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19,050 | <p>As an organization, a university has various types of regulations (academics, disciplinary, etc), which are separately documented.</p>
<p>Do (at least) large universities prepare a comprehensive book containing the code of laws of the university in different sections. I mean a reference book addressing all regulations of the university.</p>
<p>For example, when there is an official conflict between two parties, using that reference to justify their actions, instead of dealing with section documents.</p>
<p>If yes, could you please reference them for review.</p>
| [
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"text": "<p>Yes. It will be called a \"Policy and Procedures Handbook\" or something like that at most universities in the US. The reason to have such a handbook is to ensure that employees follow proper protocols about a range of different issues. This protects both the employees and the universities legally. </p>\n"
},
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"answer_id": 100115,
"author": "einpoklum",
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"text": "<p>Some don't, or rather - some have these in multiple documents, with some of the documents not easily accessible to students or junior / adjucnt faculty. That's what it was like in my Alma Mater anyway - and it's a 90 year old university with ~10k undergrads, 2.5k M.Sc. candidates and 700 Ph.D. candidates.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/07 | [
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19,052 | <p>Recently, I have being planning to design an automatic pornographic movie detector with the machine learning knowledge that I just acquired.</p>
<p>I am now in the stage of planning how to perform the system evaluation. The intuition is to just test the algorithms with some pornographic movies and some non-pornographic movies and compute the false negative/positive rates. I simply feel that for any evaluation method, I would have to obtain real pornographic movies to test the system!</p>
<p>Here comes the dilemma. As you know (or may not know!), basically all the pornographic movies are not free. I do <em>not</em> regard it as ethical to just download illegal pirated movies, as after all they are for a scientific research, which values copyright a lot. On the other hand, it is a bit awkward for me to request funding from my PI to buy the porn videos! Paying them myself is definitely not a feasible solution, either.</p>
<p>How may I handle this case properly?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19056,
"author": "long",
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"text": "<p>I really don't get this. This is a little like the <a href=\"http://www.classification.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx\">Movies Classification Board</a> or the <a href=\"http://www.filmratings.com/\">Classification & Ratings Administration</a> feeling awkward about asking to view the movies they are going to rate.</p>\n\n<p>If you are developing an algorithm for detecting pornography, why would it be awkward to request funding to acquire test resources? This is an entirely <strong>legitimate application, that has huge potential, both economically and socially</strong> (note: use of bold inspired by OP). There are many researchers all over the world working in similar fields. Clearly, at some point you will need to discuss your work with your PI, and presumably, they are already aware of the work you have been doing in the previous 6/9/18 months, and perhaps already requires justification against existing research funding.</p>\n\n<p>Whatever the case, your work will need to be approved by, and comply rigidly with, your institution's ethics committee. </p>\n\n<p>There are also a number of steps you could consider before committing to viewing full-length extreme hardcore films. In making some suggestions, I'm going to make a few assumptions:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>1 Your definition of a pornographic movie is one classified as\n\"mainly concerned with sex\", and involves extreme nudity and acts of\nsexual behaviour.</p></li>\n<li><p>Your algorithm looks at exposed and interacting body content in some way, and does not work on quality of script and acting (otherwise daytime soapies will bring up many false positives)</p></li>\n<li><p>Your algorithm looks at small fragments of movie clips, and not the entire 60/70/90 minutes worth, or however long these movies go for. </p></li>\n<li><p>Your PI knows what you've been spending your previous doing, which is most likely already associated with existing research funding.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So, some suggestions</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Acquire a number of movie trailers; these are usually freely available for all types of movies, and typically run for about a minute. Contact the various movie studios directly if you need to.</li>\n<li>Speak to your national Film and Television archive body. They are likely to have a number of suitable media to preliminary early test procedures on. <a href=\"http://www.nfsa.gov.au/\">Various</a> <a href=\"http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/\">bodies</a> <a href=\"http://www.bfi.org.uk/\">exist</a>.</li>\n<li>Speak to other researchers in this field. There might be a good standard set of images/movies that can be used to determine baseline effectiveness.</li>\n<li>Go to your local friendly adult shop and check out the \"specials\" bin. </li>\n<li>Finally, and not the best approach to take, look at the internet. I'm guessing if you typed in the right combination of words, you'd get unlimited supply of short, copyright-free videos, to use both as a test group and control group. But I stress, this needs to be done in strict accordance with your institutions policies for network and computing use, and therefore should be approved by your PI and ethics committee.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>However, whatever approach you take, the summary is: <strong>talk to your PI</strong>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19058,
"author": "mako",
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"text": "<p>If your supervisor knows that she is funding <em>you</em> to do research about pornography, I don't think she should be particularly shocked by the the request. If your supervisor does not know, <em>that</em> will be the more awkward conversation and it sounds like its time to have it.</p>\n\n<p>Additionally, good options might be:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Look for freely licensed pornography. Creative Commons <a href=\"http://search.creativecommons.org/\">provides a way to search for freely licensed material</a> including a way to do Google searches for permissively licensed video.</li>\n<li>Try to rely on a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use\">fair use</a> justification and go ahead and use copyrighted works you can find for free online (e.g., from free porn video websites).</li>\n<li>You could ask commercial pornography distributors to donate material for science.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Of course, there are risks with going with the fair use argument and it's always best to get your institution's general counsel's opinion first.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19059,
"author": "Jugurtha Hadjar",
"author_id": 13921,
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"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>As you know (or may not know!), basically all the pornographic movies are not free.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I find this not quite realistic: A fair chunk of the total internet bandwidth goes to porn. There are a lot of \"free\" websites. And a lot of \"studios\" offer samples which would suit your research, in my opinion.</p>\n\n<p>You don't need a two-hour porn movie to test your algorithms.</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, what is the state of the art in this field? Is anybody else working in that domain? What are they doing, i.e. how are they getting films to test?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19074,
"author": "Adi",
"author_id": 13942,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I believe you're facing a no-problem kind of problem.</p>\n\n<p>Many of the largest porn streaming sites do actually pay content creators so they allow them to serve the videos for free. What you describe is a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use\" rel=\"nofollow\">fair use</a> case, so, in theory, you shouldn't face any issues. Most studio-provided content on these sites are actually legally served for free.</p>\n\n<p>When using one of those sites, make sure you search the studio pages rather than the whole site. Searching the whole site can indeed return pirated results.</p>\n\n<p><sup>(I'm posting as a community wiki because I think this is neither an academic answer nor an Academia.SE-worthy answer. It's better as a comment, but it doesn't fit as a comment)</sup></p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/07 | [
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|
19,053 | <p>When a department head needs a faculty member, how is the process of hiring one started and conducted (at least in US and UK universities)?</p>
<p>Of particular interest is the following;</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Finance: Department head should ask the Dean for financing the salary? Who is the final decision maker?</p></li>
<li><p>Selection: Is the department head responsible for forming the search committee? and is he responsible for approving the qualifications? Can higher officials (e.g. Dean) interfere in the selection?</p></li>
<li><p>After the selection, how are the official matters handled? Who signs the contract? and who can terminate it (if not tenured)?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the role of human resources in this process?</p></li>
</ol>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19054,
"author": "Suresh",
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"text": "<p><em><strong>(US-specific; public university)</em></strong></p>\n\n<p>You'll find a huge variation in procedures across universities. There really isn't one standard method. Having said that, I can at least suggest what happens in (one) American public universities (private universities have different financing structure)</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Financing</strong>: In our universities, \"slots\" are line items that are approved by the legislature and are created ultimately by approval of the president of the university in conjunction with the dean of the college. There's a lot of negotiating that goes on to acquire one of these slots, and it's typically based on some \"soft\" arguments: \"look how much research money we're generating, and how many students we're bringing in\" and hard arguments: \"We can only get this gigantic grant if you promise to give us a faculty slot\" and so on.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Selection</strong>: departments are usually quite protective of the search process, and control most aspects of it. Again, the degree of shielding depends on politics: it's not unheard of for deans to get actively involved, especially if the department is weak. Within the department, the chair might take charge of selection, or assign a committee to do it, and so on.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Official stuff</strong>: a contract is ultimately signed by the university, and all official paperwork must go through them. Negotiations also happen with the dean via the chair. </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>HR</strong>: They're usually involved initially, to make sure job ads are posted correctly, and in compliance with university, state and federal employment laws. They're also involved after the offer is made, especially if there are legal requirements, international issues and so on.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19106,
"author": "Community",
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"text": "<p>EDIT: Added dates to give a sense of the timeline.</p>\n\n<p>Here's how the process works at my university (US). </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The department votes (March or April 2014) to request a new hire or not. Usually at this point they will also specify--is this a hire in some particular field, or do we just want to try to get the best person in the field, regardless of speciality. This request is passed to the provost and dean.</li>\n<li>If the request is approved (May or June), the department forms a search committee which writes and circulates the job ad (Sept or Oct).</li>\n<li>Once all the applications for the job are in (Nov), the search committee reads the applications and selects between 15-25 people to interview at our big disciplinary meeting (January 2015). This is a first round interview that will usually discuss scholarship and maybe a little bit about teaching. </li>\n<li>Of that field of 15-25, the committee will select three finalists to bring to a second, on campus interview. (February) The on campus interview is much more strenuous, usually lasting a day or two. At our institution it always includes a public job talk, which presents some facet of the candidates current research before the full faculty and graduate students. Some places it also includes a teaching demo. Invariably there is also a dinner after the talk at which the candidate still needs to be pleasant, conversational, and collegial. </li>\n<li>After all the on-campus interviews have been conducted, the department meets and discusses who they want to pick. (Late Feb, Early March) Usually this involves a vote. At some places the faculty's vote is binding, at some places the faculty vote is simply advisory and the committee makes the official recommendation. But, at every school I've heard of it is the Dean or Provost who actually makes the final decision. </li>\n<li>So, let's say the department has recommended candidate X to the Dean and the dean has no objection. Now the dean will call candidate X and offer him or her the job.</li>\n<li>Usually some rounds of negotiation will follow. If the candidate has other offers, then usually the dean will have to improve the offer. Once a verbal agreement is made, the dean sends a contract to the candidate to sign and return. </li>\n<li>Once the dean signs the returned contract, then, presto the candidate is officially a tenure track faculty member. (April or May 2015)</li>\n</ol>\n"
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19,064 | <p><strong>The situation</strong></p>
<p>I'm a PhD student and serve as an assistant to several courses. Now, the students were complaining that some rules of our course are not good for them - there are some restriction what has to be achieved in order to participate in the final exam, e.g.</p>
<ol>
<li>they need a certain amount of credits in their homework,</li>
<li>everybody who has failed that course in the years before, have the get the credits for their homework again.</li>
</ol>
<p>You have freedom in chosing the threshold, but the rules are written in the examination regulations (I'm also a member of the that examination committee) that is not the problem. </p>
<p>There are some professors in my department who don't follow that rules; or (even) worse come up with some funny new rules contradicting the rules (like (you don't have to read this to answer the question) <em>If you have 50% of the credits until the third to last week of the semester, you are able to participate in the final exam. If you pass, you pass. If you fail, you are only allowed to participate in the repetition of the final exam if you have 50% of your credits in the last week of the semester</em>).</p>
<p><strong>The problem</strong></p>
<p>Apart from them violating the rules, the problem is now that students come to my course and say: "Hey, professor XX did not have the rules last year. Why do you have them? That is so unfair! And you can have it, too! Because, nobody complained last year! Cmon, we will not tell anyone!".</p>
<p>As soon as I hear something like that, I complain. The problem is then: No student would tell someone things like that (exept in the mentioned case when they try to convince me to do it that way, too); the professors are sometimes not informed, but also sometimes aware of that und don't write anything on their course homepage. So nobody can find out. If you find out (probably at the end of the semester), it is too late and if you want to declare that course as not following the rules, you are only damaging the students of that course. </p>
<p>I was talking to the responsible persons in my department; they see the problem, but they don't want to have fights within the department and they don't to establish automatic announcements from the professors what the rules for their course are. </p>
<p><strong>The question</strong></p>
<p>What can I do against it? The atmosphere in my course was very bad because of that. I could go to the head of the faculty or the university who will end all that, but then I fair to be an abandoned person in my department. Also, I want not to damage students and declare their passed exams as illegal.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19066,
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"text": "<p>This is a standard problem in places where a mentality of <em>unwritten rules</em> has become standard (you know, the places that have \"rules\" and actual rules). If this becomes ingrained in the university culture (both in the student body and the faculty), nobody can really tell anymore what is a an actual rule and what isn't (and, really, the answer will be different for each teacher). For this reason I prefer a relatively strict <em>no exceptions</em> policy in my courses. I understand the downsides of this model (see for instance also here: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3664/how-do-i-appropriately-penalize-late-projects\">How do I appropriately penalize late projects?</a>), but at least everybody knows where he stands in such a model.</p>\n\n<p>I understand that you are not in a position to change university culture, so you need to play the hand you are dealt. I see two main ways to go forward:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Become more lenient yourself. If a number of senior professors deems it fit to not enforce the official rules or implement weaker rules, then maybe the official rules are in fact perceived too strict. In that case, maybe the answer is just to run with the herd and allow for more exceptions etc. yourself. Of course the preferred solution in that case would be to change to official rules, but it is well conceivable that this is not feasible for one reason or another.</li>\n<li>Announce <strong>very, very clearly</strong> at the beginning of the semester that in your case the rules will be the rules, no matter how things were in previous years or with other teachers. Follow through on your claim, and build up a reputation as being a <em>strict guy</em>. Note that being strict is not the same as being an unpopular / bad teacher. I have continuously followed this strategy in my teaching, and still receive good to excellent teaching evaluations.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Of course, if you follow the second strategy, some complaining, accusing and guilt-tripping will happen. It is your task as a teacher to be able to distinguish between warranted complains (and react to them) and more manipulative ones (that are to be ignored). These examples you give quite clearly fall into the second category. What you need to do is find a number of polite standard answers to these statements, and then forget them. Examples:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Hey, professor XX did not have the rules last year. Why do you have them? That is so unfair!</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Answer: sorry, but it is impossible to change anything in a course if I am forced to always do things exactly like the were done in previous years. I am trying to be more strict this year because I have seen that unclear rules are also not beneficial for many students, as nobody really knows anymore what the actual rules are.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Cmon, we will not tell anyone!</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Answer: while I appreciate that, I am afraid that I do not <em>want</em> to make an exception here. Making an exception for you is unfair towards the other students that did not get this exception.</p>\n\n<p>Some other minor comments:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I could go to the head of the faculty or the university who will end all that</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I am unsure if that is even true. In all places that I have been to, it would be <em>very</em> unlikely that a head of faculty micro-manages how professors do their teaching.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Also, I want not to damage students and declare their passed exams as illegal.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is understandable and correct. If you truely think that students were under the impression that a certain rule or exception would apply to them, I would let them pass as part of a transition period. If you think that they were aware that they should actually fail, but simply try to come up with a reason why this is not the case, then be strict and let them fail. Note that this is the reason why announcing your strict rules enforcement as clearly as possible is key. In your situation, being strict is only fair if you give your students advance warning, as the seem to be trained by your university that, by and large, teachers are lenient.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19072,
"author": "Henry",
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"text": "<p>I was about to recommend talking to the responsible person in your department, and then saw you did that. They handled the situation atrociously; as a PhD student, this sort of department conflict shouldn't be put on your shoulders. You don't have the freedom to deviate from policy as easily as a professor (for instance, you're more vulnerable if the school suddenly gets serious about it).</p>\n\n<p>It's not clear to me if you've asked this, but a good question to ask the responsible person is a flat out: \"What should I do?\" It's not your responsibility to fix the department's mess. It's that person's job to give you an unequivocal answer about what you should do, and then back you up on it: either tell you to follow the rules, and that any student complaints should be directed their way, or tell you to break the rules and agree to cover you if there's fallout.</p>\n\n<p>If I couldn't get a clear \"go ahead and break the rules, if anyone's upset you can say I told you to\" then I would go ahead and follow the rules, tell students you simply have no power over the issue, and that the person in charge is the responsible department official. If they don't want to deal with fixing the problem, it's certainly their job to field complaints about the result. That's very much my response, though, which includes a preference for following rules and insufficient regard for whether I'm annoying people who aren't following the rules. It may not actually be the best advice for your career.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19089,
"author": "Steve Jessop",
"author_id": 11440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11440",
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"text": "<p>\"they don't want to have fights within the department\" -- there's your answer. The department would prefer to have inconsistency between different courses/years, than enforce consistency.</p>\n\n<p>Don't put it that way to the students, but acknowledge the truth to yourself, which is that there are better things for course assistants to do with their time, than worry about what other professors than \"yours\" do when they run this or other courses.</p>\n\n<p>Maybe it isn't fair, but it's not exactly the assistant's job to make it fair or to decide whether a particular department or professor is applying the rules properly. You can (and have) raised the issue and got a decision. Since you know that there's a problem with students not knowing the rules, you can choose to make them clear to the students you see regardless of whether professors are required to announce them.</p>\n\n<p>Make sure that when you're assisting one of the \"bad\" professors, you are clear what rules you should be passing on to the students in that class -- the exam regulations or whatever this professor has invented.</p>\n\n<p>Now, <em>as well as</em> being an assistant, you're on the examinations committee. Oh ho ho ho. Well I never. Wellity well. With your other hat on, the shoe is on the other foot. That's where you make your case that a rogue department and/or rogue professors are disrespecting the exam regulations. As a committee you can consider whether the breaches are so serious as to overrule the department's desire not to have fights, and fight them :-)</p>\n\n<p>The committee is also best placed to make a plausible recommendation how its rules should be enforced by policy.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 31796,
"author": "nuoritoveri",
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"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>The atmosphere in my course was very bad because of that.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The question is: should you really care about this?</p>\n\n<p>Of course it is nothing nice to deal with, but I think there's something really wrong with your students if they constantly produced bad atmosphere just because you enforced the university rules. They will face uneven or even clearly unfair conditions during the course of their entire live, so at some stage they must accept this. They should recognise your authority in establishing the rules. You won't teach them this if you will finally relax the rules or influence other courses.</p>\n\n<p>I don't say you shouldn't care about the student feelings, but I think it's more important to teach them respect and some kind of immunity.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/08 | [
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19,065 | <p>On some project grant applications, one gets a question on something along the lines of: "If you are unsuccessful in your application for this funding round, how do you plan on funding this project?"</p>
<p>How should I answer this? Seems like some kind of catch-out question.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 21170,
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"text": "<p>Some organizations require applicants to list alternate sources of potential funding in order to determine whether the applicant has sufficiently explored funding options and is expending effort to obtain funding. If other options are less likely to be funded (due to poorer fit) or are unavailable, you can highlight that to emphasize the importance of applying for this particular grant.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21315,
"author": "Community",
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say there are two aspects in this question: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Do you have a personal contingency plan?</strong> A funder might like to see that you have thought about the possible problems that can arise in your project, including not getting it funded. Showing that you have explored different options shows that you take into account the global context of this project, which is a mindset very useful to be successful in leading a project. </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>How specific is your proposal to the call?</strong> In general, a proposal might not be eligible as is to many funding agencies. For instance, your initial proposal could include only partners from the UK, which makes it ineligible for most EU calls. Answering that you believe the proposed consortium is the best possible one for that particular project, and as such, is not eligible for other agencies, shows that, again, you've thought about the global context of your project. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>So the actual answer might depend on your project, whether it is tailored for that specific call or not , whether there are other places it can be eligible or not, whether you would include feedback or not, etc. Answering properly this question demonstrates that you have a vision for your project in a global context, rather than simply answering to the current call. </p>\n"
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| 2014/04/08 | [
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|
19,081 | <p>I plan to move to the US, and thus, looking for a less-competitive faculty position to start there. Later, I can find better jobs, but at this stage, I just need to find a position.</p>
<p>For an outsider, all the job ads are similar. How can I find which job is less-competitive.</p>
<p>As an example, is it really less-competitive to apply for a faculty position in Alaska or less-interesting states (due to geographical reasons, I do not know which).</p>
<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> This is the additional question separated from my previous <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19078/competition-for-faculty-positions-in-the-us-is-on-the-university-or-city">question</a>, as advised by a moderator.</p>
| [
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"text": "<p>Well as you mentioned, depending on the geographical location, reputation of the university, strong graduate (PhD and masters), and the size of the institutions you can make a good guess about the competitiveness of getting hired.</p>\n\n<p>As for your reasons, I've heard from many scholars that it's better to wait longer and get a proper position than starting in a teaching-only university and burning yourself.</p>\n\n<p>Any thoughts ?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19086,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Although (see my comments), I cannot recommend this sort of career path, here are two ways for an outsider to determine which positions will be less competitive: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Teaching load and pay. If the pay is poor, and the teaching load is high (say, 4/4 or higher), then the position will be less competitive. </p></li>\n<li><p>Look up the average SAT scores (<a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=US%20colleges%20average%20SAT%20scores&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t\">easy to find via Google</a>) of American schools to which you are applying. This is a reasonable (although not perfect) guide for the quality of the undergraduates that these schools enroll. Schools with lower averages will have less competition for faculty positions.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>That said, <em>all</em> faculty jobs are highly competitive.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19129,
"author": "Chris Leary",
"author_id": 11905,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11905",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The U.S. academic job market (at least in my field, mathematics) is very competitive, regardless of the institution and its perceived quality. Now, competition comes in various flavors. We have a lot of people looking for few jobs. That automatically creates competition. You need something to make yourself stand out from the other candidates.</p>\n\n<p>My school is less-competitive as far as admission of students is concerned. Our student body is not that strong overall, although we get a fair number of really bright kids. We also have a 4/4 teaching load, and faculty salaries are relatively low. Our last job search was conducted almost ten years ago and we received in the neighborhood of 200 applications. At more research oriented schools, you may be competing with more applicants, and applicants who have very strong resumes relative to research. So, you're likely to be competing against a larger and more talented pool. This makes the situation even more competitive.</p>\n\n<p>I thought that I was going to follow your intended career path, start out small, be able to spend some quality time with the family, and produce some great work that would allow me to move up to a better school. Didn't happen. I've been able to do some research, but not nearly enough, or of high enough quality, to allow me to move up. There are a couple of factors to keep in mind working in a less competitive environment, especially with a high teaching load. Your research time will be limited, and you won't have a lot of resources at your disposal (great library, colleagues who are fluent in your area, etc.). So, think carefully about what you want to do. Mine has not been a bad career, but it is not what I imagined starting out. As a general rule, it's easier to move down than up. So, I'd apply to the best places for which you're qualified and hope for the best.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 34907,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Note that second- and third-tier are often much less willing to sponsor H1B visas compared to R1s. This is not only because they have less money and less expertise with this, but some simply don't see the investment as worthwhile.</p>\n\n<p>This puts a considerable hurdle in your path.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/08 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19081",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
]
|
19,083 | <p>For example, suppose you're writing an article about triangles, and you want to include a short proof of Pythagoras' theorem, but you can't quite remember how to derive it, so you pop over to: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem#Algebraic_proofs">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem#Algebraic_proofs</a> and check the proof there. It works mathematically, makes sense and is as far as you can tell, correct, so you include it. Now the proof on Wikipedia doesn't have a citation because probably someone has been taught it and copied it over to Wikipedia, but it's still correct. The only thing you could cite for the proof would be Wikipedia, would a citation be ok or should it just be copied down without a citation?</p>
<p>Edit: Ok, there have been many responses. Most with a firm "no", but some giving the reason: "Just get the proof from a book" since it's so common, but suppose then it wasn't a common proof of something. Maybe it's not very well known or something but suppose there is a small Wikipedia page with the correct mathematical proof. How much effort are people going to go to to find a proof in a book when there's a (correct (which we know, becuase it's maths and we can check it)) proof on Wikipedia? Why is it so bad to say: "I found this proof on Wikipedia, and the maths checks out so it doesn't matter who wrote it, it is correct, but that's where I found it." Or if you do find it somewhere else why not say: "Proof taken from Wikipedia and verified by the proof shown in "Triangles and their properties, Nature, 2014, p113 etc..."</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19087,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should <em>never</em> use something that isn't your own without a citation. \"Copied down without a citation\" is not an option.</p>\n\n<p>However, you should also not cite Wikipedia as an authoritative source; you should track down a source that <em>is</em> authoritative and use that.</p>\n\n<h3>Why <em>not</em> use Wikipedia as a source?</h3>\n\n<p>One reason for not using Wikipedia as an authoritative source is that it is simply not reliable enough in many cases. Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, himself <a href=\"http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/wikipedia-founder-discourages-academic-use-of-his-creation/2305\" rel=\"noreferrer\">says</a> </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>that he gets about 10 e-mail messages a week from students who complain that Wikipedia has gotten them into academic hot water. \"They say, 'Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia'\" and the information turned out to be wrong, he says. But he said he has no sympathy for their plight, noting that he thinks to himself: \"For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia.\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Even if you <em>can</em> verify that the Wikipedia article is correct, you should not use it as an authoritative source. You asked:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Why is it so bad to say: \"I found this proof on Wikipedia, and the maths checks out so it doesn't matter who wrote it, it is correct, but that's where I found it.\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Citing Wikipedia as a source for an idea that isn't original to Wikipedia <strong>does not give credit to the original author of the idea</strong>, which is a major reason for citing something in the first place. (The same applies to any <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_source\" rel=\"noreferrer\">tertiary source</a>.)</p>\n\n<p>The Wikipedia entry on <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia#Citing_Wikipedia\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Citing Wikipedia</a> itself advises:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It will usually be more acceptable to cite those original sources rather than Wikipedia since it is, by nature, a secondary or tertiary source. At the same time, simple academic ethics require that you should actually read the work that you cite: if you do not actually have your hands on a book, you should not misleadingly cite it as your source.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<h3>When <em>should</em> you cite Wikipedia?</h3>\n\n<p>It <em>is</em> appropriate to cite Wikipedia if you are commenting <em>on</em> Wikipedia. For example: \"The Wikipedia page on X shows that it is a controversial topic, with a large number of rollbacks indicating disagreement on the correct approach.\"</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, Wikipedia can sometimes be a primary source on popular culture. In this case, you should use it and cite it accordingly. <strong>Update</strong>: I gave an example of this in <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19154/should-i-treat-specialized-wikis-with-the-same-scrutiny-as-wikipedia-itself/19172#19172\">another answer</a>.</p>\n\n<p>If you use Wikipedia as a source for finding other sources, then the question, <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18143/is-there-a-problem-with-citing-the-original-source-instead-of-the-source-where-t\">Is there a problem with citing the original source instead of the source where the information was first found?</a> applies.</p>\n\n<h3>Further reading</h3>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ayliu/courses/wikipedia-policy.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Appropriate use of Wikipedia</a> (highly recommend reading this one)</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://library.williams.edu/citing/wikipedia.php\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Should I use or cite Wikipedia? Probably not.</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.citeulike.org/user/dartar/article/1688924\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Why you can't cite Wikipedia in my class</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/26/wiki\" rel=\"noreferrer\">A Stand Against Wikipedia</a></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19091,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you got your information from Wiki, or used the Wiki article to find a more authoritative source, it would be honest and proper to cite it. Cite what you use, at the very least! Acknowledge your sources.</p>\n\n<p>I know this is not universally approved, and, as in one comment, many people will react negatively if Wiki appears in the references... and this could have in impact on a referee's reaction to your paper, yes.</p>\n\n<p>And, yes, Wiki's context for technical matters is a roller coaster... Best to see what Wiki says, maybe use Wiki as a pointer to key-words, to external/traditional sources. Then, if you are being honest, cite Wiki <em>and</em> the/an-other more conventional/traditional/orthodox (authoritative?) source. </p>\n\n<p>In mathematics, sometimes Wiki comes up with connections or sources or people I'd not been aware of previously, as well as often mentioning historical sources that many standard sources do not. Also, it is ... available! </p>\n\n<p>If you find yourself in the (unfortunate) situation of needing to conform to a retro standard of \"what's legal\" to cite, not only can you not cite Wiki, but probably shouldn't give URLs in your bibliography, either? Can't cite arXiv, either? Can't cite anything that was not refereed and \"published\" (in a now-archaic sense) in one of the known journals? Probably...</p>\n\n<p>But, looking forward, it is happier to be in a situation where you can be honest about sources! Obviously!</p>\n\n<p>EDIT: It seems that people react variously to two aspects (at least) of Wiki, namely, issues about authoritativeness, and issues about primariness of sources, which segues into giving credit where credit is due.</p>\n\n<p>The bad scenario is, as in @ff524's quote from Jimmy Wales, that someone uses Wiki <em>uncritically</em>, and gets burned because something's wrong. This potential is arguably greater in Wiki than in other sources, but it's only a matter of <em>degree</em>. Everything needs corroboration, if it really matters.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, pretending that Wiki is somehow a primary source probably is never correct, just as no old-timey paper encyclopedia was every primary. But I recall, quite honestly, being exposed to ideas accidentally in encyclopedias that I would not have known to look for at all otherwise, ... and a good encyclopedia, and the better articles in Wiki, <em>do</em> give external pointers of various sorts.</p>\n\n<p>For that matter, how many mathematics textbooks manage to come anywhere <em>close</em> to citing primary sources? :) It's not easy, I agree! Not a good argument for not trying. I was amazed to observe, some years ago, that L. Ahlfors' \"Complex Analsis\" has no bibliography whatsoever, although there're many named-after theorems. </p>\n\n<p>The near-universal accessibility of Wiki means that many, many people will turn to it first, rightly or wrongly. Again, I use it often to get clues about aspects of mathematics distant from my prior experience, although I certainly do seek corroboration! To pretend that Wiki wasn't used when it <em>was</em> used is a bit dishonest, as well as not giving credit to its utility, if not to its primariness as source.</p>\n\n<p>There can be different reasons for acknowledgements, I think.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19092,
"author": "J. Zimmerman",
"author_id": 7921,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7921",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For the title question, it is almost always <strong>No!</strong></p>\n\n<p>Although you may be able to find a venue in which you could 'get away' with citing Wikipedia for something like that, it is almost never a good idea. If I see Wikipedia cited as a source (for anything except a comment on Wikipedia, as @ff524 mentioned), it will raise a huge red flag. My immediate thought is that this writer is too lazy to search for and find a better source! <strong>Don't do this to yourself.</strong> For something very common like this, you should be able to go to your local physical university library and -- without much effort -- find a book that references the needed theorem. </p>\n\n<p>For your second question in the body, copying without citation, <em>even from a Wikipedia page</em>, is plagiarism. Again, don't do this to yourself!</p>\n\n<p>Find a better source if at all possible, and no matter what, <strong>cite your source!</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19095,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Are there instances where citing Wikipedia is allowed?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I'm not going to try to answer the question of \"is allowed\" or \"isn't allowed\" but instead I'm going to try and answer if citing Wikipedia is, in general, a <em>good idea</em> or not for research papers. </p>\n\n<p>Here's five points I can think of for and five points against. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Good idea:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If Wikipedia is your source, and you learn something from what Wikipedia's editors have provided, then citing Wikipedia is the Nice Thing To Do™.</li>\n<li>Wikipedia is a convenient, well-known, easily and freely accessible source (vs. final-copy published papers that are pay-per-view if not out of your wallet, then indirectly out of your university's).</li>\n<li>Content aims to be written in an accessible manner targeted at a wide audience (vs. arguably the bulk of technical articles published in journals and conferences). Plus there's clickable links for jargon! Sweet!</li>\n<li>Notable or Featured Articles will probably have undergone more scrutiny from experts (w.r.t. bias, technical correctness, sources cited, etc.) than your average peer-reviewed article on a similar topic.</li>\n<li>At least with Wikipedia, readers should know where they stand with such a citation. Compare this with the artifice of citing papers for claims made in poor-quality journals or conferences that can be considered authoritative solely on the basis of being \"peer-reviewed\".</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>Bad idea:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>A Wikipedia article is subject to frequent editing and the content you cite it for may not be there when the reader goes looking for it (adding a date-accessed only partly addresses the issue since it will be difficult for the reader to start going through versions <strong>edit</strong> but as per the comments below, you can use <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%3aCite\">a citing service within Wikipedia</a> to cite a specific version of a page).</li>\n<li>Relatedly, the content may have been correct at the time of citing but errors may be edited into the content at a later point, making you look bad by association (<strong>edit</strong>, again, citing a specific version could work around that)</li>\n<li>There is no minimal guarantee of the quality for most Wikipedia articles (which peer-review, at least in theory, should provide, depending perhaps on the venue).</li>\n<li>Wikipedia is not a first-party source: in theory, no new knowledge is \"created\" in Wikipedia. <em>Where feasible</em>, you should try to attribute knowledge to those who create it (and optionally thereafter add a reference to those who report it or better describe it in a book or survey)</li>\n<li>Attribution for the content of a Wikipedia article is difficult: multiple editors may be involved in a certain piece of content, many editors are anonymous, etc. This means that there is no culpability for information (unlike peer-reviewed papers where authors have <em>something</em> to lose by publishing crap). This opens up further possibilities, such as authors anonymously adding content to Wikipedia that they can cite to support the claims in their paper.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Okay, back to academic convention and \"<em>isn't alloweds</em>\" and \"<em>is alloweds</em>\" ...</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Maybe it's not very well known or something but suppose there is a small Wikipedia page with the correct mathematical proof. How much effort are people going to go to to find a proof in a book when there's a (correct (which we know, because it's maths and we can check it)) proof on Wikipedia?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>According to Wikipedia policies, it should have a reference to an original source. Cite that. </p>\n\n<p>If it doesn't have a reference, or if you copy how the proof is expressed directly, I would recommend to add a footnote (rather than a formal citation) stating the Wikipedia article you found the proof on and how you verified it (and the CC-BY-SA licence if you copy the expression). </p>\n\n<p>Generally avoid citing web-pages (unless they are normative online standards or something) if only to avoid getting your hand bitten off by a reviewer. Using footnotes is much safer in this regards and serves a similar-ish purpose (though it won't be counted as a formal citation).</p>\n\n<p>In research, if enough reviewers believe something <em>isn't allowed</em>, then de facto it isn't allowed. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Or if you do find it somewhere else why not say: \"Proof taken from Wikipedia and verified by the proof shown in \"Triangles and their properties, Nature, 2014, p113 etc...\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Why not say \"<em>Proof sketched for me by Fred, the guy who sits next to me, who had previously read it in 'Triangles and their properties, Nature, 2014, p113 etc...'</em>\"?</p>\n\n<p>In other words, what's important is the reference, not how you found.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19096,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What is \"allowed\" and \"not allowed\"?</p>\n\n<p>But there's almost no reason to ever cite Wikipedia. If Wikipedia states something without citing a source, then you're basically citing \"Some random guy on the internet told me that...\" If Wikipedia states something and does cite a source, check the source yourself, to make sure it says what Wikipedia says it says; then cite that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19097,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my opinion a lot of the answers are too negative about wikipedia, at least when applied to the part of wikipedia that applies to mathematics (my academic field, and the field the OP asked about).</p>\n<p>I am a little surprised to hear people describe wikipedia as "unreliable", including links to university websites which say rather snootily to avoid it. This is how I felt about the mathematics on wikipedia circa 2006. It has gotten so much better in the intervening years, for the obvious reason: a lot of very mathematically experienced people (including at least one Fields Medalist, and also including me, for a period from about 2006 to 2008) put in a lot of time writing and vetting the articles. Where it stands now is that wikipedia is the best single repository of mathematical information in the world. It has been several years since I have seen anything that was wrong on a wikipedia math article. Some of these articles contain content that is difficult to find in other places, and some of the content is new: it is far from unheard of that someone just put in their own proof of a theorem. Many feel in principle that this sort of thing should not be done (I think I do; it's been a while since I've really thought about it), but in practice when someone writes a nice self-contained proof of a mathematical result, why delete it? So there is some really great stuff there: I think that most research mathematicians who are frequent users of the internet have by now learned mathematics from wikipedia.</p>\n<p>As others have correctly pointed out, the question of "when to cite" is more complicated. Let me consider several of the alternatives:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ol>\n<li>Should you refer to wikipedia for standard proofs?</li>\n</ol>\n</blockquote>\n<p>I think I believe that sometimes you should but I have never actually done it in a "serious research paper", in part because of exactly the sort of internet-phobic practices that Paul Garrett refers to in his answer. Recently I was writing a broad-audience article, and I wanted to say that a certain aspect of a classical construction -- the Galois connection between ideals of a polynomial ring over an algebraically closed field k and subsets of affine n-space over k -- worked verbatim with k replaced by an arbitrary integral domain. I ended up referring to Lang's <em>Algebra</em> for this. That is really not (ahem) ideal: this is one of the most "standard texts" in the sense that a large percentage of professional mathematicians have a copy in their office. On the other hand it is not free and even more mathematicians and math students don't have it. But billions of people have internet access, and surely wikipedia (for instance) does a perfectly good job of explaining the point. I wussed out and didn't give an explicit electronic reference, and I rarely do in formal writing. (In fact I have <em>myself</em> written many, many pages of mathematical writing -- as has Paul Garrett, by the way -- and I usually wuss out and do not refer to it in my formal writing either, even though I know exactly where I would like to point and a student would understand my research paper much more easily with that reference included.) At this point, when I say that something is "well known" I assume that students will look for it on the internet, and as a code between me and myself, at least, I try never to say that in papers except in cases where a student who looked for it on the internet would quickly and easily find it (and when that happens I don't worry so much about tracking down a print reference).</p>\n<p>In the above case, the big advantage of wikipedia is its ease and convenience: it has almost exactly what any text would have but is much quicker, easier and <em>freer</em> to access.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Should you refer to wikipedia for non-standard proofs?</li>\n</ol>\n</blockquote>\n<p>In other words, if a wikipedia article has a proof which is <em>different</em> from the one that you would find in any expensive math text, should you refer to that? If you want the reader to read that proof, I think you have to do refer to it <em>or</em> try to track down the source of the proof that made it into the wikipedia article. However, the latter brings me to my <strong>biggest complaint</strong> about the math articles on wikipedia: they're great for mathematical content. They can be really bad as references: e.g. they can be taken out of some standard source without referring back to that source. Or an article on the X-Y Theorem will have a statement of the theorem, motivation for the statement, the proof of the theorem, and then talk about further work and generalizations. That would make for a great lecture about the X-Y Theorem, but for an encyclopedia article there's a lot missing: who are X and Y? (Sometimes they don't even try to tell you, even when there are wikipedia articles on X and Y.) Where was the X-Y Theorem first published? (I'm sorry to tell you that many mathematically rock-solid articles don't contain this kind of primary source material.) Is the proof included in the article the original proof of X-Y? If not, where does it come from?</p>\n<p>When I was involved with it, the culture of mathematical wikipedians was not good at addressing the above issues: if I asked for this information about an article, someone would usually nicely tell me that I was more than welcome to add it myself. I would mention that unfortunately I didn't know the source material that led to most of what other people included in the article...and there the matter usually got dropped.</p>\n<p>So it may very well be the case that wikipedia has a proof of something for which it is not trivial to discern where the proof comes from. As an example, wikipedia has a really nice proof of the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwartz%E2%80%93Zippel_lemma\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Schwartz-Zippel Lemma</a>. It is not the original proof, <em>I think</em> -- it's slicker. Where does it come from? I couldn't tell from the article itself. This is not a hypothetical example: <a href=\"http://alpha.math.uga.edu/%7Epete/dvirnotes.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">I wrote a brief expository note including this proof</a>. As you can see, I did refer to the wikipedia article. However, I should say that this is an article in the informal sense of the term: I wrote it up for myself, spoke in a colleague's seminar about it, and kept the document for myself. I have not tried to publish it anywhere, nor would I, since it is "just an exposition" of a proof of Zeev Dvir's resolution of the Finite Field Kakeya Problem. This brings me to my last point:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>When should you <em>include</em> proofs from wikipedia in your articles?</li>\n</ol>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If you use a wikipedia proof in your article in a critical way, then you should include a reference to it (or where it comes from, if possible). However, if you are using a wikipedia proof in a critical way in your article, is your article a research article or even a "serious expository" article? Why would a journal want to republish something that is available in a standard source?</p>\n<p>In the OP's example he mentions including a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. No math journal I know is going to allow you to include (any one of; I'm sure it gives several) wikipedia's proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, but not because it comes from wikipedia: they're just not going to want you to rehash such old-hat stuff. To be honest, the introductory passage "For example, suppose you're writing an article about triangles..." raises some eyebrows in this regard: are you trying to formally publish an article about triangles? Good luck with that: it's going to be tough. Such articles <em>are</em> published, but for every one that is, probably a hundred are rejected.</p>\n<p>I also think that in a formal article -- even, perhaps even especially, if it's an expository article -- the burden falls more highly on you to investigate primary source material. If you're teaching a class or something, then it's helpful to say exactly where <em>you got the material from</em>. But if you're writing an article, it becomes more important to track down the provenance of the intellectual content itself: that is a much more challenging thing to do. Still though I think there are cases where the answer really will be that the argument appeared for the first time on wikipedia, in which case you should cite it there.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>What about the "unreliability" of wikipedia articles?</li>\n</ol>\n</blockquote>\n<p>This is really "weak sauce" for math articles, because unlike most encyclopedia articles, mathematics articles are <strong>self verifying</strong> by any sufficiently qualified reader. So saying "Don't include this proof from wikipedia because wikipedia is full of errors" sounds silly to me: on the one hand lots of published books have a higher density of errors than wikipedia math articles; on the other hand, every proof you read you're supposed to check anyway. So don't worry about whether it's correct: <em>see</em> whether it's correct. Most proofs in wikipedia articles are no more than a page or so in length, so they can be checked in a relatively short time. If it's not correct, fix it or tell someone about it!</p>\n<hr />\n<p>@SteveJessop asked:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Since you mention not being able to work out where a proof comes from: suppose you found a proof spray-painted under a bridge, that was slicker than the best proof you can find published. Are the concerns over such proofs on Wikipedia essentially the same as for that found on a wall? That is, there's no problem with verifying it correct, but if you can't print it or refer to it without giving credit then it's difficult to use?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Wikipedia seems better than "bridge proofs" because any interested party can access wikipedia and see the proof there as well as whatever documentation or lack thereof exists. In the bridge scenario, one can question whether this is really where I found the argument or whether I did my due diligence in trying to track down its provenance.</p>\n<p>In practice: in the mathematical community, the scholarly task of giving the correct attribution -- either in the sense of where you found it or, still more so, the primary source -- is not taken all that seriously by many (compared to other branches of academia). We agree that you shouldn't be passing off others' ideas as your own, and that if you know who the "other" is you should cite them, but "I learned this trick from somewhere, and now I can't remember where" is pretty common in mathematics. In fact math papers tend to be written in logical sequence rather than psychological sequence, so that there is a key part of the mathematical writing process in which history is removed or rewritten, so to speak. I can only hope you understand what I mean by that. It's a subtle phenomenon and not an inherently negative one, but we do it in mathematics more than in almost any other field (and I do it more than the average amount for a mathematician: a big part of my research process is to take others' ideas and writing and rewriting it in one way or another). In general I have grown "more scholarly" over the years, but usually with the suspicion that <em>at best</em> the referees will not really care one way or the other. I ended one recent paper with a section surveying the history and the literature of a certain problem. That is very rare in a math paper. I got zero comments about this section, and if the journal was better I would have expected them to tell me to shorten or remove the section. In <a href=\"http://alpha.math.uga.edu/%7Epete/BCS_10_6_Pete.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">my most recent paper</a>, see Theorem 2.1 and Remark 2.2. Remark 2.2 explains the history of Theorem 2.1. It is almost as long as the proof of the theorem!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19117,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I will not speak to the direct topic of your questions, which is proofs, because, to be blunt, that's not my field. I will say that there are some edge case where it's acceptable, in my mind, to cite Wikipedia - namely, where said Wiki has become the <em>de facto</em> repository of information for a given topic. These are rare, and usually pop culture focused, but they do exist.</p>\n\n<p>For example, I have a paper which cites the Wiki for a game (which is even less authoritative as a source than Wikipedia), and it was cited without issue from reviewers, etc.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19156,
"author": "Warbo",
"author_id": 13995,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13995",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One issue the other answers don't mention is the possibility of <em>circular reporting</em>: <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reporting\" rel=\"noreferrer\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reporting</a></p>\n\n<p>As other answers have said, if there's a citation then you should follow it. If there's not a citation, and you use the result in your published paper, the article may then be edited to use your paper as its citation.</p>\n\n<p>This is dangerous, since referenced results will not be scrutinised as much as novel results. In this situation, it would be prudent to cite Wikipedia explicitly, so that such a circular arguments would become clear by looking at both sets of references.</p>\n\n<p>The examples in the link above are false information about the real-world, which are difficult to verify and hence should be avoided outright. The situation isn't as bad for mathematical proofs, since you can verify them before including them, but you should make sure to present the proof in a way that shows it's novel (and hence needs review), but also cites Wikipedia as the source (or else it's plagiarism). A footnote like those mentioned above would work for this.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19157,
"author": "user1359009",
"author_id": 13997,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13997",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Are there instances where citing Wikipedia is allowed? Yes, when appropriate.\nIt is appropriate to cite Wikipedia in a case study or literary scrutiny of Wikipedia.</p>\n\n<p>For scholarly articles, jurored sources are often mandated. \nFor literary articles, source citation is based upon the origin. </p>\n\n<p>For example, a literary examination of Xenophon's <em>Cyropaedia</em> or Wikipedia's page on <em>Cyrus the Great</em>, may cite the origin text to draw conclusions regarding (inclusive of, but not limited to) erroneous statistics or accurate accounting.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 120050,
"author": "Mohaqiq",
"author_id": 9709,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9709",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is already so many detailed answers are provided in this thread. I agree and disagree with some part of answers. But being a professor of computer science, reviewer and editor of various journals and conferences I always recommend.</p>\n\n<p>1) DO NOT cite trivial things from Wikipedia which are commonly known to the research community.<br>\n2) DO NOT cite an established research work (algorithm, equation, findings etc.) from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not the original work, rather it is a reflection and understanding of 100s of editors. If you learned something from Wikipedia, then refer to the original source and verify the correctness from original work before using it in your research/project work, and always cite the original work.</p>\n\n<p>The reviewers and Editors usually don't like the citation from Wikipedia, because it may change during or after the review process, and we don't have enough time to search the original source to verify the correctness of referred idea/equation/algorithm etc.</p>\n\n<p>So the bottom line is: Wikipedia is a good source of learning, but it is not the original work and subject to change. If you learn something new always refer to the original source to verify the correctness, and always cite the original work. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 124445,
"author": "Pete Forsyth",
"author_id": 67485,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/67485",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Any time you cite something, you should consider whether or not the reader will accept it as an authority for the point you're trying to justify. That's just a basic principle of persuasion.</p>\n\n<p>A well-known journal in the field you're writing for probably doesn't need much consideration. But just about everything else is possibly suspect. The New York Times is probably reliable for most facts, but for a fact that can't be sourced to a more authoritative scientific source, a New York Times citation could be questioned. A blog post from a known expert? Maybe the expert isn't as \"known\" to your audience as you think. And maybe they made a mistake. Wikipedia is just one of many publications in this general category.</p>\n\n<p>If you find it necessary to cite such a source, find a way to concisely make the case that your reader should accept its validity for the point it justifies. There are ways to do that in the text, or in a footnote. If you can't find a way to do it, your paper might be better off without it.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/08 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19083",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13951/"
]
|
19,099 | <p>I am a first year PhD in a large Social Sciences program at an American public institution. My CV is very weak as I am not yet published. I have research assistantship experience and teaching experience as well as a stint on a Fulbright. I'm applying to fellowships for the summer to gain more research experience.</p>
<p>I am working on a fellowship application and would like to stand out amongst the crowd. Other than my attributes above, I have nothing! My CV barely fills two pages. Will I be written off because I don't have much experience? I need fellowships like these in order to grow my tiny resume- but- I'm worried can't compete to get them without more. </p>
<p>Thank you for your help!</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19100,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Everyone starts out with no publications. Never mind starting a PhD in that condition: I <em>finished</em> my PhD at a top-three program for my field without any publications, and I still got a good postdoctoral position. How did I do this? Because of my advisor's recommendation. (And it was a sound recommendation: eventually I did get some publications...)</p>\n\n<p>For graduate students -- and especially, early career graduate students -- recommendation letters are all-important. Do you have a thesis advisor yet? If so, go directly to her and tell her what fellowships you are thinking of applying for and asking whether that sounds reasonable and whether your application will be competitive. If you do not have a thesis advisor, try out the same conversation with several faculty members in your department that know you through your coursework, research or TAing. Emphasize that because you are young and unpublished, you think you will need strong recommendations from them to get serious consideration for summer research fellowships. Select from among these the ones who sound most enthusiastic.</p>\n\n<p>In general, faculty in your department should be very supportive of your endeavor. On the one hand, such fellowships generally provide funding, and faculty are always very happy when graduate students can find external funding of any kind whatsoever, since internal funding is so limited and hard to come up with in these straitened economic times. On the other hand, if you get the fellowship you will be getting funded for doing <em>exactly</em> what you are supposed to be doing in the summer as a graduate student: research. So if you feel like the faculty you've spoken to are not helping you enough with this, it could be worthwhile to discuss this with someone like the graduate coordinator or department head: not in a way which casts any blame on the faculty members, but just to emphasize that you want to do this very desirable thing and you haven't yet found the right person to help you out.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19101,
"author": "Magpie",
"author_id": 1248,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1248",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It might be an idea to contact the career or academic advisory department of your university and ask for an appointment with them to discuss improving your CV and get their input on how you can improve it and what you should and should not put in.</p>\n\n<p>As regards gaining experience and kudos could be to consider publishing some of the Undergrad work you feel proud of. There are lots of open source journals which might be a good starting point.</p>\n\n<p>You can also network with researchers using resources like [researchgate][1] for ideas and to get experience peer reviewing articles so you can put your contributions onto your CV and maybe get some feedback on undergrad work you have already done to learn more about the whole process of peer review and network with other academics.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately getting ahead in academia is likely like everything else: more about who you know not what you know so putting yourself out there by banging on doors and networking is going to be the ticket to filling your CV with stuff. Ironically, it will probably mean you'll not need to show your CV to get the position you want the end, too perhaps.</p>\n\n<p>Such is life.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19109,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>@Pete L. Clark gives good advice. It's really your letters of rec that will probably stand out to committees awarding fellowships. I want to add one point though that may be helpful generally. </p>\n\n<p>One way to stand out from the crowd in graduate school is to write well. Most academics think of their writing in very functional, utilitarian ways. If you can write winsomely, using vivid examples, and occasionally graceful turn a phrase, you will automatically stand out from the crowd. What you are trying to do as an academic is to gain a readership for your work. You are much more likely to succeed in this if people actually enjoy reading your work. </p>\n\n<p>I recommend William Zinsser's book on Style to every graduate student I meet.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19099",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13963/"
]
|
19,105 | <p>What methods could you recommend for attaining assistance when writing a master's thesis, in the particular case when one feels uncomfortable seeking any more help from the advisor, because of his own anxiety and the advisor's personality and busyness?</p>
<p>Is there an option available to get independent help? How would one go about finding help so that he can get the thesis finished? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19113,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your advisors are the ones you should seek advice from, on how to write the thesis, and on fundamental research skills such as avoiding plagiarism.</p>\n\n<p>If you feel uncomfortable about approaching your advisors / supervisors, you've got two options.</p>\n\n<p>Either work out how to get comfortable approaching them.</p>\n\n<p>Or get new advisors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19118,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At the end of the day, your advisor is the one who needs to <em>accept</em> your thesis. Seeking help from others may be useful for some types of questions, but you'll definitely want his feedback during the process to make sure you're developing the thesis to his standards. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19142,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with the others that bypassing the advisor is not a helpful strategy.</p>\n\n<p>But, you should also understand that <strong>the point of this exercise (the M.S.) is <em>not</em> to just end up with a finished thesis</strong>. </p>\n\n<p>It's to show that the student has developed the mathematical/scientific/technical and professional maturity to produce a piece of M.S.-level independent work, in spite of any personal and interpersonal problems that come up.</p>\n\n<p>If the student has a problem with depression, he should seek help from a mental health professional. If the student has a significant interpersonal problem with his advisor, he can ask for help from the person at the university who is in charge of graduate studies. If the student has a problem with writing, he can ask for help from the writing center.</p>\n\n<p>But ultimately, it's up to the student to get things moving. Having someone \"walk him through it step by step so that he can get finished\" is probably missing the point.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19143,
"author": "adipro",
"author_id": 10936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If there are problems approaching the advisor for help, I would suggest talking to the PhD students and/or postdocs who work in the same group as the advisor. They might be able to help. It would also be helpful talking to other students who are supervised by the same advisor. They might not be able to help, but at least you feel that you are not alone.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19105",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13969/"
]
|
19,112 | <p>I have been assigned to mark student reports for an engineering coursework, which mainly involves the use of a software. The main content of each report is around 15 pages. There are 45 reports in total. I am also required to write feedback to each student. I have not been involved in designing the assignment nor teaching the course. </p>
<p>The professor who assigned me this task told me that the marker last year took about 4 full days to complete the markings, and yet I have spent more than two weeks doing this (and not really doing anything else), and I am not yet done. I did need to spend some time familiarising myself with the subject matter and the software in the beginning, because I have never used the software before, but it is not that difficult to use. </p>
<p>Since this is my first marking experience, I am wondering whether it is normal to have spent so much time marking. Is there any strategy I can adopt to complete the task more efficiently, especially in my case where I am not involved in designing the assignment?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19115,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Marking assignment is a very demanding and time-consuming task, especially if you intend to do it thoroughly (and you should). It is also a big responsibility, as you have the students' success in your hands. It might be that your supervisor underestimated the time necessary to take care of it, although it's difficult to say without knowing the exact content of the assignment.</p>\n\n<p>From my experience of grading assignments and exams (topics: acoustics and fluid mechanics), 2 weeks of work for a class of the size you mention doesn't sound like a lot, especially if, as you said, you needed to get accustomed to the specific aspects of the course.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I am wondering whether it is normal to have spent so much time\n marking.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>My answer is yes, even though it depends on the type of exam. It might indicate that you take the task seriously, and it's a good thing.</p>\n\n<p>Now as for:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How to mark student reports more efficiently</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Here are some of my usual approaches:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure you clearly identify the 'gold standard' to which you will compare the answers. Is there a ready-made solution (from last year) or do you need to make your own (if it's the later, the 2 weeks time frame is even less surprising). <strong>The prof/instructor should help you with this step</strong>.</li>\n<li>Grade a given section/exercise at a time, for all students and then switch to the next one.</li>\n<li>Do a quick overview of all the assignments to identify the good quality ones, grade them first.</li>\n<li>Take a break between individual exercises, maybe do some of your administrative or research work for a while (this to avoid overdose).</li>\n<li>Don't take cases of very low quality assignments personally (student clearly didn't attend class, tried to get away with an all-nighter, don't care about the grade, etc.). Students have their reasons. It's not you, it's them.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The good news is that you will theoretically be better and quicker at doing this next term.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19116,
"author": "NauticalMile",
"author_id": 9139,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9139",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I was in a <em>very</em> similar situation this past term. I was also tasked with grading engineering assignments that involved the use of software and a written component for which there were no solutions (mind you they were a little shorter than the ones you are grading). I am familiar with the software so it ended up taking me 5 days to mark.</p>\n\n<p>Jigg has covered most of the bases, I just wanted to add another tip for efficiency:</p>\n\n<p>In an effort to give them good feedback I wanted to write thorough comments. But after I got going on the marking I found that many students were making the same kinds of mistakes and I was writing the same comments over and over again. Eventually I just created an excel spreadsheet that really helped automate the marking that looked like this example:</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/UGWl4.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n\n<p>The totals for points and points available are summation formulas so I didn't need to do any totalling myself. As I graded each assignment, I just compared it to the solutions I came up with and judged how well each of them met the criteria (nothing new). When I saw something wrong I just copied a detailed comment from the comments list and pasted it in the relevant cell. When I was finished with an assignment I just copied the everything in the thick black border into the online comments section, entered their grade, and moved on to the next one. If there was something new (and incorrect) that a student was doing I created a new comment and copied it into the list. Sometimes I also wrote something like \"good work\" next to the assignment total, just so that there were some positive comments.</p>\n\n<p>Granted this worked really well when the students were all doing the exact same thing, but if your students are writing about different topics, it might not work as well.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19112",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936/"
]
|
19,119 | <p>In a <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19047/who-should-approve-changes-in-curriculum/19049?noredirect=1#comment39202_19049">comment</a>, it was quoted that some universities have administrative or academic department head. I sensed this difference before (but do not remember specifically), but I always thought that the latter is the case: one of the faculty members of a department is appointed as the head or hiring a new faculty member to serve as the department head (or vice versa in some sense).</p>
<p>How and why are administrative and academic heads different?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 23466,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An administrative head of department heads up the administration of the department, and will typically have little or no involvement in the direction or the content of the research or teaching.</p>\n\n<p>An academic department head leads the academic direction of the department. This often include somes administrative duties. Well, they nominally lead the academic direction of the department. In theory, they guide the direction of the department's researchers and teaching. In practice, that's like herding cats.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23467,
"author": "Brian P",
"author_id": 17232,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17232",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with EnergyNumbers. As another way to think about it, the administrative head deals more with the business functions -- e.g., grant management, hiring of staff, issues with the physical environment, communications, technology, etc. The academic head focuses on issues related to teaching, research, and service. Indeed, the functions may overlap, but this the general division of labor. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19119",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
]
|
19,120 | <p>Historically, only full professors could have a specific chair, and assistant and associate professors could only wonder under supervision of a chaired (full) professor.</p>
<p>Now, every assistant professor is an independent academic, only with a lower salary and possibilities. On the other hand, a chaired position gains secured research funding, but no other faculty member is under his supervision (yes or no, this is my question).</p>
<p>I think the classic chair system still exists in Japan (at least to some extent). Do universities in West Europe and North America still have such system to place junior faculty members (assistant/associate professors) under supervision of a senior (chaired professor) faculty member?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19124,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In Germany this depends on the university, and possibly also on the subject. I know of universities that still have a chair system officially.</p>\n\n<p>I also know of a university in which the chair indeed is the superior of assistant and associate professors in the sense that they are in charge of the chairs full budget and also of the budgets for associate and assistant professors. But I also know universities that do not have the chair system (both officially and practical). However, I can't tell which system is more frequent… I tend to think that chairs are more frequent in Bavaria but I may be wrong.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19125,
"author": "mako",
