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42,691 |
<p>When writing a paper that discusses previous work by the same set of authors, what is the correct way to refer to it?</p>
<p>For example, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>"In 2012 Fred et al. introduced a third way of resolving the washing crisis [1234]."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Should this be written </p>
<blockquote>
<p>"In 2012 we introduced a third way of resolving the washing crisis [1234]."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or perhaps</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"In 2012 the current authors introduced a third way of resolving the washing crisis [1234]."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or even </p>
<blockquote>
<p>"In 2012 Fred et al. (the current authors) introduced a third way of resolving the washing crisis [1234]."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Note that in this style the reference is [1234], in case that wasn't clear.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42692,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This usually depends on whether or not you paper will be reviewed double-blind or not. If it's going to be double-blind, then you need to refer to yourself in the third person (i.e. by name, \"Fred, et al.\") rather than using a pronoun. If it's only going to be single-blind review, then I think it's a matter of style whether you use a pronoun or refer to yourself by name, though the venue you are submitting to, or your field, may have preferences. In which case, you should ask around. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42717,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As Bill Barth says in his answer, it's a matter of style. I personally think that people shouldn't hide quite as much behind passive voice and \"Fred et al.\". It's refreshing to read people speak in their first voice, so I personally would not mind seeing more statements of the form </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Following a long list of unsuccessful attempts, we finally succeeded in devising a third way of resolving the washing crisis in 2012, see [1234].</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You may or may not feel comfortable with showing this much of yourself, but I imagine only the most stuck up reviewers are going to ding you for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42719,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although this can be a matter of style, whenever possible, I like to say \"I\" or \"we\" when I have been involved in the prior work. I think that it is important for two reasons:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>It is more transparent and honest about possible biases in your citation and perspective on the field, so it doesn't feel like you're claiming independent evidence when you are citing yourself.</li>\n<li>It helps to make it clear how a particular piece of work fits into an overall research program.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I also like an active voice style better and think it communicates more clearly, but that may be a matter of style rather than substance.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42748,
"author": "dsfgsho",
"author_id": 17804,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17804",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Assuming that the author list for the current and cited paper are the same, I would follow this approach. </p>\n\n<p>While submitting for review:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In 2012 Fred et al. introduced a third way of resolving the washing crisis [1234].</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>When paper is accepted:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In 2012 we introduced a third way of resolving the washing crisis [1234].</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
] |
2015/03/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42691",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/37765/"
] |
42,704 |
<p>I read that some candidates will arrange their interviews by not placing the preferred ones at the beginning. How that is possible? Do they wait for few weeks to know all their interviews and then decide? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42707,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As I have heard of the practice, it is essentially putting the less-favored opportunity first so that the person will be more practiced and more ready to deal with questions and challenges when they go to their more favored opportunity. I'm not sure whether this is actually a good idea, but if one wants to do it, it is really only possible if the invitations happen to come closely enough together that the person knows about both invitations while scheduling is still being sorted out.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42711,
"author": "Bitwise",
"author_id": 6862,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6862",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Generally the tactic is to try to schedule interviews in places you really want as late as possible and try to schedule interviews in less desirable places as early as possible. Depending on the schedules, sometimes this is feasible. For example, some times people pack 5 or even 10 interviews in just a few weeks. Of course you have to make sure you are not too exhausted when you get to the important interviews.</p>\n\n<p>I have heard many people recommending this strategy, and I somewhat recommend it myself, although it is not really a big deal. The idea is that regardless of how much you prepare, you still learn a lot from your first interview and can significantly improve in the next ones (especially in aspects that are more difficult to prepare for, like the chalk talk). It is also about reducing stress - in the first interview many people are very stressed but once they see that they went through it and it is not so bad, they are more relaxed for their next interviews.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42712,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is a common strategy, but it can backfire on you in the following way. </p>\n\n<p>If you interview for the position that least interests you and are given a job offer, you may have to respond to that offer before you have a chance to complete the other interviews (or before those institutions are ready to make an offer.) If this happens you may be faced with the choice of accepting an offer from your least favorite institution or refusing that offer and then running the risk that none of the other interviews will result in an offer. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/03/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42704",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
42,708 |
<p>I would appreciate very much an advice on the case which I will describe after a short intro about myself. Such introduction is not really necessary for the matter of question, but I hope it can better explain my situation.</p>
<p>I am PostDoc working in the field of one of the nature sciences in one of German Universities (I apologise for being so cryptic). It is my second postdoc position and I am doing science for about ten years. I moderately rate my achievements although I have several publications in high rank journals and currently my Hirsch index is 10. </p>
<p>Around three year ago I wrote a project for the German Research Foundation and was granted finances for one PhD student. Before submitting a project I discussed the matter with my prof. He was not against such project, but not very encouraging either. </p>
<p>After the project was granted I was first surprised that my boss used all possible kinds of arguments to prevent me of publicly advertising the position. After almost nine month of indeterminacy he suggested me to overtake one of our master students on this position. After all, it was not a bad decision because the student has already worked with me and we had a good experience of collaboration.</p>
<p>Currently, my biggest problem is that by boss interfere in all possible ways with our scientific work. He constantly tries to involve the student in other scientific projects. I would completely understand such approach if we were failing in some respect. On contrary, we regularly produce high rank papers, where my boss naturally is the last “courtesy author”. I spend sufficiently large time working with the student having 4-6 hours of weekly discussions. </p>
<p>One might say the situation is favourable to me. However, as scientist aiming at permanent position I am concerned with development of my own way in science, and working exactly according to the plan of the research project suits this aim. Therefore, I openly talked to my boss to get little bit more scientific independence. I was surprised to hear that "extra projects are in the interests of the student's scientific career". I am failing to see how this can be the case... (jumping from topic to topic?)</p>
<p>I need you advice how to deal with this kind of situation. Of course, I do not want to make strong steps because after working for so many years with my boss I heavily depend on him in e.g. searching for the next job.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Edits in response to comments</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>I am greatly surprised with the comments below which perceive everything from a very idealistic perspective:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Even though it might look selfish it is a post about <em>my</em> problem as a scientist trying to establish my way in science</p></li>
<li><p>I am also interested vey much in student being able to establish in science. Since the time for PhD is limited, in my view, involvement in too many problems, superficial approach is bad in a long time perspective</p></li>
<li><p>In the same way as time for PhD is limited same is true for Postdoc experience. Allowing the student to work on other projects also reduces the outcome of my project. In numerical terms it reduces the number of publications on the topic as I deny an opportunity to be a <em>courtesy author</em>. Which is never the case for my boss</p></li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42707,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As I have heard of the practice, it is essentially putting the less-favored opportunity first so that the person will be more practiced and more ready to deal with questions and challenges when they go to their more favored opportunity. I'm not sure whether this is actually a good idea, but if one wants to do it, it is really only possible if the invitations happen to come closely enough together that the person knows about both invitations while scheduling is still being sorted out.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42711,
"author": "Bitwise",
"author_id": 6862,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6862",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Generally the tactic is to try to schedule interviews in places you really want as late as possible and try to schedule interviews in less desirable places as early as possible. Depending on the schedules, sometimes this is feasible. For example, some times people pack 5 or even 10 interviews in just a few weeks. Of course you have to make sure you are not too exhausted when you get to the important interviews.</p>\n\n<p>I have heard many people recommending this strategy, and I somewhat recommend it myself, although it is not really a big deal. The idea is that regardless of how much you prepare, you still learn a lot from your first interview and can significantly improve in the next ones (especially in aspects that are more difficult to prepare for, like the chalk talk). It is also about reducing stress - in the first interview many people are very stressed but once they see that they went through it and it is not so bad, they are more relaxed for their next interviews.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42712,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is a common strategy, but it can backfire on you in the following way. </p>\n\n<p>If you interview for the position that least interests you and are given a job offer, you may have to respond to that offer before you have a chance to complete the other interviews (or before those institutions are ready to make an offer.) If this happens you may be faced with the choice of accepting an offer from your least favorite institution or refusing that offer and then running the risk that none of the other interviews will result in an offer. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/03/31
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42708",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32510/"
] |
42,720 |
<p>I am wondering if academics (Professors, Researchers etc.) who usually have to spend their lives on research get bored of the subject or get tired of research? </p>
<p>In this case, I want to know how they stay motivated - for example Nobel Laureates more often spend a large part of their life (15 - 20 years) on specific research. So how do they stay motivated? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42726,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My spouse almost never gets tired of research. This is a person who loves collaborating with people, helping students, tinkering with equipment, tinkering with data analysis programs, analyzing data, writing papers, reviewing papers, editing papers, planning the next experiment. My son, on the other hand, is cut from different cloth. As my spouse would say, this is a guy who is more of a tool user than a tool maker.</p>\n\n<p>I heard an interview with a surgeon on the radio once. She said, \"Don't become a surgeon unless you feel that you can't do anything else.\" Meaning, unless there's nothing else that would satisfy you. That's the way my spouse is. I don't think anything else would be anywhere near as interesting or satisfying for this person.</p>\n\n<p>My spouse did change sub-fields about halfway through, feeling that the first sub-field was well understood and rather saturated, and wanting more of a challenge. It was a good change.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42730,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>What helps, I think, is that \"research\" is not a single thing but a complex of many different activities. If I am feeling burned out on paper-writing, perhaps I find my joy in coding or mathematics or sketching new project ideas. Likewise when I am happy about papers but feeling burned out on something else. At a larger scale, even a \"unified\" line of research has many distinct facets that may feel quite different when one is actually closely engaged with it. Thus, I see no difficulty in the idea of remaining interested and engaged for a long period of time. I have been so for nearly 20 years (counting undergraduate research work as well) and I see no reason to expect my interest to fail any time soon. Funding, of course, is an entirely different story.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42800,
"author": "Andi",
"author_id": 32583,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32583",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There cannot be a single answer because people are different.</p>\n\n<p>I'm on a first name basis with a nobel laureate in his seventies who abandoned all academic work immediately after retirement; he says that he could no longer bear the politics, jealousy, intrigue in academia.</p>\n\n<p>My PhD advisor, on the other hand, just turned 92 and still goes to university two or three days per week. He has macular degeneration, but uses a 27\" display to keep up with the literature in his field. He's aware that some of the younger profs at the department think that he's just an old fool, but he doesn't care.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42804,
"author": "chris",
"author_id": 4275,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4275",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not only could researchers become bored with their research, but in some sense, it seems the current system of evaluation amplifies this process. Indeed, there is a strong emphasis on specialization, which in some sense is guarantied to make you THE expert of a sufficiently narrow field. It is initially cozy to be such an expert, but then the risk involved in moving away from this soft spot is a deterrent to what truly keeps researchers on their toes, namely curiosity and risk taking.\nIf not, they get bored and it seems some of them find it their duty <a href=\"http://www.larevanchedurameur.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bob.jpg\">to manage other people's research</a>. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In this case, I want to know how they stay motivated ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Let curiosity drive your research, not impact. Move around fields, places, be opened to new ideas. Talk to young people. Try and be creative. Go to conferences/schools outside your field of expertise. Be ridiculously ambitious about your scientific goals (that should keep you busy for a while...)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 51637,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sure, I think boredom occurs, but boredom itself is not strictly negative. I think being mindful of it, helps a researcher identify when s/he feels that s/he has already contributed her/his most impactful work on a topic, and that it would be better to move to a new topic (or even subject). Perhaps never finding yourself bored within a narrow scope is worse?</p>\n\n<p>From Richard Hamming's \"You and Your Research\" speech (<a href=\"http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html</a>):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>You have to change. You get tired after a while; you use up your originality in one field. You need to get something nearby. [...] What happens to the old fellows is that they get a technique going; they keep on using it. They were marching in that direction which was right then, but the world changes. There's the new direction; but the old fellows are still marching in their former direction[...] You need to get into a new field to get new viewpoints, and before you use up all the old ones.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42720",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
42,724 |
<p>This question might be appropriate for music SE but I am looking for more academic views.</p>
<p>I know of Associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees. Inside of these are different fields. I have also seen JD (law) and DM (music). I have recently seen "Graduate Performance Diploma". While I usually do not think of these in an academic sense, Johns Hopkins, which I consider a good school, offers this <a href="http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/academicaffairs/gpd/" rel="nofollow">diploma</a>. </p>
<p>What is the purpose of this degree? Is it only to give more practice time for a musician in an academic setting, or would earning this diploma have some weight on acceptance to a doctoral or professorship?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42733,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I did my undergraduate in a large, prestigious music school, which also had (probably still has) a Diploma option. Before I answer your question, let me tell you something about my degree requirements.</p>\n\n<p>I had to take lots and lots of credits in my performance instrument, and ensembles, large and small. Then there was lots of music theory, music history, music literature. A tiny proportion was in other departments -- I took one English, one math, one history, one science, and one social science course, if I remember right. That's not much for a 4-year degree! But now, for the Diploma, take out everything except the performance instrument and the ensembles. Well, apparently at Johns Hopkins, you also do some music theory-type courses as well.</p>\n\n<p>The students that I saw doing the Diploma were typically from another country, were planning to go back after the Diploma, and were there just to further their study of their instrument with a particular teacher, usually a famous name. It was kind of like a post-doc. They were soaking up the great person's approach to technique, expanding their repertoire, getting more experience, polishing their performing.</p>\n\n<p>Music schools offer the Diploma because they know there are students who only want to work on their performance instrument. So they cut out all the extraneous stuff and give the person a Diploma.</p>\n\n<p>This would be good preparation for a performance career (orchestra, chamber music, solo concertizing), and for teaching the instrument in a private studio. However, it would NOT prepare one for teaching in a public school, community college, college, or university. However, it would help one prepare for teaching in a conservatory (if the person were a strong enough player -- s/he would have to be extremely strong for this).</p>\n\n<p>If you are from another country and are planning to go back, chances are you are going to do, or you did, some academic work in your home country, and that will fit better with the academic system you plan to seek a job in.</p>\n\n<p>A lot of the Diploma students were astounding musicians, though, who did seem to have a shot at a well-paid performance career. That I can't be sure of, though, because I don't know what the employment options for classical musicians are in Europe (which is where many of the Diploma students were from).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67312,
"author": "Darrin Thomas",
"author_id": 52721,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/52721",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To give an analogy, the diploma is like the \"one and done\" phenomenon happening in college basketball. Really good players send a year or two developing their talents before turning pro. Some people need 4 or more years of university to develop their abilities while others just don't need as much time to develop</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42724",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12718/"
] |
42,727 |
<p>My research team has developed a model, analyzed data, and generated results. We are currently in the process of publishing the results -- the article is in review -- and we are preparing to make our model available (we're talking with the publisher about whether to include it as a supplementary material with the journal).</p>
<p>Regardless, we will retain rights to distribute the model on our own websites. We believe in the principle of free software and want to make this model generally and freely available but request that those who use it cite the paper in which we introduce the model.</p>
<p>Our question is which license -- I know of GNU and Creative Commons, among others -- is best suited to this goal? Is there a answer to this question?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42731,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since I'm not a lawyer I won't try to advise you... but I'll observe that at least one large corporation seems pretty happy with Apache's version of a by-attribution license. And it's hard to beat the creative commons licenses for brevity and clarity, though I can't vouch for strength</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42742,
"author": "Pont",
"author_id": 32532,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32532",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The site <a href=\"http://choosealicense.com/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">http://choosealicense.com/</a> will probably be helpful to you. The front page of the site offers a simple choice in fairly plain language:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>I want it simple and permissive.</strong> The MIT License is a permissive license that is short and to the point. It lets people do anything they want with your code as long as they provide attribution back to you and don’t hold you liable. jQuery and Rails use the MIT License.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><strong>I’m concerned about patents.</strong> The Apache License is a permissive license similar to the MIT License, but also provides an express grant of patent rights from contributors to users. Apache, SVN, and NuGet use the Apache License.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><strong>I care about sharing improvements.</strong> The GPL (V2 or V3) is a copyleft license that requires anyone who distributes your code or a derivative work to make the source available under the same terms. V3 is similar to V2, but further restricts use in hardware that forbids software alterations. Linux, Git, and WordPress use the GPL.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The site also has <a href=\"http://choosealicense.com/licenses/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">a more in-depth page</a> giving more choices, and more detail about the differences between licenses.</p>\n<p>I would strongly advise that you <em>don't</em> use a Creative Commons license for your code. Creative Commons themselves <a href=\"https://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#Can_I_apply_a_Creative_Commons_license_to_software.3F\" rel=\"noreferrer\">caution against this</a>:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We recommend against using Creative Commons licenses for software. Instead, we strongly encourage you to use one of the very good software licenses which are already available. We recommend considering <a href=\"https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-recommendations.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">licenses made available</a> by the <a href=\"http://www.fsf.org/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Free Software Foundation</a> or <a href=\"http://opensource.org/licenses\" rel=\"noreferrer\">listed as “open source”</a> by the <a href=\"http://www.opensource.org/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Open Source Initiative</a>.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>More detail in their <a href=\"https://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#Can_I_apply_a_Creative_Commons_license_to_software.3F\" rel=\"noreferrer\">FAQ</a>.</p>\n<p>Personally I use the GPL (version 3) for most of the code I release. For very small programs -- roughly speaking, anything shorter than the license text of the GPL itself -- I tend to use the MIT license. This is partly because I'm less concerned about the fate of such small code snippets, and partly because it feels a little silly to have more license than code in a release.</p>\n<p>As a side note -- although you haven't mentioned this possibility -- please resist any temptation to invent a new license, unless you have a <em>really</em> compelling reason. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/License_proliferation\" rel=\"noreferrer\">License proliferation</a> is a big problem, and your code will be less useful if people have to pay a lawyer to determine whether your license is legally compatible with some other software they're trying to use in conjunction with yours. In general, I would suggest picking one of the "big three" mentioned above unless you have specific reasons against this.</p>\n<p>Edit: I just saw your comment about the appropriateness of using a GNU license for Matlab code. There is no problem here: there is no concept of "contamination" between the license of your code and the license of the language it's written in. In fact, it would be hard to implement such a restriction, because <em>languages</em> as such don't have licenses: only their <em>implementations</em> do. Many programming languages have both closed-source and open-source implementations -- this includes Matlab, although <a href=\"https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Octave</a>, the GPL implementation of the language, is not 100% compatible with the original version. However, for Matlab specifically, you might want to consider the BSD license, because <a href=\"http://mathworks.com/matlabcentral/FX_transition_faq.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">it's the only one permitted on MATLAB central</a>. (If you never intend to share your code on MATLAB central, this is less of a problem.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42727",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30650/"
] |
42,732 |
<p>I am a non-academic who has collaborated (privately, no employer support) with some academic researchers and been invited to present our work at a conference. The conference admission price and travel costs are steep.</p>
<p>Is there any provision for my collaborator's university to pay for <em>my</em> travel costs as well? (I know they're paying for theirs.) I'll add that our work has brought some follow up grants to the university, so they financially benefit from it - but that funding doesn't include my involvement.</p>
<p>I'll also add that I don't want to sabotage any relationships here, and if it would be considered inappropriate or heavy handed or be resented, I'd rather just cough up the dough myself. But, if there's a means to do it nicely, it would make things easier.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>UPDATES</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><p>It's a real conference, prestigious in the field; we submitted to present and were accepted (it seems from the responses that that is not called <em>invited</em>; point noted)</p></li>
<li><p>I don't want to burn any capital, as you say. I'm happy asking and them saying no, but if it will cause them grief, I'd rather not even ask. So perhaps my question could be rephrased as: <strong>Is there any chance that asking gently will get the funding? And, if so, will it cause any grief?</strong></p></li>
</ol>
<p>That is, I'll ask if and only if there's a chance they'll do it, and it won't cause any pain.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42737,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is there any provision for my collaborator's university to pay for my travel costs as well?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>While not strictly impossible, this sounds rather unlikely to happen, at least through formal channels. Travel budget is restricted, and there are often even administrative restrictions that prevent faculty to give it to people who are neither employees nor students of the university.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, if your collaborator is sufficiently commited to making you go, as well as sufficiently crafty to bend the rules in the right way, (s)he may cook up an arrangement with the administration of some sort. Note that this will likely be (at best) semi-officially, and will burn some real or political capital of the faculty, so (s)he won't just do it to be nice. There has to be some real benefit to them that you are at this conference.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42739,
"author": "Sylvain Peyronnet",
"author_id": 43,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is there any provision for my collaborator's university to pay for my travel costs as well?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Probably it depends on many things such as place, country, etc. \nHowever, it it feasible: I am currently general chair of a conference and a few people from wealthy universities are paying for their coauthors from others (or with no) institutions. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42732",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8075/"
] |
42,734 |
<p>In response to a solicitation in an area of my expertise, I approached a known expert in a different field; I had thought of a way to apply that field to solve the problem. He liked my idea and set up a meeting with him and his postdocs; over time, we went through several rounds of written communication, proposal outlines, research plans, and revisions amongst us.</p>
<p>Midway through, I learned more about the solicitation and concluded that it wasn't a good match; we discussed this, decided not to apply, but that the plan was good and that we should look for other sources of funding. As we did this, we continued to do some revisions together.</p>
<p>A while later, he sent me an email that he found a good source of funding, that he has a good relationship with the source and doesn't really need a partner for it, and that he is going to apply without me. I was quite upset, but, seeing that he was telling me and not asking me, and that I had no way to stop him, said "okay, makes sense, please send me a copy of the proposal and keep me informed."</p>
<p>In truth, his proposal was advanced far beyond what I had last worked on. But, the core idea was mine; and I have the records to attest to that, not to mention that his postdocs could verify that as well.</p>
<p>Assuming he gets the grant, I have no desire to get a share of the funds. At this point, he can do the rest of the work without me. He really is an expert and manages a very large, very prominent research program with lots of high profile funding. And rightfully so - he produces results.</p>
<p>What I would like is coauthorship. After all, the entire approach is my idea. I thought of using his area of expertise to solve a very high profile problem of growing importance in my field, and described to him in detail why all the indigenous methods to my field are failing, and why an approach drawing on his expertise could succeed.</p>
<p>What is the right way to handle this? I won't be satisfied with an acknowledgement at the end; I'd like to be one of the authors. I'm happy helping with the research further though I'm not sure he feels he needs me.</p>
<p>And, moreover, is this type of behavior acceptable? Do I have any leverage here? Do I need it?</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>CLARIFICATIONS:</strong> </p>
<ol>
<li><p>To clarify, while I certainly didn't do the research yet, it was more than just giving him an idea. I sent an outline, discussed the plan, and spent hours revising and iterating on their research plan. I'll be equally clear that the final proposal was very high quality, and went far beyond what I had worked on.</p></li>
<li><p>From the responses, it seems this falls into a grey area. So let me revise my question: Given that he's probably going forward with this, <strong>what's the best way to approach him and ask to be a coauthor?</strong> I'd be happy being involved with the research itself, but I'm not sure he wants that. He'd probably be best off career-wise keeping it to him and his students (and, mind you, this is a researcher who puts a lot of effort on career advancement - he's an equally talented businessperson, albeit in academic research, as scholar).</p></li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42738,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is what the situation sounds like to me. You had an idea for a research project with a general approach in mind. Professor A is an expert in these methods, and you proposed the project to Professor A. You planned to work on the project together. Then he sent in a solo grant proposal on this project.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Revised below</strong></p>\n\n<p>Question: is your name mentioned in the proposal as a collaborator? At least in my field, one can apply for solo grants where the projects are collaborative, but planned collaborators will be listed in the proposal.\nIf you are not mentioned in the proposal, this is not a good sign. </p>\n\n<p><strong>What to do:</strong> Send Professor A a <strong>brief</strong> email and tell him you think the proposal looks good and simply say you would still like to work on this with him (if indeed you want to put in more work--without more mork, you will probably not be a coauthor) and ask if he is open to that. Since this was (based on?) your idea, and you had originally planned to work together, there is a good chance Professor A will be sympathetic to this. However, it is possible that Professor A felt he has a project way beyond your original idea and, since he can do it on his own, he will. In particular, if your expertise will not even assist you in contributing to this project, Professor A is more likely to want to do this on his own.</p>\n\n<p>Either of these outcomes may be reasonable, depending on the circumstances. An idea alone (or even a research plan) is usually not enough reason to be a coauthor, and once you suggest an idea to someone, they can work on it without you if they like, if you had no agreement otherwise with them. In your case, you were planning to work on your original idea together, so Professor A doing this on his own falls into more of a gray area, depending largely how similar the current proposal is to your original one. If they are essentially the same project, then dropping you from the project without discussion is unacceptable. If they seem like different projects, then he is not obligated to invite you to be a coauthor (though this would be the kind thing to do, at least if he feels you can contribute, and many faculty would do this if this supplants your old project). The issue is that the two of you may have different, naturally biased, views on how similar these things are. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Note:</strong> Some disciplines, and some colleagues, are more competitive than others. This makes some people paranoid, or at least judicious, about sharing ideas with their colleagues. There are pros and cons to both keeping your ideas guarded and discussing them freely with others. I don't agree with the other answer that you necessarily shared your idea too soon, just that you got unlucky in this case. One should be somewhat careful, but it doesn't sound like Professor A was angling to steal your ideas from the beginning, but he does sound like the competitive type.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Final remarks:</strong> If you couldn't have done without Professor A's, even if you don't end up as a coauthor, you've still helped advance science and you haven't really lost a publication, just lost that clean taste in your mouth. While it is natural to feel some ownership of ideas you've thought about for awhile and you want some sort of publication credit for them, a lot of the time these ideas don't work out to the point that merit a publication for you, though someone else may come along later, or frequently <em>before</em> you, and get something out of it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42743,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As Kimball mentions, this falls into a gray area. However, presuming they left you out of the collaborators list, I wouldn't presume the professor would do such a thing \"unintentionally\". You should definitely ask again for involvement, but should also be prepared that your mails will go unanswered. The professor presumably doesn't want anything to do with you and however unethical that may sound (and certainly is), it is far more common than we in academia care to admit.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, I really don't think you can force the professor into anything at this point. You shared your idea, that alone doesn't merit collaboration or co-authorship, it is your ability to produce results that counts. If you can build the idea up to get some results (even preliminary ones), I would suggest writing up a paper draft or even a research proposal and uploading them to arxive to obtain a timestamp. In doing so, you have a (remote) chance in making the professors life a little difficult, if you do it sufficiently before they get to mention it to their funding source.</p>\n\n<p>Again, if you are not capable of writing up such a document, then your idea is really just an idea and anyone can work on it, with or without you. In that case you certainly shared it too soon, even more so, if the professor is not from your institution. This is a lesson, albeit a painful one. When you come up with something, you brood on it, read on it, research it, then you write it up. You repeat that process until you have a document that clearly establishes the \"what you are going to achieve\", the \"which problem(s) you are addressing with it\", the \"who has done previous work on it\" and a general idea of the \"how are going to do it\". You can at some point share your insights and thoughts with your most trusted immediate colleagues, but not so someone you don't know personally. After you got a document like this (usually around 2-3 pages), mind you, at this stage it is far from being called a paper, you upload it to obtain a timestamp. Then, you can contact collaborators which can help you with the \"how\", as in your case, so you can discuss your idea. You needn't mention the uploaded document, but not hide it either. You get some leverage in doing so, but it is never 100% fool proof and people bent on stealing your idea will find ways to do it, so you should also be careful who you want to collaborate with and what written terms of the collaboration apply.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42752,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am somewhat surprised about the answers so far. The behavior of the professor as described seems at least a little unethical at best, and downright exploitative at worst. If a more junior researcher comes to you with a good idea and some first steps towards a concrete research plan, and you answer with (basically) <strong>gee, good work, now please excuse me while I do this research with my own students</strong>, I have a hard time seeing how this would be in any way considered fair. Asking the OP to be happy because he \"helped progress science\" after all is ... ok, I have literally no good word for this expectation. As we all know, reputation is the currency of science, and it sounds like the OP was badly short-changed.</p>\n\n<p>Whether the professor \"needs\" the OP or not is, to me, not really the important question here. The OP had the original idea, so it is unlikely to assume that he would be entirely useless in the remainder of the project. Hence, cutting him out of the research basically right from the start seems really awful. The least you can do is take him on and give him a chance to contribute to the research - if it then turns out that he or she actually lacks all the relevant knowledge to contribute from the project from then on (unlikely), you can still decide together to part ways later on.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>And, moreover, is this type of behavior acceptable? Do I have any leverage here? Do I need it?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I wouldn't consider it ethical at all. Whether you have any leverage is another question - likely no, as (as correctly noted above), just having the idea by itself does not warrant co-authorship (but you should have been given the <em>chance</em> to do more), but it is kind of too late for this now.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I'd be happy being involved with the research itself, but I'm not sure he wants that. He'd probably be best off career-wise keeping it to him and his students (and, mind you, this is a researcher who puts a lot of effort on career advancement - he's an equally talented businessperson, albeit in academic research, as scholar).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As I said, it is a bit late to ask for co-authorship of a thing that's already been written without you. If you don't actually want to be involved in the rest of the project, I am not sure what you can realistically ask for. In this case, I am not sure if you can get much more than an acknowledgement that you brought the idea to the mind of the professor. </p>\n\n<p><em>(that being said, I wouldn't touch a collaboration with this guy anymore for the rest of my life)</em></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42734",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8075/"
] |
42,741 |
<p>I applied for an permanent lecturer position in the UK and received an answer of the type "we regret to inform you...". My question is, should I call the university and ask more details about the selection procedure such as how many candidates were shortlisted, what was my overall ranking among the candidates, etc., or is there a typical number of candidates (e.g. 2-3? 9-10?) that are called for an interview?</p>
<p>I am asking because I guess this would give an idea about my relative qualifications and whether it is worth applying in a "similar" opportunity, or to stop applying for this level and aim lower for the time being, at least until I improve my cv.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42744,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You can call and ask, but you are unlikely to get anything useful. You will most likely hear that your CV was very good, but that there were stronger applicants. If the head of the search is really good, they might actually look at your CV again and pick a weaker aspect of it (no matter how strong a applicant is, there is always a weaker aspect of the CV).</p>\n\n<p>If you want to know about your relative qualifications, ask whoever is writing your references. If they do not know about the UK system, find a colleague that does and ask them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42750,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No, don't call.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>At my school, when we're on a hiring committee we have to go through a training course run by HR. HR tells us that we're not allowed to have this kind of conversation with candidates, and that in this situation we should refer the person to HR. I assume that this is to avoid liability.</p></li>\n<li><p>They have probably received quite a large number of applications. They will not remember yours.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42741",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21766/"
] |
42,753 |
<p>Is there any publication venue that makes rejected papers available for download?</p>
<p>I am most interested in the field of computer science, and English-speaking venues.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42754,
"author": "Maarten van Wesel",
"author_id": 32146,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32146",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At <a href=\"http://vixra.org/\">Vixra.org</a> you will find papers often rejected from Arxiv.org, and possibly also from the 'printed' press.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42755,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I do not know of any, and I can't imagine any that would. Typically, the journal would not have the copyright assignment until after they accepted, though I hear that some venues ask for this upfront. Additionally, this isn't really how academic publication is supposed to work. A rejection isn't the end of the road for a work of scientific authorship. Many works are published elsewhere after being rejected. This would kill that process.</p>\n\n<p>(Preprints notwithstanding, for works in fields where preprints don't count as publication.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42814,
"author": "uli",
"author_id": 24138,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24138",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is the Journal of unsolved Questions <a href=\"http://junq.info/\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"JunQ\">JunQ</a>. They collect ‘null’-result research and open problems. This may include previously rejected work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42818,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you mean a place where people can post rejected papers, any place you can post preprints, such as the arXiv or a personal webpage, will fill this role. </p>\n\n<p>If you mean a journal that will publish rejected papers, normally people try to publish them in another journal, though after some difficulty, they may give up and leave them in the preprint form. There was an attempt to make a journal specifically for such papers in math, <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejecta_Mathematica\" rel=\"nofollow\">Rejecta Mathematica</a> (this was a serious effort, with peer review), but foundered after a few years from lack of interest.</p>\n\n<p>If you mean a journal that publishes submissions which are rejected (say publishes online papers which are rejected from a printed journal), one would need to get permission from the authors, who are not likely to be willing to give it. Also, if a journal publishes all papers they \"accept\" and all papers they \"reject\", they are just publishing all papers submitted and may as well not be a peer-review journal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42819,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As Bill Barth said, I don't believe anyone identifies or distributes rejected papers. However, you might be able to get private access if you are interested in doing statistical analysis. Of course no journal or conference would let you publish anything identifiable about specific rejected papers, they wouldn't let you access their data at all without some legal paperwork and promises of confidentiality, and they might not even let you do the analysis yourself (instead, they could answer statistical queries for you, so you never got your hands on all the data). However, if you propose an interesting project regarding what distinguishes accepted from rejected papers, then they might be willing to work with you to collect some statistics. It's by no means guaranteed, but it can't hurt to ask if you have a project you are excited about.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42870,
"author": "Gimelist",
"author_id": 22213,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22213",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually there is one.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://publications.copernicus.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Copernicus Publications</a> is an open access publisher that has some journals with an \"open review model\". Each paper in these paper has its full review process open for viewing to everyone. Each journal is actually two journals. The \"regular\" one and the \"discussions\" one, where it's possible to view the original submission, any revisions, reviewers comments and author replies. People who are not the assigned reviewers can also post comments on papers under review.</p>\n\n<p>You can view this for both accepted and rejected papers, which is nice because then you can compare and see what makes one paper strong and another one weak.</p>\n\n<p>Not much computer science in there, but it has some areas which may be tangentially related in the \"Math|Data|Informatics\" section: <a href=\"http://publications.copernicus.org/open-access_journals/math_data_informatics.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://publications.copernicus.org/open-access_journals/math_data_informatics.html</a></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42753",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/452/"
] |
42,756 |
<p>If a conference accepted a paper with 3 authors, and the 2 co-authors were mainly reviewers. When submitting an extended version to a journal, should the co-authors be included or they can be removed? Can the paper include new authors? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42757,
"author": "Maarten van Wesel",
"author_id": 32146,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32146",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would find it kind of fishy if the authors change between conference paper and journal paper. It would be no problem if they differ substantially, but if this is not the case then one might try to contact the missing authors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42758,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If the work is <em>extending</em> the original, then all of the original authors should be retained. New authors can certainly be added, however, if they have contributed to the extension.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42756",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
42,761 |
<p>Is it a bad sign in a department if most of those who do their thesis in that department also did their undergraduate studies there and most of those who get their PhD there either</p>
<ol>
<li>are employed in said university </li>
</ol>
<p>or more often than that</p>
<ol start="2">
<li>find themselves outside of academia roughly within 5 years after defense?</li>
</ol>
<p>EDIT: The department is a European mathematics department. It is mostly focused on teaching. There are (maybe?) roughly 10-20 PhD students. The department has been around from 1959 I think. The country in question has a handful of universities.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42762,
"author": "Rubix Rechvin",
"author_id": 31846,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31846",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In any country with established PhD programs, this is a bad thing. If it was in a country trying to establish a research program, then it is harder to say. There may be extenuating circumstances, but I'd definitely be wary of joining a program like this, without significant research ahead of time.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42809,
"author": "Emilie",
"author_id": 25030,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25030",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree that this is generally a bad sign, especially your number 2, but I would add a \"but\" to this answer.</p>\n\n<p>When the language used for teaching at the University is not English, situation number 1 can arise. Some department have a hard time recruiting and keeping researchers that are willing to learn a second language and teach in it.</p>\n\n<p>Another way to evaluate the quality of the department would be to look at the collaboration they have with other institutions and the scientific literature they produce (among other things).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42761",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32554/"
] |
42,763 |
<p>I am in High-School but want to pursue research in Computer Science, but as you know High-School usually does not offer any such options or tasks.</p>
<p>So I want to explore avenues where I can get these options and tasks as I am <strong>very very</strong> interested and really want to do it.</p>
<p>I would also like to say that I have good-strong knowledge of C++, C and assorted APIs from that (3 years programming for 5+ hours daily). So I wouldn't call my self too new to programming and think I can handle programming and so on.</p>
<p>Now, these are my questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How can I get involved in research?</p>
</li>
<li><p>How can I contact academics to ask them for research position or even an intern position in research for that matter without coming across as a "waste of time"?</p>
</li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42768,
"author": "Rubix Rechvin",
"author_id": 31846,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31846",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is a tough question, you sound like you're very interested but I'd seriously question your familiarity with the body of computer science to be able to meaningfully contribute to a research project. A better option might be to engage in reading publications and identifying areas of knowledge gaps, and work on rectifying those in preparation for a career in research. </p>\n\n<p>At the same time, I really don't want to discourage your enthusiasm. If there is an institute that engages in research in your area, you might want to check out their website and see what types of research the professors are engaged in. Start off by reading about those fields and , once you're comfortable, reach out to the professor with questions and let them know you're interested in research. Start there and see where it goes!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42772,
"author": "Sid5427",
"author_id": 14005,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14005",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A researcher is supposed to have a deep understanding of his/her field and a solid grasp of the basics. Unfortunately to even begin to understand stuff at that level, we need a decent high school level general science background. Not to mention that Computer Science is quite interdisciplinary - it includes topics from physics, mathematics, statistics and lots of other knowledge areas. </p>\n\n<p>Coding is a skill, it enables you to do your work quicker - it helps you do research but is very rarely the research itself. Even \" the dirty work of coding\" needs some basic background knowledge. If you know how to make rubber, doesn't mean you can make a tire without knowing what a tire is ! Making a tire requires knowledge of things like heat tolerances, load capacity, strength etc. </p>\n\n<p>BUT this is not to discourage you, Absolutely not! Rather to know where you stand and what to expect and how to approach people for opportunities.</p>\n\n<p>I have a few suggestions - </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Look for freelancing programming opportunities - there quite a few websites _ I personally know of freelancer.com and fiver.com. Here you can work on programming assignments set by people and get paid for it. This sets you up for the next level - why ? If you do a good enough job that people pay you for, then many more will take you seriously ... </p></li>\n<li><p>Now for pure research oriented opportunities - The best idea is to talk to people who are conducting undergraduate research - why ? students who are say in first or second year of their undergraduate programs would have more or less the same level of knowledge you have. Plus if you actually worked doing freelancing stuff or some-other paid or otherwise serious opportunity, this will give you an extremely positive point to negotiate an opportunity. </p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42773,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As you are in very early stages of your probable research career, one thing I want to say is do shopping. Try to consciously ask yourself and others as to exactly what research you want to do and more importantly why. Do not be afraid to drop ideas or say no to potential supervisors or even current supervisors in the middle of your research work if it does not appeal and/or interest you. This is much easier and crucial at this stage of your career to find the right area if you want to flourish and more importantly enjoy your research in the long term.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42780,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am in a math department and many math departments have \"math circles\" or other activities that reach out to high schoolers to show them what mathematics at a research level is, provide them with teaser problems that show some deeper structure that you may find interesting and that can guide you towards current research. You have to expect that it takes a few years to get to where research really is, but at least it provides you with an avenue to talk to professors on a regular basis and get exposed to research.</p>\n\n<p>Let me just assume that computer science departments have similar avenues. Find the closest university to where you live and check its computer science department's web site for outreach activities, or email their undergraduate coordinator for more information. They may have something like our math circles.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42807,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Good on you!</p>\n\n<p>I have a relatively simple suggestion: <strong>do a replication study</strong>. First, find a <em>collaborator</em> -- a fellow high school student or college student of similar skill and experience. You'll learn more in a team than doing it alone. Second, <em>read a dozen or so research papers</em> (probably conference papers) in the field or sub-field that interests you the most. <em>Pick one</em>, preferably the <em>simplest</em> one you can find. Your goal is to replicate the methods as described in the paper and compare your results to theirs. (Don't pick one where you have access to their code.) Once you have a paper picked out (or a few), recruit an adviser/mentor -- either a college professor or an experienced researcher. You'll want to meet with your adviser/mentor weekly to talk about progress and problems you encounter along the way. Mostly, this weekly meeting holds you and your partner accountable for progress.</p>\n\n<p>In my field (Computational Social Science) there are many simulation models that are simple enough to be replicated from their specification. This varies widely in subfields of Computer Science, so your mileage may vary.</p>\n\n<p>The point to all this is to get you an experience in the realm of research without requiring that you first go through all the preliminaries. By focusing on replicating <em>one</em> paper, you only need to understand the material and methods in this one paper. You aren't trying to break any new ground. Instead, you are following in the footsteps of other researchers. If they have done their job well, then you should be able to replicate their results. Replication is a valuable scientific endeavor in itself.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45666,
"author": "Rolando Cruz",
"author_id": 34707,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34707",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Contact and network with people! These two things are key.</p>\n\n<p>From there, prove to them that you are experienced. I did this by showing them my Github & Bitbucket, my iOS apps, my web apps, my websites, compilers/search engines, and my hackathon experiences. </p>\n\n<p>This is what got me my research opportunity at Stanford in Computer Science.</p>\n\n<p>Yours truly, </p>\n\n<p>High School Junior working on Computer Science Research with PhDs at Stanford University this summer</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45701,
"author": "Nick Cain",
