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<p>I work as a programmer supporting a psychology lab. </p>
<p>Most of my work is translating some paper-based or physical assessment into a computer-based equivalent or I create programs for novel assessments along with associated databases and support programs for data retrieval and basic cleaning. </p>
<p>Recently, a colleague included me as a co-author on a paper.</p>
<p>Are they are being overly nice or should I be a co-author on other papers?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43347,
"author": "Maarten van Wesel",
"author_id": 32146,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32146",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An author should be involved in many stages of the study; from involvement in design of the study, to involvement in analysis and writing. Someone who is merely programming is not an author, although this is a valuable contribution</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43360,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In general, only researchers are included as authors. In some cases, the person doing the programming makes a critical intellectual contribution and becomes a researcher. In Psychology, specialist help is often brought in for programming, statistics, modelling, animal care, data acquisition, drug administration, and subject treatment. These support staff are often just turning a \"crank\". The crank is not necessarily easy to turn and the project would not be completed without it being turned, but turning the crank is not research.</p>\n\n<p>Support staff tend to be mentioned in the acknowledgements. Programmers tend to get the short end of the stick in that they get acknowledge only the first time the software is used while other support staff get mention on every paper they are involved with. Support staff only become authors if they do something novel (for example, develop novel testing software). In these cases, they would be an author on the paper (often a methods paper) describing that novel contribution.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43362,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Summary:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Programming a task to a specification is one of many procedural tasks that typically does not lead to authorship in psychology.</li>\n<li>Authorship is typically justified where the programming task involves a substantive intellectual contribution particularly in terms of both academic insight required and contributing to the design in a way that relates to the overall contribution of the resulting paper.</li>\n<li>Programmers can try to negotiate authorship. This is often done by either amplifying the programmer's overall intellectual contribution or when the lead author requires the programmer's input for financial or other reasons.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>More details</strong>\nPutting aside the issue of what is reasonable, I can share some observations from my experience working in a psychology department for many years.</p>\n\n<p>Professional staff with technical expertise in programming are often used on psychological projects. They might be used to program an experiment, set up a data collection tool (e.g., a survey), set up a website and so on.\nTypically, programming a task does not give rise to authorship. The logic is that more procedural contributions are insufficient to justify authorship.</p>\n\n<p>As a casual observation, I have noticed that some psychology researchers undervalue the creative contribution that is often required to effectively implement a programming task.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Support staff versus academic programmers:</strong> I also note that there is a difference between professional support staff and academics (students and faculty) that provide the same technical support. Support staff are typically not on an academic career track, typically do not have domain specific training in the substantive discipline of the paper, and are not assessed particularly on their publication output. In contrast if a technically minded collaborator programs an experimental task, they are more likely to be motivated by co-authorship, they will also more likely be able to contribute to other intellectual aspects of the paper (e.g., task design decisions; write-up; project conception; etc.). </p>\n\n<p>I also have seen cases where authorship is negotiated. In particular, where the lead author does not have money to pay the programmer or the programmer is particularly motivated by authorship, authorship can be offered as an incentive to be involved. As @strongbad implies in the comments, this can get into mirky ethical territory where the contribution clearly falls short of ethically recognised criteria for authorship. And as @strongbad notes in the comments, a more appropriate way to navigate this is to ensure that the programmer does make the requisite intellectual contribution (e.g., through contribution to design, write-up, etc.). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43380,
"author": "dsfgsho",
"author_id": 17804,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17804",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Authorship of a scientific publication can sometimes be a difficult discussion as the requirements, reasons and justification of the author list are not always consistent, clear and well communicated. </p>\n\n<p>Some researchers, labs and universities therefore employ the so called <strong>Vancouver Protocol</strong> [<a href=\"http://www.research.mq.edu.au/documents/policies/Vancouver.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">1</a>, <a href=\"http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">2</a>], that poses a number of requirements for authorship:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <ol>\n <li>conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data; and </li>\n <li>drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and </li>\n <li>final approval of the version to be published.</li>\n </ol>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This protocol is of course merely a suggestions, but (based on my limited experience) it seems to capture the sentiment and approach taken in several labs that I worked in. Note that in some universities, authors are required to complete a signed co-author statement, that describes their contribution to the paper as <em>minor</em>, <em>proportional</em> or <em>major</em>.</p>\n\n<p>So coming back to your question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Are they are being overly nice or should I be a co-author on other\n papers?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Based on the information in your question and taken the requirements of the Vancouver protocol, I would say that they are overly nice to add you to the paper. </p>\n\n<p>Of course, there is absolutely no problem in you being a co-author on the paper, \nif the main authors value your contribution and propose to add you. But, it would be, e.g., hard for you to claim co-authorship on that paper if you did not work on the manuscript.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Note</strong>, however, as pointed out by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929/strongbad\">StrongBad</a> in the comment that:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The criteria are not intended for use as a means to disqualify\n colleagues from authorship who otherwise meet authorship criteria by\n denying them the opportunity to meet criterion #s 2 or 3. Therefore,\n all individuals who meet the first criterion should have the\n opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval\n of the manuscript. </p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 112613,
"author": "mflo-ByeSE",
"author_id": 73083,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73083",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is an old question, but I'll add a quick link and discussion of APA authorship standards.</p>\n\n<p>The guidelines: <a href=\"http://www.apa.org/research/responsible/publication/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">http://www.apa.org/research/responsible/publication/</a></p>\n\n<p>According to this:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Authorship credit should reflect the individual's contribution to the study. An author is considered anyone involved with initial research design, data collection and analysis, manuscript drafting, and final approval.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>On the website, this is directly contrasted with: funding, mentorship, and not participating in the actual publication. The last one is tricky.</p>\n\n<p>So, where does programming fall in? How I interpret the last exception above is: if you aren't using analysis that I ran/interpreted, my statistical tables, any graphics I made, or any of my writing (obviously), then I'm not contributing. From my perspective, though, if you use even one of those things in the manuscript/presentation, I have contributed to the manuscript in a tangible way, and should be included as an author. I feel obligated to mention (as this has happened) that, from my perspective, if you take my code and change the color of the plot and include it, you're still presenting a product of someone else (and need to provide credit for that). Now, if I write code for a data collection procedure, that doesn't necessarily relate to a tangible contribution to the manuscript, and may or may not qualify for authorship (see below about creating a new data collection program for the project).</p>\n\n<p>I believe the need to provide credit is the primary consideration. If you have a published software, you shouldn't be given authorship as credit for its use (as a citation to the software is sufficient). If you have a paper on a unique data collection method, you shouldn't be given authorship as credit for its use (again, citation). Now, if you <em>designed</em> a unique program/statistic/data collection method, you probably should be given authorship, as there isn't another appropriate way to provide credit for that contribution (an acknowledgement isn't enough for that level of contribution, in my opinion).</p>\n\n<p><strong>Overall, though, I believe the best way to approach this is through mutual agreement at the beginning of the project</strong>. This involves a clear definition of the scope of work and compensation for that work (even if the compensation is zero), and revisiting these agreements if the scope changes. Note that there is no exception about authorship for being paid or not, so if you are a paid consultant and are contributing you should still be listed as an author. If you agree to do X, Y, and Z for money but no authorship, fair enough. If you agree to do it for no money but authorship, also fair game. In my experience, such agreements help to keep things friendly in terms of mutual expectations moving forward: if the scope of work was completed, the agreed upon terms should be respected (that doesn't mean that's <em>all</em> you can do on the project, just that the terms should be met whether or not you chose to continue). Note that, as circumstances change, these SOWs are often updated, if only informally, to address the new condition (deadline got moved up, so we need that tangible a week earlier than expected).</p>\n\n<p>Regarding your situation, it seems a bit unclear from your post. If you are typing questions into SurveyMonkey, you probably don't deserve authorship. If you have created an innovative data collection method/statistic/program specifically for this application (and haven't/aren't publishing it elsewhere), you probably do. Finally, if you are contributing tables/analyses/graphics/text to the final manuscript/presentation, I believe that you certainly deserve authorship credit for your work (as you will have contributed, tangibly, to the written product).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43344",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14820/"
] |
43,346 |
<p>I am a reviewer at a conference. An author submitted a paper, and I searched the author's previous papers. I found they have one paper with a very similar title <strong>accepted</strong> to a conference in 2012. I downloaded the paper, and about 1.5 pages of the 6 page document is exactly the same as the 2012 paper (all words and everything else.) So is that plagiarism?</p>
<p>There is no reference to their own 2012 work. Without paying attention to the rest of paper? Should I drop that or not?</p>
<p>Update:
Yes the paper was accepted and indexed on IEEE web site. and I download the paper from IEEE web site.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43348,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Yeah, copying 25% of a prior paper without attribution is definitely self-plagiarism. Report it to the program chairs of the conference, and let them sort out how to manage the problem from there.</p>\n\n<p>Additional information, for any coming from different publication cultures: electrical engineering / computer science conferences are serious publications that take originality very seriously, and <a href=\"http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/Section_822F.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">IEEE policy</a> on the matter is quite explicit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43386,
"author": "Peter Bloem",
"author_id": 6936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6936",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As others have noted, this is a lot of copying, and it would be difficult to justify, but I would say that it is not by itself unacceptable. <strong>Ultimately, it boils down not to how much of the paper is replicated, but to how much of <em>the result</em> is replicated.</strong></p>\n\n<p>If it just happens that for this problem, describing the preliminaries takes up 1.5 pages, and they've copied that from an earlier paper on the same subject, it can still be justified, so long as the thing that is actually being presented is sufficiently new. A good proof, for instance, may only take up a page and a half itself, and still be well worth publishing. </p>\n\n<p>This is why I said, in my earlier comment that it depends on the field. In some fields the text of the paper is itself the result (like a particularly well-researched line of reasoning). In that case self-plagiarizing is a big deal. In other fields the text serves only to present the results, like a proof, some emperical results or an algorithm, and copy-pasting the preliminaries is almost standard practice. It's kind of inadvisable, but it's not by devinition unacceptable.</p>\n\n<p>Even the fact that they've not cited their previous paper can be justified if the previous <em>result</em> is not relevant for <em>this result</em>. Citing yourself when it's not relevant is a different kind of dishonesty all in itself, so you're caught between two fires. </p>\n\n<p>Of course, the other side is that they could be trying to artificially inflate their publication record and they've not cited their previous work in an effort embellish that fact. At the very least, they've not gone through any effort to show that their intentions are honest. </p>\n\n<p>You should mention to your co-reviewers and editor that this is the case. The important point is that there's no automatic rule saying that copying 20 percent is acceptable and 25% is crossing the line. You (and the other reviewers) should make the judgment on whether the self-plagiarism concerns just the text or also the actual results.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43403,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Answer to the question: no it is not <strong>plagiarism</strong>. Plagiarism is defined as passing off someone <em>else</em>'s text, idea, representation as your own. As the author in question is actually the author of the old paper, it is not plagiarized. </p>\n\n<p>If the author signed over the <em>exclusive</em> copyright, it is a <strong>copyright violation</strong>. </p>\n\n<p>If your conference requires contributions to be <strong>novel</strong> (but see below), then it fails on that account - regardless whether the abstract is copy&paste or rephrased (and even in that case you may report that the citations are not appropriate, and previous work is missing).</p>\n\n<p>In addition, as reviewer you may decide that it is <strong>not interesting enough</strong> (e.g. because it is known already) even if there is no formal novelty requirement. </p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Personally I find <strong>self-plagiarism</strong> a misleading and unfortunate term (but yes I do know what it means, and I totally agree that we need to fight the underlying problems). But IMHO is <em>not</em> a straightforward extension of plagiarism, and in my experience, there are better terms to unambiguously name the problems. </p>\n\n<p>In addition, the term has the clear connotation of an offense - but whether and how much one should cite oneself depends a lot on circumstances. In particular, not saying that this your idea is 5 years old is offensive (only) if there is a requirement or expectation of novelty. On the other hand, one would expect a lifetime-achievement award lecture to be full of widely known ideas. </p>\n\n<p>But even in a paper I'd not cite <em>all</em> my previous papers that are somehow relevant but only the one (or maybe two) that is of most use to the reader. Excessive self-citation isn't better than not citing yourself - it is just a different problem. </p>\n\n<p>I thus find it much more practical to require a contribution to be <strong>novel</strong> (no duplicate publication) and <strong>substantial</strong> (no salami publication - though for a conference presentation less is often more). There are further requirements (outside the self-plagiarism questions), e.g. the contribution must be <strong>the authors' own</strong> (no plagiarism).</p>\n\n<p>With students if necessary for the purpose I clarify that novelty includes written from scratch. In addition, even if that is independent of self-plagiarism, I make people aware of the fact that they can violate the copyright of somehing they hold the (in my legislation inalienable) authorship rights to. </p>\n\n<p>(I do think though, that academia would be better off if the novelty requirement would be somewhat dropped in favor of replication studies)</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I'd like to throw in a slightly different view from a field with presumably very different conference culture, which I'd formulte as </p>\n\n<p>When reviewing conference abstracts, I ask myself:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Overall quality (as far as one can tell from 200 words)?</li>\n<li>How well does it fit with the interests of the audience?</li>\n<li>I rather disregard \"global\" novelty compared to novelty to the audience at that conference.<br>\nOur conferences do not have novelty requirements and neither do they ask for an exclusive copyright transfer (unlike our journals). Ultimately, if the topic is too old and well-known, it will fail at the \"interesting?\" question.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Long story: \nwe submit 200 words or maybe 1 page abstracts - so 1.5 copied pages are plain impossible. More importantly, our conferences don't count as peer-reviewed publication, for that we publish in a proper journal (we often don't even have conference proceedings but instead have a special issue of one of the reputable peer-reviewed journals). In particular with my medical colleagues I see a trend that they are concerned someone could steal their idea - so they will present only results that have already been published in a peer-reviewed journal (pretty much the opposite of \"novelty\").</p>\n\n<p>For me the important point of a conference presentation is to tell the audience something interesting <em>for them</em>. I freely admit that I hate presentations that don't convey any useful message to anyone in the audience beyond \"I, the author, am a hero\" or \"This [totally useless crap] is sooo new\". </p>\n\n<p>If there is already an accepted paper, I include the reference into the conference abstract, for several reasons: the reference serves as \"topic has passed peer-review\" tag and of course it is an additional advertisement for the paper. The propriety* of citing oneself is only a minor point as we don't have strict novelty requirements; and the lower the number of allowed words, the less usual it is.</p>\n\n<p>Due to our few 100 word limits, I'd also never look for much originality in a conference abstract: once you've found a formulation that saves 5 words, you're not gonna give it up easily ;-)</p>\n\n<p>As I work at the interface between some disciplines doing statistical data analysis for chemical data and medical diagnostic problems, I attend conferences with rather disjunct attendees. </p>\n\n<p>Consequently, </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I've been presenting the same software (poster) at three conferences (within 2 months) with a total of probably close to 2000 attendees but an overlap that I estimate to be < 20 people. I submitted it to those conferences because I thought it interesting for their respective audiences <em>and</em> I did not expect many people to attend more than one of them. </li>\n<li>I'm invited to speak in more detail about a topic that I first presented 3 years ago at a chemometrics conference. (The paper was published 2 years ago and of course I refer to it: after all I want people to read it - but not to the previous conference) Again, I am the overlap in attendance between the statistics-heavy first conference and the application-centered conference now.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>And, by the way, I was taught about scientific writing to avoid synonyms and always try to stick to the same terms (once good terms are found) - even if that is repetitive throughout the paper, and use easy language in order to be unambiguous and as understandable as possible to other non-native English readers. This is another source of not so very original formulations.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43346",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19761/"
] |
43,351 |
<p>I live in Argentina and we don't have the Bachelor/Master's division. I've studied 6 years of a Biology Degree. Most of my subjects had Lab practices besides the theory/calculus part so my total amount of college was big (a normal subject would have 12 hours/week with a total of 23 subjects). Within the 23 subjects, we have 13 "general to all Biologists" and there are 9 which are "specialization" subjects. Then, if you're going for "neuroscience and behavior" you have to attend "Neuroscience 101" and you can't go for "Plant Vascular System 4".
Also, in order to graduate I have to have research experience and present a written "thesis" (and give an oral presentation) which is consider your last subject. I've worked for two years in a Lab doing this research.
Because I want to do my PhD abroad I'm wondering if there's a way to explain this or have some kind of equivalence. Since there are lots of automatic systems that are ready for you to complete Bachelor + Master I find a lot of trouble to deal with this. I feel that it's too difficult to get to talk to a real person and when you actually do, the person gives you the "go to the website and..."
Any experience will help (specially if you had the same problem and you found the way to deal with it).</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43413,
"author": "Huns",
"author_id": 32878,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32878",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This really depends on the college and the department you want to get into. You should look around for some candidate programs and see what you can find online, and talk to some of the professors who work in that department.</p>\n\n<p>At my university, the postgrad program directors wanted to see work experience. They wanted to see that you'd gone out into the world, and put your learning to the test beyond the confines of an internship. The more real experience you have, the more benefit you'll extract from the program - and the fewer questions you'll have to ask in class. However, this doesn't mean ALL postgrad departments are like this. Perhaps in your field they expect to see someone go straight from undergrad to graduate without working in the field for a few years. Perhaps some departments will care about this, and others won't. It depends on where you go.</p>\n\n<p>It's a good idea to establish some contacts with the advisors now, so that they can come to recognize your name and help you out a little. You might just find an e-mail one day that one of them sends you about an important change, which wasn't sent to others, because they didn't bother to maintain contact. Social networking is very important!!!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43426,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You are in a slightly tight but not an impossible to overcome situation.</p>\n\n<p>What you describe relates very closely to the pre-<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Process\" rel=\"nofollow\">Bologna_Process</a> situation in Europe. People especially in Science- and Engineering-related disciplines had 5 to 6 years <em>Bachelors</em> (usually called <em>Diplomas</em>). When these graduates applied for graduate studies, especially in UK where the BSc in usually 3 years, they found themselves massively downplaying their qualifications. (The situation is <em>somewhat</em> sorted now.) Currently the <em>old</em> diplomas are almost universally accepted as Masters degrees because the retroactively calculation of <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Credit_Transfer_and_Accumulation_System\" rel=\"nofollow\">ECTS</a> points puts them nearly always in the same range as a Masters degree. </p>\n\n<p>When you say <em>abroad</em> you do not specify <em>where</em>. </p>\n\n<p>If <em>abroad</em> translates to Europe then things are quite straightforward. You say you have a Masters and leave things be. Departments are quite used to the phenomenon of \"5/6 years of studies\". Most of admissions committees will not blink an eye. It would almost certainty good to present it in your CV as \"Integrated BSc and MSc studies\" or something equivalent, so one can immediately spot it. Your programme of studies is far from unheard in Europe.</p>\n\n<p>If <em>abroad</em> translates to US/Canada I do not have personal experiences; I think it will greatly dependent to the particular university's guideline. (I will be happy to be corrected at this point from a North American native if there is some standardised framework I do not know of). I can tell you for sure that 4-year BSc are not counted as Masters. I know very few people who applied for PhD straight out of a 5-year Engineering degrees from Greece; both them were accepted but they were very strong students anyway so I would not extrapolate based on them. Some others went for Masters (and continued to PhD eventually).</p>\n\n<p>In general, a 6-years degree puts you in a very strong position if you are to be compared with simple BSc holder for PhD admission, probably your compare favourably to most MSci programmes as well. I would not worry much in that aspect. Having strong grades in those six years will be more important than what one equates your certificate to. (Assuming your references, cover letter, etc. are the same.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43351",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32958/"
] |
43,353 |
<p>When surveying my students for various reasons (which have nothing to do with my institution which does not care about, nor fund, any of my "research"), I find that online surveys get a very low response rate. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can get up to 50% of students to respond (sometimes only 10%). However, if I hand questionnaires out during class time I can usually get 80-90% completion rates.</p>
<p>The problem comes that I end up with hundreds of paper surveys and keying them into a computer takes hours. There must be a better way.</p>
<p>I am actually looking for two pieces:</p>
<ol>
<li>How can I design the paper survey to best support scanning and having a computer convert the scan into raw data which I can then explore</li>
<li>What kind of software can do the scanning and conversion (I realize this might be a question for softwarerecs.SE)</li>
</ol>
<p>For point 2, I usually use <strong>multiple choice</strong> or <strong>Likert-type scales</strong> so full OCR is not required.</p>
<p>Are there standards for questionnaire design which support this process?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44469,
"author": "Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩",
"author_id": 26708,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26708",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This question covers quite a wide area to be comprehensively answered. The first point that comes to mind is <em>\"Why are you doing a survey and keying the results in?\"</em></p>\n\n<p>Is it because your institution requires it of you? Do they require the survey to be performed as part of a teaching quality process? Is the desire for the survey your own and on your own initiative? (You just said <em>\"for various reasons\"</em>) I say this because when someone starts doing a task that is difficult I ask \"Do you <em>need</em> to do that?\"</p>\n\n<p>The surveys could be for you to learn about your teaching in some way in order to make a teaching improvement, perhaps. The surveys could be caused by you performing research on your class students in order to collect data, perhaps. The surveys could be done because you are teaching the students something about the role of surveys in business or marketing, perhaps. Maybe you are doing the survey as a substitute for other forms of summative or formative assessment, perhaps. (... and even more reasons I could speculate on).</p>\n\n<p>I'll address these points in more detail. If you are surveying the class for your own personal teaching quality improvement, then I suggest that typing the data is not necessary. You can collect two kinds of data (qualitative and quantitative). The numerical and statistical parts are probably less important if the only consumer of the results is yourself. What is important are the detailed comments from the students. These involve reading all the responses irrespective of whether the survey was done on paper or online. I have used all three systems over the years (online survey, scanned paper survey, just paper survey) and for qualitative personal feedback it takes the same time to read them all.</p>\n\n<p>If you are surveying the class for personal research data, then research ethics approval comes into play. In most research ethical approval and participant informed consent is required and this usually rules out mass questionnaires of classes of undergraduates! If mass surveys are required then some form of funding for appropriate data collection tools should have been part of the research plan.</p>\n\n<p>If the surveys are part of teaching business and marketing processes then perhaps the investigation of how to do them better should be part of your teaching preparation, because helping students learn how to solve these problems in a business context is what you might need to include in the course, perhaps. </p>\n\n<p>Having challenged the need for the survey or the data entry, lets assume your premise that it needs to be done.</p>\n\n<p>I would next look at the relationship between yourself and the institution. Does the institution expect an online survey of the class and are they providing the web facilities for this that they expect you to use, or do they expect you to organise some form of online form yourself and provide them with the data? If the institution is expecting you to collect the data by a method of your choice and enter the data into their systems then they are leaving themselves open to external criticism of their quality mechanisms. This means that there is no audit mechanism that the data collected about any course from any group of students is valid and meaningful. One should challenge it through the various management and committee structures that exist in an institution for that purpose. The goal would be to either get the need for data collection to be properly supported or abandoned.</p>\n\n<p>If you are trying to improve the response rate to an institutional provided online student questionnaire by substituting a paper copy and inputting the data yourself also sounds suspect. If the institutional data collection permits someone other than the accredited student to give feedback, then again this leaves the institutional mechanisms open to criticisms if any external audit were done on the data. It also means that you could equally criticise the invalidity or validity of other courses or faculty data as untrustworthy.</p>\n\n<p><em>(Does my analysis begin to hint that perhaps your question is a little weak in construction, because this feels like answering an undergraduate course assignment from a business school; you can grade me later..)</em></p>\n\n<p>OK. Lets continue to assume that doing a paper survey to collect quantitative and qualitative data is sensible and valid. What software and facilities are available? There are quite a few vendors that offer surveying capabilities in bulk supported by combined online and paper surveys. These have been adopted by quite a few educational institutions, my own included. A quick google search for such things shows many many vendors. There are online survey makers (some free), there are OCR questionnaire tool makers and those that do a combined job. There are those that do the data analysis for you also, and some that operate at an institutional level. Just so many to choose from. Perhaps you were just asking us to sort through the many offerings - oh! if it were that easy to answer.</p>\n\n<p>Its hard to get cheap and good together. Those tools that provide what you need are often priced in a way that only make it economic for adoption at an institutional level, which is why action for a solution at an institutional level is often the best route to a solution.</p>\n\n<p>I have used (and written) software to handle the OCR and data extraction from paper sources for large populations (~100,000). It is not easy, and also depends on your technical skills and processing and customising your data handling.</p>\n\n<p>The first technical task to consider is the paper handling. How do you plan to OCR the physical material? If you have to use a single sheet scanner and turn the papers by hand then you have a problem. It is not a sensible task for an academic to perform, it is time consuming, tedious and error prone. If you have so few sheets that it is not tedious, time consuming and error prone, then it would still be faster to process the data by hand by reading and calculating yourself! You need a bulk sheet scanner that does accurate paper placement and has high speed sheet feed. These are not cheap. The salaries of clerical staff to do the scanning and paper handling are also not cheap. These are further reasons why solutions are best sourced at an institutional level and not a personal one.</p>\n\n<p>OK, lets continue to assume that we can get the paper OCR processed in a reasonable manner. We need software post-processing. What software to use? It either comes with the package you buy/adopt or you have to customise. How capable are you at the customisation. I wrote textual matching algorithms using regular expression pattern matching combined with structural parsing of the resultant text generated by the OCR. Handling user errors was not easy , but you can structure the questions in a manner that permits regular expression matching to find the necessary glyphs.</p>\n\n<p>For example:</p>\n\n<pre><code> 1. This is a Question? X\n 2. This does not have an answer\n\n 3. This question has a textual free form answer:\n =====================================================\n\n Answer goes where we can find it\n\n =====================================================\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Can be pattern matched to detect the glyph mark after a question or the absence of a mark. The problem with real paper is that dirt and coffee stains can also look like response glyphs. Human post processing is required. I had to write a data error checker before I could write a useful data capture phase. If you are not into heavy professional coding, then one must adopt a professional and probably pricey solution or service provider. (Sorry, institutional again).</p>\n\n<p>I also assume you know there is a whole science and scientific discipline to making surveys and questionnaires? </p>\n\n<p>(For example: <a href=\"http://dism.ssri.duke.edu/question_design.php\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Duke Inititiative on Survey Methodology</a>, <a href=\"http://www.irss.unc.edu/odum/contentSubpage.jsp?nodeid=589\" rel=\"nofollow\">Odum Institute an UNC</a>)</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps you should be involving some professional input to your problem, rather than us dilettantes? (But then I'm back to an institutional level again)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44477,
"author": "Phil",
"author_id": 24991,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24991",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can offer some help with scanning paper questionnaires as this is something I've done in a previous job. But, first, I would suggest it's quite involved so you may want to at least revisit improving your 'digital' response rate first.</p>\n\n<h1>Audience response devices</h1>\n\n<p>One option may be to allow the students to use 'clickers' to respond to questions. I would recommend having no more than 10 questions that can be answered on a multiple choice or Likert scale, which fits your requirements. Our department use something like this: <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_response\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_response</a>\nWe've found that about 10 questions can be answered in about 10 minutes.</p>\n\n<h1>Re-consider your online/digital surveys</h1>\n\n<p>If clickers aren't suitable - for example because the students are not physically situated together - you could consider reviewing your digital survey, purely because it's significantly easier to obtain data from responses. To improve response rates, I tried to follow these rules of thumb:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>No matrices, ever.</li>\n<li>No more than three questions per page.</li>\n<li>No more than six pages.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Obviously this is going to vary depending on how much detail you <em>need</em>, but these reminded me to keep the questions light.</p>\n\n<h1>Scanning paper surveys</h1>\n\n<p>So, with all that in mind if you still need the paper copy route, here goes. To make it worthwhile you need:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>a scanner designed for automatic throughput. That is, a single sheet personal/small office scanner is not going to speed things up for you if you have to manually change ~200 sheets. Something like this <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00ATZ9QMO\" rel=\"nofollow\">Fujitsu ScanSnap</a> might do the trick.</li>\n<li>Software that recognises marks. I used Eyes and Hands, which is deprecated and has been superceded by <a href=\"http://www.readsoft.com/terminology/readsoft/readsoft\" rel=\"nofollow\">ReadSoft</a> as far as I can tell. ReadSoft can recommend a compatible scanner.</li>\n<li>There are some requirements about how you set your paper questionnaire up, and this needs to be precise. Therefore I recommend something like QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign.</li>\n<li>You need four recognition marks for each page, one for each corner. I often found a character from the header or text ok for the left hand side, but on the right hand side if text wasn't justified I needed to manually add some marks.</li>\n<li>You need to lay our tick or text boxes quite clearly. For example, it's quite common to see tables without any padding used for response boxes on paper surveys but you need a gap between them for the scanning software to recognise them unambiguously.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>With these basic requirements you can set up a survey to be automatically scanned and entered in to a spreadsheet or database.</p>\n\n<p>Clearly this is quite involved so you may be able to find a company who can do this for your commercially. Some market research or survey companies might be able to do the heavy lifting for you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44481,
"author": "Willie Wong",
"author_id": 94,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/94",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In terms of the software solution, as one option I would suggest playing with the <a href=\"http://home.gna.org/auto-qcm/\" rel=\"nofollow\">AutoMultipleChoice</a> software package if you have access to a Linux computer. The software can certainly output a CSV file with each response recorded for you to do your own data analysis (i.e. you can completely ignore the \"grading\" part of the software and just use it to capture data). </p>\n\n<p>A few caveats:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>As the software is designed for multiple choice <em>exams</em>, each page is barcoded. You will have to convince the students yourself of their anonymity (if that's necessary); this can be achieved by randomly distributing the copies. </li>\n<li>The software supports autoshuffling of the multiple choice responses, as well as the question ordering. This can be used to great effect (if you want to avoid biases due to ordering of things), but sometimes you have to pay attention (questions of the type \"on the scale of 1 to 5, rank blah\" really shouldn't have the answers ordered \"4, 1, 3, 2, 5\".)</li>\n<li>The software was written by French people; the English documentation reads fine but with some slightly quirky word choices and grammar constructions. </li>\n<li>Make sure the students use a dark black pen to mark the questionnaire, and make sure they fill in the boxes. Experience has told me that blue ink or pencil, or tick marks or \"X\"-marks are often missed if you scan them using the default settings. You have to play with the contrast and darkness settings on your scanner a bit to find the right settings. </li>\n<li>The scanning can be painful if you have a large stack and not one of those automatic-feed photocopiers. </li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44558,
"author": "Raydot",
"author_id": 13535,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13535",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Have you looked at Akindi? <a href=\"https://akindi.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://akindi.com/</a> You or the students can print out the answer sheets which are similar to those used by Scantron (you know, the SAT's and such).</p>\n\n<p>I will also add to the notion made elsewhere that with so many kinds bringing computers and smartphones to class that using something like SurveyMonkey.com (or similar) will probably be even easier than going the scanning software route.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43353",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692/"
] |
43,356 |
<p>University requirements might be different but most of them ask for recommendation letters. Leaving everything else (Degree, GPA, publications) they rely heavily on the recommendation letters. Not one but three recommendation letters. At least in my field (Life sciences) it's a well known fact that you have to be recommended as if you were the next "whatever genius you like".
Since the PhD positions are limited because of many reasons (from "money" to the fact that "some top universities are proud of having a 5% acceptance") students must apply to at least (say) 10 different universities/institutes to have a minimum chance. Of course, they can be realistic about their chances and apply for the less crowded opportunities. That would mean making a list of your top 20 places and applying for the 10-20. After all, if they were "the next genius" they wouldn’t have any problem with recommendation letters. So far, so good, but they still need those letters.
As far as I know, a "normal" pre-PhD person might have at most 2 different research experiences so if they are able to get one professor to write something good about them they're OK.
However, this means that these 3 persons have to be willing to write 10 letters for you (and logging in the online system which asks them a lot of questions about them and about the student). Basically, they can: </p>
<p>1) Do copy-paste and change the name with a generic great letter. This means your recommendation letter won't be about you (or will be as yours as anybody else's)</p>
<p>2) Write a great unique letter</p>
<p>Usually a PI would have tons of students asking for recommendation letters so it's a natural part of their work to do some writing but it's still a big favor. If a PI writes too many outstanding letters the system will suspect He's a fool or even worse a liar. So my guess is that they just write "great" letters.</p>
<p><strong>But, how is a great letter composed? Are the writers really aware of what they have to write? is the same letter suitable for two PhD programs? What if they're in different countries (I've been reading that south American and European PIs write "too realistic" letters for US PhDs and US PIs write "too good to be true" letters for European standards)? Then, should a pre-PhD student work in both continents first and then apply? How to deal with the fact that the PIs may be unknown? How to deal with the fact that you need many different PIs writing you many different letters? How to ask your PI a recommendation letter to "leave" him/her?</strong> </p>
<p>I know that it's not ONE question but for me it's part of the same problem. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43357,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Exactly because of the \"inflation\" of letters in the U.S., I make sure to individualize letters. Absolutely! Now, that individual letter will only be \"as great\" as the student actually is, since, indeed, \"the system\" has some memory so one can inflate the currency of one's own letters, too.</p>\n\n<p>From the other end, if I, as grad-program admissions person, read an obvious cut-and-paste of \"great\" letter, without any personalizing information, so that it could be about ... anybody... then it gets essentially no positive weight toward admission, for example. I interpret the non-individuation as a measure of lack of enthusiasm about the student.</p>\n\n<p>Thus, indeed, letters from EU and China often fall flat in the U.S. system, because the pretty-good letters are often nearly identical. Also, from cultures where students write their own recommendation letter and have the faculty sign, the letters do not serve the students well, in most cases, to my perception, perhaps counter-intuitively for those students! That is, what a naive person might imagine a grad admissions committee is looking for is often quite different from the reality. :)</p>\n\n<p>I myself am not at all confident, even with some decades of experience, about whether I can communicate effectively in such letters with people outside the U.S., but, for the U.S., yes, I do have a pretty good idea of the issues that need to be addressed in the letter, and I make sure to touch on these. No, the game is such that one never says anything overtly bad (in our litiginous society, etc), and/but the rest of the dance is clear: don't damn by faint praise, and don't be generic... unless the student deserves it.</p>\n\n<p>Thus, in particular, a student should always ask whether someone can write \"a <em>helpful</em> letter\", ... not just \"would you write a letter for me...\"</p>\n\n<p>To address the mythos about \"research projects\"... At least in mathematics, \"undergrad research\" is an iffy thing at best, in all but exceptional circumstances (I'd claim this despite many peoples' enthusiasm otherwise), and in fact I think it is easily possible to show more genuine future-potential... which is what the issue is ... in a very-substantial classroom or seminar setting than in a \"let's try to generate a publishable paper in 8 weeks starting with no prerequisites\" context of an REU or similar. True, the latter scenarios <em>may</em> gauge certain personality traits, but it's only a few units less exaggerated/stylized than the silly GRE subject test in math.</p>\n\n<p>That is, don't be passive/non-interactive in classes. Good grades are not the goal, <em>mathematics</em> is the goal. Being reactive, engaged, responsive to ... mathematics... is a thing the teacher/professor will certainly notice, even if their capacity to appraise \"affect\" is not what it might be, which is not uncommon in the math biz.</p>\n\n<p>Those remarks are for mathematics. CompSci and other things have different specifics, and I suspect from the tone of the question that those other scenarios are more relevant to the questioner, but I thought to give a response relevant to <em>one</em> widespread context... even if not quite so widespread as the CompSci business.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43382,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The fact you are missing is that most letter writers and readers sit on both sides of the table. Letter writers read letters of support for applicants to the graduate program/postdoc program/as tenure track faculty many times a year. So they have a \"feel\" for how such letters look like, and they can compose letters accordingly when they are writing for others. And they write letters themselves and therefore understand the subtleties in letters of support when they have to read them for applications. In other words, letters of support are like a foreign language that you have to learn, but that you become good in if you practice both listening and speaking.</p>\n\n<p>As for letters from abroad: All major departments have faculty from around the world, and they are often quite aware of the differences in style. We get letters from Europe all the time, and we know that they are less exuberant and follow a different style. We take this into account in our evaluations -- with no harm to the applicant.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43398,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Usually a PI would have tons of students asking for recommendation letters</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>...which is why the experienced ones will say no to anyone they don't think they can honestly give a strong recommendation.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>it's still a big favor.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, it's not. It's their job.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How is a great letter composed?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Most successful reference letters follow the same general outline:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>A short blurb describing how long the writer has known you, and in what capacity (student in class, independent study, senior thesis, lab slave, coauthor, squash partner, etc.)</li>\n<li>A detailed description of <strong>why</strong> (not just <em>whether</em>) the writer thinks you are a strong candidate for PhD admission, and in particular your potential for independent research in direct, personal, technical, and credible detail. This part is different for every letter.</li>\n<li>Direct comparisons, by name, with other students the writer has worked with and/or recommended in the past.</li>\n<li>A short blurb describing the writer's credentials and experience.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Are the writers really aware of what they have to write?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In general, yes—after all, they read recommendation letters themselves (or they're the wrong people to ask)—but the only way to really be sure is to <strong>ask them directly.</strong> If they are anything but confident about their ability to write you a strong and effective letter, ask someone else.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>is the same letter suitable for two PhD programs?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>At least within the US, yes, definitely.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>What if they're in different countries?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>Ask your references directly</strong> whether they understand the cultural expectations in those countries. But in my experience (in computer science), these differences are shrinking rapidly.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Then, should a pre-PhD student work in both continents first and then apply?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Nobody can tell you what you \"should\" do. There's an obvious tradeoff between breadth and depth in your pre-PhD research experience. The choice depends on which is more likely to provide evidence of <em>your</em> potential as an independent researcher.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How to deal with the fact that the PIs may be unknown?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There is no such thing as an <em>unknown</em> PI; everyone has a professional web page, and everyone can use Google. (Corollary: If someone doesn't have a professional web page, do <em>not</em> under any circumstances ask them for a letter.) But more junior writers do need to provide more narrative detail in their letters, to make up for being <em>less</em> known and less experienced.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How to deal with the fact that you need many different PIs writing you many different letters?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>What is there to \"deal with\"? With rare exceptions, you need three our four PIs to write one letter each, possibly with some very minor customization. Ask them if they are willing to write you a strong letter. (Use the word \"strong\" when you ask.) If they say yes, give them everything they need to write a strong letter, including time, and then get out of the way.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How to ask your PI a recommendation letter to \"leave\" him/her?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Directly—just as if the PI were actually a responsible, mature, adult human being—and far enough in advance that they can plan for your departure. Anything else would be incredibly disrespectful.</p>\n\n<p>(If they get huffy about the idea that you might pursue opportunities elsewhere, then be very happy you asked—you <em>really</em> don't want to work for them.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43356",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32958/"
] |
43,358 |
<p><strong>Background:</strong> In my area, academics often supervise a large number of students (e.g., 10, 15, 20 students). Many of these students are doing a small thesis as part of either their fourth year or coursework masters.