"author_id": 5962,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5962",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer to your question is <strong>yes</strong> in my experience at major US research universities, assistant and associate professors will, in general, work independently from full professors or individuals with named chairs.</p>\n\n<p>Despite the name, assistant professors are not usually assisting in the research of more senior faculty. There are exceptions including in very large multi-PI labs, in special non-tenured faculty research positions, and in other special circumstances. Of course, nothing keeps junior faculty from collaborating with senior faculty — and many do. If anything though, junior faculty are encouraged to do at work on their own or with their own students to demonstrate their individual intellectual abilities for the purposes of the tenure and promotion processes.</p>\n\n<p>Named chairs usually refers to special permanent funded positions at a university. Usually, these chairs are in a particular area and have been funded to support a particular line of research. As you suggest, named chairs often come with special pots of research funding and are generally more prestigious. Some particularly old or famous named chairs are extremely prestigious.</p>\n\n<p>That said, by no means do all full professors or senior faculties have named chairs. Additionally, it's increasingly common to see junior faculty with named chairs as well including in temporary \"Career Development Chairs.\" Although named chairs are generally more prestigious than non-named positions, they do not usually signal a higher <em>rank</em> (i.e., assistant, associate, full) and they certainly do not suggest a supervisory relationship.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19137,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I know of no American university in which any tenure track faculty member works under any other tenure track faculty member in any official capacity.</p>\n\n<p>The main difference between assistant professors and full professors is that assistant professors do not have tenure. (Going far enough back in the history of my department, one sees \"tenured assistant professors\". I don't know what that's about. I am not willing to claim that nowadays <em>no</em> American university has tenured assistant professors, but I do not know of any.) \"Associate professor\" is ambiguous on this point: in <em>most</em> cases associate professors have tenure, but at my university the promotion and the tenure are distinct processes with slightly different rules, although they are similar enough and onerous enough that candidates get pressured -- perhaps a little unfairly, in my view -- to carry them out simultaneously. There are a few really good places where \"associate professor\" is a title awarded to young faculty for which their future tenure is by no means assured -- I'm thinking of you, MIT. But that's rare. </p>\n\n<p>You write that an assistant professor is \"with a lower salary and possibilities\". I wanted to let you know that this really need not be the case. Academic salaries are most competitive now at the assistant professor level; since annual raises have been meager or nonexistent in many recent years, an associate or even full professor cannot be counted on to have a higher salary than a new-hire assistant professor. In fact the amount of our <em>first offer</em> to new-hire assistant professors in my department is very close to my current salary (I am an associate professor not so far away from promotion to full). This means that if the candidate negotiates at all, they will get offered a higher salary than mine. This has certainly happened. (All this is a matter of public record.) I think that there are no full professors in my department making less than new hire assistant professors, but there are some who are not making substantially more. </p>\n\n<p>Also, in my department and at many others, assistant professors do not have fewer \"possibilities\": with the exception of certain voting rights in faculty meetings, they have identical privileges with all other faculty. They may begin with less \"service responsibility\" than older faculty; that is probably an advantage. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27389,
"author": "Greg",
"author_id": 14755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14755",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The whole point of a tenure track position is to show that someone can independently work and lead a laboratory. </p>\n\n<p>An academic career is extremely slow compared to most other careers. I don't know why anyone would automatically assume that people with ten to fifteen years of research experience, typically in their late thirties or early forties, cannot work independently or cannot supervise five to ten other people. The old system you mention typically degrade most assistant and associate professors to a low level administrator / secretary position.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19120",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
]
|
19,127 | <p>In my experience, there are two types of PhD students</p>
<p>(1) A professor offers a PhD studentship. Then, students apply directly and know their supervisor from the first day.</p>
<p>In this case, how a professor secure the funding for a PhD studentship?</p>
<p>(2) A department offers PhD studentships. After admission, students can choose their supervisors or the department will assign them to available professors.</p>
<p>In this case, how the capacity of each faculty member is determined to accept PhD students from available students of the department?</p>
<p>I know that the system varies from university to university, but I am curious to know the most common systems for each cases in North America and Eastern Europe.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19130,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
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"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>(2) A department offers PhD studentships. After admission, students\n can choose their supervisors or the department will assign them to\n available professors.</p>\n \n <p>In this case, how the capacity of each faculty member is determined to\n accept PhD students from available students of the department?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is generally the norm in US universities. How the capacity is set depends on various funding-related factors:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Does the department support all incoming Ph.D students via fellowships ? Then there's a budget associated with this.</li>\n<li>Does the department support all incoming students via fellowship or teaching assistant positions ? Then based on estimated enrollment of students in courses there's a rough formula estimating number of TAs needed each year, and this factors in how many students are leaving. </li>\n<li>Does faculty funding support students (either from Day 1 or eventually) ? Then the department will solicit information from faculty on how many students they expect to support that year, and make calculations accordingly. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>All of these are estimates, and can go wrong. So departments usually need some kind of cushion when doing calculations to adjust for that. </p>\n\n<p>While departments might \"assign\" students to faculty when they enter, this is probably for administrative purposes so students don't slip through the cracks and have someone they can approach early on. Typically students and advisors choose each other once the students arrive. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19131,
"author": "Neo",
"author_id": 6898,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6898",
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences departments in the United States, it seems to be a hybrid of the two; the department admissions committee must accept you even if the professor you want to work for has RA funding for you (as opposed to TA funding generated by the school/dept). They evaluate you knowing that you want to work with Professor A. It's almost a given that the student has contacted Professor A prior to the application. The influence of professor A is persuasive (I assume) but not the be all end all, since often times the departments are looking to build a diverse class of not just research interests, but personalities and experiences. This is at least how both my advisors explained the admissions process to me at my current institution. This also seems consistent to how I've been admitted to other places. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19136,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>(1) A professor offers a PhD studentship. Then, students apply\n directly and know their supervisor from the first day.</p>\n \n <p>In this case, how a professor secure the funding for a PhD\n studentship?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Either through departmental funding allocated to a particular faculty member (perhaps a new professor was given a 'startup package' from the department), or through external grant money (which would usually dictate that the PhD student is to work on a specific project).</p>\n\n<p>Relevant:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8738/what-sources-of-funding-do-faculty-in-computer-science-dept-in-us-universities\">What sources of funding do faculty in Computer Science dept. in US universities have other than NSF?</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/248/how-are-the-personal-assistants-for-professors-usually-funded/249#249\">How are the personal assistants for professors usually funded?</a></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19148,
"author": "LoMaPh",
"author_id": 7321,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7321",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on my experience there are actually three different cases:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>A faculty members (having fund from a project with a company or a national grant or some other source) announces that there are PhD position(s) available. The topic you are going to work on is determined. Those interested, apply to the faculty member directly and s/he decides which one(s) to choose. After admission you become a student of the university of the faculty member, but the department or university don't have any say in the admission process. This method is usually used in Europe. This is similar to your \"case 1\". (Your answer: As I said it can be from a project with a company, a national research grant or other sources).</li>\n<li>A university or a department in a university announces that there are some number of PhD positions available. You may correspond with some faculty members and get their approval, but the university or department has the final say. i.e. you may get the approval of a faculty member but don't be admitted by university. In this case you apply to university (or department) and they sort the applicants based on some factors and admit those number of people from top of the list that they announced. For example if they announced 15 PhD positions, then the top 15 applicants will be admitted. In this case it is usually asked from applicants to correspond with faculty members and get their approval before applying. This is similar to your \"case 2\". This method is usually used in Europe. (your answer: The capacity of each faculty member can be found out by corresponding with them.)</li>\n<li>There is no official announcement from university/department. The university approves new students each semester. There is no limit on the number of positions. The applicant corresponds with a faculty member, and after getting her/his approval applies to the university(department). Since there is no limit on the number of students (in contrast with case 2), almost all students who get the faculty member's approval, will be accepted by the university/department. This method is usually used in north America.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19149,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>US mathematics departments are usually a delayed variation on (2). The department accepts applications. The student <em>may</em> in their application mention an interest in working with a particular faculty member, and a faculty member could lobby for a particular student, but in neither case does this actually create a binding advising relationship.</p>\n\n<p>The department don't announce a fixed number of available positions, but they decide how many students to offer admission (and funding) based on current enrollment, funding, and general faculty availability. (Funding primarily comes from the department, not from the faculty.) Some number of those students accept the offer and show up in the fall. They may be assigned a pro forma advisor who helps them decide what classes to take, etc, but this person is not expected to be a research mentor. Then, over the next 2-3 years, the student is expected to make contact with various faculty members and eventually find one who is willing to be their advisor. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19127",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
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|
19,133 | <p>What are the things one should consider, as a postdoc, before accepting or rejecting an invitation to contribute a book chapter? The proposed book is a handbook in a developing field of engineering.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19135,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It almost certainly won't earn you any money.</p>\n\n<p>It probably won't be read by many people. It will be cited by even fewer.</p>\n\n<p>The collaboration may lead to future projects together.</p>\n\n<p>It may involve a lot of work.</p>\n\n<p>You might enjoy the process. Or hate it.</p>\n\n<p>It may or may not help your career progression, depending on your field, your career to date, and the posts you apply to. If it's a book that will become a standard for one or more taught courses, your contribution may be crucial for your future teaching career.</p>\n\n<p>In this particular case, when the putative author is a rising young authority in an engineering field, it's a rapidly-developing field that's attracting significant international interest, and many universities are introducing new courses in the area, then, (depending on the publisher, the other authors, and the other chapters) there's potential for the book to have quite a significant audience, so contributing to the book chapter would be attractive.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19158,
"author": "silvado",
"author_id": 3890,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3890",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>When I get an invitation to contribute a book chapter (or conference paper in an invited session), I usually ask myself the following questions:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Can I have a reasonable contribution ready for the proposed submission deadline?</li>\n<li>Is the venue I am invited to a good fit and does it provide the best possible visibility for my contribution?</li>\n<li>Do I want to invite the person inviting me to similar occasions in the future?</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Ideally, you should be able to answer at least questions 1 and 2 with \"yes\" before accepting the invitation. If your answer to question 2 would be \"no\", it may still be wise to accept the invitation in view of question 3. For this type of invitations, I would try to find a smaller contribution which fits the visibility of the proposed publication venue. In a book chapter, for example a summarizing synthesis of some of your previous results might be appropriate.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19247,
"author": "adipro",
"author_id": 10936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would like to add the following: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>If there are other, more experienced, persons in the specific field, who would likely do a better job than himself, perhaps it is best for him, for the sake of all the potential readers of the book, to decline the invitation and recommend these other people instead. </p></li>\n<li><p>An invitation is something that is unexpected, and meeting it would likely require an extra effort in addition to his normal responsibilities. Unless he is able to manage his resources well without encroaching what belongs to his family, for example, then perhaps it would be prudent, despite all the prospects it might offer, to decline the invitation.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19133",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,144 | <p>I'm a PhD student that just finished my first year in graduate school. The University I am at will only fund me if I work as a TA.</p>
<p>There is a community college in the area which I have a long working relationship with. The full time instructors are paid more than I am. They also get 6 credit hours per semester of paid graduate tuition at the university. </p>
<p>I am considering going back to work at the college after I get my masters degree to have some more control over my life while continuing to work on my PhD. </p>
<p>My question is whether anyone on this site knows someone who has done this or has done this themselves? If so what were the worst and best aspects of the situation?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19152,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Teaching at a community college while in grad school is certainly an option and I know people who have done it. </p>\n\n<p>My major concern would be workload. I'd expect a community college job to be drastically more work, greater responsibility and stress, and less likely to accommodate your coursework and research time. It can be very difficult in grad school to balance your time and energy among your responsibilities, and it's easy for the short-term demands of teaching to push the longer-term demands of research to the back burner, ultimately sabotaging your chances of finishing your degree. I certainly wouldn't suggest a full-time community college appointment; even part-time seems like it would be hard to manage. But it sounds like you've actually taught at this college before, and have also TA'ed, so you'll be in the best position to make that judgment.</p>\n\n<p>At the university, you'll probably get to TA a variety of courses, including more advanced courses in your discipline. This can be a great learning experience for you, and fill in gaps in your education that you didn't know you had. It can also be an asset on the job market. At the community college, I presume you'd teach introductory or remedial courses exclusively; that's a learning experience too, but not in the same way.</p>\n\n<p>At the university, you're more likely to find fellow students and faculty mentors with whom you can discuss aspects of teaching, and being a TA can be a great social / bonding / networking experience. If you stay in academia, you'll be able to get letters from well-known professors attesting to your teaching ability. At the community college, you'll probably be more on your own, and a letter from the department head there may not carry so much weight.</p>\n\n<p>Overall, it might be better to plan on teaching community college during occasional summers (when TA'ing may not be available), or perhaps near the end of your PhD (and especially if your departmental funding runs out). It seems overly ambitious to plan to do it throughout. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 99723,
"author": "Spencer",
"author_id": 13989,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13989",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I made the decision to go work at the college part time. </p>\n\n<p>The balance between PhD research and teaching part time has been manageable under the following two conditions. 1) I am not teaching a new course which is unfamiliar to me. 2) I am not taking advanced graduate course. When one of these conditions is not met then the amount of outside work is simply too much to balance with research. </p>\n\n<p>Regarding condition (1). Teaching new classes takes me roughly an hour or two per lecture to prepare. This ends up taking all the free time which was presumed available for research. If at all possible it is preferable to co-teach with a colleague who has taught the course before. </p>\n\n<p>Regarding condition (2). As a physics student I dearly wanted to take Quantum Field Theory even though it wasn't strictly necessary for my research. I found that I had no time to finish the homework assignments. In one week I fell behind on grading exams (which were all free response) and I fell badly behind in the course. </p>\n\n<p>There are some advantages to teaching courses of my own design. As the course instructor I decide what gets graded and how it gets graded. If I give my students exams which can be automatically graded by a computer with a few free response components then I can finish grading exams within 30 minutes to an hour. The danger is to get too ambitious and forget how much grading free response exams takes. </p>\n\n<p>I have found that I have to take advantage of every free moment. When I am proctoring it is advantageous to have something on my laptop which needs to be done for my PhD. This generally should be something that needs supervision, but not my exclusive attention (for instance compiling an application or linking libraries). Also, if I am co-teaching with a colleague I should have something to do which is productive on my laptop. </p>\n\n<p>In short the balance is manageable, but the teaching must be strictly controlled so that it does not overflow past your paid working hours. An inexperienced instructor can easily give themselves too much work to do for a single person within the allotted hours.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/09 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19144",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13989/"
]
|
19,146 | <p>I am a social science PhD student (with a quantitative bent) at a U.S. research university. If paperwork is not a concern, I would be equivalently interested in working as an academic and in private industries. However, one of my goal is to be able to stay in the U.S., thus to craft my plan I hope to know whether it is indeed easier to obtain H1B / green card as an academic than as a PhD-holding employee? My industry-relevant skill-set is statistical training and programming.</p>
<p>While this question has far-reaching relevance for any typical international PhD students, I would also be willing to give more details regarding my training, my school reputation, etc. if it helps answering the question.</p>
<p>P/S: This is throwaway account for anonymity. I have been an avid user of StackExchange and would love your input.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19147,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, IANAL. </p>\n\n<p>The H1B process requires a declaration from the employer that the skill set provided by the candidate cannot be found within the US. This is typically not too hard to satisfy, and is required regardless of whether you're in academia or in private industry. </p>\n\n<p>The Green card process can change dramatically depending on which process you use. Academics will typically go through what is execrably called the 'Outstanding Researcher' process, which awards a green card based on scholarly excellence. But Ph.Ds in private industry also go through this process (I did!). It really depends on the willingness of the employer (because of the legal processing involved). </p>\n\n<p>The alternative is to go through the \"regular\" advanced degree process, which has different qualification requirements and has a different queue/wait time. Arguably, this could take longer, and I don't think academics ever go through this.</p>\n\n<p>So the bottom line is: it depends on the employer, but there's a technical sense in which being an academic can help slightly. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19290,
"author": "David Basanta",
"author_id": 7913,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7913",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My understanding is that Universities and other academic insitutions (for example, the research hospital in which I work) are not subjected to caps on the H1B that companies are so it should be easier to get one if you follow the academic route.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21363,
"author": "Superbest",
"author_id": 244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/244",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The Green Card is a different matter, but for an H-1B: It is indeed easier.</p>\n\n<p>There is a cap for the number of H-1Bs awarded every year. The cap for 2013 was 85,000, and 124,000 people applied. When too many applications are eligible, assignment is made by lottery.</p>\n\n<p>However, non-profits are not subject to caps, and universities count as non-profits. See: <a href=\"http://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/h-1b_faqs#10\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/h-1b_faqs#10</a></p>\n\n<p>It is probably not easier in the sense that the employer follows the same procedure and pays the same fees. However, there is no risk of not receiving an H-1B that you are perfectly well qualified for due to the cap. Also, universities are more likely to have access to people who know the process, unlike small companies which may be overwhelmed by the paperwork and byzantine regulations (especially if you are their first international employee).</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19146",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13990/"
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|
19,151 | <p>Maybe they are helping and I am the one who does not know how things really work and that's why I am seeking help here. </p>
<p>I am about to finish my Master in Computer science (waiting for the oral exam). And this is the time to apply for as many as possible PhD programs. The problem is that many of PhD programs ask for at least two recommendation letters (sometimes three) and they do not accept general recommendation letter. Rather, they send to the referee's email and ask him/her to write. Therefore, for each of them my referees should write a separate evaluation. So far I got them to write for three applications (two got rejected already). However, I feel I am still at the beginning and there are so many programs I need to try. I am totally aware of the program suitability and I should not apply for a program that I'm not 100% sure I have good chance. </p>
<p>Now the problem is that I chase my referees to write one letter and sometimes I miss deadlines because they are busy or not responding. I found only this question is very useful <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13977/how-to-reduce-the-load-of-professors-writing-recommendation-letters-for-graduate?rq=1">here</a> but the issue is I follow all steps there to help them to write my recommendation letters, but they mostly do not. I am one of top 5% students of theirs and I published three papers with them.</p>
<p>I feel like I am stuck between the hammer and the rock here. My question is <strong>what is the best tactic I can follow at this stage?</strong> Cut down the number of programs I apply for? Or talk to the supervisor about the issue. What advice do you have for me? I really appreciate your advice. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19153,
"author": "Layla",
"author_id": 6144,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6144",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that you should not worry too much; you mentioned that you have already published three papers with them, and that is the important part. For a PhD what it counts more to the admission committee is to see if you have research skills, and that number of papers it is pretty good.</p>\n\n<p>Maybe you should try to approach one of your past professors directly, I mean to drop a visit and tell them about your problem. Take in consideration that most of them have a heavy duty work and that is why they are forgetting about your recommendation letters. Bottom line, approach to them directly and try not only with one, but with every professor that knows you and that have worked directly with you. I believe that they will be more than happy to help you. So relax and good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19159,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't know how many letters you're asking people to write for you. However, when there is a separate form that needs to be filled out for each letter, that is asking for a considerable expenditure of time for your advisors. You need to be aware of this, and plan accordingly. You can't ask people to fill out fifty forms for you at once, and then complain when they can't get it done!</p>\n\n<p>So it's not really about applying to \"as many PhD programs as possible.\" Your advisors should be working with you to select the schools and programs you are going to apply to, and you should be working with them to ensure that you are not placing too large a burden on them. This includes giving them a list that clearly states all the schools and programs to which you are applying, as well as the deadlines, <strong>as early as possible</strong>, so that they have time to plan accordingly. Then, if there's no response a few days beforehand, you need to send a polite email. </p>\n\n<p>But to keep sending out request after request for more letters in a season is a good way to annoy your letter writers. Organize and plan in advance.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19151",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,154 | <p>Suppose I am making a paper on the impact of popular TV shows on the spread of correct knowledge and facts about current and past events. Shows like South Park, The Simpsons and likely others often feature recent events in their storylines, as well as past events as well. These shows often have specialized wikias, usually in the form of "showname.wikia.com".</p>
<p>These wikias are mainly maintained by a dedicated subgroup of the fanbase for that show, people who usually know a lot about it. This means that the information on there comes from more reliable sources. In addition, since most of the information stems from individual episodes, there usually isn't any information about that episode outside of the wikia or the episode itself.</p>
<p>In cases like this, would it be appropriate to use the wikia as a source?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19155,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think wikia are any different to wikipedia: there is no expert quality-control editorial staff like a proper encyclopaedia has: there are only the site owner(s), and the collective wisdom and collective foolishness of the contributors.</p>\n\n<p>If you are writing about, and analysing, the wikia itself, then cite the wikia.</p>\n\n<p>If, however, you are writing about the thing that the wikia itself writes about, then where possible use the wikia as a lead to find sources, but not as a source in itself. For things such as a preçis of a particular episode, then the production company or original broadcaster may have an episode guide. At very worst, you may have to cite the wikia itself: in which case, be sure to cite a specific version of a page, but IMDB may be a better source.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19170,
"author": "Volker Siegel",
"author_id": 13560,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13560",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How do you think Wikipedia is less reliable than a smaller, not widely known topic wiki?</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>We all know that Wikipedia is <em>only about 99% reliable</em>. [1]</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>and</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>We all <em>know nothing about the reliability</em> of the topic wiki.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>That does not sound like a good base to conclude the topic wiki is more reliable than Wikipedia, - it's reliability is just much more unknown.<br>\nThe effect is that every second person on the street can explain to you how Wikipedia \"is not reliable\", \"contains errors\" -<br>\nwhile you or your Professor have a hard time ensuring that the topic wiki is even somewhat reliable at all!</p>\n\n<p>For example, it's hard to tell whether a <em>\"dedicated subgroup of the [actual user base]\"</em> is influenced by some important person or subgroup following some non-neutral motivation. What's missing compared to Wikipedia is transparency... or at least we are not sure it's not missing.<br>\nWikipedia has lots of transparency on even the tiniest discussion.</p>\n\n<p><br/>\n[1] <sub> <em>The 99% is just an example value for illustration, and wrong for sure. (But which way?)</em> </sub></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19172,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I disagree with the answers that say \"There's no difference.\"</p>\n\n<p>In both cases, you should critically evaluate the content with respect to correctness, reliability, etc. However, there <em>is</em> a difference with respect to the <em>nature</em> of the content.</p>\n\n<p>Wikipedia (for most topics) serves as a tertiary source. That is, it aggregates primary and secondary sources on a topic, but doesn't add original content or interpretation. (In fact, it is <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia%3aNo_original_research\" rel=\"noreferrer\">against Wikipedia policy</a> to include original content or interpretation.) In these cases, you should find and use the original source, to verify its contents and to give credit to the real authors.</p>\n\n<p>Dedicated wikis on pop culture often <em>do</em> contain original content. And quite a few Wikipedia pages on pop culture do as well, even though they aren't supposed to (see e.g., <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology_of_Lost\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Mythology of Lost</a>).</p>\n\n<p>For example, the Lost wiki contains a great deal of interpretation and commentary (e.g.: an analysis of recurring themes in the series) - not just a rehash of the episode plots. This makes it a secondary source, not a tertiary source.</p>\n\n<p>You <em>can</em> use this <strong>original content</strong> (having critically assessed its correctness and reliability), and of course if you do, you should cite it.</p>\n\n<p>For example, suppose you are writing a paper on \"Use of the flash-forward technique in early 21st century television\" and you <a href=\"http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Flash-forwards\" rel=\"noreferrer\">read the following on the Lost wiki</a> (or on an equivalent page on Wikipedia):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In Lost, the flash-forward technique was introduced in \"Through the Looking Glass\", although it wasn't made clear that it was a flash-forward until the end of the episode. The first episode to feature a flash-forward that was clearly shown to be one from the start was \"The Beginning of the End\". \"Ji Yeon\" was the first episode to intertwine flashbacks with flash-forwards, although the flashback element was only clearly revealed to be in the past at the end of the episode, making its temporality a plot twist.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Even if you then go on and watch the episodes \"Through the Looking Glass,\" \"The Beginning of the End,\" and \"Ji Yeon\" yourself, or read the episode scripts (i.e., verify the correctness of the claim by checking the primary source), you still cannot claim in your work that you identified the use of flash-forward in Lost all by yourself! The wiki page in this case is a secondary source with an original analysis and interpretation, and you should cite it as such.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19154",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11593/"
]
|
19,161 | <p>As pointed out in another <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19120/is-the-classical-chair-system-in-which-a-senior-professor-supervises-junior-pro">question</a>, the general tendency today as compared from classical times is to make junior professors (at assistant level) more and more independent. However, I wonder that assistant professors (common in the US university) supervise PhD students.</p>
<p>The philosophy of academic ranking is to prepare academics for academic/scientific tasks.</p>
<p>Although, academics normally have postdoc experience before their appointment as assistant professors, it is not mandatory. Moreover, postdoc experience is not experience conducive for the supervising of students.</p>
<p><strong>In relation to the above is it wrong that an inexperienced assistant professor (who is not far from his PhD studentship days) can take control of one or several PhD students?</strong> </p>
<p>Does it reduce the quality of the education/research?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19167,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Isn't it wrong that an inexperienced assistant professor (who is not far from his PhD studentship days) can take control of one or several PhD students?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It is alright for an assistant professor to guide one or several doctoral students. He is not experienced in probably guiding PhD students, but, he is definitely experienced in conducting research, which will help him translate this to guidance.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Don't it reduce the education/research quality?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Well, maybe. Supervising PhD students is a learning activity like most anything else. As such, it is to be expected that maybe when an assistant professor supervises her/his first student, s/he may do things that should would handle differently later on. But this is not tied to the status of the person, but to her/his experience in advising. So if you don't let assistant professors advise PhD students, they would start doing it later on and be equally bad in it, because when would they have learned how to do it?</p>\n<p>An additional concern is that there are only so many full professors to go around. While I concede that working with a more senior professor may have advantages, these advantages would likely disappear if every senior professor has to handle significantly more students (as the entire 'advising force' of assistant professors falls away).</p>\n<p>I should also add that, in general, assistant professors are not nearly as inexperienced as you seem to assume. Today, at least in my field (CS), there is hardly any assistant professor that did not have multiple years of postdoc experience, which also includes co-supervising master and PhD students. As such, I am not sure if the problem you seem to consider even exists.</p>\n<p><strong>Edit based on ff524's comment:</strong></p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I think the question intends to ask, "Is it appropriate for assistant professors to supervise PhD students alone?" In some places, PhD students working with an inexperienced advisor are also co-advised by another (more experienced) advisor.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Yes, this is actually the case in many well-respected university (dutch universities come to mind right now). I think this is great if the main responsibility/load is still on the junior professor, with the senior person being more an advisor to the advisor than to the student. If the model degenerates into the junior professor basically being a proxy for the senior person, this seems counter-productive.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19168,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am an assistant professor supervising two Ph.D. students. Everyone in my department seems to be happy with this.</p>\n\n<p>It helps that there are senior faculty who are happy to give advice to me when needed!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19169,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In many fields, Today's assistant professors are older and more experienced than they were in the past. By the time an assistant professor in math has a student start research they're typically 6+ years out from PhD (3-4 years of postdoc plus a couple years to settle before students are likely to ask). I think that means its pretty reasonable for assistant professors to take students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19171,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Isn't it wrong that an inexperienced assistant professor (who is not far from his PhD studentship days) can take control of one or several PhD students? Don't it reduce the education/research quality?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>For certain institutes I've been in, I would find myself asking the opposite question: <strong>isn't it wrong for senior professors to supervise students when they have little time for them?</strong></p>\n\n<p>Of course it is not always the case that full professors have no time for their students, but I have seen it happen many times: I've seen cases where students were meeting their official full professor supervisors once a month (or less frequently) and putting names of supervisors on papers that the supervisors had never read. This seems to me to be prevalent in research institutes where the hierarchy tree has a high branching factor to get value out of available funds (few Full Professors, lots of PostDocs / Assistant Professors, even more PhD students and Research Assistants, etc.); in such cases, the priority for senior professors is getting funding for and managing projects. In my case, when I was a PostDoc in such an institute, I was doing the day-to-day supervision of a number of students whose supervisor(s) had no time for them.</p>\n\n<p>Of course it varies from place to place. But my hypothesis is that by the time you reach the Assistant Professor level, either you will have the necessary skills and personality to be a good supervisor, or you will probably never have those skills.</p>\n\n<p>In summary: I don't believe that seniority amongst professors is a good predictor for quality of supervision.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19177,
"author": "O. Jones",
"author_id": 14007,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14007",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course it's appropriate. In many research-intensive academic departments it's the assistant professors (the younger researchers) that are doing the innovative research.</p>\n\n<p>I had several friends who worked with an assistant professor years ago. That professor later won a Nobel Prize for the work being done in his assistant professor days, with the help of those students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27388,
"author": "John XL",
"author_id": 20879,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20879",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd rather say: it depends. The question can also be asked as: Is it appropriate for all professors to supervise PhD students?</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19161",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
]
|
19,175 | <p>A very nervous potential PhD student here! </p>
<p>Long story short, I have been applying to quite a few bioinformatics PhD programs in the US and been rejected from most of them. I did my masters in the UK, and had unfortunately fallen ill during its course and had to take a break so didn't end up doing great. My undergrad GPA is ok (3.12). I did however do good work during my Undergrad and masters, and have a really supporting recommendation letter to show for it.</p>
<p>I had a very promising interview with a professor from a Flagship State University who has agreed to supervise and fund me (Research assistantship). Suffice to say our research interests match a lot and I also think the professor would be a great supervisor. The professor has also been actively following up on my application within the department.</p>
<p>My question here is, what are my chances of getting admitted? </p>
<p>The department doesn't have a "PhD program" per se (i.e. traditional program where students are admitted and then find a supervisor). Students seem to contact supervisor and find funding through that route and then apply. I am not sure how the application processes work in the US. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19186,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your odds are better than they might be otherwise, but they're not necessarily 100%, either. </p>\n\n<p>Part of the issue is that some schools may not recognize or honor such \"claims\" or \"gentlemen's agreements\" to fund people after they are accepted. More importantly, the issue is that US admissions are typically done at the departmental level, not the faculty member level. That means that a professor telling you that you'll be admitted is not necessarily a guarantee, because the admissions committee has to make that call. (On the other hand, if the advisor in question chairs or is a powerful member of the admissions committee, that changes things substantially!)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19188,
"author": "seteropere",
"author_id": 532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to @aeismail answer; I would say it depends to the university policy/routine in handling applications.<br>\nMost likely there are three entities involved in any application:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>School/Faculty of Graduate Studies (GS)</li>\n<li>The department</li>\n<li>The potential supervisor</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Your chances depends on how applications are usually processed between these three entities. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Some schools they just need a commitment from a faculty member to accept you; ( that is, GS decision always align with the supervisor decision).</p></li>\n<li><p>Others the final decision is made through GS - after receiving the input from the department.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19191,
"author": "Homer",
"author_id": 13252,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13252",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>This answer is coming from my experience at one major research school in the US.</em> </p>\n\n<p>This is department dependent. In some sciences (e.g. those where many professors have their own \"lab\"), it's essentially a <em>prerequisite</em> for you to have a professor who is willing to work with you and let you join their lab. So, in this situation, having this commitment from a professor is not a particularly strong \"+\" for you, but not having such a commitment would probably rule you out entirely. </p>\n\n<p>In other departments (e.g. my PhD department: Statistics), a vast majority (if not all) PhD students did not have an advisory commitment from any faculty member before applying. However, it did appear that those who ultimately failed the qualifying process (exams, etc.) were those who had not had significant research progress with any faculty. I don't know if this was a causal relationship or just the simple fact that those who were working on research were those that were generally better equipped to pass the exams. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19175",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14005/"
]
|
19,178 | <p>Maybe the answer to this question varies depending on the field of study. I am asking it from an Engineering perspective. I am currently enrolled in a PhD program in Mechanical Engineering (carried out with an industrial partner) and would like to join a research department in the aeronautical/aerospace industry.</p>
<p>For PhD students in a similar situation, what would you consider to be the main advantages (and disadvantages) of doing a Post-Doc ? Should you target a better ranked university than where you did your PhD, same level or lower ? or should you rather join industry straight after finishing the PhD ?</p>
<p>Feel free to share your thoughts and experience. There's probably multiple answers to this question.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19195,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I have a situation somewhat related to yours: I did a PhD in engineering with an industrial partner, and I'm now a post-doc researcher in a reputable university. It sounds, when you say 'doing a postdoc', that you have the impression that it is the logical 'next level' in the sequence: bachelors - masters - PhD - … but it is not. </p>\n\n<p>There are no 'advantages' or 'disadvantages' in being a postdoc researcher for a while. It's just that, with some rare exceptions, you will not get a <strong>faculty</strong> position right after you graduate from your PhD. </p>\n\n<p>The time spent as a postdoc is usually the time where you gain experience, hopefully make your peers aware of your existence, publish (or finish publishing) the chapters of your PhD thesis and maybe that study that you feel will make you stand out, etc. in other words: giving yourself the pedigree that will make you interesting for an <strong>academic</strong> hiring committee. </p>\n\n<p>Since you have no intentions of becoming a professor, there are no real reason to 'do a postdoc', unless there aren't any other options (which I assume is not the case for you, as an engineer with experience in translational research/industry).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19207,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You would like to join a research department in the aeronautical/aerospace industry. It seems to me joining industry straight after finishing the PhD is the most logical next step for you.</p>\n\n<p>I can think of only two reasons you want to do postdoc, one is that you really want to stay in Academia and the other is you cannot find a good industry research job after you get PhD.</p>\n\n<p>If you have some unfinished academic research after you have done PhD, doing postdoc may or may not let you finish it depending on what postdoc you can find. But, once you go that route, you may be further from industry. Good job opportunities are sometimes instantaneous. Grab it or lose it.</p>\n\n<p>I am an industry retiree from the sector you are in. I know for fact that they need and they should have more PhDs like you to do more research.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to do postdoc for whatever reasons and your ultimate goal is to join industry, I think the rank of the university you do postdoc does not matter much. The usefulness of the research topic does matter. Industry wants profitability.</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, if you really want to stay in Academia, then don't go to industry after PhD. You could feel unhappy. In that case, postdoc with high rank university is what you want to do.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19178",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9665/"
]
|
19,179 | <p>While giving presentations in conferences or talks in research meetings, is it ok to self-advertise that I'm on the job market (academic or industry)? Is it advisable or does it make more sense to mention that during networking in teams?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19180,
"author": "mako",
"author_id": 5962,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5962",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have seen many people do this and I don't see any problem with it.</p>\n\n<p>Does it help? This is much less clear. But it seems very unlikely to hurt.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19182,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It is ok, but it may not be ideal. Academia often frowns upon open self-promotion (more than it probably should, in my opinion), and flat out saying that you're on the market in a public presentation seems a little...well, \"desperate\" is too strong, but the next thing, perhaps. </p>\n\n<p>Some thoughts about how/when/whether to do this:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Cultural nuances can vary in very subtle and localized ways. If you are going to a big conference in your profession or field, there must be other people there who are on the job market. Look to them and see how they are behaving: is anyone else advertising their availability in their presentations? If not, maybe don't do it yourself without an especially good reason. If so, look to the audience members and see how they're reacting. A little face-reading will probably tell you whether people are happy to hear this kind of information.</p></li>\n<li><p>Consider trying to disburse this information slightly less directly. For instance, ending a talk with something like \"<strong>Please</strong> come talk to me if you're interested in X [or, by implication, me]. I would be very interested to take these things further.\" Then, when someone talks to you one-on-one or in a small group, you can work the fact that you're on the market organically into the conversation.</p></li>\n<li><p>Whenever you go to a conference and you're on the job market, concentrate on making meaningful academic and social connections with people, especially potential employers. Don't prioritize selling yourself directly. If they meet you and like you and your work, you can follow up later by letting them know you're on the market. And you should.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19185,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In circumstances such as this, a little levity can help a lot. Outright saying</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I need a job, please hire me!</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>is going to come across as desperate, melodramatic or tacky. Presenting it a little bit more humorously:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>And if you'd be interested in a postdoctoral associate who can tell you about X, I may be able to help you out. . . .</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Or something in a similar vein will not. You'll make your point, but it won't come across too negatively. Of course, if a potential advisor isn't amused by such a comment, this could be problematic—but I'd argue that someone who has no sense of humor whatsoever might not be a good advisor to have in the first place.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19179",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6816/"
]
|
19,181 | <p>I applied for a full professor position, and after the interview, I was asked for a copy of my PhD thesis.</p>
<p>I was confused and want to know if it is the common and normal procedure or happened for me based on a specific reason?</p>
<p>Because, my strong works were done after my PhD, and I didn't know that my PhD project would be used for judging me (frankly, I'm not proud of that project).</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19184,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>One of the general prerequisites in this day and age for a faculty appointment is an earned (as opposed to honorary) PhD from a (typically accredited) degree-granting institution. </p>\n\n<p>Consequently, asking to see either a PhD thesis, a transcript, or the degree certificate is would be ways of ascertaining that you do, in fact, have a valid degree. This by no means implies that only your PhD matters in the hiring process; just that it's part of the process to ensure you're eligible. I wouldn't read too much into this beyond that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28506,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I assume you are applying to a junior faculty line (your use of \"full professor\" would suggest senior faculty but this is belied by the rest of your post). </p>\n\n<p>\n<hr>\nAfter they make the short list, we commonly ask junior faculty who do not yet have a research monograph to submit their dissertations. We do this for several reasons:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If they are ABD, it is an easy way to ascertain whether they will complete. If it is March and they say they are submitting in April and they only have 3 chapters, then we know to be cautious.</li>\n<li>If they are recent PhDs, then often the PhD is the only piece of research writing that they have in their dossier. It remains one of the best gauges of their research competence until they complete more publications. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>After responding, I looked at your profile and it seems that you might indeed be applying to senior positions. In that case, I'd be puzzled too -- unless you don't have many publications and/or your dissertation was at a university that is not well known. Or, alternately, the institution you are applying to has not had much experience with senior hires, and is defaulting to the junior practice.</p>\n\n<p><hr>\nPersonal Aside: I'm a tenured associate. If I applied for a full position and they asked for my dissertation, I would be puzzled but not be offended <strong>IF</strong> they had also asked for <strong>everything</strong> on my CV. I would assume they are just being extremely meticulous in making my case to the Provost for the senior line. But if they asked for just a few of my publications <strong>and</strong> my dissertation, I might tend to becoming annoyed (by the insinuation that my PhD was suspect).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28515,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the field. What they generally want to see is a Terminal Degree, or exceptional achievement in lieu thereof. But in some fields no widely recognized PhD level really exists, and the Masters -- plus professional experience -- is as close to a terminal degree as it gets.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19181",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,192 | <p>When I give an online test using a Course Management System (aka <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system" rel="nofollow">Learning Management System</a>, LMS), I like to use the "review answers" capability to go over the test with the class and highlight questions that many of them got incorrect. This can reveal common misunderstandings, poorly worded questions, things I didn't teach adequately, etc. </p>
<p>But given that the recommendation is to scramble the order of the questions and even the answers, how on earth can that work? This is why I DON'T scramble questions and answers. </p>
<p>Does anyone have a way of dealing with this? I have spent hours searching the web and found no reference to this issue. But anyone using a LMS must have encountered it? Thank you!</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19184,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>One of the general prerequisites in this day and age for a faculty appointment is an earned (as opposed to honorary) PhD from a (typically accredited) degree-granting institution. </p>\n\n<p>Consequently, asking to see either a PhD thesis, a transcript, or the degree certificate is would be ways of ascertaining that you do, in fact, have a valid degree. This by no means implies that only your PhD matters in the hiring process; just that it's part of the process to ensure you're eligible. I wouldn't read too much into this beyond that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28506,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I assume you are applying to a junior faculty line (your use of \"full professor\" would suggest senior faculty but this is belied by the rest of your post). </p>\n\n<p>\n<hr>\nAfter they make the short list, we commonly ask junior faculty who do not yet have a research monograph to submit their dissertations. We do this for several reasons:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If they are ABD, it is an easy way to ascertain whether they will complete. If it is March and they say they are submitting in April and they only have 3 chapters, then we know to be cautious.</li>\n<li>If they are recent PhDs, then often the PhD is the only piece of research writing that they have in their dossier. It remains one of the best gauges of their research competence until they complete more publications. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>After responding, I looked at your profile and it seems that you might indeed be applying to senior positions. In that case, I'd be puzzled too -- unless you don't have many publications and/or your dissertation was at a university that is not well known. Or, alternately, the institution you are applying to has not had much experience with senior hires, and is defaulting to the junior practice.</p>\n\n<p><hr>\nPersonal Aside: I'm a tenured associate. If I applied for a full position and they asked for my dissertation, I would be puzzled but not be offended <strong>IF</strong> they had also asked for <strong>everything</strong> on my CV. I would assume they are just being extremely meticulous in making my case to the Provost for the senior line. But if they asked for just a few of my publications <strong>and</strong> my dissertation, I might tend to becoming annoyed (by the insinuation that my PhD was suspect).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28515,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the field. What they generally want to see is a Terminal Degree, or exceptional achievement in lieu thereof. But in some fields no widely recognized PhD level really exists, and the Masters -- plus professional experience -- is as close to a terminal degree as it gets.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19192",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
19,193 | <p>During my high school career, I had the unique opportunity to take multiple mathematics courses at my local university, and after graduating, I took two graduate level math courses: Measure theory, and a class on topological manifolds. This was a great experience, but it has left me in a shifty situation.</p>
<p>I asked the department head if I could be admitted into the program since I took a full time course load receiving a B+ and A respectively, but it was denied due to the fact that I did not have a bachelors. The only option given to me at this university would be to enroll in the undergraduate program and take graduate courses.</p>
<p>I would be open to that idea, but it has multiple pitfalls. First of all, I am not guaranteed any research opportunities, which view as highly restrictive on my growth as a mathematician. In addition, I am not guaranteed funding opportunities like I would be in the graduate school. This in combination with the fact that I would have to take 50% more credit hours of course work would mean I would end up having to take out more loans than I would like. This is all very disappointing for me.</p>
<p>Instead of enrolling in courses again, this semester I began independent study in algebra and differential topology using Aluffi's and Lee's book respectively on the subjects. In addition, I have been exposing myself to more theoretical physics, such as Yang-Mills theories and Supersymmetry. Because these subjects are capturing my interest as well, it seems natural that I take my studies towards Algebraic Geometry and String Theories. I really want to get involved with a program to help enable me with my studies, but I do not think an undergraduate program would be adequate. For those of you who are still reading, how can I work towards getting into a program which would enable my studies an empower me with supervised research?</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>EDIT</strong></p>
<p>I did not think my undergraduate work would to be too relevant, since most of it was not rigorous; that is, calculation based. I took undergraduate courses in ODE's, PDE's, probability theory, analysis, mulitvariable calculus, and linear algebra. Unfortunately, I did not do well in the ODE, calculus, and linear algebra courses because they were during the summer, and I had not yet acclimated to the required amount of work. In this specific program, my course work is nearly equivalent to a bachelors degree, sans single variable calculus and a class in discrete math.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19194,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not familiar with math grad programs (your situation would be highly unusual in a CS grad program), but I'd like to question two statements you make about the non-viability of an undergraduate degree:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>First of all, I am not guaranteed any research opportunities, which\n view as highly restrictive on my growth as a mathematician. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you're good enough to take advanced material, grasp it and even approach an actual research question, then you're functionally equivalent to a grad student and many professors would be happy to take you on. The antecedent is important though: the fact that you've taken courses doesn't mean you're ready to do research, but this is precisely what REU programs are for, and faculty often get extra money to support students for UG research.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In\n addition, I am not guaranteed funding opportunities like I would be in\n the graduate school. This in combination with the fact that I would\n have to take 50% more credit hours of course work would mean I would\n end up having to take out more loans than I would like.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You're not wrong here, but there are often scholarship opportunities available, so the situation isn't completely black and white. </p>\n\n<p>A final note: one reason that grad programs might be leery in taking someone without an undergraduate degree is because the UG degree is more than just a credential. It's a proxy for a long sequence of coursework that exposes you broadly to an entire field of study. In almost any discipline, a basic level of breadth is very important for research work: because you need to</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>understand what questions are important and why</li>\n<li>understand how different questions fit together</li>\n<li>acquire the ability to see connections among different parts of an area. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Of course you can do an entire undergraduate program via self-study, but then you don't have a \"short certificate\" proving your command of the material. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19197,
"author": "user2258552",
"author_id": 12655,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12655",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you can't get into a good graduate program without a bachelor's (and it seems highly unlikely; I have never heard of such a case, even with child prodigies): Pick an undergraduate university that will offer you a full scholarship (I'm sure that if you have good SAT and grades, you will be able to find some such university), graduate as fast as you want to (could easily be done in 2 years at most public universities, with your background, assuming credits transfer which they should, and you might not even have to take summer classes), and aggressively seek out undergraduate research opportunities from day 1, both during the semester and during the summer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19200,
"author": "Michael Martinez",
"author_id": 14023,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14023",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You're not going to get into grad school in Math without going through a Bachelor's first. Just like you won't get into grad school in any of the hard sciences without doing the foundational work first. There's good reason for this: you need the solid background in the fundamentals before you delve into a specialty. The specialties emerged out of the fundamentals, historically, and it makes no sense to try and skip ahead. Also, if you try to do this, you're doing yourself a great disservice, which you would probably realize later on. You'll be approaching your studies without adequate knowledge/experience.</p>\n\n<p>Why would you want to skip undergraduate courses anyway? There's a lot of mathematics to be learned in the undergrad classes, and if you truly love math, then you ought to welcome the chance to learn and explore. You say you didn't do well in calculus and differential equations, but these are foundational for so much mathematics that follows.</p>\n\n<p>So, the main question here is not whether you can go straight into grad school (the answer is no), but what your true goal is: to learn and appreciate math, or simply to get into a field that you think is interesting without truly knowing what's involved.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I went to an engineering school that is well known for the hard sciences and engineering, I've had a lot of exposure to academia, have known, studied and worked with a lot of people in these fields, and have never heard of someone going straight from high school to grad school in physics, math, chemistry or engineering fields. </p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>now that said, once you are enrolled in an undergraduate degree program, you can definitely take grad level classes, particularly once you get the basic prereqs out of the way, once you start showing your interest and abilities, it's pretty easy to take those grad classes even if you haven't finished your B.S. yet. I've had friends who basically worked on both their B.S. and M.S. or Ph.D. at the same time!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19201,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I know of one case in which someone went straight from high school into a graduate program, so it is theoretically possible if you can find a university that agrees. However, it's almost unheard of, and it would be a bad idea for just about everyone (even setting aside the question of whether undergraduate education provides any benefits beyond preparation for graduate school).</p>\n\n<p>What I assume is that you'd like to do important research and are looking for preparation that will help you accomplish this goal. The minimal standards for a Ph.D. are actually pretty low, and you can squeak by without knowing much or doing impressive research, but this sort of dissertation will set you up for career failure. Instead, you need to enter a strong Ph.D. program, ideally one of the top ones, and really excel.</p>\n\n<p>It sounds like you've completed enough courses for a minimal undergraduate degree in mathematics, but probably not enough to be competitive at a top grad program. The applicants at these programs have generally taken a more extensive and rigorous collection of undergraduate courses (e.g., abstract algebra, topology, complex analysis), and it's not uncommon to have taken more than two grad courses, sometimes many more and in a few cases starting in high school. Plus it's common to have undergraduate research experience or other substantial independent work, such as a senior thesis.</p>\n\n<p>Basically, imagine yourself in four years. That's who you're going to be competing against for admission, the other extraordinary high school students who went to college and became even more knowledgeable and impressive.</p>\n\n<p>If you could find a university that would admit you to graduate school now, you'd probably end up going to a second tier school, spending some time catching up on courses, and then writing a good thesis but not living up to your potential. Your career would get off to an inauspicious start, you'd have trouble on the job market, and in the long term you'd likely end up with a less research-oriented job than you might have had otherwise.</p>\n\n<p>Of course I could be wrong about this: you might have exceptional luck or be the next Terry Tao. But diving into graduate school at a young age with minimal preparation is an incredibly risky strategy.</p>\n\n<p>This is something that's really hard to discern from college catalogs. They usually focus on the minimal requirements to complete each degree and move on to the next level, but that's not how people do things in practice. Instead, the vast majority of future mathematicians spend at least three years on their undergraduate studies, and generally four (in the U.S.). The operative question isn't how quickly you can complete the degree requirements, but rather how much you can achieve along the way. Preparing well for grad school is far more demanding than completing an undergraduate degree.</p>\n\n<p>So what I'd recommend is that you pick an undergraduate program in which you'll have really outstanding fellow students, so that you learn from and are pushed by them. Being part of a cohort like this is probably the single biggest factor in success, and your goal should be to find amazing people to hang around with and discuss mathematics. You should then take whatever undergraduate courses are needed to fix up your background (if any) and move on to graduate courses. You should also look for research opportunities during the summer or perhaps the school year, but it's not worth obsessing over this. No program will guarantee anything, but at the very least you'll surely have some success applying to summer REUs, and it's reasonable to hope for even more than that. Perhaps you'll finish in three years, and perhaps you'll decide to stay for four, but either way you'll be far better prepared for graduate school than you are now.</p>\n\n<p>It sounds like you're in a great position to do well, with a remarkably strong mathematics background. However, I'm convinced that the right question is how to get as much as possible from your undergraduate studies, rather than how to skip by them as quickly as you can.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19204,
"author": "Not Quite An Outsider",
"author_id": 10390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10390",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You need a mentor.</p>\n\n<p>Consider your current experiences and gifts as a large and powerful chainsaw. You may find some immediate gratification at cutting through swaths of wood at a pace you like. However, you can burn yourself out, wreck the chainsaw, reduce your number of functioning limbs, etc.\n(I didn't lose any limbs as an undergraduate, but I got sick of school in my second year and left it in my third. If I had paid more attention to the people who were there to help me, my earlier years might have been more satisfying.) If you give yourself the discipline to handle the routine and mundane, and also the time to have fun and work on things at which you excel, you will have something better than an awesome trajectory: you will have a life of enduring and satisfying achievement. And you can still spend time doing graduate work.</p>\n\n<p>The mentor will have to know you well to tell you what is best for you. (A team of mentors might be better.) I can imagine more disasters for you than successes if you try this without at least one. Also, the Internet is no substitute for a mentor: this kind of life decision, while up to you, can benefit from talking face to face with someone who is interested in your personal as well as your academic success. As commented elsewhere, hardly anyone cares how fast you did something as much as how well you did it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19219,
"author": "jwg",
"author_id": 5824,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5824",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unlike some other respondents, I don't think this is impossible. In fact I have a friend who dropped out of high school for various reasons unrelated to his academic achievement. He spent several years studying math and CS, by himself, to graduate level. He tried in various ways to access a research-based course, culminating in him being offered a place to do a PhD in CS, without having either a Bachelor's or a Master's (which is a usual requirement to start a PhD in Europe).</p>\n\n<p>However, to follow a trajectory like this there are at least four necessary conditions:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>You must be very good. Someone who looks like they are going to do a passable PhD and publish a couple of papers before stagnating or disappearing into industry is not going to get this opportunity. Someone who has already published peer-reviewed work might be a candidate.</li>\n<li>You must have some good reason to not want to do an undergraduate course. You aren't going to be supported with this just because you don't feel like sitting in a lecture hall for several years, listening to things you already know. Most working mathematicians, including prodigies and household names, did exactly that. Usually you will be advised to do the BSc and study harder things / do research in your own time. Good reasons might include some disability or personal circumstances that make it extremely hard for you to get through the undergraduate system, or the fact that you are already spending most of your time doing professional level research. Money issues might or might not be seen as valid, depending on whom you ask.</li>\n<li>You need to show that you are mature enough to be a graduate student. Undergraduate studies involve a certain amount of hand-holding for a reason - many students who have just left high school aren't ready to take full responsibility for their education. Even if you are a genius, a school will be worried about your abilities to perform well in your studies, while taking care of yourself on your own, and not succumbing to mental health issues, addictions, etc. Teaching or TAing undergrads also requires a certain maturity. The exception is if someone is going to take care of you (for example, if you have ASD, and you live with your parents who support you with all the non-mathematical things you need help with).</li>\n<li>You need to put your case to a professor in a school you want to work at, including convincing her of the things above. This is key. There are various obstacles put in place to stop the over-confident, the under-qualified, and the insane from getting onto advanced math courses. If you apply in the usual way you will almost certainly be rejected. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Your best bet is to approach someone in a field you care about, write to them directly and explain why it is that you know you are capable of a PhD. Most people you approach will reject you out of hand. (Think Ramanujan - statistically you are likely to be less talented than Ramanujan.) If you get lucky, you might find someone who is willing to hear you out. Be aware that anything that gives the impression of a scattershot approach (standard letter template, not being able to explain why you chose that professor or that school) will rule you out very quickly. You should be looking for someone whom you have read and understood several papers by (if you aren't reading and understanding journal papers on a regular basis, why not?). You should be able to show them published or publishable work you have done, related to their own interests. This person, if they end up supervising you, will have to fight to get you in to their department, and then deal with an unusually onerous burden of formalities and paperwork to have you as their student. They aren't going to do this unless there is some compelling reason why they would want to work with you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19221,
"author": "Karen",
"author_id": 14039,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14039",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Don't focus on the letters you'll get from your first degree. </p>\n\n<p>It is very likely that you will need to get a bachelor’s degree before going enrolling for an advanced degree, especially since you sound like you would do best in a highly selective program. But for now, what you need is a university and more specifically, a math department, that is willing to be flexible, encouraging of advanced work, and give you the chance to prepare yourself for a really top graduate program. You need this whether you are admitted as a masters student or an undergrad. Assuming you want to continue to a PhD after your first degree, you need to focus more on what you will be doing for the next few years, rather than the degree you’ll have at the end. You are better off finding an excellent school that will support an undergrad doing graduate level work (fairly common) than an OK school that will accept a grad student with uncertain credentials (very unusual).</p>\n\n<p>To start with, I’d strongly recommend contacting professors at well regarded math departments whose research you find interesting, and let them know your situation. This will mean you are looking at schools as though you were going to grad school even though you will probably be an undergrad. Find professors you think you’d like to work with, and arrange to meet them and meet their other grad students. In person is best, but at least talk on the phone. Apply to a few schools where the math department supports and encourages their grad students, not just a place with a good reputation. I've had a number of friends who have dropped out of PhD programs due to department politics or unsupportive advisors. Start yourself out on the right track.</p>\n\n<p>Many schools have scholarships available, and in some cases, a school will offer a full ride including a living stipend to the most exceptional undergraduates. The math departments and professors may be able to help you out here, too, if they especially want you. Just ask. Don’t limit your options because of a preconceived bias.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19507,
"author": "Benjamin Horowitz",
"author_id": 14289,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14289",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think a very good options for you is to apply to very competitive (private) US institutions for undergraduate (i.e. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, etc.). </p>\n\n<p>I mention these specifically for a few reasons. They all have very well regarded graduate programs where you will have the flexibility to take very advanced courses. They have extraordinary peers with similar advanced backgrounds (my brother, who was an undergraduate at MIT, took many years of graduate math coursework in high school). Finally they have very good financial aid opportunities. I will say from my own experience (at Yale), that strongly prepared undergraduates are known to jump straight into graduate coursework and research freshman and sophomore year.</p>\n\n<p>The most important thing to do if you are interested in mathematics (or physics) professionally is to interact with great professors and go to a great graduate program. I am extremely skeptical that the top notch of graduate math programs (the past list + Berkeley + University of Michigan + Cambridge + etc.) would take you right now. People apply from undergraduate with graduate coursework, research experience, and letters of recommendation from very well known people in the field. The last point is especially important for these top notch programs (math is a fairly small community). By going through undergraduate, you will make these connections early on, find a subfield, position yourself for the very best program in your interested subfield, and get into an excellent program. </p>\n\n<p>Another thing to note is that assuming your \"local university\" isn't a large, well-regarded state-school (or international equivalent), these courses are simply not up to the level of those you would take at top-tier university. Generally, in my experience taking courses at my local university in high school, theses course are very computational and those that are proof-based aren't nearly as challenging as those I found at Yale.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 31728,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 24274,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24274",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A very prestigious professor at my school told me that another professor here, whom he named, in fact completed his (STEM) undergraduate degree in two weeks:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>he looked through colleges to find the one that had the lowest requirements to graduation</li>\n<li>he settled, I believe, on Ohio State, although my memory may be incorrect on the exact college.</li>\n<li>for two weeks, he took tests to pass out of enough requirements that he was able to graduate.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So he ended up with a legitimate undergraduate degree in two weeks, and then he went to graduate school. I was told he had been sailing around the world for three years prior to getting his undergraduate degree. However, my school is very prestigious. From this story, I am guessing that the professor was also doing something other than sailing that I was not informed of, and certainly he would have to have some kind of academic contact to achieve the necessary recommendations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 31753,
"author": "Frames Catherine White",
"author_id": 8513,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8513",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a rule, you don't get into Graduate Programs without Graduating.\nOthers have already mentioned ways around that etc.</p>\n\n<p>I will comment on ways you can do undergraduate, and meet your goals.\nI am going to assume you are brilliantly clever.\nin the top 1% or so of people graduating from high-school at the same time as you</p>\n\n<p>Some universities offer a research undergraduate. For extremely high achieving students, thus the top 1%. This normally involves each year a research component. Either in the from of a unit, or on top of all units. Perhaps with a requirement of maintaining a Distinction or better average. My university calls this a <strong>Bachelor of Philosophy</strong> -- in the same way the a PhD is a Doctorate of Philosophy. It was formerly known as a <strong>Bachelors of Advanced Science</strong>, and a <strong>Bachelors of Advanced Arts</strong>. \nI thus recommend that you look into Research based undergraduate degrees in your area.\nEven if you are not currently performing well enough to get in, you can often transfer courses after a semester or two of demonstrating your high marks at university -- which are valued to admissions much more than similar marks from high school.</p>\n\n<p>I wouldn't recommend cutting out on the board baseline of experience you would obtain from a undergraduate degree, even if you could. (Exceptions apply, see other answers.)</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19193",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14018/"
]
|
19,198 | <p>This is my first time posting here and I apologize if this is not in the relevant forum or site. My question is: is it possible to approach professors to changing their teaching style? and if so, how would it be best to approach this topic? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19206,
"author": "Not Quite An Outsider",
