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21,193 |
<p>If one obtains results in one area of a field (say during an MSc thesis) before deciding that one is not interested in making a career in that area, should one take the time (as a PhD student) to get make those results publishable, or is it better to focus on the new area?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21194,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>It depends</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Some questions might help guide you to an answer:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>how important is the work you've done ? If it's not yet publishable does this mean it's not complete yet ? </p></li>\n<li><p>Since you're not in the area, do you even know if the topic/solutions are still relevant ? </p></li>\n<li><p>Are you proud of this work, to the point where you'd be annoyed if someone else came up with the same ideas and published them ? </p></li>\n<li><p>How much effort will it take to make the work publishable, and how does this interfere with current work that you're doing ? I.e are you in the initial stages of a Ph.D and can spend time on this, or are you deep into your own research where the context switching might prove distracting ? </p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21195,
"author": "mjp",
"author_id": 15259,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15259",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my opinion, during a PhD it is equally important to stay focused on the main track as it is to prove, you as a student can be multidisciplinary.</p>\n\n<p>Being multidisciplinary will make you sometimes more attractive on job markets.\nThat is not always true, though, as some employers will look for more goal oriented individuals.</p>\n\n<p>If however you your major is biology and your interesting findings are in physics, maybe you should let it go.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21196,
"author": "posdef",
"author_id": 5674,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5674",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's all about marginal utility, in other words cost/utility ratio. How much time/money/effort/coffee/.. will it take to get the stuff published vs how much you think it will benefit you? It's generally hard to estimate how much different investments will pay off in the future, but it can't really hurt you to have published articles in multiple fields. On the contrary it's generally good to show diversity in intellectual capacity and output. </p>\n\n<p>Now that said, you should also consider whether or not you <em>can</em> work on something else during your phD. I mean maybe your supervisor is not OK with you \"wasting time\" on something that will not be a part of your thesis. It is actually very likely that s/he will not be very positive towards the idea. After all you are burning his/her grant money ;)</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21193",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2744/"
] |
21,200 |
<p>My institution ranks scientific achievement according to some criteria when evaluating promotions, positions, etc. for its subjects (students, grad students, personnel, etc.) This is done by a rule book that is specified in the form of a bylaw and is administered by the ministry of science, therefore it is not local to my institution, but applied nationwide.
The passage about SCI journal publications states that journals are divided into three groups:</p>
<ol>
<li>eminent international journals - a journal that in its subject ranks in the top 30% journals in ISI list publications</li>
<li>outstanding international journals - the same but for <30% and >50%</li>
<li>international journals - the same for <50%</li>
</ol>
<p>The difference in "points" awarded for publications in each of the categories is rather large. I was wondering how I could determine which journals fall into a criterium from above?</p>
<p>I talked to the administrative service, but got no satisfying answer, i.e. there is no list of journals (which is understandable, as there are far too many subjects). They told me something along the lines: "These things will be evaluated when the time comes", which is, of course, not at least satisfactory to me.
I talked also briefly with the head of the department and he told me that he never really gave it much thought, I should publish in journals that suit me, the higher the impact factor and prestige the better of course, but in the end it isn't that much of an imperative, and that I should let the "politicians" and administrators worry about those tiny matters. I would, however, still like to know which journals I should favorite.</p>
<p>PS: the rule book naturally specifies similar criteria for various scientific publications (conferences, patents, books, etc.), but since I'm working on my first article to be submitted to a journal and I still haven't decided which journal, I would like to take things like this into account</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21202,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Likely this is not the answer you want to hear, but I assume the administrative service you talked to is correct. If nobody really knows which journals fall under which of these (rather subjective) categories, it will not be feasible to in advance establish for sure way how much any paper you write will <em>count</em> in the end, when you are evaluated.</p>\n\n<p>This is not nearly as strange as it sounds. Formal rules for promotion and the evaluation of research tend to live in the ugly grey area between bureaucrats who like things orderly, well-defined and, most importantly, <em>written down</em>, and the reality of science, where basically no two scientists will ever be able to agree on an absolutely consistent quality ranking of publication outlets. What usually happens is that some sort of nebulous rankings are defined <em>without specifically ranking concrete venues</em>,and then leave it to a commission of academics to decide ad hoc which publications fall into which category.</p>\n\n<p>At my current university, we have similar nebulous requirements for PhD graduation. Essentially, it is required that students need at least one <em>A-ranked</em> publication. However, what is considered A-ranked varies considerably between different faculty, and is basically negotiated when graduation time is near. I assume requirements for tenure etc. are handled similarly.</p>\n\n<p>Note that there <em>are</em> some initiatives that are trying to rank publication venues more formally, for instance <a href=\"http://core.edu.au\">CORE</a> for computer science. However, these rankings are also far from perfect (or, for some fields, they are apparently downright terrible).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21203,
"author": "bordart",
"author_id": 15166,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15166",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As you mentioned the first factor is the impact factor, so, it would be better to be published in high impact factor peer reviewed journals. \nAs I am into optics, I may say that, for physics, Science, all Nature journals (Nature Photonics, Nature Communication, etc), Physics Review Letters, Advanced Materials, etc. may be included in the first category. The second category may include Applied Physics Letters, Optics Express, Optics Letters. etc. The third category are probably not well known international journals with low impact factors and maybe conference proceedings. If you are really into your field, I guess you know all important journals there. If you don't just do a simple search of the list of impact factors.<br>\nThe second factor(which is more important for me) is the quality and novelty of the research, i.e. number of citations. Sometimes it is really hard for grad students, post docs or researchers to be published in the articles of the first category, because it is complicated and sometimes 'politicized'. So, don't think much about that but rather put an emphasize on the quality of the research without forgetting to try to publish in a journal with an impact factor as high as possible. If your publication has a lot of citations it means that it is a state-of-the-art research and you really have something to say in that area. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21200",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133/"
] |
21,208 |
<p>I am about to graduate in Electrical Engineering and I wanted to pursue graduate studies in a field such as coding theory or software defined and cognitive radio.</p>
<p>But I'm not sure where to find the information needed to decide which school to choose. University rankings won't be specific enough to point out the quality of the research groups of my interest. I was looking for something that would point out volume and relevance of papers and articles published by the Universities' research groups.</p>
<p>I don't need answers on which school is best, but tools to figure this out by myself.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21209,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Research groups that are active in a particular field will publish often in those fields.</p>\n\n<p>So, identify conferences* in your field of interest. Look at the technical programs for the last couple of years, and check out the groups that seem to be contributing a lot.</p>\n\n<p>Also, ask professors at your undergrad university who work in related fields.</p>\n\n<p>* Also workshops, large conferences with a few on-topic sessions, journals, etc.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21220,
"author": "Niki",
"author_id": 8867,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8867",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is not a direct answer to your question. </p>\n\n<p>But if you are targeting a specific field of research, it might be better if you go with a well-known supervisor than a high-ranked school. I know that the name of the school and hence its ranking is important when you graduate from there, but the importance of the supervisor is something you should not overlook at all. </p>\n\n<p>Just my two cents. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21208",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15502/"
] |
21,211 |
<p>I have developed a method to process images I use for my research. It's nothing revolutionary but I think it might be useful to others than me, and why not, be worthy of being published somewhere (at least for me to cite when I use it). </p>
<p>As it is outside my primary field of research, nobody in my direct lab vicinity can help evaluating its scientific value or novelty (I did a bit of literature research and didn't find any obvious precedent). Normally I would just put it as an appendix in the first article where I use it, but this one is quite long to describe and completely out of my field. It would thus be off-topic in the journals in which I usually publish.</p>
<p>I though of seeking collaboration from someone in my university who works in signal/image processing, I don't know anyone personally and I foresee possible political issues, authorship quarrels, etc. I would nonetheless like to get some sort of evaluation before submitting to a journal. As an outsider, I wouldn't like to waste an editor's time and make a fool of myself.</p>
<p>I have zero experience submitting to the arXiv, by looking at the website it's not clear how/if there is an active system of feedback, even informal. </p>
<p><strong>Is it advisable to submit my methods paper there and expect a feedback?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21215,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There is not much of a \"formal feedback\" system associated with the arxiv. I say \"not much\" instead of \"none\" because the arxiv apparently does do some degree of automatic tracking of citations to its papers. For instance <a href=\"http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.0977\">this arxiv submission</a> contains a link to a MO post in which my paper is (briefly) mentioned. I had not seen that post before, so that was somewhat interesting. However, I don't know how this system works and it seems to be much less systematic than, say, what google scholar does. In particular, I have 25 arxiv preprints and the arxiv itself lists this kind of citation for very few of them, whereas google scholar lists much more.</p>\n\n<p>In terms of an informal feedback system: yes, the arxiv works very well for that, in the following organic way: for many academic fields and subfields it is by far the one place to put your preprint in order to get the most (and the most interested) people to read it. This includes publication in most journals and the implications this has had on some academic fields are immense. E.g. I hear that in theoretical physics -- a fast-moving field in which it is apparently rare to look up a paper written much more than ten years ago -- pretty much everyone who is anyone uploads their preprints to the arxiv, and as a result theoretical physicists almost never go to the library anymore or look through actual journal papers: they don't need to. My field -- mathematics -- seems to be converging to this kind of phenomenon rather more slowly.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, to <strong>expect feedback</strong> may be putting it a bit strongly. The volume of papers uploaded to the arxiv is fast and rapidly increasing. I just looked at the math.NT arxiv submissions, and last night 15 papers were uploaded. I am a number theorist with broad interests, and if these papers came at a rate of one a day or less, I would probably peruse about half of them. But the current volume forces me to be much more selective. The arxiv is great advertising, but all the advertising in the world doesn't guarantee that people will engage with your product rather than the sea of competing products (competing <em>for their attention</em>, anyway; they need not be competing with you in the academic sense). </p>\n\n<p>In my experience, I most definitely get enough feedback from my arxiv submissions in order to justify uploading them (although there are arguments to be made for doing so even if you never hear directly from anyone about them). It happens that in the last three weeks or so I have uploaded four arxiv submissions. (Since I have 25 altogether, this is obviously a spike in the upload rate. Some other people do this too. Now that I think about it, from an advertising perspective it would probably be better <em>not</em> to do this.) Since then I have received comments on two of the four papers. The two papers that I haven't heard from yet are I think perfectly solid and interesting -- in fact, one of the two concerns the Combinatorial Nullstellensatz so probably has broader appeal than most papers I have written, and the other is a really substantial project that I did jointly with my PhD student -- so the fact that I've gotten no feedback about them seems to be mostly random.</p>\n\n<p>In summary: yes, posting your papers on the arxiv is a great way to get feedback. Will it <em>guarantee</em> feedback? No, guaranteed feedback is exactly what you're buying (so to speak) when you submit to a journal. Other than that it seems impossible to guarantee. I would definitely submit to the arxiv and see what happens. If you hear nothing, then you might try sending a few emails to suspected experts which just point to your arxiv preprint. Having an arxiv preprint versus just enclosing a file adds a certain veneer of legitimacy. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21302,
"author": "sansuiso",
"author_id": 11141,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11141",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You need to find a way to advertise your work so that people find it on arXiv, use it, then eventually cite it and criticize it.</p>\n\n<p>The main advantages of arXiv are:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>the publication timing. When you submit to some closed review journal or conference, you are months before an official decision. During this time (that can get long), you need a way to disclose properly your work;</li>\n<li>getting a larger audience. Everybody is not on her university's network, or some universities won't have access to all the journals. If your work is on the editor's site only, then more people than you might think will be blocked by the paywall. Furthermore, some people (I know some in Image Processing) will make monthly explorations of arXiv and publish some reading lists on-line, tghus giving you a larger audience.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21336,
"author": "Not Quite An Outsider",
"author_id": 10390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10390",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The arXiv is a tool for establishing a presence, but it does not market or disseminate your results. It merely places them in a certain category and presents title, author, and sometimes abstract in a summary fashion, depending on how one uses it. Some researchers get RSS and email updates in their favorite areas about new arXiv submissions, but that should be considered small in number, and not likely to generate interest in your paper.</p>\n\n<p>If you want feedback, you need to advertise your own work, on your webpage, at conferences, at society meetings, and other appropriate venues. You can prepare a short version (abstract or highlight only) and include the URL of the arXiv abstract. Use of arXiv does not indicate peer review, but as there is some endorsement system involved in arXiv submissions, there is also some cachet associated with having the URL.</p>\n\n<p>When you have gotten some people interested in your work, they too can refer to the URL, and this can lead to more publicizing and hopefully direct feedback on your work. It can also lead to others posting their opinions on their blogs or elsewhere, which can be harder to track.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 34780,
"author": "Aubrey",
"author_id": 26682,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26682",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Other questions are more on topic, but let me add that social media and open access, used wisely, are good tools for increase your audience and get more downloads, and (hopefully) more feedback. \nThink about:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>creating a blog, maybe dedicated to your research</li>\n<li>upload your papers in arxiv: this will give us a timestamp, a permalink, and will preserve your paper digitally</li>\n<li>use social media to spread the links </li>\n<li>Use the blog (or the arXiv itself) as a place to discuss your research (maybe, in more laymen terms), receive comments and discuss with interested people. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Social media (used wisely) <a href=\"http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/04/19/blog-tweeting-papers-worth-it/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">do have an impact</a>, and also <a href=\"http://altmetrics.org/manifesto/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Altmetrics</a> are developing. Also, please read <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/32367/why-doesnt-arxiv-have-a-comment-section\">this question</a> and related answers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 88164,
"author": "Amir",
"author_id": 23641,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23641",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are some more direct ways that are more effective than waiting for a passenger feedback and they help you gain more confidence in general in the outside field.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>find the journals in the field of this paper, contact one of their editors\nin chief with the same question and disclaimer you have here to seek their\nopinion about submitting or otherwise. You get the best feedback from the journal reviewers. They know most people, they are quick in reading and they love reviewing a wide range of work rather than a single topic. generally more open-minded than an average researcher. </li>\n<li>Look at review board members of those journals who are in\nyour university and contact them, you can pick up the phone and ask them for this quick favor to direct you to the right direction(area of literature) to look for precedence of the work. Talking over the phone brings them less liability and they can be more frank, open and less political about the work. It also takes less time than drafting a careful email to a stranger.</li>\n<li>Look up the name of professors who teach this topic in your school or any school nearby and send them the paper for opinion, you can even use their office hours to sit and discuss the relevancy of this \"outside\" work. Office hours are boring and wasted anyway, it will be a refreshing task if it is not close to exam time(busy time).</li>\n<li>You can also ask it as a favor (or even paid consulting) from a PhD students of these journal editors/reviewers. PhD students in their later years can be of huge help as they know a lot and they are less committed to non-scientific duties than their professors. </li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21211",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643/"
] |
21,221 |
<p>I am a statistician working as an applied analyst on a paper. As I went through a set of analyses, I decided upon a detailed and thorough data analysis method using a regression model. Traditionally, that regression model is presented alongside a set of assumptions that one should check in the model approach. I had a gut feeling those assumptions didn't matter in a broad sense. I performed some simulation studies to show that that was the case. The results are interesting and we will attempt to publish a paper about those as well. </p>
<p>However, turning to the present analysis, should I present without proof the results of the "robust" interpretation where assumption checking is eschewed. Does it make sense to await a reviewer to raise a flag about this issue? There is a lot of pressure to publish this quickly... which is not unusual or surprising. Would it make more sense to include a sentence saying, "The authors will show in later work that the assumptions of the modeling approach can be relaxed when (blah blah blah)"?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21230,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I wouldn't claim that you're going to do anything. If you think the assumptions are really problematic for the result and want to indicate that they can be relaxed, you could say something like \"preliminary investigations of alternate models which do not assume such-and-so are consistent with these results (data not shown)\".</p>\n\n<p>If the reviewers insist, you can then decide whether it's worth it to put a minimal amount of that analysis in the paper.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21231,
"author": "Behacad",
"author_id": 15261,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15261",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>(I have turned my comments into an answer).</p>\n\n<p>Whether or not to discuss statistical assumptions depends largely on the nature of your work. Many authors of statistical textbooks and manuals discuss assumptions in great depth. They also highlight the importance of reporting the results of assumptions testing in your manuscripts. In my experience, this is very rarely done for several reasons. For example, results are often the same regardless of assumptions (this is not always the case), if you are reporting statistically significant results and effect sizes then perhaps the need to discuss assumptions is less important, word limits often restrict the ability to discussion assumptions, and it is often very rare these days to find discussion of statistical assumptions. Note that these points relate to applied journals and papers. If the paper is statistical in nature, or you have non-significant results and need to highlight that your statistics were appropriate, then perhaps discussion of assumptions is warranted. I very rarely run across discussion of assumptions for statistics ranging from t-tests to survival analyses and latent growth modelling etc. In statistics papers though its often important to highlight what assumptions are needed and such. </p>\n\n<p>I have published in the pre-eminent journals on pain and you certainly do not need to discuss assumptions in them most of the time. If you review recent papers you will see that these assumptions are very rarely discussed. A simple \"we did regression\" and \"here are results of regression\" will suffice (with more elaboration, of course!). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21237,
"author": "Taladris",
"author_id": 15528,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15528",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is one issue with publishing the proof in a subsequent: if the proof is too simple, you will probably have difficulties to publish it. In addition, if experts of your field find the proof is obvious (without reading your \"later work\"), your current paper may lose some credibility.</p>\n\n<p>I would wait a bit (say 2 weeks) before publishing in order to have time to work seriously on the proof and check it is really an interesting work. Alternatively, I would send the paper to the journal after organizing it in such a way that I can add the proof without changing the structure (adding the proof in the appendix plus a quick comment in the main body - it is suitable for a non-math paper). Reorganizing the paper after submission is inappropriate since it does not respect the work the referee already did.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21221",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13073/"
] |
21,223 |
<p>There is an upcoming conference in Germany, all the talks will be in English, however all the listed participants are also German. Only speaking English I'm wondering if it would be inadvisable to go, as everyone will speak German during non-talk times?</p>
<p>Is this true or am I being too paranoid?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21234,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 12693,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12693",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here are some claims that I think you will agree are true:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Anyone who attends a conference where all the talks are in English can understand spoken English reasonably well</li>\n<li>You don't live in Germany and are considering attending. You are probably not the only person considering it</li>\n<li>Anyone willing to give a technical presentation in English can probably both understand and produce spoken English reasonably well</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I believe these add up to you being able to find people for \"hallway conversations\" in English pretty easily. You might have some lonely lunches if you find yourself at a table with people who all speak German and exclude you. I have this problem with people who all discuss (in English) something I don't understand at all and don't want to learn (eg how to install Exchange on a server.) I generally try to prevent this by striking up a conversation with a fellow attendee at the end of the session that is right before lunch, and suggesting we go to the lunch line together. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21240,
"author": "Dosevic",
"author_id": 15531,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15531",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Don't worry, Germans are usually polite. Being polite is to include all people in a conversation. So if the common language of a group is English, they'll switch to English to accommodate you. Furthermore, Germans attending the conference will expect to have attendants not speaking German and that conversations in the hallways will be in English too.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21272,
"author": "Zane",
"author_id": 11139,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11139",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I assume that the conference attendees will be at a higher educational level,\nwhich probably means they can not only listen to talks in English, but probably are also able to communicate in English.</p>\n\n<p>So yes, I thank it's safe to go to the conference and you will be able to talk to people in English with no big problem.</p>\n\n<p>I guess from your reservations that you are aware that it is not always easy to get along with English in Germany. Don't expect sales agents or bus/taxi drivers to talk English. And even if people speak English, they might not be very fluent.</p>\n\n<p>And I must admit that all other participants being German is strange - whatever reason there is that talks are in English, it is surprising that participants do not come from outside Germany. I'd propose to call the organizers just to make sure that talks are in English.</p>\n\n<p>I don't think you're paranoid here. E.g. Universities will have lectures announced in English, but hold them in German (as long as nobody objects).</p>\n\n<p>And if there are so many German speaking people, groups often will talk in German. Then you shouldn't be shy - just throw in a remark and make clear you only speak English. I'm pretty sure they will switch language then.</p>\n\n<p>Note: I'm saying this as a German living in Germany, with some experience with conferences at different national levels, sometimes visiting conferences where most participants are locals not speaking German. In the last case, it's really important to not be too shy - when you try to join a discussion, make clear you do not understand what they say as soon as you get the chance - maybe a simple \"hello, how are you\" is already enough to achieve awareness. </p>\n\n<p>I guess you will get to know some nice colleagues.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21223",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15511/"
] |
21,224 |
<p>Recently I have been asked to share some source code I have written
with another PhD student. I have developed and used the methods in
that source code for the purposes of my own research. The code will
save her approximately 2 months of development/testing. I'm prepared
also to offer additional help with data pre/post-processing & writing.</p>
<p>Given the above, am I entitled to ask for co-authorship?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21229,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can <em>discuss</em> with her and her advisor whether your help warrants authorship, but it would be rather unhelpful to refuse her even if she or her advisor declines. I would say, if this is true, (1) Sure! I'd love for more good research to come from my work! and (2) Since my project isn't published yet, we'll need to include a good description in the methods and it probably makes sense for me to be a coauthor.</p>\n\n<p>If the target journal particularly advocates open-data and open-access, you might have to release your work in order for them to get it published. It's important to talk through first to make sure everyone's okay with that. In general it's a fantastic idea since it means that work is not so difficult to replicate, and if you have a valuable tool maybe others will benefit from it. But when you're laboring to finish your own work in time and worried about its perceived novelty, it can seem a little less appealing.</p>\n\n<p>Just have the discussion (in a friendly manner) now so there aren't any unpleasant surprises later.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21232,
"author": "Faheem Mitha",
"author_id": 285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/285",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>So, you are giving your colleague some of your research code to use on her own problem. If she ends up using, or trying to use it, then I predict two things.</p>\n\n<p>(a) You will end up having to help her understand the code well enough to use it. This is very likely, amounting to practically a certainty.</p>\n\n<p>(b) You will have to adapt the code to work on her problem. This is still very likely, but not quite as certain.</p>\n\n<p>I'd say (b) definitely entitles you to co-authorship. (a) is not quite so clear. If you just give her the code and don't do anything else (in which case she is unlikely to be able to use the code) then you definitely aren't entitled to co-authorship.</p>\n\n<p>Whatever you do, you could still be denied co-authorship. However, bear in mind that you cannot (in my opinion) reasonably withhold the code (that seems to me contrary to what research is about) but you are not <em>required</em> to work with your colleague on her problem for nothing. Therefore, if you <em>do</em> end up spending significant amounts of time working with your colleague on her problem, then bring up the issue of co-authorship early. If your colleague or her mentors don't want to give you co-authorship, then ask yourself why you would spend time working on this project.</p>\n\n<p>You also say:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I'm prepared also to offer additional help with data pre/post-processing & writing.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is a separate issue which I'm not addressing here. I have just focused on the involvement which will naturally stem from you providing your source code. If I understand your quote above correctly, this refers to optional assistance you are prepared to provide.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21241,
"author": "sansuiso",
"author_id": 11141,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11141",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Code is (hopefully) now considered as part of the regular research work. Thus, it can:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>be requested by reviewers,</li>\n<li>providing it will raise the chances of the paper to get accepted.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>But more important, it can be <strong>cited</strong>, especially when the authors of a paper relied on someone else's code.</p>\n\n<p><strong>What does it mean for you?</strong></p>\n\n<p>In your case, you have several options:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>you should make your code publicly available. This way, it can be cited (at least under the form of an URL in the paper). If you make it available through Github, it can even by <a href=\"https://guides.github.com/activities/citable-code/\" rel=\"nofollow\">cited</a> like any research work;</li>\n<li>a nice complement to the first item would be to have a publication, even a short one, that presents the results of your code, or the way it was designed if it is very specific and worth sharing. That way, you can ask the users of your code to cite this paper when they use your code;</li>\n<li>eventually, your co-authorship status will depend on your contribution to your paper. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I put a friend of mine (whose code saved me a few days, I would say around 1 week) in the acknowledgements section of a paper of mine. He told me it was already too much, but I didn't want him to go unnoticed/uncited. It was just a matter of being <em>polite</em> and <em>thankful</em> for me...</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21224",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15181/"
] |
21,225 |
<p>I'm a CS master student. Now I'm doing my masters thesis and the contribution of my thesis is to compare different approaches/methods of one topic (e.g. clustering of text documents). What I have done so far is look at the state of the art on the topic and read the papers. However, now I need to think of what to compare. Of course there is the obvious comparison question: which method gives the best results? But that is so obvious. My supervisor once suggested to see how those methods compare their results and see if maybe there is a better way to compare the results of the methods. It was helpful to me to think about questions like this. But still I'm so stuck and I can only think of obvious stuff. This is the first time I am doing something like that. </p>
<p>I'm sure some of you went through something like this, so I was wondering if you can even tell me some /basic/ stuff and questions that people address when they compare methods in computer science. My main questions to you are:</p>
<p>1- When I read the papers of the methods to compare, in which way I should read it? Critically? Questionable? What exactly to look for in them?</p>
<p>2- Is there a general scheme for comparing methods in academia?</p>
<p>3- As for a masters thesis, what stuff is a must-do for comparisons?</p>
<p>4- Any great references/papers related to comparisons that could help me?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21227,
"author": "Matt Brenneman",
"author_id": 10491,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10491",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not knowing the details of your project, I'll offer some general suggestions.\nIn a sense, it seems to me you're asking two problems:one question is how to read papers, the other question is how to compare methodologies.</p>\n\n<p>As far as comparing methodologies, the key concept in my mind is that of a \"metric\" or some means of judging/ranking methods. In CS, for example there are many such metrics: computational complexity, run time, stability, theoretical results regarding convergence, etc. Metrics often are often context dependent, meaning that different classes of users may have different ways to rate/rank a method. An algorithm may give an exact answer, which to a theoretician may be great, but if the algorithm can't function in real-time, another use may prefer another method that gives an approximate answer but quickly. So know who is going to use the methodology often helps you understand what metrics are really significant. So two thoughts to keep in mind are the methods you learned in class for judging how good an algorithm was and also who is going to use the algorithm (what are their concerns/needs and which methods best addresses \nthem).<br>\n<strong>A suggestion in this regard that will also help you with your paper reading is to look at what the authors of each paper say are the advantages of their method. In the introduction every author will give a reason why their method is \"better\" than the other (existing) methods.</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21228,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One way to approach the problem is to ask: what can method A do better than method B? What can B do better than A? Can we devise a test to measure it quantitatively?</p>\n\n<p>Then you may find that A beats B at everything all the time, or that A only beats B in cases that seem relatively unimportant. In any case, you'll then have something interesting to say regarding A vs. B.</p>\n\n<p>Now consider C. Does it do anything better than A and B? Maybe you can use an existing test, or maybe you need a new one. And so on for C and D.</p>\n\n<p>Now, that said, very often you have standard metrics that you should use instead (e.g. look at a ROC curve or % errors or execution time or whatever). But when you're unsure how to form a comparison, inventing one that demonstrates a difference in some aspect of behavior (correctness, speed, memory usage, etc.) is often a good place to start.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21225",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10497/"
] |
21,238 |
<p>I am about to embark on the publication of pre-prints or post-prints of about a dozen papers that have already been published in peer-reviewed journals. I plan to use the <a href="http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/" rel="noreferrer">SHERPA/RoMEO</a> database to decide whether to publish a pre-print or post-print, and when it is appropriate. I have backed up the published papers at both the pre-peer review and post-peer review stages.</p>
<p>These documents will be lodged primarily with my institutions repository, but also on a personal website and perhaps academia.edu. Due to my field of research, arvix is not appropriate.</p>
<p>I am aware that I may need to make some modifications to the manuscripts before lodging them as a pre-post print. For example, it seems appropriate to link to the canonical, published version of the paper on the cover sheet. But I am unaware of what other changes I may need to make to the manuscript. A checklist of modifications to make would ease this process and help me to avoid missing things.</p>
<p><strong>What steps should I go through to prepare a manuscript for publication as a pre-print or post-print?</strong></p>
<p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: I've made an example post-print <a href="http://criticalgamblingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014-Post-print-Markham-Doran-and-Young-Estimating-gambling-venue-catchments-for-impact-assessment-using-a-calibrated-gravity-model.pdf" rel="noreferrer">here</a>. Are there any concrete improvements I could make on this, or important things I'm missing?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21227,
"author": "Matt Brenneman",
"author_id": 10491,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10491",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not knowing the details of your project, I'll offer some general suggestions.\nIn a sense, it seems to me you're asking two problems:one question is how to read papers, the other question is how to compare methodologies.</p>\n\n<p>As far as comparing methodologies, the key concept in my mind is that of a \"metric\" or some means of judging/ranking methods. In CS, for example there are many such metrics: computational complexity, run time, stability, theoretical results regarding convergence, etc. Metrics often are often context dependent, meaning that different classes of users may have different ways to rate/rank a method. An algorithm may give an exact answer, which to a theoretician may be great, but if the algorithm can't function in real-time, another use may prefer another method that gives an approximate answer but quickly. So know who is going to use the methodology often helps you understand what metrics are really significant. So two thoughts to keep in mind are the methods you learned in class for judging how good an algorithm was and also who is going to use the algorithm (what are their concerns/needs and which methods best addresses \nthem).<br>\n<strong>A suggestion in this regard that will also help you with your paper reading is to look at what the authors of each paper say are the advantages of their method. In the introduction every author will give a reason why their method is \"better\" than the other (existing) methods.</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21228,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One way to approach the problem is to ask: what can method A do better than method B? What can B do better than A? Can we devise a test to measure it quantitatively?</p>\n\n<p>Then you may find that A beats B at everything all the time, or that A only beats B in cases that seem relatively unimportant. In any case, you'll then have something interesting to say regarding A vs. B.</p>\n\n<p>Now consider C. Does it do anything better than A and B? Maybe you can use an existing test, or maybe you need a new one. And so on for C and D.</p>\n\n<p>Now, that said, very often you have standard metrics that you should use instead (e.g. look at a ROC curve or % errors or execution time or whatever). But when you're unsure how to form a comparison, inventing one that demonstrates a difference in some aspect of behavior (correctness, speed, memory usage, etc.) is often a good place to start.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21238",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/178/"
] |
21,243 |
<p>I asked one of my professors whom I've known for 2 years to write a recommendation for me now that I'm planning for graduate school— about 3 years later after he left to another university. He asked for my full name, and just copied a letter from the web and sent it to me via email. I expected to get an accurate letter that highlights my strong points and improve my chances of getting to a good school; instead, I got a banal letter that doesn't set me apart from your average student, and which its copy can easily be found online.</p>
<p>I'm reluctant to add his name on the list of Referees in my application now, but I can't find a third professor other than him who is willing to write a letter for me. </p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Would his letter hurt my chances of getting accepted to a good school? Even if one of the other 2 letters was relatively stronger(slightly better) compared to this one?</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>Can I get a letter from a professor who didn't teach me? Or a professor from another university(a family friend)?</strong></p></li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21244,
"author": "CaptainCodeman",
"author_id": 15541,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15541",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Look at it from his point of view: He most likely gets dozens of requests for recommendation letters.</p>\n\n<p>I would suggest making his life easier for him by saving him writing time. If he's the kind of guy that would copy & paste a letter from the internet, he's the kind of guy that would let you write your own recommendation and sign it for you. You don't have to write the entire letter for him (although this is possible). It's not immoral or \"wrong\" as the professor has to sign off on it and if the letter contains something he doesn't agree with he can just refuse.</p>\n\n<p>The tactful way to approach this would be to reply to him and say that you appreciate his letter but wanted to make a strong case for your strengths in <em>XYZ</em>, and therefore would it be possible to add these paragraphs to the letter.</p>\n\n<p>Also, yes, you can get recommendations from family/friends but I would suggest that you disclose your relationship. I know someone that got into grad school with a recommendation written by a former classmate.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21283,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>A professor whose idea of a good or even appropriate letter of recommendation is to copy a letter off of the internet and send it to you is a knucklehead. (That is a technical term: I am after all an academic professional. I could have used stronger language...) At least, he is in this respect: in the comments the OP mentions that he got a job at Waterloo, which is a university with a high international reputation. So he must have some other good things going for him. In the fullness of time, I have to believe that he will learn how to write a reasonable recommendation letter.</p>\n\n<p>But that's not your problem. I would advise you to look at the fact that the professor gave the letter directly to you -- which is itself irregular and, in certain circles, inappropriate -- as a real blessing. He could have just sent this miserable excuse for a letter quietly to all the places you're applying to, and you would be the one (in the short term, at least) to suffer the consequences. I strongly disagree that you should work further with this guy to write a better letter. (In particular, I vehemently disagree that you should write the letter yourself. As I have said before on this site, I find that \"immoral and wrong\" -- a recommendation letter is a commissioned expert opinion. Looking over the opinion desired by the person you have been commissioned to evaluate and deciding whether or not it requires any modification is not how expert opinions work. But I've made my feelings on this moral issue clear enough already. Here let me push the practical side of this: as a student, you cannot write for yourself a good recommendation letter. There are components of such a letter that require expertise and personal experience that you necessarily lack.) It is time to start fresh and get a letter from a new person.</p>\n\n<p>The part of your response that jumps out at me is \"I can't find a third professor other than him who is willing to write a letter for me.\" That's the real issue here, and I hope it will serve as a warning to other students in your position. All undergraduates should be thinking -- from their first year -- about building good relationships with their instructors that will lead to multiple people being able to write them strong recommendation letters. It is all too easy to go through an undergraduate program -- even, perhaps especially, to excel at it -- while having very little contact with the faculty outside of the classroom and regular coursework. That is certainly a mistake.</p>\n\n<p>Okay, though: what do <em>you</em> do? You ask whether someone who has not taught you in a course can write you a letter. The answer is certainly <strong>yes</strong>. You want the letter writer to (i) have stature in the academic community and in the particular area you're applying to, and (ii) have something meaningful to say about your academic background, skills, work ethic, and prospects for success in graduate school. Someone that you have done research with can speak to aspects of that as well or better as people who have taught you in a course in which you quietly got an A. In a pinch -- as you seem to be -- I would advise you to try to make contacts with people who satisfy condition (i) and try to rapidly achieve (ii) with them. Thus for instance if you've done any research at all in the field you're intending to study, you could send a paper (or code, or interesting data, or whatever) to an expert in that field and mention that you'd like a recommendation letter. This is a bit irregular, but if your work is solid, why not? I would do it. </p>\n\n<p>I strongly recommend that you work harder to find the right person to write you a strong letter than to have further dealings with someone who has already proven to be hopelessly inept at the job. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21532,
"author": "John Johnson",
"author_id": 8530,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8530",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your resume, statement of purpose, and any work you submit in your application package are your part. Writing your own LoR would be redundant.\nLetters of recommendation are other's contribution in support of your bid. They should be written by those who have confidence in your work. If you can't come up with another professor to support you, I recommend taking post-bacc classes, doing research, and doing your best work in the coming year. In your applications next year, hopefully you will have three professors to support you.</p>\n\n<p>Incidentally, when submitting your application, you should elect not to review your letters of recommendation. This shows that you have confidence in your abilities, work, and reputation among your professors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 32754,
"author": "user25164",
"author_id": 25164,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25164",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While it probably won't hurt your application, it doesn't really add much to it. If it's just one letter and the others are decent, then think of it as just filling the one requirement missing. Statement of purpose, CV, GRE and other components of your application are also important.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21243",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10756/"
] |
21,246 |
<p>I'm currently a chemistry major. However, I am more interested in the life science and want to be a molecular biologist in the future. However it is too late to change my degree to biology so I am wondering how to cross over into biology with my chemistry degree and whether is it possible for me to be a molecular biologist in the future? Will my chemistry degree be useful in helping me to become a biologist? Is there any relations between chemistry and biology?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21248,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a theoretical physicist reconverted to biology (bioinformatics) in his masters. I am sitting next to computer scientists, mathematicians, chemists... all working on life sciences.</p>\n\n<p>Biology is a very complex subject. Most of the concepts are <em>easy</em>, but there are many devils in the details. Ergo, it is very suitable for multidisciplinary work, where people from different branches can contribute with solutions from their own field.</p>\n\n<p>Focusing on your question, depending on your set of skills, you have several options: biochemistry, wet lab, computational chemistry oriented to biomolecules... You can probably swing by the molecular biology department and ask what kind of problems they would need a chemist for; and perhaps ask if they are willing to take you on board for an undergaduate project.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 92992,
"author": "Derek",
"author_id": 75858,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/75858",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's not too late. It's never too late. My undergraduate degree was in chemistry. From there, I did a Masters degree in nanoscience between the physics department and chemistry department. My research project found me in a microbiology lab using wet chemical techniques and biological methods to build a working cancer sensor, that we then tested to see if it worked using solid physics. It did work, by the way. As a result of my masters, I got my PhD project where I am doing the biophysics of phytoplankton physiology.</p>\n\n<p>The point is do what interests you. Find people in your department or at other institutions where the kind of thing you like is being done. If you're passionate about learning then there will always be an abundance of people to teach you.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21246",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15545/"
] |
21,250 |
<p>Recently, a (Springer) journal invited me to extend a (Springer) conference paper. The conference paper was published in April. After the extensions, I can submit the journal article as <a href="http://www.ic.kmitl.ac.th/aciids2014/PostConferencePub.html">post-conference publication</a>. </p>
<p>Regarding my question, should / must I keep the name of the conference article (when writing the journal article)? Or should I modify the name of the journal article?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21252,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>According to <a href=\"http://www.ic.kmitl.ac.th/aciids2014/CallForPapers.html\">the conference website</a>: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The conference proceedings are to be published in the Springer's LNAI (indexed by DBLP, EI, Scopus, and Thomson ISI).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In other words, your conference paper is already published. The journal paper will therefore be a new publication, and as such, you could use a different title, to avoid any confusion (and it will be a different paper, since you have to expand it). </p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT</strong>\nHowever, there are precedents, for at least one previous edition of the conference you're mentioning, of authors having the same title in the conference and in a journal edition (taken from DBLP): </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Peerasak Intarapaiboon, Ekawit Nantajeewarawat, Thanaruk Theeramunkong: Extracting Chemical Reactions from Thai Text for Semantics-Based Information Retrieval. IEICE Transactions 94-D(3): 479-486 (2011)</p></li>\n<li><p>Peerasak Intarapaiboon, Ekawit Nantajeewarawat, Thanaruk Theeramunkong: Extracting Chemical Reactions from Thai Text for Semantics-Based Information Retrieval. ACIIDS (1) 2010: 271-281</p></li>\n<li><p>Yongli Wang, Dongxiao Niu, Ling Ji: Power load forecasting using data mining and knowledge discovery technology. IJIIDS 5(5): 452-467 (2011)</p></li>\n<li><p>Yongli Wang, Dongxiao Niu, Yakun Wang: Power Load Forecasting Using Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Technology. ACIIDS (1) 2010: 319-328</p></li>\n<li><p>Moamin Ahmed, Mohd Sharifuddin Ahmad, Mohd Zaliman M. Yusoff: A Collaborative Framework for Multiagent Systems. IJATS 3(4): 1-18 (2011)</p></li>\n<li><p>Moamin Ahmed, Mohd Sharifuddin Ahmad, Mohd Zaliman M. Yusoff: A Collaborative Framework for Multiagent Systems. ACIIDS (1) 2010: 329-338</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Looking at random references from the journals in question, it seems quite frequent to have the same name for a journal paper and a conference publication the previous year. In other words, I stand corrected, and <strong>you might want to keep the same name for the journal version</strong>. </p>\n\n<p>As pointed out by DavidRicherby and Mangara, it's likely to be field dependent. Hence, the best approach is probably to <strong>look at previous editions of the journals in question, and check if there are matching conference papers.</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21259,
"author": "Mangara",
"author_id": 8185,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8185",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the content of the paper is not drastically different from the conference version (same main results, but more details / data), it is perfectly acceptable to use the same title. This is the usual approach in theoretical computer science. Of course, you are free to change the title if you want to.</p>\n\n<p>Examples:</p>\n\n<p>Oswin Aichholzer, Greg Aloupis, Erik D. Demaine, Martin L. Demaine, Sándor P. Fekete, Michael Hoffmann, Anna Lubiw, Jack Snoeyink, and Andrew Winslow, “<strong>Covering Folded Shapes</strong>”, in <em>Proceedings of the 25th Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry (CCCG 2013)</em>, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, August 8–10, 2013.</p>\n\n<p>Oswin Aichholzer, Greg Aloupis, Erik D. Demaine, Martin L. Demaine, Sándor P. Fekete, Michael Hoffmann, Anna Lubiw, Jack Snoeyink, and Andrew Winslow, “<strong>Covering Folded Shapes</strong>”, <em>Journal of Computational Geometry</em>, volume 5, number 1, 2014.</p>\n\n<p>Jeff Erickson, and Amir Nayyeri. \"<strong>Tracing compressed curves in triangulated surfaces</strong>.\" <em>Proceedings of the 2012 Symposium on Computational Geometry</em>. ACM, 2012.</p>\n\n<p>Jeff Erickson, and Amir Nayyeri. \"<strong>Tracing compressed curves in triangulated surfaces</strong>.\" <em>Discrete & Computational Geometry</em> 49.4 (2013): 823-863.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21250",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6696/"
] |
21,251 |
<p>In my research group, there is a researcher who usually approaches other PhD students who are about to write papers in order to offer his help. Normally, he does not actually do any research related to the paper. Instead, he reads our papers, makes comments about the writing style and sometime re-writes some sections in order to make them more readable. At the end, he will claim the co-authorship of the paper. I can see it is very helpful for new PhD students who don't have much experience in writing papers or articles. However, it is sometime uncomfortable for me to see someone who doesn't do actual research but still manages to get an authorship.</p>
<p>So, I want to ask if it is a common practice for someone to help writing a paper without doing any actual research relating to it, and claim the co-authorship. If it is not, how should I react if someone wants to do the same to me?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21255,
"author": "SimpleMan",
"author_id": 9019,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9019",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This happens quite often in industrial PhDs, at least based on my experience. Every paper I've written so far had around 5 authors, although myself and a research fellow were the only ones doing the work. I completely understand your frustration because there are two guys who have technical backgrounds but doing management work (thus no technical input to my papers whatsoever) who have their names on my papers (that applies to other PhD Students here too). I am not sure about pure academic research (i.e. funding from university) tough, things are likely to be different in that case.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21265,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p><em>people who help write papers may help fulfill one of the pillars of scientific discovery... communication of the science.</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There is an appropriate place to credit people who read your paper and offer useful comments on it: the <strong>acknowledgement section</strong>. It is very common to see acknowledgements \"for providing valuable feedback\", \"for suggesting a cleaner presentation\", \"for pointing out important related work\" and so on. Even \"for providing a simpler proof of Lemma X.y\". </p>\n\n<p>None of this rises to the level of co-authorship. </p>\n\n<p>What's worse in this case is that </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>At the end, he will claim the co-authorship of the paper. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>While I'd find the idea of co-authorship for such contributions odd, I would not think too much about it if it were negotiated in advance (as is the theme of many of the answers on this site). But to offer what appears to be unconditional help first and then (when the student really has no choice in the matter) to demand co-authorship is plain wrong. </p>\n\n<p>To answer your last question on what to do, the answer, as is always the answer, is to negotiate things up front. It's a little awkward, but a little pre-collaboration awkwardness is MUCH better than a lot of post-collaboration recrimination and hostility. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21269,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The so called <em>Vancouver protocol</em> (developed by <a href=\"http://www.icmje.org/\">ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)</a> and its definition of authorship has been mentioned in many questions of this kind here on Academia but I think they deserve being repeated. The protocol describes authorship through three components which every author must fulfil:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <ol>\n <li><p>Conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data</p>\n \n <p>AND</p></li>\n <li><p>Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content</p>\n \n <p>AND</p></li>\n <li><p>Final approval of the version to be published.</p></li>\n </ol>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>A key point here is the \"AND\". To read and comment on the text is clearly not enough for authorship by these standards. In fact a reviewer of the manuscript would at least fulfil point 2 whereas a person helping out as you describe would not. </p>\n\n<p>It is difficult to fend off this behaviour from more senior colleagues as a PhD student. It may, however, be good to bring up an open discussion about authorship standards in the group without necessarily directly connecting it to the draft of a paper. In some research groups systems for determining both order and authorship as such have been developed by splitting the paper up into tasks. See for example, <a href=\"http://www.authorder.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18&Itemid=45\">AuthorOrder.com</a> for an example. Looking at the <a href=\"/questions/tagged/authorship\" class=\"post-tag\" title=\"show questions tagged 'authorship'\" rel=\"tag\">authorship</a> tag here on Ac.sx and a search on Google will provide much background. But, I particularly recommend the recommendations report from <a href=\"http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/\">ICMJE</a>; ICMJE developed the protocol and their recommendations constitutes their continually updated version of the protocol.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21273,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Obviously his service and helps do not count as co-authorship. I have seen various versions of this tactic before, for example in the form of showing interest, or giving some general and mostly useless advices, comments and discussions. None of these are co-authorship either. </p>\n\n<p>But to answer you question on <strong>\"how should I react if someone wants to do the same to me?\"</strong>, I recommend you restrict your research communications to a small list of people who have the following qualities:\n1. they are experts in the subject your are working on,\n2. you have some kind of agreement about how to perform the research and who should do what,\n3. they have scientific integrity and are not looking to get credit for something they have not done!</p>\n\n<p>Finally, it is not recommended that you show or discuss your work to someone who is not a trusted expert before submission. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21274,
"author": "Bob Thule",
"author_id": 15562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15562",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It doesn't matter whether it is common or not: it is inappropriate.</p>\n\n<p>He is \"editing\" and not \"authoring\".</p>\n\n<p>Don't let it get to you. Even if you were to stop this guy, there has been, are, and will be many others doing the same thing. Just hope that karma will take care of it. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21289,
"author": "Brendan",
"author_id": 15589,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15589",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An author should be involved in the research, otherwise it is only a clerical role. However, it is not unusual for a collaborator whose contribution to the research is below the average to compensate by doing more work on the writing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 30292,
"author": "DovidM",
"author_id": 23149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23149",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I once was asked by a prof to provide comments on a draft paper given to him by a colleague. I added a third section to the paper, and re-ordered and re-worded the arguments that were in the draft. The paper was then published with no further changes. There was no recognition of my contribution by the author. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21251",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12635/"
] |
21,254 |
<p>I submitted my thesis in 2013 but passed my viva (the oral defense/examination) in 2014. Should the date (month+year) which I put in, on and around my thesis be,</p>
<ul>
<li><p>When I submitted my soft-bound copy to the examiners.</p></li>
<li><p>When I passed my viva (the oral defense/examination).</p></li>
<li><p>When I submitted my hard-bound copy to the university.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A fourth option is,</p>
<ul>
<li>It depends on your university.</li>
</ul>
<p>(Note that I am at a British Uni, so I presume that this is governed by something the British Library said...but what they said, I cannot find...)</p>
<p>This seems to be ridiculously hard to search for, but I apologise if it has been asked before.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21256,
"author": "dbmag9",
"author_id": 6899,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6899",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My intuition would be that it would depend on the university’s regulations, but I’d guess 2014, since your examiners could have asked you to make changes, which would mean that the version you submit wouldn’t be the same as what you submitted to them. I assume you’re actually being admitted to the degree this year, too.</p>\n\n<p>The quickest authoritative answer would presumably be obtained by emailing the relevant library (note that only some universities’ theses go to the British Library).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21262,
"author": "James T",
"author_id": 13203,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13203",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with dbmag9 that your university's regulations are definitive. If they do not give any guidance - and if you have nothing helpful from your supervisor, department, etc. - then I would suggest the following: <em>The date on the thesis should be the date when the text was most recently submitted for examination.</em></p>\n\n<p>Typically, a thesis undergoes minor or major corrections before being accepted. However, the approval of corrections is done without repeating the full examination process. More significant changes require \"revise and resubmit\" and in my mind this justifies bumping the date. But for small changes, the text is essentially the same version. That said, I don't think it's at all wrong to use the final hardbound submission date. I wouldn't pick the viva date, even if you had no corrections: the text was produced <em>for</em> the viva, not <em>at</em> the viva.</p>\n\n<p>In my case, I had to include the text \"Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy\" on the title page of the hardbound version, and I had to include a statement affirming that the text was the same as the original submitted thesis, aside from changes required by the examiners. This made me think that the accompanying date ought to be the date of the submission, not the date of the approval. (In fact, there were many different possible approval dates - examiners, the department, the central university authorities, the actual graduation ceremony. None of these seemed like the obvious correct choice.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21271,
"author": "sansuiso",
"author_id": 11141,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11141",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's the date that will be on your diploma, most presumably your viva.</p>\n\n<p>Why should your viva be the correct date? Because PhD thesis are supposed to be contributions to a field acknowledged by your peers. Thus, a PhD thesis <em>must</em> be publicly disclosed (i.e., published or presented at an oral exam) so that you can be questioned about your work.</p>\n\n<p>The oral exam rules will vary depending on the country. For example, in France only PhD degree holders (but any PhD degree owner, not just the jury) are allowed to ask questions at the oral exam. Some Swiss institutions (at least EPFL) keep the oral exam with the jury private, but the PhD degree gets awarded only after a public presentation, and the public presentation date will be the date on the diploma.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21275,
"author": "Sverre",
"author_id": 11053,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11053",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There's yet another option you don't mention (and the one I chose for my dissertation): The date you submitted your manuscript to the press. This date signifies when it left your hand for good - you could not make any changes after this date whatsoever.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21293,
"author": "Senex",
"author_id": 13547,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13547",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While I agree that you should check your institution's regulations, I will give some pointers based on experience at UK institutions. Everything I write should have the proviso \"This may vary between institutions\" attached.</p>\n\n<p>The thesis you submit will have the date of submission on the title page. After the viva, the examiners at a UK institution can make one of several decisions. The following is a rough guide:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Accept the thesis without requiring corrections. In this case, the hardbound thesis will be the same as the submitted version except possibly for fixing typos etc. In this case, the date on the hardbound version should be the same as the date on the submitted version.</p></li>\n<li><p>Accept the thesis subject to minor corrections. In this case, you will have a certain period (often three months) to make the corrections, which the internal examiner will check before formally accepting the thesis. (There is usually no second viva on the corrected thesis.) In this case, the date on the hardbound thesis should be the date that the corrected version is completed and given to the internal examiner to check.</p></li>\n<li><p>Reject the thesis but offer the candidate the option of making major corrections and re-submitting within a certain period (often a year). In this case, the submission process starts over and the dates will all reflect the new submission process.</p></li>\n<li><p>Reject the thesis for a Ph.D. but accept it for an M.Phil. In this case, there are no changes (except possibly for changing \"Ph.D.\" to \"M.Phil.\" on the title page) and so the initial submission date remains on the hardbound thesis.</p></li>\n<li><p>Reject the thesis entirely. In this case, the question is moot.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21308,
"author": "Peter Shor ",
"author_id": 5912,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5912",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is the kind of question which is best answered with actual evidence. Many American universities have their thesis formatting rules online, and you can find them with relatively little effort. British Universities (Oxford and Cambridge, in particular) often seem not to give as detailed rules. From these examples, it is clear that the rules for which date is used <em>depends on the university</em>. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Harvard University</strong>: \"[Month and year of the submission of the completed dissertation to the department, division, or committee and Dissertation Acceptance Certificate was signed]\",</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>MIT</strong>: \"the date the degree(s) will be conferred (June, September, or February only)\",</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Stanford University</strong>: \"(Date should reflect month and year of submission to the Office of the University Registrar.)\"</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>University of Michigan</strong>: \"year of degree conferral not year that dissertation was finished\" (they don't want a month).</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>University College London</strong>: no date seems to be required on the thesis (none is mentioned in the guidelines, and there are theses without dates in their archive). </p></li>\n<li><p><strong>University of Edinburgh</strong>: \"Year of presentation.\nIn the case of a thesis which is resubmitted, the year in which the\nthesis is resubmitted should be shown as the year of presentation.\" What do they mean by \"year of presentation\"? From their website: \"At some point between submission of your thesis and the viva, you are encouraged to give a final presentation of your work to the School, often via a research group seminar series.\"</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>University of Leeds</strong>: \"the year of submission\nfor examination (Or resubmission where the thesis is submitted following re-examination after referral).\"</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 26367,
"author": "Paul Richards",
"author_id": 15788,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15788",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I got my PhD from Aston University. There, its the date it was first submitted to the examiners. If you then have to resubmit after corrections (which most people have to do) this doesn't change the date, since its the original date that is used.</p>\n\n<p>I had to pay for labels to be printed to cover up the incorrect date on the spine of my thesis, as I used the resubmitted date by mistake!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 65316,
"author": "Peter Green",
"author_id": 42323,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/42323",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I took my PHD at manchester in the UK and ran into this issue. </p>\n\n<p>When I queried it I was told that \"minor corrections\" (the result most people get from a phd viva) did not count as a resubmission. Therefore the original submission date stood for the final thesis.</p>\n\n<p>I would reccomend querying this with your supervisor rather than risking paying a bunch of cash to print/bind your thesis only to find out you have the wrong date on it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21254",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1057/"
] |
21,276 |
<p>I have been a professional software developer for a number of years, I'm also an academic researcher - and my research has involved lots of software development.</p>
<p>I sometimes feel as though my industrial experience has been a hindrance in my research, as the goals of writing software in a research context feel contradictory to the goals in industry.</p>
<p>In industry, code needs to be (ideally): maintainable, bug-free, refactored, well-documented, rigorously tested - good quality - best practice says that these things are worth the time (I agree).</p>
<p>In academia, the goal is to write as many quality research papers in the shortest possible time. In this context, code is written to run the experiment, and might never be looked at again (we are judged on our papers - not our code). There seems to be no motivation to write tested, maintainable, documented code - I just need to run it and get the result in my paper or whatever ASAP. Consequently, the "academic" code I've written is poor quality - from a software engineering perspective.</p>
<p>The problem is that I either spend too long making (unnecessarily) getting my "research" code to industry-quality, or I publish work based on "bad quality" code, and I feel like a fraud.</p>
<p>My career progression is dependent on me writing "bad" code!?</p>
<p>The "craft" of software development is a huge subject - but where is the best practice for academic research? Nobody writes unit tests for conference paper code!</p>
<p>Does anyone find them in a similar situation?