"author_id": 34266,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34266",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not a CS person (policy and politics PhD) but one thing that has not been discussed: Develop a domain interest by reviewing research on a particular topic. </p>\n\n<p>Are you interested in a particular facet of CS? Is there an application of CS to a field you are interested in? Or is there a research questions that you want to apply CS methods to?</p>\n\n<p>Once you read into the literature a bit (<a href=\"https://scholar.google.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://scholar.google.com</a> is a good place to start) then you can find CS programs and professors that match with your interested -- and once you've done this, you can contact professors in the subfield of interest to volunteer your skills and ask domain-specific questions.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42763",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
42,770 |
<p>In <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/32855/should-i-start-my-cv-by-telling-about-myself#comment73689_32884">a comment</a>, ff524 said this (and got confirmed by scaahu, Nate Eldredge below (not to mention the number of votes)):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Actually, academic CVs are typically not as sales-pitch-y as non-academic CVs. They are usually a very formulaic listing of all the academic things the candidate has done, with no editorializing or embellishment [...]. The "sell" is reserved for other parts of the application.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why? I know that there are some differences in academia than other environments, but I can't think of a reason why a CV shouldn't be a sale pitch. Sure, we have other metrics to evaluate that, like h-index, but what is so wrong that putting other things (like <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24337/what-to-write-in-an-impressive-about-me-section/24371#24371">about me</a>, objectives, <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2336/can-i-include-the-completion-of-udacity-and-coursera-classes-i-have-attended-in">other courses</a>, <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/30252/should-i-list-gre-scores-on-my-cv">English certification</a>, class standing, etc)? I am asking this question in general, but I also ask it from the new young student standing point in specifically. I know that if you are a novice, <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/19100/14341">LOR are very important</a>. You can say that a CV should be concise and into the point, but a half-page long CV may show that beside that point, you have nothing. </p>
<p>I just wonder what is the harm of making the CV like a sales pitch?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42774,
"author": "Roger Fan",
"author_id": 20375,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20375",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In academia, the traditional CV format is exactly what people care about, i.e. it already is the sell. Other academics care about stuff like your papers, presentations, and teaching experiences. In general, very little weight is given to the other topics that you mentioned, so including them is a waste of space. The few places that they do have weight (primarily graduate admissions), the relevant parts are better suited to other areas of the application (e.g. official transcripts, TOEFL and GRE score reports) where they are more likely to be seen when needed.</p>\n\n<p>Note that graduate admissions are slightly different from the rest of academia. CVs that are submitted here are often more of a hybrid between traditional resumes and academic CVs, in large part because prospective graduate students don't have the academic experiences and achievements to fill up the latter (somewhat field-dependent). But many of the same cultural norms apply. By and large, academics are not interested or swayed by unverifiable \"fluff,\" so you should limit what you include to specific, concrete, verifiable achievements.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42781,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Largely, it is cultural. So far as I understand it, the idea is that \"your record should speak for itself.\" Of course, you <em>are</em> selling yourself to a degree, by how you choose to put which pieces forward, whether to choose a \"selected\" versus a \"completist\" format, etc. The range of acceptable variation, however, is much narrower than for a job resume, and the format is built around showing <em>credibility</em> (in the form of accomplishments) rather than enthusiasm and fit with business goals (which is the goal of a resume).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42770",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14341/"
] |
42,771 |
<p>I'm in the process of setting up an account on Academia.edu and as you may know there is an area that allows you to add publications. My question is how does this work with a copyright agreement (Springer International Publishing) that I have signed?</p>
<p>For anyone that may have also signed this agreement: going by Section 3 it looks like I can upload a non-Springer formatted copy as long as I cite the Springer link as the final version?</p>
<p>I have heard people mention author copies before, but I'm not sure if this is a real thing or just a myth that's been circulated down the line (where you can host your papers as long as you make a slight change from the published copy).</p>
<p>The form if anyone is interested (direct download): <a href="http://www.springer.com/?SGWID=4-102-45-154182-0" rel="nofollow">Springer Copyright Form</a> </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42774,
"author": "Roger Fan",
"author_id": 20375,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20375",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In academia, the traditional CV format is exactly what people care about, i.e. it already is the sell. Other academics care about stuff like your papers, presentations, and teaching experiences. In general, very little weight is given to the other topics that you mentioned, so including them is a waste of space. The few places that they do have weight (primarily graduate admissions), the relevant parts are better suited to other areas of the application (e.g. official transcripts, TOEFL and GRE score reports) where they are more likely to be seen when needed.</p>\n\n<p>Note that graduate admissions are slightly different from the rest of academia. CVs that are submitted here are often more of a hybrid between traditional resumes and academic CVs, in large part because prospective graduate students don't have the academic experiences and achievements to fill up the latter (somewhat field-dependent). But many of the same cultural norms apply. By and large, academics are not interested or swayed by unverifiable \"fluff,\" so you should limit what you include to specific, concrete, verifiable achievements.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42781,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Largely, it is cultural. So far as I understand it, the idea is that \"your record should speak for itself.\" Of course, you <em>are</em> selling yourself to a degree, by how you choose to put which pieces forward, whether to choose a \"selected\" versus a \"completist\" format, etc. The range of acceptable variation, however, is much narrower than for a job resume, and the format is built around showing <em>credibility</em> (in the form of accomplishments) rather than enthusiasm and fit with business goals (which is the goal of a resume).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/01
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42771",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17638/"
] |
42,782 |
<p>For example in computer science, systems conferences have low acceptance rates hovering around ~20% as listed here: <a href="https://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~almeroth/conf/stats/" rel="noreferrer">https://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~almeroth/conf/stats/</a></p>
<p>But in robotics many of the conferences, even the major ones, seem to have acceptance rates of ~40% (ICRA, IROS) as seen here: <a href="http://www.adaptivebox.net/CILib/CICON_stat.html#ICRA" rel="noreferrer">http://www.adaptivebox.net/CILib/CICON_stat.html#ICRA</a></p>
<p>Why is this, and are any steps taken to equalise the playing field between subfields? Does this simply mean that those doing systems research are just going to have a harder time publishing than those in robotics?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42783,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You can't judge a conference by its acceptance rate because you don't know what is in the rejection pile. For example, I know of a computer science conference that regulates its acceptance ratio by determining it in advance and then just setting the number of parallel tracks to fit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42791,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a little confused by your question, as the answers are rather straight-forward:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Why are the acceptance rates for publications in subfields higher than others?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Well, because some subfields have more active researchers, hence the popular conferences get more papers, hence they also have to reject more. Of course you <em>could</em> argue that these conferences should just get proportionally larger, but this is in practice unattractive. Cloud computing, for instance, is kind of a hot field right now. Acceptance rates for all reasonable conferences hover around or way below 20%. Of course we could accept twice as many papers in each conference to have 40%, but then all these conferences would be huge and take two weeks to run, and there would be even more mediocre related work to keep track of. I don't think anybody wants this.</p>\n\n<p>This leads to the other, related, reason: not all papers are made equal. Hot topics tend to attract <em>a lot</em> more complete thrash than other fields. I am in the PC of conferences in software engineering and cloud / services computing. Both fields are reasonably established, but SE is more of a long-standing, existing field while cloud is a hype topic. SE conferences have substantially higher acceptance rates, but I feel the \"floor\" in terms of quality of accepted solutions is higher than in cloud conferences (that is, the worst paper at an SE conference is miles better than the worst paper at a cloud conference with much lower acceptance rate).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Does this simply mean that those doing systems research are just going to have a harder time publishing than those in robotics?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not necessarily. See above - one thing I have learned is that the acceptance rate really is a crude measure to judge the difficulty of getting a paper accepted.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>are any steps taken to equalise the playing field between subfields?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not that I know of, and I see this not as a pressing issue that needs addressing.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42782",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29303/"
] |
42,792 |
<p>This question was inspired by the <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42771/uploading-papers-on-sites-such-as-academia-edu-copyright-issues-author-copy">recent question on posting to Academia.edu</a>.</p>
<p>The general copyright policy for Springer, as listed on <a href="http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/" rel="noreferrer">SHERPA/RoMEO</a>, is that one can post a pre-review version to the arXiv but one must wait a year after publication before posting an post-review copy to any open repository (and one can never post the final publisher's copy):</p>
<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/qFaV4.png" alt="Springer Verlag terms according to RoMEO"></p>
<p>This seems to precluding posting a post-review update to the arXiv until a year after the journal article is published. Wiley appears to have a similar policy. </p>
<p>To me this policy seems crazy, because it means that if you actually obey it, you cannot post a revised version to the arXiv for over a year -- and thus you are obliged to leave uncorrected any mistakes that are uncovered during the review process for a protracted period of time. That's bad scholarship at best. I don't see how anyone could comply with this policy in good faith.</p>
<p>It also raises a major issue for peer review. Why one should review for free for a journal that won't let the author share the results of your review with the community in as timely a fashion as possible? </p>
<p><em>Moreover, I don't see how this policy could possibly be enforceable</em>, due to the timing of the copyright transfer agreement. The author does not transfer the copyright until after submitting the final revised version to the publisher. I am no lawyer, but it seems to me that the publisher has no copyright claim over the post-revision version of the manuscript until the author has actually returned the signed copyright transfer agreement. As best as I can tell, this leaves a generous time window during which the author can freely submit a post-review version of the manuscript to the arXiv without committing any kind of copyright violation whatsoever. The only option open to the publisher would be to refuse to publish the paper in retaliation -- which they are extremely unlikely to do. </p>
<p><strong>So my question is simply this</strong>: Am I missing something here? Is there any way that such a policy could be legally enforceable if one posts the post-review version prior to signing the copyright transfer agreement?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42794,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Note that it is untrue to say that: \"<em>you are obliged to leave uncorrected any mistakes that are uncovered during the review process for a protracted period of time</em>\". The corrected version appears in the journal. Just update the arxiv paper with a link to the journal paper, stating that that is the corrected version. And you can update the preprint server with corrections anyway: you just can't breach your publisher's copyright agreement. If necessary, find a second way to phrase the correction, or if that's too onerous, add a note saying that corrections are forthcoming in {this journal}. But all this seems by-the-by, as no one's obliging you to use this publisher: I'm sure <a href=\"http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/\" rel=\"nofollow\">any number of open-access publishers will be happy to take your cash in exchange for very few restrictions</a>. </p>\n\n<p>You ask whether this agreement is legally enforceable. <strong>It doesn't matter</strong>. When someone breaches the agreement they have made with a publisher, they've shown that they are untrustworthy. The route you've identified, of someone deliberately breaching an embargo that they know they are going to sign up to, would be an act of bad faith that would demonstrate that they are untrustworthy. </p>\n\n<p>Academia is built on trust relationships. So if anyone was considering reneging on an agreement, they should first give careful consideration to all their other current agreements and all their future possible agreements, with media, academia, voluntary sector, industry, and government.</p>\n\n<p>Would a publisher pull a paper if the embargo had been breached? Well, they're completely within their moral and legal rights to do so. And consider the business case: if the one thing that they were going to get out of the deal was exclusive distribution of the paper for a year, and someone took that one thing away, there's nothing left for them in the deal.</p>\n\n<p>Note that there are lots of publishing models out there. If you don't like one, and your funder doesn't oblige you to use it, then don't use it. There's a market there: it's pointless to to try to coerce everyone to follow one publishing model, regardless of how fashionable or ideologically pure that publishing model is.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42812,
"author": "slingbx",
"author_id": 32597,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32597",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes you are missing something: it you sign (or intend to sign) the copyright transfer form, you engage not to do certain activities, incl. putting the paper online. </p>\n\n<p><strong>If you have already done this, then you cannot sign the form - plain and simple,</strong> as you can never comply with what you are signing; you have already broken the rules. </p>\n\n<p>There is nothing you can do about this, and to many people it is not a problem. Noone forces you to publish with Springer or the others, but if you choose to do so, you effectively give them the right to make money by selling the pdf or journal for 1 year, and of course they ask you not to give it for free. If you dont like that, you can pay then the open-access fee 500-1000$ and you remove all these restrictions. Or you just put the paper on Archiv and forget about Springer. Or you make it into a pamphlet and sell it youself if you don't agree that Springer should make money on your back.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42824,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The copyright agreement does not require that you leave your mistakes uncorrected, it simply requires you to make corrections in a particular way. The simplest method, if you discover mistakes in the published version, is to distribute some note of correction that specifically addresses your original error, which can be done without violating the copyright agreement. The copyright agreement <em>may</em> allow you to post post-review versions of the paper, since the agreement may contain a clause that \"Prior versions of the Contribution published on non-commercial pre-print servers like ArXiv/CoRR and HAL can remain on these servers <em>and/or can be updated with Author’s accepted version</em>\". There is always a clause where the author warranties that the work has not been previously published (which includes online distribution via ArXiv), and this is why they need to expressly say that you are also permitted to post the submitted version.</p>\n\n<p>There are two notions of \"enforceability\" relevant to your agreement with the publisher. The stronger one involves litigation, where the publisher sues you for damages (when you breach a contract). You should hire a Swiss lawyer to get advice on whether Springer is likely to prevail in court. The other notion is \"having negative consequences\". A simple negative consequence would be that Springer refuses to publish any more of your work, if you flagrantly violate the terms of the agreement. Whether or not your breach involves copyright violation depends on whether or not you give them a license to publish, versus transfer copyright. (In interpreting the Lecture Notes in CS agreement, you would want to consult the Swiss attorney for a precise interpretation of granting and assigning the exclusive, sole right to copy).</p>\n\n<p>Your comment about the review process is tangential, and suggests that you are unaware of review protocol, You ask \"Why one should review for free for a journal that won't let the author share the results of your review with the community in as timely a fashion as possible\". Reviews are not only anonymous, but also privileged communication between the reviewer and the editor (often -- though not always -- shared verbatim with the author). So you should not distribute reviewer comments, unless that is expressly permitted by the journal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47343,
"author": "David M W Powers",
"author_id": 6390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6390",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Springer (copyright transfer form) actually says (my emphasis):</p>\n\n<p>\"Authors may self-archive the <strong>author’s accepted manuscript</strong> of their articles on their own websites. Authors may also deposit <strong>this version</strong> of the article in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later. He/ she may not use the <strong>publisher's version</strong> (the final article), which is posted on SpringerLink and other Springer websites, for the purpose of self-archiving or deposit. Furthermore, the author may only post his/her version provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be provided by inserting the DOI number of the article in the following sentence: “The final publication is available at Springer via <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/[insert\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://dx.doi.org/[insert</a> DOI]”.\"</p>\n\n<p>The only restrictions are on the accepted version and the published version. Pre-prints and revisions prior to acceptance are not precluded. However, links to the Springer website/doi should be provided on publication. See:\n<a href=\"http://www.springer.com/gp/open-access/authors-rights/self-archiving-policy/2124\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.springer.com/gp/open-access/authors-rights/self-archiving-policy/2124</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 86717,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'll give a more general answer to your question:</p>\n\n<p>\"Copyright\", or rather, the criminalization of making copies, has been a very problematic social institution since its inception. Quoting Wikipedia:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The origin of copyright law in most European countries lies in efforts by the church and governments to regulate and control the output of printers Before the invention of the printing press, a writing, once created, could only be physically multiplied by the highly laborious and error-prone process of manual copying by scribes... Printing allowed for multiple exact copies of a work, leading to a more rapid and widespread circulation of ideas and information (see print culture). Pope Alexander VI issued a bull in 1501 against the unlicensed printing of books and in 1559 the Index Expurgatorius, or List of Prohibited Books, was issued for the first time.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>later on Copyright was tied to the commodification of written text in the nascent European Capitalism (I'll refrain from more quoting; see <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_copyright_law\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here</a> and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here</a> about the Statute of Anne). The point (in my opinion) is that <strong>copyright is about reinforcement of oppressive and/or exploitative social power held by the privileged few</strong>. So it's not just this policy that seems crazy, it's that Copyright is fundamentally \"crazy\" - especially when it concerns cultural and scientific works.</p>\n\n<p>We should really strive to break the yoke of publishers like Springer and Elsevier - and whatever nation-state/international support they have - so that they cannot restrict our socially-useful work to more easily line their pockets. They should not have exclusive rights of any kind on our work, and would merely be providing the service of publishing, distribution and online storage/access. No more than that.</p>\n\n<p>This answer is not the right place to list and compare possible courses of action to achieve this, but you have indeed hinted at one: We should begin to break their one-sided agreements en masse, so that it would be useless to possibly go after individual breaches, or single-out \"copyright dissidents\" by refusing to publish their work etc. Or at the single conference/journal-issue level - if all authors refuse to sign the copyright transfers and the organizers/editors threaten to leave Elsevier/Springer if they don't accept an oral, implied, good-faith common-sense agreement with authors - they can forget about that journal or conference.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 128415,
"author": "Sascha",
"author_id": 53466,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53466",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Without looking at the legal situation: </p>\n\n<p>If you work together with the journal/reviewers on making the paper better, the journal contributed by using their reputation to find a reviewer and the reviewers contributed by using their time. The result (and thus the copyright) is not your result any more but the result of a common work, so you need to keep to the intended terms of this common work. (If you don't like the terms of working together, then don't work together).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42792",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900/"
] |
42,795 |
<p>Recently, I attended a conference as a <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corresponding_author">corresponding author</a> of a paper with five authors. After the paper was published in the conference proceedings, I realized that the technical editor changed the authors order by grouping them according to their affiliations. Is this acceptable?</p>
<p>I feel a bit responsible to my coauthors (being the corresponding author) even though this publication style also affected other papers in the proceedings. But what should I do?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42798,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Is this a field where author order is assumed to matter (e.g., applied CS)? If yes, this is completely unacceptable. If no, it is still very strange, but maybe not a big deal in the end. I can only imagine that your paper was handled by a very inexperienced technical editor who is simply not aware that the order of authors is not just a stylistic question, but actually has CV implications (in some cases, at least). </p>\n\n<p>One way or another, you should get in touch with the organizers of the conference (e.g., the publication chair if they have one, the general chair if not) and let them know. Maybe it is still possible to fix this, but at least the responsible people should be aware of this issue.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42917,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>(Copy Editor speaking.)</em></p>\n\n<p><strong>This is completely unacceptable</strong> and even for more than one reason:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p><strong>They obviously did not ask you to proof-read the final version.</strong> If they did, you would have spotted this change I suppose. Not making final proofs is acceptable only in small local workshops and seminars where minor mistakes don't matter since the publications are not quite real publications, and also where things are usually easy to correct.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>They deliberately changed the order of the authors.</strong> In fields where each position is something different, this is completely unacceptable. In fields where this is not the case and the authors are listed alphabetically, it's still pretty bad, because it raises a question why you chose this order (people won't assume it was the technical editor who changed the order).</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>What should you do?</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Inform your co-authors.</strong> Let them know what has happened, that it wasn't your action and that you're looking into it more. The sooner you do this the better, to avoid confusion whether you're cheating them.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Raise it up.</strong> Ask both the publisher and the Program Committee chair for explanation of this action. Ask them to change it instantly -- they will probably tell you that it's impossible and they'll likely be right, but it doesn't matter. It's their mistake, not yours.</p></li>\n<li><p>If you want, you can also speak about <strong>copyrights</strong>. The order of authors is, in my opinion, an integral part of the paper, and it means that they published something for which you did not transfer the copyrights.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I don't think you can change anything for your paper (it's probably too late), but you can certainly change something for other people publishing with the same publisher in the future. In my opinion, this is worth it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42795",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32404/"
] |
42,811 |
<p>I was just about to send my first PhD application to University XXX. I am currently finishing my master's thesis at University XXX. Would it be incorrect to use my university address to apply for PhD positions?.
Could it be taken as unrightful use of the "university name"?.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42813,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't see any possible problem with using your current university email address in your application.</p>\n\n<p>The university issued you this address with the expectation that you would use it to communicate with people inside and outside the university. I can't imagine any way this would be considered \"not rightful\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42815,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Do your terms of use for the university address specify any restrictions on using the address for such purposes?</p>\n\n<p>If they do not restrict you in that way, just make sure the address remains in existence for long enough once you have finished your master's thesis - some universities automatically and irrevocably delete their students' accounts including inbox content sooner than expected (e.g. on the day of giving the final presentation ...).</p>\n\n<p><em>Note that some professors explicitly refuse to receive any e-mails not sent from university addresses (because they expect common, or at least free e-mail providers to sell out address to spammers sooner or later). Universities are probably, to some limited extent, aware of this habit and thus should usually allow their students to contact such professors with their university addresses, including for PhD applications.</em> **</p>\n\n<p>In all, I do not see any reason why this should be problematic with respect to the \"university name\". If you are afraid that a bad* application of yours might shed a bad light on your university, using the university address should not be any more problematic than writing the name of your university onto the front page of a bad* master thesis, which can then be found world-wide on Google Scholar.</p>\n\n<p>*hypothetical, not claiming this badness applies to you</p>\n\n<p>**Based on a discussion with <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600/bill-barth\">Bill Barth</a>, I figured that this only works to some extent as in my place, most student issues are handled by other people in the department beside the professor, so there is hardly ever much of a reason for students who do not have a university address (and even for those who do) to contact a professor by e-mail.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42811",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32446/"
] |
42,826 |
<p>I read that universities invite candidates and ask them to book a flight. If universities don't specify the amount available, can candidates select any airfare? Should the candidates ask or just book any? 100$ or 1000$, would that matter? And do booking the cheapest flight be a positive sign? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42827,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>When you're invited for an interview, the university should offer some guidance on how to book travel and what they will reimburse. If for some reason they don't, it's reasonable to ask how you should handle it. By default you should book a reasonably priced economy-class ticket (i.e., given several options don't take one that stands out as much more expensive). It's wise to save a few screenshots of price comparisons in case anyone suggests you should have gotten a much better deal. If all the available flights seem remarkably expensive, for example if you are invited to interview with relatively little notice, then you can always check to make sure they are OK with the expense (but they will presumably say yes if the expense could not reasonably be avoided).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 133028,
"author": "guest",
"author_id": 110607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/110607",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The norm for any job interview is to book an economy ticket and the most reasonable rate (NOT what airline gets you best \"points\"). It is reasonable to prefer a direct flight and one that works with your personal schedule in terms of departure/arrival times, but even here I would probably do the more inconvenient flight if the difference is over $200. (With some judgment...for instance if you have other interviews or other hard schedule demands, just do the flight that works best time-wise.) </p>\n\n<p>Sometimes last minute travel, especially during peak demand periods (and summer is one), can be quite expensive. So if the ticket is above $1000, I would let them know what is coming. They will very likely say just book it before it goes up more, but it is just nice so it is not a surprise. Otherwise just book it. </p>\n\n<p>Also, you don't need to clear and pre-budget all the details of your rental car/cab or the meal in the airport TGIF. You're a grownup now, applying for a grownup job. You don't need to clear this all ahead of time--it will look unsophisticated if you do. They will probably give you a form to submit expenses (after the meeting)--if not, just send a letter to your point of contact or whatever factotum at the department handles that stuff (if you know name), with a bulleted list of travel expenses:\n*Cab or POV mileage (@IRS rates) to airport, plus any tolls\n*Airport parking\n*Rental car or cabs at destination\n*Hotel\n*Meals </p>\n\n<p>Save your receipts--many places expect them to accompany expense reimbursement. (For some, just the list is fine.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42826",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
42,835 |
<p>Someone I know is apparently claiming to have obtained PhD when I know for a fact that he did not. He is working in a biomedical company and having himself presented as Dr. Is there a way to have this checked out? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42836,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are several commercial degree and credential verification services. All of them are commercial and so I don't want to advertise them here, but you can easily find them through Google: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://lmgtfy.com/?q=degree+verification+services\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://lmgtfy.com/?q=degree+verification+services</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>(You can also do the google search for credential verification if you're looking for some way to tell if this person really has a medical board certification, for example).</p>\n\n<p>If you know which university they have graduated from, you might be able to call their registrar and ask to verify. Note that many universities have stopped providing this service and will refer you instead to the company that is the top-hit in the \"degree verification services\" search above. </p>\n\n<p>Part of this is because verifying students has become a burden in a time of diminishing staff budgets. Trying to figure out if \"John Doe\" may or may not have graduated some time in the early 1990s with a BA or maybe an MA in one of the schools at a large university... can easily take up half an hour or more of staff time.</p>\n\n<p>Second, universities are also worried about violating student educational privacy (FERPA) if they accidentally reveal too much information about a student's status at a school. Even if not, they may not want to accept legal liability for false positives or negatives.</p>\n\n<p>Thus, it's much easier and less legally fraught for them to outsource verification to a private, third party company.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42880,
"author": "Raydot",
"author_id": 13535,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13535",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sure, just contact the registrar's office of the University from which he claims to have graduated.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42835",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32610/"
] |
42,841 |
<p>This happened to me in my 2nd year of grad school, in a STEM field. As many do, our professor gave the class the last year's final, to give us an idea of what areas to study and what to expect, etc, which he obviously isn't required to do and is very nice of him.</p>
<p>Now, the reason he gives us last year's one is because, at the end of the year, he returns your test, so he knows that most of the ones floating around are the ones from last year.</p>
<p>However, as many older professors (in my experience, but maybe younger ones too) do, he also reuses exams from previous years (not even concepts or the same problems with different parameters, just literal copies), since the material and curriculum of this course is very well established/so old that nothing needs to change. I don't blame him for this; if you teach the same course on and off over 20 years, coming up with good exam questions over and over again would be annoying.</p>
<p>Now, what my question regards is, I realized a student in my class had past tests from not just the last time the class was taught, but literally the past 5 years. I don't know how to say this part as diplomatically as possible, but this student came from a country that about nearly half our program comes from. The other half (aside a few outliers) is from the U.S. I don't mention this to demonize or stereotype anyone; I believe it's relevant because the students from this country (in my program) are almost uniformly very tight knit, and seem to often share resources between each other and across years more than is normal amongst everyone else. The relevance is that one group has resources that others don't.</p>
<p>So my question is, is this ethical (for the student to do, I mean) ?</p>
<p>Just to put some relevant ideas/arguments/details down:</p>
<ul>
<li>Assume (and I believe it was the case) that in the scenario I've written, the rest of the students (the ones who <em>don't</em> have the past tests) don't know about the students that have the past tests, so they can't do something simple like ask them.</li>
<li>I think many will argue that if the professor didn't want this happening, he wouldn't reuse tests, or at least as exactly as he does. However, I don't think this changes the ethics of the situation: the point is, in this situation, you <em>can</em> get away with it, but is it right?</li>
<li>I imagine the professor would not approve of this (actually, recently, another professor said in regards to his final "I know there are past ones floating around, please don't look at them", so at least he disapproved), but an argument could also be made for the possibility of him approving: It's not as though having the previous tests just makes it a given that you'll ace it, it's still a lot of work to figure out all the problems such that you can reliably do them later (he doesn't give back the <em>answers</em> to the tests, only the tests themselves). I could imagine a professor being okay with students getting a better grade on the final if it meant they learned more and worked to get it.</li>
<li>This professor never actually said not to, so the student wasn't explicitly disobeying anyone.</li>
<li>This question really has two subquestions, but they're very similar: a) Would it be ethical if <em>everyone</em> had these pasts tests (that the professor did not know about/give)? And b), Is it ethical if only a subset of the class has these tests. Obviously if you say no to (a) you say no to (b), but you might feel as though the concept of using past tests isn't wrong, but some students having an unfair advantage is.</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42842,
"author": "Layla",
"author_id": 6144,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6144",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is nothing unethical about a group of students that have grabbed their hands in the past years' examinations. Maybe you can argue that is not fair and that they are selfish, but those justifications are far away from ethical issues.</p>\n\n<p>If you or other of your fellow USA friends want that information, why you just don't ask for those examinations directly to them? Maybe they will be happily to hand you a copy of those exams. In the case they don't want to share them with you, what is the problem? You cannot force them to do something that they do no want.</p>\n\n<p>I see in your question that there is a hidden message, not a good one against expats studying with you, and that is something that should not be tolerated in any way. If I am wrong, then the only advice that I can give to you is to study and prepare well for the exams, because at the end the reward of a good education is going to be only for you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42843,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Perhaps this is a bit of a genuine ethical issue: should one use \"game advantages\" one might find, that one knows other \"players\" will not have? Of course, these questions completely ignore issues of the subject itself, learning, scholarship, etc. But, yes, there are advantages to \"good test scores\". That game is primarily (contrived) an adversarial one between \"teacher\" and \"student\", and any information obtained \"legally\" by the students is... \"legal\". It's a game! </p>\n\n<p>In that model, other students may suffer \"on the curve\". Not nice, true, but, ... </p>\n\n<p>I think the real answer is that, especially internet-wise, any policy that presumes secrecy of information is misguided. Sounds innocent, but, as this test case shows, there <em>are</em> \"victims\". </p>\n\n<p>My sincere conclusion, and basis for my own actions for 15+ years, is that everything should be made public. If someone can assimilate good solutions to all the exams for the last 20 years, ... then why shouldn't they pass the current exam? :)</p>\n\n<p>(So, the kids who cram from the last few exams are merely being rational, assuming they didn't have to break-and-enter.)</p>\n\n<p>The unasked question about whether the behavior of the \"teacher\" is inadvertently unfair is the interesting one. That is, lacking intent, can one be unfair? Yes, it turns out, by negligence...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42846,
"author": "KAI",
"author_id": 6923,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6923",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The students who got the past tests have not really cheated, but they do have an advantage over students who do not have the tests. This is especially true if the professor is heavily recycling questions. The professor may not be aware of this advantage.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore, you should probably just speak to your professor about it. I would be careful to not be accusatory toward your fellow students. Your goal is not to get them in trouble, but rather to express to your professor that you feel you are at a disadvantage. That is, you are perfectly willing to work and study hard, but others may have their work rewarded more than yours.</p>\n\n<p>I would also recommend that you avoid mention of national origin since I don't think that that is really very relevant to the topic and may be distracting.</p>\n\n<p>A very similar problem that I have seen in the past is that some groups may \"curate\" past tests. For example, I have seen groups like frats and sororities which intentionally keep files of old tests for the purpose of giving future members an advantage on tests. This is something that lecturers were very interested in knowing about even though it wasn't technically against any rules.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42847,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>TLDR; If you need to hide it from your professor, it's probably misconduct.</strong></p>\n<p>Does your University have any sort of Honor Code, published standards of Academic Integrity, Student Agreement, or other such thing that students must agree to be bound by? If so, this is a great place to look, and <a href=\"http://www.uwsp.edu/stuaffairs/Documents/RightsRespons/Academic%20Integrity%20Brochure.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer\">I'll share an item from my present University</a> which notes that the following are violations of the code of Academic Integrity:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation;</li>\n<li>uses unauthorized materials or fabricated data in any academic exercise;</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Similarly, it also notes about collaboration between students:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Collaboration</strong>\nYou should be aware that different instructors have\ndifferent expectations about working with others. If you wish to\nconsult with or work with another student on an assignment and you are\nnot sure of the course rules, ask the instructor. <strong>It is each student’s\nresponsibility to seek information about the boundaries of\nappropriately working with others on assignments, papers, experiments\nor examinations.</strong> <em><strong>If no rules concerning working with others have been\ndiscussed in a course, the student must assume that working with\nothers writing a paper, completing homework, or taking an exam is not\npermitted.</strong></em>\n[emphasis mine]</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>In my University this would, therefore, explicitly be considered academic misconduct and punished as cheating.</p>\n<p>However, I offer a much simpler version than all this written stuff.</p>\n<h2>My Personal Academic Ethical Gold Standard</h2>\n<p>Would you feel comfortable going to the professor and telling them what you were doing (such as studying an old test from a previous semester) and asking questions about it?</p>\n<p>Why, or why not? If you would have any urge at all to refrain from talking to the professor or think that you should hide your behavior...<em><strong>DING DING DING DING</strong></em> you're probably doing something wrong!</p>\n<h2>Specific Advice</h2>\n<p>If I were you my first preference, having witnessed what seems to be wide-spread academic misconduct, is to talk with the professor (if I am on friendly terms at least) and ask them if they are aware that there is a good possibility that a sizable portion of the class has access to 5+ years of past tests from this class? If they were OK with it, I'd go ahead and ask that if you could would you be allowed to use them and pass them on to everyone else in the class too, or heck, for that matter can you just get a copy from him? It hardly seems fair that some people have access to special materials that others don't, after all.</p>\n<p>If the professor objects then he can do something about it. If I were him I'd personally keep the test and add a twist to many of the questions to shift them into requiring different answers, so those who studied the unethical material would have their own change blindness and "study" behavior lead them astray, but that's just me wanting people to learn lessons for themselves.</p>\n<p>Now if you fear such a discussion with your professor, well I think it's unfortunate there isn't a better relationship between the students and instructors, but I can't fault you for being personally cautious or not wanting to get ostracized by other students. I would however point you to the existence of anonymous/free email accounts - a simple no-names-named email alerting the professor to the widespread availability of past tests to some but not all students should be sufficient to put the ball back in his court.</p>\n<p>Now if the professor doesn't want to do anything and just lets a large portion take advantage of the course while others are comparatively penalized by not having special access to test materials...well, that would just be a very sad reflection of the program and the instructor, and I'm sorry the education you are being provided has such an unsavory element included in it. I'd make sure the appropriate people know - professor, chair of department, etc - and then hold one's head high, actually work to learn the material, do a good job, and move on with life.</p>\n<h2>A Final Note On Nationality/Grouping</h2>\n<p>I would be remiss if I didn't mention this, but while I understand your observation of what you see as a pattern, I would ask this: if the situation were that a band of multicultural native citizens banded together and were engaging in this behavior but also did not share these resources to the entire class, would you be any less bothered by it?</p>\n<p>As such, we can simply separate the issue entirely, because it doesn't matter what nationality, color, religion, or any other grouping they happen to belong to other than "people who seem to be behaving unethically in this instance". Otherwise we simply create and add to stereotypes that would encourage discrimination against the group, which would itself make it so that the group might need to be more willing to break the rules to get ahead because they are double-disadvantaged! All stereotype threats are inherently negative.</p>\n<p>One need not ignore reality - just put in extra effort to prune out unnecessary grouping. Some students ban together to do something potentially wrong, and those students may share nationality or family ties - but it is not the nationality or family ties that are the problem, but the ethics and behavior involved in the situation. Stick to these facts and do not paint everyone with the same brush and you will improve your argument, possibly help improve the world at least a little, and be in a more justified and ethical situation yourself!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42868,
"author": "Sherry Zhou",
"author_id": 32637,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32637",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I feel like you are asking the wrong questions. It seems that your main concern is that the other group might have an unfair advantage and be gaming the system. </p>\n\n<p>However, you do mention that this is graduate school. My understanding from talking to graduate students is that grades are really only a part of the overall graduate school experience. The other parts (actually learning the material, getting to know the professor, networking, getting internships if this is a masters program or doing research if this is a PhD program) are essential to the graduate experience and arguable even more important. </p>\n\n<p>Morally, these students are acting fairly dodgy, but they are not necessarily ensuring their success in graduate school. Maybe the reason why there is not more collusion, and why the professor does not care enough to explicitly forbid this behavior, is that the tests don't matter as much as you think. They're are only reflected in the grade, but graduate school is about improving your career. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42907,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There's another way to combat this situation: provide <em>more</em> sample questions, so that fewer students would be at a \"disadvantage\". </p>\n\n<p>At first that may seem counterintuitive, but I know of a few instances where such tactics were employed effectively. </p>\n\n<p>One professor I know told me, \"A long time ago, I figured out that if there was something I <em>really</em> wanted my students to learn, just tell them it will be on the test. That way, they'll learn it. So that's what I do.\" </p>\n\n<p>(He doesn't tell students <em>everything</em> that's on his test, but if there's a fundamental concept he wants them to know, he's very public about it being asked on the final exam, using that as a motivator to steer the learning in a particular direction.)</p>\n\n<p>Also, a past advisor once told me about a professor who gave his students a list of 24 questions, and told them, \"Your final exam will consist of six of these questions.\" He smiled as he reminisced, explaining how all the students thought this was \"cool,\" and how they thought the test would be \"easy.\" He then told me how it took him about 10 years to realize how he and his fellow students had been duped. \"Essentially, this guy wanted us to work through 24 problems,\" he said, \"but he only wanted to grade six of them!\" </p>\n\n<p>I realize this answer isn't universal, and may not be a good alternative in some situations. But it does offer some different ways to possibly curb the problem of cheating on reused exam questions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 86657,
"author": "Ka Wa Yip",
"author_id": 37094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/37094",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If they are not public, but passed by students to students, highly unethical. \nMajor reasons:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Yes, most of the questions are very similar from earlier years.\nProfessors are too busy. Even if its not, you are more efficient in practicing them than problems in textbook.</li>\n<li>Those cannot get it are pushed to lower grades, especially if the grade is curved according to distribution.</li>\n<li>You only pay tuition for this year's class. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Most of my classmates did that in my undergrad and PhD years. I cannot, as I cannot get it from them. I sometimes wondered why they did not even take notes in class, as they can get it from last year's students. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 121504,
"author": "Catiger3331",
"author_id": 101834,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/101834",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The same thing happen in one of the courses of my graduate program. In my opinion, the only person who is unethical in this situation is the instructor, who is negligent/lazy enough to knowingly/unknowingly put a group of students under unfair competition. The students who take advantage of non-public materials have no obligations to let anyone know about it. After all, it is so common in college to obtain and practice past exams that it is one of the major ways to prepare for an exam. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, I just want to mention that in the other course of our program the instructor chose to publish all of his past exams for practice. In that course no one could get any advantages. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 126733,
"author": "sonja k",
"author_id": 105785,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/105785",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The above answers are shocking. The professors are not too busy. Most of them are lazy. They act unethically if they repeat the same exam questions and do not give copies of the past exams to students, when they should have known that some of the students probably have them, while not all of them. The students do not breake any rules by collaborating, studying together and simply using all available material. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42841",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13312/"
] |
42,845 |
<p>I am applying for a faculty position and want to highlight the quality of my publications. </p>
<p>Are any of the following appropriate in an academic CV:</p>
<ul>
<li>citation rate (citations/year)</li>
<li>F1000 Recommendations</li>
<li>separating a 'monograph' from other 'articles'?</li>
</ul>
<p>If so, how should I do it?</p>
<p>For example, should I just put the information parenthetically at the end of the reference, like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Author (Year) Title, journal, vol, (> 10000 citations; 2 F1000 recommendations) </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>note:</em> this question <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/17990/344">Should I put my h-index on my CV?</a> is similar, and some of the ideas from that question apply here. However, it is not a strict duplicate because the h-index addressed there is a single metric for evaluating a candidate; my question relates to publication-level metrics, and which are useful to provide within the reference list of a CV. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42850,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's quite common and very helpful to provide a link to your author profile in services like Google Scholar, Web of Science, MathSciNet, etc. This makes it possible for someone who wants to look up your publications to find them without confusion with other publications by authors with the same or similar names. They can also look up citation counts and other bibliometric statistics. I've seen these included on many of the CV's that I've reviewed recently. </p>\n\n<p>Citation counts and statistics like the H-index change rapidly, and including them might come across as overly boastful in a CV. I haven't ever seen these on any CV that I've read. </p>\n\n<p>Books and monographs should generally be placed in a separate section of your CV apart from the peer reviewed journal articles. It's also appropriate to have a section for conference proceedings papers and other lesser forms of publication. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42851,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Conventions may vary somewhat from field to field, but I'll answer with respect to the fields covered by F1000, where people tend to be more interested in citation metrics than in many other areas. </p>\n\n<p>First of all, I wouldn't include F1000 recommendations. I don't think that people take F1000 all that seriously and listing this information smacks of trying too hard. Under most circumstances, I'd suggest that one not include the citation counts either. As discussed in a <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42770/why-is-an-academic-cv-not-the-place-to-sell\">recent question</a>, the CV is not the place to do a sales job. If your citation metrics are strong, it is indeed good to bring this to the attention of the hiring committee, but you should do so in your cover letter and/or research statement rather than on your CV. Better yet, have one of your letter writers present this information. You could even get them to report the F1000 figures if that is really important to you. Nor would I list an h index on a CV, no matter how good it is. You could mention it in a cover letter, but again it is something that looks much better coming from one of your recommendation letters.</p>\n\n<p>All of that said, if you really have a paper with >10,000 citations as in your example, this is so exceptional that it would merit a note alongside that paper on the CV. Even then, I wouldn't list citation counts for all papers but just for this one. Even a paper >1000 might merit mention on a CV if you are early career, but I wouldn't list anything in the low hundreds on the CV. </p>\n\n<p>I'll conclude by noting that there is a nice economics paper by Harbaugh and To, entitled \"<a href=\"https://ideas.repec.org/p/iuk/wpaper/2005-05.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">False Modesty: When Disclosing Good News Looks Bad</a>\", that deals with almost exactly this situation. From their abstract:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it always wise to disclose good news? We find that the worst sender with good news has the most incentive to disclose it, so reporting good news can paradoxically make the sender look bad. If the good news is attainable by sufficiently mediocre types, or if the sender is already expected to be of a relatively high type, withholding good news is an equilibrium. Since the sender has a legitimate fear of looking too anxious to reveal good news, having a third party disclose the news, or mandating that the sender disclose the news, can help the sender...</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/02
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42845",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/344/"
] |
42,857 |
<p>I want to start soon with a Ph.D. in mathematics, though I'm not sure, that long-term I want to stay in mathematics. But I know that I'm going to like doing mathematics full-time right now and invest the effort required for a Ph.D. so this unsureness will not deter me. Additionally, because I'm quite old, I want to do the Ph.D. fast(er that usual).<br>
[This remark is bound to generate comments, I know - as "old" is relative, assume that I am compared to my colleagues and that I am bothered by the fact that I'm lagging behind compared to them; speeding up my Ph.D. is reasonable I believe, because
1) being "older" I've had more time to make sure I have all the mathematical prerequisits needed for the subfield I want to get my Ph.D. in (e.g. where some of my colleagues learned about Crandall-Rabinowitz only after being admitted to a Ph.D program, I know about it already now. "Bang. Just like that.")
2) I want to do the Ph.D in my home university (which is in Europe), where I already know all the relevant professors, have already taken seminars with them, know which Ph.D. programs exist, how I can get into them, how the system works etc. so I won't loose time by these non-mathematical things and I'm less hindered by formal criteria.]</p>
<p>Ok, this sound all nice and dandy, so where's the question. Here: Given the facts, that<br>
<em>a)</em> I may not want to stay professionally in mathematics in the long-term, a Ph.D. degree from a very famous U.S. university, as they're world-wide the most well-known, could prove helpful for getting a job in the industry in a Western country later on (of course this doesn't apply to France, were you'd better have studied at ENS and not at Harvard, but I think I'm safe to chose a country were a degree from e.g. Harvard weighs) and that<br>
<em>b)</em> I also like engineering applications of mathematics and I've read for myself books in a certain area of engineering and started taking occasional related, non-mathematical courses there and like to see research in this area,<br>
I may like to apply, after having obtained by Ph.D. degree in mathematics, at a famous U.S. university for a second Ph.D. degree in engineering. (MIT comes to mind as prototypical example.)</p>
<p><strong>What effect does a previous Ph.D. (in mathematics) has for me getting accepted at a highly ranked U.S. university ?