"author_id": 10390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10390",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on what your goal is.</p>\n\n<p>If you have a particular course and a particular professor, and you want to see changes before the course ends, you may need some political power or not. Many professors appreciate feedback, some don't, and you can usually tell by noting which ones ask for it. If they do ask, follow their format for giving feedback, and add a note saying that you have more specific suggestions if they wish to discuss it further. If they don't, you will either have to drop it or try a different tactic.</p>\n\n<p>If the course has teaching assistants, you can usually give some feedback through them, although to promote understanding, you might give them a copy in writing to hand to the professor. If there are none, you may have to submit feedback through the department; there usually are people in that department in charge of the quality of teaching, and they can advise you at least as well as on this forum.</p>\n\n<p>If the issue is more with a person than a situation, then I recommend getting advice from colleagues of that person on how to make such an approach. Through the department is likely the best way, but it highly depends on the situation.</p>\n\n<p>If the issue is more with a class structure than a person, you can make suggestions, but they will likely be referred to the next class.</p>\n\n<p>The applicability of all of the above is subject to class size, level of instruction, and many other factors. Without more specifics, I imagine your best answer in the long run is by using official channels. That way if anything goes wrong, the process can be blamed and not you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19211,
"author": "Erran Morad",
"author_id": 11743,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11743",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suggest the following: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Ask students who have take that course before.</p></li>\n<li><p>Look at ratemyprofessors website for his/her reviews.</p></li>\n<li><p>If there is no past info about him, then ask a \"<strong>smart</strong>\"/\"deep\" questions POLITELY in class. If he get angry, then he probably not like your suggestion to change teach style.</p></li>\n<li><p>Ask other students too to see if they have same problems. Then, you will know that its not just you. If only you have problem and most people \"get it\", then you can take their help instead of prof. </p></li>\n<li><p>If all 1 to 4 are okay, then politely suggest improvements. Show him what you have not understand and how he can explain better. If you need more problem solving in a class, then request for it. Choose words carefully. </p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19215,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think there is a misunderstanding. Although professors are hired by the university to serve the learning experience of the students (among other things), they are not \"hired\" by the students. This is a logical misunderstanding in US universities where students pay tuition but this model does not apply to the rest of the world. In this sense, professors, like all regular employees should and are evaluated (in terms of performance) only by their employer (university / state) and not the customer / student. Also, professors stay in many cases, for many years in the same institution where students (undergraduates mostly) stay for a limited amount of time. Therefore although the student might or not pay for the university services he is bound to leave eventually, whereas the professor probably outstays generations of students.</p>\n\n<p>With that being said, one student's opinion is not really relevant. If the university has some sort of professor evaluation by the students, then the student by all means should clearly express his opinion. But going to a professor and just saying \"I do not like your teaching style. Change it\" is simply rude (and I say that as a student myself). How can I tell someone how to do his work when I have not done it myself? The same goes for all employees from waiters to bouncers (there such comments might get you in trouble), unless the employee has been rude to you and you must defend yourself. In all other cases, you should not tell people how to do their job, you can only tell them how you like to be treated. If you do not like the way they do business you must find someone else that suits your style. In universities where the professor grades you (and not the other way around) I would suggest even extra caution. </p>\n\n<p>You should also not forget that your guess on what is wrong or right is based on only one opinion (yours and your friends) where the professor has based his teaching style on hundreds - thousands of students. His style might or might not suit you. There is not one-size-fits-all. But why he has to change his style for you, when the things you propose might alienate other students? The answer is simple. In 99% of the cases he simply will not. Also consider the fact that probably your comment on his teaching style will not even be an original one (somewhen, somewhere some other student might have expressed a similar discontent to yours).</p>\n\n<p>So, what can you do? Negotiate. Ask him / her for more slides if he has any; Ask him for more personal assignments or for pointing you to extra reading material, basically everything that will help you benefit more from his class. Ask him to repeat what you did not understand. But most of all ask nicely and with respect. That way if he says no, it will be his fault and not yours.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19218,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One thing you might to do is go to office hours and ask thoughtfully prepared questions.</p>\n\n<p>\"I looked over my notes on X, and I still don't understand how it's related to the rest of the material. Could you please explain further?</p>\n\n<p>\"The theory is interesting, but I'm still confused as to how this applies to examples. Could you suggest where I should learn about these?\"</p>\n\n<p>\"When you talk about Y, I gather I'm supposed to have mastered that already, but actually I haven't. Where should I learn about this?\"</p>\n\n<p>Possible outcomes vary. Maybe you will find that you signed up for a different course than you should have; maybe the professor won't care; but possibly, the professor will take your questions as some evidence that h/she should adjust his/her teaching strategy a little bit. (And will also answer them!)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/10 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19198",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14020/"
]
|
19,208 | <p>How should one cite materials taken from a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC)? This may be a specific case of the more general, "How should one cite a university course?"</p>
<p>For a concrete example, consider how I should cite the "Resampling Wheel" algorithm for implementing a particle filter, taken from Sebastian Thrun's <a href="https://www.udacity.com/wiki/cs373/unit_3" rel="nofollow">Artificial Intelligence for Robotics</a> course on Udacity?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19214,
"author": "DCTLib",
"author_id": 7390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7390",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In many fields, it is common practice to look up the original publication in which a concept/algorithm was introduced, and to cite that. Many courses will give some literature pointers to help you with the search for it.</p>\n\n<p>The reason is that citations are also meant to distribute credit for novel findings, so in this way, the researchers who came up with the algorithm get the credit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 86910,
"author": "Zakir Hossain",
"author_id": 71120,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/71120",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Stephen, Jason. “Academic Integrity.” [week 3: Achieving with integrity: using the works of others]. MOOC offered by the University of Auckland. Retrieved on Jul 23, 2017 from <a href=\"https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/academic-integrity/10/todo/8323\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/academic-integrity/10/todo/8323</a> </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19208",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/389/"
]
|
19,213 | <p>I start my master studies this fall in quantitative finance/economics in Europe. Since this will just take 3-4 semesters I want to take a look ahead and obviously PhD is one option to do. </p>
<p>So I am wondering if it makes sense to go to the US for PhD, since I will have already a master's degree in two years. I read a lot about the US PhD's which can be started after bachelor and therefore are somehow like a European master & PhD combined. </p>
<p>I saw some PhD programmes from well-known US universities and their curriculum contained almost just courses I will already have in my master. Wouldn't that be a waste of time to repeat them? Specially compared to my country (Switzerland) where a PhD duration is between 3-4 years.</p>
<p>Every input/personal experience will be appreciated.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19222,
"author": "gman",
"author_id": 12454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think in the end it will be a personal choice based on what you want in your career on where you may do your PhD. Based on some of the queries you had in the comparison between a US PhD or a European one, hopefully the following will be of help.</p>\n\n<p>This <a href=\"http://www.iisj.net/en/socio-legal-master/doctoral-studies/how-do-phds-different-countries-differ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">link</a> is a good page that shows the difference between the system in Europe and the US for PhD. The main reasons from it why a US PhD would be longer is;</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The main difference between doing a PhD in the US and most other countries is the coursework component. In the US, there is usually a requirement that PhD student complete at least 2 years of coursework before they start their independent research. This means that a PhD in the US will take longer to complete.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So yes there is a chance that you will be repeating coursework that you have done in your masters, but there is also the possibility that you may be able to get a wavier for coursework already completed.</p>\n\n<p>I know (in Ireland at least, my home country) there is now a move in some universities towards a structured PhD that will include some coursework in year 1.</p>\n\n<p>As per Piotr's comment it is typical that a PhD in Europe is pursed after Master's, while in US it contains Master's. In some cases in Europe it may be possible to go straight from a bachelor degree to a PhD. I know in my own case when starting out my advisor wondered if I would like to apply to complete a PhD instead of a Masters (in History). My sister also went straight from her bachelor to her PhD program (in mircobiology). Both these cases were in Ireland where you normally would have to have a first in your bachelor degree to be able to pursue a PhD directly afterward.</p>\n\n<p>The page also details some other differences, such as how the committees are slightly different in both systems.</p>\n\n<p>The <a href=\"http://www.coimbra-group.eu/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Coimbra Group</a>, an association of long-established European multidisciplinary universities have produced a <a href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20130401083155/http://www.coimbra-group.eu/transdoc/uploads/TRANS-DOC%20Survey%20findings.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Survey on PhD Programme Structures and Administration in Europe and North America</a> that has some insightful information as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19224,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The difference is that in the US, Bachelor's degrees take longer to obtain (4 years vs. 3 in Switzerland) and it's considered the actual 'college degree', while as you know, in CH<sup><sup>1</sup></sup> it makes little sense to stop at the Bachelor's level because is has no value except to give you entry to the Master's (with perhaps the exception of ETH/EPF Bachelors in informatics that can lead to direct employment, and professional schools Bachelors, of course, but they're off-topic).</p>\n\n<p>In the US, in general you go to 'grad school' which describes both Master and PhD studies. Masters are sometimes given to graduate students who wish or have to stop after a few years of grad school for a variety of reasons. As a consequence the Master's degree is less common.</p>\n\n<p>To the point: what you learned as a Master students will not necessarily be redundant with first year graduate courses. And if it is, well good for you, you will just cruise through the exams and enjoy having time to concentrate on research instead of studying. Note that, since recently, most (if not all) Swiss PhD programs have courses requirements as well.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, you will most of the time have less (or no) teaching assistant work. And there are incredibly good research groups in the US, some will give you the kind of expertise and exposure that you wouldn't get in a Swiss university. I don't think having to repeat a few courses should be a killing criterion if you are interested in a given research environment.</p>\n\n<p>Also, I don't know much about the economics domain, but for engineering, natural sciences and humanities, the <em>actual</em> time to get a PhD in CH tends more towards 4-5 years than 3-4.</p>\n\n<p><sup><sup>1</sup></sup> CH stands for <em>Confoederatio Helvetica</em>, the multilingual abbreviation for Switzerland. I hold a Swiss PhD and I'm a postdoc researcher in the US.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19242,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to gman's answer: it's true that in the US, most students enter a PhD program immediately after the bachelor's, but by no means all. It's not uncommon for a student to have done a master's elsewhere first. As such, any reasonable PhD program should be used to dealing with incoming students who already have a master's, and be willing to adjust their requirements as warranted.</p>\n\n<p>It would be perfectly reasonable to contact any departments that interest you, and ask them about your situation. It's very likely they will tell you that they are able to waive requirements that would be redundant for you, or to let you satisfy them in an accelerated manner (perhaps you take an exam or something). Alternatively, they might have a compelling explanation for why they won't do that (perhaps their program looks similar to your background but is actually different in some essential way).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19377,
"author": "Mohamed Khamis",
"author_id": 703,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/703",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me first point some differences that may help you making your mind, between the PhD programs in USA and Canada on one hand, and in Europe on the other.</p>\n\n<p>In <strong>US & Canada</strong> you go through a structured PhD program, so it'll be pretty much like your current masters in Switzerland. You'll need to take some classes, then you'll have a semester or two to work on your PhD thesis. </p>\n\n<p>In <strong>Europe</strong> you start right off with your PhD thesis! so you're basically a research assistant, working on your PhD as part of your job as a PhD student, in that case you'll be doing other work as well for your institute. As a scholarship holder you'll be able to work full-time on your PhD. </p>\n\n<p>As for your question: Having the same course names doesn't mean that the content will be same. It could be that more and/or advanced topics will be covered in the PhD programs you came across. If this wasn't the case, you can try to contact the university to see the possibility of equating the courses you already took, this might involve a test by the department to make sure you'll be as qualified in that area as the ones who took their course.</p>\n\n<p>I'd say that a PhD in USA will give you more knowledge through the coursework, you'll get to learn more stuff that you might or might not need. In Europe, since you're jumping directly into your thesis, you'll get more of the academic life and you'll have to learn, on your own, whatever's going to help you with your thesis, which can be difficult at the beginning if you're not self-driven. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 117455,
"author": "famargar",
"author_id": 63518,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/63518",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is answered already, but for some reason never straight to the point. If your mind is set to pursue a PhD in the US, just <strong><em>go for it right now</em></strong> (after your bachelor, and before your masters). Once they accept you, you simply go through the courses you needed to go through anyway at your European Masters, but then there are no additional applications, negotiations, hard decisions to make.</p>\n\n<p>You can on the other hand start a PhD in the US after a Masters in Europe, but you will have to negotiate waiving the courses - and it's not granted they will waive them all. <strong><em>Coursework is very comparable, but it will be your responsibility to prove it.</em></strong></p>\n\n<p>Summary: pursue a Masters in Europe only if you are not sure you want to commit for the next 4-7 years (the PhD length in the US is not fixed, but typically depends on being able to publish original research). The total PhD length may actually be shorter in the US if you work hard.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19213",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14029/"
]
|
19,223 | <p>I am a student who is currently undergoing therapy for mental health issues and I seem to be making good progress towards normalcy according to my therapist. Recently, I took an exam for a co-ordinated course and I completely panicked on the exam. I made a brave attempt to remain calm and answer the question to the best of my abilities and could only manage to earn 5 points overall. </p>
<p>Based on my predicament, can I approach my professor and department chairperson with a request to re-take the exam? I can of course ask my therapist to provide documentation detailing my case. Do universities make allowances for students who can demonstrate a genuine case for a panic attack? </p>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong>
I do realize that I should contact the counselling center beforehand to make arrangements to take the test there but unfortunately, I was doing quite well and my therapist did not see a need to supply me with a note documenting my need. I completely blacked out when I saw the questions as they were quite long and bore no semblance to the practice exams or the homework questions.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19225,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Based on my predicament, can I approach my professor and department chairperson with a request to re-take the exam? I can of course ask my therapist to provide documentation detailing my case.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Approach only the professor first. If you are already escalating to the department head in your first mail, the professor may not take it well. That being said, I see no reason why you should <em>not</em> contact her/him.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Do universities make allowances for students who can demonstrate a genuine case for a panic attack?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Most universities have a contact person responsible for accessibility and non-discrimination of students with disabilities. I am not sure whether they are in general also responsible for documented cases of mental health issues, but it would not surprise me. In the future, it makes sense to get in touch with the responsible contact person <em>before</em> the exam, so as to clarify whether something can be done in advance to make taking the exam easier for you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19226,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are in the US, your school is required by law (the Americans with Disabilities Act, often abbreviated ADA) to make reasonable academic accommodations for students with disabilities. This includes mental illness.</p>\n\n<p>In the US, schools have a formal ADA policy that describes the procedure for requesting accommodations. This includes a description of <em>who</em> to contact to make these arrangements. This person is trained in dealing with these issues.</p>\n\n<p>Your next step should be to contact this person, find out what can be done about this exam, and find out what accommodations they can offer for future exams. (For example, they may help you arrange to take future exams in a separate room with no other students and/or with extended time, which may help you stay calm.)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19223",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14042/"
]
|
19,228 | <p>I didn't immediately find the 4-year death-clock on the K99/R00 grant. I just want to know, is that the only major NIH activity code that restricts eligibility based on time since graduation?</p>
<p>I realize that individual institutes vary a lot in their policies, but I'm trying to get at least a rough idea of which activity codes to filter out before I go through in more detail through the RFAs that remain.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 21725,
"author": "Simmy",
"author_id": 15896,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15896",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not sure about the rules on how long since graduating NIH grants begin to be restricted, but there is a general rule that the NIH will only fund postdocs for 5 years total--so if you have already received 5 years funding as a postdoc trainee, you are likely to be excluded from more. I think it depends on the particular grant though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 76404,
"author": "AJK",
"author_id": 9892,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9892",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is one additional example I am aware of, which is institute-dependent: the standard NRSA F32 award is often issued for \"3 years minus any time that the fellow has already spent in the sponsor's laboratory at the time of the award.\" (At least at NIGMS: <a href=\"https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/indivpostdoc/Pages/PostdocFellowshipDescription.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/indivpostdoc/Pages/PostdocFellowshipDescription.aspx</a>)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 76407,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The rules seems to be institute and FOA dependent. There are definitely other FOAs that have timelimits. The one I am most familiar with is the <a href=\"https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/funding/types/research-grants-r-series#R21-ECR\" rel=\"nofollow\">NIDCD Early Career Research (ECR) Award (R21)</a> which has a 7 year time limit from graduation. The <a href=\"http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DC-15-002.html#_Section_III._Eligibility\" rel=\"nofollow\">NIDCD K22</a> only allows 2 years of research experience (which is not quite a graduation based time limit).</p>\n\n<p>The NIH also gives preference to <a href=\"http://grants.nih.gov/policy/new_investigators/index.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">Early Stage Investigators</a> for some grants which has a 10 year time limit. That page lists a number of early stage grants which may have time limits. You could also look at the <a href=\"https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/fellowships\" rel=\"nofollow\">NIH Research and Career Development pages</a> for individual FOAs. Finally, the individual institutes that are relevant to your field probably have the most detailed information.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19228",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8083/"
]
|
19,230 | <p>I'm a PhD student in Computer Science. Long story short: I do not have a good relationship with my advisor. I don't trust his guidance or his ethical integrity. Therefore, I am seeking external advice for my situation.</p>
<p>During my PhD I got one paper accepted in a first tier conference, two papers accepted in a second tier conferences, and other papers published in workshops and minor conferences. I have one journal paper accepted. </p>
<p>However, not all the work is on the same topic but it is scattered among three, mostly unrelated, subjects. Now my PhD is ending.</p>
<p><strong>Is it negative that my work has been on three unrelated subjects?</strong></p>
<p>(I cannot find a topic that allows me to merge all my results in my PhD thesis, I have to leave out at least half of my work.)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19299,
"author": "Alecos Papadopoulos",
"author_id": 8575,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8575",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To the degree that you do have a PhD thesis <em>and</em> some other work (that, more over, has been published), I would say it is a positive thing, not a negative one. It is a good combination of \"breadth and depth\" as one comment has put it. The general advice I have heard many times for long-term planning, is \"the ideal is to try to distinguish yourself in two fields inside a discipline. One -everybody tries that. Three -and your image starts getting blurry\". Or something like that (and with the caveat that \"fields inside a discipline\" may not mean the same thing for different disciplines).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19344,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Assuming we are talking about the U.S., at this point you just need to defend your thesis. This should be your main concern. Then publish your results in various journals/conference proceedings, as appropriate, including those results already included in the thesis.</p>\n\n<p>It is irrelevant if you will merge all of your work or not, as chances are, almost nobody is going to read your thesis anyway. You will need a journal/conference publication of the same results.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19230",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14038/"
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|
19,235 | <p>I have a full-time job, and am a part-time PhD student who is experiencing tremendous struggles throughout the first year, compared to my previous schooling which was extremely easy. I want to know if I'm psyching myself out / over-thinking things, or if I'm being rational or not, given all the circumstances.</p>
<p>My academic career began with a degree in Computer Science, but I took as many side courses in Mathematics as I could. I did very well, loved it, and thought to do graduate studies. A couple of my professors thought it was a great idea, considering how well I did in their classes, and suggested going for a Ph.D., part-time as I have a full-time job, in the same school. They wrote me stellar recommendation letters and I got in without any issues, whatsoever (unfunded, but that was not a concern to me).</p>
<p>I am nearing the end of my first year in the program, and it has been an unbelievable struggle. A family/personal emergency caused me to have to withdraw from my classes for the first semester; despite how embarrassed I was, my professors told me it was okay and that things happen, and that they still had complete faith in me. Now it's the second semester, and I am struggling to keep up in my classes. I have always approached math via my intuition, but now I feel I am able to follow my professors in lectures and participate, but when it comes to studying or applying it that's when I struggle. Self-study takes so long and is very arduous and as I'm not used to it; I get extremely distracted. </p>
<p>Compounded with this, is that I want to discuss this with others, but I find it almost impossible to face my professors that recommended me, anymore. I haven't spoken to them since the winter due to shame. They had so much faith and confidence in me (and probably still do), but I feel that as a PhD I should do better, but I'm not. My performance is shocking and appalling to me, considering what I was used to doing. Talking to my adviser is out of the question as well, as when I discussed my last-semester withdrawal situation with him, he made a loose implication that "he wasn't necessarily sure he would've admitted me, in hindsight," and he wondered aloud who was the one that did admit me. </p>
<p>I am still in a position where I feel that I would not be happy unless pursuing graduate study in mathematics, as I want to learn this subject inside and out, be surrounded by a community that I find interesting and exciting, and researching and publishing new ideas. I just have no idea if my struggle is either completely normal, if I'm horribly under-qualified, or if I am just psyching myself out. How can I figure out whether I should stick with my program or not?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19316,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'll keep this answer fairly general, because what you describe sounds like a fairly general situation. </p>\n\n<p>The transition from undergraduate to Ph.D work is difficult because you're going from a very structured environment (take classes; get grades) to a very unstructured one (take classes, but focus on learning rather than grades; deal with material that's more cutting-edge and therefore open-ended; start getting into research, which is really open-ended). </p>\n\n<p>This is hard, and it's normal to expect a period of transition where things seem out of whack. </p>\n\n<p>Coupled with that is the shame: people going to grad school are usually the ones who do well in undergraduate and have done well all their life in school. You've received praise from your teachers throughout, and have received constant encouragement. </p>\n\n<p>Now you're in grad school. Everyone there is like you, so the competition is more fierce. There are no pseudo-objective measures like grades so there's no way to compare yourself to others (which for high achievers often means that you compare yourself negatively). And above all, all those nice professors who used to encourage you have turned into scowly curmudgeons who expect more and more and more...</p>\n\n<p>It's a wonder everyone isn't depressed. And on top of that you have a full-time job !!</p>\n\n<p>The recommendation that I will give, and that everyone here is giving you, is to ease up on yourself and try separate out your feelings of shame and inadequacy from the reality. You should find a support network of friends, hang out in study groups, do extracurricular stuff. The friends you make in grad school will be friends for life - such is the nature of this crucible. Since you're working full time this is going to be even harder, but maybe you can find others who also work full time and are in a similar position. Also see if you can find senior grad students who are part-time: their experience will be very valuable. </p>\n\n<p>And then in a year you'll be back year asking about <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2219/how-should-i-deal-with-discouragement-as-a-graduate-student/2220#2220\">how to avoid discouragement in research</a>, and <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5786/how-to-avoid-procrastination-during-the-research-phase-of-my-phd\">how to avoid procrastinating</a>, without realizing that this is a sign you've made it through the first year successfully :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19328,
"author": "DrLivingston",
"author_id": 13847,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13847",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A PhD is an apprenticeship - you need to be on the same page as your advisor always. If he was making comments like that you need to know if it was his poor attempt at motivating, or if you don't get along. If you don't get along you need to find someone whom you can get along with. This is a long process. You should have no \"shame\" with your former professors either. And you should definitely go back and talk to them, as well as current students, especially the more senior ones.</p>\n\n<p>As Suresh points out, everything is about to change. Classes in a PhD program are more to complete any breadth you are missing at the foundation from your earlier program. Then they are to start filling in a stronger foundation for your specialty. And then they are supposed to give you a taste of the depth in even more specific subfields. Also to help you understand what professors are available, what they study, and how they work, so that you can find an advisor and a committee.</p>\n\n<p>After that you start doing research - and it becomes a much more self-motivated and often self-directed endeavor that builds on these foundations. A PhD is about vetting you as a researcher from start-to-finish. And putting you on an initial research trajectory. No one will ever ask your GPA from graduate school once you have your degree. Although it's expected you get good grades by your program (many require A/B's - C's are often failing in grad school - but you're only taking \"in major\" classes now so C's weren't really great for \"in major\" classes in your earlier degree programs). Again though the grade isn't what's important. But how hard you have to work for them is a potential indication of how hare you'll have to push yourself later in the less directed portions of the program. But you'll have much more freedom as to what to research.</p>\n\n<p>I have found your problem is not unique. Many (/Most?/All?) students struggle with what exactly is grad school, and why are they there, and time management. It sounds like time management is something you will have to work on too. Not necessarily because you are bad at it, but because you have a lot of constraints on your time. Holding a job at the same time means you will be a little more removed from your fellow students. You will want to talk to them and get to know them if you can. It will help to know that you aren't in it alone.</p>\n\n<p>In addition to your peers, a good book to help you know that this isn't your own personal hell is: <em>Getting What You Came For</em>. Very affordable survey of grad school. Honestly most school \"handbooks\" should be thrown away and replaced with this. Another good book is <em>A PhD is Not Enough</em> it's a shorter version of the first, but also talks about how your goals and \"the systems\" goals are not 100% in line with each other and you need to be aware of that and how to navigate that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19369,
"author": "Alex",
"author_id": 12946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12946",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>PhD can be extremely tough, for many reasons. I finished the comprehensive exam prep (1st year), at 6 am in the morning, to start my presentation at 9:00. Needless to say it was less than stellar. So, most, if not all PhD candidates went through what you are going through right now. To put salt on the wound, your first article is a pregnancy that seems to last forever. And I'm not even talking about writing the thesis.\nThere will be a point, in this journey, where you're not sure of why you started all this in the first place, where you are on the map, and most painfully where the hell this boat is going. Don't worry, that's normal.</p>\n\n<p>There are a few important points from what I see in your narrative. You're feeling bad because you think your performances are suboptimal, and because you don't want to look bad in front of your advisor, you won't bring up the topic with him/them. He's not really helping either. You're then left with little advice as to how to improve. Then you feel worse, and the situation worsens.</p>\n\n<p>Congratulations, you are now in tail spin. How do you get out of it ?</p>\n\n<p>The beast AKA the PhD topic:\nIt is very much up to you, that's the point of the first year, you can actually decide and then explain why it would benefit from a re-focus. It is the hardest part of the whole stuff. There's no magic recipe, you need to understand, and to accept that what you managed to explore during the first year, is the only material you have to start digging on the right spot. Discussions with your advisor, and with your peers are very important.</p>\n\n<p>The first Year:\nIt's the toughest one. You have graduate courses AND the comprehensive exam. Basically, the only bright spot are the two weeks vacations coming after that. Keep it in mind.</p>\n\n<p>Health (mental and body)\nIt's draining. So you have to take care of yourself. Eat well, sleep well, practice sports, and above all you MUST hang out at least once a week. A patient girl/boy friend is a great asset to have.</p>\n\n<p>Kill the father:\nA much unexplored aspect of the PhD is the relationship student/advisor. The sooner he doesn't act as a father any more, the better.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, you:\nPhD is by nature unstructured. That's what it is, that's what it is for. It's your job to keep the bearings aligned, and to foster great discussions with your peers. If you made it here, it's because your brain functions are what it takes to get through it. So, if you are in trouble at the moment, it's not because you have become dumb overnight.</p>\n\n<p>brain candy, in case you didn't see it : <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FnXgprKgSE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FnXgprKgSE</a> A. Wiles journey through Fermat's last theorem. 7 years.</p>\n\n<p>A great advice from a peer at the time. \"Always start the day with something you can achieve\". So it comes down to your ability to set yourself meaningful targets, which results will accumulate over time.\nGood Luck !</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19235",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14048/"
]
|
19,237 | <p>I wrote a paper about governance mechanisms at StackExchange in which I got a lot of informations out of questions (especially on meta). I have kept all my references. </p>
<p>My teacher is letting us pick which style we want to use for the paper as long as we apply it thoroughly. In my other courses, we use APA but if I start writing (StackExchange, 2014) everytime I use an info out of a question, my paper is going to be illegible. From what I've read, you're only supposed to cite things that you've paraphrased, ideas, not necessarily information that you've found or researched but I do want to give credit where it belongs and I would also like if my teacher would be able to retrace where I've found things but APA doesn't seem to include such a thing as a bibliography. </p>
<p>I would like to:</p>
<ul>
<li>have a bibliography at the end containing the documents I've consulted for my research</li>
<li>be able to have my citations as footnotes</li>
</ul>
<p>Which style should I go for in this case?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19238,
"author": "gman",
"author_id": 12454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One citation style that may be appropriate could be <a href=\"http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Chicago Manual of Style</a> which has two documentation systems: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>notes and bibliography and;</li>\n<li>author-date</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>The notes and bibliography system which should suit as per your question is described on the website as such;</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The notes and bibliography style is preferred by many in the humanities, including those in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography. It accommodates a variety of sources, including esoteric ones less appropriate to the author-date system.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As a History student this is the style that I am using for my masters thesis.</p>\n\n<p>The style uses the following example for a website as per your question.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><strong>Website</strong></p>\n \n <p>A citation to website content can often be limited to a mention in the text or in a note (“As of July 19, 2008, the McDonald’s Corporation listed on its website . . .”). If a more formal citation is desired, it may be styled as in the examples below. Because such content is subject to change, include an access date or, if available, a date that the site was last modified.</p>\n \n <ol>\n <li>“Google Privacy Policy,” last modified March 11, 2009, <a href=\"http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html</a>.</li>\n <li>“McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Safety Facts,” McDonald’s Corporation, accessed July 19, 2008, <a href=\"http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html</a>.</li>\n <li>“Google Privacy Policy.”</li>\n <li>“Toy Safety Facts.”</li>\n </ol>\n \n <p>Google. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11, 2009.\n <a href=\"http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html</a>. \n McDonald’s Corporation. </p>\n \n <p>“McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Safety Facts.” Accessed July 19, 2008. <a href=\"http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html</a>.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19269,
"author": "Robyn",
"author_id": 14077,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14077",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suggest APA. It does have citation styles and there are many wonderful automatic generators out there that are up to date and will create the bibliography for you by merely data scraping website URLs and by entering the ISBN# of whatever book you may have used.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/</a> has a great article</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.bibme.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.bibme.org/</a> is a wonderful generator site I've used numerous times.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23578,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Though I'm not a fan of it in general, in your case the IEEE style could work very well. In the body of the paper, references are numbered in square brackets, like this: [1] and [2,3]. In the bibliography, you'd just have one entry per web page, with the URL. If you use LaTex, it's easy to make these all active hyper links, so that your professor can click on the \"[1]\" to go to the bibliography entry, and then click on the URL to go to the StackExchange web page. It's also possible to make the references hyperlinked in MS Word, but it might take some manual formatting steps to link each reference to each bibliography entry.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/11 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19237",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11673/"
]
|
19,248 | <p>I am an undergraduate at a large public research university in the US, finishing my second year. I have done some theorycrafting around my graduation course requirements, and I have realized that it is possible, with some work (and generous CLEP testing), to graduate with a double major, Math BS + Physics BA, by next May. I would be meeting the bare-minimum requirements for both majors (in particular, for math, I will have only taken the 4-semester calculus series, lin. algebra, and the 2-semester abstract algebra series; plus some extraneous ones e.g. game theory).</p>
<p>If I were to stay the extra year, I would comfortably qualify for a double Math BS + Physics BS, and I would have 3-4 more math classes under my belt (perhaps the 2-semester topology series, graph theory, advanced abstract algebra, real analysis, etc). (edit: this option, Physics BS rather than BA, stresses a more thorough physics courseload; 15 hours of upper level physics classes are required for BS over BA)</p>
<p>edit after several answers: Another 4-year option is to get Physics BA + Math BS, leaving my course load open to taking 3-4 math classes per semester. This, hypothetically, could put my post-lin-algebra courses at 2 sem. abstract algebra, 2 sem. topology, 2 sem. intro analysis, graduate level courses of the above, intro complex analysis, intro graph theory, etc</p>
<p>My intent, if I were to graduate next year, is probably to take a year off from academics, and then apply for graduate/PhD programs in math.</p>
<p>Will it be an issue in being considered for these programs, that I have only taken a meager selection of the course offerings in my undergraduate studies? And might it be offset by the fact that I graduated in three years with a double major?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19253,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This would be a great question to discuss with your advisor, or another faculty member at your school whose opinion you respect.</p>\n\n<p>My opinion, for what it's worth, is that the \"bare-minimum\" 3-year program you describe would be woefully inadequate to prepare you for graduate study in mathematics, and I think most admissions committees would agree. The fact that you did it in 3 years with a double major won't mitigate that. A year of analysis is pretty essential, some topology would be very helpful, and taking a significant number of upper-division math electives will be a great way to build what people call \"mathematical maturity\".</p>\n\n<p>Your 4-year program sounds better, but honestly still a little on the light side. Keep in mind that many applicants to top grad programs will have taken practically every undergraduate course their department offers, and maybe a couple of graduate courses besides, in addition to often having undergraduate research experience. You also want to make sure you get to know (and impress) your mathematics professors well enough that they can write you strong letters \nof recommendation, and taking more math courses is the biggest part of that. </p>\n\n<p>The physics degree on your diploma will be nice, especially if you are looking to do a PhD in mathematical physics, but it may not go a long way to making up for weakness on the math side.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19277,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While Nate's answer mostly covers it, let me be a little more concrete: I just went into the files for graduate admissions at my own institution (the University of Virginia), and looked at the double majors we had admitted or wait listed. I can't give details obviously, but I can say they are all way ahead (curricularly) of where you propose being at the end of your 3 year degree, and probably of the 4 year degree you suggest (6 classes beyond linear algebra is actually not very many). I don't think there's any way that the 3 year degree you suggest could get you admitted into a top 50ish school (in USNW or NRC rankings) without some sort of exceptional factor, and if you have 6 post-linear-algebra classes, your background will still be a big disadvantage, unless you are looking specifically at applied math programs where your physics background will actually be taken into account.</p>\n\n<p>To answer your general question: yes, rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program makes an enormous difference. Graduate programs are under pressure from university administrations to graduate students in a timely manner, and generally don't want to have students with weak backgrounds who will hang around in the program for a long time (or flunk out). Most schools have a set of exams you need to pass before moving on to your thesis, and (just as an example), at UVA, you must pass a topology or analysis exam within 2.5 years of starting the program. Thus, admitting someone with no topology or analysis background would just be setting them up to fail those exams. </p>\n\n<p>While obviously, there's some sort of nebulous notion of talent that schools put a higher premium on (so you also want strong grades, and strong recommendations), background is relatively easy to measure, and is a very important factor in admissions decisions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19289,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Your question makes me a little sad. You are obviously a bright and ambitious student, and you have spent almost two years at a US public research university. You are trying to \"theorycraft\" your future career, which is good. But somehow no one has managed to communicate to you the basic goals of an undergraduate math major and the requirements for graduate study: how did that happen?</p>\n\n<p>To once again answer the title question (the other two answers are completely on point): \"Does rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program matter (for graduate/Phd applications)?\" The answer is <strong>yes, of course</strong>. Not only does it matter, but together with indications of your success in these courses -- course grades together with recommendation letters from your instructors -- <strong>it is what matters the most</strong>. Your question first proposed graduating early with a double major in physics and math, with coursework that to any math PhD admissions committee member looks <em>extremely minimal</em>. This is a terrible plan for getting into a PhD program in mathematics (not just a top one, but any one that I know). </p>\n\n<p>Let me be clear: I am not scolding you. I am lamenting the total lack of advice you have somehow been subjected to. You are not the first bright, ambitious undergraduate who has asked a question on this site which evinces the misconception that the best students get through undergraduate degrees in as few years as possible. This is quite the opposite of the truth: does anyone know where these misconceptions are coming from?!?</p>\n\n<p>Here is my opinion (as someone who served on the graduate committee of a top 50 PhD program in mathematics for four years): unless you want to work cross-disciplinarily in math and physics, the second undergraduate major in physics is not directly helping you get into a PhD program in mathematics. On the other hand, it seems to be stopping you from taking the deeper and more advanced course offerings that are essential for you to even get consideration at a good (or even decent) PhD program in mathematics. If your postgraduate plans include a career in which knowing a little bit about several different things will be beneficial -- and I can imagine that many careers in business and industry are like this -- then a double major could be desirable. However, for a future PhD student, all else being equal a double major is time taken away from the one thing you're supposed to be devoting much more time and energy to learning. </p>\n\n<p>In your case, you absolutely need the fourth year of your undergraduate program in order to be considered for a top program. Unless you absolutely load yourself up with challenging and graduate-level math courses in that last year (which may not be the best idea for other reasons, e.g. it works against the level of your success in these courses), I would in fact be thinking about what to do <em>after you graduate in four years</em> in order to make your grad school application more competitive. You say that you want to take a year off before going back to grad school. If you still want to do that after a four year degree, then thinking about how to get some additional mathematical training in during that year off might be a good idea. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19292,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Seconding the other good answers, I would reiterate that, unless you are doing massive amounts of documentable self-study (which is entirely possible modulo the documentability), the senior-level undergrad or beginning grad-level courses you take substantially affect the appearance of your grad school application in at least two ways. First, your documented exposure to something approaching real mathematics. Second, the letters of recommendation from the faculty who taught those courses, testifying to your (presumably...) excellence in beginning-serious mathematics. Letters of recommendation are a very serious component of grad school applications, and if people can only refer to things scarcely beyond linear algebra, it won't help you.</p>\n\n<p>Indeed, as @Pete L. Clark observed, you are being dis-served by lack of advising about the goals of your undergrad program, and about preparation for grad school. I realize that there are many ways for young people to disconnect from useful-but-official information, and many ways for institutions to fail to communicate effectively, but, either way, you're missing a bunch of critical info, which a site such as this can only nudge you toward.</p>\n\n<p>One more time: the \"minimalist\" version of a math undergrad degree will doom your grad school applications. Finishing in three years versus four doesn't matter at all.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19248",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14068/"
]
|
19,249 | <p>I teach in the school of sciences and engineering in the university where I work. I have asked professors several times if the final exams have to be comprehensive, and I usually get mixed answers.</p>
<p>So I want to ask, for a course with two midterms and a final:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If there is some criteria or organizations that require the final exams to be comprehensive (for instance, does ABET accreditation or legal statute require it?), or does it depend on the school or the professor?</p></li>
<li><p>What are the pros and cons of having a comprehensive final?</p></li>
<li><p>Will your answers to the above questions be different if the course components were 2 best out of 3 midterms plus a final, or if the course was a graduate course instead of undergrad?</p></li>
</ol>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19251,
"author": "JustAskin",
"author_id": 14068,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14068",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At my large public research university (in the US):</p>\n\n<p>In physics, exams are nearly always non-cumulative. The finals are treated essentially as a third midterm, none of which are cumulative.</p>\n\n<p>In math, the it depends on the professor and the course. If it is one of the \"common\"/high-enrollment courses that students in e.g. biology, chemistry, also have to take, then the final is usually cumulative. In courses designed for upper-level math majors only (e.g. topology, graph theory) it is up to the professor, but usually cumulative (usually the courses are very linear; it would be impossible to pass a test over the final material without knowing the material from the midterms).</p>\n\n<p>In humanities, usually not cumulative. Or if cumulative, trivially so (e.g., one or two basic questions about the early material).</p>\n\n<p>edit: I should clarity, it's always up to the professor, I'm just outlining general departmental tendencies</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19252,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To address 1, I've never heard of any such policy on cumulative exams. In my experience, such pedagogical decisions are made solely by the course instructor. They make the decision as to what material appears on the final exam, or even whether to have a final exam at all.</p>\n\n<p>In the case of large multi-section coordinated courses, this decision might be made by the course coordinator (especially if all sections give a common final exam) or by agreement of the various instructors. There might be some expectation that they will respect precedent unless they feel strongly that it should change, in which case they might be expected to discuss it at the department level.</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise, I think any explicit rule about the content or format of exams would be seen as a serious infringement on the instructor's autonomy, which is a central aspect of university teaching.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19258,
"author": "Adrienne",
"author_id": 13729,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13729",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm responding to #2 and 3, as there are no rules regarding #1 that I'm aware of.</p>\n\n<p>Pedagogically, there is evidence that <strong>repeated testing improves learning</strong>. Most of the literature is via authors Karpicke and Roediger. \nHere's a list of resources from a <a href=\"http://psych.wustl.edu/memory/TELC/\">research project</a> at Washington University, and a rather <a href=\"http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/GSI_2011.htm\">overwhelming overview</a> of student learning and good teaching by John Kihlstrom at Berkeley.</p>\n\n<p>I don't see why the benefits of a comprehensive final would be lessened by a \"two out of three\" midterm organization or different for undergrad vs grad level students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19275,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>All of my final exams are cumulative, for a couple reasons:</p>\n\n<p>1) I've always felt odd about non-cumulative exams. It seems to send a message I'd rather not send: <em>“It's okay to forget about what you learned earlier in the course – you won't need that any more.”</em> </p>\n\n<p>2) Often, what gets taught later in the course builds on earlier concepts. If A lays the foundation for B, and B lays the foundation for C, it can be rather challenging to test on C without testing on A and B also. </p>\n\n<p>That said, I try very hard to test on higher-level concepts rather than on minutia, so a cumulative final fits my teaching style. I expect my students to be able to speak intelligently to the main themes of the course. I've told students many times: “Come to class ready to learn, and be ready to engage with the material via the in-class discussions. That's the best way to prep for the exams.” </p>\n\n<p>My goal is to structure my exams so that students who have paid attention in class and learned the material through other assignments should do quite well on the test – without the need to cram or commit the material to short-term memory. “By the last week of the term, you either know this stuff, or you don't,” I tell them. Many of my exam questions are essay questions that require students to analyze a scenario, and synthesize material from different parts of the course. </p>\n\n<p>That might not always work, depending on the nature of the material; some material doesn't lend itself well to such questions. This approach may not be scalable, either. (It's not uncommon for me to have six or seven pages of essay questions per exam. Most of the time, I have between 15 and 30 students per course, which keeps grading manageable. If I had 50 or 60 students, however, I might have to rethink this approach.)</p>\n\n<p>As a footnote, most of my courses are 400/600-level courses. I don't know if the style I've outlined would be a good fit for freshmen and 100-level material. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19249",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9547/"
]
|
19,256 | <p>Is it acceptable or ok to report on students cheating? Many times during a test or an exam, I have seen students in front of me either passing notes, or otherwise collaborating whenever the professor isn't looking.</p>
<p>I don't want to get into trouble, and I don't know if it's "alright" to rat on fellow classmates. Part of me thinks they deserve being caught out, by virtue of trying to cheat their way through the course. However, I feel like I would get found out by other students if they were caught cheating.</p>
<p>What is the right course of action here? To be clear, I would never raise an accusation in the middle of an exam; it would only lead to me being ostracized by my peers.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19257,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Fundamentally, this is a question with no easy answer. Ethics would state that you should <strong>definitely</strong> report someone violating the \"honor code\" (or whatever equivalent of it your university has) by cheating on an exam. However, there are also some problems with this: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It may be difficult for the exam proctor to prove that cheating has taken place, even if you have observed the communication.</li>\n<li>Reporting it after the exam is not really possible, because again it will be impossible to prove afterward.</li>\n<li>Making an accusation during the examination could lead to disruptions for many students, including yourself.</li>\n<li>If you publicly raise an accusation of cheating during an examination, this could lead to ostracism from your classmates, which may be counterproductive to your educational career (in the present class and in the future).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>So I think you need to set those two issues against one another and decide what is the better alternative for you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19259,
"author": "Adrienne",
"author_id": 13729,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13729",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As an instructor, I want to know if there is an environment that allows cheating. Even if the student can't provide proof or only told me afterwards or anonymously, I can take action on future exams by better proctoring, exam versioning, and seating charts.</p>\n\n<p>So telling the teacher afterward would protect individual students but improve the quality of the course overall, which is a win-win.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19265,
"author": "Amal Murali",
"author_id": 14075,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14075",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Honor is doing what’s right when no one is looking.</strong> If your institution's Honor Code requires you to report cheating, I'd suggest you report the action to your professor or a higher authority. This is good for multiple reasons:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>You can prevent the cheating student from gaining an unfair advantage over his or her fellow students.</li>\n<li>If they're caught (and punished), they might realize their mistake. If you never report the cheating, this student might sail through the rest of the term repeating the same mistake.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>However make sure the suspected cheater doesn't come to know who reported him/her. You can meet the professor after the exam and explain what happened. If you don't wish to reveal the person's name, don't. If you're not comfortable with talking to a professor about your classmates, you can send an unsigned letter, explaining in detail what happened during the exam and if possible, include some ideas on how to stop them next time.</p>\n\n<p>Before you do anything, think of the consequences. What if the other student discovers you're the one who reported the cheating? How would you feel if you confronted the cheater directly? If you can't imagine any of these situations, I suggest you let it slide. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19272,
"author": "Erran Morad",
"author_id": 11743,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11743",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You could send an anonymous e-mail to the professor, informing him that you saw rampant cheating, without naming the students involved.</p>\n\n<p>As an aside, request your professor to NOT mention the anonymous e-mails to anyone. If you have a reputation of being the most virtuous person in the class, then they might target you, even without evidence.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19273,
"author": "Rafael_Espericueta",
"author_id": 14079,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14079",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a professor for over a quarter of a century, I can assure you that your prof would like to know if cheating is going on. When I've been made aware of such nefarious activities, I've been able to catch the culprits on a subsequent exam, by giving the cheaters slightly different versions of the test. Although students engaging in cheating are ultimately cheating themselves, it's still nice when they are caught. This lessens the chance they will make it to Wall Street or Med school, or into government, where their cheating can have serious repercussions for us all.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19280,
"author": "Better person",
"author_id": 14095,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14095",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Why would people think this is okay? \nYou talk about honor, but it is clearly an act of egoism.\nYou feel bad, because you did not get the same advantage, and therefore you hurt the person who received an advantage.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>You should report that <em>someone</em> has cheated, but you should not tell the teacher/professor who it was. That way the security will improve, but you will not hurt your fellow classmates.</p></li>\n<li><p>If the teacher does not believe you, ignore the fool. To be trustworthy is an important trait, if you report the person who did it, you are breaking his/her trust.</p></li>\n<li><p>Why do you think you feel bad about it in the first place? Your mother thought you right. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Going around someones back and reporting them, making them receive a punishment, is in <em>no case</em> honorable. Please do not listen to these puny people. Faith in humanity is low these days...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19285,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it acceptable or ok to report on students cheating?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, but if you're not convinced by the arguments in the other answers, consider this: <strong>is it okay to cheat?</strong></p>\n\n<p>If not, then if those other students can do something that is not okay, why not you?</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>That being said: the attitude that it's okay to do something wrong if other people are also doing something wrong is not a good one to hold in general. In this case it happens to lead you to the correct course of action though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19286,
"author": "Chris Leary",
"author_id": 11905,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11905",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm a college professor and I have very little tolerance for cheating. Yes, I would like to know if it's going on, and, yes, I expect students who witness it to tell me so I can take preventive action.</p>\n\n<p>I also used to be a competitive golfer. In a tournament every golfer is expected to monitor the actions of the other players in his group to make sure no one bends or breaks the rules. Since tournament officials cannot be everywhere on the course at all times, each individual is responsible for protecting the field by making sure that no one gets an unfair advantage over the field. That is a responsibility that competitive golfers take very seriously.</p>\n\n<p>The student, likewise, needs to assure that there is a level playing field for everyone. Reporting cheaters is one way of doing just that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19293,
"author": "Kogesho",
"author_id": 7773,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7773",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suggest you send an anonymous e-mail to your instructor about who cheated in the exam and how, so that the instructor can take precautions, if he cares at all.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Who not directly tell during the exam?</strong></p>\n\n<p>One reason is that if 2 students are exchanging answers, without any proof such as cheat sheet, then it is your word against theirs. In such a case, since there is no proof, their exam will be valid but you will be a rat.</p>\n\n<p>Also, although some people here think that you don't need friends who cheat (as if that is the only consequence), the world is not that fair. You may end up being the rat and completely ignored, and worst case, bullied. Some people are just cruel and may try to blame you instead of themselves for the failure. How they handle such a situation depends on their character, and you should not risk it. No honor code is more important than your happiness and comfort during your years in college. If the honor code is that important, your instructor should do his responsiblities first. </p>\n\n<p>You are a student, not an instructor. Every instructor once was a student and even if they never cheated (very unlikely!), they witnessed other people that cheated. Any instructor should know that given the chance, a student may cheat. It is the instructor's responsiblity to create the environment that does not allow cheating. You shouldn't care more than he cares.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19300,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ol>\n<li><p>This is a personal choice; there is no definite answer.</p></li>\n<li><p>What is \"ethical\" depends on the culture. In Russia reporting someone doing something wrong or mildly illegal is generally considered unacceptable, whereas in the United States it is generally considered acceptable.</p></li>\n<li><p>If you don't want to get into trouble, don't do anything. </p></li>\n<li><p>In most cases the instructor probably knows that there is some cheating going on. This is a part of life. </p></li>\n<li><p>Try to see both sides of the coin. Imagine a single mother with two children working two jobs and taking some classes at night. She doesn't really need this calculus anyway, and it is not even her major. Would the world come to an end if she unfairly gets a B- so she could graduate?\nLife is really a complicated thing... \n(As a full disclosure, as an instructor I used to be very particular about punishing cheating, even when no hard evidence was present. However, as we get older, we learn that the world is not black and white...) </p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19305,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It strongly depends on the academic culture in your country. In most Western countries, the answer would be <strong>yes</strong>. The cheating is considered something unethical, and it's something one should be ashamed of. You should, still, do it (the reporting, not the cheating!) as anonymously as possible. </p>\n\n<p>However, in some other countries, the <strong>group solidarity</strong> is more important that the <strong>written rules</strong> and reporting to the officials the <strong>minor</strong> cases (where nobody is hurt) is considered <strong>unethical</strong>. </p>\n\n<p>For example, in Poland, I would strongly discourage anyone from reporting the exam cheaters to the proffesors, because if they get caught (the reporters, not the cheaters), they risk really <strong>serious</strong> social consequences in the student community, which may severe their future opportunities (even for accademic career). Even if the professors are actively against cheating, they may feel uncomfortable with someone reporting it, and they may share that information with collegues, which may end up being public in end effect. </p>\n\n<p>It's the professor's obligation to assure noone is cheating. Nowadays, thanks to Internet, it's quite easy to keep up with the newest techniques. If they don't do that, in some cases, it's even possible they don't mind when students use 'a little help'.</p>\n\n<p>Because of a lot of comments I'd like to express my personal opinion: <strong>cheating is bad</strong>. But the system that fights cheating by encouraging the students to report their collegues is bad too.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19318,
"author": "Brian S",
"author_id": 9209,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9209",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this exam.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I had to write (and sign) this statement on almost all of my exams throughout my university career. My university had a very draconian policy with regard to cheating, as I mentioned in a comment: the default punishment for a first-time offender was expulsion, if the case came before the Honor Council. (Of course, not every case brought before the Council was determined to <em>be</em> an offender, in which case there was no punishment at all. On rare occasions, the punishment was something other than expulsion, usually suspension.) As implied by the statement above, it was against the university's policy both to receive (unauthorized) help on an exam <em>and to give it</em>: both the person passing the note and the one receiving it would get in trouble with the Honor Council, even if the former individual did all of the exam work himself. (You were not punished if someone cheated by looking over your shoulder, but they would slap you on the wrist and tell you to be more careful in the future.)</p>\n\n<p>The integrity of the university was very important in that micro-culture, and I think that if you asked this question of anyone there -- student or professor -- you'd get the same answer, \"yes.\"</p>\n\n<p>This led many professors comfortable doing things like assigning take-home exams which were closed-book.</p>\n\n<p>All that said, the answer to this question <em>does</em> depend on the university's culture (and the culture of the country). For example, when I told an Italian friend of mine that I had a take-home exam and I was not permitted to use my textbook or notes while doing it, he assumed that everyone in the class would be cheating. When I then told him about the quoted statement above that I had to write and sign on the exam, his view of the situation flipped: if I had to write and sign something like <em>that</em>, of <em>course</em> nobody would cheat! I find the sudden shift in opinion an interesting insight into his own culture.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19320,
"author": "Konrad Höffner",
"author_id": 7324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7324",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Maybe German culture is different in this regard but I would never report someone for cheating but instead talk to the cheaters personally. However in areas were people are in danger if the students lack knowledge through cheating (pilots, medicine, ...) I would tell them to report themselves or I would do it myself.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19338,
"author": "Superbest",
"author_id": 244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/244",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Academically, it is in your best interest to report it. If the class is curved, the cheaters are not only unfairly outshining you, but they are unfairly <em>lowering your grade</em>. Even if it's not curved, unless it's an enormous class, the professor's perceptions of who did well may still be influenced by who did how well. If a student that the professor expects to score low (based on their in-class participation) instead cheats and scores high, the professor may decide that the exam was easier than he originally thought, and value your honestly earned mark less.</p>\n\n<p>In the long term, if cheating is rampant in your school, this will soon become known. The value of <em>your</em> degree will drop even if you didn't cheat, because how can I know <em>you</em> didn't get your degree by being one of the infamous cheaters, and managing to avoid getting caught?</p>\n\n<p>In a class where all exams are multiple choice and grading is completely objective and not curved, cheaters have no effect on you (except for the long term consequences stated above). Only then you could say that pragmatically, neither reporting nor not reporting helps or hurts you appreciably, so you might as well not bother.</p>\n\n<p>But then there is also the ethical aspect. Cheating is bad, you are expected to not cheat and report cheaters by the instructor and school administration, and you probably even signed agreements and made honor pledges to this effect. So, it would be dishonest for you not to report it - not reporting isn't even a valid choice, it would be a dereliction of your contractual and ethical obligations. In practice, you will never \"get caught\" and be punished for failing to report cheating - but whether you get caught is immaterial to ethics.</p>\n\n<p>So, speaking in terms of your credentials in school and beyond, there is absolutely no reason not to report it, and strong reasons against not reporting (eg. you promised in writing that you would report when you enrolled). It would be extremely unusual for a professor to somehow punish you for reporting.</p>\n\n<p>But that's not the whole story: Like it or not, the people who you reported will hate you for it. They will tell their friends to hate you for it. If they are popular, you will quickly become very unpopular. Not all your classmates may have the same concept of integrity, and some may hate you for \"siding with the establishment and betraying your comrades\" (as they see it).</p>\n\n<p>Your classmates may one day end up being your colleagues. If you get a reputation as a \"rat\" who has dubious allegiances, and cannot be relied on to have his friends' back (even though the cheaters are probably not your friends, they are only united with you in their struggle to get good grades) against a perceivedly antagonistic and unfair institution, it may become difficult for you to be seen as trustworthy.</p>\n\n<p>Consider how in history there have been oppressive, unjust regimes which employed \"informants\" to report on people who try to circumvent or oppose the oppression. Clearly, this is not the same as reporting cheating: For one, academic cheating policies are clearly just, ethical and reasonable (unlike oppressive regimes). But the point is that following a rule is not automatically a just action. It is hard to definitively say what is just and what is unjust, so a lack of skepticism towards even apparently just rules is taken by some as evidence of inability to reject rules even when they are unjust, and generally lack of critical thinking ability.</p>\n\n<p>To answer your question, you must ask yourself: Are you an idealist, or a pragmatist? If an idealist, there is no question that you should report the cheating. But if a pragmatist, unfortunately, it depends. You must further ask, which do you value more: Your reputation among your peers, or your formal academic credentials?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19360,
"author": "TwoThe",
"author_id": 12798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12798",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends where they are cheating.</p>\n\n<p>If they are cheating on a simple test or exam that is just one of many, don't report them. Such tests do not show the general skill of a student, just what he/she knows at a specific point in time. A good student can fail on a test and a bad one can succeed dependent on way too many factors. It is however a good thing to tell the student afterwards that if he/she wants to succeed, they cannot just base it on luck and cheating.</p>\n\n<p>If they are cheating on an important exam, a final or similar to an extend that is beyond negligible, then do report them. If they are caught at a later point, it is possible that their degree is later revoked, which might not only cause them to loose a complete year, they can even loose a job or worse. </p>\n\n<p>You can cheat during a test, but you cannot cheat when people later depend on your expected skills.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19512,
"author": "Salvador Dali",
"author_id": 7096,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7096",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You asked this question on the place, where most of the people are actually professors or want to become one. There is no surprise that mostly you will here one answer "Yes, this is ok, encouraged and should be so". But this is life, and there is no easy answers here.</p>\n<p>Also some of the people here compare cheating on the exam as mugging and may be some other crime things, but in my opinion it is not even close. Just to compare, I am really curious how many from professors here have never cheated in any form during their academic life? And how many of them have never stolen anything? I think the number will be different.</p>\n<p>It is up to you to decide. What what you can gain, what you can lose and come up with your decision. Yes, I agree, that teachers want to know who cheated/abused them, but students want to have trust in their peers and the same way as teacher can assume that cheaters violate the trust in them, your fellow students can assume that you violated a trust in them. Also more and more students lose their trust in education, because it does not really represent the knowledge and sometimes <code>A</code> on the exam only shows that you was able to get <code>A</code> on the exam (nothing regarding you knowledge). So why would you memorize <code>when Napoleon raised to power</code> if any monkey with Wikipedia can give you this result and half of his biography in one minute.</p>\n<p>So think it in this way.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/29227-it-s-just-business-nothing-personal\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">It is just business, nothing personal</a></p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Weigh pros and cons in your situation.</p>\n<p><strong>Pros can be</strong>:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>you will score higher on the exam on average</li>\n<li>teacher will like you more and you can get advantage later</li>\n<li>teacher comes to think that you are not a cheater</li>\n<li>you restore equality</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>Cons can be</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>your classmates will hate/not trust you (not only one that cheated). Maybe you will never get help from them neither in your school life or even after it. Being outcast is hard, being outcast who needs help even harder</li>\n<li>teacher might think that you are a cheater too and want to hide yourself this way</li>\n</ul>\n<p>So if I would be in a situation when I and 30 people, whom I do not know, fighting for 2 Harvard (or whatever you people value) sits. Then there is no way I would be quite. But if these are people with whom I play basketball taking math/history/language exam, than good luck to you guys, and if you need help I will try to help you.</p>\n<p>So life is not back and white. Most of the time it is in grayish. To put this even further: <code>One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter</code>.</p>\n<p><strong>You also might have a strong belief that cheating is terrible, or something similar</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>you, fighter for justice in entire world, helped to restore justice. (Some people do believe in the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">just world</a>)</li>\n<li>you genuinely think that this is wrong</li>\n<li>you do not like people who do this (or they do not like you)</li>\n<li>you like the teacher and want to help him</li>\n<li>you want to change how cheating is viewed</li>\n</ul>\n<p>In such case, think have you ever cheated yourself. I have seen a lot of people who can not stand cheating, but cheat by themselves. With one of them I even had discussion about it, when the person came to me asking for a solutions to programming homework. Funny enough, this person was rising her concern how sharing is bad and had all the discussion with instructor how should he prevent it. So when I asked what changed in her views about the world, to my surprise, she was not looking at it as a cheating. In her eyes it was just minor help for the person in need. No matter how hard I tried to show that this is exactly what she was fighting against, she did not want to hear about this as cheating.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59025,
"author": "Rafael_Espericueta",
"author_id": 14079,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14079",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm surprised and chagrined at the number of people posting here who seem to think academic cheating isn't such a big deal. But it is! Fraudulent studies have been published that have resulted in many deaths. In one famous case, the author turned out to be a habitual cheater. His exposure destroyed this researcher's career, and he also faces a number of lawsuits by the relatives of deceased victims of these published lies (clinical studies based on his lies were underway for years before he was caught). Such fraud can destroy the public's trust in the validity of scientific studies. The widespread acceptance of cheating is just plain wrong. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19256",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7856/"
]
|
19,268 | <p>I 'm writing a Master thesis. I have some terms that should be defined.
Where should I put this section? In the introduction or literature review chapter?
Thank you</p>
<p>Additional Information</p>
<p>I think there are always exceptions to the general rule of writing theses. That's, some may not have a supervisor, guidelines, etc. This is another story.
Concerning definitions of terms, they can be presented as a glossary or discussed in a separate section. Where this section should be put is my question. I have seen theses having it in the introduction while others in literature review chapter discussing each term in detail.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Example of a thesis discussing definitions in the literature review chapter: Contesting the Culture of the Doctoral Degree: Candidates’ Experiences of Three Doctoral Degrees in the School of Education, RMIT University. <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:6738/Maxwell.pdf&ei=3lRKU_XRJIqX1AX57YGQBw&usg=AFQjCNH49qA8whbEKYfW7o0ZUc3y14w-gQ&sig2=E43cEtacwZYnamibAbYLBQ" rel="nofollow">Link</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>A handbook for writing Master thesis recommends discussing definitions in the introduction: Bui, Yvonne N. How to write a master's thesis. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, c2009.
You can have access to a summary of the book <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDAQFjAB&url=http://pirate.shu.edu/~baoxuemi/Reading_Notes_from_How_to_write_a_master_thesis.pdf&ei=w1VKU9fAL_PY0QXgsIGoCA&usg=AFQjCNFI14tKPiUSY0tH5-Jq61Y777haDw&sig2=iaSCx84Qcykd1ButF9V7lA" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, what is the difference between discussing definition of terms in the introduction and doing it in the literature review chapter?
