get all/most of the credit (perhaps not that uncommon for a group leader, but definitely bad for you).</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5660,
"author": "TCSGrad",
"author_id": 79,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/79",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would approach this the same way I would have done in any workplace:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>In future, all proposals from you to her would be initiated by an email, with explicit copies to an external, personal email account <em>of yours</em>.</li>\n<li>In the event of any offline conversations, write a summary of your discussion and send it to her (and yourself) in the form of an email - end the email on a note that this is a formal \"notes of the meeting minutes\", and that she should reply if there are any discrepancies in it.</li>\n<li>In the extreme case, if all of the above do not work, write your idea in the form of a draft paper, submit it to arxiv, wait for it to get accepted (takes a couple of days I think), <em>and then</em> initiate the proposal (through an email, of course!)</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>To clarify, I wholeheartedly agree with JeffE - an adviser is your mentor for life, and if this is the foundation of your relationship, you should break it off ASAP (no matter how many years you lose - your peace of mind isn't worth it!). Also, note that while the above steps may stop her from plagiarizing your ideas, she would still be in a position of power and can screw you over in <em>n</em> different ways (your defense, recommendation letters, feedback on faculty hiring committees etc). So, use my suggestions in the short-term till you find a different mentor!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5656",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4285/"
]
|
5,662 | <p>Is it common to supervisors to email their students papers to review (which were apparently assigned to the supervisor, and not to the student). The field is Computer Science, but I would also like to hear from the other fields. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5664,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For a conference, PC members are responsible for reviewing papers. However, it's very common that they can use sub-reviewers, that is, delegating their review to another person. They nonetheless remain responsible for the final review. Some reviewing system, such as Easychair, have an integrated mechanism for asking a sub-reviewer, so there is an official \"proof\" of the review delegation, and some conferences include in their proceedings the additional reviewers (without saying for which paper, of course). </p>\n\n<p>As for the frequency of such practice, it's hard to tell. Some supervisors might easily use that as an easy way to not do the reviews, others can use them because they believe the student might be more qualified (and more interested) in the particular topic of the paper, others can do it because reviewing is an important task of an academic, and one has to learn at some point. However, if the student does not feel qualified enough to review the paper, he/she should mention it and refuse the review. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5665,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It is not uncommon for the advisor to ask a student to review a paper. Let's face it — reviewing is a chore, takes a huge chunk of your time and most people do it not out of interest for the paper, but rather a necessity (it factors in promotions within the organization and recognition within the society) and probably some feigned interest in the \"role of an academic\" and \"giving back to the society\".</p>\n\n<p>Usually, the papers that an advisor passes on to their students are </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>tangentially related to their interests </li>\n<li>only mildly interesting or borderline stuff</li>\n<li>are not from top-tier journals</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>As a student, you should never pass up on these opportunities. It can be a very rewarding experience to review a paper and discuss with your advisor. Some of the things you'll learn are:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>that you didn't catch on to some inconsistency/mistake after a month of review, but your advisor did it in 15 mins of casual reading.</li>\n<li>to write an effective critique while at the same time not putting the authors down. Contrary to what many may think, a review is not all about \"your math sucks!\". While yes, it should be pointed out if it indeed sucks, there are ways of saying that. If you spend a lot of the review finding faults, then it is also \"fair\" to throw in a couple of nice things about the paper and balance it. </li>\n<li>you'll also learn to not nit pick on minor quibbles and focus on the technical content (I hate it when a reviewer makes a huge deal of 'data <em>are</em>' vs 'data <em>is</em>').</li>\n<li>You'll learn to do this while juggling other activities, so it's also an early lesson in time management.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In the end, the quality of the review is partly your advisor's responsibility and he's not going to allow it if it is completely shabby. So, take this as an opportunity to learn about how to write a review.</p>\n\n<p>Speaking for myself, I reviewed a couple of papers for my advisor in my early years and now, after I have a few publications to my name, I get invited to review papers on my own (i.e., not via my advisor). Recently, there were a couple of opportunities that my advisor passed on to me, but the difference this time, is that he trusts me to do a decent review and so requested the editor to <em>officially</em> ask me to review, so that I'll get credit for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5667,
"author": "Ana",
"author_id": 322,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/322",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's common in neuroscience. In my limited experience (consisting of two such reviews), the idea was that it's a learning experience for me. My supervisor did his own review independently, then we compared notes, and he put together the final version. In both cases, he mentioned me by name to the journal editors. In one of the two cases I also saw that it's part of the journal's policy that any such PhD students should be mentioned. This, I would say, is a strong indicator that it's common practice. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5671,
"author": "Andreas",
"author_id": 4287,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4287",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is also common for mentors to hand off reviewing tasks to specific group members that work in a field related to the manuscript.</p>\n\n<p>That way, a win-win situation is created, since the group member gets to stay on top of current research in their field of interest.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5681,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would never ask someone else to write a review and then put my own name on it, and I don't know of instances of that happening in my field (applied mathematics). If I am unable to referee a paper, I usually suggest alternative referees to the editor. Those suggestions might include one of my students, but it would be up to the editor whether to ask the student to referee.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5821,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is partly a response to john k's answer.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In the end, the review will go out only under your advisors [sic] name</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Farming out a review to someone else -- especially someone who is subordinate to you -- and then putting only your own name on it is a practice that the vast majority of academics would view as unequivocally unethical. In fact it is essentially plagiarism. </p>\n\n<p>I wish answerers here would not endorse this practice. As Jeff E points out in a comment, if this is done only between the student and the adviser then the editor will not even know about it so certainly cannot be viewed as allowing or participating in this. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>So, take this as an opportunity to learn and do not worry that you won't get credit for it.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I certainly do worry about the practice of advisers passing off their students' work as their own.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>and he's [the advisor] not going to allow it if it is completely shabby.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If the advisor is going to be involved in the refereeing process anyway, then passing it off to the student is not a clear time savings. However it sounds like a recipe for a bad refereeing job: one very junior, possibly not fully qualified person actually reads the paper, and then the more senior, qualified person mostly looks at the report that the junior person has written. There's a lot of room for something to fall through the cracks.</p>\n\n<p>Here is what I would suggest instead:</p>\n\n<p>1) If as an adviser you actually feel that your student is fully qualified to referee a paper that you have been sent, and if you feel that it will in some way be more useful for your student to do it than you yourself (e.g. you view it as a learning experience for the student), then contact the editor and suggest your student as an alternate referee, <em>while identifying them as your student</em>. Most editors will be happy with this because:</p>\n\n<p>(i) Graduate students can make unusually conscientious and quick referees. I refereed one paper as a graduate student. I was very flattered to be asked to do so, so I carefully read every line and even spent a substantial amount of time gaining background knowledge [for the mathematicians: I had to read part of SGAVII in order to do what I felt was a thorough job]. I also did this over a period of slightly less than a month.</p>\n\n<p>(ii) It's better than asking a very junior person to do the refereeing job out of the blue [as in fact was the case with me in the above situation] because the student can consult with her adviser if necessary, either to ask a key technical question or just to ask for advice about writing the report and dealing with the editor. </p>\n\n<p>I (formally) passed off a referee job to a PhD student of mine about a year or so ago. I think it worked out well: he did a good, fast job, and he did consult me a bit for help. As I recall, most (or all) of the questions he asked me were not about the content of the paper -- on the contrary, after he read it I asked him some stuff out of my own interest and curiosity -- but rather about the mechanics of the referee report: what standards to impose, how to reply to the editor, whether it was okay to request that the authors make a revision doing X and Y, and so forth. I think this latter part was at least as valuable an experience for him as simply vetting the paper for correctness.</p>\n\n<p>2) If you can identify a part of a paper that is sufficiently independent of the rest so as to make it possible to read and judge only that part, then it seems reasonable to contract a \"subreviewer\" for that part. Maybe this subreviewer is your student and asking her to do it is saving you some tedium. Maybe this subreviewer has expertise that you lack and it is because of them that you feel capable of writing a report at all. With respect to this, I would say:</p>\n\n<p>(i) Of course you need to identify by name all subreviewers that you use. </p>\n\n<p>(ii) If you take on a subreviewer, it should be very clear exactly what the subreviewer is vouching for. You are still the one who is vouching for a paper as a whole. You need to be extra careful that you are not leaving any gaps. For instance, if a paper concerns arithmetic geometry and spectral graph theory, then there will probably be a part in which problems in arithmetic geometry are translated to problems in spectral graph theory, or vice versa. There needs to be at least one referee who understands both of these topics sufficiently well in order to do a credible job. </p>\n\n<p>(iii) If the issues in (ii) are at all complicated -- e.g. if you find yourself wanting to enlist more than one subreviewer -- then it may be better to have this subcontracting process done by the editor. S/he can then, if desired, solicit multiple reports, add/change/remove subreviewers, and so forth. </p>\n\n<p>I have never enlisted subreviewers, and I have refereed more than 30 papers. But I could imagine for instance being given a paper which had a substantial computational component, and then I might ask to see the code itself and give it to a student of mine who has substantial programming expertise. The difference here is that doing so would improve the referee process (it is very unlikely that I would look at the code myself in any detail, and even less likely that any good would come of my doing so). Passing something off to graduate student when you think or know you would do a materially better job already seems slightly ethically suspect. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 8680,
"author": "spbail",
"author_id": 6388,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6388",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is definitely common in our group, but it is more seen as an exercise for the PhD student, as we generally discuss the review with our supervisors and they make sure it's suitable. That way, the PhD student gets practice in paper reviewing and the supervisor has less work (hopefully).</p>\n\n<p>I absolutely agree with some of the other answers that sticking your name on an <strong>unread</strong> review by someone else or having your supervisor send off your review without discussing it first would be negligent. </p>\n\n<p>(Edit: computer science.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67307,
"author": "Er Vikash Mishra",
"author_id": 52781,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/52781",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ol>\n<li>You will not get any credit for doing someone else's work.</li>\n<li>You might get some knowledge and a little experience working on the project, which some how is good for self satisfaction <code>as you are not getting any thing else</code></li>\n<li>You can ask for some courtesy to the one whom you are shadowing, for bit of your publicity, mentioning your name at end of the day, but again it all depends on him/her.</li>\n<li>You can work yourself, put your own name, and at the end of the day you might loose a friendly relationship with a guy.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Ultimately I will conclude : Never get involved in a work that you don't want to do, or the one for which you deserve some credit and you are not getting it. And if somehow if you get indulged in such an activity then forget the credit or forget the relationship, sacrifice needs to be done at that end.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67419,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience from applied computer science, this is very common. Typically, the situation seems to be that professors receive a batch of ten or more manuscripts for an upcoming conference, to be reviewed within a few weeks.</p>\n\n<p>From that point, there are two reasons that make it a logical choice to redistribute at least some of the reviews within the lab:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Conferences normally deal with <em>somewhat</em> narrow subfields, yet submissions are normally still diverse enough so different people in the lab are best suited for reviewing some of the manuscripts.</li>\n<li>Professors are usually swept with all kinds of different tasks, so expecting a single person to thoroughly referee ten or more papers (when each review takes, say, at least a day) within a few weeks is not realistic, anyway.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Concerning the issue of getting credit addressed in some of the other posts, at least my personal perception is that it is a non-issue. Again, I can see three (possibly field-specific) reasons for this:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>In the fields I am most acquainted with, blind reviews are the norm. Consequently, reviewing is perceived as an activity that is performed anonymously (contrary to, e.g., publishing papers that visibly show the authors' names along with the result of the work). The rare occasion where a conference publishes the list of reviewers may be a nice touch, but I have never seen this done in a prominent way. Hence, the general assumption is that no-one (outside one's lab/group and the small circle of conference organizers) will ever learn that researcher X reviewed papers for conference Y. With this in mind, either conferences would provide an obvious way to indicate subreviewers to the editors - which supervisors will then gladly do -, or they wouldn't, in which case the expected gain is simply not sufficient for anyone involved to go through the hassle of even writing an e-mail to inform the editors about the subreviewers.</li>\n<li>Connected to the above point, it seems that not only does the fact that X reviewed for conference Y usually remain unknown to the public, no-one is really interested in that piece of information. My impression is that it is simply taken for granted that each doctoral candidate has their share of reviewing experience, as it is expected they get some manuscripts forwarded by their supervisor for reviewing every now and then.</li>\n<li>Lastly, mirroring the above points, my impression is that reviewing papers is not one of the activities typically associated with getting credit in the first place. It is rather somewhere between the \"chores\" that someone has to do (and thus, it is understood that it is both fairer and more comfortable for everyone in the group to spread the workload somewhat evenly across the entire group) on the one hand and a good opportunity for expanding one's experience and thus training to improve one's reviewer skills on the other hand - come to think of it, in both aspects, quite similarly to fulfilling one's teaching duties.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Again, the above reflects my personal impression and is probably quite field-dependent (and maybe even a bit culture-dependent, as internal organisation of groups of researchers differs wildly around the globe).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 68402,
"author": "Coder",
"author_id": 53762,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53762",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is whole lot of benefits if you are reviewing the manuscript. Your supervisor is a well-known person and active in the field. So he got a paper to review. When you are reviewing the paper you will get the benefits like the following:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Writing style (claims, what to include, what to avoid while writing paper)</li>\n<li>How to give negative comments in positive way (although you have to spend some time on this stage)</li>\n<li>New methodologies</li>\n<li>If you have any confusion or doubts, you can always reach your supervisor for that purpose and learn many things.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p><em>Remember, its not always about getting credits. Its about learning something new everytime you do something.</em> Else the whole research world will not grow, given the fact that the PEER-REVIEWERS spend a lot of time for reviewing someone (unseen/unknown) author's works. However, view points might differ. But this is the positive things for me.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5662",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532/"
]
|
5,663 | <p>Tenured staff are <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/186/1033">virtually impossible to fire</a>, why is the urge to find funding so strong? For post-docs and other untentured scientific staff I can understand, for their job depends on it. For a tenured professor it would rather be the joy and honour of doing important research. Apart from a reduction in joy and honour, are there any consequences if a tenured professor fails to get grants?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5666,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In many departments, tenured professors can use bringing in external funds to the department as a means of \"buying\" their way out of some of their teaching and administrative commitments. Similarly, other departments might use additional committee assignments and teaching loads to \"punish\" people who <em>don't</em> bring in grants. They may also have less flexibility in selecting teaching assignments.</p>\n\n<p>In other countries, such as Germany, a long-term shortage in funding can lead to the consequence of a chair not being \"succeeded\" when the holder retires; in that case, the institute (equivalent to a US group) the professor is in charge of is wound down rather than finding a new leader for the group.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5672,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most tenured faculty enjoy research (else why would they take a job that requires it?) and most research costs money. In particular: Faculty who benefit from working with students (or postdocs, or staff) need money to pay them, and faculty whose research depends on specialized equipment or travel need money to pay for it.</p>\n\n<p>This is the carrot; @aeismail is describing the stick. I imagine both motivations can be found at every institution.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5674,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Tenure implies you're difficult to fire. It doesn't say anything about needing to pay you. @JeffE described @aeismail's answer as the stick, but there's a bigger one. Especially in soft money positions, a significant portion of your salary, much of the funding for your lab, etc. all come from grant funding. While they might not fire a tenured professor who isn't \"pulling their weight\" with grant funding, they may find themselves losing lab space to better funded or new faculty, not having the resources to maintain a functional research group, etc.</p>\n\n<p>As long as you're comfortable with you, your office, and whatever salary is hard money being the entirety of your research group, you don't need to ever find funding. But if you want more than that, the money has to come from somewhere.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5663",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033/"
]
|
5,673 | <p>I'll be teaching a graduate-level mathematically oriented class with probably less than 20 students. I have to grade the students (our system doesn't allow for pass-fail grading), and while I don't want to be overly fussy about the grades (this is after all advanced level material and mostly Ph.D students), I would like to provide some incentive structure so students will do the classwork and hopefully learn something in the process. </p>
<p>One possibility is "coarse-resolution" grading where in each homework, the possible grades are +, 0, -, where + denotes having done about 75% or more of the work, 0 is between 50 and 75%, and - is below 50%. </p>
<p>At the end of the semester, the number of +/0/- determines the grade, with "mostly +" getting an A, "mostly 0" getting a B, and mostly - getting a C. </p>
<p>Is this likely to be effective ? Is there something else I should do ? I'm open to the idea of not grading at all and giving out dummy grades, but I do think that people who put in effort should be rewarded in some way. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5675,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One approach is to have a number of clear learning objectives. For example: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><em>At the end of this course the student will be able to differentiate functions of a single variable.</em> </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Then for each of these provide a description of what it means to obtain each of the various grades available.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>F: <em>The student does not grasp anything about differentiation.</em><br>\n D: <em>The student is able to differentiate simple functions.</em><br>\n C: <em>The student is able to differentiate many functions, but has difficulty with composite functions.</em><br>\n B: <em>The student is able to differentiate most functions and employ the chain rule.</em><br>\n A: <em>The student is able to differentiate all functions and can apply first principles.</em><br>\n A+: <em>The student employs novel approaches to differentiation.</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Of course, you'd need to tailor these to your course and make them more precise than mine.</p>\n\n<p>The learning objectives and the descriptions of what each grade means can be given to the student. A course may have different learning objectives, each with their own description. Your assessment can be tailored to measure the learning objectives based on these criteria.</p>\n\n<p>The idea, apart from making your job of assessing more objective, is to replace scores by learning objectives, so ultimately the course will not be about scoring points, but learning.\nYou could even disassociate the grades from the learning objectives and replace them by <em>unsatisfactory</em>, <em>satisfactory</em>, <em>good</em>, <em>very good</em>, <em>excellent</em>, and <em>fantabulous</em>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5679,
"author": "A.Schulz",
"author_id": 1467,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1467",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I had mixed experiences with a three point grading scheme. </p>\n\n<p>On the positive side, grading is easier for you. Also you have very clear rules for who gets which grade. On the downside students tend to find the system unfair. The main concern was the following. When a student was able to solve, say 70% of the assignment correctly, he only gets the second highest grade. The complaint was that they solved 20% without getting credits for it. (I had a slightly different system, I think 1 point for 50% and 2 points for 80%). Let me add that this is not my point of view, since they also get the full score when they only solve 80%. So in the end these effects will cancel out. The next term I used a more granular system and giving up to 15 points per assignment. All students that took both classes preferred the 15 point system. For me it was not much difference (grading was done by TAs), so I stayed with the 15 point system.</p>\n\n<p>I think it depends very much on your students. The first time I had the 3 point grading at MIT and it worked great. In Germany I had these more negative experiences.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5680,
"author": "Ben Norris",
"author_id": 924,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/924",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You are describing a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_%28academic%29\">rubric</a>. Some rubrics are qualitative, using words like \"novice\", \"proficient\", and \"expert\" to delineate student achievement. Some have numerical values attached. Both need to be provided to the students at the beginning with a description of what each level of achievement looks like. </p>\n\n<p>For my upper level courses and my courses with large independent projects, I use a five-point rubric (technically six, since I can assign a Zero):</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>5 - Exemplary</li>\n<li>4 - Above Expectations</li>\n<li>3 - Meets Expectations</li>\n<li>2 - Below Expectations</li>\n<li>1 - Deficient</li>\n<li>0 - Absent, Missing, or Irrelevant</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>With the above descriptors, most students earn a 3 with good students earning a 4. A 5 is difficult to earn. However, since I provide my students with examples of each level, I give out very few marks of 2 and even fewer marks of 1. I reserve zero for when the student did not do what was asked, or turned in something else entirely. For example, if you ask for Problems 1, 7, 8, and 11-15 from Chapter 6, and the student turns in several problems from Chapter 5, that warrants a zero for not following directions. </p>\n\n<p>Now, you have a simple and rapid grading scheme that still has numerical information. You can average over all of a student's scores (or weight them or whatever) to then assign a final grade. For an entry level undergraduate class, maybe the following is appropriate:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>F</li>\n<li>D</li>\n<li>C</li>\n<li>B</li>\n<li>A</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>For an upper level undergraduate or a graduate level course, the expectations are higher (and the grading should reflect that, i.e. it should be hard to get a 4 or 5), the following might be appropriate:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>F</li>\n<li>C</li>\n<li>B</li>\n<li>A</li>\n<li>A+</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5719,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Why are you grading at all? Do you expect students to learn anything from your grading efforts, or only from attempting the problem on their own?</p>\n\n<p>If you intend to give your students feedback on how they did in their homework, then you will have all the information you need to produce a more accurate numeric grade. Giving detailed feedback can make the students feel that the quality of the work is important.</p>\n\n<p>If you are not going to pay much attention to the homework, and the three-level grading scheme reflects that you won't know enough to do more, how can you expect your students to care much more about the homework? If <em>you</em> care about the quality and accuracy of the homework, your students will. If you don't, well, you might induce some to, but you'll be fighting a losing battle.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5725,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The one seminar in which I put in most effort and most continuous work (and, not surprisingly, learned most) had as incentive not a grading scheme, but the following set of rules.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>all calculations were done during the seminar (tutor realized that we wouldn't/couldn't put in much effort at home - I found that true throughout my studies, but few seminars would take this into account).</p></li>\n<li><p>The work was handed out at the beginning and had to be handed to the tutor at the end of each seminar. He corrected it till the next seminar.</p></li>\n<li><p>The most important rule was: if all groups over the whole semester have at least X% (IIRC 80 %) correct, no written exam was necessary. <em>This was the incentive that kept us continuously working hard.</em><br>\nI think the required level needs some experience - our tutor probably had some decades of experience with this seminar when I took the course.</p></li>\n<li><p>We formed groups of 3 people at the beginning of the semester which did not change for the whole semester. The 80%-overall-rule makes these groups quite similar in expected performance: there are very good reasons why someone good should be in each group. And why the bad students not cluster together, so that the 80% cannot be reached...</p></li>\n<li><p>For each task, one of the group had to declare himself responsible. There was some rule, that everyone had to be responsible for roughly the same number of questions. And anyways, there were too many tasks for even the best students to solve within the available time frame.</p></li>\n<li><p>Usually it took the form that everyone started at \"his\" task, got the layout of the question and the rough scheme for solving. Then this was discussed in the group. Next step was actually doing the calculations, then explaining to the others. Then showing the result to the tutor, who'd accept the solution or point out mistakes. Then either get the next task, or help some group mate who was stuck (not to waste those precious 20% of \"allowed\" mistakes...). In between he went around and had a look that we were progressing with the calculations (I since realized that not needing a written exam is also a strong incentive for a tutor ;-) )</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This was just a pass/fail seminar, but I think the tutor could have given marks for everyone at the end at least as easily as any school teacher can. I think you'll get a very good idea of the level of understanding if you just listen to a few explanations. And it is far easier to make everyone explain things to just a group of a few fellow students than make them come to the blackboard.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5673",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346/"
]
|
5,676 | <p>I am an undergraduate student applying to grad schools this year.</p>
<p>I was recently told by my friend (who is already in a PhD program now) that I should consider underlining some key sentences in my SoP, and put them in bold font, since the admission committee most likely won't have the time to read every whole statement, and this would be a good way to catch their eyes on the key points I want to express. It can also expedite the reviewing process so in this sense it is also helpful to the admission committee.</p>
<p>I think this makes sense, but I am still a bit hesitant since I'm not sure if this would be viewed as a poor writing style. Would this be welcomed from the viewpoint of an admission committee?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5678,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If it's your opinion that your readers won't have time to read your whole document, you might want to consider adding an executive summary at the top of your document. This would take the form of a short paragraph which essentially includes all the key phrases or sentences that you would otherwise have highlighted in bold font throughout your document.</p>\n\n<p>If you make your summary pithy, punchy and exciting, you are more likely to entice your reader to read through the remainder of the document.</p>\n\n<p>One might indeed say that highlighting key phrases throughout your summary is a touch lazy. I wrote a similar document and went through and highlighted key phrases, just as you are considering. Then I wrote an executive summary section as the first paragraph, reusing or paraphrasing the key points. I removed the text formatting in the main text body, rewriting the phrases relating to the key points given in the summary to avoid repeating them word for word. To my mind, the result looked more professional and read much better.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5682,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>No</strong>. Never underline anything. Underlining is left over from typewriters. It instructs the typesetter to put things in italics. Nowadays, you should put things in italics yourself.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5676",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/676/"
]
|
5,683 | <p>I have a Bachelor's in EE and Master's in Automation and 3 years experience, including 2 in software development. For me, an academic career would be both more meaningful and professionally rewarding in its flexibility. </p>
<p>I think someone with experience but without formal qualifications could teach a subject such as mechatronics well. </p>
<p>How I might switch to teaching mechatronics? Should I stay in industry for a few more years and then move straight to being a full-time professor? Or, should I work part-time for a lest prestigious college and try to progress incrementally?</p>
<p>Note:
I don't want to obtain a PhD. Rather, I'd prefer to obtain the necessary qualifications while part-time, while working as a professor.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5678,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If it's your opinion that your readers won't have time to read your whole document, you might want to consider adding an executive summary at the top of your document. This would take the form of a short paragraph which essentially includes all the key phrases or sentences that you would otherwise have highlighted in bold font throughout your document.</p>\n\n<p>If you make your summary pithy, punchy and exciting, you are more likely to entice your reader to read through the remainder of the document.</p>\n\n<p>One might indeed say that highlighting key phrases throughout your summary is a touch lazy. I wrote a similar document and went through and highlighted key phrases, just as you are considering. Then I wrote an executive summary section as the first paragraph, reusing or paraphrasing the key points. I removed the text formatting in the main text body, rewriting the phrases relating to the key points given in the summary to avoid repeating them word for word. To my mind, the result looked more professional and read much better.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5682,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>No</strong>. Never underline anything. Underlining is left over from typewriters. It instructs the typesetter to put things in italics. Nowadays, you should put things in italics yourself.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5683",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4298/"
]
|
5,686 | <p>I am looking for any indication of how long should it take to write, let's say, a paragraph, for a non-native English speaker (with a good knowledge of English). I know that for the writing process of a paper or essay one should take in account also the time required for research and mind-mapping, which is not easily quantifiable. I am interested in some reference for the time needed to translate the mind map to a paragraph. The only time indication I found was in <a href="http://www.scripps.edu/milligan/em-journal/pdf/Scientific_Writing.pdf">http://www.scripps.edu/milligan/em-journal/pdf/Scientific_Writing.pdf</a> (e.g Introduction: 3 days) , but the author clarifies that it is a personal opinion, and anyway it includes the mindmapping procedure. I can spend half an hour writing and editing a couple of sentences (already knowing which concept I need to express), how can I know if this time it's abnormous? </p>
<p>(meta: Feel free to move to personalproductivity if it's the case, I was unsure but then I thought of posting in academia because I am specifically talking about scientific writing) </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5690,
"author": "Jo Jordan",
"author_id": 4304,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4304",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>That's a brilliant link - thanks. And you have a good question that worries lots of people. I wrote an answer to a similar question on my blog at <a href=\"http://scholarwriter.com/news/thu-22112012-1054/how-much-can-i-realistically-write-one-hour\" rel=\"nofollow\">ScholarWriter</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I believe that most people would say that you are jumping to the editing task far too soon. </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Decide on your outline - are you writing a narrative, an exposition, a persuasive piece or a scientific paper - and decide what each section is for. </li>\n<li>Do your research and add the \"facts and figures\" for each section getting as specific as each paragraph.</li>\n<li>Then write.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Edit your work the following day. Don't try to \"polish\" and write at the same time. Equally writing is much easier if you know exactly what you are trying to convey and have the correct information in front of you.</p>\n\n<p>There is one other use for writing, though - to reveal connections and insights. As much as you know what you think when you say it, you know what it is possible to think when you write it. Often you only realize what is your main point after you have written a paragraph or section. So you go back to the beginning to structure everything again. Though that is a lot of extra work, in this situation you are pleased that to do work because now you are so clear about what you are trying to convey and which information it is important to include.</p>\n\n<p>Hope this helps - and good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5703,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a teacher who has taught many non-native speakers subjects in English, I am quite confident when I say that the time will vary by the person. Some people are quite strong and write faster (and better) than some native speakers but others write very, very slowly.</p>\n\n<p>To have anything meaningful, there must be some quantifiable tie back to English level (what does 'good knowledge of English' mean to you? <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IELTS#Band_scale\" rel=\"nofollow\">IELTS 8</a>?)</p>\n\n<p>It seems you are interesting to know if you are performing well enough compared to some standard, but we would first need the standard (and it does look like you're trying to find the standard) and that standard must take into account more than just the information you've provided (how much experience do you have writing in general? how good is your English? what kind of writing are you doing?).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 13663,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Estimating the time to \"write\" a paragraph is hard since the paragraph isn't really done until you submit it. There can be many revisions before a paragraph is submitted, many of which have nothing to do with the paragraph itself (i.e., something else changed).</p>\n\n<p>In my field conference abstracts are small (250 word), one-off, self-contained paragraphs. In my time estimates I assume that during the writing you are not collecting new data or conducting new analyses and that you understand the data and analysis that you have already completed. Obviously collecting data and understanding it can take huge amounts of time.</p>\n\n<p>Grad students, both from observations and personal experience, take about 14 hours to write an abstract with it taking about 8 hours for the first draft, 4 hours to revise based on feedback from co-authors, and 2 hours to finalize after a second round of feedback. Post-docs go faster taking about 6 hours for the first draft and 2 hours to revise and finalize. They tend to only need one round of feedback. PIs go the fastest with about 4 hours to write and 15 minutes to revise based on feedback. Getting the feedback from co-authors takes times, but I don't consider that part of the writing process. There are a few people out there that can write beautiful technical prose at a rate of 500 words an hour, but they are the exception and not the rule.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5686",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1596/"
]
|
5,687 | <p>I am an Computer Science undergraduate student and I am looking for my potential mentor for my PhD study. I guess besides research interest, personality etc., h-index is an important factor one should consider. So I wonder whether there is a way to find out about the precise h-index of an arbitral author.</p>
<p>I've been using <a href="http://academic.research.microsoft.com/">Microsoft Academic Search</a>. It's cool, it often finds the right person and gives you his/her h-index. However, I believe that this tool has <strong>underestimated</strong> the h-index of many researchers. (I think so because I've tried typing in some very famous professors' names and the h-index that Microsoft gives is about 10~20 lower than the actually value).</p>
<p>Moreover, since I am mostly interested in Human-Computer Interaction so I am also referring to <a href="http://hcibib.org/authors">ACM SIGCHI's Most Frequent Authors Page</a>. The page is awesome: it gives you the most brilliant professors ranked by their number of publications. However, I think h-index is a better metric than the number of publications alone.</p>
<p>I could, of course, go to the professors' websites and read their publication list. But I want to know whether there is a better, more efficient way of finding h-index.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5689,
"author": "ElCid",
"author_id": 1520,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1520",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>the h-index is an interesting measure, but it changes all the times</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>microsoft search does it</li>\n<li>Google author search does it (see an example <a href=\"http://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=cluDFKcAAAAJ&hl=en\">here</a>)</li>\n<li>the freely available tool <a href=\"http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm#download\">PoP</a> does it</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>you could try and triangulate the numbers that you get and find the average, as a possible solution</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5700,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>h-index</em> is not an important factor to consider potential supervisors rather recent projects and publications count more for me. Also, <em>h-index</em> <strong>might misguide you</strong> (it has its limitations).<br>\nFor example, if a new professor published 10 articles each cited at least 200 times the h-index will be only 10 ! .. Also, old researchers have advantage over young ones. </p>\n\n<p>Returning to the question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>So I wonder whether there is a way to find out about the precise h-index of an arbitral author</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I am not <em>aware</em> of any engine/program gives a precise <em>h-index</em>. There is no precise h-index out there and finding a mechanism to find it is an interesting work..</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5705,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>There is <em>no such thing</em> as \"the precise h-index\".</strong></p>\n\n<p>The h-index is defined as the largest integer h such that at least h of the author's publications have at least h citations each. But what's a publication? Do first-author publications carry more weight? Do ArXiv, technical report, conference, and journal versions of the \"same\" paper (all of which may have citations) count as four papers or one? Or does it depend on the difference in content between versions? (How do you measure that difference?) Does the quality of the venue matter? If so, which venues count as \"real\" publications? Do survey articles count? Popular science articles? Blog posts? StackExchange questions?* Do self-citations count? If so, does a citation to a paper by X and Y, in a paper by Y and Z, count toward X's h-index? How much (and who) are you willing to pay to make sure you've <em>really</em> counted <strong>every</strong> citation to <strong>every</strong> publication?</p>\n\n<p>The different sources of the h-index make different well-reasoned decisions about each of these issues, none of which make sense for ALL areas, even within computer science.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><em>I think h-index is a better metric than the number of publications alone.</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is a pretty low standard. You can do better.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>*At least one of my StackExchange questions has more citations than at least one of my papers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5709,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I believe for the UK's upcoming 2014 REF exercise the bibliometrics are based on the <a href=\"http://www.scopus.com/home.url\" rel=\"nofollow\">Scopus</a> database (http://www.ref.ac.uk/background/bibliometrics/). This likely has to do with both Elsevier political power and the quality of the database.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5687",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/773/"
]
|
5,692 | <p>I have just found that a student has posted one of their assignment questions on a forum and is seeking help in getting a solution.</p>
<p>I have a good idea who the student is, but no definitive proof. How would you handle this situation?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5693,
"author": "Ben Norris",