(Good, bad, irrelevant ? It will show that I can to research, which is good, but not that good, since its research in mathematics and not engineering. If I have to do one of those pesky standarized tests, like GRE (do you know good programs, where this may be waived a Ph.D. ?), does this weigh more then the Ph.D. ?</strong></p>
<p>Further reflections: </p>
<ul>
<li>Besides the reputation of the university of the top U.S. universities, it seems that in the United States formal admission criteria for Ph.D. programs are less strict as in Europe (for an extreme example, take a look at the careers of these professors), so not having a bachelor in engineering may not knock me out from the start.)</li>
<li>For the nitpickers: Note that actually I'm not getting a Ph.D. in mathematics but a doctoral degree.</li>
<li>I also considered the possibility of directly applying for a Ph.D. in engineering in the U.S. But I doubt that I'll be able to do it as fast as the one in mathematics, since none of the reasons from 1) and 2) apply. Additionally I may have to exclude some programs, because my prerequisits aren't sufficient. So there only seem to be disadvantages to doing one directly.</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42858,
"author": "user28375028",
"author_id": 21694,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21694",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From what I know, it would hurt you. From the MIT ECE website (just as an example):</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If I already have a PhD, can I apply for another PhD in EECS?</p>\n<p>No, we will not admit an applicant who already holds a PhD degree (even if it is in a different area such as Physics or Math).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>I'm sure it's like this at many of the top schools in the US. Here I'm assuming what you refer to as a "doctoral degree" will be treated the same way as the American/English "Ph.D."</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42862,
"author": "user49483",
"author_id": 30768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30768",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This seems like a very weird plan to me. Even if you aren't explicitly excluded from applying for a PhD (e.g. as per @AlexMiller), you will likely be at a significant implicit disadvantage. </p>\n\n<p>You also don't seem to have considered the implications for your post-PhD career. I was part of an early career workshop (applied mathematics) in which a post-doc with two PhDs asked how having two PhDs might affect her career. The general consensus was that, while it wasn't insurmountable, it did put her at a disadvantage and she would have to justify why she did two PhDs and why it was the best path for her (we weren't provided details, but it seemed as if there were extenuating circumstances that led to her doing another PhD - i.e. it wasn't her plan all along). </p>\n\n<p>Assuming you don't have a master's degree (which you might), why don't you do a master's degree in maths and try to do a PhD in engineering from there? That way you get to spend some time pursuing your maths interest, without having to commit to it long term, but don't have the stigma of two PhDs. It also fits better with your 'older' time-line, as a master's degree takes far less time than a PhD. Furthermore, an applicant with a master's degree in math is going to be more attractive than an applicant that is immediately applying to do another PhD (how would you justify this in a cover letter? First thought would be that you became disillusioned during your first PhD - not exactly the ideal candidate unless you can spin a very good story.).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42875,
"author": "user32644",
"author_id": 32644,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32644",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the question that supersedes, \"What effect does a previous Ph.D. (in mathematics) has for me getting accepted at a highly ranked U.S. university?\", is the question of what effect your current plan will have on your overall career.</p>\n\n<p>What I mean is this: Knowing, <em>before</em> you start a Ph.D. program, that you are going to switch fields immediately after your degree and get a different Ph.D. is just highly unusual. Having this as your plan from the get-go could potentially cause you problems for the rest of your career. Here are a few issues I see that haven't been already mentioned: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>If the admissions committee of your initial intended Ph.D. program knows that this is your plan, I imagine it will cause them to question why they should admit you. While nobody can predict what a student will do post-degree, I think that most professors will not want to spend years teaching and mentoring a student whom they <em>know ahead of time</em> has no longterm commitment to the field of study.</p></li>\n<li><p>Your attitude of thinking that you can just crank out your math Ph.D. quickly and then move on to your \"real\" subject is also likely to be negatively received by the math department from which you want your first Ph.D. In particular, it signals that you don't have a good grasp of hard work needed to obtain a Ph.D. in mathematics.</p></li>\n<li><p>For the rest of your career, you will likely be answering the question, \"why do you have two Ph.D.s?\" If you tell your story to anyone that has any connection to the academic world (including potential employers), they will almost invariably find it odd, and it may be perceived quite negatively (for reasons which I think have been addressed in similar questions on this site).</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I think the third item addresses your question directly: If most academics will (in my opinion!) find your plan odd, then it will likely negatively affect your admissions to the second Ph.D. program. </p>\n\n<p>You could always choose to keep your overall plan a secret at each intermediate stage of your career, but this I think carries its own obvious set of serious issues.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42887,
"author": "Alpha101",
"author_id": 32649,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32649",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well, I know several math PhDs who work as faculty in engineering departments in fields like control, dynamical systems, optimization, signal processing etc. You can do your math PhD in such fields and work in engineering departments or some of the research labs. No need to do 2 PhDs.</p>\n\n<p>Some representative departments/groups where math professors work in engineering are:</p>\n\n<p>CSL at UIUC\nLIDS/CSAIL at MIT\nCDS at Caltech</p>\n\n<p>There are several others.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43052,
"author": "Byrel Mitchell",
"author_id": 32745,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32745",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The US academic system usually avoids students having multiple PHDs. There is some concern about students remaining perpetually in PhD programs without ever stepping up to obtain independent funding, as a faculty member.</p>\n\n<p>The usual solution for a field switch or diversification is a post-PhD masters. In your case, you could get your Math PhD, then apply to MIT for an engineering masters. Or, since you have this plan up front, get a Math masters from your local college and apply directly for an engineering PhD.</p>\n\n<p>So far as the GRE goes, don't sweat it. I got a perfect score with minimal studying. The math doesn't go above algebra, and the vocabulary, etc. are standard high-level English. If you're accustomed to speaking and writing technically in English, it shouldn't be an issue. Remember they use this same test with similar thresholds for entry into humanities graduate programs as well. It's very much lowest common denominator. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/03
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42857",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32623/"
] |
42,861 |
<p>I just know ProQuest which supplies some PhD dissertations. However, it's hard to find some the dissertations of French and German. </p>
<p>So are there any other good databases for dissertations of French, German, UK, USA? Any answer is encouraged. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42864,
"author": "PatW",
"author_id": 7357,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7357",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For French dissertations, you have <a href=\"http://www.theses.fr/\" rel=\"nofollow\">theses.fr</a> which lists both the on-going and defended thesis since 1985 in France. </p>\n\n<p>Note that there may be dissertations that are not available online but are of public access in the university libraries. Also, most of the theses are written in French (~270k in French, and ~23k in English), so you will probably need decent French skills if you find a thesis that matches your interests.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42872,
"author": "Zoe",
"author_id": 29284,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29284",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For theses defended in the UK, Ethos is the way to go: ethos.bl.uk/ \nIt's a service provided by the British Library. Many theses can be downloaded for free, and many others can be requested and they will scan them for a fee.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/03
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42861",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32628/"
] |
42,869 |
<p>Is there any web site that shows average Ph.D. student salaries in European countries, and also information about living cost and so on?</p>
<p>update: what about France and Germany?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42874,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is what I found with a simple Google search: The average PhD Student salary is US$28,928. This comes to about €26,322. The estimates are based on 1,086 salaries submitted anonymously to the Glassdoor website by PhD Student employees. Needless to say it will vary based on the area of research, location and University/Institution. It closely matches to my PhD salary though. I looked up the list and it featured entries from US, UK and Nordic countries.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42881,
"author": "Maarten van Wesel",
"author_id": 32146,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32146",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Partial answer;\nIn the Netherlands you have a couple of different possibilities when it comes to PhDs. You can be a student (and thus have to pay), a payed phd (who also has teaching obligations), and an external PhD (who, depending on the professor, might have to pay). </p>\n\n<p>The paid PhDs salary per month vary from 2,125 euro in the first year to 2,717 euro (in the fourth year, which should be the last year) according to the <a href=\"http://www.vsnu.nl/files/documenten/CAO/Januari%202015/Salarisschalen%202015.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer\">VSNU</a> (look at the P column). There is also a 13th month and vacation money. Of course tax and social premiums still has to be deducted to get to the salary you get on your account.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42903,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another partial answer. In Italy there are two categories of PhD students: those who get a scholarship from the university or a government institution, and those who are funded by an industry or a firm (not many, actually).</p>\n\n<p>For the first category, the scholarships are of about €1000-1200 per month, free of tax, and the students do not have to pay any yearly fee for the enrollment. For the second category, the salary depends on the funder, but it is probably of the same order of magnitude. In this latter case, however, students have to pay a yearly fee (around €1000-2000) to the school.</p>\n\n<p>PhD students can have extra income from teaching assistantship or external contracts. The law does not limit the amount of extra income, but schools can set local limits. In any case, extra activity which involves a student for a significant amount of hours should be approved by the PhD program board and by the student's advisor(s). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42906,
"author": "Malcolm",
"author_id": 32669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32669",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>New partial answer : in Sweden it is pretty much like for the Nederland. The rules are the same but you're paid around 24 000 krona (around 2400€) a month. You then have to deduct the tax which depend on where you live. No extra taxes but I'm from the EU and it might be different if you're from outside the eu. The salary is based on the cost of living.</p>\n\n<p>You have teaching obligation and are supposed to spend 20% of your time on work for the university (as in not on research).</p>\n\n<p>You sign a contact with the university. So you're employed and you have all the advantages of a normal employee: health insurance and 25 days of holidays, for example. Security insurance might be only on campus. </p>\n\n<p>For the savings, it depend on where you live and the way you live but you definitely can save some ;).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42911,
"author": "Avelina",
"author_id": 32671,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32671",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the UK PhD salaries vary a bit by location but they are around 1000£ per month. It counts as a bursary and is thus tax exempt. The living costs vary drastically depending on where you live but generally it is enough to get by and maybe even safe some money. The rule of thumb is the further south you live the more expensive. Keep in mind that as taxes are quite high in the UK there are plenty of people working full time jobs that in the end will have less than that to live up on.</p>\n\n<p>Switzerland, has a slightly wired system. The PhD salaries vary by field, fields in which it is hard to find anyone interested in pursuing an academic career will be paid much better then others. Most of my friends are paid around 3600Fr per month. Which would be seen as a low income in Switzerland but it is perfectly fine to live up on. One of my fiends has 2400Fr, you can just about live on that if you must but it will be tough. All incomes are taxed in Switzerland, no matter how low but taxes on low incomes are not high. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42947,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In <strong>Germany</strong>, PhD <strong>work contracts</strong> are typically under the <a href=\"http://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/tv-l/\">TVL group \"E 13\" union contracts</a>. Fresh PhD students start in stage 1, but if you have relevant work experience, starting in stage 2 or 3 is possible as well.<br>\nUsually, PhD contracts are part time, either 50 % or 65 %. In some occasions the PhD students are not paid for the PhD work, but explicitly for the teaching they do (\"PhD is your private fun\"), occasionally also only by HiWi contracts (much less hourly wage). \nA 50 % contract in E13 stage 1 yields approximately 1175 €/month net <em>after</em> taxes and social insurance (health insurances, unemployment insurance, pension fund contribution) have been paid. For more details, the linked page has a calculator that takes into acount further details. </p>\n\n<p>If you are not paid by a work contract but by a <strong>scholarship</strong>, things are very different: firstly, scholarships can vary widely by the amount they pay and the additional conditions. Secondy, scholarships are not work contracts. Which means that you have to pay e.g. full health insurance yourself, and no pension payments are done. On the other hand, there is no income tax on scholarships, nor do they count for the tax progression (=> if you earn additional money e.g. for teaching, that will practically have no/very low income tax as well because of the income tax free limit). </p>\n\n<p>As for how far that money gets you, this varies hugely between regions. E.g. Munich or Frankfurt are very expensive as housing costs are very expensive (shared flat > 25 €/m²), wheras other cities such as Leipzig are much cheaper to live in (maybe 10 €/m² for shared flat), have a look e.g. at <a href=\"http://www.wg-gesucht.de/\">WG-gesucht</a> to get an idea of housing costs. Basic food stuff (= buying ingredients and cooking yourself) is cheap in Germany. </p>\n\n<p>It is typically up to you whether you want to sign up as a university student when doing a PhD. People often decide this by comparing the semester fees with the advantages that come with the student ID such as public transport ticket or the lower mensa prices. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/03
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42869",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19761/"
] |
42,876 |
<p>Let us consider that one is supposed to teach a class of a large number of students (say 100 or more). I am thinking of this scenario corresponding to undergraduate students, but hoping for a general solution. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it a good idea to divide the class to a number of sub-classes and teach them at separate sessions(say, 5 groups of 20 students or 4 groups of 25 students)? What are the plus and minus of dividing the class? </p></li>
<li><p>What are the alternate ways of managing a large number of students?</p></li>
<li><p>Suppose, we decide to divide the class to n number of sub-classes? What are the best criteria to take into account to put students into different classes? </p></li>
<li><p>I can think of two ways of dividing the class based on grades. However, this looks a narrow judgement to me... Any way, first, each subclass is a Gaussian distribution of students based on grades. Second, each subclass has students within certain range of grades. Which one will be more helpful to students?</p></li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42878,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Typically, in the US, large classes are divided into sections and scheduled at different times throughout the day. Then the students pick which one best fits their overall schedule when they register. Registration times are typically done by class, nominally seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, with a later period nearer to the start of the semester to give students some time to rearrange. The enrollment in each section is capped, and students may fail to register for their preferred time, but that's just how it is. </p>\n\n<p>Typically undergraduate students are not divided up into sections by grades, but there may be entirely separate classes organized for students that are on some sort of Honors track. Good grades and other things are required to get into the Honors track, but after that, there's little use of their grades to separate them from non-honors students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42909,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've done this two different ways so far:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Divided the group (150 for example) into three different classes (50 each), each meeting twice per week (2 hours per session).</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>This allows for some interaction which my undergrads find very useful. This leaves me with 12 teaching hours for this subject in one week.</p>\n\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Keep the class together (all 150) for one lecture session (2 hours) which allows for very little, if any, interaction with them. Then, split the 150 into 5 classes of 30 each for one 2 hour workshop. </li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>The workshop is much smaller allowing for much greater interaction due to the smaller group size. I can balance \"lecturing at\" them with holding their hand when they get stuck. I still have 12 (2+[5*2]) teaching hours for the same group of students and each student still has 4 contact hours per week. </p>\n\n<p>My preference is option (2) although I find 2 hours of non-interaction (large lecture) is too much for my students. Next time I will likely trim the lecturing time down and add the extra time to workshops (perhaps more and even smaller workshops). The large lecture is more difficult to manage as my university has a mandatory attendance policy and many don't want to be there. So, large lectures can get loud but classroom management is part of the job (at least <em>my</em> job).</p>\n\n<p>As far as choosing which student goes into which group, I simply sort by past GPA and divide into equal sized group. It's not perfect but it keeps the fast ones together and the less prepared ones together so I can provide one pace which is more suitable for the group (with the exception of the large lecture). The issue to be aware of with this kind of sorting is <strong>if the students feel there is a stigma attached</strong> to being in the \"slow\" group it can create problems between the students and teacher (\"Hey! Why am I in THIS class!?!? You want to RUIN my life?!?!\")</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/03
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42876",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8047/"
] |
42,884 |
<p>I am part of a recently founded laboratory in computational biology and we are trying to get all the parts (biologists, computer scientists, mathematicians, and so on) to speak the same language, or at least one we can all understand. To do so, we want to figure out some strategies beside seminars and weekly lectures.</p>
<p>I am not the only one who went through this challenge, see: [1]. For example, How to explain core biological concepts like evolution and selection to a mathematician? How to explain a mathematical formalization to a biologist (beyond the very basic models the majority of biologists know, such as predator-prey and logarithmic growth)? </p>
<p>There must be strategies; for instance, books that are in an effective middle (mathematically rigorous, but stepped enough that a biologist can understand it). This is a long term project and we need to devise strategies to progressively "retrain" ourselves. (Bibliography suggestions are welcome.)</p>
<p>[1] <a href="https://liorpachter.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/the-two-cultures-of-mathematics-and-biology/" rel="nofollow">https://liorpachter.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/the-two-cultures-of-mathematics-and-biology/</a></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42885,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>These kinds of interdisciplinary collaborations are becoming increasingly common. I am sure there are books covering at least 2 if not more disciplines but I think communication that is specific to the collaborative needs would be more effective. I would try to figure out what each of the party really needs to know about the other discipline. Try to find this out by simply asking over meetings, mails etc.</p>\n\n<p>For the long run, depending on who is the \"host\" for a particular meeting or discussion, they take charge and deliver a talk about basics accompanied by slides, pointers etc.</p>\n\n<p>For example, say the Mathematician is the host for a meeting about porting a program to a Beowulf cluster that does formal analysis of a particular gene expression over time (hypothetical scenario). In such a scenario, the mathematician would introduce the nitty-gritty about the formal analysis methods, things that needs to be considered and things that could be safely ignored and such.</p>\n\n<p>If the computer scientist is the host in the same scenario, they will speak about the parameters needed for the program execution, why scaling up is important and issues such is numerical precision and software bugs that needs to be taken care of. Accompany the discussion with slides and provide pointers to basic concepts.</p>\n\n<p>Over sufficient time, and enough communication, each party will become familiar with other party's jargons. Things may start slow but a cumulative effect will help accelerate the process as time passes.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42888,
"author": "user49483",
"author_id": 30768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30768",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Disclosure: I'm a mathematical biologist that came into it from the biology side. </p>\n\n<p>I don't think it is necessary to retrain the biologists so they understand maths and retrain the mathematicians so they understand biologists, although these things should occur naturally to some degree with interdisciplinary work. Rather, I think it is important to understand the motivations of each 'type' and to tailor the language to the audience. </p>\n\n<p>To grossly generalise, biologists are more interested in quantitative methods as a tool to answer interesting biological questions and mathematicians are more interested in the method/analysis used to answer that question. </p>\n\n<p>So when mathematicians talk to biologists, they need to place less emphasis on the technical details of a model/analysis and focus on the general features. For example, if you are building a model to answer an evolutionary or ecological question, a biologist is more interested in the biological assumptions the model is making and whether or not the model is a reasonable abstraction of the biological system. In turn, the mathematician may need to explain why certain details of the system can't or shouldn't be included in the model (e.g. because they would complicate the analysis for little gain in intuitive understanding).</p>\n\n<p>When biologists talk to mathematicians they need to frame their questions in a way that is conducive to a quantitative framework. If a mathematician is trying to build a model, they don't need or want to know every minute detail of a system. It's overkill and will just lead to confusion. What are the most relevant points? For example, if a biologist is interested in how the density of cows affects the density of grass in a paddock, then it isn't helpful for the biologist to give the mathematician a lesson on all the intricacies of grass growing and grass eating. It would be better if the biologist comes with a defined question, such as 'how does increasing the number of cows in a paddock affect grass regeneration?' and points out that the main elements in the system are 1. how grass grows (as some function of grass density) and 2. how grass is eaten (as some function of cow density).</p>\n\n<p>If you want a book about mathematical biology that is written for biologists then I'd recommend \"A Biologist's Guide to Mathematical Modeling in Ecology and Evolution\" by Sarah P. Otto & Troy Day</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42893,
"author": "Rex Kerr",
"author_id": 669,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/669",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Have people well-versed in more than one area. They are very useful for bridging between the two camps. After a while, the people who are not as well versed in more than one area will at least gain a better understanding of what the others need to be useful, and of what is practical, what is possible but impractical, and what is impossible.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42894,
"author": "cphlewis",
"author_id": 32653,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32653",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You all know how to teach and learn the formal parts of any discipline. I'd suggest teaching each other the assumptions, and the things that don't work quite as well as they do in theory, and the jokes. </p>\n\n<p>Although most feelings of \"huh, that's funny\" about the next discipline's work are going to be embarassing undergraduate misconceptions, always share them. Some of them are the sign of a mismatch in disciplinary assumptions and you want those to be discussed as soon as possible. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43028,
"author": "J W",
"author_id": 12339,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12339",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since you ask for potentially appropriate books, you may find <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0387709835\" rel=\"nofollow\">Mathematical Biology: An Introduction with Maple and Matlab</a> by Shonkwiler and Herod helpful for bridging the gap. What struck me about this book is that it takes the time to explain the biology to mathematicians, which I appreciated coming from the mathematics side. (Whether it is as successful at explaining the mathematics to biologists is more difficult for me to judge.) The final three chapters introduce genetics, genomics and phylogenetics, including a brief introduction to algebraic statistics.</p>\n\n<p>I should emphasize that the book is just an introduction, so do not expect to find an in-depth examination of any of the topics. However, it could be a useful stepping stone.</p>\n\n<p>As for helping biologists to understand mathematics, I think a key step is to provide motivation: Why is the mathematics useful and what can it do to aid analysis, solve biology problems, or even deepen understanding of biology itself? In particular, what worthwhile things can be achieved with mathematics that would be difficult or impossible without it? What's the payoff? A following or concurrent step is to make connections with prior knowledge. For instance, what mathematics/statistics do biologists already know and use? How do new proposed methods/algorithms/formalisms build on and improve on previous ones?</p>\n\n<p>As an example of the latter, in Gilbert Strang's classic <em>Introduction to Applied Mathematics</em>, he masterfully introduces the Kalman filter step-by-step by starting with least squares and linear regression, then going on to weighted least squares (what can you do when you trust some observations or measurements more than others), then introducing recursive least squares (when your measurements arrive one at a time and you want adjust your model without a full recalculation each time) and finally bringing in the Kalman filter to deal with the situation when your model is non-stationary (see sections 1.4 and 2.5 of his book for details). While this example is not specific to biology (although the Kalman filter is used in systems biology), it shows the step-by-step process, starting with a familiar topic.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/03
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42884",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
42,889 |
<p>For PhD graduates who are more interested in research and little teaching, which is better, a postdoc with a focus on research, or a (non-tenure-track) teaching position (lecturer, instructor, etc.)? I assume that both positions would be helpful when moving to a research position. The point with a postdoc is that even at top schools, the pay is low and they don't guarantee a good job afterward, while a teaching position, with 3-4 courses would be distraction from doing research. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42890,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you want a research position, you should go for the postdoc: a heavy load teaching-centric position will make it hard to publish, which will make getting a research position much harder.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42895,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In my discipline, mathematics, there is a huge range of tenure track positions, from very strongly research oriented positions to positions that are entirely oriented towards teaching. Most new PhD's would prefer to end up in a more research oriented position, but most tenure track faculty positions are not at that end of the spectrum. This means that a lot of new PhDs will ultimately have to settle for something less than the research oriented position that they have dreamed of. </p>\n\n<p>If you're only willing to accept a research oriented tenure track position and would not accept a teaching oriented position then you should focus your efforts on getting a research oriented post-doc. </p>\n\n<p>If you are most interested in a research oriented position but would at least be willing to consider taking a somewhat more teaching oriented position, then you should make an attempt to get some teaching experience by doing some teaching during your post-doc or by taking a position that is designed to mix research and teaching. For example, Dartmouth has named instructorships in mathematics with a teaching load of one course per quarter. </p>\n\n<p>There are also non tenure track faculty positions (typically called \"visiting assistant professor.\") These are a good way to get teaching experience but it is extremely difficult to get any research accomplished while teaching a load of 3-4 courses per semester in such a position. These positions are sometimes created to temporarily fill the vacancy created by when a tenured faculty member leaves or retires. Sometimes the visiting assistant professor position turns into a tenure track position in that department, but you shouldn't count on this happening. . </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/03
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42889",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
42,908 |
<p>In September I started a mathematics PhD at a UK university straight after my undergraduate MMath degree at a different university. On the whole, I am enjoying the experience. However, I've been having recurring thoughts that perhaps I am not cut out for doctorate level work and it might be a good idea to revisit mathematical studies at a later stage. </p>
<p>Basically, since coming here I've been feeling consistently like my heart isn't in it (and this has had a negative effect on my work ethic). This is not necessarily because I’m not capable of doing it, but rather because I never had a proper break from academia and I feel like I've been running out of steam. I know PhD students very frequently go through spells of feeling dispirited, but I feel that if my heart is really in mathematics that this shouldn't be happening. I would rather go into doctoral studies with a running start knowing that I am adequately trained in the area I am in, rather than adjusting to a learning curve (and an inexperienced supervisor). </p>
<p>Here are some options I have considered:</p>
<ul>
<li>Having a complete break from academia (6 months to a year), followed by a period where I slowly ease myself back in at my own pace by reading.</li>
<li>Taking CDT (Centre for Doctoral Training) courses. I had previously applied to this and been rejected, but now I think I would be more competitive. I think this rigorous training would be helpful for me. </li>
<li>Doing something altogether different -- learning another programming language and doing a programming job, or working in simulation/modeling at the Met Office, or another company that relies heavily on fluid dynamics. Or maybe even the EPSRC (which is where a lot of the funding for PhD mathematics students comes from)</li>
<li>Getting a normal job to demonstrate people skills, and saving up money to do another Masters programme, which will put me in a very good position for my PhD.</li>
</ul>
<p>After doing the above, I could return to a PhD programme much
later, when I am a much more mature person with a
better mindset towards my work.</p>
<p>Thankfully, my parents are willing to support me emotionally and financially while I pursue any of these.</p>
<p>My question is whether this is a good plan. In particular:</p>
<ol>
<li>Is it a good idea to take a break from studies if wanting to
continue them at a later date, especially for mathematics? Would it
hurt any opportunities later on down the line to take up a PhD a
year or so from now?</li>
<li>Would my department or supervisor think badly of me for wanting to
terminate my studies - and (generally speaking) would I not have to
pay back the studentship instalments that I've been paid so far?
(I've been funded solely by the University, not by a funding body
such as the EPSRC).</li>
<li>What would be some worthwhile things to consider doing during a
break from academia?</li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> it sounds like this would not be a great idea, and I should only make the move if I am really, really convinced about it. Nonetheless, I'm leaning further and further towards it because I think it's better to take a break from my studies now rather than 3 years down the line. I don't seem to have the motivation required to be a good doctoral student at the moment. This is something I might speak to my advisor about. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42920,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <ol>\n <li>Is it a good idea to take a break from studies if wanting to continue them at a later date, especially for mathematics? </li>\n </ol>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That's a tricky question. There are probably some people for whom this is a good idea, but I wouldn't say it's generally one. If it's possible in your current situation to essentially hit the \"pause button\" on your studies and be guaranteed the ability to come back (I think this is possible at many US universities), it might not be so bad, but otherwise you're taking a pretty big risk. Also, in even as short a time as 6 months or a year, you risk forgetting a lot. Certainly this is something a lot of other people I know who've taken breaks (say between undergraduate and graduate degrees) have mentioned. </p>\n\n<p>I would think about trying to arrange a shorter vacation (maybe 1 month) first, and see how that feels. Taking a whole year is a genie that will be hard to get back in the bottle, and you don't know how you will feel, say, two months in.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Would it hurt any opportunities later on down the line to take up a PhD a year or so from now?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It certainly might.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Would my department or supervisor think badly of me for wanting to terminate my studies - and (generally speaking) would I not have to pay back the studentship instalments that I've been paid so far? (I've been funded solely by the University, not by a funding body such as the EPSRC).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I can't speak to them (or speak about the financial aspects), but probably it will not look great. You should be prepared for everyone in the department to assume this means you are dropping out, no matter what you say about coming back.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>What would be some worthwhile things to consider doing during a break from academia?\n Has anyone else on here had experiences of a PhD (particularly maths) not going too well and feeling like they have had to stop or recharge their batteries?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I do know of one situation where this worked out a very well. A friend of mine in grad school took a year off (after 3 years in the program) to teach in an inner city school. I think at the time he started he was not so sure he wanted to finish, but the experience motivated him very effectively to go back and complete his degree, since he realized teaching middle school was definitely not for him.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43002,
"author": "Baqs",
"author_id": 30738,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30738",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sounds to me like you may be depressed right now. Try speaking with your supervisor about the possibility of taking a week or maybe two off.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it a good idea to take a break from studies if wanting to\n continue them at a later date, especially for mathematics? Would it\n hurt any opportunities later on down the line to take up a PhD a year\n or so from now?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, it will hurt future opportunities. At the very least you will forget many things during that time.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Would my department or supervisor think badly of me for wanting to\n terminate my studies - and (generally speaking) would I not have to\n pay back the studentship instalments that I've been paid so far? (I've\n been funded solely by the University, not by a funding body such as\n the EPSRC)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Maybe they will not think badly of you but they will certainly move on in the meantime. Your supervisor will very likely accept new students and may not have time to work with you in the future. As for the financial aspects you should consult that with the institution. The terms of my PhD funding (not UK) stated that if I did not finish my PhD I owed all the money that I had received plus interest.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Has anyone else on here had experiences of a PhD (particularly\n maths) not going too well and feeling like they have had to stop or\n recharge their batteries?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, I did have the experience although not during my PhD but during my Masters (applied math). In fact I did drop out after having a very rough time. During a 2 month period I was able to sleep for only 2 to 3 hours per night Monday to Sunday. Even though I lived only 4 blocks away from the institution I did not have time to go home and slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. During that time I only left my cubicle once a day to buy take-out food and every second or third day for a quick shower. After 2 months of this I hated everything and everyone: my professors, the institution, my fellow students and my life in general. One day I stood up and decided that it was not worth it. I announced that I was dropping out and simply left.</p>\n\n<p>After sleeping some 18 or 20hrs straight I started thinking that I may had acted a bit hastily. After a second good nights rest I decided that I had definitely rushed my decision. 72hrs after I left I was speaking with the department head asking to be readmitted into the program. It was not easy, during those 72hrs I had missed one exam which meant I was expelled from the instituion. Fortunately (for me) I was readmitted and was able to obtain my Masters degree.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67017,
"author": "ostachio",
"author_id": 52486,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/52486",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>So yeah, that does sound like you're depressed. <em>(I will admit, I did not read the WHOLE post)</em>.\nThe angst is definitely weighing you down, and affecting you day by day.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes it's better to slow down, in order to speed up...</p>\n\n<p>Speak to more and more people about your concerns. One : to hear what they have to say, Two : to hear your own thoughts reflected through their minds.</p>\n\n<p>But one thing is for sure, you can always rely on your own mathematical ability. Your innate skill to think, reason and absorb mathematics.</p>\n\n<p>Maybe let your mind travel around a bit.</p>\n\n<p>To give your mind a break, there are plenty of YouTube channels that will entertain and motivate you ... \nsince it has to be 'maths' related, why not <strong><em>Numberphile, ViHart, StandUpMaths, SingingBanana, MathoLoger</em></strong>. Hell, even step outside your intellectual zone and dive into other disciplines ... <strong><em>MinutePhysics, SixtySymbols, Periodic Videos, Vsauce, The School of Life, The Film Theory, The 8-bit Guy</em></strong> etc...</p>\n\n<p>Maybe a few books to guide your decision:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>The Professor is In - The Essential Guide to Turning Your PHd into a Job</strong> - Karen Kelsky (auth.) - 2015 - 0553419420</em></li>\n<li><strong><em>A PhD Is Not Enough - A Guide to Survival in Science</strong> - Peter J. Feibelman (auth.) - 2011 - Basic Books - 0465025336</em></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>oh, and one for the LULz:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><em>Surviving your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School - Adam Ruben (auth.) - 2010 - 0307589447</em></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>the first recommended book, started out as a blog, in case you wanna take a browse --- <a href=\"http://theprofessorisin.com/pearlsofwisdom/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Blog :: The Professor is In</a></p>\n\n<p>The second book shows you how to plan ahead in a cautious manner, while the third one will have you crackling in one sitting.<br>\nBut I personally prefer the first one. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67022,
"author": "HEITZ",
"author_id": 52490,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/52490",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I realize this post is old, but I feel compelled to contribute:</p>\n\n<p>Here's an answer from a former academic who left university for greener :) fields:\nJust do it. Look, the number of people in this world who are even capable of handling the intellectual and emotional roller coaster that is a PhD is exceptionally small. We ALL feel inadequate. We ALL question our decision. We ALL suffer the imposter syndrome and contemplate leaving. But you've made it a long way already. Why not continue on this path, at least to completion, even if your mindset is 'later dudes, i'm out!'? Are your job prospects now really better than they will be in 3 years, PhD in hand?</p>\n\n<p>As for feeling like things aren't going well - again, we all feel that way. The system is set up to MAKE you feel that way. Also, the system draws in people with extraordinary need for achievement, and those people, myself included, always feel like things forever balance on the edge of disaster. It just isn't true.</p>\n\n<p>You did not state your age (or if you did, my mistake), but if you're ~30, 35 or younger, just complete this remarkable journey. Remember - a PhD, even if not <em>used</em>, can never be taken away. It will stand as a testament to not only your acumen, but your ability to deal with difficult situations and persevere. I'm not in academia anymore, but today it hangs on my wall, as it always will, and I am filled with pride when I look at it.</p>\n\n<p>Don't give up - when all's said and done, your future self will be proud.</p>\n\n<p>Its a PhD. If it were easy, everyone would do it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 149865,
"author": "Trunk",
"author_id": 104446,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/104446",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with your own feeling. You do seem to need time to find out about yourself in a more ordinary working environment. (Met Office Modelling Department ? Come on. They have the pick of Math/Atmos Phys PhDs there and you should know it. Take it handier.)\nExeter has been one of the first UK establishments to introduce US-style major/minor degrees. The Math Dept's <a href=\"http://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/mathematics/mathsbsc/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">web page</a> shows an interesting With Year In Industry program. I'd look into this avenue.\nBuona fortuna.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42908",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
42,910 |
<p>I'm putting together a slideshow for an upcoming talk (I'm in a field where slideshows are slowly becoming common, and these colloquia are always good opportunities to get used to things like this). The talk itself only runs to slide 20 or so, but after that I'm going to have another 20-25 slides to help me deal with a number of questions that I anticipate might arise during Q&A. I'm going to make a printout of the slideshow and distribute it as a handout. </p>
<p>The question is, should I include the non-talk slides in the handout? The way I see it:</p>
<p><strong>Pro</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>helps audience members understand my answers to their questions.</li>
<li>provides a more detailed overview of certain areas where an efficient presentation requires simplification of the content.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Con</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>paper cost (ecologically, not financially): we are talking about 3-4 extra sheets of paper per handout.</li>
<li>people who are interested in the content of these slides will probably go and ask me for the paper instead; people who aren't interested in that level of detail will probably not even look at them.</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44744,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that if you are going to prepare a handout, you might as well add all of the material in the handout, including your backup slides. After all, you've put them in there for a reason, and since you might share them during the talk, you might as well share them in the handout as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44895,
"author": "Jamesbonba",
"author_id": 34054,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34054",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you feel the need to have a printout just include the ones you are going to use in your presentation and even those I would not give out until after your presentation. You want your audience listening to you and watching your talk related slide not thumbing through printouts of other things you have given them.</p>\n\n<p>The non talk slides will be useful if required for the question and answer part but not all people will necessarily be interested in someone else's question and therefore the slide.</p>\n\n<p>I would subsequently make available <strong>all</strong> slides either via a website if possible or via emailing or dropbox or some other form of electronic modality.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck with the presentation</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42910",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12314/"
] |
42,918 |
<p>I finished bachelor's in mathematical finance and am nearly finished with master's in mathematical finance (I am already done with thesis), and I plan to pursue a PhD not in mathematical finance but in pure mathematics particularly stochastic analysis.</p>
<p><strong>Is getting into a PhD in pure mathematics possible without a master's in pure mathematics? If so, how can I best prepare for it what difficulties may I encounter?</strong></p>
<p>I have two concerns in particular:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>I feel I do not have enough training in mathematical research.</strong> In undergraduate studies, we did not have many mathematical research projects. Some of our projects included researching on particular topics involving applications of mathematics we learned (since we were an applied mathematics course) and problem sets, but I don't know for how much they count towards mathematical research experience. We had some statistics and finance projects, but obviously they don't count.</li>
</ol>
<p>We did not have a thesis in undergraduate studies, and most of our theses in master's did not involve much pure mathematics (which in mathematical finance would be stochastic analysis since as far as I know no other non-statistical math is used in mathematical finance). I have a hunch none of us this batch or in the batches before us ever had to research in mathematics for our/their theses.</p>
<ol start="2">
<li><strong>I do not have much exposure to other kinds of mathematics.</strong> One of my coursemates helped me realize that one of my reasons of choosing stochastic analysis is our limited exposure to other math. I was aware of this but did not think this was a problem.</li>
</ol>
<p>As far as I know, MS Math programs require Complex Analysis, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra and then some electives and thesis. I don't think the lack of classes is a problem as I guess I can take those during the PhD program. To me, it seems my concern is the lack of a mathematical thesis.</p>
<p>So, is my limited exposure to other math a problem?</p>
<p>Our math classes besides Calculus I, II, III, Linear Algebra and Elementary Probability are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>1 class of each: ODE, PDE, Discrete Mathematics, Numerical Analysis/Scientific Computing, Elementary Real Analysis (the one with Riemann-Stieltjes), Advanced Real Analysis (the one with Lebesgue), Advanced Probability (the one with Measure Theory)</p></li>
<li><p>4 Statistics classes. (As I like to put it, "More statistics than I'll ever use in my life.")</p></li>
<li><p>NO Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Topology, <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/70965">Graph Theory</a> or Number Theory (though the last 2 are in our discrete mathematics, they weren't taught in our discrete mathematics classes).</p></li>
<li><p>2 Stochastic Calculus classes</p></li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42304/with-a-background-in-mathematical-finance-and-desire-to-apply-for-a-mathematics#comment94267_42304">This comment says I should be "be comfortable with mathematical proof in a variety of areas"</a></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42923,
"author": "Chris C",
"author_id": 7745,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7745",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It depends on the country. </p>\n\n<p>In the US, it is frequent that students go from undergrad right into their PhD. While there, some do get a Master's, but as a side effect of coursework for the Ph.D. Though, I myself did get a Master's first. </p>\n\n<p>I believe it is more common in Europe to get a Master's first due to the shortened Ph.D. process there. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42925,
"author": "T K",
"author_id": 12656,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12656",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This question depends on many things. Not only does it depend on the country, but it depends on the level of university you plan to attend. I will focus here on the US system. Various programs include the masters program as one moves on to obtain a PhD; however, many universities will expect, as you said \"Complex Analysis, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra\" and possibly some geometry/topology courses. </p>\n\n<p>Many programs expect a core amount of knowledge of these subjects. If you are looking at places that are typically regarded as top 20 or so, then you will probably run into difficulty in admissions. Otherwise, if you look at a program's website, they will usually tell you the classes that they require. </p>\n\n<p>If you are coming from a small school, then sometimes programs will make an exception if they really like your file and give you extra time to catch up in a program, as you did not have the opportunity to take the required courses and give you a special deal. This is rare.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42943,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My experience (in Comp Sci, but on the mathematical side; and doing some engineering work in the 'Hi-Tech' sector while my research was pure theory) suggests the following:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Don't worry about the titles (Master, Doctor etc.) but about what you're trying to accomplish, personally and research-wise.</li>\n<li>Don't consider working on doctoral-scale research unless you have a specific subject you're interested in studying (much more specific than stochastic analysis in general). Don't start a 10-mile race when you're not sure where you intend to get to. Yes, I know that some people start graduate programs without a clear research subject, and it's not impossible, but I don't recommend it.</li>\n<li>If you don't have a subject, I'd suggest finding other employment, in or out of Academia, and studying a bit on your own, maybe taking a course or two here-and-there, to see if something more specific piques your interest. An alternative to that is doing a Master's (but this kind of depends on the country you're in, like other answers suggest), and sort of dipping your feet in the water. <em>Note:</em> In some countries / academic cultures, Masters' programs are not well-regarded and you're expected to not go through them before doing a Ph.D. (e.g. in the US); in these cases, and if you're into pure math, you might not get reasonable inspiration from working in industry.</li>\n<li>Stochastic analysis is hella difficult, or at least that's how I felt when I learned some fundamentals of <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%C5%8D_calculus\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Ito Calculus</a>. I'd build myself up to it a bit...</li>\n<li>If you have a subject, find an advisor. Yes, before beginning. Even if someone doesn't agree automatically, immediately, or at all to be your advisor - they might still give you some solid advice, based on more specific information about your background, regarding which courses you might want to take, books you might need to read, and experience you might need to gather before you're sorta-kinda-ready. Or they might very well say \"you've got 4/5/6 years, use the first 1-2 years for catching up.\" This bring me back to the first point: If you're in synch with an advisor, let him/her worry about arranging the formalities of the process you'll undergo; or at least work out some sort of speculative plan with him/her.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42918",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21026/"
] |
42,921 |
<p>I'm currently a Master's student in my final year and I want to start a Ph.D. next year. I really like doing research (one of my papers got published in a fairly reputable journal), but I more or less dislike the teaching aspect that comes with the Ph.D. title. Is there any alternative way to do research, outside of industry, and not be obligated to teach?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42924,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes. There are national laboratories like the US DOE labs (Sandia, Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, etc), <a href=\"http://www.cshl.edu/\">non-profit independent labs</a>, industrial labs, and even university labs like the one <a href=\"http://www.tacc.utexas.edu/\">I work at</a>. You will find that many of these kinds of labs have some sort of service mission instead of teaching, but others are purely research focused. For example, researchers in my group also support users of our supercomputers when they run into problems. There are lots of these non-academic research opportunities out there in the STEM fields. I think there are probably many less in non-technical areas.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42926,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends a lot on the type of research you'd like to do. For example, suppose you're in mathematics:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>There are many jobs that use applied mathematics in highly directed R&D activities, where you are working in a team on some bigger project, which is not under your control unless you really rise in the ranks. Academic publications will not be a primary outcome, but applied research could be a substantial part of the job.</p></li>\n<li><p>There are a moderate number of more academic-style applied mathematics positions, for example in national labs, where you are in charge of your own activities (subject to securing funding) and write many research papers. </p></li>\n<li><p>There are only a tiny number of secure, long-term jobs where you can do whatever mathematics you would like, including pure mathematics, with no teaching responsibilities (and where doing mathematics is your primary job).</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So the availability of research-focused jobs really depends on how flexible your interests are and how well they fit with other people's goals. If your work is obviously and immediately applicable to industry or government, then there's a good chance you'll be able to convince someone to pay you to do it full time. If you are doing applied work that is less immediately applicable, then it depends on the availability of funding. If you are doing highly theoretical work, then you'll have to be extraordinarily skilled or lucky.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42928,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are many institutes called \"Academy of Sciences\" all around the world. In general, being member of these, you're not obliged to teach nor to supervise students. You can still be assigned some other responsibility than teaching, but it should not be really limiting you.</p>\n\n<p>As an example, this exists in France as CNRS (Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique) and in Czechia as CAS/ASCR/AVČR (The Czech Academy of Sciences).</p>\n\n<p>As for France, note that getting a CNRS position is very difficult, the positions are literally couple in each branch each year. Most people in CNRS laboratories (institutes) have teaching positions at the associated universities.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42946,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've heard that the <a href=\"http://www.idaccr.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">Center for Communications Research</a> is like this, if your Ph.D. is in math. I know people who work there and quite like it. (US Government; a security clearance is required.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42977,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the UK, places like the JIC,TGAC, Sainsbury Lab and IFR on the Norwich Research Park are affiliated with the University of East Anglia but are a significant distance from and have no real connection to the undergraduates therefore no teaching is expected. There are quite a lot of places like this in the UK, like CRUK and MRC as well where you are not expected to teach.</p>\n\n<p>NB: You should look out for institutes funded privately or through charities as these are the ones that are more independent and less likely to have teaching commitments, if at all.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42921",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18330/"
] |
42,931 |
<p>How do you name the section on your CV to list your participation as scientific/organization members in academic events (e.g. conferences, workshops, etc.)?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42939,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>\"Service\" activities are usually listed under a heading such as \"Professional Service\" or \"Professional Activities.\" However, this does <strong>not</strong> apply to simply attending or presenting at conferences and workshops, but rather to organizing or scientific committees. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 79956,
"author": "Raydot",
"author_id": 13535,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13535",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you've done only a few and they're very relevant to your field I would create a separate field for \"Workshops.\" I've done quite a few as both a participant and a lecturer and so I lump the most recent and relevant under \"Panels/Workshops.\"</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42931",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32555/"
] |
42,938 |
<p>Is it possible to order a physical copy of an academic journal? If I were published and wanted a copy of that Issue to keep, could I buy a physical copy? The journal that I might be published in is Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, which is an AIP journal.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42940,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, yes, it is possible. But as noted in the comments, it depends on the journal. Most of them have this information on their websites.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42976,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some journals are on-line only and some are both on-line and print, and a few still print only. Since journals generally want to keep costs down and the printing process takes quite a lot including postage the trend is for all journals to drop print. Left is the possibility of print-on-demand but I am not sure this will be a possibility. I have yet to see any on-line journals offer such printing.</p>\n\n<p>So while that was the general picture, in your case, you need to contact the journal. If they print copies, they should be able to sell you one. But, such a request should best be made when you provide your final manuscript of proofs, not long after the fact, the reason being that no-one sits on stocks of printed journals, they minimize the number of prints produced.</p>\n\n<p>So: contact the editor and ask is the simple answer.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42938",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
42,944 |
<p>Assume a student with diagnosed depression or bipolar disorder has already been admitted to the university, and thus has a resume comparable to their peers. How do you feel about taking them on?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42956,
"author": "Jake",