I am able to keep all these projects in my head, I do have documentation around each project, and I generally have a good understanding of what needs to be done next on each project. I can also see that one of the skills that a student learns whilst doing a thesis is project management and self-control.</p>
<p>However, I feel like I could develop a better system for recording and managing deadlines and deliverables on student projects. Such deliverables include concrete assessments (e.g., assessed literature reviews; the thesis; project proposals) and informal but required steps (e.g., finalising study materials; ethics applications; literature reviews; preliminary training; etc.). Such a system could let me know when a student has not provided an agreed deliverable by a given date. It would probably also have to accommodate some of the more fluid activities that unfold over time (e.g. data collection; data analysis; write-up; etc.). </p>
<p>A few features that would be good:</p>
<ul>
<li>It shouldn't be too onerous too maintain</li>
<li>It should notify when deadlines are not met </li>
<li>It should highlight current tasks</li>
<li>It should integrate into the supervision process and make it easy to share deadlines with students</li>
<li>It should accommodate different kinds of deliverables (process; outcomes)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Question</h3>
<p><strong>What is a good system for helping a supervisor oversee deliverables and deadlines for a large number of research students?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43365,
"author": "R. Schumacher",
"author_id": 32964,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32964",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When teaching undergraduates, before my retirement, I tracked/supervised student research/capstone projects with two methods.</p>\n\n<p>1) I required the student to prepare an Excel document with their timeline for completion and the milestone dates. After a joint review (and revision(s)), I then had the document which I kept in a binder (later on a shared server) which I could track completions and keeping of suspense dates.</p>\n\n<p>2) The other method which I usually used for team projects was a written ONE-PAGE weekly activity report. (And even up to 1 year ago, they were to be submitted in hard copy.) The report included a summary of work done in the last 7 days, what is planned for the next 7 days, what were the next 2 milestones and their due dates. </p>\n\n<p>Additionally, some of my colleagues were in the last few years using a shared Google gdrive folder for a shared calender for each student and project. I did not do this because I actually wanted a record of how milestones were revised as the project processed. (Part of good research is being willing to revise the plan in an appropriate manner, keeping all parties informed, and accomplishing the task at hand in the time required) </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43419,
"author": "Huns",
"author_id": 32878,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32878",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You might ask your university if they can hook you up with some project management software. They probably have licenses sitting around. In the past I've used JIRA with a SCRUM add-on to track things like this, but there's a learning curve and it might be overkill for you. (However, it is quite reasonably priced.) There are LOTS of project management suites out there, some free and some commercial.</p>\n\n<p>Get something that can draw Gantt charts. They're perfect for tracking progress vs. milestones. That makes it easier to see what's going on at a glance.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44568,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've started using <a href=\"https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">OmniFocus</a> task management software for the Mac. It is very useful for supervising research students. I imagine other flexible task management software could also do the job (see <a href=\"http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/11-alternatives-to-omnifocus-you-can-use-to-get-things-done.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here for list of alternatives</a>), but OmniFocus has a number of helpful features (see screenshot at bottom of post). The following describes the workflow.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Actions:</strong> Actions are the unit in the task manager. Actions can be given a context, due date, and details. </p>\n\n<p><strong>One context per student</strong>: I have contexts for different categories of supervision (i.e., masters, fourth year, PhD). And within these contexts, I have a context for each student. OmniFocus makes it very easy to add actions to a context (e.g., keyboard shortcuts, auto-completion, automatically assign context when you are viewing within a context) and view the actions assigned to a specific context. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Monitoring completion:</strong> The interface (see below) has a colour coding system to easily flag actions that are approaching a due date (yellow) or are over due (red). There are numbers next to each context, so it is easy to see at a glance which students have an approaching or over due action.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Distinguish who needs to do action (student, supervisor, both)</strong>: If I need to distinguish tasks based on whether it is something the student needs to do or whether it's something I need to do, I put the name in parentheses.\nTypical actions that a student might need to do include sending me a draft of a literature review, thesis section, ethics application, confirmation document, presentation, experimental method protocol, funding application, etc. Such actions will include a mixture of interim tasks as well as submission dates for formal assessment. Typical actions that I might need to do include submitting paper work, reviewing drafts, submitting various forms (ethics, funding), finalising programming of tasks, etc.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Notes:</strong> I use action notes to record reasons why the action can not be completed. For example, we might be waiting on receiving a signature. It can also be used to store essential details, but mostly I avoid storing details about the task OmniFocus. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Setting deliverables with students:</strong> In supervision meetings, I record tangible due dates, and we agree on other deliverables with due dates. Thus, the student is clear on what needs to be done next and by when. In some cases, due dates need to be extended (especially more flexible due dates). Thus, this system encourages the setting of a new deadline rather than leaving things more open ended.</p>\n\n<p><strong>General discussion of benefits:</strong> There are several benefits of the above system</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Adding actions is efficient</li>\n<li>It is easy to see what tasks are due and when for a given student. This makes it easy to follow-up.</li>\n<li>It also makes it clear what I need to do as a supervisor to ensure the project is not held up by my inaction.</li>\n<li>It encourages the setting <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">SMART goals</a> for students (specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, time-related), which is particularly important for something as potentially flexible and open-ended as a student thesis.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/thjp6.png\" alt=\"omnifocus screenshot for managing supervision\"></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 67429,
"author": "elviejo79",
"author_id": 52864,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/52864",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my <a href=\"http://www.ingsoft.mx/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">department</a> we use Trello and Kanban</p>\n\n<p>We have two boards: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>All Students board, their advisers and how far along they are in their thesis writing process. This is mainly used by the program director/dean.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/62F1L.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/62F1L.jpg\" alt=\"All Students Board\"></a></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Individual student one Board that shows how they are doing in each part of their thesis.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>It includes Articles Read, Summary of those articles, etc. \nThe different Label Colors represent different kind of activities: Reading, Executing, and Writting.\nThere is a review Column. When something arrives to that column I get notified and start reviewing that activity.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1pcQA.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1pcQA.png\" alt=\"Individual Student Board\"></a></p>\n\n<p>Finally with Burndown for Trello we control time and schedule, so that we know if they will finish on time.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vjnAZ.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vjnAZ.png\" alt=\"Burn Down For One Thesis\"></a></p>\n\n<p>In fig. <a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vjnAZ.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">4</a> yellow lines represents ideally what the student should have left every week, blue line represents what was actually left ( you can obsevre he was a little behind schedule in the middle)\nAnd red line shows the accumulated effort.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43358",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62/"
] |
43,359 |
<p>When listing keywords for a paper written in English, is it better to write keywords in singular or plural form? </p>
<p>I am interested in both keywords stored in meta-data:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nn31B.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>
<p>and keywords listed at the beginning of the paper:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/y4TfN.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43364,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Honestly, I think that keywords are now de facto irrelevant. The issue is this: when was the last time that you <em>actually</em> searched for a paper by keyword? In practice, literature discovery is now more typically done by means of modern search engines, which will generally disregard such minor distinctions as singular vs. plurals in any case.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43389,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It doesn't really matter. Adopt the style that the journal or conference you are submitting to seems to prefer if there are no instructions given by the venue.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43703,
"author": "bxfd82",
"author_id": 33244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33244",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would recommend checking the thesaurus of a database that is likely to be searched for your discipline for relevant keywords and compare yours to the keywords indexed within that database to match your terms to an appropriate taxonomy. Singular or plural form is unlikely to matter, but listing phrases instead of breaking the keywords down to strict terms is unlikely to be useful to anyone at the publishing companies or managing your institutional repository that is converting the terms to a controlled vocabulary. Speak to a reference librarian for assistance locating a database thesaurus. Also, to the point above about the terms not mattering although this is true in disciplines with precise taxonomies which are mapped only to that discipline (as is often the case in computer science or engineering) many disciplines still use terminology that is not strictly mapped to their disciplines. In these instances controlled vocabularies (within the databases) remain relevant to resolve the ambiguity of terms from unrelated disciplines when searching.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43359",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/452/"
] |
43,371 |
<p>I want to write a survey on one emerging research topic in wireless communications (It can be applied to any field!). There are almost 500 papers on this topic as published or in early access. And the publishing rate in this topic is increasing day by day. So, I want to write a survey on this topic keeping in mind that it will get high citation and it will help new scholar who are in struggle with this topic. I found only one survey written by some reputed authors, however it lacks in many ways, like detailed information related to particular direction, it just assembles the papers in a good manner. I want to pick some directions and discuss important approaches with good connection between them. However, I find it very difficult to proceed with large number of papers. Is there any good way to handle the survey process in a good efficient and quick way? PS. According to me, many people have already started to write this. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43384,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The point of a survey paper of the type you are discussion (as distinct from a systematic review), is to provide an organized view of the current state of the field. As such, you should not be attempting to cite every paper, but only the ones that are significant (which will still be an awful lot).</p>\n\n<p>Writing a good survey paper is hard, and there really aren't any good shortcuts: you <em>do</em> need to become familiar with the content of a very large number of papers, in order to make sure that the view you are presenting is sane.</p>\n\n<p>My suggestion, based on my own experience in this area, is to use the following iterative process:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Begin by collecting a large pile of papers to survey.</li>\n<li>Based on your experience and a few initial readings, hypothesize an organization schema for the field. </li>\n<li>Start reading (mostly skimming) and organizing your collection of papers you read using this schema, including noting which ones are most important and which do not fit the schema well.</li>\n<li>As you find significant numbers of papers that do not fit the schema well, adjust the schema to better fit what you are actually finding and shift the organization of your collection to match.</li>\n<li>Add new papers to the \"to be read\" collection based on the adjusted schema, then return to reading and organizing.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>When the process converges to a stable schema and an empty to-be-read pile, you will have a well-developed view of the current state of the field and be in a good position to write a survey. Note, however, that this may take a number of months...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 64072,
"author": "DimP",
"author_id": 49855,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49855",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To further add something on the accepted answer, your paper should have a clear aim or should eventually reach to a well-justified conclusion. Whereas its purpose can always be a collection of top notch papers in wireless communications, this would not probably make it a high-citation/high-quality one, as it will again be \"one of the many\" in that sense.</p>\n\n<p>Barton P. Miller's <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_to_write_survey_or_review_papers_and_What_sections_should_be_mentioned_in_such_papers\" rel=\"nofollow\">answer</a> on researchgate.net better describes what I am trying to say above:\n<em>\"Think of a survey as a research paper whose data and results are taken from other papers.\"</em> And based on these results, you can make your point and identify a possible gap in your field of research e.g. \"To conclude, we see a lack of reliability in X wireless protocol\" or \"Power consumption is still an unresolved issue in this area\". </p>\n\n<p>The conclusion you try to reach to will help defining the structure of the paper. See Barton P. Miller's answer again for examples.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 102495,
"author": "Tushar",
"author_id": 78722,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/78722",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I recently wrote a survey paper (which is now accepted and published) and here is what I learned from it:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Set the scope</strong> Each research field is evolving (some at a faster rate) and hence you need to define the scope of your paper. Scoping has to be done not only for the topics/dimensions to be covered in the paper but also for the time duration in which relevant papers are published that you will explore. The first part of the scoping can be done by defining research questions concretely.</li>\n<li><strong>Search protocol</strong> Define the literature search protocol early, document it, and follow it rigorously. Number of papers may reduce if you apply well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria.</li>\n<li><strong>Take notes</strong> Read all relevant papers and document relevant notes. If possible, classify each relevant paper according to your research questions.</li>\n<li><strong>Infer, classify, and synthesize</strong> This is the most important step of writing a survey paper. IMHO, a survey should not produce a laundry list of papers for a specific dimension. Information in the synthesized form is much more appreciated than simply listing main contributions of the papers. For example: if a concept has been defined by 20 different authors, infer main characteristics of the concept commonly appeared in these definitions, and report them (obviously, cite relevant authors with each identified characteristic).</li>\n<li><strong>Take away/implications</strong> Compile implications of your inferences/synthesis.</li>\n<li><strong>Open research questions</strong> Include open research questions of the research domain - not (only) what you believe but also more importantly what the research community believe in general. </li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43371",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17776/"
] |
43,375 |
<p>I noticed that a lot of big companies are actively funding research at universities. I was wondering why they do this, as opposed to say funding in-house research as the knowledge ends up in the public domain. </p>
<p>Do they get actual patents out of it?
Do they just want to keep in the loop of the research (and if so why not just read the papers)?
Maybe they want to influence the direction of research? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43378,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There is a variety of reasons, as someone who has worked on such projects, here are a few that come to mind:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Access to research facilities.</strong> It's often far more rational to fund a study in a university than to invest in building your own wet lab/cleanroom/animal testing lab, etc. In some fields and countries, there are also regulations that limits certain area of research to university institutions (example: research on human tissues).</li>\n<li><strong>Highly educated, relatively cheap human resources</strong> In the subsets of projects where academic researchers actually do the work from the project description, it is generally cheaper and bears fewer risks than hiring people directly.</li>\n<li><strong>Great way of recruiting scientists</strong> by establishing a close collaboration, the company has the opportunity to meet and see potential hires in action.</li>\n<li>In some fields, it can be <strong>a form of advertisement.</strong> In particular for companies that have scientists or research labs as customers. Example: lab equipment manufacturer, metrology tools, lasers, etc.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Do they get actual patents out of it?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes. It's frequent for industry-funded projects to result in patents. The patents are usually owned jointly by the company and the academic institution. Sometimes the technology is already patented and the study is only about testing an application. Publishing a technology in the scientific literature can also be a way to prevent other companies from claiming ownership, since you can't patent something that is already published.</p>\n\n<p>Note that industry implication in academic research might diminish, as it becomes evident that they aren't always getting good research for their money. See: <a href=\"http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/09/reliability_of_new_drug_target.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/09/reliability_of_new_drug_target.html</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43390,
"author": "enderland",
"author_id": 5845,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5845",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A few other reasons, which are less glamorous:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Often provides <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_%26_Experimentation_Tax_Credit\">tax incentives</a> for companies</li>\n<li>Very cheap way of training potential future employees who are experts in their research</li>\n<li>Inexpensive way to explore new ideas. If a company has financial issues, far better from a PR perspective to stop funding research at a university than it is to lay off some of their employees</li>\n<li>Speaking of PR, it provides them benefits and can get their name EVERYWHERE within a University</li>\n<li>Some US companies are obligated to spend a certain amount of money on domestic research (our institution had several grants of this nature)</li>\n<li>Easy and cheap way to stay informed of latest technology/research trends. A research project for a year is a much cheaper way to generate a literature review than paying a fulltime employee, for example</li>\n</ul>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>as opposed to say funding in-house research as the knowledge ends up in the public domain.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is not always true.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43393,
"author": "alephzero",
"author_id": 32961,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32961",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is an organizational problem with doing long-term research internally in a high tech company: it is almost always more cost-effective to divert the researchers into solving some short-term problem related to a current project.</p>\n\n<p>Outsourcing the research via a long-term commitment to funding an independent organization that has its own priorities (e.g. a university department awarding PhDs to its student \"employees\") is a good way to resist that short term pressure.</p>\n\n<p>My employer (a multinational engineering company) doesn't have any delusions that every university research project will produced something \"useful.\" It's more like investing in Broadway shows were one big hit pays for all the flops, but you can't predict in advance which show will be the hit. </p>\n\n<p>The conflict between open publication of results in academic papers and PhD theses, and the commercially sensitive application of those results to benefit the sponsoring company, needs to be managed, but that isn't an insuperable problem. For example new analysis techniques or computer algorithms can usually be demonstrated using well-known problems addressed in earlier academic papers, or using sanitized data, while the \"real\" application remains confidential to the sponsoring company. If a competitor decides to learn how to use the research starting from what is openly published, it's their choice to fund the costs of that task, both in money and elapsed time.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45464,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Answering this as someone who works in public health, and whose work has been funded by industry in the past:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>\"as the knowledge ends up in the public domain\" is not necessarily true, as some others have noted. It is fairly common for corporate funders to require their approval of a study before publication - something I usually pretty vigorously oppose. But it is not safe to assume that it automatically ends up being publicly accessible.</li>\n<li>They <em>can</em> get patents for the work or otherwise receive IP rights to the results of the study, but again, this isn't universal.</li>\n<li>It is a good way to recruit scientists, or recruit scientists short term. Research funding means you can get a \"burst\" of productivity to answer a particular question without having to hire and maintain an employee. It's also a good way to add expertise that the company lacks without having to build a whole group around it.</li>\n<li>Funding steers the direction of research. If a company thinks there's a topic that needs more exploration, making funding available is a good way to foster that research.</li>\n<li>It adds credibility. While industry-based research isn't inherently biased, there's often an assumption that it is. Funding independent university-based groups means having studies done in different settings, and with researchers with their own free-standing reputations. It's much easier for them to point to \"Dr. So-and-so's Study...\" if they don't work for the company.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43375",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32481/"
] |
43,387 |
<p>I am a first-year postdoc and I am currently structuring my summer plans for travel/conferences/etc.</p>
<p>May already includes a 2 week international trip of a one-week workshop and two seminar talks. June includes 2 one-week conferences domestically. July includes a 2 week international jumbo conference. August includes at least a one-week international research visit. If I did all the conferences pencilled into my calendar, I would be gone for 3 weeks in September.</p>
<p>To top it all off, there's a few more invites that just occurred for a week long summer school in June and a colloquium invitation in August. Both international. </p>
<p>I have been told that "you do not say no until tenure," but this seems too much to handle. At some point I have to sit down and do research, keep up with collaborations, and recover from travel. To be fair, I love travel, I am single, and I do not have a child or pet, so I have no obligations for being home; however, I am fearful of burning out. I am in mathematics, so there's no need for a lab and could potentially do work on the road but I am much more efficient when with my collaborators at home or at their home institution (which is not where these things are).</p>
<p>So the chain of questions here: </p>
<ul>
<li>At what point does one have too much travel? Should I just pack my bags and try to learn how to research on the road? </li>
<li>When can one say no? </li>
<li>Do people care about what conferences you have been to and if they are on the CV or just about speaking? Is there a point where more invited talks hits a point of diminishing returns?</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43391,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Different people set their thresholds differently, but it all comes down to balance and cost/benefit analysis.</p>\n\n<p>I don't buy into the \"don't say no until tenure\" argument, because a) until tenure is a pretty big chunk of your life, especially when you add in postdoc, and b) the patterns and expectations you establish before tenure will likely remain with you afterwards. You need to make a decision which is sustainable for you as your career is <em>now</em> and reassess every couple of years to make sure it is still working.</p>\n\n<p>Myself, I travel 1-2 times per month. Some academics I know travel nearly once a week; others travel only once or twice a year. In my observation, this does not really correlate with career stage, but more with desire for public recognition vs. the tradeoffs the person is comfortable with in their life.</p>\n\n<p>So, how to make that judgement for yourself?\nPersonally, I find <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Latour#Laboratory_Life\">Latour's model</a> of science as \"credibility investment\" a useful analysis tool. Under this model, you can view scientific life as manipulation of three currencies:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Credibility</strong> is the main and most unusual currency of academia, which is generated by your publications, your position and appointments, your visibility in the community, service, etc, and which is invested in order to obtain funding.</li>\n<li><strong>Results</strong> are the data, theorems, etc. produced by your work, which are the raw material required for generation of credibility, and which generally requires money to produce.</li>\n<li><strong>Funding</strong> is money or other forms of support, which can be obtained through investment of credibility and is itself invested in order to produce results.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Success as an academic requires management of the flow of these three quantities: your relative levels in any may rise and fall with time, but if you go broke in any of the three areas, your career is in deep trouble. They are hard to quantify, but with self-reflection and comparison to peers you can often have a sense of whether you are \"doing well\" or \"doing poorly\" in each area.</p>\n\n<p>Bringing it back to travel, then: most travel can be viewed as part of obtaining credibility (e.g., conferences, invited talks) or obtaining funding (e.g., visits to program managers). Their cost, as you have identified, is primarily opportunity to produce results and to write your results up in papers (yes, they cost money too, but your time is usually more valuable). For each individual conference, you can ask how much this conference is likely to serve those goals, relative to the time that you will lose as a result. If you become good at working on the road (I love airplanes as internet-free time), then the effective cost may decrease, changing your relative weightings, but the principles remain the same.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43394,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm an assistant professor in math with experience on hiring committees.</p>\n\n<p>I certainly wouldn't adopt the mindset \"don't say no until tenure\", but in my experience (with the research mathematics job market) getting a tenure-track job that you're happy with is the more significant hurdle. (In my observation it is relatively unusual for math professors to be denied tenure, outside the top 10 or so schools. Although, of course it does happen.) Accordingly I do think that now is a good time to travel extensively, if you can stomach it -- you will not have to keep it up for eight years!</p>\n\n<p>People will look at your CV for evidence that you've been to plenty of conferences and spoke at many of them, and the flashier (i.e. international) the better. But there are indeed diminishing returns; in this regard, you're already travelling extensively and you've probably passed the threshold where people will care much.</p>\n\n<p>What's more important is the chance to make a positive impression on individual people. Various people in the audience might be in a position to collaborate with you, write letters of recommendation for you, share research ideas with you, tell their colleagues \"I just listened to a fantastic talk...\", and/or push their departments to try to hire you.</p>\n\n<p>So, how much you travel depends on your own situation and goals. For example, if you've recently proved a big theorem but don't have any exciting followup projects in mind, I would recommend you take the opportunity to speak about your work anywhere and everywhere you can. If you're not sure who will be writing your rec letters in two years, then ditto. If you're already locked into a promising research program, and you just need time to sit and work on it, this might indicate accepting fewer invitations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43400,
"author": "angarg12",
"author_id": 27993,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27993",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to approach the question from a different point of view.</p>\n\n<p>Currently I´m working as a researcher in a private company. When applying for a position on this company, one of the things that they show is the expected amount of travel, as a % of the working days in a year. The usual travel load is ~10%, which is about 1 full month of travel out of the year. Some heavy traveler may do ~25%, which is about a full week out of each month, but usually only managers are expected to do that much traveling.</p>\n\n<p>If you feel that traveling too much is affecting negatively your goals, you can set a personal limit on how much you travel each year, and then negotiate with your colleagues the attendance to events. Also, as other comments says, learning how to get the most out of your time in a trip is definitely a very valuable skill.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43420,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you don't learn how to say \"no\" as a postdoc, are you sure you can learn that after tenure? </p>\n\n<p>But I think it is true that you now need to get to know people around the world - which naturally involves a lot of travel and meetings. Once you now what is going on, things calm down a bit. You'll then also know which conferences and workshops are of primary interest for you and which you don't need to attend. Or which ones you want to attend only every 2nd time. </p>\n\n<p>If I had a schedule like the one you describe, I would summarize it as \"nothing will happen before October besides those conferences\": the few weeks in between are easily eaten up by all that little stuff that accumulates at home while you are away and all the colleagues and students that were waiting for you to come back in order to ...</p>\n\n<p>Right now, I travel a lot (2 conferences last and this month, 1 workshop last month). (But it will be less for the rest of the year.)<br>\nI try to put things together: group several meetings into one tour, one or 2 days of holidays around conferences so I can stop with friends/family. I'll probably also declare the way back from the conference in summer holidays and do it as a bike tour.<br>\nAnd by now I have pretty clear ideas which conferences I do <em>not</em> want to attend (one in fall that I would have liked, but considered one too many, and two where I told my supervisor that the trade off between attending and costs in time and money doesn't look good enough - but I just know this because I have been there before). </p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I find that I cannot work as well in a train or plane as at my desk. (Not to speak of the lab). But I also find that I get other types work done in the hotel: maybe a bit of debugging, or sorting literature, writing paper draft/overhauling a manuscript. Of course also the first draft of the ideas that are triggered by the conference/meeting. Or the report for the funding agency.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43387",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12656/"
] |
43,402 |
<p>I have received a really good graduate admission offer from a reputable university in the US but without any funding offer. As I have to accept their admission offer by 15 April and since I haven't yet received offers from some of the universities that I've applied to, so I wanted to know whether it is okay and legal to accept a later offer (e.g., which came after 15 April) with funding, despite having previously accepted an offer (without funding) from a university before 15 April. Thanks.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43405,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You ask whether it is \"legal\", but it is probably not a legal matter. You can drop out of an academic program at any time with no legal consequences beyond paying the relevant fees. Unless your acceptance means signing a contract which specifically requires something on your end, I don't see what you could possibly be legally held to. I am not an attorney but rather a professor, and I can say that in practice no American graduate program would pursue legal recourse against a student in this way barring some truly bizarre, unique set of circumstances.</p>\n\n<p>The relevant questions are rather whether it is ethical, whether it is polite, and whether it is in your own best interests. The first question seems quite clear. Are you really asking whether it is \"okay\" to rescind your word in a professional context? I would hope that you know the answer. </p>\n\n<p>There may be some situations in which it is so much in your best interests to renege on an offer that it could be worth <strong>asking about the possibility</strong> of doing so. Most graduate programs in particular are not insistent on keeping students who have decided that they don't want to stay there. But if you're asking about accepting now with the explicit plan of reneging later: I don't really know what to say without it sounding like a lecture on adult responsibility. This is not a specifically academic issue. I can only hope that your life up until now has given you some useful experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43410,
"author": "Huns",
"author_id": 32878,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32878",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>EDIT: I've been awake for far too long and missed the part about it being GRADUATE, not undergraduate. (However, if you're not the original poster and you're applying for undergrad, go ahead and read the rest!)</p>\n\n<p>If you think you might have to reneg on a graduate acceptance, considering the increased effort applied by the college and the possible professional implications later on, it would probably be best to talk to them about it first. At least let them know that it's problematic for you to accept their offer so soon without funding, when others may offer you funding that could make a huge difference. If they cannot at least acknowledge that this is a reasonable concern, they may not be the kind of people whose cooperation you want to chain your future to.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>I agree with much of what Pete L. Clark says, but not all.</p>\n\n<p>The ethical implications of accepting an offer and then reneging work like this: In college, you're a number. If your number goes off the list, someone else's number gets onto the list. By accepting a more preferable school and reneging on the less preferable school, you do a service both to yourself AND to the student who discovers that they've been given your place.</p>\n\n<p>The admissions staff is not going to take it personally and get offended. They will get LOTS of letters from students who accepted, but have to call it off. Maybe they decided to join the military. Maybe they had a family issue and they have to take a second job. Maybe they are expecting a child. Maybe they have an illness. Maybe some other thing out of countless possibilities happened. Some students won't even write to inform them of this; they'll just not register for classes. Believe me - colleges are set up for this because it happens ALL the time!!!</p>\n\n<p>Even if someone over there does get miffed, so what? One minute and thirty seconds of them clucking over by the coffee machine is worth N-O-T-H-I-N-G compared to the benefit that would accrue both to yourself, and the student who will take your place. At your age, your sensitivity to social pressure is higher than it will be when you're older. Take my advice - learn to disappoint people when you have to. If you don't, you'll be lead around all your life. Trust me, if you go to a college you don't want to, you're going to look back in ten years and ask, \"Why the hell did I give up on the better college - just to save some theoretical person from theoretically disapproving of me? I don't owe it to anyone, to get a lesser education than I can get, just so they don't have to be irritated for a minute. Saving them from that meaningless irritation has cost me so much!!!\"</p>\n\n<p>You don't HAVE to make that mistake, so DON'T.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43411,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As several other people have said, as long as your agreement is only verbal, this isn't really a legal question, but an ethical one. When considering whether one can accept an offer like this and then back out with a relatively clear conscience, one mainly needs to consider what you're being counted on to do in the next year, and how disruptive it will be if you don't show up and do that.</p>\n\n<p>It sounds from your description like what you will be expected to do is put your butt in a seat, and sign tuition checks. If that's the case, I think you can pull out without too much guilt if you get a funded offer. Will it really be that disruptive to the program if you're not there? I don't think so. Obviously you should expect to (deservedly) lose any deposit you pay, but I don't think it's likely you'll have any real negative consequences beyond that. Certainly, if I were the graduate director at this \"reputed university in USA,\" I would understand your decision.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> Incidentally, while I understand it is important that grad schools know who is coming to their program next year in a timely manner, I don't have much patience for moralizing at the OP, since the current situation that they might end up in is a creation of the schools, not the students, and one that the schools positioned to fix, and the applicants are not. We have known for fifty years now how to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_marriage_problem\" rel=\"noreferrer\">solve this problem</a>, and haven't done so, even with an extremely successful and smoothly running <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Resident_Matching_Program\" rel=\"noreferrer\">implementation for medical residents</a> that in many cases the same institutions participate in. I understand that it's an enormous collective action problem, but until it's fixed, people occasionally flaking out on us to take other grad school offers is a very small price we will deservingly pay.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43431,
"author": "Andreas Blass",
"author_id": 14506,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14506",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Many departments (at least in mathematics, but I believe also in other fields) have agreed not to \"poach\" each other's students after the April 15 deadline. If such a department, say at university X, wanted to make you an offer (funded or not) after April 15 and if you've already accepted an offer from university Y, then the admissions chair at X should first ask the admissions chair at Y for permission to make that offer. I would expect that Y would grant permission if Y's offer was unfunded and X's planned offer was funded, but there's no guarantee about that. (When I was graduate admissions chair, in the late 90's, I was once in the position of X, and Y gave permission but was not too happy about it. In that instance, both offers were funded.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43433,
"author": "Roger Fan",
"author_id": 20375,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20375",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is possible, legal, and even ethical to do so, though there are some additional stipulations that you will need to follow (see below). Of course, you still run the risk of burning bridges with the people from the school that you end up declining, so think and plan carefully with that in mind.</p>\n\n<p>Most (North American) universities are signatories of the \"Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees and Assistants\" by the Council of Graduate Schools (commonly known as the April 15th resolution), and as far as I know even those that aren't signatories generally follow it's guidelines. You can read the agreement <a href=\"http://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGSResolution_Rev2015.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a>.</p>\n\n<p>The rules regarding funded offers, including offers after April 15th, are explicitly stated.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time\n through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As far as I know, most schools will (not necessarily happily) give this permission if asked. No one wants to force you to go to their program if you don't want to. But it does make for some awkward at best interactions, and remember that academia is a very small and connection-driven place.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 148446,
"author": "teufel",
"author_id": 117580,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/117580",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've been in such a situation and I know it can be a huge dilemma. I also asked a similar question <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/141868/quit-a-phd-for-another-phd\">here</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I believe that these situations are very common within academia. And usually, I think that there are two schools of thought. People that live within Academia and insist on the ethical part of the situation, and people that focus on your very personal interest and your particular situation.</p>\n\n<p>This answer is both an answer to you and myself. I agree that there is something unethical in such a decision. I don't really know what future implications will be - people in academia really like pointing out that academia is a small world where everyone knows everyone and you will damage your reputation. I don't really believe that this is true. What kind of people are these, who will remember you for a lifetime and isolate you, for changing your mind about a decision a few years ago?</p>\n\n<p>It is about your future. These problems begin when you have too many choices, too much information. Today, I know X, so I'm planning to do Y. Tomorrow, I know Z, so I'm planning to do something else. This is how it goes, and timing is never perfect. At the end of the day, I think that both the schools and the Professors will find their way, either with you or without you.</p>\n\n<p>And I don't really like people scrutinizing into your intensions, trying to adjudge if you were saying the truth or not at the very moment you were accepting the first offer. Honestly, ethical lectures make me angry. In my book, it doesn't matter if you quit because you are sick, you broke your leg, your cat died or you received a better offer. The result is the same. Let Saint Peter judge the rest.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 148448,
"author": "Robert Wm Ruedisueli",
"author_id": 71178,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/71178",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is likely not a legal issue unless there is some sort of contractual obligation.</p>\n\n<p>However, to be polite and professional you may want to consult with the place you accepted first. </p>\n\n<p>Many universities want whats best for their students, and will advise you based on what they can offer you. </p>\n\n<p>If it hasn't been too long, you shouldn't be putting anyone in a pinch.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43402",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33001/"
] |
43,412 |
<p>So it's pretty much an unwritten rule at least in biology departments in the USA that when a student is defending his or her thesis/dissertation that they provide some sort of food or refreshments. There has been at least coffee and pastries provided by the student for their committee and audience at every defense I've ever attended.</p>
<p>My question is, how often do students do this for qualifying or comprehensive exams? Since they are private I have never attended one to know... Would committee members expect at least some coffee?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43416,
"author": "Mad Jack",
"author_id": 11192,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11192",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>My question is, how often do students do this for qualifying or comprehensive exams?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>At my previous department (in ECE, if it matters), students do for qualifiers/prelims what they do for their defense, the only difference being that you scale down the total quantity of refreshments that you provide/purchase a bit if the exam is not open to the public.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Would committee members expect at least some coffee?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't know about \"expect,\" but it's nice to have some on hand: at all of my exams, all of my committee members went straight for the coffee upon arrival to the exam. </p>\n\n<p><em>Edited to add</em> — The oral portion of the qualifying exam at my previous department consisted of a presentation which was meant to showcase any research highlights the student had achieved up to that point and future directions. If your qualifying/comprehensive exam is like that described by @CameronWilliams below in the comments, then bringing refreshments may not make any sense, i.e. your mileage may vary. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43430,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this question is based on a misconception: in my experience here in the US, it is not the <em>student</em> who arranges for food to be present at a defense, but the <em>advisor</em> and/or the department, under the standard conventions for a talk. As such, it would also be the advisor and/or department that would arrange it for earlier exams if appropriate.</p>\n\n<p>So: if you are a student considering this question, don't worry about it; it's not your responsibility. If you are a faculty member, ask the senior faculty in your department what their custom is.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43412",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24711/"
] |
43,436 |
<p>In the high competition of admission in top universities, it is common that every applicant must send lots of applications to different universities/programs to get approval for a PhD program.</p>
<p>Some universities charge an application fee. Why? This hinders many potential applicants.</p>
<p>For a research position (research associate, postdoc, etc.), the job advertisement system encourage as many as possible applicants to send applications. This gives more flexibility to select the best candidate.</p>
<p>Why do universities stop potential applicants for PhD applications with an application fee?</p>
<p>If the application fee is US$100, charging US$10,000 for 100 applicants is nothing for a university, but sending 10 applications ($1,000) is something for a student (particularly if coming from developing countries).</p>
<p><strong>WHY</strong> do Western universities charge a small application fee, which is probably one month salary of a candidate from developing countries?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43438,
"author": "Arno",