"author_id": 924,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/924",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Identify the offline equivalent of the observed behavior, and then act as you would normally. Remember, that the burden of proof for academic dishonesty likely resides with you. This includes verifying that the poster is indeed the student you accuse.</p>\n\n<p>I find this situation to be pretty common: <a href=\"https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/2753/how-to-derive-partial-gas-equation\">https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/2753/how-to-derive-partial-gas-equation</a>. Most stackexchanges have a <a href=\"https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/homework\">homework</a> policy. I would consider homework questions posted to stackexchanges to be no worse than asking students who have taken the course before you or asking another professor. How you deal with it is up to you.</p>\n\n<p>What would your response be if you saw a student collaborating on the problem in a study group? How do you respond if you find out that your student asked another instructor or a grad student in your department for help? If you learn the student worked on that problem with his/her tutor? If the student looked up the answer in the textbook or the solutions manual? All of these are common and to varying degrees accepted (if not liked). </p>\n\n<p>I would guess your irritation over this is somewhere more than the student asking one of your colleagues (who being nice will actually do the problem) and somewhat less than the student stealing another student's answer. Identify the offline equivalent, and then behave as you would normally. </p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT</strong> - I missed the last part of the question. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I have a good idea who the student is, but no definitive proof. How would you handle this situation?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you do not have proof, then suck it up and let it go - this time. Next time put something in your syllabus. Either write a pretty severe sounding policy that exists to deter the behavior (because your policy will be basically unenforceable), or write harder questions and encourage them to use online forums with the caveat that they document all of their interaction. The second option shifts the burden of good behavior to your students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 30015,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><b>This is an answer to <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/30008/what-is-the-best-strategy-to-deal-with-a-situation-where-a-student-asks-all-of-h\">this question</a>. The question was closed as a duplicate while I was typing my answer.</b></p>\n\n<p>This is a really key issue for university courses assigning homework. In my opinion it cannot be satisfactorily addressed after the fact. One has to design the homework and the grading scheme with the knowledge that students can easily, freely and virtually immediately get expert-level homework help online. Here are some ways that I have adjusted to this reality.</p>\n\n<p>1) I no longer assign take-home exams in undergraduate courses. I had a bad experience with this ten years ago as a postdoc at McGill University, and the internet was not then what it is now. It only takes one or two students to cheat and get the highest grades on an exam for the entire class to feel resentful. </p>\n\n<p>2) I think very carefully about the percentage to which homework contributes to the course grade. If you want students to do the homework, then making it less than 10% typically (depending upon your grading system, of course) discourages it. I think that most undergraduate-level STEM courses should have at least one midterm and an in-class final and that the midterms and the final should contribute at least 60% of the course grade. </p>\n\n<p>3) I grade -- or, if I'm lucky, instruct the grader to grade -- homework in a generous way which emphasizes effort and participation. If the majority of the course grade is coming from in-class exams, the purpose of the homework is to get practice, and if someone is writing good-faith solutions to most of the problems then they are getting the practice you want. When students feel like their inability to solve difficult homework problems is hurting their course grade, it is very tempting for them to seek outside help (I find this very understandable). </p>\n\n<p>4) I allow students to get some level of outside assistance on their homework -- i.e., don't regard each problem set as a separate take-home exam -- but insist that they document the aid that they got in an assiduous way. If I get students in the habit of saying <em>something</em> about the help that they got, then it feels much more like lying for them to all of a sudden totally omit reference to the fact that they typed their questions in to a stackexchange site. Also, be clear about what kind of help is allowed. Perhaps for instance you are okay with them looking through the internet but not asking your specific homework problems on the internet: if so, say so.</p>\n\n<p>5) If I don't want students to be able to look up the solutions to homework problems easily (beyond say the freshman/sophomore level) then I make sure to write my own problems and not simply assign problems from a course text. Writing distinctive problems also makes it easier to track whether my problems are being asked on the internet.</p>\n\n<p>6) I realize that how much independence to spend in doing one's homework is, within an agreed upon tolerance, a decision that individual students have to make for themselves. In the OP's case homework is worth only 10% of the grade, it does not sound very onerous, and the OP spends class time discussing the homework. In this case the old adage that a student who is not doing the homework independently is \"only cheating himself\" seems to be largely true. The trick is to design the homework and the course so that you feel that the students who are punting too much of their homework to the internet are indeed merely missing out on educational opportunities...and not getting better final grades than those who do most or all of the homework on their own.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 30016,
"author": "Compass",
"author_id": 22013,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22013",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<h2>Analysis of the Issue raised in <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/30008/what-is-the-best-strategy-to-deal-with-a-situation-where-a-student-asks-all-of-h\">this question</a></h2>\n<p>I thought about this a bit over lunch and came to a realization that we may be looking at this problem from the wrong direction.</p>\n<p>Premise: A student is getting assistance for homework from an online forum.</p>\n<p>Now, the internet may have made this process easier, but it certainly existed before online forums. The only difference now is that the online forum shows a proven record that a student is doing it.</p>\n<p>Before the internet was invented, I'm pretty sure people in school asked friends for help even when it was explicitly stated that homework was to be personal work. Maybe some students paid people to do their homework. Whatever the case, that issue would be private to the professor's view, because the agreement would never move beyond those two people.</p>\n<p>In this case, we have the internet indicating that such an event actually took place. If this took place on a phone, or in a conversation between two students, we wouldn't have noticed it, but the transgression would still have happened.</p>\n<p>So the internet is facilitating the aspect of "academic dishonesty" and providing it in public view.</p>\n<p>We can't ban reasonably students from using the internet, nor can we lock them up outside of class to do homework, so there is no real way to regulate what they choose to do outside of class.</p>\n<p>As a result, the only practical way to determine whether homework is a student's work is to observe their progress in class.</p>\n<h2>Possible Solutions</h2>\n<h3>Surprise Quiz</h3>\n<p>As I suggested before, a surprise quiz with the same questions will likely help you determine who is learning and who is not. Collect the homework, and devote 5 minutes of the class to solving one of the problems. maybe an easier one. People who know what they're studying will be able to answer this, and you lose a minimal amount of studying time. You only have to do this once or twice. After that, the possibility of another surprise quiz will likely convince the person to actually learn the material.</p>\n<h3>Small Groups</h3>\n<p>Have students work in small groups on their homework. Students working with each other may frown upon use of Stack Exchange. By encouraging class collaboration, you can reduce the amount of reliance on the Internet, because then at least you know one of the people in the group is teaching the others.</p>\n<h3>Unique Homework for Unique People</h3>\n<p>This is more of a "finding the person" approach rather than discouraging. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of this strategy as it is really a witch hunt technique, but it is a possibility that you may wish to consider if nothing else works.</p>\n<p>You can assign different people in the class different homework questions. Sort by name or whatever. Maybe a set of 15 questions where each person in your class has a unique subset of questions. This will help you identify the person in question if they post their unique subset to the StackExchange. I would recommend you use this information to <em>gently</em> remind the person that what they're doing is not in the spirit of the course, and to not do so in the future.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 30027,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've started assigning homework a couple of years ago, and my policy is the following:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Homework consists of one or two exercises similar to those that students will find at the exam.</li>\n<li>Homework is graded as though it were a real exam exercise, but homework grades are just informative, that is, they do not enter in the calculation of the final grade. The aim of the homework is just to allow the students to have additional practice and to understand how I grade.</li>\n<li>Homework is optional. In this way, non-motivated students can avoid searching the internet for help.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>In the few occasions in which I required to write lab reports, their marks contributed for at most 10% of the final grade; in case of cheating (to my judgement), the contribution is zeroed.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 74885,
"author": "Fred.A",
"author_id": 60108,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/60108",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my opinion there is nothing wrong with posting a question online unless it specifically says / suggests that others should do the work for the student.</p>\n\n<p>If you are that concerned about this then you should reconsider the format of your exam to reduce this risk.</p>\n\n<p>Your only option would be to show that the student colluded or plagiarised the work which I believe are concepts well understood in academia.</p>\n\n<p>For example if the students relatives or associates in life are an expert(s) on the topic in question question, how would you know if the work is the student's or not. </p>\n\n<p>Therefore you will need to wait until the work is submitted to decide what to do next.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 75997,
"author": "mihaiconst",
"author_id": 60281,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/60281",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Depending on the subject of your course, actually going online to find answers should be something you encourage, especially in engineering. If at the end of the day the student understands what you wanted to teach him, then your goal has been achieved, and you test that through examination. And in many fields, it is impossible to know everything anyway, this is why we have books and other data storage methods. Your course will probably be insignificant in the long run anyway, but their ability to quickly find working answers on the internet is a valuable skill they will actually need when joining a workforce. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5692",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424/"
]
|
5,694 | <p>Our advisor is getting married over winter break. None of us are super close to him and the wedding is going to be a very private event that none of us are invited to.</p>
<p>Should all of us (his graduate students) chip in for a wedding gift for him? </p>
<p>What is the etiquette for this?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5695,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I laughed here; can't imagine my supervisor getting married. It is just nice to see the supervisor involving in life.. </p>\n\n<p>For the question, <em>Why not?</em> It is a big day for your supervisor. Just make sure the gift come from <em>group of students</em> not only one student. If you missed the first day after his return (assuming he's going on vacation for marriage), then no need for a gift. Either ways, a verbal congratulations is a must here :) </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5699,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You must do something. Building social relationships with your work colleagues is really important. If other students are organizing the collection and suggesting an amount, I would give that much. If they are organizing the collection, but not suggesting an amount, I would chip in two beers worth of cash. In some cultures two beers will be on the generous side, while in other cultures it will be on the cheap side. It won't be out of place in any culture. If no one is organizing the collection and you want to take charge, then I would suggest asking people to chip in one beer worth of money (all students should be able to afford this). If no one is organizing a collection and you don't want to take charge, go out and buy a card and get the other students to sign it.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5694",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4318/"
]
|
5,696 | <p>I'm currently a post doc in theoretical computer science and I have a double digit number of conference publications, about half of which are at so called "tier 1" conferences (SODA,STOC,...). Unfortunately I only have 1 journal publication so far, mainly due to coauthors dragging their feet. </p>
<p>Will the lack of journal publications have a great impact when applying for a faculty job in cs-theory at some point, and is it advisable to try to up this number before applying? Or is this fully compensated by having sufficiently many conference papers?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5697,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>CS people know that CS conferences count for more than conferences do in other fields, and although they count a little less than journals in CS, this should not be a problem. Of course there are still rankings between the various forums. </p>\n\n<p>The fact that CS rank conferences higher than other disciplines only becomes a problem if you are compared against non-CS people, which often happens when competing for funding and promotions, in my experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5698,
"author": "A.Schulz",
"author_id": 1467,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1467",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think this will be a problem for your first faculty position. In TCS people will appreciate it if you publish journal versions of your conference proceedings. However nobody will expect, that you will do this immediately. Also, imho, having SODA/STOC and FOCS publications is what counts. Other things (teaching experience, grants, making a journal publications out of your conference contributions) are important but secondary criteria. </p>\n\n<p>It is likely that many non-theory CS people are in the hiring committee. In other fields of CS journal publications count even less. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18434,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since this was a <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/18354/7746\">point of discussion on my answer</a> here, I felt this might be a good place to offer an extended analysis (since it also serves as an answer to the current question).</p>\n\n<p>I had stated:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>While in some fields, conference papers are akin to talk abstracts, in areas like computer science, conference papers can be very meaty and there is a high churn of papers in conferences. Top conferences can have acceptance rates around 10%, and as such, A+ conference papers are often held in high regard within the community: these venues are far more competitive than many of the good journals. Still, even in the CS area, metric-wise (for hiring, positions, funding, etc.), journals will often still count for more than a conference following the norm in other academic fields.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>To which Suresh countered:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>the last line of the answer is just not true at all.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>and later:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It's based on my experiences (at different levels) evaluating work and people, and watching how others do it, and how people talk about research work. It's not an absolute statement, but CS departments have spent many years in battles with deans convincing them that conferences count for more than journals.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>And JeffE:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>\"even in the CS area, metric-wise (for hiring, positions, funding, etc.), journals will often still count for more than a conference\" — Speaking as the chair of the faculty recruiting committee in a top-5 CS department: This is simply incorrect. I don't recall anyone on my committee ever pointing out a CS journal paper in any junior candidate's CV. (For interdisciplinary folks, it's important for research to be published in journals in the other area: Biology research in biology journals, for example.) </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is counter to my own experience in applying for jobs, and in my current department, where journal papers are held in higher esteem. I know there are Computer Science Departments with their own by-laws and policies whereby conferences can be given as much weight as journals, but this is why I said \"often\", not \"always\". It is also my experience that such departments tend to be the more famous ones: the ones with enough clout to have their own policies. Smaller/less-well-known departments (which are by their nature more numerous) often have to abide by wider faculty/collegial policy.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, to try to put some meat into the answer, I tried Googling for some tenure-track and hiring criteria in Computer Science. I'll pick out relevant quotes:</p>\n\n<p>1) <a href=\"http://www.uvm.edu/~cems/cs/RPT/RPT-TTT.shtml\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Department of Computer Science at the University of Vermont: Guidelines for Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Publication of refereed articles in both journals and conferences is very important; in many areas of computer science, publication in top-tier conferences is considered as prestigious as publication in top journals. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>2) <a href=\"http://www.academic.umn.edu/provost/faculty/tenure/pdf/IT/7-12CSE.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Minnesota: Criteria for Promotion and Tenure</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>A 1994 NRC Committee on Academic Careers for Experimental Computer Science stated “The requirements for good research and engineering in experimental computer science and engineering (ECSE) are different from those of many other academic disciplines” and then added “Because conferences are the vehicle of choice in ECSE for the dissemination of research, well-refereed conference proceedings (as well as work published in refereed private journals) should be given as much weight as archival journal articles in evaluating a candidate's research portfolio for promotion and tenure”. Certain proceedings articles should be weighted equally or even more heavily than archival journal articles when evaluating the candidate's research contributions</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>3) <a href=\"https://www.cs.duke.edu/department/resources/bylaws.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Duke University, Computer Science Department, By-Laws</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>[...] recognising the important role played by conferences, book chapters, and other non-journal research documents.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>4) <a href=\"http://jobs.zeit.de/jobs/stockholm_tenure-track_position_assistant_professorship_96136.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">University of Stockholm: Tenure-Track Position, Department of Computer Science</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The quality of the research should be documented by presentations at well-established conferences and publications in high quality international journals and conferences.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>5) <a href=\"http://compsci.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/promotion-tenure\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Computer Science Department: Appalachian State University: Criteria for Promotions and Tenure</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Scholarly Activity</p>\n \n <p>Examples of Indicators of Excellent Performance</p>\n \n <ol>\n <li>Publishes an article in a refereed journal.</li>\n <li>Publishes a textbook.\n [nothing about conferences]</li>\n </ol>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>6) <a href=\"http://www.wright.edu/curriculum-and-instruction/college-and-department-bylaws/department-of-computer-science-engineering-bylaws\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Wright State University, Department of Computer Science By-Laws</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Primary indications of quality normally include, but are not limited to, the following:</p>\n \n <ul>\n <li>publication of research results and of extended scientific and engineering reviews in peer-refereed journals of acknowledge stature (particularly those of scholarly professional societies such as the ACM and IEEE);</li>\n <li>...</li>\n </ul>\n \n <p>Secondary indications of quality include, but are not limited to, the following:</p>\n \n <ul>\n <li>refereed conference proceedings;</li>\n <li>...</li>\n </ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The first two departments explicitly state that conferences can be considered as highly as journals, the next two state that conferences will be considered alongside journals without any explicit ranking, and the last two state that conferences count less than journals.</p>\n\n<p>These are six examples, and are biased due to having \"Computer Science\" in the title, meaning that they are CS-specific criteria (whereas I suspect many smaller departments would fall under more generic by-laws).</p>\n\n<p>Though many CS departments (esp. the more prestigious ones) have won the battle of giving conference papers their due weight, it is still my understanding that other departments have not, and must fall in-tow with faculty/collegial guidelines.</p>\n\n<p>So to answer this question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Journal vs conference publications when looking for a job in in computer science</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It depends. Though I may not have fully substantiated this here with only two anecdotes, I still hold by the position that in many CS departments (particularly smaller departments), journal articles <em>often</em> (not <em>always</em>) count for more than conference papers by merit of simply being journal articles. </p>\n\n<p>(<a href=\"http://tagide.com/blog/2013/04/conferences-vs-journals-the-hidden-assumptions/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Some related discussion here</a>.)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5696",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4307/"
]
|
5,702 | <ol>
<li>In writing my thesis in geosciences I have a number of figures with a fair amount of text content. Is there some limit I should adhere to -- say for example max 5 lines -- before I should just write 'refer to text'? </li>
<li>A related question is where citations should go, especially in the case of several needed for one figure (e.g. a plot of n sets of data from n different sources). Again, is there some point where I should say refer to text for citations?</li>
</ol>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5704,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would imagine this may vary from field to field, but in the biological sciences the caption text in <em>journal</em> publications is often verbose to the point of absurdity. That being said, I would simply use common sense; If the description takes more than a paragraph, you should definitely \"refer to text\". Generally speaking, the caption is simply a textual guide as to how to read the plot, with (maybe) a sentence drawing the reader's attention to a particular feature of the plot. It should mostly <em>describe</em> the plot, and only sparingly <em>discuss</em> it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5722,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An expert in the field should be able to understand most of the content of the figure from the figure and caption alone. The caption should be long enough to admit this, but no longer. If your captions seem to need to be pages long, then you need to work on making your figure adhere better to standards in the field or to be intuitively clearer.</p>\n\n<p>If you run out of time to make it comprehensible, keep the caption comfortably smaller than the figure itself; having a tiny figure with a huge block of text just looks wrong. It takes a long time to make really clear figures, but you can at least get the superficial style right quickly enough.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5702",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1030/"
]
|
5,711 | <p>After having written a manuscript and formatted it to the publishers specifications, are there any additional things you do before submitting it (or right after submitting it) that make the review process easier. For example, for journals that I know the approximate time it takes to review, I make a note in my diary to check on the manuscript around that time. I also print out a hard copy and move the digital files into my lab notebook. Are there other things that I should be doing?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5712,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Pat yourself on the back, put the manuscript in a drawer, put it out of your mind, and move on to the next thing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5713,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is of utmost importance that, immediately after the submission of the manuscript, you bake a cake and offer it to your co-workers. You might also want to invite close family and others who have indirectly suffered from your hard work. Invite all co-authors that are close enough to reasonably travel to your place and celebrate!</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/yJKml.jpg\" alt=\"Cake!\">\n<sup>Picture from <a href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pound_layer_cake.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Wikimedia commons</a>, user <em>Scheinwerfermann</em>.</sup></p>\n\n<p>Otherwise, you don't need to do anything. That's the nice thing about submission: from there on, everything will happen automatically. Reviews, proofs, etc.: everything that comes back comes with a deadline, which means you will do it. Until submission, you can postpone things indefinitely. After submission, you can't.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5721,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Relax for a bit.</p>\n\n<p>Also, pretend you're a reviewer and ask yourself if there's a really obvious question to ask (control experiment, comparison with another method, etc.). If so, maybe you want to get started on it before the reviews come back, so the turnaround is faster then. But send it out first, then relax, and <em>then</em> get to work on the obvious experiment.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5754,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Upload your manuscript to the <a href=\"http://arxiv.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">arXiv</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Note: you should check <a href=\"http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Romeo website</a> to make sure that the journal you're submitting to won't object to this.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5755,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Send it for approval to all co-authors</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Maybe this sounds obvious, but there are so many examples of people breaking this rule in either small (“they read the penultimate version two days ago”) or very big way (there are many examples of people actually learning when the paper is published that they are a co-author), that I think it is good to state.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5756,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Putting together also some advice from the previous answers, here is my suggested checklist:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Run a spellchecker :)</li>\n<li>Prepare a cover letter. If the manuscript has a previous history (e.g., it is a modification of a rejected papers; overlaps partially with a conference proceeding), you should state it. Some may want to suggest possible referees in the cover letter; I find it ethically dubious, so I never do it. In case, you may want to suggest referees to <em>avoid</em>. (maybe we should have a separate question on this point). </li>\n<li>submit a preprint, either at your institute or on arXiv, or at least think about it. Check the terms of the journal you are submitting to (<a href=\"http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeoinfo.html\">this</a> is a great resource) to make sure you can; often the submission is the best moment to do it, since the journal can have no reasonable copyright claim on what happened before it.</li>\n<li>Even if you don't submit a preprint, make a backup copy of the .tex and .pdf files. If you use source control, tag the latest version as \"submitted\". This way it will be easier to recover that exact version when the referee report mentions \"line 4 on page 2\".</li>\n<li>Send a copy to your co-authors, for backup and self-archiving.</li>\n<li>Relax and celebrate.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>You speak about applying the journal style in the manuscript; I suggest <em>not</em> to do it at this point. Referees won't care; it is really needed only after the manuscript is accepted, or if an over-zealous editor asks you to do it. You might spend lots of time without reason, resizing figures and line-breaking formulas that will be dropped after the referee comments.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5772,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to all the other excellent suggestions I would like to add something. When you submitted your paper you could invest some time in ordering your files/notes/scripts. Make sure they have a logical structure, enabling you to easily start working on the paper again when the reviews come back. Especially scripts that you use to process data and generate figures can be hard to understand if they are messy, e.g how did I generate figure 3. Ofcourse, it is much better to organize your files/notes/scripts during writing the paper. But if you have not been disciplined (busy, busy), this is a very good time to correct that mistake as everything is still fresh in your memory.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5711",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929/"
]
|
5,716 | <p>I am no longer affiliated with a University. In the instance that I publish a paper (co-author or otherwise), <strong>is it appropriate for me to e-mail my old University and ask them for a staff e-mail?</strong> This journal is highly ranked. I don't know how the University rankings work so maybe they will look favorably upon this if more publications under that University's name means a higher ranking expectation. </p>
<p>I used to have a staff e-mail but they destroyed it when my contract terminated. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5726,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'd say whether asking is appropriate depends on whether the paper is still related to what you did at that university.</p>\n\n<p>Whether the university gives you such an email address is quite a different question. My experience is: probably not. </p>\n\n<p>That is, when I moved to my new institute I asked whether I could have a <code>.forward</code> to my new institute for some time. This was not possible, not even with the prof's statement that he would like this, too (the address got prolonged another 6 months, then it was deleted).<br>\nThe reason for asking was that I wrote a software at my old university and published it with that email address. So it would have been quite in the interest of the old university to stay associated with the software. </p>\n\n<p>I'd think re-activation of an already deleted account is even less probable.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 9709,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There's nothing stopping you asking for your staff email to be retained. You've lost nothing by asking. In particular, some universities have various forms of affiliate academics, which may allow you to maintain an email. And as you say, if you make the case that this is needed for a publication, then this may add an incentive to approve the request.</p>\n\n<p>More broadly, your affiliation for a publication is distinct from your email address on a publication. Thus, if you still felt it was appropriate you could still put your former university down as the affiliation, while using a different contact email address.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5716",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,717 | <p>Suppose that I've written 10 academic papers. Which CV is the best for academic appointments?</p>
<ul>
<li><p>5 publications in mid-high ranked journals, 5 in low ranked (but nevertheless peer-reviewed) journals.</p></li>
<li><p>5 publications in mid-high ranked journals, 5 working papers that you disclose on your CV and publish on your website/University profile (assume that these could have been published in low-ranked journals but you chose not to).</p></li>
<li><p>5 publications in mid-high ranked journals, 5 papers that you've written that you file draw away when you figure out they you're not going to be able to publish them in a top quality journal (assume that these could have been published in low-ranked journals but you chose not to).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The third dot-point may be <em>unethical</em>, I'm not sure.</p>
<p>Feel free to play with the definition of "mid-high ranked" and "low ranked" in your response.</p>
<p>Feel free to do a scenario analysis where you consider PhD -> postdoc/assistant prof, postdoc/assistant prof -> tenure as separate cases requiring different analysis.</p>
<p>FYI this is for economics/finance/statistics, but also feel free to talk about your own areas where you've had the experience.</p>
<p>I started wondering about this when I came across some extremely high quality working papers that aren't published and that have hundreds of citations. This makes me suspect that the 1st option is not optimal.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5718,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>the 'working paper' notion in economics appears unique to that area, so I can't comment on that. The problem with your phrasing though is that it ignores quality issues. Assuming therefore, that the 10 papers are fixed, and the only question is which of the three options to use, then the answer is probably (1). </p>\n\n<p>For people who want to know about the work, either of (1) and (2) are fine, and (3) makes little sense (I also don't understand why that would be viewed as unethical). but even then, there's some low-quality non-zero positive information associated with publication in a journal the reader hasn't heard of.</p>\n\n<p>For people who prefer to look at CVs to infer quality, then (1) is superior to (2) (again (3) doesn't make sense). </p>\n\n<p>One way in which (2) is superior to (1) is if you're hoping that you get the benefit of the doubt for unpublished work that has no \"quality signal\" like the name of the venue it appears in. This is unlikely to happen unless you're in an area where it's common to have unpublished manuscripts circulating and valued. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 163140,
"author": "Collega",
"author_id": 124810,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/124810",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My take is that yes metrics count but people often overlook the kind of engagement (and, often the citations) that you get from <em>relevance</em> over <em>ranking</em>. Personally I would consider:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>The relative <strong>rating or impact factor</strong> of the journal compared with others relevant to the same field; <em>and</em></li>\n<li>The <strong>relevance</strong> of your material to what the journal typically publishes and their audience.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>The <strong>citations you are likely to get</strong> will be influenced by both the profile of the journal and the relevance of the material to its readership, and at the end of the day its citations that boost your H Index, not necessarily the prestige of the outlet alone.</p>\n<p>Its therefore perfectly feasible (and sensible) to publish material in a 'lower ranked' journal if the research you are looking to publish <strong>has greater relevance</strong> for that audience.</p>\n<p>BUT - if the research in question is genuinely only a <strong>1-shot-at-goal</strong> only situation when it comes to publication - then you would usually be inclined to go for the highest rated journal that you can as these outlets can be very selective.</p>\n<p>Be aware however that, for better or worse, most academics will now '<strong>salami slice</strong>' the output from their research, or different aspects of it, for different outlets. This is not always a bad thing (and may not actually constitute 'salami slicing'). For example, a paper emphasising theoretical or methodological aspects to the research may go to a different outlet to one that is more applied or gives greater emphasis to context, findings or implications in practice.</p>\n<p>This final point does however flag that if you are only ever publishing in one journal it does convey a relatively narrow focus in terms of how you convey the relevance of your research and your willingness to engage a broader audience even if that journal is highly ranked.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5717",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,724 | <p>I studied math and economics at a poorly ranked university, and I will graduate in the near future. I have a position lined up at a prestigious, data-heavy research institution, where I'll work with numerous economists for a few years before applying to top PhD programs (Berkeley, Chicago, MIT, Harvard, etc.) I took two courses in analysis and did well, although per the quality of my institution, the courses were not challenging. </p>
<p>I also worked as a research assistant and conducted self-guided researched (not published outside my university), so I have several professors willing to write detailed recommendations for me. Apart from a few hiccups in non math/econ courses, my grades are perfect. </p>
<p>Will the fact that my undergraduate degree comes from an unranked institution affect my chances of attending a top PhD program? Will it affect my chances even though my experience after undergrad should speak in my favor?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5762,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As the commenters have pointed out, a lot will depend on your ability to get good letters of recommendation. However, there is an important issue to note: a good letter of recommendation does <strong>not</strong> mean the same thing as \"a letter from someone famous.\" You can get a letter of recommendation from a big name that is completely useless, if it doesn't provide any real information of value about the candidate. </p>\n\n<p>Instead, what you want are people who can testify that you are a good student, and show evidence that you can become a good researcher. Since you have excellent records, and are working with a research group before applying to graduate school, I think you have the right groundwork for getting good letters. To make sure that you do so, you'll want to meet with the people who will be writing the letters, make sure that they are willing and enthusiastic about writing the letters (hint: if they are at all hesitant, do <em>not</em> get a letter from them!), and then provide them with the necessary material they'll need (CV's, samples of writing and research work, citations and awards, etc.) to write the letter. </p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, the only way attending an unranked school will affect your chances of getting in as a graduate student is if the admissions committee at the school you're applying to shows such a bias. If you're concerned about such a possibility, and have the resources (time, money, motivation) to do so, setting up a meeting with the person in charge of graduate admissions at the department you're interested in probably can't hurt.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 8029,
"author": "mako",
"author_id": 5962,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5962",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>It will probably affect your chances. But it's not a show-stopper.</em></p>\n\n<p>Coming from a top school means students are more likely to get that second look and it means that students are more likely to have recommendations from people than the folks on the admission committee already know and trust. For those reasons, coming from a top school affords a real advantage over unranked schools. It's not fair but there are lots of reasons to believe that an applicant from a top school will get more bites than an identical one from an unranked school.</p>\n\n<p>That said, if you think you can put together a solid application, you shouldn't get too hung up about the status symbols you won't have and others might. Nobody is making decisions based <em>only</em> on where the applicant went to college.</p>\n\n<p>If you have great test scores, a history of excellent academic performance (sounds like you do), a demonstrated ability to do solid research, and a glowing set of letters from a good set of letter writers, you have a good chance at a top program. Focus on the things you can change, improve, and build on and not on the stuff you can't.</p>\n\n<p>FWIW: I did my undergrad at an unranked liberal arts college and graduate school at a top school — although not in economics. Moving up the status hierarchy is always harder than lateral or downward moves, but it happens all the time.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14905,
"author": "Hedge Fund",
"author_id": 10098,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10098",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would advise to develop a relationship via email with professors at your target schools. Dig in and learn about their research and show how interested you are in working with them. Also target assistant and associate professors at those schools as they are more likely to be in the admissions committee paying their dues. They might be the difference if everything else is good.\nI know Penn accepts some students from schools I had never heard at all. They try to diversify, just the odds might be different.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 98411,
"author": "G.T.",
"author_id": 31764,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31764",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have been in your situation several years ago (in 2011). I graduated BA in Economics and Business Adminsitration from anranked university from one of the developing countries in Eastern Europe. But then I enrolled in Master's Program where I had a chance to meet highly respected Economists who were professors in US programs as well. Neither my Master's Program was ranked. They were just funded by the World Bank and had enough money to invite US professors. By getting As and A-s in all of their courses and being engaged with the professors I earned quite good reputation and showed them that I was motivated and knowledgeable enough to study in some 30-40 US programs. Despite the fact that my school was not ranked after getting recommendation letters from these well-known US professors I was admitted in top 30 programs in the US.</p>\n\n<p>The take away from my story is that the rank of the university does not as far as you get strong recommendation letters from well-known and well-published economists, researchers. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5724",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4317/"
]
|
5,727 | <p>Last year, I applied to a university which is in Europe so a research statement is a crucial part of the application. I was interviewed by two faculty members and then finally got a rejection letter. </p>
<p>In my research statement, I had a particular idea and described a roadmap for it, though I did not get into technical details. But the idea was there and clearly stated. Recently, I came across a publication where the title is the same as my idea (wording is a little bit different) and is co-authored by one of the members of the interview panel.</p>
<p>The publication has technical details which were not part of my research statement.<br>
I believe there is no clear proof here whether my ideas got used or not. </p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Is this suspicious? </li>
<li>Is this valid and acceptable? </li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5728,
"author": "TCSGrad",
"author_id": 79,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/79",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Contact the department chair, with a well-documented chain of events, and ask him to verify using the admission materials you ahd submitted to the department prior to the interview. Even if the plagiarist got away this time, he would know that he/she could not pull it off again, as people around him/her had gotten to know of this - and no one would want to work with someone who can potentially steal your ideas, right?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5730,
"author": "Fred Douglis",
"author_id": 4246,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4246",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There is of course the possibility that the person you've accused actually had the same idea independently. It's certainly suspicious, the moreso if when you were interviewed that person did not say \"I like your idea and have actually been working on something similar\". I agree with the suggestion that you contact the chair and raise the issue, but <em>be polite and nonconfrontational</em> about it. If you say \"I think this guy stole my idea\" it could be less effective than \"I came across something similar to what I had proposed ... since Prof X didn't indicate he was working on this, I found it interesting that he published something so similar to what I proposed.\"</p>\n\n<p>The thing to keep in mind is that it is a very gray area... this person might have come across your idea, forgotten about it, and later decided to pursue this idea without actually being consciously aware the idea came from your proposal. And, you say much of the work goes beyond what you actually proposed. So I think the chair should be informed, but I wouldn't expect much to come of it unless he's known as a repeat offender. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 143539,
"author": "Houska",
"author_id": 115453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/115453",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The other answers (at this time) all take at face value that plagiarism likely or potentially occurred.</p>\n\n<p>While it may have, before pursuing a line of action predicated on this, I would as dispassionately as possible ask an Occam's Razor question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is the timeline -- your application/interview, time to perform the research, time to write it up, peer review, publication -- such that your contributions are likely to have played a significant role?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>By all means pursue it if there was likely misbehaviour here. But accusations of plagiarism in the style of <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobachevsky_(song)\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobachevsky_(song)</a> won't win you friends in the field -- or future potential collaborators -- if it turns out your idea was fermenting in many people's minds, and active research programs, for some time. And it depends on field and topic of course, but your statement your interview was \"last year\" sets off alarm bells for me a bit, because that would be a very short timeline (in my field at least) for something truly significantly influenced by it to show up in print.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck and sympathies regardless!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5727",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532/"
]
|
5,729 | <p>I hope to enter a PhD program in economics in the next few years, ideally at a top US school (Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Harvard, etc.) Are there usually opportunities to study abroad during such a program? For example, if I attended Berkeley intending to focus on macroeconomics, would it be possible to study abroad with some of the macro theorists at Cambridge or U of Edinburgh?</p>
<p>This would not be an opportunity to "experience the local culture," which many undergraduate study abroad experiences focus on, but more a chance to gain multiple perspectives from academics in different countries. In my opinion the rigors of a top PhD program rule out the former. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5731,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the mathematics milieu, there'd be little motivation to do this, and several motivations to <em>not</em> do it. E.g., if one is in a top-ranked program, contact and connections with the faculty <em>there</em>, e.g., one's thesis advisor, are critical, not only to eventually generate letters of recommendation but, presumably, to be exposed to their ideas, their ways of thinking, and many intangibles.</p>\n\n<p>A scenario in which I could imagine \"travel abroad\" would be professionally useful would be in which one found oneself in a \"second tier\" program, but somehow had the opportunity to \"visit\" a \"first tier\" program for a substantial bit of time. <em>Then</em> the point would be to pay attention to the ideas and viewpoints of the faculty there... obviously... and eventually elicit letters, maybe?</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise, merely dislocating oneself from one's base is pointless.</p>\n\n<p>Edit: quite apparently (in light of JeffE's comments and whoever's downvotes and such) there are varying viewpoints on the benefits-or-not of \"study abroad\". Presumably this is related to one's mental model for what happens in grad school, especially the role of the advisor, but also the \"maturity/responsibility\" of grad students. Also, while \"travel is broadening\", depending on one's model \"broadening\" may not be the goal of grad school. Sure, the extent to which \"travel\" makes provincial prejudices harder to maintain, one might hope that being at one of the best places avoids that already. If one's model views advisor/student as master/apprentice, disconnection seems undesirable. If the model views the advisor as merely an older colleague who's been successful, then very different actions seem reasonable. The latter sort of model-feature is arguably a corollary of the \"grad student as independent thinker\" principle. (My preferred tweaking of this is to \"critical thinker\".) </p>\n\n<p>To my mind, the bottom line is that some of the most interesting projects/issues have enormous and informative backstories very badly documented in the formal literature, so that even a very good grad student has tremendous difficulty assimilating things. Optimistically/ideally, one can get different perspectives on these issues by talking to different \"top experts\", hence motivating \"travel\". However, a key bottleneck is that it may take a few years of full-time attention to catch on to a mature expert viewpoint. If there were a unique, objective such, then one could get variations on it from various experts. However, it is not at all clear to me that there is such a unique, objective unifying \"story\".</p>\n\n<p>In fact, the <em>variations</em> on what might have been \"the standard story\" appear to often be fairly critical, and the variations and nuances thereof take a long time to get a grip on. Thus my raising the \"apprenticeship\" model.</p>\n\n<p>As hinted at, if grad school does take \"several years\", maybe there is more room to fit in residence elsewhere, but some of the elite programs like people to finish in three or at-most-four years, and then it's harder to see how this would work out. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5732,