"author_id": 21222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21222",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not a PhD advisor, but I think I am a quite experienced doctoral student. </p>\n\n<p>Of course, it really depends on the person, and since you probably can't have an insight in what is going in a particular person's mind, the best you can do is take some common-sense estimate and go from there, taking any specific observations into account.</p>\n\n<p>Most people would think that it would be fair to offer a student with a mental condition equal opportunity as much as possible, but the decision to be a student's PhD advisor is a serious and somewhat personal one, and in that respect most professors would have more or less reluctance to do so.</p>\n\n<p>Most mental conditions are a private matter protected by a number of acts (HIPAA, Privacy Act, etc.), and it would be usually in student's best interest not to disclose having them. I would never disclose any information like that in the school, where I am doing or planning to do a PhD.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42958,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Diagnosed and under treatment is better than undiagnosed, actually. But even without treatment, many folks have developed coping strategies for handling these conditions. The question isn't whether someone has a condition but whether they can do the job with reasonable adaptations. Judge them on their merits, not on your assumptions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42964,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I will respond here to the general picture formed by several of your posts, in addition to the question you posed here.</p>\n\n<p>My mother once wrote a very convincing article claiming that Richard Feynman was bipolar. She cited evidence from his books.</p>\n\n<p>People with bipolar disorder can be productive members of society, and of academia. They can find their work, even academic work, rewarding.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, graduate school can be a big time sink. A body in motion tends to remain in motion. Being in grad school can be like Charlie on the MTA -- he could never get off the train because he didn't have a nickel, and in that train system, you paid when you got <em>off.</em> Once you're on that exercise wheel, you tend to just stay on it, just because you're on it and it's still spinning.</p>\n\n<p>Having a PhD is not the only route to professional self-esteem, believe it or not! (It can be hard to appreciate that while you are in the thick of it, just as it is hard to appreciate the true height of a mountain when you are standing at the foot of it.)</p>\n\n<p>Also note, graduate school can be extremely stressful -- depending on the particular circumstances. You may at some point decide that at this particular juncture of your life, that kind of extra stress is just not what you need right now, in order to take good care of yourself.</p>\n\n<p>I am saying these things so that you will not feel forced to continue. It is hard to realize, while you are in grad school, that you have a <em>choice</em> whether to continue or not. You are surrounded by people who are in grad school, and are continuing. Being in grad school starts to become part of your definition of yourself. But if you take a step back, you will find that there is a lot more to you than just your grad studies self. Then you will be more free to make a <em>choice</em>.</p>\n\n<p>I have a hearing impairment. I had a great deal of difficulty, when I was in grad school, going to speak with a professor in his office about how hard it was for me to follow the class when he stood smack in front of the equations and sketches he had just made, while talking about them. I did it, but I was extremely uncomfortable doing it -- largely because of their unsupportive reactions.</p>\n\n<p>That was more than 20 years ago. Now things are different. Universities have offices for students with health conditions that can potentially affect their functioning in school. Could you go to that office and ask them to send someone with you when you want to talk with a professor about something that feels a little touchy to you? That is what I would have liked for my uncomfortable conversations. Also, maybe they could help you explore options such as a medical leave of absence. Even if you don't end up taking one, it could help you resolve your inner tension about your studies if you didn't feel so locked in.</p>\n\n<p>My sixth grade son has Tourette Syndrome (and associated OCD). Teachers and staff don't know much about this condition -- even when they think they do! What was extremely helpful was that the Tourette Syndrome Association sent an advocate to his school to educate staff.</p>\n\n<p>I know it's possible to have a 504 plan in college -- but what about grad school? Can your 504 plan accompany you when you go to a PhD program? Do you have one? If not, that might be a good place to start. Obviously, in the legal sense, you have as much right to an education as anyone who doesn't have bipolar disorder has.</p>\n\n<p>Could you connect with the Students with Disabilities office at your university (if you haven't already) and let us know if that was helpful?</p>\n\n<p>My university had a rule that if you took some time off, you had to come back and resume your PhD studies within 7 years of stepping away. If you wanted to stay away for more than 7 years and then come back, you either had to re-sit your exams, or apply for special permission.</p>\n\n<p>Bottom line: in theory, telling a potential advisor about a disorder like this shouldn't have any negative effects (ethically or legally speaking). However, you shouldn't have to face this alone. I hope you'll give your campus disability office a try.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42968,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As it's not 100% clear as to whether you are asking as a PhD student or as a current PhD adviser, this answer (hopefully) addresses both. The theme of this response is understanding the <strong>role of boundaries.</strong> </p>\n\n<p><strong>Student</strong></p>\n\n<p>As a student, there are a number of options available to you regarding your mental illness to help you succeed. Remaining in treatment and utilising the disability/accommodation services will help you.</p>\n\n<p>Being honest about your mental illness with your supervisor can be beneficial to help you succeed, or detrimental to your success. Unfortunately, as others have said, there are still high levels of discrimination regarding mental illness, and the higher levels of Academia have a bit of a 'if you can't handle it, get out' mentality. It might be worthwhile just seeing how your supervisor is before being honest about your mental state. Depending on the person, it might be more prudent to use third-party services (i.e. Disability accommodations) should you need an extension or deferment throughout your study. </p>\n\n<p>As a student, should you be honest with your supervisor (and they are receptive) to your honesty, it's important to perhaps be mindful of boundaries. One of the most important things I can suggest is that your PhD adviser is, a PhD adviser. Many of them are not trained nor qualified to handle in-depth discussions about mental illness nor provide a space free of 'triggers'/a therapeutic space. Letting them know you have a mental illness and what accommodations you might need (and keep in mind that some of these might not be able to met, this is the nature of academia) are good steps, but you do not necessarily need to be detailed about what's going on, nor should your supervisor be asking you these details. You will, however, might need to substantiate your claims, which is why I strongly, strongly urge that you get registered with your disability services centre. </p>\n\n<p>By being registered, they can help speak on your behalf and verify your claims without having to go into details. On the other side, this means your supervisor is not subjected to conversations they may not be qualified to handle, and protects both their well-being and yours. This keeps the relationship between you professional and perhaps friendly as well. </p>\n\n<p><strong>PhD Advisor</strong></p>\n\n<p>As a honours supervisor (and maybe in a year or two, a PhD one) I am happy to take on students that may have a mental illness, provided that they are utilising treatment services (whether it be therapy, medication, support groups) as well as university services like disability/social justice.</p>\n\n<p>More importantly though, is the maintenance of boundaries. I am not qualified to listen to or help with mental illness, experiences of trauma etc. The best I can offer is directing students to the appropriate on-campus services (I will even walk with them there if they need) but that's the limit. </p>\n\n<p>Students who come to me but refuse to seek any kind of treatment/help, expect me to be their main point of counselling etc, or get registered with the appropriate services I am very hesitant to take on. In my experience, a few of these students have 'gone-off-the-rails' at me, and have lead to some instances of needing to get security and other services (like safer communities) involved. It is sad, because I know that their expressions of hostility and aggression are not because they are bad students, or bad people, but suffering from an untreated mental illness. But I have to protect myself and my safety as well. </p>\n\n<p>If students come to you with a mental illness, it is important to reiterate these boundaries not to be cruel, but to help them understand that you do not have the experience or qualifications to support them effectively should they require more than assessment/etc support. Directing them to register with the disability accommodation services, and working with those services to help students succeed is vital. But under no circumstance is becoming an ad hoc counsellor part of your role, which is for the safety of both the student and yourself. </p>\n\n<p>Many people might disagree with me on this, but there is a trend in the blurring between the professional and the personal in academia, with more students going to professors/lecturers/supervisors with detailed descriptions of their ailments/traumas. Many of us are just not qualified to help, but some of us are more than willing to work with the appropriate services to help students succeed. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42981,
"author": "Mikael Vejdemo-Johansson",
"author_id": 519,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/519",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Speaking both as a PhD advisor and as someone with a diagnosed and controlled bipolar disorder, I would definitely consider a student with mental health issues. I would, much like awsoci discusses in their response, insist the student not treat the advisory relationship as a therapeutic outlet, and that the student lean on the available resources inside and outside campus.</p>\n\n<p>My own PhD advisor (back in the day) knew about my issues, and the same holds true for all the PhD students with mental health problems I know right now.</p>\n\n<p>All that said, there are risks with disclosing, and definitely with disclosing widely. There is no guarantee that any given PhD advisor would be fine with the situation, and even if there are anti-discrimination clauses available, the relationship might not work out well in the end if it starts out on a shaky basis.</p>\n\n<p><strong>To summarize:</strong> In principle and in theory, advisors should take on qualified students with disabilities. In practice, your mileage most likely will vary, but I personally would not let the disability be a deciding factor in taking on a student.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42985,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Graduate admissions is different than undergraduate admissions: in order to be admitted to a good graduate school, you already have to have a solid record of sustained good performance in highly technical work. Graduate school challenges you in new and different ways, but a well-qualified application shows that the person has certainly got effective coping strategies.\nMost of the <em>non-functional</em> people I know with such disorders didn't make it through undergraduate, while most of the <em>functional</em> people I know with such disorders have had non-functional periods, but have developed coping strategies that are sustainable long-term.</p>\n\n<p>More to the point, when it comes to mental health, it is important to understand that the line between \"disorder\" and \"normal range of variation\" is quite fuzzy and subjective. Unlike with most physical illnesses, a critical component of the <em>definition</em> of mental illness is that <a href=\"http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/basics/definition/con-20033813\" rel=\"nofollow\">it has a significant impact a person's ability to function</a>. What this means to me as a potential supervisor is that I would consider a mental illness diagnosis as informative (\"if things go wrong mentally for this person, this is type of problem they are likely to have\") rather than predictive (\"this person will be a problem\"). </p>\n\n<p>I would consider it entirely reasonable for a person to choose to either disclose or not disclose. My main concern would be if the person was using their disclosure in a way that felt like they were making excuses for problem in their past as opposed to simply providing information. That concern has nothing to do with the mental illness diagnosis and instead is about whether the person tends to assume or deflect responsibility, which is much more important to my evaluation of whether I want them working for me.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42944",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29506/"
] |
42,950 |
<p>I'm currently finishing the 3rd year of my Computer Science course at University. My expected classification is Second-class honours, upper division (2:1). After I finish this course, I'd like to go ahead and study further for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and become a teacher.</p>
<p>The question I have, is how do people / teachers approach teaching multiple subjects? Do they do a PGCE in the subject they've gained a degree in and then move on to study teaching another subject after they have their teaching capabilities? Or do they do 2 PGCEs at the same time?</p>
<p>The reason I'm asking this question is because I want to become an ICT & Computing teacher, but also a P.E. teacher on the side and I'm unsure of which path to take (or which path I must take?)</p>
<p>It's worth noting that my interest for P.E. has purely been from a personal experience as I've become keen of the gym and realised the importance of staying fit and healthy since University. I don't have a GCSE (or any equivalent qualification) in P.E. as it's something I never liked when I was younger.</p>
<p>Any advice from fellow academics would be greatly appreciated!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42956,
"author": "Jake",
"author_id": 21222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21222",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not a PhD advisor, but I think I am a quite experienced doctoral student. </p>\n\n<p>Of course, it really depends on the person, and since you probably can't have an insight in what is going in a particular person's mind, the best you can do is take some common-sense estimate and go from there, taking any specific observations into account.</p>\n\n<p>Most people would think that it would be fair to offer a student with a mental condition equal opportunity as much as possible, but the decision to be a student's PhD advisor is a serious and somewhat personal one, and in that respect most professors would have more or less reluctance to do so.</p>\n\n<p>Most mental conditions are a private matter protected by a number of acts (HIPAA, Privacy Act, etc.), and it would be usually in student's best interest not to disclose having them. I would never disclose any information like that in the school, where I am doing or planning to do a PhD.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42958,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Diagnosed and under treatment is better than undiagnosed, actually. But even without treatment, many folks have developed coping strategies for handling these conditions. The question isn't whether someone has a condition but whether they can do the job with reasonable adaptations. Judge them on their merits, not on your assumptions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42964,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I will respond here to the general picture formed by several of your posts, in addition to the question you posed here.</p>\n\n<p>My mother once wrote a very convincing article claiming that Richard Feynman was bipolar. She cited evidence from his books.</p>\n\n<p>People with bipolar disorder can be productive members of society, and of academia. They can find their work, even academic work, rewarding.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, graduate school can be a big time sink. A body in motion tends to remain in motion. Being in grad school can be like Charlie on the MTA -- he could never get off the train because he didn't have a nickel, and in that train system, you paid when you got <em>off.</em> Once you're on that exercise wheel, you tend to just stay on it, just because you're on it and it's still spinning.</p>\n\n<p>Having a PhD is not the only route to professional self-esteem, believe it or not! (It can be hard to appreciate that while you are in the thick of it, just as it is hard to appreciate the true height of a mountain when you are standing at the foot of it.)</p>\n\n<p>Also note, graduate school can be extremely stressful -- depending on the particular circumstances. You may at some point decide that at this particular juncture of your life, that kind of extra stress is just not what you need right now, in order to take good care of yourself.</p>\n\n<p>I am saying these things so that you will not feel forced to continue. It is hard to realize, while you are in grad school, that you have a <em>choice</em> whether to continue or not. You are surrounded by people who are in grad school, and are continuing. Being in grad school starts to become part of your definition of yourself. But if you take a step back, you will find that there is a lot more to you than just your grad studies self. Then you will be more free to make a <em>choice</em>.</p>\n\n<p>I have a hearing impairment. I had a great deal of difficulty, when I was in grad school, going to speak with a professor in his office about how hard it was for me to follow the class when he stood smack in front of the equations and sketches he had just made, while talking about them. I did it, but I was extremely uncomfortable doing it -- largely because of their unsupportive reactions.</p>\n\n<p>That was more than 20 years ago. Now things are different. Universities have offices for students with health conditions that can potentially affect their functioning in school. Could you go to that office and ask them to send someone with you when you want to talk with a professor about something that feels a little touchy to you? That is what I would have liked for my uncomfortable conversations. Also, maybe they could help you explore options such as a medical leave of absence. Even if you don't end up taking one, it could help you resolve your inner tension about your studies if you didn't feel so locked in.</p>\n\n<p>My sixth grade son has Tourette Syndrome (and associated OCD). Teachers and staff don't know much about this condition -- even when they think they do! What was extremely helpful was that the Tourette Syndrome Association sent an advocate to his school to educate staff.</p>\n\n<p>I know it's possible to have a 504 plan in college -- but what about grad school? Can your 504 plan accompany you when you go to a PhD program? Do you have one? If not, that might be a good place to start. Obviously, in the legal sense, you have as much right to an education as anyone who doesn't have bipolar disorder has.</p>\n\n<p>Could you connect with the Students with Disabilities office at your university (if you haven't already) and let us know if that was helpful?</p>\n\n<p>My university had a rule that if you took some time off, you had to come back and resume your PhD studies within 7 years of stepping away. If you wanted to stay away for more than 7 years and then come back, you either had to re-sit your exams, or apply for special permission.</p>\n\n<p>Bottom line: in theory, telling a potential advisor about a disorder like this shouldn't have any negative effects (ethically or legally speaking). However, you shouldn't have to face this alone. I hope you'll give your campus disability office a try.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42968,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As it's not 100% clear as to whether you are asking as a PhD student or as a current PhD adviser, this answer (hopefully) addresses both. The theme of this response is understanding the <strong>role of boundaries.</strong> </p>\n\n<p><strong>Student</strong></p>\n\n<p>As a student, there are a number of options available to you regarding your mental illness to help you succeed. Remaining in treatment and utilising the disability/accommodation services will help you.</p>\n\n<p>Being honest about your mental illness with your supervisor can be beneficial to help you succeed, or detrimental to your success. Unfortunately, as others have said, there are still high levels of discrimination regarding mental illness, and the higher levels of Academia have a bit of a 'if you can't handle it, get out' mentality. It might be worthwhile just seeing how your supervisor is before being honest about your mental state. Depending on the person, it might be more prudent to use third-party services (i.e. Disability accommodations) should you need an extension or deferment throughout your study. </p>\n\n<p>As a student, should you be honest with your supervisor (and they are receptive) to your honesty, it's important to perhaps be mindful of boundaries. One of the most important things I can suggest is that your PhD adviser is, a PhD adviser. Many of them are not trained nor qualified to handle in-depth discussions about mental illness nor provide a space free of 'triggers'/a therapeutic space. Letting them know you have a mental illness and what accommodations you might need (and keep in mind that some of these might not be able to met, this is the nature of academia) are good steps, but you do not necessarily need to be detailed about what's going on, nor should your supervisor be asking you these details. You will, however, might need to substantiate your claims, which is why I strongly, strongly urge that you get registered with your disability services centre. </p>\n\n<p>By being registered, they can help speak on your behalf and verify your claims without having to go into details. On the other side, this means your supervisor is not subjected to conversations they may not be qualified to handle, and protects both their well-being and yours. This keeps the relationship between you professional and perhaps friendly as well. </p>\n\n<p><strong>PhD Advisor</strong></p>\n\n<p>As a honours supervisor (and maybe in a year or two, a PhD one) I am happy to take on students that may have a mental illness, provided that they are utilising treatment services (whether it be therapy, medication, support groups) as well as university services like disability/social justice.</p>\n\n<p>More importantly though, is the maintenance of boundaries. I am not qualified to listen to or help with mental illness, experiences of trauma etc. The best I can offer is directing students to the appropriate on-campus services (I will even walk with them there if they need) but that's the limit. </p>\n\n<p>Students who come to me but refuse to seek any kind of treatment/help, expect me to be their main point of counselling etc, or get registered with the appropriate services I am very hesitant to take on. In my experience, a few of these students have 'gone-off-the-rails' at me, and have lead to some instances of needing to get security and other services (like safer communities) involved. It is sad, because I know that their expressions of hostility and aggression are not because they are bad students, or bad people, but suffering from an untreated mental illness. But I have to protect myself and my safety as well. </p>\n\n<p>If students come to you with a mental illness, it is important to reiterate these boundaries not to be cruel, but to help them understand that you do not have the experience or qualifications to support them effectively should they require more than assessment/etc support. Directing them to register with the disability accommodation services, and working with those services to help students succeed is vital. But under no circumstance is becoming an ad hoc counsellor part of your role, which is for the safety of both the student and yourself. </p>\n\n<p>Many people might disagree with me on this, but there is a trend in the blurring between the professional and the personal in academia, with more students going to professors/lecturers/supervisors with detailed descriptions of their ailments/traumas. Many of us are just not qualified to help, but some of us are more than willing to work with the appropriate services to help students succeed. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42981,
"author": "Mikael Vejdemo-Johansson",
"author_id": 519,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/519",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Speaking both as a PhD advisor and as someone with a diagnosed and controlled bipolar disorder, I would definitely consider a student with mental health issues. I would, much like awsoci discusses in their response, insist the student not treat the advisory relationship as a therapeutic outlet, and that the student lean on the available resources inside and outside campus.</p>\n\n<p>My own PhD advisor (back in the day) knew about my issues, and the same holds true for all the PhD students with mental health problems I know right now.</p>\n\n<p>All that said, there are risks with disclosing, and definitely with disclosing widely. There is no guarantee that any given PhD advisor would be fine with the situation, and even if there are anti-discrimination clauses available, the relationship might not work out well in the end if it starts out on a shaky basis.</p>\n\n<p><strong>To summarize:</strong> In principle and in theory, advisors should take on qualified students with disabilities. In practice, your mileage most likely will vary, but I personally would not let the disability be a deciding factor in taking on a student.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42985,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Graduate admissions is different than undergraduate admissions: in order to be admitted to a good graduate school, you already have to have a solid record of sustained good performance in highly technical work. Graduate school challenges you in new and different ways, but a well-qualified application shows that the person has certainly got effective coping strategies.\nMost of the <em>non-functional</em> people I know with such disorders didn't make it through undergraduate, while most of the <em>functional</em> people I know with such disorders have had non-functional periods, but have developed coping strategies that are sustainable long-term.</p>\n\n<p>More to the point, when it comes to mental health, it is important to understand that the line between \"disorder\" and \"normal range of variation\" is quite fuzzy and subjective. Unlike with most physical illnesses, a critical component of the <em>definition</em> of mental illness is that <a href=\"http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/basics/definition/con-20033813\" rel=\"nofollow\">it has a significant impact a person's ability to function</a>. What this means to me as a potential supervisor is that I would consider a mental illness diagnosis as informative (\"if things go wrong mentally for this person, this is type of problem they are likely to have\") rather than predictive (\"this person will be a problem\"). </p>\n\n<p>I would consider it entirely reasonable for a person to choose to either disclose or not disclose. My main concern would be if the person was using their disclosure in a way that felt like they were making excuses for problem in their past as opposed to simply providing information. That concern has nothing to do with the mental illness diagnosis and instead is about whether the person tends to assume or deflect responsibility, which is much more important to my evaluation of whether I want them working for me.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42950",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30641/"
] |
42,951 |
<p>Almost every discipline in humanities and science requires some level of math. It seems to me that math majors can specialize in any field they like, while people who are good with words are stuck with editorial or journalistic jobs. I’m not trying to make an unwarranted dichotomy between linguistic intelligence and mathematical intelligence. I’m quite sure that mathematicians are good with words too; otherwise they won’t be able to explain their ideas in a persuasive and elegant manner. What I’m trying to say is that many writers are just not interested in math, to say the least. But I don’t think this should hinder them from studying our world the way scientists do. Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, which are by far the most mathematical disciplines, may not be for someone who loves words but hates math. But there must be some other objective disciplines (maybe in the social sciences or law) that a writer can specialize in. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42954,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The problem is that if you want to be objective, you usually have to present hard numbers. Which means that at a bare minimum you need to know some very basic statistical analysis to determine if your numbers are actually interesting. (To be nitpicky: this is calculations, not math. Everyone can learn to do calculations, there is no special \"mathematical intelligence\" needed. Not everyone can be <a href=\"http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s\">Paul Erdős</a>. Anyone can learn to carry out a <em>t</em>-test with the help of a computer.)</p>\n\n<p>As a mathematician in academia, I can't afford to say that writing is boring or teaching is boring. It's a part of my job, and if I don't enjoy it, I shouldn't be in academia. You seem to want to work in a \"hard\" discipline, but without dealing with the numbers that make it \"hard\". The world doesn't work like that. </p>\n\n<p>Mathematicians in general might not be good at writing, but the ones that are also successful at communicating their ideas and hence successful academics most definitely are good at writing. They didn't write annoyed posts online about how it's unfair that people don't just understand what the meant: they spent some time and learned it. A mathematician who wants to be an academic has to learn to communicate efficiently. A writer who wants to study our world like a scientist has to learn to use the main tool scientists use: math. If the write is not interested in math, maybe they should reconsider going in to a scientific field. It's like a scientist saying that they want to be a writer, but they don't want to deal with pens or keyboards. Science without math is no longer science.</p>\n\n<p>I'm only starting out as a grad student, but one of the things I've learned about academia, and one of the reasons I wanted to be in academia in the first place is that it's an extremely demanding, varied job. A good academic is excellent at doing research in their area, and then very good at other things. These other things may include writing, teaching, mentoring students, coding, and analysing data, depending on their field. (Interestingly enough, I think the only field where you can get away without doing any data analysis ever is math. I did a poll in my office, and only 4 out of 40 grad students in math could carry out a <em>t</em>-test off the top of their head). You can't just pick a single thing to be good at: you need the whole package. That includes some math skills if you want to work in an objective discipline. Suck it up and learn some math. Math is great.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42955,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your question answers itself in the last sentence: law and the social sciences could be a good fit. Of course you should probably stay away from tax law if you want to avoid mathematics entirely, but most legal studies don't involve mathematics. Quantitative work in the social sciences involves statistics, but there's plenty of qualitative work (e.g., based on ethnographic methods). And I don't believe your assertion that mathematics is widespread in the humanities. What about history, for example? Mathematical techniques in the humanities are the exception, not the rule.</p>\n\n<p>There's no way to make a comprehensive list of topics that don't involve mathematics. If you're considering your future academic career and worried about the prevalence of mathematics, you could address this fear by looking over the books or papers of potential advisors. Someone who uses lots of statistics or formal mathematical models wouldn't be a good choice if you don't like that approach. If you can't find anybody who takes a qualitative approach to the topics you are interested in, then you're looking at the wrong department or wrong field for you. If you can, then you have a potential path forwards.</p>\n\n<p>But let me put in a plug for learning a little statistics. If you avoid statistics because you don't understand it, then that will limit the scope of your work. If you avoid it because you don't like it, but you can handle it when necessary, then you'll have more flexibility and freedom. (And in practice I've talked with many more people who regret not having studied statistics than people who regret having wasted time studying it.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42996,
"author": "weezilla",
"author_id": 32706,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32706",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This probably isn't the answer you're hoping for, but hear me out. As a scientist with a healthy interest in the humanities, I think it's a bad idea to limit yourself from vocations that remotely involve math. <strong>You would be surprised how little mathematics (read: work) is needed to have a relatively good understanding of the physical world.</strong> </p>\n\n<p>As such, highly recommend for you to check out the book: <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/039916524X\">A Mind for Numbers</a> by Barbara Oakley. It is written by a linguist who hated mathematics and science until she decided to give it a fresh shot in adulthood. Don't fear, it doesn't aim to make you a theoretical physicist or a mathematician. </p>\n\n<p>The world is only going to continue becoming more scientific minded, and in my opinion, it'd be good for a writer to plan for that direction :)</p>\n\n<p>Good luck !</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43000,
"author": "Theodore Sternberg",
"author_id": 32709,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32709",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you hate math but you're a good writer, you could write good books about why math is hateful, for other people who hate math. Many people hate math already, so many in fact that you could find yourself tapping a great untapped market.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43008,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a social scientist my academic research is generally mostly qualitative and in social sciences such as socio-cultural anthropology and qualitative sociology, you can get away with doing 0% math. </p>\n\n<p>However, I also complete pro-bono/paid contracts for applied social research, in which some basic quantitative skills (math) are required. I have no experience in working with large data sets or 'big data' but I know enough to conduct small-scale surveys and build on these with qualitative analysis. Currently, one of the projects I recently completed is being turned into a journal article, where my co-author will be helping out with the math portion (survey results). </p>\n\n<p>Really, the only profession other than writing novels/literature that I can see a 100% absence of math would be something like visual art, and even then, there's a 'kind' of math involved in understanding how to use different materials (such as painting/mixing with other types of chemicals such as oils etc). Even music and dance are highly reliant on a form of math. </p>\n\n<p>I have a dyscalculia which is a learning disorder around math and numbers, so I can 100% empathise with a hatred for the subject. I quadruple check all equations etc and have a really good handle on excel to calculate things for me and get my partner to check for me as well, whose pretty good at math.</p>\n\n<p>But I'm not letting this disorder get to me, and I use math constantly for marking, my research and so on, I just don't specialise in that area. The minute a project calls for a high level of stats/data/quant, I get someone else involved. </p>\n\n<p>As others have said, math is everywhere and you can't get away from math, but sometimes it can be helpful and doesn't require intense equations or the like. Just having a basic handle on it is enough in many disciplines! </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43025,
"author": "Kakoli Majumder",
"author_id": 9920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While it is understandable that you would not want to work with hardcore maths if you don't like the subject, I think you need to get over the mental block that you cannot handle anything even remotely connected to mathematics. Most humanities subjects, apart from economics, geography, geology, or modern philosophy would not require a high level of mathematical application. Subjects within the social sciences, such as sociology, history, politics, etc. might work well for someone who can write well but not want to study mathematics. However, if you completely shut yourself off the moment you see even a simple calculation, your choice of subject might become very restricted. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42951",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32577/"
] |
42,952 |
<p>As faculty or postdoc positions at top schools are getting hard to land, should Ph.D. students interested with research continue to work as research assistants and publish more, or try to get a teaching position or work in industry and then try to move to a research position?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42973,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I wouldn't want to see you treading water for several years. How about a postdoc at a medium-level institution?</p>\n\n<p>Also, what are your feelings about academia? Could you see yourself happy doing R&D for a company long term, if it came to that? What I mean is, going to industry might mean staying in industry. Would that be an acceptable outcome for you?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42984,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is a delicate balance here: in certain situations, it may make sense to be strategic about your graduation date, especially in order to align yourself better with hiring cycles. If you start stretching out your thesis work significantly, however, it will likely be noticeable and not to your benefit.</p>\n\n<p>More to the point, any such delaying tactic will almost certainly require the consent and participation of your advisor in order to be effective: otherwise, you are likely to be pissing them off and making your chances worse rather than better. Have a discussion with your advisor to see what their assessment of the tactical situation is, and their recommendation. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, with your advisor's consent there is another option worth considering: a \"transitional postdoc\" in your current location. In many institutions and/or fields (especially private institutions or expensive lab fields), the cost of a postdoc is not significantly different than a graduate student, since the higher salary is offset by the lack of tuition or made less significant by laboratory materials costs. For a transitional postdoc, you graduate but you stay briefly as a postdoc (no more than a year or so) while you continuing working in your more independent role to increase your profile and position yourself for an external postdoc or long-term hire elsewhere.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42994,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I have seen some cases where PhD students remain for 7, 10 and 12 years, and it seems that they are cheaper labor than postdocs, so advisers in general would like students to stay as long as they have enough funds to pay their tuition. Would long period in a PhD program and good publication record be a positive or negative for a hiring committee?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>How long it's appropriate to stay in graduate school depends on the field and the country. For mathematics in the U.S., staying too long quickly becomes a bad idea. (I'm counting time spent actually working, not time off with a good excuse.) Five years is considered a reasonable and normal amount of time to take. Seven years looks too long, and it will give hiring committees the impression that something went wrong and you were unable to graduate in the usual timeframe. Ten years is a major problem: I don't think most math grad schools would even allow ten years of full-time enrollment, and it would look terrible if someone spent ten years in grad school, even if they accomplished a lot along the way. The best-case scenario is that it would look really eccentric, and people aren't likely to look at it so charitably.</p>\n\n<p>I imagine that most academic fields work similarly, but with different timeframes. To estimate how it works in your case, you could look at how long other students in your department spend in grad school and what becomes of them afterwards.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>As faculty or postdoc positions at top schools are getting hard to land, should Ph.D. students interested with research continue to work as research assistants and publish more, or try to get a teaching position or work in industry and then try to move to a research position?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It's occasionally a good idea to spend another year in grad school even when you could already graduate. For example, if you have almost completed a particularly exciting project, your advisor may recommend that you'd do much better applying for jobs after it's complete rather than before. However, these sorts of situations are uncommon. At least in math in the U.S., things typically work roughly as follows:</p>\n\n<p>If you've spent a normal amount of time in grad school and are ready to graduate, but you don't feel you're competitive for a top postdoc, then your chances of getting such a postdoc probably won't go up much next year and they might go down. You're generally better off taking the best postdoc you can get and then trying to do your best work in that postdoc, rather than sitting in a holding pattern in grad school.</p>\n\n<p>Getting a teaching position could be a good career move in itself, but it's not the best way to position yourself for a research-oriented job in the future. Whether an industrial job is depends heavily on your field and on what sort of industrial job you have in mind.</p>\n\n<p>If you can't get a research postdoc at all, and your only options are a teaching job or a non-research-related industrial job, then you should keep in mind that moving to a research university later may be very difficult. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's impossible, but it will be an uphill battle that is unlikely to be successful. It could still be worth trying if it really matters to you, but you shouldn't view this as a routine or straightforward path to a job in a research university.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42952",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
42,953 |
<p>I am a distance education student at a Parisian university, and I am currently preparing for the exam in a research-level mathematics course.</p>
<p>While on-campus students have attended the lectures and presentations of sample problem solutions, distance education students only get incomplete lecture notes in pdf format, sample problems without solutions, and a list of recommended textbooks.</p>
<p>I think I was quite successful studying about 85% of the course this way, but the last one or two lectures and sample problem solutions cover some very advanced material, which is not adequately addressed by the recommended textbooks. I also could not find this material is a sufficiently concentrated form in research articles, and I estimate that it may take thorough reading and understanding of no less than 50 articles and maybe 3 months to properly figure this out by myself.</p>
<p>One of the professors recommended to me that I get a copy of the lecture notes and sample problem solutions from a student that attended the course in person, but when I requested a few email addresses from the secretary, she said she is not authorized to divulge that information. I asked the other professor of this course, but got no reply.
I can't go to a course lecture to locate such students, because the last lecture was some time ago.</p>
<p>I would like some advice on what else to try to obtain the lecture notes.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42971,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can understand them not wanting to give you students' contact information. But it would be reasonable for them to email the other students, and offer your contact information to anyone who would be willing to help.</p>\n\n<p>Also, I think the professor should be giving you a copy of his own notes, and answering your questions.</p>\n\n<p>But first -- make sure to ask whether that last topic area will be included in the final exam. Maybe it was just offered as enrichment.</p>\n\n<p>Don't hesitate to speak with the department chair or dean about your frustrations. It may be that there are some expectations that one or more instructors are not meeting!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42975,
"author": "Sylvain Peyronnet",
"author_id": 43,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Some comments and the already given answer give advices that can be counter-productive in France. You mention that this is about a research level course so I understand that this is a \"Master 2 recherche\" course.</p>\n\n<p>It is unlikely, for privacy reasons, that someone will give you email addresses of other students. My advice is to ask the professor to forward to a few targeted students your request.</p>\n\n<p>Going to the department chair/dean will probably be useless. If you really want to go up the ladder, ask to the person in charge of the master 2. But it will probably be useless too since in the French system professors are free to do as they want for their lectures. For those surprised by that last sentence, keep in mind that having lecture notes in pdf and a list of recommended textbooks is something that you don't have in all lectures in France.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42980,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Our university has students that take notes and scan them in so they are on record for students who miss lectures, I presume this is not available but you could check if it is.</p>\n\n<p>If not, perhaps you could look on facebook or another site that may have a group for people on the course and ask there if people can send you their notes. </p>\n\n<p>Failing that, you could ask the staff (professor or secretary) if they can ask the students on the course if they would email you first, so that you can give your email out without breaking any confidentiality the other way. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42953",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21222/"
] |
42,957 |
<p>I've graduated and I'm looking to apply to a Ph.D. program in computer science. However, during my undergraduate years I did not take math courses other than the ones required for the CS major (i.e., discrete maths and algorithms). Thus I haven't taken a college course in calculus/statistics/linear algebra/probability, which I am aware is essential training for CS Ph.D. students. I also haven't taken an operating systems course since it wasn't required for the major and I opted for a different set of CS courses.</p>
<p>The reason for this was that I did not consider applying to graduate programs at the time, and chose to take courses in other unrelated departments to fulfill requirements for my second area of study. However, I am currently taking an online MOOC in calculus and linear algebra to increase my technical knowledge.</p>
<p>Although I have good grades in my CS courses and research experience, I'm wondering if this would be considered a red flag that I should address in my statement of purpose. If so, what would be a good way to do it?</p>
<p>Alternatively, would it make sense to apply for a Masters program to get more coursework under my belt before applying to a Ph.D. program?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42967,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I was in your shoes at one point. Here's what happened: I was accepted to a very good computer science graduate program, with a letter that identified two specific courses that I would need to have under my belt before starting the program the following fall. I was strongly encouraged to take those two courses in the summer prior to starting their program.</p>\n\n<p>That's what I did -- those two courses were offered in the summer session at the state school near where I lived.</p>\n\n<p>Also note that there are lots of varieties of computer science PhDs. Some really don't require or use much math. Some are totally the opposite. Some are in between.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Alternatively, would it make sense to apply for a Masters program to get more coursework under my belt before applying to a Ph.D. program?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Unlike in physics, in computer science, the main difference between being a master's student and being a PhD student is how long you stay in the department.</p>\n\n<p>In short, I would advise you to apply to schools that interest you ASAP. If they don't send you a letter advising you about what to take over the summer (as they did in my case), you could contact them (after you've been accepted) to ask some specific questions.</p>\n\n<p>In the meantime, read some catalogs. Each course will have its prerequisites listed. I think you'll soon be able to appreciate what I'm saying -- that not all flavors of graduate level computer science studies require a lot of math background.</p>\n\n<p>Oh, I forgot to say -- the admissions committee will look very carefully at your transcript. They will be able to figure out if you have any problematic gaps based on that.</p>\n\n<p>Regardless of exactly where you end up next year -- I think you will probably enjoy learning to do proofs. Linear algebra will be fun and rewarding for you. Probability might be a good course to take too.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42982,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Lack of mathematical training is a gap, but not what I would consider a red flag, if you have strength enough in other areas. The key is whether I, evaluating your application, would think: \"This person can't handle math\" vs. \"This person did other things besides math.\" </p>\n\n<p>It is definitely a good thing that you are increasing your training: a MOOC will likely not make a big difference on paper, but if it's making a real difference for you intellectually, that matters too. Furthermore, a good mental mathematical tool-kit will make your life easier in many ways (including detecting when you shouldn't believe something just because it has math). </p>\n\n<p>As for the question of whether to start with a Masters: that really depends on where you are and where you are trying to go. For example, in the US, many Ph.D. programs literally or effectively start with a Masters, so it might be redundant (though the MOOCs or any other prep work will allow you to do less remedial work as part of it). In Europe, on the other hand, most Ph.D. programs assume you already have a Masters, so it's pretty mandatory to start there. Another thing that you might consider is to apply to both, starting with the Ph.D. if you get in, and burnishing your credentials in a Masters first if you don't.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42957",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
42,959 |
<p>When you're writing your dissertation, your advisor will undoubtedly make many contributions. They might suggest literature to look into or ways of tackling a problem. Many of these contributions I assume would be acknowledged sufficiently in the acknowledgements section where you thank those who helped, your advisor above all.</p>
<p>But what about when you're discussing something specific, maybe trying to figure out some problem. When you're working through it together, your advisor says "What about you try X?". It turns out that X solves the problem.</p>
<p>In the section of my dissertation where I discuss the problem and present my implementation of solution X, should I include something like a footnote stating explicitly that X was suggested to me by my advisor in conversation? I'm interested more in the issue of academic honesty/integrity than issues surrounding my relationship with my advisor (e.g., whether it might tick him off to not be specifically acknowledged in the section on X). </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42962,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It really depends on how original the contribution is. At one extreme, your advisor might say something like \"Hey, you're integrating an oscillating function times a smooth function. Have you tried integrating by parts?\" This sounds impressive to a beginner and pointing it out could be a valuable contribution, but your advisor is just cluing you in to something every professional knows. There's no need to offer explicit credit.</p>\n\n<p>At the other extreme, your advisor might hand you a sheaf of handwritten notes and say \"Here's what I tried and where I got stuck when I thought about this problem a few years ago.\" If you make use of original ideas from the notes, then you should certainly attribute them to your advisor.</p>\n\n<p>The tricky part is how to gauge originality. You might not have been able to tell at the time, but looking back you'll often have a better feeling for this. If you recognize an idea as being relatively standard, then offering general thanks in the acknowledgments should be enough. If the idea still impresses you as you are writing your dissertation, then it deserves attribution. If you aren't sure, you can always ask your advisor. For example, \"One of the decisive moments in my studies was when you suggested I should use Bayesian hierarchical modeling. I haven't seen other papers using this approach, so I feel I should explicitly credit you with the idea in my dissertation. Does that seem appropriate?\" Your advisor will either gracefully accept credit, declare that it's not worth worrying about, or offer background references you've missed.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42986,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My typical interpretation of a thesis is that the advisor is effectively a co-author, and may have been deeply and intimately involved at any step of the research. Thus, from a perspective of academic honesty and integrity, I would not see any reason to need to provide specific acknowledgement of an <em>idea</em> coming from your advisor. </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, the <em>labor</em> reported in a thesis is typically assumed to have been done by the student, and if your advisor contributed strongly to that, then it would be appropriate to note that fact.</p>\n\n<p>Thus, for example, if your advisor suggested the critical idea that enabled you to carry out an experiment, no need for credit beyond declaration as the advisor. If one of the experiments you report was actually carried out by your advisor, then explicit credit should be given.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42959",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4458/"
] |
42,987 |
<p>Some scholarly articles explain in detail the epistemological and ontological differences of the two methods, while some argue that the distinction between them is now blurred. I try to reconcile this inconsistency by thinking that quantitative and qualitative traditions form a methodological spectrum, where pure quantitative and qualitative approaches are situated at the opposing extremes, while mixed-methods are at the middle. </p>
<p><strong>Is the distinction between the research traditions still significant? And if yes, do social scientists promote a "methodological spectrum" or do they still deny the compatibility of the two?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42962,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It really depends on how original the contribution is. At one extreme, your advisor might say something like \"Hey, you're integrating an oscillating function times a smooth function. Have you tried integrating by parts?\" This sounds impressive to a beginner and pointing it out could be a valuable contribution, but your advisor is just cluing you in to something every professional knows. There's no need to offer explicit credit.</p>\n\n<p>At the other extreme, your advisor might hand you a sheaf of handwritten notes and say \"Here's what I tried and where I got stuck when I thought about this problem a few years ago.\" If you make use of original ideas from the notes, then you should certainly attribute them to your advisor.</p>\n\n<p>The tricky part is how to gauge originality. You might not have been able to tell at the time, but looking back you'll often have a better feeling for this. If you recognize an idea as being relatively standard, then offering general thanks in the acknowledgments should be enough. If the idea still impresses you as you are writing your dissertation, then it deserves attribution. If you aren't sure, you can always ask your advisor. For example, \"One of the decisive moments in my studies was when you suggested I should use Bayesian hierarchical modeling. I haven't seen other papers using this approach, so I feel I should explicitly credit you with the idea in my dissertation. Does that seem appropriate?\" Your advisor will either gracefully accept credit, declare that it's not worth worrying about, or offer background references you've missed.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42986,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My typical interpretation of a thesis is that the advisor is effectively a co-author, and may have been deeply and intimately involved at any step of the research. Thus, from a perspective of academic honesty and integrity, I would not see any reason to need to provide specific acknowledgement of an <em>idea</em> coming from your advisor. </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, the <em>labor</em> reported in a thesis is typically assumed to have been done by the student, and if your advisor contributed strongly to that, then it would be appropriate to note that fact.</p>\n\n<p>Thus, for example, if your advisor suggested the critical idea that enabled you to carry out an experiment, no need for credit beyond declaration as the advisor. If one of the experiments you report was actually carried out by your advisor, then explicit credit should be given.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42987",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32577/"
] |
42,990 |
<p>Some people claim that working as an independent researcher is more useful than collaborating with others, since you will be the star in that field and maybe get more funds. Others disagree, and think that collaborating and publishing more is more useful. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and which one is more beneficial?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 42992,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Beneficial for what? There's isn't a universal scale of benefit on which all activities can or should be compared. Instead, there are many different factors you need to weigh. Here are a few:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Can the group accomplish more together than working separately? (For example, if two people are trying to do the same thing, then competing can waste effort. If they have complementary skills, then collaboration can be even more fruitful.) If so, then society may benefit from the collaboration.</p></li>\n<li><p>Will the collaboration personally help you, for example by teaching you new skills or giving you more visibility? This is a different question from the utilitarian question of whether society is better off as a whole. Your own interests don't always align perfectly with society's.</p></li>\n<li><p>How will the community award credit? Collaborating with a famous, brilliant researcher might get your name on some excellent papers, but it wouldn't look nearly as impressive as writing the same papers on your own. On the other hand, writing excellent papers with a collaborator may look better than writing merely good papers on your own. This depends heavily on the situation, and there's no simple criterion.</p></li>\n<li><p>What's your personal working style? Some people enjoy collaboration for its own sake, as a social activity, while others prefer to work by themselves. You may be happier and more productive if you choose the approach that fits you better, regardless of what other people say works for them.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Ultimately, nobody can tell you when you should collaborate and when you should work independently. You need to figure out which factors you consider most important and how they apply to your personal circumstances.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42993,
"author": "Maarten van Wesel",
"author_id": 32146,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32146",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If it is being cited you are looking for, then research has found the number of authors is positivly correlated with the number of citations (e.g. <a href=\"http://www.epjournal.net/articles/hot-topics-and-popular-papers-in-evolutionary-psychology-analyses-of-title-words-and-citation-counts-in-evolution-and-human-behavior-1979-%E2%80%93-2008/\">here</a>, <a href=\"http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FB%3ASCIE.0000045117.13348.b1\">here</a>, and <a href=\"http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11192-013-1154-x\">here</a>). There are ceveral possible reasons for this mention in literature, amongst them increased quality, easier introduction to a larger network of scholars etc.</p>\n\n<p>However, do not use gift authorship to increase your numbers, but use real collaboration.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 42999,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'm trying to coin a phrase: <strong>interior point maximum</strong>. Well, the phrase already exists: it means that the function you are trying to maximize which is defined on some closed, bounded interval [a,b] does not have its maximum value at either a or b but rather at some point c somewhere strictly in between. </p>\n\n<p>Most functions one studies in calculus have interior point maxima, though there are obvious exceptions: especially if the function is increasing its maximum is at b, and if it is decreasing its maximum is at a. Perhaps this is because the methods of calculus only speak to interior point maxima: the basic observation is that if the function is differentiable, an interior maximum must occur at a stationary point, i.e., for which the instantaneous rate of change is zero. (Famously, the converse is <strong>not</strong> true.)</p>\n\n<p>What's the point of this math lesson? It's this: when we step outside of math class we tend to completely forget about this phenomenon and try to stare off into space and figure out which of the two extreme points, a and b, is better. But in many real-world situations it is actually pretty obvious that the maximum must be at an interior point.</p>\n\n<p>To me at least, the current question is a case of this. </p>\n\n<p><strong>If you never collaborate</strong>, then you never benefit from anyone else's expertise. In research we almost never do exactly what we want: rather we collect various pieces of what we want to do, and then have to make hard choices about how and when to combine those pieces into published work. If you can find someone else whose pieces are <em>complementary</em> to your pieces, then you both benefit tremendously form collaboration, because academia (justly) rates complete solutions more than twice as highly as half solutions. This is, to me, the best argument for collaboration, and it already shows that \"no collaboration\" is not going to be your optimal choice. </p>\n\n<p>Another argument for collaboration, not nearly as good, is that it allows you to increase your multiplicity: in a given year, maybe you can write one paper all by yourself, or maybe you can write one fourth of four papers and put your name on all of them. In some academic cultures, depending upon how you play it, you will get more credit with the second option. However, there is no <em>inherent</em> advantage to this -- in other words, there is no added value to those outside your circle of collaborators -- so this is really rather specious. (But it works, to a certain extent...unfortunately.)</p>\n\n<p>Another legitimate benefit of collaboration is that your collaborators get to know you and know your skills. I have several collaborators that don't write as many papers as I do and are perhaps not as high-profile in the community as I am. I wouldn't have thought they were anything special if I hadn't worked with them -- worked with them because they brought to the table key pieces that I could use to advance my work. Whenever anyone asks me about these people, I say how great they are.</p>\n\n<p><strong>If you always collaborate</strong>, then people begin to wonder whether you can in fact write a paper / complete an experiment / do one unit of substantial academic work by yourself. If you always collaborate with the same people, and especially if they are more senior than you and/or have other papers without you, then a lot of hard-nosed academics [including me] are going to suspect that you are not the brains of the operation and eventually wonder whether you may not have been gifted coauthorship. The details of this must be entirely field dependent, but I am in a field in which senior people <em>usually</em> don't get added as coauthors unless their intellectual contribution was decisive [in many cases, this means <em>most</em> decisive], so if I see someone with a sequence of strong papers all of which are joint with their eminent thesis advisor and no others, then I really need to hear their thesis advisor describe specifically and cogently the value added by their student. (In some fields collaboration is not an option, it's a reality. But this seems to nullify the question: if a = b, you can maximize the function.)</p>\n\n<p>So it seems clear that it's an interior point maximum: it will be best for your research if you collaborate x% of the time for some 0 < x < 100. As with all interior maxima, one way to figure out x is: take a rough guess as to what you think a good value of x would be, and then explore the nearby space. Definitely do at least one collaborative work and at least one solo work and then evaluate how they went. At the risk of ruining my meme, I will say though that in this case the amount of collaboration is less important -- if you make it safely between 0 and 100% -- than the type of collaboration. As above, you want to choose collaborations that qualitatively augment your work. You do not want to \"trade papers\" or get involved in projects just to have your name on one more paper. Definitely make sure that <em>you</em> are bringing something to the table whenever you collaborate: you really don't want people wondering whether you've added anything of value.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42990",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
43,001 |
<p>On my CV, I would like to reference some "letters of gratitude" I have received from different institutions about training courses I have given to them.</p>
<p>I imagine these letters could go under "Honors and Awards" section on my CV, is that right?</p>
<p>How should I mention these letters? Something like:</p>
<pre><code>Letter of gratitute from [institution] on the [course details]
</code></pre>