Does anyone know of formal methodologies for "research" code?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21277,
"author": "Marc Claesen",
"author_id": 7173,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7173",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The main characteristic of research code (more so than typical programs) is that it is harder to plan. Research by definition reaches into the unknown, and this also translates in program structures. As a researcher you often don't have the time to refactor when your research slithers into a different direction that should translate into a different software structure.</p>\n\n<p>In typical software engineering you (should) have a fairly good idea of the final functionality before writing a single line of code. In research, this is often not the case. Programming for research purposes is mainly about rapid prototyping, which is typically done differently than programming for long term use (e.g. little to no unit tests, use of different languages, ...). The main mantra is to get results fast, not optimal from a software engineering perspective.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, proper software engineering is a fine art that is very hard to master. Even in industry settings, ugly software is abundant (when written by professionals!). The average researcher has no formal training in software writing.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My career progression is dependent on me writing \"bad\" code!?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As a researcher, you are not paid to develop software (unfortunately). As an idealist I like to believe that this will change over time, but for now funding sources only care about papers.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The \"craft\" of software development is a huge subject - but where is the best practice for academic research? Nobody writes unit tests for conference paper code!</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Unit tests serve two main purposes: (i) assert that code is working correctly and (ii) find and debug problems fast, particularly after structural changes and refactoring (long term benefit for large infrastructures). As research software is typically fairly small, the first advantage is the only one that is really relevant. It seems that this advantage is either too small or is being underestimated (again, recall that most researchers are <em>not</em> software engineers).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Does anyone find them in a similar situation? Does anyone know of formal methodologies for \"research\" code?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you want to change the world, start with yourself. I personally make a point of providing software along with a manuscript whenever it is reasonable. I also consistently ask for code as a reviewer, though this seems uncommon.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21278,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I either spend too long making (unnecessarily) getting my \"research\"\n code to industry-quality</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Don't. Make it as good as possible within the suggested timeframe. Aiming for 100% perfection that will require double the time is not worth it. In this sense, research is exactly like industry.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Consequently, the \"academic\" code I've written is poor quality</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That does not mean all academic code is of low quality. If you check papers on algorithms conferences or parallel processing systems, you will see that the developers have thought even excruciating details, like reordering of data for fewer cache misses, SIMD, GPU programming, SSD storage etc. Usually advanced CS algorithms research is some years ahead in adopting new methods, hardware techniques before any of those techniques actually hit the industry. On the other hand, in more theoretical CS conferences code is mainly a tool and as such, it does not have to be cutting edge. So, the quality is related to the audience of your product code (exactly like industry).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Does anyone know of formal methodologies for \"research\" code?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I have never heard on any methods especially tailored for research code. Still, you can use the practices from your industry background (when they actually accelerate your process of writing the software). For example a versioning system accelerates development and minimizes errors / losses of data. On the other hand UNIT tests take a lot of time, which you might not have. A informal wiki for bugs, documentation, features might worth the extra time, since it also accelerates writing the actual research paper. Contrarily, a full blown bug database (bugzilla) might not worth the extra time and effort.</p>\n\n<p>So, stick to those industry methods, techniques you know will save you time on the long run and will improve your software but without taking all of your time. Finding a middle ground is always the best solution.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21279,
"author": "dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten",
"author_id": 440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/440",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>tl;dr</strong> Some parts of industry "best practices" fit in well, and other parts are inefficient in a research environment. Keep what works well in <em>this</em> environment.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>I'm a experimental particle physicist and we write a lot of code and much of it is big projects written by many, dispersed programmers.</p>\n<h3>Some part of the usual industry tool kit we use enthusiastically</h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Version control</li>\n<li>Bug tracking</li>\n<li>Automated build and test systems</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Other part are either slower to catch on or not as highly prized, including</h3>\n<ul>\n<li><p>A formal Process (with a capital 'P') with regular planning meetings and release checklist and so on. These appear as projects get bigger (usually in response to a total break-down in quality control or long release lags). That is, we use them when we <em>need</em> them.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Documentation generation systems are pretty common but only lightly used until the project gets big when people who are forced to decode some bits often contribute a little more documentation.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Unit testing is sparse and usually concentrated on the lower layers of the systems, but regression testing is more common.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Most projects have coding standards, but they are generally loosely specified and weakly enforced.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Other things simple don't show up much.</h3>\n<ul>\n<li><p>Feature planning is pretty hard when you don't know what clever ideas a grad student will have <em>next week</em> to solve a problem that you haven't even noticed yet.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>It used to be true that strict check-in control got in the way of spreading experimental code segments around, and we'd simply freeze new development check-ins occasionally to get out a blessed release (a situation that rendered HEAD/trunk/whatever a "use at your own risk" proposition). With the rise of <em>distributed</em> version control there is starting to be a stronger commitment to check-in controls for the official trunk.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Refactoring usually only happens when both a new person starts working with some old code and they feel they need changes or extensions. That which is not broken is left well enough alone.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<hr />\n<p>From your question I suspect that you are doing your coding either single-handed or in a small group. In that setting the details change, but the tone remains the same. Simply keep the parts of your industry practice that work, and dispense with or delay the parts that have the worst cost/benefit ratio in terms of time/results.</p>\n<p>Leave off the heavy refactoring until you <em>know</em> from evidence that a particular part of your code will be reused. Similarly, be content with rough documentation unless and until the code is shown to have a on-going life. And so on.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21281,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the key to understanding research code for industrial software engineers is to accept that <strong>you are typically not building a product</strong>. You do not have customers as such. You are building software to prove a point.</p>\n\n<p>As such, the majority of code that you write as a researcher is more akin to the throw-away prototypes and mockups that you (in industry) often write in the early phases of a project. As you are certainly aware, even in industry these mockups have quite different properties than the final software. They primarily need to:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Have exactly the features that you want to show to the customer. Not more, not less. Typically, all the boring standard features for the domain are omitted.</li>\n<li>Need to get done <em>quickly</em>. Both you and the customer know that the prototype will be thrown away anyway, so it does not matter whether the code is maintainable.</li>\n<li>Need to be easy to extend and adapt, optimally live during the demo.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Essentially the same properties are also useful for most throwaway research code. You <em>do not</em> want to build features that you do not need. You <em>do not</em> want to waste time writing e.g., maintainable code if you know that it will not be maintained. You <em>want</em> to use an environment that reduces the amount of boilerplate code and setup, and which maybe auto-generates a lot of code for you that is \"good enough\" for your demonstrator (Ruby on Rails and its scaffolding features come to mind).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My career progression is dependent on me writing \"bad\" code!?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, it depends on you writing code fit for purpose. Just like in industry. In industry and academia nobody applauds you for software qualities that are not needed. Try to reconsider what the <strong>point</strong> of the code is that you are writing. If you plan to release your code as open source software and you expect it to be picked up by other people across the world, then go nuts - use all the engineering techniques you have also used in industry to build the best product you can. If your goal is to evaluate this one algorithm or principle for your conference, and then throw away the code, then you can also live happily without writing a single unit test without feeling like a fraud at all.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> of course this does not mean that it is acceptable to write code where you are unsure whether you have <em>implemented said algorithm correctly</em>. Ensuring that what you have indeed shown what you claim to have shown is <strong>mandatory</strong>, especially in research code.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21287,
"author": "Superbest",
"author_id": 244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/244",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a researcher and self-taught developer. I have done substantial projects which were primarily software based. Although my work is far from the most \"hardcore\" stuff that's out there in terms of complexity and scale, the projects were big enough that naive mistakes (eg. not using version control or poorly documenting code) were very painful. I ended up learning quite a few \"best practices\" through trial and error.</p>\n\n<p>I have also been on the receiving end of \"unmaintanable code passed down to fellow researcher\":</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/o5fy9.gif\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>my industrial experience has been a hindrance in my research</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, you have basically come from a civilized environment that solved these problems decades ago into one that is stuck in the stone age in terms of software development hygiene. Scientists still code like it's the 60s. Of course you feel a conflict, but the fault is not with you.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In industry, code needs to be (ideally): maintainable, bug-free, refactored, well-documented, rigorously tested</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Let's say the speaker at a scientific conference, while describing the computational part of his research, said one of the following:</p>\n\n<p>\"<em>The code I wrote for this research is, admittedly...</em>\"</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>...unmaintainable (and good luck building on my research!)</li>\n<li>...full of bugs (and I have no idea if the output is even correct!)</li>\n<li>...unreadable spagetti (and I don't even know how it works, let alone if it does so correctly!)</li>\n<li>...undocumented (and all the mistakes are obfuscated from reviewers!)</li>\n<li>...not tested (so god knows if it does what I say/think it does!)</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Do you expect the audience to react with anything but scorn and outrage? If I heard such a thing, I would not believe anything this person published ever again.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In academia, the goal is (...) in the shortest possible time.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, but \"<em>no shorter</em>\". You don't skip vital control experiments because \"controls take time\". You can't skimp on code quality for very similar reasons.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>There seems to be no motivation to write [good code]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Because this is an endemic problem of academia. Although computers have been used in science for decades, it seems that algorithms have only become an important part of research in the last decade or so (perhaps because of \"big data\"). When you base your research on code, that code must be good quality. It is not enough to simply crank out some buggy write-only script and call it a day. The software development community has figured all of this out long ago, but academia has not yet caught on - I think the reason is that most scientists do not have a formal background in software development, and there have not been enough huge scandals in research caused by bad programming practice (eg. key results of a high-profile paper turn out to be artifacts caused by bugs).</p>\n\n<p>Consider how, in many disciplines, reviewers will not even ask about the source code of your computation-heavy paper. How can they evaluate, then, the validity of your results? They cannot, and this is a failure of the peer review model as it currently exists.</p>\n\n<p>Sorry to go on a rant, but basically, it's like this: As you know, there are very good reasons for writing quality code, even if no one is watching over your shoulder. In science, currently it so happens that nobody cares if your code is good or not. But this should not be a reason for you to not write good code anyway - the reasons for writing good code in the industry still largely apply to science.</p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, you may not be rewarded for your extra work. You may even be punished, because as you say, good code takes longer, and others may not see beyond that. Your PI or colleagues may not understand why you are so much slower. The best you can do is explain to them the need for good practices.</p>\n\n<p>Obviously, there are exceptions. For instance, you may not need to worry about portability or backwards compatibility with old versions of the OS for code that is meant to run on a dedicated lab computer (although it is undesirable to write your code such that it only runs in a very exotic environment that other scientists will not be able to easily reconstruct). But by and large, I find that industry practices still apply, and the exceptions can be easily detected by applying a modicum of critical thought. That said, there is also a helpful publication called \"<em><a href=\"http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001745\">Best Practices for Scientific Computing</a></em>\" which examines this matter in detail.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, it is an ethical decision you must make. Do you care about doing good science above all else? Follow best practices. Do you want to cut corners that you shouldn't (in an ethical sense), to save time or avoid friction with co-workers? I couldn't recommend you to do this, on principle. But obviously many people do, and perhaps in practice, some scientists are forced to do it - although then again, does being unable to do good science by circumstance excuse bad science?</p>\n\n<p>Also, like I said, I think part of the problem is that there haven't been any big scandals. If you do skimp on code quality, there's a chance it will catch up with you. You might even end up being one those big scandals. Admittedly, the risk is probably small... But, I think you can see my point.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21288,
"author": "Keith",
"author_id": 15586,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15586",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think your problem is in seeing <strong><em>quality</em></strong> as binary. </p>\n\n<p>Whether in industry or academia we need to make choices as to particular quality goals. An ‘industrial’ piece of software might be safety critical and demand the highest achievable level of quality, or it might be an internally used development tool. </p>\n\n<p>Quality goals might be:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Uptime<br>\n<ul>\n<li>Probably not a concern for you</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Robustness\n<ul>\n<li>Will you need to run with a lot of different data sets, or is it a one off?</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Re-usability \n<ul>\n<li>Will the processing be incorporated into the next problem you work on?</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Ability to verify \n<ul>\n<li>Does it work the way is it is supposed to? What would it mean if you published and this was not true?</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Ability to validate\n<ul>\n<li>Does it produce the right answer? [ Hopefully, this does matter. ]</li>\n<li>Another way of checking the correctness of the answer might mean it does not matter if the logic getting there is wrong.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Needs to be maintainable by\n<ul>\n<li>Self </li>\n<li>Other expert </li>\n<li>Some random undergraduate </li>\n<li>Or definitely is throw away.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Suitable to be made public for use by others to check or re-use your work </li>\n<li>Etc.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Having articulated your quality goals, your development and build system should be sufficient to meet those goals and no more. Note that this might vary from project to project.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21294,
"author": "Raphael",
"author_id": 1419,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1419",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Rather than talking about differences with industry software development (which I have no experience with), I'd like to talk about things you <em>should</em> do in academia. I will be assuming that your code is not there for its own sake but attaches to some scientific statement such as \"E. coli shares the foo-genome with humans\" or \"Algorithm A outperforms algorithm B in scenario Z\".</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Best Effort</strong></p>\n\n<p>While your goal is not productive use with revenue attached to it, you should have a reasonable amount of certainty that your code does what you claim and can be understood (peer reviewed!) by interested parties. That is, write clear code, comment and document. And (unit-)test.</p>\n\n<p>If nothing else, remember that <em>you</em> may have to revisit your own code some time later. You build a protoype but your next one may reuse parts of it. Or you want students to extend upon it.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Accessibility</strong></p>\n\n<p>In order to support scientific evalutation of your work (falsifiability, reproducability) other researchers <em>have</em> to have to be able to compile and execute your programs.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore, you should provide sources, build files/instructions and whatever input data you used in your work. Keep in mind that someone may want to build your program years after initial publishing, so make sure that the sources are still around then and the build process/instructions are reasonably robust against time (mention library versions). UI is not <em>too</em> important but \"best effort\" applies here, too.</p>\n\n<p>Consider putting your code on Github or a similar platform (e.g. <a href=\"https://www.gitlab.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">your own</a>). That way, you can publish updates and collect bugs easily. See also <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19348/when-should-you-publish-code-on-github-work-in-progress-or-after-publication\">here</a> and <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16785/how-to-share-computer-code\">here</a>.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Licensing</strong></p>\n\n<p>You should say <em>something</em> about what others (in particular fellow researchers) may or may not do with your code. You can use any license (I'd argue it should allow at least the liberties of GPL). The <a href=\"http://matt.might.net/articles/crapl/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">CRAPL</a> might be worth a look.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Fair Evaluation</strong></p>\n\n<p>If your algorithm/code is the artifact you propose (as superior) you have to compare it to existing solutions. Make sure to use comparable input, rerun the experiment for the alternatives and follow basic experimental best practice (check out McGeoch's work, for instance). Make sure your comparison includes the accepted standard(s) of your field if there are any; if your approach yields different results, you have to explain why (that's okay/correct/better).</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Accessibility is probably the most crucial item. Research code needs to be shared. I think this can't be stressed enough, and it's one of the major problems in all of computational science. Other than, say, physics, we have to opportunity to easily share and reproduce (most) experimental setup -- we have to make use of that.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I don't see why any article that founds its claims on computations that reviewers (and other parties) can not reproduce has any right to be published. </p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>One reminder for all theory types:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it.<br>\n <sub>Donald E. Knuth</sub></p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 24510,
"author": "Tony Hopkinson",
"author_id": 18297,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18297",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I was directed to this question by a chap in answer to my request for clarification \"Why they were using a float type as a key to hash\". Now to me this did not seem like a good idea. After a bit of back and forth, the questioner directed me here as their reason for doing it.</p>\n\n<p>That was interesting as is the question itself. </p>\n\n<p>Are you persuaded to write bad code in order to fulfill certain academic goals? Yes, even in CS courses I might add. At least bad in terms of comprehensibility. However as we are all too horribly aware, we have been 'persuaded' to write equally bad code in the commercial environment, or our lords and masters have been persuaded to have poor code written for them....</p>\n\n<p>Leaving aside trivial implementations of algorithms. For instance should you use i and j as loop variables in a bubble sort algorithm, or indeed should you use a bubble sort at all. My response to your question, would be another one. How do do good software engineering principles help you achieve your goals?</p>\n\n<p>Could, say good naming, SOLID principles, coherence and coupling et al get you to your goal more efficiently? My answer would be almost certainly. They are designed to do that in any non-trivial piece of software. It's what they are for, they were created in order to achieve software that could be changed at less cost. It doesn't matter that you aren't (or at least cannot foresee) a version two, the implementation isn't springing full blown from your mind, so it will be changing.</p>\n\n<p>If you aren't sure what code you need to write, then something like TDD would also help given you have a ready made unit testing environment. Even without that \"luxury\" writing testable code is going to. </p>\n\n<p>You have a huge advantage over your fellows who don't have a software engineering background, you should be able to get that irritating binary bit of the exercise out of the way quicker, get to the meat of your goal with less effort and then be able to expend more effort on the real goal. </p>\n\n<p>I once had a discussion with an academically qualified type who told me re-factoring was just software aesthetes messing about and that I should have written the software correctly in the first place. Needless to say my respect for this individual dropped a notch or two, which was unfortunate for him as he hadn't earned that much in the first place. </p>\n\n<p>So in summation I would say the sensible option would be to use good software engineering practices in all your efforts. \nJust to be clear though it is not good software engineering practice to write good code that you do not need...</p>\n\n<p>To paraphrase Gandalf, \"Keep it simple, keep it safe\"</p>\n\n<p>As for should you use a float as a key to hash to save time. If you know without any doubt as you choose that design compromise that the problems with doing so will not cause you an issue, then perhaps. But the amount of effort required to evade that compromise is fairly trivial and you just spent time asking how to get round an issue with using a float as a key. I rest my case</p>\n\n<p>In any environment commercial or academic, choosing to lower quality, is both a benefit and a cost, examine both....</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 72720,
"author": "Victor Mataré",
"author_id": 57936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/57936",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a problem with the premise of the question:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In academia, the goal is to write as many quality research papers in the shortest possible time.</p>\n<p>There seems to be no motivation to write tested, maintainable, documented code - I just need to run it and get the result in my paper or whatever ASAP</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>I'm currently dealing with a large codebase written by people who apparently thought so, too. Before that I got used to a different standard of academic coding - one where code is simple, elegant, modern, well-tested and well-maintained over many years.</p>\n<p>And I believe the people that will have an impact in this information age are not necessarily the ones with the most scientific credit, but the ones who can actually make something from their nice scientific ideas.</p>\n<p>If however in your domain the cool things you can make don't depend at all on the code you write (e.g. just some boring data filtering), then you really don't need to bother with its quality.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 120224,
"author": "SeF",
"author_id": 86944,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/86944",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If I could add a short version of the more accurate answers above, I would say: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Academia -> prototypes.</li>\n<li>Industry -> products.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Products and prototypes must not be considered with the same standards.</p>\n\n<p>Prototypes can have shorter documentation and may require some effort to be deployed. They can also be usable on a single operative system with very specific requirements, such as the ones where the code was initially developed.</p>\n\n<p>Nonetheless, good quality prototypes should be tested, version-controlled, have a stable branch, and must have no out of date documentation. Otherwise they are just bad quality prototypes.</p>\n\n<p>---- Edit</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My career progression is dependent on me writing \"bad\" code!?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Leaving academia reminded me that exists something else than the paper-oriented working method, to which PhD students are trained (and whose outcomes have often a number of readers smaller than the number of co-authors).</p>\n\n<p>It may not be the case in every academic environment, although in my experience research with scientific criteria is made in the private sector.</p>\n\n<p>Also, this is not only a problem related to coding!</p>\n\n<p>Some researchers working in wet labs have told me they have the exact same issue. Performing wet lab experiments documenting the full procedure, calibrating the tools to the highest standard, assessing the chemical composition of the material bought by third parties is consistent over time, making every step completely reproducible by another researcher... these basic practices resulted in a too slow academic paper production.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21276",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15565/"
] |
21,284 |
<p>Years ago, a professor agreed to write me a recommendation letter. So I applied to many grad schools indicating him as one of my referees. However, I didn't find out until later that he didn't write the letter. Thus, none of my applications were completed, and there were also substantial financial losses due to application fees. I was poor, so it was a big loss for me. </p>
<p>What can I do in this case? Could I find any justice anywhere? I just felt hopeless when a tenured professor does something unethical (not criminal conduct); there is nothing a student can do. </p>
<p><em>[added the following on June 24, 2014]</em></p>
<p>He recently became a faculty at the university where I am a student (He was at a different university before). I want to forget about what happened, but the damage was too much for me to ignore. And I feel anger whenever I think about what happened.</p>
<p>One remedy would be he takes me on as a PhD student, or provides funding so another professor can supervise me. However, my application was rejected.</p>
<p>I raised my concerns with the dean of faculty of graduate studies, and will meet one of the assistant deans soon. How should I approach this with him/her?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21286,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>That sounds like a frustrating and discouraging situation. Whether you have any recourse may depend on the system. For U.S. universities, there's not much you can do, since applicants are generally considered responsible for monitoring whether their applications are complete and reminding letter writers. However, these cultural issues might vary internationally.</p>\n\n<p>One puzzling aspect of your question is that you describe the professor as deceiving you and acting unethically. Without some specific evidence, I'd assume it was forgetfulness rather than deliberate sabotage. Forgetting to submit letters is still irresponsible, but not as bad as intentionally not submitting them.</p>\n\n<p>If you have compelling evidence of sabotage, it would be worth bringing to the attention of the university administration. However, it's not clear to me what sort of evidence you might plausibly have.</p>\n\n<p>If it's a matter of forgetfulness, things are murkier. If there's a pattern of irresponsibility, then the department head might want to know. On the other hand, a single incident would probably be ignored.</p>\n\n<p>What makes this tricky is that professors get asked for recommendations in all sorts of suboptimal ways, such as a brief hallway conversation while both people are rushing to get to class. It's easy to forget under these circumstances. That doesn't make it right, and responsible letter writers will try hard not to overlook requests. However, some circumstances make it more understandable than others. If you do file a complaint with the administration, you should make the circumstances clear. (But without evidence of dramatic or recurring irresponsibility, I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.)</p>\n\n<p>Have you tried asking the professor about it? It's too late to fix your applications, but you deserve an apology. Furthermore, he may have forgotten about it so completely that he doesn't even realize this happened, in which case you'd be giving him a valuable warning that he needs to be more careful (and you might save future students from this problem).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21291,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd like to pick up something that eykanal has mentioned in a comment, because I think it's crucial.</p>\n\n<p>Brace yourself, you're not going to like this. But it's better you know the truth.</p>\n\n<p>When you ask someone for a letter of reference, and they agree, it's <strong>up to you to do what you can to ensure that they write it and submit it</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Sorry, that's not what you wanted to hear, is it? But it's what you needed to hear.</p>\n\n<p>So, what can you do if you didn't succeed in ensuring it got written and submitted?</p>\n\n<p>There's exactly one thing you can do: learn from the experience. Now you know, that if you don't put the effort in to ensuring the recommendation letter gets written and sent, that may not happen.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to take it further, here's what you need to do.</p>\n\n<p>You need to broaden the lesson to be taken from this unhappy experience. The broader lessons are (and these apply both within and beyond academia): you often need to manage your manager; and if you need something doing, and you delegate it, you're still responsible for ensuring it gets done.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47192,
"author": "A.S",
"author_id": 22447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22447",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Professors are busy people. This person's failure to make good on the promise of a letter could be due to a variety of reasons, being a \"jerk\" being only one of several possibilities. It could be just forgetfulness, or perhaps they wrote the letters but didn't include the correct postage, or the mail got stolen from the mailbox where they dropped off the letters. Things happen, and sometimes we are too quick to find fault. Being absent-minded is not an excuse, but lack of malicious intent definitely impacts the validity of accusations. </p>\n\n<p>Therefore, I would tread lightly and first ascertain the reason. If you really need closure on this, the best way is to NOT talk to the associate dean, but to discuss this with the professor privately, and very VERY politely. Do your absolute best NOT to come across as being accusatory, pursue not the person but the objective facts -- as a student in this department, <em>you</em> are in a much more vulnerable position than tenured faculty, and should account for this in your decisions and actions. </p>\n\n<p>Drop by during this professor's office hours, sit down calmly, and in a polite, humble tone simply explain what has happened years ago. </p>\n\n<p>Do not say \"but you never mailed those letters\". This immediately puts the person on the defensive and the conversation will quickly devolve from constructive feedback to denial and conflict. This will have zero benefit for you, but can have negative consequences down the road in ways that are difficult to anticipate right now. </p>\n\n<p>Instead, one approach is to say: \"It appears that the letters from one of my references were not received by the institutions to which I applied, and I am trying to figure out if this was through a fault of mine, perhaps lack of clear communication on my part about what I was requesting. I feel uncomfortable talking about this, but I just wanted to see if you had any recollection of that situation and whether you recall any challenges with providing those letters. This will be very helpful to me in understanding how to improve the way I solicit recommendation letters for future fellowship or employment applications.\" </p>\n\n<p>This interaction presents a great opportunity to learn whether you did, in fact, do something that may have contributed to the unfortunate outcome of receiving no letters from this person. Was it a miscommunication about the application timeline, addresses where to mail the letter, or something else? Chances are you will have to solicit letters again in the future, and knowing what caused the malfunction in the process back then can help you prevent the same issue from happening in the future. What a great opportunity to learn from the past and improve future results. </p>\n\n<p>As @EnergyNumbers noted, \"When you ask someone for a letter of reference, and they agree, it's up to you to do what you can to ensure that they write it and submit it.\" I absolutely agree. You needed those letters, not the professors. Therefore, it was your responsibility to follow up and confirm whether they had mailed the letters you requested. That's just how this stuff works. For this reason, if anyone should be blamed for what happened, it's not the professor. For this reason, I would disagree with @Anonymous Mathematician's position that \"It's too late to fix your applications, but you deserve an apology.\" I would agree that you might deserve (I would say, not deserve, but \"benefit from\") a brief explanation of what happened. But whether to apologize for this or not remains to be seen, and should be up to this professor to decide. It's their conscience, let them find the course of action that they find acceptable. If this is at odds with your notion of fairness and justice, well, the world does not have to operate in accordance with your notions. Everyone has different ideas of what they deserve, and sometimes letting go and adjusting one's expectations is a much wiser strategy than pushing to get what one believes is their fair share, or fishing for apologies. Letting go is not easy, and absolutely should not be the rule for all situations in life. But the ability to discern what situations warrant letting go are a sign of good discretion and wisdom.</p>\n\n<p>One alternative: As @RoboKaren noted in a comment to OP, it is unclear that \"One remedy would be he takes me on as a PhD student, or provides funding so another professor can supervise me\" actually represents a remedy. For what? Financial compensation? If this incident occurred years ago, I would consider this, as economists might call it, \"sunk cost.\" If the expense was not recouped in time, or arrangements made for future reimbursement, for all intents and purposes it is water under the bridge. I highly recommend to let the financial aspect go, especially since the amount is probably not nearly enough to justify all the problems such accusations could cause for you while you are trying to remain on good terms with the department's faculty, who hold the keys to your degree. </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, if the remedy is meant for your ego rather than wallet, then it seems counter-intuitive that much good would come from trying to renew a relationship characterized by financial dependence on someone who has already let you down once before. It is like stepping on a rake, then years later trying to step on the same rake on the off chance it would somehow make the old bruise hurt less. History tends to repeat itself, and you just might end up with another bruise. Why take a chance when you don't have to? I would suggest the exact opposite, i.e. to put a good amount of distance between you and this professors, so as to minimize the chances of making the same mistake (of relying on them and being burned) twice. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47195,
"author": "Stuart Golodetz",
"author_id": 9320,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9320",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not writing a letter of recommendation when you've agreed to write one and you understand the impact it could potentially have on somebody's career is clearly not a great thing to have done - indeed, if you talk to the professor about it in a non-accusatory way (i.e. one that doesn't put him on the defensive), he'll probably feel bad about it.</p>\n\n<p>However, as others have pointed out, the reality of the situation is that you asked somebody potentially busy and perhaps forgetful for a favour that was crucial to you, but probably not that crucial to him. Human nature being what it is, he probably meant to do it, but procrastinated and then forgot about it. It's much easier to forget about things that aren't crucial to you personally, and there's very rarely any malice in it.</p>\n\n<p>What you ought to have done was ask him again politely before each application, making what he needed to do and the deadline extremely clear in each case, and then followed up with him at intervals before the deadline to make sure that he followed through on it. I've always used this method - it works.</p>\n\n<p>Should he automatically have sent in the references without you having to chase him? Sure, maybe, but people are imperfect, and this was something that really mattered to you. Making a huge issue of it years after the fact rather than making sure it didn't happen in the first place is neither sensible nor a useful use of your time. You're much better off chalking it up to experience and doing things differently next time.</p>\n\n<p>See also:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Hanlon%27s_razor\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Hanlon%27s_razor</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 100290,
"author": "Anne",
"author_id": 84298,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/84298",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If I am not mistaken it is part of a professors job to write letters such as the one you requested. It reflects poorly on the reputation of the school if the professors show little concern for their students future beyond the classroom. I can not imagine many High School students would choose a particular collage if they had information this college would fail them when it came time to securing a future. If someone feels they do not have time, or would write an unfovorable recommendation, professional ethics would dictate declining. It is reasonable to suggest you make the request in the Professors office as stated by others, providing them with all the information needed, including a date letters must be complete. </p>\n\n<p>It is reasonable to say that it is your responsibility to follow up and make sure the letter was written and submitted. If the letter is not done in a timely manner, you should have a back up plan. Remember, this is your future and you must be proactive securing what you need to succeed. </p>\n\n<p>Thirty-two years after graduating, I receive letters annually requesting donations to my alma-mater. Upon completion of your degree, you might consider declining donations citing this professors lack of concern for your future. No professor would accept excuses for failing to complete an assignment. No employer would accept excuses for failing to do part of their job. Yes, you should show gratitude for letters of recommendation, but letters from Professors are not mearly favors. Suggesting a letter may have been stolen from a mail box is not an excuse a professor would accept, neither should you. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21284",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15574/"
] |
21,295 |
<p>Is it common in academia to include the number of results a Google search on a keyword yields as an evidence for the prevalence of something online? </p>
<p>I'm not intending to base my research paper on this evidence; it is just a supporting point in a paragraph.</p>
<p>For example, I'm writing a research paper on Stack Exchange; one of the paragraphs is about how popular Stack Exchange is in the internet. </p>
<p>In one of the paragraph, I would mention that a Google search on the keyword 'Stack Exchange' yielded about 49,600,000 results, which shows how popular it is among netizens. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21297,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I honestly haven't seen something like this in any publication. But I guess you could use it as some by-point, I would in that case provide the number of result of other popular search engines, something like: \"xyz is highly sought after in the world wide webs, a simple key search 'xyz' using the most popular search engines yields impressive number of results (google: 49,600,000, bing: ..., yahoo: ..., etc.)\"</p>\n\n<p>Consider, however, that the search results also include ambiguous results for the provided key word(s). In your example, it is likely that that result of about 49,600,000 will include hits that contain \"Stack\" and \"Overflow\", but not the semantics that bind them into your intention. Please bear in mind that I'm aware that you are able to narrow your search down to a particular key word by using google tools, tweaks and skill, I'm merely providing an example, as depending on the \"commonness\" of the key word(s), the explicit narrowing down can be complex. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21298,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Do <em>not</em> do this. The \"approximate\" number of hits Google reports is <em>completely</em> worthless. To see why, look at this number on both the first and the tenth page of Google hits:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.google.com/#q=%22Stack+Exchange%22\">First results page</a></p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Stack+Exchange%22&start=90\">Tenth results page</a></p>\n\n<p>When I just did this, I got \"approximately 9,010,000 hits\" reported on the first results page... but only \"approximately 48 hits\" on the tenth page.</p>\n\n<p>Your results will probably vary, depending on your <a href=\"https://duckduckgo.com/?q=search%20engine%20bubble\">search engine bubble</a> (another reason why this number is useless).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21303,
"author": "user15600",
"author_id": 15600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15600",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think such numbers would be accurate at all, altough they could probably be used as a rough, theoretical estimate.\n2 reasons I can think of for why this would not be accurate at all:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Typos. Have you ever tried googling for 2 different spellings in order to figure out which is most likely the correct spelling? Unfortunately, the most used(popular) spelling is not always the correct one.\nWhat this means is that the number of google hits is not a picture of reality, but a picture of what is in people's thoughts.</p></li>\n<li><p>A phenomenon\\activity\\product being written about on the web is not equivalent to actually being used alot. What's being written on the web is primarily a picture of what's going on in people's heads, rather than what's actually around them. A new invention could be ground-breaking and get mentioned alot, even though only scientists would use it.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21318,
"author": "bdean20",
"author_id": 11124,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11124",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The popularity of a web site is only very loosely related to the number of search engine results. A better approach is to use traffic statistics, such as the web site's Alexa ranking:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/stackoverflow.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/stackoverflow.com</a></p>\n\n<p>This places StackOverflow at rank 53, which means that only 52 sites are visited more frequently.</p>\n\n<p>Either way, StackOverflow is so ubiquitous within the programming community that you probably don't need to qualify your claims of its popularity unless your paper is intended for non-programmers.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21295",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13102/"
] |
21,300 |
<p>Six years ago while I was working in a company outside academia, I had been involved in improving a process which was hot in academia. I have developed a new method which, among other notable advantages, improved all previous methods by deriving better results. Although some time passed, today it can still be considered as state of the art.</p>
<p>Despite I was not in academia, because of the quality of the results, I have managed to publish a paper about it in a top journal in that field. I hoped that the paper would get popular, and it would get cited many times, but today, after 4-5 years of being available, to my surprise, the work is still not cited. I see that new papers that come out and that are related, still refer to (lesser) methods, as though mine doesn't exist at all. As I am following the papers in that field, and despite a large number of related papers, I still don't see much improvement over my work, so it's pretty much current.</p>
<p>The paper uses proper keywords and wording (so it's easy to find), the journal is a good one (so people must have seen it), and it cites all other related papers (so I guess that relevant people in the field who have Google Scholar would be aware of it existence if they get notified of new citations). And still the paper didn't take off. The only reason I could think of is networking. Since at that time I was not in academia, I did not go to conferences to get the work (and my name) "advertised". But I refuse to believe that this was the critical factor.</p>
<p>The questions are: How to get cited and how to boost the impact of one's work? And did I do anything wrong?</p>
<p>I am now in my PhD, and I would like to learn how to boost the popularity of my upcoming papers.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21309,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I can see a few reasons why your paper was not cited as much as you hoped it to be:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Networking indeed <em>does</em> go a long way towards being cited. In my experience this is especially true for areas where many competing approaches are being published (which, by the sound of it, is true in your case). Even if your paper is published in a good venue, this alone does not guarantee that you will find a critical mass of readers to kickstart the process. Citations are in my experience somewhat viral. Google Scholar, which for better or for worse, is used by <em>many</em> researchers for searching for literature, returns results ordered more or less by citation count. Hence, papers with a few citations on them are <strong>much</strong> easier to find on Google Scholar than those with 0 citations. Hence, you need to \"bootstrap\" a bit before citations start coming in more or less by themselves. The best (ethical) way to do this is to network - tell other researchers that might be interested in your paper about it</li>\n<li>You should not per se exclude the possibility that you overestimate the value of your contribution. Maybe the things your approach was good at are not valued as highly by the other researchers. Maybe you underestimate the qualities of some papers that are cited over yours.</li>\n<li>Even if your paper <em>was</em> really good, maybe this was to hard to see at first glance. In an ideal world, every researcher would strive to fully grok each related paper. However, in the real world (especially in busy fields), you have to assume that a reader will at first only casually browse over your paper (and only really read it if it seems very strong to him at first glance). If your paper does not seem strong at first glance, people will not cite it.</li>\n<li>Maybe you are overestimating the value of the venue you published in. In many busy fields, papers published in a \"good\" venue (as opposed to \"the best there is\") already have a hard time getting cited. Further, check whether your paper is available with the standard subscriptions that most universities have (e.g., for CS that would be IEEE, Springer, ACM, ... depending on your field of course). There are some non-predatory publishers out there that are simply not available in the subscriptions of many libraries.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21310,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In many fields, the literature moves faster than most people can follow. A journal article can easily be missed. The chance of it being seen now that 5 years have passed is virtually none. </p>\n\n<p>The best way to get your work known in many fields is to get out there and personally evangelize it. Give talks at conferences, talk it up to colleagues, etc. Getting someone else to start using your method is key. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21311,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The first person who should cite your work is actually YOU. If you simply abandoned your work and you expected others to pick up on it, it mostly does not work this way, unless your work is really ground-breaking. When I search for something on a area I am interested in, it is easy to pick up papers with more citations (which you do not yet have) or authors who are more prolific in this area (which you are now not, since you only published this one paper). Also, people tend to be suspicious when they see \"amazing\" results, when they are not followed by further work on this area, since that might be some indication that those results were a bit \"fishy\" to begin with. In this sense, you are the one (at least initially) who should pick up your previous work, improve on it, compare with the newest methods and promote it. </p>\n\n<p>If you asked some years ago, I would not believe in networking either. But the fact is that it works. If you go to some conferences and talk to some of your 'favorite' authors (who are also your main competitors) ask about their published work, talk about your published work (but DO NOT reveal unpublished work), perhaps ask to share methods, do a polite follow-up email soon, you will see that most people respond positively, not because you are sucking up to them but because they see that their work has actual impact. In most of the cases, they also want to improve their methods and see \"the polite competition of today as the possible cooperator of tomorrow\". So, understand that networking is not just PR but as appreciation to what others and you can offer to the scientific community.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21313,
"author": "derelict",
"author_id": 14547,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14547",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd just like to add, even if your methods and results were real game-changers, you don't necessarily have a <em>good</em> paper. Writing skills are critical for increasing your citation count. You might consider looking closely at highly cited papers, and see what the authors did differently. As others have noted, networking has a big role too.. </p>\n\n<p><em>Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded</em> is a good resource. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21402,
"author": "bbarker",
"author_id": 14626,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14626",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If it is software related and there are no available source codes (or even executables at times!), or the code is very poor in ease of use, I will usually not cite it given an alternative.</p>\n\n<p>Another way to put this in more general terms: to what extent have you made it easy to reproduce your research?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21431,
"author": "user2379888",
"author_id": 9365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9365",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Go to conferences, give talks on your work, highlight unexplored questions, extensions and applications. Work gets cited when you convince other people there's something interesting to do, and they then write follow up papers.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21300",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13332/"
] |
21,301 |
<p>I am an undergraduate student wanting to transfer to another institution for undergraduate studies. I am a research assistant for a professor at an institution that I do not attend.</p>
<p>Would the university which I which to transfer to, accept the recommendation letter from this professor? Again, I have not taken any courses with this professor, nor go to the institution where he teaches.</p>
<p>Related (except for Graduate Admissions): <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21243/copied-letter-of-recommendation">Copied Letter of Recommendation?</a></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21305,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The general answer is: \"It depends on their rules regarding the admission process\". </p>\n\n<p>If they accept (or require) letters of recommendation, and they don't explicitely relate it to teaching relationships, they will take such recommendation letters into acount (and I personally would rate them even higher than a standard \"this guy has great grades\"-letter).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21306,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general. the criterion for a letter of recommendation is <strong>not</strong> \"someone whose course you've taken.__ In general, the letter of recommendation is supposed to be written by someone who knows you well, and can testify to your strengths and weaknesses. </p>\n\n<p>Unless there's a specific demand for a letter from someone who has taught you, you should not worry about the fact that your research advisor hasn't taught you. In principle, because a research advisor has worked more closely with you than a typical instructor would, your should expect to get a more useful letter from the research advisor, as OBu indicates. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21307,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The point of a letter of recommendation is for the receiving party to obtain third-party verification that you are, indeed, awesome. Generally speaking, people like to receive letters from individuals who know you well professionally. In most cases, teachers cannot write good letters, as they only know you as a face in the class, and never really got to know your work ethic, personality, and capabilities. A research advisor would be able to comment on all those things, and would be able to write a much stronger letter.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21301",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15599/"
] |
21,317 |
<p>I am planning to attend a college that requires students to live on campus, in a coed setting. As an observant Muslim, I cannot do that.</p>
<p>The college asked me to write a letter explaining why I cannot live on campus. I also have to explain why I can't eat the cafeteria food. </p>
<p>I'm asking how I should start the letter, and what I should say in the letter.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21319,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This kind of letter should typically be brief and straightforward. Unless they have told you specifically what should be in the letter, you can write:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>To whom it may concern:</p>\n<p>Please be advised that, as a Muslim, my religious observance precludes me from living on a coeducational campus. As per the advice of [<em>person or office who told you to write the letter</em>], I am writing this letter to request an exemption from the on-campus living policy.</p>\n<p>Thanks for your consideration,</p>\n<p>Nimbra</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If you want, you can also include contact information for a member of the clergy (i.e., a religious leader) who knows you and can vouch that you do, in fact, have such a requirement. (Sometimes this is required as a matter of policy; for example, those who cannot take the SAT on Saturday due to religious observance must provide a letter from clergy attesting to this.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21325,
"author": "mkennedy",
"author_id": 5711,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5711",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Because it is implied that the college you plan to attend doesn't have an existing form or requirements for exemptions, I suggest that you include more information rather than less. </p>\n\n<p>For an exemption from the on-campus housing requirement:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Briefly discuss the religious observations that are in conflict with living in a co-educational dormitory.</p></li>\n<li><p>Detail where you are going to live (parents, other family member), give the name, address, and contact information. If living by yourself, a letter from your parents or legal guardian about the situation. Do you have the money to do this? How do you plan to travel to the college? </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>For the exemption from a meal plan:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Again, briefly discuss the religious requirements that preclude\neating in the cafeteria. (The food service may be able to provide halal meals. If that's so, are there other reasons to ask for an exemption?)</p></li>\n<li><p>Detail what you will do instead (relative will provide food, cook for\nself, bring lunch, etc.).</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The residential and meal plan requirements are to foster relationships in the incoming class. Having the majority of incoming (at least) students on-campus also helps to ensure that they have safe places to live and food to eat. Give them reasons why they won't need to worry.</p>\n\n<p>I would also either offer to get a letter from a religious leader or just provide it outright.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 38991,
"author": "Oedhel Setren",
"author_id": 29481,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29481",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Start with explaining why its so important that you attend that college and not one that would be better suited for your beliefs (I'm assuming you desperately want to go to this college rather than going simply because its close to home.) Briefly and politely express what the issues are and why they are issues. Quote from the Quran if you need to. I would also ask a local Amam if they would write a letter explanation to further support your claims. As far as the cafeteria food, that is on you. An institution can not be expected to fulfill every dietary guideline of its students. Halal and kosher aside, dealing with allergies alone would limit the cuisine to gruel.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21317",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15604/"
] |
21,320 |
<p>After reading <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19362/is-it-ethical-for-advisors-to-automatically-coauthor-papers?rq=1">this</a> question and <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15005/publishing-paper-as-a-phd-student-without-advisors-name">this</a> I haven't find my answer.</p>
<p>My advisor hasn't contributed to my work and I know that my work isn't significant and it won't publish in top journals. But I want to publish it without my advisor's name in a conference.</p>
<p>So my question is not about <em>automatically coauthor my advisor</em> or <em>having high hopes on my individual work</em>.</p>
<p>The Problem arise from here. We have to enroll in some seminar classes before starting to work on our thesis.