"author": "Henry",
"author_id": 8,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't think what you're describing is all that common, and I've never heard of any sort of systematic program, but it does happen. I ended up spending two months abroad during grad school to participate in a once off trimester program in my area of specialty. There weren't any standard arrangements in place, though: my home university (very generously) moved things around so I could do it. I think I've heard of other cases, all similarly involving unique circumstances like faculty moving around or particular personal connections.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14909,
"author": "Hedge Fund",
"author_id": 10098,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10098",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is possible but very rare. Professors think, if you want to work with us in your dissertation why could you possibly want to go abroad? Some people do internships abroad during the summer while they are studying. Others begin to work with a professor who then moves to a university abroad and the student follows the professor to the new school. That usually implies that the student ends up graduating from the second school and it is a major move. \nFinally, some students get a scholarship which sustains them for a year or two to study with a researcher at a top school. At Penn some professors received European students on a regular basis for a year or two, to work on papers together and the students then went back and graduated from their school having done their paper and network at Penn. But if you wanted to go from there to Princeton or MIT, good luck.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14915,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It seems like you are talking more about economics in your question, but in fields closer to engineering, doing internships at company research labs seems almost mandatory for excellent PhD students. Visiting other universities is less common, but certainly not unheard of. As such, I would not agree with the general tone of most answers here. I would say, <strong>for engineering</strong>, spending significant time outside of \"your\" lab is both common and beneficial to your further career.</p>\n\n<p>I even know of (some) formal exchange programmes that are established to send students abroad. For instance, in Singapore, programmes exist for both incoming and outgoing visiting PhD students. These exchanges can last between 3 months and 2 years, as far as I know, and are supported by government grants. The government of Austria (my country of residence) also has multiple funding programmes running that scholars in various career stages can apply to for funding research visits.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/13 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5729",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4317/"
]
|
5,753 | <p>so I've found a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130513220209/http://www.carlboettiger.info/2010/11/07/welcome-to-my-lab-notebook.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">few open lab notebooks such as this</a> online. I think the philosophy is great, basically an extreme form of open-access. I work in theoretical neuroscience as a fresh post-doc. I'm also continuing to work for my PhD supervisor, but I plan to look for a position elsewhere ASAP to 'fly the nest' so to speak. I don't have any of my own publications yet, just the publications that came from my PhD. As a general career move I would either like to start publishing myself or with new collaborators.</p>
<p>My question is about the advantages vs disadvantages of starting an open lab notebook. A few pros would be:</p>
<ul>
<li>Increased scientific visibility</li>
<li>Extra motivation</li>
<li>Possible feedback, discovering new research directions</li>
</ul>
<p>The the big danger are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Getting 'scooped'</li>
<li>Getting sidetracked from current post-doc </li>
</ul>
<p>If anyone has any advice for a person in my position, I would like to hear your viewpoint. Specifically, it should relate to an early career researcher looking to make a name for himself.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5761,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are worried about the cons and excited about the pros, why not take a \"middle-of-the-road\" approach? At first, you may want to avoid publishing everything—at least until you get a manuscript or two accepted. At that point, it will become a lot easier to go ahead with a more \"open\" approach, because you'll already have some material \"in the can,\" so to speak.</p>\n\n<p>You could also take a \"staggered\" approach, so that you wait a while before putting a given unit of work online. In this way, I think you're honoring the commitments of open research, while still maintaining some control over the release schedule in a way that will make it more difficult to get \"scooped.\" </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5784,
"author": "Mats Töpel",
"author_id": 4334,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4334",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I really like that you put 'scientific visibility' on top of the list. That is one side of open notebook science (ONS) that is often overlooked. Also, one thing I would like to add to the pros part of the list is how ONS really facilitates collaboration between researchers. If you are going to keep several projects going and collaborate with different groups, then I think you'll find ONS really helpful.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5753",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3923/"
]
|
5,757 | <p>How are bad first year marks (i.e., ranked around average among my peers) but outstanding 2nd-4th year marks (i.e., top 2%) perceived by PhD admissions committees in the U.S.? What emphasis is placed onto first year marks? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5759,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There's no absolute universal standard as to how this will be perceived, but it's definitely better to be in the situation you describe than the reverse (good in general courses, mediocre in the major)!</p>\n\n<p>One of the issues is where the first-year grades are bad. If you have some poor grades in \"general education\" classes unrelated to your major (for example, an engineer who gets a \"C\" in American history and English literature), that hopefully won't matter too much if the admissions committee is actually looking at the transcript, rather than just the overall GPA.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, it comes down to how rigid the admissions committee is about reviewing things, as you can see <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/324/how-do-you-get-a-bad-transcript-past-ph-d-admissions\">in this thread</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5785,
"author": "ketau",
"author_id": 3993,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3993",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As long as you are able to justify what went wrong during the first year in the personal statement,for example, you had a major illness that caused you to miss many classes and thus resulted in average performance, I think adcom will not take it too seriously. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5757",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,767 | <p>I am currently applying for post-doctoral and asst. professorship positions. One of my letter writer is most likely to submit the letter a week late. Some of the positions I am applying to clearly state that "applications submitted after the deadline cannot be considered". Couple of people (my fellow grad students/post docs) whom I talked to, seemed to indicate that the reference letters can reach late. However, I would appreciate if someone (preferably one who has been part of the search committee and/or has reviewed applications for such positions before) can throw some light on this.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5771,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Unless the search committee is swamped and is looking for reasons to reject a candidate, a late letter will not tank the application. But here's what can happen: letter requests are sent out for candidate A and B. B's letters are delayed. In the meantime, A's letters come back and they are quite good. The committee starts going ahead with interviews for A. Then, for other reasons, the committee feels that A might suffice to cover the area that A and B both overlap in, and they might move on to other candidates.</p>\n\n<p>This would only happen if the letter is REALLY late (multiple weeks). And if candidate B has any level of interest, there's always someone who'll chase down the letter writer. </p>\n\n<p>So overall I'd say not to worry greatly, but make sure the letter isn't more than a week or so late. Also it wouldn't hurt to check with the committee on the \"hardness\" of the deadline. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5773,
"author": "Herman Toothrot",
"author_id": 4050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The pure and simple answer to your question is answered by asking a question to the committee: when will you start reviewing the applications? Usually it's not the day after the deadline, likely a few days later, and maybe a week later.</p>\n\n<p>The same happens for PhD applications, some departments don't start until two weeks after the deadline. If all your material is in then I am sure they will look at your application regardless of one missing letter.</p>\n\n<p>Just call the department and ask when they start reviewing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5777,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Different universities take different approaches to letters of recommendation. Some departments request letters of recommendation for every candidate; others only request letters when they're highly interested. </p>\n\n<p>In general, however, the difference here is that the letters of recommendation are not normally considered as part of the application itself. Thus, a little leeway is certainly possible, particularly when you'll have \"N – 1\" letters of recommendation in on time. But again, as others have mentioned, the best advice is: when in doubt, <em>ask</em>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5779,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The policies for late letters may vary, depending on the sort of position. My impression is that for most universities (certainly the ones I have been at), slightly late letters are fine as long as they arrive before they are needed. I.e., your application may suffer if people read it before the letter arrives, but they are unlikely to read it on the day of the deadline. This is in agreement with the other answers here.</p>\n\n<p>However, there may be certain cases where a single late letter will lead to absolute rejection. For example, government funding agencies sometimes have very strict rules about deadlines, in order to guarantee a sort of formal fairness. They may say that nothing will be accepted after the deadline and no incomplete applications will be considered. (I don't know how common this is, but the NSF graduate research fellowships work this way.) If you are applying for a postdoctoral fellowship from a funding agency, then I strongly recommend asking what their policy for late letters is.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5782,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Upvoting and reiterating @Suresh's comment: a letter just a little late does not seriously <em>disqualify</em> you (except, as Anon Math'n notes, perhaps for government agencies, NSF grants...), but may allow other people into the pipeline before you. </p>\n\n<p>The strategy on job offers is typically to make more offers than a dept expects to have accepted, <em>and</em> to have quite a few of the first offers rejected, because often the most-attractive [sic] candidates have several offers and cannot take them all. Thus, if the delay in your letters is a week or two, it will probably have no impact.</p>\n\n<p>However, the potential for trouble grows sharply as the delay increases, insofar as scheduling for interviews is made as early as possible... and unexpectedly high acceptance rate may use of all the offers unexpectedly early. (Not bad from a dept's viewpoint, but bad from not-yet-interviewed applicants' viewpoints, since, in effect, they didn't have the same chance... but through the early error of incompleteness in their file.)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5767",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
5,786 | <p>I just finished all of my coursework for my PhD program, and am entering the research phase of my degree with a topic already in mind. I've already started the research, but I'm already finding that I end up procrastinating a lot of my time away. When I was taking courses, I felt like i didn't have time to procrastinate because of the pace of the classes and I felt like I had to always keep up with the pace. But now that I have no specific constraints, I feel like its harder to pace myself. </p>
<p>Of course, I know it's a bad habit to procrastinate and I should probably devote most of my waking hours to my research. Sometimes, (especially when I get stuck) I find it's so easy to get distracted on the computer (websites, youtube, text messages, etc.). </p>
<p>What are some effective strategies to avoid procrastination during this research phase? How do you stay on task, especially when you get stuck?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5787,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have found (and continue to find) two kinds of strategies that have some success in preventing me from procrastinating.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Silly, but scarily effective:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>As silly as this might sound, implement a blocker like <a href=\"https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/leechblock/\">Leechblock</a> or <a href=\"https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nanny-for-google-chrome-t/cljcgchbnolheggdgaeclffeagnnmhno?hl=en\">Chrome Nanny</a> and block sites that you waste time on. I used to scoff at such things, but once I installed them, I found myself being forced to spend more time working. </li>\n<li>Along the same lines, disable email alerts. Once I did this, I found that I could spend many hours working without getting distracted by random emails. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>Less silly, and also less effective</strong></p>\n\n<p>Much of the procrastination when starting research in grad school comes from the lack of clear structure (as you indicate). So the trick is to <strong>create structure</strong>. For example, if you're working on one problem, and you've spent a little time generating a few ideas, write them down, and methodically start working through each of them one by one, going as deep as you need to go in order to test out an idea. When you're doing so, try to forget about the larger problem, the context, your Ph.D, your future career, and all other \"big picture\" matters. </p>\n\n<p>More likely than not, the idea won't pan out (most don't!). In that case, move on to the next one. </p>\n\n<p>The problem with early-stage research is that it doesn't look like you're making any progress, so it's easy to slow down and waste time. But if you can measure progress not in terms of \"papers published\", but in terms of \"ideas tried\", you'll get some sense of the amount of effort you've put in, and that can help motivate you to try more ideas, and so on. All these failed ideas are teaching you valuable things about your project, and they will eventually be useful because of what you've learnt.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5788,
"author": "Zai",
"author_id": 4318,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4318",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A strategy to try is to create/set a \"work\" environment in a specific location. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Remove as many distractions as possible from this location (e.g., if you can get away with no internet connection, do that, don't put any decorations or distracting electronics in the area unless they're specifically work related, etc.) </p></li>\n<li><p>If you're going to put anything in that location, make it motivational to work. One of my officemates put a background on his work desktop that said, \"Don't be stupid. Do your work.\"</p></li>\n<li><p>Create a \"work schedule\" now that you don't have classes. Set a time when you're due at \"work\" and a time you get to go home. During your work hours, you go to your work environment/office/lab and you stay there until your work hours are over. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Having this separate location will put you in the mindset of working while you're at that location. Setting a schedule for going to that location will force you to sit somewhere where it's hard to distract yourself and where you'll start to form a habit of being productive.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5790,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>IMHO to keep the pace, the most important thing is <em>not to work alone</em>.</p>\n\n<p>First, when I talk about my project on daily basis (which, sadly, it's not the case now), it naturally makes me working (as I don't want to make others wait, and it would be kind of awkward to say \"I did nothing, because I was reading blogs\").</p>\n\n<p>Second, often getting stuck happens for a reason - and just 'working harder' does not help. Then it's important to have some other \"seed\", or a broader perspective, or just to learn that \"it is not me who is stupid - this problem is hard for everyone\". </p>\n\n<p>But in case you cannot yourself from procrastinating (sometimes I know that it is not a day when I am good at thinking), try do some \"white procrastination\" - i.e. procrastinate from your duties, but in a way, which is constructive (e.g. learning a new programming language, reading papers in a different discipline, mastering your skills in something else, etc).</p>\n\n<p>EDIT: In a longer run, it turned out that some of \"white procrastinations\" were more valuable than my \"standard stuff\". Remember, that not always you know in advance what will be fruitful in the future.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5791,
"author": "student",
"author_id": 4340,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4340",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am in the same situation as you are and tried several things to improve my situation in my PhD. I am sharing few ideas that work for me:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Time Slots:</strong> I use the concept of time slot or chunk of time (say 1 hour each) for a task where I will only focus or do that task or work. Single-entry-single-exit, no distractions allowed. I know, it's not easy not to get distracted, but I convince myself by reminding that I have other slots for other activities. Large slot of focused work helps me more than small chunks.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Most valuable task first:</strong> Doing the most valuable and productive task early in the day makes a lot of difference and it feels great. I observed that as the day progress, I also do better at other tasks.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Leverage on self:</strong> I have found few ways to make me act. Some of my favorite ways are: letting the person I hate most (and who would be most happy in my failures) know about my state; being an example of such habits to my most loved ones (say kids) etc </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Change physiology and tone :</strong> I found the way I sit (posture) and the tone of voice with which I speak to myself has lot to do with procrastination. Changing the posture or position, and tone of my internal voice makes a difference. I just emulate a posture and tone when I had been most productive in my life.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Divide and conquer :</strong> I divide large task to manageable small tasks (of 1 hr or less). When I brainstorm, I list them in reverse order (with the goal/final result in mind). To get results, only taking actions will matter. </p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5792,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to the other excellent answers, spending most of your waking hours on anything is not good in my opinion. The amount of hours you can really concentrate on research is probably around 8 (maybe even less). I think working 12 hours or more per day (6 days a week) on your research is not really effective. Working these kinds of hours is going to lead to procrastination. </p>\n\n<p>To be more effective (and less procrastinating) you could focus less time on research, but try and impose more structure and be more effective in those hours. This will make you feel more effective, and preserve a better balance between research and your private life. Especially with hard problems, you'll find that you don't need to spend more time researching, but some time runnng/reading/etc to clear your mind.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5803,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I come with one special technique. </p>\n\n<p>The procrastination may have many causes, but often it is from fear of failure, or because the task looks too long / too hard / too boring.</p>\n\n<p>The special technique is to train for your performance like an athlete. Your mind can be trained into knowing for sure you will crack any such task like nothing. </p>\n\n<p>One way of training is to face all your fears. What is the nastiest, most horrible, worst possible task you have been avoiding for ages? DO IT! </p>\n\n<p>You won't believe how much easier the task is than you thought.</p>\n\n<p>Now the hardcore part. Sign up to the most hardcore gym in your area, near your house, and start working out through the limits. Soon you become good at breaking physical limits which gives you a lot of fuel to break any psychical limits. You can try weight-lifting, running, boxing, military training (i.e. warrior classes in a top gym / club), and more.</p>\n\n<p>This strengthens your body and your mind so much, that there will be nothing that makes you procrastinate. Procrastination is in other words \"giving up\". </p>\n\n<p>Hard training is the best option. The best is one workout early in the morning and one after work.</p>\n\n<p>EDIT: If you get stuck, go for a workout. It won't help you with the task, but at least you are building your physique and a tougher mind for this challenge to figure it out. (Otherwise, ask your advisor if you are really stuck)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5805,
"author": "Fuhrmanator",
"author_id": 3859,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3859",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To the many excellent answers, I will add: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>\"Just get started,\" which is a prerequisite to \"Just do it.\" When a task seems too difficult at first, if you start trying to solve it, you often find it's a lot easier than you imagined.</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html\">Not all procrastination is bad.</a> It can sometimes be good to delay important decisions until you have enough information. It can be good to work on the more pressing things, and put off the things that are less important.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5806,
"author": "D Krueger",
"author_id": 4354,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4354",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Read <em>Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance</em> by Robert Pirsig. Read the whole thing. But pay particular attention to the discussion of gumption traps.</p>\n\n<p>You will spend many hours reading the book. However, if you absorb its lessons, you will save many more hours in the future.</p>\n\n<p>You must learn to understand your problem before you can hope to understand the solutions </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5807,
"author": "Tom Carchrae",
"author_id": 4355,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4355",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Oh, you think you're in trouble now? JUST WAIT TILL YOU ARE WRITING IT! Or worse, doing revision #523... </p>\n\n<p>My strategy was switching time zones. I went to bed at 8pm, woke up at 2 or 3am, got a ton done while it was dark and everyone else was asleep. You may think it hard to go to bed at 8pm - but that is just because you didn't wake up at 2am. :) </p>\n\n<p>There are a ton of other motivational hacks; like starting the day with an easy task (warm start) you could have done the night before. And yes, email/internet off. </p>\n\n<p>Take explicit time wasting breaks. Try <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique</a> or whatever. Mostly, be clear about when you are working and when you are having a break.</p>\n\n<p>Mostly, though, I think you need to find your groove. If you are bored now, maybe you need to reconsider your topic and find something that lights you up.</p>\n\n<p>This book is pretty awesome (also, the cover lies), but the main point is you need to get at least a solid 15 (actually +1 hour) of time working on your topic a day. The main idea is that consistent momentum gets you done - working on it one day a week will get you absolutely nowhere. \n<a href=\"http://www.amazon.ca/Writing-Your-Dissertation-Fifteen-Minutes/dp/080504891X\">http://www.amazon.ca/Writing-Your-Dissertation-Fifteen-Minutes/dp/080504891X</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5814,
"author": "Ana",
"author_id": 322,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/322",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I write both weekly and daily 'to do' lists if I'm stuck in a procrastination routine. The weekly lists are more general, the daily ones as detailed as possible, with essentially everything I should do that day, however small it seems. It feels good to tick things off - it shows me that I made progress and gives me incentive to go on. Usually there's one or two things on the list that I really should not postpone for tomorrow, and many less important ones. I sometimes do the big stuff first, sometimes last, it really depends on my mood that day. I also allow myself to push the smaller things to the next day if I don't feel like doing them. That way I feel that I have some wiggle room, but it's constrained to the stuff that doesn't matter much anyway.</p>\n\n<p>I also noticed that I tend to be more efficient when I have something planned at the end of the day, i.e. I know have to leave the office at five and stop working until tomorrow. This gives me a feeling of a small deadline, and deadlines are good at eliminating procrastination. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, as someone mentioned already, nothing beats working with people. Having weekly meetings with my supervisor, where a decision is made on what I will achieve until the next meeting, tops it all. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5819,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I personally found this <a href=\"http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/\">link</a> to be really really useful. </p>\n\n<p>The main point of procrastination is procrastination is easy, and hence, it is difficult to do not do it. But that automatically implies that avoiding procrastination is a high-energy thing, and it is then obvious that you cannot keep up that high energy forever, and hence, you end up minimizing procrastinating by consuming large amount of energy, and hence then you need a break or you end up actually increasing procrastination.</p>\n\n<p>However, as the author of the link suggests, you can use procrastination to your advantage by using it do important things at relevant times. However, one problem with this is that you have to keep in mind thousands of to-dos and that is very exhausting. My solution to this is to use some very good calendar/to-do system and integrate it with your phone/laptop. This way, you can easily track your to-do list and suddenly, you will find that you have a lot of time to actually do stuff rather than thinking of what to do, which will help a lot in preventing getting distracted and avoid procrastination. </p>\n\n<p>How this works is as follows. Everytime you have a deadline or work, make an entry of it in your calendar with an appropriate date and then reminders. Also, some calendar software allow you to put priorities on your to-dos. Kontact/KOrganizer also allows you to attach files to your to-do or events. So, you note everything you know at the time you get info. And then, whenever you open your to-do, you see a list of all the things you <strong>have</strong> to do. </p>\n\n<p>Then, there is atleast some which interest you, pick the one with the highest priority and the most strict deadline, and do it. This way, you don't have to worry about keeping track of your deadlines since that task has been now transferred to your computer. Also, having all the options of to-dos available in front you <strong>always</strong>, make you more efficient.</p>\n\n<p>Some people use the post-it notes in their office, but it is an inferior solution as compared to mobile/computer/cloud sync as you can access the latter anywhere, even when you are waiting for you doctor's appointment etc. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5886,
"author": "Paula",
"author_id": 4403,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4403",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should figure out the reason behind your procrastination and set up a time management to overcome it. You're an engineering student, you should engage yourself to an organization and create projects and portfolio, it'll would make you more productive and it'll help you gain network of friends and develop your skills. Find the motivation to do this and I’m sure it'll be easy for you to overcome procrastination. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 8906,
"author": "bobobobo",
"author_id": 2745,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2745",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is one thing that helps me:</p>\n\n<p>Block out <strong>work time</strong> and allocate <em>relaxation time</em> for each day (relaxation does not mean sleep). You cannot work 100% of the time, but you need to be vigilant about <em>not</em> engaging in leisure activity during a work time block.</p>\n\n<p>Intersperse designated <em>play time</em> in between work times, <strong>but do not let the two types of time periods overlap and become blurred</strong>. If you find an interesting website during working hours, <em>bookmark it and come back to it during the next play time period</em>.</p>\n\n<p>Basically work during the work time, play during play time, and maintain consistent waking/sleeping patterns (try to go to bed on time).</p>\n\n<p>Another thing I forgot to add was <em>don't squander your prime time hours</em>, whether it's by self-distraction or by others distracting you.</p>\n\n<p>So for example if you get your best work done in the morning <em>before</em> noon, schedule all appointments and meetings in the <em>afternoon</em>. Minimize breaks during your prime hours, since you probably don't need as many. If you're an evening type of guy, then take care of events and social activities earlier in the day whenever possible.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11284,
"author": "user7820",
"author_id": 7820,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7820",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are doing a PhD, I can recommend you to read the book \"The clockwork muse\". This book has good pieces of advice to progress in your writing and avoid procrastination.</p>\n\n<p>It is true most of the things that other have written to you. It is not good thinking that you have to spend all your waking time studying because if you do not have time for yourself, you will find that your body will take it by itself.</p>\n\n<p>So, work 6-8 hours per day (roughly 40 per week), it is good time. So, you can relax your body without feeling guilty.</p>\n\n<p>I read all the comments and it is helping to me too. Thank you for writing about that.</p>\n\n<p>Claudia </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11669,
"author": "marvin.chadwick",
"author_id": 8049,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8049",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with most answers above. It IS important to create a working environment. I, for instance, simply can't work at my home computer without being distracted. Here are the simple techniques that worked for me:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p><strong>set up a 'home office.'</strong> For me it was the simple fact of getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone that kept me going.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>try working from a coffeeshop</strong>. Apparently, it was discovered that the ambient noise of 75 dc (approx. the pleasant buzz in a coffeeshop) is the best for productivity. </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>schedule the breaks</strong>. Breaks are as important for your productivity as the intensive work, so I found it most helpful to actually set an alarm clock for a 10 min break every 1.5 hrs. </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>keep a \"success diary.\"</strong> Basically, it's a to-do list where you can tick the items you've completed. So, first, break down your workload into smaller tasks (for me it was smth like \"write min 3000 word today,\" \"finish that damn introduction already,\" and so on) and then tick them one by one. I guess, you can do it in an actual paper diary, but I used a task management app. It kept me on my toes. </p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Good luck! </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 12332,
"author": "user8005",
"author_id": 8005,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8005",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I use a tool to block certain applications (like Facebook and Twitter). Furthermore I set goals for myself and hold myself accountable (created a <a href=\"http://www.bohrresearch.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">weekend project</a> for that).</p>\n\n<p>Monthly meetings with my supervisor help as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 37833,
"author": "claire",
"author_id": 28657,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28657",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>first of all, you are not alone in this, as many other people already wrote. I have procrastinated to read your post and opened five other tabs. so this means, we procrastinate, even when we are utterly interested. procrastinating an exciting task resembles pleasure delaying. when i discovered this, it helped me a lot. try to take procrastination as a game you play with yourself. Devoting all waking hours to research is somehow not realistic and in my opinion not necessary. Having a long chat with a friend may seem like procrastination but you never know how your mind wants to unfurl: a friend of mine discovered the topic of her masters thesis during one of our chats. now she has a full grant. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 40912,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 31196,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31196",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The unpleasant feeling of procrastination comes from feeling you have to do something but not being able to do it. This creates a feedback that reduced your ability to do things. One trick to deal with this is to have smaller more specific goals. Finishing them creates a positive feeling that leads you to feel confident that you can do things. But there is the trap of feeling good about doing things but those things are not helping you in any way to move towards your bigger goals. So these small steps should move you towards your goal and as time passes they should become more challenging. </p>\n\n<p>My second advice is that it is difficult for humans to hold themselves responsible. It is a mental conflict of interests and as it is known people are not good at handling conflicts of interest well. An external party who checks what you do and gives advice on your progress is much more effective. Someone who can regularly check your progress without a conflict of interest. Your supervisor is ideally supposed to be your mentor (like coaches in sports). In reality most supervisors are not up to this ideal. Most of them are either reactive in place of proactive or don't have the success of their student as primary goal (e.g view students as a means of publishing papers). Find someone you trust to care about your progress to keep you up to your plans. It is OK if you don't completed your plans sometimes as long as there has been good reasons for it. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 66478,
"author": "Richard Hardy",
"author_id": 35362,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/35362",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Time accounting is a good way of making yourself aware of procrastination and consequently reducing it. </p>\n\n<p>Here is how I do time accounting. I have an Excel document where</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>lines are for different activities (working on thesis, teaching, studying stuff that isn't directly related to my work, useful pauses (walking outside, eating lunch, etc.), and \"fun time\" (watching Youtube, chatting with colleagues, etc.)); the last couple of lines are sums of lines related to productive time and total time</li>\n<li>columns are days of the month</li>\n<li>sheets are months</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YGxhb.png\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YGxhb.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></a></p>\n\n<p>Every day I register the time when I come to work and when I leave work.\nI register everything I do at work up to a precision of 15 minutes. I do that approximately once every hour so that I do not forget when I did what. I put comments to cells in which I describe more precisely what I did (e.g. when working on thesis, did I read, write, program or what else). </p>\n\n<p>In the progress of the day, I look at the bottom lines that sum my productive and total time to see the proportion of time I have spent productively. When the proportion drops, I try to work harder and take fewer breaks and especially spend less time unproductively. Sometimes when I have successful days I would leave early once my average amount of productive hours is reached. Sometimes I would stay at work longer to reach that average.</p>\n\n<p>I have have monthly averages in the rightmost column. That helps see long-term trends in time use and assess whether I am heading in the right direction.</p>\n\n<p>E.g. last Monday </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I came to work at 08:05 and left at 17:20. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I spent </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>4 hours 15 minutes working directly on my thesis (there is more detailed information in the comment there), </li>\n<li>1 hour discussing research with a colleague (which was not directly related to my thesis but still productive), </li>\n<li>15 minutes printing things, </li>\n<li>2 hours 30 minutes walking outside, having lunch, etc.</li>\n<li>1 hour 15 minutes \"fun time\" (e.g. visiting Academia Stach Exchange)</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>That was a relatively OK day, but I know I could have cut on \"fun time\". Once I see figures above 1 hour in the line \"fun time\" I feel I need to control myself better. (Yes, this month I have been wasting too much time!)</p>\n\n<p>My point is, just knowing how much time you waste and being forced to admit it multiple times per day may help.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 106965,
"author": "Caleb Stanford",
"author_id": 7368,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7368",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is a concrete piece of advice I have heard recently, which has been surprisingly helpful:</p>\n\n<p><strong>Try to allocate 2 to 3 hours every day of unbroken time to devote to your most pressing task.</strong></p>\n\n<p>I like this advice because it simultaneously does a few things:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><em>It keeps your expectations realistic.</em> Like many graduate students, I have often find myself plagued with the thought that (as you put it) <code>I should probably devote most of my waking hours to my research</code>. This attitude is not only discouraging, it's completely unrealistic and actively harmful. Even very successful professors end up with so many <em>meetings, emails, teaching duties</em>, etc., that 2-3 hours of time to devote solely to their research can be rare, and is always very welcome.</p></li>\n<li><p><em>It helps you prioritize.</em> Unwisely, I often start out the day with a list of 3-5 big, pressing things to do. Then I feel like a failure if I do not accomplish them all, or (just as likely) I manage to procrastinate and accomplish none of them, which fuels further discouragement and procrastination. Thinking of it in terms of 2-3 hours of unbroken time makes me realize I cannot do all of them at the outset, so I pick 1 or 2 things to get done, instead of 3-5.</p></li>\n<li><p><em>It ensures a little bit of progress every day.</em> Ensuring merely that one 2-3 hour task gets done is often enough to prevent a project from standing still. I would rather make a little bit of progress every day than spend a week procrastinating followed by some long late-night hours trying to catch up.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>It is a hallmark of chronic procrastinators that we start out with vastly inflated expectations, followed by long periods of no work and short bursts of way too much work. We would get more done if we just set our expectation consistently at 2-3 hours per day. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5786",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/931/"
]
|
5,793 | <p>I never tried to avoid becoming a sub-reviewer, and still, <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5662/3926">this question</a> made me wonder. How much time should I, as a PhD student, spend on a review of a paper that my advisor gave me to do? Does the answer depend on whether I'm getting credit for the review or not, that is whether I'm a sub-reviewer or not?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5795,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is no clearcut answer to how long a review takes. I would say that the amount of time spent on it is the time you need to understand the paper and provide good advice on wether or not it is a paper that can be accepted, with some changes or as is. In general, this should take you around a full working day. How long this exactly becomes depends on:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The level and clarity of the paper (very bad paper takes less time, mediocre paper takes more time, very good paper takes less time). </li>\n<li>Your familiarity with the subject (less familiar more time).</li>\n<li>The requirements of the journal/conference you are reviewing for, is it a full review, or just a go/no go.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5799,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should do slightly more reviewing work for the community than the community does for you. So, as a rough estimate, assuming every paper you write and submit needs three reviews and your average paper has three authors, you should review slightly more papers than you submit.</p>\n\n<p>There is no way to predict in the abstract how long a paper takes to review; that varies from field to field, subfield to subfield, and even paper to paper. Answering a similar question in <a href=\"https://cstheory.stackexchange.com/a/1902/111\">Theoretical Computer Science Stack Exchange</a>, I wrote: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Expect to spend about an hour per page, mostly on internalizing the paper's results and techniques. Be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't actually take that long. (If it takes significantly less time than that, either the paper is either exceedingly elegant and well-written, you know the area extremely well, or the paper is technically shallow. Don't confuse these three possibilities.)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, the answer does not depend on whether you get credit for the review. If you're not going to write a thorough, professional review, just say no.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5809,
"author": "Tom Carchrae",
"author_id": 4355,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4355",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Read the entire paper in one go. For a 12 page* paper, that should take you an hour at most. This is the first pass. From this you can now decide how to proceed, now that you have (quickly) covered all the sections. (edit: The goal on this first pass is not to understand all the details, but rather get an overall feeling of the paper, quality and organization of ideas) </p>\n\n<p>If a paper is terribly written and difficult to understand you should reject it outright for being so. It should not take a reader 12 hours to read a 12 page paper - and indeed, many papers are badly written and do take this much time - and you are still left wondering because it was not clear. </p>\n\n<p>If the basic claims seem sound and sufficiently interesting/important and the idea is clear enough to understand, then you need to dig in. Depending on the type of paper this means looking at definitions, proofs, or experimental design, hypothesis testing and the analysis of the results. Likewise for any related work you know of that should be cited (and not just your own - that is too cliche! - if you do recommend your work as a citation at least include some others!).</p>\n\n<p>All along, help people out with typos and readability. As a reviewer, you are the last chance to make this a good read before it is published. </p>\n\n<p>And even if you reject it, don't just shoot people down. Give them ideas about how to make the paper stronger, suggestions for different directions, etc. Remember that it is most likely some other student who will receive your review back - so try and help them make the next paper better.</p>\n\n<p>(* 12 single column pages. A 6 page paper with two columns can often contain the same amount of text as a 12 page single column paper)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5810,
"author": "Zai",
"author_id": 4318,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4318",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on how many reviews you've done and what your experience is. If you're just starting out and have never reviewed a paper before, you should expect it to take a minimum of several hours to do a decent to good review.</p>\n\n<p>Your mileage may vary depending on what discipline you're in, but a good review generally will consist of:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>a summary of what the contribution of the paper was</li>\n<li>a brief list of 1-3 strengths and 1-3 weaknesses that the paper had</li>\n<li>several paragraphs explaining those strengths and weaknesses in greater detail along with constructive suggestions of what would be needed to improve the weaknesses</li>\n<li>a brief listing of any related work that you feel is missing from the paper</li>\n<li>a recommendation to the reviewing committee of whether or not you believe the paper should be accepted</li>\n<li>usually there is a part for a numerical evaluation of your expertise and whether or not it should be accepted</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The more reviews that you do, the less time that you should need to spend on doing the review. It seems like many professors can knock out a review in an hour or less, but most of the graduate students I've seen will tend to spend at least 1-2 hours per review if they're doing a good job.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28899,
"author": "Lutz Prechelt",
"author_id": 22144,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22144",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Take enough time to find most (~80%) of the important strengths and weaknesses of the paper and to describe and explain the weaknesses thoroughly and clearly <strong>but</strong> if you encounter one particular non-core aspect or section of the paper that would take excessively long to do this, just skip it and be frank: <em>\"I have not reviewed ((aspect X)) thoroughly, because my expertise in this area is too shallow.\"</em></p>\n\n<p>If the editor is worth her salt, this will actually <em>increase</em> her confidence in the rest of your review.</p>\n\n<p>All of your reviews should be careful but none of them need to be perfect.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5793",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3926/"
]
|
5,796 | <p>A few days ago, I read an article that I found through Google. I analyzed it and find that article is correct, and then I prepared a paper of my own built on the basis of that article.