<p>or is there any better, formal way of saying it?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43046,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I am working on two separate areas (academia and industry); in the second one, it is sometimes useful to acknowledge these thank you letters when applying for jobs.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I'd recommend having two versions of your CV/resume, for use in applying to different sorts of jobs. The industrial version could take whatever approach is standard for such applications. For the academic version, it would be safer not to list these letters of gratitude under \"Honors and Awards\", since that's usually reserved for more clear-cut cases (such as prizes, awards, competitive fellowships, etc.), so including them there could look odd or like you are padding your CV. If you'd like to mention them on the academic version of your CV as well, one possibility would be to write \"received letter of gratitude from university\" in parentheses after your description of the training course.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43060,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually, if you have given training to corporations or universities, this should probably be listed as a \"teaching\" activity on your CV. You can list general details of the kinds of courses you have given, and the frequency and kinds of institutions to which you have offered them. Referencing specific letters probably doesn't need to be done on an academic CV.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43001",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32555/"
] |
43,012 |
<p>Recently, I submitted a paper to a journal published by Elsevier. The "Elsevier Journal Finder" feature suggested this particular journal in #3 out of a total of 5 suggestions. A while ago, I had also published a work in the same journal, which was of the same topic (satellite retrievals) that I was trying to submit now. However, for the recent submission, the editor decided that the paper is not topical to the journal and suggested to submit in a mathematical journal. Although there are some mathematical applications in this paper, they are not new, has been known for over 20 years, and was only applied towards satellite retrievals. I am a bit puzzled. Any advice will be appreciated. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43013,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First, I am not familiar with the \"Elsevier Journal Finder,\" but any automated tools like this should be regarded as search tools and not wholehearted recommendations.</p>\n\n<p>Second, there are a few obvious reasons why your paper might not be considered on topic.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Your paper has too much mathematical content or is written in too mathematical of a style for the journal, despite having applications to a relevant topic.</li>\n<li>Your specific findings or methods are considered too specialized/not of interest for (the target audience of) this journal.</li>\n<li>Even if this paper was pretty similar to your previous paper, different editors may have somewhat different views on what papers are relevant. This also means that the types of papers published by certain journals can change over time, as editors change.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Generally it's a good idea when you're journal shopping to do the following to check if your paper will be a good fit: 1) read the \"scope & aims\" section of the journal, 2) look at the list of editors to check for overlap in interest with your research (if you haven't heard of any of them, that's usually not a good sign), and 3) look at some papers the journal has recently put out to see if any are similar to yours.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43014,
"author": "bdeonovic",
"author_id": 14040,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14040",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The postdoc in my lab recently submitted a paper and got an instant: “Paper not suitable for this journal” decision as well. In our case we thought it was very strange because there were very similar papers published just within the previous week! </p>\n\n<p>I think the postdoc and the PI e-mailed the editors to try and clear up the confusion and I think they got them to review the paper (not exactly sure, I am not involved with the project). </p>\n\n<p>I think it would be beneficial to try and communicate further with the editor. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43012",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26541/"
] |
43,017 |
<p>My campus is full of flyers, typically attached to lightposts and so, advertising to write essays for money. There's plenty of such services offered on the internet as well. Presumably, many students make use of such service.</p>
<p>Clearly, it is unwise for students to make use of such services, and I suppose it violates regulations. How can a university deal with the issue of ghostwriting? That means: how to identify probable cases of ghostwriting; how to proof that ghostwriting took place; and how to sanction it? It seems considerably harder to tackle than plagiarism.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43029,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ul>\n<li><p>The infamous ghostwriter services for theses in humanities, law and similar in Germany are very careful as to how they advertise their services because otherwise they could be <strong>sued for assisting fraud</strong> and similar reasons. Something similar might apply to your legislation, but if nobody ever considered acting legally against these services, it is likely that at least some of them are legally attackable. In this case, a collective strike against these services may at least weed them out. Obviously, you need to speak to a lawyer with expertise on your legislation and such issues about this.</p>\n\n<p>If no such law exist and the problem is sufficiently serious in your country, universities could even lobby for a law against this. At the very least your university could ban the respective advertisements on its grounds. If these services are operated by graduates of your university, it may also be able to simply revoke their degrees, depending on your university’s statutes and, again, your legislation.</p>\n\n<p>While these services may reappear under a different guise, they may be more difficult to find, more expensive (due to the risks involved), more shady and similar and thus less attractive for students to use. Also, depending on your legislation, you may obtain information on students who used these services and punish them, which could have a strong deterring effect.</p></li>\n<li><p>You can increase controls as to whether students wrote the essays themselves, e.g., they have to be able to answer questions about them, and to increase the punishment if they didn’t.</p></li>\n<li><p>Your university can set up fake services and severely punish everybody who uses them. Again, this depends on your legislation and university’s statutes and you should definetely consult a lawyer about this.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43032,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First, let me say that you should read the answers to my <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/12956/2692\">related question</a>. One answer is quite clear that you should not even bother checking (the author of that answer did admit being uncomfortable with that answer...as I am).</p>\n\n<p>This is a significant problem at my university. One way we try to address it is that we have students verbally answer a quick, random question about their assignment.</p>\n\n<p>Good news: This does catch some students when they can only answer \"uh, ah, ummm.\"</p>\n\n<p>Bad news: Some students still use ghost writers and just memorize the paper so they can answer any question about it. If the assessment covers all the learning outcomes then it can still result in students learning.</p>\n\n<p>One thing that I generally do is, <strong>throughout the semester, I keep track of the \"quality level\" I see each student is at.</strong> This takes several sessions and when classes are quite large there might not be enough interaction to support this strategy. However, <strong>if you do have this information, you can use it to compare to the overall quality of their written work</strong>. If they never know anything in class but they write \"golden\" work, then it is a warning sign.</p>\n\n<p>It is important that it is just a warning sign because there are some students who write well but are not so great at in-class interaction. You always need to use your judgment.</p>\n\n<p>As far as how we handle it, <strong>we consider using a ghost writer an identical offense to plagiarism with identical punishments.</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43034,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a friend who works for one of these kind of companies and she gets a lot of mixed reactions when she tells people what she does.\nThe companies that offer this say that they are providing examples and their work should <strong>not</strong> be submitted, therefore avoiding any legal responsibility themselves.</p>\n\n<p>You definitely have to approach this problem by deterring the students.</p>\n\n<p>For GCSEs in the UK, the government tried to reduce this kind of cheating by reducing the coursework components and having any coursework be completed under observation but that would be too difficult in university probably.</p>\n\n<p>The following ideas at a university could be tried:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Run stings where students are punished or pay for failing essays.</li>\n<li>They could run feedback sessions in the middle of coursework writing, where students can talk about their ideas and progress, perhaps keeping tabs on the coursework process could spot people who haven't written it themselves.</li>\n<li>Put posters up warning about the punishment if caught, a kind of \"we are watching you\".</li>\n<li>Ask for submission of drafts and/or notes.</li>\n<li>Finding some way of logging the research done for an essay might help. For example having to access your sources/scan them in from on campus (library or network) could be something that might prevent outsourcing essays.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43072,
"author": "Boris Bukh",
"author_id": 609,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/609",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here is a suggestion (which might or might not be legal in your jurisdiction, and deemed acceptable or not by your administration; check before acting!).</p>\n\n<p>Put up some of flyers yourself --- then refer any student who contacts you for appropriate disciplinary action.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43153,
"author": "Gregory Currie",
"author_id": 32813,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32813",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Put some fliers up yourself. Again, state that the work provided is for reference only, and should not be submitted. When contacted, provide different previous years' papers.</p>\n\n<p>When these papers are submitted, hit them with plagiarism violations.</p>\n\n<p>To make this more ethical, warn the students at the start of the year that this would be happening. And of course, don't keep the money, but put it into a charity fund.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, before deciding any course of action, consider consulting the ethics board at your institution.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43017",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033/"
] |
43,019 |
<p>Computer Science PhD admit here. </p>
<p>Is it crazy of me to turn down a top school (MIT/Stanford) for a lower-ranked school (think Cornell/UW/Columbia/Michigan) if I think there is better advisor fit?</p>
<p>Obviously all of these are fantastic schools and I am very lucky to be choosing from them. However, I felt like I got along really well with my would-be advisor at the lower-ranked school than I did at MIT/Stanford. People have told me that it's crazy of me to turn down MIT/Stanford since they are, along with Berkeley/CMU, on a different "level" than the other schools.</p>
<p>(My field is somewhat narrow so there is only 1~2 faculty at each of the schools doing research in the area. So regardless of which school I go to, if the advisor doesn't work out, I would be in a dire position.)</p>
<p>EDIT: Both advisors are well known in the field (and both have produced outstanding graduates), but the MIT/Stanford professor is good deal more senior. Also, talking with their current students, the MIT/Stanford professor is known to be pushy and have a "strong" personality (which may work for some people, but not sure whether it will work for me, as I've never worked with such people before).</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43022,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are some aspects of the decision that are independent of your advisor, such as having a large pool of impressive peers to learn from and work with, but the degree of fit with your advisor is certainly a major factor.</p>\n\n<p>If you believe you can't work effectively with the potential advisors at the higher-ranked schools, then there's no point in choosing one of those schools. If the advisor at the lower-ranked school is performing at or above the level of the other possible advisors (as judged by influential papers and successful students), then again you don't have to worry. But your phrasing makes me a little uncomfortable:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I felt like I got along really well with my would-be advisor at the lower-ranked school</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This sounds like you are describing how quickly you clicked and became comfortable, but you can learn an enormous amount from someone even if you never develop an easy rapport with them or feel you could be friends. It's worth thinking about whether the less comfortable relationship could nevertheless be productive. Maybe it can't - it depends on the personalities and the details of your interaction - but it's important to distinguish how much you like the advisor from how fruitful the intellectual relationship might be.</p>\n\n<p>I wouldn't stress out too much about this decision, though. My impression is that Cornell and UW are not so markedly far behind MIT and Stanford in computer science. (There's a gap, but not a huge gap.) If one of them feels like a better fit, you are not jeopardizing your career.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43031,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As previous responders have already answered, <strong>both your options are top-notch institutions</strong> and no sane future employer will think less of you for having gone somewhere on step lower on a league table. I know I can only present a single case, my own, but <strong>beware of first impressions</strong>! My worst advisor ever, who treated me worse than an unwanted brat, was oh-so charming and pleasant during the one-day interview and during our pre-employment e-mail contact. That said, my best advisor ever was lovely during the interview too, so all I can say is: Beware of first impressions! maybe the MIT guy just was having a bad stressful day? </p>\n\n<p>It is worth looking also at the <strong>breadth of work within realated fields</strong> at the two places too. It is not necessarily great if they are brilliant and have huge teams working on your subject, what would you be doing then? incremental work? if there is a breadth then you can expand and learn from experts in complementary subject too, expand your work and bring a fresh view or implementation for it? Not that I know what you are working with, but it helped me in material science.</p>\n\n<p>Final point: <strong>It's not only the Advisor that counts</strong>. Did you get a chance to talk to others in the dept? it can help to get a feel of the collegiality, how friendly, open and helpful a place is it? or is it super-competitive? Also what are their pet peeves? do they struggle to get instrument time? (or whatever the equivalent is for computer scientists) do they ever get to present their work at significant conferences? </p>\n\n<p>I know this makes for an impossible spreadsheet, you might end up flipping a coin. If you're being offered a place at both MIT and Cornell, you must be a smart dude or dudette! I doubt you'll struggle to get a new place if the first one turns out to be impossible. It is allowed to quit. Worked for me. Then I took a year off to milk cows (über-cool!) and now am happily back in the lab at a better uni than I started :-)</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT::</strong> As previous responders also said, dont' forget the rest of life too. Don't move somewhere you don't want to live. <strong>Friends, family, hobbies</strong>, and/or the ease of travelling to fun places or home at weekends and holidays counts for a lot too! Remember, you'll be living there for at least a couple of years. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43040,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>All of the schools that you are discussing are first-rank computer science schools with global leadership in their areas of specialty. In this area at least, the only real difference between the \"top\" and \"top of the top\" schools that you are considering is the <em>number</em> of different areas in which the school is a global leader. Thus, if you already have a clear, narrow focus that you know that you want to work in, and there are 1-2 people in that area at all of the schools you are choosing between, the distinction between \"top\" and \"top of the top\" is pretty much null. </p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, your graduate career will be primarily determined by your advisor relationship rather than the school within which it will occur. Beware of being misled by first impressions, but a good match with your Ph.D. advisor is worth much more than the incremental difference between schools.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43049,
"author": "erwin",
"author_id": 31805,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31805",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>All of the above answers are correct. However, do trust your first impressions. I didn't click with my first prospective advisor and picked someone else. That prospective advisor failed to get tenure after his next couple of graduate students opted to switch advisors and start new research projects in the 3-4th year of their theses. These choices were made in spite of the fact that he was a really bright guy and working in a hot research field.</p>\n\n<p>He was apparently a nightmare to work for.</p>\n\n<p>It wouldn't hurt to confirm your first impressions by communicating with people who have worked with and for the advisors you are considering. Former research students, collaborators, et cetera. Being personable and likeable is a moderately positive sign, but there are a lot of different components to being a good PhD mentor.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43019",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32039/"
] |
43,023 |
<p>A friend is in a situation where they obtained a PhD in one field in a different country, but now is working at a university in an unrelated field in a non-faculty, non-research position. However, they have got invited to a conference to present on matters relating to their PhD field. How should they list their affiliation? They use their current university's library facilities, etc, for their own private after-hours research, so they want to list their current university employer, but I feel that this is unethical, and "Independent Researcher" or similar would be better.</p>
<p>I've seen a number of similar questions here relating to how students or researchers should handle this, but I think this situation is sufficiently different to merit a new question.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43026,
"author": "george",
"author_id": 21766,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21766",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have faced this problem in a previous publication, and what I did was list my current employer as my affiliation, with an asterisk, stating that \"Large part of this research work was carried out while I was with the ...\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43027,
"author": "virmaior",
"author_id": 19769,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19769",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When you publish, you normally are listing your institutional affiliation.</p>\n\n<p>There's nothing at all unethical with ... listing your current institutional affiliation.</p>\n\n<p>This does not imply that the current employer sanctioned the work or that they subsidised its completion. That sort of information is listed elsewhere in the sort of disclosures section (or so I gather -- my field does not get much external funding of that sort, but I've submitted papers to a few places that require <em>everyone</em> to fill that out).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43030,
"author": "Alex",
"author_id": 32404,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32404",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As I understand, your question here is whether their current employer is eligible to be credited for the research presented in the paper. I think that they should use their employer affiliation. They loses nothing, but shows their loyalty to the current employer, which is not bad even if they does not intend to stay for long.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43023",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32730/"
] |
43,035 |
<p>I had sent my manuscript mistakenly to two different journals and both journals are ready to publish (not yet published) my work which is not possible. So, after knowing their impact factor I requested one of the journals to withdraw my paper. They had just sent me the review of my paper and for withdrawal they are demanding $500 as a penalty. It is difficult for me to decide what to do.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43038,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As already stated in a comment, sending the same paper to two journals is just plain wrong and you are likely violating the journal agreements you agreed to when submitting them. So never ever do this again!</p>\n\n<p>As for picking the journal with highest impact, well that seems like a fair choice but I wonder what the journal editors would say if they knew the manuscript was under consideration also in a second journal. Usually this is a specific question to which you state \"the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere\" when you submit. So my guess is that your paper would be refused if they knew and I think you should let them know. Perhaps you did this out of ignorance but I think you should come out and explain your mistake, it is only fair and then your case may also receive a fair treatment.</p>\n\n<p>As for the $500 penalty, you need to check what yo actually agreed to and what the journal states as rules for manuscripts. Clearly your manuscript has taken up a lot of resources unnecessarily. Even though I do not sympathize with your actions, there is an open question based on what the journal asks you to pay. Unless they have this in a clear statement or agreement I cannot see it as a valid request and you likely do not have to pay. However, you may of course become \"known\" to the journal editors which could harm future submissions to the same journal.</p>\n\n<p>So my advice is, come out clean. Explain to both journals, and by cc to the other, what you have done and make sure you explain why you managed to do such a <em>faux pas</em>. Let the editors decide the outcome, your right to decide has long passed. By coming clean the editors may see leniently on the matter and your \"choice\".</p>\n\n<p>Editor's can turn to Cope to get feedback on cases such as the one posted above. At COPE's (Committee On Publication Ethics) site it is possible to find their recommendations in similar cases. One that struck me as reasonably similar is the one <a href=\"http://publicationethics.org/case/duplicate-submission-2\" rel=\"nofollow\">linked to here</a>, but do look around at their cases for additional impressions of where editors stand on multiple submissions and why being upfront about the issue can be a good idea.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43042,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There is wrong on every side of this situation.</p>\n\n<p>First, a journal demanding money for withdrawing a paper is suspicious in the extreme. I have never in my life heard of such a practice from a legitimate journal, which means that you were probably duped into submitting to a predatory (junk) publisher. If this is the case, you should definitely withdraw the paper and refuse to pay the money, but they may not let you: a dishonest publisher may simply publish your paper without your consent and send you a bill. If this happens, you can try to fight it, but you may end up needing to withdraw from the other journal instead and simply write off the paper and/or the $500 as a learning experience.</p>\n\n<p>And what will you have learned?</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Never dual submit a paper: it is scientifically dishonest, wastes everybody's time, and seriously annoys any legitimate journal.</li>\n<li>Never submit a paper to a journal that you haven't thoroughly investigated to determine that it is not a shady fly-by-night predatory publisher.</li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43035",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32733/"
] |
43,057 |
<p>If I won 3rd place or an honorable mention for Award X. Is it reasonable to simply state the name of the award without stating what place I got? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43058,
"author": "user8001",
"author_id": 8001,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8001",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Mentioning an award without the rank implies that there was only once recipient. You need to mention the ranking if it's actually rank-based, especially if you didn't finish first.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43059,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I do not think it is reasonable. If you are mentioning you won at a competition, you must also mention what was your place or in what capacity you won an award. There are good reasons for this in my opinion. First, it is possible the reader is aware of the competition and finds it misleading of you. Second, if you clearly mention the details of the award, it is possible you might rise in the eyes of reader for your integrity and honesty.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43057",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29303/"
] |
43,062 |
<p>I'm doing a project-based postdoc in an European university. </p>
<p>I have serious ongoing eye conditions that significantly affect my reading speed and as a result it took me 5 years to complete my PhD in a country where a standard Ph/D/ is only for 3 years. </p>
<p>I have been selected for this postdoc position, I think, mostly because of my particular fieldwork and user engagement experience, which is essential for this post. So I still got hired despite my very weak publication record. And because the interview was via Skype, the PI did not discover my hidden disability, nor did I disclose it.</p>
<p>However, as I've been working in the position for several months now, it becomes apparent that I'm falling behind other colleagues of the team. Despite working extremely hard, I couldn't finish the work designated by the PI on time and I think I'll need a thorough explanation for that. </p>
<p>The question is, will disclosing a hidden disability ruin my employment? This is a 3 year position and the initial contract is only for 1 year. Given this is an externally funded, project-based postdoc, I'm really worried that my contract will not get renewed at the end of the first year. </p>
<p>And also how do I explain this to the PI and the university? For example, the choice of terms, hidden disability vs. chronic illness vs. long term health condition? Do different terms imply different levels of legal protection for employment?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43063,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In most European countries, it is usually against the law to fire people because of disabilities. So long as you're capable of performing your assigned work with reasonable accommodations, you should not be afraid of being terminated. However, you will probably need to have documentation of your disorder to provide as evidence to support your claim.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43080,
"author": "user32772",
"author_id": 32772,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32772",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is to complement aeismail's answer: </p>\n\n<p>It might not suit the specific details of your condition but if you do end up disclosing your disability, you could also suggest to your employer various types of reading aids that could help you be more efficient at your job. There are devices that can alleviate some types of reading handicaps:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00MW85FR6\">Video screen magnifier</a> (I am not making a suggestion, I am only showing this as a reference; also it says it only works with Windows XP) Especially great with an old CRT monitor with accessible contrast and brightness settings</li>\n<li>A similar system, but using a video projector instead</li>\n<li>USB magnifier</li>\n<li>Digital copies of all hand-outs, to read via a text-to-speech program</li>\n<li>Optical character recognition software</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Many employers are more than happy to cooperate with the employee in order to accommodate disabilities (in part because they can save money in the long run if it does help the employee), and in some locations they are even legally required to do so. Some governments even issue tax cuts and compensations to the employers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43124,
"author": "Gigi Muschi",
"author_id": 32800,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32800",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most European countries (even the UK) have advisory boards or charities about such issues. All countries have lawyers that are competent to various degrees in the matter.</p>\n\n<p>I can imagine you are looking for some reassurance or reinforcement, but if I were you, I would consider taking advice either from a lawyer, a board or charity as a matter of urgency, rather than opinions from the Internet.</p>\n\n<p>Keep in mind common sense may differ across land and time, but it will most certainly differ from the law of the land.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43062",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32762/"
] |
43,064 |
<ul>
<li>Is there any possible penalty (from the educational institution) for the professor for disrespecting a student? </li>
<li>What can and cannot do a professor in terms of respect to a student? </li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43065,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Under normal circumstances, faculty should never yell or shout at a student. However, faculty are also human beings, and there is always the possibility that under emotional strain, they can lash out at a student. </p>\n\n<p>I will admit to having been guilty of this once as an advisor, when a student came into my office for a discussion about his research, and made some statements that betrayed a total lack of awareness of what he was doing (and this was a \"veteran\" graduate student who should have known better).</p>\n\n<p>In the context of teaching, students have reason to expect that the faculty member should not shout at them. However, it is unreasonable to expect that any disciplinary action would be taken against a faculty member for a single infraction.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43068,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Students and professors owe each other the same level of respect, civility and generally adult behavior, meaning that it is wrong for one to be rude to the other. No particular significance should be attached to a professor shouts at a student who is rudely disrupting a class, since the student has no right to disrupt the class. On the other hand, it would be a significant problem if a professor were to shout at a student for quietly doing poorly on a homework, since the student does, in fact, have the right to do well or do poorly, as they choose. So you can't morally evaluate one person's conduct in a vacuum -- we need to know the full context.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43082,
"author": "Count Iblis",
"author_id": 17479,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17479",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is no reason for the professor to shout. If a student doesn't behave or has some other problem then the student will suffer (the student can be kicked out of the institution if the student doesn't pass his/her exams). What should happen to a professor who cannot suppress his/her urge to shout? I would say that such a professor should apply for a new job <a href=\"http://www.westpoint.edu/SitePages/Home.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a>, where shouting at under-performing students is compulsory. But they only teach a limited number of subjects there.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43064",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32156/"
] |
43,066 |
<p>I saw that some students, even from top schools and who are giving faculty candidate talks are posting a sentence like, "I am actively looking for a job in ..". Is this a good thing or only shows a desperate job candidate?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43067,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>On a website, there's nothing wrong with such a statement. On the other hand, it's a much bigger problem to put \"I'm actively looking\" in a CV or resumé, where it could come off as seeming more desperate (or at the very least somewhat pushy, since a CV is sent for the purpose of looking for a job!).</p>\n\n<p>But of course, context and phrasing are extremely important, and you'd have to look at the overall effect and impact of the sentence on the web page as a whole. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43076,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Your professional website is a summary of who you are and how you are currently presenting yourself publicly. If you are openly on the job market, then it is entirely appropriate to be frank about that fact on your website: just present it as a piece of neutral information, rather than making a big deal of it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43103,
"author": "MD-Tech",
"author_id": 22719,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22719",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In common with many others in my industry (finance, and probably most other industries) I have two states of \"looking for a job\". Currently I am passively looking which means that my CV is out there and people can approach me if they wish and ask whether I would be interested in a particular job but I am <em>not</em> looking to change jobs unless something out of this world landed in my lap. Previously I was actively looking for a job; I was sending my CV to recruiters and trying to find a new position. This is because I was looking to change my position. Saying <em>anywhere</em> that you are actively looking for a job is at the very least a neutral statement but in many cases will lead to recruiters getting in touch with you because they know that they are likely to make money out of placing you in a job. This is particularly true if the statement is that you are looking for a job in a particular area or industry as it implies that you are focused on a goal and not desperate.</p>\n\n<p>What <em>would</em> look desperate would be spamming recruiters and job boards with CVs aimed at no job in particular; this says to the recruiter that you are not interested in their particular job, have no direction in your job search, and are looking for any job that will take you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43117,
"author": "Cort Ammon",
"author_id": 25234,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25234",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think such a line on a website straddles the line between</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I am interested in talking to anyone who might have an interesting job.</li>\n<li>I'd like it if a job looked for me, instead of the other way around.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The former attitude is very reasonable. I don't think I'd want to see just \"I'm looking for a job\" on a website of a potential employee. However, \"I'm looking for a job. Contact me if you are looking for someone who wants to do cool stuff in Material Sciences (or just contact me if you are interested in talking about it!)\" shows a slightly different type of personality.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43066",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823/"
] |
43,073 |
<p><strong>In general</strong>:</p>
<p>What is the proper manner in which to thank a supervisor for allowing you to take a really long shot? I am talking about when a professor (supervisor) who did not really know you decides to give you a chance, even though there is clearly a very low probability of success. Especially in the case where the supervisor invested significant physical resources and/or their time and you still failed to accomplish the goal (in this case research result). I am looking for a formal and appropriate way to convey my gratitude to the professor for taking the risk. Again this is in the context where you have specifically failed to reach the goal and cost the supervisor in question a good deal of resources in the process. Is it even proper to convey gratitude at this juncture for giving you an outside shot at tremendous opportunity? Or should I just be extremely apologetic?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43136,
"author": "agentplaid",
"author_id": 31792,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31792",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>\"Thanks for the opportunity\" is almost always appropriate and welcome.</p>\n\n<p>As far as \"apologetic\" goes, I'd think on why the goal wasn't reached. Some research projects are known to be long shots before they're begun and failure, while obviously not desired, is not an unforeseen outcome. Sometimes outside events beyond anyone's control torpedo things. If this is the \"flavor\" of your situation, then I don't necessarily think abject apologies are called for, though you can certainly commiserate with others involved on how things turned out. Sometimes research just doesn't pan out, and good research supervisors understand that you can't hit if you don't swing.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, when I've been part of projects that failed in whole or part due to things I did or didn't do, I've tried to make sure the supervisor involved knows that at least I learned from the experience and that I had an idea of how I would do things differently in similar circumstances should they arise. Really, this is a valuable response in either case. Especially, though, if you hope to have future research opportunities with this supervisor, I'd make sure this is understood.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43137,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Look at the upside, not the \"failure\" - the professor likely knew it was something of a long shot, and there's never a guaranteed success in research.</p>\n\n<p>\"Thank you so much for the opportunity, I appreciate your guidance and mentorship and learned a huge amount.\"</p>\n\n<p>Or something to that effect, but in a way that sounds like you.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43073",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32768/"
] |
43,075 |
<p>I just got tenured and promoted to an associate professor, the contract for which will start from Fall this year. However, my partner, who is also in academia just accepted an position in another city starting from this Fall. Our plan is to give up our current tenured positions and move the entire family to the new city (for a better environment and better education for our children). The question is: when would be a good timing for me to move?</p>
<p>We have small children (toddler and infant), so it seems to make most sense if we all move together this summer. I am not currently on the job market, but I am open to giving up my tenured position (to trade with a better location for the family) while trying to find something in the new city (I am ready to apply for adjunct teaching positions, contract based faculty positions, or tenure-track positions in the new city, whatever becomes available, or to find some creative ways to engage in work meaningful and inspiring to me while trying to meet our financial needs). </p>
<p>Now, should I at all consider the possibility of staying behind and teaching as an associate professor for a year before leaving my current job?</p>
<p>In other words, in thinking about future career trajectory, would having one actual year of experience as a tenured associate professor make a big difference on the prospect of future job applications? Or, would showing evidence of having achieved tenure/promotion in a previous institute be equivalently useful? </p>
<p>What are some other possible alternatives? </p>
<p>Any advice on this would be much appreciated! </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43078,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you stay behind and work for a year as an associate professor and go on the job market the next academic year, you'll be in a better situation to search for a new tenure track position than if you leave your current position and move immediately. It's always better to look for a job from a tenured/tenure track position than as an unemployed academic with no current affiliation. Furthermore, if you leave at this point it may appear as though you didn't receive tenure in your current position. </p>\n\n<p>When/if you do go on the job market you can explain in your cover letter that you're moving to the new city because your partner is there in a tenure track position. </p>\n\n<p>Another avenue to follow up on is seeing if your partner's new institution might be willing to employ you (either now or perhaps in a year from now.) Many institutions have specific \"spousal hiring\" policies that might be helpful. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43081,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to Brian Borchers' good answer, your partner may also be able to defer their start for a year, particularly if their contract is for a tenure-track or other long-term position. This possibility might also motivate your partner's institution to think more seriously about hiring you as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43088,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another addition to Brian's answer: you can see if you can go on leave without pay from your current position for a year. This is a normal thing to do at decent-sized universities, though I don't know about smaller schools. This gives you the flexibility to go back if the city doesn't work out, and you'll still have a position that you can put on your CV when you apply for jobs.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43121,
"author": "Flexo",
"author_id": 32798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32798",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Depending on the subject, flexibility of your institution and the distances involved it may be possible to do a compromise deal of some sort, for example:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>do all your teaching work in one semester and work from home on research the rest</li>\n<li>do all your teaching on one or two days of the week and fly weekly</li>\n<li>do all your teaching each semester intensively over a two week period and run long coursework stints.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Of course that may not be acceptable but it does no harm to ask even if it's only a slim chance. They may be less inclined towards flexibility if your intention is to quit though. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43132,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Echoing a point made by others: perhaps you've been lucky with the whole tenure-track/tenure thing, and don't realize that even for very good people there is a huge element of <em>chance</em> involved in getting a tenure-track job, much less tenure. I get the impression that this might be the case from your (to me seemingly casual) remark about \"adjuncting until you find a tenure-track job\"... in a specific city. Unless (and even if) you are more-or-less a superstar, that day might never come, I fear.</p>\n\n<p>Unless I'm completely missing the mark, I'd recommend that you <em>not</em> give up your current tenured spot until you see what the possibilities are. A year's leave of absence ought to be ok with your current institution. If you discover that tenure-track jobs in the new city are not so easy to come by, you might want to pursue some long-distance commuting arrangements, as @Flexo mentions. The difference in salary between tenured and adjunct might make it more-than-worthwhile.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43205,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When you apply for jobs in the future, the main factors in getting interviews will be:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>education</li>\n<li>teaching experience</li>\n<li>research (if it's a school where research is part of the job)</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>You're far enough along in an academic career that I don't see a year as mattering very much one way or the other.</p>\n\n<p>A separate issue is that when people are looking at your job application, they want to know whether or not you have a history of success. For this reason, it's very important to them to know why you left a previous position. That's why they usually have a space for this on the application form, and they also may want to hear an explanation in your job letter (unless your previous job was something like a postdoc, which everyone understands is temporary). In your situation, this is straightforward. In the blank on the form, you put \"reason for leaving: family.\" In your letter, you give the explanation: \"after achieving tenure at X University and being promoted to the rank of Y, I made the difficult decision, for family reasons, to move here to city Z.\" You can also allay their misgivings by supplying references from people at X University who will say how great you were.</p>\n\n<p>So in general, I see very little advantage in staying behind while your spouse moves, and there is the obvious disadvantage of severely disrupting your family for a year.</p>\n\n<p>BTW, I'm dismayed by some of the reactions you're getting here, which seem to me (a) to be condescending, (b) to show a lack of realistic appreciation for the need to balance work with family, and (c) to be off-topic because they focus on the decision you've already made, rather than the decision that your question is asking about.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43075",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32771/"
] |
43,085 |
<p>As an undergrad I had a couple majors and a couple minors...no big deal. Ultimately all it meant was I took a lot of classes all over the place and went through the time and effort to declare them.</p>
<p>As a PhD student, though, declaring a minor is pretty uncommon. Hell, a lot of schools don't even offer the option. My understanding is that minors are usually for highlighting a certain amount of coursework in a closely related field to the one you're studying. Seemingly obvious pairings would be a PhD in Math with a minor in Statistics, or a PhD in Classics with a minor in Philosophy. However, unlike in undergrad (and really even at the Masters level), during a PhD the emphasis is primarily on research, not coursework. So why is a PhD minor a thing? Does it serve any purpose more than just another notch in your academic belt?</p>
<p>Personally, I am thinking about adding a Math or Statistics minor to my PhD in Computer Science, but I can't come up with a good reason other than "I'm interested in higher level math/stats and it's really applicable to the area of CS I work in." That's enough to satisfy me, I guess, but is there really any other reason to do this?</p>
<p>EDIT: I guess I should add that *in my case* I'm not thinking about a minor for minor's sake, but rather that I'm already taking a bunch of courses in that area so it just means an extra course or two. The question still stands though: why is it a thing? And, furthermore, does it carry different connotations in different areas (e.g. the humanities vs. applied sciences)?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43116,
"author": "jvriesem",
"author_id": 32794,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32794",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A minor gives a grad student the option of diversifying his/her learning experience. Much research is interdisciplinary (like stats and CS), so taking a few classes in another department can be very beneficial. It also gives a grad student an excuse to take courses in something that isn't directly related to their research. (Minoring in a foreign language or business can be generally useful, for example.) In my own experience, most grads minor in something closely related to their research. </p>\n\n<p>As far as I know, very few people look at a graduate student's minor. The biggest reason I can see for having a minor outside one's home department is to diversify one's educational background. </p>\n\n<p>I looked around to see what universities said about this. Georgia Tech states that \"The purpose of the minor is to encourage a wider interest on the part of the student and to provide a broader basis for the evaluation of the student's capabilities.\" (<a href=\"http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/grad/doctoral/minor.php\">source</a>) Stanford requires a minor for its Education grads (<a href=\"https://ed.stanford.edu/academics/doctoral-handbook/requirements\">source</a>). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43120,
"author": "James Palmer",
"author_id": 23409,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23409",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Per what jvriesem says I can verify that Georgia Tech, and I would expect other universities, does indeed encourage a PhD minor in order to broaden one's education. In fact, it is a requirement for graduation to get a minor, by taking something like three courses outside of your department. I would encourage a PhD student to pursue a minor for this reason, if it wasn't already requirement.</p>\n\n<p>I ended up taking EE courses which were pertinent to my physics research area, which I may have taken anyway. I did find content to be directly helpful for my research, so it was a net gain. Outside of satisfying the graduation requirements, it may be useful to some potential employers, even if it is only a small part of the consideration for a job candidate. In my case the engineering knowledge proved helpful for landing a job, since my core area of study was physics.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43139,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In addition to the laudable goals of actually advancing one's education in a structured way, as several of the other posters have mentioned, it does serve to credentialize you in the minor department. Someone with a PhD in Math with a minor in Statistics potentially reads to me as very different than someone strictly doing a PhD in Math, even before I dig into their CV. That is one function - essentially keyword recognition of \"I belong amongst both groups\".</p>\n\n<p>As someone who works in an interdisciplinary field, that can frequently helpful.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43085",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11819/"
] |
43,096 |
<p>Self-explanatory. I would be most interested to hear from researchers who have published a fair amount, decided one way or the other wasn't working for them, so switched — and why.</p>
<p>Related advice / observations welcome: e.g. "why the hell would you need more than one .bib file?"</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43098,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a single <a href=\"https://www.mendeley.com\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Mendeley</a>-generated <code>bib</code> file (1.8MB as of now). </p>\n\n<p>There reason in the following:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Mendeley works that way,</li>\n<li>it is convenient to be able to add a bib entry just once, so it can be easily used in any paper.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>However, it has its problems as well, especially related to collaborating with others, and encapsulating content:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>any changes in a <code>bib</code> file (e.g. modifying existing entries, errors) will affect all files,</li>\n<li>it's harder to add citations from collaborators without affecting your structure (especially as citations from collaborators can have different key conventions),</li>\n<li>if it need to be in some git repository, it requires a copy of bib file, with many non-relevant entries.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In any case, when collaborating with others, or finalizing a project, I do copy the whole <code>bib</code> file to protect myself against changes.</p>\n\n<p>I did try to extract a subset of citations, which I use in a given paper, with <a href=\"http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/biblio/bibtex/utils/bibexport/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">bibexport</a> (learnt from <a href=\"https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/41821/creating-bib-file-containing-only-the-cited-references-of-a-bigger-bib-file/\">Creating .bib file containing only the cited references of a bigger .bib file - TeX.SE</a>), but with some various results (it seems that bibexport does not support all fields supported in Mendeley); but it was some time ago, so maybe things are different.</p>\n\n<p>See also:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/6393/strategy-for-managing-multiple-bibtex-files/\">Strategy for managing multiple Bibtex files - TeX.SE</a></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43099,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<ul>\n<li><strong>Several .bib files in the a single folder:</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>You might want to do this if you write about quite disjoint topics, or if you want to keep several sets of inherently different references in separate files (e.g. scientific publications in one file, technical standard documents in another, etc.). Overall, however, I see little reason to choose this approach.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>One .bib file (obviously in one folder):</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This allows you to build up a database with your personal literature collection. Given that BibTeX by default only shows cited references, this is one of the ways the system is supposed to be used. For someone working entirely alone, this might be a viable way to go.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Several .bib files in several folders:</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This is the approach I follow (using <a href=\"http://jabref.sourceforge.net/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">JabRef</a>), with the further restriction that the .bib files usually reside in precisely the folders where they are used by .tex documents.</p>\n\n<p>Advantages:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The .bib file is a part of the source. When using a VCS, everything required to build the document should be in the VCS, and with one repository per paper/project, the appropriate .bib file needs to be stored in each repository.\n\n<ul>\n<li>This <em>might</em> be solvable by including repositories in repositories (such as with <a href=\"http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.0/ch07s03.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">SVN externals</a>), but that still assumes a central repository location that is accessible to all co-authors, which is not a given when collaborating with different groups.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>As also remarked by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958/federico-poloni\">Federico Poloni</a>, when several authors work together, they need to use the same references. It wouldn't make any sense if each author had his or her personal large .bib file, rather than having one common .bib file for the paper/project.</li>\n<li>Even when working as a single author, the .bib file sometimes needs to be submitted for the camera-ready version of a paper, to allow editors to build the document themselves. While I don't think it's usually explicitly forbidden, I'm quite sure it's not a very good idea to submit your complete multi-MB literature database every time you submit a CR version.</li>\n<li>Different papers/projects need to be formatted according to different styleguides. While the actual layout of the bibliography is imposed by the BibTeX Style that usually comes with the paper template, some paper-specific tweaking is required more often than not in my experience:\n\n<ul>\n<li>Some styles show URLs, for other styles, the URL needs to be inserted into the <code>howpublished</code> or the <code>comment</code> field.</li>\n<li>In some papers, you want to (or have the space to) show some redundant information such as publication months, publisher locations, or DOIs, in others, you don't.</li>\n<li>In some papers, you may want to use full journal or conference proceedings names, in others, you may want to abbreviate them as far as possible</li>\n<li>In some papers, you can use special packages (e.g. for <a href=\"http://www.ctan.org/pkg/combelow\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">correctly rendering a Latvian name with a comma accent</a>), in others, this might not be allowed.</li>\n<li>In some papers, the layout of the bibliography is such that you need to repair some ugly block formatting with additional <code>\\hskip</code> commands, custom hyphenation, and the like.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>When starting a new paper or project related to a topic I had written about before and want to grab some random related work for the introduction, I find it most convenient to open the .bib file of the previous document to get an overview of the ~30 references that I had used there. Of course, I could also look in the compiled PDF file, but I cannot directly copy the entries that seem suitable from there.</li>\n<li>As mentioned by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7725/darij-grinberg\">darij grinberg</a>, it might not be desirable to have later changes to bibliography items retroactively show up in old documents. It would mean that the old sources compile to something else than what they did at the time of writing the document, and it may even ruin a carefully adjusted layout.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Disadvantages:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I regularly need to copy some references from one file to another when I want to reuse them.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43096",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22660/"
] |
43,100 |
<p>I submitted my paper seven months ago and it is still under review. I sent several emails to the handling editor but I didn't get any response except every time I sent an email the status date was changed. So I decided to withdraw my paper from journal and I have written a letter to the editor-in-chief but he didn't reply except the status date was changed again! What should I do now? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43098,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a single <a href=\"https://www.mendeley.com\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Mendeley</a>-generated <code>bib</code> file (1.8MB as of now). </p>\n\n<p>There reason in the following:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Mendeley works that way,</li>\n<li>it is convenient to be able to add a bib entry just once, so it can be easily used in any paper.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>However, it has its problems as well, especially related to collaborating with others, and encapsulating content:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>any changes in a <code>bib</code> file (e.g. modifying existing entries, errors) will affect all files,</li>\n<li>it's harder to add citations from collaborators without affecting your structure (especially as citations from collaborators can have different key conventions),</li>\n<li>if it need to be in some git repository, it requires a copy of bib file, with many non-relevant entries.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In any case, when collaborating with others, or finalizing a project, I do copy the whole <code>bib</code> file to protect myself against changes.</p>\n\n<p>I did try to extract a subset of citations, which I use in a given paper, with <a href=\"http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/biblio/bibtex/utils/bibexport/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">bibexport</a> (learnt from <a href=\"https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/41821/creating-bib-file-containing-only-the-cited-references-of-a-bigger-bib-file/\">Creating .bib file containing only the cited references of a bigger .bib file - TeX.SE</a>), but with some various results (it seems that bibexport does not support all fields supported in Mendeley); but it was some time ago, so maybe things are different.</p>\n\n<p>See also:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/6393/strategy-for-managing-multiple-bibtex-files/\">Strategy for managing multiple Bibtex files - TeX.SE</a></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43099,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<ul>\n<li><strong>Several .bib files in the a single folder:</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>You might want to do this if you write about quite disjoint topics, or if you want to keep several sets of inherently different references in separate files (e.g. scientific publications in one file, technical standard documents in another, etc.). Overall, however, I see little reason to choose this approach.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>One .bib file (obviously in one folder):</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This allows you to build up a database with your personal literature collection. Given that BibTeX by default only shows cited references, this is one of the ways the system is supposed to be used. For someone working entirely alone, this might be a viable way to go.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Several .bib files in several folders:</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This is the approach I follow (using <a href=\"http://jabref.sourceforge.net/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">JabRef</a>), with the further restriction that the .bib files usually reside in precisely the folders where they are used by .tex documents.</p>\n\n<p>Advantages:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The .bib file is a part of the source. When using a VCS, everything required to build the document should be in the VCS, and with one repository per paper/project, the appropriate .bib file needs to be stored in each repository.\n\n<ul>\n<li>This <em>might</em> be solvable by including repositories in repositories (such as with <a href=\"http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.0/ch07s03.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">SVN externals</a>), but that still assumes a central repository location that is accessible to all co-authors, which is not a given when collaborating with different groups.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>As also remarked by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958/federico-poloni\">Federico Poloni</a>, when several authors work together, they need to use the same references. It wouldn't make any sense if each author had his or her personal large .bib file, rather than having one common .bib file for the paper/project.</li>\n<li>Even when working as a single author, the .bib file sometimes needs to be submitted for the camera-ready version of a paper, to allow editors to build the document themselves. While I don't think it's usually explicitly forbidden, I'm quite sure it's not a very good idea to submit your complete multi-MB literature database every time you submit a CR version.</li>\n<li>Different papers/projects need to be formatted according to different styleguides. While the actual layout of the bibliography is imposed by the BibTeX Style that usually comes with the paper template, some paper-specific tweaking is required more often than not in my experience:\n\n<ul>\n<li>Some styles show URLs, for other styles, the URL needs to be inserted into the <code>howpublished</code> or the <code>comment</code> field.</li>\n<li>In some papers, you want to (or have the space to) show some redundant information such as publication months, publisher locations, or DOIs, in others, you don't.</li>\n<li>In some papers, you may want to use full journal or conference proceedings names, in others, you may want to abbreviate them as far as possible</li>\n<li>In some papers, you can use special packages (e.g. for <a href=\"http://www.ctan.org/pkg/combelow\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">correctly rendering a Latvian name with a comma accent</a>), in others, this might not be allowed.</li>\n<li>In some papers, the layout of the bibliography is such that you need to repair some ugly block formatting with additional <code>\\hskip</code> commands, custom hyphenation, and the like.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>When starting a new paper or project related to a topic I had written about before and want to grab some random related work for the introduction, I find it most convenient to open the .bib file of the previous document to get an overview of the ~30 references that I had used there. Of course, I could also look in the compiled PDF file, but I cannot directly copy the entries that seem suitable from there.</li>\n<li>As mentioned by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7725/darij-grinberg\">darij grinberg</a>, it might not be desirable to have later changes to bibliography items retroactively show up in old documents. It would mean that the old sources compile to something else than what they did at the time of writing the document, and it may even ruin a carefully adjusted layout.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Disadvantages:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I regularly need to copy some references from one file to another when I want to reuse them.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43100",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32783/"
] |
43,104 |