"author_id": 12047,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12047",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A system where everyone applies everywhere is not in the interest of any of the participants. Handling the applications requires significant effort on both sides and the applications are less meaningful. In particular, plenty of people will receive multiple offers inevitably turning all but one down. That requires waiting lists etc. In the end, some positions will even go unfilled.</p>\n\n<p>In countries with a centrally-run system (for undergrad places: eg UK or Germany), this can be avoided on the central level. If there is no such system, then application fees are a means for the universities to encourage the applicants to send out only a small number of good applications.</p>\n\n<p>That this disproportionally affects students from poorer backgrounds is an unfortunate side effect while the extra income is fortunate for the university.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43439,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The PhD admissions process is a hugely time consuming process. Depending on the department, the vast majority of applications are reviewed by multiple members of the faculty. In the case of 4 people reviewing each application at 15 minutes each, that is a person hour of time application. As the list gets shortened, often the number of people involved increases. So while in the final stages you might only be considering 10% of the applications, they are being reviewed by 40 faculty members, hence even 15 minutes spent discussing each applicant and funding for them, would still contribute another be a person hour per application. While I have never tracked it, each application probably requires a couple of faculty per hours to process.</p>\n\n<p>You claim that $10,000 is small change to a department is wrong. Assuming a 10% acceptance rate, if that money went directly to graduate students, either as an increase stipend or travel and research funds, that is $1000 per graduate student. That is a huge increase.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43447,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The imposition of an application fee serves two purposes:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>It helps offset some of the costs of graduate admissions, which otherwise has no revenue at universities that (effectively) charge no graduate tuition.\n My university must receive at least 10,000 applications a year for its 400 doctoral slots across the disciplines. That's about $1 million in revenue, which is not trivial. </p></li>\n<li><p>More importantly, the cost imposes a burden (opportunity cost) on applicants that helps weed out the less serious and ensures that people are not applying to every program under the sun without regard to fit or suitability.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Comments:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Most universities have an admission fee waiver program which you should explore. At least at my university, the admissions committee/faculty don't see which students applied for and received waivers, so there's no downside to applying if you qualify.</p></li>\n<li><p>When we do job searches, we often wish there was a higher opportunity cost so that applicants wouldn't apply so far outside of their fields for positions they have no chance of getting into. However, the general trend has been to actual reduce the opportunity cost by getting rid of the requirement to send letters at the same time of the application and to move to electronic applications.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43436",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33028/"
] |
43,448 |
<p>What (researcher's) behaviors (desirable or not) are encouraged by an incentive system based on publication throughput?</p>
<p>Considering this as a research problem, I propose to list all the potential strategies that a researcher can apply to "game" various academic systems and to increase one's recognition by such systems, starting in this question with academic systems which evaluation is based on the number of academic publications. Later objectives could be to design mechanisms to detect and measure tendencies to follow such strategies, and to identify other set of strategies potentially used to maximize one's number of citations, or more interestingly one's h-index and i10-index, but those later objectives are not part of the discussion here. </p>
<p>To make the discussion cleaner, I propose to remove all moral judgments about the strategies, and to merely list all that could be applied by an academic <em>sociopath</em> in order to maximize his/her success. The goal is not to encourage such behaviors (obviously?), nor to criticize institutions which embrace some of those strategies, but rather to identify clearly the consequences (desirable or not) of an incentive system based on publication throughput.</p>
<p>Feel free to add other strategies in your own answer below, or to edit my own answer below, collaborative Q/A style.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43449,
"author": "J..y B..y",
"author_id": 1318,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1318",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If Academia was a game, and if the winning rule was to maximize one's number of publications (which I don't think it is, but which the administrators of some institutions seem to believe), I think that the following strategies would make sense:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Focus on Research</strong> :: Abandon all attempts to personal life (and good teaching) and dedicate your life to research. You might manage to produce more publications than fellow researchers who have a personal life and/or spend a large proportion of their time teaching, but never more than fellow researchers applying a combination of the following strategies.</li>\n<li><strong>Focus on low hanging fruits</strong> :: Choose a finite set of conferences. While attending or when the proceedings are published, review it quickly to mark publications overlapping with your sphere of expertise. Assign a limited time-length (e.g. two days or two weeks) to each problem, and see if you can produce some quick results on it. Spend more time on it ONLY if you have had results within the allotted time, otherwise move to the next topic. Aim to delegate the writing of the results to a junior colleague or to a student in order to optimize your time. Notice how attacking a \"long-standing open problem\" will NOT help you to maximize your publication throughput.</li>\n<li><strong>Minimal Publishable Unit</strong> :: adjust the content of a submission to the minimum required, so that to maximize the number of publications. NEVER join two conference papers into a single journal publication, even when they largely overlap, as this would reduce your number of journal publications. Aim to publish the journal version of each conference article as soon as possible so that, if the results of your next conference publication overlaps with the last, the journal version is reviewed BEFORE the second conference publication is submitted.</li>\n<li><strong>Self-Plagiarism</strong> :: when a partial result of independent interest can be used in various more important results, avoid creating an easy to reference lemma in one publication and to refer to this lemma in the others, but rather reproduce its proof in each of the parallel submissions, in order to make each submission look more technical and lengthy. Aim to submit the various results in parallel so that to further justify this multiplication with the excuse to make each submission independent from the other. Aim to write minor variants of the result in each submission in order to further confuse the situation.</li>\n<li><strong>Publishing Clusters</strong> :: collaborate with a finite set of x colleagues of your field who have had in recent years at least y yearly publications per year at a given level agreed upon. Agree on a number z (less than y) of research themes per year that each of the members of the cluster is to propose to the whole cluster, to research them and describe their results on their own, and to submit it to the whole cluster for proof-reading. Aim to increase by a term of roughly zx publications (minus potential rejections) your number of publications per year. Aim to participate in at least two distinct clusters in order to confuse things, and optimally to y distinct clusters, contributing exactly one publication to each cluster. As your career advances, rotate clusters to further confuse things, at the cost of a more complex management. Participate in various clusters at various levels of publications to further confuse things.</li>\n<li><strong>Pyramidal Scheme</strong> :: Maximize the number of doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculties in your laboratory or research group. Minimize your involvement in each project, but insure co-authorship of each report/publication. Focus on acquiring funding to attract and recruit more people. Pay attention to your people's need in term of future careers only when they are relevant to attracting more people and to maximizing your output. When you reach the maximal size at one level, apply to the next level. </li>\n<li><strong>Falsify experimental results</strong> :: Producing fake results, presented in a difficult to reproduce fashion, in a field where experiments are costly and lengthy, will give you an edge over fellow researchers who labor to gather the funds to perform those same experiments, and make them waste time trying to reproduce your experiments. Aim to recruit junior researchers and/or students and to push them in non-explicit ways (or at least not in writing, only orally) to fake their results so that you can put the blame back on them if/when discovered.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43451,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is a terrible question, because it presumes that publications are the <em>goal</em> of science, as opposed to an <em>indicator</em> of actual meaningful intellectual contribution.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore, I will provide a solution that proves the metrics are meaningless per se:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Generate a sequence of N meaningless papers using <a href=\"http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Sci-Gen</a>.</li>\n<li>Have each of the meaningless papers cite K of the other meaningless papers in the sequence. </li>\n<li>Identify a set of crap journals that do not perform meaningful peer review with the aid of <a href=\"http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Beall's list</a>.</li>\n<li>Publish the meaningless papers in series in the crap journals, thereby obtaining an i10-index of N and an H-index of K (assuming N>=K>=10).</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>If self-citations are excluded, then enlist (or fake) a colleague to do the same and cite each other's meaningless papers rather than one's own. If Journal Impact Factor matters, then sequence the papers over three years.</p>\n\n<p>Citation metrics are the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave\" rel=\"noreferrer\">shadows on the wall of Plato's cave</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43476,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is one behavior that is encouraged: vociferously advocate to change the mainstream publishing model to cater the needs of <strong>authors</strong> to publish more stuff instead of providing <strong>the readership</strong> with quality, curated scientific content. Subscription-base journals, editorial rejection and scrupulous peer review have to be made obsolete because they only prevent scholars form lengthening their publication list.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43448",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1318/"
] |
43,455 |
<p>I have accumulated a lot of textbooks, many of which I have yet to read, and I am wondering how to determine the relevance of those books for me based on my field of study, my interests, and academic relevance (which I suspect varies by field of study).</p>
<p>What are some techniques for determining the relevance of a textbook for future reading?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43449,
"author": "J..y B..y",
"author_id": 1318,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1318",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If Academia was a game, and if the winning rule was to maximize one's number of publications (which I don't think it is, but which the administrators of some institutions seem to believe), I think that the following strategies would make sense:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Focus on Research</strong> :: Abandon all attempts to personal life (and good teaching) and dedicate your life to research. You might manage to produce more publications than fellow researchers who have a personal life and/or spend a large proportion of their time teaching, but never more than fellow researchers applying a combination of the following strategies.</li>\n<li><strong>Focus on low hanging fruits</strong> :: Choose a finite set of conferences. While attending or when the proceedings are published, review it quickly to mark publications overlapping with your sphere of expertise. Assign a limited time-length (e.g. two days or two weeks) to each problem, and see if you can produce some quick results on it. Spend more time on it ONLY if you have had results within the allotted time, otherwise move to the next topic. Aim to delegate the writing of the results to a junior colleague or to a student in order to optimize your time. Notice how attacking a \"long-standing open problem\" will NOT help you to maximize your publication throughput.</li>\n<li><strong>Minimal Publishable Unit</strong> :: adjust the content of a submission to the minimum required, so that to maximize the number of publications. NEVER join two conference papers into a single journal publication, even when they largely overlap, as this would reduce your number of journal publications. Aim to publish the journal version of each conference article as soon as possible so that, if the results of your next conference publication overlaps with the last, the journal version is reviewed BEFORE the second conference publication is submitted.</li>\n<li><strong>Self-Plagiarism</strong> :: when a partial result of independent interest can be used in various more important results, avoid creating an easy to reference lemma in one publication and to refer to this lemma in the others, but rather reproduce its proof in each of the parallel submissions, in order to make each submission look more technical and lengthy. Aim to submit the various results in parallel so that to further justify this multiplication with the excuse to make each submission independent from the other. Aim to write minor variants of the result in each submission in order to further confuse the situation.</li>\n<li><strong>Publishing Clusters</strong> :: collaborate with a finite set of x colleagues of your field who have had in recent years at least y yearly publications per year at a given level agreed upon. Agree on a number z (less than y) of research themes per year that each of the members of the cluster is to propose to the whole cluster, to research them and describe their results on their own, and to submit it to the whole cluster for proof-reading. Aim to increase by a term of roughly zx publications (minus potential rejections) your number of publications per year. Aim to participate in at least two distinct clusters in order to confuse things, and optimally to y distinct clusters, contributing exactly one publication to each cluster. As your career advances, rotate clusters to further confuse things, at the cost of a more complex management. Participate in various clusters at various levels of publications to further confuse things.</li>\n<li><strong>Pyramidal Scheme</strong> :: Maximize the number of doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculties in your laboratory or research group. Minimize your involvement in each project, but insure co-authorship of each report/publication. Focus on acquiring funding to attract and recruit more people. Pay attention to your people's need in term of future careers only when they are relevant to attracting more people and to maximizing your output. When you reach the maximal size at one level, apply to the next level. </li>\n<li><strong>Falsify experimental results</strong> :: Producing fake results, presented in a difficult to reproduce fashion, in a field where experiments are costly and lengthy, will give you an edge over fellow researchers who labor to gather the funds to perform those same experiments, and make them waste time trying to reproduce your experiments. Aim to recruit junior researchers and/or students and to push them in non-explicit ways (or at least not in writing, only orally) to fake their results so that you can put the blame back on them if/when discovered.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43451,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is a terrible question, because it presumes that publications are the <em>goal</em> of science, as opposed to an <em>indicator</em> of actual meaningful intellectual contribution.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore, I will provide a solution that proves the metrics are meaningless per se:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Generate a sequence of N meaningless papers using <a href=\"http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Sci-Gen</a>.</li>\n<li>Have each of the meaningless papers cite K of the other meaningless papers in the sequence. </li>\n<li>Identify a set of crap journals that do not perform meaningful peer review with the aid of <a href=\"http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Beall's list</a>.</li>\n<li>Publish the meaningless papers in series in the crap journals, thereby obtaining an i10-index of N and an H-index of K (assuming N>=K>=10).</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>If self-citations are excluded, then enlist (or fake) a colleague to do the same and cite each other's meaningless papers rather than one's own. If Journal Impact Factor matters, then sequence the papers over three years.</p>\n\n<p>Citation metrics are the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave\" rel=\"noreferrer\">shadows on the wall of Plato's cave</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43476,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is one behavior that is encouraged: vociferously advocate to change the mainstream publishing model to cater the needs of <strong>authors</strong> to publish more stuff instead of providing <strong>the readership</strong> with quality, curated scientific content. Subscription-base journals, editorial rejection and scrupulous peer review have to be made obsolete because they only prevent scholars form lengthening their publication list.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43455",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
43,469 |
<p>A school, whose PhD program I applied to, denied my application with words such as "Your record is strong, but...". I am kind of confused. Is such a reply simply a "polite" way to decline a person? Should I believe that the sentence "your record is strong" is a compliment, or it is simply a decoration?</p>
<p>To me, such a compliment does not seem to help because obviously, for the school, my record was not strong enough to be admitted, so speaking of "your record is strong" is almost meaningless?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43470,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would take it as simply a polite way to decline your application. They no doubt really <em>do</em> get a lot of strong applications (every decent program does), and in many cultures such as the US there is a tendency to \"sugar-coat\" bad news with compliments (I don't know if your application was in the US, but I believe this practice turns up elsewhere as well). You would actually probably get <em>less</em> praise if you got in---after all, the acceptance is compliment enough.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43479,
"author": "Lilienthal",
"author_id": 15370,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15370",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Those kinds of general compliments are typical platitudes included in rejection letters, whether for an academic application or a job search. </p>\n\n<p>In general, if the letter feels impersonal or looks like it might be a standard boilerplate or form letter then there is no point in trying to interpret any deeper meaning behind the contents. There is simply no way to tell from such a letter alone whether they really considered you a strong candidate or are just sugar-coating their rejection.</p>\n\n<p>Only if you can tell that the letter was written for you personally or when it references some particular quality you have should you accept it for the compliment it really is.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43492,
"author": "user-2147482637",
"author_id": 12718,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12718",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The only times I would recommend to entertain the idea of a compliment in a rejection email is if 1) The compliment is something specific to your resume or work, such as 'Your paper on X was very impressive...' (im not sure this ever happens with a rejection) and 2) You are asked to apply or automatically accepted into a different program. Of course in this situation you were rejected from the one you wanted, but the compliment is not empty-handed. I have seen this in both art/design and music. For example, applying to a specialized program for '3d animation', and being rejected to that program, but automatically considered and accepted for the 'new media design' program.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43495,
"author": "Jay",
"author_id": 31056,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31056",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What would you do about it anyway? Whether the compliment is genuine or part of a boiler plate rejection letter, so what? Aside from softening the blow of rejection, what difference does it make?</p>\n\n<p>I suppose if a compliment was very specific, like, I don't know, \"you are very articulate and your grammar is impeccable\", that might tell you that this is NOT the area that you need to work on but rather you should concentrate on other things to improve your chances the next time around. But something like \"your record is strong\" is so general as to mean almost nothing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43505,
"author": "Arv",
"author_id": 33093,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33093",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When I got in the MS program I received a note from the coordinator prior the decision was posted to my account. In that note I was merely congratulated and informed that they let me know sooner in case it would be helpful to me.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand however, wherever decided to reject me sugar-coated the decision letter and it usually came when I myself was almost sure that they did not want me there.\nI got the acceptance email a month before the deadline! While I thought I would not be hearing from them for at least two weeks after the deadline. Bottom line is, if they want you they let you know quickly; otherwise, it is just a formality to help people get less disappointed.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43469",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18107/"
] |
43,473 |
<p>When somebody presents the paper, the attendees ask questions about the paper. But what if they raise a legitimate objection when they ask about our work and we know that they are right? Should we accept that or should we defend ourselves? </p>
<p>I ask this, because recently I attended a conference, and in one presentation I saw an important mistake on one of the presentations' algorithms. But he denied my reasons, and both of us knew that my reasons were legitimate.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43474,
"author": "Alexander",
"author_id": 12974,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12974",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>So a third person could nail the problem of your algorithm just from your presentation, without looking at the code for hours!? You'd better not deny it completely, because there'd be others who thought the same, but were not really sure. You would look really dumb to all of them if you plainly denied it or brushed it away.</p>\n\n<p>\"We will look into it.\" and \"We should discuss this over buffet.\" could be two possible answers, a good answer would combine the two.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43475,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Should we accept that</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<h2>Yes.</h2>\n\n<p>If somebody points out a flaw in your work, be thankful. They are giving you free advice. Don't try to be right at all costs. Of course it's awkward when people point out major flaws in your work when there is an audience, but it's part of the game.</p>\n\n<p>If you believe you are right, defend your point using objective arguments. If you <em>know</em> the critique is founded, accept it and try to make the best of it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43489,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've been on both sides of the podium for this sort of situation, and there are a number of issues that make it not straight-forward to deal with. Most importantly:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The questioner may misunderstand the material, either because it was presented poorly or just because it's hard to wrap your head around new material in the middle of a talk.</li>\n<li>There are often subtleties that mean the presenter may not be able to analyze a new potential flaw correctly in the moment.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you are the speaker, then you need to be open to the fact that you are wrong: don't get defensive about your work. At the end of the day, it's not about you: the world is what the world is, and no amount of defending your position will change the facts. If you agree with the questioner about the flaw, then you need to admit it. This has most frequently happened to me when I am giving a class lecture and a student notices a potential mistake on a slide: rather than look at it as a problem, I thank the student and turn sanity checking the equation or algorithm into part of the lesson, where we exercise other knowledge and intuition to check the material. That's generally less possible in a conference talk, of course.</p>\n\n<p>If you disagree or aren't sure that you agree with the questioner, though, don't get into a fight. If you can show they are wrong simply, do so simply and gently, with the assumption that it is a misunderstanding (per first bullet above). If it's complicated or you aren't sure, just say so and offer to talk with them about it more outside of the talk.</p>\n\n<p>Conversely, if you are the questioner, you don't need to make the other person admit defeat. Even if you are right and the other person is confident enough that they would be willing to admit it, they may not be in a position to do so because they've only had 30 seconds to consider it and aren't certain enough whether they agree with your critique. And if the speaker is not self-confident, they may be too afraid of losing face to admit an error directly. That doesn't matter: if you raise an issue publicly, such that the rest of the audience is not blindly accepting a dubious element of the work, that is enough.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43473",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19761/"
] |
43,481 |
<p>I would like to know whether any scientific study has tested a hypothesis relating number of publications to career advancement.</p>
<p>It is often suggested that hiring and promotion decisions at research institutions are based heavily on the number of publications produced. That is, one is more likely to get a tenure-track position and subsequently to get tenure if one has a larger number of publications (independent of quality). One could also introduce an opposing argument that large numbers of publications are negatively correlated with quality of work and therefore negatively impact career advancement. Are there any studies supporting either of these views?</p>
<p>Some remarks: I understand well that even if there is correlation it would not imply causation. Also, I suspect that the relation between publication quantity and career advancement is very different between disciplines and between world regions. I would be interested in studies that address the question globally or among some subset of academe.</p>
<p>I believe this question is different from <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9624/does-number-of-research-publications-matter">Whether to publish one big paper or many smaller papers for a given research project?</a>, since I am asking for general scientific studies rather than opinions.</p>
<p>I am aware that, for many reasons, reaching valid conclusions may be impossible. I am interested in whether it has been attempted.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44954,
"author": "user2860703",
"author_id": 34145,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34145",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In biology, there was a recent study relating publication metrics (including quantity of publications) to odds of becoming a PI. A summary of the article is here:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/40118/title/Can-Publication-Records-Predict-Future-PIs-/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/40118/title/Can-Publication-Records-Predict-Future-PIs-/</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44969,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There's quite a bit of this sort of thing in economics. One early and now classic study, <a href=\"http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1817091?uid=3739960&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21106735300753\" rel=\"nofollow\">Katz 1973</a>, performs a regression of salary on the number of books, articles, \"excellent articles\", and other variables associated with a faculty member, and finds what seems to me to be very low impact of publication on annual salary even in 1973 dollars: an article is worth $18 and an excellent article worth $102 in annual salary. </p>\n\n<p>A later study <a href=\"http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/145797?uid=3739960&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21106735300753\" rel=\"nofollow\">Diamond 1986</a>, estimates the marginal value of a <em>citation</em> on lifetime salary: somewhere in the $50 to $1300 range (!!). Note that is in economics where citations are somewhat stingy, back before people started gaming citation rates as much as they do today. </p>\n\n<p>Since there has been a huge volume of publications on the determinants of faculty salary within the economics literature. For some reason, this particular labor market has been of exceptional interest to academic economists. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43481",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81/"
] |
43,484 |
<p>Assume one wants to cite a paper written in a different language than the article citing said paper (e.g., ones own article is written in English, but the source is French). </p>
<p><strong>How to properly handle citation in such a case?</strong></p>
<p>Do I cite the original (French) title or a translated title? If I use a translated title, people might have a hard time to find the source; if the original (French) title is cited, people might have a hard time understanding it.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43485,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You cite the original title, for the very reason you gave: to enable readers to find the original title. If your work is subject to guidelines, you should also check those.</p>\n\n<p>Usually, there is no point in giving a translation of the title as it does not contain any relevant information for the reader. Many citation styles do not mention the title of papers at all. I see two exceptions though:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>If a translation of the cited work into English exists (but you worked with the French original), you can mention it in addition to the French title, e.g. with:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>[actual citation] (translated into English under the title [translated title])</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n<li><p>If the title allows the reader to estimate what the source contains and whether they want to read it at all. In this case, you should arguably change your text such that it states in what way the citation is relevant for your work.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43501,
"author": "Alex",
"author_id": 32404,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32404",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For references in other languages (non-English), I use titles translated into English if the translation by the author is given in the paper (usually together with an English abstract). In such a case, a remark should be put at the end in brackets, eg. (in French). The use of translated titles should also be recommended for papers written in non-Latin scripts, eg. Chinese.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43503,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is common to either use a combination of the original title and a translated title. The exact form for punctuation has to be adapted to the specific journal. I use an example from \"my\" journal (Instructions for Authors):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Author name(s), year. Title in original language (if possible) [Title translated into English]. Publication name in original language (if possible) [Publication name translated into English]. Volume/issue/page information (according to type of publication). [In ‘language’]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Krenke, A.N. and Khodakov, V.G., 1966. O svyasi povercknostnogo tayaniya lednikov s temperaturoy vozdukha [On the relationship between melt of glaciers and air temperature]. Materialy Glyatsiologicheskikh Issledovaniy [Data of Glaciological Studies], 12. 153–163. [In Russian]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If the original is in a language written with different characters such as Russian, Chinese or Japanese to mention a few then one can also use a shorter form such as (again using the example above:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Krenke, A.N. and Khodakov, V.G., 1966. On the relationship between melt of glaciers and air temperature. Data of Glaciological Studies, 12. 153–163. [In Russian]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In the Russian case there sometimes exist a transcription with Latin letters but not always.</p>\n\n<p>I will add that many journals in my field do not translate titles in for major languages such as Spanish, French and German since it is assumed that everyone has some grasp of languages. This is of course a notion of the past since the \"western focus\" is, and has not been for long, a useful perspective.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43509,
"author": "Felipe G. Nievinski",
"author_id": 28125,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28125",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It actually depends on the citation style. It is particularly well documented in the APA Style (see <a href=\"http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/12/citing-translated-works-in-apa-style.html\">Citing Translated Sources in APA Style</a>):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>For example, here’s how you would cite the original French edition of\n a work by Piaget (note that an English translation of the title is\n included in brackets):</p>\n \n <p>Piaget, J. (1966). <em>La psychologie de l’enfant</em> [The psychology of \n the child]. Paris, France: Presses Universitaires de France.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>and:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Here’s another example, from a German journal. Again, brackets contain\n an English translation of the work’s title (the article, not the\n journal).</p>\n \n <p>Janzen, G., & Hawlik, M. (2005). Orientierung im Raum: Befunde zu \n Entscheidungspunkten [Orientation in space: Findings about \n decision points]. <em>Zeitschrift für Psychologie</em>, 213(4), \n 179–186. doi:10.1026/0044-3409.213.4.179</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If the reference uses a foreign alphabet, be sure to also check the <a href=\"http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2010/08/apples-to-%D7%AA%D7%A4%D7%97%D7%99%D7%9D.html\">transliteration requirements</a>.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43484",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13427/"
] |
43,486 |
<p>I am facing my Master thesis presentation (in Europe), and have read the <a href="http://matt.might.net/articles/academic-presentation-tips/" rel="nofollow">excellent article</a> by Matt Might on technical presentations. </p>
<p>Most of his points seem very logical to me (avoid too much information/formulas per slide, whenever possible simplify, and refer to your written thesis for more info, etc.)</p>
<p>However, I was wondering if there is specific advice <strong>compared</strong> to the talk of a paper or at a conference for the presentation of a technical (engineering) Master thesis presentation? What are the key differences?</p>
<p>I am tempted, as it will be graded, to "show off" my knowledge by complicating it, and I wouldn't like to follow Matt's advice too much and come off as if I don't understand the math/material.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43487,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Generally, a thesis presentation <em>should</em> be given and received in the same manner as any other technical talk. The main difference is that a thesis is typically scheduled for an hour-long presentation, while a top conference might give you as little as 15 minutes. Importantly, talks do not scale linearly: in a 15-minute talk, you basically have time enough to give the context and the main result and nothing else. In an hour-long talk, the context shouldn't take much longer, so you have a lot of space for digging more deeply into the rest of the ideas. There is nothing special, however, to differentiate a thesis talk from another academic talk.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, you should also check with your advisor whether your institution has any peculiar preferences, requirements, or grading policies that would cause you to want to deviate from this baseline.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43488,
"author": "user3780968",
"author_id": 32158,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32158",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In a thesis presentation/defence you are talking to a jury who has <em>already read</em> your thesis.</p>\n\n<p>In a conference talk, your goal is to get an audience who has mostly <em>not read</em> your paper interested enough to get the general ideas and read the paper in more detail if they care.</p>\n\n<p>The thesis defence protocol depends on where you are, but if you get 20 minutes or so to present, then you don't have time to get into many technical details. However, since the jury has read the thesis, the presentation is mostly a formality, and is a chance for you to show them the big picture, and how your work instantiates the expected research methodology: problem - state of the art - solution - validation.</p>\n\n<p>To \"show off\" you should have one or two slides explicitly listing your research contributions, and the publications derived from them (if any).</p>\n\n<p>Regarding the problem of looking like you don't understand the math, don't worry about it. If the examiners are in any doubt about that, they will ask specific questions after you have finished presenting, and they will refer to the thesis, not to your presentation. if you have some ideas of what they will ask, then prepare extra slides to be able to answer those questions.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.sce.carleton.ca/faculty/chinneck/TheThesisDefence.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Here</a> is also some great advice from a prof in my department. (note that the first 8 slides or so refer to the specifics of the protocol in use here, duration, jury composition, etc. But what comes after is more generic and useful for anyone, I believe. Also, take it as \"do as I say, don't do as I do\", since these slides are choke-full of text!)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43529,
"author": "Ant",
"author_id": 31990,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31990",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is a key difference between a master thesis presentation and a conference-style talk:</p>\n\n<p>In a talk at a conference your audience is here to learn something new from you: you focus on results, and try to give some context to make a simple story.</p>\n\n<p>When defending a master thesis your goal is to convince the committee that you are able to perform good research work. The process matters as much as the results: you must show how you identified a problem of interest, came with new approaches, tested them, how you dealt with unexpected complications, what suprises you encountered... </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43486",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13099/"
] |
43,493 |
<p><strong>Story</strong>: Great MSc Computer Science student lost interest in what he used to love</p>
<p><strong>------ PAST ------</strong></p>
<p>Since I was a kid, I was really passionate about the things I love. I was always ahead of my schoolmates and always prepared in advance for the material. Simply to say, I loved learning new things.</p>
<p>When I got into high school puberty hit me and I kind of get out of track in the first two years, but I hit hard in next two years excelling with GPA 5/5 (I was put in class of highly competitive students). Last year of high school, I did find something that gave me hard dopamine spikes, and that was programming. Just in 1 year, I earned 3rd place on State Competition and manage to get to National Olympiad. I also attended competitions of physics and mathematics. I loved the thrill of the challenge.</p>
<p>Took Bachelor of Computer Science, though I learned hard only the subjects that I love. I was great student (top 10 in my area) and I successfully finished it with a GPA of 4.5/5. Meanwhile, I found high interest in Artificial Intelligence and subfield of Machine Learning. I did AI courses online from Stanford, Coursera etc., since I started my bachelor studies (4 years ago) and I really liked that area. I finished my diploma thesis related to pattern recognition and my bachelors in record time.</p>
<p><strong>----- RECENT ----</strong></p>
<p>But after finishing bachelors everything changed. Seems like I was worn out, burned and unmotivated. I got programming job that was paid good but I hated. I completely lost my interest in programming. My driving force just dissipated in air.</p>
<p>Now, I got really good scholarship that got me in one of the top research universities in Europe. Still, my interests in AI dropped to 0. Seems like nothing is challenge now and I don't feel the dopamine spikes that I felt when I was discovering the field (which was novelty for me). Obviously my GPA is not good because of this (even though there are easy subjects that I've already have lot of pre-knowledge but still no motivation to learn them). I am now in my second semester of my studies. I took job as research assistant still don't feel motivated at all.</p>
<p><strong>----MY OWN OPINION ----</strong></p>
<p>From knowing myself I would say that I only thing that makes me motivated is learning new stuff from new fields. Whenever I learn something from one field I easily get bored and switch to something new. I put my whole effort and strength to learn it (when I am motivated). I could not specialize in one thing because of this and I am angry on myself.</p>
<p>I never suffered from depression, I always sleep 7-8h, eat regularly, love to go to the gym, love reading books. I was taking some supplements on my own thinking that I'm suffering from depression but without any help.</p>
<p>Please write here your opinion and advice, I would really appreciate hearing it. </p>
<p>Thanks a lot in advance.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43499,
"author": "Yes",
"author_id": 18107,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18107",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A senior professor I am acquainted with once uttered, \"In choosing one's career, the point is not to find what you like most; the point is to find what you dislike least.\" I find it wise and would like to share it with you.</p>\n\n<p>I would say you may first study a field you dislike least at the present stage and at the same time try to search what truly interests you. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43508,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How about taking a break. Say a 6-months to one year of break if you can afford. Spend time to introspect and do other, pressure free activities. In time when your mind comes to a resting state, you may realize what area really interests you. Sometimes it is hard to get a right perspective over things when we are part of it. It helps zooming out and take a broader look at options with a calm and objective mind. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43511,
"author": "gnometorule",
"author_id": 4384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Except for the most severe cases, you can function fine <em>and</em> be depressed. I have no idea if you are, but seeing a doctor to talk about this can't hurt, and I recommend you do. </p>\n\n<p>That said, consider looking into a structured work environment that consists mainly of executing well projects given to you. What you experience isn't all that uncommon, and can be due to varying factors, such as coming to terms with no longer being as exceptional as you feel you were, operating better in highly structured environments, missing the feedback you got earlier in life, or even going through a belated emotional puberty. The general feeling you express strikes a chord with me, but I'm puzzled by your not enjoying your current studies. </p>\n\n<p>Fields like consulting might fit someone like you better, because of a mix of interesting problems you are expected to solve, while receiving feedback from both clients and team managers; working solitarily on a small part of code of a much larger program might not. You also need to acquaint yourself (in consulting) regularly with new problems. </p>\n\n<p>Consulting is very specific, and a bit hard to get into, but consider doing some research on fields with a somewhat similar profile...all with the caveat that I agree with the comments pointing out that your malaise can't be properly diagnosed or solved by a bunch of people on the internet. Try to open up to those around you - friends and family - to be able to discuss this longer and better. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43493",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33083/"
] |
43,496 |
<p>I'm applying to do a PhD in Computer Science at a UK university. While I'm up for some funding I've been told it's very competitive so I shouldn't count on it. That's fine, and I'm prepared to self fund. </p>
<p>However my PhD proposal will require wearable tech, and my supervisor had advised that I think about having a group of 15 or so in the initial test stages. Does anyone have any experience of whether or not I'll have to purchase this myself, or if this is something the university will help cover the cost of? I appreciate it's probably the former, but it's something I need to know prior to starting. </p>
<p>On top of the PhD costs it could easily be another £3000 or so in order to buy all the tech - so I'll need to work out whether I can afford it!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43497,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Typically you would not pay for the research equipment you need out of your own pocket in order to complete your studies. I would establish that this is the case up front with your potential advisor before you get started. It would be pretty unusual to put the costs of doing the research on a student.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43498,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As a student, you should not be required to fund equipment purchases yourself. Rather, it is your supervisor's responsibility to work with you to scope a project that is within the funding that they wish to allocate to it. So if your supervisor wants to do a study with 15 people, your supervisor needs to have a sufficient budget to support it. Otherwise, you might end up, say, doing your work in simulation instead, which is much cheaper but less convincing in its results.</p>\n\n<p>Now, some students <em>do</em> buy small things themselves, especially if it is a low-cost \"toy\" that they want to play with themselves (e.g., a Raspberry Pi or a phone sensor pack) and they don't want to go through the delay and hassle of university purchasing. That's an exception, however, and certainly not to be expected for a multi-user study.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43500,
"author": "GS - Apologise to Monica",
"author_id": 7257,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7257",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Contrary to the other answers, I think you should be prepared for the possibility of having to fund this yourself.</p>\n\n<p>Money for this kind of equipment has to come out of some budget/pot of money somewhere. Typically funded PhDs come as part of an external research grant or are perhaps funded internally by a university, but either way equipment costs should have been considered as part of that funding.</p>\n\n<p>If you're self-funding your own PhD then there's no obvious place like that to look for the money. It might be that your supervisor can find some money from her own research grants or you can apply to somewhere for the money. Or it might be that it's effectively funded by your fees and the university/department will be prepared to pay for it directly. But I don't think there are any strong guarantees and if the equipment will be necessary for your PhD then you should either clarify this up front or come prepared to pay for it yourself.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43510,
"author": "Nahin Mamun",