But when I tried to complete the references section, I realized that the source article had not been published.</p>
<p>Now I do not know what to do. On the one hand, the article is correct, but on the other hand, it has not been formally published.</p>
<p>How to send my article based on another paper that has not been published?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5797,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually, the paper in question <em>has been published</em>, otherwise you sure couldn't read it :)</p>\n\n<p>I admit that may sound stupid and unhelpful, but I think there is more to it that you recognize. The paper you built upon has been published, but not through conventional means. It doesn't mean you can't use it, but a few specific “rules of thumb” have to be observed:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Refer to the paper by its URL and, if identifiable, the owner/editor/publisher of the website. Example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>“Link between <em>al dente</em> cooking time and a change of slope in the pasta fractal length”, A. N. Onym, <a href=\"http://bigpasta.com/paper42.pdf\">http://bigpasta.com/paper42.pdf</a> (publisher: Pasta Inc.)</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n<li><p>Because this content may have a shorter lifetime than academic publications, you should quote directly all necessary claims made into this work in your paper, rather than merely using the reference on a vague claim. Your paper should be standalone, and fully understandable even if the other one disappears.</p></li>\n<li><p>You may also contact the original paper author, if possible, to ask how they would like to be cited. Perhaps they have another related work which you missed, that was published in a more conventional way?</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5802,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's unclear from your description whether you've just written your own version of the earlier paper, with no new results of your own, or whether you've significantly extended the results in the earlier paper. In the first case, you <strong>cannot</strong> publish your paper. In the second, you <strong>must</strong> cite the earlier paper, using whatever information would be necessary for your readers to find it, just as F'x describes.</p>\n\n<p>In either case, I strongly recommend contacting the author of the earlier paper and asking <em>them</em> how <em>they</em> would like to proceed. They may invite you to be a coauthor on their paper. They may invite themselves to be a coauthor on your paper. They may use your email as a kick in the pants to <em>formally</em> publish their paper, but without you as a coauthor, leaving you to publish your new results on your own.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5796",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
5,798 | <p>Recently, after submitting a manuscript for publication, I received the following response:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your manuscript, referenced below, has been considered for publication in XXX: "Article Title"
Unfortunately, this manuscript on a fundamental topic does not fall under the range of topics that are covered by XXX, which focuses on the applied physical sciences. We recommend that you consider submission to an alternative venue.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My question is, what is the meaning of the sentence "We recommend that you consider submission to an alternative venue". To me, it sounds like a terse "good luck with <em>that!</em>" sign-off. However, that's an odd sentence, as they usually just write "no" in those cases. Does this imply anything particular about my submission?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5800,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The journal is telling you that the paper you wrote does not fit the type of topics that they aim for. The recommendation at the end is to resubmit your paper to a journal which does fit the topic of your article. Looking at the comments, they are more an applied journal, while the paper you wrote deals with more fundamental issues.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5801,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>From what you've said by itself, it's ambiguous. That is, if your paper really is on a topic not usually covered by that journal, then their remark is completely bland, just meaning what it says. If, at the other extreme, you are pretty sure that your paper's topic is exactly what is covered in the journal, then, yes, their \"recommendation\" is just a polite form of rejection.</p>\n\n<p>If you are a beginner at this, it is possible that your understanding of what your own paper is about may have some quirks or limitations, or you've presented it in a way that dis-served you, or you've presented it in a way that confused or mis-directed the editors/referee, etc. </p>\n\n<p>For example, giving inappropriate/inaccurate keywords can get a paper sent to an inappropriate referee, who may think the paper is misguided, while if you'd given different keywords, a different referee might think it was mainstream and wonderful.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, unfortunate choices in title, abstract, and introduction can set things off down the wrong path. Getting an opinion from an experienced person about the actual appropriateness of your paper for that venue is necessary before it's possible to understand the situation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 41061,
"author": "Kakoli Majumder",
"author_id": 9920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9920",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The sentence \"We recommend that you consider submission to an alternative venue\" clearly means that your paper does not match the scope of the journal and should be submitted elsewhere. This indicates that your choice of journal was probably not right. There is a possibility that the editor was trying to suggest that you choose a journal that does not cater exclusively to the applied physical sciences.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5798",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4346/"
]
|
5,808 | <p>I've always been under the impression that you're only allowed to publish 1 result in 1 journal. However, <a href="http://www.elsevier.com/journals/economics-letters/0165-1765?generatepdf=true" rel="noreferrer">Economics Letters states</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For instance, a theorist could submit to Economics Letters a
thought-provoking example before the analysis is extended to a general theorem in a fully fledged paper that will go elsewhere. Similarly, an experimentalist or an empirical researcher could submit to Economics Letters some important preliminary results, where perhaps the threshold for robustness, thoroughness or completeness of the analysis is not as high as it would be for a complete paper.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is this stating that you're allowed to submit early results of paper X to Economics Letters, then improve paper X until paper X is longer and more like a full paper, followed by a submission of paper X to an alternative journal? If it is what they mean, why don't more academics do this to boost their publication count? Economics Letters is actually <a href="http://lamp.infosys.deakin.edu.au/era/?page=fordet10&selfor=14" rel="noreferrer">ranked quite highly</a>.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5811,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><em>Taken from the comments as per request</em></p>\n\n<p>This is fairly common. For example, in CS, one might publish preliminary work at a conference, and then flesh it out for a journal (there's a \"30% new material\" rule in many journals to cover this situation). But to answer your question, doing this doesn't boost publication count except for very dumb ways of evaluating a publication list. Most people (except university bureaucrats) will list the conference and journal paper as one entity.</p>\n\n<p>Note that it is upto the journal editors of the second venue to decide whether the paper is sufficiently different from the first one. They are free to reject it even if you think the latter paper is a nontrivially expanded version of the first one. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14908,
"author": "Hedge Fund",
"author_id": 10098,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10098",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Indeed. Economics Letters is a journal where people read summaries of papers and get a good idea of the literature coming out in different specialties of economics, before moving on to reading full technical papers in other journals. So yes, it is quite understandable to submit a summarized watered-down version of a paper to Economics Letters.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5808",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,820 | <blockquote>
<p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2673/under-what-circumstances-can-one-republish-a-conference-paper-presentation">Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation?</a> </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I have recently completed a Masters of Science which I pursued to fill a personal goal and to advance our development of a regional tsunami warning system.</p>
<p>Having read the thread on multiple publishing and presenting I am still confused as this is a new issue for me. Coming from Government we present on special projects or findings any number of times.</p>
<p>If I wish to publish my findings in an academic journal am I precluded from presenting at any conferences?</p>
<p>If I present at a localised scientific conference without published proceedings, am I precluded from presenting at a global one?</p>
<p>Can I focus one on localised context and the other on the global implications, then cite having presented at the local level?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5811,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><em>Taken from the comments as per request</em></p>\n\n<p>This is fairly common. For example, in CS, one might publish preliminary work at a conference, and then flesh it out for a journal (there's a \"30% new material\" rule in many journals to cover this situation). But to answer your question, doing this doesn't boost publication count except for very dumb ways of evaluating a publication list. Most people (except university bureaucrats) will list the conference and journal paper as one entity.</p>\n\n<p>Note that it is upto the journal editors of the second venue to decide whether the paper is sufficiently different from the first one. They are free to reject it even if you think the latter paper is a nontrivially expanded version of the first one. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 14908,
"author": "Hedge Fund",
"author_id": 10098,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10098",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Indeed. Economics Letters is a journal where people read summaries of papers and get a good idea of the literature coming out in different specialties of economics, before moving on to reading full technical papers in other journals. So yes, it is quite understandable to submit a summarized watered-down version of a paper to Economics Letters.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5820",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4376/"
]
|
5,824 | <p>I am a PhD student and I am often faced with several ideas to explore. Two criteria often I consider in making a choice between approaches are based on the value proposition/ addition and the uniqueness of the approach. However, in the process of research (which I don't have any idea about and I am only in the exploratory phase of an idea) I have to make compromises in choosing between approaches which are not unique but add value and vice versa. I am faced with tradeoffs between the two until I find (or modify/improve) approaches that have both the qualities. My question is to the experienced researchers to share their strategies when they had to choose among approaches based on these two parameters. Which one among the two help in quicker publications or acceptance rate?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5825,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It probably depends on the field and the journal you're aiming at.</p>\n\n<p>For small, low-impact journals, it could be sufficient that an idea is new. If your ambition is not very high, you can submit to such a journal. You might not need to show that the new idea is all that useful.</p>\n\n<p>For more prestigious journals, new is not enough. You need to show that it's actually useful in practical situations or adds something significant. If you want to aim for good journals, then added value is important. However, it should not be a small added value; it should be a significant added value.</p>\n\n<p>If it's not new and the added value is small, probably you'd need to improve the research until you have something more substantial.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5826,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Two criteria often I consider in making a choice between approaches are based on the value proposition/ addition and the uniqueness of the approach.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>Ideally, you <em>don't</em> choose.</strong> A \"unique\" approach that doesn't add value isn't worth much. Solving a problem using off-the-shelf techniques also isn't worth much. What you should aim for is a <strong>unique approach that adds value</strong> to the research landscape in your field.</p>\n\n<p><strong>But if you <em>must</em> choose, work toward your strengths.</strong> Do you carry a hammer and look for nails, or do you carry nails and look for hammers? If you're better at finding new tools to attack hard problems, then you're more likely to come up with unique approaches. If you're better at finding hard problems to successfully attack with a small suite of tools, then you're more likely to add value to those tools. I know lots of successful researchers in both camps.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Which one among the two help in quicker publications or\n acceptance rate?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You are optimizing the wrong function. Your primary goal should be to produce the highest quality, highest impact research, <strong>not</strong> to maximize the number of lines in your CV. One good high-impact paper is worth far more than a pile of publications that nobody cares about.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5824",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4340/"
]
|
5,828 | <p>My adviser asked me to go over some PhD theses over the weekend, and by some he meant three 200~ pages theses.</p>
<p>Is there an effective way to skim through theses that you have figured out, as more experienced academics. I could not go over all of them without taking most of my weekend doing so.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5831,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is hard to assess.<br>\nWhat is your advisor's expectations? is it a detailed review of the hypothesis, methodology and results of the theses? or it is just <em>to know</em> thing? </p>\n\n<p>For not spending too much, I would suggest going directly to the <strong>Abstract</strong>. Then there is one or two <strong>core chapters</strong> discussing the ideas. General sense of what is going on these chapters is good enough. </p>\n\n<p>Again, it depends upon your advisor's expectations. This said, i'm <em>newbie</em> to academics. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5833,
"author": "Paul",
"author_id": 931,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/931",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would just start from the table of contents. Usually, the whole thesis is not applicable to your current research, but only a pocket full of sections are. Identify the handful of sections that are most relevant to your research, and just read those. Also, if your advisor specifically requested these particular theses, he/she suspects there's something in particular about them that is of value to your research. Ask him/her what it is about these theses that is most fascinating/relevant to your research and just read that part.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Bottom line:</strong> Don't try to understand everything in it... just find the parts that most apply to you and your research and get the main idea, not the details.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5834,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Of course, you can use existing theses just like you would a journal article where you extract information to guide your research. However, I'd like to focus discussion here on the role of theses as a tool for teaching you how to write your own thesis.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Choosing theses to deconstruct</strong>:\nAssuming you are writing a PhD thesis yourself, it can be really helpful to find a selection of other PhD theses in order to give you a sense of what the overall product can look like. Three is a good start, but I would be aiming to find about six or seven. The best theses are probably those that are </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>on a similar topic or at least in the same discipline as your thesis and with a broadly similar methodological orientation</li>\n<li>follow a similar structural framework to your own (e.g., similar length, same in terms of whether it is a large thesis or PhD by publication)</li>\n<li>well written</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>Things to learn from deconstruction:</strong> Carefully deconstructing such manuscripts can teach you a lot about both what a thesis involves and also what are some of the alternative modes of presentation. For instance you can look at things like:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>How was it formatted</li>\n<li>How many chapters were there and how was content distributed</li>\n<li>How were aims presented and how was the importance of the thesis justified</li>\n<li>How was literature, method,results, and discussion distributed (e.g., some in each chapter or over separate chapters)</li>\n<li>How extensive or focussed was the literature review</li>\n<li>What was the overall scale of the thesis (e.g., amount of data collection, sophistication of analyses, etc.)</li>\n<li>What is the standard expected of a thesis (e.g., seeing the imperfections of theses that have passed can be helpful should you fall victim to perfectionism) </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>When in candidature to spend time deconstructing:</strong>\nIn fact, examining and deconstructing theses can be a useful exercise at multiple stages of your PhD candidature.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>At the very start of your PhD it can give you a broad feel for what it is that you are aiming to produce.</li>\n<li>When you are moving towards setting out the overall structure of your thesis in terms of chapters and sections it can give you a feel of whether you are on track</li>\n<li>When you are making formatting and stylistic decisions, existing theses can provide a useful frame of reference.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5844,
"author": "penelope",
"author_id": 4249,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4249",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I back up what Paul said, but as I had to do something similar just a few weeks back, here's what worked for me: <strong>I found most relevant publications (articles) by the same author</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Typically, there's not that much publications related to a thesis, and there's a possibility that most of the papers are just extensions to the first one. Here's what I think from a Computer Science perspective.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>Read the first publication</strong> by the author</em> related to the thesis topic</li>\n<li>Some of the following articles are probably <em>application focus</em> for the (novel) technique presented in the first article, or provide a heavy <em>math background</em> - these are not really needed to understand the idea</li>\n<li>There might be an article or two improving the construction algorithm (the concept stays the same, but some implementation improvements)</li>\n<li>In the end, you'll end up reading the <strong>first + one or two other articles</strong> and that will give you a good <strong>idea of what the whole thesis is about</strong></li>\n<li>Now that you understand the concepts presented in the thesis, <em>you understand the Table of Contents fully</em>. You can easily <strong>identify chapters interesting to you</strong>, and read only the selected ones.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>It is still a lengthy process, but I think faster than trying to read the whole thesis, and gives a lot result-wise: you not only understood the concepts you needed, but did literature research as well, and know exactly where to look for every type of extra details you might need.</p>\n\n<p>This all said, this is the process that worked for me when <em>I needed to understand the concept presented, the main idea (but not the details) of implementation, and wanted to be able to apply the concept \"by hand\" and \"on paper\" for small mock examples</em>.</p>\n\n<p>I think the process can be adapted for whatever goal you have in reading the thesis: you almost certainly are not interested in <em>absolutely everything</em> presented in the thesis on your first read-out. So, if you are, for example, interested in the <em>application domain</em>, you'll read the application focus articles instead, and not math profs.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5847,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is probably field dependent. In my field tables and contain the majority of the information.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Print the abstract, table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, conclusions, and any lists of symbols/nomenclature. You will need these a lot and it is easier to be able to mark them up.</p></li>\n<li><p>Read the abstract and table of contents. Ideally looking for the things that are interesting to you. If the thesis seems to be well written and well organized, then reading the first paragraph of each chapter might be useful.</p></li>\n<li><p>Work you way through the figures and tables. Ideally you will only need the information in the captions, but you may need to refer to the methods for additional information. Use the printed table of contents and the search function to efficiently. Don't read the methods, only use them when you have a specific question.</p></li>\n<li><p>Read the conclusions. Anything that you don't understand/agree with go back to the figures and tables. If you still don't get it, search the results/discussion for references to the corresponding figure/table. If you still don't get it, decide if you really need it. If so, mark it down to figure out later.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5881,
"author": "Fuhrmanator",
"author_id": 3859,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3859",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Every PhD should at least exhibit explicit <em>contributions</em> and some <em>validation</em> of them. The devil is in the details, but you can start from those two dimensions.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5828",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806/"
]
|
5,829 | <p>I was a bit unsure whether this question belonged here, but after finding many questions requesting advice with respect to mathematics studies I decided to go ahead.</p>
<p>Over the last year I have developed a strong interest in mathematics and would like to pursue it at the university level. The long-term goal is graduate studies. </p>
<p>My original intent was to first pursue a B.Sc in mathematics. I had met with the undergraduate coordinator at a university I would like to enrol in and he recommended that based upon my background that I may be better off pursuing a masters degree with a qualifying year comprised of advanced undergraduate courses.</p>
<p>My background is: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Degrees: B.Comm (Economics), M.A. (Economics)</p></li>
<li><p>Mathematical Courses: Business Calculus, Mathematics for Economists (includes calculus, linear algebra, set theory, optimization, topology), Introductory Statistics, Econometrics</p></li>
<li><p>Research Experience: Four RAships, two upcoming publications (not in mathematics)</p></li>
<li><p>Self-study: <em>Calculus</em> (Stewart), <em>Linear Algebra</em> (Strang), Currently working on: <em>A Course of Pure Mathematics</em> (Hardy)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I would like to ask that given an individual with a background in a quantitative field, what are the pros and cons with pursuing either of these options.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5830,
"author": "gnometorule",
"author_id": 4384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If possible, avoid the 2nd undergrad. To see if possible, pick an online copy of a typical textbook, level advanced undergraduate/graduate, and browse it for fun, and do some of the early exercises. Examples: Artin: Algebra; Munkres: Topology; Spivak: Calculus on Manifolds (or more advanced; Guillemin & Pollack;: Differential Topology); or better yet, browse whatever the curriculum of your chosen university indicated for this fall semester as text books. It doesn't have to appear easy, as you are supposed to learn it; and learning math is hard, no matter what your future classmates will falsely claim: most of them struggle too. But it shouldn't terrify you either. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5840,
"author": "Leon palafox",
"author_id": 2806,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm unsure whether the 2nd undergrad will actually help you at all, because I'm not sure how good Undergrads in math are in the US, you might end up re learning a ton of stuff you already knew to begin with. And that can lead to some frustration.</p>\n\n<p>I've gone over Stwart's and Strang's books and they are overall very nice. Try to see what particular topic interests you and go over some papers, see what is missing in your pool of knowledge and build a consensus of where is it being thought. </p>\n\n<p>If you find that most of your deficit can be solved with some Undergrad Courses, and many Grad courses, go for that Graduate degree directly, but if you find that many of your deficits are in an undergrad level, perhaps doing that second undergrad is not such a bad idea, since you would be starting with a handicap against other people coming from a math undergrad.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5829",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
5,832 | <p>What is the general opinion among editors about whether my paper should be submitted to review to academics from the same University/department? Will this ever happen? If it does happen, isn't this bad for the quality of peer review because the reviewer might have a good relationship with the person who submitted the paper and may be biased consciously or unconsciously towards giving a favorable review? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5837,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Conflict of interest rules vary between journals, and some are far stricter than others. In general, it's not clear where to draw the line for what's appropriate. Asking someone from the same department to review their colleague's paper would generally not be done, even if no rule forbids it. Beyond that it's a little less clear, and you can make up all sorts of borderline cases. (It's considered fine for people from different University of California campuses to review each other's papers. What about someone from the Harvard biology department reviewing a paper from the Harvard medical school? I don't know, and it's not clear to me that there's a simple rule for deciding what constitutes a conflict of interest.)</p>\n\n<p>Handling conflicts of interest responsibly is an important and difficult part of being a journal editor, since there are all sorts of relationships that are not as easy to detect as a shared departmental affiliation. For example, some people have been best friends since they were in grad school, while others may be enemies or rivals.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes when evaluating a submission it's valuable to get advice from someone who has specialized knowledge you need, but who also has a conflict of interest. In that case, you should be aware of the conflict and try to adjust for it (for example, by asking the person for objective information rather than opinions). By contrast, it's much more dangerous to rely on someone who has a conflict of interest you are unaware of. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 34777,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The principle is to obtain an objective review. One basic point is therefore to avoid any petsons with a conflict of interest. It is pretty clear that chosing someone from the same department is very likely to involve a conflict of interest, either by (or equiv.) obtaining an uncritical review or the opposite. Chosing someone from the same university (or equiv.) is perhaps less problematic but for an editor trying to stay clear of possible problems it is likely just as well to avoid such persons as well. The problem is of course larger than this since possible conflicts of interest can exist with many regardless of their location. The honours based system then dictares that reviewers should also decline to review if they believe they cannot provie a fair review or if the involvement can cast such suspicion. We are, however, not living in a perfect world soeditors also have the possibility to moderate apparently unfair reviews.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5832",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,838 | <p>While reviewing research papers, I often find that the author's English is not very good. Considering that English is not everyone's native language, I understand their difficulties, and I recognize that they struggle (using dictionaries and translators) to get their work published at all.</p>
<p>That being said, I sometimes find papers that have contain English that is frankly terrible, with a few select fragments in pristine, almost Shakespearean English, using words that sometimes I didn't even know existed. When this happens, a quick Google search will occasionally reveal that these fragments are copy-pasted fragments from textbooks.</p>
<p>What should I do in these cases? I feel that being too harsh might come of as being mean, but I would really like to emphasize that the practice is very bad for the scientific community.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5842,
"author": "Mikael Vejdemo-Johansson",
"author_id": 519,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/519",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is plagiarism. You should at the VERY least point this out to the editor and suggest (s)he insist the authors get language, translation or copyediting assistance if they can't write their paper themselves.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5843,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As Mikael said, copying and pasting from a textbook (or any other source), unless it's properly quoted and cited, is plagiarism. Now, it's possible that this varies a bit between fields and between cultures, but generally speaking, <strong>plagiarism is one of the most serious academic offenses</strong>, probably a step below outright fabrication of results. Well-respected tenured professors at major universities have lost their jobs and had their careers destroyed by a single instance of plagiarism. The point is, this is a very big no-no and you should treat it accordingly. You should definitely notify the editor, and see how they would like you to deal with it. I don't know exactly how that process works, whether the editor will just handle the paper themselves and let you know that your review will no longer be necessary, or whether they'll ask you to finish your review anyway and state your objections in it.</p>\n\n<p>In the latter case, I would write an unequivocal recommendation <em>against</em> publishing the paper because of the plagiarism. Personally, I would be inclined not to even look at the scientific content of any such paper, although that may not work out in practice. But anyway, just pointing out the plagiarized parts and recommending against publication, in and of itself, is not mean. Just don't get carried away and start attacking the author. You could apply the same principle that is used at Stack Exchange, namely that it's about the behavior, not the person.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>If you put aside the plagiarism, there is also the issue of sloppy English that you mentioned. In my experience, (nearly?) all reputable journals require papers to use proper spelling and grammar for standard English, or something reasonably close to it. Usually, the instructions for authors will advise non-native speakers of English to get a native speaker to check the paper for grammatical errors before submission. So it's reasonable for you to point out any such errors that you come across. Now, grammatical errors don't have to condemn a paper to oblivion the way plagiarism might, but if the grammar is bad enough, I would think it reasonable to recommend against publication in its current state. If the underlying ideas are sound, and otherwise qualified for publication, then you could recommend that the authors edit the paper to improve the grammar and resubmit it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5845,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I understand exactly what you are going through. I have seen it happen many times before. In some culture it is extremely common for students to think that it is acceptable to plagiarize in this way. However, in my experience, even when students think it is acceptable, they still know it is wrong.</p>\n\n<p>You should call it out for what it is: Plagiarism. In my experience, some students only wake up to the impact of plagiarism when they are shocked into it. I've had students call me mean (and much, much worse) but I've never had a student say that I was unjustified in calling their plagiarism out. They knew what they were doing and they got caught.</p>\n\n<p>I also explained to them how to \"right their ship\" so this did not cause future problems. In my school, the punishment is quite lenient for plagiarism - just fail (no removal, no academic probation, etc.). But, it is still expected that it is called out when it is found.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5846,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the couple of cases that I have found plagiarism (and that is what has happened here). I always contact the editor directly telling him/her what I have found and that I no longer feel comfortable writing a review. This then puts the burden on the editor to make a decision of how to deal with it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5850,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would see two situations here:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The English is so bad that you cannot properly review the paper. If you suspect that there is merit in the paper, suggest getting the language polished and encourage to resubmit. Otherwise reject the paper.</li>\n<li>You can follow the story, and provide an in depth review. Just reply as you would normally, and mention polishing the language as one of the additional remarks.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Just copying without reference is just plagiarism, and should lead to rejection of the paper.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5838",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806/"
]
|
5,839 | <p>My supervisor keeps on delaying and postponing my defense date, taking long periods of time between revisions (1 month of "revision" where the document is in his hands). He has done this 2 times already, so I have been sitting here waiting for a total of 2 months now. This last "revision" he sent it back to me with six or seven nitpicky grammar errors, (ie places I had left out words such as "the" or "when"), and the content-related comments he had were extremely trivial.</p>
<p>I feel like he keeps on showstopping my defense date due to nitpicky grammar errors, and it is impacting my career (obviously, my Master's degree now has 3 years on it, instead of the expected 2). At this point <strong>I don't care</strong> about grammar errors (and I believe we must have found them all already) or clarity of expression or making perfectionist type improvements. I feel really angry and I feel like writing a letter of complaint to my graduate program director. Each term I have to stay bleeds more money out of my account, and the situation is making me really upset.</p>
<p>So far, I've been very polite and professional and have not "exploded". I've hidden my emotions and my anger and <em>not</em> complained about what I feel is getting quite <em>ridiculous</em>. Should I complain? Should I let him know how I feel? Or should I just keep on going with it and "grin and bear" until it's over? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5841,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The things you call \"nitpicky grammar errors\" are often (in my experience) symptoms of a deeper problem:</p>\n\n<p>that the student has stopped caring about raising the thesis to a suitably high standard, and has not grasped what \"completed\" means in the context. An unfinished thesis simply can't be marked.</p>\n\n<p>First, get your own proof-reader, and get help in getting all of these problems fixed - your supervisor is too busy to be a proof-reader, and it's an inefficient use of limited supervisory time.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Why is the grammar sloppy?</strong></p>\n\n<p>For different students, the underlying cause will differ; some won't be writing in their native language; some are careless; some have weak language skills; some haven't grasped the importance of good grammar and spelling to clear communication and to academic publishing. I've no idea which of these is true in your case, or if it's something else - that's between you and your supervisor.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Whose problem is it anyway?</strong></p>\n\n<p>You don't care about your grammar errors. That is <strong>your</strong> problem, not your supervisor's. You are angry. Again, that's <strong>your</strong> problem. Trying to make it your supervisor's problem, will make an enemy of someone who you need on your side. You think your supervisor's comments on content are trivial, and that is also <strong>your</strong> problem, not your supervisor's problem.</p>\n\n<p>And now this post has maybe made you angry too. And that would also be <strong>your</strong> problem, not my problem.</p>\n\n<p>I say all this, because accepting that they are your problems, is the first step to fixing them.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Collaboration not conflict</strong></p>\n\n<p>The problem that I am trying to help you fix, is that your supervisor is telling you what you need to finish, and you seem to resent doing it. Supervision <strong>has</strong> to be a collaborative partnership, not a battle. Now, in theory, it's your supervisor's job to make it such. However, in some cases, in academia as well as in the real world, you often need to manage your manager - and that can mean <strong>you</strong> taking responsibility for ensuring that it is is a collaborative relationship.</p>\n\n<p>So, find out what incentivises your supervisor, and try to put those incentives in place. Is it publishing papers? Esteem within the department? Conference papers? Get your supervisor on your side.</p>\n\n<p><strong>The worst case</strong></p>\n\n<p>And (take a deep breath): sometimes, when a thesis is genuinely bad, it's not apparent at first. All one sees on the first couple of readings, are a few errors here, and a few errors there; but when they're corrected, new problems appear.</p>\n\n<p>It gets to be like \"Star Wars the Phantom Menace\" - the East Coast of the US produced one homebrew re-edit of it, to fix some problems; the West Coast produced a different homebrew re-edit, to fix other problems; but in the end, both re-edits and the original are pretty awful films: fixing the most obvious problems just exposed other problems.</p>\n\n<p>I really really hope that's not the case in your case; but as this answer will hopefully be read by many people in your shoes, then at some point, it will be true for one of them. And at that point, that person and their supervisor need to think about a radical rewrite, or walking away from it as a lost cause.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Where to go from here</strong></p>\n\n<p>But for almost all cases, it's just a matter of getting your supervisor onside, getting a definitive list of the problems, and then you doing what your supervisor says is required to fix them. With them, write a checklist, and then return the checklist to them, with a note next to each one, stating how and where you've fixed it, or how you're defending it.</p>\n\n<p><sub>And finally - this post will inevitably contain spelling and grammar errors - it's <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law\">Muphry's law</a> in action. But that doesn't invalidate the advice in any way. With language, <strong>context is everything</strong>. This post is not academic scholarship; your thesis is.</sub></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5849,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am going to take a slightly narrower perspective than EnergyNumbers here, and focus on the specific facts of your situation, as you have mentioned them. Note that my conclusions will be derived from this, so if the facts as stated in your question are not correct (either by ellipsis or exaggeration, most likely), my advice would be different.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>taking long periods of time between revisions (<strong>1 month of \"revision\" where the document is in his hands</strong>). He has done this <strong>2 times already</strong>, so I have been sitting here waiting for a total of 2 months now. This last \"revision\" he sent it back to me with <strong>six or seven</strong> nitpicky <strong>grammar errors</strong>, (ie places I had left out words such as \"the\" or \"when\"), and <strong>the content-related comments</strong> he had were extremely trivial.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Note that I can't consider <em>“nitpicky”</em> and <em>“extremely trivial”</em> as facts, but as statements of your opinion on the validity and scope of these comments. Also, I assume that your thesis is somewhere between 50 and 100 pages in length (if it's 10 or 500 pages, the problem is different).</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<h1>The busy supervisor hypothesis</h1>\n\n<p>This assumes that:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>you did in fact correct the grammar mistakes pointed out to you (and I'd say that 7 such errors in what I assume is a 50–100 page thesis cannot really be considered sloppy writing);</li>\n<li>the content-related comments were few, easily fixed (order of presentation, showing additional data or removing some overly detailed graphs, etc.), and you actually fixed them quickly;</li>\n<li>no further comment was made to you on the overall quality or suitability of your thesis.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Then, you should have a calm and professional discussion with your supervisor, highlighting the difficulty of your current situation and the necessity of working together to reach an outcome satisfactory to both of you. Say explicitly that:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>you understand that a necessary standard has to be met by your thesis,</li>\n<li>you are ready to hear that it is not yet met,</li>\n<li>however, you need more specific guidance to reach this goal, since you have fixed in a timely manner everything that was pointed out to you, and yet you can't defend.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Stay courteous, base your questions (and answers) on facts, and ask for him to do the same. Reading a thesis and commenting on it shouldn't take one month, and if the modifications to be made are as you indicated, no further work on it would be necessary once they have been discussed and integrated.</p>\n\n<p>If that doesn't succeed, and your supervisor seems to busy to devote to you the time necessary or simply doesn't care about it now that the scientific part of the work is over (it happens!), go ask the graduate program director for help. Maybe not by a formal written letter at first, just ask for his advice in a given situation. See what comes out of it.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>In all cases, <strong>whatever you do, stay professional</strong>. You should highlight the harshness of the situation for you, whether when talking to your supervisor or to others, without letting your emotions dominate the discussion. (Yes, it can be hard.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5861,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your goal is to graduate, i.e. to get the masters degree awarded to you.</p>\n\n<p>You have a roadblock which prevents you from reaching the goal - your supervisor keeps on delaying and postponing your defense date. The reason you stated is that he is taking long periods of time between revisions due to nit-picky grammars errors on the draft of your master thesis. You are asking this question on this board to seek advices on what to do. One of your questions is: should you let him know you're angry or not?</p>\n\n<p>I'll answer your questions by asking you a question first, do you think letting him know you're angry will work? Do you think he will sign on your thesis after you tell him you are angry? Or the situation will become even worse after you express your anger?</p>\n\n<p>I think the answer is the latter - the situation will be even worse. The supervisor is responsible for the quality of the student's thesis. You said in one of your comments, \"he doesn't seem to understand the meat of it.\" No supervisor would put his signature on a thesis he does not understand.</p>\n\n<p>After reading your question a couple of times, I think your English writing is not bad. I cannot say how good the writing of your thesis is because I never read it. If there are any grammar errors, it would take you only days to fix them, not months.</p>\n\n<p>So, what is the problem? I think there is obviously a communication issue. You said you sent him many e-mails(in one of your comments). No avail. You think he did not give you enough time. I believe there should be ways to talk to him. For example, make an appointment on his calendar and say you need to talk to him to address your concerns. He is your supervisor after all. He would have to give you some time no matter how busy he is.</p>\n\n<p>However, what are you going to say in that meeting? Are you going to say you want to graduate, your bank account will dry out, you already spent three years for your masters degree, etc.? Those are your personal issues, not his concern. He is not your parent. He does not care how much money is left in your bank. What he does care is the quality of the thesis. I do believe that he will sign off on your thesis <strong>once he is convinced that your thesis is of good quality.</strong> Now, we are coming back to your question, why he keeps nit-picking the grammar errors? I think there is something between you and him. I, as an outsider, can only guess. A supervisor/advisor is more like a coach. Every coach has his own style. Some would not directly tell you what to do. Instead, he would make you re-read and re-write the thesis to make it more understandable and better. Is he that kind of supervisor? I don't know. What I do believe is, he wants a good thesis. Hope this helps.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Update after seeing OP's comment</strong>\nThe OP put in a comment in response to Jase's question <em>So how does your supervisor respond to those e-mails?</em>, OP says <em>With progress reports and updates, like, \"I'm halfway through this chapter\", but I find he basically skimmed it when I get it back.</em> </p>\n\n<p>My suggestion is, have a presentation for him. It can be just half hour to an hour long. Pretend you're having a defense. Give him the meat of your thesis. So that he won't need to spend that much time to find them in the thesis draft.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5839",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2745/"