<p>When writing a technical article that includes mathematical proofs: Is it acceptable to have footnotes within the body of a formal proof (to elaborate/clarify non-essential points) or is the use of footnotes in proofs considered bad practice?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43112,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I cannot remember ever having seen a footnote in a proof. My instinct would be to put elaborations or clarifications into a remark <em>after</em> the proof.</p>\n\n<p>In an actual math paper, you could actually have a \"Proposition 1\", followed by its \"Proof\", then a \"Remark 2\". For instance:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><strong>Remark 2.</strong> Note that $X$ in the preceding proof does <em>not</em> have property $y$, which would have allowed us to use the technique from\n Foo & Bar (2015).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>However, this may well depend on your field, on your journal, on the editor and on the referees. Some of these may well frown on footnotes, while others may be fine with them.</p>\n\n<p>I'd say you'd be safest with putting additional material into Remarks.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43113,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Like almost anything else in writing, style should follow function. In other words, if you think that a footnote makes it easier for your reader to follow a text (for example, because it explains an aside that is too long for a parenthetical remark), then it is appropriate to use one. There is no general guideline whether footnotes are acceptable or not. It all depends on what you want to say and how you want to say it -- choose whatever means you think are appropriate to tell the story of the proof.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43114,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I personally find footnotes exactly as acceptable or unacceptable in a proof as in other parts of a paper. A well-written proof often contains quite a lot of explanatory prose, and there is nothing special or magical about a proof that prevents one from having an \"aside\" comment within it.</p>\n\n<p>I would, however, find it very strange to have a footnote in the statement of a <em>theorem</em>, just as I would find it strange to have a footnote in an equation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43133,
"author": "smci",
"author_id": 12050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12050",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Footnotes within proofs are fine and to be recommended.</p>\n\n<p>I've read tons of (multipage) proofs (in signal-processing, or machine learning) where the author's train of thought was impossible to follow and obscured by unnecessary steps and diversions. Twenty pages of matrix algebra and higher-order derivatives in order to establish some underwhelming pseudo-result which follows directly from well-known basic theorems familiar to people in the field; or else can be sketched out in one or two paragraph of paraphrase, to articulate the necessary motivation before wading into verbose proofs.</p>\n\n<p><strong>A proof [in most academic domains] should be aggressively made as compact as it can be, without removing anything essential</strong>. Shunt all non-essentials, sidebars and footnotes into footnotes or remarks.</p>\n\n<p>One frequent paradigm (common in signal processing): assume an independent normal distribution on multiple variables (where this is known to be a ridiculously invalid assumption), waste 8+ pages deriving a non-result based on that assumption, before instantly discarding and invalidating that result and introducing a new (but much weaker) derivation with the proper assumptions that should have been used in the first place, but render the subsequent result very basic and uninformative. Finally fall back on showing a few graphs or experimental results to discuss how the process behaves in reality .</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43104",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6879/"
] |
43,122 |
<p>I'm a recently minted postdoc working in an applied computer science field. Occasionally I get requests to review an article, or even to serve as a technical program committee member in various workshops.</p>
<p>Should I basically accept all of these requests as long as the papers to be reviewed are related to my subfield? Or is the opportunity cost too high? Will this community service be positively viewed when I apply for academic positions?</p>
<p>I typically don't learn much from reading the papers under review, as the workshops I'm invited to serve are not that high quality overall, and many submissions are plain bad.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43125,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While it is good to be selective in what you want to review, it is generally a good idea to be \"available\" to review papers from a wider range of topics. This means that you will have to occasionally say yes to requests. I think this will only enrich your CV and you will be looked in a better light among your peers. After all someone must have peer reviewed your past work. I see it as a chance to give it back to the community.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43130,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I judge my review opportunities based on the venue: if it is a known good venue, or if it is a little-known venue but there are good people organizing, then it is a good place to give service. You might end up with all bad papers (after all, in a selective conference most papers are rejected), but you'll still learn things about the process and the way that other people are thinking about the field, and you'll give service that will help a venue or people that you like (and it's not bad on your CV).</p>\n\n<p>Don't waste your time on junk venues: if a venue is not serious, you are only degrading yourself by associating with it. Note, however, that \"junk\" is completely different than \"low impact\" or \"high acceptance rate\"---in many areas of computer science, a lot of the really interesting new work and research discussion originates in workshops or symposia that have very low impact and high acceptance rates (consider, for example, the <a href=\"http://www.aaai.org/Symposia/symposia.php\">AAAI Symposia</a>). What is important is whether the people and organizations involved are credible and likely to attract interesting work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43134,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There may be a short-term benefit if you list \"Reviews for X\" on the CV, or the journal publishes a thanking-by-name for the year's reviewers. Otherwise, the outside world would have no idea whether you are a diligent reviewer or otherwise. Another medium-term consequence of diligently reviewing, especially if your reviews are high quality, is that editors may get to know that you are a good reviewer. This can lead to invitations to serve on editorial boards and perhaps the ultimate horror, being invited to take on an editing position. IMO, if your concern is getting a permanent job, the value for that goal of reviewing is pretty low: it's more useful for tenure and promotion, especially promotion to full when service counts more. </p>\n\n<p>Taking a more long-range perspective, reviewing is in your self-interest for two reasons. First, you can influence the shape of your field by imparting your knowledge to other authors via the reviewing process (thus making the world more friendly to your viewpoint). Second, if you encourage and support the existing system of volunteer scholarly reviewers by reviewing, then (by \"cultural osmosis\") your own submissions stand a greater chance of being reviewed appropriately. That is, if almost everybody says \"No way\" to review requests, then there will only be a few reviewers and the reviewing system will collapse, which would not be good for your own publishing plans.</p>\n\n<p>But of course, avoid junk journals and don't automatically accept <em>all</em> such invitations, not at this stage of your career.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43135,
"author": "agentplaid",
"author_id": 31792,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31792",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience, your \"community service\" of serving on program committees and providing reviews can reflect positively on your hiring case. This is in part because it demonstrates that you're willing to be a \"good citizen\" and do the service work that keeps an academic field strong. I'm in CS myself, and we can definitely use more high-quality reviews. </p>\n\n<p>The primary reason, however, to get involved with reviewing and particularly program committee service is to become part of the community in your subfield. This is the \"networking\" advice that you've probably heard many times, but it's especially applicable here. Keeping in mind @jakebeal's advice above about choosing good investments for your time, these are some of the people who will review your papers and funding proposals. They can be good sources of advice, feedback, and future collaborations and reference letters. </p>\n\n<p>Moreover, hiring committees want to see evidence that you will be successful as a junior faculty member. This kind of participation in your subfield's research community can provide strong evidence for your case (again, modulo the quality of venues and work involved).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43138,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not on a hiring committee, especially in your field, so I can't necessarily speak to how it will effect your job prospects, but some things about reviewing papers that have benefitted me:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Interaction with journal editors. I went back and forth with an editor in a journal I was reviewing for that's important in my field, not to argue but to clarify what I was looking for in a review. That editor now knows me - not well, but certainly more than if I was simply contacting them out of the blue.</li>\n<li>A look at \"things to come\". Reviews let you see a little bit ahead in terms of what the field is doing, and are useful prompts to keep up with things that are probably topic-relevant to you.</li>\n<li>The chance to <em>make the literature better</em>. This one is, to me, fairly important.</li>\n<li>On more than one occasion, I have been able to point out work by someone I know (and once myself) as possibly relevant to the authors.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43193,
"author": "Daniel",
"author_id": 11808,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11808",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, <strong>you should accept at least some of these invitations</strong> (unless they are from junk journals or junk conferences, but the other answers have already emphasized that).</p>\n\n<p>Basically, it is all about networking:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>For well-known journals, conferences and workshops, this definitely becomes a strong point on your CV. It underlines your reputation within the community.</p></li>\n<li><p>However, even for less prestigious venues, it can be a <strong>door opener</strong> if the organizer or some other members of the PC are established seniors of your field. If you do a good job in a couple of Workshop PCs, sooner or later your name will be dropped when someone assembles a PC for a more prestigious conference.</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Physical PC meetings are the best possible networking opportunity.</strong> Most conferences in CS (at least the better ones) insist on a physical PC meeting – an excellent opportunity to access the \"gurus\" from your field! On such a meeting, the atmosphere is a lot more personal than on any conference. By good reviews and a coherent line of argument in the discussion you have furthermore the chance to distinguish yourself as a real expert in the field.</p></li>\n<li><p>Besides that, you learn a lot about how a PC works! You will experience how thin the line could be between \"weak accept\" and \"weak reject\". How much it depends on group dynamics and \"the one reviewer\" that stands up for some paper (or against it). How... Long story short: It helps you to write \"better\" papers (i.e., papers that have a higher chance to survive this process!)</p></li>\n<li><p>If allowed (and in many cases it is) this is also a good opportunity to train your students. Let them review a paper as well. Of course, in the end it has to be <em>your</em> review and you have to be confident in it. But reading and discussing a paper from the viewpoint of a reviewer strengthens their (and also yours) writing abilities. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>So even if you do not necessarily \"learn something new\" from the papers, you will definitely learn a lot about the hidden rules of the publication process itself. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43122",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32707/"
] |
43,140 |
<p>I have now more than once had the following series of experiences as a referee of mathematics papers:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Elite Journal A sends me a paper. I find some problems with it, some small and some large, and describe them in a carefully- and thoughtfully-written report, but also tell the editor that even if the problems were fixed I do not think that the results are sufficiently interesting to rise to the august standards of EJA, though the results would deserve publication somewhere. </p></li>
<li><p>Several months later, Mediocre Journal B sends me the same paper. The author has clearly not incorporated anything from my earlier report: typos that I pointed out have not been fixed even though it would have been trivial to do so, and the more serious problems that I found have not been addressed at all.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The first time that this happened I was quite upset with the author: based on my earlier report he had been made aware of fundamental flaws in the proof of his main result, yet he had the nerve to try to publish it anyway. But since it has happened again (with a different author), it has occurred to me that maybe what is happening here is that the author simply is not getting a chance to see the report, because the editor isn't sending it with the rejection email.</p>
<p>Is there a consistent practice in this regard? When I have had papers rejected I suppose I often haven't gotten a detailed report with line-by-line corrections, but I usually assumed that one had not been written (most of my rejections have happened fairly quickly and on grounds of significance as opposed to correctness). If I want the author to see my report even if the paper is rejected, do I need to specifically tell the editor this? Or have I just happened to stumble across some unscrupulous authors?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43142,
"author": "Chris Leary",
"author_id": 11905,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11905",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One would expect to see the full referee's report. You obviously approach the job in a conscientious manner, and the author could benefit from your remarks. However, from my own experience, it appears that this is not always the case. A few years back I sent a paper to a prestigious journal. It was sent through a submission portal and I was given a \"tracking number\" to stay up to date on its status. Eventually, the paper was rejected. That didn't bother me because I thought that journal was a bit of a stretch for that particular paper. I waited patiently for a few weeks so that I could view the referee's report and make necessary changes before submitting elsewhere. And still I wait. I contacted the area editor, who promised to look into it. Eventually, I contacted the editor-in-chief, who promised to look into it. What I ended up with was a claim that the report must have been lost. No effort to contact the referee for a copy or anything. Sooner or later I will resubmit. But ... .</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43144,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I do not believe journals would withhold the reviews from an author, because they generally want to make the reasons for rejection as transparent as possible. </p>\n\n<p>Most of the cases I have seen have fallen under the first scenario–the authors don't want to fix the paper, they just want to get it published <em>somewhere.</em> I once had the unfortunate experience of having to go through four versions of the same manuscript because the authors were refusing to provide a key plot to demonstrate the accuracy of their results. After they finally provided it (and showed the results were <strong>not</strong> accurate), I promptly rejected the manuscript. Unfortunately, the same manuscript was published in a much lower-profile journal a few months later, completely unchanged.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43158,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You appear to have experienced the scourge of journal-shopping, in which authors just throw a paper at journals in decreasing order of preference until it sticks. Any reasonable journal will have forwarded your reviews to the authors (otherwise, the editor is wasting <em>your</em> time), and so if you see a paper essentially unchanged, it generally means the authors are simply ignoring the issues you raised and hoping their next roll of the dice will produce a more favorable reviewer.</p>\n\n<p>When I encounter this, I am typically very harsh, because I don't like having my time wasted. I will typically write something along the lines of:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I didn't like this paper the last time I read it either, and the authors appear to have made no attempt to address the issues raised.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>then copy in the review from the previous round (you do save all your reviews, right?), and strongly recommend rejection. I will do this even if I recommended only a major revision previously, because I consider it a sign of bad faith on the part of the authors to refuse to address reasonable criticisms of a paper.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43169,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is not common, in my experience, but I have encountered two journals where editors send a synopsis of the reviews, rather than the verbatim reviews. I'm not saying that I believe that's what's going on, but it is a fact that some journals excerpt reviews. (Plus, at least one that I've reviewed for gives reviewers a choice of \"share nothing; share the following...; share the full review\"). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43210,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, I think assuming the authors have seen your review is reasonable. It is possible, however, in some cases, for your review to not be seen. The first is simply the authors not understanding how the online system works and missing a review. Possibly only seeing the AE comments or maybe one or two reviews. The other possibility is that the AE rejects the paper prior to all the reviews coming in. Maybe it was a borderline desk reject, the first review came back as a reject, and the AE made a decision at that point. I think the Frontiers journals ask for lots of reviews and make a decision once they have \"enough\" so authors may not see all reviews.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43140",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32808/"
] |
43,147 |
<p>Generally speaking, keeping the door open to your office while attending with a student (or students) is a safe policy given the amount of danger one can get in should any allegations be made. (I mention this last bit in light of the number of Title IX investigations that seem to be on the rise.)</p>
<p>However, is there ever an appropriate situation where closing the office door while meeting with a student or students is okay as a teacher/lecturer/professor?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43150,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the convention, at least in the US is that if you are in a position of authority to convey anything confidential to the student, and if the conversation happens to be of confidential nature, it should take place behind closed doors. To be practical, I would make sure I have a clear idea of what I want to communicate and try to keep it as brief as possible. If there is a chance that things might escalate, may be have the conversation somewhere in the open such as a ground or a walkway around the institute.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43152,
"author": "Oswald Veblen",
"author_id": 16122,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16122",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is one of those topics for which different people have different opinions. Some professors (and some programs) have no issue with meeting with students one-on-one behind closed doors. Others will avoid it whenever possible. There are many, many factors that can affect the decision - including sensitive issues such as gender, power imbalances, tenure or job security, etc. It is impossible to give one-size-fits-all advice. </p>\n\n<p>That being said, I think it is a fine practice to meet with your door open whenever possible, and simply lower your voice to avoid sharing private information such as grades. For ordinary meetings, such as office hours, there is no serious reason to meet behind closed doors. </p>\n\n<p>For situations where there are other concerns - such as concerns about of any kind of unprofessional behavior or claims about unprofessional behavior - it is often better to ask another faculty member to be present for the meeting. Even if they do not speak, their mere presence can genuinely help defuse tense situations by keeping you <em>and</em> the student more calm. Moreover, the other person is also able to recount their memory of the meeting should it be necessary, avoiding some issues that can arise when only two people were present for a conversation. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43156,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience, a closed door is most likely when the two people have already established a trusted relationship and are on the <em>same</em> side in a tricky situation. For example, when I was a TA and the professor and I were talking about how to deal with a possibly-cheating student, then we would likely close the door.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43147",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9569/"
] |
43,154 |
<p>The title says it all I believe.</p>
<p>Do I need to request permission from a colleague to cite their information as a "personal communication"?</p>
<p>"Do I need to" may be a little restrictive, so I'll also ask, would you feel wronged or offended if your personal comm. were cited without your express permission?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43159,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think we don't even need to consider permission in order to resolve this question. The more fundamental question is this: how do you know that \"personal communication\" is the right citation and not a publication? </p>\n\n<p>Your colleague may have been passing on information that they or somebody else had already published. Even if it was not published when the colleague spoke to you, it may have been published (or at least submitted) as part of some manuscript since. It may also have been communicated to you in confidence---you would hopefully remember if this was the case, but in some cases it may be easy to forget, e.g., if it was said during a UK meeting held under <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham_House_Rule\">Chatham House Rule</a> or at a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Research_Conferences\">Gordon Conference</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I would thus recommend contacting the colleague to ask what the appropriate citation for the information is. At that point, the colleague can make an appropriate judgement and either point you to a standard citation, tell you to cite as personal communication, or request that you not publish the information.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43171,
"author": "JRN",
"author_id": 64,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/64",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should request your colleague's permission to cite his/her personal communication. Your colleague could have provided the information casually, and not to the same standards as publishing in a journal, and so the information could be incorrect.</p>\n\n<p>For example, if someone asks me \"Hey, Joel, is 57 a prime number?\" and I say, \"Yeah, I think so,\" I would be very hurt if that person cites me in the paper as \"Noche claims that 57 is prime.\"</p>\n\n<p>(I'm referring to the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57_%28number%29\">Grothendieck prime</a>.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43154",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24711/"
] |
43,157 |
<p>My advisor will be taking on a number of summer interns, some of whom have been assigned to my projects. The interns are a mix of sophomore and junior undergrads with varied levels of research experience. They will be present for 8 weeks (2 months). </p>
<p>What are some general tips for supervising interns ?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43163,
"author": "blankip",
"author_id": 11420,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11420",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>My biggest piece of advice is set expectations from day one and then work with them very very closely until you feel like they have \"taken off\" and are also on the same page. It is such a short amount of time that you may have to have them do some shadowing to get them on board as soon as possible. </p>\n\n<p>The worst thing you can do is tell them to do things, not get what you expect, then in week three you have gone no where, you are frustrated, they are frustrated, and then they are gone before you know it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43238,
"author": "Flyto",
"author_id": 8394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A few general tips, from somebody who has been on both sides of this. Paragraphs are not especially related to one another!</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure they understand the big picture - not only what they are doing, but why they are doing it. What's the overall ambition of which they are a part?</li>\n<li>Make sure they understand the middle picture - what are you hoping that they will achieve during the internship, and how does that fit into the big picture?</li>\n<li>Make sure they understand what they are doing from day to day. This is more about them feeling comfortable in coming to you with questions, and having sufficiently regular meetings that you understand what is going on and can keep an eye.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>All of the above can help to maintain motivation.</p>\n\n<p>Remember, perhaps above all else, why the intern is there: Partly to help with your project, but mostly to gain experience of a real research environment. Invite them to meetings where appropriate (or encourage your supervisor to do so), even if it's only relevant in a background sense; discuss things with them rather than just giving instructions; try, so far as possible, to expose them to more than routine \"grunt\" work.</p>\n\n<p>Until you start to work with an intern, especially at undergrad level, you will have probably little clarity on their skills. For example, if somebody has put on their CV \"Can use MATLAB\", that can mean anything from \"can follow worked examples\" to \"can be left alone to build complex systems\". You will need to discuss things with them, and probably work quite closely with them at the start, to gauge their skills, and set expectations accordingly - bearing in mind that the internship may be a good opportunity for them to <em>learn</em> any skills that they need and do not possess. This should be encouraged.</p>\n\n<p>On a related note, if an intern does not fully understand what they are doing, and especially if there is time pressure, there can be a tendency for them to get into a mindset of just following instructions by rote. This should be discouraged, for (a) it is tremendously demotivating; (b) somebody who is doing things without understanding them may do things <em>wrong</em> without understanding them; (c) if the purpose of an internship is to gain experience of research work, this is not going to help.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43157",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27265/"
] |
43,160 |
<p>I am currently writing a research paper and am having an issue referring to an author of <a href="http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/mas/article/viewFile/6029/4866">a paper</a> whose name is "Dadi He". I know that it is common practice to refer to an author by their last name when referring to them or their findings. </p>
<p>Though I find myself writing sentences starting along the lines of "He found that...". I assume that the simple solution is to refer to the author by his full name. But this seems to become repetitive after a few sentences.</p>
<p>Is this correct, is there a more formal or accepted way to do so?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43188,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's too funny a situation to pass up the opportunity to quip about it in the paper and simply acknowledge the situation. As in:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Our methodology is based on one that was first investigated in D. He (1983) and in the following, we will discuss how the referenced paper inspired our approach. (Referencing the author of He (1983) presents a conundrum because the name can be confused with the male pronoun. In the following, when written in uppercase, we will refer to the name -- though there really is no potential for misunderstandings since D. He is male.)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I do think that occasional humor should not be discouraged.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43201,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>At least in my field, it’s rather uncommon to mention an author’s name in a paper. Rather it is something along the lines of the following (somewhat depending on the citation style):</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Ref. [42] showed that discombobulators can facilitate banana transmogrification.</p>\n<p>Recently it was shown that discombobulators can facilitate banana transmogrification [42].</p>\n<p>Recently it was shown that discombobulators can facilitate banana transmogrification (He et al., 2014).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>That does not mean that it would be wrong to mention an author by name, but I would find a paper that intensively does so somewhat strange – even if the paper heavily builds upon this author’s work. At least I would find it totally acceptable if such an author was mentioned only once or twice.</p>\n<p>So as a first step, I suggest to <strong>change your writing style as to mention He</strong> and other authors <strong>less often</strong>. If you have a whole paragraph where you refer to He’s work in every sentence, it should suffice to mention this in the first sentence, e.g., like this:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The method we are proposing is an extension of the method proposed by He [42], which briefly works as follows: […]</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Mentioning any author in such a paragraph repeatedly, let alone always at the beginning of a sentence is something that I would consider bad style anyway. Be sure to check as to whether this is not totally uncommon in your field.</p>\n<p>For the remaining occurrences of He’s name, <strong>rephrase the sentences such that the name does not occurr at the beginning of a sentence</strong> such that it does not happen at the beginning of a sentence or after an abbrevation. Capitalisation should suffice to make the distinction here. You may hold some subconscious ideal that it should be possible to tackle such issues without rephrasing sentences, but it’s a totally viable approach. Also, as explained before, this should at most apply to a few sentences.</p>\n<p>Some thoughts on alternatives and what I consider problematic about them:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mentioning the author’s full name. This is still likely to cause confusion, in particular among those who do not see the issue and wonder why this author is mentioned with a first name. Also, in some situations, the reader may not be aware that the first and last name actually belong together.</li>\n<li>Prepending the initialised first name of the author. This makes reading your text even more difficult, as one will likely think at first that a sentence ends after D. He’s first name, in particular if it’s grammatically plausible such as in this sentence.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43219,
"author": "Tom Church",
"author_id": 563,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/563",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Specific anti-advice (for a related situation):</p>\n\n<p>If this situation arises with a female author, <em>especially</em> if their first name is recognizably female, I encourage you <strong>not</strong> to write out the full name each time.</p>\n\n<p>It may seem unobjectionable, but this would play into the sexist practice (once widespread, though fortunately much less common today) of referring to men by last name while referring to women always by first and last name: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>This phenomenon has been analyzed previously by Schmidt [6], Wang [7], Mary Jones [2,3,4], Elfenbacher [1], Doris Laubin [5], and Washington [8,9].</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43160",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25149/"
] |
43,161 |
<p><strong>Question</strong> <br>
What habits and attitudes need to change when one hits the upper bounds of natural ability? This is the situation where you can no longer increase your <em>rate of advancement</em>. In effect your effort is "bounded from above". I am thinking primarily about research and learning from a student's perspective but I am sure this problem is common to everyone eventually. There must be some limit at which even the greatest stop accelerating. Given that this barrier has existed for a long time and affects every human that ever lived, there must be structual approaches to overcoming exhaustion of the lowhanging fruit. What are proven methods to continue improvement, or, failing that, hug the limit of natural ability as tightly as possible? Similarly to compound interest, if you underperform by 3% every year, then in 24 years you will be half the man you could have been.</p>
<p>The answer from Ben succiently explains this idea in the work equation:</p>
<p>work = (work rate)*(hours worked)</p>
<p>Assume that for whatever reason the goal is to maximize the work. If one can no longer increase the hours worked, what are strategies to increase the work rate?
What are new ways of thinking that can keep one at maximum possible performance? Are there ways of structuring your time that you have found that just <em>work</em>. What really helped you in staring down your own limitations?</p>
<p><strong>My Motivation:</strong> <br></p>
<blockquote class="spoiler">
<p> I have been fighting this ceiling for several months now, and I am getting >! to a hard physcial limit. I am at a barely ranked school and still have the dream of significant contributions to my field. Realistically this dream requires me to perform on the level of students at top universities. My first strategy was to just put in more time than the students who do better than me. It worked to beat the undergraduates here who spend 40% of their time on extra curriculars and social lives. However the graduate students are much more disciplined and working harder than their 80-100 hrs/wk is of much greater difficulty. To further compound the problem, we are nowhere near the quality of the top schools, so I fear beating the best grad student in my department would be equivalent to a freshman at T1 school.
<br>
I only started to work systematically when I started university, and have now developed a strong work ethic. I am at the point where I have eliminated everything else in my life except classwork and research projects. There is no longer any significant reservoir of time I can tap to make progress. I likely can obtain about 10 more hours a week if I mange to crack down on the instances where I am actually unproductive. This is my budget for improvement. Others may have more time available which is why I am not asking about quick hacks (although quick hacks would help me more).</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Note</strong>:I am just beginging my academic career, but I am really concerned about not being able accomplish my goals. If you understand what I am getting at please feel free to <strong>edit</strong> to make the key idea more clear. There has to be a way using logical frameworks to minimize the inherent limitations of whatever body you are stuck with. I am not looking for a "self-help", "positve thinking" style answer. I am looking for methods that you, SE.Academia, as men of science and reason, find that work.</p>
<p><strong>edit</strong> <br>
I have put the motivation in spoilers because it is not important for answering the question I want to ask (should I just remove it?). Some answers are addressing my specific situation which I think is not the purpose of this site. We are supposed to ask general questions that can apply to others, not just advice threads.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43165,
"author": "Patricia Shanahan",
"author_id": 10220,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10220",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>\"I am at the point where I have eliminated everything else in my life except classwork and research projects.\"</p>\n\n<p>That is likely to be counter-productive. You need to leave room in your life for inspiration to strike, not just perspiration. Go for a walk. Take up a hobby that does not require total concentration. You may be limiting yourself by not allowing enough time for rest and relaxation.</p>\n\n<p>I know I am much more likely to get a creative idea for solving a problem doing something else, rather than staring at it, once I have the background firmly in my mind.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43170,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Have you talked with your advisor or another mentor about your concerns? Getting another person's advice and insights can be crucial, particularly from someone who knows you well but has a broader perspective. Think of it in athletic terms: even the most talented athletes can't reach their full potential without skilled coaching. Generic advice and strategies can help, but they can't replace continuous guidance that is tailored to your specific needs.</p>\n\n<p>It sounds like you've done a great job of working hard, but that's only part of the picture, and you may even have gone beyond diminishing returns to reach the point of burning yourself out.</p>\n\n<p>So if it's not just a matter of hard work, what else can you do? This is a difficult question, since of course nobody on this site knows enough about your talents and accomplishments to say anything specific, but here are a few possibilities:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>How well calibrated is your ambition? Some people devote a lot of time to research topics that are beneath their talents and will never lead anywhere exciting; they need to take on greater challenges. Others are so determined to accomplish something amazing that they waste time struggling fruitlessly with the deepest challenges while ignoring other exciting and more approachable topics.</p></li>\n<li><p>Are you juggling an appropriate number of projects? Focusing exclusively on one project can be less productive, since you can't switch modes when you feel stuck or frustrated. On the other hand, switching too frequently is a good way to get nothing done.</p></li>\n<li><p>How much time are you spending on activities in your field outside of your current, direct research interests? For example, attending talks, chatting with other researchers, reading famous papers, filling in gaps in your background knowledge, etc. If you neglect these things, you won't grow as much as a researcher, but if you spend too much time on them, they will distract you from actually doing research.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Notice that each of these topics is a balancing act, in which going too far in either direction is problematic. That's what makes them difficult, and it's why feedback from a mentor can be so valuable.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43200,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am sorry to say but your way of thinking in the long run will be counter-productive for you. You must always set small, visible, measurable goals instead of vague infeasible plans that may be out of your reach. E.g., It is one thing to say \"I enjoy playing the guitar so I will practice to be the best guitar player I can be\" and another to say \"I am going to be the greatest guitar player that ever stepped on this earth\" or \"I am going to be the greatest rock star ever\". </p>\n\n<p>In this sense, your thought \"<em>I still have the dream of significant contributions to my field</em>\" is toxic and it will probably lead you to frustration (unless you are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Tao\">Terence Tao</a>) or burn out, because the success of this dream is determined by outside factors that you cannot control or influence. Also this goal is egoistical. I am positive, that most people who made significant impact on their field did not started for such a self - centered goal but instead it was their desire to do research and their skills to do so that lead them to success. World recognition or fame is mostly a motive for those who will do everything from hacking results, stealing papers and falsifying research to get ahead from the pack. </p>\n\n<p>So you must strive for smaller feasible milestones that bring you closer to your remote goal but are within your reach. Such milestones might be: \"Get good grades so I can go to a better university for a PHD than my current school\", \"Write my first paper\", \"Get accepted for a PHD\", \"Get a PHD\" and so-on. Setting goals should not be a static process but must be flexible enough to adapt to external feedback. And take the hints from external feedback to adjust accordingly. E.g., It will be unreasonable to expect to make significant impact to a scientific field if you cannot write even your first paper. Therefore dreams and ambition are nice but as you already figured out we all have some external and internal limits that we cannot overcome. </p>\n\n<p>Also success is not linear and it is a combination of many factors. Some of them are: Drive, hard work, ability and luck. You obviously have the drive and you want to invest the hard work but you also need luck and the necessary skills. You also need other people's help. You must seek for people who will believe in you, will see your hard work and are willing to help. Supervisors who will do their best to mentor you. A spouse who will support you on the inevitable rejections of research. You just cannot do everything alone. You need other people for that. And abandoning the social component of life entirely to compensate for what? So that you will once be a famous researcher? It really makes no sense. In other words, if research is what you want to do, then research should be fun for you (you do not do it for the money anyway). And right now, even before starting doing actual research you do not seem happy. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43203,
"author": "Ben Trettel",
"author_id": 31143,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31143",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You can improve, almost certainly. It's hard to know how much a priori, and that's true of most everything. You shouldn't be pessimistic.</p>\n\n<p>First, do not mistake working long hours with making progress. As others have indicated, this often is counterproductive. <a href=\"http://matt.might.net/articles/work-life-balance/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Matt Might gives the following equation for work output</a>:</p>\n\n<p>output = (work rate) * (hours worked)</p>\n\n<p>Hours worked is only part of the equation. And your work rate, the amount of output you produce per hour, is also a function of hours worked. Work too much and you'll burn out (mathematically, this means your work rate will approach zero). As you've suggested, you need to work smarter, not necessarily more.</p>\n\n<p>Second, you definitely have a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindset#Fixed_mindset_and_growth_mindset\" rel=\"nofollow\">fixed mindset</a>. If you believe things are hopeless, well, even if they aren't, you probably won't improve. You need a growth mindset to improve. This is where you believe you can improve. Work on this.</p>\n\n<p>Most likely, success is determined by both talent and focusing effort towards the right things. In my experience, effort is more important if you show any reasonable amount of ability. I can think of many people who I consider smarter than myself, who accomplish less. Some of these people even put a lot of effort in, but unfortunately they put the effort in the wrong way. Some of them are just \"unlucky\" (though <a href=\"http://www.richardwiseman.com/research/psychologyluck.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">luck can be influenced too</a>, it seems).</p>\n\n<p>So what can you do to improve? No one is magically good at first. You need the right strategy to figure out how to get better. A strategy research has found to be common is <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practice_%28learning_method%29#Deliberate_practice\" rel=\"nofollow\">deliberate practice</a>. There are a lot of books on this subject. One I've read is <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B001HD8NZ8\" rel=\"nofollow\">Talent is Overrated</a>. The basics of the strategy should not surprise anyone, but you'd be surprised by how few people actually implement it. Deliberate practice is about focusing on what's actually valuable, not what just feels productive. In studies of musicians, for example, researchers looked at how accomplished people became and what their practice strategies were. The most accomplished musicians focused on the parts they had difficulty with, while the less accomplished ones spent most of their time playing music they were already comfortable with. The lesson here should be clear: you need to challenge yourself to improve. See what you need to learn to accomplish what you want. This might be learning certain theory, or learning how to do experiments, or learning to do research better, or whatnot.</p>\n\n<p>Target the gaps in your knowledge, and fill them in as you go along (Anonymous Mathematician suggests this). This is an essential habit in my view. It can be hard to implement, and I am not perfect at it, but over the past year I have started writing down things which I need to learn or understand poorly and started filling in the gaps roughly in order of importance or usefulness. Some of these things are trivial (for example, learning Roman numerals) but others are research-level questions.</p>\n\n<p>I find solving problems to be particularly helpful in highlighting gaps that I did not know I had. Textbooks have a lot of these, but I tend to find problems posted on internet websites (say, StackExchange sites) to be more diverse and ultimately more helpful for me.</p>\n\n<p>I'm a graduate student right now, and I dedicate about 1.5 hours a day towards learning. In the past, I was inconsistent about this, and I had ineffective learning strategies (e.g., just reading a book is not likely to make a strong impression). Being consistent, using good learning strategies, and focusing on what's important has made me much more effective.</p>\n\n<p>Some other books I would recommend to students interested in overcoming plateaus are <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0805803092\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Complete Problem Solver</a> and <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1569246297\" rel=\"nofollow\">Your Memory</a>. The latter book in particular caused me to change a large number of my habits, and I think I am a much more effective student and teacher now. The book details a lot about how to learn and remember more effectively. I'd also recommend the software <a href=\"http://ankisrs.net/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Anki</a> to reduce the amount you forget.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43257,
"author": "ssmart",
"author_id": 32864,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32864",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When you go to school, as a young child, most of what you are learning are fundamentally well characterised skills that require <em>practice</em>. In this context, the more time and effort applied, the better you get (directly).</p>\n\n<p>The further through the education system you go, the more success is measured in terms of insight and understanding. The relationship between the amount of work done, and the insight and understanding gained is extremely loose - as a simple example, which is more useful, to do double the amount of work that is 10% easier, or half the amount of work that is 10% harder? I suspect often the latter.</p>\n\n<p>At undergraduate level and beyond, the sheer volume of work completed becomes a relatively minor component of success, and those who try and optimise their life in this way tend to hit a fairly solid limit of achievement that they cannot breach. Ultimately, no matter how much you optimise your life, you will only gain a handful of percentage points of productivity gain - and somehow other people will achieve multiples more than you. They are not doing so by working harder, or longer, or even doing \"more work\".</p>\n\n<p>There are a number of things to consider.</p>\n\n<h2>Ideas are interconnected</h2>\n\n<p>Learning a large and complicated area is well described as building a mosaic of understanding, piece by piece. What matters is that you strategically place the pieces and put your effort into comprehending how they relate to each other to form the larger picture. The amount of effort put into making each piece perfect is of much more minor concern.</p>\n\n<p>There is a certain amount of expertise that is required to (for instance) pass exam questions in specific areas. You will find that as you gain more of an overview of a field, the specific expertise will become easier to pick up (rather than the other way around).</p>\n\n<p>You will gain a lot from always examining:</p>\n\n<p>i) I have leant an idea. What is the edge of applicability of this idea. Do I know where my knowledge runs out? Can I make an informed judgement about areas of learning that might be opened up by this, before we get to them?</p>\n\n<p>ii) Can I apply what I have learnt in other areas than the one it was taught in? Is there anything else that I have learnt that makes more sense now?</p>\n\n<p>iii) Is there anything that we haven't been taught that would be useful for me to understand here, either to extend my understanding or support it?</p>\n\n<h2>Communication is key</h2>\n\n<p>In an intellectual, or learning context, the ability to communicate ideas well is the measure of comprehension. Don't leave it until examinations to rely on this.</p>\n\n<p>At the very least, talk to your peers about what you have learnt. Discuss, as above, the limits of what you know, and equally what you don't know. Fill in each others gaps.</p>\n\n<p>If you have the opportunity, do some teaching. Even if this is of people who are much more junior than you, you will find that your understanding of your field will grow substantially. Especially if you ask your students to ask questions - magically these questions will illuminate areas that you didn't appreciate what you knew (or find gaps in your perspective).</p>\n\n<h2>People are important</h2>\n\n<p>Your best ideas will come from talking to other people. Especially people not doing exactly what you are doing. At the simplest level, it will encourage you to think about the same things in a different way. It may also pique your interest to look at something you hadn't thought of.</p>\n\n<p>In our department, tea time is considered the most important time of day. Once in the morning, and once in the afternoon, everyone sits around over a cup of tea or coffee and talks. Sometimes about the weather, sometimes about what their kids are doing at school, sometimes about how students they are teaching are doing, and sometimes about research.</p>\n\n<p>It sounds silly, but this is often where ideas come from. If someone is struggling to turn up regularly they will end up being dragged along. This social element is <em>critical</em>. In the first 6-months of my first postdoc, a conversation over tea had more of an impact on the direction and success of my research than my efforts during my PhD. Because we came up with a good idea. I wasn't expecting that when I poured my coffee.</p>\n\n<h2>Think about what you are looking at</h2>\n\n<p>If you are focussing on volume of work, you are almost by definition not focussing your attention on choosing <em>what</em> you look at.</p>\n\n<p>Find things that are hard. That pique your curiosity. That are a bit outside of what you have to do. Your intellectual future will depend on finding what you are really interested in - and it helps if this is not exactly the same as everyone else. And you certainly can't be told what to be interested in.</p>\n\n<h2>Don't stress about failures</h2>\n\n<p>There will be times you don't understand things. That you get things wrong. That you get stuck. Don't worry.</p>\n\n<p>Put something you are struggling with aside. Do something else for a while. Preferably something really different. Go back to it later. Ponder things. Ask someone else.</p>\n\n<p>Everyone gets stuck sometimes.</p>\n\n<p>Overcoming being really stuck involves (and causes) gains of insight. This is what you are aiming for - but it is not readily achieved by just working more.</p>\n\n<h2>Exercise, eat and sleep</h2>\n\n<p>For your mind to work well, your body needs to as well. Get some exercise. Make sure you socialise. Finally, for your memory to work well, you need to eat well and get enough sleep.</p>\n\n<p>Don't skimp on these.</p>\n\n<p>On any individual day you can get more done by working longer, and harder. But it comes at terrible long term cost of decrease of average productivity, loss of insight, and worst of all, exhaustion and loss of curiosity.</p>\n\n<h2>Most of all be curious</h2>\n\n<p>When you find something interesting, you will learn. Do the things you find interesting (and hard). Feed your curiosity.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43161",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32768/"
] |
43,164 |
<p>In my field, peer reviewers often start their review with:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This article reports on a study that did X, using Y, in the area of Z. It found ...</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This seems like a waste of time and effort to me (and I never do it). Why is it done? To prove the reviewer has read the paper?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43166,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I always start my reviews with a summary, as a way of establishing that I have understood the key ideas of the paper. I feel that this then places me on firmer ground in any subsequent praise or criticism. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43168,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Reviews are communications to the editor, and an effective review tells the editor what the article is about (in that reviewer's opinion), using significantly fewer words than authors typically use. If an editor has to process a couple hundred submissions per year, it's not possible for him/her to carefully read every paper, so the editor will especially care if the reviewers agree on what the paper purports to show and whether the paper actually shows it. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43172,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'll (cautiously) agree that this summary may be superfluous. In the best of all possible worlds, this <em>exact</em> information should be in the manuscript's abstract, which is at the editor's fingertips when he reads the review and makes a decision on the manuscript.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes, rarely, I find myself in this best of all possible worlds and find that I can't express the paper's contents in a better way than the authors did in their abstract. In such a case, I'll happily write</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>For the contents of the manuscript, see its abstract.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>as the first paragraph of my review. (I then proceed to show that I actually <em>did</em> read the entire paper, by writing a clear and detailed review, and that this first paragraph is not laziness on my part. Writing a summary of the paper has a <em>signaling</em> function: it signals to the editor that you (a) actually read the paper, and (b) are not too lazy to summarize it.)</p>\n\n<p>Usually, I find that (I think that) I can summarize the paper better than the abstract did - for instance, if the authors wrote a \"teaser abstract\", where they write what question they investigate but do not give their results, so people have to dig into the actual paper to find out what the results were. In such a case, I'll write such a summary, and usually recommend that the abstract be improved.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>(EDIT) Here is what Jeff Leek, one of the bigger names in statistics writes on the topic in <a href=\"https://github.com/jtleek/reviews\" rel=\"nofollow\">this highly recommended text on how he wants members of his group to review papers</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I think the summary is critical because if you can't distill the ideas\n down then you haven't really understood the paper. The summary should\n absolutely <em>not</em> be a restatement of the abstract of the paper, you\n should find the parts you think are most relevant and include them in\n the summary.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 63410,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As others have said, there's reasons for this that aren't just superfluous:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>It indicates that you did indeed read the paper</li>\n<li>It signals what someone who gave the paper more than a cursory reading thinks the paper is about.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>That second point is a pretty serious one - if a reviewer \"missed your message\", that's a pretty serious problem, and while it may be tempting to just say \"Oh, they didn't read it closely enough\" it's worth considering that maybe they did, and the point isn't as clear as you thought it was.</p>\n\n<p>That sentence or two is also essentially an executive summary of the review for both the editor and the author(s), and can set the tone for the rest of the review. Consider, for example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The paper estimates the effect of X on Y under conditions Z, and is largely in line with similar estimates in the literature.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>vs.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The paper is an insightful examination of the effect of X on Y under the relatively understudied condition Z, and is a valuable contribution to our understanding of X.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you were a journal editor with limited space looking for an engaging paper, which would you pick?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 63421,
"author": "Laurent Duval",
"author_id": 38057,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/38057",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When the editor receives a lot of reviews at the same time (special issue, special session), this provides a quick sanity check that the different reviews are effectively about the same paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43164",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6495/"
] |
43,173 |
<p>Is there some way of arranging that I receive emails whenever selected academic economics journals of interest to me, perhaps published by different publishers, post online a newly accepted paper?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43174,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have never heard of that. But you can setup an alert on Google scholar and get notifications when publications appear that match your search query or keywords. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43175,
"author": "Martin Van der Linden",
"author_id": 10664,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10664",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most journal offer an email alert service for new issues/accepted papers. A couple of examples :</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.aeaweb.org/notify/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.aeaweb.org/notify/</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291468-0262\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291468-0262</a> (see \"Get new content alert\")</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-economic-theory/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-economic-theory/</a> (see \"Stay up to date\")</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43176,
"author": "enthu",
"author_id": 15723,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some publishers have a page introducing the ways by which their readers can be informed whenever a new issue of the journal is published, or a new paper is published in a journal. You should seek each journal for such email subscriptions.</p>\n\n<p>Also, some websites of the journals provide <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS</a> links for their users. You can copy the RSS link (news feed) of the journal you want to read in your RSS reader software or related online account. Every time an update (may be a newly published paper or a new journal issue) is posted on the publisher's/ journal's website, you will receive it's news on your RSS account.</p>\n\n<p>As an example, the following links are for email subscription and RSS news feature which is available in <a href=\"http://arxiv.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">arXiv</a> for their readers.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://arxiv.org/help/subscribe\" rel=\"nofollow\">To Subscribe to the E-Mail Alerting Service</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://arxiv.org/help/rss\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS news feeds for arXiv updates</a></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43173",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32851/"
] |
43,177 |
<p>I am writing a paper that centers on Quantum Information Theory, approached using Graph Theory. This approach has parallels to Matrix Theory, but it is very different from all existing Graph Theoretical approaches to this topic. We have submitted two papers to journals: 1) Physics Reviews and 2) Electronic Journal of Combinatorics, but both of them are rejected. We suspect that reviewers did not understand that our approach is not trivial.</p>
<p>My questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How should we present our method so that the reviewers can see its worth and see that it is not trivial? </p></li>
<li><p>How can we establish the parallel to Matrix Theory, but at the same time differentiate our approach and convey it's contribution to research? </p></li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43180,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Getting into the details would be too technical for this site, but my suggestion is <strong>spell it out explicitly</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>If this issue is a concern for your readers and for the referees, there should be a section in your paper titled <em>Why is this nontrivial?</em> (maybe just after the introduction) where you argue on why your approach is relevant. If you can, include an example where it is apparent that your approach is more simple or more insightful.</p>\n\n<p>Don't be afraid to toot your own horn.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43186,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The reviewers may not have understood why your approach is new or worthy. But that is not the reviewers fault, it is your failure to explain it well: if the reviewers don't understand it, other readers won't either.</p>\n\n<p>So go back to the reviews, analyze them for what they said and why they could have been mistaken, and change your paper accordingly. If they don't see why your approach is new, spend the time in the introduction to explain why it is new and how it differs from existing approaches. If the reviewers complain that they don't see why taking a different approach is worthwhile because the result is the same, spend the time in the introduction or conclusions to explain what you think can be done with your approach that could not be done before.</p>\n\n<p>In other words, use the reviews as a positive strategy to see how others read your paper, rather than getting mad at the reviewers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43187,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First, did you receive feedback from reviewers of your two rejected articles? Most journals provide reviewer comments for articles they reject. If you did receive feedback, you should seek to understand all of their objections and suggestions (if any).</p>\n\n<p>Second, if your Graph Theoretic approach is truly unique and adds value over Matrix Theory (and other existing approaches), then it is up to you to make this explicit in your Introduction and Method sections. (As <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958/federico-poloni\">Frederico</a> advised) What are the advantages and limitations of the Matrix Theory approach? How does your Graph Theoretic method overcome these limitations? What new does it add?</p>\n\n<p>Third, you might have to admit that you are wrong -- that your Graph Theoretic approach is not sufficiently different from Matrix Theory or similar. Please do consider this alternative before you proceed. The burden of proof is on you to demonstrate the uniqueness and added value. If you can't articulate it <em>clearly</em> and <em>simply</em>, then maybe it isn't there.</p>\n\n<p>I suggest that you rewrite your paper with these goals in mind. And then, before you submit it another journal, you send it to two or three colleagues who will be <em>skeptical</em> and <em>critical</em> of everything you write. You want people who are willing to pick apart every sentence, every equation, every diagram, every reference. Only after you go through one or two review cycles with these colleagues should you submit to a journal again.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43177",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8569/"
] |
43,178 |
<p>I want to do a PhD in mathematics (Specializing in algebraic topology or algebraic geometry ) or mathematical physics (String theory). I have a bachelor degree in a totally different field (medicine).