"author_id": 33095,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33095",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since your potential supervisor has said that the university funding shall not be enough, I am translating that to no funding available. Depending on the university many options are available for you. If you are studying at any Scottish university, then Interface Scotland can help you. To get funding, your research has to be tied with a business organisation. A business can also initiate Knowledge Transfer Protocol (KTP) support and then you can do the research for it.</p>\n\n<p>Apart from these two options, you can approach some IT firms if they want to fund your research and have the IP. What strikes me most is about your motivation for self-funding. Universities generally provide three-years funding, but your PhD research can take four or five years to complete if you do not have an 'original contribution' by three years' time. You need to calculate that and think how will you feel when you complete PhD in 2020. You shall have less savings if any, and you shall be offered a starting salary of a lecturer. It is only financially viable if you finance your studies through a scholarship for the first three years. Otherwise, self-funding can be a great challenge. My, recommendation is you calculate every expense in Excel till 2020. This shall clarify your future course of action.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43549,
"author": "NimChimpsky",
"author_id": 245,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/245",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The fact its a self funded PHD means yes I would think you would be expected to pay for equipment. I think every case would be different in such circumstances ... but I can't imagine many university budget holders being prepared to give you money for nothing. However, I could quite easily see a supervisor/dept entering into some quid pro quo arrangement (eg tutor undergrads for 10 weeks and we will get you X laptops or whatever).</p>\n\n<p>Definitely don't assume it should be paid for, you are self funding so you need to arrange funding for everything. I have to assume that the people posting answers here to the contrary have experience with academic projects where the funding was from the university/research grant where the opposite is true.</p>\n\n<p>(I've worked/studied at four different academic research institutes all based in the UK).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43496",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33090/"
] |
43,504 |
<p>Early stage startups and entrepreneurs often look at those with experience and knowledge for help in areas such as finance, management (HR), marketing and technology. </p>
<p>How many hours per week/month on average does a faculty member spend consulting/advising/coaching businesses? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43506,
"author": "BSteinhurst",
"author_id": 7561,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7561",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say the mean over all of academia is very low, almost zero. I would even go so far as to say that the median amount of time is zero. However, this includes all professors from all fields. It is not impossible for a Professor of German Romantic Poetry to find businesses that need their expertise but I would image them few and far between. </p>\n\n<p>There is also the issue of contractual obligations. My current professorial contract states that during the academic year I cannot work for another institution as more than a \"part time job\" but during the breaks I could work for someone else full time. While this does not give concrete limits it is presumed here to be about 10 hours per week as a general maximum.</p>\n\n<p>More applied professors I have met were officially funded by outside corporations so their research counted double as both consulting work and as their normal work load. So for them even during the academic year it could be over 40 hours per week.</p>\n\n<p>So what I mean to say is that to get a useful answer you should probably be more specific about which fields you are interested in.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43517,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While you will get better responses if you narrow this down to specifics, I will answer generally for my experience in public health and medicine, as I have experienced it.</p>\n\n<p>Consulting is definitely <em>possible</em>, and many clinical researchers do some consulting on the side, in addition to having grants from industry. Other than that, consulting is something that comes up from time to time, but not enough that I would call it a routine part of anyone's workload. Keep in mind that part of that is because as an academic you don't get much \"credit\" for consulting - your tenure package isn't improved by it, your chair isn't happy that you're bringing in some big overhead grants, etc. If it's regular work, it should probably be considered for a proper grant.</p>\n\n<p>As for restrictions on it, I haven't encountered any hard limits as much as \"This should not interfere with your actual job\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43525,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I thought this was a rather fascinating question, and it turns out some researchers have agreed - enough to conduct their own studies!</p>\n\n<p>In a paper from 1985, but with too wonderful a title not to note, consider <a href=\"http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED262743.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">And on the Seventh Day: Faculty Consulting and Supplemental Income</a></p>\n\n<p>Obviously one will want to review this paper, as it's full of interesting observations, such as on the topic of how much this varies by field and how often/how much they are paid: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Less than 10 percent of college and university faculty employed in\n fields allied with science and engineering report supplemental\n earnings that represent more than one-third of their base academic\n salaries. The comparable figure for faculty employed in the humanities is only 4 percent.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So certainly consulting is much more popular in some fields than others, however also consider:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Sixty to 85 percent of all faculty report receiving some income beyond\n their base academic salaries. Supplemental income results from all\n forms of income-generating activities (for example, research and\n teaching during the summer months as well as consulting) and is earned\n both within and without the institution. The amount represents only\n about 15 percent of average basic academic salaries. About half of all\n college and university faculty report having some form of \"outside\"\n supplemental income during a given year.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So not only does it vary widely by field, but there is also a considerable amount of variation between individuals.</p>\n\n<p>The bottom-line of the report is that <strong>a little</strong> consulting is extremely common, but <strong>consulting a lot</strong> is relatively rare - only 5-6% of faculty report consulting more than 1 day per week on average. This of course also permits variance throughout the year, with more consulting happening when classes are not in session. For non-US natives, it is important to note that in the US the concept of an \"academic/9-month year\" is common, and students and professors alike can take the summer off or work on their careers, take extra-paid employment (including classes), etc...and some people get stiffed and have to work for no additional pay, but that's unpleasant to think about!</p>\n\n<p>This is certainly an older study, so let's consider some more recent research: <a href=\"http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/aupha/jhae/2010/00000027/00000004/art00004\" rel=\"nofollow\">Outside Consulting Income by University Faculty in Health Administration</a></p>\n\n<p>Sadly this is pay-walled, but the abstract has good info that agrees with the older study nicely:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Based on a comprehensive survey of health administration (HA) faculty\n in the US, the current study presents data on the frequency, dollar\n amounts, and determinants of outside consulting income among\n respondents. Approximately three quarters of respondents engage in\n some consulting activities that yield, on average, approximately 25%\n additional income above one's university base salary. However averages\n can be misleading given that substantial variation in earnings exists\n among respondents at each rank. Median consulting incomes were\n approximately 9% of respondents' base salary. Various factors\n including rank, gender, and professional accomplishments were\n associated with engaging in any consulting activities. Among those who\n consult, school of employment, gender, and self-reported expertise are\n associated with the amount of consulting income earned.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In a quick Google Scholar search this question seems to have been highly studied in the 1980's, and so the foundation literature is from this time. More recent studies seem to generally accept the older studies conclusions, and then get ever more specific - examining cultural differences (like attitudes of Arab faculty and how it relates to consulting), individual fields and schools (comparing various law professors and positions in their use of consulting), etc.</p>\n\n<p>If you are interested in this area I'd strongly recommend starting with a full read of \"And on the Seventh Day\" quoted above, as it also deals with thinks like reasons (which seem not to be strictly economic!), effect on research/teaching, and so on. Then some more specific poking around can narrow down your question, or it might just answer your question entirely!</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43504",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33094/"
] |
43,512 |
<p>Lately I have seen that some people (some ex-presidents in my country and some others) have been getting the Honoris Causa degree from some universities. Some of which have never even gone to University. I would like to know how much is that degree worth. By "worth" I mean compared to a normal achieved PhD, can an Honoris Causa graduate give lectures at a university? Can that person be called a doctor at all? Is it possible for one to get an honorary degree in science, or engineering? How much demonstrated work would it take to get one?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43513,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As Compass states, an honorary doctorate is not a formal credential of any kind. It can be awarded by a university on the basis of one's works and achievements, and does not require a thesis or other publications or research contributions.</p>\n\n<p>Consequently, honorary degrees do not carry the same privileges as a traditional degree. You can list it as an honorary degree, but you shouldn't use it to claim you're a \"Doctor.\" And it certainly would not satisfy the requirements of having a PhD or equivalent in a faculty search. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43515,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think your question indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of what a honorary degree is, and who gets one. Fundamentally, an honorary degree cannot be compared to a regular PhD. All the rules for getting a PhD fly out the window, as do all the perceived benefits for doing a PhD. If you get an honorary PhD, nobody will suddenly assume that you possess the subject knowledge of the holder of a regular PhD. </p>\n\n<p>Similarly, you seem to assume that an honorary degree is somehow an easy way towards a PhD. This is not the case. By and large, by the time you get an honorary degree, you either already have enough degrees or you will never need one again in your life.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Can that person be called a doctor at all?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, as long as you don't pretend to have a \"regular\" PhD.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>can an Honoris causa graduate give lectures at a university? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Sure. Everybody can give a lecture given that he gets invited or appointed to do so. In the usual case, somebody important enough to receive an honorary doctorate is also somebody that an university would love to get for a lecture.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it possible for one to get an honorary degree in science, or engineering</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Sure.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How much demonstrated work would it take to get one?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Usually none.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43516,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An Honorary degree, which is often, but is not necessarily a doctorate, isn't really an academic degree in any sense, and shouldn't be viewed as such. They're usually given for making a mark on the world in some way - be it scholarship, public service, etc.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>can an Honoris causa graduate give lectures at a university?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Do you mean teach classes? No more likely than any other member of the public that has achieved a bit of notoriety. Universities occasionally have noted writers, figures from the business community or industry scientists teach, and they don't necessarily have PhDs. If you genuinely mean give lectures - of course, as anyone can give a lecture at a university, if they're invited to do so.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Can that person be called a doctor at all?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, though trying to obfuscate that into \"looking\" like a PhD or MD would make me think much less of that person.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it possible for one to get an honorary degree in science, or\n engineering?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes. These are often given to people who have made significant advances in science or engineering - for example, you might give one to a Silicon Valley-style tech entrepreneur even if they haven't done graduate work. Alternately, I've seen them given to people <em>with</em> science or engineering PhDs recognizing work to advance science generally.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How much demonstrated work would it take to get one?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There's no meaningful \"Do X, get an Honorary Degree\" threshold. It's not something you work <em>toward</em>, it's a recognition from a university that they think what you've done is worthwhile.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 64204,
"author": "vonbrand",
"author_id": 38135,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/38135",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is usual to give e.g. visiting heads of state high military/civil medals, some insist on getting a honorary PhD instead. I.e., it might just mean \"came to visit\".</p>\n\n<p>Or the university could decide to give somebody a honorary degree for academic contributions. In our case a Dr. hc to a colleague (who long ago moved back to to Germany, now retired) who essentially founded computing here in Chile (in particular involving what later became our department in a central rôle), and over the years helped to nurse it along.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43512",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24128/"
] |
43,528 |
<p>I am a relatively new tenure track faculty member at my school. For many reasons, I am certain I want to leave my current position. All of my reasons are professional reasons; there are no relocation issues or anything like that. </p>
<p>I do not have a new position lined up but I am being actively recruited and feel that having a new position by the fall is a near-lock. Regardless, my finances are strong and, outside of good personal relationships with a couple colleagues, I have absolutely no hesitation about leaving this position. </p>
<p>One issue for my department is that some of my future classes are "important" (required classes that, right now, only I am qualified to teach). I do not want to put them in an unnecessarily difficult position. Therefore, my main question is: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>when should I break this news? Given my certainty about this decision, should I tell them ASAP? </p></li>
<li><p>Or, should I follow the general logic that one should never leave a position without a new job lined up? What if this means waiting two more months, REALLY leaving them in a tough spot for covering my "important" fall classes? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>As a secondary question: </p>
<ul>
<li>any advice about how to break this news? Some of my reasons are related to the way the program is run and the behavior of some of my colleagues. Should I go into this, or should I simply say that the position turned out the be a poor fit and that I must move on? </li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43530,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on what you say about the certainty of the decision, I would inform the department now (and this may mean turning in a written letter of resignation, so that the administration will authorize a hire). But that assumes that you would leave even if no other job materialized, so you should be really sure about the worst-case scenario. As for giving reasons, I would only give details about the reason if I thought it would be useful to reveal that, and only if you trust the person(s) that you tell. There is a risk that your resignation could get \"spun\" in a way that haunts you after you are gone. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43534,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Giving notice in 6 weeks time gives them the entire summer to replace you. Wait as long as you can to give your potential next department the time to make you a formal offer. As soon as you have accepted it, tell your current department chair. Don't do it before you have the offer in hand and have accepted. Unless you outright resign effective tomorrow, your current department may assume you are fishing for a counter offer, a raise, or early tenure. Without waiting until you have accepted the potential offer, you may end up burning even more bridges through this process even if you deny that you are trying to force your current department to upgrade you. If you don't walk out the door immediately, then you will have to spend the next several weeks being around your current colleagues. Wait until the semester is over and you have completed your obligations for the spring at the very least.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43528",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33116/"
] |
43,536 |
<p>I'm currently facing a peculiar situation. I have an <strong>open book</strong> Algorithms exam tomorrow and on the professors website for the course he specifically says: <em>"Open book (only original hardcopy of the textbook, no notes)"</em>. Now the problem is that I have small sticky tabs in the book that mark important pages. In my personal opinion these are not "notes" nor do they make the copy of the text anything but original. Therefore I must be allowed the text book with the stick tabs correct? Now here's where it gets a bit tricky, a friend of mine emailed the professor before our midterm examination (a couple of months ago) asking if we were allowed "stick tabs" to mark pages. The professor told him no, but failed to make the clarification public to the whole class and he still has yet to do so. Therefore I plan on taking my text book (with sticky tabs) into the exam. Now here's my real question:</p>
<p><strong>If he confronts me about them is it wise to inform him that he never specifically stated that we are not allowed them?</strong></p>
<p>OR</p>
<p><strong>Take them out, wasting my exam time, and folding all pages to mark them anyways?</strong></p>
<p>P.S. He's a very stubborn professor, meaning he'll probably not be very happy to the idea of me telling him my sticky tabs are in fact not notes.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43537,
"author": "Austin Henley",
"author_id": 746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/746",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This really is up to your professor.</p>\n\n<p>Go into class and ask him before the test if what you have is acceptable or not. If not (which is completely fair) then take the sticky notes out before he passes out the exam.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43538,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your entire line of argumentation is based on the notion that \"sticky notes are not really notes\". <em>Maybe</em> this is a reasonable line, but one can definitely disagree. There is no objectively correct definition of \"note\" in this context. You have already asked your professor, and he said that, no, sticky notes still count as notes.</p>\n\n<p>As such, the entire \"should have specifically told you\" line will not hold, as he <em>has</em> specifically told you (\"no notes\"). You cannot reasonably expect him to enumerate everything he considers notes <em>(\"That includes sticky notes and simple sheets of papers. Blue and red notes are also notes. Handwritten notes are also notes. Notes directly written in the book are also notes (...)\")</em>. You have asked him to clarify, and he did. I can't see any way how pretending like you didn't know, and discussing this again directly before an exam can possibly end well for you. Keep in mind that an oral exam always has a substantial subjective factor in it, and trying to play the prof. on a technicality right before an oral exam seems like an unwise move.</p>\n\n<p><em>(I also find it quite hilarious that you label the professor as \"stubborn\", yet you are the one going to lengths trying to wiggle around a relatively minor item in the exam regulations)</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43541,
"author": "Arv",
"author_id": 33093,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33093",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since he has said \"no notes\" and he is \"stubborn\" as you put it, your chances of winning this debate is minimum.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43722,
"author": "henning",
"author_id": 31917,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31917",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your already seem to expect that, if you were to ask your professor, he would disallow the sticky notes. You just prefer not to ask him (and thereby to clarify the rules), because you want to keep the notes.</p>\n\n<p>Even if your point that sticky notes are not really notes was plausible (which I doubt), it is still your professor who makes the rules. Your position might be justified, but how is this going to help you when you won't win your case?</p>\n\n<p>My advice: Take out the sticky notes.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43536",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33122/"
] |
43,550 |
<p>I would like to cite a book that has first appeared in 1976 and has since seen three editions.</p>
<p><a href="http://scholar.google.lu/scholar?cluster=7363599267725762172&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5%20Book%20on%20Google%20Scholar">Book on Google Scholar</a></p>
<p>I need to cite the book in a paper I am writing that will (hopefully) be published by Springer. What version do I cite or do I cite the first but indicate I used the third edition?</p>
<p>It seems there are multiple choices but I can't find a concrete answer in Springer's guidelines nor can I answer this to my satisfaction with my prior experience.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43551,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You cite precisely the version that you use and add something like \"5th edition\" (that is what the \"edition\"-entry is there for in BibTeX). Be careful to use the correct year!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43552,
"author": "Sverre",
"author_id": 11053,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11053",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should cite whatever edition you actually used. But allow me to add that you should have good reasons for not using the first edition (when it matters for your discussion when a claim was first made) or the last edition (when you want to refer to the latest/updated version of the claim made). As a reader, I'm left with an impression of unprofessionalism when I see a reference to a \"random\" edition of a book.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43550",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13606/"
] |
43,553 |
<p>I need some advice on how to diplomatically handle this situation:</p>
<p>I will submit my master's thesis in a few weeks, and I am pretty sure that I want to do a PhD afterwards. Research is what I want to do.</p>
<p>I have gotten a "maybe" from my current advisor (Prof. "A"), as in stay for a few months as an intern to extend/publish the work (minimally paid) and we'll talk again about a PhD (this is not specific to me, he did this with all his PhDs). However, there is a different Prof. "B" that does research on some other, more interesting topics, and if I could choose I would probably want to do my PhD in his research area. Although Prof. "B" knows me (positively) from a previous project, he'd probably also want me to intern at their group for a few months before making an offer. It is only during the course of writing my thesis that I realized that long-term the topics in Prof. "B"'s group actually interest me more.</p>
<p><strong>The question now is:</strong></p>
<p>How do I handle this situation, and maximize my chances of getting a PhD offer without upsetting anyone? I really don't know how to approach this situation, and I don't want to seem uninterested before I have something official. Do I talk to Prof. "B" in secret? What would I ask him? What do I do if Prof. "A" asks me to sign a contract for these next few months? Should I wait and apply for US unis anyways, regardless of my average GPA (see below)?</p>
<p>Some more info:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I am at a top-tier European university. PhD candidates are handled as employees and usually hired by the respective professors themselves. Candidates usually finish their MSc first, it's not possible to apply for a PhD position without having an MSc. Often, students working on their master's thesis will stay on with their advisor if the thesis is good enough. I'd say about 50% of PhDs get hired this way.</p></li>
<li><p>My grades are OK, but not stellar. Depending on the conversion, I'm at around 3.3/4.0, which is pretty much exactly the average of all graduating MSc students here. The university is known for not inflating grades, but this number still doesn't look too good.</p></li>
<li><p>I'm not too keen on applying to other universities: Most of the higher ranked universities are in the US, and I'd have to wait until December in order to apply for next year. Also, that would cost quite a bit of money, take more time, and most of the top unis have GPA minimums that are above mine (e.g. MIT has a 3.6 minimum).</p></li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43555,
"author": "semi-extrinsic",
"author_id": 27555,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27555",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Two partial answers:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>It's not a problem for you to ask Prof. B about the chances of you doing a PhD for him. Even if it is in \"secret\". You are looking for employment, and you're not obligated to tell prospective employers about the other positions you are looking at. Any professor will assume that their MSc students apply for several (PhD or industry or both) positions, <strong>especially</strong> if the professor has given them just a \"maybe\" for continuing with a PhD.</li>\n<li>If you get a positive answer from Prof B., I can't imagine there would be a problem saying to Prof. A: \"I've been thinking, and I would prefer to do my PhD with Prof. B because I am more interested in researching Topic X, which his/her group is doing\". If Prof. A's reaction to that is getting angry, you don't want him/her as your PhD supervisor or collaborator anyway.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43980,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What you are describing isn't that uncommon. For those doing a masters completely separately from their PhD—as it sounds like you are doing—many students move around after completion of one degree to something that aligns more with their interests. </p>\n\n<p>To that extent, it should be fine for you to discuss your future plans with Prof. A and Prof. B at your leisure. I would recommend talking with Prof. B about joining his lab as a graduate student and taking it from there.</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, I would not recommend joining as an intern. (I'm assuming his field of research is similar to your own.) At this point, you've already completed your masters; if you're going to be performing graduate research you should be recognized as such. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43553",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33136/"
] |
43,556 |
<p>I have the opportunity to reject an offer from a University in US. As a follow up email I was asked which university did I choose and what was the reason behind it. Can I simply ignore the follow up mail, or can I divulge the information as a good gesture? </p>
<p>Personally, I do not like to reveal stuff, but is the information where I am going to study or whether or not I received funding from a particular university public? If I reveal it to staff of another university will it not be a problem?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43557,
"author": "Compass",
"author_id": 22013,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22013",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You're not obligated to tell them. Whether you tell them or not would be unlikely to have an impact on your future either. </p>\n\n<p>They're probably not going to track you down and find you, and would mostly use the information to improve recruitment in the future. </p>\n\n<p>Imagine if you told them you chose University X instead because you had family there and it was easier to secure housing. That's a sound reason, and unlikely to cause any sort of mark in the off chance they were tracking you.</p>\n\n<p>I would try to avoid saying anything bad about the school, though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43559,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For public universities in the US, the fact that you are employed at a University and what your salary is (assuming you are a TA or RA) is discoverable via most states' freedom of information laws. These laws run under various names, but they are what allows there to be newspaper sites listing all public employee salaries. However, your conversations with a university's staff members as part of your student application might be student records under FERPA and therefore not disclosable. </p>\n\n<p>So I would say that the university you rejected could eventually discover that you were offered and took a job as a graduate research assistant or teaching assistant at the university you accepted, but they could not find out your reasoning without potential trouble. They are very unlikely to care, though.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43556",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10851/"
] |
43,558 |
<p>I read several questions about sabbatical leaves in this website. When checking a faculty list, it is common that some are on sabbatical leave and some are visiting professors. When emailing professors, it is not strange to receive a reply that he or she is on sabbatical leave.</p>
<p>However, the general picture of sabbatical visits is unclear to me. It is interesting to experience a new academic environment in a different country; but how do people handle it?</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>Cost of Living/Moving:</strong> When someone goes to another country, there are lots of unexpected expenses. High rent for a furnished house (for a year). They still have expenses in their home country (like mortgage). They will receive half of their salary from home the university and zero from the host university (not considering exceptions where getting paid for occasional tasks).</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Research Output:</strong> The professor cannot plan for a long-term research. Probably co-supervise some graduate students.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Position:</strong> It is not clear to me what the place of a visiting professor is. In a research group, he is not a postdoc to follow the PI plans to get hand in experimental works, and he is not the boss to plan and conduct others. In a department, the head cannot force him to teach a course (it is not his duty), and the department has not offered him an official position, space and service for doing nothing. The vague point for me is that there is no official contract to define each party responsibility (as the host university is not paying).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>How can one handle the expenses? And what is the professional motivation to do a temporary job (beside the fun part of going somewhere)?</p>
<p><em>Sorry for a series of questions, I could not separate them.</em></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43560,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this will widely vary between professors, host institutions, and home institutions. I will try to address your questions, but always keep in mind that for each point there will be plenty of variations.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>When someone goes to another country, there are lots of unexpected expenses. High rent for a furnished house (for a year). They still have expenses in home country (like mortgage). </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Sometimes the professor just foots a lot of it from his own pocket. Sometimes, especially if the host institution is not academic but a company research lab, the host institution will cover this through a stipend, or by providing housing. However, it should be noted that most professors eligible for sabbaticals are full professors, who are in an age and career phase where they are not anymore required to turn every penny twice.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>He will receive half of his salary from home university and zero from host university (not considering exceptions where getting paid for occasional tasks).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This isn't close to universal. In my institution, sabbaticals can be with close-to-full salary. Sometimes, the host institution pays the guest.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Research Output: He cannot plan for a long-term research. Probably co-supervise some graduate students.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Generally speaking, the sabbatical is a phase of planning, and finding inspiration and future collaborations more than execution. For a senior professor, it may also be a rare chance to actually do some research her/himself again, precisely because one is not necessarily required to herd a dozen grad students to dissertations.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It is not clear to me where is the place of a visiting professor. In a research group, he is not a postdoc to follow the PI plans to get hand in experimental works, and he is not the boss to plan and conduct others.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Well, the guest <em>doesn't</em> have a fixed place in the host lab as such. What the guest actually does all day will vary, depending on what the goals of the professor for the sabbatical and the plans of the host are. A few common ones that I have seen include:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>getting access to cool data</strong> sabbatical. Here, the prof. goes to a host institution (typically industrial in this case) with access to much more and better data. The guest uses his time there to validate (with the host professor and selected students) his theories on the data of the host institution.</li>\n<li>The <strong>I wanna do this for real</strong> sabbatical. Here, he or she takes time off to actually apply his research in practice, either in an existing company or by creating a spin-off. He or she may or may not ever return from this sabbatical.</li>\n<li>The <strong>setting up new projects</strong> sabbatical. Here, the guest ends up spending most of his time writing one or more project proposal(s) with the host professor and other academics in the area.</li>\n<li>The <strong>marketing trip</strong> sabbatical. Here, the guest is primarily an ambassador of the home institution or lab, and spends a lot of time going through academic institutions in proximity of the host, giving talks and establishing connections.</li>\n<li>The <strong>I really just needed a vacation</strong> sabbatical. Here, the guest ends up doing not much at all, except meeting up with some people and giving a talk here and there. The borders between this and the previous one are kind of blurry.</li>\n<li>The <strong>entirely academia-unrelated</strong> sabbatical. And then there are of course the sabbaticals which are quite openly only on paper about anything academic. I have known professors that renovated their house during their sabbatical. I have known one who had medical issues and used the sabbatical to recuperate. </li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43562,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>(2) is most definitely not true, at least in my field (mathematics). I can most certainly carry out research on the road, especially with access to the Internet and to a decent library.</p>\n\n<p>As far as your (3), I think that is a big part of the appeal of a sabbatical. My position at my home university obliges me to teach undergraduate courses, to serve on committees, and to do other tasks which are necessary to help keep my department running. This is very worthwhile, but it is also a big distraction from research. Not having a clearly-defined position for a year means you are free to pursue your own goals!</p>\n\n<p>As far as (1), this varies. I do know that many professors take sabbatical without actually moving to a different city for the term of the sabbatical. (They might still take a break from actually showing up to work or answering professional e-mails concerning department business.) I think that practical concerns such as you mention are a big part of their motivation.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43558",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33144/"
] |
43,561 |
<p>In order to better understand my questions it is best to provide some context to them.</p>
<p><strong>Background</strong>: I completed a B.Sc. degree in pure mathematics several years ago. I kept in contact with my letters of recommenders (their letters are strong), and published in an undergraduate mathematics journal. I want to transition from mathematics to computer science for a PhD program. I delayed my entrance into a PhD program to work in industry. Now I am in a position where I can enter back into school. </p>
<p>The problem I face is that 1) I lack many of the preliminary courses required by many PhD programs in Computer Science and 2) My GPA is on the low side due to extenuating circumstances during those respective semesters (which relates to my reasons of delaying a PhD to pursue industry work). </p>
<p>The PhD programs I am interested in are very competitive. I contacted a professor at one of these universities (nationally ranked & well-known) and he said he'd vouch for me whenever I applied and a few of my recommenders know him personally. But according to the school's website individual faculty have little input in admission decisions (as admissions is determined by a group of faculty) and they seem to have a strict set of coursework requirements needed in order to be admitted into their program. Also, my GPA falls outside the range of the "average" admitted students.</p>
<p>So, even though I have strong LoRs, strong research experience and a professor interested in me, I have a low GPA and not nearly enough of the core courses to satisfy their coursework requirements. </p>
<p>I applied/was accepted to do a post-bac at a well-regarded school. I will be a credit (but non-degree seeking) undergraduate student and can take any range of courses I want (both undergrad + grad).</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: </p>
<p>1) Will pursuing a post-bac route help me get into a CS PhD program? My aim here is to complete the core set of requirements, bolster my GPA, and make myself competitive for PhD programs in CS (I don't want to do an MS program). Since I lack basic CS coursework I'll be taking courses in programming, data structures, analysis of algorithms, computer organizations and the like.</p>
<p>2) When will be the best time to apply for PhD programs? I plan to take courses on a part-time basis (since I am working full-time), so a max of 1-2 courses a semester. I was thinking if I applied next Fall then I'd only have two programming courses completed (required sequence), and a data structure course in progress. I still wouldn't have completed analysis of algorithms, etc. courses by that time. Luckily, I already taken all of the program's math requirements with high marks.</p>
<p>3) Is it fine to not satisfy every coursework requirement in the list? It is also recommended to have other courses completed outside of the core, but I am very eager to get the core completed and move into research. Lastly, would a B in any of these courses be a death kneel for my purpose? Some of these courses have a reputation of being extremely difficult. </p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43603,
"author": "Dinosaur",
"author_id": 32937,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32937",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What you can do is first complete a masters degree in CS and then transition to a PhD program. Some masters programs do not require a bachelor degree in CS, and you can get your degree in 1~2 years after completing all the necessary courses.</p>\n\n<p>While doing your masters degree, you get to know the professors, learn about their projects and gauge your ability to launch a career in computer science. That's also a great opportunity for you to find out if there could be an advisor-student match that will materialize into a PhD thesis.</p>\n\n<p>If you then manage to get into the PhD program in the same institution, you may be able to transfer the credits and take the preliminary exams right away. Speak to the Graduate Advisor to find out more.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 46929,
"author": "Ellen Spertus",
"author_id": 269,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/269",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I teach in the <a href=\"http://www.mills.edu/academics/graduate/cs/program/\" rel=\"nofollow\">post-bac CS program at Mills College</a>, which is aimed at people (like you) who have earned a bachelor's degree in a field <em>other than</em> CS and want to transition into CS, either for industry or to prepare for a CS PhD. Two such students were subsequently admitted to the CS PhD program at University of Washington, one of the top programs in the country. Others have gone on to CS PhD programs at UCSD and The University of Virginia. I can provide more details privately.</p>\n\n<p>There are many ways to take the prerequisite courses -- online, as a special student, etc. The advantages of taking them in a post-bacc program (or at least the program I am most familiar with) are:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The classes are small, and many of the students are in the same situation as you, rather than to a profile you do not fit.</li>\n<li>Because the classes are small and taught by full-time professors, you can get strong detail-filled letters by professors who know you well.</li>\n<li>Being a full-time student makes you eligible for summer internships. For example, one of our recent students interned at NASA, which I'm sure helped him get admitted to PhD programs.</li>\n<li>Depending on the school and your field, there may be research opportunities there. Research experience is very valuable for graduate school admissions.</li>\n<li>You can boost your GPA. Your undergraduate GPA will seem a lot less important if you've earned excellent grades more recently in a CS program.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The biggest downsides of a post-bac program are that they're expensive, they take time, and the piece of paper is not worth much in itself. (We have <a href=\"http://www.mills.edu/academics/graduate/cs/program/requirements.php\" rel=\"nofollow\">both a post-bac certificate program and an MA in Interdisciplinary Computer Science</a>, which requires more coursework and a thesis and is a valuable piece of paper.)</p>\n\n<p>I think you should carefully examine the costs and benefits of a post-bac program versus a terminal MSCS, rather than dismissing the latter. After either, you will be in a good position to apply for a CS PhD program.</p>\n\n<p>(Anyone with questions about the Mills program should feel free to contact me through my email address, which is easy to find.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43561",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33142/"
] |
43,563 |
<p>Imagine a full professor who served as the head and dean in Russia. Definitely, he has good chance to be appointed as VP in Russian (but unlikely in UK as the education systems are different and his experiences cannot be applied directly).</p>
<p>Now, if he apply for a faculty position in a UK university along a colleague who had no administrative position (then, he published more papers and supervised more graduate students). Which one has a better chance to get the position?</p>
<p><strong>My hypothesis:</strong> Administrative positions are valuable if someone want to get the next job in the same country or countries with similar education systems.</p>
<p><strong>My question:</strong> If someone wishes to take a faclty job in a different country, is it useful to spend time for administrative jobs in his home country OR it is better to focus on academic/research matters, which are global and appreciated anywhere?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43579,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, being a university administrator (e.g., Dean or Provost) is good experience for being a university administrator. I do not recall any high level administrators changing countries, so my guess is that the experience is country specific. For traditional research and teaching faculty positions, prior experience as a university administrator is not helpful. While hiring committees try and take into account the \"lost time\" associated with being an administrator, in general, I think administrators trying to switch tracks are at a disadvantage.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43580,
"author": "Ant",
"author_id": 31990,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31990",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends. While as you say a researcher without any administrative duty is likely to have more papers, hiring committees are often not only looking for people that publish a lot but also for people that will 'contribute' to a department by doing their share of collective tasks.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43563",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33146/"
] |
43,564 |
<p>Here is the scenario: in a collaborative effort, our group was to work with another group/professor to write a paper on some work we had previously done. I, a grad student, am to be the main author/architect of the paper. But, <em>and this was said explicitly by him and my own professor</em>, I was to write it with lots of help from the collaborating professor, and under his guidance and direction.</p>
<p>In other words, I would talk to him, get direction like "you should focus on this topic for the paper" or "don't pursue this, it won't be interesting to reviewers", and I would do the actual work/research/writing.</p>
<p>However, since making this agreement, months ago, he has gone basically incommunicado. I'll send him an email and not get a reply for literally a month. I've asked to set up a short (<1hr) meeting, at basically any time of his choosing, and just no response. Several times, too.</p>
<p>Let me be clear about this too: I'm not really that upset about the lack of communication itself (though, I'll say this single thing about that: when he is actually in person with me, he is <em>constantly</em> checking/answering his email on his phone, so I know he does do it, just apparently not with me). I'm not dying to write the paper, it's not a cutting edge thing that will get scooped, and I have several other projects. It's a little annoying in general that he has been flaky, but I'm plenty busy with other stuff, so again that's not too bad.</p>
<p>Here's what my question is about. I both suspect, and from my short interactions with him I've had in the past few months, that he is going to ask to see what work I've done on it since he became uncommunicative, to which the answer is "minimal". The reason is that I am busy with other projects, and because he wasn't doing his part of this, I didn't know which direction to take. I could certainly speculate and choose one, but that is very risky (timewise) for me: if I spend several weeks pursuing something and it turns out he doesn't think it's a good fit for the paper, welp, I just wasted several weeks. And that has happened to some extent. </p>
<p>Because it seems like I wasn't clear about this initially, I'll say it explicitly here: my goal is not to attack him, or bring this up. If he seems fine with the (lack of) progress made, then I'm very happy to leave it be and just continue on. But I strongly suspect (and he seemed to say) that he expects me to have done more. <strong>For this question, assume that the professor <em>will</em> ask why more hasn't been done on the paper, so the subject will come up.</strong></p>
<p>So, how do you say this tactfully? You can't really respond with "because you were uncommunicative, I didn't get very much done, because it very possibly could have been for naught", because that's pretty accusatory and will ultimately not help solve the problem.</p>
<p>Is there a good way to say this?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43569,
"author": "Mad Jack",