]
|
5,853 | <p>As a very new researcher who is exploring the best way to generate ideas, some guidance on this question would be very helpful. I have found that this is NOT easy. Ideas seem to pop out of my Professor every day and I wonder how he does it. This question is broad;</p>
<ul>
<li><p>How do you tend to come up with initial/seed ideas? What is your search method (if you have one)?</p></li>
<li><p>What proportion of your ideas for past papers come from; (i) colleagues, (ii) intentionally browsing the literature for ideas, (iii) on the spot inspiration, (iv) conferences, (v) other?</p></li>
<li><p>How do you prioritize research ideas?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there any special, generalizable method that you've discovered to sift out those ideas that are likely to be unrealistic early on in the process of idea generation?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Based on small amounts of anecdotal evidence I have reason to believe that there is vast heterogeneity among professors regarding the above questions. For example, economist Steven Levitt says he works on 22 papers at once. A professor I know will have maybe 25% of this at any one time.</p>
<p>Related but not duplicate: <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/4820/is-there-any-software-or-tools-for-managing-developing-research-ideas">Is there any software or tools for managing developing research ideas?</a> </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5856,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Okay, as you say, this is very broad, and possibly argumentative. So, I'll try to section off my answer for your various sub-questions, and talk not so much about how <em>I</em> do come up (and organize) research ideas, but how I see it done by everyone (including me).</p>\n<hr />\n<h2>Coming up with ideas</h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” but rather, “hmm... that's funny...” <em>— Isaac Asimov</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It's probably very akin to asking a large number of artists <em>“how do you come up with inspiration?”</em>, i.e. you can probably get one thousand different answers, and yet not useful answer at the same time. However, there are some elements that I think are common to all. You can't “trigger” new ideas to come into your mind, but you can put your mind into the right disposition to host these new ideas: recognize them and welcome them. Below is a list, certainly partial and limited, trying to detail my perspective in this matter:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Be challenged!</strong> Nothing sparks ideas more than being confronted with contradiction, healthy criticism, a spirited debate, maybe a bit of competition. Some people manage to do that by themselves, arguing against their ideas and improving them. I myself (and most of the colleagues and students I have seen) need an echo chamber, someone to discuss things with. If they're not exactly from your field, all the better, as they may have unusual/naïve/silly questions or expectations.</p>\n<p>To give an example, some of the most “successful” ideas I have had came while answering questions, for example from a PhD student or colleague, and replying by “no, it doesn't work like that… in fact, it's probably always guaranteed to be false, because… see, it's linked to X… or maybe it's not? hum…”</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><strong>Be curious!</strong> Ideas come from problems. Identifying worthy problems in your field of research, and dissecting larger issues into of specific problems of manageable scope, is at least as hard as coming up with new ideas. In the end my feeling is that, especially for a researcher, all ideas are the result of one’s curiosity.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Manage to get some free time for thinking (and not: teaching, supervising, tutoring, reviewing, writing, sleeping, …). Body and mind. Sure, an idea can pop into your head any time, but it's probably less likely to happen when you teach basic calculus all day that when you get some time to really <em>think</em>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Know your field, know where a new development need to occur, what is currently missing. Read review papers, <a href=\"http://blog.phds.org/2007/1/24/getting-research-ideas\" rel=\"noreferrer\">search for such ideas through people's articles or blog posts</a>, discuss with senior colleagues who have a comprehensive view of the field, …</p>\n<p>One of the ways you can come with ideas is by analyzing how different groups work in your fields, seeing what has been addressed and avoided, what big questions are still open, and how you can link between different works to build a coherent global picture… This is not always successful, but it usually generates some good ideas along the way!</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Explore more or less closely related fields, and see if there is something from <em>your</em> background that you could apply to <em>their</em> problems, or ways you could build something together. Such ideas tend to be very strong, because you can oftentimes apply an entire branch of knowledge (ideas, methods, algorithms, etc.) to a very different problem. In that case, the added value comes from your <em>different</em> perspective, as you might try things that others would not think of.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Ways have been devised to come up with new ideas on a given topic, either alone or in group sessions. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Brainstorming</a> is probably the best know such method (and might be the most popular, in one form or another), but a really large number of <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity_technique\" rel=\"noreferrer\">creativity techniques</a> have been developed. They can be applied both to enhance creativity or to boost problem solving efficiency.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<hr />\n<h2>Organizing ideas</h2>\n<p>A quote often attributed to Kant: <em>“someone’s intelligence can be measured by the quantity of uncertainties that he can bear”</em>. If that true, that has serious consequences for research. Accepting that your mind can only efficiently support a finite number of ongoing research ideas, you have to come up with ways to write them down, organize them, prioritize them, come back to them later, etc. Just as you cannot juggle with as many balls as you'd like, such “external” tools will help your brain focus on the ones that you assign high priority (or the ones to which <em>it</em> gives high priority; the brain works in funny ways).</p>\n<p>Most people use very low-tech tools for that:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p><a href=\"http://www.cgu.edu/pages/900.asp\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Notebooks</a>, either sorted chronologically or thematically; in the later case, open a series of blanks pages for each new project/idea, and flip through the book whenever you want to check on them. I use a <a href=\"http://www.moleskine.com/us/collections/model/product?id=61152\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Moleskine</a> (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moleskine\" rel=\"noreferrer\">WP</a>) for that purpose; having a nice, leather-bound notebook somehow helps me “value” it more and treat it with care (always have it with me, actually use it).</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Post-it’s scattered through one’s (real or virtual) desktop. Downsides are obvious.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>More people than I thought actually don't use any tools, and just keep all in their mind. Apparently it can be done, but I don't advise it.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>But more complicated methodologies have been devised, that are supposed to help you with it:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind-mapping\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Mind mapping</a>, either on paper or software-based.</li>\n<li>Using todo-list flat or two-dimensional todo-list software, or more complex task-tracking software (see, e.g. <a href=\"https://trello.com\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Trello</a>).</li>\n<li>The software side of this question is already covered (though possibly not extensively) <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/4820/is-there-any-software-or-tools-for-managing-developing-research-ideas/5854#5854\">here on this very Q&A site</a>.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Finally, don't underestimate the possibilities opened by delegating: people in charge of a specific project or sub-project (PhD students or post-docs) can be tasked with maintaining a list of ideas by all contributors of the project, to come to later on.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>Answers to your miscellaneous smaller questions:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>What proportion of your ideas for past papers come from; (i) colleagues, (ii) intentionally browsing the literature for ideas, (iii) on the spot inspiration, (iv) conferences, (v) other?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Most ideas are hardly “traceable” to one source or another. A given idea might have formed in my head during a conference, seeing how people were failing to address a certain issue, then crystallized during a discussion with colleagues, but would never have occurred to me if not for a literature review I had performed a few months before.</p>\n<hr />\n<p><em>I'll come back a bit later and continue working on this answer :)</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5858,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'll address two points in your question (the overall question is quite broad):</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p><em>Ideas seem to pop out of my Professor every day</em>: If you've worked on enough problems, you amass a collection of tools and mental shorthands that you can apply to a new problem. It's a matter of experience. You also might see someone else's paper and realize that they are doing something in a clumsy way and you have learnt a better way to do it, and so on.</p>\n<p>I wouldn't worry too much about this: it's a matter of time and experience, and will happen on its own. You're not evaluated on the number of ideas you have in any case. You might want to check how many of these ideas are actually good ones :).</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><em>How do you tend to come up with initial/seed ideas?</em>: When you're first staring at a problem, it can be intimidating and difficult. While there's no single strategy for getting a "leg up", some useful techniques (and these might be very math/CS specific) are:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>simplify the problem</strong>: can you solve a simpler version ? if not, can you simplify even further ? Often, finding the largest solvable element starts to get your mind rolling</li>\n<li><strong>pattern match</strong>: does this problem look like something related that has been solved ? can you borrow a method from there ? if not, why not ? again, the goal is to get your mind off the "ZOMG THIS PROBLEM IS TEH HARD" and onto "Here's a tiny piece that I can chew on".</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>I'm sure others will have useful ideas as well. Ultimately, you'll find that getting ideas isn't the problem: it's getting GOOD ideas that is hard.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5862,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Do you, when presented with anything related to your research, routinely ask, \"Why is that? How can I tell if that is the case?\"</p>\n\n<p>If not, try doing so.</p>\n\n<p>If so, you probably won't be short on ideas. Your problem will be sorting the good ones from the bad ones.</p>\n\n<p>Then start asking \"Is this important? How can I explain why it is important?\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5880,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is some things I found useful: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Attending public seminars at the department could spark nice\nideas (even if it seems not related to your research). </p></li>\n<li><p>Chatting with other graduate students.</p></li>\n<li>Reading deeply with <strong>why?</strong> in mind. This means reading a lot and also means stopping more than usual in the assumptions hypothesis and results for different papers.</li>\n<li>Read future work and conclusions of the papers. Some papers have a real list of future research ideas. </li>\n<li>Capture the Big Picture. This usually will result in many <strong>whys</strong> for what you encountered.</li>\n<li><strong>Ask Questions</strong>.. Even what seems as silly and fundamental questions for some can be the key for good ideas. </li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5882,
"author": "Andre Holzner",
"author_id": 4401,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4401",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Be open/curious to what related disciplines are doing. In some you'll see that the way they solve their problems could also applied to your field but hasn't been tried yet.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5895,
"author": "Dima",
"author_id": 4405,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4405",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would recommend <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1934356050\" rel=\"nofollow\">Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware</a> by Andy Hunt. This book has some very good tips for coming up with ideas, research or otherwise.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5978,
"author": "Jo Jordan",
"author_id": 4452,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4452",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The most practical way is to go to the Library and look through journals for articles that interest you.</p>\n\n<p>When you have found a selection, then sort them by\na) Is this a current concern in your field?\nb) Is the prevailing methodology/technique practical - have you the resources?\nc) Will your supervisor(s) find this project interesting?</p>\n\n<p>When you can answer all three questions as Yes, then do a deeper literature research and assess again whether the project is doable in the time available and publishable (sound and interesting to people in your field).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 11762,
"author": "ferguson",
"author_id": 8099,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8099",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Maybe you could try approaching the problem from another direction,</p>\n\n<p>\"What is it that you would like to achieve? what is the purpose of your research?\"</p>\n\n<p>There are millions of problems in life at the moment, and finding things to research is not the problem at all, even though it may seem that way.\n Inspiration is not purely found in a textbook, but are a function of the mind and soul and body.</p>\n\n<p>Experience is what probably allows your professor to come up with constant questions. He probably practices free thinking, whereby he doesn't feel constrained in any way by other people and current belief systems.\n Maybe a lot of the problems that actually need to be understood, such as mental health and problems that people and our planet, experience everyday, just aren't being taken into your current world-view.</p>\n\n<p>Science in itself is not an end. Science is a state of being, including understanding; and is a way that you as an intelligent, caring and investigative person (I presume) approach problems.\n A classic example of a problem is, that we don't understand. However, simply not understanding something is not a problem. A problem is something that has effects in the real world, such as, how can we help infertile couples reproduce and have children? Although it appears that now that we have resolved this in some detail, that it was the problem of not understanding DNA and the details of reproduction that probably is what resulted, with in vitro fertilisation, and even in vivo transplants etc. If one were to take the time to step out of this 'curiosity breeds progress' mindset, it would appear that these problems weren't purely driven by a quest for knowledge, but from real world problems, that have fortunately been solved. </p>\n\n<p>I'd be interested in further discussion, as I have only this evening come up with an idea myself!</p>\n\n<p>There's always a thirst for improvement, and this won't cease until people realize that happiness doesn't come from materials. Happiness is within all of us, all we have to do is tap into it. Being only 24 I have seen some truly eye-opening things and I am very humble to each of our personal strengths, but I do feel its a shame that research has become so fascinated with one-upmanship, and away from the real potential and benefit of being so intelligent.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 77748,
"author": "nabla",
"author_id": 53183,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53183",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am also a green researcher, and similarly to you, I find coming up with ideas a daunting task. I have tried to approach this task in a bit more systematic way, than to just be waiting for Godot. Feel free to draw inspiration!</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Finding a problem to work on</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I keep a list of interesting problems. This could be something a hear about at a seminar, read about in an article, or just something I think about. I write it down - usually half a page, only few references - and forget about it. I can then pull out my list, and find something. Some of the problems quickly turn out to be too small to be interesting, others not.</p>\n\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Starting out</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>When one of my problems are deemed interesting enough, I turn to lit. study. This goes on until I find someone with an interesting treatise. Then I read it, and try to reproduce the result as they do it. (I should here mention that my field is theoretical)</p>\n\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Reproducing - talk about it</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I can use quite some time reproducing previous authors' work. But it is very fruitful, and you tend to learn something. I try to give a local seminar about the work at this point, the junior people in my department does bi-weekly blackboard seminars, where presentations like this are encouraged for exactly this reason.</p>\n\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>New work!</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>At this point it is hopefully possible where I can go in and improve state of matter. So I start. This can sometimes require correspondence with the author of aforementioned work.</p>\n\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>Talk about it - again!</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>For me, discussing my work with peers is essential. At this point I would try to sneak in two slides about 'ongoing work' in a conference presentation in order to get feedback from peers and seniors from the field.</p>\n\n<p>From this point on it is not so much getting the idea anymore, as following through on it. I will leave that to another day.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5853",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,860 | <p>The NSF has recently released <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf13001/index.jsp">a new version of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide</a>, releasing their previous guides. (See their <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/index.jsp">Dear Colleague Letter</a>.) This contains a number of changes to the policies regarding grant proposal reviews and ongoing reporting.</p>
<p>However, it is unclear to me whether any of these are likely to be significant in practice for PIs; many of them sound primarily bureaucratic in nature. The list of changes seems like it was written by a bureaucrat and seems likely to be of interest only to a bureaucrat, and of modest relevance to PIs (e.g., it might change a few section headings in proposals to comply with the new requirements, but not make any fundamental changes to what we propose or how we do research).</p>
<p>Are any of these changes significant enough that PIs should be paying serious attention to them? Are there any changes that are important enough that they would make a substantive change to how we write proposals or do research or interact with the NSF, and if so, which changes are those, and what will their impact be? In short, if a colleague of yours (a fellow PI) asked you what the impact of these changes will be, are there any changes that rise high enough that you would highlight them as important to be aware of? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5900,
"author": "mankoff",
"author_id": 185,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/185",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At the top of a recent NSF Solicitation the following note exists:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures\n Guide (PAPPG), <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13001\" rel=\"nofollow\">NSF 13-1</a>, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is\n effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14,\n 2013.</p>\n \n <p>Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG\n to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National\n Science Board (NSB) report, <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2011/meritreviewcriteria.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">National Science Foundation's Merit Review\n Criteria: Review and Revisions</a>. While the two merit review criteria\n remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance\n has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria.\n Changes will affect the project summary and project description\n sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.</p>\n \n <p>A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided\n at the beginning of both the <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf13001/gpg_sigchanges.jsp\" rel=\"nofollow\">Grant Proposal Guide</a> and the <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf13001/aag_sigchanges.jsp\" rel=\"nofollow\">Award &\n Administration Guide</a>.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>By my reading of the section in the PDF that lists the changes, the following might be of interest to PIs:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Chapter II.C.2.f(i)(c), Biographical Sketch(es), has been revised to rename the “Publications” section to “Products” and amend terminology and instructions accordingly. This change makes clear that products may include, but are not limited to, publications, data sets, software, patents, and copyrights. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Plus, a minor change to the Indirect Costs section w.r.t. international participants, a minor change in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources listing, </p>\n\n<p>A change in the definition of \"New Awardee\":</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Chapter II, Introduction, has been modified regarding the period of time after which an organization is considered a “new awardee”. Organizations that have not had an active NSF award within the last five years (formerly two years) should be prepared to submit basic organization and management information and certifications.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Prior funding:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Chapter II.C.2.d, Project Description, has been revised to clarify that, in the Results from Prior NSF Support section, “prior” NSF support includes current NSF funding. This section also was updated to indicate that information should be included irrespective of whether or not the support was directly related to the proposal, or whether or not salary support was provided.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>References Cited:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Chapter II.C.2.e, References Cited, has been updated to specify that if there are no references cited, a statement to that effect should be included in this section of the proposal and uploaded into FastLane.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>And various other minor changes...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5907,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No, there are no earth-shattering changes.</p>\n\n<p>There are some minor changes that you may need to be aware of when you write a proposal, but they mostly come down to changes the titles of sections and that sort of thing. They may affect some PIs, but for most PIs, the changes are primarily clarifications or modest bureaucratic tweaks. For example, they are unlikely to change that way that grant review panels review proposals, or to change how you are allowed to spend the money that you receive in a grant.</p>\n\n<p>One change you'll notice is how you enter the summary page. Instead of preparing a one-page summary page, you now will have to paste your text into three separate textboxes (project overview, intellectual merit, broader impacts), and the length limit is in characters rather than pages.</p>\n\n<p>There's a great summary in the Chronicle of Higher Education: <a href=\"http://chronicle.com/article/Dont-Underestimate-NSFs-New/136521/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Don't Underestimate NSF's New Grant-Submission Rules</a>.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5860",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705/"
]
|
5,865 | <p>One of my friends submitted a paper to a reputable communications journal and received some reviews a week back. The paper was rejected, but the review comments were abysmal:</p>
<ul>
<li>The language was so bad in one of them that it was difficult to understand what the reviewer was hinting at. Besides, the comments pertained to trivial things like the naming of axes, and there was no comment on (or understanding of) the overall work.
The second of the three reviewers rejected the paper in one line, saying it was impossible for him/her to understand what the paper was aimed at.
The third reviewer appreciated the paper and its results and made good suggestions for improving the results.</li>
</ul>
<p>The editor-in-charge has rejected the paper since the vote was 2/3 in favour of that, but my friend feels hard done as he feels the two reviewers did not merit the opportunity to review the work.</p>
<p>What recourse does an author have if his paper is rejected by a reputable journal but the review comments indicate a serious lack of understanding of the paper's work? Should the author write his/her grievance to an editor higher in the hierarchy (an associate editor, for example)? Or is ditching the journal and submitting it somewhere else the only solution?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5866,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The first course of action is to reply to the editor who made the decision. Write to them, say that you are willing to improve the manuscript for publication given some guidance from the referees, but the judgement by referee #2 seems a bit rash and not thoroughly justified. Possibly, send to them a revised version of the manuscript, taking into account comments made so far, and ask them to reconsider their decision. You can also hint that you would like them to send the (revised) manuscript to yet another reviewer (some editors have the concept of an “adjudicating” reviewer, even though the editor should actually ne the adjudicator).</p>\n\n<p>The second avenue to try, if the first one does not succeed, is to ask the matter to be escalated to the associate editor (or senior editor, or arbitration committee…). The exact procedure will be indicated in the journal’s instruction to authors, but usually one way is simply to ask the corresponding editor to forward it. For example, at the end of your email from step #1 asking for him to reconsider his decision, you could say:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We strongly believe that you might find our revisions and this justification sufficient to consider our paper for publication in <em>XXXX</em>. If that is not the case, we would like this matter to be escalated to an Associate Editor.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Be aware that it's somewhat of a strong option, because people usually don't change their mind very easily, and they don't like to prove their colleagues wrong. So, one option you really have to consider is simply publishing your paper in another journal. At least, sketch something like a risk/benefit analysis before appealing the editor’s decision.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5871,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>F'x has ably covered one possible reason: that it's not you, it's them.</p>\n\n<p>I'm going to cover the other side of things. That is, starting from the assumption that the editor has made a good decision.</p>\n\n<p>The authors should consider rewriting the abstract and introduction. If two peer reviewers didn't understand the paper, the paper may just need a savage reworking.</p>\n\n<p>The authors may also wish to try working with a freelance development editor.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, the authors might want to bring on board a co-author who's been frequently published: I expect that many decent-sized, decent-quality departments have at least one person whose quality of writing leads to get manuscripts getting accepted first time, pretty much every time.</p>\n\n<p>And then submit to a different journal. I don't know the field, but I'm willing to speculate that there are a few reputable journals where the article could be published.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5933,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is an extremely simple rule for dealing with reviews that make you unhappy. Here is the rule: <strong>it's not them, it's you</strong>. This rule of thumb implies, it is never the reviewers' fault. Rather, it is <em>always</em> your responsibility.</p>\n\n<p>Oh, you say the reviewers didn't seem to understand the paper? Well, that's your fault. It is <em>your</em> responsibility to make sure the paper is comprehensible to its intended audience. If the reviewers didn't understand the paper, odds are that the rest of the readers of that journal/conference won't either. Maybe you need to do a drastic rewrite to make the paper more understandable. Or, maybe you submitted the paper to the wrong place.</p>\n\n<p>The reviewers didn't seem too excited about the paper, and they gave you a short one-line review, or they focused on nitpicky comments about grammar and didn't say much else? Well, that's on you. It's <em>your</em> responsibility to convince readers that your results are significant. Maybe your paper's results just aren't up to the level of significance expected at that journal/conference, and you should be submitted somewhere else. Or maybe the paper didn't adequately make the case for why people should care about your results.</p>\n\n<p>Why this rule? Because authors are notoriously poor at seeing the shortcomings in their own work. No parent thinks their <em>own</em> baby is ugly. When you get negative reviews, it is natural and human to assume the reviewers are idiots and too blind to see the brilliance of the work sitting before them. Well, that's fine. Take a moment to curse the reviewers, and get it out of your system. Then calm down, and think more rationally. It is rare to find cases where reviewers are stupid or lax in their duties; it is much more common to find that there is something valid behind their reviews.</p>\n\n<p>Realistically, if the reviews are negative, the most constructive thing you can do is improve the paper and re-submit (possibly to somewhere more suitable). There is almost always some way that you can improve the paper and that you can learn from the reviews you got back.</p>\n\n<p>I realize my rule might seem like an oversimplification. Well, technically, I suppose it is, but it's a lot more accurate than most folks who are new to the field realize.</p>\n\n<p>In my experience, complaining to the editor rarely leads to any positive result. I suppose that in the most extreme of cases, it could be warranted, but I would have a heavy presumption against that. And, you probably don't have enough experience to form a judgement on that. Before complaining to an editor or appealing the decision, sit down with someone much more senior and more experienced and ask for their advice. If they are skeptical or neutral, don't bother complaining; just improve the paper and submit it elsewhere. Only if they tell you that complaining is the right thing to do should you consider complaining to the editor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 56825,
"author": "Kakoli Majumder",
"author_id": 9920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While I agree with D.W's views that authors tend to not see the flaws in their own work and that complaining to the editor rarely helps, I do not completely agree that \"the reviewers are under no obligation to provide suggestions for improvement.”\nAccording to the Council of Science Editors’ white paper on publication ethics, one of the responsibilities that peer reviewers have towards authors is “Providing written, unbiased feedback in a timely manner on the scholarly merits and the scientific value of the work, together with the documented basis for the reviewer’s opinion.”\nWhile author definitely need to revise the paper based on reviewer comments, reviewers should also make an attempt to understand the paper they are reviewing and provide detailed feedback as far as possible.</p>\n\n<p>From what you have described, I can identify two genuine problems with the reviews:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Reviewer #2 has not given any detailed comments</li>\n<li>Reviewer #1 has not given any comments on the merits or shortcomings of the overall work</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Although complaining to the editor might not help, such superficial reviews should be brought to the notice of the editor. In my opinion, there is no harm in writing to the editor politely explaining that while you respect the reviewers' opinion, it would be helpful if you could get more detailed feedback about the scientific drawbacks of your paper from reviewers #1 and #2. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 105196,
"author": "xmp125a",
"author_id": 51476,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/51476",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Would like to add the following to other answers:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>No paper will be accepted with 2 reviewers voting for reject.\nUsually, single reject will seal the fate of the paper, so don't be surprised that the editor rejected the paper.</li>\n<li>I absolutely, as an author, reviewer, and editor, agree with the "it is probably your fault" theory. If 2 reviewers say the paper is reject, then either you chose the wrong journal (and wrong audience, reviewers ARE members of your audience as well), or your paper is really not worthy of publication.</li>\n<li>You assume that a reviewer with broken English did not understand the paper; that is perhaps true, but again, it is your responsibility as an author to make the paper appealing to the journal audience. Many fresh researchers actually forget that the end goal of publishing is that someone reads your paper, accepted papers which are not even read and cited by nobody are a sad witness to the race to the bottom in the current scientific community.</li>\n<li>The reviewers may have misunderstood your paper, but that may be due to your improper use of terminology, (too) complex language or simply the fact that you selected the wrong journal. Still your responsibility.</li>\n<li>And finally, the question of whether to appeal to the decision of the editor. Never, if majority of reviewers are in agreement, because editor's hands are effectively tied, and these reviewers will be insulted if they see the paper accepted or get the revision of your paper to review, after they already judged your paper to be not suitable.</li>\n<li>The rare exception to the above rule is when you get significantly differing reviews, e.g. two very good reviews, and the single negative reviewer appears to have misunderstood the paper or is in some or other way incompetent to review the paper. Note that in such cases (2 good 1 reject) the decision of the editor is usually "reject" as well. This is the rare case, when you have any chances to appeal the decision. I did it once, and was successful, however the appeal was lodged to editor-in-chief who assigned the paper to different editor, and the review process was repeated. This is as much as you can hope for.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 180839,
"author": "Suresh Paul",
"author_id": 151955,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/151955",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First off, if reviewers do not understand your paper, either the editorial staff or the journal has done a piss poor job of allocating a reviewer to review your work or your paper is subpar in putting its point across. While the former is also a possibility, it seldom is in reputable journals. Since everyone here is talking a shot at you (author), let me take the opposing view point.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>While there may be other conflict of interests or differing school of thought that may also prompted the rejection. It is quite possible that the reviewers have working drafts that align too closely to your work, or rendered mute by your findings, or that they are subjective in accessing the merits of your work because it conflicts with their scientific ideology/methods/practice. The rejection or the lack of "understanding" might be an escape from giving an actual feedback that benefits the paper!</p>\n<hr />\n<p>The only recourse to all this is to have an open review process where it is equally possible to contest the findings of a paper and contest the reviewer's lack of clarity for rejecting a paper. Till that happens, reviewers are the gate keepers and will play favorites in who is allowed to publish and who is pushed down to second tier journals.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5865",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/411/"
]
|
5,870 | <p>I have BS in Biotech, an MS in Neuroscience and applying MD-Phd next June. I have always wanted to go into academia and eventually establish my own lab. However, I have been receiving a lot of critical feedback about MD-Phd programs. Suggesting that to be a good Physician, you don't need a PhD, and good PhDs don't need the MD. That most MSTP graduates end up utilizing only one degree. I was under the impression to do good translation research--an MD-PhD would be the best option. What are the befits/disadvantages of applying MD-PhD? </p>
<p>I know the faculty I would like to work with, already. Would contacting them improve my chances during the application process? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5872,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Doing good translational research is hard because it requires a good understanding of clinical issues (both from the patient and carer sides) and a strong research background. In order to obtain those skills you need to spend time in the clinic and time in the lab. An MD-PhD program guarantees that you will have the opportunity to spend time in both environments. It is worth noting that having that opportunity doesn't mean you will capitalize on it. Further, you don't need to do an MD-PhD to have that opportunity.</p>\n\n<p>Another advantage of some MD-PhD programs is that you can get funding for the MD side. If it is what you want to do, saving 100k USD isn't a bad thing. If it isn't what you want, trading a few years of an MD salary for 100k is a bad investment.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5926,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends a lot on the kind of research you envisage doing. Since you say that you want to go into academia, I'll look at it as \"what added value does an MD provide\". My understanding of these things is that if you want to do almost anything patient facing, having an MD makes it a lot easier. Others have mentioned access to certain kinds of grants as well. But for example if you plan to work with flies or mouse models, then getting an MD in addition might not be a good time/money trade off. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5870",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1612/"
]
|
5,873 | <p>What is the significance of undergraduate grades (2.6/4.0) after 5 years of work experience. Do they still carry a value? If your job is not research oriented, e.g. for me I am a software developer on various enterprise Java technologies, how should I project myself to admission committees?</p>
<p>What are your suggestions for me? Getting non degree classes BEFORE APPLYING etc.? Currently, I am in Turkey and I want to enter US Job Market possibly after a MS CS, but if I like I can continue with a Ph.D. So I am an international applicant.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5887,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How much grades matter depends on the institution you apply to. The larger the department or company, the <em>more</em> grades will matter, because they will likely be used as an initial screening criterion to \"whittle down\" the pool. A GPA below 3.0 is not going to help, and at some places, will earn you an instant rejection, work after graduation notwithstanding. </p>\n\n<p>However, if the review is \"holistic,\" and you have outstanding letters from your recommenders, then the impact of the GPA may be lessened. (It will not be completely overlooked, but at the least it won't be a criterion for \"bouncing\" you without further consideration.)</p>\n\n<p>I should also point out that after graduating, depending upon who you work for, your GPA may still matter. At a start-up or small company, it may not be such a big deal, but I've worked for several large-scale employers who had rather strict GPA cutoffs (well above 3.0 for both undergraduate <em>and</em> graduate degrees!). If you were way under this level, it was just not in the hiring manager's interest to spend the time necessary to defend the hire, versus selecting a candidate with a better record. So you may be able to overcome your academic record, but you won't be able to bury it completely.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5892,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me add a few points to aeismail's answer.</p>\n\n<p>Whether your work experience counts as positive or negative <em>also</em> depends on where you apply. You express interest in a PhD, which suggests that you are aiming for a research masters degree (with a thesis) and not a professional masters degree (just more classes). These two degrees are <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/222/65\"><strong>very</strong> different</a>. For admission to a <em>research</em> MS program, your non-research work experience is unlikely to count in your favor. Your work experience is much more likely to help if you apply to a professional MS program. On the other hand, professional MS degrees are usually considered terminal, <em>not</em> as preparation for PhD.</p>\n\n<p>It is possible to move from industry to a research degree program with a low GPA and industry experience—<a href=\"http://3dpancakes.typepad.com/ernie/2005/03/re_phd_with_low.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">I did it myself</a>—but you will need strong evidence in your application that counteracts your low grades. Specifically:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>You shold take the GRE — both the general and the CS subject test — <strong>and do <em>really, really</em> well</strong>, at least in the 80th percentile. This is direct evidence that you're <em>smart</em> and that you know the field, counteracting the negative evidence in your transcript. If you take the GRE and <em>don't</em> do well, step back, study hard for a few months, and take it again. (Yes, this can get expensive.)</p></li>\n<li><p>Your recommendation letters must imply <strong>strong potential for research aptitude</strong>, not just your coding ability or your ability to work in a team. You need to tell your letter-writers to address this issue directly; otherwise, they almost certainly won't.</p></li>\n<li><p>Finally, you should consider applying to take courses as a non-degree student.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5873",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4395/"