Here's my situation :</p>
<p>I have independently studied mathematics and physics. I have spent a lot of time with hatcher's textbook in algebraic topology and lang's complex analysis among with other topics in math and physics. These are proof-heavy textbooks and I usually do the exercises. </p>
<p>Now , after having studied analysis ,differential topology ,geometry, abstract algebra , quantum mechanics and QFT .</p>
<p>Is this a good preparation for a PhD in math/physics ? </p>
<p>Please note that I have studied from standard textbooks and solved a lot of exercises. </p>
<p>How do I convince PhD committee to accept my application ? </p>
<p>If I apply now , Apart from formal qualifications,my application will be missing one crucial component which is the letters of recommendations. I'm not sure where do I get them ? I don't know any physics or math professors who can evaluate my knowledge.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44614,
"author": "Matt",
"author_id": 14548,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14548",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should contact potential advisors who work in the areas in which you are interested. Introduce yourself, explain any work you've done, and ask if they have specific feedback for moving on in your career. You should contact several people. If you live near a university, arranging a time to meet with some current faculty members is also a good way to go about this.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44692,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Start by taking a class at a university as a non-matriculated student. You can audit if you need to save money. Choose the class carefully. Don't forget to look at ratemyprofessor.com. This class is a way for you to get your feet wet, and find out if you enjoy institutional learning as much as you've enjoyed your autodidactic learning.</p>\n\n<p>The instructor of that class is going to be your prime target for looking for a recommendation letter.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43178",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32822/"
] |
43,195 |
<p>If someone has been successful enough with grant support that they somehow manage to accumulate more than three months' summer support per year, what happens to the remainder of the funds above the three-month threshold?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43197,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It probably depends on the rules of the grant (you didn't say which agency you're discussing), but generally one is able to just spend the money on something else, or leave it for a future year.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43198,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Some people can buy off a course from their teaching duties in the non-summer months usually at the rate the department would have to pay to hire an adjunct to teach it. Some agencies will allow you to shift the salaries off yourself and onto a student so that maybe you go to 3 weeks from each of 4 grants rather 4 from each and use the saved money to fund some additional student time. This may or may not require permission from the funding agency, but it can usually be done without it as long as the PI isn't reduced to zero time.</p>\n\n<p>With the NSF in the US, faculty <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf15001/gpg_2.jsp#IIC2gi\">aren't allowed</a> to have more than 2 months of time funded across all NSF grants without explicit permission from NSF. Now, if you have 1 DoE grant covering 2 months and 1 NSF grant covering 2 months, they won't notice.</p>\n\n<p>Some people also finagle this problem when their grants are staggered enough that there's only a short period (say one of three years) where this is an issue by pushing the money off to a future year and then exercising an option for a no-cost extension of one year to spend out the money.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43195",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53/"
] |
43,204 |
<p>In the event of a falling out with a supervisor (Master's thesis or PhD) is there generally anything one can do about it if one wants to apply to a (different) PhD program, for which one would need a recommendation letter? I am mostly interested in the European academia. </p>
<p>I am certain this must have happened a lot in the history of academia and I am wondering what happens in such situations. Is it the end of one's academic career? Are the other options to leaving or (if possible) changing research groups within the university? I know that one can't force a person to write a positive letter, but is there anything that outsiders can do to effect such a situation or is all the power with the supervisor?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44810,
"author": "erwin",
"author_id": 31805,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31805",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To begin with, most supervisors are reasonable, decent people. So, the option of communication, depending on the nature of the falling out, is quite reasonable. It is perfectly possible to finish a PhD with a substantially acrimonious relationship. It might be best to study communication skills a bit first.</p>\n\n<p>If that isn't practical, typically, the former supervisor has a lot of power.* However, very few things are absolutes. The purpose of a supervisor's letter is to gain insight from someone who has previously worked with you. In the USA, in my experience, a certain amount of creativity is acceptable as long as you can fulfill that purpose.</p>\n\n<p>For example, my PhD supervisor switched continents and became quite busy with startups without leaving a forwarding address... So, I provided a letter of recommendation from another supervisor along with a note describing the circumstances for some fellowship applications. No problems. Albeit, I worked in research in industry for several years.</p>\n\n<p>*One thing many graduate students overlook is properly researching potential advisors. The cost of a PhD, typically, significantly exceeds the price of a home. And, typically, is much riskier. Yet, somehow, students jump into PhD programs far more easily than they'd buy houses. On the positive side, in departments I have been in, there have been a few supervisors with known personality issues and, within the department, accommodations were made for students leaving those groups.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44821,
"author": "Flounderer",
"author_id": 5842,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5842",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you were quitting a PhD and applying to do a PhD with a different supervisor, wouldn't it look weird to have a recommendation letter from your current supervisor? What would they write? \"X is a brilliant student and I am sorry that he or she is quitting my supervision and looking for other PhD positions\"?</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, getting letters from supervisors when you are applying for postdocs or jobs is kind of essential. When I finished my PhD, there was a certain coolness between me and my supervisors, but they were still willing to write me letters, because not having a letter from them would have looked very suspicious indeed. I expect most supervisors with integrity would be willing to write a letter, even if they have fallen out with their student, because if they don't, they are effectively torpedoing your academic career.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43204",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32855/"
] |
43,207 |
<p>I am a incoming first year grad student this fall. I have contacted prof A during when I was applying and talked to him during the visit. He strongly encouraged me to join his group.</p>
<p>After the visit, I emailed students in Prof A's group and other current grad students. I started feeling that his group atmosphere is not the best for me, and I don't want to join him anymore. </p>
<p>He is really nice and recently offered me an educational opportunity that is only shared by current students. I am grateful and I really want to take that course.</p>
<p>I feel guilty right now b/c he is so nice to me. But I don't want to spend my next 5 years in a group I don't like. </p>
<p>Is there any way that I can let the prof know I am not interested in his group anymore? Do I have to give up the course he offered? I am not assigned to prof A so I have the freedom to choose.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43242,
"author": "Dan",
"author_id": 32830,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32830",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Be professional about it, you don't want to cause any hard feelings as it won't really help you while you are at university.</p>\n\n<p>If I was you, I would do the following things:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Quickly note down a list of logical reasons why you think <strong>you</strong> would benefit more from not joining the group.</li>\n<li>Go find some other groups that you do like. Write down a list of the advantages of joining those groups.</li>\n<li>Now keep these points in mind and when you next see your professor just explain these points to him/her in a calm and professional manner.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Remember this is your degree we are talking about, its up to you what you want to do. Be bold, don't be shy to follow your interests, otherwise you'll end up board and frustrated that you didn't make the best choice earlier on.</p>\n\n<p>Hope this helps.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43243,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It sounds like you have not made any sort of commitment, so if that is the case then there should be absolutely no hard feelings by simply writing a polite email saying that you have decided not to do research with him.</p>\n\n<p>If you wish to elucidate the reason, just say you don't feel that you'd fit in well with the group. He'll understand. You should not feel obligated to come up with an elaborate explanation.</p>\n\n<p>It's hard to tell without more information on the course you speak of. If it's an ad-hoc, informal course taught by the professor himself then I can see how the investment of time may only be worthwhile for his own students. If it's a proper course that you pay fees for and earn credits, then perhaps it is reasonable to ask if you can still do it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43207",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32856/"
] |
43,208 |
<p>It seems that high profile universities are not the most enjoyable work environment to be in.<br>
Even though big institutions attract big names and grant money, it seems to me that the pressure to perform leaves everybody, from the undergraduates to the professors, overworked. On the other hand, the idea of less prestigious university is attracting me for the, perhaps overly romantic idea, that as passionate people could be working in these institutions. </p>
<p>I am thinking: perhaps moving out of a big institution to a smaller one could increase quality of academic life, as well as creativity. But surely quality of science need not be inversely proportional to department enjoyability?</p>
<p>-Is this a realistic expectation?</p>
<p>-Does this depend on the research interest?</p>
<p>-Does achieving a PhD in an impressive institution open many doors that would otherwise remain close (for example, being able to be an independent researcher)?</p>
<h2>Additonal info:</h2>
<p>I have graduated from a MSci in Theoretical Physics in a big London university, and I am currently doing a MSc in Applied Mathematics there. Interests were fairly broad and decided to prolong my taught education to "taste" more subjects.<br>
I love Physics and Maths almost as much as air, but I am a bit concerned with the dullness of my current environment. I haven't been to other universities, or know many passionate people from other universities, so I have not had the chance to ask these questions to many people.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43216,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would recommend you try to answer your own question by meeting people who are currently doing their Ph.D.'s in a variety of institutions, and asking them what their programs are like.</p>\n\n<p>Technical conferences are a great venue for doing this. It is also acceptable to (on your own) visit departments to which you think you might be interested in applying. At least in the US (and I'm guessing also in the UK), professors and current grad students are generally happy to meet you and talk about their experiences.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43244,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me focus on the question in the title. In my experience, a vibrant mathematical community is the best environment for creativity. More prestigious universities/departments tend to attract creative and passionate people, who create vibrant communities, and being surrounded by them will help you be more creative and passionate. While this is not a rule, and some departments just have bad atmospheres (you need some individual knowledge of the department to know about this, so visits etc are good), you're more likely to find inspiration at a place with cutting-edge research, than at a place where most of the research is \"pedestrian.\"</p>\n\n<p>There is a caveat, however. If you can barely keep you head above water, it's hard to be creative. Fortunately, <em>most</em> places won't admit you if they don't think you can handle it, though it does happen. Again a visit, or browsing student/faculty webpages/blogs may help with this. See also <a href=\"https://math.stackexchange.com/q/8652/11323\">this related question on MSE.</a></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43208",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32853/"
] |
43,209 |
<p>So here's my situation. I'm currently finishing up my masters (and that's a tale for another day) and have applied to a few universities for PhD.</p>
<p>Late Feb I was emailed by a postdoc who wanted to interview me on behalf of his prof who was inundated with grant applications and whatnot. We spoke on a week later, that went well, and I was told that if I was successful, I would hear from the prof himself. The following week (on a Friday) the prof himself responded to me that he wanted to have a follow-up conversation with me about it.</p>
<p>I replied that Sunday letting him know I was free any time. I heard nothing, so I sat on my hands for a week and sent another reply letting him know that once again I was available that week if he wanted to talk. He informed me he would let me know but was on his way to a conference. This time I gave two weeks, and yesterday (April 7) called twice, about an hour apart, leaving a voicemail the second time, and sent a follow up email about an hour later as well. So, it's now been almost four or five weeks.</p>
<p>His voicemail mentioned an assistant that I have not contacted and I have likewise not emailed the postdoc since our previous conversation.</p>
<p>Is there anything left that I should do about this? How should I take this? </p>
<p>When I was interviewed by profs the first time I applied for grad school I don't recall having these issues. I want to be assertive/not look disinterested but also don't want to overstep any bounds. How responsive should I expect a potential prof to be?</p>
<p><em>To my knowledge this question has not been investigated elsewhere on this site.</em></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43236,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I had similar issues with contacting my future PhD supervisor when applying and found the most efficient route was contacting the assistant. The professor is clearly busy but definitely doesn't want to be inundated with your emails. The assistant may plan his schedule and can book you in. Contacting the post doc isn't as efficient and can look like you are sidestepping the professor. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43241,
"author": "Dan",
"author_id": 32830,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32830",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Why do professors take ages to update their 90's style websites? Time.... From my experience professors are very busy people and thus they tend not to reply to emails as fast as one may hope for (unless it's some kind of urgent matter which must be addressed immediately).</p>\n\n<p>If a professor has expressed interest in you, they won't just ignore all your correspondence. Just give him/her some time (at least a few days) and then send another email.</p>\n\n<p>Be careful not to spam the professor with emails, this will only annoy him/her. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43286,
"author": "Mark Allyn",
"author_id": 32568,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32568",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would need to very carefully consider whether or not I want a relationship (a professional one at that) with someone who does not seem to have the courtesy to respond to correspondence within a reasonable time.</p>\n\n<p>At where I work; I try to respond within one day (one hour if it's someone in my department. If I cannot get the technical answer or make an explicit appointment or whatever, I will acknowledge the email saying thank you, I will need to get back with you by with a answer as I need to do some scheduling/research/whatever.</p>\n\n<p>If I get emails from strangers on my personal account (and I am reasonably sure they are not spam but are questions about my hobbies or my artwork, I will answer within one or two days with an acknowledgement (maybe say that I can give a better answer later or lets talk about it on the phone because it is very technical.</p>\n\n<p>I have had occasions when someone just does not respond. In one case, it as a distributer of optical fiber I wanted to use for my lighted clothing. I ended up going to his supplier who did answer their emails and got the optical fiber at wholesale prices. The person who never got back to me lost out on a sale.</p>\n\n<p>In your case; do you really want a professional relationship with someone who does not have that basic courtesy?</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43209",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32861/"
] |
43,211 |
<p>I come from a fairly wealthy background, and am lucky enough to have parents who are both footing the bill for my tuition, as well as providing a very comfortable living stipend while I'm in school.</p>
<p>Without thinking much about it, I dropped a resume to be considered for one of several merit-based scholarships awarded each semester by my college. Short story short, I've been awarded a partial scholarship for next semester, but I've come to wonder whether it's ethical to accept it. </p>
<p>On the one hand, the criteria for the scholarship makes me as deserving is anyone, and that's of course why it was awarded to me. But I can't help but wonder if that doesn't ring a bit hollow. I don't even have to work while I'm in school, and am starting to feel as though I'd be taking the money out of the pocket of someone in a rougher spot.</p>
<p>It may be worth noting that my parents consider this money earned by me, and will simply pass any tuition savings directly to me in cash.</p>
<p>Is there a generally accepted view on this one?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43214,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Congratulations! It's your decision, but I think the most commonly accepted point of view is that it's totally fine to keep the money. One thing you could do with it, or with part of it, is to give back to a need-based scholarship fund or to any other worthy cause. </p>\n\n<p>Also, at least in the US, it is common for universities to solicit donations from alumni, so if you so choose you will have an opportunity to 'pay it forward' after you graduate.</p>\n\n<p>Again, congratulations!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43217,
"author": "Tom Church",
"author_id": 563,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/563",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think it's healthy to ask yourself this question, regardless of the decision you come to. One aspect you may not have considered:</p>\n\n<p>Since your parents have decided to pass on these scholarships directly to you, you will have a <em>huge incentive</em> to maintain a record of academic excellence. (Indeed, studying for classes might be the best-paying job you can find!) Neither your university nor your family would be unhappy if this was the result.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I'm sorry to say that when I was in college there were many merit-based scholarships that I was too lazy to apply for, even though (for specific personal reasons) I would have been an extremely competitive candidate. The most important consequence of my laziness was that my family, who made great sacrifices to support me to go to college, bore a greater burden than they should have; as an adult I am ashamed of this and I regret it terribly. But another consequence was that when it came time to graduate, I had no practice in applying for anything: I had never written a resume or CV, I did not have many faculty members who could write letters on my behalf, and most fundamentally, I had no idea how to portray myself as a desirable candidate for an internship, a fellowship, or a job. Even though the first consideration may not apply to you, this one very well might.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43232,
"author": "cphlewis",
"author_id": 32653,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32653",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can accept the <em>honor</em> without accepting the <em>money</em>. It will not hurt your CV to have a merit-based award or a string of them. However... you probably know some bright students from pinched backgrounds who are trying to keep their grades up while working. If you put the monetary award into your school's need-based scholarship fund, the next winner would be competing with you on a more even footing and your good grades will mean even more. </p>\n\n<p>This is a pretty strenuous standard of morality, but it does feel good afterwards. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43234,
"author": "David Lord",
"author_id": 25114,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25114",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Congratulations on the recognition of your merit, and congratulations on your strong ethical base.</p>\n\n<p>Other answers have already discussed the topic well - I will offer this: if you don't accept the money, where will it be used? Could you ask the scholarship committee to redirect it to somewhere it will do more good?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43239,
"author": "Huns",
"author_id": 32878,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32878",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your college education will greatly increase your income. This increases the government's tax revenue significantly, which is important. That education is an investment that will pay both you and the government back many, many, many times over during your life.</p>\n\n<p>If the scholarship is coming from the institution itself, you're in luck because that makes the ethical considerations easier. They will simply write off some of the expense of teaching you. This is not the same as them giving you a pile of money. However, even if it was, there's a good case for why it <em>still</em> doesn't matter.</p>\n\n<p>Suppose the institution is publicly funded. It gets money from the state's tax revenues. They give you a helping hand. Your education nets you <em>far</em> more money than someone who only has a high school diploma. That income is taxed. Education is a huge part of the budget in any state; my own (California) spent over $50 billion on it yearly the last time I checked. If you make more and get taxed more, a big chunk of that is going to go into helping <em>other</em> students. In a public institution, the government <em>already</em> foots almost <em>all</em> of the bill. Whatever you pay per term is a small portion of what the institution <em>actually</em> gets!</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, the government is going to gank your money year after year and spend it on incredibly stupid, unethical, wasteful things whether you agree or not. If they give you back 0.5% of what they take out of you, TAKE IT!!!</p>\n\n<p>Now, suppose the institution is privately funded. It gets money from other students' tuitions, donations from living alumni, endowments from dead millionaire/billionaire alumni, and a few other sources like trademarks, patents, property holdings, etc. In the case of fellow students, they had the same opportunity to win that scholarship on merit, and did not; so if they don't get the scholarship, is it your fault? Hardly.</p>\n\n<p>Likewise, suppose a dead billionaire bequests $50 million to the university. A great deal of that money is there <em>solely</em> because of the reputation and connections that billionaire enjoyed. You probably know that most of the reason people try to get into Ivy League schools is the gravitas of the university's name, and the connections that can be made there!!! Merely saying \"I went to UCLA\" or \"I went to Harvard\" will open doors that would remained closed if you'd said \"I went to Bumf*** College of East Nowhere\". If a tiny drop in that billionaire's bucket propels you to great success, increasing the glory of the university the billionaire loved to the tune of $50 million, I would see that as a positive rather than a negative.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, it's up to you. These are all just rationalizations. Someone else will have different rationalizations. Some may say it's immoral, but morals are just opinions we automatically absorb from the people who we grow up around and go through adulthood with. Morals are almost never thought through; they are merely parroted for the sake of group membership, which is why the subconscious mind cares about them in the first place.</p>\n\n<p>Instead, it's best to consider one's moral sense as a source of information, but hardly an infallible one. Consider morals in 1850 vs. today - is someone's moral conviction enough reason to think they're right? Certainly not! With ethics, the question becomes this:</p>\n\n<p>\"What are other peoples' rights and reasonable expectations?\"</p>\n\n<p>If someone says they have a reasonable expectation and/or a right to get the scholarship because they're poorer than you, ask why their interpretation is necessarily the only valid one. (I've given you plenty of valid interpretations above that are perfectly valid, so this is not difficult.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43452,
"author": "tqwhite",
"author_id": 33043,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33043",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is easy. It is completely ethical to take the money. It is no different than the presumably fat bank you will be paid when you get a job that accounts for your life's status level.</p>\n\n<p>What's not ethical is having surplus money and not giving it away. In Judaism, we call this tzedakah, balance or justice. You have too much. Others have too little. Until this imbalance is remedied, you have an obligation to do what you can to change it. Every ethical system has a variation on this theme.</p>\n\n<p>So, to maintain your ethical position, when you receive the reward for your achievement, you must give some or all of it to someone in need. It is perfectly fine to give it to a charity or something but, were it me, I would look at my circle of friends for those who have economic struggles (one hopes you do not hang exclusively with other wealthy folk) and help them out. Pay a bill. Pay an installment of a student loan. Take them out to dinner. Whatever. </p>\n\n<p>Just set aside that lump of money and make sure that it is used for things that primarily benefit others. You can deflect the issue of obligation, etc, by noting that you got a one-time lump of money and thought it would be fun to share.</p>\n\n<p>This will have two consequences. First, it will help people out. Second, you will really enjoy the feeling.</p>\n\n<p>I had a period where I made a lot more money than my friends at the beginning of my career. I tried to share as best I could. It was great. It got me in the habit of generosity. My advantage has since faded but, I still do what I can and it makes me a happier and, I think, better person.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43605,
"author": "qwertz",
"author_id": 33167,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33167",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Congratulations!</p>\n\n<p>Definitely keep the scholarship. Regardless of the monetary value of the award, it looks great on your CV – it is outside confirmation that you can work hard and will be appealing to employers when you graduate. If you think that pursuing a career in academia could be for you, then it is actually critical to have it on your resume, because scholarships at an earlier stage in your career are like compound interest: a scholarship at the undergrad level helps you get more scholarships in the future because funders have confirmation that you have been successful in the past and that you won’t waste their money. This builds momentum and will help you acquire academic grants in the future – whether financially important to you or not, it is important when applying to universities at all levels in your future career. This will give you more options and the freedom to continue working in the field you are most passionate about, which is where you are most likely to make a positive difference. In sum, the award may not seem important to you now, but it is important for employers, universities, and your future potential.</p>\n\n<p>What you do with the money is up to you – you can donate it to charity, invest it into another worthwhile cause, or use to further expand your horizons to see where you can make an even bigger difference in the future. If money isn’t motivating you, you could find a creative way to channel the scholarship winnings into something that you do truly value. No matter what, it sounds like you’re already on a great path – I hope that you continue to foster this ability to self-reflect and your kindness toward your fellow students. It sounds like you’ll go far.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67690,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to add one thing to your situation I don't think anyone has touched on. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I come from a fairly wealthy background, and am lucky enough to have parents who are both footing the bill for my tuition, as well as providing a very comfortable living stipend while I'm in school.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>When you say you don't need the money. Well you do! It's just that family is giving you the money instead of some scholarship. </p>\n\n<p>Part of being an adult, or some might even say the defining characteristic is self sufficiency; cutting support from your parents. There is a certain pride in paying your own way through life. Even though your parents are being helpful and it sounds like you'll be self sufficient with no problem, it might give you some confidence that you are paying for things from something YOU did. It's a merit based scholarship which means it's your achievement, not just your parents' generosity. </p>\n\n<p>Put it this way. After you graduate, would you take an unpaid job because your parents agreed to pay for your living expenses for the rest of your life? </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43211",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32165/"
] |
43,212 |
<p>Currently I'm affiliated with two universities: Nankai University in China (postdoc) and Monash University in Melbourne (adjunct). I'm attempting to apply for ethics approval for a research project involving personal data that people post online. I'm completely new to this.</p>
<p><strong>Q</strong>: Do I need ethics approval from both universities?</p>
<p>It would be substantially easier for me to get approval from Monash, simply because the forms are in English and the people I'd need to discuss it with speak English.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>What actually happened</em>: I applied for ethics approval from Monash. They were fairly patient with me, being new to the process, and it took a bit of back and forth. Nankai University matched the conditions and dates by Monash, so I didn't have to bother with filling in paperwork in Chinese. (And the paper was subsequently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9181-6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.)</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43213,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US, you generally need the approval of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) if your work was funded by the federal government, and you would have to demonstrate that approval to publish in any venue that required it. There are probably many other institutions and laws in the US that require IRB approval for this kind of research, but most of the issue is driven by the federal government's attachment of the process to its research funding. If this were happening here, either one should be sufficient. That being said, if the work is mostly related to your postdoc, I would be most concerned about the requirements of the funding agency or university that funds it. An adjunct position in the US would imply mostly a teaching role to me which would be less concerned about your research work. Your situation may be different.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43220,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The purpose of IRB approval is for four things. The first is to make sure research is being done ethically and responsibly. Except when used in a circular definition, research does not need IRB approval to be conducted in an ethical manner. It definitely does not need multiple IRBs to approve it. The second is funders may not fund research that is not approved. They would only want approval from the institution where the funding is being given to. To publish research, it general needs IRB approval, but again, they do not care where it comes from. From both the publisher and funder point of view, IRB approval is their proof that the research was conducted in an ethical manner.</p>\n\n<p>The final reason is so you are not liable. IRB approval, at least at the universities I am familiar with, means that the university takes on the liability as long as the protocol is approved. As place that may get sued,more any place that you will want help from if you get sued, will likely need to approve the research. Many IRBs have a light touch review for studies that have been reviewed by another university's IRB.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43229,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You first need to know the laws of the country where you \"are\". In the US, as long as you're not engaged in directly-regulated research (such as medicine), IRB approval is imposed on you via a contractual / employment relationship with an institution. Therefore, in the US, you are required to do what your employer requires of you. An institution may require that <em>all</em> research conducted using institution resources undergo IRB scrutiny. In the US, the institution would have no power to limit your independent research activities, but such assumptions of individual liberty may not hold elsewhere. Other countries may have other laws; if you're actually in China, you have to do what Chinese law requires of you, even if you're only occasionally in China. It does not matter, from the legal-enforcement perspective, whether it is difficult for you to pursue this question in Chinese, following prevailing cultural norms. You should therefore find someone who can give you honest and expert advice about IRB law (civil or criminal) in China. And just as it is in the US, you need to inquire of your employer what they require you to do (where the consequences of violating their rules could be getting sacked). </p>\n\n<p>If you are only concerned with publication issues, you should inquire directly of relevant journals what their specific requirements are. Some journals do not raise the question at all (I only know by rumor that it's required in psychology). If a journal requires you to warranty something about IRB approval, you need to know in advance exactly what is required. While I assume that approval from Monash would suffice, you really should verify that that is the prevailing policy for journals in your field. In the worst case, if some journal requires IRB approval from each institution where you are employed while conducting the research, they just don't submit your work to that journal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43230,
"author": "Alex",
"author_id": 32875,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32875",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes.</p>\n\n<p>Or at the very least, check with both Universities' ethics boards.</p>\n\n<p>I know of one instance of a post graduate student who in a similar situation got clearance from one university, but not the other, and was forced to discard their results.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43212",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8469/"
] |
43,218 |
<p>I just began shadowing a high school classroom as part of a requirement to earn teaching credentials. The teacher I'm shadowing has a PhD and is referred to as "Doctor Smith" (generic name) by his students. I am not his student and it is the first experience I have in a classroom setting where the teacher is my peer; but, it still feels uncomfortable to call him by his first name. </p>
<p>Do I call him "Doctor Smith?"</p>
<p>If he doesn't have a PhD, should I call him "Mr. Smith?"</p>
<p>When is it appropriate to call someone by their first name?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43221,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>A good safe approach is to start out calling him \"Dr. Smith\". Most likely he will quickly say \"Please call me Fred\" and then everything is resolved.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43224,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While you can't necessarily know what title a person prefers, in the US it is almost always acceptable to directly ask them what their preference is.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43235,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Try and listen for what other staff call him, both in the presence of students and staff and follow their lead. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43218",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31180/"
] |
43,237 |
<p>I have been working on a research paper to apply a technique X to solve certain problem Y. The field is in computer science. Approximately some months ago I started to check it up if there was something similar to my proposal, but I did not find anything at all.</p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago and when I have already finished the tests for my proposal, I decided to check it up again. In my new search, I found an article that was published about two years ago and when I read it, I saw that it was very close to the idea on which I have been working. The differences were very subtle, I was using a simplified version, data was collected in a different manner, and other tiny differences. If we talk in percentages, the differences would be like 20 % between my article and the one I found.</p>
<p>The reasons that I did not find this article in my first search were that it was published in a not so well known journal, and while it has been cited before, it were only self-citations and there was no strong relation between the article and the citing ones.</p>
<p>So what I can do in this situation? I have not based my work on this paper, but I know that I must cite it like a related work. Should I drop my paper or present it and see what the reviewers have to say about it? I would not like to be pointed as a case of plagiarism because of the similarities.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43240,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, you are absolutely right that you need to cite the paper. Citations should not be to \"previous work <em>you based your work on</em>\" but to \"the state of the art\" - whether or not you explicitly based your work on a previous article. The reader should be able to place your work in the context of what is already known on a topic.</p>\n\n<p>Second, giving any advice will be hard for us, since we don't know the specific situation. If all you add to this previous article is a simpler design and collecting data in a different manner, then your paper likely does not offer a publication-worthy contribution to the state of the art. </p>\n\n<p>Your best bet is likely to rework your paper heavily. Identify weaknesses or open questions remaining in the previous article and address these. Then you can build on the previous article and expand upon it, and you will have a genuine contribution.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, this will be a lot of work, and much of what you already did may turn out to be wasted effort. That sort of thing unfortunately happens in academia. You will need to analyze your specific situation to find out how much you can salvage.</p>\n\n<p>The positive side is that you have found someone who can meaningfully review your work. And if, as you write, their work has so far mainly been self-cited, they will appreciate some external attention on it, so if you get them to review your paper, you may have a sympathy bonus. Alternatively, you could even contact the authors of the earlier paper and see whether they would be interested in collaborating with you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43245,
"author": "Murphy",
"author_id": 16078,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16078",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's not plagarism to come to similar conclusions to someone else, as long as you're open and honest about everything plagarism isn't the issue. Since you know about it you'd definitely have to cite it. As long as you don't claim to be the first to have discovered it then citing the earlier paper and confirming that you found similar results before encountering it is, if anything, positive for the author of that paper. They get cited and an independent researcher, you, has confirmed their findings. </p>\n\n<p>You did the work, ethically you're in the clear as long as you're honest. </p>\n\n<p>I disagree with the other answer in that I don't believe that such repetition is \"wasted\" to other researchers. Lots of methods/technique papers gloss over weaknesses or \"just happen\" to use ideal datasets or don't mention the things that make the algorithm/technique unworkable in the real world and sometimes another paper from someone doing the same thing who's more open about such weaknesses can be invaluable. </p>\n\n<p>Politically on the other hand it can be harder to get published. Since it's so similar you're less likely to be adding significantly novel data to the field. It's less sexy but confirming previous work is of value. You're likely going to need to be more rigorous about it than if you were showing something completely new. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43271,
"author": "Aaron C",
"author_id": 32914,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32914",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, all papers tell a story: \"Here's this important problem. Here's what's been done about it. But what we don't know is X, Y, Z. So here in this paper, I address X, Y, and Z.\"</p>\n\n<p>Do your best to frame your introduction to acknowledge this previous paper in the \"here's what's been done about it\" section, and set up your novel 20% as the \"X, Y, Z\". Don't forget to explain to your readers why that \"X, Y, Z\" is important and useful to others. Your project may be perceived as a relatively incremental advance, and therefore may not appeal to a top publication. But it may still have value to a specialist publication. If you're already done with the computational work and in the process of writing up, you might as well give it a shot.</p>\n\n<p>If it gets rejected for not making enough of a novel contribution, then, based on the responses, I'd consider whether it's worth following Stephan Kolassa's advice, and doing more work to more explicitly establish your project as an extention of the earlier paper. It might be. Or you might find that your time (and excitement) are better devoted to other projects in your pipeline.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43237",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6144/"
] |
43,250 |
<p>I heard of some master's degrees that are just M instead of MS or MA like Master of Mathematics or Master of Psychology. Apparently, this is due to it being non-thesis.</p>
<p>However, I met people who choose non-thesis in MS or MA programs that have a choice between thesis and non-thesis. Their IDs say MS or MA. Is this because the program has a choice for thesis?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43710,
"author": "dbmag9",
"author_id": 6899,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6899",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general the formal name of a degree is a very bad guide to the contents of the degree; the name of the degree is heavily influenced by local history and traditions (some extreme examples: a Master of Arts degree from Oxford is automatically awarded 21 terms after matriculation to anyone with an Oxford BA; the degree that qualifies one to practice medicine in the USA is a Doctor of Medicine, while in the UK it's typically a combined Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery; a Bachelor of Philosophy degree at Oxford is a two-year philosophy degree aimed at those with a first degree).</p>\n\n<p>In the UK there are increasingly degrees called 'integrated masters' (or sometimes 'undergraduate masters') whose names fit the pattern you mention. These are generally four-year degrees, generally in fields like mathematics, science and engineering, which one enters without a previous degree and which aim to leave students in a position to embark on doctoral study. See <a href=\"http://www.sci-eng.mmu.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-courses/integrated-masters/\" rel=\"nofollow\">this</a> example from Manchester Metropolitan University. Individual degrees may or may not include a mandatory or optional thesis requirement.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43713,
"author": "PLL",
"author_id": 1277,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1277",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your question contains two slightly different issues; this is an answer only to the more superficial part, about the abbreviations. Hopefully it can help clear up the confusion this part is causing, and allow more focus on the more substantial issue, about the content of the degrees.</p>\n\n<p>The degrees you describe as “just an M”, like <em>MMath</em> or <em>MPhys</em> are not usually thought of that way, hence the confusion in comments. <em>MMath</em> is short for “Master of Mathematics”, just like <em>MA</em> is short for “Masters of Arts”. Neither is “just an M” — they’re both an M of something. The difference in the abbreviations is because for historical reasons, Master of Arts and Master of Sciences are used for degrees in a wide range of subjects, and so are very common, and have shorter abbreviations; where as Masters of other subjects have to provide a bit more of the subject name in order to be intelligible.</p>\n\n<p>So the other half of your question can be rephrased as: <em>what typically are the differences between programmes called MA, and programmes called Masters in Subject — e.g. between an MA programme in a mathematics department, and an MMath programme?</em></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43250",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21026/"
] |
43,251 |
<p>I love astrophysics and wish to pursue a PhD in a good institute outside my home country India. I did a master in physics (2014) and got a summer project in astrophysics. After my master, I took up teaching. I regularly applied to PhD vacancies but haven’t got any positive reply yet. This may be due to low grades in few subjects (I got an E in quantum physics). I am aware that work experience speaks volumes; so I mailed many professors for non-stipendiary internships but it didn’t work.</p>
<p>I want to know if anything is there that I could do all by myself and which can be counted as a “relevant professional experience”. What other measures I could take up?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 56302,
"author": "svavil",
"author_id": 41843,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/41843",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ol>\n<li>First option is going to be finding an actual job connected to astrophysics. A quick Google search brought me this <a href=\"http://www.iiap.res.in/iia_jobs/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">job postings</a> in Indian Institute of Astrophysics, located in Bangalore. While I cannot tell you if this institute is thriving (living in India, you possibly know that better than me), you could give it a try. Doing actual work as an engineer surely qualifies as a relevant professional experience when you apply for your PhD next time. Explore the job markets while you are still in your home country.</li>\n<li>While you can be applying for a job in India, go on and send several more PhD applications to other institutions outside India. It never hurts to try, and you will possibly become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses in the process.</li>\n<li>Next, there are online courses (<a href=\"https://www.edx.org/course/greatest-unsolved-mysteries-universe-anux-anu-astro1x-1#.VCGernWSzeQ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">1</a>, <a href=\"https://www.edx.org/course/astrophysics-exploring-exoplanets-anux-anu-astro2x-0#.VCGe6nWSzeQ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">2</a>, <a href=\"https://www.edx.org/course/violent-universe-anux-anu-astro3x#.VCGfInWSzeQ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">3</a>, <a href=\"https://www.coursera.org/course/analyze\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">4</a>, <a href=\"https://www.coursera.org/course/introastro\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">5</a>, <a href=\"https://www.edx.org/course/relativity-astrophysics-cornellx-astro2290x\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">6</a>) that you might take to reinforce your knowledge of the subject. People <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2336/can-i-include-the-completion-of-udacity-and-coursera-classes-i-have-attended-in\">argue if online courses should go to your CV</a>, but they are definitely worth taking for the sake of knowledge. Moreover, if you have had some bad grades in quantum physics in the past, a better grade in an online quantum physics course will be beneficial for your CV.</li>\n<li>Inspired by <a href=\"https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-start-a-career-in-astronomy-and-astrophysics-in-India\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">these Quora answers</a>: if you are thinking of a PhD studies outside India, pass the required examinations beforehand. For USA, this will likely be a <a href=\"https://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/content/physics\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Physics GRE test</a>, and you should have that ready almost a year before your PhD program starts.</li>\n<li>From the same Quora answer: taking part in a volunteer computation project (see <a href=\"https://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">a list of BOINC projects</a>) may help you learn more about astronomy, how the actual research can be done, and (why not?) get to know some researchers outside of your country.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 56303,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say this: Apply, Apply, Apply. Apply to schools in India, but also Gulf Countries (some which have institutions with strong physics PhD programs), apply to Chinese and Russian institutions as well. I know that diplomatically speaking, India and Russia have a strong relationship, and this can sometimes lead to strong student programs. Apply to varying institutions, and see what happens. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43251",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32896/"
] |
43,253 |
<p>I have been told in no uncertain terms that papers published with your PhD advisor simply <em>Do. Not. Count.</em> when it comes to tenure. Quote: "Publications with your advisor will be crossed off the list."</p>
<p>An assertion that strong makes me insecure about collaborating with <em>any</em> senior researcher. Will these publications also be tossed out? How senior is senior? For instance, suppose I collaborate with junior faculty at another institution who was hired at roughly the same time. Will outcomes from that collaboration be deemed "more significant" than with, say, a full professor from that same institution? And what about the field? Am I "safer" publishing with senior people from a different field, because there will be an easier perception that I am "carrying my weight?" Or should I simply avoid collaboration altogether, and publish exclusively with my own grad students and postdocs? How do the <strong>real</strong> discussions go, from those who have actually been in the trenches?</p>
<p>Honestly, I would much rather just collaborate with the people I do the best work with. (Isn't that the best thing for the field anyway?) But I am terrified of having years of good work "crossed off the list" because I did not pick the right dance partner.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43261,
"author": "Aaron",
"author_id": 1228,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1228",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I can't speak for your field or institution, so take anything I say with that in mind. </p>\n\n<p>That being said, in my experience (in computer science, at a well-ranked private university) what matters is not so much who you collaborate with, but that you have a research agenda that is strongly identified with you (as opposed to your senior coauthors). If all of your papers are coauthored with the same senior researcher, this can look bad, because it can be difficult to disentangle your research agenda from his or hers. But if your papers have a cohesive theme, and are coauthored with a variety of other people (even if many are senior), this is great. </p>\n\n<p>So in summary, in the parts of academia I have seen, you should collaborate with whoever you want to, but make sure you have your own research problems and are not just working on your coauthor's problems. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43269,
"author": "Aaron C",
"author_id": 32914,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32914",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As others have mentioned, the details vary by field and department. But essentially, your publication record as a faculty member needs to demonstrate that you are an intellectually independent PI making your own unique and novel contributions to your discipline. If your collaborations with previous advisors create the appearance that your work is merely an intellectual extension of your advisor's work, or that your research program is significantly dependent on that of your advisor (or others), then it will not be looked on favorably, whether or not those papers are \"officially\" counted.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43253",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9538/"
] |
43,255 |
<p>I'm one of those who realized near the end of their Bachelor's in Business Mgmt that they really really love math. I'm interested in research in pure, theoretical math. I am confident in my ability to learn advanced math on my own. I admit this is based on a small sample of experiences I've had so far with self-studying. After a year of working, I decide to do it full time.</p>
<p>Since I'm behind my peers, I was thinking to just learn the fundamentals (Logic, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra and Geometry) on my own, and then apply for a Master's. The reason I want to do these on my own is that I find I understand things better at my own pace taking the time to solidify the fundamentals. I took a year of math courses on an exchange program at London School of Econ and it felt like learning disconnected facts. Something like saying object x is round, black, with 4 holes etc. vs showing you a picture a black shirt button (which I find more efficient mentally). Concepts were introduced which were too new but no time was given to "form a picture" of the objects. As a result, it felt like very "syntactic". If I understand the basic concepts used over and over in math, rather than things built out of those facts like calculus, linear algebra, applied math and other "less abstract" branches, I feel I'd do well in my Master's course. I love taking the time explore mathematical concepts on my own, seeing how things fit. I find quite often I make my own concepts (simple ones though) where the picture feels incomplete, which is why I want to do research. </p>
<p>I was wondering how long I should continue this approach (i.e. when have I learned enough fundamentals)? More objectively, what should aim to master on my own, before applying to a master's program? (unless you disagree this is the right approach)</p>
<p>PS: I'm 22, and I have financial support at the moment while I get this done. I've started with Logic and Set Theory and becoming good at proofs. I find calculus and linear algebra intro books skip over too many of the more abstract underlying concepts, hence the bottom up approach.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43259,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I disagree that this is the right approach. Many grad schools in the US would require you to have a Bachelor's degree in some subject and to make up the courses you missed by not having a Bachelor's degree in math. So your best option is to get started actually completing those courses. I think that unless you have some publications in math with someone who can vouch for your skills even though you don't have the coursework, you're not going to get into a good Master's degree program without the necessary coursework. The further your history is from the required classes, the more work you're going to need to do. Some programs might admit you with the requirement that you take a few semesters of undergrad classes to catch up, but if you need more than a few catch-up courses, you're really looking at a second Bachelor's degree or working on the side through a non-degree-seeking program at your local university.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 55175,
"author": "NeutronStar",
"author_id": 8975,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8975",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't know how common they are in math, but in physics/astrophysics I know several people who have pursued \"post-baccalaureate\" work. <a href=\"http://www.princeton.edu/physics/graduate-program/bridge-program/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Here is an example from my own department.</a> The people I know who are a part of this program are from non-physics/astro backgrounds and are using this program to transition into a graduate astrophysics track.</p>\n\n<p>I think if you can find a good post-baccalaureate program (or something similar) in math, it will provide what you need and what you are looking for.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 55181,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although perhaps you might slightly discount this advice on the grounds that apparently I'm sometimes perceived as \"radical\" or some other dismissive + mildly perjorative modifier, I might recommend that you <em>do</em> study for a bit, especially if you have funding, to... drumroll... be a better scholar for the thing that you want to ... be a scholar/researcher/expert/maven. </p>\n\n<p>In on-the-ground practical terms, if you can find a friendly \"post-bac\", this would indeed be helpful. These are the catch-up possibilities for people in the U.S. to replicate what (more narrowly educated, due to the system) students in Europe have been required to do... crazily-ironically, whether they were interested or not.</p>\n\n<p>Back to specific advice: follow your interests; do not believe people/advice that urge absolute conformity to ... style, content.</p>\n\n<p>The tipping point is making-a-living verus scholarship-or-whatever. Now that the Cold War is over, it is not as easy to make a living proposing ways to defeat that particular \"Evil Empire\", and, truly things are subtler. But not much, though perhaps even less gratifying for any of us who thought there'd be progress... nevermind...</p>\n\n<p>But this does explain the situation young academics often find themselves-in. So it's not \"how long do I study before trying to enter academe\", but a different question about one's own practical situation. </p>\n\n<p>Back to an idealized issue: if one has a good job, and spare energy to study, I'd recommend doing <em>more</em> of this pre-study... and put off petitioning for re-entry to academe a bit... Getting some corroboration of one's putative competence would be wise... </p>\n\n<p>So, as often, the issue is not quite (as I would think) what the questioner asked... but/and the question raises the right further questions... </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43255",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
43,260 |
<p>I got one postdoctoral offer just after completion of my PhD study. I am not sure about the amount of fellowship. I do not have any experience in postdoctoral work. What is the average salary given to postdoc fellow in Wireless Communication Engineering particularly in China?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43288,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>According to this news report <a href=\"http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2013-08/26/content_16920656.htm\">Low salaries discouraging overseas academics</a> from ChinaDaily USA,</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>... the average salary across all ranks and universities is roughly 6,000 yuan ($982) a month. That's low compared with the average entry-level salary in Canada of $5,733 and a full professors' $9,485. The average for newly hired faculty members in the US is $4,950.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Hiring postdocs is still a new trend in China. I can't find average postdoc salary yet. Once I see it (it may be in Chinese), I will report it here.</p>\n\n<p>If average salary in the universities is USD$982 per month, I think I cannot say 40k USD per year is low.</p>\n\n<p>Hope this helps.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 55220,
"author": "chinar",
"author_id": 41813,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/41813",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not sure about postdocs, but about <a href=\"http://physics.ruc.edu.cn/upload/duyun/jobs.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a> is as an example for faculty:</p>\n\n<p>The faculty salaries change from 45 k USD to 75 k USD, more for distinguished professors. As far as I see, these values vary at most 10 k USD with respect to your location. But this is the basic salary. So, you should expect to pay 25 % to 30 % taxes. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 78133,
"author": "Bobgom",
"author_id": 63135,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/63135",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You asked about tax as a postdoc in China, whether or not the salary for postdocs is tax free likely depends strongly on which country you are from. Some countries have <a href=\"http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2011/08/05/china-clarifies-tax-exemptions-for-teachers-and-researchers.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">tax treaties</a> with China which include provisions for researchers to work tax free for a certain amount of time. The university will likely know better, but even then you can't be completely sure they will have up to date correct information.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 100286,
"author": "Scientist",
"author_id": 66782,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/66782",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As of 2016-2017, which is the period I am staying in China, the most common salary range paid for postdocs which I came to be informed of was within 8,000-14,000 RMB per month. </p>\n\n<p>I must say this is highly variable depending mainly on agreements with college and supervisor(s). In reality there is a base salary which is paid by the government directly (in my case of ca. 5,600 RMB) and incrementing on the base salary is the usual practice everywhere. Typically there will be a bonus paid by the college, plus some extra paid by the supervisor, and plus there should be contractual agreements on who should pay for the postdoc's 'welfare' (i.e. loose term concerning rental & bills) and health insurance. In my case taxation happens only on the base salary and has been less than 5%. </p>\n\n<p>Typically larger sums are offered to PhDs coming from universities ranked among top 100-300 in the world. Moreover it is my impression that US-passport holders are offered larger bonuses than PhDs from other countries, often in private.</p>\n\n<p>One should expect some uncertainty on the full amount because a large portion relies on agreements and negotiation. The local culture has it that agreements are volatile and highly dependent on interpersonal relationships, and law/lawyers should have no business in the academia. It is common practice that salary bonuses are used to pressure students/postdocs to do as the college and/or supervisor wishes. Examples: salary deductions as punishments for being late, or caught chatting on the phone during work hours; not adding honorary authors; publishing less papers than expected; damaging equipment or breaking glassware. A bonus may be withdrawn under any pretext after some dispute, including open technical criticism. </p>\n\n<p>The same flexibility always allows for negotiating raises or extra benefits, which are typically in exchange for co-authorships on more papers. These may include covering plane tickets to see family, or travel expenses. Don't be surprised if the raise is pushed further as a bait. </p>\n\n<p>Finally I should stress that at most universities in China there are prizes for publishing papers and depositing patents. The prizes are normally money, calculated based on impact factor. For example publishing in a mainstream academic journal with IF 2-3 in the Life Sciences may be awarded 4-7k RMB. Publishing in top impact journals may award the first author much more (also whether the award should be shared is negotiable). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 109435,
"author": "Mustafa Ali",
"author_id": 92502,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/92502",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I got two postdoc offers in 2017. </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Shanghai (I 'accepted' this one) - gross salary 15000 RMB/month; small subsidized apartment (furniture, gas oven, hot water); subsidized food in university cafe; priority in getting a seat in the university bus (something to consider given the long queues); tax 10.50%. My supervisor has reimbursed me round-trip airfare for journey back home (3 trips in a year!). </p></li>\n<li><p>Shenzhen - 2 year gross salary = 185000 (from university) + 240000 (from Shenzhen govt.) = 17,700 RMB per month. No idea about tax structure. Living cost in Shenzhen is greater than that in Shanghai. I rejected this offer cz I didn't like Shenzhen and the Prof wasn't really well-known (Connections matter a lot in China).</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Salaries in Beijing are also good and it is probably the best city in China in terms of experience. However its a challenge to bear the smog there. Some of my friends living in Beijing have developed skin ailments. </p>\n\n<p>There are also some pretty good opportunities in smaller cities. For instance, one of my friends availed an offer in Nanjing. The university isn't well-known but the salary is greater than 17000 RMB per month which is more than enough for a couple. One can also consider universities in cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Dalian.</p>\n\n<p>Apart from salary, while coming to China, one should consider one's long term plan and personal priorities (e.g. kids' education, language barriers, food, internet freedoms, etc.,). It is also useful to consider that here number of publications matter more than quality research. Bureaucracy is a huge pain in the a** with no one willing to take ownership of decisions. Given the current geo-political environment, the economy will also have to go through some readjustments in the near future. If you decide to come, do expect some cultural shocks. Overall China is a great place to be for experiencing something different and exciting. </p>\n\n<p>Hope this helps</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43260",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17776/"
] |
43,263 |
<p>I am starting an MSc in Computer Science in the autumn and I am concerned that I don't have any research experience. My interest is in Theoretical Computer Science and I am finding it hard to find any internships, as there is very little funding for undergraduates available at my university and no advertised positions in this area. I have seen an industrial position that matched my interests, but it was only advertised for Msc/PhD students. </p>
<p>I asked around last year and was unsuccessful but it was suggested that I self study a topic, so I don't know if I should do this again, or try to pursue an actual internship.</p>
<p>I think the reason I was unsuccessful was that I was too general and not specific enough about my interests. However, as an undergrad I am finding it hard to identify something that is achievable at my level and to narrow down to one area.</p>
<p>Therefore, would it be better to find a paper and a topic and directly approach an academic, or would I be better off using the summer to study more broadly and find a specific topic to pursue? Is there anything else I should do to increase my chances of getting an internship?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43547,
"author": "Ant",
"author_id": 31990,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31990",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I am starting an MSc in Computer Science in the autumn and I am concerned that I don't have any research experience.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not having research experience when starting an MSc is not a problem! One of the goals of MSc is to acquire research experience.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>However, as an undergrad I am finding it hard to identify something that is achievable at my level and to narrow down to one area</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is perfectly normal that at this stage you do not already have well defined interests.</p>\n\n<p>A potentially more successful approach would be to <strong>ask your current teachers</strong>. Even if they do not have any funding in their lab, they may be able to suggest some of their colleagues and to recommend you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43568,
"author": "user3079666",
"author_id": 11719,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11719",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I believe strongly in personal growth as a means of getting where you want. I am trying to get an internship as an undergrad, so I checked which skills interest both me and the companies I am trying to work with the most, and now I am developing them on my own.<br>\nMy suggestion is that you start some extensive reading on the subject, start with a book or two, read some papers and try to apply that knowledge (of course, I'm in computer engineering so it's easy for me to say). I started by writing tutorials to showcase my knowledge, and I have also published a game and a small development tool for example, participated in a contest and participating again, and am still developing.<br>\nThe point is, it would probably give you good odds of getting the position if you show that you are already in touch with the topic, have some working knowledge and interest in really learning about it well (for me that's optimization, abstraction and low level programming that show that I'm really into it), and that you're already capable of delivering some work, and thus can give them better quality work in less time than other candidates.<br>\nAlso, having a large portfolio/showcase with plenty of good work in it, shows that other than knowing what you're doing, you like doing it and are working a lot, thus you <i> will </i> deliver work rather than just occupy space and, possibly, resources.<br><br></p>\n\n<p>In short: do what you can to show that a) you're already into it (less training, producing sooner), b) you're good at it (no low quality work), c) you <i> will </i> deliver work (not just trying to pass your time / put a check on the task). This is my approach to the whole issue.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43263",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
43,265 |
<p>I am end of my PhD. I would like to do a postdoc. In UK the average postdoc salary is around 30K (per year). But in UK the tax is very high, after taxes I may get around 1800 pounds (per month). I heard in Singapore the salaries for postdoc are a bit high and the taxes are also very low. </p>
<p>I have my wife and two children, In that case I would like to know the advantages and disadvantages of doing a postdoc in UK or Singapore.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43268,
"author": "John",
"author_id": 30606,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30606",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't know about Singapore. But for the UK, postdocs' salary can give you and your family a very comfortable life unless you are in so expensive city as London (in which case though you get London allowance on top of your salary). Health services are free in the UK, and if your university has an in-house doctor's office for the staff and students' use then you avoid delays to get appointments. Awesome public transportation, and things are fairly cheap due to competition - except rents in certain cities. However, probably Singapore may also have all these facilities. But in short, postdoc salaries in the UK are decent unless you want to rent central London apartments.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43292,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My answer will focus on entirely non-academic aspects of a post-doc in UK as you seem to have those \"sorted\".</p>\n\n<p>I think you have been slightly mislead:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>~£30K will not result to ~£18K after taxes. I was taking ~£31K and ending up with ~£24K. Maybe you are in a different tax-category or something but from ~£30K to end up <£20K is quite unrealistic. Finally, ~£30K with 0 years of experience is pretty decent. One more point: spend an hour or two and check the <a href=\"https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs\">HM Revenue & Customs</a>. Do not rely on word of mouth on something so vital.</li>\n<li>You need to factor council taxes and these will dependent where you live. Council taxes can be quite hefty (£100+ per month in Cambridge for example).</li>\n<li>As @John mentioned, you need to base your decision on where are you going to live; ~£30K in central London, Oxford or Cambridge with 2 kids? No way. ~£30K in Manchester or (even cheaper) Coventry? Probably tight but doable.</li>\n<li>London allowance have not saved anyone. Sure you will get probably ~12% more than your equivalent post-doc outside London but that's about it. In some cases you can get the same salary outside London. Lesser known universities try to give more monetary incentives to candidates.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I recommend you do some very good research about where exactly you are going, what is the cost of living, what are schools/nurseries are there, etc. Also do maybe a quick online search for houses to see what is available. If the going rate of a two bedroom flat +£1100 well... you need to consider things seriously. And do the same search for Singapore too afterwards!</p>\n\n<p>Post-doc is a stepping stone. Realistically you will not get a salary that will allow you to live a luxurious life. Also take into account that the chances of tenure in an institution after a post-doc while usually better than being a complete outsider are all but guaranteed. Therefore consider that relocation might be something you will have to re-examine. You do not tell us if your wife will be able to contribute to your family income. Even a part-time job might make a significant difference.</p>\n\n<p>(Reading back my answer I think I sound a bit grim... I do not mean to dishearten you or anything, just I do not want to be mislead on taxation or living costs issues.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43305,
"author": "Chu",
"author_id": 32939,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32939",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>To put the following into context, I teach at a UK university and have delivered courses at a Singapore partner university for many years.</p>\n\n<p>In support of many of the above comments, you need have no concerns about the academic establishment in Singapore, at any level, from primary through to university. Education is top of Singapore's agenda and this is apparent everywhere. Teaching is in english throughout. Singapore's universities are world-class.</p>\n\n<p>The living and working environments are excellent. Cost of living (apart from housing) is lower than UK. The transport system is also excellent.</p>\n\n<p>Cost of accommodation is the only negative. Apartment rental costs are high - comparable to London. However, if you are appointed on expat terms the University will provide an apartment and the rent will be subsidised; all large companies that employ expat staff take account of accommodation costs. But you should make sure that you know what type of apartment is on offer and that it meets your family needs. 'Landed properties' form a very small part of Singapore's accommodation, the large majority are high-rise apartments.</p>\n\n<p>Income tax is much lower than UK levels - you can check this out on the government's IRAS web page.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43352,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is typical that you will disproportionately get speaking invitations from, and make connections with other researchers, who live near wherever you do your postdoc. </p>\n\n<p>For these and related reasons (e.g., employers knowing and trusting the people who will write letters for you), one advantage of doing a postdoc in Singapore/UK, respectively, is that it makes it easier to get a permanent job in that respective part of the world. So I would recommend thinking about your long-term job (and family life) prospects in the UK and in Singapore respectively.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43265",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32911/"
] |
43,266 |
<p>I am a newly transferred undergraduate Earth Science major and because of this I haven't had any internship experience in my field, even though I will be going into my senior year this fall (I also might have to take an extra semester to make up for time lost). </p>
<p>In my previous major, I remember my advisor saying he had a student who just filed data for him all summer for free, and at the end he gave her a letter of recommendation and she put it on her resume. It seemed like a kind of informal internship, and since I'll be taking a summer class, the casualness of it seems preferable as a way of getting some experience, as compared to a rigorous 9 to 5 internship that will take up all of my time. So my question is, could I simply email professors at different universities close to my hometown and ask if they need any help with their research this summer? I would prefer to ask my professors at my University, but because I'm taking a summer class in my hometown (about an hour away from my University) I wouldn't be able to drive everyday. </p>
<p>I feel like professors who do their own research would want all the help they can get, like someone to do grunt work, which I would be fine with as long as I can get something to put on a resume and/or a letter of recommendation for a better internship/job down the line. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43267,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can certainly send emails to faculty offering your unpaid services over the summer. This is common practice.</p>\n\n<p>When you do, keep in mind that professors often receive numerous such offers and that, depending on the nature of the lab, the cost of getting a volunteer or intern up and going may exceed the benefit of having the volunteer around. Moreover in some areas, particularly more mathematical and theoretical disciplines, an intern would need considerable background in math, programming, or similar to be of much service. </p>\n\n<p>Therefore it is strongly in your interest to make your offer stand out from the others. One way to do this is to convey a decent understanding of the work being done in the lab to which you are applying, and to convey your interest and enthusiasm in being part of that work. When I receive internship requests where the writer has expressed no interest in my work and has simply pasted my name into a form letter, I invariably decline. (Even worse the ones that paste text directly from my web page into the part of the letter describing their research interests -- it happens more often than you'd think!). </p>\n\n<p>Another important way to improve your chances is to use your understanding of what goes on in that lab to very explicitly describe some ways that you be might be able to provide valuable service to the lab. If they sound like they need programmers and you are a good coder, for example, make this very clear. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43282,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>FWIW, the US Department of Labor <a href=\"http://internships.about.com/od/internships101/a/departmentoflaborsnewguidelinesforinterns.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">is cracking down on unpaid internships</a>, so some institutions are eliminating them entirely. You would be better off looking for a program sponsored by your local university or the NSF for undergraduates to become involved in research. Programs like the <a href=\"https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/\" rel=\"nofollow\">NSF REUs</a> may be among your best opportunities. You should also ask professors from your classes about opportunities they may have. Randomly sending unsolicited emails is unlikely to be successful.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43266",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32912/"
] |
43,272 |
<p>I know that a PhD is now just used to mean doctorate, so what would a person who has a doctorate in philosophy be called?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43278,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Doctor. Just like everyone else with a PhD.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43285,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Generically, a PhD is a Doctor <em>of</em> Philosophy, not a doctor <em>in</em> philosophy. Thus a PhD in philosophy would a Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (as opposed to a PhD in economics, who would be a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43319,
"author": "cpast",
"author_id": 22815,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22815",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on your comments to the question:</p>\n\n<p>PhD is <strong>not</strong> used to just mean \"doctorate.\" A PhD is a specific type of doctorate. The reason people talk about, say, a PhD in computer science is that that is their actual literal degree -- their diploma says \"Doctor of Philosophy\" on it, not \"Doctor of Computer Science.\" Especially formally (like for honorifics), you never call yourself a PhD unless that is your actual degree (informally, some US schools hand out ScDs that are equivalent to a PhD, and you might say you have a PhD because it's clearer; however, formally, you do not have a PhD then).</p>\n\n<p>Other than ScD in the US (and D.Phil, which is just PhD in English instead of Latin), other degrees I can think of would never be called a PhD even informally. A DFA is generally honorary, but even if not it's not a research degree. An MD isn't a PhD, even though it's a doctorate. An EdD is not a PhD.</p>\n\n<p>So, a PhD in philosophy would be a PhD. Someone with a PhD in computer science also has a PhD. Things could have been set up so you'd have a D.Math, or a D.Physics, or a D.Comp.Sci., etc.; but that's <em>not</em> how it works, so you really have the actual same degree as people in other fields.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 85746,
"author": "Nat",
"author_id": 70048,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/70048",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I hold a PhD in philosophy. Long ago I was introduced to a group of non-philosopher cognoscenti this way: \"Attention everyone, we now have a PhD squared in the group...\" I had never heard that before, but everyone else seemed to know exactly what he meant, and started asking me deliberately silly philosophical questions. A doctor of philosophy of philosophy ... PhD-squared.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43272",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32916/"
] |
43,273 |
<p>I've seen graduate students act as course developers for their advisor's MOOC or play a key role in helping their advisor with some other endeavour that is not related to research. What is the motivation for them to do this if it does not help them graduate or get publications?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43284,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Why do anything that's not strictly required to graduate? For the experience. Because it sounded like fun. Maybe they're interested in teaching and really excited about the opportunity to develop a curriculum from scratch? Maybe they're excited about the pedagogy behind online courses and want to learn more? Maybe it's a rare opportunity to try something new that most academics don't get to do? </p>\n\n<p>If you only do things that are strictly required to graduate and publish, you'll miss out on a lot of interesting experiences, and you'll be less interesting to a hiring committee than someone who went above and beyond seeking out experiences to develop as a researcher and teacher. The goal with grad school shouldn't be to just publish and graduate. While it is <em>sufficient</em> to just publish and graduate, it's hardly a good way to make the most of your time in grad school. Go for the exciting teaching project. Volunteer to help organize that conference. Apply to that interesting summer school. Get involved in that intriguing research project. If an exciting opportunity comes along, take it. Develop a MOOC instead of TAing yet another semester of calculus (or whatever grad students in your field normally do). That's my philosophy at least, and that's why I would have jumped on an opportunity to develop an MOOC.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43290,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I've seen graduate students act as course developers for their advisor's MOOC or play a key role in helping their advisor with some other endeavour that is not related to research.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>At least in Europe, where PhD students are employees, the answer is pretty simple - <strong>because it is their job, and the professor can and will, in her/his functions as manager of the students, also assign them tasks that are not directly related to their PhD project</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>My employment contract in Austria was actually pretty clear about this - nominally, my job consistent of 50% research, 35% teaching, and 15% \"others\", which boiled down to helping with all sorts of university administrative tasks. For instance, I was once helping with re-writing the programme description of one of our master programmes. Of course this was only nominal, and I would honestly think that in practice, for me, both the research and the \"others\" parts ate into my time budget for teaching (but I never explicitly tracked this, since neither me, nor my professor, nor the university administration cared as long as things got done).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43273",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29303/"
] |
43,274 |
<p>For an undergraduate putting together a research poster describing research worked on at a government lab, is it appropriate to include the undergraduate's home institution in the Acknowledgements section?</p>
<p>Assume, in this case, the undergraduate institution has no involvement in the research.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43320,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here is how I would think about it:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>You were at the government lab when you did the research, so its logo definitely needs to be there</li>\n<li>You are preparing the logo and presenting the poster while at the university, so it's reasonable for its logo to be there as well.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>With such things, it's usually better to err on the side of inclusiveness: people or organizations are much more likely to feel it's problematic to <em>not</em> be included than to feel it's problematic to be included, as long as there is <em>some</em> reasonable connection.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43328,
"author": "nivag",
"author_id": 14115,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14115",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the work at the lab was in any way related to your course, such as part of a placement or project you get credit for, then I would include the university's logo.</p>\n\n<p>However, if the university was in no way involved, for example if this was a summer project that you found independently, then the university's logo probably doesn't need to be on the poster.</p>\n\n<p>In any case if you are unsure then the best idea is probably to talk to someone who was involved in the project and possibly also someone from your university (your personal tutor or similar). They will be best placed to advise you for your particular situation.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43274",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28486/"
] |
43,276 |
<p>My question is inverse of the following question:<br>
<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13736/how-can-you-find-the-doi-of-an-article-that-doesnt-seem-to-have-one">How can you find the DOI of an article that doesn't seem to have one?</a></p>
<p>I am looking for the ISBN number (it's a requirement for getting permissions on copyright.com) for the following paper:<br>
<a href="http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2000-519" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2000-519</a></p>
<p>I found its DOI to be <code>doi:10.2514/6.2000-519</code> from the citation data, however I couldn't find the ISBN. Is this typical? In the sense that can there be a DOI but not an ISBN for a manuscript?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43279,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Articles don't usually have an ISBN since they are for books. It should be sufficient to give the title of the article you are interested in to copyright.com, which is AIAA's preferred mechanism for copyright license clearance. That being said, searching your article's title on copyright.com gives a null result. As such, you should probably contact AIAA directly, or stick a sequence of zeros into copyright.com's extended request form.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43294,
"author": "Debora Weber-Wulff",
"author_id": 32489,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32489",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is an address on the bottom of the page: For permission to republish contact..., so I would do just that. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43276",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/906/"
] |
43,303 |
<p>Well, while carrying out a review of literature for drafting a proposal I found like these in some of previous works (reports). </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some benefits of the “certain thing” on xyz are abc( person1, date) , cde( person2, date), fgh( person3, date) , ijk( person4, date)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some of the more researches in the field include ( person1, date; person2, date; person3, date; person4, date).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now If I have to include and cite those in my report, which one is better idea? Also, please notice the nature of contents being cited(benefits and previous works).</p>
<p>Option 1: Cite as “as cited in report X” which I read and have only one reference of that report
(pros: less references)</p>
<p>Option 2: Go to each report, study and include each one(cited) as separate citation in my report
(pros: may be, will look more detail investigations. But is it required in cases like this one?)</p>
<p>Which one should be more ideal?