"author_id": 11192,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11192",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>What is a diplomatic way to tell a professor that progress hasn't been made because of their lack of communication?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You don't. </p>\n\n<p>That is, I don't think that would be very productive, diplomatic or not. I wouldn't focus on their lack of communication in the next meeting you have with them at all; I would instead focus on using that next meeting you have with the professor to come to some resolution on the things that are delaying progress on the paper/project.</p>\n\n<p>As you mentioned in the comments:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I essentially have done everything I can, within reason. I've selected and done background on directions for the paper.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So, this is what you have, and this is what you show them. Additionally, any questions about the scope/direction of the paper, etc. should also be brought up during the face-to-face meeting. </p>\n\n<p>To address additional information posted by OP:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>But I strongly suspect (and he seemed to say) that he expects me to have done more. For this question, assume that the professor will ask why more hasn't been done on the paper, so the subject will come up.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>We all have limitations. You were in charge of certain aspects of the paper/project, but you were not able to achieve a certain level of progress that was set. Just be upfront about that. Specifically, tell the professor what it is you are stuck on and ask them during your face-to-face meeting if they have any feedback to offer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 75764,
"author": "Dawn",
"author_id": 56938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/56938",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I will repeat something that one of my committee members told me about working with my chair -- \"The answer you are going to get will inevitably depend on the question you ask.\" </p>\n\n<p>So I am going to suggest trying to ask different questions, because it sounds like A) This isn't important to the professor and B) He isn't going to make time to think deeply about it.</p>\n\n<p>You are going to be the one to think deeply about this paper, and, best case scenario, he is going to react.</p>\n\n<p>Instead of asking \"When can we meet?\" to get a meeting, ask \"Can you meet on September 1st sometime between 1 and 5 PM?\" (And then, to be polite and deferential, say you are certainly flexible if he/she would prefer a different date.</p>\n\n<p>Instead of asking \"What direction should I take?\" ask, \"I am thinking about taking this direction. Does that work?\" Or, if you think there are multiple valid ways, say, \"Which of these two specific approaches would you like me to take?\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 82479,
"author": "Andy",
"author_id": 67107,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/67107",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It seems like this project has become a confrontational affair for you? \nHonestly is there a diplomatic way of communicating with anyone, even family?\nCollaboration is not direction.</p>\n\n<p>if the work had been documented prior to this exercise I'm guessing the point of the task was to provoke engagement in a collaboration, which is always going to initially be confronting to one degree or another. </p>\n\n<p>We collaborate as equals, we put ourselves in each other's shoes. \nYou can always start by asking him if he is ok to brainstorm some frameworks together or with the group? </p>\n\n<p>Now is a good time if you have time? An appointment would soon be made if he was not available immediately. </p>\n\n<p>A month is a fair amount of time to follow up an email. A verbal follow up would be appropriate after a few days.<br>\nOf course he's going to want to see the work. </p>\n\n<p>What was the nature of the project? Was the content less important than the collaborative component? </p>\n\n<p>Communication can be difficult.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 181861,
"author": "Karl Wolfschtagg",
"author_id": 152153,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/152153",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've found that the only way to break through things like this is to set regular meetings; during the meetings, everyone gets a list of tasks to be done by the next meeting.</p>\n<p>However, you've said that you tried to set up meetings and got no response.</p>\n<p>At this point, I'd drop the project and move on to something else.</p>\n<p>By the way, anyone who is constantly checking email/their phone when you're meeting with them (in an actual meeting - not a "drive-by") is, in my opinion, a jerk. Nobody is so busy that they can't set their phone/email down to talk to someone and give them their full attention. My opinion only.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43564",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13312/"
] |
43,565 |
<p>I am a very happy user (in 98% of the time) of Python/Numpy/Scipy (anaconda distribution). I switched from Matlab and do not regret the decision. I have reached a level of expertise, which enables me to help others with their computational tasks and encourage people to use Python.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the situation is not that easy. A senior researcher in a very closely related working group is using Mathematica. One of his students is using Mathematica, one is not sure yet but honestly it would be stupid to use a different software.</p>
<p>If I switch to Mathematica, everyone may benefit from it (code sharing and building up knowledge). I think you can understand that my motivation to do so is not the highest (not again another language; I use Python, Fortran and a bit C++). Additionally, the Python user community is very vibrant, and they frequently come up with interesting projects.</p>
<p>In order to avoid a nonsense discussion about what software to use, let me rephrase my questions as follows:</p>
<p>Have you ever been in a similar situation (either as student or supervisor)? And if you have, did you try to get everyone to use the same language? Did any situation occur where it was good that not everyone was using the same tool?</p>
<p>EDIT:</p>
<p>My field is biotechnology. We do calculate: ODE'S, PDE'S,fractals, system of equations (ODE's, DAE'S, algabraic). Most of the time we do some rapid prototyping (e.g calculating linear pH gradients in chromatography, some combinations of reactors etc., using/extending chromatographic models). I am a PhD student and will continue as a post doc at the same institute including occasional lab exchanges abroad. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43566,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is <em>very</em> familiar to me - people come into my field from a number of different places, and each has not only their own preferred software, but the software they think \"everyone\" uses - which invariably isn't true.</p>\n\n<p>At the moment for example, I have implementations of various bits of my work in MATLAB, Mathematica, C++, Python, Maple, R, SAS...</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Have you been in a similar Situation (either as Student or Supervisor) ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I've been in groups that successfully united everyone under the same language banner, and some groups that did not (intentionally or otherwise).</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>And if so, did you tried to get everyone using the same language ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I have <em>definitely</em> tried, and occasionally failed. You've mentioned some of the benefits, but beyond merely code sharing, everyone using different languages makes it extremely hard to learn from others, share solutions, or collaborate really in any way. If you have a problem, and it's written in another language than what other folks are using, that problem is entirely your own to deal with - even if folks want to help, they may not be able to.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Did situations occur, at which it was good that not everyone is using the same tool ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The only time is when the \"usual tool\" is somehow terrible at what's needed for someone's work. For example, a few years ago, when Python's statistics ecosystem was much worse, it was good to have people who knew R. But assuming they can all achieve roughly the same thing, I've never gone \"Oh thank god we're all writing in different languages!\"</p>\n\n<p>The one exception is I did encounter someone whose ability to parse whitespace-based code is...less than stellar, which made me glad I could run things in MATLAB as well as Python.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43567,
"author": "Ant",
"author_id": 31990,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31990",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes I have been in a similar situation both as a student and as a supervisor.</p>\n\n<p>As a student I was the only person in my lab to use Python (others were using Matlab or even Excel macros). Yes I tried to convince them to switch, with little success! But that was not a major problem because I did all the programming work on my own for my projects. I occasionally helped on other projects using whatever the main researcher on the project was using.</p>\n\n<p>As a supervisor this was little bit more complicated, because my student was requiring a lot of micro-management and help on simple programming tasks in a language that I never used. He chose this language because he wanted to extend a program written by another research group. This was very frustrating for both of us, and I was hard for me to decide when to spend time figuring out simple things and when to tell him to RTFM!</p>\n\n<p>In the future I would warn the student before starting the project: we agree that either he manages simple programming problems on its own, or he uses a language that I know well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43586,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First, you have to understand a very important point: <strong>most programming languages serve their own niche purposes.</strong> As a corollary, there is no one language that does everything best, or even does everything well. Therefore unifying into a single language is often not even an option on the table.</p>\n\n<p>That said, there are cases where the same task can be accomplished in a variety of settings. I'll go through some examples in my experience (as a grad student in computational astrophysics).</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>For <strong>hardcore</strong>, peg-the-CPU, million-core computations, your only options are Fortran, C, or C++. Such codes are often the central workhorses of the group, and it probably doesn't help to be diverse here. If everyone is coding in the same language, routines developed in one place can be used elsewhere with little cost. Pick one, and enforce stringent style guides on any collaborative code.</p></li>\n<li><p>For <strong>scripting</strong>, you have Unix shell scripts, Python, Perl, Ruby, and many others. Here it depends on who is meant to use the script. If writing something for your own personal workflow, there's nothing wrong with being different from everyone. On the other hand, if I am writing a script meant to be run, understood, and modified by others in the group (such as the configure script for the workhorse code), it had better be in an agreed-upon language.</p></li>\n<li><p>For <strong>light numerics</strong>, including matrix manipulation, there are proprietary programs like Matlab and IDL, and also free languages like Python and Octave. Since tasks using these programs can be a bit more involved than simple scripts, it helps to have others to get help from. I was once the sole Matlab user in an IDL group, and so there was little help I could give or receive with regard to numerics.</p></li>\n<li><p>For <strong>symbolic manipulation</strong>, as with Mathematica or Maple, I think the same considerations for light numerics apply.</p></li>\n<li><p>For <strong>data visualization</strong>, there are many options, including Matplotlib, Matlab, IDL, VisIt, Paraview, MayaVi, and yt. All of these are used in my group, where I'm solidly in the Matplotlib camp. Here we decided that visualization is as much an art as a science, and everyone has their own tools they are most comfortable with. If one person makes their best plots in Matlab, and someone else is a natural at VisIt, why force them to make poor use of IDL? In fact, having a multilingual group has proved beneficial, since not all options are always available, and it helps to have someone to get quick help from. For example, only some of the above can work on massively parallel visualization clusters to render terabyte datasets in reasonable time.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Personally, I've championed Python for scripting and small-scale visualization. In the scripting case, I <strong>demonstrated its strength</strong> by rewriting a configure script the group was using into a more versatile and readable one, and now we use Python for that shared script. That is, it wasn't an issue of \"which language is intrinsically better?\" but rather of \"with which language can <strong>we do better</strong>?\" For visualization, I'm not trying to forcibly convert anyone, but I simply <strong>share my scripts and knowledge</strong> with anyone who wants to learn what I know how to do.</p>\n\n<p>In summary, how beneficial unification turns out to be depends on what the task is. Code that can be shared or reused helps to be in one language; everyone writing their own version of the same code would be wasted effort. Personal codes, on the other hand, work well when written in whatever language works best for the user; forcing everyone to use the same code (especially using the wrong code for the job, like a symbol manipulation package for data visualization) leads to individuals being less efficient.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43590,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The only restrictions that I place on my group members when it comes to the software that they use in their research work are:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>that they not use proprietary software for which the group doesn't own a license</li>\n<li>that their work can be shared or reused by other members of the group in the future</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Requiring strict use of one set of tools is, I think, counterproductive, as it can force people to spend a lot of time learning things that won't necessarily be helpful to them in their research or later in their careers. </p>\n\n<p>If they're just getting started on the programming side of things, however, I'll ask that they start with Python and the other standard codes that we use, because it makes life simpler for everybody in the long run.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43607,
"author": "Frames Catherine White",
"author_id": 8513,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8513",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A piece of wisdom my supervisor shared with me a few months back,\nwhen I told him about how cool <a href=\"http://julialang.org\">Julia</a> seemed.\nWas (paraphrasing): </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We (often) aren't really in a position to choice our language for the\n task. We use what ever the best tools are being developed in. Before\n that was C++, then it was Matlab, now it seems to be python. Maybe by\n the time your PhD is done we will all be using Julia.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Point being, that learning a language is easy. \nYou just do it, so you can use the best libraries.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>One of the things I am loving about Julia is that because of its Foreign Language interface, you can call libraries written is many different languages.\n(<a href=\"http://oxinabox.ucc.asn.au/blog/content/Julia%20Foreign%20Function%20Interface.md\">I am aware of working code</a> to call: C, Fortran, Rust, Python, Java, Matlab, Mathematica, and C++).\nThus having maintained access to the \"Best tools\"</p>\n\n<p>This is not to say you should convert everyone to julia.\nThe first point stands.\nLearning a language is easy. \nGetting the best tools (or in your case perhaps collaborators), is not.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43620,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Have you been in a similar Situation (either as Student or Supervisor) ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, frequently - in my current department, people use (depending both on their personal preference and on external requirements) Java, C#, C++, C, JavaScript, Flash, and probably a few more.</p>\n\n<p>It even varies a lot, as students may want to use yet another technology or language for their projects such as Bachelor or Master theses.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>And if so, did you tried to get everyone using the same language ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Never, unless interoperability was an explicit requirement. It may have to do with the fact that I'm in a CS field (i.e. where programming is more at the \"core\" than a mere tool), but there is what could be called an unwritten rule that you do not prescribe others what technologies they use. At best, it could be interpreted as an immature attempt of starting a flame-war on a \"nerdy\" topic, at worst, as a violation of other researchers'/developers' personal autonomy by micro-management.</p>\n\n<p>Concerning the aforementioned students, we do make it clear that we cannot provide any technical support if they choose a technology that none of us has any experience with (though it should be noted that we won't provide too much support, anyway, given that Bachelor and Master theses are supposed to focus on the conceptual and methodical aspects in my place, and students are supposed to (show that they are able to) deal with low-level problems while programming their prototypical proof-of-concept on their own.)</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Did situations occur, at which it was good that not everyone is using the same tool ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>To avoid making this sound overly one-sided or negative, I'm going to list perceived advantages and disadvantages here:</p>\n\n<p><strong>Disadvantages:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Artifacts by different persons won't necessarily work together.\n\n<ul>\n<li>This has even led to complete reimplementations of prototypes, just so a widget by one person could be used in the application by another person who used a different framework and/or UI toolkit.</li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>Maintenance of existing code-base is not a given. Once a colleague leaves, their code might not be touched again on the single reason that no-one is acquainted with the technology used for that particular code.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>Advantages:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>There is no way to guarantee using just one language, anyway; there are just too many external factors for this. It can more or less be taken for granted that as soon as one has succeeded at bringing the whole department to one single programming language, the next project with external partners will end up in the consortium choosing a different language for one reason or another. Having a diverse department where know-how on different technologies and languages is present, on the other hand, can help when working on such a project.</li>\n<li>As extensively described in <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/43586/14017\">Chris White's answer</a>, different programming languages are often suitable for different goals, so depending on what you are doing, a switch of languages might be required.</li>\n<li>Seeing permanent change and diversity makes it less likely to \"get stuck\" with one technology. Creating a growing collection of reusable code is certainly advantageous, but if that results in the use of outdated technologies because \"everything so far has been written in the 1982 dialect of a proprietary language that is not updated any more\" and the expectation is that a switch would require porting the entire codebase, this does not exactly increase the research output. As research departments usually do not have to produce production-level foolproof code, but just prototypes and demonstrations of concepts, absolute stability should be a lesser concern, and thus, constant \"quick-and-dirty\" rewrites of some components are acceptable.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>EDIT: Every time I re-read this answer of mine, the developer in myself shudders in horror. Thus, let me clarify my view on the advantages: Yes, maintaining, updating and extending an existing code-base over long periods of time is great. In my opinion, an ideal mix is for small groups of people within one department to share a particular technology and thus have an option of exchanging some code (being the only one bound to a given system can be dire), while at the same time making sure there is some slow, gradual flow in which technologies get phased out and replaced over time with new ones.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43630,
"author": "TheBlackCat",
"author_id": 28960,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28960",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Have you ever been in a similar situation (either as student or supervisor)? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, twice. In my previous group, everyone used MATLAB, but I had to learn Python because MATLAB's multiprocessing was prohibitively expensive. After learning Python, I preferred it and stuck to it. In my current group, everyone besides me uses MATLAB.</p>\n\n<p>For my own personal data analysis code, I use Python, but for code meant to be shared across the group, I use MATLAB.</p>\n\n<p>If you have a programming background, you would think that this would lead to less shared code for data analysis. The problem is that nobody else in the group has a programming background, and they neither know nor care about good programming practices (I haven't even had any luck convincing them to use functions rather than copying and pasting code blocks within their tens of thousands of lines scripts, not to mention adding comments). That means there is almost no code sharing even amongst MATLAB users, and everyone just ends up writing their own data analysis code from scratch. So due to the culture of the lab, nobody would even have realize I used Python if I hadn't told them.</p>\n\n<p>So how big of an affect your choice of language has depends to a large degree on the culture of the lab, or perhaps more properly on how familiar they are with programming.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>And if you have, did you tried to get everyone to use the same language?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No. I have suggested that people learn Python in addition to MATLAB, without much success. But people who have asked me what they should learn, I have suggested learn MATLAB first, simply because they can be sure to find someone who has at least used it before. I am the only one with a real programming background, and there is a ton of legacy MATLAB code, so it just isn't feasible to switch at this point. That is why I always suggest people learn Python as a second language.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Did any situation occur where it was good that not everyone is using the same tool?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, two cases come to mind. </p>\n\n<p>First, is the fact that I needed to write a new importer for our proprietary data format. Due to a flaw in the format, it could cause overruns in the file, which were still readable in principle but that crashed both the native C file reader and the MATLAB-based file reader. My Python implementation, however, was more flexible, and could handle the data. Someone else in my group ended up routinely getting these overflows, so I wrote a simple wrapper script that would read the data in then convert it ta a MATLAB file, saving his project from disaster.</p>\n\n<p>The second is the fact that the MATLAB-based tool for something we wanted to do is much, much, much more complicated, hard to use, and finicky than the Python equivalent. This probably saved a good month of work, and resulted in something with much better perfomance. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43660,
"author": "liori",
"author_id": 429,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/429",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my case, I'm using a mixture of R, C++ and Python whereas the rest of my lab uses Matlab. And it's going pretty fine, though I have to admit we don't need to share lots of code. Some observations:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Having implementations in two languages that are supposed to work the same way helps finding bugs in the code.</p></li>\n<li><p>I can quickly evaluate new tools in R which weren't implemented in Matlab. Others can do the same with Matlab code that doesn't yet have an implementation in R. This already proved useful, as R is much <a href=\"http://topepo.github.io/caret/index.html\">easier to use in machine learning algorithms</a>, and Matlab has a great library for <a href=\"http://www.chebfun.org/about/\">polynomial interpolation</a>.</p></li>\n<li><p>If you plan for interoperability early, it's not that hard. We decided on a single file format for raw data that's parseable by all our tools, and in case we needed to make scripts in both languages to interoperate, we can do so too (so far it wasn't necessary). However I admit that having skills in polyglot programming is somewhat necessary for that to happen.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44020,
"author": "Martin Thoma",
"author_id": 4092,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4092",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Besides working out a way to use multiple programming languages (e.g. through foreign function interfaces / compiling stuff in libraries / creating scripts which can be called by other languages) I think you could eventually agree on one programming language.</p>\n\n<p>I recently participated in a hackathon. We were three programmers and had a task to solve. We \"filtered\" the programming languages like this:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Which languages do we know which are similar appropriate for the task (in terms of ease-to-use / libraries / community stuff like tutorials / learning curve)</li>\n<li>How well do the team members know \"their\" language? (It is better to have one person who is an expert in a language than two who know a little bit, because that way you can ask the expert any question.)</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>(The hackathon was a success and I learned a new programming language and a framework in another programming language.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44909,
"author": "Adobe",
"author_id": 9099,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9099",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suggest to go with different languages: it provides cross-validation of your calculations. A software/hardware/algorithm might be wrong. The best way to check the correctness is to repeat the calculation in a completely different environment. So I think it is actually good that members of the lab use different languages.</p>\n\n<p>Even if all members of the group will switch to the same language — the coding style might be different, and will not help for code transfer. It will only work if all of you code in the same langauge and also hold the same views on the coding itself. For example I prefer maximum modularity, while somebody else might prefer the fastest approach instead.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43565",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22893/"
] |
43,574 |
<p>How much is an editor of a typical research journal (e.g., with annual 12 issues and 5,000 pages) paid?</p>
<p>I talked with a book editor, and he said he received less than $3,000 of the book sales for a research book with over 1,000 pages and 30 chapters.</p>
<p>I am curious if is it comparable to a full salary or is it just an honorarium, and editors provide this service because of scientific prestige only?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43576,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Typically journal editors are volunteers. I suppose for some of the flagships (Nature, Science, Cell, etc.) they might have full-time paid editors, but your typical niche research journal editor doesn't get much if anything at all.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43578,
"author": "Ant",
"author_id": 31990,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31990",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the journal and on which type of editor you are talking about.</p>\n\n<p>A lot of journals do not have paid scientific staff. They have editorial staff doing administrative work and a senior editor dispatching the received papers between \"Associate editors\" (but each journal has its own designation).</p>\n\n<p>The associate editor decides if the paper is suitable for the journal, finds reviewers and makes a decision.</p>\n\n<p>These associate editors are generally not paid, they are academics doing this as a community service. If the journal is run by a scientific society, editors are usually members of this society.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43574",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33152/"
] |
43,581 |
<p>I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this but I don't know any other place to ask.</p>
<p>I'm a research professor, but I enjoy teaching and put a lot of time into my classes. I mainly teach introductory calculus and physics to mainly engineering students. One of the things I've noticed while talking to students is their hate and animosity towards the liberal arts.</p>
<p>I asked for some of my students reasoning and a lot of it was that History, English, Classics, etc. did not follow the "laws of logic and reasoning." There are other examples, but I those are the ones the most common, along with "it's not applicable to life."</p>
<p>I just want my students to learn that living in a bubble academically is not good for your knowledge, and the Colleges and Universities are there to help create educated individuals.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43593,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think a well-known rule of writing applies here: <strong>Show, don't tell</strong>, in the same way it applies to parenting. If you want to help change your students' feelings, you need to show them your love for the liberal arts. </p>\n\n<p>One thing you can do is pepper your courses with relevant analogies, stories and quotes from literature, history and philosophy. For instance, a discussion of Zeno's paradoxes and maybe some things about the ancient Greeks when discussing limits in calculus. Or some historical context for Newton. I don't have any good contextual literature examples at the tip of my typing appendages (maybe something in Lewis Carroll?), but it's easy to preface new topics with semi-relevant quotes such as</p>\n\n<pre><code> The sense of danger must not disappear: \n The way is certainly both short and steep,\n However gradual it looks from here; \n Look if you like, but you will have to leap.\n -- W.H. Auden\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Even just displaying some of your favorite pieces of literature in your office can be good. This has led to a few literature discussions with students for me, and discussing literature with students who are interested in front of students who aren't can help convince the latter literature is interesting.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, you won't be able to suddenly convince everyone that they need to run out and read Herodotus in the original Greek to figure out what history class they should take next semester, but you can make some impact for some students this way. </p>\n\n<p>Incidentally, I personally hated having to take the GenEd requirements when I was in college, because there were loads of Math/Science courses I wanted to take. But then when I went to grad school, I wasn't in such a rush, and I read a lot of classics. So many of the students may not be at the right stage of life to appreciate everything. (Also being forced to do something generally makes it harder to enjoy it---in science or liberal arts.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43618,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>students ...[exhibit]... hate and animosity towards the liberal arts.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think it's very important to see this as the confluence of two social process.</p>\n\n<p>First, some portion of students may hold this as their ideology and their social identity. This is the same phenomena that motivate fundamentalists, <a href=\"http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/vaccine-denial-psychology-backfire-effect\" rel=\"nofollow\">anti-vaccination partisans</a> (also <a href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/10/how-anti-vaccine-fear-takes-hold/381355/\" rel=\"nofollow\">this</a> and <a href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2015/02/09/384877284/psychological-biases-play-a-part-in-vaccination-decisions\" rel=\"nofollow\">this</a>), and radical environmentalists. All of these groups are held together by adherence to a set of beliefs that are tied to their personal identity, and also their separation from The Other -- some group that is antagonistic or threatening to the main group. The Other is usually stigmatized and seen as the source of many of society's problems. To shift their beliefs, you need to tell stories that preserve their identity and core values, while expanding their awareness of other possibilities. One way to do this is via biographies of famous scientists and mathematicians. Another way is to make connections between events in history that have led to today's science and technology. For inspiration, see James Burke's two documentary series: \"<a href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2015/02/09/384877284/psychological-biases-play-a-part-in-vaccination-decisions\" rel=\"nofollow\">Connections</a>\" and \"<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Universe_Changed\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Day the Universe Changed</a>\".</p>\n\n<p>The second portion of students -- maybe the majority -- only adopt this view because other influential people in their circle do. Their motivation is \"go along to get along\". They want to be highly regarded in their circle, their discipline or their field. Their identity is not tied to this issue in the same way as the ideology-motivated people described above. They probably haven't given any serious thought to what the liberal arts are or aren't. Their beliefs are mostly based on hearsay and stereotypes.</p>\n\n<p>For this group, you can offer stories, quotes, or video clips from <em>modern</em>, highly regarded professors, professionals, or similar leaders. They don't have to be profound -- just eye opening. For example, many scientists are also musicians. Some are also historians. Some are novelists. Some have collaborated with philosophers and theologians (e.g. E.O. Wilson).</p>\n\n<p>In dealing with either group of students, you shouldn't communicate that they are <strong>wrong</strong> in their views. Instead, your stories can show that they <em>don't have the full picture</em> and <em>they are missing out</em>. What they do with it is their choice.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43581",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33153/"
] |
43,587 |
<p>Can I use an occurrence in Harry Potter as a simile in my Statement of Purpose? I'm applying to an Ivy League university.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43588,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Can</strong> you use it? Absolutely—you have the freedom to write whatever you choose in a statement of purpose.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Should</strong> you use it? Almost certainly not, unless your research topic has something to do with literature. Otherwise, you run the risk of confusing the reader (who may have no knowledge of the books or movies), unless the reference is extremely obvious, in which case it will probably come across as clichéd and stilted.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43589,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to the risk of confusing or annoying the reader, keep in mind that a statement of purpose needs to show, with evidence, your interest and preparation for graduate study. I don't know what you have in mind, but I can't imagine how a Harry Potter reference could contribute to that. Writing something like \"I'm better at physics than Hermione is at Potions\", while it might be impressive if true, isn't helpful to your application unless you provide evidence of just how good at physics you are. Anyone can claim to be great, and most applicants will, so you have to show it is actually true: what, specifically, have you actually accomplished?</p>\n\n<p>And if you have the evidence, then the reference to Hermione is superfluous; save the space for evidence of your other great qualities.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43587",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33159/"
] |
43,594 |
<p>As it currently stands, my department offers two necessary courses at the same time every spring. One of them I must take before I am a senior, and another I must take before I graduate (I will soon be starting my third year). So I must take the former next spring, and I will have to wait until the spring of my senior year to take the latter. The problem is that the latter is a course that is very relevant to what I wish to study in graduate school. I'd hate to apply to graduate schools before having taken such a necessary course in my desired field (I feel it would weaken my application), and at the same time, it bars me from taking more advanced courses in the field before I graduate.</p>
<p>Of course, these courses are always taught at the same time by established professors, so I'd hate to ask the department to change all of that for one student. Is there any course of action I can take? Or would this be regarded negatively?</p>
<p>I hope that this is not off topic (merely because I am an undergraduate), as perhaps the desired rescheduling of course times is something that would be relevant to graduate students as well.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43596,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is an issue that can also impact graduate students, so I do think it's appropriate for this group. </p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, once a class hour schedule has been published for the next semester, and particularly after students have started to register for classes, it is usually not easy for a department to change class times. Thus it's important to deal with such a scheduling conflict as soon as possible and preferably before students start registering for the semester in question. </p>\n\n<p>I would suggest that you send a polite email to the person in the department responsible for course scheduling (perhaps there is an undergraduate coordinator who does this, or perhaps the department chair supervises the scheduling) and explain your situation and desire to not have these two courses scheduled at conflicting times. This is a reasonable request to make, but don't be surprised if your request doesn't result in a schedule change- in many departments courses are scheduled to satisfy the desires of the faculty rather than the needs of students. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43602,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I faced a similar problem at one point when I was an undergraduate, and chose to resolve it myself in a rather foolhardy manner: I simply went to the lectures for the class I was more interested in, and learned the other one through recitations, texts, problem sets, and friends. If your classes are small, you may not be able to manage this, but in a large lecture class the professor has no idea who is in the hall.</p>\n\n<p>I would generally recommend against this practice, but in some cases it may be the best way to proceed---and in fact, despite how bad an idea it was, in my own particular circumstance it actually turned out to have been the right decision.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43608,
"author": "Michael Coury",
"author_id": 33169,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33169",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should speak with each professor and understand their level of flexibility. When I was wrapping up my undergrad, I was already working full time in the auto industry. I had two instances where I was able to work directly with the professor (not the administration) to find working solutions. In both cases, I visited the professor before the semester started and explained my situation. I made sure the professor clearly understood the motivation and circumstances of my situation and as a result, I feel they were more accommodating then they would otherwise have been if I just showed up on test day.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43594",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21694/"
] |
43,595 |
<p>Currently, I'm working as an assistant at the mathematics department of my university. My job consists of sitting for 20 hours a week in an office to which students come with doubts regarding all the basic math courses.</p>
<p>Today, for example, I was solving a limit in a class full of engineering freshmen. After I solved it, I checked the answer in <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/">Wolfram</a> in front of the students and I recommended the website, as well as other useful sites such as <a href="https://www.desmos.com/">Desmos</a>, or <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a>.</p>
<p>My afterthoughts were: "what if they start using it when they're not supposed to? (i.e. exams and such)". Does the act of recommending such a site carry any moral consequence?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43597,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I always like to show the students Wolfram Alpha in freshman math courses. (Many will already know about it, whether you show them or not.)</p>\n\n<p>There are several reasons for this. The first is that it's a useful tool, both for <em>checking</em> solutions to homeworks, and also for later in life.</p>\n\n<p>But the more important reason is that many students are skeptical of why they have to take a course in calculus. I double down on their skepticism by demonstrating to them that a computer can solve most computational questions on a calculus exam in about 0.05 seconds, and can even \"show its work\". Having gotten their attention, I now have a good opportunity to make my case for the value of a math education.</p>\n\n<p>As far as exams go, I recommend prohibiting the use of all electronic devices. Some students will cheat on their homework, but that will be true no matter what and in the end they are cheating themselves.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43598,
"author": "kbh",
"author_id": 27423,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27423",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm a strong proponent of using computational softwares and engines in elementary courses wherein computation is heavy. In particular, I think that the geometric benefits of using Wolfram (Alpha, or Mathematica) are immense. For <em>learning elementary material</em> I think it is an excellent tool for checking homework to, say, solutions that don't have answers reported or to satisfy curiosities about broader behavior of calculus or certain functions. </p>\n\n<p>In general, I think given that in advanced classes I still use these softwares to check limiting cases and perform routine calculations with which I'm confident, that becoming familiar with them early on is benign and even important. In terms of examinations for beginning students however, I tend to agree that at most scientific calculators or similar tools should be allowed. The tools allowed to the students should scale with the familiarity they have with the processes capable of being performed by the tools. </p>\n\n<p>tl;dr I don't see any trouble or moral issue here. Stress the importance of learning and present the software in your own context acceptable to the level of the class, and all is well. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43601,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to the prior good answers, I would say that I feel the existence of tools like Wolfram Alpha doesn't fundamentally change education any more than the existence of calculators does. We still teach people how to add and subtract, we just raise the bar on the expectation of how easily they can deploy those skills with tool assistance. Likewise, Wolfram Alpha means we have to raise the bar in what we expect students to achieve in more complex mathematics: the goal is not to be able to integrate, it's to be able to use integrals in solving mathematical problems, and tools like Wolfram Alpha just expand the range of problems that are feasible for a student to solve.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43638,
"author": "user2023861",
"author_id": 33198,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33198",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If only a couple of students knew about Wolfram Alpha and used it to do well in your class, they'd have an unfair advantage over the rest of the students, especially if you grade on a curve. </p>\n\n<p>Either all of your students should know about this tool, or none of them should. </p>\n\n<p>Since you have no way of knowing that none of them know about Wolfram Alpha, it would only be fair for you to show it to them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43655,
"author": "Joe",
"author_id": 12346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd go further than the other excellent answers here.</p>\n\n<p><em>Not</em> showing new students how to use Wolfram Alpha is immoral.</p>\n\n<p>Students should be taught how to use all of the tools they can be taught to help prepare them for the real world, and Wolfram Alpha for a math/stats/physics professional is a very valuable tool. Explicitly avoiding teaching them this tool is counter-productive: you fail to teach them a useful and valuable tool, and you get little in exchange. You can avoid cheating by not allowing electronic device use during tests; and ultimately if a few cheat their way through the homework, it doesn't do much harm to the folks who aren't cheating and are getting the most out of their education. </p>\n\n<p>For some, it's a good way to learn as well: if you're stuck and don't understand a concept or why a solution works, instead of having to wait for a TA session, you can ask Wolfram Alpha to show you, then learn on your own.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43664,
"author": "Szabolcs",
"author_id": 11907,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11907",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think you definitely <em>should</em> show Wolfram|Alpha to them, and you should take the opportunity to explain why such tools will never be a replacement for mathematical thinking.</p>\n\n<p>Personally I found Mathematica extremely useful for learning calculus some 15 years ago (Wolfram|Alpha didn't exist at that time). It makes it easy to plot functions, check results, and encourages good students to experiment and learn. Graphics can be fun and will encourage students to do such things as trying to figure out the parametric equation of a sphere or torus even before they study it.</p>\n\n<p>But it is also important to understand that such tools cannot replace <em>thinking about the problem</em>. I am quite active on <a href=\"http://mathematica.stackexchange.com\">Mathematica.SE</a> and I often see people (presumably students) ask questions such as \"Why doesn't Mathematica solve this equation?\", \"Why won't it compute this integral?\", \"Why won't it simplify this expression?\", \"Why does it give such a complicated result, I need a simple one!\" They seems to treat it as a magic box that just gives solutions, and when it doesn't, they feel stuck. They don't think about such issues as: is the equation still solvable is this parameter is negative or complex? Does it at all make sense to use the (the complicated and expensive to evaluate) closed form solution of this 4th order equation in my code, or should I solve the equation numerically?\n Does the number of roots to this function depend on the parameter values? Can one reasonable expect a closed form solution at all? Why do I want an analytical solution at all? Should I use approximations when solving this physics problem?</p>\n\n<p>Mathematica can solve quartic equations, but does this really look like a useful result? This is the kind of result <a href=\"https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Solve%5Ba%20x%5E4%20%2B%20b%20x%5E3%20%2B%20c%20x%5E2%20%2B%20d%20x%20%2B%20e%20%3D%3D%200%2C%20x%5D\" rel=\"noreferrer\">a blind \"solve this for me, W|A!!\"</a> will give to students. Isn't <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartic_function#Solving_a_quartic_equation\" rel=\"noreferrer\">this explanation</a> so much more informative and useful?</p>\n\n<p><strong>I believe that as their teacher, you owe it to your students to explain the proper use of computer algebra systems and explain why they will never replace thinking for yourself.</strong> If anything is unethical, it is allowing them to fall into this trap and treat this tool as some sort of magical oracle.</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/D1Dka.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43737,
"author": "AaronLS",