]
|
5,874 | <p>The head of our department is writing a letter of recommendation for me for MD-PhD (MSTP) programs. I have two graduate level classes with him. He is very busy and writes letters regularly for students. I want to make sure that he does not end up using a canned letter. </p>
<p>I will be sending him my C.V., Cover Letter, and letter of intention. What else should I provided? He knows me in a classroom setting--I have not done research in his lab. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5875,
"author": "Herman Toothrot",
"author_id": 4050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Send him information about the program and department you are applying to. Also ask him/her if they might know someone in the department you are applying to. It might be beneficial to name that contact person in the cover letter. Finally provide a deadline.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5906,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You won't find a better or more complete answer to this question than the one given <a href=\"http://www.siam.org/news/news.php?id=1777\" rel=\"noreferrer\">here</a>, by Professor David E. Keyes. Here is the key paragraph:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Likely reference writers (for instance, well-known professors of core courses) are sought out by many well-qualified candidates. To ensure that such a writer is well primed to execute your reference efficiently, you should create a self-contained packet containing all the information the author will need to dispatch the reference in one sitting: (1) contact information for the recipient of the letter, (2) a description of the position and application closing date, (3) your own application essays and cover letter, (4) a resume, (5) relevant transcripts and scores, and (6) an explanation of the niche of the writer! It is very useful, as a reference writer, to receive a reminder along the following lines: "Professor Keyes, your letter will be the one that comments most authoritatively about my analytical ability, my promptness in completing projects, and my reasons for wanting to pursue X next fall. Remember that you gave me an A– in partial differential equations two years ago and it was your suggestion that led to my summer at Los Alamos with Y." You should provide this packet in both hard and soft copy. Writers of lots of references maintain files that may be hard or soft, or both, and you should make it easy for those writers to locate your files quickly for subsequent updating and future requests.</p>\n<p>Some faculty write many dozens of letters of reference during peak months, and they may even ask candidates for sample text to be incorporated into letters, to ensure that they capture their niches. You should not be flustered at such a request, and should not be modest in complying. You should be aware, though, that your words will not pass directly into the delivered product; they will be used simply to get the author's juices flowing following the formulaic paragraphs of the letter.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5911,
"author": "Dan C",
"author_id": 1069,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1069",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When I agree to write a letter of recommendation for a student, I ask him/her for the information listed <a href=\"http://www.math.hmc.edu/~orrison/recs/\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a>, including most of what David mentioned, as well as a self-assessment of the student's strengths and weaknesses and a list of long-term career goals.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5932,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Give your letter-writer a packet containing:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>A copy of your transcript (showing what courses you've taken and the grades you've gotten).</p></li>\n<li><p>A copy of your personal statement or other essays that go with your applications.</p></li>\n<li><p>A brag sheet, with reminders of things your letter writer might want to mention. This might include significant acomplishments. It should also include reminders of interactions you've had with the professor (e.g., you may remember that you suggested I study with wibbly wobbets do or don't wangle their wuckets; see my research paper, where I found that they do, but only on Tuesdays; or, you may remember that I solved two of the optional bonus problems in your class).</p></li>\n<li><p>A list of places where you are applying, and the deadline for each. Highlight the first deadline.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5874",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1612/"
]
|
5,876 | <p>I am a PhD student at a fairly large university, and I have twice taught a 200 level course for my department. The course is a new course that I developed. All of the lecture and lab content for this course was developed from scratch. As I will be graduating shortly (<em>fingers crossed</em>), a faculty member is scheduled to take over this course. My question is, "should I pass my course content on to said faculty?" I am primarily concerned about passing my slides on verbatim. Some issues I am concerned about are my indebtedness to the department (I developed some content while a TA and some while an adjunct.), ownership of the slides (What rights do I have to my content?), and distribution of content (How can I prevent the material from being further distributed?). I am interested in the issue of sharing content in general and not just in this one instance. Any guidance is much appreciated!</p>
<p>edit - as a colleauge of mine pointed out, I think there is a power imbalance issue as well. The faculty at my university are generally disinclined to share material with graduate students. Most grad students have to develop their own content. On the other hand, grad students are being asked to pass on material to faculty.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5877,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In my opinion: <strong>Yes, you should certainly pass over all course material</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>My colleague took over a course from another colleague who had left. My colleague know much less about the subject than the one who had left, so putting together a good course was a challenge for him. In theory, he had passed over all course material, but in practice, it was not very well organised, and my colleague ended up having to build it mostly from scratch.</p>\n\n<p>As you have probably experienced, the first time you give a course is <strong>by far</strong> the most work, because you have to create everything from scratch. It helps enormously to have access to earlier course material. You lose very little by giving away course material. It's probably not publishable anyway — and if it is, passing it on to the next doesn't disqualify you from publishing it as a review or textbook, because passing it on is not a publication.</p>\n\n<p>The only situation I can imagine where it would be problematic is if the person who you pass it on to claims it as their own and incorporates it in a review paper or textbook. But if you have any trust for the person, they won't do that, and it's much better to simply make all the course material available. Probably for the entire world.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5878,
"author": "Ben Norris",
"author_id": 924,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/924",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In some cases, ownership may be defined in your contract. In the US, intellectual property law usually assigns ownership of works created during the course of expected duties of employment to the employer. The employee may or may not retain ownership, depending on the contract that was signed. </p>\n\n<p>Your institution may also have ownership over all course materials, since you created them while you were an employee doing expected duties (teaching). Thus, they can do whatever they want with them, including assigning, licensing, or selling their ownership. Your ownership, however, would remain intact, if you had ownership. Your ownership cannot be reassigned or sold without your permission or under court order. You may have already give permission waiving ownership by signing your contract.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5918,
"author": "Fuhrmanator",
"author_id": 3859,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3859",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Complementing the other answers, that are more specific to the text in your question (being a TA and giving up the material), I'll add how I \"roll\" as a faculty member with my teaching assistants after 10+ years. </p>\n\n<p>I have amassed a lot of material for several of the first-year courses I was \"stuck with\" in the beginning. It's true that some academic tradition is to ask TAs to develop their own material without any sharing from faculty. Some faculty I have spoken with feel it's how a TA builds character; others say it's a way to see if a TA has potential as a researcher; others say it's simply <em>tradition</em>. </p>\n\n<p>In my case, my courses are too important to have TAs test out their worth and possibly crash and burn due to lack of support (it happened once that the students revolted, and this problem fell back into my lap, being the faculty member in charge of the course). So I learned my lesson to hand over everything, with the caveat that the TA know the material in the books and not think of the material as being a \"pass\" at teaching the course. I always encourage TAs to re-do their presentation slides, only because presenting is a personal style, and it's risky to present someone else's material with confidence. </p>\n\n<p>After I started sharing, one TA added some exercises that were well done, but he didn't want to give them back, saying it was his property and he was underpaid, etc. Fair enough, since I didn't state any expectations when I gave out my material. </p>\n\n<p>So, now I will give my material out to any new TAs who sign an informal contract (email response) saying that by accepting the material, they agree to improve on it (add exercises, examples, exam questions, multiple-choice questions, analyses, etc.) and render it back to the community (me). This has worked well with many TAs, and frankly the cooperation factor is very high.</p>\n\n<p>Another practical aspect: I ask TAs to cite sources of material they borrow (just as they do in their research reports). The course material is already full of citations, so it's natural. In the distant past, some undergrad students raised a stink (rightly!) about TAs who copy/paste figures/text from web sources without citing them in Powerpoint. In one case, a TA was fired because he wouldn't change this behavior.</p>\n\n<p>As for <em>how</em> to share, today I'm using Google Drive (our school has the academic license). In the past I used Dropbox and both ways are very practical.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5876",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4397/"
]
|
5,879 | <p>I am starting my PhD in Computer Science next semester in a relatively small department (around 20 faculty members). I have been to the university a few times and I noted the collaboration among students is minimal. My prospective supervisor, most likely, is willing to help me in any research activity I propose that will increase the number of projects and publications with collaboration among students. </p>
<p>Thus, I am asking for different suggestions/tips of activities one can do or propose to increase the collaboration and the knowledge exchange among students/faculty members. </p>
<p>My question is on two levels:<br>
<strong>1. What activities/set ups can a PhD student do/propose at the group level?</strong> (i.e. between you and other students with the same supervisor). FYI, the group is around 10 students. My supervisor is going to set up a group presentation every two weeks.</p>
<p><strong>2. What activities/proposals/set ups can one suggest at the departmental level?</strong> (I was thinking of a weekly talk over coffee for graduate students in the department.)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5883,
"author": "F'x",
"author_id": 2700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There are so many group-binding activities that you can imagine… I’ll try to list just a few ideas specific to an academic setting:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_club\">Journal club</a></strong>, the obvious choice</li>\n<li><strong>Friday’s coffee and pastries</strong>, or <strong>Tuesday’s four o’ clock tea</strong> sessions, followed by flash updates (news from the group, recent awards, publications, maybe one existential technical question that someone raises, etc.)</li>\n<li><strong>Graduate students seminars</strong>: organizing seminars specifically tailored for graduate students (but inviting all those who may want to come, of course). Possible topics include early career path presentation and advice, motivational speakers (e.g. Jorge Cham from <a href=\"http://www.phdcomics.com/speaking.php\">PhD comics</a> fame), teaching skills (for TA’s), etc.</li>\n<li>Encourage participation in group life: elect students’ representative to lab council or other local boards, hold regular meetings to talk about the practical aspects of your life, organize activities centered around your office space (cleaning day, fire safety day, first responder training).</li>\n<li>Participate in competitions in (or near) your field, if there are any (competitions, olympiads, etc.)</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>All events, even if some seem only remotely relevant to the pursuit of your academic happiness, will increase group cohesion and maintain a good research atmosphere.</p>\n\n<p>For all such events, favour informal settings and try to take as little time as possible. People already have heavy schedules, and they can make room for small activities but probably not a weekly two-hours setting. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bag_seminar\">Brown bag seminar</a> is one way of achieving this.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5884,
"author": "penelope",
"author_id": 4249,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4249",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I just started working in a small lab a few months ago. I don't know if the way our lab is functioning is <em>right</em> or even <em>good</em>, but I like it, it works for me and I feel good here, so let me explain the lab dynamic here.</p>\n\n<p>Just to give some context, the lab is so small that the division to project teams (although it exists) does not make sense for any informal activity. At any given time, there is 7 - 10 PhD students in the lab, maybe 1 or 2 exchange students/interns, and we have some PhD students that are in the lab only a day or two a week. Also, the lab is almost circular, all the offices are very close and we have a habit working with open office doors.</p>\n\n<p>The common topic denominator among all of us is \"Computer Science\" (very broad), although each of us can find one or two more student-people working a similar topic.</p>\n\n<p>I find that <strong>it's much easier for me to talk science to somebody I feel comfortable having a beer and a few laughs with as well</strong>. Not saying that you have to get your lab drunk, but:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>in the morning, <strong>the first one in makes the coffee</strong>, and we linger in the lab-kitchen for 20-30 minutes until our eyes are open. Everybody is free to join, heavy coffee drinkers are almost always there, while the others wander in from time to time. Sometimes even the senior researchers have coffee with us.</p></li>\n<li><p>we all <strong>go to lunch together</strong> (partially cause we all have partially refunded meals in that resto). We have a guy who talks much and eats slow, so by the time everybody finishes, we usually spend a quality 30-40 minutes talking. We also do a <em>coffee after lunch</em>.</p></li>\n<li><p>When <strong>somebody's leaving the lab</strong>, we try to buy some trinkets (last time it was 1euro/person), organize <strong>small going away \"party\"</strong> in the lab with juice and cookies, and <strong>dinner followed by drinks</strong> in the evening. Food setting is more inviting to the shy students, and after that the outgoing ones go have a few pints.</p></li>\n<li><p>Students sometimes just <strong>wander in other student's offices</strong> (usually in the lazy afternoon hours) for a few words. This habit is nice because you feel less uneasy when you stroll into somebodies office to talk science, cause you're practically doing the same thing. As a less imposing version, we sometimes just <strong>wave to each other while passing</strong> in front of the office.</p></li>\n<li><p>When we have organized (boring) activities / administrative seminars / things that finish early, especially out of the lab, we try to go <strong>sit for drinks</strong> if we have time.</p></li>\n<li><p>the only nice idea <em>specifically targeted for professional exchange</em> we did was organize a <strong>\"PhD students day\"</strong> where we all presented our subjects in very basic streaks, from 10 - 15 minutes, so that everybody would know which students are working on interesting problems (for them).</p></li>\n<li><p>every project team has <strong>team meetings at their own pace</strong>, where we present our current research, recently accepted papers, exchange students present their topics or students that went to an exchange present what they did. My team does it usually two times a month, in a fairly casual setting.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Now that I mentioned all this <em>procrastinating</em>, let me say something that's always been true for me among Computer Science people wherever I went (studied in Croatia, Austria and now France, and had some holidays with CS people): <strong>you can't stop computer scientists talking about tech</strong>. Tech talk bleeds through beer, we eat some of it for lunch and drink it in our coffee. When we're happy about our work, we feel comfortable enough to share it with people around us. When we're angry and stuck, we are all around people who saw us in various kinds of settings, so we don't feel that uncomfortable being grumpy and complaining.</p>\n\n<p>All this said, for some more context: I'm a PhD student in France. I have a feeling that the work environment here is much much more relaxed that in the States, and than a lot of European countries as well. They seem to believe that if you do everything slowly and relaxed (except a day before a deadline), you will do a good job. So, my advice might be only applicable to similar work cultures, but I still think there's some good things there, because, at the end of the day, we all enjoy our times in the lab.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5885,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not sure I should be contributing to a list like this, but other people seem to think it's okay, so... in addition to what has been suggested in other answers, one thing that I've found quite useful is to have a small research discussion group among the PhD students.</p>\n\n<p>The way this works is that you get about 10-15 students together from different fields within the department, to meet every week or every other week for an hour or less. At each meeting, one of the group will talk about his or her recent research. These talks are normally \"beyond informal\" in the sense that no prior preparation at all is expected; effectively, you're just explaining what you do to your friends. It works best when the \"audience\" members feel free to ask any stupid questions that may occur to them, which means two things: it's ideal if the people meeting already know each other in a non-academic context, and also important to do it without faculty involvement so that nobody is tempted to try to impress a professor. Having students from a variety of different fields of research means that you can expect to have some pretty basic questions at each presentation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5898,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A few more points:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>as undergrad students, we had a campfire to celebrate the end of labwork/seminars/lectures.</p></li>\n<li><p>now (on the teaching side) we have a campfire to celebrate the end of labwork/seminar/lectures.<br>\n(it usually includes some birthdays as well)</p></li>\n<li><p>in one institute we had quite regularly after-work activities like a bike tour, going swimming, bowling, Xmas market etc. happened. They were \"scheduled\" every once in a while, so no problem if you'd like to come in general, but just not that day. You could just join in next time (however, next morning at coffee you'd of course hear what you did miss). This included everyone in the institute but the big boss. </p></li>\n<li><p>(Sometimes people signed up for university sports courses together.)</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 13450,
"author": "metasequoia",
"author_id": 4226,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4226",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am part of an interdisciplinary NSF IGERT program on Water Diplomacy which supports 15 or so PhD students across 4+ departments. The program has done a commendable job of making opportunities for team building, collaboration, and the emergence of happy accidents within the group. Here are a few things to add to the running list of answers:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Weekly colloquiums where one student presents their work for an hour, followed by half an hour of collective brainstorming, critique, and discussion. Light breakfast provided. </li>\n<li>Annual weekend retreats to revisit program priorities, assets, and areas for improvement. We cook meals, have fires, and chat.</li>\n<li>Monthly evening workshops/round-table discussions on a theme - this year's series is on civic engagement. Dinner provided.</li>\n<li>Share office space. While not uncommon for PhD research groups, it's unique to have students across multiple departments sharing space.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5879",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532/"
]
|
5,889 | <p>I was reading about a “young researcher award” recently being attributed in my field to a colleague who is 40 years old (and has had a permanent research position for 12 years now). It may be viewed as borderline ridiculous, so I must ask: in this context, how young is typically “young”? For the purpose of this special projects/grants/awards, how do research and funding organizations define “young”?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5890,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The EU has the program <a href=\"http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/fet-open/ye_en.html\">FET OPEN Young Explorers</a>, where young is defined as:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>A project must be led by a young researcher, and the leadership by young researchers of all work packages is also required. No more than six years should have elapsed between the award of a Ph.D. (or equivalent) for each such young researcher and the date of submission of the short proposal.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I have also seen postdoc position reserved for people who obtained their PhD less than 5 years ago, but I can't find the reference back. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5891,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>\"Young\" does in fact have many different connotations. For example, in the <a href=\"http://erc.europa.eu/starting-grants\">ERC Starting Grant</a> program, applicants can have been out of graduate school for as many as <em>twelve</em> years before applying as a \"Starter\" (or \"Consolidator\"). So technically, they're still \"young,\" according to that program, but not what we would normally think of as \"young.\" </p>\n\n<p>But, in general, \"young\" can refer in terms of age (in which case I've normally seen the cutoff be about 35 or so), or in terms of relative experience in the field (typically five years, although it can be shorter or longer, depending on the field or country).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5893,
"author": "gnometorule",
"author_id": 4384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In economics, the most prestigious award outside the nobel prize is probably the John Bates Clark Medal (most winners go on to eventually receive the Nobel too). It is awarded biannually to only one person, so in a sense is even more prestigious than the Nobel (which is awarded annually to typically more than 1); to who is deemed the leading 'young' researcher under 40. So 40 as a cutoff for 'young' doesn't surprise me much, but there are obviously no hard rules.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5894,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The Fields medal also has an age cutoff of 40 (Andrew Wiles being the most recent example of someone who missed the age cutoff for an otherwise sure award). </p>\n\n<p>Grant agencies usually define \"young\" in terms of \"years since Ph.D\", or \"years in academic position\" with the typical cutoff being 6 or so. </p>\n\n<p>Note that while for most things*, 40 might not be considered \"young\", in many disciplines you might only get your first academic position near that age (especially in biology). </p>\n\n<p> * politics being the other venue where 40 would be considered young :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5896,
"author": "JRN",
"author_id": 64,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/64",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here are some awards presented to people aged 35 and below:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The <a href=\"http://www.a-star.edu.sg/tabid/443/default.aspx\">Young Scientist Awards</a> of the Singapore National Academy of Science</li>\n<li>The <a href=\"http://www.esrf.eu/UsersAndScience/users_org/YoungScientistAward\">Young Scientist of the Year Award</a> of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility</li>\n<li>The <a href=\"http://csirhrdg.res.in/ysa1.htm\">Young Scientist Award</a> of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research</li>\n<li>The <a href=\"http://www.wmo.int/pages/about/awards/youngscientistsaward.html\">WMO Research Award for Young Scientists</a> of the World Meteorological Organization</li>\n<li>The <a href=\"http://epdic13.grenoble.cnrs.fr/spip.php?article18\">Young Scientist Award</a> of the European Powder Diffraction Conference</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>There are many more; just use a search engine to search for the terms <em>\"young scientist\" award 35</em>.</p>\n\n<p>A similar list of awards can be found with a search for <em>\"young scientist\" award 40</em>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5897,
"author": "Drux",
"author_id": 4409,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4409",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sometimes what is still considered \"young\" also depends on the specific situation of the individual: I've seen exceptions described in the areas of paternity leaves, compulsory military service, or receiving additional clinical training.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 8212,
"author": "Aaron",
"author_id": 1228,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1228",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The NSF <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214\" rel=\"nofollow\">CAREER</a> award (Faculty Early Career Development Program) is a grant for \"young\" scientists, and requires that winners have the title \"assistant professor.\" This typically means that the person has spent < 6 years in a tenure track academic position. Of course, such a person need not be \"young\" -- someone who worked 2 years in industry before grad school, spent 6 years doing a PhD, 2 years of postdoc, and then spent 5 years as an assistant professor might win one of these awards and be nearly 40. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5889",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2700/"
]
|
5,902 | <p><em>Originally I conceived of posting a "Roadmap for researching x" but I assume that would be too localized for this site.</em></p>
<p><strong>Background:</strong> After much dilly-dallying, I have finally zoned in to pursue lifetime in Taoist research. I have studied mathematical philosophy, cultural anthropology, symbolic logic and enrolled in Eastern studies class for next semester. I understand the professor for latter class would be an excellent source of reference but currently semester is closed.</p>
<p><strong>Problems facing:</strong> As I learned in English class it is important to take copious notes during research even if it means 24 hours so I am currently photographing everything that pertains to Taoism. But due to the complex nature of the subject itself and the concept of <em>wu-wei</em>, action in non-action, I am unsure as to how to approach research. I understand if I pursue degree in this field I should familiarize myself with the language and journals and pretty much everything that is related to it. This brings me to my original point:</p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> What would be a good strategy to do research on Taoism? Do I conceive of a thesis and work downwards from it? Or do I start from the scratch - so to speak- and bootstrap my way to a knowledge base. Problem with latter and given the complex nature is if I start with no thesis, then it would be an aimless wandering. But- then again, isn't that what Taoism is all about? </p>
<p><strong>EDIT</strong>: In lieu of JeffE's comment below I am rephrasing the original question:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>During a research, is it a good idea to start with a working thesis as early as possible? </p>
</blockquote>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5905,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In general, I agree with JeffE. Both top down and bottom up.</p>\n\n<p>In the case of Taoism, there is more - how proficient is your Chinese?</p>\n\n<p>You said <em>pursue lifetime in Taoist research</em>. I am not sure you can do that without knowledge in Chinese language equivalent to at least masters degree in Chinese.</p>\n\n<p>Taoism is rooted from Laozi's original text <em>Daodejing</em>. Reference <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism\" rel=\"nofollow\">Taoism</a>. Most native Chinese speakers do not understand that text. If you want to conduct life time research in Taoism, that book is a must read and must understand. Without fully understanding that text, you are at best a second class researcher in Taoism.</p>\n\n<p>I am a native Chinese speaker. How much do I understand the text? Less than 5%. If I spend 20 years or more on it, I might be able to understand 80% of it. Actually, I am bluffing. Some people contribute his whole life in it and then claimed that he only understood less than half.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5913,
"author": "penelope",
"author_id": 4249,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4249",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can't help at all specifically on the Taoism part, but as an answer to your final question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>During a research, is it a good idea to start with a working thesis as early as possible?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You are talking about a thesis, and posting here, so I presume you want to do research in academical environment.</p>\n\n<p>In my experience, you have <strong>Bachelor and Master years</strong> for establishing a <strong>broad knowledge base</strong> and identifying your interests.</p>\n\n<p>Once you start <strong>as a PhD student</strong>, you get a <strong>research topic</strong>, but since it is research, it is <strong>subject to changes</strong>. The topic was defined before you actually immersed in the subject, so while you are working towards that goal while pursuing your thesis, the goal can change as you learn new things.</p>\n\n<p>Oh, and you really don't need to familiarize yourself \"with the language and journals and <em>pretty much everything</em> that is related to it\" <em>before</em> pursuing a degree.</p>\n\n<p><em>Note:</em> The precise names of stages and the line between <em>broad</em> and <em>focused</em> research might be different elsewhere, but I think both phases should exist. In case you're aiming to start directly at a \"focused research\" phase, my (subjective) advice would be to take some time before to do some broad research on your own.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5902",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/996/"
]
|
5,908 | <p>Am I breaking some kind of rule if I'm adding the arxiv link to the bibitem for an article that's published in a journal? I thought obviously not until I noticed that (link to arxiv) and (page number in journal) are quite mutually exclusive.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5909,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Many copy editors will remove arXiv links to published papers, but usually they'll put them back in if you insist.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5912,
"author": "Dan C",
"author_id": 1069,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1069",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>No.</strong> I think giving the arxiv link is <em>fine</em>. One alternative is to have two bibitem entries, one for the journal version and another for the arxiv version. I find it valuable to include the journal reference, because that shows that the article has been refereed (so its claims gain legitimacy). But I also see the value of including the arxiv version, particularly if the journal is hard to access.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5917,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Technically, an arxiv version of a paper is different from a journal version. This can be a problem if you (for example) cite a particular theorem or lemma in a math paper that has a different number (or doesn't exist) in the arxiv version. </p>\n\n<p>You didn't mention why you're adding the arxiv link. If you wish to add a link to a freely accessible document, then you could add a note in the text to that effect and cite the arxiv version in addition to the journal version. Otherwise, if you merely want a link to an online version, then you should be using the DOI link for the journal. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5908",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4416/"
]
|
5,914 | <p>In an academic CV, how much information do you put in the education field for each degree (assume the person is a post-grad/early career)?</p>
<h3>Option 1: Degree, Specialization, Department, University, Year, Advisor, Thesis</h3>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Ph. D.</strong> in Foo science (2012) <br>
Some Named School of Science, University of Bar,<br>
Thesis: <em>Qux control in Baz networks</em><br>
Advisor: J. Q. Public</p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Option 2: Degree, Specialization, Department, University, Year</h3>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Ph. D.</strong> in Foo science (2012) <br>
Some Named School of Science, University of Bar<br></p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Option 3: Degree, Specialization, University, Year</h3>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Ph. D.</strong> in Foo Engineering, University of Bar (2012)<br></p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Option 4: Degree, University, Year</h3>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Ph. D.</strong>, University of Bar (2012)<br></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I've often seen options 1 or 2 and in some cases, where there is a bigger body of work (publications, grants, etc.) to speak for the person than their degree, I've seen option 3. Option 4 is rarer, but one common trait among those that I've seen it with is that they are now working in a field different from what they did their PhD in and do not wish to bring attention to that (lest it hurt any chances). For example, a PhD in Physics now working in Computational Biology. I think CGPAs are pretty silly when it comes to research positions, but I'm not sure if I'm the only one.</p>
<p>However, I don't know what the expectations of the person seeing my CV are. I don't mean random visitors to my website or corporate HRs, but other academics who might be interested in working with me. Granted, if they're an academic, they'll probably focus on my publications more, but there's also <em>something</em> that's expected from a CV.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5916,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would agree that option 1 is the most likely option for someone who is just coming out of graduate school, and is looking to continue in the same field for a while. </p>\n\n<p>The department <em>should</em> be listed when relevant—that is, if the program in which the degree is awarded is different from the specialization in some where. For instance, if your PhD is in engineering, but the department conferring it is materials science, you should say something like number 2, rather than number 3.</p>\n\n<p>I don't think there are many instances in which number 4 is very useful, because it looks like you're hiding what you did for a PhD. There are very few circumstances I can think of where this would work—except if the job call specifically required a degree from a particular subset of disciplines, to which you don't belong. But then something will probably come to light from the letters of recommendation, or from some other part of the application. </p>\n\n<p>So, I'd stick with options 1 or 2, for the reasons I've outlined above.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5919,
"author": "Markus Klein",
"author_id": 4078,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4078",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, I would never use option 4 since the most important information (subject!) is missing and in my opinion it is more important than the school or the year. </p>\n\n<p>To answer your question: Maybe a combination of the option 1-3 would be appropriate in such a sense that the latest degree is used with option 1 and the oldest degree is used with option 2 or 3. </p>\n\n<p>For example: If you have a PhD and a Master degree in some subject, no one is interested in the name of your Bachelor Thesis or your advisor. People then are normally interested only if you did your Bachelor in the same subject and maybe in which year.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5914",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
5,920 | <p>Would it be ethical for students working on the same team to include in their Ph.D. theses results arising from joint publications, ending up in different dissertations containing almost identical chapters? </p>
<p>Of course, the students should at least mention that the common chapters are excerpted from a joint publication. However, wouldn't a significant overlap at least indicate that the students have been unable to come up with enough strong and coherent results to make their own independent dissertations?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5921,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think for a PhD thesis it is important the writer has enough original and new contributions to earn the PhD degree. When two PhD's work closely together, and write joint publications this can only work if it is clear that both PhD's have made new and significant contributions. </p>\n\n<p>For example, in a publication which has both lab experiments and numerical modeling it is easy to see that both the lab-PhD and the numerical-PhD have done different things, which are put together jointly into a publication. In this case I would think it ethical that both PhD's get their degree based on the same publications. If, however, the overlap is not countered by the fact that the PhD's each have their distinct niche, I would not find it ethical to let two people get their degree based on the same work. </p>\n\n<p>In the PhD theses the publications could be used as such by both PhD, but they need to have a different introduction and synthesis chapter as they worked on different aspects of the joint papers. In addition, I would explain the situation and how the collaboration worked in the preface of both theses. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5922,
"author": "Zenon",
"author_id": 257,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/257",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should check <strong>your department guideline</strong>. In mine, only articles where the candidate is first author, and has accomplished most of the work (you need to provide letter signed by other authors) can be used. Also, it can only be used in one thesis. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5943,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One case of this that's getting a bit old but was highly influential in artificial intelligence was Phil Agre and David Chapman (PhDs at the MIT AI Lab in the late 1980s). They did everything together, but wrote completely different dissertations. They agreed in advance how they would divvy up the output.</p>\n\n<p>Since a PhD has to have a novel contribution, I think this is the only way it can work. You specify your contributions in the introduction and conclusion, and these can only be contributions by one person, for one dissertation.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I had a little bit of overlapping text in two of my dissertations (which for bizarre reasons came out nearly the same time), but it was only the literature review, which at the time I didn't think of as a contribution, and I clearly stated the overlap in the later dissertation. Also, I didn't claim that the thing I was best known for at that time (an action selection mechanism) was a contribution to <em>either</em> dissertation, just to be certain there could be no claim I'd made overlapping contributions (One was in Psychology & one was in Systems AI, so they really were pretty different.)</p>\n\n<p>Basically, by the time you are ready for a PhD, you should be able to make any number of contributions. So being productive and publishing articles is the main thing to worry about, and then secondarily following through, and following the rules, so you get your degree. Your dissertation is not a documentation of your life's work – it's just one coherent document making a very clear academic contribution. Hopefully two good students working together would make more than enough contributions that they can divide them up and each write interesting dissertations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6004,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In math at Berkeley this varied by advisor. Some advisors insisted that theses consist only of solo work, while others did not. My thesis consisted almost entirely of collaborative work (though with different collaborators), and I think one chapter may have also appeared in a collaborator's thesis. The advisor shouldn't sign off on the thesis if the student hasn't done enough work to deserve a PhD, but if you're going to do most of your work collaboratively after grad school it makes sense to me to do so during grad school.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5920",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4423/"
]
|
5,923 | <p>Where can I find a database of impact factors where self-citation has been removed? A journal's self-citations are defined as those citations by that journal's papers towards other papers in the same journal.</p>
<p>The reason I want to know this is to know which journals are engaged in <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6068/542">coercive citation</a> so that I know which journals I should avoid. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5925,
"author": "StasK",