If the literature review chapter is about reviewing previous research on the topic, why should one allocate a whole section for example to defining a term or concept?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19271,
"author": "Sam",
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"text": "<p>In the guidelines for my Masters thesis we were told to put our glossary after the contents page and before the abstract section, with its own entry in the contents page. Does your course/institution not have any such guidelines?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19287,
"author": "James T",
"author_id": 13203,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13203",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've often encountered this type of problem in my own academic writing (and not only in theses). The problem is that it's often difficult to talk about something before you've defined what it is. But at the same time, it's awkward to write so much expository material before being able to talk about your own stuff. It's up to you to work out, for your document in particular, the best way to present these necessary definitions.</p>\n\n<p>Given that you want to say what your work is about as soon as possible, you can't avoid mentioning at least a few of these technical terms before introducing them formally. For one thing, you may well have to put them in the title! Often, you can present <em>just enough</em> in the abstract and introduction to allow readers to get an idea of the technicalities, but not overwhelm them with detail. The trick is to make sure your presentation is accurate and useful. If you make it too vague (\"the Riemann Hypothesis is a very hard problem\") then nobody is helped.</p>\n\n<p>A literature review chapter is often a natural place to put definitions. It's hard to say anything meaningful about the literature if you haven't introduced the terms that the literature talks about. Also, exploring the past contributions to your subject certainly includes identifying who came up with particular definitions, who disagreed, how they adapted the definitions, and so on. This is the case for the dissertation in your first link, which defines \"research\" in the literature review, in the context of conflicting definitions of what research actually is (p19). The author still talks about research in the preceding pages - but that is the point where she sets the scene for her own work, using that definition in particular.</p>\n\n<p>Material which is more basic or less contested could be introduced earlier, if you like. If it is general background, which readers need to know in order to understand anything you've done, but which the thesis is not particularly \"about\", then the introduction is a fine place for it.</p>\n\n<p>Equally, definitions could be in their own section - either towards the beginning, or as an appendix. I often see this in documents where the definitions are basic reference material. Some readers will know them already, and skip the chapter; others can read in more detail. Again, this option separates the definitions from the literature review, on the basis that the definitions are simply fundamental to the field.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, the choice is yours, unless your institution tells you what to do. I hope these thoughts will be helpful as you consider which option is best for presenting your work.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/12 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19268",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13102/"
]
|
19,295 | <p>I'm teaching an online lab (to accompany an in-person course) to undergrads in their 3rd or 4th year of an engineering curriculum this semester. The aim of the lab is <em>not</em> to teach them any particular technical skills. It's only meant to supplement the <em>content</em> of the course by exposing them to some more advanced concepts in a hands-on way. The lab itself is the means, not the goal.</p>
<p>So beyond a single "orientation" lab, they don't get a whole lot of training in debugging things that go wrong in the lab, and I don't expect them to become advanced users of the lab infrastructure. They're encouraged to post questions on a course forum if they have trouble running a lab exercise, and I answer their questions there.</p>
<p>Having said that, some students post questions that would be closed immediately on a Stack Exchange site for lack of detail, and for good reason. Questions like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can't log in to the website, please help.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I run the experiment, it gives me an error. Can somebody help me???</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can't see the results of the experiment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>with no further details. These are perfectly reasonable things to ask about, but the student hasn't even attempted to give me any details as to what went wrong. In the "real world," people that ask questions like this won't usually get help.</p>
<p>Since I operate the computing infrastructure for the lab, I can actually find out the specifics of what happened by checking the student's username against the server logs. So I can give them an answer even if they ask a really incomplete question (e.g., I can check the server logs and see that their experiment failed because they mistyped a command).</p>
<p>But I'm not sure if I should answer their questions (because I can, and I want to encourage them to ask questions if they have trouble), or if I should try to train them to ask better questions.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>On the one hand: it seems like I am doing them a disservice by not teaching them how to ask for help properly.</p></li>
<li><p>On the other hand: students are (legitimately) frustrated when they're using infrastructure they haven't been extensively trained in, and they can't get it to work. If I try to get them to ask better questions, they'll feel like I'm being deliberately unhelpful and making them jump through hoops to get an answer to their question. (I know this because that's been their reaction the few times I tried this.) They may stop asking questions and just give up on the lab exercises.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Should I risk the actual course goal (delivering content to the students) in favor of a general educational goal (teaching them how to ask questions)?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Is there a way to train students to ask better questions without making them feel like I'm not helping them?</strong></p>
<p>Just to clarify: I already provide answers to commonly asked questions, and a lot of material to help students formulate better questions <em>before</em> they ask. Some students ignore that material and ask very non-specific questions anyways. My question is how to address this once they've asked the question: should I walk them through the process of reformulating it before I answer? Is there a way to do so without frustrating them further?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19296,
"author": "Layla",
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"text": "<p>You should recommend your students that before posting a question they should REALLY try for themselves to solve it out; and at the end if they send you the question, ask them to submit all the details to you. So questions like \"my program does not run\" are not acceptable. You will see a change in their attitudes.</p>\n\n<p>Also remember that in the way you can get some questions that maybe will seem silly to you, but they are learning; and that is a process. I bet if you ask some question to another professor or a renewed researcher maybe your question will seem also silly to them.</p>\n\n<p>Bottom line, try to give the advice that I told you in the first part of this post, and remember that your task is teaching for now; and that requires patience and skills (which you will get in the long run)</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19297,
"author": "Sam",
"author_id": 13778,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13778",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It sounds like what you need is a couple of generalised forms/web forms and/or a student driven wiki/knowledge base specific to this lab. The latter is obviously more strenuous to implement, but might pay off in the longer term if you are going to be teaching this course for several more years.</p>\n\n<p>As for the forms approach, a stickied post on your forum with clustering like below might be a good starting point:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>general interface issues: can't log on, can't work out how to find x/y/z command</li>\n<li>execution issues: errors and their likely resolutions</li>\n<li>other: can't find results, stylistic questions about approaches etc</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Within each section you can indicate steps for them to proceed through on their own, both in resolution of specific issues outlined as well as in general, while also providing a format for a question if that doesn't solve their problem. This approach can address your goals simultaneously: showing them how to formulate technical questions properly, requiring a modicum of thought and problem solving to proceed and transferring knowledge with less burden on the teacher for the generic queries, freeing you up to spend more time on the specific or advanced ones!</p>\n\n<p>To answer you more specifically: I think it is reasonable to require that the effort put into the question at least equals the effort required to answer it. Asking if they have tried the solutions in the FAQ or other questions should be a standard first response to such a vague question, then using logs/user to steer a dialogue to reach a solution. I think a good benchmark for focus/specificity would be 'could I help them without omniscient access?'</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19301,
"author": "Akavall",
"author_id": 13088,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13088",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In class there are always good students and not so good students (I know you are teaching an online lab, but still). Do you feel that even goods students are having problems formulating questions? </p>\n\n<p>If only not so good students have that problem, then it is probably a case of laziness or not care attitude. There is no much you can do about that. If you try they'll probably just get frustrated. And they probably can ask very good questions about something care about. [I think this is the case].</p>\n\n<p>If even goods students have that problem, you should explain that their future co-workers or people in online-communities would not be able to help them, if they don't provide more details, and therefore they should provide more details in questions. Good students should pick it up quickly. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19302,
"author": "Soronume",
"author_id": 14104,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14104",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Being a student myself I know how frustrating it can be to work with technics or facilities you don't know enough about. Sometimes this means asking fully detailed questions can be tricky.</p>\n\n<p>But there is a difference between a student that tries to ask a question to get help with their problem, and one that just declares that they have a problem and thinks it is another persons business to deal with it. What you posted above is the latter. \nThey have encountered a problem and instead of trying to get help to solve it they try to make you solve it. That might even be clever, because as long as you DO solve the problem, they get maximum effect with a minimum of effort. And as soon as students realise that, even the good students won't bother to read your FAQs anymore, because it is a waste of time, when you obviously can identify and solve a problem as soon as they write \"Help, I have a problem.\" </p>\n\n<p>Additionally you have to keep in mind, that as a student you often take from the experience that people don't respond to your question of, \"can anyone help me\" as indicating that this person is just checking, whether someone responds. It is not meant to be a question, but a phrase to start a communication about the problem. That is something adapted from face to face communication. In the real world you don't go to people and start with a 5 minute monologue to your problem, you ask \"Hey would you help me?\" Wait for a \"Sure what is it.\" And than give your monologue.</p>\n\n<p>So what I read above is not a question it is the reflex of a student to a problem. Before even thinking they are posting (in my generation a common reflex in every situation - we are the tldr - too long didn't read generation). If I were you I would respond with a reflex. Just answer with a standard answer that explains, that you need more detail to help. Students who get frustrated by this are already frustrated and beyond your reach. \nIf on the other hand a student tried to ask a proper question and just failed, you should provide the answer and give a hint on how his question could have been better. </p>\n\n<p>How frustrated your student will be is less a question of what you respond, than of how you\nrespond. \"I could solve your problem, but I wont because of your stupid question\" is of course frustrating. But even in a standard answer you can demonstrate that you care, that you take the other person and his time serious, that you would like to help and that you need more information in order to do so. I would try to phrase it, but as you undoubtedly realised I'm not a native English speaker, so I leave that to you. Just don't advertise the fact that you are trying to teach them something. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19303,
"author": "RKDA",
"author_id": 14106,
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"text": "<p>In teaching martial arts, what we expect from a new student, and what we expect from an experienced student are completely different. Even a student experienced in one style, is not expected to be of the same skill as a student of equal belt or rank, when they change style. </p>\n\n<p>The methodology here, as applied to your situation would be as follows...\nAsk the correct question, along with providing the answer. Over time, the expectation is that there will be fewer times when the correct question will need to be explained and more times when it will be asked in the first place. </p>\n\n<p>Something along the lines of:</p>\n\n<p>The question you asked: \"blah blah blah\"\nThe place where the question is answered: document, memo, FAQ, whatever\nThe question you should have asked: \"how do I do Xxxx?\"\nThe answer: \"insert tab a into slot b\"</p>\n\n<p>The first couple of times each person gets the whole answer.\nAfter that, you start removing lines of the answer.<br>\nTelling them where the answer is, and make them go look it up, is the first step.\nOver time, you get to the point where you just parrot back bad questions, with no additional response. In the case of \"good\" questions, you provide both the answer, and some sort of recognition of the form \"this was a good question\".</p>\n\n<p>The hard part of this sort of approach, is remembering to reset your expectations with each new batch of students. Remembering that each of them will arrive at the level of competence at different times.</p>\n\n<p>Hope that helps.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19304,
"author": "Paul",
"author_id": 14107,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14107",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To me it seems pretty simple. Stop beating around the bush and tell them to not waste your time. If they want a specific answer then they have to give you a specific question. Or as an alternative you can ask equally bad questions until they ask you more in detail. </p>\n\n<p>In your examples above:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Q - I can't log in to the website, please help.</p>\n \n <p>A - How did you try to log in? Please help.</p>\n \n <p>Q - When I run the experiment, it gives me an error. Can somebody help\n me???</p>\n \n <p>A - Help me first? What experiment and what error?</p>\n \n <p>Q - I can't see the results of the experiment.</p>\n \n <p>A - What experiment? What steps did you take?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>After going back and forth a few times even \"slow\" students will catch on to that to loose less time emailing back and forth, they have to ask more specific questions from the start.</p>\n\n<p>Keep your answers equally short, and use \"their\" language. When they give you more information, ask more detailed questions. They will find out the answer in time.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19306,
"author": "Trylks",
"author_id": 7571,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7571",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Nobody replies with RTFM and STFW anymore, we are losing the traditions of the Internet and that is only bad.</p>\n\n<p>Students should learn to make better questions, but they should also learn something much more important <em>how to answer their own questions</em>, because at some point they will not be students anymore and they may not have anyone to ask their questions (specially in research, where people are meant to find knowledge beyond the state of the art).</p>\n\n<p>There are some related readings (I can think of now) in this context:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">How to ask questions</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=172086\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">How not to ask questions</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://hwrnmnbsol.livejournal.com/148664.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Ask the duck</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"https://superuser.com/questions/how-to-ask\">How to ask</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Also, don't give a man a fish, teach him to fish. In general I agree with this: <a href=\"http://blog.codinghorror.com/rubber-duck-problem-solving/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Rubber duck problem solving</a></p>\n\n<p>But... (there is always a but, nothing is ever so simple not to have it), additionally to giving students the tools for them to answer their own questions it's important to give them the information so that they can do that. There are a number of things that work quite well in that sense.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Clear definitions, terms, pointers, references and maybe even a glossary. It's much easier to search on the Internet for additional information when you can write a few words on a search box.</li>\n<li>Detailed step-by-step instructions of the set-up and all the things they should do to get their work done. (RTFM is quite pointless if there is no manual in the first place).</li>\n<li>A FAQ. If you are getting the same question repeatedly, then it's likely that something is not clear (which we could say it's your fault...) and it may be good to have a FAQ. If the FAQ deals not only with singular and particular questions but groups of questions then that's even better. E.g.(@cs): \"I have an error in the code, how can I solve it?\" There are many possible errors and the way to solve most of them is debugging, some instructions about how to debug would be very useful to solve <em>many</em> questions.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>About your final questions:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>should I walk them through the process of reformulating it before I\n answer? Is there a way to do so without frustrating them further?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, definitively. I would consider forcing them to reformulate the question is good for them and helping them to do so is very kind. Frustration may be good as well, as long as it is not desperation. Desperation could be good, but it's not for everyone (sorry, I've to link <a href=\"http://www.heavensinspirations.com/carrots-eggs-coffee.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">this</a>). I'd personally suggest to help them to improve their questions by asking your own, which very likely you can copy and paste from a template, because there should be a pattern in those questions. Allegedly, Socrates didn't make many friends by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">asking questions</a>, so try not to ask more than necessary.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, this \"template\" or process is something they should be able to learn and do by themselves, to make better questions and (if possible) to answer their own questions by themselves. Answering in this way would be teaching by example. You can also make the template explicit and part of the FAQ or a sticky post, teaching by example is not incompatible with other forms of teaching.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19337,
"author": "Helen",
"author_id": 14147,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14147",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>All this is a life style preference.</p>\n\n<p>What do you have the attention span for? There is no \"right way\".\nHow do you want things to happen.</p>\n\n<p>Answering inconsiderate questions leads to only one thing, more inconsiderate questions.</p>\n\n<p>The only way to significantly reduce the number of inconsiderate questions being asked is to get a reputation for low tolerance to them. Many people fail to consider what information is useful or required to supply an answer when asking. Why bother thinking when you can use someone else's brain at the price of only moving your mouth a little?</p>\n\n<p>Most people take the rude approach when they get bored of this, which is just as useless. I use the sarcastic. Last time someone walked to me and asked me what I was doing when I was making a salad in front of their eyes I said, \"Building a vegetable based space ship, what did you think I was doing?\"</p>\n\n<p>For the persistently annoying people you can add a sour note: \"Here's the salad, want some extra cyanide to go with your lazy question?\" (and you put a bit of salt when you say it).</p>\n\n<p>When I have the attention span for it, I say \"try to answer your own question from my perspective...\" They then ask it again and realise that they need extra information to go with it. When they've made this extra effort you can then choose to answer their question.</p>\n\n<p>The shortest way of doing this is using one word \"Define?\", \"How?\" , \"Why?\" ... mostly people understand they need to rephrase or add detail.</p>\n\n<p>In any case there is no polite way of doing it. You will always find people unhappy about YOU not going out of YOUR way to solve THEIR problems. Makes no difference if they could solve them by applying a brain cell to the task for 30 seconds...</p>\n\n<p>You no doubt have co workers who get asked way less broken questions. Observe their behavior and emulate or integrate.</p>\n\n<p>Regards Helen.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19364,
"author": "JvR",
"author_id": 14161,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14161",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Should I risk the actual course goal (delivering content to the students) in favor of a general educational goal (teaching them how to ask questions)?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, and you don't really have to. (Though the goal definitely is lofty.)</p>\n\n<p>It is certainly frustrating when people offer no context or <em>appear</em> to make no effort in the question, because that makes it more difficult and costly for you to help them. You also seem to be in a position where it is expected of you to help them to the best of your ability, so ignoring people may not be an option.</p>\n\n<p>When helping people in general, I find two strategies especially helpful:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Assume ignorance over malice/laziness. For all we know, the students are computer-illiterate. It takes experience and knowledge to know what context is relevant and what isn't. Computers are magic!</p></li>\n<li><p>Frame any questions as you asking them for help, rather than telling them that they failed to provide information you need. Avoid sarcasm or jokes at their expense. (\"Sure, I'll just scroll through a couple of days of network traffic to look for failed login attempts. Not too many of those, right?\")</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is there a way to train students to ask better questions without making them feel like I'm not helping them?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>To prevent it from feeling like a brush-off, show that you care about solving their problem by leaving the door open and offering an inviting hand. <strong>Do</strong> refer them to standard texts that you or your institution have provided, perhaps even quote a relevant part if possible, but do not end the reply there, because it will appear as final.</p>\n\n<p>Give it your best guess, even if your best guess is a sort of standard response, and solicit extra information from them if it doesn't resolve their issue. Ask specific questions that you may need, like user name, estimated time of the problem, and let them know that this sort of information helps you find and diagnose the issue for them.</p>\n\n<p>Some (most?) people won't write back to you. That's okay. Perhaps the problem was temporary and resolved itself. Perhaps they solved it. Perhaps a fellow student helped them. Or perhaps they really have given up, and you've done what can be reasonably expected.</p>\n\n<p>Examples:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I can't log in to the website, please help.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You'll need your XYZ user name and password to log in to the website. If it's been a while and you've forgotten your password, our FAQ (link) gives instructions on how to get a new one.</p>\n\n<p>Do you have an idea about when you tried logging in? Did you get an error message? This will help me find anything in the logs.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>When I run the experiment, it gives me an error. Can somebody help me???</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If I can find out what experiment and what error! :) Some of the more common issues are listed at our FAQ (link); did you take a look there?</p>\n\n<p>If the FAQ doesn't address your issue, could you let me know what experiment you are having issues with, and what the error message is? That will help me narrow down the search.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19365,
"author": "NotMe",
"author_id": 11585,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11585",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is a bit of real world, non academia experience.</p>\n\n<p>We sell a software package to school districts - funny that. When a problem occurs, I'd say maybe half of new clients tell us about it in an actionable way. We get emails with nothing more than \"it doesn't work\" all the time.</p>\n\n<p>Now, this is a hosted service and we maintain some fairly detailed logs. So we can usually reconstruct exactly what was going on at the time of the \"problem\". However, that takes time and we typically don't go that route unless we are talking about either an irate client or an issue in which the client couldn't possibly give us the details.</p>\n\n<p>Instead our support people reply with a message such as \"What were you doing? What was your expectation? Approximately when did it occur? Here's how to send a screen shot...\" It takes maybe a couple times of that before that client sends us the needed info the first time. </p>\n\n<p>The thing is, they are busy so their first instinct is to fire off a general query hoping someone will just take care of it for them. However once they realize that we aren't going to do anything without details then they learn that the fastest way to a resolution is to gather those details to begin with. </p>\n\n<p>The key is to simply be polite. I'd think the same thing applies to students. They are busy with several classes. As soon as a roadblock occurs in one they are going to raise a flag for help and move onto the next thing. If you consistently require them to provide details up front then they will learn that the fastest way to resolution is to get those to begin with.</p>\n\n<p><strong>tldr;</strong> \nIt's not a problem specific to academia. Rather, it's a more generalized problem based on how much work everyone has to do combined with the hope that someone else will just take care of it. </p>\n\n<p>That said, some people just won't learn. For those, especially in academia, I wouldn't put forth any more effort than they are willing to as they need to be responsible for their own education.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19375,
"author": "Steve Jessop",
"author_id": 11440,
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"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think you'll teach them a valuable lesson if they learn that <em>when you start writing, nobody knows what you're asking about. You have to communicate that</em>. As you've observed on StackExchange and we've probably all seen at work from time to time, a lot of people struggle when it comes to asking detailed questions or just describing what they see vs. what they wanted. They can get better at <em>everything</em> by improving this skill.</p>\n\n<p>They'll only think you're being deliberately unhelpful if they realise that you can solve the problem without any further information. And if they know that, then you can't conclude from what they write that they're bad at asking questions. If I know that you know which experiment I'm working on and what I typed, then it's pretty reasonable for me to write, \"why didn't my experiment work?\", and I don't think you can really \"teach me a lesson\" by \"making me do it properly\" and not seem obstructive. If I don't know that you know that, then I should know better than to ask such a vague question. If I know you can find it out but it's time-consuming for you to do so, then there's a lesson in there somewhere about being respectful of other people's time, but I can't say whether this is the place to fight that battle.</p>\n\n<p>Aside from this, the process of asking a good question often solves the problem because you spot your own mistake. They might benefit from learning that too, and solving their own problems might reduce their frustration with the system since it turns it from \"something that never works and ff524 has to sort out\" into \"something that's difficult to use but I can make work\".</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19295",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365/"
]
|
19,307 | <p>In Spain, it is fundamental to do the first 3 years of bachelor and the last two years of master to get a job, so I find very difficult to understand the UK system. I am currently enrolled in Computer Science and I have to find out whether I want to do MEng or BSci.</p>
<p>For what I understand:</p>
<ul>
<li>with BSci I can later do a master MSci for a total of 4 years</li>
<li>with MEng I can in the fourth year choose master courses but MEng is considered undergrad course</li>
</ul>
<p>The <strong>M</strong> in front of Eng is really confusing. I don't want to go into research but I would like to get a greater insight of Artificial intelligence and Big Data, thing that I could do either way choosing MEng or BSc+MSc.</p>
<p>What is the difference between MEng and MSc in the industry? Given that I will spend 4 years any way, should I invest my time in MEng or Msc?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19308,
"author": "gman",
"author_id": 12454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This <a href=\"http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/FHEQ08.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">report</a> from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK gives a breakdown of what it considered a masters degree to be (See pages 20-23).</p>\n\n<p>In the UK a MSci (Master in Science) is generally a taught postgraduate degree, involving lectures, examination, and a short project. Sometimes you can complete a research MSci, where a longer project is required. According to the UK National Qualifications Framework, masters degrees are classed as level 7 qualifications.</p>\n\n<p>A <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master%5fof%5fEngineering#United%5fKingdom\" rel=\"nofollow\">MEng</a> (Master of Engineering) is usually taken to become a chartered engineer, who is an engineer registered with the <a href=\"http://www.engc.org.uk/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Engineering Council</a> in the UK. The follow from the wikipedia page explains that other ways can be used to demonstrate entry standards such as a MSc</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The MEng degree represents the minimum educational standard required to become a chartered engineer, but there are other equally satisfactory ways to demonstrate this standard such as the completion of a BEng Honours and a subsequent postgraduate diploma or MSc, or by completion of the Engineering Council Postgraduate Diploma. The UK MEng (undergraduate degree) is not recognized in Canada, USA, India or Europe as a true masters degree since a masters degree in these countries takes a further 1–2 years after a 4 year Bachelors degree.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>An MEng is also a level 7 degree under the UK National Qualifications Framework. It is considered a Integrated masters which is explained in the report (link above) as the following (pages10-11)</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Integrated master's degree programmes typically include study equivalent to at least four full-time academic years, of which study equivalent to at least one full-time academic year is at level 7. Thus study at bachelor's level is integrated with study\n at master's level and the programmes are designed to meet the level 6 and level 7 qualification descriptors in full.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The UK national qualifications framework can be compared with ones from other EU countries <a href=\"http://ec.europa.eu/eqf/compare/ie/fr%5fen.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19312,
"author": "nivag",
"author_id": 14115,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14115",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Short answer: They are viewed as both roughly equivalent. MEng (or MSci for other sciences) is a 4 year course. BSc + MSc is 2 course (3 + 1 years).</p>\n\n<p>Longer answer/other useful info: I studied an MSci in Physics not CompSci so there might be some minor differences between the subjects, I don't think they are significant.</p>\n\n<p>Although not directly asked I also feel its import to point out that MSc and MSci in the UK are different (MSc is one year, MSci 4years).</p>\n\n<p>Generally in the UK a single 4 year course is becoming more popular. Of my physics course ~60% did the 4 year MSci, ~10% did the BSc and then an MSc somewhere else and the rest only did the BSc. Now these numbers are only an example and details will depend on course and institution (many lower ranked uni do not offer a combined course).</p>\n\n<p>In terms of content both options are likely to be similar. Possibly the BSc and MSc tends to be slightly more research/project based. Although this is very course dependent. I recommend you research the course syllabus for each option.</p>\n\n<p>The main factor to recommend the MEng is funding. For UK students student loans are generally only available for your first degree. This means subsequent 1 year masters must be funded independently/by a bank loan, which is often prohibitive for many people. As you are a Spanish student I am not sure what the situation is for you. Obviously this is something you may want to consider.</p>\n\n<p>In favour of the BSc + MSc it offers more flexibility. You can chose a different institution or a more specialized course after your BSc. The flip side is you are not guaranteed a place anywhere. Additionally many jobs do not require a masters so it gives you the option to only complete the BSc (someone else might comment on how true this is in CompSci).</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19307",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14111/"
]
|
19,310 | <p>Background:<br>
I applied for several masters programs this season (taking into account the advice given on this site) and have received a request for a telephone/Skype interview with one of the German universities I applied for. The response came much more quickly than I expected and I still have no replies from other universities.</p>
<p>The mail contained suggested date and time (ten or so days from the date the mail was sent) and asked me to confirm it. Unfortunately, at the specified time, I'll be on a highway, in a different country, traveling between two cities. In my response, I explained that I'll be on a trip and that I'm coming back two days after the suggested date and that I'll be available pretty much at any time after I return from my trip. The reply I got is that the time suggested is the only available time for the interview.</p>
<p>Question:
My unfortunate situation aside, I wanted to ask is it normal for universities to be this inflexible when scheduling admissions interviews? Did I go out if line by attempting to negotiate the interview date? This is the first time I'm having any sort of interview, so I really have no idea what are the cultural norms in such case.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19311,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's fairly normal if course admission is competitive, and if one's application really hasn't stood out so far as exceptionally good. The interviewers might have many dozens of interviews to wade through, and the only way to do that is on a very tightly planned schedule.</p>\n\n<p>Given it's a Skype interview, and given the prevalence of laptops, wifi and high-speed mobile data, I don't think it's that extraordinary to expect that for such a significant interview, an applicant would schedule a stop during a trip, at a place with a decent data connection to do the interview.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19315,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think it was perfectly reasonable of you to ask to reschedule. Of course, it's unfortunate that they weren't able or willing to accommodate you, but that's up to them.</p>\n\n<p>You'll now have to decide what you want to do: interview while traveling, or alter your travel plans, or skip the interview altogether. It might be worth considering whether an institution that seems so unwilling to accommodate prospective students is an institution that you'd want to attend at all!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19310",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9653/"
]
|
19,319 | <p>I am PhD student in computer engineering and visiting a foreign university. My project is near to the end and, since my colleague and I got excellent results, we are writing a scientific paper about it.
I would like to submit the paper to the top best journal in our field.</p>
<p>I sent the draft to my supervisor here, that replied that he does not think that the paper is going to be accepted by the top best journal. He suggested to submit it to another journal, that we can consider the 5th best journal in the field. He said that we can still submit it to the top journal if we want it, but, in that case, we have to remove his name from the author list.</p>
<p>So what should we do?</p>
<p><strong>Should we remove his name from the author list and submit it to the top journal?
Or should we satisfy him and submit the paper to the 5th most prestigious journal?</strong></p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19322,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my view, using authorship as a bargaining chip like this is ethically inappropriate.</p>\n\n<p>Either the supervisor's contributions to the paper warrant including him as an author, or they don't.</p>\n\n<p>If they do, then he needs to be listed as a co-author no matter where you publish, and you need his agreement on where the paper is to be submitted.</p>\n\n<p>If they don't, then he should not be listed as a co-author, no matter where you publish, and you and the remaining authors can make your own decision about where to submit (though you still might value his input).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19325,
"author": "DrLivingston",
"author_id": 13847,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13847",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Edit:</strong> people are talking a lot about the requirements for being an author in this thread. That's not the question, the question is what should the student do. And giving the advisor some benefit of the doubt - since he is included for authorship in one condition - I'm assuming he meets the standard requirements for the field. Making this a choice about which journal and the relationship with the advisor, and not authorship. <em>It's a weird choice, but the one the student has none the less.</em></p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I agree with what Nate Eldredge said. It is bizarre. Does the \"top journal\" in question use blind review? If it's not blind the absence of his name could hurt you if he is well known. If it's blind, it won't affect the review process.</p>\n\n<p>If time is an issue - definitely do it his way.</p>\n\n<p>If time is not an issue - Call his bluff and try at the top tier journal and hopefully get lucky, or at least get good reviews that you can roll into the next submission.</p>\n\n<p>What is your relationship with your advisor? Sadly this is an apprenticeship not a democracy. The biggest mistake you can make as a PhD student is to not be on the same page as your advisor. If you are on rocky footing with him already don't start problems do it his way. number 5 vs. number 1, eh? what are their different impact factors? It might not matter that much and save you pain. If you are on great standing, and this wasn't an ultimatum from him and you think you have the time and want to try... Just remember you are there to learn from him and he is the more experienced one / possibly better judge.</p>\n\n<p>Have you compared your work to other things that have been published in either of these journals? Is it more like one than the other? Is it \"big enough\" for the top one? Have you seen similar papers there in terms of scope and number and size of experiments etc.?</p>\n\n<p>This is a highly political thing. Get advice from your peers. Especially about dealing with your advisor. As we don't know the specifics this is tricky.</p>\n\n<p>summary: top is better, but #5 is good - I'd honestly probably lean the safer route (and assume his experience is guiding his decision)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19351,
"author": "Blaisorblade",
"author_id": 8966,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8966",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I disagree slightly with @DrLivingston (so I provide a different answer).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I agree with what Nate Eldredge said. It is bizarre. Does the \"top journal\" in question use blind review? If it's not blind the absence of his name could hurt you if he is well known. If it's blind, it won't affect the review process.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Matter-of-fact, that's certainly true to some extent, but it's not something you should exploit. For instance, adding some important coauthor to the paper often helps your chances even if he contributes nothing, but doing that is unethical, because it advances careers without merit. Furthermore, all authors are individually responsible for the accuracy of the content.</p>\n\n<p>(Actually collaborating with an important scientist is an entirely different thing, but you should do it to improve the content).</p>\n\n<p>Therefore, I'd be more careful: reviewers should not judge the paper merit based on who authors it, especially not consciously (with a few exceptions, say if the author intentionally defrauded the system in the past); unfortunately, this does happens even to people who try to avoid it, and that happens more in some communities than in others, so papers by famous scientists have sometimes unfair advantages in acceptance.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>In any case, your supervisor should only be in the author list if he contributes something to the paper. Since you already have a draft, I can imagine his contribution would be help in revising this draft before submission — which can certainly be useful and deserve coauthorship (though I think there could be some debate about this, which hinges on how much creativity is left in writing the paper after doing the work. Some computer scientists argue that writing the paper is 50% of the job, because most of our papers are mostly not reports on experiments, but argumentative texts which use experiments to support some of their claims).</p>\n\n<p>In this case, I think the correct question would be the following. Is your supervisor potential contribution to the paper useful enough to involve him in the project?</p>\n\n<p>If the supervisor will not provide any contribution except his name, then he should not be there. If he forces you to have his name, that's clearly unethical behavior, and you should think about calling him on it; unfortunately that's typically hard as long as he is your supervisor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19410,
"author": "penelope",
"author_id": 4249,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4249",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well, my interpretation of the situation is (yet again) somewhat different. So I'll try to put in my two cents. <br><sub><sup>(I am not a supervisor, but I did often discuss the different quality journals/conferences with my supervisor, as well as what he considers are good reasons to submit to a top-quality track and what are good reasons to submit to a good-quality track).</sup></sub></p>\n<p>The description, to me, does not sound like anybody is trying to do anything unethical, or use the authorship as a bargaining chip.</p>\n<p>I would propose that the <em>supervisors own interpretation of the results</em> (i.e. the draft) is such that <strong>he does not deem it quality enough</strong> to publish in a <strong>top-quality track</strong>, but <strong>does believe it is good work</strong>. (An average paper in a top-journal is probably expected to have a stronger contribution when compared to the fifth-top journal, even though works published in both will be valid and strong contributions in the field.)</p>\n<p>While not exactly unethical, it is a wide-spread opinion that <em>vastly over-reaching</em>, and submitting <em>when you strongly believe the contribution is too weak for the conference/journal where you submit</em> is disrespectful towards the reviewers' time and bad form (several excellent explanations on <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/9392/4249\">this question</a>). I, for one, agree with my supervisor on the fact that <strong>is it wrong to submit something even <em>we</em> deem to low-quality for a certain track</strong>, with the sole purpose of e.g. getting useful reviews, because:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>That way we would only spend the reviewers time, which should be respected especially since they are giving it for free.</li>\n<li>Also, probably more valid for small communities but possibly also in bigger ones, if the review process is not double-blind, just the reviewers seeing your name on the paper with valid but too small contribution might damage your reputation slightly.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>So, I think the <strong>"two options" offered by your supervisor are both valid</strong>, and these are the <strong>possible reasons</strong>:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>In case you decide to go against his advice, and submit to a top-journal, he can not stop you since the <em>work is rightfully yours</em> and you can do what you deem fit with it.</p>\n<p>He will thus <em>not give you any input on your writing</em>, or help you prepare the paper or present the results, and of course <em>does not expect an authorship</em>. You are, however, free to submit your work wherever you see fit.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>On the other hand, he would help you with <em>supervisor-y, author-y</em> stuff if you decided to <em>submit somewhere he deems more appropriate for the quality of the work</em> (as he perceives it).</p>\n<p>He would then (hopefully) help you writing the paper, polishing the presentation, and offer other suggestions and advice he can offer as a senior scientist. Since he would be <em>investing his time and expertise</em>, he would naturally want to be <em>included in the author list</em>.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<hr />\n<p><sub><sup> I do not want to get in to the discussion of what deserves authorship in this question... but I'll just shortly state my opinion on which my answer is based: In Computer Science, the supervisor contributes mostly by leading your research, and then by advising you on how to write well, present the results, put them in the right context. The supervisor does not need to substantially contribute to methods presented in the paper, but his contribution can still be very valuable and substantial in other ways. </sup></sub></p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19319",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8234/"
]
|
19,323 | <p>I went through <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19256/is-it-okay-to-report-classmates-cheating-on-exams">this</a> and still can't fathom why cheating <em>isn't</em> black-and-white. Nevertheless, <a href="https://www.csusm.edu/dos/studres/wwwc.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.csusm.edu/dos/studres/wwwc.html</a> says,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"A cheater receives through deception what honest students work hard for; and in classes graded on a curve, he lowers their grades to boot."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ok, I get why people don't cheat(moral fortitude) and why people don't rat(social fortitude); and that's just me saying I'm on the "I'll force all you cheaters to pay for your injustices" side; but is it the grading system that makes it bad for honest students? If honest students honestly receive high marks, but are "curved down" in rank because cheaters get near perfect marks, then grading based on a curve must be one of the only things that makes it unfair.</p>
<p>--- clarification:
Grading on a Curve: means to statistically conform grades of all those measured to a curve that measures performance based on a norm-referenced assessment.</p>
<p>Would cheating still be considered unfair if we drop the concept of grading according to a curve? (which we should)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19326,
"author": "Akavall",
"author_id": 13088,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13088",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Would cheating still be considered unfair if we drop the concept of grading according to a curve? (which we should)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Of course!</p>\n\n<p>Let's assume that without cheating 10% of students get As. Therefore, students who earned As are a small group. Having an A might help getting funding, or finding an internship or a job. Now let's say that with cheating, 50% (no normalizing) of students get As, now an A is no longer that valuable because a lot of people have them. Therefore, the value of As that honest students earned has diminished. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19327,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Cheating is unfair regardless of how you handle grading, but <em>how</em> unfair it is depends on the grading scheme. Let's assume that the cheater's efforts earn him among the highest raw scores in the class.</p>\n\n<p>No matter how you adjust the grades (unless you flip high and low grades!) the cheater will have a higher grade that they deserve, and anything which is grade dependent and competitive (e.g. getting a job, getting into grad school, etc.) will be unfairly easier for the cheater and unfairly harder for everyone else. So there's a baseline unfairness to cheating.</p>\n\n<p>If, additionally, you keep the percentage of A's fixed (grading on a curve), the cheater will bump someone out of an A, which will likely impact them negatively (career, grad school, etc.). Someone else may be bumped out of a B, etc, down to where the cheater would have been if they hadn't cheated. So there is direct and noticeable harm to the cheater's fellow classmates. It's a pretty rotten thing to do. (This is also related to why students fight so ardently for every grade or grade step.)</p>\n\n<p>If you keep the requirements fixed, then everyone will get the same grades they would have, save the cheater, but the average fraction of A's will go up. The net impact is the same--a 3.2 average now looks worse than it did before because the averages have gone up--but the negative effects are not felt by individual classmates but rather averaged over everyone from the university with cheaters. By spreading the harm among more people, in some ways the effects are less acute; aside from the cheater, everyone else is still going to have the same relative standing.</p>\n\n<p>So, especially if cheating is rare, it's even more unfair if you're grading on a curve* since those people who have the bad luck to be stuck with a cheater will be unfairly punished in addition to the cheater being unfairly rewarded.</p>\n\n<p><sup>* There is an argument for grading on a curve, however: there is also unfairness due to differences in grading schemes between universities. Grading on a curve helps to combat this, as instead of measuring various different expectations of mastery (e.g. if Harvard expects you to do more to get an A than does Yale, then your GPA will be lower if you go to Harvard than Yale), it just measures students against each other, and there are enough of those for statistical sampling help even out the other differences (e.g. if the incoming classes to Harvard and Yale are of similar quality, and both grade on similar curves, regardless of which one you'll know who was in the top 10%, and those top 10% will be similar regardless of where they went).</sup></p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/14 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19323",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14076/"
]
|
19,329 | <p>Is there a standard model for the number of citations an article will receive over time? If not, is there a good source for data on citation counts for articles divided up over time? Furthermore, does this vary by field</p>
<p>It seems plausible to me that the number of citations decays approximately exponentially, with the rate of decay depending on the article, but I have empirical evidence for this conjecture.</p>
<p>Such a model would be useful because a few years after an article was published, one could use the MLE method to estimate the number of citations the article would receive over any time period. This would allow us to count citations in a way that does not bias older articles, one of the chief problems with straight citation counts. Additionally, it would give us a better idea of the inaccuracies of metrics like impact factor.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19330,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I imagine you'd have an initial publication lag where citations might be lower for example in year 1 than in year 2 and that then aggregate citation counts over time would have to be monotonically decelerating. You'd also have substantial variability in terms of individual articles. For example, I've heard of articles which accelerate in their citation count over time as they become the standard citation for a particular topic.</p>\n\n<p>Independent of overall number of citations received, journals and fields differ dramatically in the rate at which citations accumulate. A good starting point is to look at \"<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor#Other_measures_of_impact\" rel=\"nofollow\">citation half life</a>\" (i.e., the median time it takes a journal or field to acquire half of its total citations). If you can access ISI you can examine how different fields and journals differ in citation half life.</p>\n\n<p>For example, I just had a quick look at a few fields from ISI 2012 which yielded the following data:</p>\n\n<pre><code>Field Citation Half-Life (in years)\nPSYCHIATRY 7.6\nASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS 6.9\nMATHEMATICS >10.0\nPSYCHOLOGY >10.0\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>So clearly psychiatry and astronomy tend to cite more recent articles, whereas mathematics and psychology often cite older articles. </p>\n\n<p>The implication is that impact factors (which are based on the last 2 or possibly 5 years post publication) should be higher in psychiatry/astronomy than in mathematics/psychology. It also means that early career researchers in psychiatry/astronomy should accumulate a better h-index more quickly than researchers in mathematics/psychology, all else being equal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19331,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">Google Scholar</a> will plot the number of citations over time for papers. I don't know whether it will do so for arbitrary papers, but it will for any paper listed on an author's page (e.g., <a href=\"http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TFx_gLQAAAAJ\" rel=\"nofollow\">Terry Tao</a>).</p>\n\n<p>I haven't studied the data systematically, but some things are clear from browsing:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Citation statistics for individual papers can be incredibly noisy. For example, a paper may have 5 citations one year, 15 the next, then 7, 2, 12, etc., with no obvious pattern or explanation. Furthermore, different papers written by the same person on similar topics and with similar citation rates sometimes show visibly different levels of noise, and I don't know why. For papers with particularly high citation counts (e.g., 50+ citations per year), noise is not as big a factor, but such papers are uncommon.</p></li>\n<li><p>Different papers can take radically different trajectories. For example, some of my papers have a consistent growth in their yearly citation counts over ten or more years. Others seem relatively stable, probably decreasing a little over time but with yearly fluctuations that are substantially larger than the decrease. Some have fallen completely off the map and only get cited occasionally (perhaps a Poisson process). These different scenarios are correlated with how good I consider the paper, but only loosely, and I think the trajectory would be tough to predict from the first few years of citation counts.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19336,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think <strong>the</strong> model for all kinds of papers is very unlikely to exist. Certainly, the trajectory will be different for very strong and fundamental contributions vs. small incremental improvements, that often become more or less irrelevant in a few years. Further, looking through Google Scholar data (already mentioned by Anonymous Mathematician), I would hypothesize that there is also a difference between fields. In my rather hype-driven research field (services / software engineering), citations often seem to roughly follow a bell curve:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=wZ9f8CAAAAAJ&citation_for_view=wZ9f8CAAAAAJ%3aqjMakFHDy7sC\" rel=\"nofollow\">Example 1</a></p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=wZ9f8CAAAAAJ&citation_for_view=wZ9f8CAAAAAJ%3aUeHWp8X0CEIC\" rel=\"nofollow\">Example 2</a></p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=0n5S6uUAAAAJ&citation_for_view=0n5S6uUAAAAJ%3ad1gkVwhDpl0C\" rel=\"nofollow\">Example 3</a></p>\n\n<p>These papers, if they are timely, generally need one or two years to pick up steam, then there are a few years with lots of citations, after which interest in the presented ideas dies down again.</p>\n\n<p>More fundamental work often seems to have a less clear trajectory:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=2T3H4ekAAAAJ&citation_for_view=2T3H4ekAAAAJ%3aAde32sEp0pkC\" rel=\"nofollow\">Example 4</a></p>\n\n<p>And then of course you have publications which are just \"weird\":</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=KK2le2UAAAAJ&citation_for_view=KK2le2UAAAAJ:9yKSN-GCB0IC\" rel=\"nofollow\">Example 5</a></p>\n\n<p>Note that all examples I have provide have a not-too-small number of citations on them. I would say for publications < 50 citations on Google Scholar (i.e., most of them), all bets go out through the window anyway. Fluctuations are too large for any sort of statement over the shape of their trajectory.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19329",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/541/"
]
|
19,332 | <p>I've been trying to find the dissertation of someone who advertises that they hold a "doctorate of management" from the "University of Phoenix". The degree requires a dissertation, but the school does not require the dissertation to be published, apparently, because neither is the work listed on ProQuest, nor does the University's own library hold it. My liaison indicated that the author may have deliberately chosen not to distribute the work. I have not yet been able to obtain a copy.</p>
<p>Is this obscurantist practice rare at good universities & common at for-profit universities? </p>
<p>Any other factors at play in the unavailability of a graduate dissertation in the United States?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19834,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't know about for-profit universities, but the practice at \"good\" US universities is generally as follows. Before being eligible to graduate, the student must submit a copy of the dissertation to the library and to ProQuest. By default, after being processed, it is then immediately available to the public from both sources. (In some cases it might not necessarily be available online, or might require a fee, a visit to the university's library, or an inter-library loan request.) </p>\n\n<p>The student may be able to request an \"embargo\", in which case access to the dissertation's text is restricted for a period of time. For example, this could be used if the student intended to commercially publish the dissertation or related material. At my PhD institution, this period can be up to 2 years; any longer embargo requires the special approval of the graduate dean. Even in such cases, I would expect that the library and ProQuest would still show the dissertation in their catalogs; they just wouldn't allow access to the text.</p>\n\n<p>In your case, \"embargo\" sounds like the only possibly legitimate explanation. But if the student graduated several years ago, or if the university library and/or granting department cannot confirm the dissertation's existence, I would <a href=\"http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/150844/south-park-calls-shenanigans\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>declare shenanigans</strong></a>. (Maybe NSFW).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 41986,
"author": "Saida",
"author_id": 31981,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31981",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Have any of you considered that the person simply did not graduate? I am attending the University of Phoenix in the Doctor of Health Administration program at the dissertation proposal phase. The requirements are some of the most difficult I have ever seen and include publication in the ProQuest Dissertation Abstracts. One of my committee members is a graduate of NYU and when we tried to view her award winning dissertation in the abstracts it was no longer there because she graduated over 10 years ago. Why doesn't the person you are referencing have a copy of her signed dissertation, I certainly will? Did Phoenix have any evidence that she graduated from there? If not, I would take a look at the candidate not the school. Consider this example, One of my committee members' dissertation was not available online even though she is referenced in nearly every scientific article written since her graduation, was lauded in newspapers for her work, and now sits as a department chair for an Ivy League university? She was surprised that there was no record about her dissertation based on her status as a highly prized employment candidate. SHe ultimately had to send to the education clearing house to get her transcripts. She didn't even realize that NYU should have given her copies of her transcripts and didn't seem to know that she had transcripts at the doctoral level. </p>\n\n<p>Maybe you guys are just looking at the entire process wrong and should simply ask the University of Phoenix Office of the Registra rather than friends.\nGood luck</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19332",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14140/"
]
|
19,333 | <p>How much do <a href="https://www.springer.com/authors/">Springer-Verlag authors</a> make per book sold?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19335,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This varies substantially, depending on the sort of book, how well the author negotiated (each book involves an individually negotiated contract), the price of the book, etc. Based on one Springer contract I'm familiar with, here's a first approximation. I can't say for sure how representative it is, but it's at least one data point, and I'd guess it's typical for Springer and competing publishers.</p>\n\n<p>For regular sales, the author may get 9-12% of \"net cash receipts\", defined as what the publisher made on the sale (excluding taxes), with the percentage depending on things like how well the book has sold. Note that \"regular sales\" excludes some special cases, for which there may be lower royalty rates.</p>\n\n<p>Then the question is how much Springer charged the bookseller for the book. You can download a 6 megabyte zip file of <a href=\"http://static.springer.com/sgw/documents/1446721/application/zip/Springer_PriceChanges2014.zip\">Springer wholesale prices</a>. I glanced at a few math books, and the prices look like they are about 60% of what bookstores are charging. That's certainly the right ballpark, but I haven't computed any real statistics.</p>\n\n<p>So a first approximation is that the author's royalty is probably 5-7% of the price you pay in a bookstore. Considering that academic books are expensive, that's not bad, but nobody's going to grow rich off it. For advanced books, selling 1000 copies in total is very good and selling 10,000 is amazing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32107,
"author": "Geremia",
"author_id": 9425,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here's what Springer says:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>§ 6 Royalty</p>\n \n <p>For each sold and paid copy of the Work or part thereof, print or\n electronic, sold as an individual book or individual part thereof,\n Springer shall pay to Author a royalty of 6% based on the net income\n received by Springer (list-price minus discount and VAT, withholding\n tax and any other applicable taxes). For the avoidance of doubt, this\n includes (but is not limited to) such individual sales to digital and\n non-digital libraries.</p>\n \n <p>If there is a legal requirement for Springer to withhold any taxes on\n a royalty payment, the taxes will be deducted from the royalty payment\n to Author. If the Work is sold electronically as part of a Springer\n e-book package, Author will receive an equitable share of royalties\n from the income generated by Springer from the e-book package. The\n share formula for each individual title within the e-book package will\n be determined by Springer no later than April for the preceding\n calendar year. This amount will be paid in addition to the royalty\n described above and shown separately on the annual royalty statement.</p>\n \n <p>In the case of Bulk Sales, Author's exclusive royalty for the\n respective Bulk Sale will be 0 % of the related Net Proceeds, with\n “Bulk Sale” being defined as the production and/or distribution of a\n special number of copies of the Work or parts thereof at a special\n price regardless of whether it be performed by Springer or by third\n parties, regardless of whether in print or electronic format and\n further regardless of whether in a layout identical to the normal normal edition or not. For the purpose of this Clause 6 Royalty, the term \"Net Proceeds\" shall be defined as the net amount Springer actually receives after deduction of all discounts, minus production costs incurred by Sprnger or any Springer Group Company and minus VAT, withholding tax and any other applicable taxes.</p>\n \n <p>If Springer grants licenses to use the Work or derivative works\n thereof or parts of either in non-Springer products and the related\n use is not covered by the above subsections of this clause 6 “Royalty”\n (e.g., a license to translate the work and to distribute the\n translation, or a license to distribute parts of the Work in a third\n party book), Author’s exclusive royalty for the respective license and\n any related use will be a share of the Springer’s Net Proceeds\n according to industry standards (currently 50%).</p>\n \n <p>The aforesaid royalties shall be the sole compensation to be paid to\n Author with respect to the Work and the rights granted. In case the\n Work contains or links (e.g. through frames or in-line links) to\n media, social or functional enhancements, the royalties, complimentary\n copies and/or access rights granted under this contract, are deemed to\n be adequate consideration. For the avoidance of doubt, the aforesaid\n royalties will be paid as a total to the joint group of authors if\n “Author” comprises several individual authors. Each co-author will\n receive an equal share of any payment.</p>\n \n <p>Accounts will be settled annually in April for the preceding calendar\n year, with payment to follow soon thereafter.</p>\n \n <p>Authors are responsible for the taxation of their royalties. Springer\n is entitled to report related information (including personal and\n financial data) to the respective authorities.</p>\n \n <p>Free copies which are provided by Springer for the purposes of review,\n promotion, sample or otherwise free of charge are not subject to\n royalty payments. Likewise, copies that are damaged and cannot be sold\n are not subject to royalty payments.</p>\n \n <p>Any publisher's proceeds from rights managed by national copyright\n organizations (collecting societies including but not limited to\n societies such as Copyright Clearance Center) are the sole property of\n Springer. Any such author’s proceeds are the sole property of Author,\n and if applicable, registration and taxation of such proceeds is the\n Author’s sole responsibility. This subsection shall have precedence\n over any other subsection of this Clause 6 Royalty.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 48333,
"author": "Debora Weber-Wulff",
"author_id": 32489,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32489",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you live in Germany, don't forget to register with VG Wort when your book is published. They only pay out once a year, as does Springer. But I got more money from VG Wort than I did from Springer for my book published in 2014. As an answer above noted: you aren't going to get rich.</p>\n\n<p>Also, do read the proofs very carefully. They seem to employ people who don't understand the manuscripts to do what little editing they do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 68687,
"author": "Geremia",
"author_id": 9425,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a Springer author of <a href=\"https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-18515-6\" rel=\"noreferrer\">a book in the <em>Boston Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science</em> series</a>, and I made 6% off the gross sales.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 82119,
"author": "Rick Willis",
"author_id": 66827,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/66827",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My answer is close to $0.00. I published a book with Springer in 2007, and it is a standard work found in most university libraries. I have never received a royalty cheque, as there was a threhshold number for sales. However, now sales are close to zero, as the book is available electronically via SpringerLink and other platforms, and Springer essentially does not pay royalties on downloads via SpringerLink, as they have no way of calculating the proportion owing - so they avoid the issue, and authors are totally shafted. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 90777,
"author": "N K",
"author_id": 74649,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/74649",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>With Springer, the royalties accounting report does consider only book sales for individuals while excluding institutional and group sales which constitute the majority of revenues. For highly specialized expensive books whose price exceeds the capability of individuals, sales are considerably low while institutional and group sales are high. </p>\n\n<p>Even when the detailed chapter by chapter downloads for books on Springer site are high, they are excluded from the royalties accounting report. The authorship rights are thus subdivided into full rights against the minority of individual readers, and zero rights against the majority of institutional and group readers. Highly unfair to totally exclude the author from institutional and group online downloads and hardcopies. </p>\n\n<p>Totally upsetting and frustrating experience for the authors, specially when emails are not answered!!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 100615,
"author": "user84597",
"author_id": 84597,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/84597",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>How much do Springer-Verlag authors make per book sold?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I am getting roughly EUR 2 to 4 for each copy of my Springer book - eBook, softcover, and hardcover, respectively. That's 10% of net sales, and then 25% of that, since my co-author wrote 75% of the book. The annual royalty statements from Springer have been a nice surprise since they also include royalties for eBook packages that universities and other institutions purchase. Plus the book added almost EUR 500 to my VG Wort payout; too bad that's only in the year of publication! So, I am pretty happy with Springer, with the premise that I did not expect (and need) to make any money from this project - indeed the hourly pay is probably something like EUR 2. What may also be of interest to some is that the book is being cited at a rate of 25 to 50 times a year, which is significantly higher than any of my articles. It's a research monograph in a technical field. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 115599,
"author": "user45898",
"author_id": 97243,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/97243",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Beware of publishing with Apress (Springer-Nature) on two issues:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Payments for SpringerLink downloads are not issued</li>\n<li>Data for sales is not shared</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I published <a href=\"http://bookmuft.com/my-books/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">5 books</a> through Apress. These books were earlier published on Amazon's KDP program a year before (2016 to 2017) they were republished by Apress (December 2017 onwards). </p>\n\n<p>At Amazon's KDP program they were provided in self-published mode. There I use to get 70% for e-book and 50% for physical book. I could set my own price for different regions. Sales data is shown live too. I was making decent sales of ~10-50 USD per day. </p>\n\n<p>Then Apress approached me to publish the books again (they used the term \"adopting\") and paid me 3000 USD for all 5 of them (1000 USD for book on Julia programming and 500 USD each for other four). This amount was suggested to be \"bonus for signing in\" and was in addition to 10% of sales as royalty payments for first 4000 copies, 12.5% for next 4000 copies, 15% for next 4000 copies and 20% henceforth.</p>\n\n<p>But there was a catch. Within the contract, the bonus payments (3000USD) were added for Subscription services like SpringerLink too. Being first-time author dealing with publishers, I was too naive to understand the consequences.</p>\n\n<p>The payments are made on quarterly basis. Payments of one quarter are made at the end of next quarter. My books got published in December 2017. For fourth quarter of 2017, I got payments of ~180 USD which was decent sale of books considering just a month worth of sales. But second payment of Quarter-1 of 2018 which was released in July 2018 was just ~250 USD. This was surprising since the books were decently ranked in Amazon sales data all through the time and Julia book was quite popular. When I asked for sales data based on which royalty statements were issues, the e-mails are simply not relied to. Also at this point of time I realised the issued with subscription based downloads at SpringerLInk where the books got downloaded well over 25000 times within those 3 months of 2018, but I wasn't paid a single dime.</p>\n\n<p>Hence my advice to new authors:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Of course you should not be naive as myself while reading the contract. Even better if you ask a legal expert to do the same.</li>\n<li>Ask for payments for subscription based services too. The downloads run in thousands there whereas sales might be less than hundred (if you believe royalty statements!)</li>\n<li>To avoid the hassles, go for one-time payments either for life or 5 year basis (royalty paid every 5 years). A decent book priced 20 USD should easily fetch yourself at-least 20,000 USD by the time its obsolete. Of course the estimates varies on type of books and subjects.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I have a request from readers. If somebody can guide me to take an appropriate legal action on Springer for with-holding sales data, I will be very grateful. I am an Indian citizen living in India at present. I can be reached at [email protected]</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 167974,
"author": "Harry Hab",
"author_id": 139326,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/139326",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Royalties amount to a couple of candybars a year.</p>\n<p>It is hilarious to see the looks on students' faces when you recommend your own book for the course. "Cor Blimey, he's getting rich off our backs."</p>\n<p><em>No sunshine, I recommend it because this is the course I intend to teach and you can always download a PDF from the previous years archive, since obviously my book started its life as a set of lecture notes.</em></p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19333",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425/"
]
|
19,341 | <p>This question was inspired by this <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19256/is-it-okay-to-report-classmates-cheating-on-exams/19300">fascinating discussion about cheating</a>. </p>
<p>If grades, degrees, test scores are important for getting a job/internship/assistantship, even more so than the actual knowledge that they measure, I can see how cheating on a test can be considered unethical. Is it ethically better to hire an expensive tutor to prepare, say, for the SAT or for the GMAT, or for some test at school, than to attempt to cheat on the exam? </p>
<p>Here is some context: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/01/nyregion/01tutor.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">New York Times: Tutors Hold Key to Higher Test Scores, for a High Fee </a>.</p>
<p><strong>Assume that the tutor has no secret/insider knowledge about the test</strong>. Assume that the tutor is essentially teaching you only some tricks for beating this particular test, no real knowledge. Assume also that many people in class do not have the money to hire a tutor of the same qualification.</p>
<p>Conversely, is it okay to cheat for those less financially fortunate, if they cannot afford a tutor?</p>
<p>As further context, Princeton Review explicitly states that their SAT prep program does only one thing: raises scores. Princeton Review argues that test prep is right and ethical, because (paraphrasing) SAT is a stupid, almost meaningless thing, and those without quality test preparation are put at a disadvantage.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19342,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Measuring the ability to learn tricks (including financial ability) is actually of use to most employers etc., while measuring the ability to cheat is if anything a measure of what employers etc. want to avoid (since typically the risk/reward scheme for them is very different from individuals).</p>\n\n<p>Thus, while having a tutor is not completely fair to those who cannot afford it, it is still a reasonable proxy for desirability. Cheating is (usually) not. So it's ethically better than cheating inasmuch as the right people for the positions will tend to be selected for them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19343,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Both are dubious. But cheating is a problem with your personal ethics, and you risk being caught. If the exams are based on some secret knowledge, which is not available to wider public, the whole system is corrupt. If you adapt, you support that system, but you don't risk getting 'caught', since you know something that is accepted by the system. </p>\n\n<p>The problem is quite abstract since you won't have either-or situation in real life. If the system enforces bribing the examinators or buying secret knowledge, the system would enforce no-cheating policy on the exam very well (because it's in the financial interest of the examinator). </p>\n\n<p>For me, it's like the pickpocketing vs. corruption dilemma. <strong>Both are bad</strong>. But cheating is easier to fix (more control on exams etc.). In case of paid tutoring the whole system needs fixing, which is hard to fix because the system will oppose and you need some external force to change that (like revolution etc.).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19346,
"author": "JavierV",
"author_id": 14150,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14150",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Very theoretical, but let’s think this:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>If you cheat, you are doing sth. very unethical, as you are not following the rules that every one must obey, thus, you're obtaining an unfair advantage. Rules are for everyone and you’re breaking them – that’s bad.</p></li>\n<li><p>If you pay someone (who doesn’t have any real knowledge about the questions in the exam) to help you with the exam, you’re following the rules. So, you aren’t doing anything bad.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Some people may complain saying: “But it’s unfair for those poor little guys who have no money to afford a tutor. They’re in disadvantage; it’s not ethical; it’s unfair.” And I respond: “Yes, it’s unbalanced. People with money will have advantage. <strong>But</strong> people who don’t have to spend X hours in work will have more time to study, having an advantage too over the workers. And people who can study in silence will have advantage over those who live in noisy places, …”</p>\n\n<p>So, we must put some rules to try to give the same starting position to everyone. But there will be always disadvantages. The better the rules, the less the disadvantages. So, the student can’t do anything unethical if he/she follows the rules.</p>\n\n<p>The question should be: Is it fair/ethical that exams are made in a way that someone with knowledge of tricks not related with the subject can obtain a huge advantage enough to overtake those who don’t know the tricks? Why are those “tricks” not published by the “teachers” or the exam providers?\nThe problem is in the way the exams are, not wether people can pay a tutor.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, cheating is explainable, but <strong>never</strong> justifiable.</p>\n\n<p>Edited to include my own comment:\nAre you doing something that breaks the rules? No. You are pursuing a finish line, with all your effort and possibilities. If you have the money and the will, pay for it. If you have the time and the will, study more than others. If you have skills, use them to learn better than others. If there are rules and you follow them, nobody can say you’re doing something incorrect. You’re just doing as best as possible – through effort, money, skills … If you stick to the rules, you’re ok.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19353,
"author": "Steve Jessop",
"author_id": 11440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11440",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Thing One: The exams are generally <em>intended</em> to measure how good you are at performing certain tasks (working out or knowing the correct answers to questions). On a given day, etc.</p>\n\n<p>Thing Two: the exams are <em>actually used</em> to estimate how good you might be at other tasks (studying for a degree, doing a job, being \"smart\"). Of course SATs and the like are not great at estimating those things. For that matter intelligence doesn't easily admit being measured at all. But it's one piece of evidence and people seem to care about them.</p>\n\n<p>So, get one consideration out of the way. Is it unethical to train for the test at all? Maybe, because that makes it a less good proxy for general ability. But you can train for the test with or without a tutor (perhaps more effectively with). Just practicing questions makes a significant difference. A good (but not off the charts) SAT score from someone who has never seen a SAT-style test before is impressive. A good (but not off the charts) SAT score from someone who has seen them before just means they're capable of studying. I think in this question we're not interested in whether receiving tuition is unethical. We'll assume it isn't and then we're interested in whether <em>paying</em> for it is unethical, right?</p>\n\n<p>Cheating on the test subverts both Things. The first because what ends up getting measured is not anything you can work out for yourself (aside from avoiding getting caught), but something someone else can do for you and pass you the answers to fill in. The second because you won't always be able to cheat at your job and you won't be able to cheat at being \"smart\".</p>\n\n<p>Paying for a tutor doesn't subvert the first thing at all. You really can work out the questions on the day. The <em>reason</em> you have that ability is in part because you have money to spend on the problem of learning it, but the test doesn't set out to measure how the ability was acquired, only that you have it. So <em>from the point of view of standard testing</em>, cheating is unethical and tutoring is not.</p>\n\n<p>Paid tutoring may well subvert the second Thing, since you won't always be able to hire a tutor to teach you how to do any task you need to complete in life. SATs are quite predictable (intentionally so), challenging tasks in real life aren't. You can reasonably argue that if someone uses SATs (or GMAT, or IQ, whatever) as a proxy for some other activity then it's <em>their</em> problem to figure out what correlation there is (if any) between what ability you need to pass the test and what ability they really want.</p>\n\n<p>Personally I hold to some socialist principles, so I think it's regrettable that opportunity and power in the country I live in is distributed primarily according to wealth. Which in turn is primarily inherited, at least when talking about people's early education, where any benefits like this coaching are typically paid for by parents. It's possible that this question is inspired by similar principles, in which case I sympathise, but the only way to apply those principles is to consider what it is and is not ethical to acquire through wealth. Different people will have different answers. Education? The ability to pass silly standard tests? A house to live in while you're educated? You can acquire free time through wealth, does that make it unethical after all to practice for SATs? If you think it's unethical to acquire advantage through wealth, sure it does.</p>\n\n<p>In a perfect free market, people for whom a SATs tutor is a worthwhile investment would be able to borrow money to do so regardless of their economic background, and get the same benefit. In a perfect socialist state, access to education and jobs would not be based on wealth at all (indeed, 'wealth' could be meaningless or at least would not significantly vary across the population). Each system has its own idea of what equal opportunity means.</p>\n\n<p>The actual world is neither of those things: some people can get an educational advantage by paying for a better education and others cannot, purely by the wealth of their parents. Society is not fair. Tutors are part of that privilege. As such I think they are part of the broader question of whether it is ethical to be rich, but there's nothing special about tuition in particular that makes it less ethical than spending money on anything that gives you an advantage of those who can't afford it.</p>\n\n<p>It's probably <em>less reputable</em> to pay for coaching to a syllabus like the SATs that (for the purpose of this question) we assume to contain no real knowledge, than it is to pay for tutors to teach you something more educationally worthwhile. The more people train directly to a test, the less valuable the test becomes under Thing Two. But I don't think either is held to be actually unethical except by those who want the student's wealth taken out of education more generally.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19361,
"author": "David Mulder",
"author_id": 11353,
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"text": "<p>This is not so much a self-contained answer, as a longer comment in response to a number of the answers here.</p>\n\n<p>Cheating seems to be categorized here into a single huge category, but it seems relevant to split it up:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Cheating by <em>copying information</em> from other students: Absolutely unethical <strong>and</strong> requires no useful skills from the student.</li>\n<li>Cheating by <em>using cheatsheets</em>: Absolutely unethical (as the playing field isn't equal), however it still requires the student to comprehend the material and even more so requires the student to behave more similarly to real life where, unlike in exams, forced memorization isn't all that relevant.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Now, getting to your question, is it more ethical to hire a tutor? Definitely, as there are academic rules and expectations a student has to play by. Which one will teach a student more:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Learning self made cheat sheets by hard</li>\n<li>Learning by hard</li>\n<li>Cheating by using self made cheat sheets</li>\n<li>Using a tutor learning only tricks as defined in OP</li>\n<li>Cheating by copying</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Is what follows from the presented argument. </p>\n\n<p>Lastly I would like to point out that in real life cheating by copying isn't called cheating but called collaboration (in the context of colleagues working for the same institution as is the case with students). In a lot of positions it's more important to know when to 'cheat' then having all the knowledge at hand by hard. This does not however in any way justify cheating, nor is the current system designed in a way that would allow correct measurements in spite of such cheating, but it is worth noting in the context of this question, especially as there is a slow paradigm shift from individual examinations to more heavily graded group work.</p>\n"
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| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19341",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
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|
19,348 | <p>What is policy are you following about publishing data analysis code on GitHub? Do you do it after publishing or as a work-in-progress?</p>
<p>I developed a number of Python algorithms to analyse a large dataset, and I would like to make my work visible. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19937,
"author": "Davidmh",
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"text": "<p>There is a movement gathering strength lately to encourage publishing the code:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101013/full/467753a.html\">Nature-Publish your computer code: it is good enough</a></p>\n\n<p>Or, more vehement:\n<a href=\"http://simplystatistics.org/2013/01/23/statisticians-and-computer-scientists-if-there-is-no-code-there-is-no-paper/\">If there is no code, there is no paper</a></p>\n\n<p>The reasons outlied on the article are very reasonable. If you are expected to publish detailed derivations, experimental methods, and proofs of theorems, why would you be allowed to keep the code? No one will accept a theorem if you claim: \"the proof is too messy to show, but hey, here are three cases where it works\".</p>\n\n<p>I think the best way is to publish the code used as supplementary material, and include a link to the repository, so people can get the improved versions. If you are concerned about people using too bleeding edge versions, make releases, but leave the development public. This will also help you get bugfixes and contributions.</p>\n\n<p>Thank you for wanting to release your code. I really believe this attitude will help make research better.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Edit:</strong></p>\n\n<p>After some time, I have something to add. Most of the code in an application is there for \"administrative purposes\": load and write data, massage, check conditions... For publishing, that part can be as hackish as one needs it to be. The real \"research\" is usually in a small part. That is where one should dedicate one or two hours of adding a few comments and clearing the code.</p>\n\n<p>For the rest, a docstring in the functions or a paragraph explaining the aim, should be fine.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19942,
"author": "Community",