In one of those classes our teacher said:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>"<em>No matter what you do, you have to enlist your advisor's name in your papers because unless it would considered as a work with no supervisor and it can not be trusted.</em>" </p></li>
<li><p>"<em>In interview we have for PhD students, if the person who is applying hasn't written the name of his suprevisor we doubt him. Either he is a genius or he is hiding something or he is <strong>too</strong> active in his field.</em>"</p></li>
<li><p>"<em>In some companies and research labs everyone add the name of their fundraiser to show him their gratitude, so should we.</em>".</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So based on what I heard I'm going to face serious problems if I publish my work individually as a student. The question is:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Apart from being unethical including a name of person who didn't contribute to work as a coauthor, does it have any academic weight? I mean, does it <strong>value</strong> my work if I say I did it alone or it does not have any different until coauthor isn't a student.</p></li>
<li><p>Is it true that I am going to be accused as a not genuine person if I don't add my advisor's name? Because our teacher told us that he and his colleagues don't consider these kind of submitted papers trustworthy and genuine, so don't look at them carefully and mostly reject them on sight.</p></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong>: Thank you all. I think my vision is more clear now. The right way is not the opposite of the wrong way. It means despite "spoon-fed" "a very distorted view", the right thing to do is not doing the opposite.</p>
<p>I decided to do my best to play as a team, because of its mentioned benefits, especially for my first paper. But if working as a team doesn't go well, there is no harm in solo publishing or getting some new advisers.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21321,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't think your problem is with your advisor. Your real problem is with teachers in classes who say things like:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <ul>\n <li><p>No matter what you do, you have to enlist your advisor's name in your\n papers because unless it would considered as a work with no supervisor\n and it can not be trusted.\"</p></li>\n <li><p>\"In interview we have for PhD students, if the person who is applying\n hasn't written the name of his suprevisor we doubt him. Either he is a\n genius or he is hiding something or he is too active in his field.\"</p></li>\n <li><p>\"In some companies and research labs everyone add the name of their\n fundraiser to show him their gratitude, so should we.\".</p></li>\n </ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In light of all the recent debate about whether we are too idealized and rosy in our views of academia, let me at least say this: </p>\n\n<p>Whether or not this is common practice in the areas you work in, the problem here is the rationale being used to justify author inclusion. In no way is the decision being made based on some notion of contribution by the advisor (either financial or moral, or in any form). It's being based purely on a notion of patronage or bias. </p>\n\n<p>The person making these claims has either a very distorted view of how authorship works, or is misleading new students in a terrible way. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21324,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Apart from being unethical including a name of person who didn't\n contribute to work as a coauthor, does it have any academic weight? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You use very strong words, but things are not black and white. You are a student and most likely you do not know how to write a good paper. Why not involve your supervisor in the writing process? You can write the original manuscript and he will make the final version, since he is more experienced than you. In that setting you are still first author, he does contribute and he is co-author, your paper has more chances to be published and everyone is happy.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it true that I am going to be accused as a not genuine person if I\n don't add my advisor's name?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You are exaggerating again. If your paper will be rejected it will most likely be because it is not good enough and not because of your name. There is always the possibility that someone with no previous experience is easier to get his paper rejected (I believe many reviewers do a Google search on the person they are reviewing) but that mostly applies to big conferences. For smaller conferences or workshops criteria are not that strict.</p>\n\n<p>But you have not thought the most critical factor. What if your paper gets accepted? Who will then pay for your conference registration and trip? Usually it is the advisor that provides such funding. If you submit it solo, you must do the entire process with the university bureaucracy alone and without support from some faculty member it will be much harder for the university to actually cover your expenses.</p>\n\n<p>So, although I disagree with some of the comments your seminar tried to spoon-feed you, in the long run it will be better to play as a team member. So, involve your supervisor, make him actually contribute on the notion that you will still be first author. This cooperation might even vastly improve your paper and then it might get accepted even in a top conference or journal. In this setting, you will have more to win than to lose. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21331,
"author": "A Jack",
"author_id": 15616,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15616",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In scientific publications, at least, \"author contribution\" statements are becoming more and more common. These statements list the exact contributions that each author on the paper made. A number of excellent examples are provided on this Nature blog post: <a href=\"http://blogs.nature.com/nautilus/2007/11/post_12.html\">http://blogs.nature.com/nautilus/2007/11/post_12.html</a></p>\n\n<p>If you included your supervisor as an author on the paper, providing such a statement would allow you to clarify the nature of your roles.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21355,
"author": "jwg",
"author_id": 5824,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5824",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, pretty much all the justifications your teacher gave to you are lies. This person is trying to encourage you to put your supervisors' names on your papers, but avoiding telling you that you have to do so because it is the rule.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, there are roughly three ways a paper can be written as a grad student. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The student does some work and publishes it, but the supervisor is responsible for lots of guidance, planning, editing, making sure the work gets done, suggesting the original question, helping to place the paper, etc. This is how almost everyone's first paper gets written. The supervisor will almost always be an author, and everyone accepts that this is fair. (However, I have known some generous supervisors who decline an author credit in such cases, since they regard what they did as part of supervising, and not a specific contribution to authoring the paper).</li>\n<li>The student and supervisor collaborate, similarly to how to colleagues would collaborate (but perhaps with the student doing more of the 'grunt work' and the supervisor making more of the decisions). Both are authors.</li>\n<li>The student does work independently, perhaps asking for some limited advice or proofreading. The supervisor should not be an author, but often is in practice. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Most people except the very gifted start off with the first type, and everyone except those who don't progress very far should have some of the latter two types by the end of a PhD.</p>\n\n<p>So if someone has only publications with their supervisor, it could be taken as meaning that they didn't do much independent work, but it could also be that they had to 'give credit' to their supervisor, or that they work in an area where most papers are collaborative. </p>\n\n<p>If someone has only publications without their supervisor, it might be seen as positive, but it could also be assumed that their supervisor was generous in not taking credit, therefore neutral. If you are known to be a genius, the fact that your early publications were on your own will be mentioned, but it won't prove that you are a genius if this isn't already accepted.</p>\n\n<p>The implied lack of credibility 'that your supervisor didn't approve of your work' would be a very strange reaction. It's only something you should worry about if there's some other reason you might come across as a maverick - for example all your papers are serious work about some topic beloved of conspiracy theorists, or you went straight into grad school from high school, etc. In these cases, you might want to make sure that some form of reflected legitimacy is evident.</p>\n\n<p>If some has a combination of supervisor-included and -not-included work, it would be seem as normal. </p>\n\n<p>In other words, no case is really a strong indicator of your strength. </p>\n\n<p>Your last problem is what you should do. Your teachers are behaving unethically, but your best option is probably to go along with it. Just make sure that you can justify your authorship of the papers you consider yours, if asked in an interview. If so, anyone who takes the time to do so will probably figure out what your supervisor's contribution was, and won't assume that you were playing the same game.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21359,
"author": "Floris",
"author_id": 15062,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15062",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It might be worth pointing out the existence of the <a href=\"http://www.research.mq.edu.au/about/research_@_macquarie/policies,_procedures_and_conduct/documents/Vancouver.pdf\">Vancouver Protocol</a> (first described by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, this is becoming more widely accepted). This protocol states </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to\n <br>1) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data; and\n to <br>2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important\n intellectual content; and on <br>3) final approval of the version to be\n published. <br>Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met. Participation\n solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does\n not justify authorship. <strong>General supervision of the research group is\n not sufficient for authorship.</strong> Any part of an article critical to its\n main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least one author.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is quite restrictive, and clearly discourages some of the attributions that your teachers appear to encourage.</p>\n\n<p>That said, it is important for a scientist at the start of his/her career to be very aware of the value of collaboration - working closely with your advisor (to the point where their contribution warrants co-authorship) is <em>quite likely</em> to improve the quality of your paper. If you believe it would not, then maybe you need to question your choice of advisor.</p>\n\n<p>It is no doubt true that a person with a good publications record carries more weight in their chosen field, and that their papers will be read more carefully and cited more frequently. Because of this it is often considered a good idea to start out in this mode.</p>\n\n<p>Personal note: in the 80s when I did my PhD, email wasn't yet a thing. My advisor was abroad for almost an entire year, and I did in fact independently write and publish a paper. The work in this paper was very good (I can say so in retrospect after more than 20 years), but I was a complete unknown - and it had incredibly narrow applicability. To this date, it has received just one citation. I still believe I was correct (given the circumstance) not to include my advisor's name on the paper, but it did nothing for my career (or the field). It would have been better if I had waited until he returned, discussed and improved the paper, and published jointly.</p>\n\n<p>There is a lot that an experienced person can do merit co-authorship - but you have to create the opportunity for them to do so.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21320",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13131/"
] |
21,322 |
<p>I am a B.Tech student in my final year, and am interested in publishing a paper. I have read a few articles in IEEE transactions and ACM transactions on my topic of interest, Software Engineering, and thought I can also produce such an idea. This semester I worked on a project under a professor in my institute, and I have written a paper based on my findings. My question is how can I judge the quality of the paper I have written? I want to find the perfect place to publish it, but don't want get demoralized by sending it to a top publisher and getting rejected. I should add that I don't think that my professor will be much help in determining the quality of the paper because I fear the professor knowledge is very old and outdated and doesn't have any idea of current research. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21327,
"author": "adipro",
"author_id": 10936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If your adviser is a coauthor, he has to agree with whether the paper is suitable for submission to a particular journal.</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise, you could judge the quality of your paper by comparing it with published papers in the journal you intend to submit your paper to. However, I recommend asking for other people's opinion about the paper; this would be people you know, who have had some publication experience. </p>\n\n<p>Is there an upcoming conference which you can submit your paper to? It is a good idea to submit the paper to a conference first. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 69309,
"author": "Kakoli Majumder",
"author_id": 9920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9920",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another idea would be to submit your manuscript to a pre-print repository and see if you get some comments on it. Of course, you should take into account the fact that not all journals publish works that have already been posted in a repository. Additionally, you could also send a pre-submission inquiry to some journal editors with a brief summary of your research. If an editor shows interest in your paper, you can then submit it to the journal.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21322",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15609/"
] |
21,326 |
<p>As pointed out by <a href="http://altmetrics.org/manifesto/">altmetrics</a>, “Peer-review has served scholarship well, but is beginning to show its age. It is slow, encourages conventionality, and fails to hold reviewers accountable.” </p>
<p>Not all publications are created equal. Neither are the statuses of their authors. However, senior authors in life sciences rarely publish in isolation, so some junior researcher’s neck is always on the line (one of the many catch 22’s in academic publishing, and one I hadn’t really thought about much before).</p>
<p>I realize this makes the question somewhat subjective, and I hope that a variety of answers can be supplied - but if your answer is similar to an existing one, perhaps a comment will serve - thank you!</p>
<p>Here is some more background on my question:</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273%2814%2900288-8?utm_content=buffer40653&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">excellent article</a> by Zen Faulkes, which doesn’t mention <a href="http://f1000research.com/">F1000Research</a> but does mention <a href="http://www.peerageofscience.org/proceedings/#banner">Proceedings of Peerage of Science</a> , suggests that the post-publication peer-review is unstandardized. It seems that F1000Research is trying to standardize the process within their journal, rather than relying on altmetrics. I think this is a reasonable approach: as a scientist whose job is partly to network with others, you can very likely get interested parties to review your paper (if not, then try one of the many journals supporting the traditional review method). Additionally, this publisher-centric peer review will probably attract more serious reviews; who wants to post a review on some random social networking site that few people will likely read? </p>
<p>If someone has strong negative feelings about your paper, then they can say so. Of course, there is a lack of anonymity on F1000Research. Oh dear, now we need to be polite (Faulkes also discusses this). I know it is a very difficult thing to be polite sometimes after multiple grants or papers have been rejected, but perhaps this is a step in the right direction.</p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, the reviewers may have to defend their assertions without the editor making a summary decision about whether or not the authors can reasonably address the reviewers concerns. I think this form of review removes much more bias than it introduces by keeping the conversation open. And I don’t think this means the review process will go on indefinitely; the authors no longer need satisfy every whim of the reviewers, but only those they deem important enough so that their colleagues will respect the merit and credibility of the study.</p>
<p>Turning to other forms of review: I also think it is unlikely that any single review model with always be best for all people and all publications.</p>
<p>For instance, one type of review process that would necessarily need to be pre-publication peer review is the double blind scheme, where neither reviewers nor authors are given any direct evidence of the other party’s identity. It seems that this would not only make things more fair, but also open up the reviewer pool to highly cited authors whose input is no doubt frequently valued but difficult to obtain in the traditional peer review process. Unfortunately <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_review#Different_styles_of_review">it does not seem to be at all prevalent in the sciences</a>, and I know of no journals supporting it.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21328,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How would I decide?</p>\n\n<p>Funding, Readership and Tenure.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Does the journal cost money to submit to, and if so, do I have any funding for said submission? Is there a means of waiving that fee if I don't have funding?</li>\n<li>Is the journal read by the people I want to read my paper? This I'd gauge by talking to my colleagues - for example, if no one in (hypothetically) infection control reads F1000Research, then I'm not publishing there, because the point of my paper is to be read and advance the field, and it can't do that if it isn't where relevant eyes will see it, whether or not the journal gets an ideological checkmark.</li>\n<li>Similar to readership, when this journal is looked at by a promotion committee etc., will it matter?</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The latter two are, in my mind, not yet settled, and that makes me a little hesitant - bold ideological stands are for people who aren't on the job market. Beyond that, I think the primary problem with post-pub peer review is that I'm not convinced it will be at all uniformly distributed. My suspicion is that a few prominent papers will be heavily reviewed, and then the rest will have either middling, or no reviews beyond what is mandated by the journal. I'm also not convinced it's a terribly fair system - it's relatively easy to attack a post-doc or doctoral student's work, while you might hesitate to do so for Important Person In Your Field, and similarly, said Important Person may be able to be fairly rude with impunity, especially if the journals aren't terribly well known.</p>\n\n<p>For what it's worth, several major journals in my field are double-blinded. I have no idea who the authors are, there are actually instructions to remove clearly identifiable information (change \"Brigham-Women's Hospital\" to \"A major regional hospital in the Northeast United States\", etc.) in the manuscript, and the reviews are anonymous unless signed.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21329,
"author": "Peteris",
"author_id": 10730,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10730",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Subjectively, I'd say that there are two main criteria on deciding where (and if) to publish some piece of research.</p>\n\n<p><strong>1. Does that publication \"count\"?</strong> </p>\n\n<p>There tend to be specific criteria set by funding agencies, promotion committees or other organizations that separate 'proper' publications from worthless ones. Clearly, there must be some criteria, as the world is full of places that would publish anything, and counting everything equally is a worse option than most completely arbitrary criteria. For some areas the split might be journals vs conferences/etc; for some places the criteria might be [lack of] peer review; for my purposes the criteria is indexing in Web of science or SCOPUS.</p>\n\n<p><strong>2. Would that publication be read by the people I want?</strong> </p>\n\n<p>When academic goals involve 'advertising' a particular approach and influencing the subfield, it doesn't matter how if it's reviewed (if at all), but it matters on how well it reaches the target audience. For that purposes the best option might be, say, a short talk at some seminar which is well attended by the relevant group; which could have more impact than an article at a prestigious journal, and has the benefit of being quicker than the traditional review process.</p>\n\n<p>Depending on ones particular goals, either of those goals may strongly dominate the other; however, if none of them are well met, it makes no sense to publish (at that venue) at all.</p>\n\n<p>For me, it seems that any new or alternative approach is very unlikely to be useful for publishing. Alternative approaches by definition don't match the classic, estabilished ways of publishing (goal #1); and any new publication, unless estabilished by scientists in my particular narrow research area for their own needs, is unlikely to reach them (goal #2) better as any other venue , even the trivial option on simply putting it up on your own or organization webpage.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21326",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14626/"
] |
21,338 |
<p>The statements of</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Applicants who are invited to campus for interviews must be able to show proof that they will be eligible and qualified to work in the United States by the time of hire."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>is almost associated with every open academic positions in US and I am wondering what does this statement clearly mean?</p>
<p>As far as I know, academic positions in US are opened to the scientifically eligible candidates worldwide, but receiving US work permit requires a sponsor (employer) inside US who should initiate visa application.</p>
<p><strong>My 1st question:</strong> Does this sentence show unwillingness of the employer (university in this case) to support applicants' visa application? Does this position only open to those residing in US? or work permit holders?</p>
<p>From the immigration website, I learnt that there are some costs for the employer who is offering job to an outsider. But, universities are exempted from paying the biggest chunk ($1500).</p>
<p><strong>My 2nd question:</strong> Considering low visa petition cost, what else is the problem that US-based universities are hesitant to hire such candidates.</p>
<p><strong>My 3rd question:</strong> Is faculty selection in US-based universities based on candidate's merit or there are other parameters when selecting them.</p>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong> I think the email received from UW can be of help to get better idea of the situation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dear XYZ,</p>
<p>When completing your application for employment at the University of Washington you were asked to complete the US Work Authorization Assessment. The second question asked was:</p>
<p>To legally work in the United States, will you require University of Washington sponsorship for an H1-B, other UW sponsored visa, or UW sponsored green card now or in the future?</p>
<p>You responded yes, that you would need sponsorship, either now or in the future. <strong>As a result you are not eligible for employment in staff positions at the University</strong>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I emailed to HR of UW for clarification with this note:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Does UW consider only those foreigners for staff position who are currently having work permit in US? Those who are willing to obtain work permit based on the UW job offer are ineligible to work in UW?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>UW Reply</strong> (Though I think the reply is by a robot):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, the UW does not provide sponsorship for Green Cards( or HB-1 visas, or any other type of work authorization requiring sponsorship.) for staff positions.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p><strong>EDIT 2:</strong> Though my question is about academic staff position, about university of washington, I applied for research scientist. Here is the <a href="http://escience.washington.edu/what-we-do/data-science-research-positions-university-washington" rel="noreferrer">link</a> to the job opening.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21340,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My suspicion is that this phrase is primarily to cover the university legally in case the person hired in fact does <strong>not</strong> have the eligibility to work in the US. In such a case, without this clause, the person could make the argument that the university is in breach of contract for not hiring them and doing whatever is necessary in order to make them eligible. <strong>But IANAL</strong> !</p>\n\n<p>In general I'd imagine only very small universities or places with limited resources would have trouble sponsoring a candidate for an H1-B. Certainly not a university like UW. Most universities are quite willing and able to sponsor new applicants for H1Bs and green cards. </p>\n\n<p>The correct interpretation here is I think as is mentioned in the comments: the candidate should be <strong>eligible</strong> to work in that they <strong>can</strong> get an H1B visa. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21367,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Preamble: What they are trying to do here is protect themselves from a lawsuit later on. In the application for an H1B, the employer must prove that there was no American citizen who was qualified for the position that is being sponsored (c.f. <a href=\"http://www.immihelp.com/gc/employment/labor/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.immihelp.com/gc/employment/labor/</a>). </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Perhaps. Most employers will sponsor the H1B at the very least -- and the larger universities and colleges will even pay for the legal and application fees if they want you. But they have to advertise the positions for Americans (and legal residents first) and if the search results in only one person (YOU!) who is able to fill the position, then (gee shucks) they will sponsor you for the H1B.</p></li>\n<li><p>The law. See preamble. The cost including the lawyer can go up to around $10,000. If it's just a short-term position why spend the money and do the paperwork (an H1B filing can easily be hundreds of pages of filings)? Also H1Bs are tricky. <strike>If you apply late when the pool runs out, you may not get one regardless of how qualified the candidate is.</strike> H1B applications have been known to get held up for all sorts of reasons by the State Department or the DoL. So it's often safer to go with a legal candidate.</p></li>\n<li><p>Depends on the location. While it would be nice to think that merit is the only factor, we all know (or at least suspect) that there are other factors including the all amorphous \"collegiality\". If there are two candidates of equal worth but one candidate will require literally 3 inches of paperwork filed to the Department of Labor and there's uncertainty as to whether he/she can start work in August if the process gets delayed, then what would be the rational choice? </p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p><em>Edit: H1Bs are not subject to caps (<a href=\"http://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/h-1b_faqs#10\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/h-1b_faqs#10</a>). I'm not sure if this is a new thing as I can vaguely remember caps in the distant past... but at least there aren't any now.</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21414,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on what you've written so far, here is my interpretation of the situation:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>at some point, the university sets a blanket ban on sponsoring visas for \"staff positions\" (this is standard terminology for \"not faculty positions\"). This is not so unreasonable; you can understand why it would seem like a waste of money to sponsor a secretary or a janitor for a visa.</li>\n<li>at some later point, the position you're applying for is created. There are a lot of complicated negotiations that go into creating such a position. This particular one involves 3 universities and 2 private foundations, so I'm sure it was very tricky to set them up. For some reason, the position is classified as \"staff.\" The line between \"staff\" and \"faculty\" is not 100% clean-cut (for example, librarians can be on one side or another, depending on the institution). I can only guess at what advantage this had (it seems likely there was one, though you should never completely count out the possibility of a straight-up mistake). </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>And, voilà! I would bet a reasonable sum of money that the people \"on the ground\" running this program are unhappy with the situation, and would like nothing more than to make decisions without considering immigration status, but these things can be pretty complicated. Universities are big institutions, and it can often be very hard to change these sorts of things. The money they would spend on lawyers for visas has to come from somewhere, and it's possible it's just not there.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/23
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21338",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6393/"
] |
21,341 |
<p>At the end of a recent lengthy meeting with my supervisor, in preparation for my end of year GRC (Graduate Research Committee) meeting, I asked about if I would be able to contact them during the summer holiday period in relation to my research.</p>
<p>Background is that I am a History Masters research student and as I'm completing it part-time I'll be doing as much work during the summer months (maybe even more as one of my major visits to archives is during this period) as during the academic year.</p>
<p>My supervisor was open to me emailing him during the summer and submitting any written work I may have completed. As it was we were finishing the meeting we did not elaborate on exact details. In my own case this will suffice as I am working on my project on my own with my supervisor. </p>
<p>While I just asked if I could keep in contact with my supervisor and that's probably the best thing to do in most cases, I am interested is it reasonable to request that you can have access to an advisor/supervisor during summer time (either by email or face to face)?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21342,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Supervisors are employees just like everyone else. They have duties (to supervise you), and they have vacations and business trips. Both vacations and business trips (conferences, field trips, probably archive work in your line) will be more common during summer. Specifically for academia, many people will use summer to spend more time working from home while they don't have to give lectures, but they may designate certain days when they are in the office, specifically to meet with everyone on a single day.</p>\n\n<p>That said, I see no reason whatsoever why email contact should decrease during summer, of course except for known vacation or trip periods, where everyone can agree that emails may take a little longer to be answered.</p>\n\n<p>Face-to-face contact is also important, but given that many people will spend more time at home, there is a case to be made that you may not meet <em>quite</em> as frequently with your advisor during summer, even after accounting for vacations/trips.</p>\n\n<p>Nevertheless, I see no reason why a request for email contact and (possibly somewhat less frequent) face-to-face meetings should be unreasonable. It would of course be optimal to work out a schedule before summer, taking vacations etc. into account. \"I'll check in every day with a short email, and I understand if you reply later to email questions. Could we set up at least some face-to-face meetings, perhaps not every week as during the semester, but every other week, except for the week you are at a conference?\"</p>\n\n<p>After all, your supervisor will be just as interested in hearing from you and knowing that you don't spend all of summer at the beach...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21344,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The question is perhaps not whether to contact or not. You can send mails as much as you want and you may expect variations in the timing of a response. What, IS important is to communicate and organize work so that you optimize the time. There is no point in arranging your own work so that you definitely would need help when you simply cannot get it.</p>\n\n<p>As for what you can expect, some of the answer lies in the employment conditions which will vary between universities and certainly between countries. In some cases university employees are not salaried during summer. In cases they cover this by applying for research money. It is clear that the focus will then be on other things. In other cases payment also cover summer and instead vacation is planned for some of that time. So, you need to know what the system is like in your part of Academia and expectations made up based on that.</p>\n\n<p>In the end, I see it mostly as a communication issue. To just expect without actually finding out is not a good strategy.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21346,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is our job to be available to our students!</p>\n\n<p>I'll be gone for half the summer, and the half I'm in town I will be working from home. My students shouldn't expect to just look for me in my office and find me, but I will be very receptive to coming in and meeting as long as I am in town, and corresponding by e-mail otherwise. I suspect this scenario is reasonably typical. </p>\n\n<p>\"Expect\" is a little bit of a dangerous word; I advise you to replace it with \"ask for\". Take the initiative in requesting meetings, asking questions, and the like. Don't overdo it --- but other people aren't shy about asking for your advisor's attention, I urge you not to be either :) Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 48230,
"author": "stressedout",
"author_id": 36682,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/36682",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's reasonable to email him and stay in contact that way. You're still working/researching and you need support from him. \nWhat would not be reasonable is to expect immediate (ie, within 24 hours) replies. \nIf throughout the summer, he responds fairly quickly, and you feel that meeting in person would be beneficial to you, then ask.</p>\n\n<p>However, keep in mind that he is probably planning on doing his own research during the summer as well and also is likely not getting paid to advise you during the summer. That doesn't mean you can't send him questions. It just means that the frequency of your emails should probably decrease during the summer.</p>\n\n<p>I would also suggest that at some point during the summer (maybe after your trip to the archives) that you rest and relax. If you keep up a continual level of work and stress, sometimes one can't see a perspective on the work or the work becomes less interesting. I'm not recommending not studying, just make sure that you take care of yourself. Limiting how much you email your supervisor will likely also help with this.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/23
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21341",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454/"
] |
21,345 |
<p>I need some advice. After several months of interviews and work, I secured a faculty position at a good business school, which was a relief since jobs are so hard to get around here. Everyone tells me I'm lucky to get such a good job since I'm coming right out of grad school.</p>
<p>It's been about two months since I took the job, and I've started to receive teaching allocations etc for the coming semester. I should be really excited and happy about all of this, but instead, every time I think about starting this new job, instead of excitement I just feel awful: afraid, nervous, like I'm making a huge mistake and I want to cry. I can't figure out why. I feel like I'm supposed to want this and I just don't feel positive about it. I worked so so hard to earn it but now it doesn't feel like a prize. I just have this overwhelming sense that I'm going to be absolutely miserable. I don't know if it's just about the B-school thing, or academia in general, or just because I'm nervous about being a real adult for the first time, or because I know people who have had a hard time with teaching etc, but I'm confused that I can't tell these apart.</p>
<p>Am I naive for thinking that I should be excited and overjoyed about this job? Does it mean I'm a normal academic that I feel dread, or a terrible academic that I don't see it as an opportunity (besides the great salary)? Does it just make me a privileged a-hole that I'm expecting to feel joy but I don't? I would appreciate any words of advice, your experience with before job jitters/dread and whether it gets better or whether I may be making a huge mistake? So confused!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21347,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's perfectly normal to feel the way you do. Part of it is likely fear of the unknown; part is fear of a new job with \"adult\" responsibilities; part of it might even be fear about whether you can do the job (the infamous Imposter Syndrome). Transitions are always a stressful time, and I don't think we give ourselves enough time to adjust. </p>\n\n<p>This also reminds me of a survey that discovered that people who just got tenure are the unhappiest of all faculty. The similarity is in the striving for a prize that's difficult to get, and then getting it ! In both cases, there's an element of letdown, and \"I did all this work for THIS ?\" </p>\n\n<p>One technique that I've found useful when dealing with these kinds of feelings is to try and focus on the concrete rather than the bigger picture: in your case, maybe focusing on logistics issues related to the transition rather than the bigger picture. </p>\n\n<p>I've also found as a rule of thumb (both personally and with others) that it can take upto 6 months to feel some level of comfort in a new position. That's a long time. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21358,
"author": "Sverre",
"author_id": 11053,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11053",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When I was in grad school, I worked as a resident advisor in the grad student dorms, and a big chunk of my job was to be there for other graduate students when they needed help or someone to talk to. My supervisor taught me to ask \"What are your concerns?\" when people came to me to express that they were afraid or nervous about something. I was quite amazed to see how often that calmed them down, because it turned out that they rarely actually had any specific concerns. It's not that they actually believed that certain specific bad things would happen to them, they were just nervous about being in situations they were not familiar or comfortable with.</p>\n\n<p>I'm saying this because I note that you don't mention any specific concern in your post. Instead I read the familiar vague feeling of being \"afraid, nervous, like I'm making a huge mistake and I want to cry\". So I want you to think about this question: \"What are your concerns?\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21375,
"author": "user15677",
"author_id": 15677,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15677",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Ok...</p>\n\n<p>It may help you to know that</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Women are much more prone to this sort of feeling than men <em>for no competence related reason at all.</em> It's just that society had conditioned you more to doubt yourself, to try to be perfect, and generally to introvert more - which is often a good thing, but not in this particular case.</p></li>\n<li><p>Competent people are much more likely to worry about their competence than incompetent ones: <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect</a></p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Both these things are irrational! Accept that you feel this way and then say: <em>\"So what? Frak it, I'm going to get up there and teach. I may not be perfect, but I'm going to make a solid plan and follow it, so rationally, nothing can go too far wrong. The students aren't idiots: if I miss something important, one of them will ask, and that will cue me to tell the others. This isn't landing a 747 or performing neurosurgery - there are plenty of opportunities to recover from my mistakes. Voices in my head, shut up already!\"</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21383,
"author": "Evgeni Sergeev",
"author_id": 14516,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14516",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Is this step on the critical path towards your long-term goals? It's good to think 20 years ahead. If you stay on this track, in 20 years' time you will be senior faculty, have N students, M publications, P dollars, H ideas for publications, non-quantifiable collaborations and disagreements with most international colleagues working in your sub-sub-field. Is this enough? Imagine this is now. Is this the best possible outcome for you? Most likely yes, because it is so for the majority. Then focus on the fact that you are on the right track.</p>\n\n<p>If your dream is different or more specific, but it's necessary to have a faculty position for it, then keep working hard! Working hard is the only way to enjoy living to 100%!</p>\n\n<p>Otherwise, revise your plan. Do you want two incompatible things? Then one has to give way. Don't let the path of least resistance dictate where you go. You are in control of your life, and this aspect was hard-earned by many generations of people who weren't, so don't throw it away too easily. Also, nobody really deeply cares about what steps you take to reach your goals, except you, so don't let the perceived 'opinion of others' dictate what path you take. However, the bigger the decision, the longer the cooling-off period before committing to it!</p>\n\n<p>My best guess is that it is the reluctance people get when they are just about to spend a lot of energy on something. That should wear off over a few weeks after you dive in.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21392,
"author": "Zane",
"author_id": 11139,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11139",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Skunkness, I hope you found the other answers helpful.</p>\n\n<p>Do be honest, I do not find it normal that you feel like this at this point of time. And I think that one reason that you ask the question here is that you do not find it normal yourself.</p>\n\n<p>In change management theory, I have learned that the first phase of a new challenge is normally excitement, even euphoria. The down phase comes some time after you started the new job, the moment when you find that - even if it was a really good choice you made - there are drawbacks, there's routine that you don't like and that there's a lot of work you still need to do before you really become excellent at the new job.</p>\n\n<p>And it happens like this most of the time - I speak from personal experience, as well as watching other people on new assignments.</p>\n\n<p>But that doesn't mean it must be like this. Still people are different.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know if maybe women are different from men here, but I must admit that I immediately thought that you were female. And again sorry to say for all those who claimed gender has nothing to do with this problem: men and women are quite different in job behavior. I have supervised a lot of males and females, and there is a clear pattern: while men tend to overestimate their achievements, women underestimate them - cliche yes, but statistically true. </p>\n\n<p>So maybe user15677 is quite correct with comment 1, and (s)he has made quite a point that it has nothing to do with your achievements and qualifications. </p>\n\n<p>If user15677 is right, then you should not worry too much. This phase will pass. Look to cheer you up with something, pamper yourself a bit. Develop some routine you like - simple things like seeing where to get the best coffee at your new job, or maybe there's a nice place to take a stroll after lunch.</p>\n\n<p>However, your current state could point to the fact that you are unhappy for some reason with your decision. I think you should ask yourself the following: are your feelings mostly connected with yourself? Then see this as a passing phase. You've done well, you have the job you wanted, and you are just a little exhausted. </p>\n\n<p>If you find that these feelings are connected to certain details of the new job, then find out how you can improve these things.</p>\n\n<p>Most important: you have a hard time behind you. You need some rest. Take your time now. Even if you find out that you made a bad choice - now is the time to collect energy. If you need to change your decision, give yourself some time first,</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 61095,
"author": "Daniel R. Collins",
"author_id": 43544,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43544",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I felt the same way when I was offered a full-time lecturer position. Get this -- it was even at an institution where I'd already been teaching for a decade, knew everyone involved, already taught all the same classes, was roundly supported by everyone in the department, and where I consistently said to everyone that I loved teaching there. I knew it was crazy, but I was totally morose for a few weeks in the summer before starting the new job title. </p>\n\n<p>Here's the best I can process that: You're making a big life change, and one opportunity is being pursued, and some other possibilities are being left behind. It's probably natural (for some of us) to have a period of grieving. We're not kids anymore and one part of our life is behind us, with other parts now in better focus ahead. </p>\n\n<p>So at least in my case, after the \"wake\" period, I've been finding my new position spectacularly better than before. The new things and added responsibilities and contacts are some things I've been missing out on for years, and the more I do the better it gets all the time. Of course, none of us are completely locked into any job permanently; if it turns sour for any of us we can look elsewhere and make a change. Judging on overall emotional trajectory, I would hope and bet that you'll have a great experience ahead of you; if you care enough to feel any emotion over it at all, then likely that's a sign you'll be a caring, sensitive, and successful teacher. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/23
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21345",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12347/"
] |
21,350 |
<p>I received a request to contribute a book chapter about a month ago, which I turned down. This was from a university in another country, and from someone I have personally met.</p>
<p>Today, my own supervisor asked me to contribute a similar chapter to a book which she has been asked to be an editor of.</p>
<p>Given that the two requests happened in a relatively short time, and the reason I gave for declining the former request might still stand, would there be a problem if I accept the latter request, when I have declined the former? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21361,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is not an ethical issue at all. You are free to contribute to whatever book / project you like. There is no obligation that you can't join a different book project just because you turned somebody else down before.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21362,
"author": "J. Zimmerman",
"author_id": 7921,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7921",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As xLeitix said, you are free to contribute to whichever project(s) you choose. Declining once does not obligate you to decline twice. </p>\n\n<p>You commented that you have chosen to decline the first offer because of not having enough time. This second offer is coming from your supervisor, who presumably knows your work better, and should have a sense of what you may already have written which will need relatively little revising to become a book chapter. If this is the case, then even if the issue should somehow come up with the individuals involved in the first offer, it will easily be understood that the situation is different. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/23
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21350",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936/"
] |
21,353 |
<p>I'd like to download automatically tons of papers listed on .bib file so I'm trying to find a way to facilitate the process by, e.g. I import or input to a tool a certain .bib file which contains a list of literature, the output is the literature's .pdf file. Any idea to do so?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21405,
"author": "bbarker",
"author_id": 14626,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14626",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Mendeley can do this, though for non open access articles, you will get at most the abstract. Also, there's no guarantee on automatically getting pdfs, as this depends on user uploads.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 26993,
"author": "andreas",
"author_id": 20529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20529",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>BibTeX is usually a very heterogeneous source of bibliographic references. URLs can be stored in several fields like 'url', 'howpublished', or 'citeulike-linkout-0', 'citeulike-linkout-1'... 'citeulike-linkout-n'. Moreover, some entries have a DOI, arXiv ID, PubMed ID or PMC ID and some don't.</p>\n\n<p>As a developer of Paperpile I had the pleasure to dig into this over the last years, and there is no easy solution to a problem like this, but I think Paperpile comes close to a 'least effort' solution for the user. Let me explain\nhow you can handle such a task with Paperpile.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Simply upload the BibTeX file to Paperpile</li>\n<li>Paperpile will automatically match the uploaded references against databases like PubMed or Google Scholar to get better bibliographic information. The key point here is that it will retrieve DOIs which point to the website of the article at the publisher.</li>\n<li>You can then trigger automatic download of the PDF of these articles</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>The nice side effect is that you will have an updated bibliography with many of the articles being up to date and having the abstract. Of course, you can also export your references then again as BibTeX.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27020,
"author": "Geremia",
"author_id": 9425,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"http://zotero.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Zotero</a> can import many formats, including *.bib.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27022,
"author": "Greg",
"author_id": 14755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14755",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You may don't like this answer but automatic download is explicitly forbidden by many publishers and can result in the ban of labs/campus access to the journals of the publisher. Such automatic download can made by e.g. EndNote (actually, it does it automatically in some settings), and done by some students in our lab - as a result, a bunch of IP addresses get blocked.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 108360,
"author": "Dr Krishnakumar Gopalakrishnan",
"author_id": 82777,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/82777",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In contrast to the freemium/proprietary tool suggested in the answer by andreas, I propose a FOSS solution that works reliably for this specific task.</p>\n\n<p>Assuming you are connected to a network that provides permissions to legally download the required content, the cross-platform reference manager,<code>JabRef</code> has integrated fetchers to download full-texts for the entries in your library. Import your <code>bib</code> file into Jabref (maybe just start a new library for this task to keep things clean) and select the desired number of entries for which full-text PDFs are needed. Then, from the <code>Quality</code> pull-down menu, select <code>Lookup Fulltext documents</code>.</p>\n\n<p>However, you still have to manually confirm all downloads. From the user's perspective, this requires just a bunch of clicking the <code>OK</code> button in the same on-screen co-ordinate (for pop-ups that appears sequentially for each citation entry). Jabref does all the heavy-lifting and correctly downloads the desired PDFs of the full-text and link each of them appropriately by matching to their relevant citation entry in the library.</p>\n\n<p>The latest <a href=\"https://builds.jabref.org/master/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">master build</a> of Jabref is recommended, since there were some <a href=\"https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/3966\" rel=\"noreferrer\">recent fixes</a> to its IEEE fetcher (i.e. if IEEE matters to the OP).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 143162,
"author": "Doughnut",
"author_id": 118580,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118580",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some of these answers are overtly incorrect. OpenURL is a publisher endorsed standard (amongst others, such as DOI), that was built to facilitate exactly this. There are subscription models which most universities sign up to for this. The issue around Schwartz and Scihub etc. is linked but it is possible to legitimately download many articles in an academic bibliography in a batch/automated fashion. Endnote is a commercial tool that specifically has a function which involves downloading full text, as an example.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 175838,
"author": "Néstor Waldyd",
"author_id": 132873,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/132873",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have taken the script developed by Janik Vonrotz (<a href=\"https://janikvonrotz.ch/2020/05/07/bulk-download-papers-from-scihub-for-text-mining/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://janikvonrotz.ch/2020/05/07/bulk-download-papers-from-scihub-for-text-mining/</a>) and updated it:</p>\n<pre><code>urlencode() {\n # urlencode <string>\n old_lc_collate=$LC_COLLATE\n LC_COLLATE=C\n\n local length="${#1}"\n for (( i = 0; i < length; i++ )); do\n local c="${1:i:1}"\n case $c in\n [a-zA-Z0-9.~_-]) printf "$c" ;;\n " ") printf "+";;\n *) printf '%%%02X' "'$c" ;;\n esac\n done\n\n LC_COLLATE=$old_lc_collate\n}\n\nreadarray list < ./doi-list.txt \nfor doi in "${list[@]}"\ndo\n echo "Download for term: ${doi}"\n echo "$(urlencode "${doi}")"\n link=$(curl -s -L 'https://sci-hub.se/' --compressed \\\n -H 'authority: sci-hub.se' \\\n -H 'accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/avif,image/webp,image/apng,*/*;q=0.8,application/signed-exchange;v=b3;q=0.9' \\\n -H 'accept-language: en-US,en;q=0.9,es-CO;q=0.8,es;q=0.7' \\\n -H 'cache-control: max-age=0' \\\n -H 'content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \\\n -H 'cookie: __ddg1=BtxiJLnNZJLBkABn4hpt; session=97bea0eea9e31566256d52c73ff7f0c8; refresh=1632424058.9403; __ddgid=ZhCUNBqgvzZw8NyO; __ddgmark=fwbZCB5monJGgo14; __ddg2=xmUHEIajmbeImx4L' \\\n -H 'origin: https://sci-hub.se' \\\n -H 'referer: https://sci-hub.se/' \\\n -H 'sec-ch-ua: " Not A;Brand";v="99", "Chromium";v="92", "Opera";v="78"' \\\n -H 'sec-ch-ua-mobile: ?0' \\\n -H 'sec-fetch-dest: document' \\\n -H 'sec-fetch-mode: navigate' \\\n -H 'sec-fetch-site: same-origin' \\\n -H 'sec-fetch-user: ?1' \\\n -H 'upgrade-insecure-requests: 1' \\\n -H 'user-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/92.0.4515.159 Safari/537.36 OPR/78.0.4093.231' \\\n --data-raw "sci-hub-plugin-check=&request=$(urlencode "${doi}")". | grep -oP "(?<=//).+(?=#)")\n\n echo "Found link: $link"\n cd ./Downloads/papers/textmining && { curl -s -L $link -O ; cd -; }\ndone\n</code></pre>\n<p>This version accepts one URL (BibTeX URL field), PMI/DOI, or search string (BibTeX title field) per line in the input file</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/23
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21353",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15096/"
] |
21,364 |
<p>My MSc thesis work in Computer Science involves developing a software solution for a particular problem for which already exist several solutions, in particular commercial software. I know I can't ignore them in my work and have to cite them, but I have no access to them, so I can't perform any comparisons to prove that my work will actually contribute to research in this field, rather than simply being another software program trying to deal with the problem. </p>
<p>What's the best approach in this case? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21847,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It's my experience that software companies attempt to secure intellectual property rights for their codes in the form of patents. This is especially true in the United States. You could attempt to find information about the subject matter that you are interested in using the publicly available US Patent and Trademark Office portal, PAIR. </p>\n\n<p>A search on a company name - as applicant, or keywords in the title or abstract might get you somewhere. If you are successful, you will not - necessarily - find code. What you might get is an outline of how the patent's subject matter fits into the existing state-of-the-art. In this way, you can map out what these commercial vendors' software does and if your work will extend the subject.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21866,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you want to shoot high, read their advertisement. If they want people to buy their stuff, they probably say something like <code>Recovered 78% of the data after feeding the hard drive to a white shark</code>. Note that this benchmark will be done in the best possible conditions for their specific algorithms, but will give you a nice high target. If you get anywhere close, awesome! If you beat them, tell them to hire you!</p>\n\n<p>If this is not available, you may email the company and ask them for a benchmark or some sort of quality assurance.</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, to state the obvious: have you tried to search for \"[name of the program] benchmark\"? Maybe someone with a licence has done it and posted it online or on a research paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21364",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15666/"
] |
21,365 |
<p>As part of my work as a graduate student in maths I currently teach a basic second semester calculus course. It seems like every semester I teach, one or two students want some sort of special privilege to turn in homework late for a month or take a test a week after they are supposed to. Many times they have somewhat legitimate reasons (documented depression, getting a divorce, wife having surgery.....). How should I handle these cases? I am not big into putting up with lots of late homework or late tests, but then again I would want someone to be lenient with me if things such as the parenthetical reasons above arose in my life. </p>
<p>How should I handle students with such situations? Should I write them off and just feed them to the dogs or should I allow them to catch up at their own pace? My honest opinion is that school is a sort of competitive game (Bad, yes, I know) and if they lose they lose. We do not shorten the football pitch because some club's striker is not a good runner. However, I think students should be allowed to have a chance to make things right. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21369,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is really up to you. You can be very strict and demanding or a total pushover. It's best to calibrate yourself against others in your department (or college) as there is usually some sort of rough standard / aka departmental culture. </p>\n\n<p>Personally I have better things to do than to police students but other colleagues seem to relish this task.</p>\n\n<p>What you shouldn't do is ever view your own \"Rate My Professor\" webpage [as you will despair for the minds and souls of your students].</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21372,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If people have a legitimate reason for wanting an extension of the deadline, I would simply give them the extension. If they cannot provide a good reason, i.e. they simply procrastinated too much, they have to take responsibility for their behavior, and they do not get the extension. </p>\n\n<p>This has nothing to do with being a hard-ass, but being fair. Other people have done the work, and giving people that procrastinated an extension is not fair to them. In addition, getting work done that you where assigned (even if it is hard or boring) is a valuable lesson to teach a student. Their future boss will also not be sensitive to a missed deadline because of procrastination.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21434,
"author": "fedja",
"author_id": 6118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I usually create a few safeguards like telling everyone from the beginning that only the best 10 out of the 13 quizzes will count towards the grade (so you can just miss 3 and still get the full score), that I will average 2 other midterms if one midterm exam was missed for a good reason, and that everybody who aces the final (>95%) gets a decent grade even if he has performed poorly during the semester (this can be implemented in many ways). After that I allow no make-ups except for the time conflict on the final exam (this is out of my hands anyway and is governed by the general university policies). </p>\n\n<p>The point is that I allow the students to take some time off without any effect on the grade, so if they encounter some temporary problem during the semester, they can easily compensate for it by doing well the rest of the time without any special arrangements or (sometimes awkward) explanations. On the other hand, if somebody tells me that his grandmother died on the date of the first midterm, his girlfriend left him on the date of the second, and he was hit by a car when coming to take the third, then I just suggest that he sort out his personal life before enrolling into the course. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21435,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 12693,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12693",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I penalize late work <strong>very</strong> strongly: 2 marks out of 10 for each day late. This is to prevent a cascade of lateness from assignment to assignment. However that is for folks with no reason who just didn't get it done on time. When someone wants an extension, to write the midterm or final on a different day, or to have the marking scheme changed, and proffers me some reason for it like the ones you mentioned, <strong>I send them to Special Needs</strong> aka Student Services aka Disability Services etc.</p>\n\n<p>Why? They are trained on this stuff. They know when to ask for a doctor's note and how to evaluate one. They can think of more creative solutions than just having more time. They know when someone is \"playing you\" and when they need help. That's their job and they're way better at it than I am. <strong>When they direct me to accommodate, I do</strong> with no qualms at all. I have been so directed for both physical and mental or emotional reasons.</p>\n\n<p>We have a fair number of students ask to write a final early to accommodate a plane ticket they bought long in advance. I defer these to the departmental secretary, who knows all the students and their history. If she's willing to supervise you writing it, I'll compose a special one for you. If not, too bad.</p>\n\n<p>This helps me, as an adjunct, because I don't know the students super well. I believe it also results in decisions that are fairer both to the student with a problem and the rest of the class. I have never had a complaint about this approach in the 12 years or so I've been doing it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21365",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14518/"
] |
21,366 |
<p>We submitted a paper to a journal published by Cambridge Press. The paper was submitted last year (2013). After five months we got the decision yesterday. We don't mind the decision, however, we are shocked by the editorial comments that although they have the reports they don't relay the reports to the author/s for papers which are not proceeding further. Is this approach common in journals? We feel this is very unethical from any author's point of view.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21368,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The reports are the property of the editor of the journal as they are the commissioning body. They do have the ability to share parts of the reports to the ms authors but they are under no <strong>legal</strong> obligation to. In some cases (especially with negative reports), the referees may ask that the editor to not share the comments. </p>\n\n<p>There are really no <strike>grounds for</strike> effective mechanism to appeal this type of policy. </p>\n\n<p>The best suggestion would be to go to another journal -- perhaps one with a faster turnaround time. And ask some of your colleagues to read your ms and see why it might not be getting the positive results you had hoped for.</p>\n\n<p>Followup: The journal has no legal obligation to tell you why they denied your paper. They might have a moral one (such as the disciplinary association urging them to), but no legal one. If they have it written in their bylaws that they will, then of course they will, but there is no legal requirement to.</p>\n\n<p>This is similar to universities not having a <strong>legal</strong> (as opposed to moral) requirement to tell you why they didn't hire you or private granting agencies not having a legal requirement to tell you why they didn't give you funding. Again, if their policies (or if there is a federal/state/local requirement, etc. then they will) dictate they they must, then they will but this is rare to non-existent for private institutions (including non-profits).</p>\n\n<p>Source: I've sat on the editorial board of the flagship journal of my discipline (in the social sciences).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21374,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I consider that not giving authors the ground on which the decision was taken to be both unethical and bad for science. How should the authors improve the paper if they don't even know why they have been rejected? How can they get a sense of what the community expects from them?</p>\n\n<p>I am not alone in this: the International Mathematical Union issued ethical guidelines for journals, including that the default policy should be that referee's reports are forwarded to author. However many journals give the referees the opportunity to give comments solely for the editors, and some editors prefer not to forward some reports to avoid pissing off the authors. I never heard of a journal with a policy of never forwarding reports of rejected papers before; this sounds absurd or really cowardly.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21366",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15667/"
] |
21,376 |
<p>I'm an undergraduate studying Mathematics & Philosophy in the UK, about to sit my third-year exams. My course is structured as a three-year self-contained BA and a fourth year 'integrated masters' with its own exams, which I automatically progress to as long as I get a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_undergraduate_degree_classification">2.i classification</a> from my combined second- and third-year results.</p>
<p>I've not been a good student. My tutors consistently report that I'm clever and engaged but I've suffered real motivation and work ethic problems. My results in second year were poor, and while I'm reasonably confident I can get a 2.i in these exams I'm unlikely to achieve stellar results this year.</p>
<p>I'd like to have a shot at going on to further study. Obviously I would need to do well in my fourth year, and as well as is possible this year; that's a given. I'd like to know if anyone has any advice on other things I could do to 'rehabilitate' a potential application, both from the perspective of being a better candidate and with a view to getting reasonable references from tutors.</p>
<p>While I'd welcome general answers as well, for specificity the most likely further study I'd be applying to would be a masters programme (combination taught/research) in philosophy.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21377,
"author": "Skunkness",
"author_id": 12347,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12347",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can't speak to Philosophy programs so this may not be terribly useful to you, but in general, if your grades/marks are not stellar, and you exams are not either, then you should probably rely more on the power of recommendations from people who know your good traits well.</p>\n\n<p>There are probably several ways to do this, and though I'm not sure about philosophy, in the sciences for example, a couple of years of volunteering in laboratory with one or two different researchers and making yourself invaluable to them can garner you major points.</p>\n\n<p>I didn't do wonderfully in my studies either, and my exams were not fabulous, but I spent three years after graduating my undergraduate university volunteering in two different labs, and enrolling in evening courses to (a) try and do better in essential courses pertinent to my area and (b) demonstrate that I was serious about graduate studies because of my initiative in taking all these courses.</p>\n\n<p>I ended up with three great letters and job opportunities, and later grad school (PhD) through working with these professors.</p>\n\n<p>However, a word of caution: If your weaknesses really include motivation and work ethic, then post graduate study is not going to be fun for you. It's completely different than undergrad as there is way less structure, and you have to be very self-motivated, make your own deadlines, work all the time without people asking you to, and complete projects on your own. It's really hard. If you do decide that you can do it though, I suggest finding an advisor who will be more hands on.</p>\n\n<p>Hope this helps a little!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21381,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't know the details about Phylosophy (the large majority of the population of this site seems to be STEM, unfortunately), so I will speak from my experience (first and second hand) in Physics and related fields.</p>\n\n<p>Universities in the UK thrive to be fair and objective. Admissions are regulated by committees that put high weight in objective measurements: that is, your transcript mostly. Even if you had a brilliant last year in your master's, your bachelor record may hinder you to get a position, at least in the better universities. Spain is a more extreme case, where a score function of your academic record and, to a lesser degree, proven research experience (ie, publications, that very few undegrads ever get) is the sole parameter considered for a grant.</p>\n\n<p>In other countries the system allows for a more flexible and subjective evaluation. Good memory and analytic skills may get you high undergraduate marks, but if you lack creativity and good thinking you will not be good at research.</p>\n\n<p>In Sweden, the PhD student is normally chosen by the PI based on whatever criteria he decides. I believe the majority of them put high weight in the projects you have done as an undergrad or master, and how well they think you will be able to work together. Grades are not so important for many because until some time ago, most universities only have \"pass\" or \"fail\" marks. I know of cases of PhD students that were hired without their supervisors even looking at the transcripts, but had a very good masters project.</p>\n\n<p>Bottom line: <em>if you were in STEM</em> (as I cannot know if this is extrapolable to you), if you apply yourself in the last year, you could have options in a lower tier (but perfectly reputable) university in the UK; but you would probably have better chances in other academic cultures. Improving your grades will always help (don't let them fall); but the best you can do now to make you show apart from the other candidates is to excel at your thesis.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21391,
"author": "ctokelly",
"author_id": 12045,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12045",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can say something about philosophy Postgraduate study in the UK. If you have a 2.1 By, you ought to be welcome onto a whole load of decent MA courses, though to be prepared for a major step up in expectations. Bristol and Edinburgh both have MAs in Philosophy and Mathematics, for instance. If this is where you want to go I'd email their PG contact in Philosophy, say you're on an exit velocity for a 2.1, though nothing spectacular, and would anything stop you applying? </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21400,
"author": "bbarker",
"author_id": 14626,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14626",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Going straight from undergraduate work to graduate is not the only path (not sure what the alternative paths would be in philosophy exactly - but I can imagine they are many and varied). The years between undergrad and grad can certainly be used for reform. Recommendations can weigh very strongly.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21376",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6899/"
] |
21,378 |
<p>I am possibly quitting my PhD. I am 2 years into my PhD and now I am writing a cover letter for an opening at a company. My question is, do I mention in the cover letter why I am quitting ? In my CV I just mention what I've done for the past two years and write that the PhD is not complete. </p>
<p>I feel like I need to mention it, because it feels like an elephant in the room. Also to avoid confusion I think I need to mention it. (e.g. They can think I tend to continue working on the PhD while I want to work there).</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21379,
"author": "user112358",
"author_id": 15646,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15646",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Yes. They are going to see it in your CV anyway and if you say nothing, it just looks like you are trying to hide something and they are going to assume the worst. I would tell them the reasons why I quit (e.g. what to do something applied, ...).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21474,
"author": "Erik",
"author_id": 15772,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15772",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You don't put your reason for leaving on your resume, this is instead an issue to be addressed in a cover letter and/or the interview itself. Your resume is a positive document, describing your strengths and qualifications and is designed for the sole purpose of landing an interview.</p>\n\n<p>Instead, the appropriate place to explain your current situation and reasons for applying is in the cover letter. Here you summarize your key qualification and why you are applying for the job. Mentioning your ambitions to develop a career taking precedent over your PhD program should explain your resume plenty.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42663,
"author": "jaybers",
"author_id": 32448,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32448",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Why not just list it as \"Additional Graduate Courses Completed\" ....\nThen put a list of the courses you completed.</p>\n\n<p>Save the reasoning for the interview. There are many understandable reasons why people don't complete a Ph.D. {money, time, family, stress, other opportunities, etc. }</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21378",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9236/"
] |
21,380 |
<p>I am considering applying for postdoctoral positions in the US.