"author_id": 739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/739",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Update from March 2016</strong>: it seems like ISI Knowledge offers citation counts with person-level self-citations taken out. Any of that should be treated as experimental, of course. Don't know if this could work for a journal.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I don't think any of the existing systems take out the self-citations. The publishers and journals are not interested in seeing reduced impact factors, so few editorial boards and fewer yet commercial publishers would be interested in anybody producing such rankings. If a discipline has its independent referencing and citations systems, they might be interested in such more objective analysis -- e.g., economists have their CitEc (Citations in Economics), a part of RePEc (Research Papers in Economics), which does track self-citations (see the 2012 Nobel prize winners, <a href=\"http://citec.repec.org/p/r/pro40.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Alvin Roth</a> and <a href=\"http://citec.repec.org/p/s/psh559.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lloyd Shapley</a> as examples... the first one has as many self-citations as the second one, total citations). I would venture a guess that mathematicians might have a similar system. But I doubt that natural or social sciences do.</p>\n\n<p>The high impact journals are obviously important for publishing, getting good academic jobs and getting tenured. However, impact factor may only tell a part of the story, and some disciplines have reputable journals that may not have the highest possible IFs. Let me take again economics as an example that I am familiar with. In most US departments, you'd get tenured if you have a paper in either American Economics Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, or Econometrica. (The QJE is often said to mostly publish MIT and Harvard folks.) AER is only 19th in <a href=\"http://www.socialcapitalgateway.org/content/ranking/ranking-economics-journals-based-impact-factor\" rel=\"nofollow\">this list of impact factors</a> (which may be as good as any other list that's not password protected by ISI), and I have never heard about some of these journals. The AER's impact factor of 2.5 is not even funny for a biologist seeking <em>Science</em> or <em>Nature</em> publications, though -- the impact factors of the latter are what, 30 or so?</p>\n\n<p>I work in industry and tend to care little about the journals outside of my area (statistics); generally, statistics journals tend to have IFs between 0.25 and 4. The reality of my particular field (survey research) is that people just submit their paper to proceedings of the annual conferences and move on with their paying projects, and don't have the time to BS back and forth with the reviewers. There are people in academia who need to publish-or-perish, so you would see some typical academic papers with rather small contributions to the knowledge, but their authors either have their own time or <strike>slave labor force</strike> grad students to write these up.</p>\n\n<p>As a guiding rule of what journals to avoid, you can start with commercially published journals and respect the professional organizations publish their journals themselves, without Wiley or Elsevier grabbing them as a source of income... although I can imagine that coercive citations is what the editorial boards insist on, which may or may not correlate strongly with who publishes a given journal. I have received requests to cite the given journal more (this is a problem for disciplines with an overproduction of journals fighting each other; again, in my industry, there are probably four or five decent ones, and they don't need to fight), but tended to ignore them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5936,
"author": "user4423",
"author_id": 4423,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4423",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The SciVerse Citation Tracker service, available to anyone with a Scopus subscription, allows it to exclude self-citations. However, it is not designed to evaluate journals, but rather to review citations to a particular author or field. Both the Journal Impact Factor (IF) computed by Thomson Reuters and the Scientific Journal Rankings (SJR) computed in Scopus by Elsevier include self-citations. I am not aware of any other database that excludes them.</p>\n\n<p>And yet, I wouldn't use any bibliometric indicator as a measure of a journal's reputation, but rather trust the advice of experienced colleagues.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5939,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't know of any impact factor database for which citations from a journal to itself have been removed. One reason why such lists aren't popular (and may not exist at all) is that they would distort the statistics of specialized journals. In a subfield with a small number of journals, one would expect a substantial fraction of the citations to come from the same journal. That does not indicate a problem, and it would be unfair to these journals to judge them without those citations. (Comparing impact factors between journals in different areas is already foolish, since publication and citation practices vary greatly, but there's no point in making it even worse.)</p>\n\n<p>I am skeptical that such a list would be useful for identifying patterns of coercive citation. Thomson Reuters already tries to detect these problems and <a href=\"http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2012/06/29/citation-cartel-journals-denied-2011-impact-factor/\" rel=\"nofollow\">punish journals</a>. I'm sure the community could do an even better job of detecting fraud if they opened up their entire database, but they of course have strong commercial reasons not to do that. If the current level of fraud checking is being done at all competently, then providing this additional list would not help much.</p>\n\n<p>Incidentally, as I understand it, the state of the art in citation fraud is <a href=\"http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2012/04/10/emergence-of-a-citation-cartel/\" rel=\"nofollow\">networks of several journals publishing review articles citing each other's papers</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44918,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me add a new answer to an old question for posterity's sake. Thompsons Reuters Journal Citations recently (I believe in the past year or two) started making this information available. See an example below:</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EIoB0.png\" alt=\"Thompsons Reuters data for IJNSNS\"></p>\n\n<p>Of course making this data available does not address the \"citation cartels\" mentions in Anonymous Mathematician's answer, or editors writing papers with rampant citations to their journals, <a href=\"http://www.ams.org/notices/201103/rtx110300434p.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">as in the case of IJNSNS discussed here</a>. The data above is for the IJNSNS case. (Note the editorial board has changed, which I imagine coincides with the decline in impact factor.)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5923",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4315/"
]
|
5,924 | <p>I know a student in a linguistics master's program (in East Asia). He told me that in his country, most master's programs require students to publish a certain number of papers in academic journals in order to graduate. I want to study a linguistics-related degree in the US. Is such a requirement common there as well?</p>
<ul>
<li>In the US, does "thesis-option" generally imply that one "must publish a thesis to graduate" or does it just mean "must write a thesis"?</li>
<li>Are such publishing requirements common enough in graduate programs in the US that it should be a question I ask schools when I apply?</li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5949,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've never heard of a publication requirement for a masters degree in the USA or UK. There is not even a novelty requirement for a masters dissertation, that's what makes it different from a PhD. Obviously publishing is a good idea if you want to continue on to a PhD, it makes your CV look much stronger and shows your promise as a researcher. But frankly, in the UK at least there is no time to publish before you finish your dissertation (Masters degrees are very compressed one year degrees) and most publications follow the formal completion of the degree.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21055,
"author": "Kathy",
"author_id": 15364,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15364",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It probably depends on the school. I don't remember seeing this as a requirement for any of the US schools I looked at.</p>\n\n<p>At my school in the US, our Master's thesis must be published by the university and presented at a graduate forum held twice a year. We are also encouraged to present at conferences or submit to technical journals, but that is optional. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21058,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience it varies by discipline and institution. I know of some MS programs where a student might graduate without publishing, but this would be viewed as a very poor performance. I know of others where publishing or even presenting at a conference would set you apart as a very successful student. If you want to go on for a PhD, then I would encourage you to make publishing at the MS level a goal. It will help in moving on to a HD program.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5924",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
]
|
5,928 | <p>I am considering studying a master's degree in England, however, the price system is quite unlike the system in the US, at least in wording, so I am uncertain how to estimate the costs.</p>
<p>The schools I looked at listed the fees in one of two ways:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Cost (2013-14)</p>
<p>£3,000</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Fee</p>
<p>UK/EU: £1,000</p>
<p>Part-Time: £500</p>
<p>International: £4,000</p>
<p>Part-Time: £2,000</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Most schools require that master's degree students complete four 30-credit modules, each taking 8-10 weeks, depending on the school, as well as one 60-credit dissertation.</p>
<ul>
<li>Under the price system used in England, how can I estimate the total cost of tuition for an entire master's degree?</li>
<li>Do schools in England often apply additional costs, such as registration fees, technology fees, renovation fees, or special course fees, as is typical of US schools?</li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5938,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First work out whether the price you're given is per module (such as is done by the Open University) or per year (common for most other universities).</p>\n\n<p>If the former, find out how many points you'll need for the degree you want, and the number of points per module. And calculate accordingly. So if it's £1000 per module, one module is 15 point, and you need 90 points, then your total cost is £1000 x 90 / 15 = £6000</p>\n\n<p>If the latter, multiply the fees by the course length. So, for example, if it's £2000 per year part time, and will take you three years to do it part time, the total fee cost will be 3 x £2000 = £6000.</p>\n\n<p>As you've seen, the fees will vary depending on whether you're a UK/EU citizen or not. International is lazy shorthand for non-EU. There may be a residency criterion as well as a nationality criterion (e.g. Bachelors degrees at Scottish universities).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5948,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Most UK Masters degrees are a single year. Even if for some reason you get an extension (e.g. to finish your dissertation), you will only be charged tuition for the taught year, maybe a small fee for remaining registered. But the International fee will just be it (unless you are from the EU, in which case the home fee is it), and normally includes any bench fees. </p>\n\n<p>Note the fixed tuition costs matters less for Masters students, but is a huge win over US degrees for PhDs – you normally only pay 3 years tuition even if you take 4 or even 5 years to finish.</p>\n\n<p>A part time degree will probably take about twice as long and you will have to pay the fee for double the number of years. If you are legally allowed to work in the UK, or you can telecommute to a part-time job in your home country, this can be a win. Though keep in mind that the cost of living is very high in the UK and will probably exceed your tuition even if you are full time.</p>\n\n<p>Anyway, UK universities are very keen to get Masters students, if you just email the contact for a university they will give you full numbers.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5928",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
]
|
5,929 | <p>Is it just me or are the published articles a strain on the eyes in general? Has there been(/shouldn't there be) a study on optimal font sizes for reading?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5930,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Journal prescribed fonts haven't really caught up with the digital era. They were optimized for a time of print, where each page had a price. Unfortunately, researchers are required to use fonts specified by the publisher at a conference. But many people usually upload a more readable version on a web page or the arxiv - 11pt tends to be reasonable. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5931,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is a historical anachronism. The fonts are chosen for the print version of the journal. For a print version, if you use a smaller font, you can squeeze more text onto the same page and print the same paper on fewer pages -- which saves money. So, for print publications, the small font size arguably makes sense. However, today print is less important and the digital format is more important, but journal requirements haven't caught up to this fact.</p>\n\n<p>For instance, in computer science, the ACM is a notorious offender: they require papers to use 9pt fonts, which are very small.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5954,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I prefer the old-fashioned way of reading papers: print it and read with text-marker, and I find the usual font sizes OK (sometimes too large when printing on A4 paper). Margins of ca. 4 cm per column are (would be) nice, though.</p>\n\n<p>Monitor space is much too valuable for more than taking a glance which paper exactly I want to get from my collection. Where should I edit notes, do calculations and see graphs/images/man pages if most of the monitor is taken up by the paper?<br>\nI did print much less when I had 2 monitors, but at my new place I have only one. And anyways, no monitors can hold as much easily accessible information as a bunch of papers laid out on a large table.</p>\n\n<p>(But I LaTeX my papers, so whoever wants larger fonts is welcome to rerun them with other settings).</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5929",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2643/"
]
|
5,934 | <p>When I studied my bachelor's degree, my professors often let me write papers in whatever area I wanted, even if it was an area completely outside of their expertise. Within master's programs, is this still the case, or must students generally stay within the specific expertise of their professors or advisors?</p>
<p>In my particular situation, I want to study second language acquisition (SLA), however, none of the programs I can attend have professors knowledgeable in my particular language of focus. Is it likely that I'll face resistance from advisors in trying to write my research papers and thesis about a language which none of the school's faculty are familiar with?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5935,
"author": "user4423",
"author_id": 4423,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4423",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A master's thesis is an original piece of work by the candidate on any topic that falls within the scope of the master's program. In principle, at least at my university, there is no formal requirement that the advisor be expert of the topic of the thesis, even if this would clearly help a lot from a student's perspective. Going for a topic outside of the professors' expertise requires a strong motivation on the candidate's side.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5940,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Whether an advisor will agree to supervise a master's thesis outside of their area of expertise depends on the advisor. It may also vary between fields or universities, but I believe the personal variance will be much higher, so the best way to find out is to ask a potential advisor.</p>\n\n<p>As for whether it's a good idea, I see three issues.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>You will not receive expert advice in your chosen area. Of course, there's a trade-off here: would you rather study what you love best without expert advice, or get better advising on another topic?</p></li>\n<li><p>You may receive actively bad advice. To avoid this difficulty, it's important for you to read extensively and to choose an advisor who is open minded and flexible.</p></li>\n<li><p>Your advisor may not write an enthusiastic letter of recommendation for you. Sometimes an advisor will let a student choose to do whatever they want, but when the advisor recommends the student, it becomes clear that the advisor is uninterested in the student's work and unimpressed by it. I've seen this cause trouble for several people, so I strongly recommend trying to find an advisor who is actually enthusiastic about your topic (even if it's not what they work on).</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>In your specific case, choosing to study second language acquisition in a language nobody on the faculty speaks sounds like only a mild concern (assuming you speak it fluently or have access to excellent informants), since I imagine much of the advising would be about research methodology or language acquisition theories, rather than language-specific issues. However, I don't know enough about this area to say for sure.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5934",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
]
|
5,944 | <p>I recently received an application for a PhD position from someone who is already working as a postdoctoral associate. The difference in fields is not particularly large—I work in chemical engineering and materials science, while the applicant originally is coming from computational chemistry. </p>
<p>So the obvious question is, why would someone want to pursue a second doctoral degree when they already have one in a related field, and why would I, as a potential advisor, want to consider someone interested in doing this? (For instance, it seems obvious that the person wouldn't likely need as much training as a novice, but there would also be the challenge of trying to find such a person gainful employment afterwards.)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5946,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've seen two reasons for this. The more worrisome reason is the one mentioned by EnergyNumbers in the comments, namely that some people just collect degrees. In particular, they may feel having two Ph.D.s would look exceptionally impressive, or they may be unable to settle on a specialization, or they may feel that getting another degree is somehow preferable to getting a job. These could be legitimate as personal desires, but they are counterproductive for a research career.</p>\n\n<p>The other reason is to recover from a bad career start. Sometimes someone's grades keep them from getting into a good graduate program, or they face other constraints (geographical or financial) in their choice of programs, or they fail to connect well with their advisor. They may eventually get a Ph.D., but not under good circumstances, and a second Ph.D. might lead to a much better career. The difference between this case and the first case is that these students don't actually want a second Ph.D. as such. They regretfully feel they need one to achieve their career goals, but they wish it had been their first and only Ph.D.</p>\n\n<p>Recovering from a bad start is a less worrisome reason to seek a second Ph.D., but of course the challenge is figuring out which students have moved beyond their past difficulties and which have not.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5947,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You didn't mention what country you are in or the relative standing of the two universities & supervisors involved. Sometimes people apply for a second PhD because their first one is not sufficiently well respected to get at good job.</p>\n\n<p>Another reason is because the candidate really is just enjoying that stage of life. In the USA, one can often stay a PhD student for years in a top institution, but in other countries there are hard time limits. I also know of several people who took multiple PhDs at top universities just because they finished the first one too young to take a chair yet (and one person who didn't let that bother him & took a chair at 18, getting his father an office nearby!)</p>\n\n<p>The most important question though is whether you want this person as a student – will they finish? Do they know what they are getting in to? If they have a PhD, they are in some sense a peer, and certainly should have a reputation. I would spend more time than usual pursuing the references, possibly with phone calls, and I would certainly talk at length with the candidate about whether they would really finish writing up a second time. I would only take them with exceptionally strong references from others and a very good personal narrative about why they want and would complete a second degree.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 17669,
"author": "Khaled",
"author_id": 12595,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12595",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think its all about the jobs that the first PhD could not bring to them. I myself have a PhD from an Egyptian university, but it seems that nobody is willing to offer me a post-doc position because I don't have 10 journal papers with extremely large impact factor as a PhD student from an advanced country would have. Of course the conditions are very different between a university in Egypt and another one in the United States or Europe. That's why I will keep looking for another PhD from a very high ranked western university. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28361,
"author": "Hapana Taka",
"author_id": 21730,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21730",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am from Africa. None of my degrees (Bachelors or Masters) were recognized in the UK, leaving me with no choice but to study for the same degrees again. Not sure if this applies to PhDs, but I can imagine a similar situation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32982,
"author": "kaman",
"author_id": 25376,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25376",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>there are many reasons doing another phd. I have done a phd in chemistry, (one year postdoc and 2 years as a researcher in R&D). and today, applying for another phd. I have more than 10 papers (each one with impact higher than 2). what makes me to think for another phd, is not job, it is knowledge. actually, I have a position as a lecturer, and have been offered a position fro assistant prof. however, I prefer to gain more experience and knowledge as I can. so I am applying for a position in interdisciplinary field (material chemistry). considering my experience in chemistry, I would be more successful in the future. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47549,
"author": "Saurabh",
"author_id": 36009,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/36009",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One of the reason why someone would like to do another PhD could be attaining a degree and knowledge is allied field as most of the current research now a days are focusing on multidisciplinary application based approached. This off course has to do with the field you are in and in this case mine being nano-biotechnology. As far as the OP's question is concerned the applicant had a PhD in chemistry and now he want to move towards computational chemistry. How I see this is that chemistry is quite focused and has set boundaries but if he manages to enter the field of computational chemistry his scope widens as computational chemistry is not only applicable in chemistry but also has scopes in modelling, biotechnology, protein chemistry nano chemistry and so on.</p>\n\n<p>Also it could be a reason that from the previous PhD in chemistry the applicant only did basic research and now he is motivated to do application based research.</p>\n\n<p>Other reason might be that he has less publication during his first PhD which he wants to improve with the second one.</p>\n\n<p>And yes one very obvious reason could also be lack of postdoc position due to recession and reduced government research funding as most seen in Europe now a day. Where many research are applying for a second PhD due to the lack of postdoc position......as fully funded PhD position are more available than postdoc position....</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59739,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 45800,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/45800",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First why a Postdoc would consider a second PhD:\n <h1> TO SURVIVE </h1>\n Needless to say, how the existing system treats the Postdocs-Use them, as a cheap labor and throw them. In almost all of the occasions, it is the Professor/Supervisor who is benefitted. \n According to Nature article, vacancies in academia is available only for 15% of the Postdocs. In addition to this, comes the problem of Visa and Racism. In France, it is impossible for one to get a job (even in Industry) let alone be called for the interview, without perfect French and a \"French\" sounding First & Last Name. Yet, French institution lure students from developing countries with their fancy programs. In one of the article on the \"invisible\" racism in Canada, one even acknowledged that the system is skewed in favour of Canadians (they want the good jobs for Canadians), yet they beckon PhD's and postdocs, from all over the world. Then, say the education is not enough, forcing them to work as bartenders and taxi drivers. Nature (Journal) itself points to some postdocs to have taken up the job of a forklift. Personally, I know a postdoc ending up as a stay-at-home Dad...And in almost all cases, none even spares a moment to think about the future and families of their postdocs or help them acquire skillsets that could help them move to industries, in the worst case scenario. Neither, opportunities in entrepreneurship is supported (National Laboratories, for example). In fact, Canada actively discourages it.</p>\n\n<p>So, the best reason I think a person would choose a second PhD is to survive and since, PhD is usually longer than a postdoc could hope to acquire skillsets that could be used in industry and subsequently find a job. <b><i>Personally, I would urge you to consider the postdoc as you'd be helping him and also prevent another \"idiotic\" bright student from wasting his life in the name of academic/knowledge pursuits</i></b> It is a beneficial proposition for you as well, as a postdoc would require less supervision and hence more publications could be achieved for lesser cost...!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5944",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53/"
]
|
5,951 | <p>I completed one term of a master's program before finding it was not what I expected, so I promptly quit. Now, I am sending fall application letters to other master's programs, for which I will be a paying student, but am uncertain how to mention this previous program, or whether that is even necessary. I do intent to send a transcript, as I want to transfer a few credits, however, should I mention this elsewhere in my application? Place a line on my CV? Mention this previous program in my application letters? Offer an explanation upfront describing why I left the program?</p>
<p>I found generally useful advice in <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2498/is-transferring-an-option-for-an-unhappy-grad-student">Is transferring to another university an option for an unhappy PhD student?</a>, but the answers do not explain what etiquette one should follow in reporting such a situation.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5952,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The important thing here is that you realize that you <em>do</em> need to report this information to schools to which you will be applying, as it will matter in their deliberations over your application. That said, you do have some degree of latitude in finding the best way to inform the schools of this. If they have a \"special notes\" or \"additional information\" question in the application, that might be a good place to put such information. Otherwise, you would want to mention it somewhere in the cover letter (if you get to include one) or personal statement (if you don't). </p>\n\n<p>However, this information should be provided <em>by you</em>; don't leave it for the people writing your recommendation letters to mention. That will just raise more red flags.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5969,
"author": "silvado",
"author_id": 3890,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3890",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>For your CV, don't focus on the fact that you quit the other program, but that you attended it for one term. As such, it would fit best in the section where you list your past education. Definitely send your transcript, because it shows that you achieved some things during that term, and will also count into the evaluation of your current knowledge.</p>\n\n<p>The more delicate aspect is of course how to explain your quitting without full completion of the other program. However, I don't think that it will be a very critical aspect of your application. Such switches happen a lot, for various good reasons, and reviewers of your application will not automatically view it as negative if you don't push them in that direction. If you have good explanations for switching the program, you can put it in a motivation letter. For example, how, during the other program, you discovered that the program you are applying to know fits much better to your interests and skills. The CV wouldn't be be a good place for such reasons. If you can't offer an explanation that gives your application a bonus point, don't try to discuss around it in your application documents. But be prepared for questions in this direction in a potential interview.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5951",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
]
|
5,960 | <p>Can German Hochschule offer a Ph.D.? I know that some of them can't, but does this apply to any hochschule or does it differ from one to another?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5962,
"author": "Pieter Naaijkens",
"author_id": 22,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I should warn that I am not an expert on this, but this is how I understand it. Basically, there are different types of \"Hochshule\". There is the Universität, which always has the right to offer Ph.D.'s. Then there are the Hochschule and Fachhochschule. The latter in general is more oriented to learning a trade (as an electrical engineer, for example) as opposed to more research focused. The Fachhocschule don't have the Promotionsrecht, that is, that cannot hand out Ph.D degrees. As for the Hochschule, there it depends. Some are on the same level as a Universität. In that case, they can hand out Ph.D. degrees, otherwise not. Presumably the deciding factor is whether there is any substantial research component at the Hochschule or not.</p>\n\n<p>More information can be found here: <a href=\"http://www.hochschulkompass.de/en/higher-education-institutions.html\">http://www.hochschulkompass.de/en/higher-education-institutions.html</a>. There you can also search if a specific Hochschule can grant PhD degrees or not.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5963,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One further note to clarify is that using \"Ph.D.\" to denote doctoral degrees in Germany is somewhat nebulous, as many of the doctoral degree-granting institutions in Germany <em>do not</em> award Ph.D.'s. Instead, the range of doctoral degrees is somewhat broader. For instance, the institution where I work offers the <em>Dr. rer. nat.</em> and the <em>Dr.-Ing.</em>, but not a Ph.D. In fact, we are not even allowed to use the term \"Ph.D.\" in our advertising of our doctoral degree programs.</p>\n\n<p>So, if you are asking \"can German universities award doctoral degrees,\" Pieter's answer above is correct. However, if you mean literally \"can German universities award Ph.D.'s,\" I'd have to say the answer is essentially \"no.\"</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5960",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/703/"
]
|
5,961 | <p>I took some solitary graduate-level courses as a non-degree student at some US schools and plan to take further modules in England. These courses relate to my other degrees and certificates, but are from more elite institutions and provide more advanced, specialized training not easily found elsewhere. Is it acceptable practice to list solitary courses on an academic CV? What section and in what format might this appear in?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5966,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Acceptable? Sure. Useful? Probably not.</strong></p>\n\n<p>If you're applying to graduate programs, then listing these courses would be appropriate. On the other hand (at least for US schools), you need to submit official transcripts for those courses anyway. Also, if you expect those courses to play a significant role in your admission, you need to make that case in your application statement.</p>\n\n<p>If you're applying to an academic position that is primarily teaching, then listing the courses might be appropriate to show that you have at least taken courses on the topics you intend to teach. But if you expect those courses to play a significant role in your hiring, you need to make that case in your application statements.</p>\n\n<p>If you're applying to an academic position that is primarily research (including most postdocs and tenure-track faculty positions), there's no point in listing what courses you've taken. With rare exceptions, your research record (as listed in your CV, described in your research statement, and judged in your letters) is essentially the only thing that matters for such positions. Teaching experience might play a role, but classes that you've merely <em>taken</em> won't. If you think specific courses significantly strengthen your case—making you one of those rare exceptions—you need to to make that case in your application statements.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5970,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The long form of my CV used to include a few example courses to indicate what I'd learned on my various degrees (after the degree I said \"courses included: ...\"). I have no idea whether that helped, but I don't see how it can hurt, unless it makes the CV too long & people miss something more significant. But I think it does show something about your specific interests and level of commitment to academia.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5961",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
]
|
5,964 | <p>I sometimes find an article published in several conferences.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If similar material is published in different conference proceedings,
how do I choose which one to cite?</p>
</blockquote>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5965,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's a little unusual to have the same or even similar material published in different venues. First of all, you didn't say whether your area uses conferences as primary publication venues or not - I'm assuming it does, otherwise why even cite a conference publication. </p>\n\n<p>In that case, what exactly are you citing in the article ? If it's a specific result (empirical, theoretical etc), then probably the oldest venue where it appears is the first occurrence of that result, and should be cited. If you're citing background material or motivation, then either the first paper that discusses the relevant motivation, or maybe a survey article ? </p>\n\n<p>At any rate, the key is to understand exactly what you're citing the article for, and find the oldest occurrence of that concept.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5971,
"author": "Joanna Bryson",
"author_id": 384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/384",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Normally you should cite the most recent version, which is probably also the most prestigious venue (normally republication is done while ideas are working their way up the prestige ladder). It's possible that only the earlier version contains the material you want to cite though, but unless that's substantially longer than a later version, then I would assume that means the author(s) have recanted that part, and you should probably mention that in your article e.g. \"Bryson (1986) claims fish can fly (p. 253), though note later work does not reiterate this claim (Bryson 1991; Bryson 1993).\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5972,
"author": "StasK",
"author_id": 739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/739",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>On a number of occasions, I found myself knowing the author personally pretty closely, and would ask them which version they want me to cite. On other occasions, I would cite whichever source I read first, and just stick to that. People should not be cited five times for one idea; it is little of my business to untangle their political games of publishing the same stuff in different journals (a very common thing in the social sciences I mingle with), and I would do whatever works for me, not for them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5979,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should have two goals in mind when choosing what to cite:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Give credit, by citing the first person to discover the result, in the form in which it was originally found</p></li>\n<li><p>Helping the reader interested in looking the result up and learn it in more depth.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Either one of them can be more important than the other, depending on the type of your paper and of the context of the specific citation.</p>\n\n<p>The two goals are often conflicting; for instance, #1 might tell you to use an obscure conference proceeding with a clumsy first version of the result, and #2 might suggest to use a clear exposition in a book by another author instead. You might want to go for a tradeoff instead and cite a newer paper by the first author with a better version of the result.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, if your choice is backed up by either of these two rationales, or by a suitably weighted linear combination of them, then in my opinion no one can blame you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 30193,
"author": "user2768",
"author_id": 22768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22768",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Cite all versions! I find this practice useful, because it gives me all the information that the author has. Ideally, you should explain the distinctions between different versions too.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5964",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4442/"
]
|
5,974 | <p>A usual flow of a project (in my field) commonly looks like this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>having a result -> (1) writing a paper (with all the proofs) -> (2) making a conference version -> (3) uploading a full version to eprint -> (4) journal version</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Usually, (2) is a shorter version of (1); and (3)
is almost the same as (1) up to some changes that came up during the process of making (2); Yet, the work on (2) and (3) happens almost at the same time.</p>
<p>The question is how to deal with maintaining both versions (full + short) of the same paper. </p>
<p>So far I have been keeping two separate "papers", but this solutions has its problems: if you make a change to one (say, fixing a typo), you need to remember making the same change in the other one (which you usually forget). </p>
<p>What is the best strategy?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5975,
"author": "Jukka Suomela",
"author_id": 351,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/351",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can change your workflow slightly:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Write a paper with full proofs, polish it, and upload to arxiv.</p></li>\n<li><p>Prepare the conference version (fairly late). You will use version 1 as your starting point, but you can edit it freely. You can remove proofs and refer to the arxiv version. You can polish the story, introduction, etc. You may spot typos in the arxiv version, but do not worry about those too much. There is no need to revise the arxiv version yet if the typos are minor.</p></li>\n<li><p>Prepare the journal version. The key thing is that you will use version 2 as the starting point, not version 1. Of course you will now copy-and-paste the full proofs from version 1, but the rest of the text comes from the conference version. Therefore the main matter has already automatically gone through all the revisions that were related to the preparation of the conference submission(s), addressing conference reviews, preparing the camera-ready conference paper, etc.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Now you can simply revise your arxiv submission by replacing it with the journal version, whenever the journal version is ready.</p>\n\n<p>If you follow this approach, there is never need to maintain parallel versions. You will never need to worry about updating version x when you fix typos in version y. People interested in your work can read the first arxiv version early, and your final arxiv version is as well polished as the journal version.</p>\n\n<p>Note that you can start phase 3 as soon as you have prepared the final camera-ready version of the conference paper. When the conference version finally appears, you can already have a preliminary draft of the journal version written, and you can use it to revise your arxiv submission if it seems to be a good idea.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5976,
"author": "mankoff",
"author_id": 185,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/185",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would use <code>git</code> with branches and selective merging. You can selectively merge your typo fixes and stuff between one branch and the other, in whichever direction you choose.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5977,
"author": "Atilla Ozgur",
"author_id": 333,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/333",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are using latex. I use following approach. I define three variables. ArticleTypeAll , ArticleTypeJournal and ArticleTypeConference . I use ArticleTypeAll for parts which is same for all parts (Conference and Journal). In my example authors information. I use ArticleTypeJournal for only journal part. For example introduction to journal may be different than conference one. Same goes for ArticleTypeConference.</p>\n\n<p>I split every part to different latex file to easily version control and compare them. If command allow me to conditionally include files. Here I use input instead of include since this is an article. I set variables as.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>ArticleTypeAll = true</li>\n<li>ArticleTypeJournal = true</li>\n<li>ArticleTypeConference = false</li>\n</ul>\n\n<pre>\n\\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{article}\n\\usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc}\n\\author{Atilla Ozgur}\n\\title{Conference Journal Together}\n\n\\newif\\ifArticleTypeAll\n\\newif\\ifArticleTypeJournal\n\\newif\\ifArticleTypeConference\n\n\\ArticleTypeAlltrue\n\\ArticleTypeJournaltrue\n\\ArticleTypeConferencefalse\n\n\\begin{document}\n\\ifArticleTypeAll\n this place is included in all\n\\fi\n\n\\ifArticleTypeJournal\n this place is included in journal article only\n\\fi\n\n\\ifArticleTypeConference\n this place is included in Conference article only\n\\fi\n\n\\ifArticleTypeAll\n\\input{Authors}\n\\fi\n\n\\ifArticleTypeJournal\n\\input{IntroductionJournal}\n\\fi\n\n\\ifArticleTypeConference\n\\input{IntroductionConference}\n\\fi\n\n\\end{document}\n</pre>\n\n<p>Output of this document like below. </p>\n\n<pre><code>this place is included in all\nthis place is included in journal article only\nAuthors\nIntroductionJournal\n</code></pre>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5974",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/324/"
]
|
5,983 | <p>I am about to complete my PhD. My area is functional analytic/ operator theoretic aspects of quantum information. I am applying for post-doctoral positions in various places. Recently, one group called me for presentation/ interview over Skype. It should consist of a presentation (20 minutes) and 20 minutes interview. My questions are the following: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>What are the common things one should focus while presenting online, and what I should avoid (say, in my slide, or oral comments etc).</p></li>
<li><p>The people who called me for interview are physicists (my work is connected to quantum information). As a mathematics student, what is the best way to make myself presentable in these cases. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some background: I have two publications, some old preprints (arxiv, on discrete mathematics, but not published and not connected with my present research) and a few in draft form (not submitted in arxiv yet). Published papers are not mathematically very exiting, but came up in some reasonably good and well reputed physics journals. Also what I am afraid is, they are not reviewed in math review (many papers from the same journal are frequently reviewed though). </p>