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"text": "<p>Styles and technologies come and go. Git and Github are the flavor of the moment. Tomorrow it will be something else.</p>\n\n<p>What is more fundamental is that scientific results are normally expected to be reproducible. If the code has secret details in it that are crucial for producing the result, then the result is not reproducible. If the code is simply the embodiment of the methods described in the paper, then there is no problem with not publishing the code.</p>\n\n<p>As an example, there is a device called the Bodybugg that people buy and strap onto their arms in order to measure (or attempt to measure) how many calories they're burning each day. There is publicly available information on what sensors the device has built into it, but the algorithms used for putting the sensor readings together to get an estimate of energy consumption are proprietary. That means that any scientific research that uses a Bodybugg is basically worthless.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, there can be perfectly legitimate reasons for not wanting to release one's code. For example, there could be a concern that people who lack the relevant expertise will play with it and use it to publish their own half-baked \"gee-whiz\" papers that turn out to be wrong. That then harms the reputation of the original author. The author may also not want to be in the business of answering questions from lots of people using their code, or they may want the freedom to make major changes that would upset users who were counting on the code to remain stable and backward-compatible. Science is not software development. Scientists want to focus on doing science, not on software distribution, licensing, making regular releases, and supporting a user community.</p>\n\n<p>It may not even be legally possible to release a working version of the code. E.g., it may have some old FORTRAN routines in it that calculate Clebsch–Gordan coefficients, and if the author of those routines is dead, then it may not be legally possible to publish them.</p>\n\n<p>I'm also skeptical about the long-term value of releasing code in most cases. Github will be gone in five or ten years, and the vast majority of the software it hosts will then cease to exist, since the vast majority of coders will not bother to migrate their code.</p>\n"
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| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19348",
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|
19,350 | <p>I've noticed that many professors seem to impose extremely tight time limits on their exams, even though the subject in question would never have such extreme time constraints in real life. For example, I cannot imagine a situation where I have to write 50 lines of code on a piece of paper in less than 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Is it reasonable for me to complain about such constraints or is it normal to expect fast exam performance from students?</p>
<p>Note that I'm not talking about the actual exam difficulty, just the time constraint built around it.</p>
| [
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"answer_id": 19352,
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"text": "<p>This is not really an answer but some educated guess. Most instructors do not plan to impose a challenging time constraint for exams. Usually we <em>tend to overestimate</em> how easy is the exam. The younger is the instructor, the more optimistic he/she is about students and more eager to write interesting questions. For subjects that require lots of drilling, tight time constraints are helpful in the sense one can immediately screen out the students who did lots of homework/problem solving from those who have to think from scratch.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19355,
"author": "Karen",
"author_id": 14039,
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"text": "<p>It is reasonable to bring up the issue of exam difficulty, although I would try to bring it up in a way that is not accusing the professor of being unfair, perhaps bringing it up as part of a question of how to study next time, or asking if this is going to be typical of his exams.</p>\n\n<p>It may be that the professor sees value in the tight time constraint that you aren’t aware of. For example, they might be asking something very challenging, knowing that very few students will succeed completely. It is very common to have test questions ranging from fairly easy to very difficult, with the expectation that most students will miss the most difficult questions. Partially correct answers show partial understanding. In this case, a coding question with a time limit will show up problems that might be harder to see in an assignment where a student has unlimited time. One sort of issue that will show up is that there's big difference between the uncompleted code of somebody who starts writing random code in the hopes it will sort itself out as it comes, vs somebody who takes 3 minutes to plan an approach, and the rest of the time implementing that approach. But if all you are looking at is the final result is a problem set, the difference is less obvious, even if the first person takes twice as long to reach the same result. There could be other possible benefits to this type of question as well.</p>\n\n<p>It’s also possible that the professor isn’t aware of just how difficult the test is, and your question will bring that to his attention. Although if nobody finishes that question, that alone will give most instructors a clue that their estimated difficulty was off. But generally, exams have very little to do with career prep, and more to do with assessing student ability.</p>\n"
},
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"answer_id": 19356,
"author": "Community",
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"text": "<p>The objective of an assessment can vary from one lecture to another. Quite often, the point is simply to validate whether the expected learning outcomes of the lecture have been met. For instance, if an expected outcome is to know almost by heart how to write an array sorting program, then it's quite reasonable to ask to write a small amount of lines of code in a fixed amount of time. </p>\n\n<p>If, on the other hand, the expected outcome is at a higher level of understanding (in the sense of <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_Taxonomy\">Bloom's taxonomy</a>), for instance by asking to design and assess a new data structure to handle a new problem, then it could be more reasonable to expect more time. </p>\n\n<p>The problem you are referring to by \"<em>would never have such extreme time constraints in real life</em>\" is addressed with the notion of <em>authentic learning</em> <a href=\"https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstream/handle/1951/35263/editorial_rule.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y\">(Rule, 2006)</a>, which identifies the four following themes for a learning to be authentic: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>1) the activity involves real-world problems that mimic the work of professionals in the discipline with presentation of findings to audiences beyond the classroom; </p>\n \n <p>2) open-ended inquiry, thinking skills, and metacognition are addressed; </p>\n \n <p>3) students engage in discourse and social learning in a community of learners; and </p>\n \n <p>4) students are empowered through choice to direct their own learning in relevant project work.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Authentic learning comes with its upsides and downsides (the reference linked acts as a survey paper, if you are interested), so it's not necessarily the best approach. In particular, <a href=\"http://engage.wisc.edu/dma/research/docs/Lombardi-AuthenticLearning.pdf\">(Lombardi, 2007)</a> note that <em>the reliance on traditional instruction is not simply a choice made by individual faculty—students often prefer it.</em> For instance, not everybody wants to be tested on writing code in a highly complex environment, using bugged code written by other people, implementing specifications that are sub-optimal, but the client want them in this way, which could be a typical real world situation. </p>\n\n<p><strong>I don't think you should complain about time constraints</strong>, but if you believe that authentic learning would be more beneficial to you and your fellow students, <strong>you should probably discuss with the professor about the objective of the assessment</strong>. </p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Lombardi, M. M. (2007). Authentic learning for the 21st century: An overview. Educause learning initiative, 1(2007), 1-12.</p>\n\n<p>Rule, Audrey C. (2006). The Components of Authentic Learning. Journal of Authentic Learning, Volume 3, Number 1, Pages 1-10, August 2006</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19357,
"author": "JustAskin",
"author_id": 14068,
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"text": "<p>Some professors seem to be using this paradigm of testing; instead of giving ample time so that it's reasonable to finish the test, they'll intentionally make it so even the best-prepared testee will only have time to finish 75% of the test. Of course it will be curved based on this. It separates those who know the material really well from the people who only know a little, and apparently creates a pretty good bell curve, which seems to be what everyone is after these days.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19386,
"author": "tsleyson",
"author_id": 12904,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12904",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience, challenging time constraints are a hindrance because they induce panic, which inhibits the ability to reason through a problem and make a thoughtful answer to it. </p>\n\n<p>I'm currently tutoring two students on grammar for a business English class. Their teacher sets 100 questions for each 50 minute exam. That comes down to 30 seconds for each question. This tactic makes a mockery of all my attempts to teach them the logic and reason behind grammar. The students barely have enough time to figure out what's being asked of them, let alone apply any rules or reasoning principles. </p>\n\n<p>The students feel this is unfair; they learned the rules, did the homework (which average 300 questions per set), and now they're failing the tests because they can't go through the whole process of reading a problem, conjuring up the correct rule, and finding the correct answer in 30 seconds. This causes bitterness and low morale. It makes them feel that all the work they put in to the homework was a waste of time.</p>\n\n<p>It's not feasible in the standard method of testing to give students unlimited time, and most schools don't have the resources to set aside computer labs for exams so CS students can write code on them. But there's no reason to make the time constraints more of a problem than they need to be. Make the questions easier; put fewer questions; and split long questions into multiple parts, which are graded independently. I've found all of these reduce the pressure, and the second two options let you still put challenging problems on the exam.</p>\n\n<p>In short, yes, I do think it's wrong to impose a challenging time constraint on an exam. Not only because it's unrealistic, but also because it puts artificial limits on the students' performance, which the students will recognize as artificial and react badly to. Unless you're trying to teach people to program on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise during a Red Alert while an anomaly is sucking the ship in, lighten up the time limits.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19394,
"author": "Muz",
"author_id": 14187,
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"text": "<p>It's not uncommon to have challenging time constraints. Some American tests like the ACT and SAT have a tight limit built in to reward students for being fast.</p>\n\n<p>However, many of these tests are scaled, in that no matter how well or how badly the students do, the grades are normally distributed..</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19408,
"author": "user14195",
"author_id": 14195,
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"text": "<p>Tests with tight time constraints are probably created by instructors who are not familiar with personality profiles like those revealed in Meyers-Briggs personality tests. People with some personality types tend to test slowly but deliberately, while others will test quickly but haphazardly. Of course, I'm also sure that there are those that test quickly and deliberately, as well as slowly and haphazardly. But, in the end, if instructors thought about it, they would find that they most likely prefer students go slowly but deliberately, thereby raising their percentage of correct answers. I imagine that most employers prefer slow production in order to achieve a high rate of perfection, thereby limiting wasted time and material.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 105391,
"author": "Ben",
"author_id": 87026,
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"text": "<p>Opinions on this vary, but personally I prefer to avoid cases where the major difficulty of the exam is the time limit. If the time constraints are too challenging then the process becomes a test of who can write the fastest, rather than who knows the material well. Personally, I prefer to give a time constraint that allows students to think about each question and go at a reasonable pace, with questions that range from easy marks to hard marks, to test their actual understanding of the subject matter. I have also adopted the following rules for time limits in exams:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Exam length for undergraduate-level courses:</strong> As a rule-of-thumb, the teacher should be able to correctly complete the exam in one-third of the time allocated to students, from a position of initial ignorance of the answers. So if you are setting a three-hour exam, you should be able to do the whole thing, including all working out and writing up of answers, in one hour. </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Exam length postgraduate-level courses:</strong> As a rule-of-thumb, the teacher should be able to correctly complete the exam in one-half of the time allocated to students, from a position of initial ignorance of the answers. So if you are setting a three-hour exam, you should be able to do the whole thing, including all working out and writing up of answers, in one-and-a-half hours.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>These time limits have served me well in my courses, and it ensures that I am testing students on their knowledge of the material, rather than their ability to write really fast.</p>\n"
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| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19350",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,354 | <p>I understand why it would be a bad idea to allow math students access to paper materials as it is necessary for students to know the basic math formulas by heart.</p>
<p>But what about advanced practical courses where it is important to "understand" rather than "know"? For example, knowing statistical formulas won't help if you haven't understood how to apply them. Knowing STL commands by heart is also useless for programming, unless you're actually good at programming. Intel's x86 developer manual won't help a complete newbie in Assembly programming.</p>
<p>Therefore the question is whether it is reasonable to believe that good courses should be focused on "understanding" the subject rather than "memorizing" it, meaning that the instructor should have no problems with his students using paper materials on the exam?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19358,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
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"text": "<p>I believe there are two main counterarguments to this line of thinking:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Examinations in which students are given unlimited access to material tends to lead to more challenging exams, since everyone in principle has access to all of the available material they can get their hands on.</p></li>\n<li><p>If unlimited resources are allowed, this potentially gives students who can access more materials an advantage over those who don't.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The second problem is the more serious, in my opinion, but both are major challenges that must be overcome.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I \"split the difference\": I allow students to bring in a limited amount of notes to help them. They can decide what they need to include or not, but it's their choice. Also, by placing the restriction, no one is inherently advantaged</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19370,
"author": "Adrienne",
"author_id": 13729,
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"text": "<p>You might find this article on a computer science class valuable (1). The tl;dr is that sections allowed student-prep notes showed no overall improvement, but mostly because many students didn't bother to create good student-prep notes. Good notes = good grades.</p>\n\n<p>A quick browse of a review/ meta-analysis article on the topic (2), indicates that open-note exams can decrease student anxiety, and that student-prepared notes tend to produce larger improvements than open-book exams.</p>\n\n<p>As an instructor, I've found students often spend energy only where they feel it is needed. I would recommend providing sample exam questions (as a group activity in class?) that gives students a good idea of what will be required and what sorts of notes would be helpful. This will help them expend the energy in preparation instead of frantic in-exam page-flipping.</p>\n\n<p>Thanks for wanting to trigger deep learning in students!</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Duncan, D.G. (2007). Student performance shows slight improvement when open notes are used during information system exams. Journal of Information Technology Education, 6, 361–370.</li>\n<li>Larwin, Karen H., Jennifer Gorman, and David A. Larwin. \"Assessing the Impact of Testing Aids on Post-Secondary Student Performance: A Meta-Analytic Investigation.\" Educational Psychology Review 25.3 (2013): 429-443.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
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"answer_id": 19371,
"author": "J.R.",
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"text": "<p>When I don't want students spending a lot of time memorizing things, I simply provide supplemental information on the exam itself. </p>\n\n<p>For example, imagine a course textbook lists 12 reasons why something might happen. Rather than expecting them to memorize all 12, I might list all 12 on the exam, with an application question such as:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The book lists these 12 causes; which of the 12 is most likely to lead to a catastrophic failure? Explain. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In the case of a statistics class where \"it is important to understand rather than know,\" and, \"knowing statistical formulas won't help if you haven't understood how to apply them,\" you could simply compile a list of formulae from the course textbook and put them on the last page of the exam. </p>\n\n<p>By the way, I agree with Moriarty's comment: \"The act of carefully constructing this summary sheet is usually much more useful than the notes on it.\" My approach doesn't have this benefit, but it does have a few advantages of its own. For one, a student is less likely to get a better score simply because of a better-prepared cheat sheet. For another, the student might focus on understanding the material at a higher level instead of transcribing lower-level details. </p>\n\n<p>My general rule is: If something is hard for me to remember without looking it up, then I don't expect students to memorize it for an exam. I will supply it instead.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Here's another idea to consider. (I haven't used this one, but I had a professor who did, and I admit I liked his reasoning.)</p>\n\n<p>One professor of mine had a custom of administering open book, closed notes exams. (In other words, you could use your book, but <strong>not</strong> a cheat sheet.) Why this way, instead of the other way around? Because, he said, \"Most students won't keep their cheat sheets, but a lot of them will keep their textbooks.\" There were no restrictions on writing inside the margins or the back cover (in fact, that practice was encouraged). Sure enough, I still have a book from his course, and I just opened the front cover, and found my cheat sheet still intact, with plenty of complex equations and hyroglyphics in my own handwriting.</p>\n\n<p>As more and more campus bookstores offer e-readers, this approach might become outdated. But I still think it's worth sharing; I always appreciated how this particlar professor was always looking years down the road, as opposed to just the end of the term. </p>\n"
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| 2014/04/15 | [
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|
19,359 | <p>I have seen this question (<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17483/unable-to-attend-conferences-in-cv">Unable-to-attend conferences in CV</a>), but the situation is a bit different. In my field, we don't usually submit papers for conferences. Rather, the organizers directly invite a number of persons whom they think interesting to give talks (sometimes participants can contribute talks or posters, but that is not the case here). I received such an invitation, but for a number of reasons am not sure yet whether I will attend. </p>
<p>Can I still add the invitation to my CV?</p>
<p>One could of course argue that it is strange to get credit for something (a talk) I might not do. But one could also think that the invitation itself is a distinction and therefore worth mentioning.</p>
| [
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"text": "<p>I would say no.</p>\n\n<p>I often turn down invitations that could be considered a distinction, i.e. an indication that <em>somebody</em> thinks I am reasonably competent at this research thing:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Will you speak on this panel at this research open house?</li>\n<li>Are you willing to review this paper for this journal?</li>\n<li>Would you want to do a research internship with us this summer?</li>\n<li>Do you want to submit an invited paper to this workshop?</li>\n<li>Can you mentor this undergrad who is doing research in the lab?</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>All of these things would go on my CV if I actually do them, but not if I turn down the invitation.</p>\n\n<p>An invitation to speak at a conference is no different, in my opinion. It's certainly a nice validation of your work that the conference organizers recognized your ability to contribute. But if you don't actually give the talk, it doesn't go on the CV.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19480,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
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"text": "<p>If your CV is short, say less than 2 pages, then I think you should mention this invitation to fill up the spaces. However, you need to be ready to answer the question, why did you not attend the conference?</p>\n\n<p>If you already have a long enough CV, I don't see the point to include the invitation in your CV unless it is from an extremely reputable conference. In that case, the invitation itslef is a high honor that others may want to know. Again, people would wonder why you did not attend the conference?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19486,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
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"text": "<p>If you put other conferences you plan to attend on your CV, then I think it's fine to include this one (from an ethical viewpoint, which is how I view \"can\"). You can just remove it if you don't go. In general though, I would be pretty cautious about looking like you're trying too hard to pad your CV. It depends a bit on what you're using it for, but in general having a few more entries on the list of places you've spoken (this is for fields where conferences are not peer-reviewed) isn't going to look especially impressive and could just distract from the good things on your CV.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 161951,
"author": "Phil",
"author_id": 21815,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21815",
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"text": "<p>If you think you will not attend, it is generally better to not put it because people may ask you later why you did not attend it. Many researchers receive several invitations but decline many. So it is best to only list what you actually do.</p>\n<p>There are a few exceptions where it could make sense to mention an invitation. For example, I have seen some people writing in their CV that their conference paper has been invited for an extension in a special journal issue as it was evaluated as one of the top 10 papers at the conference. This is interesting because even though the invitation was declined, it says that the paper was among best papers of that conference.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19359",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12609/"
]
|
19,362 | <p>I work in a field (Philosophy) where co-authorship is uncommon and advisors and grad students very seldomly co-author a paper. I've seen a lot of posts on Academia.se though about the ethics of co-authoring papers with mentors, such <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19319/is-it-better-to-submit-a-paper-to-an-important-journal-without-the-supervisor-na">as this question.</a></p>
<p>My sense is that it must be somewhat common in the natural sciences for the head of the lab/dissertation advisor to be automatically added as a co-author to every paper that his or her graduate students produce. </p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Is this really common, and if so, in which fields?</li>
<li>Is this really ethical? </li>
</ul>
<p>My view is that adding your name to something that you had no part in creating is just plagiarism: it's taking credit for the work of others. </p>
<p>The opposite argument, that the work wouldn't have been possible without the PI's grant funding also cuts no ice. I wouldn't have been able to write my dissertation if my parents hadn't had sex, but that doesn't mean they should get credit as coauthoring my work. </p>
<p>That's the way it seems to me, but maybe somebody from these fields can give us a better rationale for (what seems to be) the widespread practice.</p>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong>
Another argument against the practice. Suppose I'm a billionaire who knows nothing about science, but I take it into my head that I want to be (regarded as) a famous scientist. Suppose I just spend billions of dollars to fund other people to do research. But, I ask each of those people to come and report to me for fifteen minutes ever week about what they've worked on, or discovered that week. Then, every time one of them finds a result, I demand that my name be added to the paper as a co-author, since we have "discussed" the work in progress and it is, after all, by my grace that the funds for the work have been provided. Suppose I just have hundreds of these postdocs, producing thousands of papers a year, all of which I am a coauthor for. </p>
<p>Now ask yourself if I really deserve to be regarded as a famous scientist at all? It seems to me that I don't, because I haven't done any of the science--I haven't suggested any research methods, I haven't designed any experiments, I haven't collected any data, I haven't even helped junior researchers know the shape of the existing literature. You might regard my existence as good for science in some sense--you might think of me as a beneficial patron of the sciences. But you wouldn't think of me as a scientist, right? And you wouldn't think I deserved to be considered for a Nobel Prize, or membership in the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, or whatever. If I demanded that I be given those awards because of the thousands and thousands of papers that I have coauthored, which have been cited tens of thousands of times, you would call me an idiot, right? We give those prizes for discovery, not for being rich. The same thing is true of tenure too. You shouldn't be able to buy your role as a tenured professor. You should have to prove that you, personally, are capable of making a serious contribution to your field. And of course you demonstrate that capability by publishing papers.</p>
<p>So when a prof is automatically added as a coauthor to a paper that he or she did not contribute to in any way except financially, then she is trying to <em>buy</em> a reputation as a scholar, or the other perks like tenure or membership in the AAAS that come with that reputation in just the same kind of way that the absurd billionaire is doing.</p>
| [
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"text": "<p>This depends on many factors, and there is no general answer. In a field like experimental particle physics, you can have a paper with 500 authors. These experiments are huge collaborations. For people doing theoretical work in the sciences, it's more common to have only one or two authors; the question is then whether the adviser made a significant contribution.</p>\n\n<p>Yes, it does happen sometimes that people get added as coauthors when they shouldn't. At a lab where I once worked, the director of the lab got his name on every paper done by anybody at the lab, even if he had made no contribution. (His c.v. proudly listed his vast number of scientific publications.) I once had a coauthor who refused to read and comment on the paper before it was submitted, but who also wanted his name on it. He was backed by our PI, because he had done work on the experiment.</p>\n\n<p>In the natural sciences, the norm is basically that if you made a significant contribution to the work, your name goes on the paper. Typically a grad student's adviser <em>will</em> make a significant contribution to any work the student carries out.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19376,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is this really common, and if so, in which fields?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I guess it is reasonably common in many fields. As a rule of thumb, it seems to me that the more applied a field is, the more likely you are to see groups where the lab head co-authors every or almost every paper in the lab. In my field (software engineering), I would say at least 50% - 75% of all groups operate like this. Academia.SE tells me that this is not the case e.g., in Theoretical CS. </p>\n\n<p>Note that this does not <em>necessarily</em> mean that the lab head is added to each paper without contribution (although there are certainly groups where it means exactly that). In some cases, it is just that all research in a lab directly runs through the lab head (i.e., nobody works on research without the direct involvement of the lab head). In such cases, co-authorship on all papers may be academically warranted (but this might actually be the worse practice in reality, as it allows for no growth to independence at all for the PhD students and postdocs in the lab).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is this really ethical?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I would argue that things are more complicated than you seem to think, mostly because the funding argument that you claim \"holds no ice\" is in fact not so bad. Your comparison with your parents having sex is pretty silly. Big research labs depend on senior researchers acquiring grant money. This takes <strong>a lot</strong> of time - time, that said researchers cannot use to write actual papers. Researchers on any level are mostly evaluated via papers. Under these circumstances, if senior researchers don't get a \"kickback\" on some level from the money they acquire, what would motivate them to write grant proposals in the first place?</p>\n\n<p>There is also the added difficulty that in many STEM fields it is just darn difficult to decide whether somebody has <em>made a contribution</em> (see also here: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12030/what-are-the-minimum-contributions-required-for-co-authorship?lq=1\">What are the minimum contributions required for co-authorship</a>). Is discussing ideas enough? What if all the important ideas and suggestions came from the advisor? Oftentimes, the research work of a PhD student is basically an implementation of a high-level plan laid out by the advisor in the funding proposal. In that case, has the advisor not by default \"contributed\" to all papers?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19387,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
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"text": "<p>In fundamental mathematics, at least in France, the custom is for advisors never to co-author (important) papers with their students. If an advisor does coauthor a paper with a PhD student, then it is assumed that he or she had to help the student more than should be expected, and this can prevent the student from getting a job afterward.</p>\n<p>This goes to the point of being arguably unethical in the opposite way than asked in the question, as most of the time advisors do have a role (if only of suggesting the question and the angle of attack) in PhD student papers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19389,
"author": "Faheem Mitha",
"author_id": 285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/285",
"pm_score": 3,
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"text": "<p>I doubt I have anything too original to say here, but I couldn't resist a chance to add my 2c. This might be the most fraught question in academia, as least if you are a student or a post-doc.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it ethical for advisors to automatically coauthor papers?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I assume that by advisor you are also including a postdocs PI, for example. So let us consider the question as this more general one. The basic answer in my opinion, is... No, of course, not.</p>\n\n<p>I've seen various positions/justifications on/for this. They include:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>That's just the way it is. The advisor provides the funding. Without\nhim, you would have no funding, no job, and no paper. So be\ngrateful. This might be described as the \"capitalist justification\"\nfor this practice. Similar viewpoints are expressed to justify why\ncapitalism and capitalists are good things.</li>\n<li>Well, the advisor is providing value even if you don't think or know\nit. It is easy for a junior researcher to underestimate the value of\nan overarching research plan, and the value in discussion and the\nperspective of a senior researcher.</li>\n<li>Well, the senior faculty need a payoff, or else why is it worth\ntheir while? This was expressed by @xLeitix for example.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>That might be some value/validity in all these viewpoints, but I personally don't think that any of these is a justification for such practices. </p>\n\n<p>As far as 1 goes, you can basically use the same justification for a sweatshop. </p>\n\n<p>As far as 2, I think that the help provided by one individual spreading himself as thin as the kinds of people we are talking about do, is likely to be realistically very low, unless the person in question is very energetic and very talented. Such people are rare. Plus senior people don't usually have that kind of energy anyway. Also, research questions are just too hard, complicated, and non-obvious. You need to dig in. But you can't dig in 20 holes at the same time.\nAdditionally, in the kind of complex multi-disciplinary areas that are getting more common these days, it is increasingly difficult to have a sufficiently broad skill-set to be able to keep up with more than a fraction of what is going on in a typical research lab.</p>\n\n<p>My experience of mentors/advisors contributions is that their contributions tended to be useless/rubbish because they did not really understand the issues, either because they didn't have or didn't want to take the time, or their training had simply not equipped them to do so.</p>\n\n<p>3 is really the hardest to respond to; I'm not sure I have a good response. However, it is not really a justification so much as a pragmatic observation. </p>\n\n<p>So, to the subquestions</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is this really common, and if so, in which fields?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is really hard to know this. You can't pass out a survey which includes a box to tick saying \"yes, I'm a crook and fraud\". However... @xLeitix writes</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I guess it is reasonably common in many fields. As a rule of thumb, it\n seems to me that the more applied a field is, the more likely you are\n to see groups where the lab head co-authors every or almost every\n paper in the lab. In my field (software engineering), I would say at\n least 50% - 75% of all groups operate like this.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Based on my experience, I think this sounds pretty accurate, though I would not venture any percentages. I've worked in more theoretical fields, notably Math and Statistics, and in Biomed type fields; this kind of thing is much less common in the theoretical fields, and practically the norm in Biomed. In fact, I didn't see <em>any</em> of this in Math. I don't think this is because mathematicians are inherently any more virtuous than anyone else. I think it is because \napplied work just inherently has more overhead in practical terms than theoretical work, at least in the implementation end of the work. If a mathematician has an idea, he has to prove it, which may not be so easy, but once he has done that, he is basically done. In an applied area, if you have an idea, you are just getting started. You have to collect data and/or perform experiments, probably write some code, write the paper, make figures, etc. etc. So there is just more room for monkey work which a junior person can do.</p>\n\n<p>If I am an applied researcher, I'm probably under immense pressure to perform, to get tenure, or maybe just keep my job. I could try to be good, and contribute to every paper that I am putting my name on, but given the immense overhead of applied work as described above, and also, given that your colleagues are probably happily abusing the system, there is immense temptation, I imagine, to abuse the system as well. Just to keep up.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, in my experience, most people who do this seems to have completely internalized this behavior, and seem to take it for granted.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is this really ethical?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, of course not. Ultimately, my objections are really that of straight morality. I think it is just <em>wrong</em>. These practices are a form of fraud and a form of reputation/credit theft. Granted, in the grand scheme of things they are fairly minor offenses, but regardless...</p>\n\n<p>I think Shane (the poster) makes a good point with his billionaire hypothesis.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19392,
"author": "Darren Ong",
"author_id": 11047,
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"text": "<p>I work in pure mathematics, where advisors are not co-authors unless they have significant input. My perception is that the convention the question speaks of occurs primarily in the laboratory sciences, so my point of view is that of an outsider</p>\n\n<p>Nevertheless, I do not consider the practice unethical. First of all, there is no deception, because in those fields it is well-established convention that the last name on the paper is the lab PI, and other scientists reading the paper will recognize that she didn't contribute to the paper in the same way the first author did, but that the research was performed in her lab with her grant money.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, the lab PI doesn't just bring in the money, she also decides which direction the lab's research should focus on, and she often has to organize a large team of people- something that an advisor never has to do in say, mathematics. This is where the billionaire analogy breaks down. If your hypothetical benefactor also has to make decisions what equipment to buy, which skills to recruit in postdocs and grad students, and which (and how much) resources are worth pouring into which scientific questions, then yes, she deserves last author credit.</p>\n\n<p>Thirdly (and I may be a little unfair in this point) my perception is that the standards of co-authorship are lower in the lab sciences compared to math and philosophy, e.g. people who perform tedious monkeying with equipment, or perform statistical analyses in data get their names on papers despite not contributing to the \"thinking part\" of the project. So if Joe who did nothing but mess with a spectrometer for a couple of days has his name as third author, then Susie who manages the lab should get her name on it too. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19396,
"author": "Daniel",
"author_id": 11808,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11808",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>No, automatic co-authorship is not ethical – irrespectively of the discipline!</strong></p>\n<p>The following is from the <a href=\"https://www.dfg.de/download/pdf/foerderung/rechtliche_rahmenbedingungen/gute_wissenschaftliche_praxis/kodex_gwp_en.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">"DFG Proposals for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice"</a> (pp.82f, emphasis added), which, for instance, strictly forbids "automatic" co-authorships and gives a couple of common negative examples:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Authors of an original scientific publication shall be all those, and only those, who have made <strong>significant contributions</strong> to the conception of studies or experiments, to the generation, analysis and interpretation of the data, and to preparing the manuscript, and who have consented to its publication, thereby assuming responsibility for it. [...]\nTherefore, the following contributions on their own <strong>are not sufficient to justify authorship</strong>:</p>\n</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>merely <strong>organisational responsibility for</strong> obtaining the funds for the research,</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>providing standard investigation material,</li>\n<li>the training of staff in standard methods,</li>\n<li>merely technical work on data collection,</li>\n<li>merely technical support, such as only providing equipment or experimental animals,</li>\n<li>regularly providing datasets only,</li>\n<li><strong>only reading the manuscript</strong> without substantial contributions to its content,</li>\n<li><strong>directing an institution</strong> or working unit in which the publication originates</li>\n</ul>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Help of this kind can be acknowledged in footnotes or in the foreword.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>In fact, DFG (the German Research Council) requires you to sign strict adherence to this ethical code on each and every grant proposal. Other funding agencies have similar regulations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19662,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The correct analogy to draw in fields where grant-writing is a critical aspect of the research is architecture: the act of preparing the grant is akin to doing the conceptual design of a new building; the work of the graduate students and postdocs (or other researchers) is the research equivalent of fleshing out the design into a practical design, and converting it into a real building. The master architect (the one overseeing the vision) is going to get a substantial amount of credit, regardless of not being the one to plan everything out to the finest detail. But the important thing is that the end product (the building in one case, the research in the other) would not result without the initial rough sketches for the specific project (the conceptual design or the grant proposal). </p>\n\n<p>This is very different from the billionaire example provided above, because writing a grant requires the construction of a specific framework in which the research will be carried out, not just handing over money to others to do work within some grandiose but completely unspecific vision. </p>\n\n<p>Now, as a further practical matter, very few advisors are \"absentee landlords\" who merely acquire the grant, and then do nothing else. They almost certainly don't run the code or perform the experiments, but they are active in helping to interpreting the data, design future experiments, and evaluating and editing the manuscripts that are produced. In part, this is a matter of safeguarding one's reputation: if you let people publish bad work under your name, your reputation will suffer as a result in the long run. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19682,
"author": "user14382",
"author_id": 14382,
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"text": "<p>Answers to your question of the ethics of co-authorship need to consider what is the role of (or signal conveyed by) authorship in a publication. This role may 1) differ among disciplines and 2) be evolving all the time.</p>\n\n<p>In the case of large research groups or collaborative projects—as some seen in genetics or physics—the roles of a head researcher involve managing the direction of the research and to create an environment where that research can thrive. The latter may involve obtaining funding, hiring post-docs & PhD students, managing people so research happens in a productive way. Whatever output from that group would probably not happen if it wasn't for the head researcher; in that sense, he/she has a very strong involvement in the creation of a research output. Good research heads will know very well where the different pieces/outputs fit in the overall research project, although they may not be familiar with the details of a calculation in a publication. They will guide provide post-docs and students so their publications fit within the overall project. In my book, this merits co-authorship in a publication.</p>\n\n<p>In addition, there is co-authorship as a signal of group productivity, which is then used to improve the standing of the head researcher when it comes to funding application. This is a game played by many labs in the world; one may not agree with the 'corruption' of traditional authorship, but it is certainly used that way. Thus, I do not think we can discuss the ethics of co-authorship in a vacuum, without understanding its role in modern research practice.</p>\n\n<p>Disclaimer: I do work in a small group, where there is no assumption of automatic co-authorship. I am, however, evaluated on the 'creation and support of research environment' when applying for academic promotion.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19713,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Any question involving the words \"Automatic\" and \"Authorship\" raises red flags for me, and my inclination is always to say \"No\".</p>\n\n<p>From the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, which is the group that sets authorship guidelines not only for medical journals, but also many journals in closely related fields like public health:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Authorship confers credit and has important academic, social, and financial implications. Authorship also implies responsibility and accountability for published work. The following recommendations are intended to ensure that contributors who have made substantive intellectual contributions to a paper are given credit as authors, but also that contributors credited as authors understand their role in taking responsibility and being accountable for what is published.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Automatic authorship doesn't confer either this responsibility, or imply that they've made substantive intellectual contributions to the papers. Their four suggested criteria is as follows:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND\n Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND\n Final approval of the version to be published; AND\n Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think that in <em>most</em> cases an advisor should have met the first criteria, and <em>should</em> have met all the subsequent ones for papers with their name on it done by one of their students (otherwise, what exactly is the advisor doing besides signing the occasional form?), but it's entirely possible they haven't.</p>\n\n<p>For example, in my dissertation, I have two papers that do not have my advisors name on them - one because it was a side musing born out of trying to graph a set of results, and pretty much the product of my own brain over the course of a week, and another because they felt they hadn't met those criteria.</p>\n"
},
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"answer_id": 69029,
"author": "Norman Gray",
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think one can claim this is ‘unethical’ in general.</p>\n\n<p>We can (at least for the purpose of argument) take ‘unethical’ to mean ‘deceptive’, in which case ‘is automatic authorship unethical?’ can be read as ‘is automatic authorship deceptive?’ But that depends on who, in the readership, is being deceived, and different disciplines may ‘read’ the author list differently.</p>\n\n<p>My presence in an author list may indicate a claim that:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>I contributed to this paper, and my position in the list order reflects the importance of my contribution.</li>\n<li>I contributed to this paper, and my position in the list reflects the alphabetisation of my name.</li>\n<li>I contributed to this paper, and my position in the list represents the order in which the various authors first committed edits to the text in github.</li>\n<li>I at least read this paper, and my inclusion in the list reflects the fact that I, along with 800 other people, was during the relevant period funded 50% or more of my time to work on this collaboration (actually, in this case you can't really tell whether or not I'm even aware the paper exists).</li>\n<li>I'm aware of this paper (which happened in my lab) and am the PI who got the funding (I get the impression, as others have remarked, that this is common in biomedical fields).</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>As long as the readership of the paper parses the author list in the way I expect, then no-one has been deceived, even if someone from a different area, who parses author lists differently, would get the wrong impression, and might think I was claiming something I'm not (and therefore reproach me for being unethical in doing so).</p>\n\n<p><strong>So</strong> – I think the answer to the question ‘is “automatic authorship” unethical?’ is: it depends on what you mean by ‘automatic’, ‘authorship’ and ‘unethical’ (we can perhaps take ‘is’ as unproblematic), and depends <em>crucially</em> on what author and reader believe is being communicated by one's presence and location in an author list.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I've written papers under each set of rules apart from the fifth. In one similar case, however (anecdote alert), I was on a five-author paper where almost all of the actual writing was done by the PI of the grant and me, in that order; the PI sequenced me first in the author list, then the second, third and fourth authors, then him last, to log the fact that he was the PI, even though you couldn't then tell how much he'd written. I didn't think this was very fair to him, but he asserted this was the norm in his discipline (a different area of physics).</p>\n\n<p>Some disciplines seem to observe more than one of these parsing rules.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, all of this means that bibliometrics which count things like ‘first-author papers’ are so errorprone as to be essentially pointless, for this as for so many other reasons.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 75187,
"author": "Jan Hackenberg",
"author_id": 60248,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/60248",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First point to counter the \"taking credits away\": it is your choice to add an \"author's contribution\" chapter to your manuscript. If you feel pressure to put your supervisor or chief of lab you can do so. If they did not participate in your research, you can simply write \"chief - responsible for project fundings\". Two things can happen, the reviewers or the editor in chief reject this author for not participating enough. Then it is less pressure that you yourself offended your supervisor, who will later grade you. Or they do not care and the paper goes published, but with exactly this authors contribution. You always have the chance, to not even write this on your own. You can ask all coauthors to give you a summary of their contribution. Formulate that you consider this too sensitive to write on your own and sent to all co-authors. An \"empty\" co-author has to visibly lie in their response, which is a lot less likely to happen. </p>\n\n<p>Also question yourself, if your supervisor is really not participating? If it is only 5 minutes per week discussion, but within the 5 minutes he/she prevents you with their knowledge from wasting 2 weeks on the wrong statistical method, there is no ethical conflict to grant and offer them co-authorship. If they never participate though it is unethical in my opinion. Regardless of the field. But strongly question yourself, how much has this person influenced your scientific thinking.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19362",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
19,363 | <p>I'm an American professor in a branch of theoretical science at a US institution. There is a Japanese postdoc in our group who has nearly finished writing a paper with one of the American postdocs. We're having a bit of a conflict over authorship: the Japanese postdoc wants my name to be on the publication, and I don't think it's appropriate. I chatted about the project with them while it was in progress and made a few suggestions, but fundamentally all the ideas and computations originated with the two postdocs. I think that they should take full credit for the work and I that I should take none, and this seems consistent with US authorship norms to me. However, the postdoc from Japan seems very unhappy that I don't want to sign my name on the paper. He said that if I don't, then he won't feel like he can discuss his future work-in-progress with me because he will think I am disavowing the work or that I have no time for him. I've insisted that I'm happy to discuss his work, I just think that he deserves his share of credit for it and that if my name is attached it might be perceived by others as more my work than his.</p>
<p>I've never encountered this situation before. At times I've been in the opposite situation, when I was a postdoc, feeling that professors were claiming undue credit for my work, so actively wanting a professor who did none of the actual work to claim authorship is difficult for me to understand. But I assume this is a difference in cultural norms; I know professors from certain countries in our field who have such a large number of publications that it's clear they're claiming authorship over this sort of project that they had very little involvement in. (I don't necessarily mean that as a criticism of them; I think that within their local academic culture, this is expected and ethical behavior.)</p>
<p>How should I negotiate this cultural clash?</p>
<p>(Also, to forestall one possible set of comments, I'm in a field where alphabetical author order is conventional, so that isn't an issue here.)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19366,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your view is in line with international norms as expressed by guidelines for authorship (see for example <a href=\"http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3355\">Council of Science Editors</a>, [BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal)] and ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has written up guidelines for <a href=\"http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html\">authorship and contributorship</a> based on the Vancouver Protocol.).</p>\n\n<p>Since there is international agreements in place you can simply point at these and say that it is what your adhere to. I can see that the student wants to be affiliated with your name and having a recognized name on a paper may be of use both for personal and review reasons. Nevertheless, it seems clear that with the ethical rules in place, the student should realize that the request is not correct. You could of course also suggest that your name appear in the acknowledgements. that seems appropriate to me and could be a golden middle way.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19367,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I feel like the right answer must be to continue the conversation with the Japanese postdoc and ultimately give him the responsibility to understand and accept your position.</p>\n\n<p>I understand that <em>at first</em> he interpreted your lack of desire for coauthorship in a certain way. And then you explained your position, as you have written here. How did he react to that? If someone insists on interpreting your behavior in a way different from how you are explicitly identifying it as being meant to be interpreted, what can you really do other than ensure that your future actions are consistent with the interpretation of your present behavior that you have conveyed?</p>\n\n<p>I don't see any insurmountable \"cultural differences\" here. In my field (mathematics, which sounds like it is equal or close to yours) there are plenty of singly authored papers by Japanese people, so obviously the practice of supervisory coauthorship is not a fundamental tenet of Japanese culture or anything like that. Even if it were: if the postdoc is in the US working in your group, then he has volunteered in a very strong sense to participate in your local brand of Western academic culture. If he cannot understand that actions can have different meanings in your neck of the woods than what he was used to earlier in his career (whether by virtue of his being Japanese or for some other reason), then he's headed for big trouble.</p>\n\n<p>I would say: clearly explain the situation as best you can, in several sittings if necessary. Don't put your name on a paper that you don't feel you contributed to just because that makes the postdoc uncomfortable. In the near future, try to go a little out of your way to show that you still want to do business with the postdoc (assuming you still do, which sounds reasonable). </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19363",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14166/"
]
|
19,368 | <p>Reading the various questions about open-book and closed-book examinations got me wondering:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Is there any sound <strong>pedagogical</strong> reason for a time-limited examination (closed or open) at the undergraduate/advanced UG level ?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I understand that there are many good logistical reasons, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>classroom management in a big group</li>
<li>a desire to prevent cheating</li>
</ul>
<p>and at (say) the elementary school level, I understand that timed tests (say of multiplication tables) create a certain level of felicity with manipulating numbers that helps with more complex tasks later on. </p>
<p>But at the UG/advanced UG level, it seems to me that deep understanding is usually more important. </p>
<p>Note: <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19350/is-it-wrong-to-impose-a-challenging-time-constraint-on-exams">This question on the unreasonableness of the prescribed time limits</a> is related, but not exactly the same (i.e it takes as given the <strong>existence</strong> of time limits and merely questions the actual time span set)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19373,
"author": "Adrienne",
"author_id": 13729,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13729",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Oooo. What an intriguing question.</p>\n\n<p>My \"answer\" is that there is no pedagogical reason, merely practical ones. This is based on the attached study (1) that shows the difficulty with assuming only learning disabled students benefit from more time for exams. Apparently the \"time doesn't matter\" idea is called the Maximum Potential Thesis.</p>\n\n<p>I certainly am guilty of writing questions that push student time limits to the max... essentially creating a reading exam in addition to a biology one. Student recall of vocabulary and definitions should be quick. But my main learning goal is thoughtful, connected thinking rather than fast thinking.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Zuriff, G. E. (2000). Extra examination time for students with learning disabilities: An examination of the maximum potential thesis. Applied Measurement in Education, 13(1), 99-117.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19374,
"author": "bone",
"author_id": 11469,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11469",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not sure if in the field of Pedagogy there is any study on the topic, but in the field i studied (Electronic Engineering), doing things fast is very important. Not only you need to be able to understand a topic, but you need to be able to solve problems in a restricted time period, as is the case in the real life profession. When you are working on a project and you need to design something, or are presented with a problem in a system, the engineer in this case needs to be able to identify and solve the problem in the shortest time possible. It is basic competition, \"The fast drives out the slow, even if the fast is wrong\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19381,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is there any sound <strong>pedagogical</strong> reason for a time-limited examination (closed or open) at the undergraduate/advanced UG level ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>For many subjects, yes. For others, no.</p>\n\n<p>I had an exam for a subject in school called \"technical graphics\". It involved drawing parabolas and projections and so forth on a big sheet of A3 paper with pencils and protractors and compasses. It was widely-regarded to be a subject of skill more than knowledge: the exam was timed and you had to accurately and quickly and carefully draw up four or five questions. A small inaccuracy becomes compounded through the rest of the drawing. Given unlimited time and some basic knowledge, nearly anyone could ace the exam since acquiring the necessary knowledge was easy; but acquiring the skill to do the timed exam was hard. And it was the skill we practised in class. Was this skill useful? Was it a learning outcome to draw quickly? I would say yes, of course; if I were to become a draughtsman (leaving aside CAD et al. for the purposes of the analogy), learning to draw quickly and accurately would be important to my livelihood. And it was the tightly-timed test that put emphasis on this learning outcome.</p>\n\n<p>Likewise if I were doing a cookery lesson, cooking quickly would be important. If I were doing a programming lesson, programming quickly would not be as important, but it would still be important. And so we get into the usual varying shades of grey.</p>\n\n<p>Generalising, we can define different types of learning based on the two main types of memory targeted: procedural memory (residing below the level of conscious awareness) and declarative memory (facts and/or knowledge that can be consciously recalled or inferred from other such facts/knowledge). Some subjects – like technical graphics or cookery or programming – put a strong focus on development of procedural memory alongside declarative memory. Other subjects – like biology or history – emphasise declarative memory far far more than procedural memory.</p>\n\n<p>As such, I would say that the importance of a time-limited exam for a subject is correlated with the emphasis on procedural learning for that subject. A teacher may then wish to consider whether or not procedural learning is important for their subject or not.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19391,
"author": "Peteris",
"author_id": 10730,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10730",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<h2>Open book exams</h2>\n\n<p>A particular reason for time limits is the open book exam. Such an exam without any time limits would allow the student to simply study all the relevant topics on the spot, and be useless for evaluation; however, an open book exam with an appropriate time limit will separate students based on their knowledge and obtained skill, while allowing the benefits of open-book exams for subjects where people aren't expected to memorize everything but use reference material as needed, and in those disciplines where you should teach students a habit to always doublecheck and verify in case of doubt, instead of guessing, e.g. medicine. </p>\n\n<p>In essence, the time limit is a tool to check if you need to look up 5% of issues or 95%.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 125230,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is often the case that a problem can be solved in multiple ways, some of which involve more \"brute force\" and some of which involve deeper understanding of the material. The \"brute force\" approaches are often also much slower than the approaches involving deeper understanding.</p>\n\n<p>Time limits are then one tool that can help to distinguish the depth of understanding that a student has for the material, by making it difficult to accomplish with \"brute force\" methods in the allotted time.</p>\n\n<p>I had personal experience with this myself as a teaching assistant for the introductory artificial intelligence class at MIT. Many of the things that we taught in that class and the questions that we used to test for them had this property. Students who understood the material well typically finished tests with lots of time to spare and left early, while the ones who were struggling to rediscover the material during the exam came to complain to us afterward about the lack of time --- not the most pleasant thing for any involved, but one that we found no good way to address in the time that I was a TA for that class.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19368",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346/"
]
|
19,385 | <p>I cannot find any policy on the matter through their websites.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19413,
"author": "mankoff",
"author_id": 185,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/185",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Nature Review articles do not need to be invited. And review articles are often not \"original research\". Nature Reviews <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/reviews/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.nature.com/reviews/index.html</a> accepts these. So the answers to your questions are \"yes\" and \"yes\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19497,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to @mankoff's answer, be aware that it is possible, and indeed common in some fields, to email an editor with an idea, or draft, of a review paper and ask if they'd like to \"invite\".</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19385",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14174/"
]
|
19,395 | <p>I was wondering if reviewing papers for established journals was a way to increase ones credibility as a researcher? </p>
<p>My question is related to the fact that the journal editors, that are (frequently) known scientists in your domain, will read the review you made. </p>
<p>I was wondering if we can therefore assume that they will, to some degree, evaluate your reviewing work, and therefore yourself as a scientist, based on your review? Lets imagine I know the editor, and I might want to have a position in his/her lab, then my reviewing work might weight in my evaluation?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19397,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, it helps in more than one way. <em>Community service</em> is a relevant part on an academic CV. Although reviewers for individual papers are normally secret, it does <em>not</em> need to be secret that you have reviewed articles for journal <em>X</em>. You can write that you have done so on your CV, and if needed (but I don't think it should be), a journal editor can confirm.</p>\n\n<p>It works the other way around too: being asked to review a paper is an independent confirmation of your credibility as a researcher. The first times it happened to me, it was really an ego boost. Wow, someone else than my supervisor thinks I know something about something! Great!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19398,
"author": "Robert Talbert",
"author_id": 14188,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14188",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Possibly, although many peer-reviewed journals use a double-blind review system, so identities of reviewers can get buried -- and your \"reputation\" as such won't get enhanced. </p>\n\n<p>However, I think reviewing papers -- and books, and other items of scholarship -- is a really valuable activity for a number of reasons. First, it gives you exposure to what active scholarship looks like and to other people's research and writing styles. Second, it's a way of contributing to the community of researchers in your field, a way of giving back to the system we all want to work well. Third, if you're in a tenure-track position this is an example of service to the profession that most TT profs are expected to contribute. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19406,
"author": "Chris Leary",
"author_id": 11905,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11905",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I was once asked to referee a paper for a well-known journal and accepted because I was flattered that someone took a chance on me. I must have done a pretty good job because I ended up doing more than a dozen for this particular editor. I don't think my service, which I did willingly and took seriously, increased my reputation as a researcher. I do think it enhanced my reputation as far as knowledge of the field and professional judgement in it. It was a good feeling to have someone value my opinion, and it felt good to give something back to the discipline.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19417,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Just to add to the other answers with some other points to think about in terms of profile: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Reviewers for conferences are often made explicit as Programme Committee members. People who do good work in the PC eventually become Senior Programme Committee members, then Track Chairs, then Programme Chairs, then General Chairs, etc. Even PC membership for good conferences helps your academic profile, where higher-up positions help even more.</p></li>\n<li><p>Journals work a little differently since reviews are solicited directly and are typically not noted anywhere public (with the exception of some journals employing a transparent peer-review model). But in my case, I was invited to the Editorial Board of a new journal in my area on the basis of my reviewing work for them. If you do <em>good</em> reviews, editors <em>will</em> notice. (Of course, this might not always result in an EB membership, but ...)</p></li>\n<li><p>Conferences and journals (at least in CS) sometimes award \"Best Reviewer\" awards. I've picked up a couple of these and they look good in CVs.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Of course, reviewing in a community is an excellent way of keeping your finger on the pulse of not only what are the hot topics, but how papers in the area are evaluated (this is esp. true for serving in committees of conferences where seeing how the sausages are made is an enlightening experience).</p>\n\n<p>(And on a more philosophical note: I always saw reviewing a bit like seeding in Bittorrent. Submitting lots of papers for review but never doing reviews is plain greedy. Complaining about the quality of the reviews you get and then doing crappy reviews is hypocritical. ... not so related to the question, but it's good to vent now and again.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19438,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suspect that it indeed <strong>has</strong> an impact. Although reviewers are often anonymous, they are not for the editor and the editorial boards. There are important, influential and well connected people on editorial boards and if you provide useful reviews they will notice you. First, this news may spread by gossip and this will for sure be helpful. Second, people on editorial boards are often the same people that will be asked for reports and evaluation (e.g. in Germany, one collects expert opinions to fill positions) and if they know you through your referee reports this may be of great help.</p>\n\n<p>I have no data how large of an effect these two points really make but there is some anecdotal evidence: I remember that I once heard a conference chair introducing the next speaker by saying that he always asks her with the toughest papers he gets submitted as an editor. At least to me that made some impression…</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19395",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/481/"
]
|
19,399 | <p>Is it ever a good idea to apply (and interview) to a faculty position at an institute if you know for certain (or with very high probability) that you are not going to accept a position there.</p>
<p>Possible advantages are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Networking and letting people hear about your work.</li>
<li>Practice for later interviews.</li>
<li>Leverage: If a top institute offers you a position, that could be used to improve negotiating position with other institutes that you are interested in.</li>
</ol>
<p>Is this something which is frowned upon? On one hand, I am guessing that departments wouldn't want to waste their time and money on a candidate that will not accept a position. But on the other hand it might be acceptable if the faculty are interested in hearing/talking with the candidate anyway.</p>
<p>If this is acceptable (or if it is not but someone still recommends it from the candidate's perspective), should the candidate give the impression that they are enthusiastic about the institution? (of course I realize the interests of the candidate might be different than those of the institution)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19401,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Please don't do this- you'll only be wasting the time of the search committee members. Furthermore, you'll be doing something that is dishonest, and you do should not get into the habit of lying to people. </p>\n\n<p>If it becomes apparent early in the search process that you aren't truly interested in the position then the committee will probably not invite you for an on-campus interview. If you actually are invited for an on-campus interview, then there's a good chance that it will become apparent during the interview that you really aren't interested in the position. If you feign interest and do get an on-campus interview and then get an offer but reject that offer, then you'll have left a bad impression with the faculty in that department which will effect your relations with them in the future. </p>\n\n<p>The ways in which this can hurt the candidate are fairly limited, so the reality is that people can get away with this if they want to. However, that doesn't make it right. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19402,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It seems a little inconsiderate to me; the department will waste their time considering your application, and the further along in the interview process you get, the more of their time (and yours) you will waste. But I don't think it's necessarily unacceptable. You could argue that an interview might convince you that you would be interested in working there after all.</p>\n\n<p>I'm not sure it's actually very helpful to you, though. </p>\n\n<p>Your point 1 doesn't make sense to me. If you want to tell someone about your work, just send them an email and tell them. Sending an application seems ineffective; yours will probably be one of hundreds of applications read on that day, which won't help your chances of having them remember you.</p>\n\n<p>For point 2, \"practice application\" seems a little silly to me. But if you really think it would help, you'll get just as much practice by writing the application and then <em>not</em> submitting it.</p>\n\n<p>Point 3 has some justification. But for it to be effective, you have to go all the way through the interview process and get an offer. Consider the amount of time you'll spend writing a compelling application and traveling to an on-campus interview. And you'll have to spend that day-long on-campus interview insincerely convincing them how much you want to work there; not a very pleasant task for most people. (If you don't do that, you almost certainly won't get an offer and it will truly be a waste of your time as well as theirs.) Even if you do get an offer, it may still be lower than the offer you actually want, and thus useless as leverage. Is it worth it?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 88996,
"author": "Change",
"author_id": 72664,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/72664",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You already answered your question. You listed the advantages of going on an interview. You might think that you already have a decision not to accept an offer should they make one, however, you can never be certain unless you go on interview. If you dont have other commitments that are more important than this interview, I think it will be only beneficial to do an interview especially if this is a phone interview.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 89006,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to give a contrarian position and say yes, for two reasons:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>There's something to be said for practicing for interviews you <em>do</em> care about. The job search visit is something of a unique and intimidating beast, and being able to approach it once or two without the pressure of feeling heartbroken if you don't get the position is a good thing.</li>\n<li>You have the capacity to be surprised.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Now if you're genuinely <em>certain</em> you're not going to take the position, then I don't think you should bother. But if it just seems merely unlikely? I can tell you the position that I'm at right now was one where, both at the application and interview phase, I considered unlikely to be the right fit. <strong>I was wrong</strong>, and ended up taking the position and being quite happy.</p>\n\n<p>What you do need to do is approach is with seriousness. It's still a job interview, and these people are spending their time and money to invite you out. Even if it's unlikely that it'll end up being the right fit, that deserves your respect. Similarly, if it's clear it's not going to work out, turn them down quickly so they can move on.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 89020,
"author": "AJK",
"author_id": 9892,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9892",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to argue for going to interviews where you are not 100% certain you would accept the job. However, I think that the reasons 1-3 proposed by the OP are probably not the right perspective, so I'll propose #4. (My assumption here is that the reason you are not likely to take the position is about fit, or research activity level at the university - not location.)</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>If you would not work with these people at these university, how seriously are you going to take networking with them? Even if you want to do this, no guarantee the effect will be positive if they think you aren't considering them honestly.</p></li>\n<li><p>Practice is valuable. But once again, if there is a giant mismatch in fit between this place and your intentions, you can take the wrong lesson from your experience!</p></li>\n<li><p>I don't think having an offer from a university on a different \"tier\" gives you much leverage. In fact, I'd be worried about snobbery from some universities - \"If a candidate would consider working for University X, they can't possibly be good enough for the Ivy League,\" etc.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Instead, here's the 4th reason, which I think is much more reasonable:</p>\n\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>You probably don't know what you want as well as you think. Are you sure you couldn't work at a place without a PhD program? I know brilliant, well-funded researchers at places like that. Wrong department name? Maybe the culture is aligned with your field more than you think - after all, they're trying to hire you! Don't want to live in [Region X]? Maybe there's a huge population of immigrants from your country there, which make it a much happier place than you'd expect. </li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I went on four interviews at places where I had serious skepticism about fit. Two of them I realized would be great, one plausible, and one was a worse fit than I had thought. Sometimes that happens - you just have to go in with an open mind, and an honest understanding of what your dealbreakers are. If you can truly 100% rule it out, don't go there - heck, don't apply in the first place! But unless you were choosing applications by throwing darts, you had a reason to apply to that department. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19399",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6862/"
]
|
19,411 | <p>As someone who returned (part-time) to academic pursuit in a different area a number of years ago, in which time I have completed my BA and now am in my first year of a MLitt, I am wondering is it a good idea to start to compile an academic CV? I am unsure as to if their would be any benefit of it for me, as a part time student, and at what point I should start to compile it.</p>
<p>At the moment in my own head the advantages are;</p>
<ul>
<li>It may be of use in applying for funding.</li>
<li>I may need it if I wish to go on to future study</li>
<li>It would be good for myself to keep track of what I have achieved.</li>
</ul>
<p>I have read a number of question on the site about what to put in a CV and realise that at the moment mine would be pretty sparse, as I have no publications, but my advisor has mentioned about me presenting at a conference and I have just applied for my first funding.</p>
<p>In general is it a case of everyone should keep an academic CV or do you just compile and tailor one when and if it is needed?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19415,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I am wondering is it a good idea to start to compile an academic CV?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Start as you mean to continue: it is certainly a good time to start keeping track of all of your academic achievements in a structured way. Later down the line, this will prove invaluable as you will have a record of all your presentations (with dates, slides, venue, etc.), all your publications (with venue, full-text pre-prints, maybe a .bib item), all your reviewing activity, all your visits, and so forth.</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise the cost of trying to recall all these details later might be prohibitive and you might forget things. At the moment, you may be able to remember everything you've done, but trust me when I say that what you were doing four years ago can become hazy.</p>\n\n<p>You could keep your record as a CV in LaTeX format or a database or an Excel file or a HTML homepage. Even a journal notebook would be preferable to nothing. Keep one format canonical so that you don't have to synchronise multiple versions. And keep back-ups!</p>\n\n<p>Of these options, I would recommend a homepage. It helps your impact to have a public personal homepage where you list all the pertinent details of your research (and to link to it where you can, short of spamming). Also consider getting a personal domain: hosting homepages on work spaces is convenient, but there's a chance you might lose that space (and the associated links/ranking) if/when you move institute. If you get a personal domain, some soft advice is to get a <code>.org</code> ... they're more trendy in academia (otherwise <code>.edu</code>, etc.).</p>\n\n<p>In any case, whatever version you keep canonical, get in the habit of keeping it up-to-date in a consistent style. Mapping the records to a CV format for specific purposes further down the line then becomes trivial enough.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19423,
"author": "J. Zimmerman",
"author_id": 7921,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7921",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course! </p>\n\n<p>You are doing some great work now, right? You already have experiences, degree(s), awards, presentations, perhaps even publications. Create an academic CV now, and update at least every six months (I've been told I should update every quarter, but that usually doesn't happen.) As time goes on and you add new and better content, you will want to drop some of the items you now have. </p>\n\n<p>I encourage students to create an academic CV as undergrads, because having an updated CV or resume is often necessary (or at least very handy) when applying for scholarships, conferences, or transfer institutions. Certainly it is not too early for you to begin your academic CV. Although you may not use it right now, you will find it a great advantage to have the framework in place when you need one, instead of having to begin from scratch. Also, you will be able to craft a stronger portrait of yourself as a scholar if the work is created over time. You will be able to refine and strengthen the original draft.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19411",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454/"
]
|
19,418 | <p>Quite often one comes across a really succinct and precise explanation of a concept. I'm wondering if it is permissible to use this explanation verbatim, if the source work is cited in your paper (next to the explanation)? What's in question here is at most 3 sentences.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19419,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>No, it's not permissible. Some minor overlap in wording can occur naturally (e.g., you couldn't possibly avoid all two-word phrases anyone has ever used before), but deliberately copying text is different. If the copied text is special or remarkable and says something better than you could have said it, then you should attribute it to its source and not seem to be presenting it as your own words. Citing the source nearby is not considered enough to indicate a verbatim quote. On the other hand, if there's nothing special about the copied text, then there's no reason to copy it. (I suppose it could save you a few minutes of work in writing your own explanation to replace these sentences, but that's not considered a good excuse.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19422,
"author": "Alex Becker",
"author_id": 541,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/541",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This looks like a textbook example of when you should use a block quote, e.g.:</p>\n\n<p>The research of Bart and Homer [1] determined the root cause of the phenomenon:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Bart and Homer's explanation, indented one to the right and left of the main text.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19441,
"author": "Rudi",
"author_id": 14235,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14235",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No. It is never acceptable to use another person's exact words without quotes and a citation that includes the page number. What you are suggesting is plagiarism. If extensive quoting is not common in your field, and most people paraphrase, then I suggest you paraphrase, even if it seems that you cannot write this in any way better or even equal to what was already written. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19418",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13596/"
]
|
19,426 | <p>I have ADHD (real, diagnosed ADHD, not just "I-say-I-have-ADHD-because-it's-trendy" ADHD). I have never taken the extended time exams that are offered for ADHD students, because I have never needed to, and it was diagnosed just a year ago. However, exams do stress me out and I am certain I would do better on them with some more time - but this is true for almost anyone, not just ADHD students. Thus, would it be unethical to make use of the ADHD services offered to me?</p>
<p>(Edit: You might ask - why would you want to / feel it is justified? Well, hypothetically say ADHD students only achieve 75% of their "non-ADHD" potential in a standard-time setting. Maybe, even though I am doing well, I would be doing even better if I did have the extended time or didn't have ADHD, i.e. due to my exhaustive preparation, even with the disadvantage of my ADHD I am still managing to get a high score. But, with a "level playing field" [extended time for me], I would be at the top of the class. However, I still don't know if this is logical / ethical.)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19428,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Absolutely not. If you meet the full requirements set up by your University, it is perfectly ethical to use all of the resources made available to you. ADHD is a real medical condition and medical experts and policy makers have decided that special test accommodations are the fairest solution. Accommodations like this are based on medical decisions, not whether you are doing well in the course. Take the extra time if you want it. There is no need to feel guilty about doing so.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19440,
"author": "nivag",
"author_id": 14115,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14115",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say it is definitely not unethical. Those are the rules, there is nothing wrong with taking full advantage of them. </p>\n\n<p>I am dyslexic and would never think of not taking my extra time (fortunately no more exams for me!). There have been some cases where I didn't need it (school level maths mainly) I either asked if I could leave with everyone else or sat for 15 mins and reread my answers/twiddled by thumbs.</p>\n\n<p>It is important to remember most exams aim to test your understanding not reading/writing speed (or why ever else people need extra time).</p>\n\n<p>I agree giving people extra time is a pretty blunt tool and not ideal in that pretty much everyone gets the same amount extra irrespective of their particular needs but I think that is a more logistical issue with how the system is setup and would be quite hard to fix and assess.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19479,
"author": "jaia",
"author_id": 12861,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12861",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The purpose of an exam is to measure how well you understand the material. Giving you extra time should make this measurement more precise, so you should take it. Keep in mind that if you really didn't know the material, more time wouldn't help, anyway.</p>\n\n<p>I say this as someone who got extra time throughout school because of a physical disability and now does curriculum development at the college level.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32530,
"author": "efuller100",
"author_id": 24617,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24617",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have dyspraxia sometimes known as developmental coordination disorder. Most of the problems I have extra time cannot make up for, but I do get extra time if I want it. The reason I get extra time is I write extremely slow it takes me much much longer to write things out and even then my handwriting is barely legible this is due to the small motor skill problems that are a part of my particular brand of dyspraxia. I believe that in cases where you would genuinely struggle or you might not do as well as you could have because of your condition that's when it's ethical to take your time. </p>\n\n<p><p> In my case this means on any exam that requires short answer questions or essay questions, but not for example a multiple choice exam. I actually did an experiment this term I tried to take my midterms without extra time in both of my classes, because of the nature of the first exam which did not require long answers I was barely able to finish. However, the second exam required longer answers and by half way through my hands were screaming from the pain of trying to write fast enough to finish. I did not do as well in this exam. I have decided for the second one to ask for extra time for the final exam mostly due to the pain from trying to write fast enough, but not ask for extra time on the final exam for the first class. </p>\n <p> Each class is different the decision of whether to take your extra time to compensate for having ADHD in order to be ethical should be made on a class by class basis taking into consideration how much you believe your ADHD will effect you on the exams for that particular class. No one can make these decisions for you they are personal judgement calls. </p></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 54614,
"author": "Count Iblis",
"author_id": 17479,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17479",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the subject matter. In math and physics, you are typically given way more time than you need. Most 3 hour exams can be completed in one hour or less, if you have mastered the subject perfectly. The reason why some exams are 3 hours is to minimize the failure rate due to trivial problems, like making a mistake somewhere, and then having to backtrack and start the exercise anew, causing you to not finish on time and possibly failing the exam. Only the students who don't study well will experience the time pressure during an exam.</p>\n\n<p>This is why I would not ask for extra time, unless I had an handicap that causes me to to take way more time to read the problems and/or write up answers.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19426",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14218/"
]
|