However, I would like to find more information about
how it is like to be a postdoctoral scholar.</p>
<p><strong>Question 1:</strong>
Is a postdoctoral position a full-year position (12 months)
or an academic-year position (9 months)?</p>
<p><strong>Question 2:</strong>
How should I interpret postdoctoral salaries?
For example, an MIT postdoctoral information page (see <a href="http://web.mit.edu/mitpostdocs/vpr_update.html">link</a>)
lists the minimum postdoctoral salary
for a person with 0 years of experience at $42,000.
Is this salary for 12 months, or for 9 months?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21384,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In general, postdoctoral positions—unlike faculty positions (in the US)—are considered to be 12-month positions, with the salaries determined accordingly. You are not normally expected to provide your own funding for the summer months, nor are you expected to find outside employment.</p>\n\n<p>If this is <em>not</em> the case, then it should be <strong>explicitly</strong> mentioned in the advertisement for the position. However, this is so rarely encountered that it would be very much outside the norm for postdocs.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21398,
"author": "user15698",
"author_id": 15698,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15698",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Post-docs come under staff category not faculty, so it's always 12 months. More than 50% places expect you even too work in weekends.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21380",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8802/"
] |
21,382 |
<p>To provide a background, I am currently a Physics major and along the way I ended up getting really interested in Mathematics, so much that I'm now planning to do pure math in graduate school. Now, the problem is that, we are required to do a senior's thesis before we graduate, and I still don't have a topic in mind.</p>
<p>I actually worked a little bit with a professor in Theoretical Physics, I did bits of grunt work under him. I got exposed in Asymptotic methods when I was in his lab, and I got the idea that maybe I could do an undergraduate thesis about/using asymptotics. During the time I was working there, I was under the impression that he'll eventually talk about my thesis topic but he never even mentioned it (to be fair though, I never talked about it to him either), so now I'm kinda panicking that I might end up going solo in my research.</p>
<p>Now, in the case that he'll not accept to advice me on this , my question is, is it naive to even think about doing an undergraduate research that mainly involves Asymptotic Analysis/Methods when I've never even taken a formal course in it? To make the odds worse, it seems it's a graduate level topic, I am willing self study it though. </p>
<p>I want to know just how far I can go with doing research in a topic I haven't formally studied in a classroom setting, it doesn't really need to be Asymptotics or anything, I just wanted to do something that's theoretical, and that's borderline math, just so I'd be forced to learn as much math as I can during my last year in undergrad. I figured doing research in applied math is the best area to do work on since I'm still a Physics major.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21388,
"author": "user112358",
"author_id": 15646,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15646",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>To answer your question: it depends on the department and if you can find a supervisor.</p>\n\n<p>It being a graduate level course or topic just means it may involve more work and the same is true for not having taken a formal course in it. If you do not mind the extra work (you shouldn't imho) it is no problem at all.\nHowever, there are two questions left: Is someone willing and able to be the advisor for that topic? Is the research question suitable for your undergrad thesis?</p>\n\n<p>So, talk to your (potential) supervisor about it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21389,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Of course you can!</strong> (I did. My advisor did. Most of my students did.)</p>\n\n<p>Someone will have to agree to supervise your research, but that's true even if you <em>have</em> taken a course in your proposed research area.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21382",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15681/"
] |
21,386 |
<p>The faculty, of course, will not first hear from me over email - we have maintained semi-regular research-related meetings over the semester. I have not yet asked her to be my advisor, but now since the academic year has ended, I want to make this an <em>official</em> advisor-advisee relationship. I'm wondering if it would be bad form to just ask the question directly over email, as she doesn't seem to be around the department anymore. I should add that I am already a PHD student in the department, and funding is provided by the department, so I am not really asking for money either.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21387,
"author": "user2379888",
"author_id": 9365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9365",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would first send her an email asking when she might next be around campus and able to meet. If she responds that she's traveling (which is entirely possible now that the academic year is over), I think you can send a polite follow up asking her to be your official advisor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21390,
"author": "gman",
"author_id": 12454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think it can be construed as bad form to contact a potential advisor by email. This is the way that I approached my advisor. I had completed a undergraduate course with him but he would not have remembered me due to class size and time lapsed. I drafted an email explaining the course I had taken under him, gave a very brief outline of my research topic (about 5 lines) and had another couple sentences as to why I thought he would be a good match as an advisor for that particular topic. </p>\n\n<p>I would not expect (as in my case) a yes or no reply but if they are interested it would be assumed that they would email you back either looking for some more detail or to set up a meeting to discuss the proposal with you. You may have to wait some time for a reply but you could leave it a couple of weeks before following up. It may also be good to check with the department in case the person is on leave etc.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59284,
"author": "Sarlo",
"author_id": 45391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/45391",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think it's bad form at all - as long as you're concise and polite. I asked my PhD dissertation advisor via email (like you I already had a relationship with him) and he actually responded thanking me for asking via email, rather than springing it on him in person (where I guess it might be harder to say no or think about how it would fit into his current workload...). I just wrote a short email reminding him of my research topic, laying out why I thought he would be a good match, and asking him if he would consider being my advisor. He said yes via email, and so far (I'll be completing next year) it's all going great. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21386",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15688/"
] |
21,393 |
<p>I have to write an official letter to a professor to explain my research interests and my research plan to him, so that he could evaluate my eligibility for support through a research assistantship.</p>
<p>would you please say which of the following sentences is better in order to finish my letter:</p>
<p><em>I hope this helps. If you need further information, Please feel free to contact me at: My email</em></p>
<p><em>I hope this helps you evaluate my eligibility for financial aid better.</em></p>
<p><em>I hope this helps, please let me know if you need more information.</em></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21404,
"author": "Ellen Spertus",
"author_id": 269,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/269",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As user11192 says, the closing sentence does not matter much. I'd advise you to focus on proofreading your entire letter. Not to be unkind, but there are typographical mistakes in two of your three closings:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I hope this helps. If you need further information, Please feel free\n to contact me at: My email</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The first letter in \"Please\" should not be capitalized.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I hope this helps you evaluate my eligibility for financial aid better.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is fine, except, as aeismail points out, financial aid is need-based, while you are applying for a job, which is presumably merit-based.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I hope this helps, please let me know if you need more information.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is a <a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/34/\">comma splice</a>.</p>\n\n<p>In a closing, I would also thank the professor for his/her time:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Please let me know if any further information would be helpful. Thank you for your time.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21411,
"author": "user9983",
"author_id": 9983,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9983",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this is not important as long as he think you are eligible for his RA. The important thing is to show him that you have the ability to do research. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21475,
"author": "fedja",
"author_id": 6118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would just say\"Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Should you need additional information, do not hesitate to contact me at ... (phone, e-mail, whatever). Yours, (your name)\". \"I hope this helps\" sounds like it is you, who are doing him a favor by sending him all that stuff to read, which is hardly the case. On the other hand, I'm not a native English speaker, so take all I said with a grain of salt. And yeah, the outcome depends much more on what is in your explanation than on how the ending passage is constructed.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/24
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21393",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11259/"
] |
21,401 |
<p>I'm not sure how to phrase the question exactly in the title, but the issue is essentially this. I gave some feedback for a subject I did, which I was told was confidential. The lecturer found out I gave the feedback and approached me about it. From what she said, they were able to piece together who I was from the examples I gave of my concerns.</p>
<p>I realised from their statements that the feedback was given directly to them, but with no names attached (I assume). I don't feel that this was adequately stated in the survey. Now while I no doubt they will be a professional moving forward in this situation, I cannot know for certain that they now hold a vendetta against me. Conversely, they could also inflate my marks to appease me as well. Either circumstance I think we can agree is not favourable.</p>
<p>I have already emailed the university about this some time ago, but never received a reply. The thing I am most concerned about is the lack of clarity about the feedback, I would not have included "incriminating" evidence had I known this was given to the lecturer's directly - though I am unsure if that was an incorrect assumption on my part. </p>
<p>Anyways, my question is: <strong>should I chase this up or should I let it go?</strong> </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21472,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>At most institutions in the United States, instructors are given their course evaluations in toto, only stripped of names. It's up to students to not write anything which would lead to deductive disclosure. But there's plausible deniability, so you could have feigned ignorance when she approached you (which was an entirely unprofessional thing to do).</p>\n\n<p>If you are worried about retribution then speak to your chair or at the very least send an email note so that you have a paper record of your concerns. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21503,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If it appears that the lecturer is not being impartial when it comes to assessing your work, you should follow that up. As for \"following up\" how the feedback was obtained and provided to the lecturer, there really is nothing to follow up. In many cases the policies are set by the university. You could attempt to rally a student movement to institute a different policy, but you would really have to demonstrate that the new policy provides better learning outcomes or really upsets your fellow students. It is not uncommon for universities to solicit open comment feedback from students and then distribute those comments unfiltered to the lecturers. Many universities only provide the feedback after the exams, put it is equally common to provide the feedback to the lecturer immediately.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/25
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21401",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15702/"
] |
21,407 |
<p>In a previous book I wrote, I submitted the entire manuscript along with a couple page proposal to a few different publishers. Both editors never responded to me.</p>
<p>In my current book, I sent the entire manuscript with a short description to an editor at Springer, and it has been two weeks, and I have heard nothing, not even an acknowledgement of receipt.</p>
<p>Am I doing something against proper procedure?</p>
<p>Update: I emailed the editor again asking her if she received the manuscript, and she said she did. She was just on vacation. (I guess Europeans take longer ones than those in the U.S. are used to…)</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21421,
"author": "mkennedy",
"author_id": 5711,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5711",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Did you follow the <a href=\"http://www.springerpub.com/resources/Authors/Book-Proposals#.U4H9xMKx7cs\" rel=\"nofollow\">book proposal guidelines</a> for Springer? It does not include sending the entire manuscript but does include items like:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Author</li>\n<li>Author CV</li>\n<li>Any other contributors (include CVs)? </li>\n<li>Who's the audience including undergraduate or graduate </li>\n<li>What book do you see as the main competitor? </li>\n<li>3-4 paragraphs describing the contents of the book </li>\n<li>Unique Selling Points (why should someone buy this book)</li>\n<li>etc.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Note: I'm not sure that I've linked to the book proposal guidelines for your area, but they surely exist.</p>\n\n<p>Second Note: Geremia provided a link to the <a href=\"https://www.springer.com/series/5710#\" rel=\"nofollow\">book series webpage</a>. Poking around on the page and tracing links, I did find a general <a href=\"http://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/book-authors-editors\" rel=\"nofollow\">manuscript preparation page</a>, but nothing on what the proposal should look like. I maintain that unless they tell you explicitly to send the entire manuscript, you should send a brief proposal or even a query (\"are there guidelines I should follow?\") to the editor first. </p>\n\n<p>Based on blogs and articles that I've read by fiction editors and agents, not following published guidelines for a submission is one of the top pet peeves and a quick way for your submission to get deleted or tossed in the recycle bin.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21426,
"author": "al_b",
"author_id": 5963,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5963",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am pretty sure the author meant different Springer:) if there is no reply, try calling the editor you find via contacts listed for each discipline at springer.com</p>\n\n<p>In any case, do always mention that the proposal was also sent to xxx, so as to avoid more editors arranging reviews for the same proposal</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/25
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21407",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425/"
] |
21,409 |
<p>I want to give up my current PhD program, which I started 5 months ago, because I really do not like my current advisor's personality and working style. He lives a relaxed life and has no enthusiasm for science after getting tenure. He does not have funding and never releases decent papers because he does not work hard. </p>
<p>But I like my current direction. So I want to give up my PhD and switch to the master's program - as I have nearly finished all the coursework, and I do not want a gap in my CV - and then apply to a new school, as there is no other professor in my school doing work in my direction. </p>
<p>My question is: how can I tell him that I want to leave the PhD program? I do not want to tell him the true reason, because I want him to write a recommendation for me, and I think he likes me. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21416,
"author": "Magpie",
"author_id": 1248,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1248",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you want a good reference the only thing you can really try is to tell him the subject does not suit you at all and fit your new found plan to become an x, y or z. Your supervisor may wonder why you are asking for a reference to go do some similar course if you do that after telling him you hate the subject, though...Your supervisor may try to persuade you to stay, in which case you could negotiate he stop doing whatever is annoying you or just keep firm with your decision.</p>\n\n<p>What you must not do is fake family death or personal illness. You will in all likelihood, need to prove those have happened, especially if you want a reference.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I think not liking your supervisor is a terrible reason to quit your PhD. You will always have to suffer fools in life, that is just part of being an adult.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21418,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Tell him why you're even more excited about the places to which you're applying.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>At University X, Dr. Y is doing groundbreaking work in Z, and has published three papers in Prestigious Journal With A Latin Title in the last two years alone. Her students are also proving amazing results and speaking all over the world about them, and one of them just got a job at Top-Class University W. Every week they have a seminar where they discuss blah-blah-blah... [etc., etc.]</p>\n<p>I'm grateful for all the opportunities you've afforded me here, and I think that X,Y, and Z would be an even better fit for me.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21617,
"author": "adipro",
"author_id": 10936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It seems that you have been <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14760/choose-a-professor-to-work-with\">wondering whether you had chosen the right advisor</a>, ever since you started your PhD 5 months ago. You didn't even like your subject then. </p>\n\n<p>Earlier I commented that I was not sure if what you described would be a valid reason to leave your PhD program. Given that you have struggled with this decision for the last 5 months and you have not seen any improvements except that now you like your subject, it could well be the right decision to leave. I must quickly add, though, that many PhD students have had minimum guidance from their advisor, yet they persisted. This is something you need to decide yourself, and it seems that you are determined to leave, and that is fine. </p>\n\n<p>What you must not do, as others have commented, is to lie to your advisor. Do not think about getting a recommendation from him. First, I don't think it is necessary, and second, it will help you be more objective in conveying to him your reason for leaving. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/25
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21409",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9983/"
] |
21,412 |
<p>When working on an assignment (e.g. essay, report), is it allowable or ethical to reference (as in both "read" and "cite") previous students' submissions for that assignment? For example, the student may have a friend or relative that sat the subject previously and is happy to share their assignments.</p>
<p>From my understanding, unless the teaching institution has an explicit policy, this should be allowable assuming the referencing is done correctly. So saying, it may not be the best educational experience, as the student may not undertake the critical thinking and research the assignment expects.</p>
<p>To be clear, I am not talking about referencing assignments of students currently studying that subject. That is clearly collusion.</p>
<p>I also assume the student attained previous submissions with consent from all the authors. However, I do not assume that all students currently working on the assignment have access to all past submissions. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21413,
"author": "Magpie",
"author_id": 1248,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1248",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think it is both ethical and within the rules (or at least it is within the rules at my university) as long as the reference is clearly cited.</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, it should also be fine with current students as long as the work is cited too.</p>\n\n<p>For example for undergraduate experimental lab course I took during my 3rd year, I worked on an experiment with 2 other students working on the same experiment independently. We each had to write a project report on the results we obtained during the experiment.</p>\n\n<p>Only one of us managed to get a particular dataset for a part of the experiment that was sensitive to conditions and difficult to get results on. In that situation we were able to used that student's data so we could discuss their result in our report (as long as we cited the person who actually obtained the dataset, of course).</p>\n\n<p>In a seperate experiment I let someone use a java code I wrote for the analysis. This was also fine, because the person cited me when they used my code in their report.</p>\n\n<p>I think if the handin were supposed to be completely independently written (e.g. a math problem sheet) it would be collusion to reference older (or current) work but that is generally acceptable to cite anything (past student work or otherwise) in work which you would normally expect to see citation (e.g. essay or report).</p>\n\n<p>If you have assessment regulations, there is probably a clear indication of what your university expect in there. That would not be able to tell you the answer to ethics part of this question but otherwise might be able to tell you the rule at your College or University.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21429,
"author": "Watercleave",
"author_id": 15664,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15664",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with Magpie's answer as far as it goes; I don't think it's <em>unethical</em> to reference work done by past students in your own work.</p>\n\n<p>However, my worry would be that, except perhaps in certain specific environments, \"work done by past students\" is hardly authoritative. Courses for my degree, at least, only accept certain types of sources, mostly published books, certifiably authoritative websites, and of course journal articles.</p>\n\n<p>In other words, I don't see a problem with reading past work, and of course mentioning that you have read it, but I personally wouldn't be comfortable with <em>citing</em> that work as a source.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, this becomes less applicable the further up the education system you go; if you're writing a dissertation, you'll almost certainly be referencing past dissertations.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>That said, the important question here, on a practical level, is whether or not <em>your instructor</em> thinks that reading or citing past students' work is ethical, not whether it actually is.</p>\n\n<p>I'd advise caution; an email to whoever assigned the work, or a trip to their office, is more than worth the effort, considering the possible consequences if they eventually do decide that this is collusion.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/25
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21412",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15706/"
] |
21,423 |
<p>Is it academic to tell the reader in the introduction what the essay is about directly?</p>
<p>For example, after some introductory ideas, you tell the the reader this essay or section discusses so and so.</p>
<p>Or should the writer end the introduction with the thesis statement that indirectly tells the reader what the essay is about?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21425,
"author": "Sverre",
"author_id": 11053,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11053",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'm not sure what you mean by \"essay\", but for an academic paper in general, the reader should be told a minimum of four times what the paper is about and what your contribution is. This should be stated in (1) the title, (2) the abstract, (3) the introduction, and (4) the conclusion.</p>\n\n<p>That is a typical North American style. In some academic cultures, such as Northern Europe where I'm sitting, it's common to not do any of that. In a typical paper here, you can read all of the four parts mentioned above and still have no idea what the author is bringing to the table. You're guaranteed to annoy many readers that way.</p>\n\n<p>So my answer to your question is: Tell the reader as soon as possible what the point and punchline of your paper is. The reader doesn't want a mystery novel, he wants to know as soon as possible whether your paper is worth reading.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21439,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are many ways to structure an introduction. However, in the context of psychology I am familiar with the two broad approaches you mention to writing an introduction.</p>\n\n<p>In psychology, students are often taught to write lab reports using an <strong>hour glass structure</strong> where they start broad and then narrow in gradually into stating aims and hypotheses at the end of the introduction. This structure can really annoying to read, because the purpose of the paper is not immediately clear.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I prefer the <strong>opening-body-currentstudy</strong> structure for an introduction.\nSpecifically, the opening section of the introduction contains around three paragraphs that cover the importance of the work, a little context, a little bit of the gap, and importantly <strong>the aims of the paper</strong>. The introduction then reviews relevant literature, and culminates in a statement of a brief description of the current study (<a href=\"http://jeromyanglim.blogspot.com.au/2009/12/how-to-write-introduction-section-in.html\">see here for a little more discussion</a>). Thus, in the opening few paragraphs, you might have a paragraph that begins: \"The purpose of this paper is...\"</p>\n\n<p>The general principle is: Make it easy for the reviewer/reader to see what is the novel contribution of the paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/25
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21423",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13102/"
] |
21,436 |
<p>I have recently been updating my academic CV. I realise that some items are not as internationally recognised as to that every reader will be aware of their importance without googling them. Hence, I am thinking about inserting hyperlinks to those items lest the reader wish to learn more.</p>
<p>Now, many items on my CV are clickable, and a reader particularly interested in one item may now just click on it to see a webpage with more details to pop up.</p>
<p>However, I rarely see a CV with many hyperlinks behind those words/phrases. Is this a taboo, or I am OK to do so?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21437,
"author": "Taladris",
"author_id": 15528,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15528",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As long as it does not reduce readability, I don't see any reason for not including hyperlinks.</p>\n\n<p>Readability is of course about format. As a personal preference, I would not like to read a document where all words are in blue and underlined, or equation numbers in a red square. So you have to find a way to make the links discreet (but still easily noticeable by the reader). </p>\n\n<p>Readability is also, and mainly, about the content. Be sure your content is still clear when your CV is printed (or in case links are broken). Also, try to keep links meaningful. In particular, keep all your links high-quality: if links to your publications or to the diploma system of your home country will help for your evaluation, you would ruin all your effect if these links are \"drowned\" in a sea of meaningless links.</p>\n\n<p>Did you consider about tool-tips instead of some links? It will still provide some information, but with the drawback of having to load a new page.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21438,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I agree: most academic CVs do not have a festival of hyperlinks. I don't see a problem with it, unless -- as @Taladris says -- the large amount of hyperlinking creates clutter in the document. For something like a CV, where the spacing on the page is highly adjustable, I would think that you could probably have even a highly hyperlinked CV and take a little care to make sure that it does not look too busy to the eye.</p>\n<p>I can tell you though why I don't feel the need to hyperlink my CV (and I imagine the reason holds more generally). It's simple: I also have a webpage, and anything which appears on my CV which could get linked to also appears on my webpage. Further, the translation between the two is straightforward: I have a section of my CV listing papers, and I also have an immediately visible link to a subpage containing papers from <a href=\"http://alpha.math.uga.edu/%7Epete/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">my main webpage</a> (which, as you can see, is no frills to say the least, but it seems to get the job done).</p>\n<p>Although I am certainly no expert on the visual display of information, webpage design (you'll know that immediately if you clicked on the above link) or anything like that, it is my opinion that a webpage is a more natural medium to have clickable content than a CV.</p>\n<p>I think every young academic should have a professional webpage. If they do have one, I'm not sure that a heavily hyperlinked CV is necessary, although again I see no harm in it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21444,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>General advise would be, yes, include links but do not rely on them for key information. You do not necessarily know if the recipients read the electronic version or a printout. If it is a printout, it is very unlikely that people will key in URLs to look up information, unless <em>they</em> are interested. In for, example a job application, your application may be one of a large number and there may not be time to spend on looking up information that should have been included directly in the first place. Remember it is you responsibility to yourself to provide everything the reader of the CV may want, not the other way around.</p>\n\n<p>So although, there is no problem with including links, think twice about what information you link to and what you actually put in your CV.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21451,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another option is to keep most (if not all) hyper-links the same font and colour as the rest of the text. Most PDF readers change the cursor icon when hovering over a hyperlink, so if the reader expects something to be a hyper-link (such as an email address or DOI), they should easily discover that it is indeed a link.</p>\n\n<p>It will not be so obvious that some less crucial links exist, but for the eagle-eyed viewer <em>they are there</em>. For those who are just quickly scanning the document, the links won't introduce distracting clutter.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21489,
"author": "Jack Aidley",
"author_id": 5614,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5614",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would advise against including <em>any</em> hyperlinks in your CV. There is very good chance that your CV will be printed out for consideration and it is at this point that you need to have your CV shine so you should design your CV to be read on paper rather than on screen. Hyperlinks, by necessity, will want to be formatted differently from the surrounding text but this will look odd in a printout where the links are non-functional and add no benefit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 49301,
"author": "Michael Cole",
"author_id": 37587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/37587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Include hyperlinks for things that can't be Googled, or examples of your actual work. </p>\n\n<p>Links to general information aren't helpful and clutter links to the real meat of your work. The odds of someone clicking a link on your resume are slim, so make it count if they do. </p>\n\n<p>Unless you are a graphic designer, no competent hiring manager cares about the design or colors of your CV.</p>\n\n<p>After some research on this and having interviewed dozens of candidates, that's what I came up with :-)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 49318,
"author": "Phil",
"author_id": 21815,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21815",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can include hyperlinks. But make sure that it does not affect readability and do not assume that the reader will click on the hyperlinks. The reason is that often some recruitment committee will just print out your CV to discuss about it. Moreover, some persons may just not want to click on hyperlinks if there are many.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/26
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21436",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8079/"
] |
21,440 |
<p>There is a published research paper I would like to read. The website it is published in, charges what I think is quite a lot of money, considering that I won't use this for research or work.</p>
<p>I want to read this paper because its about a subject I am really interested in, but has nothing to do with what I study. I am a software engineering student and had never participated on any kind of research and I do not quite understand how all this things work.</p>
<p>So, the question is: is it right to ask for a copy of this paper to its author? If it is, how should I do it?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21441,
"author": "SLx64",
"author_id": 15731,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15731",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't think that it could be a problem to ask politely for a copy of this paper. It is understood, however, that you are polite and say thank you.</p>\n\n<p>So, if you are interested, you should show it that way. It doesn't hurt to ask. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21442,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is an issue with this question in that one request \"is no request\" but if this becomes systematic, each author starts to become a \"server\" for their papers. I am sure no-one would want to end up in that situation.</p>\n\n<p>I personally do not mind if someone asks for a particular paper as long as they also engage in some scientific discussion on why they want it. There is of course no rule that says you must do that other than common courtesy. Fortunately, I am not in a position to get many requests but back in the day of paper reprints, it was known that some persons (still scientists) were simply collectors who wrote and asked for every paper that was published.</p>\n\n<p>So in the end, if you really have use for a specific paper and you have a hard time finding it, don't hesitate to ask. Saying a few words about why you are interested in the paper may start up a positive conversation on the topic and your interest. The main point is: make it a positive event.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21445,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Use a search engine to see if there's a free copy online – many authors put their papers on their own websites and, in some fields, on ArXiv or other repositories.</p>\n\n<p>Ask your university's library if they already have access to a free copy online or have it on paper – libraries subscribe to as many journals as they can afford to and may also be able to obtain a copy from another library at less cost than from the publisher.</p>\n\n<p>If neither of those options work, politely email the corresponding author (if there is one, or any author, if there isn't) and ask for a copy.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21463,
"author": "user2379888",
"author_id": 9365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am always thrilled when someone asks for a copy of one of my journal papers, because I have adopted the pessimistic view that this stuff never gets read. So yes, feel free to ask, so long as you are polite. And as someone else pointed out, it wouldn't hurt to indicate why you want to read the paper.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21471,
"author": "Ben Kovitz",
"author_id": 15768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15768",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes.</p>\n\n<p>I've asked authors for copies of papers several times, always with a note about what in my own research led me to take an interest in that particular paper. The authors have always said yes. One even dug up an old paper copy and scanned it for me. I got the impression each time that they were delighted to hear that their work was relevant and interesting for new scholarship.</p>\n\n<p>Usually the authors' agreements with their publishers allow them to make single copies on request, so legalities are not normally a problem.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 82227,
"author": "Pradeeban Kathiravelu",
"author_id": 24019,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24019",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, from the authors' point of view it won't hurt to send the paper to someone who asks nicely (unless the corresponding author is the top scientist in the field and gets many unsolicited emails).</p>\n\n<p>Check whether the author has profiles in research networks such as <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.researchgate.net</a> and ask them through the site's options. This is particularly better for those who keep their profiles up to date, as it gives you more potential of a networking than a mere email.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/26
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21440",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15729/"
] |
21,467 |
<p>I am roughly in the following situation (field: physics/mathematics, location: Europe):
I have enough credits to finish my undergraduate degree this year if I want to. I can also choose to stay as an undergrad for another year.
I have done almost all undergraduate courses at my university that interest me, so I would be doing graduate courses 90% of the time.
With some extra work, I could obtain a master's degree at my university. However, I could also apply for a PhD program immediately after finishing undergrad next year, without getting a master's degree first.</p>
<p>Not counting research experience, is it advantageous to 'formalize' one's graduate courses by getting a master's degree, from the viewpoint of career opportunities?</p>
<p>I am not sure about this because on the one hand, a master's degree may give other people a better indication of one's ability, but on the other hand admissions committees and such may be more demanding from students with a master's degree.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21707,
"author": "Aaron Massey",
"author_id": 11268,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11268",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Not counting research experience, is it advantageous to 'formalize' one's graduate courses by getting a master's degree, from the viewpoint of career opportunities?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>For industry, yes, it is advantageous to get the Master's degree if you're doing basically the same work. The Master's degree is generally considered a terminal professional degree for many industries, so there's some value in getting that rather than just a Bachelor's degree.</p>\n\n<p>For academia, no, it's typically not advantageous. Most US-based PhD programs will require you to do core coursework roughly equivalent to a Master's degree regardless of whether or not you already have one. (I do not know enough about European programs to comment on them.) They will also typically present you with an opportunity to earn a Master's on the way to your PhD. Thus, getting one before you start a PhD program at another university is, perhaps, redundant. The only exception is if you are planning to switch your focus a bit. For example, you might get a Master's in Public Health and then start a PhD program in Computer Science focusing on applying computer science research to public health problems.</p>\n\n<p>You also mentioned that you were interested in a PhD, but wanted solid letters of recommendation so that you could have a reasonable chance at a top university. The best way to do this may not be through coursework. Obviously, coursework is important, but you may find that working with a research group as an undergrad allows you to more closely interact with a faculty member and get a more personal letter of recommendation. Professors write letters of recommendation for students based on coursework all the time, but it's more rare for them to write one for an undergraduate with whom they have worked on research projects. Also, this would allow you to determine whether or not you enjoy research and learn a bit more about what you would like from a graduate school. Research is quite different from coursework. It's more of a career than a school experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47105,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In Europe, the answer depends on your field and what kind of PhD you apply for but generally (and especially in the UK) <strong>a candidate with a masters is more competitive when applying for the PhD</strong> and will be more likely to progress to interview. </p>\n\n<p>The reason for this is that with a masters degree you are expected to have completed an extended piece of project work and small thesis. This reassures the admissions committee that you understand the undertakings of a PhD and what it will require and have developed those skills (beyond book learning). The biggest benefit of the masters in the eyes of the PhD admissions committee is not the extra and fairly broad knowledge (a PhD is, after all, very specific) <strong>but the experience of planning and undertaking an independent project and writing/presenting a high quality report on it.</strong></p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/26
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21467",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15755/"
] |
21,468 |
<p>I have missed my makeup exam this semester. We are given 3 chances at my university to pass a course, 1 regular, a retake and a third exam for those who failed the previous 2 ones. I missed the third exam because of work, and because I almost never able to keep up any schedule.</p>
<p>I wrote an email to my professor to let me retake it, but because I wrote my email at the same time as the exam was, my professor deems it unfair to give me another chance in this. </p>
<p>If I was not a problem student I would agree with his decision, but I spent half a year in a psychiatric ward because I was unable to visit any kind of community, and in this very semester with the help of tranquilizers I almost attended all of my lectures.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21469,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should ask Disabled Students Services at your university for help. They can help with even recalcitrant faculty.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21504,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From what I can gather from the question and comments is that you missed the first exam, the resit, and the resit-resit due to some serious psychological issues and you have asked the Professor for a 4th shot and he said no. At this point there is no reason for you to try and convince the Professor to change his mind. Your university likely has a clear policy on missed exams (especially when you miss all three standard opportunities). You will either qualify for a 4th shot or not under the policy. You \"student services\" office will be able to help you file the proper paperwork.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/26
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21468",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15758/"
] |
21,477 |
<p>I am an Indian undergraduate student completing my BTech in Industrial Engineering in one of top three universities in India. I am planning to move on to physics for graduate school and I have a proper profile for it with research projects and internships in physics. I am confident I would get accepted to a good graduate program for physics, probably in the United States.</p>
<p>After browsing through the forums I found, it appears that a masters or PhD in physics is not a very lucrative option in terms of career. I in fact read that people are still in search of jobs after their PhD for three or four years. I also heard engineers have significantly greater career security after their graduation. So I am considering a double major in Physics as well as in Engineering to increase my future job prospects. I am determined focus on Physics in my masters program so it seems I should either to major in Physics and minor in Engineering or major in both. My primary job preference would be in the field of Physics academia, but wouldn't mind shifting to other areas.</p>
<p><em>What is the best choice of undergraduate major/minors to provide me the best career prospects?</em></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21511,
"author": "Ric",
"author_id": 9700,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9700",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have heard that it is challenging to find academia jobs in physics in the US. However, industry may be very different. Financial firms, scientific modeling, consulting, and tech companies are very open to hiring physics grads. Having the degree shows that you're intelligent and can think critically, though you wouldn't necessarily be working on physics projects. Having another degree in engineering or cs would only help.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21569,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At least in Europe, and probably in the US too, physicists are highly considered in industry, the unemployment rate is almost a technical zero. Doing research is another different beast: there are not so many positions, and you have to fight for them. Also, Academia not a very lucrative career path: a first job for a physicist or an engineer in industry may grant them 3-4 times more than in grad school (depending on the conditions), and it continues onwards.</p>\n\n<p>I see you are eager to study both degrees, which is commendable, knowledge never hurts. What you need to consider is the costs, both economical (can you afford the university?) and in effort (can you really do both degrees at the same time?). Both degrees are difficult, and will take a great emotional toll. </p>\n\n<p>Some universities offer double degrees, where you end having both titles, and the subjects are (hopefully) sorted and arranged in the most convenient way for the student. For example, in Physics and Maths you need linear algebra; in a double degree you would only take the courses from Maths, as the ones in Physics are a subset. If the university does not have this arrangement, you may find yourself doing the same subjects twice, that may lead to added frustration.</p>\n\n<p>Another cost are the grades: doing two things means you cannot do them both so well. Some admission put hard thresholds on the grades, and they may or may not consider your second degree as a sufficient merit to lower it. On the other hand, and provided the grades are not very damaged, almost any employer will see it as a great CV boost and will make it easier to get an industrial job.</p>\n\n<p>As a last advice: if you go for it, be aware of your limits and ready to drop one of them if things get difficult before it brings you down. A degree and a half is a merit, two three-quarter degrees are two failures.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21477",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15173/"
] |
21,478 |
<p>I have found an interesting paper which is very relevant to my research. After reading the abstract in English, I would like to continue to read through the methodology and its discussions. However, only the abstract is available in English, and the content is in another language which I don't know.</p>
<p>I really want to read through the content as some of the figures are very interesting to me. I have tried to translate it using Google Translate, but it is very difficult to understand. </p>
<p><strong>Is it appropriate to send a polite email to the author, asking for a translation of your paper in English? Does the author have the obligation to do so?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21479,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As far as I'm aware there is no obligation to provide a translation of a published paper from one language to another. </p>\n\n<p>I think it would be rude <strong>to ask</strong> for a translation of a paper. However, it would generally be fine to <strong>enquire</strong> as to whether such a translation exists, or whether similar work has been published in English.</p>\n\n<p>More broadly, it may be in the author's interests to provide an English translation in order to increase the impact of his or her work. \nIf the work is really important to you, you could always pay for a translation. At the extreme end, perhaps where there are a large number of important works in a particular language, you may even want to learn the language.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21483,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it appropriate to send a polite email to the author, asking for a translation of your paper in English?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The answer to almost any question that starts with \"Is it appropriate to send a polite email\" is yes. You are of course allowed to ask.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, if there is no English translation of the paper already available, to which the author can just point you, I am pretty certain that the answer will be \"no\". It seems very unlikely that the author translates an entire paper on your request into your language, basically so that you don't have to.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Does the author have the obligation to do so?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>Of course not</strong> (and I strongly suggest not indicating anything along that line in the polite mail you are writing).</p>\n\n<p>Let's assume for a second the paper is actually written in English, but you are a native speaker of a not very common language (Swedish, for instance). Assume further that your English is not very good and you cannot understand the paper well. You wouldn't feel entitled to having the author produce a Swedish version of the paper for you, would you?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21496,
"author": "Floris",
"author_id": 15062,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15062",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is in an author's interest for his/her work to be read and cited; this is the reason most authors will be happy to hear from someone who is interested in their work (it is, after all, a potential citation-in-waiting…).</p>\n\n<p>With a bit of luck, one of two things happens:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>She already has a translation of the work (or something close to it) which she happily shares</li>\n<li>She is willing to work with you on coming up with a good translation. This will involve some work on your part - she provides a \"poor English\" version which is sufficient for you (who are an expert in this field) to grasp; and in return for her help, you edit the document into a \"good English\" paper which you send her to say thanks for the help (so the next person gets option 1). You might even collaborate on improving the work and turn it into a joint publication in an English language journal.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>An outcome such as the above would be a win-win. The only way to find out is to send a polite email.</p>\n\n<p>There is NO OBLIGATION on the part of the author to respond or provide a translation - but assuming that she takes her role as an academic seriously, she ought to be happy to help you come to an understanding of her work.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21478",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14682/"
] |
21,488 |
<p>If someone has a PhD contract in France and wants to work during summer for instance, is it fine if that person receives any external support during that time, outside the PhD contract support?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21491,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not familiar with the French law, but if you are an employee and don't have an exclusivity contract, it should be fine. If you are funded by grants, they may require the student to not have other sources of income, in which case it will be stated on the conditions. I don't see any reasonable reason for this to be limited, but law works in mysterious ways.</p>\n\n<p>If the person in this situation is already employed, the safest option is to contact the legal services of the university. If they are not easily available, a careful reading of the contract should do the trick.</p>\n\n<p>If the person is thinking about applying for this, the eligibility conditions should state if the successful candidate cannot be working at the time of hiring.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21498,
"author": "Taladris",
"author_id": 15528,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15528",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You most likely signed a contract for your research grant and/or a teaching assistant position. The conditions for a job during vacations should be listed in the part of the contract about vacations. Since there are many possible grants with their own conditions, it is difficult to be more precise. For example, as state workers, elementary schools teachers can have another work during their vacations, but with a lot of restrictions; I guess that state-funded grant have similar restrictions.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, the first thing to do is to ask your PhD advisor, your doctoral school or the person in charge of contracts in your university administration. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21531,
"author": "Ri49",
"author_id": 12609,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12609",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the work you plan to do (see <a href=\"http://media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/Doctorants/23/7/circulaire_24_juin_2009_doctorants_contractuels_117237.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a>, paragraph IX). </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>You are NOT allowed to do extra activities of the kind that could be part of your PhD contract (teaching, diffusing scientific information, expertise...). If you want to do this kind of work, it needs to be under your PhD contract.</li>\n<li>For the other cases, you need to obtain an authorization from your employer. If your employer is the university, they will ask your advisor's opinion and evaluate whether the extra work risks compromizing your PhD before making a decision. I don't know if such authorizations are commonplace.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21488",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6617/"
] |
21,490 |
<p>My supervisor has asked me to stay in a lab in a foreign country for a few months. That lab has some collaboration with us but their research is actually not related to mine. I don't know why my supervisor asked me to go, but I think it would be a great chance to broaden my experience so I did not complaint. </p>
<p>Besides travelling around the city and knowing new friends, what should I prepare and what should I do there to utilize this opportunity to help my PhD? I hope this opportunity can both benefit me academically and personally. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21626,
"author": "RHC",
"author_id": 859,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/859",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A few months is a fairly long time, and that could either be good or bad. There's no easy answer. You must quickly do some research and find out what other benefits you might get from spending time there. It could be very boring and take away valuable time from your schedule, but frankly it can be whatever you choose to make of it. Being prepared and having a \"can do\" attitude, then, is crucial. Alternatively, you can always recluse there and get a lot of private thinking and writing done! Also, some of the travel benefits are obviously personal enrichment and growth, but we're talking here more about academic benefits. (These may intersect!)</p>\n\n<p>Most importantly in my mind, foreign academic experience provides a different context to the research that you are already doing. Universities are usually multi-cultural places, and you may meet a lot of international students who will give you useful perspectives in addition to the host lab members. Email and join in activities with the international student society that they will no doubt have! We are global citizens, and to be a prominent and respected scientist in the future you will be expected to have a global presence. So, understanding global perspectives on your work is valuable.</p>\n\n<p>That said, if you will be visiting a tiny country with little academic infrastructure or funding, this may not be a particularly relevant point. But if it's a well known university, or in a \"bigger\" country, then you should get some valuable perspective from it in this way, which will also improve the value of putting this experience on your CV.</p>\n\n<p>Participating in nearby conferences, or at asking to give a research presentation at the host institution (e.g. just a regular department seminar), all looks very good on your CV. It's usually a \"given\" that you will at least be able to give a departmental seminar if you visit.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, as a PhD student, it's sometimes hard to get adequate breadth of experience about your research area while working in one lab with one mentor. Look for the connections with your collaborator, not the differences. Realize that this is an opportunity to get \"free\" input on your work and advice about the broader field from people who care about similar things. You will probably learn some insightful, useful (maybe even surprising) things about your mentor's personality or scientific approach that will help you become more independently minded and mature as a scientist.</p>\n\n<p>Maybe the perspectives of your host lab will help you broaden your appreciation for what you should aim for in your scientific career. There are a lot of bigger, inter-related questions beyond what your current lab cares about, which you might not yet be able to appreciate with your prior background.</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, as an extra incentive, remember that your hosts might be your future peer reviewers or writers or recommendation letters! Personal networks are very important in academia, even if sometimes there is some scientific disconnect between the everyday work that you do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21644,
"author": "Thomas",
"author_id": 6984,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6984",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is standard practice in Denmark (where I'm currently located). All PhD students are essentially required to spend 3-6 months at a foreign institution. Similarly we host a large number of PhD students in our department for stays of about this length. So, this is a question that's pretty relevant.</p>\n\n<p>To take advantage of this opportunity you have to think about what you personally hope to get out of it. I'd say there are several possibilities:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Discussing your research with people outside of your lab and narrow subfield. This can be a great opportunity to get novel feedback and insights. But, you need to make sure you actually have the chance to do this. Does the lab you're going to have regular meetings? Do you have a chance to present your work? Will you be able to go to local workshops/meetings/conferences at the host institution? We sometimes have students who end up not getting a lot of face time with members of their host institutions, which is unfortunate and you want to avoid that.</p></li>\n<li><p>Learning whether there are other areas of your discipline that are interesting besides what you're currently working. Presumably after you're done with your PhD you'll have to move somewhere else. This may require you \"branch out\" slightly from your current research work into related areas. This might be a good opportunity to learn about somewhat related work and get some knowledge that might help you start a new project, or land a postdoc or assistant professorship in the future.</p></li>\n<li><p>Getting a feel for another department. All departments and labs are different. They have different culture, different norms, different levels of social interaction, etc. This is a great time to see how another lab/department/university works and via that experience get some insight into aspects of that environment (and your home institution) that you do and do not like. This can be valuable for deciding what kind of environments you'd like to be part of in the future.</p></li>\n<li><p>Networking. Going to another institution is a great way to broaden your network. But, you need to make sure you'll actually get a chance to meet people. You don't want to end up going somewhere and just sitting in your office the whole time alone. Make sure there's a network of PhD students you can meet while you there and that you make a concerted effort to meet with faculty. And, outside of work, try to make some friends.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So, to prepare, figure out what you want to get out of the experience and then make sure the institution can satisfy those things (and, as part of that, try to setup the desired opportunities in advanced by scheduling meetings, etc.).</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21490",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14682/"
] |
21,506 |
<p>I'm planning to apply for a master in computer science, and I need to choose between a computer science MS - master of science, and a computer science MCS - master of computer science.