"author_id": 22309,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22309",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's not immoral to make them aware of a useful tool. </p>\n\n<p>Used effectively it will <strong>enhance their learning</strong>:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It will allow them to check there homework, giving them immediate feedback.</li>\n<li>Allowing them to follow the steps shown to see exactly where they've gone wrong. Identifying precisely where a mistake was made while the problem is still fresh on the students mind. This is some of the most valuable feedback they can get.</li>\n<li>When encountering a problem for which they're unfamiliar with the technique necessary to solve the problem, the work shown can give them that insight, so that they may tackle similar problems in the future.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>Establish guidelines</strong> on how you expect them to use the tool. Nothing will stop them from disregarding those guidelines, but that will be to their own peril. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Make it clear whether or not exams will be given in a setting that allows access to the tool. It should almost certainly not,\n<ul>\n<li>It should most likely not. Allowing use on exams will encourage them to focus on leveraging the tool exclusively, which will exclude important skills that future instructors will expect them to have. </li>\n<li>One day it might be so standard that this is not an unreasonable expectation. (We don't learn how to do square roots the long way by hand anymore.) However, until such time as tool use is the standard across all of academia, students should have the expectation that they need to be capable of solving without the tool.</li>\n</ul></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><strong>Highlight the value of learning the skills, and not depending completely on such a tool.</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Emphasize that being able to apply the appropriate technique for each problem is not only important to being able to solve the problems, but also key to understanding what the equations represent.<br>\n<ul>\n<li>When they move into their respective career fields, a lot of what they struggle through now should be starting to become second nature by the time they begin their career. An electrician doesn't stop to reference the basics of housing wiring everytime they work on a light switch. That has to be reflex so they can focus on the task at hand.</li>\n<li>In your career you may need to be able to identify what problems can be solved directly, and which may need to be solved using a computational technique that estimates the result.</li>\n<li>Even if tool usage were standard or expected, you may need to manipulate some problems to get them into a form that the solver recognizes as solvable. </li>\n<li>Having a solid understanding of solving problems reinforces skills that will be useful in careers where one must design/choose a formula that models a certain scenario.</li>\n</ul></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43832,
"author": "Chris Brooks",
"author_id": 33343,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33343",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You mentioned that you showed this to class of engineering freshmen, so I will answer this question as a former engineering freshman (now an engineering junior).</p>\n\n<p>Short answer, yes. Wolfram Alpha is very helpful for basic things like solving simple differential equations and complicated integrals. However, like many have said, tests are a different story. As an example, I took differential equations last semester and was allowed to solve the homework however I wanted, but on the exams all I could use was a pencil. We didn't even get a table of Laplace transforms!</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, in two short years these freshman will be doing things that Alpha can't handle, such as solving systems of four or more nonlinear equations, as a regular part of their homework. I used Alpha extensively in high school and as a college freshman; now I almost never use it. I use MathCAD or something more powerful (ex I recently solved a large homework problem involving heat exchanger design by writing my own C++ code).</p>\n\n<p>Last, as some others have pointed out, math is not the hardest part of engineering. Arguably more important is developing a physical intuition about what the math actually means. For example, in heat transfer, when I check my work with other students or a TA almost all my errors involve the physics or the assumptions behind the equations. Sometimes they're subtle, such as using the wrong temperature of air to get properties to calculate a convection coefficient, or using diameter instead of radius as the critical length to calculate a Biot number. None of them are the sort of thing Wolfram Alpha, or indeed any computational math tool, could help me with.</p>\n\n<p>In summary, the goal of engineering is problem-solving, and math is one of the tools that is used to solve problems but not the only one. Wolfram Alpha is one tool to help students learn math, but it's not the only one. For elementary calculus, I think it's extremely helpful.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43595",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21867/"
] |
43,599 |
<p>I'm asking on behalf of a friend.</p>
<p>He currently holds a temporary position at one of the top research institutes in the country. I know that he is excited about his work because he talks enthusiastically about it all the time. He'd ramble on happily for hours about the developments in his field and how the work done at his institute has a very real effect on society. </p>
<p>However, he has recently been offered a place to study for a PhD at the same institute. Though a great opportunity he is rather worried about the financial cut he would have to suffer if he takes up the offer. </p>
<p>Given all the stuff that's around on the net about how you should not do a PhD if money is really important to you, I'm wondering what a person in his position should do (i.e. loves research, but really wants to earn money) and what I should say to help him make a decision. </p>
<p>For what it's worth I'm a PhD student too (studying a different field at a different university)</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43600,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You shouldn't do a Ph.D. if you don't love research. You also shouldn't do a Ph.D. if you want to get rich <em>now</em>, since it will require a number of years living on a graduate student stipend.</p>\n\n<p>However, most STEM field Ph.D. graduates have ample opportunities to make lots of money, including:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Founding a startup based on technology developed during their Ph.D., or joining somebody else's startup</li>\n<li>Selling out, particularly if they have a solid mathematical background: there are any number of hedge funds and such that are desperately hunting for magic dust to give them an edge.</li>\n<li>Just about any industry job will pay a well-suited Ph.D. well - not enough to make you rich, but enough to live a very comfortable life-style.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Of course, there is the danger that by the time one finishes a Ph.D., they may have become twisted such that they are no longer quite so interested in money per se, as happens to many of us.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43628,
"author": "Jerry Schirmer",
"author_id": 33186,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33186",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you want to earn a lot of money, a Ph.D. is a horrible, horrible idea. It is very expensive in terms of time, and there are certainly research jobs out there in the private sector. Also, your advisors won't know anything but how to place you in an academic job, and real academic jobs are slowly becoming harder and harder to get.</p>\n\n<p>Get a masters in the field you're interested in, do research while in your masters, and go out and find something in the private sector. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43642,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<h2>How much money do you want to make, exactly?</h2>\n\n<p>This is actually the most important aspect of the question, because \"how much is enough\" is a very hard question to answer, and violates many assumptions we have about wealth, our own happiness, life direction, and how the world works. And yet it can also dictate how we direct our efforts, so it's important to answer this question personally - there is no one-size-fits-all answer.</p>\n\n<p>In the US, consider the following <a href=\"https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=77\" rel=\"noreferrer\">educational-income statistics</a>:</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/crr5b.gif\" alt=\"Median annual earnings of full-time year-round wage and salary workers ages 25–34, by educational attainment: 1995–2012\"></p>\n\n<p>Or, even better, this one from Wikipedia made from Census data: </p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JOi3n.png\" alt=\"Historical median personal income by education, from 1991 - 2010, using Census data P-16, "Educational Attainment—People 25 Years Old and Over by Median Income and Sex". Wages are adjusted for inflation in 2010 dollars.\"></p>\n\n<p>So if you just want to be above-average in personal income, it really doesn't matter what path you pick - a 2-year degree will likely put you there, depending on field. </p>\n\n<p>Note that a doctorate here is shown to gain higher income than a Master's, but note you could likely make more money skipping both and focusing on the professional degree instead (medicine, law, engineering, etc). You'd likely make more than a PhD with possibly less time spent. </p>\n\n<h2>But I Want To Be Rich!</h2>\n\n<p>How rich, exactly? If you just want a low-six-figure yearly income, you can do that with a Master's, PhD, professional degree, or even a Bachelor's in a high-paying field (like computing, for instance). So it doesn't matter.</p>\n\n<p>But do you want to be, like, 1% rich? You're going to need a bigger boat. </p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/uNwVV.gif\" alt=\"Wealth of different percentages\">\n*Note: This is income per family, not personal income as previous notes. </p>\n\n<p>Even when accounting for the household-vs-personal income, no one is going to give you a $500,000 yearly income simply because you have a degree - no matter what it is or what school you got it from.</p>\n\n<p>So how did those people get there?</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0g18M.png\" alt=\"Who are the 1%\"></p>\n\n<p>The best bet is in executive management, so probably an MBA - the previously discussed professional degree. Having a Master's or PhD is not a disqualification, but it isn't a requirement either.</p>\n\n<p>The truth is, though, being this rich isn't a question of being a wage-earner - you need to be an owner too:</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/18SP8.gif\" alt=\"Sources of expanded income\"></p>\n\n<p>So save a lot, preferably marry rich if possible, and buy wealthy stuff too:</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gKQdl.png\" alt=\"What the rich own\"></p>\n\n<p>In the end, PhD and Master's pay more than most educational attainment levels and, on average, pay pretty similarly - though some jobs are not available without a PhD, some jobs give preference away from PhDs, etc. </p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, whether or not to do a PhD is not a question of wealth maximization - because if you want to max wealth you should probably do something else. If you are just ok with an above-average income, though, you are ok either way! So enjoy your education and decide based on other factors - or drop out and get a professional degree :)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43599",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33162/"
] |
43,609 |
<p>When using a reference manager (or even when tracking references on a handwritten draft), it is common to have a key for each entry when referring to items, which the computer (or you in a final form) replaces with a properly styled reference later (in the style of the journal).</p>
<p>E.g., in BibTeX, which I am most familiar with, writing <code>\cite{Box2015a}</code> might be replaced with "[1]" or with "(Box, O. 2015)" or with "(Box, O. 2015, Meaningful reference key format)" depending on style -- the key in question being the <code>Box2015a</code> part.</p>
<p>Having a good format for the key seems useful, since one would spend a lot of time only seeing the key, rather than the full reference. Simply the author name and date, and a letter to break conflicts doesn't seem ideal.</p>
<p>Was <code>Box2015a</code> Box's work on Meaningful Reference Key formats? Or was it his work on Bicycle Speed Dependency on Weather? Getting that wrong would be embarrassing, and also accidental plagiarism (since credit was not given to the right paper).</p>
<p>What is a better format for reference keys?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43616,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Probably, the only general rule to follow is that the key should be <strong>something that well characterizes the document</strong>. Anything more specific will depend a lot on the topics you are writing about, and vary from reference to reference:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Is the title very unique</strong>, or rather generic? In the former case, a shortened version of the title could be integrated into the key. (As a random example: The title <a href=\"http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=378468\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><em>The triangle processor and normal vector shader: a VLSI system for high performance graphics</em></a> might be shortened to something like <em>TriangleProcHighPerf</em>.)</li>\n<li><strong>Does the publication describe a product or technique that has a name</strong> (which you might also use in your text)? If so, that name could become a part of the key.</li>\n<li><strong>Is the publication connected to a recognizeable author name</strong>, or do you rarely see the same author name twice in the literature you deal with, in particular with respect to specific approaches? In the latter case, author names may just be arbitrary strings that do not help you remember anything particular, while in the former case, you might think about including the author name the work is associated with the name in the key.</li>\n<li><strong>Is the year in any way special for the work?</strong> For example, is it an exceptionally early example of a supposedly modern invention, or is it the variant that has become known as \"the 2011-version\" of a particular approach? If so, the year could reasonably be a part of the key, otherwise, it seems superfluous.</li>\n<li><strong>Can the publication be categorized?</strong> For instance, you may want to indicate in the key whether something is a <em>concept draft</em>, a <em>user study</em> of a concept presented elsewhere, a <em>survey</em> of several techniques, or a design <em>rationale</em> for a given concept.</li>\n<li><strong>Are there various versions of essentially the same work published by different publishers?</strong> Different layouts and presentation forms (monochrome vs. color, ...) may have different strengths, so you may end up wanting to specifically refer to (w.l.o.g.) the <em>Springer</em> version and the <em>IEEE</em> version of some work that for some reason was published twice. In that case, including the publisher name in the key might be reasonable.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I hope this helps to get the idea - I do not see a reason for a uniform key format here; instead, this case-specific format highlights the peculiarities of each referenced work and therefore seems to help best to remember which reference points to what work in my experience.</p>\n\n<p>For me personally, the above system generally leads to keys that never include an author name or publication year, and almost always a concept name, otherwise some fragments of the paper title. Depending on your topics, you may well end up with different preferences.</p>\n\n<p>I have never had a problem of key collisions while using this approach; if anything (not that it would actually cause any problem), I may have ended up with several different keys in cases where I created bibliography entries for the same publication several times rather than copying the first one to later works.</p>\n\n<p>To summarize:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>An <strong>advantage</strong> of this system is that you do not need to remember any information that is not descriptive for the content of the paper (publication year, author name, publication venue, ...) to understand the reference.</li>\n<li>A <strong>disadvantage</strong> may be that the key cannot be generated automatically, though <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43096/should-i-keep-all-my-bib-files-in-a-single-folder-or-one-with-each-tex-file/43099#43099\">I use one .bib file per project</a> and my workflow is usually <em>decide to add reference -> search for reference in JabRef to check whether it is there -> add if it does not exist -> <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>K</kbd> to get insertion-ready <code>\\cite</code>-command in the clipboard</em>, where automatic generation of keys is a non-issue.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43627,
"author": "Willie Wong",
"author_id": 94,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/94",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The mapping from \"full citation information\" to \"citation key\" is, in many ways, a <strong>hash function</strong>, and usually are by construction easy to apply but hard to invert. We do this because we don't want to have to type 50 to 100 characters each time we cite a paper. </p>\n\n<p>The easiest way, frequently, to reconstruct the data from the hash key, is by looking up it up in a dictionary/table. If your bibliography database is big enough this makes it something much suited for software than for your brain. </p>\n\n<p>So my workflow does the following:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I use <a href=\"http://jabref.sourceforge.net/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">JabRef</a> as my primary bibliographic data manager, as well as to keep track of my growing collection of PDFs. </li>\n<li>The citation key format is <code>ABCDEF1234?</code> The first six characters are formed by the names of the authors (following some rule), followed by four digit year, and followed by disambiguation suffix. </li>\n<li>I use Vim as my editor of choice. </li>\n<li>I export my citation database from JabRef using a custom-written export filter to become a <a href=\"http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Custom_keyword_completion\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Vim completefunc</a>, which I load through my <code>.vimrc</code> everytime I edit a TeX file. This allows me to use it two ways:\n\n<ul>\n<li>I can type the start of the citation key, say <code>Won</code>, followed by <code><ctlr>-X <ctrl>-U</code> and it will show me a popup list of all entries with key starting with \"Won\" which includes, in my case, all of my first authored papers with at most two authors. Highlighting selected entries in the list will show a \"preview screen\" showing the bibliographic information about that entry. I configure mine to only show the full title of the article, but it is easy enough to includes also publisher info etc.</li>\n<li>Seeing an existing citation key in the document, bringing my cursor to the end of the key and hitting again the combo <code><ctrl>-X <ctrl>-U</code> the list now has just one element, but the preview window still comes up showing me the bibliographic information. </li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>If I need to insert a citation to an article whose complete author list I cannot reconstruct in my head (and hence cannot know even the start of the citation key), I can either browse through the full list provided by the completion function in Vim, or just search in JabRef. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>For illustrations:</p>\n\n<p>Before invoking the previewer: Note the <code>\\cite{...}</code> string in the middle of the window.</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/OGyis.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n\n<p>Putting the cursor on <code>Alinac1999</code> brings up a pop-up menu (turns out Serge Alinhac as at least three papers in 1999) and a preview pane on top. </p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/B59Ar.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43632,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is almost a non-answer. The reason is that I use a similar format to what you find inadequate: \"FirstAuthorLastName:Year\". In my field we use Harvard style referencing so this is almost what appears in the text. The colon is not a key ingredient, it is just that I use the form \"tab:xxx\", \"fig:xxx\" and \"eq:xxx\", where \"xxx\" is the unique name I want for the object, for labelling floats and equations. My point is that for me being short is a necessity since I do not want unnecessarily long BibTeX keys or labels hanging around the document. I tried for a while to add number of authors, for example \"Smith+4:2005\" to distinguish from single authored \"Smith:2005\" but that ended up being to tiresome to set up I also shortened the multiauthors to \"Smith+:2005\" for a while. I use JabRef (no promotion intended) and have now simply resorted to specify that the preferred automatic key generation is \"FirstAuthorLastName:Year\" where JabRef will add \"a\", \"b\", \"c\" etc. where similarities appear.</p>\n\n<p>So why do I work with the shorter form. First of all, I know what material I reference. I also know the material in the field. I later also double check the references, as they appear in the reference list, certainly before I submit a manuscript. So the key point here is the trade off between adding a lot of information to a label with lower degree of \"mis-referencing\" and short forms with potential risk of more misses. In the end you use whatever suits you but with time you probably end up simplifying.</p>\n\n<p>Having written both papers and very long reports/books, I have never found this to be a big issue. I can understand that it becomes a problem if you for some reason are using a lot of references with which you are unfamiliar. So \"better\" is what you find best. If I understand correctly from your profile you aim to get into a PhD and I am sure your database will grow in a specific direction during the PhD, you will become intimately familiar with that set of literature, and you will perhaps change the way you BibTeX key label your references.</p>\n\n<p>So better is what works best for you at the moment. In the long term, the simpler the better in my experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43639,
"author": "Toxaris",
"author_id": 7946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7946",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm using (BibTeX) reference keys that consist of three parts:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>the last name of the first author</li>\n<li>the last two digits of the publication year</li>\n<li>the first meaningful word from the title</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The idea of \"meaningful words\" is a bit vague, of course. Usually, that's the first adjectiv, verb (except \"to be\"), or noun in the title. For example, I would use <code>box15meaningful</code> to refer to a paper entitled \"On Meaningful Reference Key Formats\" but <code>box15bicycle</code> to refer to \"Is Bicycle Speed Dependent on Weather?\".</p>\n\n<p>(I think there is a term for \"first meaningful word from the title\" as the concept is used or was used in catalogues of libraries, but I forgot the term).</p>\n\n<p>From my perspective, the main benefits of this system are:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Given the full reference, I can predict the citation key. For example, when I'm looking at the printed paper and want to cite it, I know the citation key without looking it up in the BibTeX file or using any software tool to look it up for me.</p></li>\n<li><p>Given the citation key, I have some idea which paper it is, because the key includes a meaningful word from the title.</p></li>\n<li><p>The keys are reasonably short and don't clutter up my text too much.</p></li>\n<li><p>The citation keys can be used as part of file names, so I can also name pdfs like that if I happen to have a paper available as pdf on my hard drive. For example, I would have <code>box15meaningful.pdf</code> and <code>box15bicycle.pdf</code>.</p></li>\n<li><p>The citation keys can be used as part of URLs, so I can name websites about my own papers like that. For example, if I would be Box, I might have a website like <code>http://my-university.edu/~box/publications/box15bicycle/</code> where you could donwload the raw data used for my research on bicycle speed.</p></li>\n<li><p>Given two BibTeX files that both use this scheme, I can merge them by merging entries with the same key, because the same paper will always get the same reference key.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43644,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My system of choice is to let my reference manager, or some external database, handle the key generation. Every time I need to insert a citation, I go to the external tool or database, look up the reference (thus avoiding most of the risk of using the wrong key), and copy the citation key into my document. It sounds impractical, but actually I've found the process to be pretty smooth and not that inconvenient. The few keys that I use the most often in any given paper, I wind up remembering anyway.</p>\n\n<p>I use Mendeley as a reference manager, which presents metadata next to a view of the PDF of the paper. So when I look up some information in a paper, it's easy to copy the citation key directly from Mendeley into my document. I imagine there are many other reference managers that have this same feature.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 73602,
"author": "SACHIN GARG",
"author_id": 58860,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/58860",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I primarily use Jabref and LyX. Hence, the need to encode every bit of meaningful information in the key does not arise.</p>\n\n<p>Hence, I have a simple mechanism of key naming, which is \n<code><FirstAuthorLastName>:<Year>:<JournalAbbreviation></code></p>\n\n<p>If it is a book, then I replace the last part with <code>Book</code>. I have set up Jabref that it creates the first two parts automatically when importing. Since the journal abbreviations are not standard (yet), have not automated that.</p>\n\n<p>Since LyX is used to write the document and insert entries, I can do a search to find out which articles need to be cited and the key is not hugely important ...</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43609",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8513/"
] |
43,617 |
<p>I am currently writing my master thesis and I am extremely insecure where and when to give the sources. I tried to google for any recommendations but could not find anything that helps me.</p>
<p>How often do I need to give the source for information when it belongs to the same topic and I introduced the one and only document to this topic already? </p>
<p>For example I am referring to a technical standard and when introducing this standard I give reference to its standard document. Now I will give more information later on on this standard as I compare it to other standards. Do I repeat to mention the standard document? Since this document is quite long: Do I have to exactly say where in that document I found the information?</p>
<p>EDIT:
Also while we at it: I also give information about a the Java programming language. Can I assume that everyone knows this? Especially since it's the teaching language, the most widely spread language used in industry, most probably all my readers know it and it is very easy find out about this language if not. Do I still need to give the source for my information?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43616,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Probably, the only general rule to follow is that the key should be <strong>something that well characterizes the document</strong>. Anything more specific will depend a lot on the topics you are writing about, and vary from reference to reference:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Is the title very unique</strong>, or rather generic? In the former case, a shortened version of the title could be integrated into the key. (As a random example: The title <a href=\"http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=378468\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><em>The triangle processor and normal vector shader: a VLSI system for high performance graphics</em></a> might be shortened to something like <em>TriangleProcHighPerf</em>.)</li>\n<li><strong>Does the publication describe a product or technique that has a name</strong> (which you might also use in your text)? If so, that name could become a part of the key.</li>\n<li><strong>Is the publication connected to a recognizeable author name</strong>, or do you rarely see the same author name twice in the literature you deal with, in particular with respect to specific approaches? In the latter case, author names may just be arbitrary strings that do not help you remember anything particular, while in the former case, you might think about including the author name the work is associated with the name in the key.</li>\n<li><strong>Is the year in any way special for the work?</strong> For example, is it an exceptionally early example of a supposedly modern invention, or is it the variant that has become known as \"the 2011-version\" of a particular approach? If so, the year could reasonably be a part of the key, otherwise, it seems superfluous.</li>\n<li><strong>Can the publication be categorized?</strong> For instance, you may want to indicate in the key whether something is a <em>concept draft</em>, a <em>user study</em> of a concept presented elsewhere, a <em>survey</em> of several techniques, or a design <em>rationale</em> for a given concept.</li>\n<li><strong>Are there various versions of essentially the same work published by different publishers?</strong> Different layouts and presentation forms (monochrome vs. color, ...) may have different strengths, so you may end up wanting to specifically refer to (w.l.o.g.) the <em>Springer</em> version and the <em>IEEE</em> version of some work that for some reason was published twice. In that case, including the publisher name in the key might be reasonable.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I hope this helps to get the idea - I do not see a reason for a uniform key format here; instead, this case-specific format highlights the peculiarities of each referenced work and therefore seems to help best to remember which reference points to what work in my experience.</p>\n\n<p>For me personally, the above system generally leads to keys that never include an author name or publication year, and almost always a concept name, otherwise some fragments of the paper title. Depending on your topics, you may well end up with different preferences.</p>\n\n<p>I have never had a problem of key collisions while using this approach; if anything (not that it would actually cause any problem), I may have ended up with several different keys in cases where I created bibliography entries for the same publication several times rather than copying the first one to later works.</p>\n\n<p>To summarize:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>An <strong>advantage</strong> of this system is that you do not need to remember any information that is not descriptive for the content of the paper (publication year, author name, publication venue, ...) to understand the reference.</li>\n<li>A <strong>disadvantage</strong> may be that the key cannot be generated automatically, though <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43096/should-i-keep-all-my-bib-files-in-a-single-folder-or-one-with-each-tex-file/43099#43099\">I use one .bib file per project</a> and my workflow is usually <em>decide to add reference -> search for reference in JabRef to check whether it is there -> add if it does not exist -> <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>K</kbd> to get insertion-ready <code>\\cite</code>-command in the clipboard</em>, where automatic generation of keys is a non-issue.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43627,
"author": "Willie Wong",
"author_id": 94,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/94",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The mapping from \"full citation information\" to \"citation key\" is, in many ways, a <strong>hash function</strong>, and usually are by construction easy to apply but hard to invert. We do this because we don't want to have to type 50 to 100 characters each time we cite a paper. </p>\n\n<p>The easiest way, frequently, to reconstruct the data from the hash key, is by looking up it up in a dictionary/table. If your bibliography database is big enough this makes it something much suited for software than for your brain. </p>\n\n<p>So my workflow does the following:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I use <a href=\"http://jabref.sourceforge.net/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">JabRef</a> as my primary bibliographic data manager, as well as to keep track of my growing collection of PDFs. </li>\n<li>The citation key format is <code>ABCDEF1234?</code> The first six characters are formed by the names of the authors (following some rule), followed by four digit year, and followed by disambiguation suffix. </li>\n<li>I use Vim as my editor of choice. </li>\n<li>I export my citation database from JabRef using a custom-written export filter to become a <a href=\"http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Custom_keyword_completion\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Vim completefunc</a>, which I load through my <code>.vimrc</code> everytime I edit a TeX file. This allows me to use it two ways:\n\n<ul>\n<li>I can type the start of the citation key, say <code>Won</code>, followed by <code><ctlr>-X <ctrl>-U</code> and it will show me a popup list of all entries with key starting with \"Won\" which includes, in my case, all of my first authored papers with at most two authors. Highlighting selected entries in the list will show a \"preview screen\" showing the bibliographic information about that entry. I configure mine to only show the full title of the article, but it is easy enough to includes also publisher info etc.</li>\n<li>Seeing an existing citation key in the document, bringing my cursor to the end of the key and hitting again the combo <code><ctrl>-X <ctrl>-U</code> the list now has just one element, but the preview window still comes up showing me the bibliographic information. </li>\n</ul></li>\n<li>If I need to insert a citation to an article whose complete author list I cannot reconstruct in my head (and hence cannot know even the start of the citation key), I can either browse through the full list provided by the completion function in Vim, or just search in JabRef. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>For illustrations:</p>\n\n<p>Before invoking the previewer: Note the <code>\\cite{...}</code> string in the middle of the window.</p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/OGyis.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n\n<p>Putting the cursor on <code>Alinac1999</code> brings up a pop-up menu (turns out Serge Alinhac as at least three papers in 1999) and a preview pane on top. </p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/B59Ar.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43632,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is almost a non-answer. The reason is that I use a similar format to what you find inadequate: \"FirstAuthorLastName:Year\". In my field we use Harvard style referencing so this is almost what appears in the text. The colon is not a key ingredient, it is just that I use the form \"tab:xxx\", \"fig:xxx\" and \"eq:xxx\", where \"xxx\" is the unique name I want for the object, for labelling floats and equations. My point is that for me being short is a necessity since I do not want unnecessarily long BibTeX keys or labels hanging around the document. I tried for a while to add number of authors, for example \"Smith+4:2005\" to distinguish from single authored \"Smith:2005\" but that ended up being to tiresome to set up I also shortened the multiauthors to \"Smith+:2005\" for a while. I use JabRef (no promotion intended) and have now simply resorted to specify that the preferred automatic key generation is \"FirstAuthorLastName:Year\" where JabRef will add \"a\", \"b\", \"c\" etc. where similarities appear.</p>\n\n<p>So why do I work with the shorter form. First of all, I know what material I reference. I also know the material in the field. I later also double check the references, as they appear in the reference list, certainly before I submit a manuscript. So the key point here is the trade off between adding a lot of information to a label with lower degree of \"mis-referencing\" and short forms with potential risk of more misses. In the end you use whatever suits you but with time you probably end up simplifying.</p>\n\n<p>Having written both papers and very long reports/books, I have never found this to be a big issue. I can understand that it becomes a problem if you for some reason are using a lot of references with which you are unfamiliar. So \"better\" is what you find best. If I understand correctly from your profile you aim to get into a PhD and I am sure your database will grow in a specific direction during the PhD, you will become intimately familiar with that set of literature, and you will perhaps change the way you BibTeX key label your references.</p>\n\n<p>So better is what works best for you at the moment. In the long term, the simpler the better in my experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43639,
"author": "Toxaris",
"author_id": 7946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7946",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm using (BibTeX) reference keys that consist of three parts:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>the last name of the first author</li>\n<li>the last two digits of the publication year</li>\n<li>the first meaningful word from the title</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The idea of \"meaningful words\" is a bit vague, of course. Usually, that's the first adjectiv, verb (except \"to be\"), or noun in the title. For example, I would use <code>box15meaningful</code> to refer to a paper entitled \"On Meaningful Reference Key Formats\" but <code>box15bicycle</code> to refer to \"Is Bicycle Speed Dependent on Weather?\".</p>\n\n<p>(I think there is a term for \"first meaningful word from the title\" as the concept is used or was used in catalogues of libraries, but I forgot the term).</p>\n\n<p>From my perspective, the main benefits of this system are:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Given the full reference, I can predict the citation key. For example, when I'm looking at the printed paper and want to cite it, I know the citation key without looking it up in the BibTeX file or using any software tool to look it up for me.</p></li>\n<li><p>Given the citation key, I have some idea which paper it is, because the key includes a meaningful word from the title.</p></li>\n<li><p>The keys are reasonably short and don't clutter up my text too much.</p></li>\n<li><p>The citation keys can be used as part of file names, so I can also name pdfs like that if I happen to have a paper available as pdf on my hard drive. For example, I would have <code>box15meaningful.pdf</code> and <code>box15bicycle.pdf</code>.</p></li>\n<li><p>The citation keys can be used as part of URLs, so I can name websites about my own papers like that. For example, if I would be Box, I might have a website like <code>http://my-university.edu/~box/publications/box15bicycle/</code> where you could donwload the raw data used for my research on bicycle speed.</p></li>\n<li><p>Given two BibTeX files that both use this scheme, I can merge them by merging entries with the same key, because the same paper will always get the same reference key.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43644,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My system of choice is to let my reference manager, or some external database, handle the key generation. Every time I need to insert a citation, I go to the external tool or database, look up the reference (thus avoiding most of the risk of using the wrong key), and copy the citation key into my document. It sounds impractical, but actually I've found the process to be pretty smooth and not that inconvenient. The few keys that I use the most often in any given paper, I wind up remembering anyway.</p>\n\n<p>I use Mendeley as a reference manager, which presents metadata next to a view of the PDF of the paper. So when I look up some information in a paper, it's easy to copy the citation key directly from Mendeley into my document. I imagine there are many other reference managers that have this same feature.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 73602,
"author": "SACHIN GARG",
"author_id": 58860,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/58860",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I primarily use Jabref and LyX. Hence, the need to encode every bit of meaningful information in the key does not arise.</p>\n\n<p>Hence, I have a simple mechanism of key naming, which is \n<code><FirstAuthorLastName>:<Year>:<JournalAbbreviation></code></p>\n\n<p>If it is a book, then I replace the last part with <code>Book</code>. I have set up Jabref that it creates the first two parts automatically when importing. Since the journal abbreviations are not standard (yet), have not automated that.</p>\n\n<p>Since LyX is used to write the document and insert entries, I can do a search to find out which articles need to be cited and the key is not hugely important ...</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43617",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33177/"
] |
43,623 |
<p>I am writing a letter of recommendation for a student whose record includes membership in the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. How do I express this?</p>
<ul>
<li>Jane was named to Phi Beta Kappa.</li>
<li>Jane was awarded Phi Beta Kappa.</li>
<li>Jane earned Phi Beta Kappa.</li>
<li>Jane was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.</li>
</ul>
<p>Or something else?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43626,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Why not simply: Jane was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. Feel free to add relevant information, e.g. how long was she member, any outstanding exploits, perhaps even a statement how \"elite\" that particular society is, i.e. how hard it is to get in and her related accomplishments.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43631,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>\"Inducted\" is the term normally associated with the process of joining an honor society, whether it is a group such as Phi Beta Kappa or Tau Beta Pi, or a professional society such as the National Academy of Science, or even something cultural, like a sports hall of fame.</p>\n\n<p>As a usage note, though, the term \"inducted\" is normally accompanied by a temporal reference. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43623",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/269/"
] |
43,636 |
<p>I'm about to submit an article to a journal for review. There is a published book (about 5 years old) that has the same title as my working paper. As you might guess, the paper and book are in the same subfield of study. The shared title is cute variation on the name of a prominent organization (which honestly fits my paper better than the book).</p>
<p>Do I need to change the title of my paper? Another thing to consider is that the author of the book is a likely candidate to be selected as a reviewer for the article.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43637,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There's no legal issue with two creative works having the same title, but I would want to have a different title so that people could easily distinguish the two works. I would want it to be very clear that there's a new article that's available that's distinct from this book. As such, I think you ought to change your title even if it's a better fit for your article than it is for the book. Cute titles can really only do so much.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43641,
"author": "Nemanja Martinovic",
"author_id": 33200,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33200",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'll be perfectly honest - if I was in that subfield, I would be extremely annoyed in having two works with the same title - simple search for the works would be always troublesome, mentioning one of those works during a talk would always require a digression, etc. </p>\n\n<p>All of that would distract other researchers from the results, especially for the paper considering that it was published later. Ultimately it is not inconceivable that referee (whoever it might be) demands the change of the title.</p>\n\n<p>Bottom line - I would try to think another witty title. :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43645,
"author": "mike J",
"author_id": 33123,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33123",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My suggestion is a slight modification to the title. Another option is a sub-title or sub heading which is a unique identifier. For example, a book titled <em>Arizona: Portrait of a desert landscape</em> and another, slightly unique, titled <em>Arizona: Understanding the Desert Landscape</em>. Also, you can pluralize a word (<em>face</em> could become <em>faces</em>, for example) in the title of your book, for distinctiveness.</p>\n\n<p>Consider the book titles <em>Bill Gates: Entrepreneur</em> and <em>Bill Gates: Master Innovator</em>. Both titles have the same name, as they are about the same person, but the sub heading or sub title is unique.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 116298,
"author": "Maya",
"author_id": 97675,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/97675",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I recently published an opinion piece to an online newspaper, the title is pretty much the same as a book that was published a few years ago, and I think I saw another article similar. I panicked at first and thought I might be in trouble, but then I googled this issue and came across this site. Next time, you can Google the actual title that you want to give to your work, and see if there are similar articles with the same title. You can then change the title slightly so that your work is easier to search for. Don't stress though. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43636",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7934/"
] |
43,650 |
<p>In my institution, I see a lot of research students and staff members listen to music using headphones in the workplace. It is a matter of personal preference, and I cannot see a problem in that while it doesn't interfere with communications at work.</p>
<p>Is that behaviour acceptable for a professor during a time in which s/he expects students to approach her/him?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43652,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, of course. As long as they turn it down so that they can talk over it when the student comes by, why would it be unacceptable to have music on while they are waiting? If they are listening on headphones while waiting, it would be preferable if they could see the student approaching, but there's nothing unprofessional about it even if they don't. The student can knock on the door, wall, floor, desk, etc. in order to get their attention. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43662,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There seem to be two issues in the question and the answers, one is if it is ok with headphones on and the other to play music in the office during hours when student contact is expected.</p>\n\n<p><em>Headphones</em>. Wearing headphones is not exactly inviting to conversation but signalling \"I want to be undisturbed\" so clearly not the best way to have students approach you during office hours without invoking some extra discomfort to at least some.</p>\n\n<p><em>Music</em>. Music is a personal taste. What is soothing to one person may be almost intolerable to another. During a meeting one expects full attention from, in this case, both parties. Thus having music on does not signal that focus is on the potential visitor but that it is divided and hence that the visitor is of less importance and maybe intruding. Turning it down when a visitor arrives, anything less would be rude but why insist on music when expecting visits? At other times, no problem.</p>\n\n<p>A professor-student meeting is not less professional than, say meeting your bank representative or meeting with public officials. How would you feel if you were met under similar circumstances in business of public servants? that is the sort of question one would need to ask and sometimes even what other would think.</p>\n\n<p>So, acceptable? Well, it depends on what signals one wants to send. It will be up to each person to figure out the optimal meeting atmosphere. As for the case portrayed in the question, I vote for far less than optimal.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43666,
"author": "Michael Christopher",
"author_id": 33211,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33211",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To expand on Peter Jannsen's answer, it dpends a lot on the setting. If you are simply having office hours where students MAY come and ask you questions if they need, but do not have any specific scheduled meetings, then music seems completely appropriate, especially if you pause it when a student comes in. If you have a scheduled appointment, unless it is soft classical (you know, what they call \"elevator music\") it is most likely not appropriate. If you are working in a research setting with just the possibility that others may show up and want to interact, I would go back to the non-offensive music and pausing when someone desires to interact to show you are giving them your attention. Headphones are not a good idea unless you are working on a solo research project and don't really anticipate others or welcome interruptions, unless you are using a single-ear Bluetooth headset where they cannot even tell if you are listening to music or not, with volume set low enough that if someone comes in and speaks you can hear them clearly.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43681,
"author": "Giacomo Alessandroni",
"author_id": 28699,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28699",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a different opinion: no. First, the academia is an institution, so everybody work for academia represent the academia in each ambit.</p>\n\n<p>Second, on the web (blog, social network and so on) we protect our privacy and we try to show an upright behavior, even more so we must do it in the academic world.</p>\n\n<p>For these reasons I think that is not a good picture for a professors to listen to music using headphones or not.</p>\n\n<p>I am not contrary because I hate music, I am contrary because I think that a student that see a professor listen music (the headphones are only an aggravating) during his work might think that his work is not important as he say. Of course this is not true, but... if the student go away without that the professor can see him?</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43650",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4018/"
] |
43,658 |
<p>I'm a part time lecturer in a university and conducted a research independently and I'm about to publish the result. I'm concerned about assigning the affiliation to the university. I'm afraid that I give them the power to limit my full rights over the paper. It's a paper with innovative ideas and I will continue to work on the ideas presented in this paper.