19,431 | <p>I applied to graduate schools this year, and at the tail end of February, my first pick school sent me an email that to me, sounded like they had filled all the available TA positions. So naturally I chose my second pick school (that did offer me a TAship).</p>
<p>Today (April 16th), I receive an email from my first choice school saying they would like to offer me a TAship (apparently somebody declined their offer).</p>
<p>The graduate adviser at my second choice school had told me before that sometime she made offers to candidates in the summer, so I am thinking if I were to contact her and ask to be released from my agreement, she might be OK with that. (I realize there are formal rules that apply)</p>
<p>Would it be such a bad thing to ask my second choice school to release me (if they say no it will be somewhat awkward for me and if I just walk out on them, I am not sure what they can do).</p>
<p>TIA,
GB</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19428,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Absolutely not. If you meet the full requirements set up by your University, it is perfectly ethical to use all of the resources made available to you. ADHD is a real medical condition and medical experts and policy makers have decided that special test accommodations are the fairest solution. Accommodations like this are based on medical decisions, not whether you are doing well in the course. Take the extra time if you want it. There is no need to feel guilty about doing so.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19440,
"author": "nivag",
"author_id": 14115,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14115",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say it is definitely not unethical. Those are the rules, there is nothing wrong with taking full advantage of them. </p>\n\n<p>I am dyslexic and would never think of not taking my extra time (fortunately no more exams for me!). There have been some cases where I didn't need it (school level maths mainly) I either asked if I could leave with everyone else or sat for 15 mins and reread my answers/twiddled by thumbs.</p>\n\n<p>It is important to remember most exams aim to test your understanding not reading/writing speed (or why ever else people need extra time).</p>\n\n<p>I agree giving people extra time is a pretty blunt tool and not ideal in that pretty much everyone gets the same amount extra irrespective of their particular needs but I think that is a more logistical issue with how the system is setup and would be quite hard to fix and assess.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19479,
"author": "jaia",
"author_id": 12861,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12861",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The purpose of an exam is to measure how well you understand the material. Giving you extra time should make this measurement more precise, so you should take it. Keep in mind that if you really didn't know the material, more time wouldn't help, anyway.</p>\n\n<p>I say this as someone who got extra time throughout school because of a physical disability and now does curriculum development at the college level.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32530,
"author": "efuller100",
"author_id": 24617,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24617",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have dyspraxia sometimes known as developmental coordination disorder. Most of the problems I have extra time cannot make up for, but I do get extra time if I want it. The reason I get extra time is I write extremely slow it takes me much much longer to write things out and even then my handwriting is barely legible this is due to the small motor skill problems that are a part of my particular brand of dyspraxia. I believe that in cases where you would genuinely struggle or you might not do as well as you could have because of your condition that's when it's ethical to take your time. </p>\n\n<p><p> In my case this means on any exam that requires short answer questions or essay questions, but not for example a multiple choice exam. I actually did an experiment this term I tried to take my midterms without extra time in both of my classes, because of the nature of the first exam which did not require long answers I was barely able to finish. However, the second exam required longer answers and by half way through my hands were screaming from the pain of trying to write fast enough to finish. I did not do as well in this exam. I have decided for the second one to ask for extra time for the final exam mostly due to the pain from trying to write fast enough, but not ask for extra time on the final exam for the first class. </p>\n <p> Each class is different the decision of whether to take your extra time to compensate for having ADHD in order to be ethical should be made on a class by class basis taking into consideration how much you believe your ADHD will effect you on the exams for that particular class. No one can make these decisions for you they are personal judgement calls. </p></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 54614,
"author": "Count Iblis",
"author_id": 17479,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17479",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the subject matter. In math and physics, you are typically given way more time than you need. Most 3 hour exams can be completed in one hour or less, if you have mastered the subject perfectly. The reason why some exams are 3 hours is to minimize the failure rate due to trivial problems, like making a mistake somewhere, and then having to backtrack and start the exercise anew, causing you to not finish on time and possibly failing the exam. Only the students who don't study well will experience the time pressure during an exam.</p>\n\n<p>This is why I would not ask for extra time, unless I had an handicap that causes me to to take way more time to read the problems and/or write up answers.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19431",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9176/"
]
|
19,450 | <p>Should a full professor apply for an associate professor position if it's the only way s/he might be able to continue his or her career? </p>
<p>The situation in question involves a person recently promoted to full professor (after 5 years as associate prof. and 5 years as assistant before that, all at the same institution). At the time of application for the assistant/associate level position, the person will have held the rank of full professor for 1 year. The person's current position entails living 2500 miles apart from spouse and elderly parents for 8-9 months each year.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19451,
"author": "Ben Norris",
"author_id": 924,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/924",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Contact the department/institution. If a department is hiring an \"Assistant Professor\", they have been granted a tenure-track slot (by the Dean or Provost depending on institution). In some cases they may be willing to hire at a higher rank than advertised if the applicant already has tenure elsewhere. Some advertisements are explicit in this offer, but the possibility may be there even if it is not explicitly mentioned.</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise, the person needs to do what makes them happier. If moving closer to family is more important, then the person should apply. If the option to be hired at higher rank is not possible, then the person should probably indicate that he or she is willing to be hired at a lower rank/salary for personal reasons (however, it is unethical for the potential employer to ask what these might be).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19452,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In Europe I have seen this multiple times. For instance, I know one assistant professor at my old university who was already a full professor at a different (granted, much lower ranked) university. I can only speculate over the reasons for this career move, but it certainly happens at least on occasion. </p>\n\n<p>As for one \"should\" apply to a lower-ranked position - likely not for career reasons alone. However, oftentimes private reasons are at least as important as career development, and most people understand that. So if a person thinks that moving \"down\" one or two ranks for private reasons is the right move, he should do it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19453,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course the answer to whether you should do this depends on what \"should\" means, and only you can judge whether it makes sense in your own circumstances. I see two potential difficulties with getting hired into a lower rank:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>The department may not believe you'll be OK with the demotion. For example, you might try to negotiate for a full professorship after they make a lower offer, which could slow things down and cause them to lose other candidates, or you might accept the associate professorship but feel bitter about it and keep fussing until they promote you. So you've got a tricky balancing act: you need to make it clear that a demotion is acceptable to you, without seeming desperate or inferior.</p></li>\n<li><p>Nobody wants to feel like they're exploiting someone by giving them less than they deserve. In practice, the way people rationalize exploitation is by convincing themselves that it's actually justified (for example, that all people in low-paid adjunct positions are inferior scholars who don't deserve tenure-track jobs), and this rationalization doesn't necessarily have anything to do with actual facts. If you are hired from a full professorship into an associate professorship, some of your new colleagues will probably tell themselves that your promotion at your previous school was premature or based on low standards, and that now you're at the rank you should have had all along. It can be painful to go down in rank and be told it's what you deserve rather than a sacrifice you are making for personal reasons. You may decide you're OK with this reaction, but you should be prepared for it.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19473,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since the title of the question is general, I will mention some other cases in which people apply to academic positions below their current rank:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>In some countries, universities hire individuals with only a Masters degree as lecturers (they may even be called professors). Those individuals may later apply to be doctoral students at a research university (often in another country with a stronger scientific background).</p></li>\n<li><p>At some universities, assistant professors (who hold a Ph.D.) are given essentially no time to research, due to heavy teaching loads. It is not unusual for them to apply for postdoctoral positions at research universities, in order to have the opportunity to do more research.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>In the second case, I think there is usually some prejudice against the candidate (if you're a good researcher, why didn't you get a research position already?) But I have hired one extremely good postdoc this way. In the first case, there is sometimes some prejudice, especially if it has been a long time since you got your MS degree. But I've seen many excellent students who went this route.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19537,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think, this just does not work in Europe, while I am not sure if they have unwritten rules or maybe even written rules. I know several people who tried to stay in science as post docs because they time-limited position of the \"senior researcher\" has expired, and I know post docs that were desperate enough to apply for a PhD second time - would be kind of a \"dream PhD student\", but such applications seem never accepted, same as applications for laboratory technicians where no degree is required.</p>\n\n<p>The European scientific system is one way only. Student, PhD student, post doc, researcher, professor (head of laboratory/department). Each level is progressively more difficult to achieve with many people dropping out to industry rather than making the second step up. It may be exceptions, but I have never seen anybody making a successful step down.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19450",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14247/"
]
|
19,454 | <p>This question was raised in discussion of answers on <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19319/is-it-better-to-submit-a-paper-to-an-important-journal-without-the-supervisor-na/19322?noredirect=1#comment40219_19322">Is it better to submit a paper to an important journal without the supervisor name or to a less important journal with the supervisor name?</a> There seemed to be a significant difference of opinion, so I'm asking it here as its own question. I'll phrase it as a hypothetical.</p>
<p>Suppose that researchers X, Y and Z have collaborated on a project. Each has made major contributions which were essential to its success, and would ordinarily be entitled to co-authorship on the resulting paper. However, X decides, for some reason, that she does not wish her name to appear on the paper, but she is willing for Y and Z to publish it under their names alone. </p>
<p>May Y and Z ethically do so? </p>
<p>Of course it seems clear that X must consent to have a paper published with her name on it, and she has the right to withhold that consent. It's less clear whether Y and Z may publish anyway, effectively claiming credit for X's work, even though she consents to them doing so. It could be argued in this case that Y and Z may not publish the paper at all.</p>
<p>Another possible concern is that, if X has the right to decline credit for her work, she could be pressured or coerced or bribed into doing so, effectively reducing her to a ghost writer.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19456,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that you need to distinguish between the case when everyone agrees that X's work requires acknowledgement as a co-author, but X is being difficult, and the case where X is uncertain or dismissive of the level of their contribution. </p>\n\n<p>I was recently added, at the invitation of the primary authors, to the author list of an article in preparation based on my very last-minute contributions. I felt obliged to have a discussion with the primary authors as to whether I really should be added or should simply be acknowledged. In the end, I deferred to their judgment about the importance of my contribution and accepted their invitation. This is a perfectly natural and appropriate conversation to have.</p>\n\n<p>However, if X thinks that the paper is bad as written and <em>refuses</em> to have their name associated with the work, then the remaining authors have some harder choices. They should first consider the objections or criticisms of X and see if the article can be improved. If it cannot for time or space reasons, then they should consider either offering X an acknowledgement credit at the end of the paper or whether or not they can remove X's contribution and their name from the work entirely. It's entirely possible that this may scuttle the paper submission.</p>\n\n<p>I don't think that the remaining authors should submit X's work as their own if X refuses to be associated with the article in any way.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19458,
"author": "Olivier",
"author_id": 14210,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14210",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It seems to me that if authors B and C write in the acknowledgment section that the contribution of person A was sufficiently important that they think A should be listed as an author but that A declined and especially if authors B and C provide a description of the reasons leading to A's refusal which is satisfying to A, in other words if B and C report accurately what has been happening, then no one is behaving unethically.</p>\n\n<p>For a real life example, one can look at the acknowledgment section of S.Bloch and K.Kato's work on p-adic étale cohomology, the third author being in that case O.Gabber and the reason invoked (if I recall correctly) being that Gabber did not think the work was ready for publication (I'm unable to track the precise reference at the moment, it is not Bloch and Kato's article at the IHES in 1986).</p>\n\n<p>UPDATE: Because I haven't been able to track the reference of Bloch-Kato, let me point out Beilinson-Bernstein-Deligne which starts with</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Il avait d'abord été prévu que O.Gabber soit coauteur du présent article. Il a préféré s'en abstenir, pour ne pas être coresponsable des erreurs ou imprécisions qui s'y trouvent. Il n'en est pas moins responsable de bien des idées que nous exploitons et le lecteur lui est redevable de nombreuses critiques qui, nous l'espérons, ont permis d'améliorer le manuscrit.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>which roughly translates as </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It was first planned that O.Gabber would be coauthor of the present article. He chose to abstain, so as not to share the responsibility of the mistakes or imprecisions to be found in it. He is nonetheless responsible of many an idea we exploit here and the reader owes him numerous criticisms which, we hope, allowed for improvements of the manuscript.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19459,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Declining coauthorship is actually quite common behavior in my field (mathematics). It is so common that not lightly do I question its ethics. In most instances I have seen it appears rather borderline, or the ethical questions that it raises are accounted for in other ways by the profession. However, <em>taken to the extreme</em> I think it would certainly result in unethical behavior. Thus my comment questioning another comment made on Nate Eldredge's answer:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>An author <strong>always</strong> retains the right not to receive credit for his or her work. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think this statement is clearly too strong. If you systematically pass off your work to others, you are participating in a form of plagiarism and giving (assuming that your work is good, which I will since this is the version of the practice I am familiar with) an unfair advantage to your should-be coauthors in what is now an extremely competitive academic environment.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Stage 1</strong>: Let's start at the extreme point: if you do all the work on a paper (or project, or thesis) and then pass it off to someone else who puts their name on the paper, I hope we can all agree that not just they but also <em>you</em> have done something deeply unethical. As I have before, I will point to <a href=\"http://www.all-story.com/issues.cgi?action=show_story&story_id=118&part=all\">this excellent short story</a> which describes an especially interesting case of this. The story describes realistically how the discovery that the main character has written the PhD thesis of his ex-girlfriend would get not just her but also him in trouble.</p>\n\n<p>In this extreme case there is another ethical violation occurring: someone's name is being put on something which they did not have intellectual involvement with. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Stage 2</strong>: Let's imagine that a more senior author really did the work of the paper and explained it to someone more junior: possibly their own student, but it happens in another cases as well. And let's say the junior person writes up the work in the formal sense but not without a lot of help from the senior person, to the extent to which that without substantial guidance from the senior person the junior person probably would not have been able to write up the work in an acceptable way. The junior person has in some superficial sense \"contributed to the work\", but I would argue that really he has not. And to focus ideas let's imagine that this in a field like mathematics (or TCS, theoretical physics...) in which the idea of \"valuable routine work\" is largely or completely absent: e.g. the junior person did not do any interesting or independent calculations, coding and so forth. </p>\n\n<p><em>I</em> still feel that this is a serious ethical violation. If it results in the junior person getting a PhD thesis, then I feel bad about that. If this is a larger pattern of behavior and results in the junior person getting several publications which advance his career, then I feel terrible about this: I think the senior person is doing something really reprehensible.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Stage 3</strong>: Now imagine that the senior person had the idea for the project, had some of it worked out in advance (but not shown to the junior person), had ideas about how the implementation was to take place, but left at least some substantial part of the implementation to the junior person. Let's say the junior person did at least a substantial part of the work independently, and let's say that he did some things in a way different from what the senior person would have thought to do which is not obviously worse. </p>\n\n<p>This stage is an accurate description of the relation between many thesis advisors and their students in mathematics. In mathematics this type of interaction probably most commonly results in a solo paper by the student, and the likelihood that this will occur is positively correlated with the research strength of the advisor and the department. I grew up watching this practice and therefore got used to it. Once I saw how differently other fields operate I started to wonder whether this was really ethical behavior. I think in practice it is not such a serious problem because in mathematics <strong>who your advisor is</strong> is known to everyone who knows you: when you meet someone new or talk about them with a colleague, \"Who was his advisor?\" is one of the first questions that gets asked. It is quite common for someone who got their PhD at a top mathematics department to have their first publication in a truly excellent journal on the topic of their thesis -- deep, cutting edge stuff in their advisor's field -- then a short gap, followed by other papers which are minor variants of previous work or are interesting and valuable but in a different, lower-to-the-ground field. When potential employers see this type of CV, we largely tend to think \"I get it: the advisor really did much of their thesis work, and without her the candidate cannot continue doing work of the same quality.\" Unfortunately this might be unfair in the other direction: for instance some advisors <em>really don't give much direct help</em> to their students. That was the case for me, and luckily various people told me that my advisor has a reputation in the community for <em>not</em> doing his students' theses for them, with the result that some of his students have written much better theses than others (mine was somewhere in the middle). So it's not clear how to arrive at a \"standard advisor discount\". Taken the other way, sometimes you do see an eminent advisor writing a paper jointly with their student on the topic of their thesis work, and all of a sudden it becomes less clear what this means: there needs to be an explanation of this in the letter of recommendation (but the explanation is not always absolutely clear or convincing either: every student everywhere always did \"at least half of the work\" according to recommendation letters).</p>\n\n<p>Most eminent thesis advisors regard the help that they give their student to write an excellent thesis as a one time gift, at which point they leave their former student largely alone to sink or swim. However in a small number of cases there are eminent advisors who just have that many good ideas and that generous a nature. Maybe they feel that the way to function as a leader in their field is to feed their former students the ideas they need to do first-rate work. I cannot imagine trying to tell these eminent people not to do this, but nevertheless the practice seems unfair in a competitive job market. It contributes to feelings that the top departments form a kind of elite club that, if admission is not granted by the age of 24 or so, will be almost impossible to join later in life. This is not good for the profession.</p>\n\n<p>There are further stages. To be clear, starting with Stage 4 I would myself be a participant in the process (and sometimes I think I would be a better advisor if I were more onboard with Stage 3). If you're a senior person and you feel like you made what was really only an offhand remark to someone, then even if that offhand remark was crucial in the writing of their paper you are relatively unlikely to want to be a coauthor. I respect that very well and I have to: that kind of expertise and generosity is part of being a senior academic (in my field at least; I assume it's not so different elsewhere). At my relatively middling career stage I have already made plenty of remarks to others that have resulted in acknowledgments in their paper, and I have already turned down at least one offer of coauthorship. And there was one relatively recent case where I offered coauthorship to a very senior person: he declined, roughly because he had almost forgotten the remarks he had made to me about five years (!!) before. I hadn't, and they were crucial to writing what for me is a very good paper. So there is a continuum here and many judgment calls to make; I want to be clear about that. But I also think that we should draw the line somewhere before \"An author <strong>always</strong> retains the right not to receive credit for his or her work.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19471,
"author": "Amritanshu Prasad",
"author_id": 9195,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9195",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The purpose of publishing a paper should be the dissemination of knowledge and not merely the attribution of credit to the right persons for its discovery. If the authors Y and Z believe that the work is of any importance whatsoever to the scientific community, it would be unethical for them to NOT find a way to publish it. Such considerations could override some of the considerations of fairness of attribution that many here seem to be concerned about.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19523,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is exactly the reason why care must be taken when inviting some other researcher into team for collaboration. If he has once been written as a co-author, he has a certain right to block the publication of the shared work. This may or may not be fair.</p>\n\n<p>As a result, it is better to invite additional researchers only if they can contribute some substantial new results or perhaps some type of analysis that is difficult to do without they help (writing and evaluating some complex mathematical model about results, for instance). In such cases, the contributed part can be identified and removed, publishing without it.</p>\n\n<p>Differently, if the invited researcher contributed in general discussions and planning over all project, there is no clear way to get rid of such contribution easily. Then all that remains is to negotiate, if all sides agree to publish with the fewer authors, maybe that is ok.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19550,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In a comment on the earlier thread, I claimed that a co-author always has the right not to receive credit for work done with respect to a particular paper. I believe this is because there are certain rights and responsibilities that researchers have with respect to publications. Particularly relevant here is the right to receive appropriate credit for their work.</p>\n\n<p>However, associated with any right is also the option <strong>not to exercise</strong> said right. For instance, author X may believe that co-worker Y has contributed enough to merit co-authorship. If Y chooses to decline co-authorship, this does not prevent author X from publishing the paper. </p>\n\n<p>At the same time, by exercising the right to co-authorship comes additional responsibilities. Among those is the responsibility to participate actively and constructively in the preparation of the manuscript. It is unethical to insist on co-authorship for the purposes of scuttling a manuscript through inaction. </p>\n\n<p>In general, though, none of the above places the restriction on authors <em>voluntarily</em> relinquishing intellectual property rights to the paper (that is, not have their names appear as co-authors, but still allowing the manuscript to proceed). They also have the right to \"take their marbles and go home\"—essentially withdraw from the complete process, which can of course be much more difficult in collaborative projects involving multiple groups.</p>\n\n<p>In short: authors have the right to accept credit, and the right <strong>not</strong> to accept credit, but must accept the consequences of that decision.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19454",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010/"
]
|
19,466 | <p>I have a research problem in an area of Mathematics. There is mathematician whose domain of expertise is very near to the subject of my problem. </p>
<p>I read frequently his works, he probably doesn't know me. But it is possible that he has seen some of my works. He is a senior mathematician. I am junior.</p>
<p>Anyway we don't know each other and because of geographical and other considerations, I don't think we have the occasion to meet each other in a conference or workshop in new future. I am scientifically isolated in my country as nobody works in my area, finding funds for participating in conferences and workshops is also very difficult. So the only possibility of a collaboration that I envisage is doing by email.</p>
<p>I am very optimistic that my problem interests him and if we collaborate, the result would be very fruitful. I have had some experiences to do scientific collaboration with some people that I knew by email. But the story with this mathematician is different because we don't know each other personally. </p>
<p>I feel that sending an email saying that my name is X and I am interested in the question Y, I would be glad if you are interested to work on this problem is not perhaps the best approach. </p>
<p>What is the best strategy to maximize the chance of starting a scientific collaboration with him? How I can formulate my request of doing a scientific collaboration with him? Is it wise to 'reveal' my problem while I don't know if there is a chance of collaboration? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19467,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Be specific and brief, with a clear action item.</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>bad:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My name is X and I'm interested in Y, and I'm hoping you'd be interested in working with me.</p>\n</blockquote>\n</li>\n<li><p>slightly better:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My name is X, and I'm interested in Y. I read your recent papers on Foo1, foo2, and foo3, and I was wondering whether you thought Theorem eleventy-seven in your paper on foo2 could apply to the problem of Y''.</p>\n</blockquote>\n</li>\n<li><p>much better:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My name is X, and I'm interested in Y. I read your recent papers on Foo1, foo2, and foo3. I had an idea about how to apply theorem eleventy-seven in your foo2 paper to Y'', by inserting the well known lemma Bar1, and Bar2. I was wondering if you were aware of approaches that have tried this? I looked at refs 1–157 and didn't see anything relevant.</p>\n<p>I'd love to chat more about this if you're interested.</p>\n</blockquote>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Again, your mileage may vary. There are cultural variations, personal variations and so on. But I’ve had success with emails of this kind.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19488,
"author": "BanksySan",
"author_id": 14274,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14274",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Could I suggest:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My name is <em>X</em> and I am a\\the junior mathematician at the <em>University\n of Somewhere</em>. My credentials available at\n <em>www.some-academic-site.ac.xz</em>. I am researching <em>numbers</em> and have some of your papers, <em>foo</em>, <em>bar</em> and <em>baz</em>.</p>\n \n <p>I think that your work on <em>special numbers</em> would greatly helpful and\n hoped you would be willing to correspond with my on how this relates\n to my own work on <em>some different numbers</em>. I have enclosed a brief\n summary of my work, and how it relates to your own.</p>\n \n <p>Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>\n \n <p>Yours Faithfully</p>\n \n <p><em>my name</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Unsolicited mail needs to be interesting to the participant, and it's integrity verifiable, hence the inclusion of your academic credentials, work you have done and proof that it does indeed correlate\\support etc your own work. (You also show that you have actually done work, and this isn't some attempt to get someone else to do work for you)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19466",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14260/"
]
|
19,468 | <p>I am a Math PhD student at a US university. I have made a decision on who I want to work with for my PhD, but I was made aware that the professor in question is going on a sabbatical next year, to be spent in a different university (not in close proximity). What is the best way to approach a potential advisor in such a situation? I have not yet asked the "question", but have met with the professor in question multiple times on research related issues.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19469,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the situation is volatile, depending on the communication skills/inclinations of the faculty person. I.e., do they do email often-and-effectively? If so, there's scant obstacle. But, on the opposite hand, if the only way they communicate effectively is face-to-face, then this would be a bad situation.</p>\n\n<p>And it depends of course equally on your own capacity to communicate effectively by a medium where there're no facial expressions, no body language, and... many people seem to be slow to see this... committing questions or comments to email disallows remarks like \"Oh, I don' get it\" that seem ok in conversation. Thus, one must exert more effort to compose an email than to make a vague verbal remark in person. This is not at all a bad thing... unless the net effect is significant inhibition of communication, in which case one should re-consider one's mode of operation.</p>\n\n<p>On the whole, some risk here, but, if both parties' communications chops are good, it could be as productive as any.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19518,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's not uncommon for professors on sabbatical leave to bring their graduate advisees who are at the thesis writing stage with them for the sabbatical leave. I've seen this particularly at some of the NSF funded research centers that I've visited. However, if you haven't yet started working with this professor, and especially if you have significant course work left to complete, then it probably makes more sense for you to stay where you are, take course work and perhaps get started working with your advisor via email, internet teleconferences, etc. </p>\n\n<p>I think you should meet with your prospective advisor and ask him/her whether they would like to take you on as an advisee or not. If they're willing to take you as an advisee, then they'll probably have some plan for you. </p>\n\n<p>You haven't discussed your funding situation. If you're currently working as a TA, then you obviously couldn't expect this funding to continue at another university. If your advisor will fund you as an RA, then it may well be possible to take this funding with you to the other university. Another possibility is that your advisor might be able to arrange for you to get funding from the other institution. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19603,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Adding to what has already been said about communication and funding, from experience, it will strongly depend on at what stage your PhD project is. In my case, my advisor was away during the last 12 months preceding my graduation and it made the collaboration a lot harder resulting in some frustration and delays.</p>\n\n<p>If this situation happens at the beginning of your work, it might be less of an issue. Unless your work includes laboratory experiments for which it's usually critical to have close supervision.</p>\n\n<p>Some of the points you could discuss when you bring up the subject:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>is the supervisor willing and capable of using a videoconference software, securing a decent connection and decent hardware to run the thing (don't laugh, you'd be surprised how many highly educated people are clueless when it comes to this)?</li>\n<li>is she/he ready to schedule regular calls (eg. once every two weeks)?</li>\n<li>Are plans to visit an option? if yes, can funding be secured for that?</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>One thing I did was to send updates in the form of screencasts, or videos with slides and audio describing the work, or videos of me in front of a white board. That seemed to be appreciated by my supervisor and triggered the most fruitful feedbacks.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19612,
"author": "Not Quite An Outsider",
"author_id": 10390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10390",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is a possibility to consider: ask for a coadvisor, or ask for someone on your thesis committee to take a slightly more active role in mentoring your research while your advisor is on sabbatical. Even if the coadvisor is not strong in your area, they should be able to read the signs of what progress you are making and advise you generally on what to change, even if they cannot make technical comments. Further, it will prepare them for giving a better critical evaluation of your thesis as you will have spent some time talking to them about it. (If you do follow this route, it is incumbent on you to make things transparent and as easy as possible for all involved. In particular let both advisors know what meetings you had, what you discussed, etc. Having a semi-private blog to record this may be useful.)</p>\n\n<p>Of course, this is very situation dependent, and may not be the best answer for you. The point is that the doctorate is your responsibility, and if you can't or don't follow your advisor physically, you need to do what you need to do to finish the degree, which can involve a lot of creative thinking and work on your part (and hopefully not much extra on the part of the system: you can't expect the world to change for you as much as you should expect to change the world).</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19468",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14261/"
]
|
19,470 | <p>I am asking because I work for a <strong>non-for-profit academic hospital</strong> where the vast majority of the funding comes, one way or another, from the taxpayer. It is certainly possible, actually encouraged, for us to file for patents should we find some new way to diagnose or predict disease progression.</p>
<p>But, I will mention this again, we are funded by the taxpayer so we are already getting a salary and resources to do our work from them. Is it filing a patent and consequently delaying the publication of our research in order to find out a way to commercialise the work something that could be considered ethical? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19491,
"author": "Bitwise",
"author_id": 6862,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6862",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes it is ethical.</p>\n\n<p>The patent will typically be owned by the institute and it will get most of the revenues (this is why they encourage it). The inventors usually get some form of compensation. Revenues from commercialization is partially how your salaries can be payed and could in fact <em>save</em> tax-payers money.</p>\n\n<p>More importantly, developing a new diagnostic or therapy will in the end improve the lives of the general public (and even save lives in many cases). Currently, due to the immense costs involved, the only way to get a new therapy to the public is in a commercial setting.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19492,
"author": "cancerconnector",
"author_id": 14277,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14277",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I understand the answer above, but a follow on question I'd ask is: is it ethical to keep this 'good idea' away from other scientists, who indeed might be able to make better progress on it than only the idea generator themselves?</p>\n\n<p>It seems to me that the end goal of all of this should be patient care, and to best benefit this, my opinion is that publication in an open access forum is the first, and most important way forward. I understand that without the protection of a patent, businesses can't be built, and indeed, that our whole society is based on this concept of capitalism. But, it doesn't jive with my sensibilities as a physician.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19685,
"author": "cancerconnector",
"author_id": 14277,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14277",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Thinking more on this, I have come to agree that patenting things - devices, or drugs - is necessary. However, I wonder if this question would be answered differently if the thing being patented is, instead, a model? For example, would it have been appropriate for Krebs to patent the eponymously named Krebs cycle as a way to think about energy metabolism in a cell? Or the cell cycle? Or, could the inventor of the SIR model of infectious disease spread have ethically patented that method of tracking infectious diseases?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 101903,
"author": "Phillip",
"author_id": 85616,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/85616",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, definitely patent it else if you publish and if idea is good other companies will develop and make product out of it and will patent all the process around it, and later charge for their product based on their market position. In the end the tax payers money would generate profits for companies which could be anywhere in world. If its patented and the hospital holds ownership/shares, and later licenses it you would have generated extra revenue for public institution a return to society instead of companies.\nOn other extreme considering similar idea comes to other person working in big company and if they file it before you, you loose everything you may still publish it but you are not the first, and the worst case you/society will have to pay for it. So secure with patent as soon you are in stage you can defend the patent application. See it as way of getting money back to government for their investment in research. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 122983,
"author": "guest",
"author_id": 102739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/102739",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is actually a very tough question to answer (what is appropriate, that is what is just). You can even go back and wonder about patents themselves and some of the misbehavior associated with them (patent trolls, submarine patents, \"business process\" patents, etc.) Then there are copyrights and the (literal) Mickey Mouse extension in duration. However, this is a real rathole to dive down (moral justice). </p>\n\n<p>Instead of dwelling on justice question may advice is to reframe a little and think about what is legal and what is customary. <strong><em>Basically our society has decided to allow these patenting behaviors. The rationale (not saying if I agree or not, just sharing the concept) is that by $$ incentivizing researchers (even those already getting state funding) that the benefit is worth the cost.</em></strong> </p>\n\n<p>However, there are obvious differences where the research is in areas of national security (and even publication may be limited). Also industry almost always makes paid researchers sign over their rights for discoveries as part of the employment contract. So obviously other models are possible. [However, these researchers generally have higher salaries. And higher job security, at least versus grad students.] So, obviously other models are possible.</p>\n\n<p>My advice is not to get too flustered by the moral issues here and just deal with the system as is (in your institution). Also, note that the VAST majority of patents don't earn any money. If anything there is a little bit of a game with more senior researches (in academia and industry) being better able to get the IP department to spend more time/money pushing their patents through the system. The reason for this is prestige, not economic value.</p>\n\n<p>For a practical example, the institution I worked in (academia) had a policy that some fraction of the value accrued to the school and some to the researchers. BUT if they decided not to spend the money on a patent filing, than you could do it on your own and get all the value. This created possibility of perverse behavior where if you really discover lighting in a bottle, you would want to DOWNPLAY it, but disclose it.</p>\n\n<p>I did push one patent through the system, described above. It was not lighting in a bottle but I felt like it was closer to a real innovation and had greater likelihood of $$ earnings than some of the stuff the senior faculty was pushing through [one name professor was the husband of the head of the IP department...surprise, surprise, he was the leading patenter on campus!] Or at least that was the story I told myself when dressing up my research and convincing the IP department to spend the money. ;-)</p>\n\n<p>Some final related practical advice. </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>If you push a patent, get a copy of Patent it Yourself (Nolo Press). Don't actually patent it yourself...use an agent (preferably on someone else's dime). But it will give you the basics of how things work.</p></li>\n<li><p>Read a few (include them in your lit searches). </p></li>\n<li><p>Learn how to write one. The patent agent will still \"write it\" but they do a lot better job when a researcher has done the meat of the work ahead of time. Better patents are sort of like lab reports with description of examples, materials of construction, testing, etc. </p>\n\n<p>I actually just gave the agent a draft. I see bad things happen when people just dump some drawings or figures onto an agent. He knows some things you don't about patent law but he can mess up the science/engineering logic and this can cause issues during the patent office examination or if the patent is ever litigated. [This could be a personal thing though...I take the same attitude with publications...write them myself so it is the way I want it.]</p></li>\n<li><p>Also, there is a sort of way of justifying things. \"It is well known in the literature that technique A can be used to get effect B but at the cost of issues C. Issue C is a serious hindrance in trade (cite). We present a new method by mixing some D in with the A to get effect B, with a 50% decrease in C.\"</p></li>\n<li><p>Buy and read the book Laser: <a href=\"https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0595465285\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.amazon.com/Laser-Inventor-Laureate-Thirty-Year-Patent/dp/0595465285</a> The book describes a grad student who had a 30 year patent battle over who invented the laser. He \"won\" (perhaps it was settle, but I think he prevailed) because he had gotten his lab notebook notarized by a drugstore clerk! Few practical lessons from that: use your notebook, know when you have lightning in a bottle (almost literally in his case) and be prepared for some fight if the thing is actually worth something.</p></li>\n<li><p>I have had a patent fail because it was a year after publication. (I misjudged the time because I didn't realize Chem Abstracts was considered publication and was just thinking about the \"real journal\". So don't cut things too close. [That said, in all likelihood, you are just an academic trying to get prestige, so figure out how to get both a publication and a patent out of the research.]</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 123050,
"author": "Anonymous Physicist",
"author_id": 13240,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13240",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most patents loose money. You should not use taxpayer money to fund a patent that will loose money.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.allbusiness.com/97-percent-of-all-patents-never-make-any-money-15258080-1.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.allbusiness.com/97-percent-of-all-patents-never-make-any-money-15258080-1.html</a>\n<a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2014/06/18/13633/#3cf5de626f1c\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2014/06/18/13633/#3cf5de626f1c</a></p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19470",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7913/"
]
|
19,472 | <p>I'm an undergraduate mathematics student finishing my degree. I plan to go to grad school, and ultimately aspire to become a professor. I really like tattoos, but I'm hesitant to get one because it could affect my future job.</p>
<p>Of course, if I did get one, it would be discrete and innocent. What I really want is the axioms from ZFC wrapped around my upper arm.</p>
<p>I'm very interested in hearing people's thoughts on tattoos in the workplace, particularly from people who work in mathematics. Do you think it is acceptable? How would you judge someone based on their tattoos? Do any of you have tattoos? What are your experiences?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19475,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't have any tattoos, and I work in CS, which may be a little more relaxed than mathematics. I would have no negative reaction to seeing someone with a tattoo, and would merely be somewhat envious :).</p>\n\n<p>I've had colleagues who wandered barefoot in the hallways, and others who rarely showed up in anything other t-shirts and shorts. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19482,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Tattoos that can be easily concealed in sensitive times (during interviewing, etc.) should never be a problem. Further, academia is in general a pretty tolerant place when it comes to looks. As Suresh says, we are used to much weirder things in terms of look than a small tattoo. You'll be fine.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19484,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You cannot live your life according to other people's illogical rules, as to what you are going to do with your body, hair, clothes, skin. Standing out from the rest of the crowd, either being prettier, cooler, having long-hair, tattoos, working-out is always a double edged sword for all work environments. Some people will like you more and respond to you positively, other will hate your guts. As other answers have stated, Academia is one of the most tolerant workspace you may encounter. So, you probably will not have a problem either way.</p>\n\n<p>\"Raising a flag\" by showing hints of your real personality (besides your academic achievements) may also make other (academic or not) people approach you easier. In this way, it might also help in some cases. As for the others who respond negatively, who would really want to collaborate with someone, who judges people strictly by their looks? </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19498,
"author": "Michael Martinez",
"author_id": 14023,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14023",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In this day and age in America, I think most people are so accustomed to seeing tattoos in different settings - including academia and the workplace - that it's not an issue at all. In your case, especially something that shows your passion for math, I don't see it being a problem. I got my undergrad in Math. My career is a Unix sysadmin. I work in Silicon Valley at a large internet company, and quite a number of engineers and programmers here have tattoos. I personally have tattoos but they are mostly on my upper arms and get hidden by my shirts.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19516,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer is, unfortunately: It Depends. There are indeed people who will judge you on a tat or piercing or other body mod, just as there are people who will judge you if you come to work in ripped jeans and a T-shirt with three different colors of housepaint and a layer of cat fur. This tends to be less of an issue in places where you either aren't dealing with customers who might react badly, or are expected to be a bit eccentric; academia and \"research\" types can get away with more than folks in the main line of business can, and sales personnel are generally expected to be well-turned-out but otherwise non-distracting so the customer can concentrate on the transaction.</p>\n\n<p>If it isn't something that's displayed during the interview or at work, it's unlikely to ever be an issue. If you want it more visible, you are gambling. It's not a major risk, but don't assume it's 100% harmless.</p>\n\n<p>And of course a tat which implies you're involved with anything resembling a violent or hateful group is likely to get you invited to interview elsewhere.</p>\n\n<p>Basically: Don't be stupid. If you do it, get something tasteful, don't shove it in people's faces and force them to react when they'd really rather not deal with it, and for gods' sake don't get a tat until you've wanted the same design for at least a full year. (If in any doubt, friends who do skin art tell me, consider a temporary and see if you keep buying and re-applying it.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19563,
"author": "user3553451",
"author_id": 14324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14324",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I believe Tattoos are a great way for self expression and shouldn't be restricted,having said a person with visible tattoos are frowned upon in the academia/ business circles. I am a PhD Student in the US and my professor has a small tattoo on his hand. I guess small tattoos are ok, but bigger graphic ones maynot be a good idea.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19580,
"author": "Emme",
"author_id": 12532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12532",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that many here have made great points, but having worked in academia (administrative) for many years, currently it would be ill advised for you to get a tattoo (small or big, classy or otherwise, provocative or mundane) that is visible or has the potential to be visible. Most search committee are still old fashioned today; I hope that once you are on one, you'll work to change this bias, but in my opinion, as for now, it still stands.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19596,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Like this one (not mine)? I guess it won't make you any problems.</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Rc9Ec.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n\n<p>In most places in academia people do not care that much how you look (<s>as long as you dress decently</s>). But it may depend on the culture of a particular place.</p>\n\n<p>However, the aesthetics, size and content of the tattoo may matter.\nYou referred to a geeky tattoo, but if the tattoo associates you with a group that is (even subconsciously) looked down in academia (e.g. that is which is, or is perceived as, expressing unpopular views, being less or anti-intellectual, etc) - it might be a different story. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19472",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
19,477 | <p>In general, you can find the past exams for the past 15 years or so at my school. However I had one prof in Calculus III who chose to withhold his exams. This was the only instance in which a prof has chosen to do so in my two years at university studying engineering. His justification was that he didn't want students studying exams rather than the actual course material which I find to be interesting.
As a student, I notice that solving past exams from the same instructor as practice can be helpful for a couple of reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>it helps you get accustomed to the instructor's style of exam so you're less nervous when you're writing the actual exam. I find that even seeing the familiar cover page helps in calming me down just before an exam starts.</li>
<li>it helps you figure out what type of questions the instructor likes to put the focus on (i.e instructor A prefers to put conceptual questions, instructor B hasn't put a question on the laplace transform in 5 years so maybe I'll study that later if I have time, instructor C always has a 2nd-order circuit as question 1, etc...)</li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, the 2nd point is exacly why my calculus instructor chose to withhold his exams. But at the same time, some students may benefit if they use them responsibly as challenging practice problems without jeopardizing their learning experience (i.e someone with the mentality of "I know instructor B hasn't put a question on the laplace transform in 5 years, but I need to study it anyway because it's important"). Most of my other instructors release their past final exams, but do not post full solutions (or full solutions to just last year's exam). A few have chosen to release just the final answers to the questions without the full solution.</p>
<p><em>Is it better for the students if the instructors released the past final exams? What about full solutions (or just final answers) to the finals exams? Are there studies that show if one strategy is better than another?</em></p>
<p>I understand that the answers and arguments may vary depending on the field so I should add that I am particularly interested in an answer for the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19483,
"author": "Sam",
"author_id": 13778,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13778",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Availability of worked answers/past papers etc should ideally be consistent across all sections of all courses within a given degree program, be it a pure STEM subject or a dual award/tripos structure. Anything else risks the level playing field that supposedly exists. In practice the only way to ensure fairness is to let all the information be freely available.</p>\n\n<p>E.g. I went to a collegiate university, and found that the availability of past papers, worked solutions, already completed lecture notes (my courses typically had handouts that had gaps to be filled in at the lecture) varied between the colleges. The variation was most prominent in engineering, where some colleges had access to past students notes and solutions to problems as well as past papers, all of which had been scanned and uploaded to the intranet, some had access only to past papers, and some had no such access. </p>\n\n<p>Obviously this creates quite a disparity in the amount of material one has to look over to understand a concept or problem and furthermore, with access to such material crucially one learns how to best layout an answer for maximum marks, something that wasn't otherwise shown. If papers/worked solutions are formally withheld, you can almost guarantee that some will be available informally to some small part of the student group through connections to higher years (in this case collegiate). This results in an advantage unrelated to your actual ability in comprehension and implementation which is the supposed testing target of university exams.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19527,
"author": "Henry",
"author_id": 8,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't have an opinion on releasing solutions, but the exams should definitely be released. Some students will have access to them through previous students, one way or another. Making them officially available makes sure everyone has the same access.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19529,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would strongly say <em>yes</em>.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I am very unconvinced by this argument:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>His justification was that he didn't want students studying exams rather than the actual course material which I find to be interesting. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Why is there a mismatch between the course material and the exams? This angers students and doesn't accomplish anything. Well-designed exams don't admit shortcuts, but rather force the students to learn the material which the instructor wants to teach.</p>\n\n<p>It is human nature to respond to carrots and sticks --- ask anyone employed as a personal trainer. These carrots and sticks can be lined up with whatever intrinsic goals the instructor wants to promote.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19561,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The question seems to assume that all professors write completely new exams every semester and never reuse an exam question. That's not the case for me, and I don't know of any colleague who does so. In fact, many people at my school use the same stack of photocopied exams over and over, because they don't want to be bothered with the extra work of making fresh copies. I usually write some new questions every time, but I also recycle a lot of questions -- the recycled questions usually constitute the majority of the questions.</p>\n\n<p>Aside from laziness, there are positive educational advantages to reusing questions. Sometimes it is difficult to predict how students will do on a particular question, and most teachers find that they systematically underestimate difficulty. If I've used a question before, I have some idea of how students will do on it.</p>\n\n<p>If any questions are being reused, then it doesn't make sense to release 100% of old exams. Some students will acquire third-party solutions to the problems. (There are sophisticated for-profit web sites that do this sort of thing worldwide.) The students who do this will have an unfair advantage over those who don't.</p>\n\n<p>In a STEM subject that focuses on problem-solving, such as physics or math, it's not necessary to make old exams available so that students can see what kind of questions are likely to be asked. They can tell this from the problem sets that were assigned.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 97751,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since you cannot prevent students from writing down from memory the questions they just got on an exam -</p>\n\n<h3>Yes, the only coherent choice is to fully release these exams</h3>\n\n<p>Otherwise, you're just putting an artificial barrier before this release: The barrier of someone coming to the exam and wasting some of his/her time copying its contents. Or of having a student with eidetic memory simply take the exam as usual, then reproduce it later. Any half-decent student union would get these exams (re)produced and publish them, possibly with solutions, as a service to its members. That's what happens in my Alma Mater, anyway - they had a nice store of printed exam booklets.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19477",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11589/"
]
|
19,487 | <p>I have some continuing misunderstandings with my advisor. For some time I am actually doing my research as a one man show, but due to my faults and a lot of work I still did not finish my PhD. I am paid by him, so I still need to have good relations with him.</p>
<p>However, he often gets some real and spam "invitations" to journals and conferences and he always tends to send my work there (he doesn't have more or less anything else). The problems is these journals are often fake journals like from the SCIRP publishing. I managed once persuade him not to send the payment a year ago, but now they wrote him again and he sent them the money and came to me to say that they accepted our article. I do not particularly like to have my name in these "journals".</p>
<p>A similar problems is with conferences. Maybe this one is not that bad– I am even not able to google this random conference about everything in Gdansk now, but they promise publications indexed by ISI or SCOPUS – but I already submitted the paper to two conferences (two disjunct parts of it) I chose and I want to publish it in a good journal from one of them or some other one. I don't know if the extended paper from that conference my boss wants to visit might spoil the better publication.</p>
<p>I also forgot to say he puts himself as a first author. But actually, he writes the complete article himself, but he doesn't have full access to my data, just a couple of graphs and images, so the quality of the articles is not that good, and I prefer not to waste my time to edit articles to these strange places, so it is probably better I am not the first author.</p>
<p>How can I persuade my advisor NOT to publish my work in these 'fake' conferences?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 20054,
"author": "dorien",
"author_id": 14757,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14757",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can easily argument that you opt to publish in A1 journal papers and P1 indexed proceedings and thus only the connected conferences. If your work is good enough though, or if you are willing to invest the time to make the effort. </p>\n\n<p>Take a look at the impact factor of the journal and see if they (as well as proceedings btw) are in the <a href=\"http://webofknowledge.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">ISI web of knowledge/science list</a>. </p>\n\n<p>You can also use this tool: <a href=\"http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">publish or perish</a> to check the impact of journals/proceedings (it works in win, osx and with wine in linux).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 20219,
"author": "StillLearning",
"author_id": 14879,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14879",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've heard similar tales. The realistic side: you can fret, tell your advisor he should try for a better journal, change advisors, or bring it up as an ethics violation.\nYet none of those will get your thesis finished. </p>\n\n<p>You need to concentrate on finishing your thesis. & if that means you need to stop all other projects, then that's what you do. Apparently, you're sidetracking...writing other papers, in addition to your thesis? Or, is it that your advisor has a lot of paper ideas (or you get enthusiastic about new ideas and present the ideas to your advisor?) and you've been very willing to work on more projects? (This can be a double-edged sword...tempting to get involved in several papers/studies, but it keeps you away from your thesis)</p>\n\n<p>You should have a list of journals that are acceptable to you (starting from the best, elite journals to good solid B journals), why are you waiting for your advisor to send YOUR work to a conference or a publication ? Based on your description of the issue, these papers are actually coauthored (with your advisor)- your advisor did the writing, with some of your data.</p>\n\n<p>Now that creates a slightly different problem, \n-- and it is one you will have to resolve (maybe repeatedly) for your entire career. Some coauthors will send a paper anywhere..because some schools don't care where the paper is presented or published (oh, those schools will prefer elite journals, but at many schools, quantity is more important than quality). </p>\n\n<p>My suggestion: finish the thesis. Don't show any other work to your advisor. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19487",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
19,489 | <p>While most European doctoral courses require its applicants to hold master's degree, many doctoral courses in US often do not. In these graduate schools, by satisfying conditions set by the schools, students advance to candidacy, when the school may or may not grant them master's degree.</p>
<p>Suppose the school does not. Then, can a Ph.D. candidate at the school be admitted to a European doctoral course, which usually require its applicants to have master's degree?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19490,
"author": "biohazard",
"author_id": 12049,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Although the term \"PhD candidate\" is used in both continents, a Ph.D program in the USA comprises of: Master (2 years) + Doctorate (3 years), meaning it takes at least 5 years, whereas in Europe comprises of just the latter: Doctorate (3 years). This means that yes, a Master's degree <em>or something deemed equivalent or superior</em> is required to enter the doctoral course in Europe. The fact that it's \"not required\" in the US is an illusion, it's just because the Master's is (sort of) included IN the Ph. D program. In the end you will get your Ph. D degree at around the same age than students in Europe.</p>\n\n<p>If your University in the USA does not deliver a Master's degree per se, you will have to check with the prospective university in Europe to see whether they will count your research experience (preferably 1-2 years of lab research after your 4-year Bachelor's, which you could sum up in something that looks like a Master's thesis) as being <em>equivalent or superior</em> to a Master's degree. I believe it is case by case.</p>\n\n<p>Also, please keep in mind that some countries like France require you to have a scholarship or to secure some kind of funding prior to admission to cover your living expenses for the entirety of the Doctorate (3 years) since Ph.D candidates have a status similar to paid staff.</p>\n\n<p>The UK is probably one of the only countries in the world where it's OK to do just a Doctorate (3 years) right after your Bachelor's (=if you compare to other countries, you could say it means skipping the 2 years of Master's), however, I don't think this is highly valued on the international market, unless you managed to end up with the same amount of work and publications than the people who did Master (2 years) + Doctorate (3 years).</p>\n\n<p>//Speaking for science majors//</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19555,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One should note that the reason why there's such a big difference between the US and the European systems is the way master's degrees are handled. In the US, the master's degree is viewed as a \"graduate\" degree, to be completed after the bachelor's study, which is effectively independent. In Europe, however, the bachelor's degree is largely considered a precursor to the master's degree, which is normally done in succession after the bachelor's degree is complete. Doctoral candidates (post-master's) in Europe do not normally have significant coursework requirements associated with the degree. </p>\n\n<p>Consequently, for most PhD positions in Europe, a master's degree is considered a prerequisite. The exception to this are programs that are more or less patterned after the US model, in which a master's degree is acquired as part of a larger PhD program. However, even in these programs, the acquisition of the master's degree is not merely \"an option,\" as it is in many US programs. Instead, it is a necessary component of what amounts to a dual-degree program.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19489",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
19,495 | <p>This year I have decided to take a Computer Science course on FLVS, an online learning institution.</p>
<p>Throughout the whole year, I worked well, and I had a lot of fun with the course. I was close to finishing the second semester of it, and I randomly lost access to the course. I was surprised to find out that they took a some of my assignments (about 6~7), and they flagged me for academic integrity, claiming that I used the answers from an online answer source. Another problem is that because it's so many assignments, they have kicked me out of the course, without me even communicating with them the issue.</p>
<p>My teacher had no idea about this, and she can't do anything about it. She told me to talk to academic integrity themselves. I now have a 0 for the course, and I'm very angry, and I have no idea what to do. I can show them I didn't cheat by answering on the phone any questions they have, and I've already studied for the exam and I plan on taking it, and I'm very confident I can get a good grade. I've also used the knowledge I've learned from the course, and I've created iPhone applications as well as games and other software.</p>
<p>I've left the academic integrity team a message stating that I need to speak with them ASAP, but how can I communicate to them that I didn't plagiarize the work?</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> I have done some research as to how I present my case, and I found a couple things regarding appeals. FLVS claims that its so called "academic integrity" team is fair and not biased and they utilize a lot of technology to ensure that their claims are as factual as possible, such as <a href="http://www.turnitin.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">www.turnitin.com</a>. I have found a Customer Support number that I can voice my concerns to, so I'm going to present my case to them.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE #2:</strong> After speaking with customer support (see update above), the person on the other line wrote down my grievance in an email, and she sent it to the academic integrity people. I also received a copy of the email. She told me she's sorry for my problem and that I should expect a call in the next 48-72 business hours. Hopefully I will fix this.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE #3:</strong> We had a long talk with the academic integrity team yesterday, and apparently (I had no knowledge of this) they claim I have copied work from my twin brother Varun from about 20 assignments. Going through these assignments, there seems to be evidence of similar code, but that's because certain instance variables and functions had to be created as per the assignment's instructions, but the overall design of the program is different. They also say that we had the same typesetting (meaning me and him had the same spacing and tabs and white space), although we're both very experienced programmers, and we follow the conventional format of tabbing and spacing. I'm most likely going to court :D.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE #4:</strong> This is the best part. After talking we academic integrity before (see above update), we decided to check all of the assignments she flagged and come up with legitimate reasons as to why I didn't cheat on them. After coming up with a long list, we sent an email to the academic integrity people and told them that we came up with a lot of reasons as to why we didn't copy, so she said that she would call us in a couple of days. After 2 days, she sends another email stating that her reasons are legitimate, according to her "boss", and that she won't discuss the issue any further. I am now super angry about this, and I have legitimate reasons as to how I didn't cheat. She won't tell me anything, and my teachers haven't returned any of my calls. I really hate FLVS.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19496,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There are a few steps you can take, but the specifics depend on the individual institution and its procedures:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Find out what evidence is behind this accusation.</strong> Presumably when you talk to this \"academic integrity team,\" they will tell you more specifically why they think you cheated. Once you have a chance to find out what their evidence for this accusation is, you will be in a position to show them how they made a mistake. </li>\n<li><strong>Find out what the institution's official policy is for appealing accusations of academic integrity.</strong> This depends on the individual institution's policies. When you speak to the \"academic integrity team,\" you can ask them directly what the appeal procedure is.</li>\n<li><strong>Find out what the general grievance procedure is.</strong> If you don't have a good experience with the \"academic integrity team\" (e.g. they did not give you a fair chance to appeal the accusation), you should find out what procedures your institution has in place for voicing grievances in general, and you can pursue these if necessary.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19509,
"author": "TwoThe",
"author_id": 12798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12798",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One main aspect of the law is \"innocent until proven otherwise\". That said it is them who need to proof that you plagiarized. First thing I would do would be to speak to them, explain that you strongly disagree with their decision, and that you want to see their proof to analyze it.</p>\n\n<p>Once you have that proof try to figure out how good it is. If it only contains partial similarities, point out to them that given the amount of articles on the Internet, it is actually very likely that parts of your work look similar to the work of someone else, even though you never read it. That would not be a proof that you copied something, only a hint at best.</p>\n\n<p>If large passages of your text are similar or identical to what someone else wrote, you have a problem. At this point you can only hope that they believe you or you have to take a lawyer and hope for the best.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19565,
"author": "Magpie",
"author_id": 1248,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1248",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>People seem confused between criminal law and rules and regulations of an institution.The universities can do whatever the hell they want because they make their own rules, and the law allows them to do that. So <strong>learn the rules</strong>:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>You need to get the assessment regulations and all the related policies you find and then read them</p></li>\n<li><p>See if your uni has an advice place and see what they have to tell you.</p></li>\n<li><p>If the Country of your Uni have any Freedom of Information laws. Request everything related to this problem formally and in writing that is, meeting minutes, emails related regulations and rules etc. Your brother may wish to do the same.</p></li>\n<li><p>Learn the appeals process and be prepared to use it.</p></li>\n<li><p>You may wish to counter with something offensive like a complaint - Get a copy of the complaint policy from your uni...</p></li>\n<li><p>Find out what happens when the internal process is exhausted - that is, when you either hand over your case to an advocate or go to court if your issue still has not been resolved and the two parties (you and the uni) still disagree.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I don't think they have a leg to stand on if it's white space or coding style, but if I were you I would get a <code>git diff</code> of the related assignments of yours and your brother's to see for yourself what you are up against. Moreover, if the <code>git diff</code> does support your story by suggesting the content of the assignments are different in every regard but style as suggested, then that is evidence right there.</p>\n\n<p>Aside: the uni should not really be reusing assignments used in previous years for assessed work, so many people cheat when that happens by getting the answers off someone else who has already taken that class.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 178260,
"author": "Deipatrous",
"author_id": 119911,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/119911",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I had to deal with a misconduct case involving twins once. I did not consider it odd that twins should have the same handwriting and approach things similarly. Even though they deserved the benefit of the doubt, the instructor was ready to die on this hill and had their HoD's backing (this was a cross-departmental case, spare you the messy intricacies). I advised the twins to just stomach the very possibly unfair accusation and made sure that the other department involved would know to treat this condemnation as the nonsense it was. It was a bad compromise and I regret not having been firmer.\nTwins, work harder to avoid any semblance of wrong-doing! Do not always have to team up with your twin sub on every assignment! It is not fair but our world is twin-ignorant!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 178267,
"author": "Ben",
"author_id": 87026,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/87026",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<h4>Before worrying about evidence, focus first on due process</h4>\n<p>The primary issue here ---before you get to any evidentiary matters--- is basic due process. Universities should have misconduct procedures that provide due process to the person accused of wrong-doing, and that should generally entail that you are informed of what you are accused of doing and given an opportunity to respond prior to any findings of fact and resulting punishment.</p>\n<p>Legal requirements for due process differ depending on what country/jurisdiction you are in and the legal status of the university (i.e., is it public, private, etc.). Nevertheless, most jurisdictions impose some kind of legal requirement for due process on universities in regard to their internal disciplinary procedures. (Other answers here suggesting that universities can do whatever they want are false.) In particular, public universities are subject to administrative law rules in regard to their internal decision-making, including rules on due process. To give an example of this legal position, in US public universities a person who is subject to a university disciplinary procedure is generally entitled to notice of the allegations against them and a description of the evidence for those allegations (see e.g., <em>Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education</em> 294 F.2d 150 and later legal cases elaborating on that).</p>\n<p>Now, as to what to do, here is some <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/159148/w159149#159149\">general advice for dealing with a complaint of cheating/misconduct</a>. The main thing to note in the present case is that you are getting ahead of yourself by worrying about evidentiary matters prior to knowing exactly what the allegations are. The first thing you need to do is to put your university on notice that you expect due process in this matter, and that you would like them to inform you (in writing) of the allegations against you and the nature of the evidence for those allegations. As others have pointed out, "proving your innocence" is nowhere near the first step of this process.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19495",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14278/"
]
|
19,499 | <p>I have very little formal training, but I believe I have some ideas to share. I have surveyed the terrain of ideas I need and have the complete picture in some haphazard form in my head. It is seeming quite impossible for me to write anything that looks good, complete and coherent. In attempting to do this I have read my previous draft and it seems hopeless... I am not sure what I can do, at this point. I'm not in a hurry, I can spend a month on the text to get the technique right. More specifically:</p>
<ul>
<li>Is there a text that trains you on how to write a mathematical physics paper? </li>
<li>Is it possible to acquire such skills informally? </li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19502,
"author": "Senex",
"author_id": 13547,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13547",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Some resources on writing mathematics, which I assume will be useful in mathematical physics, are:</p>\n\n<p>Donald E. Knuth, Tracy L. Larrabee, and Paul M. Roberts, <em>Mathematical Writing</em>, (Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America, 1989), ii+115pp. ISBN 0-88385-063-X. [You can download this (minus illustrations) from Knuth's website: <a href=\"http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/klr.html\">http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/klr.html</a> ]</p>\n\n<p>P.R. Halmos, \"How to write mathematics\". <em>Enseignement Math.</em> (2) 16 1970 123–152. [There are copies of this floating around online; I'm not linking because I'm not sure of their copyright status.]</p>\n\n<p>However, in my own experience, guides like these are useful because they point out (1) a lot of things to avoid, and (2) a relatively small number of useful tips and tricks. Developing a good writing style is best accomplished by reading as much good writing as you can (including both scientific and other scholarly writing), writing as best you can, and seeking as much good feedback on your work as you can.</p>\n\n<p>See also Jean-Pierre Serre's lecture \"<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJZpdXWm4Gg\">How to write mathematics badly</a>\", which is informative, funny, and (since his examples are taken from experience) tragic. Look out for the instance he highlights of \"without\" being abbreviated to \"with.\" </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19538,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most journals have the \"instructions to contributors\" section somewhere near the end, and it may be the link on their website. Such sections often contain many useful hints that are more general than just formatting the paper for the particular journal, and you can read instructions of several journals even if you do not plan to submit a paper to them now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19539,
"author": "m4d4sb34ns",
"author_id": 7051,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7051",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My personal favourite is <a href=\"http://www.ee.ucr.edu/~rlake/Whitesides_writing_res_paper.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer\">this paper</a> by George Whitesides, one of the most significant contributors from the organic chemistry field. Some of his main points:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The importance of outlining, i.e. having a good plan for the structure of the paper</li>\n<li>Start writing early! Your thoughts on how to prepare the final paper could provide useful direction on how to efficiently gather key bits of data</li>\n<li>Tables, equations and figures are key - someone skim-reading your paper later on may just end up reading the intro, conclusion and the captions on your data, so make sure you can get your point across without blocks of texts</li>\n<li>The word \"this\" requires an explicit reference</li>\n<li>Stick to past tense when describing your experimental work</li>\n<li>Pay attention to the formatting requirements of your chosen journal to avoid delays upon submission</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>None of the points made in the guide are field-specific. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19558,
"author": "L Platts",
"author_id": 9117,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9117",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yep, it may take a while until you are producing texts that you're happy with. Writing is hard! I'll let others advise on mathematical physics, but will recommend two general texts on scientific writing which might be helpful:</p>\n\n<p>A useful book for writing articles in scientific fields is Hilary Glasman-Deal's \"<a href=\"http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5a6Y9G0FsxQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Science Research Writing for Non-native Speakers of English</a>\". Although it focuses on scientific writing for non-native speakers, there is also a wealth of information on how to structure an article and make the argument clear. I found it to be full of useful gems, such as, starting on page 1, tackling the introduction after having drafted the report sections.</p>\n\n<p>Another fantastic general book on writing is Howard S. Becker's \"<a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Social-Scientists-Chicago-Publishing/dp/0226041085/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397948859&sr=1-2&keywords=writing%20for%20social%20scientists\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Writing for Social Scientists: How to start and finish your thesis, book or article</a>\". Although it's targeted at the social science community, much of the book is relevant for any scholar wishing to write well. Becker emphasizes how perfect prose does not flow from the pen of the genius scientist; rather, prose that looks effortless is (always?) the result of lengthy and repeated redrafting. He also explains how effective the act of writing can be for helping to clarify thinking.</p>\n\n<p>Have a look at some related questions here on Academia StackExchange too: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15276/how-to-write-a-strong-introduction-into-a-research-paper\">How to write a strong introduction to a research paper?</a> <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18079/any-place-for-people-with-fear-of-writing\">Any place for people with fear of writing?</a> <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/731/how-to-improve-technical-writing\">How to improve technical writing?</a> </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 55454,
"author": "svavil",
"author_id": 41843,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/41843",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my own personal quest of writing the first article, I found <a href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20358146\" rel=\"nofollow\">this freely available article</a>. While it's of most use for writing a medical technical note, it outlines the structure of the article very clearly.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19499",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
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|
19,503 | <p>What are the differences in responsibilities among them? Can anybody give me an example to elucidate that. Also why are non-tenured faculty more interested in a co-adviser role than a committee member role?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19505,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The advisor is the person who is formally recognized as the person most responsible for supervising the student's thesis research. A co-advisor is a person who also works with the doctoral candidate, but often in a secondary role (perhaps providing scientific but not financial support, for instance).</p>\n\n<p>In my own case, for instance, I had two advisors who were fully equal in both supervising the research and supporting it financially. However, formally one of them had to be in charge of the thesis research—I believe they decided it by a coin flip.</p>\n\n<p>The thesis committee is a body that convenes only sporadically (although sometimes on a regular schedule) to ensure that a doctoral candidate is progressing according to expectations. The committee—which usually includes the advisor and several other faculty members (or other advisors)—is also usually responsible for deciding when a candidate is ready to schedule a defense of the thesis and graduate.</p>\n\n<p>As you can see, this is a very different role than a co-advisor, who takes on a much more active role in supervising and guiding the doctoral candidate's work. While a thesis committee member rarely is a co-author on a paper with the candidate, a co-advisor often will be. Consequently, it's much more useful for a faculty member to be a co-advisor than simply a committee member. (The latter role will not carry anywhere near as much \"credit\" toward a tenure case as being an advisor or a co-advisor.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19514,
"author": "Jangari",
"author_id": 12923,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12923",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"http://gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/handbooks/phd/supervision.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">This breakdown</a> of the different roles comes from the University of Melbourne:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Principal supervisor</strong> (i.e. advisor)<br>\nAn appropriately qualified person who takes primary responsibility for the academic supervision of a candidate’s research and candidature</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Co-supervisor</strong> (co-advisor)<br>\nAn appropriately qualified person designated to assist in the academic supervision of a candidate's research and candidature</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Advisory committee chair</strong> (committee member)<br>\nA registered principal supervisor in the administrative department of the candidate who is neither a supervisor of the candidate nor associated with the research project and who is appointed to oversee the advisory committee</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In committee meetings (12 month confirmation, 2 year review, etc.) the chair organises the paperwork, basically. They are also there if the candidate needs to confide about their supervisors and potentially make a complaint if one of the supervisors' actions is unethical, or if there is some kind of professional or personal issue between them and the candidate.</p>\n\n<p>As to your second question, I would suggest that non-tenured staff/faculty would push to be a co-adviser rather than committee member, because it raises their supervisory profile whereas being a committee member is really just a bureaucratic position. When applying for tenure-track positions, employers will look at the theses that the person has supervised or co-supervised, in addition to a range of other things, obviously.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19503",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14285/"
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|
19,510 | <p>I have been in the computer science academic community for at least five years, and I noticed that there are several so called <em>summer schools</em> organized every year everywhere.