I haven't really understood the difference. Is is true that MCS is more "professional" in the sense that it doesn't prepare students for a PhD but it is for who wants to directly work after graduating? Do they both last 2 years?</p>
<p>EDIT: I've also found MSCS: master of science in computer science.</p>
<p>PS: So for example MSCS has the thesis. Does the thesis help you getting hired?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21509,
"author": "Aaron Massey",
"author_id": 11268,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11268",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Many Master's degrees exist that could reasonably be considered \"computer science\" degrees, and the distinctions between them differ from one university to another. Thus, you should probably ask someone familiar with the programs that you're considering about the particulars for that scenario.</p>\n\n<p>The best general answer to your question, if there is a general answer to it, is that many of the degrees named simply \"Master of Science\" require writing a thesis. For example, compare North Carolina State's <a href=\"http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/academics/graduate/degrees/ms.php\" rel=\"nofollow\">Master of Science</a> program with their <a href=\"http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/academics/graduate/degrees/mcs.php\" rel=\"nofollow\">Master of Computer Science</a> program. Often the thesis degree is awarded to PhD students who have completed their qualifying exam and coursework, but this also varies from one university to another.</p>\n\n<p>Since writing a thesis is an important distinction for Master's degrees, you may wonder what a thesis is and how it might be viewed by potential employers. A <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis\" rel=\"nofollow\">thesis</a> is a document produced as the result of academic research. While you will learn more about analyzing academic research, formal writing, and how academia works in your field of study, you will not typically learn more skills that are directly applicable to the profession. For this reason, you <em>can</em> think of the thesis master's as an \"academic\" degree and the non-thesis master's as a terminal \"professional\" degree, but that's also a bit of a simplification. </p>\n\n<p>If you're looking at degrees that start with \"Master of Science in\" and end with something like \"Computer Science,\" \"Computer Networking,\" or \"Software Engineering,\" then you probably won't have to write a thesis. These <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Science\" rel=\"nofollow\">Master of Science</a> names differentiate a degree in science, engineering, or medicine from a degree in English, history, or philosophy, which are <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Arts_%28postgraduate%29\" rel=\"nofollow\">Master of Arts</a> degrees. Often, these are both shortened to just \"Master's\" degrees. So instead of a Master of Arts in History, you might simply say that you have a Master's in History. For example, NCSU has a <a href=\"http://networking.ncsu.edu/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Master of Science in Computer Networking</a>, which is regularly shortened to Master's in Computer Networking.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21510,
"author": "Lev Reyzin",
"author_id": 10,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is unfortunately no one general answer that applies across the board. </p>\n\n<p>For specific degree requirements (so you know what you're going to be learning), you should look up the individual programs. The only specifically non-professional masters degrees are ones you may get en-route to a Ph.D. (often called an M.A. or an M.Phil.), but even there, there are differences in naming conventions. Moreover, terminal masters degrees often have the same names but have a \"thesis option\" or \"course option\" depending on your career goals.</p>\n\n<p>Luckily, where you go, how you do, and what you learn will matter a lot more than the name of your degree. At least in the US, nobody will care whether you have a M.S. or M.C.S. or whatever else -- they'll just think of you as having a \"master's.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21698,
"author": "tod",
"author_id": 14747,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14747",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In some countries MCS (2 years) is offered as a 16-years graduation degree, which is equivalent to BS(CS). It is offered specifically for those who have earned a 14-years bachelor degree or sometimes for people coming from other backgrounds, to provide them a fair enough base in computer science. </p>\n\n<p>A computer science MS or MSCS are both similar terms (2 years long), which is an 18-years graduation degree. </p>\n\n<p>Coming to your question:</p>\n\n<p>Is is true that MCS is more \"professional\" in the sense that it doesn't prepare students for a PhD but it is for who wants to directly work after graduating? Do they both last 2 years?</p>\n\n<p>The answer is: Yes, MCS is like any other professional degree out there. In addition, after having an MCS degree, an MS degree (2 years) is still pursued to get prepared for a PhD degree. </p>\n\n<p>MS degree mostly has a thesis, while MCS, if it has the one that is definitely, we can say the lighter one, since the candidate has not been trained at this level to produce a thesis. </p>\n\n<p>Does the thesis help you getting hired?</p>\n\n<p>This simple most answer is: \"It totally depends upon the employer and her demands for a specific position offered\".</p>\n\n<p>As I said:\"MS degree mostly has a thesis\". Well I know people and the universities were they have MS degrees (18 years) but without a thesis. So how do they do this? Mostly they compensate the research credits with additional course work. </p>\n\n<p>I also know places/individuals (internationally) where people with 'MS degrees without a thesis' have also been haired for an explicit research positions (e.g., Research associates, PhD students with RA ships, etc.) in academic institutes for academic research. Where, mostly thesis is a requirement OR in other words a thesis is inevitable to provide a candidate with the required skill set for such positions.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, while considering the above description about the acronyms valid, I would say that a thesis with an MCS degree has an importance similar to to any other professional degree with thesis (i.e., the case when a thesis is also prepared at end of a professional degree in order to fulfill the requirements).</p>\n\n<p>N.B. Some universities also name MCS to a computer science MS degree. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 182809,
"author": "Dr. Cosmic",
"author_id": 153931,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/153931",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Very old post, but I thought I'd chime in, in case my knowledge and research can help someone. In the UK, for example, I believe a Master of Computer Science is, wait for it, an undergraduate master's degree, as opposed to a graduate master’s degree. And 21 terms after matriculation, just like some other master’s degrees, they are elevated to MA status, like the BA. The UK system is complicated as there are also graduate bachelor's degrees. The difference seems to be that bachelors were broader, masters are more specific, and doctorates are beyond a master's in order of specific study and depth.\nIn the United States, in contrast, the Juris Doctorate used to be called the Bachelor of Laws and was an undergraduate degree. They elevated it to doctoral status based on how much work and study was put in to achieve it, but it is not equivalent to a research doctorate. It is often called a first professional degree, and technically ranks below a master's degree. The de facto master's degree in law in the United States is the Master of Laws, LLM or MLL. Beyond that is the JSD, Doctor of Juridical Science, and in the US, it is equivalent to the PhD. Other American doctorates equivalent to the JSD and PhD (in that they are research doctorates and hold the same prestige) include the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and Doctor of Engineering (DEng). However, if you read this article: <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of_the_University_of_Oxford\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of_the_University_of_Oxford</a></p>\n<p>you will see that a PhD is one of the lower ranking doctorates, as is the DEng. There is even an MEng that is considered an undergraduate degree, because it has the specific scope of study, but not the depth or rigor of a graduate degree. Another example where the US and UK differ is the MD, or Doctor of Medicine. The MD is the US is a first professional degree, and not a research doctorate, and ranks below the PhD and even a master's (academically). However, in the UK, the MD is one of the highest doctorates attainable. Another high doctorate, the Doctor of Science (DS) ranks very high in the UK and in some universities in Europe the DS and other doctorates or their equivalents are considered higher doctorates for beyond PhD research or in recognition of great contributions to the field of science. The DBA either does not exist in the UK, or is not prevalent, same as the Doctor of Arts (DA). Traditionally, the MBA is a terminal degree and no research degree or other degree in business is more advanced than an MBA, but the US invented the DBA as a PhD equivalent for people who wanted to do research, and there are others, such as the Doctor of Management, called a DM in the US to not confuse it with an MD, although in Europe and New England, an MD can also be referred to as a DM, adding to the confusion.\nWhen it comes to Science and Computer Science, at the master’s level, which is always graduate level in the United States, unlike a doctorate, which can sometimes be professional (MD, JD...) and rank below a research doctorate (PhD, DBA, DS), they are the same level: master's. The difference is that the MCS is a professional master's degree for those wanting careers while an MS is in preparation for a PhD. Often, an MCS requires additional coursework and a project, while an MS student tries to practice research for the PhD. Given this, an MCS is superior to an MS if you do not intend to pursue a PhD. If you do want to pursue a PhD, the MS prepares you for that course of study, however, the MCS teaches you more things, so they both accelerate you, just in different ways.\nFor US study, if you visit <a href=\"https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-structure-us.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-structure-us.html</a></p>\n<p>you will see that there are six levels of education, from lowest to highest (I also give examples): associate (AA, AAS, AS), bachelor (BA, BFA, BS), first professional (JD, MD), master (MCS, MS, MBA), advanced intermediate (Post-Graduate Certificate), and research doctorate (PhD, DBA, DS). Notice how the Doctor of Computer Science is not on that list of research doctorates. However, if you find a program offering a DCS, you assume it is higher than an MCS. More complications if you try to draw relations: some schools offer a JM or MJ, a Master of Jurisprudence. Some might think that is below a JD, but the JD used to be a bachelor's and was elevated to a first professional, which would make the MJ like a bachelor's, but all master's degrees in the US are graduate degrees.... The MJ is considered by some schools as equivalent to the MLL and focuses on learning law for people who are involved in law but are not lawyers. So technically, academically it is higher and a JD (formerly the BLL) BUT does not prepare you for the lawyer profession and does not enable you to pass the bar. In more ancient times, master and doctor were used interchangeably. It seems doctor is used for those who are prepared for the profession or have professional experience whereas a master is used for someone with great knowledge and academic achievement, regardless of professional experience. But then what is a professional master's degree? An example is an MBA and I've heard it be called a second professional degree. Since it is a terminal degree, some people consider it higher than a normal master's degree, and traditionally, there was no DBA, so it was like a doctorate, without the distinction of a doctorate, in that field. So here we see doctor being a distinction, not a higher level of academic study. Think about it this way, a RESEARCH doctorate is a master's degree where you are generally paying to do research at a school instead of being paid to do research. But not everyone wants to be a researcher. Also, in the US, a research doctorate typically requires more course work. So, therefore the Doctor of Computer Science is considered higher than a Master of Computer Science because it requires more coursework but is not considered to be at the same level of a PhD, according to the US Department of Education. So, it is a strange degree that is in between a master's and a research doctorate, according to them. It is the fifth level, according to them: advanced intermediate, a level that offers certificates, diplomas, and even degrees. Why did I go so much in depth and talk about doctorates? Because while a DSC (Doctor of Computer Science) is considered lower than a PhD, for master's level, the amount of coursework is slightly more, and any research done by an MS student is just an introduction into professional research that will be done by a PhD. There is no prestige in MS research, it is just a substitute, and therefore in the US, academically, an MS is equivalent to an MCS. And the name MS is sometimes misleading, as there are schools in the US that offer an MS without requiring a thesis, instead wanting projects or just coursework, making them an American MCS but keeping the traditional MS name. Globally, MS is recognized as higher than an MCS, but in the UK, an MCS (undergrad) is later elevated to MA status after so many terms, and therefore after so many terms and maturing the MCS holder will be considered an MA, which is higher than an MS in the UK. In the US, they hold the same rank academically, but are geared towards different goals, in the same way an MS in Electrical Engineering is for careers in electronics while an MS in Biology is for going into biological research, medicine, or pursue an MD or PhD. I have not seen any DCS in the UK, but it is likely they would not hold any higher ranking than an MA, the same as an MCS. So, the DCS is a bit higher than an MCS, but the difference is considered negligible and in the UK is not recognized, as they would say the MCS matures to MA status, the DCS does not exist, but I assume they would think they just mature faster to an MA level of study. If you read the Wikipedia article, you will see that MA is held to an extremely high level of respect, and only the DD and DCL hold more prestige if the holder only has one degree. I think the only mistake in the Wikipedia article is that the BD (Bachelor of Divinity) is considered higher than the PhD but is not listed in the right place.\nLastly, I have seen DCS programs that require many more units than some PhDs. Some PhDs I have seen require the same if not less credit units than a master's degree but just add research and dissertation, which further emphasizes that doctorates are degrees for those in practice, while a master's degree is solely academic achievement. This contradicts the US Department of Education, as some level 5 degrees are potentially superior to level 6, depending on the school and program. And if you want to be an actual doctor like a medical physician or a lawyer, the JD and MD are superior, but also having a PhD will make you a more knowledgeable and capable professional. Different names, different worth for different things.</p>\n<p>To sum it up, if you plan to study and work in the US, the MCS is just as good as an MS, especially if you do not plan to pursue a research doctorate. If you plan to study or work overseas, the MS translates more to what the US graduate program represents. If you want to get a PhD in the US, either should work, but you should check with the school you want to attend. If you plan on getting a doctorate and want international recognition, a PhD or DS is better, but if you stay in the US, a DCS may essentially be the same. Countries are trying to standardize things to match up, but there are still some differences. Last examples, a licentiate in Europe is a master's degree level or higher award to prepare someone for a profession, and sometimes is considered higher than a master's degree (like an MBA) but below a doctorate, depending on the country. Look up "Higher Doctorate" on Wikipedia, and you will see countries like France, Russia, and Germany offering either degrees or distinctions beyond a doctorate. There used to be something called ISCED level 9, but it was removed.</p>\n<p>Other sources: Personal research and experience</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21506",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14586/"
] |
21,521 |
<p>Suppose you write a paper and you use Wolfram Mathematica to do calculations. In the article, should the program be mentioned with the registered-trademark symbol immediately following the name and in superscript style, i.e., as follows?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Wolfram <em>Mathematica</em><sup>®</sup></p>
</blockquote>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21522,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Formally, yes, registered names should have the appropriate symbol listed (usually a superscript \"R\" or \"TM\"). However, in common usage, such trademarks are often neglected. In most cases, it's easiest just to follow the journal's recommended guidelines for how to handle such cases. You may just need to indicate the trademark symbol, and the journal will do the work of supplying the correct formatting for you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21529,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For Python, <a href=\"https://www.python.org/psf/trademarks/\">PSF Trademark Usage Policy</a> states:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <ul>\n <li>Use of the word \"Python\" in email and informally -- Allowed without the circle-R symbol.</li>\n <li>Use of the word \"Python\" in academic papers, theses, and books -- Allowed without the circle-R symbol. Books should include the symbol.</li>\n </ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't know how it is in general. Wikipedia pages on <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_trademark_symbol\">registered trademark symbols</a> mentions that it indicates trademark status, but does not mention that it needs to be used.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, I see software in papers being mentioned without \"TM\"/\"R\", though often in emphasis.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21567,
"author": "user3681411",
"author_id": 15815,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15815",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Typically, use of a trademark symbol by the owner (in your example, Wolfram) is an <strong>assertion of their rights</strong> – “Hey, we own this name! It refers to our product and you cannot use it to mislead folks into thinking it is your product, or your use of our product, or that we endorse your product’s integration with our product...” and so on. So, it is critical for the <strong>owner</strong> of the trademark to use it often and consistently. </p>\n\n<p>You, on the other hand, do not need to use it to protect their rights, but need to use it in order to <strong>not to infringe on their rights</strong>. For example, use the mark it if you are talking about your product or service in relation to their trademarked product. </p>\n\n<p>The more formal the mode of publication, the more you should consider using their mark, e.g., you should use it in a book, but probably not in an email. Like an abbreviation, use it once at the first occurrence only. Nobody wants to read something littered with ®s. The first use signifies that you recognize their rights.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21585,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I could not find anything on any <strong>legal</strong> requirements to use trademark symbols if you are not the trademark holder (or are required to use them by a contract). <a href=\"http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/required-or-not-to-put-the-r-trademark-symbol-977692.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Here</a>, several attorneys state that you do not have to use them even in the “stronger” case that you are reselling the product. Briefly, it’s the trademark owner who is responsible for using it and there is nothing that requires you to use these symbols, unless you have signed a contract to do so:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It is the trademark registrant/manufacturer who is responsible for putting the indication on the product, not you.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>Since you are merely resoling [sic] the product, you have no obligation to put any symbol (R or TM) anywhere.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>This leaves the question of <strong>style</strong>, on which I share the opinion of <em><a href=\"http://www.theslot.com/webnames.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">But FUNKY!!!web!!!DUDES.com is their trademark!</a></em> (written by a professional copy editor), which is mainly on capitalisation and punctuation, but can also be applied to trademark symbols to some extent:\nOne should rather adhere to general spelling and language rules and to what benefits the reader than to what a company wants its product to be called:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The companies and their trademark lawyers want you to duplicate their capitalization. They also want you to use the trademark symbol. They also want you to use the word "brand" and a generic identifier to guard against the loss of their trademarks (journalists eat Big Macs; McDonald's lawyers might want us to eat BIG MAC® brand sandwich products). Are you going to give in to all of those demands? Do you want your stories to look like press releases?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Following this, I would call Mathematica just “Mathematica”, maybe in italics or small-caps in accordance with the journal’s or your own style and accompanied by an appropriate citation.\nI would not use a copyright symbol as it does not benefit the reader or anybody else¹ – <strong>it just diverts from the content of the text and slightly looks like you are paid by the software company to advertise their product</strong>. (I also would not use “Wolfram Mathematica“ unless I have to expect that some reader confuses it with something else which is also called “Mathematica”.)</p>\n<p>There may be some situations <strong>specific to Mathematica</strong>, where one has to expect some readers to be confused, as, e.g., they do not directly identify it as a software due to its name being not obviously a name. However, in those cases you can refer to it as “the Mathematica computer algebra system” or provide a citation.</p>\n<hr />\n<p><sup>¹ except, perhaps, the marketing people of the software company – who are not going to read your publication</sup></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 61852,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>APA, MLA and Chicago style manuals all recommend <strong>not to use</strong> trademark symbols.</p>\n<h3>Chicago</h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In publications that are not advertising or sales materials, all that is necessary is to use the proper spelling and capitalization of the name of the product. A trademark attorney can tell you when the use of the symbol is required.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>from <a href=\"http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/RegisteredTrademarks.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">The Chicago Manual of Style Online</a></p>\n<h3>MLA</h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Although owners of trademarked names may suggest otherwise, publishers are not obligated to denote the trademark status of a name when that name is mentioned in text. Authors representing trademark owners frequently feel obligated to use the trademark or registered-trademark symbol (™ or ®) after the first mention of their product names but often do not use these symbols consistently to indicate the trademark status of other names not owned by their particular sponsor or employer.</p>\n<p>Because the fair and consistent use of these symbols (or of footnotes denoting the trademark owners) requires exhaustive verification and vigilance on the part of the editor and because the use of these symbols (or footnotes) is not required by law, do not add trademark symbols, registered-trademark symbols, or trademark-denoting footnotes to trade names in MLA publications. In the interest of consistency, editors should also delete such references when inserted by authors.</p>\n<p>At the same time, MLA recognizes that authors are often supported and encouraged by their institutions or other funders and that this support may be what enables an author to produce any written work at all. MLA editors are therefore advised to consider carefully an author’s express request that trademark status of particular names be denoted (merely including symbols or footnotes in the submitted manuscript does not constitute an “express request”).</p>\n<p>If trademark status is denoted in a particular case, these guidelines should be used:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use the trademark or registered-trademark symbol, not a footnote.\n-The author must specify which words should be denoted and with which symbol (™ and ® are not interchangeable). Trade names not specified by the author should not be cited with these symbols.</li>\n<li>Use the symbol no more than four times in one article for each trade name: the first mention in the article’s title, the first mention in the running head, the first mention in the abstract, and the first mention in the article’s text.</li>\n<li>If the article is part of a JMLA symposium, add symbols to the trade names in question in all other articles in the symposium for consistency.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>In all cases, whether trademarks are denoted or not, the proper spelling and capitalization of trade names should always be verified and consistent. See Appendix C for a list of trade names common to MLA publications and their proper spelling.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>from the <a href=\"http://www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=252\" rel=\"noreferrer\">MLA Style Manual</a></p>\n<h3>APA</h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>No, it's not necessary to include the trademark symbol for a trademarked term in academic writing. The trademark symbol is generally necessary to include only in commercial writing, meaning writing that pertains to commerce or the buying and selling of goods (e.g., advertisements). The word Twitter (and other names of companies) can be written in regular, nonitalic font as well.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>from the <a href=\"http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2009/10/how-to-cite-twitter-and-facebook-part-ii.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">APA Style</a> blog (answer by the author to a comment)</p>\n<hr />\n<p>In certain jurisdictions the <strong>trademark owner</strong> may be required to use a trademark symbol or may benefit from the use of such symbols in a law suit (see the International Trademark Association fact sheet on <a href=\"http://www.inta.org/TrademarkBasics/FactSheets/Pages/MarkingRequirementsFactSheet.aspx\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Marking Requirements</a>).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 93205,
"author": "Paul de Vrieze",
"author_id": 10183,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10183",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In most of the world (not the USA) the meaning of ™ or ® (or © for that matter) is nonexistent. When you refer to a trademark you certainly don't have to do anything. When you use a trademark (as a way to sell your things) what matters is the use, not some lettering, although the lettering could give a tiny nudge in case of doubt (that there shouldn't be in the first place).</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21521",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13744/"
] |
21,526 |
<p>I took up an introductory course to forensic science in Coursera, because it was actually the only forensics course I could find that was accessible, however I do wonder if it is worth anything in my CV, as a student it is obviously better than nothing, but is this something good enough to show? <br>
How does it compare to courses completed directly through MIT open courses, or those from another famous university? And if these are assets to a CV, if I go ahead to complete enough for a degree, how does it fare in comparison to the proper degree from the corresponding institution?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21566,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><em>Value in an academic environment</em>: zero. Everything you learn at Coursera you'd simply learn from a textbook in a few days if you needed it for your academic research or teaching.</p>\n\n<p><em>Value to a non-academic employer</em>: marginal, mainly as a signaling device (this person will sacrifice his spare time over a non-trivial amount of time to improve himself), but certainly lower than a certification in a field or skill directly related to your job.</p>\n\n<p><em>Value to a prospective spouse</em> (as suggested by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692/earthling\">earthling</a>): depends. I'd certainly look favorably on someone who took a Coursera course instead of watching TV.</p>\n\n<p><em>Value to yourself</em>: again depends, but could be highest of all. I certainly know that those courses I took were mainly for my own pleasure and benefit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21683,
"author": "Simmy",
"author_id": 15896,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15896",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>MOOCs like those taught on Coursera are a matter of differing opinions. I think they are great for the students since they provide a great free tool for helping learn content that may be difficult to learn, interpret or even access alone. Unfortunately, they have problems with verification: students do not have to do very much to confirm their identity, and there is much speculation of plagiarism within the classes (even The Guardian wrote a small piece on that recently <a href=\"http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/14/students-cheating-plagiarism-online\">http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/14/students-cheating-plagiarism-online</a>).</p>\n\n<p>Have I taken classes on Coursera? Yes. Do I put this on my CV? Yes...for internal purposes anyway, under a \"continuing education\" or \"professional development\" section to show my employer that I am continuing to improve myself and stay up-to-date where necessary. I'm a scientist.</p>\n\n<p>My husband (a software engineer) tells me that, while MOOCs or similar training is good on a personal level, it is considered a negative thing for people in his profession, and usually only added to CV to make up for a lack of real technical training or experience. So, unfortunately, I guess the area of your work will make a difference to how others perceive your good intentions. But, yes, Coursera is better than TV! </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21728,
"author": "alarge",
"author_id": 15151,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15151",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One of the commentators mentioned that MOOCs might be seen in a negative light in some fields, such as software engineering. Especially for this particular field, I would not at all be surprised: Many of the current professionals got their hands-on training through working on projects on the internet in their youth, and such projects would obviously go well beyond a simple introductory course. As such, MOOCs provide only introductory material to the field, and this material has been available in an easy to access format on the internet for a long time, anyway (YouTube tutorial videos predate contemporary MOOCs by years, and simple websites even more so). </p>\n\n<p>I should point out that for other fields, often more specialized in scope, the sort of lectures offered by MOOCs have not been available unless you went to university to study the stuff. Sure, books have existed, but there is a difference in learning from books and listening to lectures (the latter being much more passive, and therefore often more enjoyable, while perhaps not as deep or efficient).</p>\n\n<p>Having said this, I strongly feel that taking MOOCs on your spare time shows that you have motivation to deepen your knowledge, be it in your own profession or just enlarging your horizons and understanding other fields. While reviewing the basics of a field that you are supposed to be an expert in could be viewed in a negative light, a basic understanding of project management and economics would probably help your application even if you were a software engineer.</p>\n\n<p>I have heard some recruiters say that they appreciate an internet presence, and joining in on all the new fun would certainly show that you are technologically capable and follow what is happening in the world. In the software engineering world, one could well put their StackOverflow alias on their CVs. I am sure that some recruiters disagree, though. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, to address your point about how online courses compare with real live universities. Traditional courses usually have a higher workload, and more stringent control on passing a course. MOOCs being very new, it is nigh impossible to know just how difficult it is to pass a particular course or whether you even know the stuff now that you have. Granted, a traditional university degree does not guarantee these things either, but prospective employers better understand how much one can expect one to remember from the courses taken at a real institution. I think MOOCs will play a slightly bigger role in the future than they do now, but we are not quite there yet. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 30066,
"author": "bikash",
"author_id": 22991,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22991",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually these courses for self-paced learning. Those who are really interested in a subject and could not study in any regular university course in any subject of choice, can learn following a path offered by these online courses. It is Similar to \"learning on your own\". Practical course like programming in any particular programming language currently preferred by industry is good but certificates won't count as much as a regular university degree. In these practical value oriented courses will prove nothing because at the end efficiency will matter and industry will hire those people who have this efficiency and regular degree will always score high. This certificates won't get you an entry in any reputed University for going further with the study of the subject. Professionals take these courses mostly owing to the fact that a curricula offers better disciplined and structured way of learning in which testing what you learn provision within the curriculum is there. Professional, already in a field learn better in self paced learning way. These are the benefits among few others. But one other thing for these online courses associated with university can not be ignored. All over the world private university funding and \"Live On your own\" and \"Live on your own earning\" policy for the Universities are one of the causes for them to offer online courses to the people which in the past and still is for only a graded few is for earning money. People who are willing to earn a certificate which might give them an edge over others in the competitive market pay few dollars to enroll and at the end spending few hours earn a 'certificate of value'. These dollars are one of the ways for the universities to earn a fraction of cost to run universities.And not all subjects can be learned this way, suppose Genetic Engineering or Medicine can never be learned through online courses. Yes you can expand your horizon of your knowledge in any particular field of study of your choice. And that's the primary reasons of these courses, i.e MIT open course ware. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 82785,
"author": "Burt_Harris",
"author_id": 67343,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/67343",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Alone, listing an MOOC on a resume has about the same value as expressing other interest in a topic. It serves only to get you past early (automated) screening steps of a selection process. This is valuable in that it might save a little time establishing common ground between interviewer and candidate.</p>\n\n<p>But the I can see an opportunity for this to change with the integration course information with evidence of participation in online forums on a topic. As a screener/interviewer, if I could and see the questions asked and answered in a classroom setting, that starts to add value. </p>\n\n<p>The challenge however is scaling this to massive open online learning. In many cases, the \"good\" questions one might asked and answered online and forums like stack exchange. Posting duplicate questions often gets discouraged (voted down) in this sort of environment. But if a MOOC platform could also let me see the related searches and clickstream generated by a candidate the possibilities are there that MOOC's might differentiate themselves through participation (even somewhat passive participation) in activities related to the course. I've not yet seen this in practice, but it seems like what might be needed to increase the value of online information resources over textbooks. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21526",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11719/"
] |
21,527 |
<p>I just finished my PhD in Mathematics and am in between my PhD and postdoc positions. I was very fortunate to have the ability to present my research to seminars and conferences over the last couple of years. My complete results all reduce to a standard storyline and I feel like I have spoken about it to various audiences a lot, especially the specialists in my field. I have a conference coming up with the specialists again and I am a bit concerned about giving a talk that is just a minor mutation from the talks before.</p>
<p>My question is therefore: </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>How long can one talk about the same material in the conference loop until the talk becomes stale?</strong></li>
<li><strong>Is a repertoire of multiple research talks expected of a recent PhD?</strong></li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21573,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A recently minted PhD would not typically be expected to have multiple seminar-length talks at her disposal, because in general the PhD work <em>should</em> be presentable as an integrated whole. However, once one starts getting substantially into the postdoc phase and beyond, one should have more than one research talk available, as there is greater diversity in one's portfolio of work.</p>\n\n<p>With respect to \"staleness,\" this is also somewhat of a concern, but only partially. Research progresses in time, but that doesn't mean the older work is made irrelevant (or unimportant for audiences to know about). However, you should revisit your talks periodically (before you give them, of course) to determine what is still \"fresh,\" and what is already well-known enough to gloss over in less detail. </p>\n\n<p>As for assigning a \"shelf life,\" that really depends a lot on your field. Some fields progress much faster than others, so a blanket statement such as \"never talk about results that are more than a year old\" is unlikely to be helpful.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21575,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's important also to look at your audience. If you're likely to be giving the same talk to two audiences that overlap significantly, then the time between talks is less important than the fact that the audiences will perceive the talk as 'stale'. </p>\n\n<p>For example, you might give a talk at a general interest conference, and then a slightly modified version of it at a workshop with specialists, many of whom may not have attended the general interest conference. That would be fine. You might then go on the colloquium circuit and give the talk at venues with only small overlap with the specialist group. </p>\n\n<p>But if you gave the same (or similar) talk to the same (or similar) audience more than once, that would be a problem. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21615,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>How long can one talk about the same material in the conference loop until the talk becomes stale?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As other answers have pointed out, certainly the answer is not going to be \"N months\" for any value of N. Here are some things to think about:</p>\n\n<p>1) You say that \"my complete results all reduce to a standard storyline\". Yes, but that's true for entire subfields of mathematics. I like to tell the story about how I heard a close friend in grad school give a talk about his thesis work just as he graduated. I heard him speak again when he came back to visit almost a year later. As we were catching up afterwards, I somehow let on my surprise that he gave essentially the same talk both times. He looked at me in disbelief and told me \"There was hardly a single result in common between those two talks\". It turned out that -- not withstanding that we were both arithmetic geometers -- I simply didn't have enough knowledge in his subfield of speciality to penetrate far enough beyond the standard storyline -- Galois representations, big rings, some filtered semilinear algebra, perhaps an R = T theorem... -- to see what was new about the second talk, despite the fact that an expert would say that it was <em>all new</em>. I have found this to be one of the more profound experiences of my professional life and I tell it often in a variety of contexts: e.g. I mentioned it to a linear algebra student who said that she was largely following the lectures but sometimes was having trouble understanding the differences between what we were doing from week to week. When you tell an undergraduate a parable, it's probably safest to spill the beans and tell them the moral: I recognized her perception as an indication that she was farther away from engaging with the material than she herself realized. In your case the moral is admittedly a little less clear, but I think that part of it is that we can build a highly successful academic career by hewing largely to a \"standard storyline\": the devil, and thus also the glory, is in the details.</p>\n\n<p>2) So I have a question: is your concern about giving <em>cognate talks</em> or literally giving essentially the same talk over and over again? Let me assume the latter. It's harder to know how often you should simply repeat yourself, and I am wary of giving advice because I know myself to be close to one end of the spectrum: I <em>don't</em> usually travel around and gave the same talk multiple times. The one time I really remember the feeling of repeating a talk more than once was when I was on the tenure track job market, when I did it four times in a couple of months. The last time I gave that talk, it indeed did feel stale and I remember not getting much in the way of feedback from the audience...and then I got offered the job. I am much more likely to want to take every given talk as an opportunity to speak about what's on my mind that month or that week: this is not necessarily a good thing, but I try to make it work.</p>\n\n<p>I think though that you are rightly concerned about giving the same talk to largely the same audience of specialists. When that starts happening, might you not simply be speaking too much? One thing to do is look around: if you're in the same group of specialists, they are also speaking frequently, I guess. Do you observe others around you -- at a similar career stage and also those who are more senior -- largely \"repeating themselves\" in the talks they give? (Sometimes a really good talk is worth repeating. I remember fondly having heard Manjul Bhargava talk about the \"15 Theorem\" at least twice, probably three times. Each time I grasped the picture more fully and thus liked it even more. Obviously Manjul could have talked about other work; he <em>chose</em> to revisit this amazingly beautiful well, and his insistence on promoting his own good taste has had such a positive role in influencing later mathematical work, including some of mine.)</p>\n\n<p>Here's a piece of advice: when someone invites you to give a talk, before you accept or decline, ask them what they have in mind for you to speak of (be ready to follow up immediately with a list of options). If you think that the person who is inviting you to speak has heard you speak about the same topic before, or if a lot of the audience feels the same way, ask them explicitly about that. </p>\n\n<p>Another thing to do is to consciously update your \"standard talk\" to reflect recent changes in your thinking about your research. You're right that a talk is a story, and the story can change even if the core results remain the same. Reinterpreting your past successes in terms of what you're doing presently and are trying to do in the very near future is a big part of research. I have heard James Maynard speak about bounded gaps between primes; I would gladly hear him speak again, even if I were a seamless expert on his paper on the topic (note the subjunctive!) <em>just to hear at the end of his talk what he is thinking about now</em>. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is a repertoire of multiple research talks expected of a recent PhD?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Multiple <em>disjoint</em> talks? No, probably not. It is not too soon to start working on a \"non-research talk\", i.e., a much friendlier broader talk that you could give to undergraduates, but I think that's not what you're speaking about. I do think that having multiple projects is a good thing even for a young mathematician nowadays, but one does not want to sacrifice breadth at the expense of depth. If you have basically one research talk that you've given half a dozen times or more over a period of a couple of years, by now that one talk is probably really good. I would concentrate on further refining and updating that one great talk rather than just feeling you should start from scratch in order to show \"multiplicity\". (Again, I am conscious of being unusually lured by the siren song of multiplicity. Oh, well: we all need to identify the good career advice which is not good <em>for us</em>.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 94561,
"author": "Andrew B",
"author_id": 71825,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/71825",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For conference talks, this shouldn't be too much of a problem - fully outlining a complicated paper is very difficult in ten minutes, and often leaves listeners confused as you've tried to cover too much information in too little time. I've given a few talks on my dissertation work, which is based on relaxing a particular assumption in competitive strategy (that substitute technologies are mutually exclusive), by altering how a simple utility function is modeled (decomposing it into a summation). Trying to get through all the implications of that in ten minutes, as simple as the core idea is, is just too much. But focusing on a single point can still get audiences excited. </p>\n\n<p>I've given a talk on the tension between creating the single best technology, or making a technology that is still useful even if a buyer has already adopted another technology. That is 2-3 pages of the paper, but is enough of an idea that the audience can walk away knowing they've learned something new, and can think about things in a new way. Another talks about indirect complementarity - where two technologies appear to be substitutes, but behave as compliments in the presence of a third technology. That's another few pages, but another single point that audiences can take away, knowing they've learned something. A third presentation is the empirical test of my idea, which is context specific, and requires a bit of explanation to highlight 1-2 more key points. Each of these is part of the same story line, but each still represents a distinct takeaway - and if your audience takes away one new thing from each talk, that's quite the accomplishment compared to most talks. This is <em>especially</em> true if talking to specialists, who know enough of the background for you to focus on mechanisms in isolation, with some depth, to convey something new. For a general audience, I would still think about how to concisely convey the big picture, and then focus in on one piece of information you want to be sure they get out of the presentation, even if it's not to the same depth as you could get to with a specialist audience. This allows you to keep things fresh over time, and also ensures you understand the phenomena enough to communicate the component pieces clearly.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 171260,
"author": "bubba",
"author_id": 11940,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11940",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Presumably you can improve the talk each time you give it. Even if the core mathematical results are the same, you could perhaps ...</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Make the notation cleaner or more consistent</li>\n<li>Improve the motivation — explain better why your results are important</li>\n<li>Add pictures/diagrams to illustrate the ideas.</li>\n<li>Add new example uses of your results.</li>\n<li>Add new connections to other results, especially very recent ones.</li>\n<li>Add new ideas about future extensions.</li>\n<li>Add some related open problems.</li>\n<li>Add some discussion of attempted solutions that didn’t work.</li>\n<li>Remove material that you’ve found to be incomprehensible except to a few specialists, based on previous talks.</li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/27
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21527",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12656/"
] |
21,561 |
<p>My understanding of research is that it's a way to find solutions/answers to questions/problems in a certain subfield of a bigger discipline, which in my case would be Computer Science (honestly, it'd be more like Computer Engineering).</p>
<p>I think I know, however, that if these problems and solutions are too simple or banal, the whole process of doing research is irrelevant because </p>
<ol>
<li>surely somebody else has already worked in that, and </li>
<li>there's no sense in working in something that won't contribute a significant amount of knowledge to the discipline. </li>
</ol>
<p>This means that in order to get <em>worthy</em> (or at least relevant) problems to research, you must be at the cutting edge of the field so that you have an idea of what's not yet known and you can start working on it. Am I right?</p>
<p>If I am, that sounds kind of <em>complicated</em>. I have heard that I should read lots of papers in an area of my interest and work from there, but I'm sincerely not sure about how to start doing even this. I have access to the ACM Digital Library, for example, but I don't know what to search for, what to read, or in what order to do so. </p>
<p>I am alone in this, for my university is weak in research and no professors seem to be interested in it. Do you have any tips, or any specific set of steps that you followed to get into research?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21563,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It'll certainly be easier if you can find a professor willing to supervise you, so I strongly suggest that you keep trying on that front. But even if you can't, all is not lost! Here are the steps I recommend. Note that this may not be the <em>only</em> way to get started, but it's a way that works for many of my students:</p>\n\n<h3>Step 1: Start by identifying an area of interest</h3>\n\n<p>A good way to start is to identify a topic in class that interests you. Approach the professor for that class and ask him/her to suggest some related papers for further reading.</p>\n\n<h3>Step 2: Get a better view of this area</h3>\n\n<p>Thoroughly reading those papers may take a while, since this is new to you. Don't be discouraged by this! After you have a reasonable understanding of the papers suggested by your professor, start to branch out: look up the papers cited by/citing those papers to get a broader view.</p>\n\n<h3>Step 3: Reproduce some existing results</h3>\n\n<p>Somewhere in all this reading, you'll come across something that <em>really</em> interests you: a proof, a design of a system, a software implementation of an idea. See if you can reproduce this result (by going through the steps of the proof, writing your own software, running a simulation, etc.) Again, this may be more difficult than you expect; don't get discouraged.</p>\n\n<h3>Step 4: Do something new</h3>\n\n<p>Now that you've reproduced someone else's results, can you extend them? Is there a small variation on the system design that could improve the results, an interesting application in another domain, a stronger result you can prove? Get to work. </p>\n\n<h3>Step 5: Communicate your results</h3>\n\n<p>Congrats, you are now <em>almost</em> a bona fide researcher! Go show the professor who recommended the papers what you've been working on. A big part of doing research is communicating the results, once you have something to show. (And to get into a good grad school, you'll need to impress some potential letter writers.)</p>\n\n<p>You should also consider writing a draft of a paper and soliciting feedback on it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21568,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the main goal here is to learn to \"think like a researcher\", then you only need to work on a problem that's new to you; it doesn't necessarily need to be at the cutting edge of the field. Indeed, there may be pedagogical value in having the ability to compare your solutions with those found by more experienced researchers. Of course, your results may not be publishable, unless you find something interesting - but at your career stage, that doesn't necessarily matter. You still will have something to discuss/write about in applications for grad school, and you will have learnt a lot! </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21579,
"author": "nivag",
"author_id": 14115,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14115",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would start by seeing if your university has an undergraduate research program or runs summer projects with researchers in any formalised way. If they do this is an excellent way to get started in research as you have an experienced researcher to help guide you and it helps create useful contacts if you are interested in a future in academia.</p>\n\n<p>If your university has no formal program you can email professors in a field you are interested in to see if they any projects you could do over the summer. Keep preserving if the first people you contact have nothing, they are probably busy and if they do not expect a summer student they are unlikely to have a project prepared.</p>\n\n<p>It is probably helpful if you have a vague idea of what you want to research into. Not necessarily a specific project but at least a field or sub-topic. This not only helps you identify academics with similar interests but shows you are keen and helps them formulate a project for you.</p>\n\n<p>If your university is very weak at research one option may be to look at doing a summer project at another university which is more research focused. This is not ideal as knowing how to contact will be harder and there may be extra costs such as accommodation, but it is a possibility.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21584,
"author": "Trylks",
"author_id": 7571,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7571",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How to get to know what to research, possible approaches:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Find supervisors that do things you consider interesting, ask them\nwhat could you do for them.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find research groups that do things you consider interesting, ask\n them what could you do for them.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find a research project that is interesting, work in that project.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find a problem that is interesting and not solved yet, work on that\n problem. Generally problems are either new or hard, sometimes both.\n Sometimes (often? always?) solving an easy problem in a proper way\n turns to be very hard. Proving it's the right way to solve that\n problem is very often much harder. </p></li>\n<li><p>Find what is interesting for you, then find problems in that area\n and find funding to solve those problems.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find a business model, if you are not certain about what is interesting for you, then consider what is interesting for everybody else, so interesting that they would be willing to pay for it.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find what are you good at and it <a href=\"https://www.readability.com/articles/ecdm2zpc\" rel=\"nofollow\">may</a> become your passion.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find current trends in research, hot topics, there should be problems, money and success there.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>In the end it doesn't really matter what you find first, you have to find everything else (a supervisor, funding, etc.) however the order in which you find some things will probably determine what you find later, i.e. the information you get and the decisions you make direct your search throughout the process.</p>\n\n<p>How to find things? Searching. It's hard and tedious, there are no shortcuts, AFAIK.</p>\n\n<p>The only advice I can give is: \"Don't make the problem, find it\", problems should not be \"created\" or \"invented\" to do research, some situation may not have been perceived as a problem before, that's fine, you check that situation and change it, hopefully for the better. Research in computer engineering consists in using (sometimes making) computers and/or software to go from point A to point B (as a very naïve description), hopefully point B will be better under some perspective than point A, but what I would like to stress is that point A should be real. It may not be common (that's fine) but it has to be real.</p>\n\n<p>Point A is in the world, not in any book, there may be books (papers, etc.) that describe point A, that reach to point A (from a previous one), etc. but point A is in the real world and this should be never forgotten. The most theoretical part of computer science doesn't care whether A is real or not, that work is important by setting the foundations of things that will be used in the future, when we reach to a point A where that is relevant (if that ever happens), it's a very hard and uncertain type of research, that I don't personally like (for me) and that you don't seem to pursue. Therefore, for us, point A is in the real world, out there.</p>\n\n<p>This is important because that means that we can access point A from the world and from the way it relates with other things. There may be people interested on that, research groups, research projects, papers describing it, business to do in solving it, skills that are relevant for it, trends that involve it, etc. Those are paths to find it, to get to it. </p>\n\n<p>So this is your first research topic, you are in ignorance, point A, you want to find a research topic, point B (that will later become A). How do you do it? I offer you this \"relational approach\", try to find a better one. After all, we are only talking about information, searching, maybe it's too soon to make a search engine for this, but maybe someone can make a search methodology that will probably involve using conventional search engines.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21561",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13158/"
] |
21,562 |
<p>There is a conference that my advisor suggested that I attend and present at, but unfortunately as this was just suggested today, I missed the abstract submission deadline by about a week. </p>
<p>I know this is my fault, but I am just wondering how lenient conferences are wrt late registration. I emailed the organizer politely explaining the situation and asking if it would still be possible to register. If anyone is curious, this is for the SIAM annual meeting in Chicago.</p>
<p>I've never attended any sort of conference at this level before (but do have some experience with poster presentations), so I'm wondering should I even expect a reply, let alone a positive one? I think this would be a really great opportunity for me to present my research to people in the field, and I will most likely attend the conference even if I'm not able to present at the poster session.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Edit and update:</strong> The organizing committee has agreed to give consideration to my abstract, and said they'd let me know by the end of next week re: acceptance/rejection.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21565,
"author": "Flyto",
"author_id": 8394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some conferences usually/always extend. Others don't. I suggest writing to the organisers and asking - the worst that can happen is that they say no, and they might say yes, even if an extension hasn't been formally announced!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21582,
"author": "Benedikt Bauer",
"author_id": 10039,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10039",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some conferences (I don't know if it applies for the one you have in mind as well) give the opportunity for the submission of so-called \"late breaking posters\" even after the official submission deadline until shortly before the conference date.</p>\n\n<p>By this one can present very recent results that did not get ready before the deadline. As a drawback it should be noted that the contribution will normally not be listed in the conference proceedings as they will already go into preparation/production soon after the deadline. Also the reviewers might have a special eye on the originality and the currency of the contribution, so submitting some rather well hung stuff just to get a poster presentation and a reason to attend the conference might not work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 34401,
"author": "Phil",
"author_id": 26688,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26688",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most would not let you submit your abstract. However - I would guess that it depends on the size of the conference, the amount of submissions, and the committee members themselves.</p>\n\n<p>It doesn't hurt to ask!</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21562",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15812/"
] |
21,574 |
<p>The paper in question is based on research my collaborator X and I did together some months ago. Our respective contributions to the research were around 2/3 for X and 1/3 for me. In terms of the actual text of the paper, X wrote about 1/3 and I wrote about 2/3. </p>
<p>During the writing of the actual paper, X decided to leave academia. I can no longer contact X: emails to the old address go undelivered and there is no forwarding address for physical mail. Attempts to find X through web searches and contact X through mutual acquaintances have been unsuccessful. X has thus not seen a complete draft of the paper, only the sections that were actually written by X.</p>
<p>In these circumstances, is it ethical for me to submit a paper with X's name on it, without a complete version having been checked by X and without X's approval?</p>
<p>If I do submit it, should it contain a note of the fact that X was unable to check the completed paper? I am considering the hypothetical possibility that I could have inadvertently introduced an error while writing the complete paper (and such an error might survive through peer-review and into publication); responsibility for such an error should be mine alone. </p>
<p>There is no possibility of separating out my contribution into a separate paper. Either the work has to be published as a whole or not at all.</p>
<p>I am in a field where alphabetical listing of authors is standard, so there is no question of the order of authors.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21587,
"author": "derelict",
"author_id": 14547,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14547",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Typically, yes, it would be unethical. You should always allow co-authors the chance to review a paper. </p>\n\n<p>However, this case of <em>missing co-author</em> is a different situation.. I'm sure if you try harder, you could find X. If you have exhausted all resources and absolutely cannot find X, you might consider bending the \"rules\" a bit and publish the paper with X's name. </p>\n\n<p>You might also consider contacting the journal editor for their feedback. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21589,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would also say, yes, it is not totally ethical to have X as a co-author if he did not approve the final version. If all attempts to contact X fail, and also you are sure that X left academia for good, it would suggest to mention X's contribution in the acknowledgement in a honest way.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21593,
"author": "Phil Perry",
"author_id": 13080,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13080",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you can <em>document</em> that you have made a good faith effort to find X, and have been unsuccessful, I would think you would be covered on both the legal and ethical fronts. There's no reason for all <em>your</em> work to go to waste just because your associate has gone into hiding. If the publisher/journal won't accept them as an author without their signed release, publish it under your name and very prominently acknowledge their contribution (as a special note in the introduction). Make sure the journal is aware of this special case, so neither you nor the journal are blind-sided if X shows up. Note that you have been unable to contact them and would appreciate hearing from anyone who can reach them (and, needless to say, readers will likely have a hard time contacting them).</p>\n\n<p>If you decide to publish \"jointly\", explain in an introductory note that X did not review the final work, any errors are solely yours, etc.</p>\n\n<p>Do you know for sure that they simply left academia, and didn't in fact die? Have you checked \"white pages\" phone listings? Have you checked online death records?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21594,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The story makes me a bit concerned about the safety and well-being of X. I might try to vocalize that concern to X's former department head and see whether she has anything to say to allay it. If really not, then perhaps you might try: \"I am concerned that X might be a missing person. Would you be willing to help me contact the authorities about this?\"</p>\n\n<p>Somehow though the vibe I am getting from you is that X really just definitely left his own career and does not care or want to be contacted by his former colleagues. Academics are famous for being a little distant, but truly making oneself unable to be reached is quite unprofessional and even irresponsible behavior. How much can you worry about the future academic career of someone who is willing to sever all contact with his former coworkers for the indefinite future? It is very strange and by the way disrespectful to you: did he say anything to you about your project or did he just completely leave you in the lurch?</p>\n\n<p>Let's hope that X is still alive and well, but he certainly sounds like he had a dramatic \"death\" in the sense that Paul Erdos used the word: i.e., he has brusquely left the academic community. So I think that dealing with this as you would if he were actually deceased sounds strange at first but is a reasonable way to go. </p>\n\n<p>In this circumstance I would do as @Dirk suggested: don't put X's name on the paper. <s>Dead men don't write papers.</s> Less preciously, there is an inherent dishonesty in listing someone as a coauthor in this situation. Rather you should carefully explain the part of the work that was due to X and that you unfortunately lost all contact with X and are forced to write and submit the paper on your own. Should you expect to have to explain yourself -- and in particular, explain that you did try the things that everyone (including me) thinks should have worked to reach X -- to a journal editor? Yes, absolutely. Is this going to create additional hardship for you in trying to publish the paper? Yes, it certainly might. It's kind of a crappy situation for you, honestly. But I don't see what else to do. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21596,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is actually the subject of a blog post over at <a href=\"http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/2010/02/14/what-to-do-when-your-coauthor/\">Adventures in Ethics and Science</a>. In general, it seems that several possible actions are defensible. However, whatever action you take, you should make sure to </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Document your efforts to reach your co-author</li>\n<li>Let the journal editor know at submission time what's going on</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://retractionwatch.com/category/by-reason-for-retraction/forged-authorship/\">RetractionWatch</a> is full of stories papers that were retracted for having been submitted without a co-author's knowledge. These steps can help you avoid that fate.</p>\n\n<p>Given you've done 1 and 2, your choices are then:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Include the co-author, despite the radio silence, or</li>\n<li>Acknowledge the co-author</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The problem with the first choice is that authorship signals endorsement of the paper's contents. If the missing co-author has not read and endorsed the final contents, having his name as an author is misleading. However, you can resolve this to some degree by including an explicit statement (e.g., in a footnote) that Author X could not be reached to review the final version of the paper.</p>\n\n<p>The applicability of this choice also depends very much on <strong>the journal’s official policy</strong> and what responsibilities each of the persons listed as authors have met. I'm sure we can all agree that it would be out of bounds to forge the missing co-author's signature on a form that needs to be submitted with the manuscript! However, even if <em>you</em> have to sign a form stating that all the authors have reviewed the manuscript, you shouldn't do that either - tell the editor you can't, and explain why.</p>\n\n<p>The problem with the second choice (acknowledgement instead of authorship) is that the missing co-author has presumably done enough to warrant authorship of the paper. However, you could argue that an essential part of authorship is to see the paper through to publication - and that if the missing co-author has not done that, he does not deserve authorship. Again, if you do this, you must clearly document the author's contribution in the acknowledgements and alert the editor.</p>\n\n<p>Which action you choose will probably depend on authorship standards in your field and the outcome of your conversation with the editor. Whatever the result, make sure you clearly and honestly communicate the contributions (and lack thereof) of the missing co-author to both your readers and the editor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21597,
"author": "Faheem Mitha",
"author_id": 285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/285",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>[This was mentioned as a comment to the question, but since a couple of people thought it useful, I'm promoting it to an answer.]</p>\n\n<p>If your colleague X was a foreigner, try contacting the people at his university (usually a separate office or division) who handle paperwork for foreigners. The US govt tends to require a lot of information about foreigners when granting visas. They might have a forwarding address or phone numbers or something, maybe in his home country. You might have to go through X's ex-department if the people performing these services refuse to give information, citing confidentiality issues.</p>\n\n<p>As far as whether to include X's name as a co-author, add him to acknowledgements, or omit him entirely, I would lean towards not including him as a co-author, but including him in the acknowledgements, and adding a note that you would like to have him as a co-author, but don't feel you can reasonably do so; and including a brief description of the circumstances. It is unclear whether acknowledgements require permission, in fact I <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/19604/285\">asked a question about exactly that</a> some time ago. Generally, I play it safe and ask for permission, but under the circumstances, I don't think anyone will blame you if you don't.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21598,
"author": "David Mulder",
"author_id": 11353,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11353",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am surprised that a certain issue has not been raised here: </p>\n\n<h1>Copyright</h1>\n\n<p>Depending on the country the copyright of his work may either lay with him or the university. If the <strong>university</strong> owns the copyright for his work than indeed with proper permissions from the publisher and proper acknowledgments it would be quite ethical to publish such a work. If however the <strong>author</strong> still owns the copyright it would be absolutely illegal to publish his works without his consent. Now, as far as I know most universities handle this quite well and it tends to be a standard clause in any contract, but it is <strong>absolutely something you should check</strong> as I have heard about universities where this was quite explicitly not the case on an ideological basis (just check your own contract).</p>\n\n<h1>Associating X's name without his consent</h1>\n\n<p>Another issue that has not been raised is whether it would be ethical to publish X's name in the first place. Personally I am inclined to argue that in case that the copyright lies with the institution and author X has disappeared in such a way that you were not able to find him, it might not be in his best interest to publish his name, nor add any value for you. Now, don't misunderstand, I am not arguing for not mentioning him at all, rather I would refer to an anonymous author in the author list and in the acknowledgements describe the situation without mentioning his name.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21609,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your university/department probably has a protocol for investigating research malpractice (ie the people who would be responsible for any disciplinary investigation if the \"missing author\" made a complaint about the route you eventually choose). I suggest you approach them for advice now. And definitely approach the journal editor for advice - they may have seen this before.</p>\n\n<p>Ethically, there is no perfect solution. One thing to weigh up when considering whether the missing author should be an author: are your results controversial in any way? Do you have any reason to think that the missing author might disagree to any significant extent with what you've written? If so, this should weigh heavily in your ethical analysis of the various options. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21624,
"author": "Karen Dombek",
"author_id": 15858,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15858",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is, of course, the possibility that the foreign-born author fears problems or retaliation at home if they published. Not knowing the topic, I can't say, but the persecution of Salman Rushdie's \"The Satanic Verses\" with a <strong>fatwa</strong> and death threats springs to mind.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21631,
"author": "laura",
"author_id": 15862,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15862",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Can't you just rewrite the article? That is, keep all the ideas, techniques, etc., but produce an entirely new text? That would at least deal completely with the issue of copyright. In that case, you would be the sole author (though you <em>must</em> include a very generous acknowledgment note, for sure).</p>\n\n<p>Even if your article contains experimental data/lengthy calculations, you can reuse that data as long as you remake tables, graphs, etc. as your own work. Again, conspicuous attribution is required.</p>\n\n<p>And speaking as someone who has herself gone away abruptly from a doctoral research position, you should consider that the troubles you are going through right now may very well have been fully foreseen and intended by your MIA colleague. So that if you manage to finally track him down, he may simply refuse to publish or even flat out refuse to talk to you. And he's fully entitled to do so. (Not trying to imply that you mistreated your colleague in any way; I certainly felt mistreated before I left, and if someone ever came looking for me, for whatever reason, I'd tell them to shove it. But in my case I rather doubt anyone will.)</p>\n\n<p>So, the gist of it, as I see it, is that you are fully entitled to use the ideas, data, that is, the <em>substance</em> of the work itself (with very explicit attribution and acknowledgment); but you cannot in any way list him as a coauthor without his formally expressed consent (that would be misrepresentation on your part); and you certainly cannot publish anything he actually wrote while omitting him as an author (which would be plagiarising).</p>\n\n<p>On a final note: Keep in mind that, though he may appear to be missing, it is very possible he is still keeping an eye on whatever your lab/department is doing. If someone from my previous workplace did anything like that to me, I would be sure to be back to give them as much grief as I possibly could.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21642,
"author": "GS - Apologise to Monica",
"author_id": 7257,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7257",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If a co-author had died while a paper was being prepared, I would normally expect to see them continue to be listed, along with a footnote mentioning that fact.</p>\n\n<p>The situation here is slightly more woolly because it requires more explanation and in the case of a death there's no risk that the co-author will reappear and repudiate the work. Nonetheless they seem close enough and a footnote along the lines of \"X did A work but was unavailable to contribute to the final draft of this paper\" would be appropriate.</p>\n\n<p>As others have said, flagging the situation with the editors and any local ethics committee would certainly be prudent.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21574",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13547/"
] |
21,586 |
<p>Whenever I submit an article, conference paper or other written document, I get tons of useful feedback from my supervisors and other PhD students. So far, I've made sure to adjust my submissions according to their good comments, and then just throw the feedback away. But I feel like I could use that feedback much more efficiently.</p>
<p>I would like to categorise/condense the feedback in some way that makes it easy to identify my weaknesses and common themes, and also to see whether I'm actually improving in all areas or there are some recurring comments.</p>
<p>Does there exist a good framework for this task? If not, how should I approach it?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21590,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your writing skills usually improve gradually over time. It seems like a very natural approach to obtain feedback and improve papers accordingly,thereby learning important skills.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to be more efficient/structured I suggest that you not try to collect and categorize all feedback you get but try to build up a collection of \"Tips and tricks\". What I mean is, that you could skim the feedback for general advice and useful tricks that seems to be applicable in more general form (such as \"write the introduction from general to specific and write the conclusion from specific to general\") and collect only these bits.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21682,
"author": "Simmy",
"author_id": 15896,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15896",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Do you ever have the opportunity to peer-review other peoples' work? This may not seem related to the question of improving your own writing, but it really is. By reviewing the work of others, you generally tend to see where weaknesses can creep into a manuscript -- it is easier to see errors or different ways of wording things when the work is not your own. In doing so, you can often become more conscious if similar \"things\" occur in your own writing (and of course, you learn a ton from reviewing the content). Peer-review and copy-editing manuscripts for co-authors has helped me a lot in my writing over the last 15 years or so. Of course, I also took a 2 day course on scientific writing, which pretty much opened my eyes up to the reality that you are writing for the reader and must do everything you can to make sure the reader can understand from start (big picture) to finish (graphic details) the story you are trying to tell.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21697,
"author": "mhwombat",
"author_id": 10529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10529",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My approach is simply to be alert to <em>patterns</em> that recur in the feedback I get (or as you call them, themes), so that I can improve in those areas. For example, I have learned that I still have a natural tendency to write too short of an introduction (not providing enough context for my work), and to assume that my audience has knowledge that they may not have. Those are the faults that I'm trying to \"cure\" myself of at the moment, so these are the areas that I try to pay the most attention to as I write a paper or prepare a presentation. </p>\n\n<p>I don't have a checklist of things to watch out for, although that's not a bad idea. I find that by focusing on a couple of my worst flaws, eventually I internalise what I've learned so that I don't need to think about it. For example, when I first started writing papers, my supervisors had to tell me to show a logical connection from one idea to the next, so that the reader could follow my train of thought. I tend to do that automatically now, which leaves me to focus on other flaws.</p>\n\n<p>I find that I do best if I focus on improving one or two areas at a time, rather than trying to improve everything at once.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21586",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15824/"
] |
21,600 |
<p>There is a scientist I am interested in contacting with expertise in peptidomics. I would like to email them to ask if they had ever explored findings from a related area of research. How do I politely contact them for their input? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21601,
"author": "JNS",
"author_id": 15736,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15736",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>First of all, check their personal website and any other content they have published which you have access to which may already offer the input you require. It would certainly be in order to personally e-mail the researcher, but be specific as to the type of input or information you require. The scientist is probably very busy, and a broad question is more likely to go unanswered in that case. </p>\n\n<p>If you intend to refer to certain findings from a related field, ensure you provide all the necessary information to answer your question, or at the very least provide links to the related papers or websites for the convenience of the researcher.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21602,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Virtually every publication will list a corresponding author along with contact information, usually an email address and/or phone number. All authors are listed with their university and department. You can and should use any or all of this information to find these people and get in touch with the authors of any papers about which you have questions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21605,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Send them a brief, polite email. Brief because nobody has time to read huge walls of text from strangers; polite because you want them to help you.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21600",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
21,612 |
<p>As a sort of follow up to a <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19803/ms-in-pure-maths-to-phd-in-statistics">previous question</a>, what is advice you would give for telling my MSci advisor I am switching disciplines (pure maths to statistics) for doctoral work? I will presumably ask him for a letter of recommendation. I do not want to come across as ungrateful for his work with me, but the direction of my current research with him has come to bore me. How do I tell him that is a major reason I am switching disciplines? Do I even need to disclose such? I am closing in on completing my work with him, so anything dealing with changing advisors right now is not an option. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21620,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<h2>Directly.</h2>\n\n<p>\"I've decided to pursue a PhD in statistics.\"</p>\n\n<p>Then after the inevitable discussion:</p>\n\n<p>\"Can you write me a strong letter of recommendation?\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21655,
"author": "Taladris",
"author_id": 15528,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15528",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In many countries in Europe (France for example), statistics is a part of the Maths department. Theoritical statistics uses a lot of sophisticated mathematics, like measure theory, or functional analysis. A PhD in applied statistics would probably require a serious theoritical research, together with modelisation and programming. </p>\n\n<p>So you should not be ashamed to switch to statistics. Tell your advisor this is not because of him, but due to your personal interest. Excellent scientist are driven by passion! </p>\n\n<p>You may start the conversation by telling your advisor you're switching to physics. If he survives the shock, tell him you were joking and you are \"just\" going to statistics ;)</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21612",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14518/"
] |
21,613 |
<p>By what title should I greet assistant and associate professors in emails and letters? I study in the UK and for post-doctorands up to senior lectures one uses "Dear Dr. X", but for professors one uses "Dear Professor. X".</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21614,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Assistant and Associate Professors in the US can be formally addressed by \"Professor\" or \"Doctor/Dr.\". There should be no offense given with either salutation, and either is appropriate.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21625,
"author": "RHC",
"author_id": 859,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/859",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's quite important to consider what your position is in this relationship, and you don't specify. In almost any situation, it is probably best to address your <em>first</em> email using the \"Dr.\" or \"Prof.\" title, to be polite, and to continue to do so until it seems that the tone of the responses are less formal. Of course, that is a subjective thing to judge. But I can't give you much advice about that!</p>\n\n<p>You will have to read from the tone of the responses at what point (possibly after only one email) the Prof. is OK with a less formal form of address. If you are an undergrad student in their class, it might not hurt to stay with the more formal title, even if you are of a similar age to them. </p>\n\n<p>I was trained in the UK and now work in the US system, and I feel like there is a lot of similarity. Basically, it's fairly informal, within limits. As an assistant professor myself, I do prefer undergrads to address me as \"Dr.\" or \"Prof.\" (as a US class instructor, not the same as the UK Professor) in more formal correspondence, and I think that's usual in the US and UK. Graduate students and above can normally expect to be safe to be on first name terms provided their emails remain fairly professional and carefully written, i.e. they don't rapidly degenerate into txtspeak or very casual, potentially rude, references or phrasing.</p>\n\n<p>So, if you are a graduate student or post-doc, and you are at the same department, or even institution, I encourage you to consider using their first name once that initial correspondence has been exchanged and if they sign with their first name. It's never \"wrong\" to continue to use a more formal term of address, but it can sometimes become awkwardly too formal for relaxed academics.</p>\n\n<p>Now, take into account the personality of your correspondent. If he or she is very senior in age or accomplishment, or maybe has given an impression of great self-importance (i.e., ego!) then you may be better off staying slightly more formal in case you are perceived to be disrespecting them before you know them more personally. Honestly, though, I think that is an increasingly rare (but not unheard of) phenomenon.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 55449,
"author": "user42037",
"author_id": 42037,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/42037",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's interesting actually, </p>\n\n<p>As an Australian undergrad I've never referred to any of my lecturers or tutors as anything but their first names, and would find an insistence on titles in such a situation to be... well, frankly an exercise in serious anal retention. </p>\n\n<p>However while applying for postgraduate studies, all of my 'reach out' emails trying to attract supervisory interest use the appropriate titles. While almost all of the replies come back establishing a first-name basis for future correspondence, I wouldn't dream of initiating said correspondence informally. </p>\n\n<p>Highlights cultural differences across countries too - I'm fairly certain that if a senior academic at my uni in my field started insisting that his or her students use their full titles, the rest of the department would give them a far less flattering unofficial one. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 75676,
"author": "dutchstat",
"author_id": 60788,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/60788",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is an old question but I feel that the answers were incomplete in that the question has so far been interpreted mostly along the lines of "how formally should I address someone". However, you can also read it as a question of "is an associate professor properly addressed as 'dr' or 'prof'"?</p>\n<p>In some countries, for example, here in the Netherlands, somebody who is called an "assistent professor" or "associate professor" is not considered a (full) professor. For example, these researchers are not addressed like a professor in thesis defense ceremonies, they do not wear the same formal attire during official ceremonies etc. We definitely do not use the term "professor" for everybody who teaches in class. Adressing an assistent/associate professor as "professor" would thus not be appropriate here. (Professors are senior researchers who are typically the chair of a group of researchers and addressed as such. Becoming a full professor involves a university ceremony etc.).\nIf you address a Dutch assistent or associate professor for the first time, I would use dr.+surname (typically, people become assistent or associate professor after obtaining a PhD, and you can check on the university website if in doubt whether they have a PhD). I would not use the job title ("Dear assistent professor X") in the same way that I would not address other people with their job function either ("Dear department manager Smith" ?!), but in some of the other responses this is suggested, so this might differ as well between countries.</p>\n<p>Last note: Some people who have a PhD, do not like to be addressed as Mr/Ms X instead of dr.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 77834,
"author": "jjj",
"author_id": 62846,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62846",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Assoc. Professor X is how. After the first email may it be ok to use first names if they sign off as such or if the tone of the email suggests it is fine</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 98081,
"author": "Levon",
"author_id": 1452,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1452",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Professor or Dr. </p>\n\n<p>I would definitely <strong><em>not</em></strong> go with first name, many (including myself) would find that too familiar from someone they don't know - and some may take offense. You can't make any assumptions about this, so <em>it's better to err on the side of more formal until/unless you find out otherwise</em> (or are invited to address the person by their first name).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 166707,
"author": "Daniel Hatton",
"author_id": 128581,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/128581",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Exeter University has published a <a href=\"https://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/humanresources/learninganddevelopment/exeteracademic/eandrdocuments2017/Protocols_for_using_title_AP.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">protocol</a> for how to address Associate Professors in various contexts. What's important about that is not so much the content of the protocol, as the fact that Exeter University believes it's up to the individual university to decide, i.e. there is no universal correct answer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 166744,
"author": "Ben",
"author_id": 87026,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/87026",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My preference in these matters is to stick exactly to the position title, so I would say "Dear Asst. Prof. Smith", or "Dear Assoc. Prof. Smith" in a first email. Thereafter you can use more informal salutations if appropriate.</p>\n<p>It is true that in some countries (e.g., USA) you can just call them all "professor", but it is somewhat odd to do this in certain countries. For example, in Australia we generally reserve the term "professor" only for a <em>full</em> professor. If I write an email to an Associate Professor here, I always call them "Assoc Prof." not "Prof." In fact, I sometimes get emails fram academics in the US addressing me as "Professor O'Neill" and I don't like it because it feels like I am being given a title I have not earned. For that reason, I think it is best to stick exactly to the exact position title, neither inflating nor deflating the title.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 177779,
"author": "Ellie Small",
"author_id": 149117,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/149117",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US, anyone who teaches at a university can be addressed as professor, including the adjuncts. Anyone who teaches at a university and also holds a PhD (or similar), can also be addressed as Dr.; in that case either title is acceptable.</p>\n<p>Dr. is a protected title and should therefore not be used on someone who does not hold either an MD or Doctorate such as a PhD.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21613",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8784/"
] |
21,616 |
<p>I am in a PhD program in a top US institution but my SO,family,friends are somewhere else. I am considering a thesis that would require minimal/no field or lab work. This would be a big compromise as I was hoping to do intensive field work but there is no funding for field work. I thought that a compromise would be that I can work on it remotely. I haven't mentioned yet to my advisor that I am home sick as we don't really connect on a personal level, but we have a good connection on a research level.</p>
<p>How do I approach my advisor saying that I would like to work remotely for 6 months out of the year? I have worked remotely before and it has always worked but I don't know how this type of setup is seen at a top tier US institution.