I want to know exactly what the affiliated university can claim for if they want to? Can they claim for ideas in the paper as intellectual property of university?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43659,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The question is a legal one, so it would depend on what legal system you're subject to. Ideas <em>per se</em> cannot be legally owned, but via patent and copyright you can own the expression of ideas. With a patent, there is a legal process that you need to go through, to gain legal ownership over, say, a method of converting speech to text. If that's the case, you better get on filing right now. In the case of copyright, you basically don't have to do anything in the US, except if you need to sue for infringement and plan to go for statutory damages, then you need to register the work (also, registration is <em>prima facie</em> evidence of ownership of the work). But, you will have a copyright transfer or licensing agreement with the publishing venue. If the journal requires a transfer, you don't own the work anymore.</p>\n\n<p>And, at any rate, your university can't claim ownership of the work, unless it can prove that this was a work for hire. The closest it could come would be if there is a condition in your employment agreement saying that anything you create is their property, then they could fire you and maybe sue you for not assigning the copyright to them. I am not a lawyer, but I seriously doubt that any clause that says something broad like \"anything that you create is automatically our property\" would be upheld in court. They can forbid you from claiming an affiliation, but you listing an affiliation does not create any property right for the university. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43663,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>@user6726 may have a different opinion, but at least in the US, the intellectual property for everything you do as part of your job rests with your employer. Whether you list the employer or not on your paper has absolutely nothing to do with it.</p>\n\n<p>Whether your employer will ultimately choose to enforce their ownership and share proceeds with you is of course a different matter. If you patent the idea, for example, you probably want a large institution to work with you on the paperwork, the marketing, the contracting, etc. You would rather quickly be out several $10,000 of your own money if you tried to commercialize things yourself. So there is a benefit to having your employer do these things for you. Of course, in reality, very few ideas produced at universities actually bring in even small amounts of money through commercialization.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43658",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31703/"
] |
43,665 |
<p>I define educational entertainment media as books, films, animation, video games, board games, toys, and such, designed with embedded practical examples of academic concepts. I am unfamiliar with a better word for this category of commonly entertaining things with embedded education components. Please let me know if there is a better word for educational entertainment media. I narrow the criteria of educational entertainment media to something that students would be willing to buy for their own pleasure.</p>
<p>I have noticed that many of my students spend a lot of time reading books, watching movies, episodes, animation, playing video games, board games, and such. I pondered the idea that if all of my students could perform these activities in such away that while they have fun on their down time, they would be indirectly applying, relearning, and studying core academic concepts, they could improve their performance in the class and final exams.</p>
<p>I have no idea how to engineer educational entertainment media to entertain students during their down time, yet engage them to learn academic concepts, but if such existed they may be providing subtle results on academic performance in classrooms.</p>
<p>Is there data that either supports or denies engineered educational entertainment media as an ineffective method to stimulate students to learn classroom concepts outside of the classroom?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43659,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The question is a legal one, so it would depend on what legal system you're subject to. Ideas <em>per se</em> cannot be legally owned, but via patent and copyright you can own the expression of ideas. With a patent, there is a legal process that you need to go through, to gain legal ownership over, say, a method of converting speech to text. If that's the case, you better get on filing right now. In the case of copyright, you basically don't have to do anything in the US, except if you need to sue for infringement and plan to go for statutory damages, then you need to register the work (also, registration is <em>prima facie</em> evidence of ownership of the work). But, you will have a copyright transfer or licensing agreement with the publishing venue. If the journal requires a transfer, you don't own the work anymore.</p>\n\n<p>And, at any rate, your university can't claim ownership of the work, unless it can prove that this was a work for hire. The closest it could come would be if there is a condition in your employment agreement saying that anything you create is their property, then they could fire you and maybe sue you for not assigning the copyright to them. I am not a lawyer, but I seriously doubt that any clause that says something broad like \"anything that you create is automatically our property\" would be upheld in court. They can forbid you from claiming an affiliation, but you listing an affiliation does not create any property right for the university. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43663,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>@user6726 may have a different opinion, but at least in the US, the intellectual property for everything you do as part of your job rests with your employer. Whether you list the employer or not on your paper has absolutely nothing to do with it.</p>\n\n<p>Whether your employer will ultimately choose to enforce their ownership and share proceeds with you is of course a different matter. If you patent the idea, for example, you probably want a large institution to work with you on the paperwork, the marketing, the contracting, etc. You would rather quickly be out several $10,000 of your own money if you tried to commercialize things yourself. So there is a benefit to having your employer do these things for you. Of course, in reality, very few ideas produced at universities actually bring in even small amounts of money through commercialization.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43665",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21829/"
] |
43,675 |
<p>I'm sure I already know the answer to this question, but I feel compelled to ask.</p>
<p>With the passing of midnight a couple hours ago, the <a href="http://www.cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution">April 15 deadline</a> used by many US graduate schools, by which applicants should accept/decline offers of admission (as decided by the Council of Graduate Schools) has passed. While I have made my choice, there is still at least one (pretty well-respected) school from which I never received a decision. Thus, in order to have waited out a decision from this program, I would have had to risk losing other offers (one of the conundrums that the April 15 resolution aims to avoid).</p>
<p>They were totally fine with taking my application fee back in November, but never seemed to get around to making a decision on my application (it's still pending online and there has been no response to emailed inquiries). I understand rolling admissions, but this is absurd. Is there any chance I will be able to get my application fee refunded, seeing as they did not keep their end of the deal? I guess I'm asking if anyone has ever successfully made this argument to a school.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43677,
"author": "Sander Heinsalu",
"author_id": 6313,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6313",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Generally application fees are not refunded, so it is unlikely they will do so in your case. You may have a winning case legally, but no point in going to court over something as small as an application fee. And the universities know it, so the threat to go to court is not credible.</p>\n\n<p>I have never heard of anyone getting the application fee refunded.</p>\n\n<p>Not hearing from them is almost certainly a rejection. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43680,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is there any chance I will be able to get my application fee refunded, seeing as they did not keep their end of the deal?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Graduate schools generally don't promise to make a decision by April 15, so it's not clear there's any deal being violated. It doesn't sound like you have a case to demand a refund, but you could try asking for one and see what happens. I doubt you'll get one, but it depends on what was happening behind the scenes in this department. I can imagine you might get a refund if something went terribly wrong and the university is embarrassed by it.</p>\n\n<p>Not responding to inquiries is certainly strange and unprofessional (assuming you were sending them to the right address), and waiting until past April 15 to make a decision would be extraordinarily late. One possibility is that you have effectively been on a waiting list while the first round of offers got sorted out. Other than that, I'm having trouble thinking of a good reason why this might have happened. Do you know whether anyone else was admitted or rejected before April 15? (You might be able to find discussions online.) How you might approach this with the university depends on whether it's a widespread problem or something unique to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43693,
"author": "gnometorule",
"author_id": 4384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Legality and the school being unprofessional aside, academia is a small world. I would not risk the exceptionally small chance that 4 or 5 years from now people at that university remember my name as it was the first time they dealt with that request, only to essentially make a point. </p>\n\n<p>This doesn't answer your question proper - there is always a tiny chance something unexpected works out as you desire.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43719,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You do not a have a leg to stand on, legally, morally or otherwise. The thing you should actually indict them for is not responding to your emails. That is rude; I think you should probably accept that as an implicit rejection. If they were still thinking of admitting you they would have checked on your status by this point.</p>\n\n<p>The issue with your argument is that it doesn't actually follow the text of the resolution. The binding part of resolution you cited says \"Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15.\" So, schools have agreed not to withdraw an offer because you haven't accepted it before April 15th, and not to try to hold you to an offer you've accepted if you change your mind before April 15th. The school in question has held to their end of the bargain perfectly, since they never made you an offer. </p>\n\n<p>The resolution says nothing about the school having to make a decision before April 15th. Of course, schools are well aware that it will be much harder to get people after April 15th, so they make an effort to make offers earlier. However, this is not a deal, this is the department acting in their own self-interest. </p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, there's too much uncertainty in the process to guarantee you'll make all offers before April 15th. After all, you have some plan for what your incoming class will be, you make offers to many more people than that, and you hope that you guessed the yield correctly. If the people who've already been offered admission are waiting until April 15th to make up their minds, you're then left with a great deal of uncertainty as the deadline approaches, since it will be a big problem if your incoming class is such bigger or much smaller than you planned. Thus, there often are people who you are not sure you want to reject, but not sure you have the money to fund. In my department, we still have a number of people waitlisted, since we haven't filled our class yet. Usually, such people will be formally notified they are on a waitlist; I think again, that's in the department's self-interest and helps clarify things for the student. So, again, it's likely this is an implicit rejection, which for whatever reason they haven't bothered to formalize.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43675",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11819/"
] |
43,685 |
<p>After 2 postdoc positions, I applied for tenure-track assistant professor positions. I am from mechanical engineering and my research is strongly experimental. This is critically important for me to have a considerable start-up package to run my lab to get funds and students.</p>
<p>In two interviews for positions in the USA and Japan, I was told that the start-up package is about $800K, with a possibility to be negotiated to reach 1 million too (not Japan).</p>
<p>However, in an interview for a position in the UK, I was told that stat-up package in not part of the position (though it is a normal faculty position, not teaching only). They can offer up to 200K pounds, subject to approval.</p>
<p>I am very interested in Europe, but it made me wonder if this is the common situation in Europe or this position was exceptional?</p>
<p>Do European university normally offer start-up package for building a lab (in experimental fields) for a new assistant professor? I mean, as it is common in the United States. Or European universities have a different scheme for funding new faculty members.</p>
<p>I am referring to the Western Europe: Mainly UK, and also Germany and Scandinavia.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43689,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the issue is that the concept of \"tenure-track\" doesn't really exist in many European countries—at least not as it's interpreted in the US. Consequently, start-up packages can be difficult to compare.</p>\n\n<p>When I started my present position, I got a very small package, if you reckoned it in terms of what's needed to buy equipment and pay for travel. On the other hand, I was guaranteed two full-time scientific positions for the lifetime of my appointment. (These positions could be used for either PhD students or postdocs.) Reckoned in that sense, however, the package is quite generous (close to $1 million).</p>\n\n<p>In other nearby countries (Netherlands, for instance), the support is not nearly so strong: typically just one student supported by the university, and relatively limited budgets.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 100125,
"author": "Ian Sudbery",
"author_id": 82972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/82972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Bit late to this, but thought I'd add something to it as it was a question I had when I first made the jump to PI.</p>\n\n<p>I'm sure it is field specific, so I can only answer for my field - molecular biology. </p>\n\n<p>Firstly, tenure, in the US sense is not just uncommon in the UK, it does not exist for new hires. It was abolished by law in the 80s. There are a few tenured professors left who got it before the abolition, but there are fewer every year. </p>\n\n<p>Start up packages: In the UK, in my field at least, large start up packages are fairly rare. When I took my job the deal was: little cash, but if there is a particular piece of kit you literally can't do your work without, we will consider it. </p>\n\n<p>In the end my deal was: £10K in cash to spend as I saw fit and a 3.5 year PhD studentship with a total of £15K research and training support grant (RTSG). Calling around others I knew in the same field who had got their jobs recently, it seemed that this was pretty standard, if not a little on the generous side. </p>\n\n<p>As for how you are supposed to fund your research? Roll up your sleeves and apply for government grants. Success rates are currently 15%, and to keep your (non-tenure) job, you'll be needing one within the first three years. Oh and in the UK you can't resubmit a grant that overlaps with something you've submitted before. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43685",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33230/"
] |
43,686 |
<p>I am looking to apply for PhD programs at university XX. My background is in chemical engineering and biotechnology.</p>
<p>Said university XX has a very ample offer on these areas and there are several projects ranging from rather small scale biotechnology-related topics to projects in a larger scale and more close to process or chemical engineering. And everything in between.</p>
<p>I find a lot of them very attractive and even in the hypothetical case of being accepted for several I would have a hard time deciding between them. </p>
<p>How bad would it be seen if I sent applications to several professors?. Will the professors even find out that I sent applications to their colleagues?. How many are too many?</p>
<p>The university in question is a swiss one, where it is traditional to send your application to each professor individually and doctoral programs where you enroll in a program instead of with a supervisor directly are not very usual.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43689,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the issue is that the concept of \"tenure-track\" doesn't really exist in many European countries—at least not as it's interpreted in the US. Consequently, start-up packages can be difficult to compare.</p>\n\n<p>When I started my present position, I got a very small package, if you reckoned it in terms of what's needed to buy equipment and pay for travel. On the other hand, I was guaranteed two full-time scientific positions for the lifetime of my appointment. (These positions could be used for either PhD students or postdocs.) Reckoned in that sense, however, the package is quite generous (close to $1 million).</p>\n\n<p>In other nearby countries (Netherlands, for instance), the support is not nearly so strong: typically just one student supported by the university, and relatively limited budgets.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 100125,
"author": "Ian Sudbery",
"author_id": 82972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/82972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Bit late to this, but thought I'd add something to it as it was a question I had when I first made the jump to PI.</p>\n\n<p>I'm sure it is field specific, so I can only answer for my field - molecular biology. </p>\n\n<p>Firstly, tenure, in the US sense is not just uncommon in the UK, it does not exist for new hires. It was abolished by law in the 80s. There are a few tenured professors left who got it before the abolition, but there are fewer every year. </p>\n\n<p>Start up packages: In the UK, in my field at least, large start up packages are fairly rare. When I took my job the deal was: little cash, but if there is a particular piece of kit you literally can't do your work without, we will consider it. </p>\n\n<p>In the end my deal was: £10K in cash to spend as I saw fit and a 3.5 year PhD studentship with a total of £15K research and training support grant (RTSG). Calling around others I knew in the same field who had got their jobs recently, it seemed that this was pretty standard, if not a little on the generous side. </p>\n\n<p>As for how you are supposed to fund your research? Roll up your sleeves and apply for government grants. Success rates are currently 15%, and to keep your (non-tenure) job, you'll be needing one within the first three years. Oh and in the UK you can't resubmit a grant that overlaps with something you've submitted before. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43686",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32446/"
] |
43,697 |
<p>I am wondering whether mathematical and scientific questions (or any type of question to be honest) is considered to be owned by the publisher? For example, if I see a math question in a textbook, am I allowed to use that question on my website, or is that legally considered an infringement?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43699,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Like all other creative material in the text, the exercises belong to the copyright holder.</p>\n\n<p>For some exercises, which have a fairly complicated statement (e.g., a word problem), this should be quite clear. For simpler exercises, e.g., a simple set of integrals, the individual exercises (e.g., \"Integrate x^2\") may not be significant enough to be meaningfully covered by copyright, but the <em>choice of what goes in the set for pedagogical purposes</em> most certainly is.</p>\n\n<p>For a simpler way to think about it: if you are finding it useful to use their exercises rather than generate your own, then that probably means there is enough creative work involved the construction to be covered by copyright.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43701,
"author": "ResearchEnthusiast",
"author_id": 28389,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28389",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Copying questions from textbooks etc. and pasting them with a little or no change in something (homework sheet, exam, etc.) without citation is technically illegal, as the questions of another person are still his creative property.</p>\n\n<p><strong>But</strong>, it is still a common practice (at least where I live) for professors to “steal” exercises from textbooks or previous exams (maybe with a tiny change) and use them for homework sheets or even exams. In both cases (especially in the homework case) giving a citation is impossible. This practice is considered acceptable here as homework sheets and etc. don’t really count as a creative material the professor claims as his own.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43702,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>To write this in more detail, the text of the questions is clearly owned by the copyright holder. The ideas embodied in the questions are not protected by copyright. It's usually considered plagiarism to completely rephrase and rewrite a question without citing the original source, but plagiarism generally isn't illegal. </p>\n\n<p>As noted in the downvoted answer, in some communities there is a broad acceptance of some kinds of copying when it comes to exercises, but I wouldn't want to endorse wholesale copying of homework exercises from one book to another. There are likely to be canonical problems that should be worked by every student in a particular discipline, and those would probably have the least claim to protection and the least interest in protection from the publisher. The more creativity going into the question, the more protection it has and the more enforcement you are likely to see.</p>\n\n<p>Writing good exercises is challenging, but you should endeavor to do so for your website. You should cite to sources when you adapt an exercise from somewhere, and you should mention that an exercise is a classical example that all students should be able to do when you draw on something that Gauss or Euler proved as an exercise centuries ago.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43697",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19393/"
] |
43,711 |
<p>Manuscripts submitted to a journal are often directly rejected by the editor without going out for review. I find this acceptable with the caveat that it's a huge waste of time having to reformat and readjust word length. Journals with high rejection rates should have an abstract only submission as a first step.</p>
<p>Anyhow, given this current situation: <strong>should I contact the editor of one or more journals that I think would be a good target for my manuscript before formally submitting my manuscript?</strong></p>
<p>Some journals offer this option but others don't. So I am not sure if it is acceptable to or if just by sending an abstract I will somehow limit my chances of getting to the review stage.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43751,
"author": "Faheem Mitha",
"author_id": 285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/285",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've contacted journals before submission, but usually only to check how long they take to do a review, and to confirm/check that they do quick rejections. Quick rejections are good - it's horrible when they keep you waiting six months only to send you a review telling you your manuscript sucks or is unreadable. I always wonder that, if it is so bad, why didn't they reject it quicker? I don't think they can tell you whether it will be sent to review without actually seeing the manuscript. You could also ask them how much they care about formatting. Perhaps they don't, then you don't have to bother with any special formatting, you can just use a generic template, like the LaTeX article class.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43821,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Thanks for clarifying. Don't worry about the effect this would have on your future chances with this paper and this journal. If this pre-submission step fails, that is an indication that the classic approach would also fail. Either they feel it's worth sending out for review or they don't.</p>\n\n<p>But send the whole thing, not just the abstract. They need to be able to see the tables and figures.</p>\n\n<p>When you send the full long version to the editor, here's a way to word the question: ask whether the work is appropriate for the journal.</p>\n\n<p>If you get an encouraging response, then you can start slashing, do a formal submission, and hope for the best!</p>\n\n<p>(Source: I have to give the credit to my spouse for this answer, who has about 250 publications. Edit: in case this helps -- in the field of experimental physics.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43711",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4050/"
] |
43,716 |
<p>I am writing an academic paper where I give colloquial or otherwise general words a specific meaning in regards to my research. I have been introducing these terms so far by using quote marks for the first introduction, and then I don’t use quotes for later references, such as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We convert these subsets into “tokens”, which capture only high-level features. Tokens can have a variety of properties...</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This method seems almost amateurish. Is there a better way to do this?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43717,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Many people use <em>italics</em> or <strong>boldface</strong> to set off words that are being defined for the first time in a document. My personal preference is boldface, since I think it helps the reader quickly spot the word on the page. This may also be addressed in the style guidelines of the journal where you submit your paper, and of course their guidelines take precedence over your preference.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43718,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In my perception and fields, quotation marks are reserved for lack-of-a-better-word descriptions and the rare verbatim quotation. Newly defined terms are italicised instead, e.g.:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We convert these subsets into <em>tokens,</em> which capture only high-level features. Tokens can have a variety of properties...</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Before blindly applying this, you should check other publications to see what is common and the guidelines of your publication venue as to whether they address this.</p>\n\n<p>Even when italicising it is important to phrase defining sentences in such a way that facilitate recognising them as such, which does not necessarily require an explicit definition. To decide whether your example sentence meets this requirement, I would have to know more about the context (and probably your field).</p>\n\n<p>That being said, there is nothing wrong with explicit definitions and there exist dozens of short phrases and similar that can be used for this, for example:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><blockquote>\n <p>We convert these subsets into entities called <em>tokens</em> that capture only high-level features.</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n<li><blockquote>\n <p>We convert these subsets into entities that capture only high-level features, which we denote as <em>tokens</em> in the following.</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n<li><blockquote>\n <p>We convert these subsets into entities that capture only high-level features. These <em>tokens</em> can have a variety of properties … [not really explicit]</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>(Replace <em>entities</em> with whatever is appropriate from the context.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43716",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33257/"
] |
43,725 |
<p>Is the title given to those professors who have had a huge impact by their research and/or teaching and now on reaching the autumn of their career are less active in teaching and taking students but attend seminar and give talks? (The description is from personal experience)</p>
<p>What does this title mean? Does the title depend on age? Being as reputed as he is, is Terry Tao a possible candidate at UCLA? Or is he too 'young'?</p>
<p>Is this a nominated position or do they have to apply? I haven't seen any university policy about this. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43726,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Professor Emeritus is essentially a form of retirement for academics. </p>\n\n<p>Departments typically have a tightly constrained number of faculty slots. When a tenured professor is either not interested or becoming physically incapable of fulfilling all of the expected duties of a full-time faculty member, they may move (or in some cases be involuntarily moved) to emeritus status. That opens up a faculty slot for a new hire without severing the relationship of the old professor with the department. Typically, emeritus professors still have many rights and opportunities to participate and contribute: some still teach, supervise students, raise money, etc., such that they are practically still a full faculty member, while others just turn up occasionally to say hello.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43727,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In the U.S., \"professor emeritus\" simply means \"retired professor\". It's a courtesy title offered to retiring professors to acknowledge their continued scholarly role even after formal retirement. It typically includes library privileges and a computer account, and emeritus professors may also have offices (this depends on departmental policy and the availability of space). It's sometimes possible to teach, but this is a special arrangement rather than a job requirement.</p>\n\n<p>At many universities every retired faculty member is offered this title, with rare exceptions for people who committed misconduct or angered the administration. At other universities one has to apply for the title and make a case for why it is justified.</p>\n\n<p>In particular, professor emeritus is not a higher title or special distinction. It can be viewed as a retirement incentive: even after retirement, you'll still have a respected role as well as necessities like library access. However, there's no advantage to becoming an emeritus professor beyond the benefits of retiring from your job (i.e., giving up duties and focusing only on what you prefer).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43756,
"author": "Patric Hartmann",
"author_id": 20449,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20449",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The others already made the basics clear (em. = retired), but I would like to add that the actual meaning of the title largely depends on the institution. I have been to the University of Zurich and there it is basically just a formality with no privileges attached to the title. However, at my current institution the Prof. em. remains head of the faculty, theoretically until his death (many withdraw voluntarily much earlier). They continue lecturing and have office hours the days they are present. Many also continue supervising final theses, though this is normally limited to the higher level ones, like dissertations, not master's or even bachelor's theses anymore.</p>\n\n<p>The word itself stems from \"emereri\", meaning \"earning a privilege\", but - interestingly... - also \"becoming useless\". The latter has been used for soldiers in the Roman army, when they were not fit for service anymore and later was applied on many other branches. In German speaking regions it's e.g. often the case that retired lawyers are adressed as \"emeritus\" by their former partners.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43782,
"author": "o.m.",
"author_id": 27345,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27345",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In <em>Germany</em>, the system used to be that professors become professors emeritus at age 68. That used to mean most of the rights and few of the duties of a tenured professor until death. A professor emeritus can administer academic exams, for example, or teach courses with <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Credit_Transfer_and_Accumulation_System\" rel=\"nofollow\">credit points</a>. Basically medieval traditions surviving into the modern age.</p>\n\n<p>This changed in the 80s, so more recent professors get pensioned at the regular retirement age. The older ones are still using the old rules.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43725",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30664/"
] |
43,741 |
<p>I have been asked to recommend systems for upcoming computer labs. I see 2 options.</p>
<ol>
<li>Buy high end systems now. They will be expensive but will last longer.</li>
<li>Buy average systems now and buy again in a couple of years when these become obsolete.</li>
</ol>
<p>Option 1 makes more sense to me with the bonus that the lab systems will actually qualify as high-end for some time. Option 2 may seem cheaper now but current systems will become dinosaurs in a couple of years and new systems will have to be bought. The total cost of both options may actually come out to be the same in the long run. However, Option 2 involves scrapping systems in a couple of years which I see as needless waste.</p>
<p>Can anyone here comment on this?</p>
<p>NOTE: I understand this may not be the right forum for this question. If so, I will be happy to be pointed to one that is.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43743,
"author": "Joseph Orlando",
"author_id": 29025,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29025",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer really depends on what hardware is needed. Look at the products that change significantly overtime, products that change most would be consumer and workstation models. Particularly latest solid state drives for more powerful workstations. Video cards last a while and will be used by your engineers. DDR4 is too new to worry about at this stage. You can go for it and future proof, but DDR3 will hold a stance for almost the next decade I would say, then it will be obsolete. Servers change less often, but they are no longer using traditional SCSI either XD. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Workstations:</strong> Go with latest generation Intel core processors, they are a tighter product line than all of AMDs, I would say, for most consumers. Go with solid state, that's new. Regular hard drives are getting old. But do consider SSD brand, as that will determine the lifetime. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Servers:</strong> Honestly, you shouldn't need to future proof or go with those HP mini servers where there's like 4 per 2U, bare with me I forgot the name. Server architecture doesn't change often due to long term support and reliability. Go with whatever is most cost effective. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43744,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, I would argue in favor of getting the best available system that fits within your budget at the time of the purchase. You might be able to save some money now by buying a less powerful system, but the danger of doing so is that you can't necessarily guarantee that in <em>N</em> years, when you plan to buy the replacements, that you'll have the money in the budget to do so. Long-term funding guarantees really aren't, and what is promised today might not hold up several years from now.</p>\n\n<p>By getting the best available system now, you postpone the \"must replace\" date a while, which can give you more time to find a replacement (or the funds to replace it, as need be). Also, if your money is time-restricted in its use (you have to use it this year, for instance), there's no real incentive to skimp.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43754,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unless all infrastructure is really very well unified and maintained, moving to the new workstation costs significant time so also money. Taking migration costs into consideration, changing hardware on a yearly basis may not be the best option. If ten researchers spend four days each getting own workstation into working shape again, it is forty person-days!</p>\n\n<p>Migration costs can be reduced by making machines very network-bound, with nothing important stored locally. However this approach seems challenging, for some reasons near always being too slow and near always having not enough space on the server. I have seen many attempts to implement it and have never seen a true success.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43741",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14572/"
] |
43,749 |
<p>I'm sure it's common for students to reject 1-2 recommendations for admission to a graduate school, because they often apply to several places and sometimes they get accepted in more than one place. But what impression does this give to the graduate school when the student doesn't accept the offer for admission (not sure if this is the correct term)? Specifically <strong>universities in Europe</strong> where a lot of them don't have application fees. If you apply again in the future, are they likely to not accept you based on this information they have about you from the past? Is that information used at all?</p>
<p>In my case it's admission to a Master's program.</p>
<p><strong>Additional question:</strong> if I got accepted to my first choice, would it be better if I told the other universities to cancel my applications?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43750,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, there is not much memory for individual students who act responsibly. Turning down an offer in a reasonable time period is acting responsibly. Initially accepting an offer and not turning it down until the last minute after external and internal funding applications have been made, is less responsible.</p>\n\n<p>I would let departments know as soon as you know you are no longer interested. That means if you have gotten into your first choice school with a nice/fully funded offer, you should turn everyone else down. If you have gotten into your first choice school with a crappy funding offer, you need to decide for the remaining schools what you would do if they gave you a great funding offer. Any school that cannot make an offer that you would accept, you should let know.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43753,
"author": "Keine",
"author_id": 32446,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32446",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What country in Europe?</p>\n\n<p>Speaking for the case in Germany, Master courses are usually \"centralized\" in the sense that you apply to the university nad not to a single professor. When applying for PhD's you usually apply directly to a professor.</p>\n\n<p>Unless this is about a research master where you are applying directly to someone, I can not see how they would care at all.</p>\n\n<p>It is pretty common to apply to several masters after your bachelors and go for the \"best\" one.</p>\n\n<p>I would however point that it can be easier to get in contact with your desired future PhD advisor if you are in his university and carry out research projects at his chair, take his classes, etc.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43766,
"author": "Alan Mead",
"author_id": 33284,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33284",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I do not have specific information about non-US schools. However, in the US, the best students generally have choices and are likely to say \"No\" to a few or perhaps several schools. It would be silly to discriminate against those students in the future.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43777,
"author": "Coldfusion",
"author_id": 32431,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32431",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is expected that applicants would most likely have applied for numerious other places so odds are many will turn down the offer. It is very unlikely that HR will remember the individual and hold any kind of grudge against them but if you are really worried, there are data protection laws which ensures that data has to be deleted after a certain period of time has passed (except in exceptional circumstances or where it would still be relevant). Personally, I'd just advise you not to worry about this. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43749",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10756/"
] |
43,760 |
<p>I am a senior undergrad studying internationally and majoring in electronics. I applied to graduate physics programs in the US. I was able to get into some schools, but not the top ones. I have accepted the offer from University of Minnesota for the PhD along with a Master's. </p>
<p>However, I got a few great positions in the upcoming summer and a couple of papers which seem to be completely deal breaking. I also have a feeling that my undergrad major might have been a problem so getting a master's could be helpful.</p>
<p>I wanted to reapply for grad school with my Master's (along with good GPA). There is a lot of negativity in academia about transfer students. However, I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not talking about transfer student. I want to reapply as a first-year graduate student. And, I am also not bothered by getting recommendation letters from UMN. I can get sufficient letters from other professors. </p>
<p>I contacted a few schools asking about it. They said I can obviously reapply as a first-year graduate student (that's what I want). But many people (on the internet) say that it is something that is highly frowned upon, and this decreases the chances of admission (even with Masters). I want to get some perspective as to what extent is it common, and how much is it frowned upon? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43765,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you want to be in academia, you are making a mistake of treating graduate school as the <em>end</em> of your academic career, rather than the start. Getting into a really good school is all you need at this point: there are professors who are just as world-class at a place like University of Minnesota as there are at MIT or CalTech, just less of them or in more focused sub-disciplines.</p>\n\n<p>Your goal now should be to have a damned good graduate school career in the school where you are accepted (which, again, is a <em>very</em> good school and highly selective), and eventually line yourself up for the best <em>postdoc</em> that you can get. In Physics, as in many other disciplines, you are expected to do a significant amount of postdoctoral work: postdocs come from all over, and it is the work you do as a postdoc that will have the most effect on your application for faculty positions.</p>\n\n<p>So: don't waste your time now trying to optimize the wrong phase of your career. Buckle down, do some excellent graduate work, and line yourself up for the right next step.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43767,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I guess I'm out of the loop. I knew a handful of PhD students in grad school at the University of Texas who had gotten their Master's degree elsewhere first. There was no shame in it, but they also didn't start completely over. They came in having done their Master's, had the vast majority of their coursework requirements waived, prepped for their qualifying exams, took them, and then went straight into research. Some of them took several classes along the way to catch things they had missed, learn some exciting things, interact with eminent professors, etc. They did fine. It's not that uncommon to take a Master's at one US university and then a PhD at another. But, there's no need to completely reboot your career to do it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43771,
"author": "user33290",
"author_id": 33290,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33290",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Since you, in part, ask how much this type of thing is frowned upon, I can provide a data point (or at least an anecdote). For the purposes of this question/answer I am going to pretend there is an absolute ranking of all U.S. PhD programs in my area (since you are concerned about moving to a \"top\" school).</p>\n\n<p>The first PhD program I entered was one that does not even appear on the listed of schools that I typically see ranked by various reports. So let's say for my absolute ranking of grad schools that my first program was ranked not even in the top 100.</p>\n\n<p>After a year (or 1.5 years) in this first program, I decided I did <em>not</em> want to get my PhD from there, so I applied to other schools. In the statement that I gave my advisor to help him write me a letter of recommendation, I included 2 reasons that I wanted to leave, which were basically the following</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>The program I was in did not match my interests. Basically the department was more applied-oriented (almost exclusively so) than I wanted to be.</p></li>\n<li><p>I basically said that I wasn't a great undergraduate and that now that I had some successful grad courses under my belt, I wanted to re-apply to grad school and get to a better school.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>After reading this statement, my advisor said almost verbatim, </p>\n\n<p>\"Please tell me you have not shown this to anyone else. You can't show this to anyone else without removing [item 2. from above].\"</p>\n\n<p>The major moral here is that there <em>are</em> reasons for switching PhD programs that will be perceived as legitimate, but prestige may not be one of them. I came from a liberal arts background with not much knowledge of the different types of research, and learned after a year in grad school that I was not in a location that would support my research interests. This is perfectly reasonable (in my opinion), and it was also <em>plausible</em>, given the department I was in.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know anything about your field, but I imagine that if you enter a rather top-notch* program like Minnesota and then want to go to a different school to somehow start your actual PhD, I think you will cartainly have to explain your reasons for switching.</p>\n\n<p>You want to go to the higher-ranked school for prestige? Probably this reason will not be well received.</p>\n\n<p>You couldn't find a match for any of your research interests in Minnesota's department? Well, Minnesota is a great department that many tenure-track seeking new PhD's would love to work in. If you can't be a successful researcher there, what kind of researcher <em>are</em> you?</p>\n\n<p>Of course I'm inventing the answers to these questions, and there are many reason's one might switch grad schools. But the point is that you should have a good (by some measure) reason for switching grad programs. If such a reason exists, I think there is nothing negative about changing programs, and I doubt getting into your second program will be more difficult with your Minnesota Masters degree.</p>\n\n<p>*I'm assuming this department is perceived as top-notch based only on jakebeal's comment to the question.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43802,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>JFK said, \"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.\" User33283, don't be a snobbish leech. Don't turn down the meatballs before trying one, just because you think the Angus steak is more prestigious.</p>\n\n<p>Go into your new school with the best possible attitude you can: you are a smart, curious, thoughtful, hardworking person; the school you will be attending has a great deal to offer; if you come across a professor there that doesn't appeal to you, just steer clear of that person; and gravitate to the people you find stimulating, helpful, ethical; etc.</p>\n\n<p>If the school turns out not to be the right fit, despite your best efforts, then you'll have your reasons to move elsewhere. And you'll have your recent recommendations (which WILL be needed, as @Potato pointed out).</p>\n\n<p>Now, here's a point that will help you swallow the above: if Minnesota is not among the top-ranked schools, then you'll be able to be a big fish in a medium pond!</p>\n\n<p>Just make sure you're a big fish with integrity.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43760",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33283/"
] |
43,770 |
<p>In some sense this question follows the question:<br> <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/4787/is-it-necessary-to-obtain-permissions-for-copying-figures-from-published-article">Is it necessary to obtain permissions for copying figures from published articles in your proposal/dissertation?</a></p>
<p>Following <code>F'x</code>'s advice and my own university's very stringent requirements, I have applied for permissions for reuse of figures in my dissertation. I plan to drop the figures, the permission for reuse of which has not been provided freely by the respective holder.</p>
<p>I hadn't given this much thought before, but what permissions are necessary for reuse of figures in a dissertation defense? I mean the powerpoint presentation slides. Of course, clear and prominent attribution is the minimum requirement, but is there a clear law on this? It's become reasonably convenient to obtain permissions from US publishers (copyright.com), but what if the publisher in question is based in Europe? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43773,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If you aren't planning to publish you slides, I would advise you to not worry about copyright law in this case. Copyright law applies to your use of material in slides just like it does any other medium, but there is more possible latitude for fair use claims. That \"possible latitude\" means legal grey area and lots of possible time and money that can be sunk into a likely fruitless attempt to achieve clarity, since many edge cases may have no official legal determination yet.</p>\n\n<p>Thus, my real advice is this: worry about communicating, not about copyright. Nobody at your defense will report you for copyright infringements. More care is appropriate when posting online, but it is still the case that a) probably nobody will care and b) if somebody does care, the expected action will be to ask you to remove the image from the posted slide.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43788,
"author": "sintax",
"author_id": 20270,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20270",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would say you'd have little difficulty convincing nearly anyone that using a properly-attributed figure to improve understanding in an academic presentation should fall under fair use.</p>\n\n<p>Also, the only people with standing to bring any sort of DMCA notice against you probably either aren't going to be present (unaffiliated authors) or would give permission readily (like a committee member).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43770",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/906/"
] |
43,779 |
<p>A colleague of mine who worked on the same project retired one year ago. I would like to use some of the data he measured and reproduce some of his figures. He gathered the data while performing a routine analysis of our raw material e.g binding kinetics or adsorption isotherms. In general, nothing groundbreaking. Unfortunately, he did not publish the particular dataset. As a consequence, I cannot cite him.</p>
<p>How can I use that data without being accused of plagiarism or fraud. Of course, I will ask him for the permission to use that data.</p>
<p>Would you state that in the introduction or the figure legend? And what would you write?</p>
<p>EDIT:</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that I will write my Thesis as a monograph and publish it later.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43780,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As PatW says in a comment: the general correct action in this case is coauthorship. This gets a little bit trickier with a thesis, which does not typically allow coauthors per se. For the thesis, the thing you should do is give explicit credit where the data is introduced. If it corresponds with the practices of your field, you can also put in a citation to your colleague as an unpublished document or personal communication.</p>\n\n<p>When you republish this material as a journal manuscript or other conventional form that allows multiple authors, however, your colleague should be amongst the set of coauthors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43815,
"author": "Patric Hartmann",
"author_id": 20449,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20449",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The simplest answer I can give you: Talk about it to your supervisor.</p>\n\n<p>Beyond that I can mention two examples from my own experience:\nIn my master's thesis there's an acknowledgment to a colleague of mine who helped with the research by organising copies and scans from original documents. He also assessed the content of many of those Mss. Hours of work I would have had to do. I put a paragraph at the beginning, stating what he did and thanking him for it.</p>\n\n<p>Right now I \"coauthor\" a bachelor's thesis. He does some research on something related to Islam but cannot yet speak Arabic, so I do the translation work for him. He will also just put a small paragraph at the beginning, stating that I did the translations for him.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43817,
"author": "curiousdannii",
"author_id": 21773,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21773",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The other answers have dealt with the possibility of co-authorship. This is field specific; in some fields co-authorship is readily given, in others it requires more than just contributing some data. So if the amount of data you use means that co-authorship is not really appropriate, or it if is not an option because you are writing a thesis rather than a paper, it is still no major issue, because referencing unpublished materials is actually very routine! For details you should look in your field's appropriate referencing style guide.</p>\n\n<p>If the data is available as an <em>unpublished document</em>, then it should be referenced as normal, but usually with some annotation. In MLA, it will be MS (handwritten manuscript) or TS (typescript):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Author. <em>Title</em>. Date. TS. Institution.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you have access to the raw data but not as a document, then it should be referenced as a <em>personal communication</em>. In MLA these are also referenced, but other referencing systems may recommend just appending <code>(p.c.)</code> after the author's name and not listing it in the final bibliography. For example in MLA:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Author. Letter to the author. Date. TS.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 193676,
"author": "Peter Wone",
"author_id": 17338,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17338",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Given it hasn't been published, nobody can prove plagiarism. Being accused of it isn't your problem. <em>Your</em> problem is how to support the claims without a formal citation.</p>\n<p>I suggest that after obtaining permission you include the entire work as an appendix. Attribute it to your colleague and preface it with a note that it is the previously unpublished work of a retired colleague included with permission. Then you can reference the appendix.</p>\n<p>It's verifiable, his work can be peer reviewed at the same time as yours and you haven't implied you did the work. Better yet if anyone wants to quote him they'll have to cite <em>you</em>.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43779",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22893/"
] |
43,784 |
<p>Suppose I want to apply to PhD programs at a university outside of the US and Europe.</p>
<p>How do I know if most universities there follow <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43313/why-are-us-phds-different-from-european-phds">what the US is doing or what Europe is doing</a>?</p>
<p><strong>Elaboration</strong>: How do I know if most schools in the country/state want students to first apply to schools before choosing an doctoral advisor (like in the US) or to first contact the faculty members of a particular schools looking for a doctoral advisor before applying to said schools (like in Europe)?</p>
<p>Example: The UK <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42377/what-is-common-in-most-phd-application-procedures-in-the-uk">mostly</a> follows Europe. I heard Hong Kong and Japan follow the US.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43785,
"author": "BSteinhurst",
"author_id": 7561,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7561",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>1) Find a school you want to apply to. </p>\n\n<p>2) Email the graduate admissions contact person in the department. </p>\n\n<p>3) In that email, ask politely. </p>\n\n<p>4) Say thank you. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43786,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US, you would look at a department's website for instructions for how to apply to grad school in that department, and then follow those instructions. The nature of those instructions will let you know whether that school follows the US model or the European model.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43784",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21026/"
] |
43,787 |
<p>I have heard that it is a good practice or even necessary to ask for our potential referees' permission before we include their contact details in our CVs. Is it also a good practice to keep them informed about which positions we are applying for and the status of each of these applications? Is it good or necessary to update them how each of our application went, whether rejected or invited for an interview, or should we be selective?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43792,
"author": "Thomas Lee",
"author_id": 24823,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24823",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would suggest letting them know about at least the places that you are really interested with and why, so they can tailor their letters. I don't think you need to report the status.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43796,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Asking for permission before giving anyone's contact details in a CV as a potential reference should go without saying. Both for their sake and for yours. You want to be sure they can write you a good, relevant recommendation for the position(s) you are applying for, and presuming that someone has the time to write a recommendation letter without asking them is just rude.</p>\n\n<p>I don't think it's possible to write really excellent recommendation letters without knowing where you are applying. At the very least, they would need to know whether the schools you are applying to are liberal arts schools or R1 schools, to know how to focus the letter. If they are familiar with a department or someone working in a department where you are applying, the letter could (if they have the time / inclination) be tailored even more.</p>\n\n<p>I've always been told that it's good etiquette to inform anyone who wrote you a recommendation letter for anything what happened to the application. A quick email or note (or even stopping by their office) to say thank you again and tell them where you will be going next year, even if it's not to the place they wrote the recommendation letter for is the polite thing to do. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43787",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936/"
] |
43,789 |
<p>One rejection letter I received had the following words: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Careful consideration was given ... to the relationship of each applicant’s qualifications to the existing capabilities and needs in our program. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I take this to mean that the department was looking for someone whose areas of expertise were not already covered by other faculty members in the department. </p>
<p>Is it often the case that search committees are most interested in someone who can add to their department's research and teaching strong areas? Do I have a better chance of getting a position in a department whose strengths overlap only a little with mine?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43790,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not at all. I'd wager that a majority of hires are replacements to, or additions to, existing interest-groups.</p>\n\n<p>In mathematics, anyway, there is a substantial scientific conservatism, in the sense of caution about change, as well as extreme uneasiness about \"new things one is unable to expertly appraise\". I guess the good side is that people are wary of being bamboozled, wary of semi-cranks, wary of flash-in-the-pan fads, ... but, also, it creates difficulties in hiring outside already-established expertise.</p>\n\n<p>Another point would be that a hire outside existing areas would <em>not</em> add to any existing area's \"turf\", so only the altruistic entities would be in favor of it, barring some deal-sweetening arrangement. A similar mild negative would be that it would effectively reduce the weight of pre-existing turf-areas' \"vote\" in policy and other matters. Who would vote away the strength of their own vote? :)</p>\n\n<p>And it is my observation that this sort of realpolitick would outweigh impulses to \"get on the bandwagon\", although perhaps not so hugely but that it could still happen.</p>\n\n<p>But, then, if the \"new\" field is not a \"hot new thing\", and the given department has no one in that area, I'd bet that there's essentially zero motivation for them to make a hire in that direction. \"Can't do everything.\" ???</p>\n\n<p>So, probably the answer to the question is \"no\", in most operational situations.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43804,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I take this to mean that the department was looking for someone whose areas of expertise were not already covered by other faculty members in the department. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not so much that, I think, as that the department knew it had a need for something that someone else was especially strong in.</p>\n\n<p>So you see, there's a great deal of luck involved in the job search.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43789",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10936/"
] |
43,791 |
<p>I have a paper accepted to appear in a CS conference proceedings,
Is it possible to put it on an on-line archive,
such as "arXiv" before the conference date?