I have been knowing just few people attend them.</p>
<p>These summer schools are addressed mainy to MS and PhD students, last around 3-7 days, and may include a final exam. They often include important international speakers coming from overseas.
I have been thinking about them, and there are two issues that concerns them, in my opinion.</p>
<p>The first problem I notice is that is very very hard to make students learn something important in just 3-7 days. They should have more time to re-process all the things that they learned, do some practice, and think about. They include a hipe of subjects that is sometimes very large.</p>
<p>The second issue is that, since the students are studying their own courses, why should they spend their time and money to go to a summer school instead of attending a course at their own university? It's not clear to me.</p>
<p>So, in the end, <strong>why do some people organize summer school?
Is it just teaching passion?
Or is it a way to advertise the organizers and their university?
Or is an occasion for networking?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Or, is it something that I am missing?</strong></p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19519,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A summer school is usually a way to have a focused series of lectures on a specific topic. The best analogy I can think of is that of a master class for musicians. The audience are students who are usually sufficiently adept that they can handle the intensity and focus of a short program taught at a high level. For example, if you're just starting out in grad school in computer science, a summer school in specialized aspects of (say) deep learning might not be very useful. This at least partially answers your first question.</p>\n\n<p>Summer schools are useful because they can bring a set of experts on a topic together in one location, at a venue where this expertise might not otherwise exist. In computer science, this might also be part of the explanation of why there are so many summer schools in Europe: since many topics in the field are dominated by the US, it makes sense to have summer schools in Europe for the reason above. </p>\n\n<p>The speakers of course get the opportunity to travel and teach a focused group. It's a prestigious thing to be invited to such an event. The organizers make their mark (and benefit their institution) by organizing such an event. The students learn about a topic that they might not otherwise get exposure to, from the experts in the field. And that is an answer to your second question. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19531,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are similar summer schools in mathematics, though there are some differences from what you describe. I've helped organize a summer school so I'll try to answer some of these questions.</p>\n\n<p>The math summer schools I know about are somewhat longer, usually 2-4 weeks. They don't provide formal academic credit and there are no exams. They are aimed at PhD students who are at least a couple of years in, though often postdocs and junior faculty are also welcome. Usually there are several lecturers, each of whom is a well-known expert on a particular topic, and their lectures are tightly focused on that topic. The lecturers may come from all over the world; they are not just faculty at the institution hosting the summer school. Sometimes there is also time set aside for students to give short talks on their own research.</p>\n\n<p>As to your first question, it is true that this is a short amount of time; it's an intensive learning experience. (I'd agree that 3-7 days would seem too short; that's more like what mathematicians call a \"short course\", which is usually organized in conjunction with a conference rather than as a standalone event.)<br>\nI don't think it's expected that the students will absorb all the material right away. Rather, they will gain exposure to the topic and its main ideas. For an in-depth understanding, they'd be expected to study related books and papers on their own over months or years, but the summer school will give them a place to start and some preparation for the task. There would certainly be advantages to a longer program, but the logistics would become prohibitive.</p>\n\n<p>For your second question, you must realize that a summer school course fulfills a very different purpose than a regular graduate course. Regular courses typically give you a broad view of a subject (e.g. probability theory) and focus mainly on its basic techniques and classical results. They provide a foundation for research on any topic in the subject. A summer school course covers only a specific topic (say, random walk in random environment), which is usually the focus of active research, and tries to acquaint the student with the state of the art. Very few universities would offer a regular course like that. (At best, if they happened to have an expert on that topic on their faculty, they might occasionally give a one-time \"topics course\".) At the summer schools I knew, students were expected to <em>already</em> have taken 2-3 semesters of standard graduate probability theory, which is all that most universities would offer.</p>\n\n<p>As to money, summer schools often have their own funding. Students do not pay tuition and usually receive free housing, and may also have some of their travel expenses reimbursed by the summer school (and hopefully their home institution provides some travel funding as well). So students usually pay little or nothing out of their own pockets. And regarding \"time\", these are <em>summer</em> schools. At least in the US, most graduate programs don't offer regular courses in the summer, so the student isn't sacrificing regular coursework to attend. They may be sacrificing research time, but the hope is that the summer school provides new ideas that will ultimately make them more productive.</p>\n\n<p>Networking is a consideration as well. A summer school gives students the opportunity to meet renowned experts who they might otherwise never come in contact with. Just as importantly, they get to make connections with other students with similar interests from around the world, with whom they may someday form collaborations. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, they are fun! You get to travel to a new part of the world and meet interesting people. There are usually social events, outings, hikes, etc.</p>\n\n<p>I think the main motivation for summer school organizers is to create a program that will ultimately benefit and build the research community in a discipline. Exposure for the institution, networking opportunities for the organizers, funding, etc, are also nice, but secondary.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19510",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/379/"
]
|
19,511 | <p>I knew a foreigner in the astronomy department at the university here who was a "post-postdoc" independent researcher. How could she have her own office in the astronomy department as an independent researcher?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19548,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Many universities offer positions with titles such as \"research professor\" or \"staff scientist\" or other similar titles. These all indicate the same basic phenomenon: a researcher who is generally supported by \"soft money\" (In other words, a position subject to sufficient funding), but who is otherwise more or less \"permanent\" staff. Such scientists may or may not have their own dedicated office space, depending upon overall space constraints within the department and within their boss's research group.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19567,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Such possibilities depend a lot on recommendations and past achievements of such a researcher. </p>\n\n<p>If one is a real scientist with good publications and good, interesting project, not only office space, but also laboratory access and resources like access to the supercomputing facility may be provided. </p>\n\n<p>Most obvious, a researcher may be supported by his home institution (industrial or educational) and would not require also salary for the project.</p>\n\n<p>The similar situation may also result from various funding schemes that allow to obtain the initial grant for a position easily, but make progressively difficult to <em>extend</em> it over time, regardless of achievements like publications. In such cases some researchers actually work for free for a limited time in institutions that are no longer able to employ them, to finish everything properly.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19511",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425/"
]
|
19,533 | <p>I have seen that some universities give postdoctoral fellows an official certificate (similar to the PhD diploma) after finishing their postdoctoral job. On the other hand, some of postdoctoral positions are just simple research (or even academic) jobs. I have even seen that some professors pay the postdoctoral fellows without contract (from their grants).</p>
<p>My question is: How common is a <strong>certificate of postdoctoral studies</strong>? Do future employers expect applicants to give them certificate of postdoctoral studies as well as PhD diploma?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19534,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Certainly not in the US. I never got any kind of certificate for the postdoc I did, and in fact I'd never heard of such a thing until your question. </p>\n\n<p>My current employer never asked for any formal verification of my postdoc. They received letters of recommendation from my postdoc supervisor and other colleagues at that institution, and I think most US academic employers would consider that sufficient. </p>\n\n<p>Then again, they never asked for my PhD diploma either. In the US, we don't use the diploma for official purposes; it's just a decorative piece of paper. The official document of choice is a transcript sent directly from the university (and my employer did ask for one of those).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19535,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You are expected to have publications while working as a post doc. These publications document your institution, topic and success while working as a post doc. </p>\n\n<p>You can also ask for recommendation. I do not think it is a separate \"diploma\" because unlike PhD, post doc is already more work than studies.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19547,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm in the UK. I've never heard of a \"certificate of postdoctoral studies\", not least because postdocs aren't studying towards a qualification: they're working. I've also never heard of a postdoc not having a formal contract of employment. In fact, I suspect it would be illegal to do so in the UK (and probably most western countries).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19553,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, the only \"certificates\" of post-doctoral research that I am familiar with would better be classified as <em>certifications</em>: that is, they indicate the dates for which the postdoctoral associate worked at the given university, and the kinds of duties performed. I know that some universities also give certifications for particular courses taken, but otherwise, I am not actively familiar with \"certificates\" in the style of a diploma.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19533",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
]
|
19,536 | <p>I am writing my undergrad Bachelor's thesis in computational physics where I do C++ programming. In some C++ books, I read some things that were quite useful during programming, but they do not have a direct connection to the physics.</p>
<p>Since I was proficient with LaTeX before I started the thesis, I do not see a point in adding anything about that in the references. That is rather a skill than specific facts, and I did not really read about it during my research.</p>
<p>Another thing are resources that I consult for an introduction into a topic when I do not understand something in a paper. After reading that introduction material, I often understand the paper to a sufficient extent. When I then write the text, I think I could get by by only referencing the paper since it contains virtually everything needed. But it also seems wrong to omit that I read introduction material.</p>
<ul>
<li>Should I cite sources like the C++ book?</li>
<li>Should I cite introduction material like Wikipedia, websites or easy books?</li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19540,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You don't typically cite material that helps you understand a topic. You cite material that you explicitly use in a paper. So source books like a C++ book don't need to be cited unless you're using an unusual and explicit construction mentioned in one of those books. For example, there's a technique to draw a geometric object using GPUs that was first mentioned in an graphics programming textbook: people using the technique will cite that textbook. </p>\n\n<p>Wikipedia is not supposed to be a repository of original material, so if you found something on wikipedia then there's likely to be an original source that Wikipedia should cite and that you should as well (once you verify it). </p>\n\n<p>For a website it's a similar principle. If the website contains code that you're using, then cite it (or better yet, cite the associated material that the code authors might suggest you cite instead). But if the website merely contains expository material that helps understanding, then you don't cite it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19541,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to Suresh's answer, I agree that it is not <em>necessary</em> to cite books, etc, that gave you background information but weren't directly used in your work. There's no general rule that \"you must cite everything you read\". However, if you found a source particularly helpful, it might be nice to give a citation to share it with the reader. This is often phrased like \"A useful introduction to this topic can be found in [3].\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19577,
"author": "anaximander",
"author_id": 7901,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7901",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My university gives students a document of guidelines for planning, organising and formatting their dissertation. It addresses this question, and I think their answer is pretty good. This is basically what it says:</p>\n\n<p>Your <strong>references and citations</strong> should contain anything you've quoted directly, anything you've used a figure or diagram from, and anything you've referred in the text to for a fact, assertion, statistic, etc. Any time you state something that's not blindingly obvious from first principles or the product of your own work, cite where you got it from. (I had a lecturer tell us to imagine we're being followed around by one of those Wikipedia users who goes around sticking [citation needed] on everything.)</p>\n\n<p>If there are other sources that you haven't used <em>directly</em> but still feel would be valuable to anyone attempting to understand or replicate your work, anything you made significant use of while doing the work that didn't make it into your citations for some reason, or anything you read to help your understanding of the topic in order to carry out the work, you can add a separate <strong>bibliography</strong> section, which lists those works.</p>\n\n<p>As far as I'm aware, the distinction between \"references\" and \"bibliography\" is well-understood in the academic community, but you could always drop in a line or two at the top of each to explain if you feel it would help your audience.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19536",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13232/"
]
|
19,544 | <p>I am interviewing over Skype, for a research position at German university. So far my interviewer and I communicated via email, and he sounded formal but pleasant.</p>
<p>I have no clue how interviews are conducted at German universities. Is it subject-based or do they just want to know the student's skills and motivations?</p>
<p>Also, since i am interviewing for a position in machine learning, should i expect questions about the current trends and research?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19549,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I currently work in Germany, and have exactly the situation xLeitix mentions in his comments: I have positions which I am able to choose directly who I want to hire, independent of any admissions committee.</p>\n\n<p>In such interviews, I want to have a sense of the student's technical prowess, as well as a sense of their motivation and interest in the position itself. Since such positions are usually directly associated with particular projects, I want to make sure that the candidate is reasonably qualified to tackle the specific project (rather than just being generally competent in the field).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19566,
"author": "A.Schulz",
"author_id": 1467,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1467",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say there is no general rule. You should ask the interviewer if you can prepare something - so you will get more information in which direction the interview will go. You can also directly ask about the length of the talk. </p>\n\n<p>Typically I would except a talk about your past projects, i.e. your Master's thesis. Since this is a research PhD position in Germany it is very likely that it is part of a externally funded project. So questions about the project can be expected. </p>\n\n<p>The main reason for the interview is that the interviewer wants to get a picture of you - on a scientific but also on a personal level. Typically there wont be a hiring committee, but you have to convince the professor that you are the right person for this position.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19570,
"author": "Hauser",
"author_id": 213,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/213",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to other ansers, an interview in Germany is often only a opptortunity for the applicant for becoming asked to finally visit the group a half/full day and for the employer to filter out interesting students, when too much good ones apply. In my field, physics, >100 applicants for good PhD positions will be normal. Maybe 3-4 will be invited to visit the group actually and then the professor or a committee makes the decision. If you're living in Germany, they will often simply invite you to make a presentation at the face.</p>\n\n<p>It's a fast and important opportunity to check if you can fluently speak the language (at least English) or rule out eventual contradictions/gaps in your CV or ask some informal questions (scientific/engineering family, hobbies,...). But, from my experience phone interviews are not very common in Germany for STEM PhD positions, also not in non-academia job world.</p>\n\n<p>I don't have so much experience how overseas applicants are treated here as we don't have many and master degree is often necessary (you didn't say how far away you're from this group), if interesting candidates are even invited to visit groups and traveling costs are paid (at least partly). But traveling within Europe via train to visit the group is common and costs paid. Mostly after 1-2 mails without a pre-phone-interview, because a well written CV is often enough to invite then 3-4 good applicants and fill the position. If you are applying for a very specialized topic from overseas where it's unlikely that there are many good candidates, then I would take this much more seriously and prepare really some text to present your master work in a short and pregnant way. Some interviewer will expect this or tell you explicitly, <strong>but in any case it is your fault to be not prepared</strong> :)</p>\n\n<p>So I would check and was checked myself language proficiency, short descprition of master's work, relation/motivation to/for this PhD work and country, other applications I filed and what I plan to do after finishing PhD. You will maybe also face some hidden questions. There was one position I was interested in where it became known to me after interview and visiting the group (but finally not offered) that the professor searched somebody spending also some post-doc years at this group (a small young group that was just build up) and not ruling this out completely. Such questions some professors will ask you explicitly, some indirect, as it is hard nowadays to forecast your life 5-10 years. But showing the professor that I just wanted to do PhD in his group and city and then move on finally cost me this position.</p>\n\n<p>Formally it's an interview of you, nonetheless you should also ask some questions at the end of the interview that are not mentioned in the job description (salary, teaching duties (language demands, master students), advisor, overall time frame, attending conferences, vacation...). It's not a good strategy to bombard employer in mails with such questions before it is not clear that they are really interested in you. Show that you're are thinking determined self-confident curious guy, a bit like a good flirt ;)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19544",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14309/"
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|
19,545 | <p>I am an MSc Student of Computer Science at a department that is considered to be in the top ten CS departments in the world (<a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2014/computer-science-information-systems#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=">QS Rankings here</a>). I am telling this, just to let you know, that I have some good enough (I guess) general background in Computer Science. However, I am just an MSc student, not somebody who is a specialist, knows a lot of things including the current research conducted in a specific field.</p>
<p>I was asked today, from an editor of a journal, to review a paper. I would loved to do that, but I will probably respond negatively, as I can understand the danger of saying yes to a paper that does not actually show a good amount of research just because I am unaware of the current research and/or expertise on that field. </p>
<p>However, I can <em>understand</em> most of the papers in Computer Science and I found mistakes some times that were reported to their authors, who admitted that their papers had some mistakes. Therefore, I may be able to find some errors, but I am afraid that I may be unable to say whether a paper fully justifies and in a correct way what the authors want to show.</p>
<p>My question is: What should I respond to the editor provided the above?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19546,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is a good question: at what point in one's academic career should one begin refereeing papers?</p>\n\n<p>I think the first order of business is to make sure that the editor knows you are an MSc student. In fact, inquiring into why you were chosen to referee the paper seems reasonable to me: the answer may help you determine whether you are qualified. Perhaps for instance your thesis advisor got the request and passed it along to you. That's a good situation for you: you can read the paper for correctness (in my experience, assuming the requisite base level of competence and understanding, the younger the referee, the more likely she is to conscientiously read and check a paper for correctness) and then solicit your advisor's help in determining the appropriateness for the journal.</p>\n\n<p>In fact, no matter what this is a good opportunity to talk to your advisor: she will be the best person (aside from you) to help you determine whether or not you are \"ready\" to competently referee the paper. If she says no, you should probably turn down the request. If she says yes, see if you can get her help on the higher level issues that you are rightly concerned about.</p>\n\n<p>Let me also say that you have to start refereeing papers sometime (or you become someone who never referees papers even into the later stages of their career: I know such people, and although so far as I know they landed in that situation through no fault of their own, it is clearly an undesirable state of affairs for the community at large), and no matter what age or rank you start, you will still have to wrestle with the issues of knowing what standards to impose. (For that matter, sometimes I get a referee request from a journal that I have never read or even heard of before. I try to ask the editor for more information but have sometimes just been told things which amount to \"Use your best judgment.\" So I did.) There is a lot of subjectivity in the refereeing process, and though you may feel less confident about your opinion as a very junior academic, in reality it is far from clear that what you do will be worse than what some more experienced person would do!</p>\n\n<p><strong>Shorter Version</strong>: You need to get a sense of whether this is a job that you can handle competently in a reasonable amount of time. Don't be afraid to ask for guidance in determining the answer to this. Being a master's student does not disqualify you in any obvious way. If you can do it -- without interfering too much with your other responsibilities, of course -- then you probably should. It will be a valuable learning experience. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19552,
"author": "Philip Gibbs",
"author_id": 7466,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7466",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think it directly matters what point you are in your education or what university you are studying at. It is more important that you have written and published some papers yourself in the field. You need to have had the experience of having your own papers reviewed before you can review someone else's, just so that you know first hand what is expected of you. It is not common for someone at MSc level to have that experience but if you have then that's fine.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 20998,
"author": "PLL",
"author_id": 1277,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1277",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>(Just to add a point that’s not yet been mentioned.) </p>\n\n<p>One thing you can do is to explicitly mention you your own level of knowledge in the review. I recently began one review something like \"This work is correct and interesting, and as far as I know it's new, but I don't know the literature on the topic thoroughly enough to be certain of that.\"</p>\n\n<p>Indeed, in my field, most reviews come with a field on the score-sheet to give your own level of confidence, usually on a scale of 0 (null) to 4 (expert). I would be uncomfortable reviewing anything where I’d rate myself 0 or 1, and for a 2, I would want to check with the editor before accepting the review, and see if they would prefer to ask another reviewer. But from an editor's point of view, a well-thought out review from someone inexperienced but conscientious — especially when that inexperience is known, and can be allowed for — may well be better than a hurried review from an expert, and is certainly better than no review at all.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19545",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11492/"
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|
19,559 | <p>In the USA, many universities enroll PhD students with BSc degree. I think this is the classical scheme, which remained in the US universities. In many countries, it is almost impossible to enroll in a PhD program without MSc degree.</p>
<p>I am curious how is the trend for MSc programs?</p>
<p>At least in the USA, do more universities allow PhD enrollment with BSc degree or those allowing are shifting to MSc requirement?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19560,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>At least in my field (mathematics), every US PhD program I know of accepts students with a bachelor's degree. I see no sign of this changing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19568,
"author": "cindy",
"author_id": 14327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14327",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the field of biology they don't require a Master's. When I interviewed with top Universities, it was pretty uncommon for the candidates to have a Master's degree. Everyone did have a Bachelor's though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19569,
"author": "rob",
"author_id": 14332,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14332",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In physics, doctoral programs typically admit students with bachelor's degrees. Some programs will award a master's degree partway through, usually upon completion of coursework and successful defense of a research proposal. A master's degree is also a graceful way for a student who wants to leave a PhD program early to do so.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19559",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,581 | <p>I'm currently writing a paper on analysing miRNA targeting in animals. It's principally a statistical analysis involving many graphs.</p>
<p>However, to explain the creation of one of the graphs, I've resorted to using set theory notation, as this, to me, seemed the most efficient way of explaining how the graph was produced. </p>
<p>However, this may potentially have some issues:</p>
<p>1) Will the use of terminology that is outside the theme of papers in this field detract from the description? Such that few people who read this paper will understand set theory and therefore many will not understand the mathematical notation? The description, I hasten to add, will be a tenth of the length when using set theory notation.</p>
<p>2) Evidently, concepts should always be written as clearly as possible, but where is the line formed between explaining concepts in words, as opposed to mathematical notation? Why would one choose one way over another?</p>
<p>3) Should you make assumption of the mathematical understanding of a person reading the paper?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19583,
"author": "Mike A.",
"author_id": 12208,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12208",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>An author should always be careful when using mathematical notation that is \"outside the theme of papers in this field,\" especially if the papers typically have little math notation. I have personally found that running into a cryptic (at first glance) equation makes me put the brakes on and engage some deeper thought to decipher what's trying to be said. Oftentimes, the notation is required, or at least useful, but when I end up thinking, \"Couldn't they have just said 'such-and-such' in plain English'\", I get a bit cranky.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes, though, you do need the space savings to stay within page limits, so if you really will shave off 90% of the space, and you need that space to fit in something else that is key to the paper, AND in your best judgement that the audience won't be derailed by the notation, you might be OK. Otherwise, because you have stated that you can describe it clearly in words, you should consider perhaps rewriting that description to be more concise and precise, rather than potentially obfuscating the details of your graph production.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19595,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>By and large, I would say <strong>avoid using non-standard presentation techniques in your paper</strong>. This includes using non-trivial mathematical notation in a field that generally does not use maths.</p>\n\n<p>Consider that simply by choosing your way of presenting your techniques / results you (a) already lose most <em>casual</em> readers of your paper (i.e., those that don't <em>have</em> to study your paper for some reason, but were just interested in its content), and (b) presumably significantly increase the chance of your paper being falsely rejected by a reviewer who was inexperienced in the used notation, and hence misunderstood some details. Of course, this is not supposed to happen in an ideal world, but we don't necessarily live in such a world.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, I should add that (especially for lower-ranked venues), the opposite of (b) may also happen - you may get a reviewer who does not fully understand your notation, but decides that it looks \"sciency\" enough and hence accepts the paper (even though, maybe, the content was actually weak). I have certainly seen paper submissions that tried to ride the train of camouflaging weak content with complex notation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19599,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>So far, I'm missing the option of giving the 110% version of set notation plus explanation in plain English. That way, readers familiar with the set notation can skip the written explanation, and others can either skip the formula or learn what it means from your explanation.</p>\n\n<p>(As you think whether you should give the long explanation, I assume that there are no particular length restrictions.)</p>\n\n<p>I may add that I (chemist/chemometrician) was actually taught that a formula should preferrably be accompanied by a plain text explanation of the idea behind this formula. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19581",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,584 | <p>Why are linguistics and law considered as part of the "sciences" rather than "non-science" academic disciplines like say philosophy, history or engineering?</p>
<p>Seeing how both linguistics and law only study what has been created by mankind to begin with, or how there is virtually no room for scientists to actually test out various theories and models, it would seem, to me, that both of these fields fail to meet the criteria for being a "science", which is enlarging humanity's pool of verified/easily-testable knowledge.</p>
<p>Or to perhaps phrase the question in a less abstract way, how do the linguists' methods for reaching consensus differ from the methods of historians, which basically is "just" some majority of people agreeing on something based, ultimately, on their intuition. (In contrast to something like math where one can provide formal proofs, or sociology where one can run experiments and tests that meet certain criteria for validity and significance). Similarly, isn't law "merely" applying the knowledge provided by sociology (and others) and thus more of an engineering discipline rather than a science?</p>
<p>Or is it perhaps like with computer science (and various other examples) where the field is just called a science for practical (political/economical/etc.) reasons, but actually fails to formally meet the criteria upon closer examination?</p>
<p>I hope no one is be offended by this. It is a serious question and I'm genuinely interested in objective answers.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19593,
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"pm_score": 4,
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"text": "<p>I disagree with several of the assertions in your question regarding linguistics specifically, as well as more generally. </p>\n\n<p>Firstly, there is no universally agreed upon criteria for something to be classified as a science. The division between science and non-science is a false dichotomy whose only purpose is to elevate some fields and denigrate others as less 'worthy'. This is a cultural distinction. Source: degree in history and philosophy of science.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, linguistics does in fact display the classic hallmarks that many would say are indicative of science-hood. When you document an otherwise undescribed language, you have to demonstrate correspondences that are repeatable, e.g., a noun phrase in language X consists of a determiner phrase followed by an adjectival phrase, followed by a noun, and this generalisation should hold across the phrase structure of the language. If you find a counterexample, you need to account for it by modifying your theory or disregarding it as an aberrant case. Moreover, your results are repeatable in that if someone goes back and asks for the same sentences, they should get the same, or comparable, responses.</p>\n\n<p>Then you start deriving hypotheses about things like the structure of the language, on the basis of empirical data; a corpus of collected examples. These are subject to peer review and criticism, and if you survive something that this language does that others do not, or that current theory does not predict then you have to back up your claims with extensive empirical data.</p>\n\n<p>This is a short description of the workflow of just one field of linguistics, and does not even encroach upon phonetics, which even has numbers and graphs! Source: a bachelors and a masters in linguistics.</p>\n\n<p>Finally I would disagree that something is not a 'science' (or is less sciency) if it studies something that is a human invention. Language, yes, is a human invention, but each language is a system, and has its own rules that can be teased out by induction and deduction from the data. People don't just decide 'let's start using plural inflection'; its part of the independently testable system. Just like a game of pool is similarly invented by humans, but is analysable as a system. In fact game theory is a perfect analogue to language sciences in this respect; invented by humans, but analysable as a system.</p>\n\n<p>Can't speak about law, however.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19619,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Or is it perhaps like with Computer Science (and various other examples) where the field is just called a science for practical (political/economical/etc.) reasons, but actually fails to formally meet the criteria upon closer examination?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Computer science is a science by any reasonable definition. Academic computer science is not about learning how to program. It is the theoretical study of computation as a mathematical subject.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In contrast to something like math where one can provide formal proofs,[...]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Formal proofs are extremely common in computer science.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Seeing how both Linguistics and Law only study what has been created by mankind to begin with[...]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Sciences are generally divided into the natural sciences and the social sciences. The latter includes fields like sociology and economics. Just because societies and economies are human-created, that doesn't mean that these fields aren't sciences.</p>\n\n<p>Also, although languages are created by humans, many of the phenomena of language are naturally occurring. For example, certain combinations of sounds are easier to articulate than others, which is a physiological fact. Certain aspects of grammar are hard-wired into the human brain; for example, it is possible to construct artificial grammars that a linguist can tell could never have occurred naturally.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>there is virtually no room for scientists to actually test out various theories and models</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is completely untrue for both computer science and linguistics.</p>\n\n<p>Law is completely different. I have never heard of law being referred to as a science. However, the academic study of law may draw upon evidence from the social sciences.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27398,
"author": "tsleyson",
"author_id": 12904,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12904",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since most people understand \"science\" as \"good\" and \"not science\" as \"a system of mystical thinking akin to Zoroastrianism\", just questioning whether something that's called a science is \"really\" science is guaranteed to offend the people who practice it, contrary to your hope that no one will be offended by your question.</p>\n\n<p>I somewhat sense that you don't know much about linguistics, and your image is of prescriptive linguistics, i.e. a bunch of guys sitting in an ivory tower and making pronouncements forbidding prepositions at the ends of sentences. This is not what linguists do; that sort of thing is usually found in English and modern languages departments. You similarly misunderstood computer science, as Ben Crowell addresses in his answer. If you look into things a little, you'll find that modern linguistics is \"scientific\" in lots of ways. </p>\n\n<p>Many linguists do field research. This involves living among the speakers of unrecorded languages, learning and describing these languages, and helping to analyze the impact these languages have on currently held theories. This is fully as scientific as what cultural anthropologists, sociologists, and behaviorists of all kinds do. </p>\n\n<p>But where do linguistic theories come from? Linguistic theories, for the most part, are either psychological theories, attempting to make sense of human language as an activity of the human mind, or mathematical theories, developing formalisms that describe the structure of language. Noam Chomsky's formal language hierarchy and generative grammar are mathematical formalisms that are also used in computer science, which you also malign as not a science. More recent theories, like lexical-functional grammar, are even more mathematical in character. These mathematical formalisms describe the syntax of human language, and books on them contain proofs, as do most books on computer science per se, and not programming. Set theory is also used in some corners of semantics.</p>\n\n<p>Statistics is frequently applied in linguistics; see for example <a href=\"http://linguistics.ucdavis.edu/People/raranovi/papers-and-manuscripts/hdt_sht.pdf/view\">this paper</a>. The answer to your question \"how do linguists' methods for reaching consensus differ from historians'?\" is that linguists make use of statistical data, try to explain things within existing theories, and apply mathematical formalisms, similar to the way economists and physicists reach consensus. And linguistics continues to get more mathematical, by incorporating statistics, probability, and computer science into its theory and practice.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, have a look at historical linguistics and comparative linguistics. Modern linguists' painstaking reconstruction of the Proto-Indo European language, the common ancestor of languages as widely sundered as English, Latin, Armenian, Persian, and Hindi, cannot, in my opinion, be called anything other than a work of science. There were judgment calls; there were ambiguities to resolve; there are competing models; and there are some things we'll probably never know. But that's also true of paleontology, geology, and astronomy, and no one disputes that those are sciences. </p>\n\n<p>As Jangari says, there is no sharp dividing line between \"science\" and \"system of mystical thinking\". Entire books have been written on this question. You can read them, and decide for yourself on the question of law. But if you believe that a field's methods and intentions make it scientific, and if you accept that cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, statistics, mathematics, computer science, paleontology, geology, wildlife biology, and physics are sciences, then linguistics is a science.</p>\n\n<p>(I tried not to be offended, but as a computer science major / linguistics minor who considered law school, your apparent ignorance of computer science and linguistics touched a nerve.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27401,
"author": "Greg",
"author_id": 14755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14755",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Seeing how both Linguistics and Law only study what has been created by mankind to begin with, </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>History, big part of philosophy, engineering, large part of chemistry deals with artificial/men created events and items</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>how there is virtually no room for scientists to actually test out various theories and models</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not less than in history, astronomy, many parts of biology, archeology, anthropology, literary sciences.. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Or to perhaps phrase the question in a less abstract way, how do the Linguists' methods for reaching consensus differ from the methods of historians, which basically is \"just\" some majority of people agreeing on something based, ultimately, on their intuition.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Historians and linguists are actually creating models based on their intuitions and discuss the findings, proof or disproof, argue and counter argue, just like other scientists. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In contrast to something like math where one can provide formal proofs, \n Such formal proofs exist only in mathematics and related subjects (CS and such), but not in sciences like Physics or Chemistry. Proof in \"natural sciences\" are different in nature from Mathematics.</p>\n \n <p>Or is it perhaps like with Computer Science (and various other examples) where the field is just called a science for practical (political/economical/etc.) reasons</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This remark, being rather belittling and offensive is not based on actual argument or knowledge about CS. Real CS is pretty much mathematics in most part.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I hope no one is be offended by this. It is a serious question and I'm genuinely interested in objective answers.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Unloaded questions and actual knowledge about the subjects could greatly improve the quality of this discussion.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 38854,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a professional linguist, I have nothing to add to the above explanations of the nature of linguistics as a science. Instead, I will explain why law can credibly be considered a science (though isn't actually called one). As noted, it is incorrect to think that science does not deal with the man-made. Also, note that veterinary medicine, dentistry and many other sciences could be called \"not sciences\" in particular application, e.g. your dentist is not formulating a scientific hypothesis and testing it when he fills a cavity. You can't generalize from what the guy in the strip mall does, to what scientific researchers in the field do.</p>\n\n<p>Law studies the nature of legal systems. It extends beyond rote memorization of specific pieces of code or judicial decisions -- it in fact <em>emphasizes</em> the construction of abstract principles that predict the behavior of the system. In common with social sciences, the theories of law make testable claims which can be refuted (though hardly by a single observation). A theory that predicts the outcome of a proceeding given a set of facts is validated, and one that repeatedly fails to predict that outcome is falsified. </p>\n\n<p>There is, in fact, some significant intertwining between law and linguistics, since many legal facts are linguistic in nature (that is, the wording of the law matters, and legal interpretation often requires appeal to linguistic scientific knowledge).</p>\n\n<p>Indeed, legal research also runs experiments, especially psychology experiments, to test theories. An example is how the wording of jury instructions affects the outcome of a trial; it has in fact been shown that the standard burden of proof instruction stated in terms of \"beyond a shadow of a doubt\" is understood to creates an (unintended) requirement on the defendant to create doubt, where a \"firmly convinced of guilt\" standard does not impose that burden on the defendant. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 38986,
"author": "Oedhel Setren",
"author_id": 29481,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29481",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Science is anything with a set of observable constants, a philosophy is something subject to interpretations. Meaning no matter who you are or your feelings, murder is always against the law (science) and also wrong (philosophy.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 60649,
"author": "Angelo Paul",
"author_id": 46525,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/46525",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Linguistics and law are merely science since they all fall under the observable set of rules and principles when someone else is interesting to get study on either both of them.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19584",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14345/"
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|
19,586 | <p>I am currently getting ready to finish my first semester of a graduate program (was on track for Ph.D but that does not matter anymore). I made the decision to quit half way through the semester due to some family issues that came up. Anyway, ever since that, I pretty much lost all motivation to study with the persistence that I had before - up to the point where on a subconscious level my brain refuses to absorb any more information. I will likely be receiving at least 1 F for the semester. My question is this - after I leave the program I will be looking for job in industry - I am a Civil Engineer as an undergraduate. How will having an F on a 1 semester transcript in graduate school affect my job prospects?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19591,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Did you try seeing if you could formally withdraw, rather than do so \"de facto\"? A withdrawal means that you normally don't receive grades for courses (although some schools note a withdrawal while having a failing grade in a course).</p>\n\n<p>The likelihood that a future employer will overlook this depends largely on who's doing the applicant screening. If your \"direct boss\" is handling the process, you have a chance of convincing them that the grades aren't reflective of your true abilities. On the other hand, if a human resources \"specialist\" is handling the screening process, a grade of F will unfortunately mean your application will probably end up in the \"circular file.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19594,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You will be looking for a job in industry. I don't think your job prospects are completely determined by the F's on the transcript of your first semester of the graduate program. Of course, those F's hurt your chances. Your resume could be filtered out by the human resources when they see the F's on your graduate school transcript if they ask to see that transcript. But, they usually pay attention to your undergraduate transcript and your skills set. If your undergrad transcript is fine and you have the skills/experience they are looking for, you still have reasonably good job prospects.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, if it is not too late to withdraw from the class, do it to avoid the permanent bad record. If it's too late, try your best to not to fail the class. I know it's hard after you have gone through the personal issues. But, you don't want to ask yourself the question \"What if I tried?\" years later.</p>\n\n<p>Wish you good luck!</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19586",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
19,588 | <p>Suppose you have two libraries that use the same classification system and have not merged their respective databases. Could it be possible that the exact same book could be assigned different call numbers if taken from one library and added to the other?</p>
<p>I am asking this question because I am drawing up a home-library database application, and the client would like the ability to assign call numbers (even multiple ones). I have not been able to find an answer online, and I hope that I do not have to travel to the next state over to find a library not connected to the ones around I live.</p>
<p>I imagine the book would most likely be assigned to the same top-tier category and most likely the same second subcategory in the respective system, but, for example, the Library of Congress system incorporates the author's name and a quasi-decimal number which fine-tunes the book's location. And it seems without any external reference the assignment of this part of the call number is made on the fly for any particular library.</p>
<p>So, I have a couple questions. First, the title's sake. Second, is the way I'm thinking about this correct? And if I'm wrong, why?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19592,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Normally, when already available, Library of Congress classifications are usually found after the title page, and should thus be constant across different libraries. For publishers. </p>\n\n<p>In any case, this should be a fairly easy hypothesis to test (at least to a certain degree). Most university library catalogues are on-line and freely available. You could sample a cross-section of titles from different subjects and see what happens: my suspicion after a few cursory checks of my own is that call numbers <strong>do</strong> vary somewhat, but primarily at the \"secondary level\" (in identifying the author, rather than the subject). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19607,
"author": "James T",
"author_id": 13203,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13203",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A call number is meant to be a unique identifier for a particular book (or other work); that is, a particular <em>physical object</em>, typically found on a shelf somewhere. These identifiers are often structured, containing encoded information about the subject, author, publication date, etc. If a library has multiple copies of the same text, then they will typically have different call numbers - say, via a suffix \"(copy 1)\", \"(copy 2)\", etc. They are different physical objects. They are tracked separately: one copy was purchased, and another was donated; one is on loan and another is having its spine repaired; and so forth.</p>\n\n<p>It is <em>devoutly to be wished</em> that different libraries, following the same standard, will assign their identifiers in the same way. Reality being what it is, we can't guarantee that this will always happen, even if it is the common case. However, your question is about something different: when a book is moved from one library to another, what happens to the call number? There are two things going on here:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Assigning a new number.</strong> Since you have a new physical object, it needs an identifying number. The multiple copy example above shows one instance where the least-significant part of the call number would have to change. Ideally, other changes would not be needed in order to make the number conform to the new library's system. So the question is: how much do you trust the old library to get it right? If the answer is anything less than 100% then there should be some way to assign a new number.</li>\n<li><strong>Keeping track of the old number.</strong> Even after renumbering, it might be useful to record the book's former call number. Provenance information is generally felt to be a Good Thing to have - certainly, in the case of items with any value, or which are externally indexed. (For example, bibliographies of the works contained in a particular library will often include the shelfmarks.) This may not be a concern for your database, or it might not have to be part of the main database system - perhaps \"how I obtained this book\" information could be retained elsewhere.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>If you are dealing with MARC, then you can look up how it handles coding of former locations, multiple call numbers, and so on, as there are standard ways of recording this information.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19620,
"author": "mkennedy",
"author_id": 5711,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5711",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I took @aeismail suggestion literally and tried to find an older geodesy textbook. C.F. Baeschlin's Lehrbuch der Geodäsie that was published in 1948. I checked <a href=\"http://melvyl.worldcat.org/title/lehrbuch-der-geodasie/oclc/8104772&referer=brief_results\" rel=\"nofollow\">MELVYL</a>, the University of California's system, which is now connected with WorldCat. They listed all copies as QB283.B2 for the Libary of Congress (LC) system, but had other identifiers including an OCLC number. I then checked Ohio State's library catalog which listed their copies as <a href=\"http://library.ohio-state.edu/record=b4437046~S7\" rel=\"nofollow\">QB283.B33</a>. Both systems do have the same OCLC number. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47086,
"author": "Andrew",
"author_id": 27825,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27825",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A bit late to answer the OPs question, but for the record... the answer is \"usually they will be the same, but there is no requirement and there are often good reasons to vary\".</p>\n\n<p>Factors which may cause a different number to be used by different libraries:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p><strong>Different classification systems</strong>. Usually, different branches of a given library will use the same classification system, but this is not guaranteed, especially when different institutions have merged.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Different <em>versions</em> of the classification system</strong>. Classification systems are frequently revised, and not all libraries update their existing shelfmarks when an updated edition is issued. <a href=\"http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.22686/full\" rel=\"nofollow\">This paper</a> discusses the example of the \"eugenics\" subject, which has been assigned to 18(!) different locations in Dewey at various times.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Different local focus</strong>. If individual libraries have a specialised focus, they may choose to classify books in a different way. For example, I used to deal with a small departmental library focused on classical studies. A book on, say, the military of the Roman Empire would be shelved under 937 as a particular subset of ancient history in the main library, but the second copy in the specialist library would be shelved under 355 as a book on military history - this was the most convenient approach for that particular site.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Different local practice</strong>. There are a number of aspects of the classification system that are effectively optional. For example, a smaller library may decide to use shortened numbers rather than the longer, more \"correct\", ones. \"Cutter codes\" (the quasi-decimal bit based on author name) are often assigned in an idiosyncratic way, and some libraries will use a local or arbitrary system for these. Fiction/literature also causes problems, as using the \"pure\" classification system for this is relatively rare outside large libraries; many will use a much simpler system, and it is very likely this will be inconsistent between individual libraries.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 134056,
"author": "Flower Snark",
"author_id": 111403,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/111403",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm really late here, but I just ran into this issue. In particular, I've found a book that is regularly given one of two LOC numbers that differ in the second letter.</p>\n\n<p>I noticed the book <a href=\"https://www.worldcat.org/title/innovations-in-nondestructive-testing-of-concrete/oclc/637380766&referer=brief_results\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Innovations in nondestructive testing of concrete</a> in my library with a call number starting with TK7874. This was strange to me, since those call numbers are mostly about microelectronics and VLSI design. I asked a librarian, and the best we could come up with was that there's some electronic testing discussed in the book (which wasn't that satisfying to me, since there were no other concrete testing books nearby, and the electronics didn't seem related to VLSI). </p>\n\n<p>However, if you go through the different libraries that have that book in the link (click on \"book\" under \"Held formats\"), many of them have that same TK7874 number, but many of them instead have a TA440 number. That range includes many other books on concrete testing. </p>\n\n<p>I'm inclined to think that the TA440 number is the the \"right\" one (not that I know anything about concrete), but it's interesting to me that this isn't just an issue with a single library. Perhaps they all copied each others' databases, or perhaps there really is some reason for classifying this book either way.</p>\n\n<p>In short, I'm not sure if this <em>should</em> happen, but it certainly does, and occasionally at a fairly high level in the call number.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19588",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14351/"
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|
19,600 | <p>Do universities offer relocation assistance to a newly employed postdoc who comes from another country? Is it appropriate for the postdoc to ask for relocation assistance if it is not already offered? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19601,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In disciplines that I'm familiar with, postdoc money comes from a grant obtained by a PI. So the university has little-to-no role in the hiring and compensation process. I imagine the postdoc would have to discuss this issue with the PI. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19602,
"author": "Matt Reece",
"author_id": 6108,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6108",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It varies. In my experience some of the more prestigious postdoctoral fellowships sponsored by universities might have some amount of moving expenses built into the budget, and more typical postdoc positions funded out of grants probably won't. But it might be possible to get a professor to help you out, perhaps out of startup or some other funds that aren't earmarked for a particular purpose. You should try to negotiate it with the person who offers you the job <em>before</em> you accept the offer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19632,
"author": "Ernest Friedman-Hill",
"author_id": 1275,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1275",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the early 90's, when I did a postdoc for a U.S. National Laboratory, full relocation expenses were included, which involved moving my household clear across the country, and staying in a hotel for a bit at the other end while I looked for a new home. I doubt such generous deals are readily available today.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 49379,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the Netherlands, relocation reimbursement for post-docs, both a lump sum and a refund for transporting your possessions, is <em>mandated</em> by the collective employment agreements. For the non-university research institutes, <a href=\"https://www.wvoi.nl/media/1154/chapter-10-2018.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Chapter 10 of the the 2018 CAO agreement</a> spells this out. The amount is about 2,000 EUR for a fixed-term employment contract.</p>\n\n<p>I have no experience elsewhere, (un?)fortunately.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 49444,
"author": "Anonymous Physicist",
"author_id": 13240,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13240",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some Australian universities offer very generous relocation packages as a matter of institutional policy. Most other places do not seem to offer it, but it is definitely okay to ask.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19600",
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|
19,604 | <p>I had the impression that obtaining written permission before including someone in acknowledgements was required. Therefore, I just wrote to someone asking for written permission to include him in the acknowledgements of a paper, and he said he didn't think it was necessary. I don't recall where I got this notion from - perhaps the rules of a specific journal? So, I was wondering if there are any general rules about this or not, or are they perhaps journal specific?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19605,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When you list someone in the acknowledgments, you're just thanking them, as opposed to speaking on their behalf or assigning them responsibility (the way authorship does), so I don't see why permission should be required. I've never asked for permission or been asked myself, so it's certainly not standard in mathematics. I haven't heard of it in other fields, but of course I can't say from personal experience.</p>\n\n<p>Of course it depends on what you say. \"I am grateful to Alice for her steadfast support of my research\" suggests Alice endorses your research, and you should certainly ask for permission before saying something like that. \"The determinant calculation in Section 2 was supplied by Bob\" suggests Bob is responsible if it's wrong or clumsy, so you should make sure he is OK with being thanked (but in this case you presumably already discussed with him your plans to include his calculation in your paper and attribute it to him without making him a coauthor). And of course if your topic is really controversial, then you should be extra careful about everything. However, if you had helpful background discussions with Carl and write \"We thank Carl for helpful discussions about functional analysis\", I don't think you need to ask his permission.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19624,
"author": "L Platts",
"author_id": 9117,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9117",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've never come across any rules about this. But I do often write to people to let them know I'd like to include them in the acknowledgements, particularly if I know them less well, and enclose a copy of the draft paper. It's a way of thanking them, especially as they might never come across the published paper, and it gives them a chance to escape if, for whatever reason, they wish to. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 110019,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/19605/7734\">Anonymous Mathematician’s answer</a> holds for most fields I am aware of, <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/63105/7734\">this question and answer</a> made me aware that some journals in the field of medicine and some mega-journals <strong>require consent</strong> for being mentioned in the acknowledgements, for example:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/pb/assets/raw/Lancet/authors/tln-info-for-authors.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer\">The Lancet</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Please include written consent of any cited individual(s) noted in\n acknowledgments or personal communications</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n<li><p><a href=\"http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-acknowledgments\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Plos One</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Authors are responsible for ensuring that anyone named in the Acknowledgments agrees to be named.</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19604",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/285/"
]
|
19,608 | <p>One thing that I have noted come up a few times in presentations in the US in the last few years has been that some speakers—usually graduate students and postdocs, rather than more established career professionals—have included religious invocations at the end of presentations in entirely secular venues. One presenter went so far as to have an entire slide devoted to it, complete with quotations to spiritual texts and illustration. </p>
<p>Is there any sort of protocol about when such sorts of invocations are considered appropriate? (For instance, at a student's doctoral defense, but not at a public seminar?)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19614,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think this is a good question.</p>\n\n<p>Let me propose some guidelines:</p>\n\n<p>1) A religious invocation should occur at the beginning of the talk or the end of the talk, but not in the middle of the talk.</p>\n\n<p>People often begin talks with material that is unrelated to the topic of the talk itself, e.g. thanks to various organizers; comments about the weather, the venue or the town; jokes; and so forth. It seems to be clearly asking too much for someone to speak only about their scientific field during the entirety of their talk. However, at a certain point you get down to business and the \"talk itself\" in the narrower sense begins. One should not (of course this is an opinion, but a strongly held and easily defensible one) mix religion with the material of the talk itself.</p>\n\n<p>2) A scientific talk is not an occasion for proselytization. </p>\n\n<p>To me whether religious material is appropriate depends a lot on the purpose one has in bringing it up. If you include religious material as an attempt to convert audience members to your religion, I think that is really problematic and unethical. If you include religious material for other promotional reasons, then I still have a problem with it, just as I would be with someone promoting their not wholly scientific company or product. (Even wholly scientific promotion might not be so great, but that's a different answer.) </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, it is a totally standard thing to have the last slide of a talk give thanks to various people and institutions. If you feel deeply grateful or thankful in the religious sense, then it seems natural to want to express those feelings, given that other speakers are thanking people and things (e.g. the US government) that, in your sincere opinion, have not helped you out as deeply or fundamentally. At any rate, it does not bother me if someone ends a talk by thanking some theological entity.</p>\n\n<p>3) One should not express religious sentiments in a scientific talk in a way that encroaches on anyone else's religious sentiments or lack thereof, nor which implicitly or explicitly invites or requires participation or complicity from the audience.</p>\n\n<p>Thus \"Alhamdulillah\" is probably okay; \"Now Thank We All Our God\" is probably not. </p>\n\n<p>In general, in (e.g.!) an academic context, one should be respectful of others' beliefs and views, and one should not be controversial or exclusionary in anything without a specific intellectual purpose for doing so. One should also be respectful of others' time and realize that speaking in front of a group is a privilege. On the other hand, academics are human beings and can choose to say things which are not strictly necessary. In my calculus class last week, I had students identify a quote about mathematics being someone's worst subject followed by a careful and insightful consideration of the reasons for this. The quote turned out to be from Malcolm X. What <em>calculus reason</em> could I possibly have to quote Malcolm X? None. But I thought it was interesting and perhaps important in its own way. I enjoy my freedom to do that, so it is not a hard sell for me to give leeway to those who want to make some kinds of religious statements, so long as they are in line with the above guidelines. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19618,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As evidence that it's not appropriate, note the comment by xLeitix stating that s/he has never seen such a thing, and several upvotes agreeing. The reason we don't see it happen is because it's inappropriate.</p>\n\n<p>However, it's not inappropriate behavior of the greatest magnitude. It's probably comparable to wearing shorts and sandals, or to lighting up an e-cigarette during the talk. Most people are going to care more about the content of the talk than about about such minor issues, but some people will choose to be annoyed.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19608",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53/"
]
|
19,615 | <p>Should one disclose his/her family information (i.e. whether he/she is married and have children) in an academic job interview, including postdoc interviews and interviews for PhD, if any? In what situations would disclosing family information in such interviews be considered advantageous or necessary for the candidate? If not appropriate during interviews, then when would be the best time for one to disclose his/her family information?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19617,
"author": "Community",
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"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's probably best not to bring up family information at all during an interview. The committee wants to focus on your professional qualifications. They've probably been given strict instructions from HR <em>not</em> to take into account things like the applicant's sex or age, which are not professional qualifications. Different people may have different expectations about how formal a job interview should be, but in general it's not a casual get-together where we get to know each other.</p>\n\n<p>Often a committee will want to understand why you are leaving your current position. Basically they want to make sure you didn't leave your current position because you did a bad job there and got fired. This becomes particularly relevant if the job you're applying for is at a professional level less than or equal to the level of the job you're leaving. In this context, it may be OK to mention your family if they're the reason you wanted to change jobs. E.g., you needed to move from Indiana back home to California in order to care for your father, who is old and unable to live independently anymore.</p>\n\n<p>Another common situation would be the \"two-body problem,\" where you and your partner are trying to find jobs in the same city. I would not bring this up at the interview stage. It's not relevant at that stage, because they haven't even offered you the job yet.</p>\n\n<p>If you have young children, I wouldn't mention that at all. Many people in academia have very old-fashioned expectations about the academic lifestyle, e.g., that a high-powered academic must not be distracted by child-rearing, or must have a \"faculty wife.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19623,
"author": "David E Speyer",
"author_id": 1244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1244",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I heard the following advice from several people; I have not been involved enough in hiring to know if it is right, but it sounded right to me:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>If you would not accept a job offer unless the university can find a\n position for your spouse, then you might as well disclose that\n information early. The universities who do not make offers to you because of your disclosure would not have made offers to your spouse had you kept it silent and revealed later. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you do want to follow this advice, you will have to bring it up, since HR should have told interviewers not to raise the matter.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19628,
"author": "user14382",
"author_id": 14382,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14382",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I have been part of several hiring committees in a New Zealand university and:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>We are instructed to never ask about a candidate's family situation, religion, sexual orientation, etc.</li>\n<li>Personally, I do not want to know about your family situation to avoid any perceived bias in the hiring process.</li>\n<li>Any mention of the situation on your part (like 'we are a bundle') could be perceived as making the hiring more complicated. Unless your application is miles ahead of the rest (unlikely) why would a committee want the extra complication?</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>The only situation where I could see an advantage is when you family situation would suggest higher chances of success. For example, you are applying to a job in the middle of nowhere (and potentially candidates would feel isolated) and your family happens to be from there.</p>\n\n<p>I would wait to say 'we are a bundle' (if that's what you have in mind) to when you are offered the position. Ideally, you would never have to disclose your family situation until the university is willing to pay for your moving costs.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19629,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One situation in which I have seen this work to a candidate's advantage is where the candidate has an extraordinarily strong record. Schools knew going in that solving the two-body problem was important for this candidate, and the university that was fortunate enough to make the hire did precisely that.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19615",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936/"
]
|
19,627 | <p>I've finished a mathematics paper with two co-authors, and I need to decide on a journal to submit it to.</p>
<p>More so than my other papers, I don't have much of a sense for how "good" it is. It is a substantial generalization of one of the main results proved in a very top journal, although not the most significant of these results, and not the one that got the most attention.</p>
<p>To my mind, (and after discussing the results with a few colleagues), the paper does not pass the "gut test" to be published in this same top journal. But it is not out of the question that it would be accepted. I would (very roughly) guess a 15% chance of acceptance, a 50% chance of positive reviews that are not quite positive enough, and a 35% chance of vaguely negative reviews that say "This is a nice paper, but it certainly isn't good enough to be published here."</p>
<p>Would it be advisable to submit to this top journal? Or would a little bit more modesty be wise? (And of course I will ask my co-authors, but I wouldn't be surprised if they defer to my judgment.) Thanks.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19631,
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well, why don't you give it a try? Sometimes your luck might favor you. Last year, I submitted a research paper in a Journal called APEX(Applied Physics Express)- Impact factor 2.71. After considering for nearly 2 months they said me that the paper needs modification and be published elsewhere. I thought for a while and worked on my paper modifying it. I decided to apply for APL(Applied Physics Letters), impact factor 3.79 and guess what the paper got accepted. However, people at APL took nearly 6 months and also made me hire a native English speaker to make some structural changes to the paper.</p>\n\n<p>I think you should directly go for the top level paper. If they deny you, you can always find a replacement.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19636,
"author": "Kasvy",
"author_id": 11123,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11123",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If time is not so much of a consideration then picking the top journal is the natural choice. Sometimes it requires some luck to land in a prestigious journals. As they say, \"beauty is in the eye of the beholder\". Different referees may have different assessments of your paper. </p>\n\n<p>So, why not try your luck? Nothing to be ashamed of since your paper has value to begin with. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19648,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer should certainly depend on many different elements, each of which should be judged with respect to your particular situation.</p>\n\n<p>First, the time issue. You should have a look at the AMS survey on journal backlogs, which also indicates the median time to get an answer (for accepted papers only, but we can assume it gives an idea of what happens to all not-rejected-upfront papers). This survey is published regularly in the Notices, and you should be able to find it on line. Then, ask yourself if waiting that time is worth a likely negative answer. Some journals have a pre-refereeing procedure, and reject a fair amount of papers very quickly. This mitigates the risk (either you get rejected quickly, or you have a much-higher-than-average probability to get your paper accepted).</p>\n\n<p>Second, the impression you give to editors. I guess that an editor could remember slightly abusive submissions, and that they would not help you future cases with her; however I have no data or evidence to back up this guess.</p>\n\n<p>Third, your own feelings. Receiving bad reviews is not something to underestimate: it could diminish your enthusiasm toward your own work, alter your willingness to pursue in this direction. This is probably only a small parameter, but if you have had a few difficult cases recently, you might want to take a break from rejections. <strong>Added in edit after a few more years of experience:</strong> you should also think your possible chain of resubmission. What could happen is that after waiting two years and getting rejected by a top journal, you are a bit down and then submit much lower. Aiming at an intermediate level first might give you a better outcome. This applies even more at resubmission: how much do you try high? How high? This of course depends on the feedback from referees and editors, but some long-term planning might help.</p>\n\n<p>Fourth, you should ask yourself if the journal you consider to submit to is an appropriate venue if your paper do get published there. I would not fear too much people telling that your paper is clearly below the journal's level, as we often judge papers by journal's name anyway. But it might happen that a more specialized and less prestigious journal could reach the intended audience better than the most prestigious, general journal. This is not a very common situation, though.</p>\n\n<p>Last, but far from least, what you expect to get from getting published in the top journal? Is it so much of a career boost compared to very-good-but-not-top journals?</p>\n\n<p>Note also that some editors have the habit of suggesting another venue to papers that have good but not good enough reviews in a very selective journal. It is not easy to know this beforehand, though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19715,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My thoughts, admittedly from a non-mathematician giving a general answer. Below are some things I consider when deciding where a paper goes:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Do you coauthors have suggestions? Especially senior colleagues, they may have a good feeling for where a paper belongs, or where it absolutely doesn't belong.</li>\n<li>Do you have a timeline. As mentioned, journals have backlogs, and some journals are notoriously slow. If you need something <em>in press</em> soon, it might be best to pass on those, even if they are prestigious.</li>\n<li>Do those journals publish papers that \"feel\" like yours? If they've never published something like your paper, what are the odds yours will be the first? If its extremely rare that one is published, does the journal actually have the readership you want and again, you might want to adjust your probability of success down a bit.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I will say, despite all of this, I once submitted a paper to a journal thinking \"Why not, worst thing that happens is they reject it.\" It got into one of the best journals in my field, and is still, 6 years later, arguably my most visible publication.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19717,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to add three small points that haven't been mentioned in the other responses so far. It is possible that this advice is localized to my specific discipline (Philosophy), so take it with a grain of salt. (I'd be interested if commentators think it works the same way or differently in their fields.)</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Many hiring committees for junior tenure-track researchers in philosophy care much more about the <em>quality</em> of one's publications rather than the <em>quantity</em>. Having more good papers is better than fewer good papers, but 1 good paper is worth much much more than 4 bad ones.</li>\n<li>The primary metric by which a committee judges the quality of one's work is the prestige of the journals one's work is published in. The committee might have several hundred applications to read through and they realistically won't actually read everyone's writing sample. Therefore, the prestige of being published in a famous, peer-reviewed journal acts as a proxy for quality that signals that you have already been vetted by a 3rd party and found competent. If you make the shortlist, they'll actually read your work and come to their own assessment of it. But if you make it to the shortlist you're probably one of 15-25 candidates, rather than 1 out of 500.</li>\n<li>These committees assume that the first work published right after the PhD is complete is probably the best work the candidate is going to do as a junior researcher. The idea here is that this is the work you've been working on the longest, and at the most depth, and you've had your advisor's help, etc.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Given 1-3, I think it's much better advice for graduate students in philosophy to spend a lot of time and get one thing published somewhere really really good rather than simply trying to dash something off to get \"points on the board\".</p>\n\n<p>How good is \"really, really good\"? I'd say a top 20 general journal in your field. The difficulty of placing an article in such a journal gives hiring committees an immediate yardstick to know how good your work must be. Everyone in philosophy has had a paper rejected from <em>Philosophical Quarterly</em>, so people know how impressed to be when they see that you have something forthcoming there on your cv. <em>The Croatian Journal of Formal Logic</em>, might be great, but if nobody knows about it, then publishing there doesn't have the immediate cash-value of showing that you have been vetted by an independent third party. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19627",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565/"
]
|
19,630 | <p>I work in computer science, and am wondering what is the right balance between PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in a lab.</p>
<p>In the previous research group I was, there were one principal investigator professor, one researcher (~ assistant professor), <strong>zero post-doctoral fellows</strong>, and <strong>nine PhD students</strong>.