How do I approach my advisor about this issue?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21621,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think you should aim for a shorter period at first, to show that it doesn't affect your productivity. My wife and I aim to both work remotely 25% of our time, to address the <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/2633/1033\">two-body problem</a>. If each of us works remotely for two weeks every two months, that aim is fulfilled. A colleague of mine just returned from a 10-week remote work trip. </p>\n\n<p>Six months, however, is very long to work remotely in one go. It is of course more expensive to work remotely in shorter segments, but if your advisor doesn't know yet whether it will work out, six months is too long. Explain that you are ultimately interested in working remotely up to half of the time. Propose to work remotely for 3-4 weeks first. Be available at any normal local time for your supervisor, even if that might mean inconvenient times on your end. After the remote work trip, return and evaluate how it went. Then propose to plan a longer remote-work trip, perhaps 10 weeks, and return again. If all goes well after a couple of 10-week blocks, you could bring up the idea for an extended six-month period.</p>\n\n<p>The worst that can happen is that they say no, and you may have to find a different way. Perhaps they don't agree with 6 months in one block, but are fine with 3 2-month blocks spread over a year. It will cost more money, but it is safer in many ways too.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21636,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would break this down into two parts. First, discuss your circumstances with your advisor and explain that you want to spend more time \"at home\", and ask how he feels about you working remotely. Go into the discussion with a concrete proposal for how the practicalities might work: how will you do your work? Do you have access to the resources you'll need? How will you stay in touch with your advisor/colleagues/the research community? Take on board any reservations your advisor might have; don't go into the discussion with too fixed an idea of what the \"right\" outcome is. Agree to review the arrangements once they've been tested for a while. </p>\n\n<p>Once you have agreement in principle, then you can hash out the dates. I would try and start with relatively short stretches of remote working - a couple of weeks - to allow any teething problems/concerns (on either side) to be resolved. I suspect everyone will be happier if you can spend your six months away in short chunks, rather than in one big block. Also, recognise that your advisor may have reasons to want you present for certain occasions/portions of the year - involve him in your planning.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/28
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21616",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050/"
] |
21,618 |
<p>When checking the grants.gov I found that individuals can directly apply for available grants. Since it was not mentioned that individuals should be US citizen, I thought that everyone can apply, and judgement is based on the proposal.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Can international people apply?</p></li>
<li><p>Should the project conducted in the US territory? Or they care about the results no matter where it has been done?</p></li>
<li><p>If yes to 1 & 2; can an international person apply, and upon success coming to the US to conduct the project?</p></li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21619,
"author": "Leon palafox",
"author_id": 2806,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As far as I know for many of the grants, at least for DARPA, NSF, NIH, NASA, you need a PI located in a US institution, you may be located somewhere else, but the main PI should be from a US institution.</p>\n\n<p>For the look of it grants.gov is more like a splash age from where you can search grants in diverse institutions. I can only talk of those(DARPA, NIH, etc..), since are the one I'm familiarized with. </p>\n\n<p>Also, the PI applying for the grant usually needs to hold at least an associate professorship, there might be other grants that do not have this requirement but again, those are the ones I'm familiarized with.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21629,
"author": "RHC",
"author_id": 859,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/859",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Usually, you can follow links or do a google search to find the original text of the Call for Proposals. The full text of those <em>almost always</em> provides clear criteria for who is eligible. Almost always (probably unless otherwise stated), the PI has to be from a US institution, but contrary to the other answer here, I am not familiar with the PI needing to have any particular academic status (especially not <em>tenured</em> already as an associate prof, and certainly all the kinds of non-TT research scientist positions), provided they have a position which their institution officially lists as being eligible to be sponsored as a PI. Sometimes, a post-doc, lecturer, or adjunct prof might be eligible. Remember, the grants go to the institution primarily, and the PI merely executes them on their behalf. The granting agencies defer the responsibility for administering who is legally OK to conduct the research to the accredited institution. Policies can vary between institution, so you'll need to ask your local administrators.</p>\n\n<p>Certain kinds of award from private agencies or those who work with sensitive information, e.g. DARPA, DOD, or DOE, might require you to be a US Citizen (not even just a LPR), but that should be clearly listed. I am pretty sure that \"unrestricted,\" in this context, means that there is no such restriction on immigration status.</p>\n\n<p>You are always free to shoot an email or call to the cognizant program officer for a particular grant, to ask for clarification. They will expect you to have read the full, original CfP, unless you want to put them in a bad mood that might bias the review of your prospective application!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21633,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You wrote, </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I found that individuals can directly apply for available grants. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is true only in a few rare cases - generally, grants are awarded to PIs with an organizational affiliation. As per grants.gov's section on <a href=\"http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/grant-eligibility.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Grant Eligibility</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Although there are many funding opportunities on Grants.gov, few of them are available to individuals</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Unless specified for <em>Individual Eligibility</em>, funding opportunities on grants.gov are open only to those affiliated with an eligible organization, as <a href=\"http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/individual-registration.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">further stated</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Individual applicants may only apply for grant opportunities, on Grants.gov, that indicate individual eligibility within the Synopsis and Full Announcement.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>and <a href=\"http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">elsewhere</a> it says:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The only time it is appropriate to register as an individual with Grants.gov is when you are submitting an application that specifies it is open only to individuals, such as for an individual fellowship or traineeship.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you click \"Browse Eligibilities\" on the grants.gov homepage, you can click through directly to <a href=\"http://www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?eligibilities=21%7CIndividuals\" rel=\"nofollow\">the grants for which individuals may apply</a>. (These are basically a handful of fellowships or extremely specialized grants - currently there are ~20 open opportunities. You will have to read the extended details for these to determine if they have any additional eligibility requirements.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21618",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
] |
21,630 |
<p>I'm a physical scientist, having completed both my Ph.D. and postdoc at top 5 U.S. universities. After working in industry for more than 10 years, I decided it was time for a career switch to academia, not due to economic reasons, however due to a strong passion for teaching.</p>
<p>I taught for 5 years in graduate school, and established my own private tutoring service years ago. In total, I've been tutoring for more than 12 years. Recently I spent one (1) year teaching at a top 10 public university, and am now teaching at a community college.</p>
<p>During spring 2014, I sent out ~32 assistant professor applications, and heard back only from one school. I interviewed there, however did not get the position.</p>
<p><strong>QUESTION: Is there a possibility that, once discovering my tutoring service (simply a matter of a Google search), colleges and universities might not want to hire me?</strong></p>
<p>Interested only in science education research, my passion is exclusively in teaching at the undergraduate level, and I've used the tutoring to hone my skills over the years. Understanding exactly where students experience the pitfalls of my branch of physical science has provided me with a unique insight into teaching, however I'm not certain everyone perceives it this way.</p>
<p>I very much appreciate anyone who indicate whether or not the image of a tutor might take a toll in terms of applications and interviews.</p>
<p>Thank you!
Pensive</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21640,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The only thing I could see that might be a negative about having this service would be the possibility of creating a conflict of interest—you should not be a university professor while simultaneously offering <em>paid</em> tutoring services in disciplines you would be teaching. In that sense, you'd be \"double dipping,\" and it would be a serious ethical issue—are you somehow \"rewarding\" students who sign up for such a service?</p>\n\n<p>You could address these concerns directly in your statement, if you feel it's appropriate enough. More likely than not, however, it's just a numbers game. With hundreds of applications for any open position, and only a handful of candidates to be interviewed, you probably \"met expectations.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21641,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I decided it was time for a career switch to academia,[...], due to a strong passion for teaching.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As others have already mentioned, </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>sending out 32 apps and getting one interview might actually be a good success rate in physics. </li>\n<li>your absence from academic research for 10 years (if indeed you've been absent in the publications game) is a much bigger issue than your private tutoring service. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>But I wonder also where you're applying. If you're focused on teaching, but are applying to R1 schools where research is the main focus, then you're less likely to get any traction (especially if you indicate this love for teaching in your applications). I realize that this sounds awfully cynical, but the fact is that at research-focused universities you're competing with people with heavy research profiles and an unbroken sequence of postdocs and publications. </p>\n\n<p>At a more teaching-focused school, it's possible that your tutoring experience will be viewed as a positive, because it demonstrates a track record and commitment to teaching. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21630",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15860/"
] |
21,645 |
<p>What criteria (in light of the best practices or teaching experience) should one consider when deciding the passing percentage of the course? (By the passing percentage I mean the grade threshold below which the student will receive an F)</p>
<p>How should the threshold below which students get a failing grade depend qualitatively on these criteria?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21651,
"author": "Leon palafox",
"author_id": 2806,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've honestly never understood the letter system for scoring. Is not intuitive and is open to so many interpretations.</p>\n\n<p>Once I had to use letters, and at least for the case of failing the student it was quite straight forward. </p>\n\n<p>Tests, homework, and every piece of work was graded in a scale from 1 to 10, at the end I just did a weighted average for the different elements.</p>\n\n<p>So I ended up with a number between 1 and 10, I consider someone who has passed the class as someone who has at least more of half of the knowledge imparted in the class, so that would be having more than a round 5. </p>\n\n<p>So the threshold was set at 5.1, I would fail those that got less than 5.1 and just prorate the rest of the letter upwards. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21659,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I usually set 50%. However, I think the value is not of particular importance whatsoever - the main points are: Communicate the rule to the students and ask appropriate questions.</p>\n\n<p>I usually tell the students that I have a 50%-pass policy and that this is basically arbitrary (I could easily devise questions such that nobody can pass...). I think, the question on percentages and grades can only be discussed in view of the questions on the exam and of the stuff covered in the course.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21661,
"author": "Ari Trachtenberg",
"author_id": 15885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My classes are typically curved to the median. To grade, I first set what I think should be the median grade, based on my assessment of the class as a whole. Then one half of a standard deviation away from the median is one half-letter grade (e.g. if the standard deviation is 10 raw points out of 100, then 5 points would move an A- to a B+).</p>\n\n<p>Using this scale, an F is simply someone who is a certain number of standard deviations below the median.</p>\n\n<p><em>Several points:</em></p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>I explain my general scheme to students on the first day of class,\n so that expectations are clear up front. There is some wriggle room\n at the letter grade borders.</li>\n<li>I typically look for clean breaks\n between student performers (i.e. if one cluster is 2 points above\n another cluster, then it makes sense to separate their grades).</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 61966,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm at a school with nonselective admissions, and my process works like this. I look at what students have done in the course in past semesters, and I decide subjectively that a student who got x% deserved to pass. Then I look at the social/economic/political environment I'm in, and I know that if I set the standard at x, there would be unacceptable consequences, such as all of my classes having zero enrollment in the future. Therefore I lower the value of the variable x to what I think will prevent all my classes from being canceled. If this guess turns out to be wrong, I continue adjusting it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21645",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9547/"
] |
21,653 |
<p>As I see faculty positions in Europe and North America is always based on applications. Is it common that a department head suggest a faculty position to a possible candidate?</p>
<p>I do not mean based on personal connection. Job websites (consider those devoted to academic jobs) encourage job seekers to upload their CVs.</p>
<p>Is it common that a department head search CVs uploaded on academic job websites and suggest a faculty possible to a job seeker?</p>
<p>Is there any success story? Does this system work in practice?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21658,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For entry-level junior faculty, the likelihood is almost none unless you are already a superstar.</p>\n\n<p>People get invited to apply based on their prominence/brilliance in the field or through personal connections. </p>\n\n<p>While it doesn't hurt to have your CV uploaded to a job website, the likelihood that a hiring department will use it to pick you up is not very high.</p>\n\n<p>The reason is that for most job postings in this economic / intellectual climate is that any single job posting will get over a hundred applicants, if not more. </p>\n\n<p>Even small schools can get over 200+ applicants for junior faculty postings. They have no need to solicit additional applicants.</p>\n\n<p>[Note this is the case for the humanities / social sciences in the United States based on my experience. Your mileage may vary.]</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21662,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not aware of any such websites, but I would still wager that the success rate will be pretty much 0. There are three main reasons for this:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>As RoboKaren already states, the academic job market is <em>very</em> competitive. Even for not particularly attractive positions it is no uncommon to receive more than 100 applications. There simply is no need for a head of a search committee to go scouring websites with academic CVs.</li>\n<li>It <em>does</em> happen that search committees actively approach candidates that they think will be very promising and invite them to apply (this is more common for more senior positions, but I have heard it happens for junior faculty positions as well, at least occasionally). However, this will only happen to you if you are eminent enough that your name comes up on its own. Search committees will not go looking for people to invite to apply, on a website or elsewhere.</li>\n<li>\"Uploading a CV\" in principle sounds like a colossal waste of time. Every academic has a website (at least <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/616/is-web-presence-important-for-researchers\">they really should have</a>) that people can use to find out everything they want about a job seeker. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I would recommend to stay away.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21653",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13854/"
] |
21,665 |
<p>Has any college in the US managed to unite being prestigious and being open access, at undergrad or grad level. I mean open enrolment in the European sense, where they have kind of minimal requirements (language cert, high-school and not much more). </p>
<p>I wonder, given that they could charge thousands $/year, what's the problem with admitting mass-wise new students (and provide them with decent teachers, materials and the like). Why limit the number of clients you get?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21669,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are two fundamentally opposing ideas here. Yes, it would be nice if everyone could afford, and be admitted to, a top-tier university. But that's simply not how prestige works.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If you admit lower quality students, the number of truly excellent graduates is diluted and your university will lose prestige.</li>\n<li>The loss of prestige may mean a gradual decrease in the quality of faculty, as the very best are hired by other prestigious universities. You'll certainly need to hire more professors to teach the extra students, and can you be sure that all the new hires will be just as good as those you've already got? There are only so many researchers in the world worthy of Nobel prizes.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>An everyman's university will never have the prestige of a university such as Oxford, Caltech, or MIT. The key to the success of these top universities is <em>consistency</em>. Damn near every one of their graduates is a top performer, which is very desirable to employers (and also quite attractive for prospective faculty).</p>\n\n<p>Once you lower the barrier to entry, their perceived quality will head downwards, and the flow-on effects will snowball.</p>\n\n<p>There are many very excellent (and open) universities that are not as <em>prestigious</em> as they perhaps deserve, for example ETH Zurich is a truly excellent university that is open to all Swiss citizens who have passed their high school exams. <a href=\"http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014/reputation-ranking\">This Times Higher Education ranking page</a> shows somewhat quantitatively the elitism that is at play.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21670,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The best example, that I can think of, of a mainstream US university that is respected at both the national and international levels with a policy that is something like open access is Arizona State University. They have a fixed bar admissions policy: <a href=\"https://students.asu.edu/freshman/requirements\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://students.asu.edu/freshman/requirements</a></p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Applicants must also meet at least one of the following:</p>\n<p>Top 25% in high school graduating class</p>\n<p>3.0 GPA in competency courses (4.0 = A)</p>\n<p>ACT 22 (24 nonresidents)*</p>\n<p>SAT Reasoning 1040 (1110 nonresidents)*</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Prestigious is a difficult concept to quantify. To some if it is not Harvard, then it is not prestigious. That said, ASU ranks in the top 150 in both the <a href=\"http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/arizona-state-university-1081\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">US news</a> and <a href=\"http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking/institution/arizona-state-university\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">THE</a> rankings. Which I think puts them well within a reasonable definition of prestigious.</p>\n<p>However, I think they are probably on the border of both "open access" and prestigious. That said, Arizona is not a particularly affluent state, so I think there is the potential for the model to work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21704,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In partial disagreement with Moriarty's answer, I think that ETH in Zurich is an excellent example of a university that is both prestigious and open-access.</p>\n\n<p>I was told by people there that the university is very sink or swim, and that each year they routinely fail a majority of the students taking, say, freshman calculus. (And that \"freshman calculus\" there is more like real analysis in the US.) A bit harsh, but I think necessary if you want to maintain extremely high standards but be open to all.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know of any US university that does this.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21665",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8970/"
] |
21,666 |
<p>In academic writing, is it proper to cite something to provide it as an example of something else? For instance, we have lines like this in a number of our papers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Many research endeavors, including environmental and coastal hazard prediction [1], climate modeling [2], high-energy physics simulations [3,4], and genome mapping [5] generate large data volumes on a yearly basis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Each citation is merely providing an example of a research project that generates large volumes of data (more often than not, it's not even a paper, just a URL), and content from the cited source is not otherwise used anywhere in the paper. </p>
<p>I suppose I tend to think of citations as references to work whose content contributes to a significant portion of content in the paper. A citation then indicates some kind of "weighty" relation between the paper and the thing being cited. In the example I provided, it seems to me that invoking the "weighty" power of citation simply to say "yes, such a data producing project of this type does in fact exist, in case you were wondering"--and doing so five times--is somewhat excessive and that it might serve better as a footmark.</p>
<p>To me it seems these should either be footnotes or just be left out. In any case, it seems they should not go in the bibliography.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21668,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I am not sure about other disciplines, but this is certainly neither uncommon nor in any way frowned upon in my field (Computer Science).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21681,
"author": "Simmy",
"author_id": 15896,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15896",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with the other answers. It is better to provide citations to good articles that back up or give examples of your statements. In the example you have shown, the use of the citation is allowing the reader to see for themselves what you mean without you having to provide painstaking details that may detract from the main point of your writing. I, myself, have written some articles that have been very heavy on citations, and were not criticized for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 24117,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is common practise as has already been established by other answers. In fields where the Harvard style is used it is common to add \"e.g.\" (for example) to the references so that the example would read</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Many research endeavors, including environmental and coastal hazard prediction (e.g., Smith et al., 1989), climate modelling (e.g., Doe and Smith, 2007), high-energy physics simulations (e.g., Svensson, 2005; Fischer, 2006), and genome mapping (e.g., Iglesias, 2010) generate large data volumes on a yearly basis.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is not uncommon to add more than one example although there is no \"law\" either way.</p>\n\n<p>With the Harvard style it becomes easier to see that these are just examples, one of possibly many alternatives.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21666",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15888/"
] |
21,672 |
<p>In another question about distance PhDs (<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21473/do-any-schools-offer-teaching-or-research-assistantships-via-distance-education">Do any schools offer teaching or research assistantships via distance education?</a>), I received several comments noting that PhDs on-line are of inferior quality to on-campus PhDs. If what is seen of PhD work from <a href="http://www.phdcomics.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PHD Comics</a> is accurate, PhD students seem to spend much time working independently. So, what aspect of a PhD cannot translate to the on-line format? What aspect of the process cannot be effectively conducted via E-mail or any of the other various forms of on-line communication?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21673,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A general answer is that a lot of PhD training is informal: it involves things that are taught by example, by osmosis, by noticing someone doing something wrong and correcting them (or right, and praising them). This kind of informal training is much more difficult in online interactions. Some examples are given below...</p>\n\n<p>One specific aspect that does not translate well to online learning is the cross-pollination of ideas via proximity. </p>\n\n<p>A big part of training PhD students involves putting a bunch of smart, talented, hardworking people together and letting them learn from, motivate, support, and bounce ideas off one another. A prerequisite for this is proximity; you just can't have the same kind of interactions over email. Some research centers are explicitly designed to encourage this. At the Bell Labs facility in Murray Hill, NJ,</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Some of the hallways in the building were designed to be so long that to look down their length was to see the end disappear at a vanishing point. Traveling the hall’s length without encountering a number of acquaintances, problems, diversions and ideas was almost impossible. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>(Source: <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/opinion/sunday/innovation-and-the-bell-labs-miracle.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0\">New York Times</a>)</p>\n\n<p>The research center I currently work in was built with a long hallway with this in mind, specifically to foster collaboration between students in different groups!</p>\n\n<p>Another thing that does not translate well is learning scientific communication and mentoring skills. As a PhD student, I have many chances to practice speaking about my work to other graduate students, professors, and undergraduates. I also get to mentor M.S., B.S., and high school students in my lab. These skills are much more difficult to learn over distance. </p>\n\n<p>A third thing that does not work well over email and Skype is learning the etiquette and standards of the field. This is something that isn't explicitly taught (usually) but that students are expected to pick up by osmosis from spending time with other academics and others in their field. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21675,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>ff524 provides an excellent answer—although I think there are several other important points that are not discussed there.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Experimental work cannot easily be done via long-distance arrangements, unless one happens to be near another research institution with the necessary equipment and support staff to enable the research to take place.</p></li>\n<li><p>It is also worth noting that online interactions are still not ideal for rapid development of <em>new</em> ideas and discussions. For instance, suppose during a conversation with your advisor, you want to make a quick sketch and show it to her. If you're meeting in person, you can easily develop the figure on paper or on a whiteboard (or similar), and adjust and make various comments. Such an exchange is extremely tedious online—to the point of being almost counterproductive.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21695,
"author": "Chris H",
"author_id": 8494,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8494",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is meant to be in addition to your other answers, so will refer to them a bit.</p>\n\n<p>First let's take your clarifying comment: \"For non-STEM fields\" I work in a STEM field, but have spent time discussing related issues with postgrads working across the university. Many of those in non-STEM fields seem or feel rather isolated anyway compared to those of use in a research group which works closely together. This is partly due to the organisational structure and funding situation leading to fewer PhD positions in some fields, as I understand it, both of which will vary between universities and countries. This could go either way - it could mean that remote working takes away the last vestiges of academic human contact, or it could mean that your tucked away in a corner of your own home alone, rather than a corner of the office. This relates to ff524's answer as well, though I'm coming at it more from the important aspect of getting through a rather strange life for a few years rather than learning academic or transferrable skills.</p>\n\n<p>How much <em>library research</em> (wrt aeismail's answer) is necessary offline will vary hugely with subject - in my case very little, though access to textbooks at all but especially the early stages must not be neglected. They may not be realistically available for you to buy. Access to a more local university library as a visiting reader may be possible, but it would be unwise to rely on this and you may not be able to borrow the books.</p>\n\n<p>You need a supervisor who's not just willing, but enthusiastic about the idea. I wouldn't want to be a supervisor's first remote student - let someone else iron out the difficulties first. You need to be on the same wavelength when it comes to collaboration tools, which means in practice you need to be happy to work with the tools your supervisor wants to use. This is a minor issue when you work in the same building, but becomes critical when you're widely separated. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21716,
"author": "dr___mario",
"author_id": 15925,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15925",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would like to stress a bit more the role of \"motivation\" as in the answers of ff524 and Chris H., specially in the emotional aspect of it. I would say that doing a PhD has an implicit feeling of isolation: in general, you become an expert at a really narrow field compared to the whole human knowledge (I love how Matt Might explains it in his <a href=\"http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Illustrated guide to a Ph.D.</a>) and that makes sharing your experiences/thoughts harder (how would you share your troubles and toils with your girlfriend?)</p>\n\n<p>Even if there is no one in your research group doing anything related, the fact of sharing a space (not even talking!) with other people going through the same processes is comforting somehow. </p>\n\n<p>Intuitively, adding a layer of physical isolation on top of the experience would make it less stimulant.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21672",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
] |
21,676 |
<p>This is just a simple question. I would like to know if one can use graphics generated by Mathematica (for example, plots) in one's paper and then upload that paper anywhere on the internet.</p>
<p>I would also like to know if one can freely use and upload the graphics alone (for example, in PDF or JPG format) anywhere on the internet.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21678,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There is nothing wrong with making public an image created with Mathematica; that's the whole point of the software. The <a href=\"http://www.wolfram.com/legal/agreements/wolfram-mathematica.html\">license</a> restricts your rights regarding what you can do with the software package itself (no copying, reverse-engineering, selling, etc), but not the content you produce using the software. If that was the case, no one could use the software to do anything.</p>\n\n<p>You may, however, be restricted by the journal to which you submitted your article. The publication holds all rights to your article, including the figures. You may retain some rights to using the images in your own work (e.g., presentations); you'd have to check with your specific journal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43951,
"author": "Greg",
"author_id": 14755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14755",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is not a legal advice, blabla.</p>\n\n<p>Your software license type generally determine what kind of use of the software is allowed: e.g educational license allow only educational use, therefore you cannot make figure eg. for a research paper. Also, if you have some academic license, it often restrict any for-profit use, i.e. you cannot make a figure and sell it to someone or upload it to a stock photo database.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21676",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13744/"
] |
21,677 |
<p>I have developed a routine in R for longitudinal analysis of networks. I was wondering whether it can be published on an academic journal as a dedicated article?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21680,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Depending on the extent of your work, you may be able to get a paper describing your package and methods in PLoS One or a similar journal, or the Journal of Statistical Software.</p>\n\n<p>Alternately, The R Journal is a peer-reviewed journal covering R software, which may be an appropriate venue if you don't have enough methodological material to build out a full paper for another journal</p>\n\n<p>Finally, <em>many</em> journals accept code supplements for papers describing the <em>use</em> of your method, so you may be able to publish your routine's in a paper about the actual work you are doing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21696,
"author": "Thomas",
"author_id": 6984,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6984",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Publication of an article about R code (in package form) is definitely a possibility. Whether your particular code is publishable is something for the reviewers to judge. There is always <a href=\"http://journal.r-project.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">The R Journal</a>, which is peer-reviewed and read by most serious R programmers. Journal of Statistical Software is a more general outlet that is not R-specific.</p>\n\n<p>I see a lot of projects where a substantive article is published in a disciplinary journal (perhaps describing the algorithm or using software in a particular application) and then an accompanying piece describing the software specifically is published in JSS or The R Journal.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21677",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15894/"
] |
21,687 |
<p>I am currently writing my thesis and I use several papers that are available als single PDFs <a href="http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~wvdaalst/publications/p308.pdf&ei=nhKHU--RDMXEPIywgKAK&usg=AFQjCNF8HwyZK0wzZpRF0n3JX4c3L5-5aw&bvm=bv.67720277,d.ZWU" rel="nofollow">like this one</a></p>
<p>I did not want to write the bibtex on my own, so I searched online and found this:</p>
<pre><code>@inproceedings{Rozinat:2005:CTM:2179586.2179604,
author = {Rozinat, A. and van der Aalst, W. M. P.},
title = {Conformance Testing: Measuring the Fit and Appropriateness of Event Logs and Process Models},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Business Process Management},
series = {BPM'05},
year = {2006},
isbn = {3-540-32595-6, 978-3-540-32595-6},
location = {Nancy, France},
pages = {163--176},
numpages = {14},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/11678564_15},
doi = {10.1007/11678564_15},
acmid = {2179604},
publisher = {Springer-Verlag},
address = {Berlin, Heidelberg},
}
</code></pre>
<p><strong>The problem:</strong> When citing a particular page of this paper, I use the page number of the single article PDF because I don't have access to the proceedings book as cited in my bibtex file. </p>
<p>Is this a valid practice or should the page number equal the page number in the proceedings book?</p>
<p>If not, how would a correct bibtex look for this single PDF?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21688,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The Bibtex reference that you have cited here is from the ACM library. It gives <code>pages = {163--176},</code>, which are the pages from where the paper entitled <code>Conformance Testing: Measuring the Fit and Appropriateness of Event Logs and Process Models</code> starts and ends in the proceedings. I also write papers, and I am writing my thesis. I only use the page numbers as they are given in the ACM library Bibtex because these are the page numbers where the paper spans in the proceedings. This is a valid practice, and I have published in some top venues by following this rule.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21689,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>@cgross My papers also tend to have many Mathematical equations. Sometimes, I only cite the paper without giving any reference to a Equation number from the other paper because I assume that the reader would read that paper before understanding mine. If there are some Math equations from the other paper that I want to use in my paper, I simply write \"Please refer to Equation 6 in [RA06]\". You are right about the page numbers as they don't match, so generally I refer by Equation numbers rather than the page numbers. What you wrote (\"XY is defined as follows [RA06]: \" and \"XY is defined as follows [RA06, p. 163-176]: \") can also be adopted slightly differently. That is simply copy that Equation from the other paper in your thesis by matching with the mathematical notations that you have used in your thesis, and simply say in one line that this equation has been taken from [RA06]. This is what I generally see in many papers. I have rarely seen anyone \"citing\" specific page number unless the content is copied from a book. I hope it helps.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21693,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Page numbers are largely irrelevant. There are not so many dead tree copies around, and a digital copy may be modified. In that case, searching for the title on it is trivial. You are providing the DOI, that is a permanent identificator, so you don't have to worry about it.</p>\n\n<p>On a practical thing, I just use DOI's API to get the citations, and leave them worry about the details:</p>\n\n<pre><code>[david@LCARS david]$ curl -LH \"Accept: text/bibliography; style=bibtex\" http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/11678564_15\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>That gives you:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>@article{Rozinat_2006, title={Conformance Testing: Measuring the Fit and Appropriateness of Event Logs and Process Models}, ISBN={<a href=\"http://id.crossref.org/isbn/978-3-540-32596-3\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://id.crossref.org/isbn/978-3-540-32596-3</a>}, ISSN={1611-3349}, url={<a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/11678564_15\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/11678564_15</a>}, DOI={10.1007/11678564_15}, journal={Lecture Notes in Computer Science}, publisher={Springer Science + Business Media}, author={Rozinat, A. and der Aalst, W. M. P.}, year={2006}, pages={163–176}}</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is easy, fast to generate if you have the DOI, and minimises the risk of typos.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/29
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21687",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15906/"
] |
21,690 |
<p>I have a paper accepted to a conference and my adviser is willing to fully fund the trip.</p>
<p>However, I am also eligible to apply for a "Student Travel Grant" (being a student author).</p>
<p>Pros of getting the travel grant:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>saves adviser grant money</p></li>
<li><p>goes on my resume</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Cons:</p>
<ul>
<li>i would have to volunteer and possibly spend half of each day with tasks at hand</li>
</ul>
<p>I am not sure whether it's worth applying for the travel grant and helping at the conference, as opposed to just going there.</p>
<p>For those of you who have been in this or similar situations before, what would you advise?</p>
<p>UPDATE: I learned that the grant covers almost half of my total trip cost, and that the volunteering time is around 1/4 of the total conference duration, which is good; Hence, I have applied for it. Thanks everyone for your help.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21691,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Based on my own experience, I would definitely recommend applying for the travel grant!</p>\n\n<p>The pros you have mentioned are fairly substantial. Regarding the con: I have never found any conference volunteer job to be at all onerous*, and usually they have been fun and/or valuable.</p>\n\n<p>For example, here are some volunteer jobs I have had:</p>\n\n<h3>Volunteering at the registration desk</h3>\n\n<p>If I have this job, I get to meet all the attendees as they come in. Usually, when I first sit down at the registration table, I flip through the badges to see who is registered, and make a plan for who I want to meet. Then, if those people come in while I am \"on duty\" and they are not in a rush, I can strike up a conversation. </p>\n\n<p>By doing this, I've been able to have some really \"spontaneous\" talks with important people in my field who I wouldn't have had much of an opening to meet otherwise.</p>\n\n<p>I've never been asked to do this job for more than a couple of hours at any given conference, so I didn't feel like I was missing out. If this is my volunteer job, I can usually arrange with the other volunteers so I am \"on duty\" during a time when there are no sessions I'm interested in anyways.</p>\n\n<h3>Taking minutes in meetings</h3>\n\n<p>Another time, I was a student volunteer at a conference that also hosts its sponsoring <a href=\"http://www.acm.org/sigs\">SIG</a>'s annual business meeting, and my job was to take minutes in this meeting. I got to listen in while all the big shots in the SIG talked about what they <em>really</em> think of the state of the subfield, the quality of the conference, the direction they'd like to see things go in, etc. </p>\n\n<p>Also, the meeting was in the evening and there were no conference sessions going on, so I didn't miss anything while doing this (except maybe a nap).</p>\n\n<h3>Mic shuttler, running the 1-minute madness session</h3>\n\n<p>Some volunteer jobs take place inside the conference sessions themselves, so you don't miss out on anything while doing these jobs. </p>\n\n<p>For example, I've been assigned to be the person that carries the mic around to people who have questions during the Q&A after each talk. </p>\n\n<p>I've also been part of keeping the 1-minute madness session (where poster/demo presenters get up one after another and speak for one minute about their poster) on time. The student volunteer coordinator described this job as follows:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>1 person in charge of lining up presenters in the correct order, 1 person in charge of advancing the presentations, and about 5 are responsible for throwing the presenter with crumpled paper balls at the 56th second to get her/him off the stage. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>(I didn't have to throw any paper balls.)</p>\n\n<p>* YMMV. At a large, well-organized conference there will be lots of volunteers, you can choose which task you prefer, and no one student has to do too much work. At a smaller conference, things may be different.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21714,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Somewhat echoing ff524's response, I have volunteered several times as a student in order to make conference registrations cheaper, and have had a decent experience doing it.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Pro</strong>: Having worked at both a conference registration desk and as essentially an assigned \"person\" who knows who to go to if the podium computer locks up, something is wrong in the room, etc. I've had a chance to strike up conversations and introduce myself to important folks in my field in a way that wasn't just \"Hi, I'm Fomite, your work is awesome...\" There's often time to chat, especially during lulls in registration, the 15 minutes before presentations start when you're the only one there besides the speakers, etc.</p>\n\n<p>For smaller organizations and conferences, there's also probably a fairly large overlap between staff (in my case, nearly complete overlap). This means you've had some time to chat with society staff members, and it never hurts to be on a first name basis with them and having been remembered as being helpful.</p>\n\n<p>For limited attendance events, like \"Meet the Faculty\", etc. you might get first dibs on tickets.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Con</strong>: You do have a schedule, and that means you might miss something you are interested in. However, keep in mind the society isn't looking for cheap conference labor alone - they want students to come to the conference and benefit. I've never had my duties be so onerous that I missed out on a huge part of the conference. The only time there was a serious risk of there being something that I really wanted to go to that I would miss, I managed to swap with another student so I was then the room monitor for the session I wanted to attend - and could then go meet the people I was so interested in hearing speak.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21690",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15902/"
] |
21,700 |
<p>How can one find relevant and new open research topics?</p>
<p>When working on my PhD thesis, I find it hard to find open questions in my very specific research area. Which approach do you take to find new and relevant topics?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21701,
"author": "SimpleMan",
"author_id": 9019,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9019",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Try to find papers giving a state of the art review on your field. They'll be easy to find, they generally have a lot of citations and written by the experts in the field. Some of those review papers (ones I've read at least) provide suggestions to researchers as to what needs improvement in the field. Good luck.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23412,
"author": "just-learning",
"author_id": 10483,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10483",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is a good article on choosing the research topic aimed specifically at the grad students:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://chronicle.com/article/Choosing-a-Research-Topic/45641\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://chronicle.com/article/Choosing-a-Research-Topic/45641</a></p>\n\n<p>Some further advice of more general nature (and partly applicable only post Ph.D.) is gathered here:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://aclinks.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/how-to-choose-a-research-topic/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://aclinks.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/how-to-choose-a-research-topic/</a></p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21700",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15912/"
] |
21,708 |
<p>I have been accepted to UCL and Oxford for a PhD in anthropology, however I have not been offered funding for either position. I am considering reapplying next year and I would like to know how I can improve my chances of securing funding. I already have experience as a research assistant for my MSc supervisor, and she has acknowledged me in a recent paper. I have also presented at a conference, though I have not published the paper. Would publications improve my chances, even if not in top tier journals? What other things could I do to make my application stand out to funding committees?</p>
<p>I should add that this is my second attempt - I was in the same situation last year when I applied only to Oxford for a PhD, gaining acceptance without funding. I received my MSc from Oxford, with an overall grade of 67 and a distinction in my thesis. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21779,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Funding is extremely scarce, especially in Britain. Since you have been accepted, I would write to the person who you suspect would be your adviser if you matriculated and ask them for advice. The program clearly has an interest in bringing you in. They may be able to find fellowships or paying jobs within the university that can help you financially.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 24270,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Each of <a href=\"http://dtc.socsci.ox.ac.uk/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Oxford</a> and <a href=\"http://www.ucl.ac.uk/shs/esrc\" rel=\"nofollow\">UCL</a> has an ESRC-funded social-science Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), which would be a suitable funding route for a new anthropology PhD student.</p>\n\n<p>As a backup plan, consider an inter-disciplinary PhD: apply your anthropology to a subject that is well-funded.</p>\n\n<p>Both Oxford and UCL have inter-disciplinary PhD students. You'd typically have one supervisor from anthropology, and one from your applied subject.</p>\n\n<p>Hopefully there's a subject that really interests you, for which either <a href=\"http://www.dtc.ox.ac.uk/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Oxford</a> or <a href=\"http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/degrees/research/doctoral-training-centres\" rel=\"nofollow\">UCL</a> have a CDT; in that case, they'll have funding for PhD students. But be sure to pick a subject you can be really passionate about: remember, this is going to swallow a big chunk of your life and your energy, and you're going to have to be motivated to work 12+ hours a day for weeks or months at a time on it. So don't pick something that just vaguely interests you, or you'll risk never completing.</p>\n\n<p>(disclosure: I supervise inter-disciplinary students in one of the CDTs linked to above)</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21708",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15920/"
] |
21,709 |
<p>Here's my story. I moved from my home country to the UK in October to start a PhD in the UK with lots of excitement and positive expectations. However, what I discovered once I started was that the division I am in had never funded an Academic PhD project before (they focus on professional doctorates), the environment is not a research one (I share the office with lecturers and tutors, apart from another PhD student who won my same scholarship). My main supervisor, although supportive, is only at the university for for 3 days per week, has never supervised a PhD and has not an Academic PhD (but has the professional doctorate). My second supervisor does have a PhD, but follows me very occasionally, since only taking care of the 20% of the supervision. </p>
<p>Therefore, since the beginning the experience has been very isolating and not really stimulating. In addition, for various reasons, I have changed the theme of my original project and since then I have the sensation that my main supervisor is not really interested in this, even though saying otherwise. Also, has no particular expertise in the specific subject I am doing research on, but has to supervise many people from the professional doctorate as well and is generally very busy (and yet doesn't even check emails during the whole weekend). </p>
<p>Moreover, I am doing clinical research and I have to face many logistical difficulties, such as the fact that the hospital in which I should work in is quite distant from the university (at least hours roundtrip), the collaboration from the staff and patients is hard to get and basically my PhD depends on lots of people whose sudden disappearance may lead to very big problems. </p>
<p>As a result, I am now approaching the 10th month and I haven't done anything yet, apart from having started the literature review the draft for a survey. I feel as this project is going nowhere and even if I managed to fix some of the logistical issues, the isolation, the lack of expertise of my supervisor and the lack of a research environment really bother me. My supervisor actually said my PhD is a "pilot" for the division to see if they should fund any other PhD in the future, but the problem is that the pilot is not going well. </p>
<p>I find myself thinking about quitting quite often in this period, but I am terribly concerned about the possible consequences: even if I quit I still would like to pursue a PhD somewhere else, but what are the odds of getting any other scholarship after having quit one? Also, I obviously can't apply somewhere else without quitting here, because I need updated cover letters, so this means that I would have to move back to my home country just to restart submitting applications. And without any money, of course. </p>
<p>I haven't spoken about it because I think that once I disclose my reservations with my supervisor would definitely lose interest in the project, so I am taking some time to think before doing anything. The problem is that I really don't know what to do. I moved to the UK because I thought I could have better opportunities compared to my home country, but I think I ended up in a quite peculiar and difficult doctoral experience; I am afraid that the fact of having already obtained funding is going to prevent me from having any other opportunity if I quit. Also quitting would have a very big impact on my psychological well-being, since I do not see myself as a quitter and I would totally feel it as a personal failure, despite all the variables that I have told you. </p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21712,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Originally written as a comment, converting to an answer at ff524's suggestion.</p>\n\n<p>Addressing the spirit of your problem, if not the exact question asked: quitting should be the last-case scenario. Clearly you're not happy, and you need to talk to your advisor(s) about that. But do think about whether there are changes that could be made that would improve your situation. Could you spend time at another institution? Should the focus of the project change? Pilot studies don't necessarily work \"straight out of the box\", so everyone ought to be open to discussion. It may be that no solution can be found - but unless you raise the issue, people may not realise there's a problem.</p>\n\n<p>Also, do note that many, many PhD students worry that \"they've not done much\" in their first year. But often they've actually learnt a lot, about their subject and about the world of research. So don't be too disheartened!</p>\n\n<p>Edited to add: I have known at least one case where someone started a PhD, it didn't go well, and after a year they quit and started a new PhD in a different department at the same institution. However, I'm not sure what the details of their funding were - it's possible that they simply transferred their existing money to the new project.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21719,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the program is really a pilot, then there are likely some people somewhere in the department who would like it to succeed. I would definitely recommend finding those people and seeing whether they can assist with any of your issues, both logistical and advisor-related.</p>\n\n<p>Past that, though, I would definitely also seek other options. For many PhD graduates, their advisor plays an important individual at the start of their career, and not having that resource can make things very difficult for you. Given that you are already in an academic vacuum, you probably don't want to have that kind of handicap. Take care to make sure you're giving yourself the highest likelihood of success.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21734,
"author": "TMOTTM",
"author_id": 6139,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6139",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me give you a very practical advice: Every big project is accomplished in many small steps. In order to get a better picture of what is going on, make sure that you have a good protocol of all the small steps you're taking. If possible, establish a weekly routine with your supervisor. Everybody has some kind of daily habit, try to figure out when your supervisor is, e.g., arriving to office, going for lunch, going for coffee, etc. Since, as you're reporting, it's difficult for you to get hold of him, try to catch him at some of these points, repetedly. This way you can build up a habitual relationship. You can't fix all of your problems in one discussion. You have to partition down your project related problems/difficulties into smaller, prioritized portions and then start discussing those independently. Giving your supervisor a brief update on what you plan as your next, small step can be done while walking to the coffee machine. All he has to do is to say \"yes\", \"no\", \"maybe\"- and this <em>DECISION</em> is what you have to document. So, also as a way to protect yourself, you have a proof of how you decided in agreement on how to proceed. Trust me, at one point all these small steps will add up to your larger project and you will feel back on track.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21709",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15921/"
] |
21,710 |
<p>I was working on a problem in the field engineering. I have used one approach and it turned out that it does not work well. After that I got into conflict with my supervisor, and realized that it will be hard to publish the original paper with him. So, I have redone everything with another approach, wrote a paper, submitted it and at as soon as my paper have been almost accepted, my supervisor wrote to the editor claiming that he also should be an author of the paper. He haven't even seen the new paper nor haven't analysed or interpreted the new results. </p>
<p>Now my supervisor has started a university investigation against me, with following allegation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Dr.X submitted a manuscript on [some topic] to the journal Y. Theory and simulations of [some topic] are part of his responsibilities in [grant] for which Prof. #1 and Prof. #2 are co-PIs. The manuscript was submitted as a sole author without the prior knowledge of either coPI. Dr. X refused to provide a copy of the manuscript. The work described in the manuscript is unlikely to be Dr. X's independent work given his background prior to joining the university and given his current work under [grant]."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>How should I respond to the allegations of Prof. #1?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21711,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should gather all your materials related to this project into one place (emails, codes, lab notebooks, etc) and talk to an attorney immediately. Presumably you can be dismissed from your job for research misconduct if they find against you. Only an attorney can help you navigate the related employment laws of your country, state, or region, your university's regulations and rules, and whatever granting agency's rules and regulations that you are operating under.</p>\n\n<p>I would not respond until you've had an attorney competent in this area at least evaluate your case and your options.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21787,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unfortunately, your situation has gone from bad to pretty much impossible.</p>\n\n<p>Your challenge here is that without <strong>incontrovertible</strong> proof that you've submitted the accepted manuscript to your advisor (and the co-PI), you will almost certainly lose the process that your advisor has started against you. Moreover, even if you win, it will be at best a Pyrrhic victory; all you will have managed to achieve is avoid having another black mark added to your academic record. </p>\n\n<p>In addition to Bill Barth's advice above, you should also start looking for alternate employment immediately, regardless of what happens in the proceedings with the university. Start over and regroup, and learn from your experiences.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 78688,
"author": "Bosy Khalid",
"author_id": 62818,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62818",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Where did you redo the work? At his Lab? Even if it did not work with the first approach, it does not mean you ignore your supervisor and publish the paper alone. You at least knew it would not work that way so you tried another way. It seemed you had a grant at his team, which means he offered you the fund to carry out the work, is that true?I think it doesn't make you better to publish a paper alone than to publish it as a first author/ and may be as a corresponding author too and put your supervisor as a coauthor. He doesn't see the paper because you did not send it to him not because he doesn't want to, right? I am not against you, but I am telling you how the people who will get involved would see the matter. If you have a proper answer to these question, you might have right, otherwise, you should reconsider adding or supervisor instead of getting accused of plagiarism and getting your career into trouble.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21710",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15122/"
] |
21,717 |
<p>I am currently in the process of submitting a manuscript to a journal. During this process my manuscript has come back for revision, and the journal has asked for an updated manuscript with revisions annotated. What level of changes should be annotated? Similarly is it acceptable to provide a generic comment when changes are for flow and not for content (e.g. "sentence rephrased for clarity")?</p>