<p>I am a bit afraid, as this is my first time of appearing in such interview (and the reasons mentioned above). Advanced thanks for your helps and suggestions.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5984,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>They are not going to ask you why your papers are not in Math Reviews, or why you never published your old discrete math stuff. You can safely forget about both those things. They want to make sure that you are able to communicate your research ideas to them, and understand theirs -- both are very nontrivial questions in cross-disciplinary hiring. If your research that's in the draft stage can be related to what their group is doing, this is what you'll want to get across. Stating every definition precisely is not as important, but you may be asked to give some of them. If you can, make a nonlinear beamer where navigation arrows point to extra slides with definitions and technical assumptions. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6042,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The question asks a number of things. I am going to focus on interviewing over Skype/video conferencing since it is extremely difficult to do correctly. The issues associated with interviewing is very different from presenting.</p>\n\n<p>Some things to consider when doing a Skype interview</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Location: You need a private setting, a good internet connection, a backup landline, good lighting, and good acoustics. I suggest investing in a off white sheet to use as a backdrop. It is also useful for the camera to be directly in front of you so that it appears you are looking at them when you look at the screen. Make sure you have your notes and a drink within reach.</li>\n<li>Timing: You need to know when the interview is happening including the timezone and who is initiating the call. You also need to know what happens if there is a problem. You do not want to lose your valuable interview time to technical problems.</li>\n<li>Attendees: Once the interview starts, you need to know who is in the room and where they are sitting. If there are people you cannot see, ask them to move. Ask each person to introduce themselves and make sure you can hear them. During this stage you need to get a baseline read on their facial expressions. You also need to know where they are sitting so that you can \"look at them\". The slight eye shift required to look at them on the screen is likely not exaggerated enough. Practice this.</li>\n<li>Control: Make sure you know who asks each question. Ideally use peoples names so they know you are talking to them. If you don't hear the question, ask them to repeat it. Check that they can hear and see you frequently.</li>\n<li>Gestures: You need to minimize your gestures, pointing, and figitng. They are really noticeable on Skype.</li>\n</ol>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5983",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4462/"
]
|
5,986 | <p>As <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5983/4462">suggested</a> by @PiotrMigdal I am putting a separate question regarding the title mentioned above. </p>
<p>I am a Mathematics PhD student doing work in functional analysis / operator theory aspects of quantum information. My basic training (up to masters) is in so called 'Pure Mathematics' ($C^*$ algebra, representation theory, elliptic curve etc.). I am about to complete my PhD and applying for post doctoral positions. It seems most of the jobs in this area are for experimentalists and a few for theorists. I do not have much knowledge about experiment. Moreover, my understanding about quantum measurements as very basic. These can be considered as negative points. Positive sides: I have a few published papers in some reputed physics journal, a few (in discrete mathematics) preprints, and a few works in the draft stage. However the published papers are not reviewed by math. review. </p>
<p>My question is, what a mathematics student, like me, should focus/emphasise if he/she go for a job (for me post doctoral) interview in front of physics faculties.</p>
<p>Also more general question can be regarding the job perspective of mathematics students in quantum information. Advanced thanks for any suggestion, answer etc. Feel free to edit and/or retag it, if you think it is necessary.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 6017,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A lot of quantum information is a part of mathematics (that is, mathematically well-defined concepts, proper proofs, etc...), with some physical motivation. Many problems can be stated easily as mathematical ones, without providing and physical grounding.</p>\n\n<p>So if you are a pure maths PhD, then it may be actually beneficial for you, as you: can prove (not only hand-wave) and perhaps have better training (and motivation) in Hilbert spaces, group theory, discrete mathematics, abstract algebra, convex geometry, algorithmic complexity, information theory etc...</p>\n\n<p>Surely, different groups have different tastes for different problems, different emphasis on physical, mathematical, numerical and experimental content. Just ask them; if it is pure quantum information then maybe even you can go without knowing quantum mechanics (which is worth learning anyway, BTW).</p>\n\n<p>Source: I am PhD student in geometry of quantum states; a considerable fraction of people working on that topic are mathematicians.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6018,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It may be too late for this, but I'd suggest giving a talk for physicists in a lower stakes setting (eg a seminar at a school that isn't interviewing you). Physicists often have different names for things and ways of talking about them, and it can be really nice to have some exposure to the kinds of questions you might get asked.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5986",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4462/"
]
|
5,987 | <p>My PhD advisor wants me to work on two different problems during my PhD. One is the a problem of their suggestion and another is collaborative work with some company. Both the problems are disjoint. I have been given the option, that if I want to work on one problem then it should be the problem on for my advisor's collaborative research and I should leave the problem initially suggested. However, I don't want to give up my present problem as that sounds interesting to me and I have already worked for one year on it. When I told my advisor that I don't find the collaborative work interesting, it was suggested that I work on both the problems. However, I am finding it hard to work on two problems. Its like a dual PhD for me. I cannot say anything to my advisor as I'm told I have to work on the collaborative work as my stipend comes from it and else I should leave the PhD. My advisor also does not advise me when I propose ideas about my previous research. Please suggest what should I do? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5988,
"author": "KDN",
"author_id": 4468,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4468",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on how committed you are to the research project. Your Ph.D. thesis can strongly influence your future course in academia and research. That being said, plenty of Ph.D. recipients have gone on to do research in fields quite distinct from their thesis work.</p>\n\n<p>If your funding is tied to one of the projects, it would certainly be easier to find the time to complete your thesis by working on that project alone. However, you should only make this shift if the funded project is also interesting to you. There few things as difficult as finishing a thesis on a topic in which you are not interested.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, what matters most about your Ph.D. thesis is that you finish it. If you think that finding time to work on your thesis will be most limiting, then you should choose the funded topic. If you think that staying interested in your research is the biggest hurdle, then you should choose the topic you are interested in, even if it takes you longer to graduate on account of your other obligations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5989,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The most important line in your post seems to be one that you didn't give much weight to: \"my stipend comes from [the collaborative project]\". From my experience, this is a common situation, where the money for your stipend comes from a project you're not interested in pursuing.</p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the only real alternative for you is to write your own grant proposal, which is a significant investment of time for both you and your advisor, and carries the not-so-minor risk that the grant won't be funded, which leaves you exactly where you started, with the added problem that there hasn't been much progress on the existing grant.</p>\n\n<p>The second alternative is to leave the advisor and try to find someone else, but I would recommend against that for two reasons. Firstly, it's hard to find someone else with funding on a project you like. Secondly, the problem you're having now—the funded project is less interesting than the unfunded project—is one you'll likely face again in the future. Your advisor's approach of pursuing both projects is (again, from my experience) a typical way of dealing with this, and it will likely benefit you to have experience with this approach during your PhD years.</p>\n\n<p>I recognize that it means extra work for you, and I don't really have much advice on that front. Try not to think of it as extra work, but rather as extra publications in different research areas. That helps minimize the sting.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6022,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is nothing inherently wrong in an advisor asking you to work on two projects — depending on the subfield you're in, this could even be common practice. The two common approaches are:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Choose a single topic, drill down till you have enough material for a thesis. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If you're successful, you have a pretty nifty thesis and you can call yourself the absolute master of the subsubtopic X that you focused on. </li>\n<li>On the other hand, if you reach a dead end (which sometimes happen after 4 years of hard work), you have nowhere to go! You'll have to find a new research topic, which can take another 3-4 years, which is pretty depressing.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li><p>Start on one project as a fresh graduate student, but gradually start working on multiple projects. Advantages are </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>you'll have a good pile of publications when you finish</li>\n<li>If you hit a dead end on one project (or funding dries up), you can focus your attention on a different project</li>\n<li>If you find one project moving faster than the other, you can switch focus to that to graduate on time (or sooner). </li>\n<li>If the topics are diverse (but connectable by a common theme), you can spin that to your advantage by demonstrating you have broad research interests. (pretty hard to get a position if you only want to do X).</li>\n</ul></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I honestly can find no disadvantage with the second route except for the fact that it can be a bit overwhelming for a graduate student, especially if their advisor doesn't realize that the work load is heavy. I tend to look at it as training for the future — as a postdoc/scientist/faculty, you'll most likely be juggling several different projects of your own, in addition to collaborating, teaching, advising, etc. So this is a good way to start learning efficient time management.</p>\n\n<p>In short, I don't think your situation is alarming and you should take this as an opportunity to learn some soft skills (time management, recognizing a hot potato, identifying paths that lead somewhere, etc.). Now, if you're really uninterested in the project, then that's a different issue — you probably have to look for a different advisor.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2012/12/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5987",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4466/"
]
|
5,990 | <p>I live in a third-world country. Although I have a second-class degree in IT, I work in the general banking section in a private banking organization. This is possible because, in our country, private banks recruit engineering students (among others) as Management Trainees. They are rotated among various sections in the bank and are trained up for two years. After two years, they are promoted as Executives.</p>
<p>After joining the organization I found that there is huge amount of study involved to get confirmation and to get promotion. Moreover, I don't know Accounting.</p>
<p>Now I am thinking, since I have to study anyway, why not take the GRE and TOEFL, then study apply for a MSc in IT or computer science and then a PhD degree from USA.</p>
<p>I have already been away from academia for almost four years. And, since I am doing a full-time job, I think it will take 2 years more to prepare myself applying for higher education in the USA. At that point I will be 32 years old.</p>
<p>Is a PhD degree from USA enough to find a job at that age?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5991,
"author": "RSG",
"author_id": 4462,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4462",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am having a feeling that you want to go for academia or at least r & d of some company, after PhD. If you really really have 'the calling', then and only then take such a risk. I know only few student who actually took such a risk. Do not come in academia with a very romantic thought and be prepared for hardship, toil and trouble. These things increases, if you can not manage to get in one of the the top places. Also consider the financial matters as well. </p>\n\n<p>If you can sponsor yourself, then perhaps you can go to some reasonably good university in USA, without any recommendation (your job experience can help you in certain ways). Since I have never been there, someone else can answer it better. Otherwise, go to the best institute available in your country for getting a MSc(Engg), MSc (by research), MTech or similar degree. Make sure, the the faculties of that place are active in research and (better) have some contact in USA. In this way, even if you do not want to go for PhD after 2 years, you still have some placement options from the institute, you are studying. </p>\n\n<p>I myself never appeared for GRE etc. So some others can tell the procedure better. All the best for your future. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5992,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>since I have to study anyway, why not go for GRE+TOEFL, MS in IT or Computer Science and then a PhD degree from USA</em></p>\n\n<p>Maybe you're aware of this, but \"studying\" has little to do with getting a Ph.D. It might suffice for an MS, but a good MS involves more than just \"studying\" as well. </p>\n\n<p>In other words, if (as stated) your idea is that instead of \"study\" to get a promotion, you want to study to get an advanced degree, you're in for some disappointment. A graduate degree (especially a Ph.D) involves a lot more \"doing\" and independent creative thinking. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 5996,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is not how it works. A degree doesn't mean you will get a job. Actually, a degree only proves you passed a certain education course and wrote your dissertation.</p>\n\n<p>In order to get a job, you must be proficient / or at least well-familiar with specific requirements of your chosen job posting. Whatever the job requires, you need to know it before applying and have some experience with it. </p>\n\n<p>The degree contents is not enough to please your potential employer. You must study also around the curriculum from day 1 to match the real job requirements [as you have found them in job postings]</p>\n\n<p>Further, a PhD is a highly specialized research degree focused on a very tiny, narrowed-down area, in which you will most likely never find a job in your lifetime [unless you are very clever or lucky and research something that companies or universities dream of].</p>\n\n<p>Master's degree is already an advanced degree. Chances are, you won't even find a position in your Master's specialization because it is too specialized. For example, what you say about your company that makes you a trainee manager, that already means you didn't find a job matching your Bachelor's.</p>\n\n<p>Regarding positions in Academia, there are very few, if any, and the number of PhDs competing for one such position might be around 500. This is one thing to consider. There are many extremely bright PhDs who really want to teach and cannot find any university to go. There is also something called \"tenure\". When you get it, you can stay at your post for the rest of your life. Professors rarely leave their posts, and when they do, the role may be filled by the associate professor, in some cases. So that you would eventually wait 10 years as a postdoc before becoming the professor that you want to be. During that time, there is often a very low pay as these postdocs are cheap labor working ~55h / week.</p>\n\n<p>The supply of PhDs is so much exceeding the demand, that I would recommend to re-evaluate the situation and make more realistic goals, such as look at available positions and their requirements before studying. If you study, pay for access to extra contents relevant to your desired profession and learn from these resources as a part of your advanced degree to bridge the gap between real job requirements and the academic curriculum. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18555,
"author": "Philip Gibbs",
"author_id": 7466,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7466",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I did a PhD and then went into the software industry followed by banking. I did the PhD because I love science rather than for career enhancement so I never regretted doing it. In the software industry the PhD is not well valued. Three years of work experience would be much better. In banking the right PhD is useful for certain roles such as quants, hedge managers, analysts etc. In general a suitable PhD helps in some roles, has no benefit in others and may make you overqualified elsewhere.</p>\n\n<p>My advice would be to do a PhD only if you are inspired by research, not as a career move. Only continue into a postdoc academic career if you are really sure it is your lifetime calling. </p>\n\n<p>However, it is possible that coming from a third world country the PhD may open more doors for you. My own experience does not address that. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2013/01/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5990",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
5,997 | <p>While writing the literature review for my doctoral dissertation, I picked up a few recent dissertations on similar topics from the library to get some pointers on references and style. As I was reading some of the articles cited in one of these theses, I discovered that this person had lifted large blocks of text from the cited works verbatim. Although the original works were cited, the borrowed text was not presented as a quote, but used directly in the thesis.</p>
<p>I checked a few more, just out of curiosity, and realized that basically the whole literature review by this author (who graduated with a PhD two years ago) was cut-and-paste verbatim quotes strung together (and who knows how much more of the thesis is plagiarized - I only checked this one chapter).</p>
<p>This really ticks me off, as I (and many students like me) spend a great deal of time reworking cited information into proper coherent explanations for our projects. I happen to know the offending author's advisor pretty well, as we currently work together outside of my graduate program.</p>
<p>Should I say something or should I just let this person get away with plagiarizing large parts of their dissertation?</p>
<hr>
<h2>Edit:</h2>
<p>I still don't know what I will do about this -- no-one wants to be a tattle-tale, and it really isn't any of my business how other people go about getting their doctorates. However, as I am currently writing my dissertation, it really irks me when I see someone else getting away with this, as I know from experience how much hard work goes into writing a PhD thesis.</p>
<p>I just have one more comment -- I ran the chapter in question through the <a href="http://turnitin.com/en_us">TurnItIn</a> software, which I have access to as an instructor at my institution. The thesis came back as 52% unoriginal. Turnitin only counts exact matches, so the 52% figure doesn't even include some of the paragraphs that I caught, where the author has changed one or two words but kept the sentence structure.</p>
<p>I doubt that there would be any legal consequences, even if I report the thesis for plagiarism -- it is more a question of academic dishonesty and what steps the institution that awarded the degree would take. I will show it to my advisor and see what he says before I do anything.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 5998,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is of course a sensitive issue. However, the ethically correct behavior is to notify <em>someone</em> responsible about the problem. Etiquette says to go to the advisor first, as the advisor is the person who, after the author who committed the plagiarism, stands to lose the most from the accusation. </p>\n\n<p>However, if you feel squeamish about doing it by yourself, you can talk to your advisor about the best way to proceed. </p>\n\n<p>The main issue on your part is if you will need to rely on the plagiarizer's advisor for recommendation letters. Then you should definitely proceed with caution, and with the support of your advisor, department administrators, or both. </p>\n\n<p>Of course, make sure that you've done your due diligence before going public with your charges, and to have the evidence <em>with you</em> when you meet with <em>anyone</em> about this matter. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6005,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The person did provide the citations, so for me it is not clear if <strong>legally</strong> this person did something wrong. I would first try and find this out before taking any steps. Of course, I would not accept this kind of verbatim copying if I were a supervisor. The angle on takes in an article is always a bit different than in the cited work. In addition, paraphrasing the text shows that you have understood what was written.</p>\n<p>And be carefull how you deal with this, some people would not appreciate you being a snitch (in their view). However, I agree with @aeismail that it is the scientifically ethical thing to do to at least report this. And do get some backup from your own supervisor/professor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32909,
"author": "Patric Hartmann",
"author_id": 20449,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20449",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My institution has a commitee in charge of this, does yours not have anything similar? There you can report such findings (even anonymously since the evidence is not depending on the person providing it). They will then decide upon the procedure to be followed.</p>\n\n<p>Revoking a title is not an easy procedure in any case, also as there are large numbers of personal relationships entangled in it. I just know that almost any case where something like this happened, it ended in court.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32926,
"author": "Tom Au",
"author_id": 755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/755",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One possible course of action is to talk to the student's advisor about a "hypothetical," that is, ask him how he would feel if he were told that someone had plagiarized a PhD thesis in such-and-such a way.</p>\n<p>One possible result is that he is entirely surprised, or better yet, indignant. Then you can follow up with your secret and tell him the truth about his student.</p>\n<p>Another possibility is that he winks and then says something like "yeah, these things happen from time to time." If that's the case, he "knows," and then it's up to you to decide (from a political point of view), whether or not to bring it to his <strong>official</strong> knowledge.</p>\n<p>This idea came from a novel, "Strong Medicine" by Arthur Haley, where a young doctor went to his hospital CEO to inquire about how he should advise a "friend" to report that a senior doctor (his boss) was operating under the influence of drugs. The CEO said, "I don't want to deal with problems from another hospital, but tell your "friend" to keep his mouth shut," then winked at the young doctor and told him how valuable the boss was to his hospital.</p>\n<p>The young doctor had his answer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 36830,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If I understand you correctly, the only place in which text is known to have been lifted was the literature review. While it is inappropriate to do so, it's possible that only the <em>phrasing</em> can be considered as plagiarized (and even that, like @PaulHiemstra states, is not exactly the case since the author did cite the sources).</p>\n<p>In other words, you do not have evidence that the actual research presented in the thesis is original and not lifted from anyone. That means one cannot claim that "large parts of the... dissertation" are plagiarized. Now, in theory, some other content could be plagiarized as well, but I would avoid suggesting this is the case.</p>\n<p>Anyway, based on what you know there is nothing which merits a reconsideration of the awarding of the title. At most, the Ph.D. candidate should have been chided for failing to cite clearly enough, and require to resubmit his dissertation so that the literature review is less copy-pasty.</p>\n<p>However, the dissertation's readers / examination committee should have picked up on this. They weren't doing their job and that's actually a <em>different</em> problem, which is even more important to address (among other reasons, because of the possibility they may have missed a more material plagiarism)</p>\n<p>With that said, I think it is your <em>duty</em> as an academic to act here. My suggestion for the order of actions is as follows:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Inform your own advisor of this matter, letting him know you're going to talk to the dissertation author's advisor. Don't ask for his permission or anything - but he might have some relevant cautionary information.</li>\n<li>Talk to the dissertation author's advisor. Tell him that the dissertation needs to be corrected, or at least an erratum added on all relevant pages in the physical and on-line copies. Ask him to contact his previous advisee (is that a word?) about it, as though he (the advisor) noticed it himself, to make the advisee feel less uncomfortable and more obliged to act.</li>\n<li>If the advisor agrees, you're done with this part (well, you'll need to check up on him). Stop reading this list</li>\n<li>Tell him you intend to continue to pursue this despite his refusal.</li>\n<li>Contact the dissertation author and ask that he address the problem.</li>\n<li>If the author doesn't agree, write the both of them and threaten to report them (now they're both at fault; maybe the advisor already knew and didn't care).</li>\n<li>If that doesn't work, try your grad student union / junior researcher union, and specifically your department's union rep. Don't have one? Too bad... anyway, the union might have some ability to apply pressure and the interest to uphold academic professionalism; and ratting someone out to his union is not as bad as ratting him out to the university authorities.</li>\n<li>Talk to someone like the vice-dean in charge of graduate researchers, or a corresponding relatively-low-level official in charge of oversight of Ph.D. candidates' academic progress. (I mean someone in an academic capacity, not an administrative one).</li>\n<li>Talk to your dean / department head.</li>\n<li>If all else fails, publish an open letter. Make sure it's very polite, vitriol-free, makes no unfounded assumptions and does not demand anyone's head on a platter, merely that the issue be addressed and that the principles of professional academic behavior be better adhered to.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>With this resolved, consider trying to talk to whoever in your university is in charge of appointing dissertation reader / examiner committees for Ph.D. candidates. There should be some kind of effort on his/her part to ensure committee members understand they need to notice such things.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 75569,
"author": "Jeff",
"author_id": 57314,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/57314",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A lot of posts have already touched on the delicacy of this issue, and the vulnerable position the OP is in. I agree whole heartedly, especially if your field intersects with this other person's field, as it presumably does.</p>\n\n<p>Ethically, I think you're bound to report this; at the same time I don't think you're bound to make your own career path more difficult over it. The obvious solution to me then, is to <strong>do it anonymously.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Create a random free email address somewhere without any identifying info involved, address your letter to a few appropriate people, and explain nothing about how you came upon the info. Simply report exactly what you found, then be done with it. <strong>I don't think it's your duty to make sure action is taken once you've appropriately reported it.</strong> I do think one of the places you send it to needs to be an impartial university body though, like the registrar.</p>\n\n<p><strong>You don't go straight to the advisor who oversaw it, or only to your department</strong>, because worrying <em>only</em> about damage control isn't ethical either, and you would be potentially placing them in ethical conundrums as well. <strong>I also don't think you go to <em>your</em> advisor</strong>, because then you're just punting a difficult thing that has a clear right answer on to someone else. You're also potentially attaching your name to it; most departments are talkative places.</p>\n\n<p>As you described it, it seems like several people did something wrong and there probably <em>should</em> be consequences. <strong>If you help them avoid any consequences, are you complicit when it happens again?</strong> I would think so.</p>\n\n<p><em>Edit: I just noticed this is a necro'd old post, so hopefully this is useful for others besides the OP</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 160474,
"author": "Sascha",
"author_id": 53466,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53466",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I strongly advise not to contact the supervisor of the other student directly. I have seen my share of scientific misconduct while i was in research and most of the time when a student crossed the line so hard the supervisor was either ignorant to it, tolerating it or outright encouraging it.</p>\n<p>While i would have trusted my supervisor to do the right thing (i informed him about shady things and he reacted appropriately) this is where it gets tricky: If your supervisor and the other supervisor are friends it could end up not so well, but you should know your supervisor good enough to know.</p>\n<p>So you could try go via you supervisor, inform he ombudsman or corresponding committee anonymously, or you could wait after you have your PHD until you notify the institution.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2013/01/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5997",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4473/"
]
|
6,001 | <p>I have just completed my PhD. Although my examiners did not raise any concerns, I have been grappling with an ethical issue for the entire duration of my candidature. </p>
<p>The issue concerns professional knowledge of the field on which my research is based. This is an issue of concern because I am employed in the field and have access to information that is generally not publicly available (but is available to me as an employee) or only found in hard-to-get industry publications (e.g. newsletters). These publications are hard-to-get because of their specialised nature and limited circulation. </p>
<p>Disclosing this information creates a potential conflict of interest for me (because of reasons associated with commercial-in-confidence, breach of trust etc.). It gets even worse because I am often actively involved in generating this information as part of various negotiations I am required to have with third parties (in my capacity as an employee). As an example, I draft policy speeches for my CEO so this has the effect of quoting my own work in my dissertation (but attributed to my CEO in the citation and bibliography!) </p>
<p>To resolve this matter, I have declared (categorically) this conflict of interest (several times in my dissertation) (although I don't identify myself as the ghost writer). I have also put whatever information I thought could be ethically disclosed in the relevant context (e.g. cited the publicly available newsletter, where possible). This was to ensure future researchers could benefit from this 'inside' knowledge. I have stated this as one of the contributions to knowledge that my dissertation is making.</p>
<p>I must add that the professional knowledge does not contradict or undermine my research, so I am certainly not withholding the information for this reason. On the contrary, this information enhances the main arguments of my study (so omitting it presents a significant dilemma for me).</p>
<p>i would love to hear how else could this matter be resolved.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 6007,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've known cases where the thesis itself has <strong>very</strong> restricted circulation for a fixed period (e.g. six years) after completion, to protect the commercial information that went into it. The restriction also meant that papers couldn't be published on the back of the PhD research for six years, too.</p>\n\n<p>That was an arrangement made early on during the writing of the thesis, and it enabled the use of a lot of information that would otherwise have been out of bounds.</p>\n\n<p>That's potentially quite an impediment to one's career, so one would have to get good advice on whether it was a price worth paying. But it doesn't make an academic career impossible: I know of at least one successful academic who's take this path - she's an exceptional talent, and so it's no surprise that her path has been exceptional. It does put an emphasis on diversifying straight after the PhD, to gather material for new publications. Diversification can be a good thing: lots of new post-docs get typecast and trapped by and in their PhD subject.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6015,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>And, as a small point, if one's work is confidential for the reason that it is so extremely useful/important/wonderful (!?!), while one cannot claim this directly, it is usually possible to communicate facts about the situation in a way that will be understood by potential employers. One's letter writers would hopefully/presumably comment on the situation, and possibly gossip will lead the way, besides, if it's really something good.</p>\n\n<p>At least as a starting point, honesty + keeping promises is a good baseline. :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6095,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A good starting point would be to talk to your research advisor about how to handle this, and follow his/her advice. This is the sort of situation for which advisors exist to help.</p>\n\n<p>That said, the way you are handling it seems reasonable and sensible. You cannot breach your confidentiality obligations. However, public but hard-to-find newsletters don't seem quite as problematic; you can cite them and quote from them.</p>\n\n<p>For future reference: I personally try to separate out my research from any confidential commercial work I do, precisely to avoid these kinds of conflicts. In other words, I try to avoid doing research on the same topic where I also know confidential commercial information, and I try to avoid taking on confidential commercial engagements on the same topic where I am actively doing research. I personally think that is good practice, but this is a matter for personal preference and style.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2013/01/02 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/6001",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4475/"
]
|
6,010 | <p>How important is it for an undergraduate student majoring in Physics and Mathematics (or any other science) to have experience in research (<em>e.g.</em>, have a peer reviewed paper to his name most probably in collaboration with a professor) at the undergraduate level, keeping in mind that he will be applying for a master's or other postgraduate degree?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 6011,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>During my studies it was relatively rare to publish as an undergraduate. The level of research needed for a peer reviewed publication is imo higher than what an undergraduate can produce. Maybe if the supervisor writes a paper based on your results, and with a lot of help with producing the results, this might lead to a co-authorship for the undergraduate. Therefor, I think that in the Dutch system (my experience) a peer reviewed publication would be a plus, but definitely not a requirement for admission into a masters program. Ofcourse, you need have written a thesis, but it does not have to published in a peer-reviewed journal. I do not know how this experience translate to, say, the US, but I know for countries like Germany it is not even always usual for a PhD to write peer-reviewed articles.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6012,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If you want admission to the very best PhD programs in the US, prior formal research experience is <em>very</em> important, if not necessary. Admissions committees are primarily looking for <strong>evidence of research potential</strong>. The best possible evidence for \"I'll be a good researcher someday\" is \"Look, I'm <em>already</em> a good researcher.\" So having formal peer-reviewed publications is better than having publishable but unpublished results, which is better than having research experience but no publishable results, which is better than having no research experience. If you're applying to the top PhD programs, you <em>will</em> be competing with applicants (yes, plural) who have peer-reviewed publications (yes, plural).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6013,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the U.S., in mathematics, it is a bit unusual to have a peer-reviewed publication from an undergrad, despite the recent years' push for \"Research Experiences for Undergrads\". In some cases there are group-written papers in second or third-tier journals, but nothing too serious. Or the undergrad gets to be the tag-along on an applied-math research \"team\". Indeed, it is exceptional, and only rarely happens, that an undergrad in mathematics has adequate background (disregarding future potential) to make a serious contribution. It does happen, but rarely, and is not at all \"expected\". Evidently the situation is much different in other fields.</p>\n\n<p>In terms of literal admission to good-but-not-elite programs, the usual \"publications\" we on admissions committees see are \"nice\", but not really evidence of future potential so much as <em>enthusiasm</em>, ... which is a good thing, for sure! ... but the level of focus and effort required for these little papers is far, far different than the level of commitment required to do a Ph.D., with or without \"talent\". </p>\n"
}
]
| 2013/01/02 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/6010",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4479/"
]
|
6,014 | <p>I'm applying to PhD programs and want to ask for a reference letter from my former supervisor, who has since moved to a new university, so that his old work email is not working anymore. I've been asking him through his personal email; however, as he rarely checks it, sometime it takes more than a month for him to reply to me. One of the universities to which I'm applying has a deadline coming up in less than a month and I haven't heard from my former supervisor for a while. While panicking, I searched on Google and found his new email address. I wonder if it's reasonable to send email to that address and remind him as he never gave me the address.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 6016,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, it is a good idea for you to contact your old advisor about the upcoming deadline, particularly if he normally takes a long time to get back to you. </p>\n\n<p>Advisors are busy people, and have a lot of different tasks to complete. Sometimes we need a reminder that things are due, and a well-written note that <em>politely</em> asks us to take care of something is usually very welcome. A \"bossy\" or impolite note, however, will not help you and should definitely be avoided. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6046,
"author": "penelope",
"author_id": 4249,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4249",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>From the formulation of your question, to me it seems your main concern is <strong>if it is polite to send an e-mail to the address you were never explicitly given</strong>, but instead found it on your own Googling.</p>\n\n<p>It looks like you found <strong>his/her new work address</strong>. If that's the case, I'd say it's <em>completely fine to send an e-mail</em>. All the right reasons for contacting your former adviser before the deadline are already mentioned in @aeismail's answer.</p>\n\n<p>I'd just like to add that I've been told over and over again that a <em>good letter of recommendation from your former adviser is expected</em>, and that it's extra great if you can have letters of recommendation from more than one of your former advisers: <em>those are the people who were supposed to be working closest with you</em> and who <em>continually assessed your progress over a period of time</em>. If you can't get them to say something good for you, you must be very very special in some other way to get accepted to a PhD.</p>\n\n<p>Back to the <em>is it polite</em> point: it is a work e-mail you found. That's the way he's expecting to be contacted concerning scientific things. It's public and accessible to everybody. That does not mean he'll reply to everything, but if you're one of his former students, he should be glad to reply if you split on good terms.</p>\n\n<p>Also, I've contacted everybody who gave me a letter of recommendation after I got my PhD grant, and <em>I sad \"thank you\"</em>. I went to visit my supervisor in his office for a few minutes before I moved away for my PhD: those people, and he especially, are who made me love science, and made me look for a PhD in the first place. He often said that <strong>advising students on how to go further with science/research was one of the best parts of his job</strong>. So, maybe I was just lucky, but in my experience, your former advisers will be glad to help you, glad to know their help mattered and <em>won't mind you contacting them</em>.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2013/01/02 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/6014",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4481/"
]
|
6,021 | <p>After starting the application process this year, I found a <a href="http://notable.math.ucdavis.edu/wiki/Mathematics_Jobs_Wiki">wiki page at UC Davis</a> that lists people who have supposedly been shortlisted, invited for interviews, or given offers for faculty positions in mathematics. I am listed in couple of places, and I wonder if this can harm my application. What are the pros and cons of this open source?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 6024,
"author": "user4491",
"author_id": 4491,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4491",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a professor at a top 20 school in mathematics and I have been on our department's hiring committee for the past several years. I can assure you that we take absolutely no notice of the contents of that particular website when making decisions. We consider ourselves competent enough to form our own judgements on any particular candidate. In the past, we have interviewed plenty of people whose name occurs frequently on that list, and plenty of those whose name does not appear at all. Moreover, the accuracy of that website is dubious at best; at my own institution it sometimes lists people who are not at all under consideration, and usually doesn't list people who are - including those who have been given offers. The only time I made any attempt to edit the website was when it claimed that we didn't have any positions available at all (which was false). I suspect that at least on one occasion someone invited themselves to our institution to give a talk and then put their own name on the website as a candidate (they were not). Thus, I suspect that <i>the effect this particular website has on job offers is minimal at most</i>. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 6041,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>What are the pros and cons of this open source?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I see three pros of these types of lists. The first is that it can alert you to jobs that you did not know about. The second is that it can tell you something about where the status of the hiring process is. For example, if the list says an offer has been made and you haven't had an interview, then the odds are not good. The third use is that it gives you an idea of who is getting interviews and offers and with the help of the internet, how your CV stacks up.</p>\n\n<p>The cons are pretty simple in my mind. In fact, each of the pros has a pretty substantial con. First, there are much better ways of finding out about jobs. Second, the list is not accurate; just because the list says an offer was made, doesn't mean it was. Further, I am not sure of the value of knowing that your application was unsuccessful. It seems reasonable to want to know, but I am not sure how it changes ones outlook. Third, there are better ways to figure out what the weak points of your application are.</p>\n\n<p>As for being listed, I don't see any potential for harm.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2013/01/03 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/6021",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4488/"
]
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.