So, what should I do? Any suggestions? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43279,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Articles don't usually have an ISBN since they are for books. It should be sufficient to give the title of the article you are interested in to copyright.com, which is AIAA's preferred mechanism for copyright license clearance. That being said, searching your article's title on copyright.com gives a null result. As such, you should probably contact AIAA directly, or stick a sequence of zeros into copyright.com's extended request form.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43294,
"author": "Debora Weber-Wulff",
"author_id": 32489,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32489",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is an address on the bottom of the page: For permission to republish contact..., so I would do just that. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43303",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15389/"
] |
43,304 |
<p>I'm currently trying to find out which authors get the most citations in specific fields, like </p>
<p>Astrophysics</p>
<p>Condensed Matter</p>
<p>High Energy Physics - Experiment</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>(These are all arXiv categories) </p>
<p>Especially great would be to do such a search for specific year. Is any paper search engine capable of this?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43314,
"author": "Andrew",
"author_id": 27825,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27825",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>\"Most cited papers\" in a given field/period is fairly easy through something like Web of Knowledge; it's a few clicks to find out that both Scopus and Web of Knowledge list <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/v6/n3/full/nchem.1861.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">this</a> as the most cited paper in chemistry in 2014, for example. (Tellingly, they only agree on three of the top five...)</p>\n\n<p>Doing this for authors is more challenging, though - the Google Scholar registered authors method suggested above is effectively an opt-in database and so there's no way of telling who's not in it. Scopus has fairly good author-citation indexing but I'm not sure if it's set up to answer this specific question.</p>\n\n<p>A couple of studies with similar questions:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751157713000886\" rel=\"nofollow\">Abramo et al</a> looks at a defined set of researchers (all Italian academics) and shows a way to identify the most highly cited authors within them - basically just WoK citation counts. Robust but tedious, and you probably don't want to start with a list of \"all astrophysicists\"...</p>\n\n<p>Another approach is to pick the most highly cited articles in your field (assuming that the bulk of citations are in these, not the long tail) and look at the authors of those papers. See, eg, <a href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/69n5m3v6\" rel=\"nofollow\">Choi et al</a>, which is \"the most cited authors of the 250 top papers in the field\", or <a href=\"http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078517\" rel=\"nofollow\">Uthman et al</a>, which looks at the authors of the top hundred medical reviews.</p>\n\n<p>You could combine these - pull out, say, the fifty most cited papers, look at their authors, and do full citation counts on these using WoK. It seems likely that the most cited authors overall will be an author on one or more of the top papers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43704,
"author": "bxfd82",
"author_id": 33244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33244",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Web of Knowledge or Web of Science are probably the best tools for this, but if they are not available to you there is a free software called Publish or Perish that can help make sense of the Google Scholar citation measures.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43304",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32936/"
] |
43,307 |
<p>Can the referees publish an article in the journal they review or the editorial board members publish an article in their journal? Is it ethical? Can you give examples for my question? Your answers are quite important for my research.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43310,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Your question is really two: reviewers and editorial board members.</p>\n\n<p>Reviewers are peers reviewing other peers papers, or put differently and in very general terms, everyone reviews each other's manuscripts. Reviewers are not a professional occupation tied to a journal. This means that a reviewer is just as much welcome as an author as the author who was reviewed. </p>\n\n<p>When it comes to editorial board members they are (of course with a few exceptions in a few, probably wealthy, journals) also scientists just like anyone submitting to the journal. They are as such not prohibited to submit manuscripts to the journal in which they serve. It is of course important that the editor's manuscript is edited by someone else. Even this may seem poor to many but if one takes an opposite stance and view it from the journal's side, having editors sneaking in papers at will will not reflect well on the journal so for no other reason, self preservation keeps most from doing so. </p>\n\n<p>As an editor for a journal I would be very hesitant to submit to \"my\" journal but at the same time, if the field is narrow and possible publications venues are few then the choices may not be overwhelming and publishing in the \"own\" journal may be the only possibility. It is not fair to think of editors as pariah and person's who should be banned from communicating their science. It is just important that they can and that it is done in such a way that they receive the same treatment as any other submitting author.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43312,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You will find that the pool of reviewers for many journals comes from its recent submitters. I have often gotten a review request from an editor shortly after submitting an article of my own. It's very common and not unethical. Peer review is driven by this back and forth between reviewers and submitters.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43322,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Speaking as an editor: one of the reasons that many journals have a large pool of associate editors (in addition to spreading the load), is to avoid disqualifying editors from publishing. This is particularly important for field-specific journals with all-volunteer editing, as otherwise you would lose some of the important contributors and also discourage people from being willing to be editors. Most good journal software supports this by blinding an editor to any operations involving papers on which they have a conflict of interest, which automatically includes their own. Now, it is much more tricky for a chief editor to publish fairly: even then it may be handled appropriately if there is more than one chief editor, but should be very rare in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43307",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32940/"
] |
43,313 |
<p>So apparently I heard from <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/42497/22511">here</a>, <a href="https://math.stackexchange.com/a/1219912/198044">here</a> and <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/42923/22511">here</a> about the differences in PhDs in the US and in Europe.</p>
<p>To sum up, it takes longer, on average, in the US than in Europe to finish a PhD since US PhD programs require less and have more coursework compared to Eur PhD programs.</p>
<p>Why is that so?</p>
<p>I tried looking it up but seemed to be getting the stuff above, nothing really explaining why that is so.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43315,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the goal is to get people to do the work of (approximately) 4 years undergrad, plus 2 years Master's work, plus 3-5 years of doctoral-level research. You can either lump that into 3 explicit degrees, or you can lump the latter two into one degree and just do a Bachelor's and a PhD. The overall amount of work is not that different. Not all people will get this equivalent level of training, but lots more programs have this level of required work than the simple US/EU divide would suggest.</p>\n\n<p>Some folks (many? most?) in the US that enter a PhD program directly after their Bachelor's degree are eligible to pick up a Master's degree along the way based on completing the required coursework for the PhD. Some just don't bother to fill out the paperwork. I didn't. In the end, it doesn't really matter. Additionally, if you enter a US PhD program with an appropriate Master's degree, you can almost always short-circuit the initial coursework requirements and go straight to research. I think it's probably less common to do this because it requires 3 college applications and maybe more moving around than does staying at your first graduate institution, but some people do it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43316,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>First, let me start off with a counter-question:</p>\n\n<p><strong>Why would you expect them to be exactly the same?</strong></p>\n\n<p>Different regions have historically different educational systems on all levels, starting from Kindergarten. Why would you expect specifically the PhD degree to have a completely uniform definition everywhere in the world? Of course there are nowadays activities to make degrees (incl. PhDs) more comparable worldwide, but these things take time. As politicians in Europe have learned as part of the so-called Bologna process, you can't just top-down decide that <em>from now on, we are using the US system</em>.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, there are sometimes reasonable arguments for differences in system. For instance, you concluded:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>it takes longer, on average, in the US than in Europe to finish a PhD since US PhD programs require less and have more coursework compared to Eur PhD programs.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In the US, a bachelor's degree is required for starting a PhD. In Europe, almost universally, you <em>need</em> a master or one of the older five-year diploma studies. So we in Europe expect students to hit the ground running basically from day 1 in their PhD. On the other hand, we don't require them to do much, or any, course work because they did all of that as part of the previous studies. Of course, if you then look only at the pure time spend in what is called the PhD studies, you end up with a shorter time in Europe.</p>\n\n<p>Now you can of course go deeper down the rabbit hole and ask why European universities expect PhD students to have a master's degree first. The reason for that is mostly historical - around here, we often didn't even <em>have</em> Bachelor's degrees until the above-mentioned Bolognia process. What happened as part of this process was that decision makers ended up deciding that pretty much the first three years of the old diploma studies became \"the bachelor\" while the remaining two years became \"the master\". Of course, this reasoning led to the public opinion of somebody with \"only\" a bachelor's degree as a glorified college dropout. The universities implicitly also shared this notion, as there were never substantial motions to admit bachelor degree holders to PhD programmes in most universities. Slowly, the bachelor programmes are getting more profile as something better than just the first 3/5 of an actual degree programme, and consequently their public image also improves. Universities are nowadays also taking first tender steps towards making it easier for bachelor degree holders to start a PhD - however, so far, this is mostly targeted at making it easier for international students to enroll.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Important concluding remark:</strong> I am aware that a lot of the above contained pretty sweeping generalizations, which do not hold true everywhere. Specifically, Great Britain and Ireland already historically used a different system. However, I wanted to answer with something a bit more substantial than \"systems are different everywhere\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43317,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The idea that European PhDs are uniform is misleading. Similar, there is no single US PhD. The differences in PhD programs, stem from differences that develop during primary and secondary education. For example, in the UK students begin specialising during their \"A levels\" and the undergraduate degree is a highly specialized 3 year degree. In the US, secondary education and the undergraduate degree include more breadth.</p>\n\n<p>The teaching responsibilities in the US and UK are also different, with there being less off topic advanced level teaching in the UK. This means that post graduate course work, is to an extent less important, since you will not likely be teaching that material. For example, a CS researcher teaching in a small US EECS department might be required to teach undergraduate signal processing, but this would almost never happen in the UK. Having taken a graduate level class is really helpful for teaching undergraduate level classes.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, there are cultural differences. In the UK, there is more pressure to get a job. In the UK, many people opt to skip a research intensive post doc and instead go directly into teaching intensive positions with the hope of switching tracks later. The funding models are different also</p>\n\n<p>TL;DR They are different, because they are different.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43336,
"author": "Jeremy Miles",
"author_id": 6495,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6495",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can talk about PhDs in the UK, I have less knowledge of the rest of Europe, but I know that it is not similar to the US.</p>\n\n<p>In the UK, you specialize early in a subject, and your education is therefore narrow and deep. In the US, you specialize later, and your education is therefore wide and not so deep. It's changed a little (but only a little) since I was in school, but at age 13, I dropped all but 5 subjects plus math(s) and English. I chose the three sciences (chemistry, biology, physics), geometrical and engineering drawing, and French. If you chose not to take any science at age 13, you were not going to be studying any science at university (I think this is changed, so you are required to take at least some sciene). Hence I have studied no humanities since I was 13. At age 16, you reduced again to three subjects - you are interested in science, people typically studied physics, chemistry, biology, or perhaps swapped the biology for maths. When I teach psychology undergraduates, health science undergraduates, or health professionals who are taking postgraduate courses, they will typically have done no math(s) since the age of 16. (This is a challenge, as I teach them statistics. If they knew anything about algebra, they've forgotten most of it. They will deny ever having been taught calculus [and that's true, they probably have never studied it]).</p>\n\n<p>At 16, I chose biology, psychology and environmental science. (Env Sci is, or was, essentially applied chemistry and biology, with a bit of geography).</p>\n\n<p>In the UK, you go to university to study a subject, and that is what you study. There is no concept of picking a major. If you want to change your major, you usually start again. (In my first year, I studied two subsidiary subjects for 50% of the time, after the first year, I did nothing except psychology courses.</p>\n\n<p>When I graduated at age 21, I had a degree in psychology, and I'd been studying psychology for 5 years (and psychology had made up almost 2/3rds of what I'd studied from age 16).</p>\n\n<p>The PhD has also changed, but in the UK at the time, the purpose of the PhD was to write a dissertation. That was the only requirement. In the US, there is the idea of PhD-ABD - all but dissertation. In the UK, this would make no sense, there is no requirement for a PhD except for the dissertation. You start, and on day 1 you work on your dissertaion. On day N (where N is quite a large number) you submit your dissertation, and you're finished. This is changing, or has changed so that there is a coursework requirement for a PhD; but in the US people talk about taking courses in departments outside their PhD subject. This is very rare in the UK - you take courses offered by your department, and you take the courses you have to take, no more. British PhD dissertations are considerably longer and more substantial than American PhD dissertations.</p>\n\n<p>In comparison to an American student, a UK graduate in (say) psychology seems to know more psychology. But they know a lot less other stuff. In the US, it seems (to me) to be common to do a master's degree (or even a PhD) in a subject that you did not major in at undergraduate. For example, I've known people with a degree in economics or sociology who take a master's degree in statistics. This would be very rare in the UK, you would simply be too far behind everyone else on the course. (Many years ago, I applied for a master's course in applied statistics (an early online course) - I'd published papers on statistical methods in psychology, and had a PhD on statistical methods in psychology; I was rejected because my background was unsuitable.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43339,
"author": "Solomon Vimal",
"author_id": 32953,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32953",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is a lot of diversity in American universities and a lot more in Europe. I have studied in four European countries and all of them had different PhD award requirement and average PhD duration, course work requirements, etc. A sweeping generalization would be that European universities require a master's degree, and PhD on average takes three years and in the US you require a certain number of credits and a bachelor's degree.</p>\n\n<p>In reality, there is a lot of variability. Some American universities do require a master's degree before a PhD - e.g. doctoral programmes in engineering at <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana%E2%80%93Champaign\">UIUC</a>. But many others admit you to begin a PhD and then expect you to either get a master's degree along the way fulfilling course credits or allow you to transfer those credits to PhD directly.</p>\n\n<p>Interesting fun fact - several American and European universities have admitted anyone who passes the entrance exam to a doctoral programme - even if they didn't have a bachelor's degree. What they expect, to award a PhD, is just contribution to the field and proof of competence as a researcher. But now we have institutions that enforce credit systems, quality control and so on, so there are these hard requirements at some level subject to many things imposed by institutions based on country, credit system, university, discipline, department, PhD award committee and even perhaps professors.</p>\n\n<p>These limitations now exist because there are way too many institutions and universities now, and I won't be surprised if there is someone out there who is doing a PhD in this very subject. If you find them, let me know. :D</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43478,
"author": "knb",
"author_id": 31688,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31688",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>\"<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habilitation\" rel=\"nofollow\">Habilitation</a>\"</p>\n\n<p>In Germany and many other European countries, historically, a PhD <em>was</em> not enough to get a professorship (whereas in the US a PhD is required for associate-professor positions, I think). </p>\n\n<p>In many fields, PhDs had to apply to the tenure committe, and then were allowed to write and submit a \"<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habilitation\" rel=\"nofollow\">Habilitation</a>\" paper or internal report. After acceptance, <em>then</em> you could apply for a professorship, and be tenured. </p>\n\n<p>So, historically, often:</p>\n\n<p>(Professorship qualification phase duration in Europe) = PhD phase + Habilitation phase</p>\n\n<p>This requirement has been \"reformed away\" since the 2000s, and often been replaced by \"junior professorships\" (multiyear fixed-term contracts).</p>\n\n<p>Local traditions and requirements with respect to \"Habilitation\" strongly differ. in some fields this still exists; and at some universities, it has been \"reformed away\" even earlier. </p>\n\n<p>For \"University of Applied Sciences\" (Fachhochschulen - less prestigious but still pretty good universities), there was no such requirement.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43532,
"author": "Ant",
"author_id": 31990,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31990",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>European countries agreed a few years ago on having all similar official durations for PhDs (3-4 years). See <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Process\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Process</a>.</p>\n\n<p>In all european countries starting a PhD requires having completed 5 years of study (european master degree), while in US it is in theory possible to start a PhD after 3-4 years of study.</p>\n\n<p>TAship is less common and far less stringent in most european countries than in US.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43313",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21026/"
] |
43,323 |
<p>I am currently looking for alternatives / provisional solutions to traditional journal subscriptions. The research institute (200+ researchers) I am working at has contracts with all the big players but they do not move in the currently ongoing negotiations. We consider cancelling one big subscription completely but the scientists would go berserk on us. So, we need an interim solution to supply them quickly with the articles they want and <a href="https://www.deepdyve.com/">DeepDyve</a> is one possibility. Unfortunately, I got no reply to the inquiries I sent via their online form.</p>
<p>Has anyone experience with DeepDyve group plans? What are the costs and is the access reliable?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43325,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While it is convenient to be able to download articles on demand, I am not sure all researchers would go \"berserk\" on losing that ability. Simply switching access plans without consultation will likely piss people off. Why not have a meeting with the researchers where you open a conversation about the cost of instant access versus delayed access. You would need to have the relevant data about subscription costs, individual downloads costs, and number of downloads. Remember that the number of articles downloaded is probably an overestimation of the actual numbers because some articles are downloaded by multiple people multiple times and others are free in other places. A slight delay (48-72 hours) might be acceptable for many articles. Finally, telling the researcher how the savings will be passed on to them would be helpful. They will want to know what else can be cut from the budget to save the privledges.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43330,
"author": "Andrew",
"author_id": 27825,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27825",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've no experience with DeepDyve specifically, but there are a few things that stand out as issues from a quick look -</p>\n\n<p>a) Coverage. They seem fairly broad, but it would be worth double-checking they include, say, the top-fifty most used journals by your researchers. (It's a little fiddly to produce such a list, but quite an interesting thing to have available.)</p>\n\n<p>b) Access rights. In my experience, people get quite frustrated by read-online-only access models with no print/save capability, and this seems to be the DeepDyve approach. Downloading is apparently an additional cost (the plan gives you \"20% off\" without saying how much the basic price is)</p>\n\n<p>c) Accessibility/usability. Requiring users to go to a specific service to read the paper (rather than the websites they're used to) will cause friction and probably a bit of confusion.</p>\n\n<p>None of these are insurmountable, but they're all things that are worth considering. On the plus side, their basic prices seem competitive to standard document-delivery services, assuming some kind of a bulk-purchase discount, and access seems to be immediate rather than delayed.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43748,
"author": "Heike R",
"author_id": 32181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32181",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>After fishing an email address of someone responsible at DeepDyve from the internet and contacting them directly, I got a number:</p>\n\n<p>usual cost per year per user: 12 * 40 $ = 480 $</p>\n\n<p>group plan for 200 users: 54840 $ (274.20$ per user)</p>\n\n<p>No idea how much this is negotiable. It includes reading as many article as one want and a 20% discount on the publisher price when buying the article (to be able to download and print it).\nThe price (including the amount of articles our scientists would want to buy) would be feasible if we were to cancel more than one big subscription package. As it is currently, we considered only one cancellation and too much overlap in coverage of DeepDyve and our remaining subscriptions would result in 'double payment' for too many journals. We have to think this through.</p>\n\n<p>If anyone has experience with this kind of transition or with DeepDyve as supplier for research institutions, I would still be grateful for some reports. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43323",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32181/"
] |
43,324 |
<p>Recently I was reading a paper where the authors include their evaluation as a part of their contribution. In general the paragraph I am referring to was something like this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our contributions are a,b,c,d and e</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Where <code>e</code> describes the evaluation. </p>
<p>In evaluation section, is about the performance evaluation of the proposed system. So the are running some simulations and benchmarks to show in which of the cases they perform better than the state of the art tools.</p>
<p>The evaluation (as a process) is not containing something novel, except from some modifications they did to adapt the benchmark / evaluation framework to their needs.</p>
<p>So, is this considered a 'contribution'? Is it 'good' to list the evaluation in the list of contributions?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43326,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There are no official standards for what constitutes a valid use of the term \"contribution\". It's intrinsically a vague word, and authors can use it in many ways. It would be inappropriate to list something as a research contribution if there's absolutely nothing at all original about it, but a small amount of originality could be enough (and opinions can differ as to where the threshold is). Of course it would be foolish to highlight the less original parts of a paper as contributions when this might distract readers from the more original parts, but that's a different issue.</p>\n\n<p>You haven't given enough details to say much about your particular case, but making small modifications to an evaluation framework could be considered a small contribution.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43327,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Both gathering data and analysis of data can certainly be valid and reportable contributions. Certainly my coauthors and I tend to report them thus in synthetic biology papers, where both involve a lot of hard work. It would only <em>not</em> be a significant contribution if the actual work involved was trivial. Otherwise, the importance of the evaluation to the paper should allow the reader to make a reasonable judgement of weight of contribution.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43324",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15539/"
] |
43,333 |
<p>I am looking for list of all the universities/colleges in the USA. I read somewhere that there are around 6000 universities/colleges in US. Also, I want a list of the engineering colleges in the USA</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43335,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The typical place for students to start looking, despite its flaws, is the <a href=\"http://www.usnews.com/rankings\" rel=\"nofollow\">US News university rankings</a>. This lists something on the order of 2000 educational institutions, including all of the higher-ranked institutions, both overall and in many categories such as engineering.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43341,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At <a href=\"http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation</a> you can download a list of all accredited US colleges, universities, and similar educational programs. I counted 9746 unique institutions.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43333",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32950/"
] |
43,342 |
<p>I am a first year maths PhD student at a UK university, and I recently made a very long post about potentially quitting my PhD and I am severely lacking motivation (see <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42908/is-it-a-good-idea-to-take-a-break-from-studying-a-mathematics-phd-and-then-consi">here</a> for much more details).</p>
<p>I am starting to wonder whether my disillusionment is partly caused by my supervisor. Don't get me wrong - my supervisor is lovely, we can talk about things fairly openly and she really knows her stuff when it comes to mathematical analysis and partial differential equations. Over the first few months of my PhD she was very supportive of everything I did, but only recently have I realised how that has essentially bitten me in the arse. </p>
<p>We had a couple of very long conversations recently about the fact that she is worried about my progress despite being only 6 months in - namely that she feels I have not been putting in the time required. This is definitely true I must admit, but the reason for that is my motivation has really plummeted recently and as a result I've been finding simple tasks very difficult (her main worry recently is that I've been spending 2 months trying to figure out a task which she says would take any analysis graduate student 2 hours - or moreover, I've had a lot of difficulty getting around to it due to other departmental commitments such as attending classes, doing teaching and marking, and taking lecture notes for special needs students) I do also feel that because my analysis background is probably a bit weak (and she was aware of this when I applied to the studentship) that my supervisor has been expecting that I'll just solve this problem myself rather than carefully structure the first few months to allow me to absorb the content and take my own time. </p>
<p>I feel as though my supervisor has been leading me into a false sense of security somewhat; towards the start of the PhD she was just politely agreeing with whatever it was that I was doing (even if there were some errors in the way I was doing things) in order to positively support me, bearing in mind I was a new student and she was still getting to know me, and this falsely led me to believe that I was somehow doing okay. I feel as though she has been insincere and hiding the truth from me, hoping that I'll pick up on her polite "hints" that certain things should be done, rather than just simply saying if there was something I wasn't doing right or saying "that's good, but you really need to do X". I would much prefer being supervised by someone who is much more direct about if there is something I have done wrong as this would allow me to correct things at an early stage, rather than let things slide and then only later on down the line realise that something really is wrong.</p>
<p>This is a repeat of the research project that happened during my MMath at my previous university. Once again, I have encountered an inexperienced supervisor (who is fairly new to supervising students and getting a lot out of them) who has not been actively engaging with me as much as they could have done, who has been overly nice up to this point in the hope that it will have made me more productive, only to say that "I have been very positive and encouraging, and even when I have been trying to make things a bit more difficult for you, that doesn't seem to have worked" as though they are trying to use their own politeness as grounds against me. WHY DON'T PEOPLE JUST TELL ME DIRECTLY IF SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT?</p>
<p>Anyway, this could be purely my own fault and this may just be the result of my own incompetence at research work or time management (hence the other post about me considering quitting), but is this something that would ring alarm bells for other PhD students or alternate supervisors? Would it be worth considering a much more assertive supervisor (my advisor is someone who seems like a genuinely nice guy but he is also incredibly knowledgeable about mathematics and he has supervised a lot of PhD students - the students I've spoken to who have him as a supervisor seem to be doing well) instead of quitting altogether? To put it simply, I feel as though my supervisor has just been a "yes woman" and only now do I feel that the indirect politeness has bitten me in the backside.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43345,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, it is difficult for supervisors to be able to quickly identify if something is wrong. Often UK programs evaluate students after one year. My department holds an viva voice after the first year and progresses students from MPhil to PhD. In my field, psychology, a reasonable outcome after one year is an understanding, and literature review, of the thesis, and a completed experiment. As a supervisor, the 6 month point is probably the earliest I can identify if a student is unlikely to clear the minimum bar unless there is a major change. Even at 6 months, it is difficult to judge. When tasks that should take hours are taking months, that is an indication of a problem.</p>\n\n<p>PhD students, especially in the short time-limited programs in the UK, need to be self motivated. That means you need to understand what you need to accomplish by when. By now you should probably be outlining your thesis is a big picture sense and have some well defined aims and some background reading about why these aims are important and substantial. The aims should be agreed with your supervisor as being worthy of a PhD. It is likely that over the next 2.5 years these aims will change, but you want a starting point. You also need to know where you need to be at the end of year 2. As you build a roadmap with your supervisor, you can get an idea of how long things should take. When things take much longer then you and your supervisor think they should, you need to meet with your supervisor ASAP.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43349,
"author": "user49483",
"author_id": 30768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30768",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From what you've written, your supervisor actually seems like quite a good supervisor. Students rarely accomplish much of note during the first six months and the majority of students would quickly lose motivation if their supervisor immediately started criticising their work ethic/output while they were still getting their feet wet. As StrongBad has said, 6 months is probably the earliest point that your supervisor can stop giving you the benefit of the doubt and sit down with you and point out the areas in which you need to improve. </p>\n\n<p>Different students require/prefer different styles of supervision. You seem to want less independence than most PhD students I know. So, you need to sit down with your supervisor and communicate this to her. Frame it in a positive way, e.g. \"I really appreciate how supportive you have been of my early attempts but I feel that I have become a bit lost and need more direct guidance. Can we start having regular meetings for the next few months where I show you what I'm working on and the approach I am taking, and you can let me know whether you think there are alternative approaches to that question or whether I am better working on a different problem?\" Right now it doesn't seem like you are even giving your supervisor a chance to change her style of supervision to fit your requirements.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, as somebody who has witnessed what can happen with a 'direct' supervisor and an underperforming student (it's not pretty), I think you might be underestimating the importance of a supportive supervisor, which your supervisor certainly seems to be. Talk to her, tell her what you are struggling with and see how it goes over the next few months. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43373,
"author": "Adrian Bowyer",
"author_id": 32975,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32975",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have been a PhD student once (passed), and subsequently during a long academic career I supervised about 30 PhD students, about 28 of whom stayed the course and submitted a thesis. They all passed.</p>\n\n<p>You sound as if you are not very interested in the subject you are researching. When you started, did you not think, \"Wow! It would be really neat to find an answer to that problem\"?</p>\n\n<p>When you become Dr Smith, an expert in thingology, that says two things to the world:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>You know a lot about thingology and have contributed new ideas to it, and</li>\n<li>You can work independently and with self motivation to get a big\n long project completed.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Doing a PhD is neither like doing a job (even an interesting job), nor is it like being educated at school or as an undergraduate. After the important animal necessities of food, sex, sleep, shelter and so on, the work of the PhD should be something that you find intrinsically fascinating to the extent that it fills your thoughts most of the time. It may be that at its start you merely found it intriguing, but that fascination should grow as you find out more about it.</p>\n\n<p>If you regard it like a job (with a boss), or like doing a first degree in order to get a job, then you will perform indifferently at best. And you won't enjoy it.</p>\n\n<p>At a minimum you should not do a PhD unless - in altered circumstances - its subject would be something that you would study anyway as a hobby in your spare time. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43421,
"author": "SmugDoodleBug",
"author_id": 12294,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12294",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd have to agree with AE that you are not expecting the correct things from your relationship with your supervisor. Sure, it's her job to help guide you, but it is not her job to make you feel motivated. That's squarely your responsibility. If you don't feel her style is to your liking, it's not her fault if you stick with her instead of finding someone else. If you feel like you don't enjoy the work you are currently doing due to the time consumption, you may want to ask yourself if you are cut out for the field to begin with.\nA job requiring a doctorate probably isn't going to be light in requirements schedule-wise. In addition, you will have to work both for, and with, people who may be similar to your supervisor. If you don't like her when she's optional in your life, imagine how you'll feel when you can't simply walk away and find another person. You'll need to be more flexible and really talk with her about your issues. In fact, try having an adult conversation about how you feel concerning the way she operates.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43460,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Sorry for being blunt, but: <em>forget about your supervisor</em>.</strong></p>\n<p>I mean, don't actually <em>forget</em> about her, but it sounds very weird to hear you talk about her "giving you tasks" as if she was having you sort her bookshelves alphabetically or something. You have a subject you want to study, right? Or even some specific research questions? Make the assumption you're not going to get a great deal of help from your advisor right now, regardless of the reason.</p>\n<p>Now, try to come up with a broad plan. I know it sounds impossible, especially when you need to make assumptions regarding your own abilities, but really - pretend it's a plan for somebody else. Try to get to a point when in the back of your mind you can tell yourself "Ok, I want this and that to happen already", "I need myself to accomplish X because then I would be able to do Y which I am looking forward to" etc. Your work plan doesn't have to be perfect, or even valid; you'll probably scrap it when your viewpoint changes or when you've obtained some partial results on something - but that doesn't matter either, it's the mindset, I think, that makes the difference.</p>\n<p>And when you have this kind of mindset, you'll essentially be trying to <em>utilize</em> your advisor: Come to her asking for very specific guidance, opinions on what you're doing on your own, oracling references to the literature on this or that obscure aspect of your field, and so forth.</p>\n<p>(Yes, this is much easier said than done and it's not like I did that during my Ph.D., but that's a long sad story not for this post. I made it through though.)</p>\n<p>So, technically, the answer to your question is: "Maybe there's a problem and maybe there isn't, but that's not what you should be concerned about given your situation."</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43494,
"author": "tobylaroni",
"author_id": 33079,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33079",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I know this is somewhat tangential, but have you every been evaluated for learning disorders, particularly <code>Attention Defecit Disorder</code> (<code>ADD</code>)? </p>\n\n<p>While you mention that there could be some subject area knowledge that you're lacking in order to complete the tasks she's assigned, it sounds like your biggest hurdles are time management and procrastination, which are very, very common problems with ADD.</p>\n\n<p>In that respect, instead of expecting your adviser to help you with those issues, you should consider seeing an ADD coach (a therapist trained in working with people with ADD to manage time and track progress on tasks). You could also consider a behavioral therapist, who could help you develop new patterns for how you approach tasks in the first place (some coaches are trained in both). Very frequently, universities either have in-house staff who can help you with this or can get you a referral to a local therapist.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43849,
"author": "lead",
"author_id": 33350,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33350",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Having experienced a \"hands off\" advisor myself, I'm going to say yes, there is something wrong with your advisor. Where my advisor was horribly emotionally abusive, yours sounds like she simply doesn't give useful feedback; in either case, though, you aren't getting the guidance you need. Many people forget that graduate students are <em>students</em> still, meaning they came to grad school to get guidance in how to pursue advanced research. If you aren't getting that guidance from your advisor, that means they aren't doing their job. </p>\n\n<p>Most people who reach the upper echelons of most branches of academia have never learned about teaching or mentoring - they do what was done to them or what seems like a good idea. However, there's a whole branch of study that has developed concrete guidelines for how people learn best: successful learning involves timely and appropriate feedback. Without the feedback (and guidance, so the lessons aren't excessively hard to come by), the rewards centers of the brain never light up, and motivation to continue down the path you're on decreases. It sounds like this is what's happening to you (and it's what happened to me when I couldn't get a response from my advisor about my research, even when I asked him point blank whether it was acceptable or not). If you knew enough to light up your own reward centers (i.e. if you knew how research was conducted and what \"accurate\" results look like) <em>what would the point be of paying a school to teach you this?</em> You'd already be an expert, and wouldn't be looking to an expert for guidance. </p>\n\n<p>And just to back up what I'm saying with the opinion of a respected professional mentor on the topic of academia, I give you the following link: \n<a href=\"http://theprofessorisin.com/2014/02/23/the-5-top-traits-of-the-worst-advisors/\" rel=\"nofollow\">The 5 Top Traits of the Worst Advisors</a>\nOh hey, look at that - <strong>Is nice, and friendly, and available</strong> made the top spot on the list. </p>\n\n<p>Good luck with handling the situation; Karen's blog (the one from the link) is actually a great place to find solutions to the type of bind you're in.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 177922,
"author": "Dilworth",
"author_id": 8760,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8760",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Could there be a problem with my PhD supervisor?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p><strong>No</strong>, certainly there is <strong>nothing</strong> inherently wrong with your nice supervisor (based on your description).</p>\n<p>It may be that you would benefit a stricter more direct advisor, but this does not mean anything is "wrong" with your supervisor.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43342",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
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