<p>As an example (in my perceived order of required-ness):</p>
<ul>
<li>Adding or removing significant content (figures, paragraphs, sentences)</li>
<li>Rephrasing a sentence changing the meaning</li>
<li>Rephrasing a sentence changing the grammar, but not the meaning</li>
<li>Adding/removing words that are superfluous (or change the meaning in an insignificant way)</li>
<li>alteration of comma's, periods, etc.</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21720,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>An editor once \"requested\" that I submit a \"tracked changes\" or latexdiff version of my resubmission if I wanted him to deal with it in a timely fashion. Since then, my strategy has been to submit:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>revised manuscript (no annotation);</p></li>\n<li><p>latexdiff of revisions against version submitted last time, to highlight every last comma changed;</p></li>\n<li><p>cover letter, describing all scientific changes plus any major textual changes (\"we substantially rewrote the methods section in an attempt to improve its clarity\"). I refer the editor to the diff for minor textual corrections.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>No editor has complained yet... ;)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21721,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What editors (and their journals) expect may vary. In the journal I edit, and also journals with which I am familiar as author and reviewer, expectations cover the two first points in your list. It is very common to request a point by point account for how reviewers' (and editor's) comments have been dealt with. This, to me is the important part of the revisions. Some editors want files highlighting changes, while other definitely do not. The important changes deal with the science and not the grammar or spelling. If the language has been a focal point for revisions, an editor will not likely check all changes you have made but rather read the manuscript to see if the language has been sufficiently improved.</p>\n\n<p>While some (unclear what percentage) will not care about tracked changes, it is not wrong to supply them. Doing so allows the editor to chose which version (showing revisions or not) to use. But, always provide a clean version of the revised manuscript. I sometimes receive manuscripts with all changes visible in the manuscript and I feel uncomfortable accepting all on behalf of the author. The revised version is the responsibility of the author so the sharp new version should be included in the submission.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/30
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21717",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15881/"
] |
21,727 |
<p>I am currently in high school in the USA, and it is relatively common for students to work with various researchers in the summer. The majority of the work done is the medical/biology fields, and I would like to know whether this is a common practice (or a possible practice) in areas outside of biology and medicine. </p>
<p>The biology and medicine fields make sense for several reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>My area (a large US city) has a large biology and medicine faculty (especially because it is considered a "hub" for medicine) </li>
<li>Biology and (to a lesser extent medicine) seems to be more accessible to a high school student with a background in the AP curriculum and the medical programs available to students at the local districts. Subjects like mathematics are hardly accessible to undergraduates, much less high school students.</li>
<li>Biology and Medicine are largely laboratory sciences, while the same can not be said about things like mathematics. Furthermore, the social sciences and the humanities (less present in my area, but still significant) seem to be nearly absent in summer research type work. </li>
</ul>
<p>It makes sense, therefore that with a large population of students wanting to be in the medical field, and a large research faculty, that the practice of either formal (through a program), or more informal (E-mail a researcher for a spot in lab rotation), research happens in these fields. <strong>So, is there a similar practice in mathematics, physics, the social sciences, or any other area of science?</strong></p>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> In response to amlrg's post I have some further questions: how can I tell if a researcher in physics or math is studding a computational area? How should I go about approaching such a researcher> </p>
<hr>
<p>It is interesting to note that the fact that a similar thing does not happen in the non medical/academic disciplines popular around here. For example, as an Engineering hub, you might expect that it would be common for students to shadow or intern with engineers, but this is <em>much</em> less common than high school research in academia. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21737,
"author": "alarge",
"author_id": 15151,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15151",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is not really a proper answer, but rather more like a stretched out comment. In the field of biology, lab hands can be relatively quickly trained. Now, they probably won't understand much of the science that is going on behind the scenes, but doing some of the routine tasks of \"pressing buttons\", they can free the more senior researchers to do the more challenging parts of the research. </p>\n\n<p>Mathematics, on the other hand, often requires several years of training before you can start contributing in any way and there is no good way to avoid this. A beginning university student might have heard of the concepts that are being researched in some lab, but it is unlikely that a typical high school student can do much. This is all something that you already mentioned in your question. </p>\n\n<p>Having said this, many things in the field of computational science (be it physics, mathematics, astronomy, biology, sociology, or whatever) are rather mundane and could easily be done by someone with a limited knowledge of the field (and I remember there being a recent example in astronomy where a high school student coded up an algorithm to find some shapes of galaxies/starts/something, and it worked so remarkably well that it ended up being published, but I could not find the reference right now). If you truly are motivated enough to contact and seek advisers in your area yourself, I am sure that many would be happy to show you the ropes. Don't be too discouraged, though, if some refuse (or do not even respond), as they might be too busy doing their own research to train new people who will shortly be leaving the lab, anyway.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT</strong> to reflect the revised question: I want to point out that earlier I suggested computational science, but there are also experimental physics (for example) labs, which might also have something to do for an interested high school student. </p>\n\n<p>There is no separate department for computational science, because it is not really a study of its own; rather you can use computers in any field (for the sake of completeness, there sometimes might be a department called computational science, but its scope is usually more limited than my definition here). Suppose you were interested in physics at institute X. Go to the website of the department of physics of X and see what the groups are working on. Find the homepages of the individual groups (professors) and see if they seem to be using computers (it will usually be more or less obvious from the types of figures on the website, or they might just explicitly mention it) and if their research appears to be of interest to you. See their publications, and while you some of the papers might be behind a paywall, try Googling the titles and you might find them on <a href=\"http://www.arxiv.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">arXiv.org</a> or similar free to access preprint servers. </p>\n\n<p>Now the publications themselves are often quite technical, don't get disappointed if you don't understand much, but the introduction section should often be more or less understandable. One of the things you might want to look for is to see whether the group is using some software package (they should cite it if they do), or if everything seems custom made. In the former case, a considerable amount of the work might be in preparing files for the software and with some training could easily be done by a high school student. </p>\n\n<p>As for approaching a professor, and I am hoping that other users on SE might comment more on this topic, the best way, I think, is to have read a paper or two by the group and to point out in your email that you have a rudimentary understanding of the science and the scope of the work. I, and I am not even the group leader, get emails from students (often from other countries) looking for a position (bachelor's thesis or something similar) at our lab because they are 'engineers'. Being an 'engineer' hardly qualifies them for the rather specific work we do and shows that they have not done any research as to who to send the email to, nor to what the group is working on (as they never, ever, specify what they want to do or why they want to join our group, in particular). These types of emails probably never get a reply from anyone (although a high school student just might, for their lack of knowledge as to the specifics would be more understandable). Essentially the more specific you can get in showing your knowledge and asking some questions, the better. </p>\n\n<p>Much of what I write about is a lot to ask from a high school student, and might not even fully pay off in the end (i.e. you might get rejected). I hope that in any case this gets you interested in reading academic papers and gives you a better understanding of what it is that scientists do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21776,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can look for organizations for gifted high school students. For example in Poland there is <a href=\"http://fundusz.org/english\" rel=\"nofollow\">Polish Children's Fund</a> providing possibility of research work in institutes. In US I am not much aware of possibilities, but there is <a href=\"http://www.cee.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Center of Excellence in Education</a> organizing <a href=\"http://www.cee.org/research-science-institute\" rel=\"nofollow\">Research Science Institute</a> each summer. Such programs are highly competitive. </p>\n\n<p>Another route would be asking participants of <a href=\"https://student.societyforscience.org/intel-isef\" rel=\"nofollow\">Intel ISEF</a> with topics related to your research interests.</p>\n\n<p>And I know a number of people who went into some collaborations through informal routes. But more than often they were onsite, visiting some institute and talking with professors a lot long before starting collaboration (rather than meeting / mailing with the main goal of summer internship). In any case, there are many random variables, but if you are really motivated it might be worth trying!</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21727",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10283/"
] |
21,731 |
<p>Is there any open database(s) that offer access to Bachelor or Masters level final papers? Especially interested in top universities and computer science related papers.
The thing is that other day I browsed through BA level papers defended in my university and many of them seemed to be a little too trivial. I'd like to see what is quality of papers produced by those who attend top universities.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21732,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Increasingly, individual universities are requiring students to submit digital versions of theses (particularly at masters level and above). However, as far as I know this is generally organised by each university individually, often under the auspices of the university library. I am not aware of any large centralised databases, though these might exist for particular subjects. A Google search for \"student thesis database\" or \"student thesis < institution>\" seems your best bet.</p>\n\n<p>Do bear in mind that different institutions may have different requirements, particularly in the amount of time students are expected to spend on their thesis project: quality may not be directly comparable!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21748,
"author": "user30295",
"author_id": 15478,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15478",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The database I am most familiar with is the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database/UMI, which advertises having nearly 3 million items in it's collection (<a href=\"http://www.proquest.com/products-services/pqdt.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.proquest.com/products-services/pqdt.html</a>). The University of Texas website reports Proquest receives 90+% of all dissertations completed in the US each year (<a href=\"http://www.lib.utexas.edu/indexes/titles.php?id=114\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.lib.utexas.edu/indexes/titles.php?id=114</a>). It allows you to search by a range of criteria, including targeting either Master's or Doctoral papers, or searching by academic subject area.</p>\n\n<p>Many universities include Proquest in their electronic database offerings. My university requires we format our theses and dissertations to be compatible with Proquest, and these are deposited immediately upon graduation, unless embargoed due to pending patents. </p>\n\n<p>I am not aware of a database for Bachelor's level papers. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21731",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15938/"
] |
21,735 |
<p>Of course, I would retain the for me important points, but omit the details.</p>
<p>To the question in the title, I would like to add: If it is, how would it be best to point to that paper?
Should I reference this as a "regular" citation or is it better to include some explanation, like "From [5] it is clear that ..."?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21794,
"author": "SLx64",
"author_id": 15731,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15731",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think there is no problem to sum up informations if they have been investigated already. You should reference this as a normal citation.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>\"From [5] it is clear that ...\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It's better to write the title or the author's name (or research group) instead of reference number. If you take informations from a book or the like, you can use something like 'It is well known that... '</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21838,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I know people who restate whole <em>proofs</em> of mathematical theorems, either because the proof itself is interesting, or simply because the original presentation of the proof is poor in their opinion.</p>\n\n<p>It is completely fine to summarize works of other people in your work, you just have to make it completely clear that it is not your work. But you can quote even whole paragraphs IMHO, without much problem (surely in math/natural science, I'm not sure how's it in philosophy and such).</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21735",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133/"
] |
21,736 |
<p>My supervisor told me that I should write paragraph in which I introduce the problem that will be addressed by this chapter (research methodology). </p>
<p>What are some of the key aspects I should focus on? I understand that it cannot be a too detailed description, as my supervisor recommends only a single paragraph but I also do not want to write too little.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21751,
"author": "padawan",
"author_id": 15949,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15949",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Answer this question in less than one minute, assuming that I have the basic knowledge of your area:<br>\n<em>What is your research about?</em></p>\n\n<p>Than add these in less than two minutes:<br>\n<em>Why did you do your research in that specific topic? What is your innovation?</em></p>\n\n<p>Lastly,<br>\n<em>How did you do it?</em></p>\n\n<p>Now, write your answers on a paper. And that would be the intro.<br>\n<strong>Edit:</strong> Commentors are right. Only the last part would be an intro for methodology.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23100,
"author": "Watercleave",
"author_id": 15664,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15664",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't know if it's possible to describe in any detail which aspects you should focus on without knowing something about <em>what</em> you're writing in the chapter, since as Sverre said, it's ultimately just the answer to one question.</p>\n\n<p>An introduction is ultimately just a concise summary of the contents of a piece of writing, specifically a chapter; in this case, the points to focus on would be the basic components of a description of research methodology:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Reminder: We are researching...</li>\n<li>The usual methodologies used in this field are...</li>\n<li>X, Y and Z were considered for use.</li>\n<li>X, while [pros], [cons], whereas Y [pros], but [cons], and Z [pros], but [cons].</li>\n<li>Due to the importance of... ...in this study, we chose to use Y.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Then you can explain your full reasoning in the remainder of the chapter.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21736",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15946/"
] |
21,739 |
<p>I have to write a statement of purpose for a computer science graduate program. In high school I was in a different field of study (aeronautics), then I switched to computer science for my undergraduate course after attending a computer science course which I liked. </p>
<p>Now I can't lie about this, also because this university also asked me about which high school I attended. But is this a negative thing to write on a statement of purpose? Maybe I should just write it on the fly without giving it much attention. Or instead I should say it clearly and justify my choice?</p>
<p>I ask this because I see that many people on the statement of purpose say that they always liked their field of study, from when they were children. So I don't know if the admission examiners would consider it negatively or not. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21745,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Short answer: <strong>It doesn't matter at all.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Particularly in the US, high school degrees don't have \"concentrations\"; you simply get a high school diploma. In certain circumstances, your school may have a special focus, but accreditation rules for high school diplomas typically specify some distribution of courses which all students have to meet to receive the diploma.</p>\n\n<p>Moreover, the statement of purpose tells us what you want to do in graduate school, why you want to do it, and why you're qualified to do it. That's pretty much it—most people on admissions committees aren't interested in knowing what early pearl of wisdom some random relative imparted, or other \"humanizing\" anecdote that too many applicants include. In fact, many of them actively hate it. </p>\n\n<p>Statements of purpose are not your life story, they're a summary of your past and future career. Tell us about your relevant experiences, and why you should be admitted to <strong>our</strong> graduate program. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21754,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most graduate programs will ask which high school you attended but this is can be a roundabout way to ascertain where you grew up (and perhaps to some degree your socioeconomic status -- i.e., did you go to a public school or attend an elite private boarding school,etc.). However, to be honest, most admin committees do not weight this information heavily. What you wanted to do when you were 17 has really little to do with who you are when you are in your twenties or thirties and going into PhD programs.</p>\n\n<p>What is critical for applications is why you want to go to graduate school in computer science. What are the problems that intrigue you, what sub-specialty are you interested in, who do you want to work with, etc.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21739",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14586/"
] |
21,742 |
<p>I think the title asks the question, but once again in more words:</p>
<p>Suppose you submit a paper to a journal and it is accepted by the journal. By this I mean that the journal tells you that they have decided to publish your paper but you have not submitted or examined final proofs and -- especially -- not signed any paperwork allowing the journal to publish the paper. </p>
<p>I wonder how people feel about the ethics of deciding not to go through with the publication because you now feel that the paper could be published in a better journal? This could happen either because of outside feedback you received in the meantime or because of feedback from the referees/editors of the journal itself. (<b>Added</b>: In case this was not clear, I am assuming that upon submission one was seeking to publish in that journal conditional on not learning that one has "shot way too low".) </p>
<p>As far as I can see, it is absolutely legal to do this, so I am not interested in the legality of it, but rather its ethics and ramifications as an academic practice. I also think I will get better answers if I do not telegraph my own feelings about this; I will be happy to document them later on. Let me just say (i) this is a hypothetical question, but (ii) based on my own experience it is not ridiculous that it might be in the interest of the author to engage in this practice, if it happened to be kosher to all parties involved.</p>
<p><b>Note</b>: I had previously asked a related question, at the time wondering whether it would be better asked separately. Based on the way things have gone thus far, I now think it is better to post this followup question separately (not necessarily right away).</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21744,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is not ethical to withdraw a paper that has been accepted. Journals, editors, and reviewers invest time in the publication process. To withdraw a paper after it has entered this process is a waste of their time. While the legal ramifications of is behaviour are probably limited, it will result in bad feelings.</p>\n\n<p>As for not having the money to publish. Assuming the journal fees are available prior to submission, and reputable journals make their fees known, then if you don't have the money, then you don't get to submit. If they have a paid expedited service and you are worried about the back log, then ask up front. The only case that it might be acceptable is if he review process drags on for so long that your funding ends.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21757,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While this sort of behavior is not unheard of in the social sciences, it is certainly frowned upon. It could also lead to you being blacklisted by the original journal, if not more serious negative sanctions.</p>\n\n<p>You also have to remember that in many fields that:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Journal editors know each other and socialize together</li>\n<li>The number of referees for any random obscure topic is low</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you did this, you would get caught either 1) when the 2nd journal accepts the paper and publishes it; 2) before this when the journal editor #1 has drinks with journal editor #2; or 3) by random luck, journal editor #2 sends it to the same referee who green lighted it for journal #1.</p>\n\n<p>Don't mess with journals. It's much better to have a first article in a journal with a low citation index than it is to create bad blood with journal editors. </p>\n\n<p>If you're smart enough, you can write a second essay on a following topic that you can send to journal #2 once you've established yourself with your initial essay in the original journal #1.</p>\n\n<p>[Edited for clarity]</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21775,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Suppose I submit a paper to Journal A. Under what circumstances can I then ethically withdraw it?</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Upon receipt of the reviews. The review process can be thought of rather like the (English) law on contracts. I offer Journal A a paper in a certain form. They think about it for a while, and then (typically) reject my initial proposal, but offer to publish a related paper (\"If you add X and Y we'll take it\"). Typically, I then make revisions and submit them, forming a new \"offer\". Eventually, we reach a stage where the proposal is acceptable to both parties, and the paper is accepted. However, I'm under no obligation to continue to negotiate with the journal if at some point I decide that I don't like the terms they're offering (e.g. the reviewers ask for changes that I don't want to make). Does it make a difference if the reviews are largely positive, instead of largely negative? Intuitively, I'd say it does, but I'm struggling to come up with a sound justification for this. [Edited to add:] I suppose the difference is that withdrawing after <em>good</em> reviews would seem to indicate that I'm acting \"in bad faith\"; see below. </p></li>\n<li><p>If I discover a serious flaw in the paper. Clearly, I have a responsibility to withdraw it as soon as the flaw is recognised, to avoid wasting everyone's time. Once the flaw has been fixed, the paper may well look quite different (in content); thus, it seems implausible that I am <em>bound</em> to choose the same journal upon resubmission.</p></li>\n<li><p>If I realise the paper could be significantly improved. This is a trickier one. You might well argue that it was unethical of me to submit it in the first place, as it wasn't \"complete\". On the other hand, this could easily arise without me being at fault: perhaps someone else has just published a new statistical test which provides additional insights into my results; perhaps I'm working in a field where data is sparse, and an additional set of data points have just been obtained. It seems weird to suggest that it's wholly unethical to withdraw the paper and improve it. (Indeed, it seems arguable that it's <em>more</em> ethical than allowing the incomplete paper to be published, and then immediately writing a follow-up.) Again, when it comes to resubmission, it makes sense to decide the venue based on a fresh assessment of the merits.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Furthermore, I don't see that these latter two points <em>necessarily</em> cease to apply once the paper is \"accepted\" (rather than \"in review\"). Certainly, I'm still responsible for fixing any flaws. On the other hand, in the \"legal\" analysis, acceptance constitutes the making of a contract, which cannot then be broken without consequences.</p>\n\n<p>So, to go back to the original question: if I (a) originally submitted in good faith, and (b) would need to do some nontrivial amount of work to adapt the paper for the more prestigious journal, it seems that it's not unethical for me to withdraw with the intention of \"moving upmarket\", at least provided I do it <em>before</em> acceptance. After acceptance, it is probably unethical.</p>\n\n<p>However, there are a lot of interesting grey areas. Do I have a responsibility to my funding providers to get maximum exposure for the research they support? What if my paper will directly help, say, a cure for cancer - so that getting it widely known in the relevant community has positive implications for humanity?</p>\n\n<p>The main argument <em>against</em> permitting withdrawal would appear to be the fact that it wastes people's time. Again, a legal comparison is instructive: if you walk away from contract negotiations, you are not in any way breaching the contract: it hasn't yet been made. However, if the other side think they can argue you weren't acting in good faith, you may well find yourself being sued for their costs. However, I would class that as a business matter, not an ethical one.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, to address a point made in the comments: does an editor have a responsibility to inform an author that they're underselling their work? I'm not sure that they do (just as, provided I have not made any misrepresentations, I'm not obliged to tell a prospective buyer that he's offering me too much money for my house). If editors start second-guessing authors' choices in submitting to this or that journal, the system would quickly descend into chaos. However, reviewers (who act like the legal advisors on the house-sale analogy) may well be obliged to make the significance of the work clear (though, perhaps, not to go as far as recommending the author take one course of action over another).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21790,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can imagine some cases where withdrawing an accepted paper would be ethical.</p>\n\n<p>Some where already given by Avid's answer, e.g. when the author realize that the paper is flawed. Another one would be if the author realize after acceptance that the journal editorial policy is far below what is expected (e.g. the author realizes that the journal is predatory). More specific cases could be: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>the author receives a very quick positive report, where the reviewer makes it pretty clear he or she did not read the paper,</li>\n<li>the author is asked pages charges, or article processing charges while the journal did not made it clear that they are charging the author,</li>\n<li>the editor accepts the paper but (kindly) asks the author to add some references to the journal so as to increase their impact factor (sadly, this is not a fictional case).</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I would say that most of the time, withdrawing after acceptance is on the unethical side of the border line (for the reason given by StrongBad: it wastes other's time), but that some specific circumstances make it ethical or even the way to go.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21791,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There are certainly cases in which withdrawing a paper after acceptance is reasonable, for example if the author feels misled or mistreated by the journal (as Benoît Kloeckner points out in his answer). However, when the journal and referees have behaved blamelessly, it's hard to justify unilaterally withdrawing the paper after acceptance. When you submitted the paper, you implicitly agreed to publish it there if accepted. This is part of the research community's norms: a submitted paper is a request for publication, not a request for the option to publish.</p>\n\n<p>Of course it's not a legally binding promise, or even a particularly grave moral promise, but it's still not something you can reasonably violate without a compelling reason beyond self interest. I don't think this is even worth considering except in extraordinary circumstances, such as a paper that was submitted in good faith but turned out to be far more important than the author could have foreseen. Fortunately, there's a simple solution in these cases, namely asking the editor for permission. It's a little awkward, but certainly less so than just going ahead and withdrawing the paper without asking, and an apologetic explanation can help. If there's a truly compelling reason to withdraw the paper and resubmit elsewhere, then there's a good chance of getting the editor's blessing, which would resolve the ethical issues. If, on the other hand, the editor disagrees with the reasoning, then the author is stuck. But it's better to be stuck publishing in a low-prestige journal than to do something inappropriate or unethical, and being unable to convince the editor is a bad sign regarding the ethics.</p>\n\n<p>This is a special case of a broader principle: if you believe unusual circumstances justify behavior that might otherwise be considered unethical, and there's someone who could in principle grant permission, then it's generally better to ask for permission than to take action unilaterally.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 60337,
"author": "If you do not know- just GIS",
"author_id": 17209,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17209",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to make it clear I would never do this nor do I fully endorse it but I think the argument has validity. You ask is it ethical or moral.</p>\n\n<p>1) Many journals make plenty of money, not all but many. “According to The Economist, Elsevier made $1.1 billion in profit in 2010 with a profit margin of 36%, which grew to a reported profit margin of 39% in 2013, and 37% in 2014. T&F’s profit margin was 25% in 2010, per T&F” (<a href=\"https://libraries.mit.edu/scholarly/mit-open-access/open-access-at-mit/mit-open-access-policy/publishers-and-the-mit-faculty-open-access-policy/elsevier-fact-sheet/\" rel=\"nofollow\">MIT Library 2015</a>). Journal publication is a free-market industry that is often cutthroat and makes large profits on our graft. You have every right to withdraw your paper. It is not your issue or fault that for-profit journals do not properly compensate editors or reviewers and this appears to be the major argument others use stating why it is unethical. It is my fault I give my time freely to these companies and you should not feel ethically obligated to me for doing this. It is nice that you are but you should not feel this way.</p>\n\n<p>2) This is your intellectual property at this point as you have not signed over any material and hence you can withdraw your paper as long as you did not commit to not doing this in some box you checked or similar. It may be problematic morally for many reasons but it is not wrong. This is the result of your labor and intellect and if you decide not to sign the final publication agreements then so be it. Maybe you should not have submitted to this journal and you certainly should have withdrawn earlier to help your colleagues not waste time on review but it is not unethical in such a free-market for-profit industry. At this point if you get cold-feet we have to just accept it. Again, I make the for-profit distinction.</p>\n\n<p>3) It is a two-way street. They can often decline you without much reason at the start of the process (editorial decline) so why can you not withdraw for no good reason at the end of the process? You can withdraw for any reason or no reason. Again, it is not your fault that we as academics do not insist on proper compensation from for-profit journals when we review or edit for them. </p>\n\n<p>I would say think about it deeply but if this is a for-profit journal and you want to withdraw your paper at the last minute for any reason or no reason (good or bad) then so be it. It is a free, competitive, and often cutthroat industry. If this is a non-profit journal and we are all giving our time freely for the good of society I would not do it, ethical issues exist then. You see we as academics are generally reasonable and nice people (why it is often great to work in academia) and we want to be nice to our colleagues who have edited or reviewed a paper but in the end if this is a for-profit journal then it is us that should be demanding compensation for doing these activities (I repeat >$1,.1 billion profit for one journal publishing group) and you should not worry about withdrawing your paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21742",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938/"
] |
21,746 |
<p>I have a question about how to write my ranking in a class in my CV. I mean, after graduation from the university for my BSc degree, my ranking due to overall GPA among the class of 30 students was 2. The class and the students in which we started our BSc degree education and graduated after 8 or 9 semesters. I want to high light this ranking in my CV in the section of honors and awards. How should I mention this?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21747,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think this is usually done in the section where you list your degree:</p>\n\n<p>2008-2012 University of Big City - BSc (Hons.) Difficult Subject (Class rank: 2 of 30)</p>\n\n<p>or similar.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21750,
"author": "padawan",
"author_id": 15949,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15949",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to avid's answer; you may write a <strong>Degrees and Awards</strong> section:</p>\n\n<p><strong>Degrees and Awards</strong><br>\n2009 September, ABC Corp. Project Competition, \"Saving the Earth from Pollution\", <em>1st place</em><br>\n2010 March, Very Good Conference, \"Research About Humanity\", <em>Best paper award</em><br>\n2010-2011, fall semester, University of the Worls, GPA: 4.00/4.00, <em>Outstanding student</em><br>\n2012 June, High honor student, graduated with GPA: 3.97/4.00, Degree: 2 of 30</p>\n\n<p>etc.</p>\n\n<p>One more thing, you should put <em>only</em> the highlights of your educational life. If you don't want to highlight something, don't write it in your CV.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 191497,
"author": "Alexandru Banica",
"author_id": 165679,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/165679",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>GPA: ...<br>\nRanked 1st ... (if you want to include details, include only the class. I do not recommend to include the number of studends, if there are 50 or 350 students, it does not matter.)<br><br>\nIt's short and descriptive as it needs to be.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21746",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723/"
] |
21,749 |
<p>While applying to a PhD program in computer science, which one is more important?</p>
<p>Publishing 4 or 5 medium/low-quality journal or conference papers or publishing only one paper in a top journal?</p>
<p>The review process of top-quality journals are usually 1-2 years. Which means, one has to begin his/her research during the bachelor's and submit the paper in the beginning of master's degree. But as far as I know, this is extraordinary (especially in my country).</p>
<p>An extra question would be: Regardless of the quality of the paper, is publishing papers in distinct areas or publishing papres in a specific area more important?</p>
<p>I'm willing to move to Northern Europe (<a href="http://www.helsinki.fi/university/">UH</a>, <a href="http://www.tut.fi/en/home">TUT</a>, <a href="http://www.kth.se/en">KTH</a>, <a href="http://www.ku.dk/english">KU</a>). So, answers from the professors/students of those universities will be highly appreciated.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21760,
"author": "Ellen Spertus",
"author_id": 269,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/269",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I disagree with the assumption that top journals with slow turnaround times are more highly regarded than top conferences with quicker turnaround times. In most (all?) areas of computer science, the most competitive conferences are at least as highly regarded as the top journals. It is also not unusual for longer versions of conference papers to later be submitted to journals.</p>\n\n<p>As David Patterson (UC Berkeley), Larry Snyder (University of Washington), and Jeffrey Ullman wrote in <a href=\"http://cra.org/resources/bp-view/evaluating_computer_scientists_and_engineers_for_promotion_and_tenure/\">Evaluating Computer Scientists and Engineers For Promotion and Tenure</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The evaluation of computer science and engineering faculty for\n promotion and tenure has generally followed the dictate \"publish or\n perish,\" where \"publish\" has had its standard academic meaning of\n \"publish in archival journals\" [Academic Careers, 94]. Relying on\n journal publications as the sole demonstration of scholarly\n achievement, especially counting such publications to determine\n whether they exceed a prescribed threshold, ignores significant\n evidence of accomplishment in computer science and engineering. For\n example, conference publication is preferred in the field, and\n computational artifacts —software, chips, etc. —are a tangible means\n of conveying ideas and insight. Obligating faculty to be evaluated by\n this traditional standard handicaps their careers, and indirectly\n harms the field. This document describes appropriate evidence of\n academic achievement in computer science and engineering.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Your research advisor should be able to provide you advice more specific to your case.</p>\n\n<p>I agree with amirg that having any publications when applying to a PhD program (especially based on undergraduate research) makes you exceptional. Your advisor's recommendation also counts a lot, especially if he or she is well known.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21770,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I will not focus on the conferences vs. journals angle here, as this has been answered by other people and I really think this is not the core of your question. I will assume you meant to ask:</p>\n\n<p><strong>\"Publishing 4 or 5 medium/low-quality venues or publishing only one paper in a top venue. What is better for PhD admission?\"</strong></p>\n\n<p>Firstly, I am not entirely sure in which timespan you plan to produce all these materials. In my subfield of Computer Science, writing 4-5 B-level conference papers takes most PhD students at least 2 years. Writing 1 top paper requires a very good idea, solid research skills, and typically at least one half-year of full-time research (often significantly more). Doing all of that as a (presumably) inexperienced undergrad or master student besides course work seems very ambitious. From my personal experience, a <strong>very good</strong> master student will publish 1 or 2 good papers during his master's. That's about the best I have personally seen among my students.</p>\n\n<p>Now, the simple answer to your (implied) above question is that both are likely ok. Both, one top paper or 4-5 reasonable papers, are likely to get you into any of the northern european school in principle. However, note that admission to european schools is often not like in the US (see also <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/10626/10094\">here</a>), meaning that it is well possible that you <em>still</em> need to find a professor to take you on, which may depend more on her/his available fundings than your CV.</p>\n\n<p>However, when you said \"4 or 5 medium/low-quality\" papers, make sure that they are not <strong>too</strong> low-quality. There is a threshold from which a badly conceived paper can actually <em>hurt</em> your chances in some groups. It is hard to give a hard-and-fast rule here, but in the dark I would avoid any <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17379/what-are-fake-shady-and-or-predatory-journals\">predatory journals</a> as well as any conference that does not appear on any of the international rankings (e.g., <a href=\"http://core.edu.au/index.php/categories/conference%20rankings\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">CORE</a>). If you have an advisor or mentor from the field, he will be able to help you with selecting reasonable venues.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21749",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15949/"
] |
21,753 |
<p>I gave a manuscript to my advisor while ago but he doesn't read it, what is the best action to do cause I need to publish it fast?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21756,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Original Answer:</strong> If you are submitting to a journal, you do not have to have your advisor's approval (unless you are using his dataset or it is coming out of his lab). If it is based on your own research findings, publish it as single-author.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Editorial Note</strong>: You did not indicate your discipline. As state in the original response, this answer is only applicable for disciplines where your research is independent of your advisor's research, lab, or research grants.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21759,
"author": "Ellen Spertus",
"author_id": 269,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/269",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If talking to your advisor doesn't work, I would suggest emailing your advisor with the draft, saying that you plan to submit it to XXX on such-and-such a date and that you would be grateful for any feedback he or she can provide you before then.</p>\n\n<p>As mentioned by amirg, you might also run it by the head of your lab, if that's the standard in your field. (It's not in mine: computer science.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21769,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since, you are near your graduation, that means not only you know whether your research results are publishable or not but where to publish those results as well. Consequently, similar to what Suresh suggests, one of your problems is not only to publish those results but publishing them on a suitable venue which is a) close to your area of interest b) it is a high-profile journal of conference c) your paper has a lot of chances to be actually accepted. So, it is part of your job to actually find such a venue to stress the urgency of your publishing those results.</p>\n\n<p>In this sense, have you checked the nearby CFPs (call for proposals) for related conferences or journals? Perhaps your advisor plans to submit your paper to an event which is 2-3 months from now and is already confident enough for your draft, so there is no immediate hurry to do the final changes now. Many advisors are very busy and allocation for their various tasks is done according to their deadlines, so perhaps this is the reason he has postponed providing feedback. If you have found an alternative venue for publishing those results with a closer deadline, it will be easier for you to convince him to check your manuscript ASAP.</p>\n\n<p>But in the end, we are just random Internet strangers and the most proper solution is (as others have suggested) to TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR. </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/05/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21753",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15952/"
] |
21,766 |
<p>While looking for information on how to perform a particular basic lab technique, I found the lab manual from another university's undergraduate lab course. This lab manual illustrates the technique very well, with concise description, useful tips on fine points of the procedure and nice, helpful pictures of how the procedure should be performed.</p>
<p>In my research notes, I try to cite relevant material in a format resembling usual citation styles of well-known journals, both to build a habit and because it happens to be a good way to keep track of precisely what information I based my decisions on.</p>
<p>However, this lab manual does not have a DOI or ISBN and the PDF itself does not provide enough information to uniquely identify it in a traditional fashion. By looking at the URL it was posted under, I can deduce a fair bit regarding exactly what course this document pertains to (in my particular case, it seems to be the 2013/2014 version of the lab manual of the Bi204 course at Boston University, hosted <a href="http://capricorn.bc.edu/bi204/?page_id=13">here</a>). What is the best way to cite it, to ensure that future readers of my notebook will be able to follow the citation without being hopelessly confused about which document I am talking about?</p>
<ul>
<li>In theory, I can keep searching for other, more "formal" texts such as journal publications, then cite those. However, I don't want to do this. Firstly, I would be doing extra work to find what I already have discovered. Second, the manual is exceptionally well written and it will be hard to find other sources which provide the same information just as clearly. Third, I would like to give credit to the person who was actually the most helpful to me in my own reasoning.</li>
<li>I could just cite the reference given by the lab manual, but many of the issues I raise for the previous point apply.</li>
<li>I could cite the URL, but what if a year later the web page changes drastically, and the version of the notebook I used disappears?</li>
</ul>
<p>I would like to, to the extent that is reasonably possible, provide the means for locating this lab manual to anyone reading my notes in the far future, even if the original author removes the manual from the web page I found it at. And I would like to provide this information in a style that conforms to established citation practices of scientific writing. How can I do this?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21785,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In principle, this should be cited as if it were a book. Remember that ISBN's and URL's aren't a normal part of bibliographic references, so the fact that it did not go through a \"standard\" publishing process doesn't really matter:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Author, T. <em>Laboratory Manual for Course X</em>. City: University, Year.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>or whatever the comparable formatting for your style guide is. (Note, write the name of the university, rather than indicating a \"university press.\")</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21839,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>BibTeX knows how to deal with this, using the entry type <code>@manual</code>:</p>\n\n<pre><code>@manual{abc,\n organization = {University of Neverland},\n author = {John Doe},\n title = {Manual for ABC123},\n year = {2012},\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>If you don't know the author because it is not listed in the document, you can omit the field. The name of the university will be used instead.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23158,
"author": "Superbest",
"author_id": 244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/244",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although this does not address the question of how to cite a lab manual, I did find out how to cite <em>this particular lab manual</em>. The author has informed me that there is in fact an ISBN, <code>978-0-7380-6200-6</code> (though I don't think it is listed in all the major databases), and the correct way to cite it would be:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>O'Connor, Clare M. (2013) <em>Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology</em>. Hayden-McNeill Publishing Co., Plymouth MI.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I suppose the moral of the story is that asking the author can indeed be productive for questions about how to attribute a source.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21766",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/244/"
] |
21,768 |
<p>I am working my way through an Masters and as assignments are completed and results have come back, I would like to put them online as a way of contributing back to the community. </p>
<p>However generally I do not see people doing this. Is there an etiquette or other implications that I am not considering?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21772,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In my alma mater, this is indeed common. The student representatives actually maintain a repository of exam answers and assignment solutions for all large classes. Contributing to such a repository seems better than putting it online on your own web page or GitHub, because you need to think about how the students coming after you actually find your material.</p>\n\n<p>As for other implications: the only thing that I can think of is that lecturers are sometimes not all that happy about this practice, as it makes re-using assignments from previous years more difficult. However, that's not actually that big of a deal, as most lecturers will assume that the solutions to re-used assignments are somewhere out there anyway, and adapt grading respectively.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21774,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One point to be considered is that the task might be recycled in the future and putting your solution online might be regarded as helping unknown future asignees cheating. Whether and to which extent this is an issue depends very much on the nature of the task and, of course, whether you have to expect the task to be recycled at all.</p>\n\n<p>The only comparable case from my own studies were reports from the advanced physics lab course, where every student has been given the same tasks for years. Nontheless, there were quite a few past reports to be found online (mine among them) but stupid copying from them was quite risky as the tutors also were aware of this (and sometimes even were the authors of said old reports). Rather, old reports were often a much better preparation for the course than the actual manuals as the latter were usually didactically awful and at times even incorrect. I even “cited” an old report once or twice because it was the only available source for some crucial information. And even if the manual was good, having a different explanation of the same thing is beneficial to understanding it as it also depends on the reader what is a god explanation for him or her. All in all, I would say that the existence of old reports had a huge positive pedagogical effect on me and others.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21768",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15958/"
] |
21,778 |
<p>I am an American who came to Europe last fall to do an MS which would complement my BA, since the field of study for my BA was different than my current one. My original plan was to apply to PhD programs in the US this fall, but recently I was offered a PhD position by my current adviser. I have until this summer to decide, which means I can either stay where I am now or decline the offer and cast the dice in the US application process.</p>
<p>In itself, my current department is not particularly well known in the US, where I would ultimately like to work. However, my field is small and my adviser is somewhat influential. Moreover, the advising is high quality. My adviser and I generally meet for one to three hours a week to discuss my work. I genuinely like my adviser, her insight, and the work I am doing. If I stay here I would also have connections to a lab in the US which is among the best in the world for my field. I would spend some time there as needed/desired, and the other members of my dissertation committee would likely be from this lab. </p>
<p>There are several US departments where I originally planned to apply. They have good faculty, have a large number of students in the same subfield, are close to other institutions doing related research, etc. In short, if I were accepted to one of these schools, I might sleep sounder knowing that others have tread my path, and at least some have had a good outcome (solid reputation, decent job, etc.).</p>
<p>My situation can be problematized as follows. The offer from my adviser is obviously an opportunistic move on her part. As a friend of mine put it, “she sees a talented young scientist and wants to snatch him up before someone else does.” Regardless of whether the characterization is accurate, that's a way of looking at the situation. My task is to decide whether the move is the right one.</p>
<p>Has anyone had a similar experience or just care to share some insight?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21781,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've argued a whole bunch of times that if you want to get an academic job in the USA, you should do the Ph.D. in the USA as well. </p>\n\n<p>For instance, I give an analysis <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17405/how-would-a-small-liberal-arts-college-view-a-phd-from-germany-or-the-uk-factor/17406#17406\">in this thread</a> of the thought process behind a hiring committee's decision of whom to interview and show ways that holding a foreign degree might hurt your chances.</p>\n\n<p>I also had a more extended interchange with some folks here <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8564/unhappy-with-my-phd-program-thinking-about-applying-to-another-university/21082#21082\">in this thread</a> who seemed initially resistant to my claim. However, see JeffE's comment towards the end of that comment chain in which he says \"All else being equal, US PhDs have an advantage in the US academic market.\"</p>\n\n<p>Best of luck to you in your search.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21783,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While shane's argument has some merit, there is another important factor to take into consideration: time to degree, which is <em>very</em> much inequal here.</p>\n\n<p>If you accept your professor's offer of a PhD position, you would in principle be able to start your PhD research as soon as this fall. If you were to decline the offer, you'd definitely have to wait a full year to start the PhD program, and then at least an extra semester or two, depending on the course requirements in your field. So there could be up to a two-year delay before you do substantial work in your PhD field, depending on whether or not the department will waive your master's coursework. This may or may not be enough to sway your decision.</p>\n\n<p>Additionally, you should look at all of the \"peripherals,\" including things like: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>how much teaching duty would be combined as part of the PhD position (this can be substantial, depending on your advisor's or department's teaching load!); </li>\n<li>what the benefits and support associated with the position are relative to the US programs you're considering; and </li>\n<li>what are the chances someone with your record will have to get into a comparable US program.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21789,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In this venue you will see how important good advisors are. Indeed, having a PhD position in Caltech/MIT/Harvard is mostly useless if you don't get proper advising. If she is good researcher, you have a good working relationship, and you get the advising time you need; you have a good reason to stay.</p>\n\n<p>When getting a position, committees will look at your PhD more than where it was awarded. The more resources you have, and the better the faculty, the better your thesis can be; but it is definitely not the sole factor. If your professor is reputable in the field with good connections, she may be able to help you get a good postdoc.</p>\n\n<p>Also, nothing guarantees you that you will get in the US. No matter how good you are, there are people out there that may look better in an application form. Furthermore, if you have to take the GRE, you are conditioned to what happens to you on that day. And, as others have mentioned, you would have to wait a full year before being able to start. Applying in the US is not free, but I don't know how much a US citizen would have to actually pay; can you afford it?</p>\n\n<p>Consider the working conditions. In many countries in Europe they are much better than in the US: right to vacations, higher salary, sick days... Weight here the requirements to get the degree in your current university (coursework needed, teaching and administrative duties...).</p>\n\n<p>Your main concern is that you want to work in the US after your PhD. It is probably the best place for research, but maybe in three or four years you will decide that you don't want to go there so much, or maybe you will be counting the days to go back.</p>\n\n<p>All this are pretty general comments that may or may not fully apply in your case, that you will have to weight according to your situation. But if <em>I</em> was in your case, as you have presented it, <em>I</em> would say <strong>\"don't walk. Don't run either.\"</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 25815,
"author": "user1798812",
"author_id": 19476,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19476",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Stay put for your good. You are happy there, so be content!</p>\n\n<p>Why would you want to quit something for something which does not even exist, and ruin your content merry life?</p>\n\n<p>May be that's just me, but if I were you I'd take the PhD offer from my current advisor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 25828,
"author": "Tyler J. W. Dickinson",
"author_id": 19526,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19526",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am an American living and studying in Belgium, and I've also recently been applying to PhD programs around the world. Based on what you've described in your question, I have to honestly ask: why are you even considering going to the USA for a PhD? It looks like you have it made in your current situation: a great and influential adviser, excellent resources, and the ability to get into your research immediately. You didn't mention, but I suppose funding plays some role--and if your adviser offered you a position, I'm guessing funding is included. :)</p>\n\n<p>You mention you're in the sciences, but you don't indicate what kind of career you want...so I don't know if you're looking for corporate or for academia. But my speculation (and it is entirely just that) is that the academic market in the US will be turning more and more international as the years go on: professors from other parts of the world, as well as Americans with international degrees. But, I might add, that perhaps you'll find yourself as an expat for longer than you initially thought... Perhaps your career would be better if you took a job somewhere else in the world, and/or getting your foot in the door with an international corporation may do well to help get you into a state-side company as well.</p>\n\n<p>So, from a fellow expat living and studying abroad (and from a fellow applicant to PhD programs who would love to have a funded position just offered to him, but who knows that won't happen)-- I say you should take the offer!</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21778",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15962/"
] |
21,780 |
<p>What is the correct way of referencing an equation, figure of table inline?</p>
<p>I would currently say something like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It can be seen from Equation (11) that . . .</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Inspection of Figure (3) shows . . .</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is this method—capital letter for Equation/Figure/Table and the actual reference in round brackets—acceptable?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21784,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a <em>generic</em> style, your method is probably the most frequently encountered. However, just about every publisher has its style guide, which usually includes instructions for exactly this sort of reference. Those guidelines should be followed when available; if not, then you are free to use whatever format you wish, so long as you use it consistently.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21793,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As far as I know, the standard in <strong>mathematics</strong> is:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Put parentheses around equation numbers; don't use the word \"Equation\" unless after a period.</p></li>\n<li><p>\"Figure/Table/Algorithm X\", with no parentheses. Parentheses are reserved for equations, and square brackets for citations. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>This follows from (11). Equation (12) does not hold in this case. See Figure 13 for further information.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In your LaTeX source, use <code>from~\\eqref{someref}</code> and <code>Figure~\\ref{someother}</code>, with nonbreaking spaces and <code>\\eqref</code> for the equations.</p>\n\n<p>(The standard in mathematics is LaTeX; Word is often frowned upon.)</p>\n\n<p>That said, as already stated in aeismail's answer, every journal has its own house style, which may override the standard.</p>\n\n<p>EDIT: see also the answers to <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15559/\">Referencing non-equations</a> as to why adding \"Equation\" is not a good idea: not all numbered formulas are equations.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21780",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15332/"
] |
21,786 |
<p>Some background info: I'm a graduating Masters Students teaching a Web Development Class. This is my first teaching gig and this is a required course for CS students.</p>