In my current research group, there is one principal investigator professor, <strong>one post-doctoral fellow, twelve PhD students</strong>, and no researchers.</p>
<p>I recently visited a research group in a university where, surprisingly, there are one principal investigator professor, <strong>ten post-doctoral fellows</strong> and <strong>two PhD students</strong>.</p>
<p>What do you think is the <strong>best ratio</strong> between the <strong>number of PhD students</strong> and the <strong>number of post-docs</strong> in a research group? <strong>Why?</strong></p>
<p>Would you prefer to <strong>spend your funding</strong> for having <strong>more PhD students</strong> or <strong>more post-docs? Why?</strong></p>
| [
{
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"author_id": 14383,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14383",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well, why don't you give it a try? Sometimes your luck might favor you. Last year, I submitted a research paper in a Journal called APEX(Applied Physics Express)- Impact factor 2.71. After considering for nearly 2 months they said me that the paper needs modification and be published elsewhere. I thought for a while and worked on my paper modifying it. I decided to apply for APL(Applied Physics Letters), impact factor 3.79 and guess what the paper got accepted. However, people at APL took nearly 6 months and also made me hire a native English speaker to make some structural changes to the paper.</p>\n\n<p>I think you should directly go for the top level paper. If they deny you, you can always find a replacement.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19636,
"author": "Kasvy",
"author_id": 11123,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11123",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If time is not so much of a consideration then picking the top journal is the natural choice. Sometimes it requires some luck to land in a prestigious journals. As they say, \"beauty is in the eye of the beholder\". Different referees may have different assessments of your paper. </p>\n\n<p>So, why not try your luck? Nothing to be ashamed of since your paper has value to begin with. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19648,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer should certainly depend on many different elements, each of which should be judged with respect to your particular situation.</p>\n\n<p>First, the time issue. You should have a look at the AMS survey on journal backlogs, which also indicates the median time to get an answer (for accepted papers only, but we can assume it gives an idea of what happens to all not-rejected-upfront papers). This survey is published regularly in the Notices, and you should be able to find it on line. Then, ask yourself if waiting that time is worth a likely negative answer. Some journals have a pre-refereeing procedure, and reject a fair amount of papers very quickly. This mitigates the risk (either you get rejected quickly, or you have a much-higher-than-average probability to get your paper accepted).</p>\n\n<p>Second, the impression you give to editors. I guess that an editor could remember slightly abusive submissions, and that they would not help you future cases with her; however I have no data or evidence to back up this guess.</p>\n\n<p>Third, your own feelings. Receiving bad reviews is not something to underestimate: it could diminish your enthusiasm toward your own work, alter your willingness to pursue in this direction. This is probably only a small parameter, but if you have had a few difficult cases recently, you might want to take a break from rejections. <strong>Added in edit after a few more years of experience:</strong> you should also think your possible chain of resubmission. What could happen is that after waiting two years and getting rejected by a top journal, you are a bit down and then submit much lower. Aiming at an intermediate level first might give you a better outcome. This applies even more at resubmission: how much do you try high? How high? This of course depends on the feedback from referees and editors, but some long-term planning might help.</p>\n\n<p>Fourth, you should ask yourself if the journal you consider to submit to is an appropriate venue if your paper do get published there. I would not fear too much people telling that your paper is clearly below the journal's level, as we often judge papers by journal's name anyway. But it might happen that a more specialized and less prestigious journal could reach the intended audience better than the most prestigious, general journal. This is not a very common situation, though.</p>\n\n<p>Last, but far from least, what you expect to get from getting published in the top journal? Is it so much of a career boost compared to very-good-but-not-top journals?</p>\n\n<p>Note also that some editors have the habit of suggesting another venue to papers that have good but not good enough reviews in a very selective journal. It is not easy to know this beforehand, though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19715,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My thoughts, admittedly from a non-mathematician giving a general answer. Below are some things I consider when deciding where a paper goes:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Do you coauthors have suggestions? Especially senior colleagues, they may have a good feeling for where a paper belongs, or where it absolutely doesn't belong.</li>\n<li>Do you have a timeline. As mentioned, journals have backlogs, and some journals are notoriously slow. If you need something <em>in press</em> soon, it might be best to pass on those, even if they are prestigious.</li>\n<li>Do those journals publish papers that \"feel\" like yours? If they've never published something like your paper, what are the odds yours will be the first? If its extremely rare that one is published, does the journal actually have the readership you want and again, you might want to adjust your probability of success down a bit.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I will say, despite all of this, I once submitted a paper to a journal thinking \"Why not, worst thing that happens is they reject it.\" It got into one of the best journals in my field, and is still, 6 years later, arguably my most visible publication.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19717,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to add three small points that haven't been mentioned in the other responses so far. It is possible that this advice is localized to my specific discipline (Philosophy), so take it with a grain of salt. (I'd be interested if commentators think it works the same way or differently in their fields.)</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Many hiring committees for junior tenure-track researchers in philosophy care much more about the <em>quality</em> of one's publications rather than the <em>quantity</em>. Having more good papers is better than fewer good papers, but 1 good paper is worth much much more than 4 bad ones.</li>\n<li>The primary metric by which a committee judges the quality of one's work is the prestige of the journals one's work is published in. The committee might have several hundred applications to read through and they realistically won't actually read everyone's writing sample. Therefore, the prestige of being published in a famous, peer-reviewed journal acts as a proxy for quality that signals that you have already been vetted by a 3rd party and found competent. If you make the shortlist, they'll actually read your work and come to their own assessment of it. But if you make it to the shortlist you're probably one of 15-25 candidates, rather than 1 out of 500.</li>\n<li>These committees assume that the first work published right after the PhD is complete is probably the best work the candidate is going to do as a junior researcher. The idea here is that this is the work you've been working on the longest, and at the most depth, and you've had your advisor's help, etc.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Given 1-3, I think it's much better advice for graduate students in philosophy to spend a lot of time and get one thing published somewhere really really good rather than simply trying to dash something off to get \"points on the board\".</p>\n\n<p>How good is \"really, really good\"? I'd say a top 20 general journal in your field. The difficulty of placing an article in such a journal gives hiring committees an immediate yardstick to know how good your work must be. Everyone in philosophy has had a paper rejected from <em>Philosophical Quarterly</em>, so people know how impressed to be when they see that you have something forthcoming there on your cv. <em>The Croatian Journal of Formal Logic</em>, might be great, but if nobody knows about it, then publishing there doesn't have the immediate cash-value of showing that you have been vetted by an independent third party. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19630",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/379/"
]
|
19,635 | <p>To give some background, I am a TA at UCLA for a lab class. They submit their assignments to TurnItIn, which you may know highlights any text pulled from another place.</p>
<p>I made it clear that they are not to work together and that no text in their reports should be found "anywhere else in the universe."</p>
<p>After the first week I caught a group of two plagiarizing. I repeated the "your text should not be found anywhere else in the universe" talk. I gave a long speech about academic honesty and such. One of the plagiarizing students dropped the class herself. I didn't take action on the other, besides a stern talking-to.</p>
<p>This week, two more students blatantly copied chunks of the other's paper. Whole paragraphs. I couldn't believe it -- I had just explained to them the week prior how easy it was to spot plagiarism. I brought them outside class one at a time and asked them what happened. I showed them the highlighted TurnItIn gradereport and their reports side-by-side. They each said they worked together, but didn't copy (slim chance. And still against the rules.)</p>
<p>Now the issue:</p>
<p>The professor that oversees my class doesn't have time to talk to me; hence I am here. He has given me two options: do nothing, or report them to the Dean of Students. If I do the latter, the punishment will extend beyond their grade -- they will probably fail the class, or even be suspended.</p>
<p>I want to punish them. But I don't want to ruin their undergraduate lives. Is my professor right -- I only have two options? (I cannot find any school-specific information about this.)</p>
<p>Or is there a better, less obvious way to handle this?</p>
<p>Update:</p>
<p>I talked around. It turns out that this kind of violation is serious, but it's not going to destroy their life. The Dean of Students people tend to be pretty reasonable when it comes to sanctions from what I hear. So I'm reporting it to them.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19637,
"author": "Marc Claesen",
"author_id": 7173,
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"text": "<p>This sounds like \"I want to punish them but not really\". Fact is that these students have cheated even after <em>multiple</em> warnings. You are not teaching little children. Responsibility and accountability are important and adult students should have both.</p>\n\n<p><strong>If you are sure they plagiarized</strong> the only correct course of action here is to report them. It is then up to whoever handles such issues to assess the severity and appropriate punishment. </p>\n\n<p>The students knew the risks of plagiarizing and decided to do it anyway. Giving them a milder treatment now will encourage other students to behave similarly since the consequences become less severe.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Note: are you sure the students copied from each other or is it possible that they are using the same source?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19638,
"author": "Kogesho",
"author_id": 7773,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7773",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Firstly, I think it is not OK for professor to present you with options. He/she should have decided what to be done and it is actually funny that he gave an option that clearly conflicts with honor code.</p>\n\n<p>If the cheating is provable, then you are paid to carry out the rules so you should report them. No person should be above the rules of the university, and I am sure the rules are clear. Your responsiblity is to grade homeworks and report them if they cheated. Anything else leads to corruption in any organisation, which is also misuse of power.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19647,
"author": "jwg",
"author_id": 5824,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5824",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Just give them no credit at all for that assignment. Since even copied homework takes time, and it's very likely that they will be caught, it's not going to be worthwhile to copy and not get any credit.</p>\n\n<p>If your professor asks, you can say that you chose to do nothing, but that of course they could not receive credit for that work, which you assumed was what he implied in his advice.</p>\n\n<p>If the students complain that they want to be able to make up the credit or feel they should get a grade, tell them categorically no. If they insist, refer them to the professor. This puts the ball in their court - they are unlikely to want to make the effort to complain about you, when they will be drawing attention to their cheating, and probably end up in a position where they have to openly lie to a professor.</p>\n\n<p>If this does happen (because the students are spiteful or lack all sense of proportion) don't worry about it. Students sometimes think that an incident like this can be made to reflect badly on a TA. Even if they do pursue a complaint, even if it is upheld, and even if it is shown that you did the wrong thing, it is not going to be held against you. It will be accepted by faculty and anyone else involved (all of whom probably realize what PITAs some of your students are) that it is a the very worst a minor misjudgement of the type that everyone makes in their first few teaching experiences.</p>\n\n<p>Just make sure that you are consistent (so that you can't be accused of discrimination) and clear (so that no-one can say they didn't understand the rules). If you get bounced into making an exception, immediately make it clear what the rules of exceptions are ('Everyone gets one chance', 'one chance only on the first homework' or 'one person got one chance, but now you have all been warned' etc.)</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, don't take it personally. It is disappointing to try and treat people like adults, and then find that they treat you like you are an idiot. Ultimately it is a reflection on their immaturity not your teaching skills.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19656,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Report them. It is precisely the job of those working in the office of the Dean of Students to make judgment calls of the sort you describe. They, also, do not want to ruin students' undergraduate lives.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19669,
"author": "Neal Fultz",
"author_id": 14412,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14412",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm also at UCLA, and have worked for profs that weren't willing to escalate when cheaters were caught. Many of them just assume that cheaters will drop or eventually fail the final or whatever.</p>\n\n<p>My only advice is to remember: you're primarily here to do research and get a degree; TAing just pays the bills. Cheaters are upsetting, but choose your battles wisely and without getting emotional. In the long run, it probably isn't worth pissing off your advisor by going over their head. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19671,
"author": "Raydot",
"author_id": 13535,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13535",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to everything else that's been said here, you SHOULD talk to your professor about this. If for no other reason than to make sure that all sections of the class are following the same rules. If there is no clear policy then you can't be expected to enforce the rules.</p>\n\n<p>Also remember that a lot of students won't understand why it's cheating and you have to create that understanding. Putting something in the student's hands that explains the policy is key. Refer to the student handbook as appropriate. My handout usually says something like \"This is your one and only 'warning.' After this if you plagiarize you will have crossed a line you cannot uncross.\" After I started handing that out and going over it very clearly on the first day of class I never again had a plagiarism problem.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19675,
"author": "Steve Jessop",
"author_id": 11440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11440",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the rules of your institution are told to you by this professor, and you choose not to follow them, then where does that put you relative to how you think of the students' behaviour with respect to the clear rules on copying?</p>\n\n<p>Either you have discretion to decide the punishment or you don't, and it sounds to me like you're being told that you don't. Your professor may be incorrect in this, but if you can't find it written down either way then the only way to determine that is to contact another authority in your institution for another opinion.</p>\n\n<p>It's possible that by \"do nothing\" your prof actually meant do the thing you want to do -- fail the assignment and nothing else. If so then you're home free, and I think you could probably establish that by asking the prof, \"If I do nothing how should I grade the substantially-copied assignments? Give them both 0?\" This doesn't require a long conversation, anything that can be handled by a 1-minute email is probably good for the prof.</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise you're in the position of a cop who has been told by the captain, \"If you think they've broken the law this goes to the DA. If you think they haven't then forget about it and cut them loose\". You're saying, \"well can't I just issue them an on-the-spot fine or something?\". No, you can't, not if the person in authority says you can't. You can acknowledge the offence and follow procedure, or you can knowingly overlook the offence because you think the procedure is unjustified. And, I might add, good luck with that as a long-term strategy...</p>\n\n<p>That said, perhaps you could contact the Dean of Students (or their representative), and ask whether <em>they</em> are prepared to ratify failing the assignment but not the class. Of course if you do this you pretty much have to report them if the Dean says \"no, they must be expelled, this is a zero-tolerance issue for us\" or whatever. What you can't do is decide on behalf of your institution that copying just one assignment isn't sufficiently bad to justify failing the class. The Dean of Students has clearly impressed on you that their opinion is otherwise or you wouldn't be able to predict their response.</p>\n\n<p>Speculating wildly, I would guess that the reason the Dean's response is so stern is that many TAs before you have been through the process you're currently in. The class is told the rules against copying. Someone copies. The class is told the rules against copying again. Someone copies. Now what? The Dean of Students can probably list more things than you can that have been observed not to work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19684,
"author": "Robert Talbert",
"author_id": 14188,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14188",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Academic honesty cases are very serious for two reasons. First, academic dishonesty strikes at the very foundation of what makes education work in the first place -- namely the idea of mutual trust. Second, academic honesty cases all too frequently degenerate into legal battles that cost the university time and money. For this reason of seriousness, it's paramount that the professor of record take responsibility for this situation and not leave it up to you as a TA. </p>\n\n<p>Go find your university's academic dishonesty policy and read it very carefully. In all likelihood you will find two things that are relevant here: (1) only the professor of record has the authority to act on an academic dishonesty case in her/his class, and (2) more to the point, if academic dishonesty occurs, the professor is contractually obligated to report it. This is how most university's policies work. You might find yourself in a situation of having to remind the professor of this fact -- the prof might have freedom to handle punishments however s/he wishes, but the prof must make a report anyway, for the student's record. (If the student is a repeat offender, the student may be expelled.) </p>\n\n<p>If the prof has this responsibility and still won't listen, go to the department chair with it. This sort of thing really can't be ignored. But I repeat -- this is probably not your responsibility. The thing to do at this point is to find the person who <em>is</em> responsible for investigating it and make sure they move on it. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19703,
"author": "Ian",
"author_id": 9902,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9902",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Firstly it depends on the assignment; I had to do labs in my computer Sci degree with a partner, each person then had to produce a write up on our own. We created one document with all the results in that we shared, and then wrote up the rest ourselves. There was no point in both of us writing down the same numbers and then typing the same numbers into ms-word. So text like the headings on a results table would be the same between the two of us.</p>\n\n<p>Maybe give the students the option of.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Being reported with all the risks that takes</li>\n<li>Or withdrawing their assignment and getting no marks for it.</li>\n<li>Or putting in a formal complaint themselves, so reporting themselves.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19927,
"author": "scozy",
"author_id": 7788,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7788",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with the answers that suggest you should report them to the dean, and come what may. But I would like to raise a consideration in case you decide not to.\nIt is very likely, per university regulations, that you personally do <em>not</em> have the right to punish students.</p>\n\n<p>We had a situation like this in my department, when the chair wanted the students punished but without involving the disciplinary board (for irrelevant administrative reasons).\nWe had to be extremely careful in letting the concerned students know that their project had been graded 0, not as a punishment, but simply because they hadn't followed the instructions which stated to work in 2-person teams.</p>\n\n<p>In case you decide to \"punish\" them yourself without reporting them to the dean, you should study the applicable regulations to make sure what exactly your rights are. You wouldn't want to get into trouble to protect undeserving students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 84399,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me share what I used to do in these situations:</p>\n\n<p>First, don't report anything further up unless you've decided you want to escalate the matter; reporting plagiarism happened and then not doing anything about it could be construed as misconduct or collaboration. For this reason I also don't like those TurnItIn-like systems; who knows who keeps track of that stuff? Nah-uh. Now, I know, your email could also be scanned and analyzed, but still, I'd recommend starting out with a lower profile.</p>\n\n<p>When I would notice what looked like plagiarism (let's assume it's 2-way; n-way is also possible but the principle is the same) I would hold passing a grade for these two students, and would email them to come see me during reception hours. Note that this could happen for other reasons that are not plagiarism - unintelligible hand-writing; an issue whose clarification/resolution face-to-face could decide between a very low and a high grade (e.g. correcting a typo would make everything work); and so on.</p>\n\n<p>When the students arrive (I would try arranging it so that it's at the same time and not the week after), I would call them both in. I'd tell them I think there's been plagiarism committed. I'd say that, between the two of them, they have just one submission, and would suggest that they leave the room for a few minutes to decide how they want to divide the grade or the responsibility.</p>\n\n<p>If they wanted half-grade each - I would do that; if one of them cried bloody murder and said he was taken advantage of, and the second didn't deny it - I'd give 0 for the assignment to the plagiarizer and the grading result to the other one; if they amicably agreed on any other distribution - also ok. If they would claim it's not really plagiarism, I'd have them try and prove it to me - but that never actually happened, they always admitted it immediately or they never bothered to show up. If they indeed didn't bother to show up they both got zeros.</p>\n\n<p>Only if something extreme, or morally repugnant beyond just copying somebody's HW assignment answer, had happened - then I would consider bringing them up on disciplinary charges. Otherwise I wouldn't. </p>\n\n<p>As for my motivation for this approach: I don't like policing students. I'm providingn them a service, and if they don't bother to do their homework it's their loss. I taught courses which were homework-heavy and I would tell students at the beginning of the semester that in this class they will \"learn through their hands\" and listening in class just wouldn't get them to where they need to be, so, again, if they don't work ardently on their homework they're just wasting the course.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19635",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14388/"
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|
19,642 | <p>i found many papers and thesis written in different languages than English, mainly Portuguese and Chinese. is there an efficient way to benefit from these papers and thesis instead of translating them using Google translate.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19654,
"author": "Jangari",
"author_id": 12923,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12923",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you have access to the digital copies, then dump the entire thing into Google translate so you can skim read it. Having done that, it would be a good idea to find a native speaker and get them to check the translation of specific sections that seem relevant on the basis of the automated translations. I wouldn't suggest asking a native speaker to translate the whole thing, or even read the automatically generated translation of the entire thing.</p>\n\n<p>Another thing you could do is see if you can find other papers that cite the papers that you're looking at. One of them may contain a summary that'll tell you if you need to bother pursuing that particular paper. This will be pot luck though, and it will be a lot easier to just use Google translate.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, don't use Google's translations in your work; get a native speaker to help you when it comes to that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19664,
"author": "galeop",
"author_id": 14405,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14405",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you have some knowledge of the source language, you can use <a href=\"http://www.linguee.com/?chooseDomain=1\" rel=\"nofollow\">Linguee.com</a> to find the best translation of a word out of documents which have been translated (EU commission's texts for instance).\nThus, you'll have the word in all its possible contexts.\nThis is very useful for legal or technical vocabulary. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19672,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A good working knowledge of languages is important for many fields of research. Google translate is good, but no substitute for actually being able to just read the article in the original. You don't need to know that many languages for most fields. I recommend that you pick up at least one research language other than English. Which one will be most useful will depend on your field and perhaps your specific topic. (My topic requires Latin, for instance.)</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19642",
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19,650 | <p>A few years back, while still an undergraduate student, I wrote and submitted a paper to a (low-tier) journal. It was accepted and published. None of the professors in my college were familiar with the subfield in question, so I did it all on my own, without their supervision or assistance.</p>
<p>It was only later on that I realised that I was guilty of plagiarism. I did write the paper all on my own, and always provide appropriate citations, but sometimes I would quote single sentences or parts of them directly from my sources without indicating that they were direct quotes (even if these unmarked quotes were always followed by a citation to the original source).</p>
<p>It has now been several years but I keep feeling guilty about it, and worry that one day someone will notice it and call me out on it. Or at least notice it while reading the paper and think worse of me. But since it has been several years since the paper was published, I also don’t know what I could do about it. I have thought of putting something like a public admission and apology on my website (from which the paper can also be downloaded), but maybe I’m overthinking it and nobody would actually care. In that case it would feel like a bad idea to needlessly draw attention to something that nobody would have noticed otherwise. But the paper has been cited some times, and I have reason to expect that there will be people reading it in the future.</p>
<p>Should I do something about it or just let it be?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19651,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
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"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>but sometimes I would quote single sentences or parts of them directly from my sources without indicating that they were direct quotes (even if these unmarked quotes were always followed by a citation to the original source).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>\"<em>You didn't use quotation marks where you should have in a paper you wrote as an undergrad? My god, you are despicable human being.</em>\"</p>\n\n<p>Nobody reading your question here will think this. </p>\n\n<p>Rather they will think something like:</p>\n\n<p>\"<em>Wow, you wrote a journal paper on your own as an undergrad and it's still being cited?</em>\"</p>\n\n<p>I would imagine that the vast majority of readers of your paper, even if they notice, would think likewise.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Though it's technically plagarism, I think it would be quite obvious to a reasonable reader that if your <em>intent</em> was to plagarise, you would not immediately cite the plagarised document you stole the quote from. Omitting quotation marks sounds like a minor transgression to me, particularly if your area is STEM where the (natural) language of the text is a means not an end. (If you did not have the citation(s) at all, I think it would be a different matter.)</p>\n\n<p>Mistakes happen and this was clearly just a mistake.</p>\n\n<p>(I would also add that I think it's pretty common for researchers to be somewhat embarrassed by earlier papers that they wrote when they were more junior. At least I am. But that's just a sign of improving.)</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I also don’t know what I could do about it. I have thought of putting something like a public admission and apology on my website (from which the paper can also be downloaded)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I would suggest two things:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Update the preprint on your homepage.</li>\n<li>Keep a list of errata on your homepage.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In my area (CS) people mostly read the preprints (found through Google or Google Scholar). </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>public admission and apology</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't think there's a need to <em>apologise</em>. I think you just need to admit your mistake and move on. Again, mistakes happen!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19655,
"author": "terdon",
"author_id": 11523,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11523",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I honestly don't think this counts as plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as your own. All you did was use the same phrasing as the article you cite. Since you're giving credit where credit is due by citing the papers, I don't think anyone would object.</p>\n\n<p>If you had done this with one of my papers, if anything I would be flattered. Had you failed to cite me, I would be very annoyed but if you cite my work and then use one of my phrases, I would simply be pleased with myself since you clearly thought that my turn of phrase was so good that you couldn't say it better. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and all that. </p>\n\n<p>So, personally, I would do absolutely nothing. I really doubt anyone will be bothered by what is at worst \"bad form\". Of course it's better to place direct quotes within quotation marks but as long as the relevant paper is cited, you are very unlikely to anger anyone. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19677,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that you already included in your question the most reasonable answer: upload a corrected copy of the paper to your webpage, and indicate on your webpage what the nature of the corrections was. I don't think you need to be specifically apologetic about it: rather <strong>honesty</strong> and <strong>fixing the paper</strong> seem to be called for.</p>\n\n<p>I would only consider doing more than this if:</p>\n\n<p><strong>(i)</strong> The standards for quoting text without attribution in your field are more stringent than the academic norm.</p>\n\n<p>and/or </p>\n\n<p><strong>(ii)</strong> You have some reason to believe that the unattributed quotes played a role in the acceptance of your paper. </p>\n\n<p>In the academic circles that I run in (mathematics, and more generally STEM) neither of these apply and the second one is especially dubious: math papers are -- <em>alas!</em> -- not accepted for their dexterous phrase-turning. </p>\n\n<p>If (i) and (ii) do apply, then I would next consider whether this paper is playing any significant role in your current academic profile. (You say it was published in a low-tier journal; on the other hand you say it is still being cited.) If all these conditions are met -- i.e., you have reason to believe that the paper might not have been accepted if the quotes were attributed properly <em>and</em> you feel that you have profited in some non-negligible way from publishing the paper, then I think you are ethically obligated to contact an editor of the journal. I would begin by sending them a copy of your \"corrected\" paper and take it from there.</p>\n\n<p>I think it is very unlikely that this <em>almost harmless</em> kind of plagiarism (and I think we should agree that it is plagiarism: there are just more and less egregious versions of that bad practice; this is very unegregious, if I can make up a word) will get you in any kind of academic difficulties in your current job or even your future career. However, I think that academics should hold themselves to a higher standard than avoiding what could get them in trouble. From your post it is clear that you have high ethical standards and this has been bothering you for a while. If you do what I advised, I hope that you will sleep a little more soundly.</p>\n"
}
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|
19,667 | <p>I am speaking of project scope here.</p>
<p>So suppose my advisor is working with an industry .And you are asked to build a prediction model for small section of that industry? Does that qualify as a Phd Project or a Master's thesis project.</p>
<p>Or does a Phd project has to be generic model , in the sense all companies in that niche can use that model as basis for their analytics?</p>
<p>I am trying to understand the differences in scope for a PhD and MS Thesis project.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19668,
"author": "aeismail",
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"text": "<p>I've had this discussion recently—the major differences are in the scope and independence of the work. </p>\n\n<p>There is no easy, absolute method to say \"X is a master's thesis\" and \"Y is a PhD project\" without knowing the amount of work involved in each approach, and how independent the student needs to be.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, a master's thesis represents a body of effort designed to show that you have successfully completed the project to the satisfaction of your supervisor. A PhD thesis indicates that you have produced a sufficient intellectual contribution to your field, and that you have the capability to be an independent scientist. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19674,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Standards vary a lot: for example, I've seen MS theses in theoretical computer science from Israel that are mini-Ph.D dissertations. </p>\n\n<p>But more typically as aeismail says an MS thesis is a demonstration of mastery of a particular topic, and may or may not include original research as a part of this demonstration. In this respect, an MS thesis is closer in form to a bachelor's thesis, but the material will be more complex, and less structured. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19714,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The standards will vary quite a bit from field to field, committee to committee, etc. But having gone through this fairly recently, and having been in the position to advise some others:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Masters projects: Good Masters projects can be tied up in a single paper - and should be amenable to being published. But they are generally a single, coherent research question. Secondary analysis of existing data, a theoretical paper to support an empirical study, a meta-analysis, etc. are all good examples. There may be lingering questions (there are always lingering questions...) but by and large the student should be able to \"walk away\" at the end.</li>\n<li>PhD projects, on the other hand, should lend themselves to <em>multiple</em> papers, at least the number of papers required for graduation, and preferably several more to accommodate changes in funding, research interests, dead ends, or the paper that seems to draw the ire of reviewers everywhere. It should be new, asking fundamentally unknown questions, or at least trying to get at known questions in a different way, and should be substantial enough that, at the end, the student should be able to consider that area to be their area of expertise.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19667",
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|
19,670 | <p>When the editor receives a manuscript, he/she has to find a couple of suitable reviewers. I was wondering if the they were choosing the reviewers in order to match the expected manuscript quality? </p>
<p>What I mean is the following: if the editor receives a manuscript that seems to describe a major breakthrough, will he/she choose preferentially well known scientists to review it? On the other hand, if the manuscript does not seems good, will he/she prefer younger, less experienced researchers?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19686,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My impression from working with one is that good editors seek reviews and reviewers necessary and sufficient to justify their decisions. If the paper is obviously good and obviously right, the reviews may only need to be light. If it's a major breakthrough that requires careful checking, then reviewers of the highest quality will be sought. On the other hand, if the paper has major flaws but comes from a well-known, well-regarded author, the editor will seek out someone known to produce the high-quality review but negative review they need. </p>\n\n<p>More speculatively, borderline papers probably require a lot of work from the editor. If they are unsure whether they want to accept a paper or not, they need high quality reviews to make the decisions on whether to offer revisions or not. They also need reviewers willing to do the work of multiple review rounds in a timely fashion. This latter thought is entirely speculative, but it is commensurate with my experience from conference program committees and the borderline papers we reviewed there. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19691,
"author": "Olivier",
"author_id": 14210,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14210",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is an element of logical necessity in the question you ask.</p>\n\n<p>Let us start with the case of a really major breakthrough, think epoch-making result. In that case, editors will of course try to select someone who is able to understand and verify the work, so someone who presumably has notoriously an outstanding command of the topic, who is known for extreme precision and for the ability to easily incorporate new insights. Such a person has highly desirable qualities in order to produce outstanding research and is <em>known</em> for having them. The odds are that that person has produced top-quality research.</p>\n\n<p>Now consider the fact that such persons are by definition rare, so as they are busy reviewing outstanding submissions, other people have to review less outstanding submissions. So in general, yes, submission credibly claiming a breakthrough are much more likely to be reviewed by well-known scientists or (logically equivalently) submissions claiming much more modest progress or claiming breakthroughs but rather dubiously are more likely to be reviewed by less well-known scientists.</p>\n\n<p>But, as always, there are exceptions. I know at least one relatively junior, relatively unknown scientist who has displayed such excellence and thoroughness in reviewing top manuscripts in his field that he is regularly asked to evaluate submissions whose quality and importance are way beyond his own published work; a statement which should not be considered a slight on the quality of his research: one of the submission earned its author a Fields medal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19694,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Editors try to maintain a good status of papers published in \"their\" journal. There is no obvious point in using different standards for different papers and I am sure that such differences are not concious decisions if they appear. If an editor receives a paper that is outside of their comfort zone, it is of course possible they are not aware of possible good reviewers and may make seemingly odd choices. How common this is will be difficult to assess but that it occurs is certain.</p>\n\n<p>In the specific of receiving something of breakthrough character, the procedure should normally be the same. However, an editor always has the choice of adding as many reviewers as they see fit. If a controversial paper appears, it will likely receive quite varying reviews and adding additional reviewers may be useful to get a sense of the quality of the work. This does not necessarily mean an editor will go for specific names but I can see that it may be the case that one would go for prominent names for such a paper. </p>\n\n<p>In my experience as editor and author (and reviewer) I often get the sense that good science receives far harsher reviews than poorer. I do not think this is because the good stuff are assigned to \"better\" scientists, I actually think it is because a good paper is easier to fault be cause it is more transparent than poor papers which are muddled.</p>\n\n<p>So, in short, there are many aspects to how papers are run through a review process. Choice of reviewers is not generally done after quality of the paper although it can happen. In the end a journal, through its editors, want to retain its status and letting poor papers through, does not serve such a purpose.</p>\n"
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|
19,676 | <p>It seems like the traditional exam model (two midterms at 30% and one final at 40% of the grade, closed book) is flawed. For instance:</p>
<ol>
<li>Students are not allowed to access resources, whereas in reality they would</li>
<li>Students get only a few minutes per questions, whereas in reality they would get days </li>
<li>Students are not allowed to collaborate, whereas in reality they
would</li>
<li>Students cram for the exam the day before, and forget what they
learned after the course is over</li>
<li>Students focus on the exam to the detriment of learning the material
and understanding real-world applications </li>
<li>It is difficult to claim
that the exam score demonstrates mastery of the course material in
contexts other than an exam</li>
</ol>
<p>But in practice, is it possible to improve on these flaws, without introducing major increases in workload for the instructor? Is there any system of evaluating student performance in an undergraduate course which is an improvement over a traditional exam approach?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19678,
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"text": "<p>Although exams have the flaws you described, there are also many positive aspects you have not discussed:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Exams are actually an objective way to test performance, in a \"hard to copy\" environment. Although one may disagree with what is actually being tested, objectivity is usually not questioned</li>\n<li>They are fast. It takes 3-4 hours to test hundreds of students</li>\n<li>They are universally used and most of the students are accustomed to them.</li>\n<li>It is an excellent way to prepare students to perform under stress, a skill which is extremely useful in any work environment. All works / skills have some sort-of-testing (e.g. presentations, interviews). Even getting your driver's license requires testing. So, learning to do well in exams is a crucial real-life skill.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The only complementary (but not good enough for actually completely replacing exams) tool I can think of, is project assignments. Especially in CS, projects are a very effective tool to prepare students for real-work assignments. But they are not a good enough method on their own without some sort of personal written examination. They allow too much collaboration, copying and usually when done in teams, the good students do most of the work while others slack. While a professor might take measures to minimize this, it is impossible to avoid it 100%.</p>\n\n<p>So, I do not think there is a universally better way to test students' performance than written exams. One may complement it with projects, assignments, oral examinations but in most of the cases, completely abandoning it is probably a mistake. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19680,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
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"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Students are not allowed to access resources, whereas in reality they would </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Not necessarily so. Instructors can allow \"cheat sheets,\" or allow open book exams. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Students get only a few minutes per question, whereas in reality they would get days </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Not necessarily true. My boss often asks me questions and expects me to give prompt answers. I don't always have the luxury of asking for a few days to research something. If we are in a high-stakes meeting with customers from out of town, my organization's effectiveness might well hinge on my ability to ask or answer intelligent questions on the fly.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Students are not allowed to collaborate, whereas in reality they would </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n<li>True, but exams are designed to measure individual ability and performance, not someone's ability to contribute within a group, or accomplish some objective as a group. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Students cram for the exam the day before, and forget what they learned after the course is over; students also focus on the exam to the detriment of learning the material and understanding real-world applications </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Perhaps so, but that's what we get when we test on the minutiae and the trivial, as opposed to testing on the synthesis of high-level concepts (more on that later). </li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It is difficult to claim that the exam score demonstrates mastery of the course material in contexts other than an exam </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Maybe so, but it's not difficult to claim that, as a general rule, if students are given identical exams, students who score above the median probably understand course concepts better than those who scored below the median (with some possible exceptions, due to factors such as test anxiety, and perhaps even a little luck). </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In short, you bring up some possible shortcomings with what you call \"the traditional exam model,\" but you can address some of these simply by redefining your parameters. Instead of two closed-book exams that count toward 70% of the student's grade, give three open-book exams that count toward 50% of the student's grade. Make one of them a take-home exam, and you at least put a dent in the \"few minutes per question\" problem. By reducing the exam percentage from 70% to 50%, you have an extra 20% to play with, so assign a group project worth 20% of the grade, thereby addressing the collaboration problem you mention. </p>\n\n<p>As for cramming and concentrating on the wrong things, that's what students will do if you structure an exam that requires them to commit a lot of petty knowledge to short-term memory. I try very hard to make my exam questions address higher-level concepts, rather than nitnoid facts. I ask them to explain these concepts, often by weighing in on hypothetical debates. (Sometimes these debates aren't even hypothetical; I'll find a online discussion thread where a debate is raging, then paste it into my exam and ask them to chime in). In other words, insofar as I can, I test on what I want them to remember five years from now. If I want them to solve a problem, but don't care if they've memorized a requisite formula (because they'll be able to look it up anyway), then I'll just include the formula in the exam. I often tell my students, \"Anythihg you would need to memorize will be put in the exam itself. If it's something I have trouble remembering off the top of my head, I don't expect you to memorize it for the exam.\" </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>But in practice, is it possible to improve on these flaws, without introducing major increases in workload for the instructor?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Ah, now, there's the rub. If you followed my suggestions here, look what I've done! There are three exams to grade, not two. These exams don't have a lot of multiple choice questions, and then there's that new group project I mentioned (which needs to be drafted up, assigned, and graded). </p>\n\n<p>It's hard to get something for nothing; most meaningful improvements are going to come with some cost. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19681,
"author": "Robert Talbert",
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"text": "<p>One alternative that's been gaining momentum in actual classroom use is standards-based grading (SBG): <a href=\"http://www.fwps.org/teaching/sbe/grading-system/\">http://www.fwps.org/teaching/sbe/grading-system/</a> </p>\n\n<p>In SBG, the instructor establishes a list of milestones that students are expected to attain throughout the course. The students then can provide evidence of any sort -- within parameters set by the instructor -- that prove they have met the standard. Student evidence of attainment of a standard is marked on a scale usually from 0 to 4 (unacceptable, novice, progressing, acceptable, and mastery -- or something like this) and grades are assigned at the end of the semester based on how many of the milestones have been met at \"Acceptable\" level or above. </p>\n\n<p>For example, in calculus, one standard might be \"Take the derivative of a second-degree polynomial using the limit definition\". A student might show that they know this by doing a problem on a standard timed test. But maybe they don't have it down as well as they should, and on the test their work is marked as a 2 out of 4 (progressing; maybe they got the definition right but did some of the resulting algebra wrong). This isn't the end of the story. Later in the course, the student can show evidence again that they've learned what they need to learn -- for example, they can schedule time in office hours to come work a problem or two to show you they've met the standard. Or maybe take a short quiz in class, or work a problem during unstructured group work time in class meetings, or whatever avenue the instructor allows. </p>\n\n<p>The point of SBG is that we want to assess students based on what they know, and give them multiple ways to show that they know it. SBG can therefore be a superset of traditional timed testing -- students that do well in timed situations will do fine in SBG, but students who struggle with timed testing can have multiple chances to get their act together, and as long as they can prove they've mastered the material by the end of the course, that is what matters. </p>\n\n<p>I don't personally practice SBG but I would like to. I'd suggest this blog post by my colleague Jon Hasenbank who is a big SBG proponent: <a href=\"http://profjonh.blogspot.com/2014/02/sbg-mia14.html\">http://profjonh.blogspot.com/2014/02/sbg-mia14.html</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19697,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In courses that focus more on real world practical ability, assignments (like creating a project, software, etc) are a suitable alternative. It can be done during more time, using literature and, if preferred, in a small group.</p>\n\n<p>A student still needs to defend an assignment (demonstrate it working and answer enough questions to be sure the work has not been copied from somewhere). </p>\n"
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| 2014/04/22 | [
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19,687 | <p>Should the department share the departmental problems (financial, officials, political, etc) with the students? or it is official matter and none of their business?</p>
<p>For a more specific example. Imagine that students are complaining about the lack of teachers in specific topics. The department head tries to secure fund for faculty recruitment, but Dean refuses. <em>Should the department head consider this as an internal matter between officials or should inform the students why he is not hiring teacher?</em></p>
<p>Of course, I do not mean organizational secrets. Most of these news spread among students through rumors and gossip. My question is: should a department head directly inform the students about problems? Or according to the common business models, an organization should not reveal its failures and problems to customers unless it is a must?</p>
<p>What is the appropriate scheme for treating students? (1) customers who get service from the university employees in return to tuition fee, or (2) part of the organization? Obviously, these are not solid categories, and I just want to express the issue. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19688,
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"text": "<p>I think a department should share information with students that can affect them. A non-hire of faculty doesn't affect students directly unless the students were recruited to the department with the promise of expanding in a certain area, and then this fell through. </p>\n\n<p>But I don't know of a single department that would make such a promise to incoming students (and certainly not undergraduates). </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, if the department experiences a shortfall in funding that means that they have to change how they fund students, then these students must be informed as soon as possible since this materially affects them. </p>\n\n<p>Apart from these cases, one can certainly make the argument that sharing <strong>relevant</strong> information with students helps foster an atmosphere of collegiality and gives the students a sense of belonging. Within reason...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19690,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer is \"it depends.\"</p>\n\n<p>It depends on:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>What the specific problem is,</li>\n<li>The department/university/student/faculty culture,</li>\n<li>What can be gained by telling students about the specific problem,</li>\n<li>What reasons there are <em>not</em> to tell students about the specific problem.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>There are several reasons to tell students about problems:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It can often be beneficial to share information with students so that they feel more invested in their department (as Suresh suggests). </li>\n<li>Another reason to tell students about a problem is if there is some action students can take to help the problem. (For example: \"We have been having trouble attracting the top students this year, and we really need to recruit some great new PhD students to keep this department going strong. Please make some extra effort at the event for admitted students to show them what great research we are doing here and encourage them to accept their offer!\")</li>\n<li>A third (more cynical) reason: if it's a major problem that students will find out about anyways, it's often better for them to hear about it directly from the department/university, so that administrators can add their \"spin\" to the news. (For example: \"Our recent accreditation review didn't go well, as you may read about in the newspaper tomorrow, but here our concrete plan to fix this issue.\")</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>On the other hand, there are good reasons <em>not</em> to tell students about some problems. Here are a few:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It can be beneficial to shield students (to some degree) from department politics and financial issues that don't directly affect them, and that they can't do anything about. (For example: I don't need to know which faculty member is mad this week because they feel slighted over not having been asked to come to lunch with a certain job candidate.)</li>\n<li>Having partial information can be worse than having no information at all, i.e., students can misinterpret the information they are given because they lack certain context (which <em>can't</em> be shared with them for whatever reason).</li>\n<li>Department/university guidelines may require information to be withheld in some cases. For example, there may be a policy that things said in certain meetings are to be held confidential among the participants unless explicitly approved for outside release. This may allow certain things to be said that wouldn't be said otherwise, but limits the sharing of information with students.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47978,
"author": "Allen Seay",
"author_id": 36482,
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"text": "<p>Students need to be informed! Students pay tuition to go to college, and, in my opinion, the college or university leadership that chooses not to inform students of information about the school they are attending, is making poor decisions. I am an older student working on my undergraduate degree and I think students need to be informed. If students aren't included in the information loop, it's not going to help the schools reputation, and if the students read about it in the local newspaper before they're informed about it, in my opinion' they're going to lose a lot of respect for the leadership.</p>\n"
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| 2014/04/23 | [
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19,692 | <p>In research papers, should Introduction and Conclusion sections be numbered or non-numbered? What does the scientific paper etiquette suggest? Furthermore, in either case, should they appear in the Table of Contents?</p>
<p>If the answer depends on the research field, please elaborate. I'm in electrical engineering, but do occasionally write mathematical papers as well, so those two fields are personally of highest interest.</p>
<p>On a side note, in case someone confuses it with the Introduction section, I am quite sure that the Abstract section should be non-numbered either way.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19693,
"author": "aeismail",
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"text": "<p>It's not field-dependent, it's a journal-dependent issue. Some use a format where everything is numbered, some use a format where nothing is numbered, and still others leave it up to the authors to decide.</p>\n\n<p>However, when sections are numbered, everything in the main text should be numbered, including the introduction and conclusions. You don't skip numbering those sections but add numbers for the rest. That doesn't make any sense. (End matter such as acknowledgments and supporting information may be handled separately.)</p>\n\n<p>The best advice is <strong>check the style guide for your journal.</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19706,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
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"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Certainly, they <em>are</em> numbered in mathematics and related fields. Why? Because often you state theorems and formulas in Introduction or Conclusions: How would you label these to allow citing them, if their parent (=section) is not numbered?</p>\n\n<p><em>(With my Copy Editor hat on)</em> I allow only three unnumbered sections: List of notation, Acknowledgements, References. They come in this order (if present) and they are at the very end of the paper.</p>\n\n<p>Nonetheless, as <strong>aeismail</strong> pointed out, it's field- and journal-dependent.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/04/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19692",
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|
19,696 | <p>The faculty in which I am currently working is planning to subscribe to the ACM Digital Library and to the IEEE Xplore Digital Library. I am not pretty sure how much are the real costs of the subscription because for example in:</p>
<p><a href="http://librarians.acm.org/sites/default/files/ACM_DL_PricingGuides2014_NoTabs_V19_Academic.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://librarians.acm.org/sites/default/files/ACM_DL_PricingGuides2014_NoTabs_V19_Academic.pdf</a></p>
<p>it appears something about tiers; I suppose that for a small access to this material oriented only to students that are doing their bachelor's final year projects, we will be in tier 1. About IEEE I still do not have information about it.</p>
<p>In any case, I would like if there are another alternatives to those two digital libraries, excluding Arxiv because a lot of their articles have not been peer reviewed.</p>
<p>Any suggestion?</p>
<p>PD. Update information:
We would like to access to articles about all the fields of Computer Science, the access would be for around 20 students maximum each month (that is the number of students enrolled in their last bachelor project). We need only the articles to be reviewed for their research as supporting literature.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 27824,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
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"text": "<p>The comments contain very good information. I think the only real alternative is to settle for access to the subset of those articles that happens to be freely available, either from authors' websites or the arXiv. Note that authors can indicate on the arXiv version where a paper has been published, so you can avoid using papers that aren't peer reviewed if you wish.</p>\n"
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{
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"text": "<p>If you are needing frequent access to particular articles published by ACM and IEEE, then ACM DL and IEEE Xplore are really the only ways to go.</p>\n\n<p>However, if you are needing to be able to find and reference general background information across a broad range of computer science subjects, then there are informal access methods which also work quite well.</p>\n\n<p>First, Google Scholar is very good at finding non-paywalled copies of PDFs. This is especially the case for computer science, where many conferences have very liberal policies about self-archiving and where many people strongly believe that material should be made accessible online. Some organizations, such as AAAI and AAMAS just always put everything online for free as a matter of policy. Even IEEE and ACM are fairly liberal about this and rarely interfere with authors who do not follow the letter of their law.</p>\n\n<p>Second, the <a href=\"http://www.researchgate.net/\" rel=\"nofollow\">ResearchGate</a> site has an option for privately requesting copies of publications from authors, and most computer science authors are quite willing to share (again, there is a strong \"information wants to be free\" culture in much of the community).</p>\n\n<p>The efficacy of these approaches varies from subcommunity to subcommunity, but it sounds like the type of general access you're looking for may well be sufficiently served by them.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19696",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6144/"
]
|
19,698 | <p>Since the first time I had to write an (academic) CV, I seem to be getting two conflicting opinions on the subject of <em>including non-academic</em> interests on an academic CV.</p>
<p>(Some examples of such interests would be sports, cooking, etc.)</p>
<p>The "sources" of my advice include professional people in and outside of academia, (not that many) PhD students, a lot of internet searches and observing the CVs of other academics/researchers.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>One one hand, I heard that <strong>including a section about such interests is important</strong>, as it is supposed to demonstrate that you are a "diverse, complete person" and not a solitary scientist/workaholic. This is also one of the more common <em>"don't forget"</em> advice I found on not-academia-specific guides to writing a CV.</p></li>
<li><p>On the other hand, a lot of examples of CVs of senior scientist <strong>didn't include anything of the sort</strong>, which mostly makes sense to me: since I am writing a CV to apply for a position / grant in an academic concept, I should be judged based on my academia-related activities.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>So, I would like to know <strong>what is actually the convention</strong> in academia? I can imagine the answer might depend on several factors such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>culture of the country</li>
<li>culture of the field</li>
<li>seniority of the scientist (e.g. PhD student vs permanent Professor)</li>
</ul>
<p>But, then, I am really not sure. Is it a matter of convention depending on some or all of the above, or, if not, what is the global convention for including non-academia related interests in an academic CV?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 19699,
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"text": "<p>The <em>convention</em> in an academic CV is <em>not</em> to include information on non-academic hobbies or interests that are not relevant to your professional skills and qualifications. </p>\n\n<p>You will find this view confirmed on sites that give specific advice on the <strong>academic</strong> CV. (e.g.: <a href=\"http://www.academiccareer.manchester.ac.uk/applications/cvs/content/\">this one</a>).</p>\n\n<p>That's not to say there's never a good reason to include this information; there may be, in some cases. (For example, you might mention your time abroad doing unrelated humanitarian work to explain a chronological gap.) But in academic CVs it's not standard.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19702,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
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"text": "<p>When considering applicants for an academic job, should employers be taking interests in things like sports or cooking into account? In all academic circles I am aware of, the answer is a clear <strong>no</strong>. If I were a candidate for an academic job and somehow found out that another candidate got additional consideration for these kind of interests, I would be quite upset, and if there were (this seems unlikely) some kind of written record of it, I might have a real grievance.</p>\n\n<p>So the answer is that, about as certainly as any one academic can be about the entire world of academia, I believe that putting such things on an academic CV will not get you additional formal consideration. Some people do put them on their CVs anyway: I have looked at thousands of CVs over (not-even-that-)many years, and I would say that maybe 5% include information like this. I don't take it into account in my deliberations. I might happen to be personally interested, but I might also semi-consciously think \"Boy do I not care that Mr. X enjoys cooking and running. Let me take another look as Ms. Y, who listed only impressive, relevant things on her CV.\" When there are several hundred applications, you do want to err in the direction of not annoying your readers, however mildly. Now you might well argue that your application could just as well find someone who semi-consciously admires you for cooking and running. That's your decision. But my feeling (which of course is very much based on <em>me</em>) is that you will in the aggregate lose rather than gain a small number of points with this practice....and in the current academic job market, losing a small number of points is liable to have the same effect as losing a large number of points!</p>\n\n<p>Here are two followup remarks:</p>\n\n<p>1) There <em>is</em> a place for you to put benign personal information: your webpage. Nowadays I think that every academic job candidate should have a webpage (I didn't until after I started a tenure track job, despite the fact that one of the key people who eventually hired me hinted several times to my postdoctoral supervisor that that would be a good idea. On the one hand: oh, well; do what I say, not what I do. On the other hand: that was almost ten years ago, and since then my webpage has become a major part of my professional profile. I really think that a young academic without a webpage in 2014 looks like a Luddite.) </p>\n\n<p>2) You write \"academic CV\". I wonder whether this hints at your geography. In the US, the term CV is <em>only used</em> in academia (and also in the medical industry, <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum_vitae\">according to wikipedia</a>: these are overlapping circles). To my American ear, the term \"academic CV\" sounds almost redundant. But the same wikipedia article helpfully informed me: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You should know that in the US we call that a \"resume\", not a CV. I think this is a helpful distinction to keep in mind when trying to decide whether information about CVs is applicable: a \"business resume\" is very different from an \"academic CV\". Anyone who tells you that a CV should be 1-2 pages is talking about a resume instead: although you sometimes see \"brief CVs\" which are that length, an academic CV is rather supposed to be a <em>comprehensive document</em> detailing your academic record, so it grows roughly linearly with the length of your academic career. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19698",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4249/"
]
|
19,705 | <p>I'm a teacher in a Vocational Education school in Spain. In our Vocational Education system, we have two different levels:</p>
<ol>
<li>Vocational High School (post compulsory secondary school)</li>
<li>Community College (this is considered Higher Education)</li>
</ol>
<p>It's hard for me to establish equivalence with the US System, but I guess you might have similar levels.</p>
<p>In Spain, students with a Vocational High School diploma can't enroll directly in Community College, they need to sit a test first (a sort of SAT test, but not so hard as SAT).</p>
<p>I would like to know how it goes in the US. Is there also some kind of test for entering a Community College if you come from Vocational High School? In that case, could you tell me how this test is called, please?</p>
| [
{
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"text": "<p>The answer is apparently pretty complicated, since US education has a tradition of decentralization. Originally, community colleges were pure local-government entities, although there is now a lot more state involvement. There is not a single nationwide set of rules.</p>\n\n<p>Vocational high schools are not very common in the US. For the most part we simply have high schools. Vocational education tends to be unpopular, because parents don't want it for their children for reasons of prestige.</p>\n\n<p>In my area in Southern California, any student who has graduated from high school can enroll at a community college, and there is no admissions test. California's master plan for higher education states that the mission of community colleges is to admit any student who is capable of benefiting from instruction. Even students who don't have a high school diploma can attend a community college.</p>\n\n<p>Some of the comments below show that the facts described above do not hold nationwide.</p>\n\n<p>Due to funding cuts in 2012, students who don't have a high school diploma or a GED (a diploma based on taking a test that is supposed to be equivalent to a high school diploma) no longer qualify for federal financial aid. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 19746,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In the US there is first a federal (country-wide) rule: there are high-school diplomas, roughly equivalent almost-like-a-high-school-diplomas called a GED or a variety of other names, and then there are accredited higher education institutions providing certificates, 2-year degrees (called an associate's degree), 4-year degrees (called a bachelor's degree), 5-7 yearish degrees (master's degree), and of course the PhD...in addition to a slew of other special professional degrees for high ed.</p>\n\n<p>Where it gets particularly hard to generalize is we have 50 states that determine all the details of the rest, especially the high-schools. I'll try to provide a broad overview. While this is true across states for the most part, the exact mix, nature of funding, and multi-track availability varies tremendously across the country.</p>\n\n<p>Traditional high schools are the most common, which simply teach a variety of subjects and offer some sports, music, and arts programs (where possible), and don't especially differentiate between students who are planning to go to college from students who don't. Some special programming exists tailored to certain professions or college prep, but this is usually minimal. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.</p>\n\n<p>Magnet schools exist at the elementary through high school level, and are focused on a specific area of excellence that permeates their whole school design; some schools specialize in science and technology, math, media/broadcasting, dance and/or fine arts, etc. This isn't necessarily about college or professional prep, but there is often a particular bent to some schools and they generally encourage higher education. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.</p>\n\n<p>Vocational schools are high schools that are much like magnet schools, only their focus is on certain professional preparation. There are schools that offer programs in all sorts of vocations from culinary arts, electrician, building/construction jobs, auto repair, and many others. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.</p>\n\n<p>College preparatory schools (prep schools for short) are, at least in theory, designed with college seeking students in mind. Everything is geared towards being ready for college and getting into a good college. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.</p>\n\n<p>There are also some \"alternative\" institutions that seek to provide a high school education to people who didn't fit in well with other institutions for various reasons (ranging from disability, family situation, pregnancy, legal problems, different learning style, etc), as well as religious institutions. All offer plain high school diplomas, generally.</p>\n\n<p>Now, anyone with a high school diploma and usually even a GED (basically a special program or test that allows one to get a diploma - or something like it - without having to go back to high school or through high school at all) can apply to any higher education institution they like. </p>\n\n<p>Most higher ed sets it's own standards for admittance, though, which is usually based upon grades while in high school (GPA), ACT/SAT test scores, essay, etc. Some places have preferences or relationships with certain high schools (the high schools often being referred to as \"feeder schools\"), but that's about it.</p>\n\n<p>Now, higher ed is yet another ball of wax, and varies tremendously by state - even more than high schools!</p>\n\n<p>Most states have community, technical, or junior colleges, which generally offer the 2 and 4 year degrees. As these places are often smaller in size, they offer limited and differing selections of degree programs (some may have no fine arts programs, others might have no engineering...etc). Florida calls these smaller places junior colleges, Wisconsin has state technical colleges, Arizona has community colleges...etc. They are similar, but funding and \"prestige\" varies heavily.</p>\n\n<p>The terms differ, but the general rule is the same: smaller, less degree programs, often focused on certificates and 2-year degrees and very limited 4-year offerings (if any at all). It is not uncommon for the smaller schools to focus on providing a lower-cost, student-centered program with the expectation of transferring to another institution to complete their bachelor's degree.</p>\n\n<p>Then there are the bigger universities, which are sometimes called \"4-year institutions\", and focus on a larger campus, more degree programs, and are centered on the bachelor's degree. Some offer limited master's programs, and even fewer have select PhD options in specific areas.</p>\n\n<p>We also have \"polytechnic\" colleges, which vary in size but are often focused on certain aspects of the sciences such as engineering. It is not uncommon for other institutions to omit engineering and related programs entirely, and thus specialized colleges fill in the gaps.</p>\n\n<p>Then there are just big \"universities\", which offer a wide selection of everything, really. Most states have at least one, and sometimes 2 or more, of these. They often cost more, have more options, are located in big cities, and are just massive.</p>\n\n<p>However, no matter what institution, the same rule generally applies: some are \"selective\", which means you take tests, and some have open access and anyone who can pay the fee can enroll. The tests are most commonly the ACT/SAT if you are coming from high school, but some schools - especially junior/technical/community colleges - will instead offer their own \"placement test\" mainly in math and reading to determine if you need to take any remedial classes first.</p>\n\n<p>Selective schools limit enrollment, and usually use a multiple factor process: personal essay, maybe reference letters from educators, transcript of grades from wherever you went to high school, ACT/SAT scores, etc. Each school sets their own rules, and this ranges from your MIT schools who are proud of their tiny admittance rates, to most schools who just don't want to admit students they think will not thrive in their programs.</p>\n\n<p>Students who can't get into selective schools but want to are often encouraged to attend the junior/technical/community colleges for a year or two, and then re-apply. When applying then the high school grades and tests are at times ignored completely or at least heavily discounted, and strong preference is given to those with good grades at whatever college they have been attending. This process is very common with mid-to-large state-funded schools.</p>\n\n<p>So, in summary: high school diploma is just a diploma in the US, higher education institutions set their own individual admittance standards (ranging from strict to none, varying by place and state), most selective institutions require ACT/SAT scores and high school transcripts at a minimum regardless of where you went to high school or what you did there.</p>\n\n<p>I hope this provides you with more than you actually wanted to know!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/04/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19705",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14444/"
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|
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