<p>I have one star student who is already VERY good at web development. He overhauled three of the university's sites, making them more accessible, beautiful, and more performant. He is also pretty known among the faculty because of this. Let's just say that he knows the whole scope of what is being taught in my class, probably more.</p>
<p>What I want to know is if there is something that I can do to help this student? What I'm teaching him is probably just tickling his capability, and he is also very driven enough to create sites for our university. Can I talk about my department (CS Department) to let him skip my class/have him create sites for the uni instead? This student is very smart and I really feel he is much more engaged with doing real world sites (our sites) that I want to give him my time to support this instead of simple workload. </p>
<p>I have also talked to him about this and he really does think that developing real sites is fun.</p>
<p>So would it be unusual if I approach my department about this request? If not, how should I phrase this?</p>
<p>*Also, he closely works with me and a few other faculty for the site creation.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21788,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Talk to the person in your department who is responsible for overseeing the undergraduate education program (the title is usually a variant on \"undergraduate advisor\" or \"director of undergraduate studies\"). Such individuals usually have the authority to waive and approve courses that are not part of the \"official\" study plan when exceptional circumstances arise. This individual should be able to tell you what is necessary to obtain a waiver, and what could be used to substitute for it within the program.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21796,
"author": "Bitwise",
"author_id": 6862,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6862",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I encountered a similar situation in the past. The student explained the situation to the lecturer and the lecturer agreed to give the student all the exercises in advance so that he could finish them in one go if he liked (instead of waiting and submitting a new exercise each week). The student did not need to attend class but had to do the final exam. That way the student didn't really get unfair special treatment (he got graded like the rest of the students) but could minimize the time wasted on something that he already knows.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21803,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Having the student do free labor for the department in return for a course credit is somewhat evil. Paid work should be paid work.</p>\n\n<p>At my school, if a student can prove they already have the skills that we teach in core chooses, we have the option of waiving those applicable requirements and letting them take higher level courses instead. The core course requirement is waived, but the number and distribution of courses required are usually not.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, talk to your chair or DUS/DGS as appropriate. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21821,
"author": "codeslapper",
"author_id": 15992,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15992",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>He signed up for the course didn't he? I'd give him the same exams but different assignments. Sounds like you are teaching at a Tech School. Give him a University course. You have a Masters. Make him learn something. Let him work on something more scientific such as how to take the Opera source and replace the crippled WebView of Android with an Opera browser as well as make a one-size-fits-all by letting Opera be embedded in place of the UIWebView in iOS. I know, that's a bit extreme; but, you get the idea. Give him a challenge. I'm sure there is something in the Web Dev space which takes scientific level of understanding. At least he can catalog the various and nefarious async and two-way-data-binding frameworks and compare and contrast. Open the \"Challenge\" assignment to all of the class. You might have a few sleepers in there. make it worth an \"A\"; so, then legitimately everyone has the same opportunity. Just some ideas. (Teaching professional courses is even more extreme: almost always there's one person in the class who knows everything and several who know nothing.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21834,
"author": "DarkLotus",
"author_id": 16002,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16002",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At my university we have a system set up so a student can challenge a class and if they can pass the final exam then they get the credit for the class on a pass/fail system. The other choice in most colleges is having the student adviser for the program waive the class. I am a Computer Science Major and I have had entry level computer courses waived by my adviser because I knew the material well enough to advance to higher courses.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21786",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15966/"
] |
21,792 |
<p>Suppose that in your sub-field there are half a dozen research groups on your continent that are acknowledged to be "world class". You have had the good fortune to do your MSc research in one, and your PhD in another. You are now a postdoc in a third. Your current group is large and well-funded, and your position there is secure for the foreseeable future. You realistically hope to get a faculty position in a good research university within the next 3-5 years. </p>
<p>One day, you are offered a postdoc position in a second-tier research group. Should you consider taking it, in order to broaden your academic horizons? Does the answer change depending on how long you've spent in your current postdoc? Are there other relevant considerations? Assume that you cannot expect to get a better offer within the next year.</p>
<p>Bonus discussion points:
What if you're instead offered</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a faculty position at the second-tier institution?</p></li>
<li><p>a postdoc position at one of the first-tier institutions you've already had an association with?</p></li>
<li><p>a postdoc position at a first-tier institution that you <em>haven't</em> already had an association with?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I have some views on these questions that I'm happy to share, but I'd like to see what other people think first.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21795,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>\"Discussion\" isn't really how SE is supposed to work. However, I think the answer to your questions are relatively clear-cut (at least to me):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>you are offered a postdoc position in a second-tier research group. Should you consider taking it, in order to broaden your academic horizons?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Why? You <em>have</em> a broad horizon, you have seen three top institutions before even becoming a faculty member. Go if the new position offers you something you are currently missing (such as a nicer place to live), but I would certainly not move just for the sake of it.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>[you are offered a ] a faculty position at the second-tier institution?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If I like the place, I'll take this offer without a second thought. Expecting to become faculty directly at one of the five top institutions seems too much to ask for.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>a postdoc position at one of the first-tier institutions you've already had an association with?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Did you like it there better than in your current job? If yes, take the offer. If no, stay.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>a postdoc position at a first-tier institution that you haven't already had an association with?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>More or less same answer as for the first bullet. You <em>have</em> seen a lot of places already, you do not need to change jobs just for the sake of it. If there is something you think the new institution will do better, then go for it. If not, stay. There is no life achievement for visiting each top institution in your field.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21841,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As promised, I'll attempt to answer my own question. I'm pleasantly surprised that to date, comments and answers amount to \"why would you move (unless you want to)?\". This is clearly a <b>very</b> sensible answer, yet it doesn't accord with my own experience of academic career advice (hence the original question). It would be interesting to know whether other people have also gained the impression that \"it's important to move around as a postdoc\" - perhaps this is field- or region-dependent?</p>\n\n<p>It seems (@PeteL.Clark) that the implied meaning of \"postdoc\" is also not necessarily uniform across all fields. I'm focussing here on postdocs who are supported by funds secured by their PI, and who are therefore expected to work (predominantly) on a given research project. To my knowledge, this is the most common form of \"postdoc\" in (at least) the sciences.</p>\n\n<p>As @suresh observed, \"the whole point of a postdoc is to transition into some kind of permanent job\". So, why would you quit one postdoc for another? For completeness, let's start with the most obvious reasons, which I deliberately tried to exclude when constructing this question:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The funding for your current position has been exhausted;</li>\n<li>You are offered a position that is clearly a 'step up', academically, from your current position;</li>\n<li>You are offered a position that offers something that is sufficiently attractive to you personally to justify the move (e.g. closer to family, nicer living environment, better pay, etc etc).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>What are the other potential benefits associated with moving? Possibilities include</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Exposure to new people, new ideas, new ways of doing things - not everyone approaches research in the same way, and not every department is organised along the same lines: it's good to see some different perspectives;</li>\n<li>Experience of different research questions - the research focus of the new postdoc is unlikely to be identical to that of your current position;</li>\n<li>\"A change is as good as a rest\" - a move can provide practical and intellectual stimulation, and may lead to a boost in productivity (particularly if it allows you to shake off additional responsibilities for a time);</li>\n<li>It raises your profile in the wider academic community - humans are conditioned to pay more attention to changes than to continuity;</li>\n<li>You get to remind a range of influential people (your referees; research groups that you apply to) that you exist, have attractive qualities, and are in the job market.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Potential downsides might include</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Lost time - the process of winding down your research in one place, transporting your entire life to a different city/country, and getting set up for research in the new place will probably severely reduce your output over several months;</li>\n<li>Dealing with all the hassles (and, potentially, the expense) of relocation;</li>\n<li>You effectively remove yourself from the job market for a time - realistically, you are not going to be able to move again for a while, even if a better position comes along;</li>\n<li>Signalling of limited ambition - people may question why you are taking another postdoc and not concentrating on obtaining a personal research grant/a faculty position;</li>\n<li>Reduced opportunity to benefit from the work you've already done - if, say, your research group has spent the last decade getting to the point of sending a rover to Mars, it is probably not a sensible career move to leave a month before it lands.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>There are also various factors which may be either positive or negative, depending upon the precise circumstances in which you find yourself: the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two research groups in question; the personalities involved; and so forth.</p>\n\n<p>Given that the single biggest factor <em>against</em> moving is the time cost, it seems plausible to argue that there is a \"minimum length\" for a postdoc to be truly profitable. I suggest this is of the order of 2-3 years. Thus, all else being equal, there is limited benefit to moving until you've spent at least 3 years in your present position. There is also little benefit to moving if you can reasonably expect to secure a clear \"promotion\" (e.g. a personal research grant or faculty position) within the next 2 years.</p>\n\n<p>On this analysis, there is perhaps a short window in the middle of one's \"postdoc years\" where a sideways move can make sense. This is where the different classes of institution come into play. If, during this window, you can move to an entirely new first-class institution, then you should do so: the benefits are likely to outweigh the losses. However, moving to an institution you have already had an association with is less valuable, as you have already gained most of the \"new experiences\" that such a move might otherwise provide. A move from a first-tier to a second-tier institution is unlikely to be sensible, unless you can identify specific exceptional circumstances.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 101711,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>When should you move on from a postdoc position?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If and when you feel you'll be able to further your research better elsewhere, or get inspired/motivated to do other work elsewhere.</li>\n<li>If and when you feel mistreated, abused, burned out etc.</li>\n<li>Perhaps - to follow your significant other to wherever they're going, or to move with them someplace where both of you can lead a fulfilling life, or to someplace better to raise children etc.</li>\n<li>When your contract expires...</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21792",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798/"
] |
21,797 |
<p>I once reviewed a manuscript whose authors cited many of their own published papers, which were not relevant to the subject of the manuscript. <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3643/will-self-citation-be-viewed-as-self-promotion-in-academia">This kind of practice is evidently frowned upon by the academic community</a>. In my comments, I advised the authors to remove those references, which they did afterwards to some extent. The manuscript eventually got published, after two rounds of review. </p>
<p>With hindsight, did I do the right thing to discourage this practice of irrelevant self-citation, or is there anything else that I should have done? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21798,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Did I do the right thing to discourage this practice of irrelevant self-citation?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes. In fact, as a reviewer, you should point out irrelevant citations of any kind (self- or otherwise), and suggest that these be removed. Conversely, you should not complain about relevant and appropriate self-citations. The issue is the lack of relevance, not the self-citing.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is there anything else that I should have done?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is exactly what <em>should</em> happen: reviewers should call out this kind of thing, so the authors will have to remove the irrelevant citations before the paper is published. This anecdote is a triumph of diligent reviewing :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21808,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A rule that was told to me in my youth and I have always obeyed and agreed with: never include a paper in your bibliography unless you cite it in the text itself. Like most rules, it admits some exceptions: for instance if a primary purpose of your paper is to gather references -- e.g. if you are writing a retrospective on the work of one specific person, or you are the first to compile what you intend to be an all-inclusive guide to the literature of an entire sub(sub...)field -- then this would not apply.</p>\n\n<p>Of course one should in most cases try to go farther than the above rule: as a reader I am not thrilled when multiple references get dropped in a single phrase, e.g. \"For more work on this problem see [73], [152], [49], [16].\" In an age of increasingly sophisticated electronic bibliographic catalogues, this sort of \"buckshot citation\" seems to have little value. Just a couple of days ago I read a famous paper (why not? it was Alon-Friedland-Kalai, <em>Regular subgraphs of almost regular graphs</em>, 1984) and noticed that they were not phrasing their results as explicitly in terms of a certain concept as it seemed to me that they should: that would simplify the proofs and result in some mild strengthenings. Well, it's no big deal but I got curious as to whether anyone had later made this connection more explicit. An appropriate google led me to a survey paper in which the AFK paper was mentioned...but in the above buckshot approach: nothing is specifically said about the paper in the text, not even the names of any of the authors. As a result I am left to wonder whether the connection has actually been made. Which is no big deal -- I have corresponded with an author of the (nice) survey paper before, and this is a good opportunity to do so again -- but the point stands: citing that paper and not doing any more than that doesn't seem to accomplish much.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, I think the kind of vigilance in calling out weak citations that @ff524 lauds could be taken too far. In some fields -- like mathematics -- we are pretty rampant under-citers, to the extent that it makes it harder for a non-veteran to find their way through the literature, which can result in duplication of work. Citing too little is a crime which has real victims. Citing too much is a crime only<b>*</b> because of the current academic fad that one's research profile can be accurately estimated in terms of citations indices. I would encourage every academic to maintain a healthy skepticism about that: again and again I have found important, deep papers with few or no citations, and I have often found that what is most cited is what is easiest to understand.</p>\n\n<p>If you really believe in the science of citation indices, I think you need to at least approach it with some sophistication. The issue that the OP specifically asks about can be dealt with by keeping track of self-citations, which is certainly trivial to do with current technology. Creating and implementing algorithms that detect and counteract various kinds of \"inappropriate citations\" sounds like a fun research problem: for instance, we should probably be searching for small cliques in the citation digraph. </p>\n\n<p><b>*</b>I just remembered that in Gian-Carlo Rota's in/famous <em>Indiscrete Thoughts</em>, he mentions and endorses the practice of sprinkling in some absolutely irrelevant citations to your work as an easy way of making friends. This is definitely a book for which always taking the author literally at his word would be a mistake, but I read his attitude here as one of whimsical mischief rather than real academic skullduggery. The times they are a-changin'.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p><strong>Added</strong>: I will admit to being surprised by the downvote: I don't see that I've said anything remotely controversial. In particular, I don't disagree at all with @ff524's answer (which I upvoted): I said only that vigilance in pruning citations could be taken too far. This is not the first time that I've encountered on this site the phenomenon of cultural differences in citation practices between my field (mathematics) and certain other academic fields. As I've said before and again in this answer: mathematicians are rampant underciters, <em>to the point in which people end up spending significant amounts of time and effort replicating others' work</em>. That's a problem which in my mind safely outweighs the damage one does to the readability of one's own paper by too much buckshot citation or the games that apparently some people play to try to increase their citation index. Does anyone disagree with this? I would be interested to know.</p>\n\n<p>One thing that I could have been more explicit about in my answer: in general, there is a spectrum of relevance in citations, with \"so obviously irrelevant that you are perpetuating some kind of academic dishonesty by including it\" on one end and \"so obviously crucial that you are perpetuating another kind of academic dishonesty by omitting it\" at the other end. Clearcut cases should be clearly addressed, absolutely. There are also less clearcut cases, and in such cases I would recommend giving some latitude to the authors (especially if the \"crime\" is reducing the signal-to-noise ratio of their paper: a helpful referee might point that out, but ultimately that's the authors' own feet to shoot if they choose). </p>\n\n<p>I did mention citations in a recent referee report. I wrote:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>[Self effacing remark along the lines of \"I could be wrong, but...\"], Result X of the paper doesn't look so similar to Result Y of a paper they cite [and which was only cited by way of comparison and not used in any way]. I don't find this citation irrelevant <em>per se</em>, but it makes me wonder why they didn't cite Z1,Z2,Z3 which seem MORE relevant.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The authors specifically responded to this point in their revision. They said, essentially:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The citation to Y was not in our first draft. We added it based on feedback. We agree that Z1,Z2,Z3 are also relevant, and we added them.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I was quite satisfied with that. Final citation density of the paper after adding the citations I suggested: about .5 distinct citations per page. </p>\n\n<p>I also find this comment of ff524 interesting:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Consider yourself lucky that you rarely have to review papers that indiscriminately cite all the authors' previous work, an assortment of unrelated papers from the journal it's submitted to, and the first ten papers that appear in Google scholar for a related keyword. (I exaggerate only slightly) </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It's not just rare; I have never refereed or even seen a mathematics paper that has anything like that level of citation. I have refereed at least 30 papers, so if I'm \"lucky\", it may be that I'm lucky to be a mathematician rather than an academic in some other field. While I certainly do feel lucky to be a mathematician, in this case once I again I suspect that this lack of a problem is a symptom of the opposite, more serious problem. </p>\n\n<p>Is this phenomenon really common in other academic disciplines? I find that surprising: to me it sounds like the sort of \"rookie mistake\" that some young person might try once and their advisor would correct.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21823,
"author": "Veera",
"author_id": 15993,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15993",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this should be followed by all reviewers. There are certain facts to be remembered. Apart from scenarios where the author of the manuscript citing his own publications, I would like to add few other too. First, an author from a lab citing publications of his own laboratory. Second, an author from an institution citing articles that were from his own institution. Third, an author submitting an article to a journal with more citations that are publications of the journal to which he is submitting. All this scenarios exists and mostly these all were done intentionally. In addition, most of the times the author was instructed to do so, either by his guide or by the journal itself. Hence, I think there should be specific regulations to be followed by journals and reviewers in order to reduce such unnecessary irrelevant citations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 181096,
"author": "Dilworth",
"author_id": 8760,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8760",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n<p>With hindsight, did I do the right thing to discourage this practice of irrelevant self-citation</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Not necessarily. Citation is not a prize or a favour. It's a scientific tool to help the reader or to justify the claims. Therefore, it is certainly right to discourage the practice of <strong>irrelevant</strong> citations. But if your concern is <em>only</em> irrelevant <strong>self</strong>-citation, it seems that your motivation is not scientific proper, rather social and competitive one: to "level the market of citations", so that people do not "get ahead" by self-citations. Indeed, by claiming that the author engages in what you call (a deliberate) "<em>practice</em>" of self-citation you assume with no evidence that they are not behaving in good faith, which is a speculation based on your world-view of academic competition.</p>\n<p>In other words, discouraging <em>only</em> irrelevant self-citations is not right. But discouraging <em>any</em> irrelevant citation is right, as explained in the excellent answer by ff524.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21797",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936/"
] |
21,799 |
<p>This is a follow on from <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21742/is-it-ethical-to-withdraw-a-paper-after-acceptance-in-order-to-resubmit-to-a-bet">Is it ethical to withdraw a paper after acceptance in order to resubmit to a better journal?</a></p>
<p>If a journal is willing to publish your submitted manuscript "as is", can you prevent them? Clearly if they want you to make changes you have the right to say no, but once the manuscript is accepted can you really withdraw it against the publisher's wish? Further, who has the final say on copy edits and type setting?</p>
<p>In my field we electronically sign a copyright transfer when the manuscript is submitted that comes into affect if it is accepted for publication.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21805,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Of course I'm not a lawyer, but I'd distinguish between two thresholds:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Before the paper can be published, you need to grant legal permission via a license or copyright transfer. If you haven't done that yet, then the publisher can't force you to let them publish the paper. That gives a narrow window in which you could still block publication after the paper is accepted (but whether you could ethically do so depends on your reason for objecting).</p></li>\n<li><p>Once the published version has appeared (even just on the publisher's website), there's nothing you can do without a powerful reason. At that point, you would be retracting a published paper, which is a far more serious act.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>In between these thresholds, I don't know what would happen. I'd guess that if you asked the publisher not to publish a paper you had already signed a copyright transfer for, then they would probably agree. After all, publishing a paper against the author's wishes could look bad, even if they were legally entitled to do so. However, if you didn't have a very good reason (such as a major error in the paper), then the publisher would be rather unhappy. I wouldn't be surprised if they asked you to cover any copyediting or typesetting costs, and this sort of unprofessional behavior would be terrible for your reputation.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Further, who has the final say on copy edits and type setting?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In principle this depends on the publishing agreement. In practice, the ones I've seen usually give the publisher final say, but the publisher usually defers to the author about anything intellectually substantive during the proofreading stage. (On the other hand, the author gets more or less no input into matters of style such as font choice, British vs. American spelling, etc.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21807,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Further, who has the final say on copy edits and type setting?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Short answer: <strong>everyone</strong>. In more detail:</p>\n\n<p>Acceptance of a paper means that the editorial board approves it for publication. Once the editorial board signs off on the paper, some combination of the author(s), the editors and the publishers must arrive at a mutually agreeable final draft.</p>\n\n<p>In my experience, the role that the editors play here is highly variable: sometimes they work directly with the authors on the copyediting: e.g. the <em>American Mathematical Monthly</em> is incredibly picky (relative to other math journals, anyway) about copyediting issues, and they surprised me by <strong>withholding final acceptance of a recent paper of mine</strong> until I had (myself, under their very specific instructions) completed all the copyediting and formatting. And they seemed serious about this: a change to the bibliography would be solicited and uploaded as a separate revision. It ought to be evident that I was not completely happy that the acceptance of the paper was held over my head during a discussion of the copyediting, but that's a way to play it and I'm sure they have their reasons. </p>\n\n<p>(The MONTHLY has, I believe, by far the highest circulation of any mathematics journal. It is published by the Mathematical Association of America, which is the more teaching-oriented of the two professional societies for mathematics in the US. On the other hand, there are three selective MAA journals, and of these the MONTHLY is by far the most \"serious\". Long story short: many roads lead to them, and they are forced to be very selective indeed in what they publish, although they select for different things than a top research journal.) </p>\n\n<p>I had another experience in which the final editorial acceptance in a prestigious journal was made conditional on the submission of a new draft containing less \"pompous language\". </p>\n\n<p>More typically the copyediting and formatting is either left to the authors themselves or done by an employee of the publishing company (who in many cases does this for papers in multiple academic disciplines and thus cannot have high-level subject area knowledge most of the time). In the end <strong>both the authors and the publisher have the final say</strong>: both parties must approve the final draft in order for it to published, and the documentation of this mutual approval is the publication contract. </p>\n\n<p>Of course in practice this mutual approval is done in an asymmetric way between the parties: the publisher sends you a form in which everything has been spelled out in advance, in the pushy manner of big corporations everywhere. But if there are clauses in the contract that the authors have a problem with, they are certainly entitled to ask, and in my experience some minor \"concessions\" (i.e., changes to the boilerplate agreement) are often made by the publisher. A big part of the asymmetry is that the authors generally have a much larger stake in the publication of the paper than the publisher does, so insisting that one be able to refer to a paper in the bibliography by [Cl14] rather than [3] or one will take one's wares elsewhere looks like a strange arrangement of priorities, but if you really do feel strongly about it you are entitled to ask and who knows -- maybe you'll get your way. Asking them to mess with aspects of the typesetting that are part of the journal's standard style seems less kosher to me: one would reasonably expect the journal to want to keep its standard style, and if this was really important to you, you should probably have brought it up earlier. </p>\n\n<p>Making sure that one really does send in the copyright form last of all is a good tip. I stumbled on this point recently when dealing with one of the world's largest scientific publishing companies. They kept doing something weird in the proofs, I kept pointing out their mistakes and though I took pains to indicate in every correspondence that I was not giving my final approval, after a few go-rounds they didn't get back to me, and eventually I noticed that the paper was published online...still with one strange typesetting mistake that was not in the version I sent to them. Next time I'll save the copyright form until the end. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21816,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>If a journal is willing to publish your submitted manuscript \"as is\", can you prevent them? Clearly if they want you to make changes you have the right to say no, but once the manuscript is accepted can you really withdraw it against the publisher's wish? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You can withdraw a manuscript at any time unless it is officially published (usually on-line). I cannot see that any journal could stop you from doing so and signing copyright forms should not cause problems since those forms usually concern the work done by the publisher to get the manuscript into publishable form. By this I mean copy-editing and type-setting and not generally the review process. Exactly what is covered by the agreement must be checked in each individual case (journal/publisher).</p>\n\n<p>The fact that you can withdraw a manuscript does not mean it is necessarily a frictionless process. A case such as this falls outside of legal terms and into the ethical realm where you can do whatever you legally can or want but it may not reflect very positively on yourself. To withdraw a manuscript from a journal that has put in a lot of efforts, including, most likely, non-paid reviewers and scientific editors, with the excuse that you want to go for a higher ranking journal seems at least morally wrong. You should have thought about that much earlier.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Further, who has the final say on copy edits and type setting?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The journal will likely have rules for how things should look and be expressed. You have the opportunity to agree or disagree with any changes the journal makes, through its copy-editing and type-setting. However, when it comes to journal style, it supersedes your own views and an editor also has the right to remove material that can be considered offensive, rude or unethical in some way. The latter is to protect the journal reputation. Hence, you cannot expect your view to be final in such extreme cases.</p>\n\n<p>Despite what I have just said, there are of course overzealous editors who do not know where to draw the lines. So because human interaction is involved also in publishing, all may not happen as you expect it but usually such circumstances in the extreme are exceptions.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21799",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929/"
] |
21,801 |
<p>You submit a manuscript to journal A. The paper is rejected, either with a short dismissal ("not good enough for this journal") or with a longer rebuttal from the referees. You wish to resubmit it to a different journal B. </p>
<p><strong>Should you inform the editor at B of the previous rejection?</strong></p>
<p>What is ethically correct? What do people do in the real world?</p>
<p>Possible arguments in favor:</p>
<ol>
<li>It is important information regarding the manuscript, you shouldn't withhold it.</li>
<li>In this way the editor at B can contact the editor at journal A to solicit an opinion from the same referees, who already know the paper and are in a better position to give a report.</li>
<li>It is not honest to submit and resubmit the same paper at different venues until you are lucky enough to get better-inclined reviewers; mentioning all previous history is needed to expose this practice.</li>
</ol>
<p>Possible arguments against:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The editor at B will perceive what has happened as an indication that you consider journal B to be lower-tier than A, and possibly get offended (and biased against publication).</p></li>
<li><p>If the information gets to the referees, they might be negatively influenced, too. </p></li>
<li><p>Ultimately, is it fair that the previous referees are brought into the picture again, or should you start with a clean slate and new reviewers?</p></li>
<li><p>It feels silly to write "we got a negative report with no suggestions for changes, so we are sending the exact same manuscript at you with minor modifications".</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The arguments against look weaker in my view, because they all imply a bias that "perfect" editors and reviewers should not have.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21802,
"author": "Carser",
"author_id": 15570,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15570",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should <strong>not</strong> mention previous rejections. You <strong>should</strong> definitely revise and take into consideration the comments from the reviewers in Journal A. </p>\n\n<p>I think it would be silly to simply resubmit the identical article at a different journal (unless it is the case mentioned below by @user11192 that you received a rejection with NO feedback), and if you are submitting a revised article then the critiques of the previous reviewer are no longer relevant! </p>\n\n<p>Of course, if you are resubmitting, then you believe that your work is an original contribution. If the journal A reviewer simply didn't like your writing style or you didn't effectively communicate your work, then resubmitting is quite common. If the journal A reviewer pointed out that your work was unoriginal and had been published previously by someone else, then it is simply unethical to attempt to re-submit. In the more subtle case that the first reviewer felt that your contribution was not \"substantial\" enough, then you still want to revise, and may just end up changing your introduction/motivation more than your core work. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21804,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Regarding your arguments for: 1. and 3. seem to be more like \"axioms\" than arguments. 1. in particular seems almost to be begging the question. As for 3., journals have (increasingly!) long lists of requirements for authors, some of them serious but also others that those \"in the know\" know that they may safely ignore: e.g. many journals ask that you submit papers <em>in their own template</em>, but there's no good reason for that, most papers that I've written or refereed do not do that, and no one cares. So the negation of 3. seems more reasonable to me: if journals wanted you to provide this information, they would ask for it. (Maybe you are trying to argue that they <em>should</em> ask for it. Interesting, but a different question, I think.)</p>\n\n<p>Argument 2. is much more pertinent: if the referee's careful opinion is that your paper is valuable and deserves to be published in a research journal but just not in the journal that you have submitted to, one can indeed save a lot of people's time by carrying over the same referee to a different journal. If you want to do this, it seems best to ask the editor of journal A to get in touch with journal B. I've done this both as an author and as the carry-over referee. </p>\n\n<p>But this is an option that the author gets to choose to exercise or not. In terms of the current practices, this is certainly true and I don't think anyone expects otherwise. Again, it is interesting to argue about whether it <em>should</em> be true....and yes, I think it should. The refereeing system is not strong on incorporating \"responses to referees\": when authors write back to the editors pointing out factual mistakes in a referee report, they are often told something like \"I am inclined to believe you and that is most regrettable. You should definitely resubmit your paper to another journal of similar stature. Best of luck.\" Very often the referee acts not only as the jury but also the judge and the executioner in the current system. But for a paper whose work is agreed to be correct and novel -- or for which this evaluation was not even made -- then fundamentally, \"not good enough for a journal like X\" is nothing but an <strong>informed opinion</strong>. If that opinion is a sound one, a different referee will probably come to it independently. If it isn't, then I think the author has every right to start out fresh.</p>\n\n<p>Let me also say that as a frequent referee, I do not feel the desire to know the provenance of the paper, and I don't think that would help me with my decision. I already have what I think is probably too much information at my disposal: namely the author's identity and thus their professional reputation, my personal view of them, and so forth. Being a good referee doesn't mean taking all possible information into account; it means taking exactly the right information into account to evaluate the paper on its own merits.</p>\n\n<p>In the course of arguing against the \"arguments for\", it seems that I have espoused some of the arguments against: 2. and 3. I hope these arguments have been shown to be more convincing. (Arguments against 1. and 4. do not seem very compelling to me.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21817,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Many journals ask for information on previous submissions their electronic submission systems along with asking if the manuscript <em>is</em> under consideration elsewhere. The fact that some journals have rejection rates way in excess of 50% means that rejections are not necessarily terrible and down-grading your work. Part of rejections are also because the material may not be suitable for the journal in question, which involves no judgement of the quality of your science.</p>\n\n<p>So, if your paper has been rejected as not suitable for the intended journal or some other technical reason, I see no reason to mention this at a resubmission. You made a mistake, full stop.</p>\n\n<p>If the paper has been rejected for some scientific reason, particularly if it has been through review I think mentioning the history is worthwhile. There is of course no law that states you must.</p>\n\n<p>The importance of mentioning the history of a paper is not so much to convey its rejection but to provide the editor with information on why it was rejected and what you took away from this to improve your manuscript. I very much doubt editors will contact other editors to check on previous submissions, none of the parties typically have the time to spare. Instead it is your description of why you think the manuscript should be published, the value of your science, and how you have improved it which is of use to an editor. </p>\n\n<p>I have found out by accidentally assigning the same reviewers to manuscripts, submitted as new, that they have been considered elsewhere. As an editor, this raises a warning flag for me: \"is the manuscript so poor/controversial/other that the author wants to hide its past\"? The fact that people prefer to send material to certain journals before others is known to most of us. Editors are usually scientists that make the same choices, except perhaps to send it to their own journal.</p>\n\n<p>I therefore think that being open about the problems can help. Of course,if your manuscript is poor, it just is; but if it can and has been improved, rejection by another journal should not stand in your way to get it published elsewhere.</p>\n\n<p>Regarding reviewers, there are two form of replies I usually get when accidentally assigning the same reviewer as for a previous submission: (1) don't want to touch it again, or (2) want to see how it has been improved. The fact that a manuscript was rejected does not mean reviewers were dead against its content. Or, perhaps, some where but for reasons disguised as scientific. I therefore think it is also useful to know something about the previous process when a paper is resubmitted. the place for this is in the accompanying submission letter. Just make it brief but clear.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21801",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958/"
] |
21,813 |
<p>I am a PhD Student & started my research few months ago. My research involves creating a predictive model for protein-drug interaction using soft computing techniques .The topic was given to me by my supervisor and was <em>not</em> my choice.</p>
<p>The problem is, I am a computer science student and have no idea about drugs or proteins or their interaction. My knowledge about the topic is completely zero. While I have read literature, I find the concept very difficult to understand. I find it difficult to search for technical papers of my interest. I would also like to mention that I have absolutely NO help from my supervisor, who also has no idea about the topic, despite being the one who told me to work on the topic.</p>
<p>Now I need to start with my coursework and it includes topics like drug-protein interaction and soft computing techniques. And, I have seriously no clue to how to go about my coursework. I don't know what topics should be included in the course work. My supervisor has just left me with the names of the coursework that's it. I do not know from where to start, exactly what to start and how to start. The days are just passing by and I have time constraints to present the same at the institute level. I am just going crazy thinking about it day by day and don't know where will I land up at the end. I don't want to leave PhD to whatever happens. My sincere request to you is to suggest something and help me out with it or anybody please suggest to me how to proceed.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21815,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think it is reasonable that your coursework follows your research. As I see it, the issue is that you are not interested in your present topic, to that I would suggest to talk to your advisor, especially if he seems so uninterested as you claim. In the extreme case you could try and switch advisors.</p>\n\n<p>I find it hard to believe that you are \"forced\" to research a specific topic, i.e. there are very few situations I can think of that possibility (e.g. a industry pays your PhD to research something of their interest).</p>\n\n<p>As a personal opinion, and off-topic to this site, I find that protein modeling is a very broad and useful topic in CS with a great future. So, if you could manage to beat the learning curve, I imagine that your career would benefit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21818,
"author": "mhwombat",
"author_id": 10529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10529",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is completely normal to be floundering early on in your research, and to feel panicked. You wouldn't have chosen this topic, but ask yourself this: If I woke up tomorrow knowing what I needed to know to do this research, would the topic interest me? If not, perhaps you should change topics. For what it's worth, I think it sounds like a very interesting topic. You don't need to become a biochemist; you only need to learn enough to write a simulation of some aspect of the problem.</p>\n\n<p>When I need to learn the basics of a completely unfamiliar topic, I don't <em>start</em> with journal articles. I search the web for educational materials, something targeted toward undergraduates. At this point I'm trying to learn the basic terminology and concepts. I also look for online discussion forums where I might ask questions. I then read Wikipedia (which will have links to useful journal articles) and Scholarpedia. Once I start to understand some basic concepts, then I try to read journal articles. I'll probably discover more gaps in my knowledge; I go back to the web for basic info in those areas.</p>\n\n<p>Your supervisor isn't helping you. That's something to be concerned about. Could it be that he or she is leaving you alone temporarily to see what you can accomplish on your own, pushing you to become more self-reliant? Or do you think your supervisor tends to ignore her PhD students? Talk to her other students, especially those who are a little further along in their research, to get an idea of her style. If you don't think you are compatible, a change of advisors is probably best.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21826,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to be a bit more harsh than the current answers, and ask whether you knew what you were getting yourself into when you signed up for a multidisciplinary graduate program. What you describe is very common in such programs; you enter with significant knowledge in one field (e.g., comp sci), almost no knowledge in another (e.g., biology), and your task is to familiarize yourself with both to the extent that you can perform academic-level research that straddles both fields. Anecdotally, I went through a biomedical engineering PhD program, and <em>every single student</em> who went through the program experienced some degree of what you are describing. Without knowing specifics, your advisor is likely not responding because they take it for granted that you will learn to cope the same way that all his other students do.</p>\n\n<p>The solution is simply to start at the beginning and take it from there. Clearly, you won't find help from your advisor, but there are many other resources. Find other students in a similar situation and create a study group. Talk to the TA. Use online materials and forums. If the course is simply too advanced, drop it for now and take (audit?) a lower-level (undergraduate?) course first. I know many students who did this. They ended up fine.</p>\n\n<p>You will likely encounter a similar situation many times, where you need to familiarize yourself with a brand-new field, and this is a fine time to figure out how to do it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21813",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9864/"
] |
21,819 |
<p>Here's my story:</p>
<p>I study computer science. When I started my master's degree, I had good research ideas and I wanted to publish them immideately (I now realize being in a hurry is the worst thing I did myself in my educational life).</p>
<p>My thesis advisor is a perfectionist. His philosophy is <em>all or nothing</em>. Therefore, he ignored my immature works and told me to get ready for my thesis only. He said that my thesis topic is one of the hottest topics in area and possible contributions to that topic would be huge improvement in my academic career.</p>
<p>But again, I was dissatisfied. So, with the ratification of my advisor, I published two conference papers with another professor. One is in <a href="http://www.iccae.org/">ICCAE '12</a> and the other one is in <a href="http://www.ickd.org/">ICKD '13</a>. Those are not so good conferences, but still they are not in <a href="http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/">Beall's List</a>.</p>
<p>Now, me and my advisor are writing a paper to submit a top conference.</p>
<p>Here's my question: Those publications are not a bit of scientific publications. They are barely at a level of senior project. When I'm applying to PhD, should I put those two publications in my CV or not? The acceptance notification of the conference is due to July. Until then, is it better to have no publications or two bad publications in my CV?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21822,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In most fields, expectations of publications are very small when applying for a PhD position. What the committee will be looking at is your writing. In most cases, they will have only the thesis to study but in your case, you will also have a few publications, including the one for the \"good\" conference. The benefit of all of these is that they show you have been active and pursued publishing your results. That the first publications may not be strong will not surprise most, after all one of the main goals of a PhD is to provide the background to be an independent researcher and <em>publish</em>.</p>\n\n<p>You may be in a dilemma if your papers are of disputable quality since avoiding to list them may, if found out, look like you are trying to hide them; regardless of your original intent. </p>\n\n<p>To take this a step further: I think that adding comments on papers you think can reflect negatively on yourself can turn a negative to a positive. The reason is that you can show that you have progressed in your thinking to a point where you can be self-critical. This means that the comments you make have to be insightful and not just a list of excuses, in fact avoid excuses at all costs and provide good arguments showing your new insights.</p>\n\n<p>So, think about how you can use your experiences (good or bad) in a positive way to show your capacity as a budding scientist. We all make mistakes, but not all learn from them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21824,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is not unheard of for undergraduate and MSc students to publish in \"predatory\" journals and conferences. I have a related question from the other side of the table: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7908/value-of-light-to-none-peer-reviewed-pay-to-publish-articles\">Value of light-to-none peer reviewed pay-to-publish articles</a></p>\n\n<p>that is asking about how to evaluate students with these types of publications. I think the answers are pretty clear that there really isn't a problem with students who have previously published in low quality places or low quality work. It is possible that multiple low quality publications might cause a potential adviser to have concerns about future goals and your understanding of the system, but these can likely be easily addressed in your cover letter.</p>\n\n<p>The question of whether undergrads should publish weak research has also been addressed: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9181/for-undergraduates-is-publishing-weak-research-better-than-not-publishing?lq=1\">For undergraduates, is publishing "weak" research better than not publishing?</a> and the general consensus seems to be that between having no publications or a low quality publication, having a low quality publication is generally no worse.</p>\n\n<p>To then get to the heart of your question given someone has some low quality publications should he attempt to deceive a potential supervisor by \"hiding\" the publications, the answer seems to be pretty clear: NO. There is little downside and potential upside of including the low quality publications on your CV. A potential supervisor thinking that an applicant is attempting to deceive the supervisor has a clear and huge downside.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21819",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15949/"
] |
21,825 |
<p>I'm a student enrolled in an university in Italy. I'm currently taking a course on probability theory, but the way is it taught is, whilst very good, not very thorough; I mean that in class some of the most difficult part are skipped. As such, I'm studying those part on the book by myself. Since this is a completely new topic for me, I often wonder if I'm understanding the proofs correctly, and if I'm able to correctly apply the theorems.</p>
<p>For this reason I sent an email to my professor, kindly asking to review a short proof (that I've written in latex, so it was pretty and all) specifying that I wasn't sure if all the operations and the theorems employed were indeed well used. The professor did not answer my mail.</p>
<p>My question is, was I wrong with sending the email in the first place? Is it bad etiquette to do so? I especially don't want to appear like some sort of "smart aleck" or anything, I am honestly trying to understand the topic. Of course I don't mind that the professor didn't reply, I know he must be pretty busy. On the other hand, I also have the feeling that if I can't get any feedback I may as well study the books by myself. What is even the point of being enrolled in the university then?</p>
<p>I hope someone with experience (maybe a professor!) can share their thoughts.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 21827,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Being a mathematician in the U.S., from my perspective it is entirely reasonable to send (nicely typeset) questions to one's professor. I always respond to my students' email questions. In fact, I respond to polite emails from people I've not met, if the email seems to be addressed to me specifically (as opposed to a mass emailing) and not machine-generated (spam...) and concerning mathematics that I'd be assumed to have an expert opinion about. After all, wouldn't this be a natural way for the scholarly community to operate?</p>\n\n<p>Still, yes, it is true that if one is trying to absolutely optimize <em>status</em>, engaging in any not-status-enhancing activity would be pointless at best. It's not surprising when people thinking that way ignore anyone who can't add to their status.</p>\n\n<p>In summary, email questions as you describe are entirely reasonable, and not at all impolite. At the same time, depending on the recipient, it is also entirely unsurprising that they'd ignore you, unfortunately.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21828,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As @paulgarrett has said, there's nothing wrong with sending this sort of email, and (one hopes) many professors will be pleased that a student is showing more initiative than the average.</p>\n\n<p>However, from the professor's perspective: unless the answer is \"Yes, that's exactly correct\", or \"No, you clearly haven't understood the first thing about this course\", providing a helpful answer can be quite time-consuming. Explaining why your proof is not <em>quite</em> right may require material that's outside the scope of your current course; it may also require the professor to sit down and produce a lengthy response. Sometimes, there are also nuances of \"it's not exactly <em>wrong</em>, but it's not entirely <em>right</em> either\" that are difficult to translate into written form. </p>\n\n<p>Thus, it's all too easy to put this sort of question to one side, with good intentions of replying later that never quite come to fruition. I suggest the best strategy, assuming you've given the professor a reasonable amount of time to respond, is to go see the professor in person (perhaps during his office hours, or after a lecture), and (politely) ask if he's had a chance to look at the proof you sent. Take a print-out with you. You will at least get a better sense of whether <b>this</b> professor welcomes your questions or not.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21858,
"author": "Martin - マーチン",
"author_id": 13372,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13372",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with the answers posted so far, but yet wanted to add another view of sight. It is neither bad etiquette nor wrong to ask these questions. </p>\n\n<p>From my personal experience while being a student and later working on a PhD I can tell, that professors tend to be very busy throughout the whole year. E-Mails sometimes remain unread for quite some time. The best way to approach your teacher is probably after class, so he can put a face to the name. He might then tell you, that it is inconvenient at the moment, refer to a tutor or teaching assistant or maybe schedule a separate meeting. Some of my teachers also took this kind of response as a means to discuss it later in class, if there is enough time.</p>\n\n<p>When I was a PhD student my supervisor referred some students to me in order to help them unpuzzle their questions, since he has had no time to efficiently take care about them. I do also consider this a nice practice.</p>\n\n<p>I have met quite a number of lecturers and almost all of them were very happy if they receive any kind of feedback. Most of them came also to the conclusion, that a personal talk is more fruitful, since this would answer some of their questions, too.</p>\n\n<p>In conclusion, your teacher might not have read your e-mail and I think it is appropriate if you try to meet him after class and ask him about that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 182042,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think asking the question is totally fine, but keep in mind that you’re asking for a significant amount of work that they hadn’t planned into their schedule, and it’s entirely reasonable for them not to do it. Replying is nicer, but these kind of emails that require too much work to reply to immediately and which aren’t urgent are easily forgotten.</p>\n<p>One thing your professor does already have in their schedule is office hours. Show up to office hours and ask if you can explain your proof there on the board.</p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21825",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15995/"
] |
21,837 |
<p>I've never given any sort of presentation at a conference before, but I was under the impression that poster presentations are less prestigious and also much easier to get accepted.</p>
<p>I submitted a late abstract in the second round call for "late breaking" posters. I will hear back supposedly by the end of the week whether the abstract has been accepted or rejected. </p>
<p>The abstract is definitely on-topic for the conference (it's a very large, general applied math conference with multiple sessions in various subfields, but the poster session is for all applied math fields). My PI/advisor is very well-known within my field. We worked on the project together, although I would be the one presenting the poster if it gets accepted. She read over the abstract and helped make corrections/suggestions as well.</p>
<p>Just wondering generally how often a poster presentation would be rejected in this case. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 23571,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the conference and the field. Some conferences have limited space for posters and there is plenty of submissions for those slots, so some percentage are rejected. Other conference have space for all submitted posters.</p>\n\n<p>Mainly, you should view posters as opportunities to meet other researchers, and to practice your skills in presenting your research and answering questions. It also often is a requirement to get school or department funding to pay for your conference expenses.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 25731,
"author": "John salerno",
"author_id": 19458,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19458",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my field it is rare for a competent poster abstract to be rejected. There are only so many places for talks, so that can be selective. I sometimes prefer to present certain pieces of work as a poster because the opportunities for discussion are better, and it allows my students to talk about their work instead of having me do it. Posters are not automatically considered bad. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 35009,
"author": "o4tlulz",
"author_id": 6978,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6978",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my field (Electrical Engineering), poster and oral presentations are usually accompanied by a full paper submission (or atleast an extended abstract) which is what is peer-reviewed, so the acceptance ratio of posters would be the same as that of the oral presentations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 40287,
"author": "ceoec",
"author_id": 28695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28695",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I guess it really depends on your field and your conference organizer. </p>\n\n<p>As a poster reviewer, I did reject some posters (around 2%), but they were really poorly written (I can't understand their English), the study did not make sense (poor methodology) or it is totally irrelevant to the conference theme. While it may seem the rejection rate is low, remember that usually people who submit poster are graduate student with their supervisors as second author, so there are some quality control before they are submitted for review, and that could partly be the reason why most poster got accepted. After all, poster is more like preliminary finding sharings and conference is for exchange of ideas, as long as the idea make sense, I see no reason to reject them. </p>\n\n<p>But I heard some conference is really just a business and they got their money from people presenting poster, so they may accept anything... </p>\n"
}
] |
2014/06/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21837",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15812/"
] |
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