Could I at least publish the pre-print?</p>
<p>EDIT:
The conference chair did not ask me to sign any copyrights form! </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43801,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>The conference did not claim any copyrights!</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Are you sure about this? Moreover, even without a copyright transfer or similar, you could have agreed to not having submitted or published the paper elsewhere. If exceptions are being made for publishing preprints, they are often explicit exceptions to clauses that forbid you publishing the article elsewhere, so this is where you should start looking.</p>\n\n<p>If the proceedings are part of a series by some publisher, you may find relevant information on preprint publishability on <a href=\"http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/\" rel=\"nofollow\">RoMEO</a>.</p>\n\n<p>If you are still uncertain, you have to ask the conference organisers. I have no experience with such CS conferences, but if journals allow the publication of preprints, this is intentional. Thus I do not see any risk in asking the organisers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44031,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You shouldn't expect anything, and if you're not sure, you should ask somebody who will be sure -- PC chair, or maybe someone else in your lab, because there is a lot of unwritten rules and technically illegal policies that are widely tolerated, especially in some communities.</p>\n\n<p>What would happen if you put it on arXiv without a confirmation you can do so? Most likely nothing, but don't go after me if the talk gets cancelled because of this (especially since you mention the conference is open to previously published work and work-in-progress).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43791",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33309/"
] |
43,795 |
<p>I read this question <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19248/does-rigor-thoroughness-of-undergraduate-program-matter-for-graduate-phd-applic?rq=1">Does rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program matter (for graduate/PhD applications)?</a> and became very worried when I saw everyone blasting the OP for contemplating graduating in three years. The general consensus was that there was no reason at all to graduate early and that the lack of additional experience would hurt your chances at graduate school. I am concerned because I am graduating with only 2.5 years because I can only barely afford this by maxing out all loans. I would love to be able to develop greater depth in my field. Instead it has been a constant sprint to finish before I run out of money completely. I was rejected from every top ten university, and the one token safety school I got into jacked up the price as soon as they found I had nowhere to go.</p>
<p>Are the criticisms that finishing too fast valid in the context of extreme debt? I am saving over $100,000 by finishing early, will this reason be accepted by graduate schools? I see that graduate students do not have to pay tuition and get a small stipend, this sounds like a wonderful way to pursue an education and is very attractive to me right now. I feel that my education is rushed and I have not had the time to contemplate open research questions which are very important for graduate admissions. Graduate school is also the path to a job in research labs or academia.</p>
<p><strong>edit:</strong>
I have done well enough (6th in graduating class unless I mess up). They offer to tack on a year for a masters <strong>at your current rate</strong>, which is touted as a way extend finiancial aid. This is untenable for me.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43797,
"author": "Mad Jack",
"author_id": 11192,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11192",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Are the criticisms that finishing too fast valid in the context of extreme debt?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, the criticisms are still valid: the world, unfortunately, does not care about any particular person's debt problem.</p>\n\n<p>The answers/comments given at the linked question in the OP are spot on; thus I would encourage you to try to find other sources of aid to fund your full-length undergraduate studies, if you haven't already done so (scholarships, etc.). </p>\n\n<p>Having said that, some schools have a <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/32484/what-do-admission-committees-look-for-in-a-diversity-essay\">diversity statement</a> that you are to submit along with your application. In this statement, you can provide some background on the adversities that you have faced and how you overcame them. If you have significant financial hardships that you are battling through, for example, then a diversity statement would probably be the place to talk about that and hope that someone would care enough to have it positively impact your admission decision. </p>\n\n<p>Whether the \"diversity statement approach\" will work or not depends on (among other things) your particular situation (e.g., how inadequate is your preparation for grad school due to graduating early relative to others in similar situations?) and the number of available slots the school has for cases such as yours. I still think this approach is too risky to count on, and I would, again, encourage you to look for other ways to stay in your undergraduate program for the \"normal\" amount of time so that you may reap the many benefits of doing so.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43803,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Karl, if you have figured out a way to get through your undergraduate institution's hoops in 2 1/2 years, that says something about you!</p>\n\n<p>There is a wide variety in level of preparation (along with many other variables) of incoming grad students.</p>\n\n<p>Don't reject your candidacy before giving some grad schools the opportunity to accept you and fund you.</p>\n\n<p>But do prepare a Plan B for the possible case that you do not get accepted.</p>\n\n<p>In Plan B, you would not be paying an arm and a leg for tuition, but you <em>would</em> be working in someone's lab, getting your feet wet with research. Perhaps you would be an intern (paid or unpaid). Perhaps you would sign up for one credit of research (somewhere cheaper than where you are now), and take the initiative to do more than what is normally done for one credit.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps you'll land a job where you can support yourself <em>and</em> do something interesting based on what you studied -- as a CV builder.</p>\n\n<p>Or you could be a Vista volunteer, and make your CV more well rounded. Community service is a big selling point.</p>\n\n<p>Edited here</p>\n\n<p>I just thought of a Plan C. After your year of not being enrolled anywhere (during which you can be plenty productive with academics and research, you just can't be enrolled), and of being financially independent, perhaps you could apply for financial aid as an undergrad. You could state your intention to get a second Bachelor's degree. After one or two semesters of research projects, you'd then be ready to do your grad school applications.</p>\n\n<p>I wouldn't embark on Plan C, though, without having an in-depth conversation with a financial aid officer. I recommend making an appointment with one that works in a community college. They'll have a helpful world view.</p>\n\n<p>The thing I'm unsure about here is whether financial aid is given for a second Bachelor's.</p>\n\n<p>By the way, another online forum that might be helpful for you is College Confidential. Addition: the culture there is to advise but be gentle with college students.</p>\n\n<p>Another addition:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I have not had the time to contemplate open research questions which are very important for graduate admissions.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Don't worry about that. You will get where you want to be, step by step.</p>\n\n<p>General comment: just to put some of what you're feeling in perspective -- it is quite common for college students to hit a certain point in their studies where their self-confidence gets quite shaky. I have heard it said that the freshman knows nothing, the sophomore thinks he knows a lot, the junior is realizing he doesn't know anything, and the senior does know a lot. Hang in there. If you have a strong foundation in your area, and enjoy doing science, it will work out. I appreciate that you may not feel that way right now. All I can say is that these feelings are not unusual at your stage of academic development, and it should start to get better in the medium term, if not sooner.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43820,
"author": "Jude Niroshan",
"author_id": 31635,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31635",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When students coming out of the universities with early finishes usually are not up to the level students who have completed the whole degree within 4 years or more. There is a clear difference between them when it comes to analytic and problem solving skills. Many reputed companies always look for the well educated people than people just having qualifications.(early finished student, but still having the qualification) </p>\n\n<p>Same thing happens for when you go for further higher studies, as reputed colleges always wants to produce top class; well educated students, they'll most of the time rejects applicants who have early finishes. They'll consider that those people doesn't have proper foundation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43827,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here's one way to think about the issues. Imagine comparing yourself to someone comparably talented and hard working but with an extra year and a half of education. That candidate would be better prepared to excel in graduate school (they could hit the ground running, rather than having to catch up), and they would have had more time to build a track record that could impress the admissions committee. All other things being equal, they're going to be admitted rather than you. Basically, it's difficult to compete with a better educated version of yourself.</p>\n\n<p>Of course you could just catch a lucky break, but your chances are best if the admissions committee can't fill the entering class with competitors like this. If you are exceptionally talented, that could well happen at any university. (For example, Terry Tao was admitted to math grad school in Princeton at an unusually young age. If he had spent longer getting to that point, he would have built up an even stronger track record. However, he didn't need that to get admitted, since he didn't have to worry about competing against hordes of equally talented applicants.) It could also happen if you aim for a somewhat lower-ranked grad school than you might have been admitted to otherwise. However, you'll run into trouble if you apply to schools that have their pick of a lot of applicants like you.</p>\n\n<p>How this will play out depends on your personal circumstances. Most grad school applicants can get admitted somewhere, if they really aren't picky about where, and few will be admitted to the very top graduate programs. All the factors applicants worry about are basically pushing them a little bit up or down the hierarchy of prestige or desirability in graduate programs. If you see the slope as being steep, then this matters a lot; if you see it as being shallow, then where you end up matters less.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43795",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33312/"
] |
43,798 |
<p>A book I have been reading<sup>1</sup>, has two (complimentary) recommendations for PhD students:</p>
<ul>
<li>Add everything you read/encounter to your reference management system </li>
<li>Keep a annoteded bibliography of everything you read.</li>
</ul>
<p>They argue that (as I read it):</p>
<ul>
<li>If you looked at a resource and found it was bad, then having a note about how useless (and why) it was will save you looking at it again, if you encount it later.</li>
<li>If you look at something and find it is good, then you will want it later, and want to know why it is good.</li>
<li>If you look at something and find it off-topic, then later you might realise a highly novel crossover between the topics.</li>
<li>The pain/effort of ever trying to find something you've lost because you though you didn't note its full reference down apparently haunts the authors to this day. Indeed the authors describe a article they've been looking for for decades and suggest that if a reader finds it, they would appreciate the contact.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>Right now my Annotaed bibliography contrained 16 references (I've been keeping it for a week.)</p>
<ul>
<li>13 to various papers in my topic area, or for the foundations that lead to it</li>
<li>1 PhD thesis in my topic area, which as well as being good work is also a example of a thesis, that i could use for considering structure</li>
<li>1 Article from another area that is explaining the need for manythings, including my topic, for their area</li>
<li>1 blog post that while I might never cite, explains a concept from my area that I was having difficulties with better than anything else I have read.</li>
</ul>
<p>My Anotations vary from:</p>
<ul>
<li>1 sentence summary of the papers topic</li>
<li>1 sentence comparason to another paper</li>
<li>several paragraphs explaining the content</li>
<li>notes saying that I don't quiet get what the paper is saying.</li>
<li>note saying that "This paper looks like it would explain paper X's technique but does not. Don't look here for answers on X."</li>
<li>A see also note</li>
<li>Or a combination of the above.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Is this how Annotated Bibliography's work?</strong></p>
<p>It seems for several papers putting more detail would be a waste of time (Particularly the ones I am annotating with "Don't read this for X"</p>
<hr>
<p><sup>1</sup> Petre, M., & Rugg, G. (2010). <em>The unwritten rules of PhD research.</em> McGraw-Hill International.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43968,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think it is somewhat misrepresenting the concept to call it an \"annotated bibliography\". That term suggests something formal, organized according to a specific, prescribed structure, but really all you're doing is organizing the resources you've encountered along with any thoughts you may have on them. The resulting compilation of information is for your use only, and so you should organize it in whatever way you find most effective. I do suggest using a reference manager, since it takes a lot of the tedious work out of organizing your information, but if you honestly find a Bibtex file or note cards or stacks of paper on your desk to be better for you, by all means, go for it.</p>\n\n<p>Whatever organization you use, it should have a few key features:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Starting from your notes on a paper (or other source), you should be able to easily retrieve the information needed to cite that paper.</li>\n<li>And the other way around: starting from a paper's citation, you should be able to easily retrieve any notes you may have for that paper.</li>\n<li>Notes should be searchable, meaning that if you remember making a note about some topic or idea, but you don't remember which reference it was attached to, you should be able to find it (the reference) without too much trouble. This probably limits you to some sort of digital database, unless you have a pretty good memory.</li>\n<li>You should be able to access the full text of a paper that you've read, given the citation information. If your citation information is complete, this is satisfied by the ability to go on the internet and download the paper.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>A bonus feature, not really essential, is the ability to <em>share</em> your notes on a paper with others. Some social reference managers enable doing this over the internet, or try to (assuming your collaborators also use the service), but it's more frequently accomplished by conversations in the hallway.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 125739,
"author": "user2768",
"author_id": 22768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22768",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is unclear whether you have <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/43968/22768\">satisfied requirements</a> of an <em>Annotated Bibliography</em> just yet. Combining LaTeX with BibTeX should suffice to deliver upon anything that's missing. E.g., you can use command <code>\\bibentry</code> of package <code>bibentry</code> to produce a citation, after which you can include your annotation. More concretely:</p>\n\n<pre><code>\\section{\\bibentry{paper}}\n\nA & B ...\n\n\\section{\\bibentry{paperTwo}}\n\nC ...\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>As it grows you might like to start categorising, e.g., pushing the above sections to subsections and wrapping inside <code>\\section{Cat A}</code>. To make this more efficient from the offset, you could use macros. \nIncluding the raw BibTeX entry is perhaps useful, which can probably be achieved with package <code>listings</code>.\nYou may end up with a rather valuable document, so design it to be public, even you may never make it so.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43798",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8513/"
] |
43,808 |
<p>What is a professional student, in the context of a "Graduate and Professional Student Organization" in the United States (cf. <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~gpso/archive/www/index.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this one</a>)? How are they different than or similar to post-docs?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43816,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My experience with the term is frequently derogatory. It is usually applied to a person who either doesn't know what they want to study, switches their major every year or two, refuses to graduate, and spends many more years than the average in school before graduating. Or, slightly less bad, is someone who likes school so much that they keep finding ways to get degree after degree after degree, never getting a job related to one of their majors, and typically working menial jobs to keep funding their education habit. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43831,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>While Bill Barth's description of \"professional student\" as someone whose sheltering in academia and trying not to graduate is one I have heard, there's also a more formal designation for the term.</p>\n\n<p>Mainly, post-graduate students who are in professional degree programs. For example, medical and dental students, law students, many students pursuing Masters of Public Health degrees, or MBAs, etc. are all pursuing degrees that are intended to be applied to a profession, rather than going further into academia. They often have somewhat different concerns than graduate students, hence the different term.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 103302,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Without knowing the exact details (e.g. country, university, link to that organization's website), I would wager the following presumption:</p>\n\n<p>This is an organization of those students who are more experienced, mature or advanced relative to the regular/typical undergraduate students. One category of these are graduate students, another is students who are established professionals outside academia - either due to work experience or a non-academic qualification - and are engaged in some kind of supplementary or advanced study programs.</p>\n\n<p>Examples of potential such \"professional students\":</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Electricians</li>\n<li>Woodworkers</li>\n<li>Mechanics</li>\n<li>Performance artists</li>\n<li>School teachers</li>\n<li>Accountants</li>\n<li>Nurses</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>in some countries these might fall under the \"graduate student\" category, but in others the qualifications for these professions are not undergraduate academic degrees.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43808",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425/"
] |
43,810 |
<p>This is a debatable issue given for me to make inquires on: some people said that coursework should be introduced at the doctoral level while others insist that it should not be introduced, as a PhD student is already a Master in the area of study.</p>
<p>What are the arguments for and against introducing coursework for PhD students?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43813,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that which way one goes on the question has a lot to do with whether you are dealing with a US-style model (long program bundling Masters and Ph.D.) or a European-style model (short program assuming Masters already completed).</p>\n\n<p>To my mind, the main pro of doctoral coursework is that it ensures graduates have a solid general grounding in the field at some depth, and cannot only hyper-specialize. Complementarily, the main con is that coursework interferes with research by taking time that would otherwise be devoted to it, thereby stretching out the time expected in a program.</p>\n\n<p>In a US-style program, a large amount of coursework is pretty much always included and the program is expected to take longer accordingly. In a European-style program, I think one can make a reasonable argument that there should be no coursework, as that should have been completed during one's Masters.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43833,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It very much depends on the program. For example, this assertion:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>a PhD student is already a Master in the area of study</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Is not necessarily true for all fields. For example, my own field, Epidemiology, doesn't have a large number of undergraduate or Masters-only level programs in the U.S. That means that many students that enter Epidemiology PhD programs have at best a number of bad habits to undo, and more likely are entirely clean slates. As such, most of the top programs in my field involve at least two years worth of coursework.</p>\n\n<p>This does definitely slow down the time until degree completion, which is the usual argument against coursework, but in this case really is the only way to ensure students are properly prepared.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43810",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33324/"
] |
43,812 |
<p>Every month, I receive several emails from India or similar countries for a postdoc position in my group.</p>
<p>I am an assistant professor in a small university. I wonder how many applications/emails receive famous professors at top universities?</p>
<p>When a PI has funding for a postdoc position, he post the position, and will receive tens (if not hundreds) of applications.</p>
<p><strong><em>Receiving these emails made me wonder, maybe this method is working that many people are regularly using it.</em></strong></p>
<p>Does a PI offer a postdoc position by such emails? Normally these candidates are not very strong, as they have already applied for posted positions.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43818,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that what has happened is that there are stories floating around, rumors with some kernel of truth, that this approach works. Sometimes I get emails from folks who are highly qualified in their area, but have no relation to our work. I think the model of what has \"worked\" is probably misunderstood. </p>\n\n<p>I think the only thing that has ever really worked is for the \"applicant\" to send out mass emails to everyone they can find that's even remotely related until they hit on a few people who do have a position open and who direct them as to how to apply through proper channels. Occasionally these folks do actually have good qualifications and do get a position. The story of this process gets mangled, and people begin to think that mass emailing really works rather than realizing that it's targeted applications through the appropriate channels that worked but were found by luck. </p>\n\n<p>I mostly don't respond to these kinds of emails unless the candidate is actually highly qualified, related, and I just don't have anything for them. I got one from someone in the UK this week who is working in my field, looking for a PhD position, and already has 3 (!!) master's degrees. Unfortunately, we run an HPC center and don't have faculty positions or advising rights, so I wrote the guy back and let him know that. Rarely do these emails deserve such a response since the candidates are applying randomly to every name they can find, i.e. wet lab biologists applying to an HPC center.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43824,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In some fields, this is the standard method of obtaining a postdoc. My own field (particle physics) is not one of them, but I have friends in computational neuroscience (this is in the US) who say this is how it works for them: when they are ready to look for a postdoc position, they identify professors or researchers who they would like to work with and send them an email asking if they have positions available. Now, what my friends are talking about is specific, targeted emailing, not mass emailing, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if some people get the idea that the more emails they send out, the better their chances. After all, this is nearly the same thinking as saying the more applications you send out, the better your chances, which is frequently-repeated advice.</p>\n\n<p>Even in fields where this is not standard, it <em>can</em> happen. I actually almost got a position myself this way, despite it being very much not the norm in my field. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43830,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, postdocs can get funded by direct contact with a professor. I'm a computational epidemiologist in the U.S., and of the two postdoc offers I got, both of them were based on personal contact (with people one of my mentors knew, rather than simply blind contact).</p>\n\n<p>There <em>are</em> definitely also just listed positions, but I have definitely seen <em>qualified</em> direct contacts result in at least some interest.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43836,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US, in NIH funded fields top post docs are generally funded by NIH-NRSA fellowships. Potential post docs approach a supervisor with a project that is mutually interesting and will provide the post doc with a new skill. If the potential post doc is on top of things, the NRSA application decision can be known before the start of the post doc. In other cases the PI might need to fund the position for 6-12 months, followed by a 36 month fellowship. In other words, when approached by someone who wants to get an NRSA, and is qualified, you take them. This means that getting a post doc through \"direct contact\" is quite common. Depending on the field you may never have met or only have an introduction via you supervisor.</p>\n\n<p>That said, the Indian spam emails, although I have never seen post doc ones, do not fit this model and are generally unsuccessful since the NRSA is limited to US citizens.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43812",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33325/"
] |
43,828 |
<p>For background, I am a mathematics graduate student.</p>
<p>Now, it happens once in a while that I find an interesting conference/workshop which I would be happy to attend, but which I'm not sure about (for reasons which might appear later on, such as not enough funding, finding a better conference etc.).</p>
<p>Suppose that in case of acceptance, the organizers offer some travel/accommodation funding, and that enrollment closes a relatively long while before the conference takes place. Also, suppose that I am not offering to give a talk.</p>
<p>Is it inappropriate to enroll with the knowledge that there is a relatively big chance I won't be able to participate, and retract my enrollment after being accepted if I realize that I indeed can't go?</p>
<p>Does the answer change if I enroll at several conferences "just in case" and then go to one of them if I'm offered enough funding to cover my expenses?</p>
<p>Is there a point after which cancelling my participation is considered rude? What is the polite way to do it? Is it common, in your experience, that (student) participants cancel their participation after having been accepted?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43843,
"author": "Sander Heinsalu",
"author_id": 6313,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6313",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you submit a paper, it gets accepted for presentation, and then you decide not to go, that is a negative sign about you. The organizers will have to change the program. This is regardless of funding. </p>\n\n<p>If you are just going to listen to talks, then without funding, it may be a small negative signal or neutral. Depends on how the number of participants affects the organizing decisions. For a big conference, one person more or less does not matter. For a small workshop, the room size, catering etc may be affected.</p>\n\n<p>With funding, the organizers have to reallocate funding if you decide not to go. Again a negative signal.</p>\n\n<p>General point: how much extra hassle are you causing others = size of negative signal about you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43845,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The negative effect is that it may be difficult for the organizers to re-allocate the partial funding they'd allocated to you, so someone else missed the chance for funding to attend.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, \"the system\" is not really actively worrying about your larger welfare, nor about the welfare of whoever missed funding due to your change-of-heart, and \"the system\" will not be \"harmed\" by your withdrawal. The organizers will scarcely notice whether you were there or not, funded or not. It's small potatoes. </p>\n\n<p>Between those two extremes, granting that you yourself do have to reasonably play the odds for funded attendance at conferences, you should aim to be \"a good sport\", not inducing commitment of far more resources than you'd possibly use, thus, freezing them and denying use to others. But don't be exaggeratedly altruistic toward \"the system\", since the relationship is very unsymmetrical, not in your favor.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43828",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15928/"
] |
43,837 |
<p>It seems to me that academic settings have a very high degree of social hierarchy and I find it very hard to deal with it while being at the bottom of the ladder. Any tips on how to deal with it? </p>
<p>I attend research meetings where I am the newest student in the subject while the other grad students are all very senior students with years of background. This makes it very hard for me to get my ideas or opinions be heard given implicitly how the time is proportioned between everyone. Like if one of these senior students has something to say which could be very silly or trivial or even wrong. he would get more social space to say it than anything I would want to say. Its very uncomfortable as to how much anything they have to say gets so much attention. </p>
<p>I constantly have to find ways to try to severely compress anything I would want to say so that in a few seconds of window of opportunity I might get, I can get across my point. Its like a constant battle for every sliver of time and space. </p>
<p>How do I get myself heard!? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43851,
"author": "blankip",
"author_id": 11420,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11420",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Like if one of these senior students has something to say which could\n be very silly or trivial or even wrong. he would get more social space\n to say it than anything I would want to say.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Have you ever thought thought that this is a group that has met for a while so they like to have a little levity to the meetings? It is likely that most people on the team understand that the person saying the silly or trivial thing is just trying to have a little fun at the mundane meeting. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Its very uncomfortable as to how much anything they have to say gets\n so much attention.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You need to have a better attitude about your group. You just joined and you are already making judgments about how others should act. It is likely that this group has a dynamic that they like to have a little fun. Even if you are 100% correct and the group just has dumb ideas... Well first maybe the group appreciates hearing ideas without being shot down. And then secondly maybe they aren't that dumb and the ideas come with a bit of history of the project/research. There are a lot of things I could say in a bubble that I wouldn't agree with myself but might be perfectly fine given X, Y, and Z.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I have to like constantly find ways to try to severely compress\n anything I would want to say so that in a few seconds of window of\n opportunity I might get, I can get across my point. Its like a\n constant battle for every sliver of time and space.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you are handling it this way, chances are you are just making it worse. If you are just providing slivers of ideas then there is a chance that the group thinks that you are scatter-brained or can't form an idea. This could actually make others want to cut you off even more.</p>\n\n<p>How do you overcome all of this? </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>make sure you don't have body language that senior members ideas or conversation is \"dumb\". If they feel this they will want to tune you out.</p></li>\n<li><p>when you do talk have well formed ideas and continue talking until they are understood.</p></li>\n<li><p>have more communication with the team outside of these meetings. To gain acceptance faster you need to share your ideas/wants outside of the meetings. If there are a few people you are closer with, talk with them first and run things by them. If you bring something up via email that is a good idea there is a good chance someone will give you a good amount of time to explain it further. Note that this might not be the amount of time you wanted, but will be more. There is also a good chance that a senior team member will take over your idea, but this is how groups work. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Your status with this group needs to be earned, that is apparent. Incrementally showing your worth and also showing appreciation of others is key. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43865,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I partially agree with blankip's answer that you must improve your attitude towards the group and the ideas expressed there. It is very important to stop seeing people within your group as competitors and instead accept them as colleagues and partially mentors (at least initially). So, ask for advice when needed (outside those meetings) and listen carefully (by temporarily shutting down your ego) to listen to their suggestions and ideas, even if you think their ideas are silly. Being a researcher is about being open minded to different ideas and alternatives and you must only disregard those ideas when you have 100% solid proof that they cannot work. Otherwise, your opinion about how silly they sound has absolutely no weight.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, you should not be intimidated by the same group either. Although you will always learn more from listening than talking, do not be afraid to say your opinion when you have valid reasons to believe your idea will work. Even if you are shot down in flames, you will have learnt why your idea was not good and that could save you months of work. In this context, the bruising of your ego will be helpful towards your research. Moreover, in academia you must learn to grow a thick skin for rejection, otherwise you will not make it. One harsh comment on a lab meeting is nothing compared to the rejection of your first paper in which you have invested many months of work. </p>\n\n<p>You must also should not care about these imaginary social hierarchies. Those senior graduate students are also in the same bottom as you in your fictitious hierarchy structure. Many of them may probably have many years doing a PHD without their PHD being any closer. At least you are at the beginning and that means that the sky is still your limit. For many of them, even if they are getting close to their PHD, their limits have been already set for them. </p>\n\n<p>Also understand that in Academia having a big ego is part of the game. We all partially believe (one way or another) that our contribution will advance the human state-of-the-art and promote the boundaries of human knowledge. You must really believe in yourself to actually embrace such a concept and insisting on doing research despite of the inevitable rejections. In this sense, in Academia you will meet many people who are full of themselves. This is partially normal and expected. You do not have to be like them. But you must also not allow yourself to be intimidated by them either. After all, we are all judged by the magnitude of our research and not by our magnitude of our egos.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43882,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the previous answers make some assumptions that I am uncomfortable with: they describe how academia <em>should</em> work, but not always how it <em>does</em> work, especially for people who are from disadvantaged groups.</p>\n\n<p>For a basically healthy academic community, I think the advice in the other answers is pretty good about essentially how not to block oneself.</p>\n\n<p>A lot of academic communities are so not healthy, however, and often in ways that are not readily visible to their privileged members. For example, I have female colleagues who have frequently had the experience of having their ideas denigrated and dismissed for apparently rational reasons, then hearing the exact same idea readily accepted when spoken by a man. Or there may be a power-clique and anybody who isn't \"blessed\" by the clique may have a much harder time being heard.</p>\n\n<p>Some academic communities are also simply downright toxic and not good for anybody. I have seen groups where any sign of weakness meant students and postdocs would start verbally attacking one another, trying to gain favor in the eyes of their professor.</p>\n\n<p>I think the first thing to do, then, is to try to get some perspective on what type of academic situation this really is. Find some more experienced friends or a faculty mentor outside of the group that you can trust and who is generally \"good at people\", and talk to them about your experiences---not your feelings, but the actual words that people are using. That person can then help you figure out whether the problem is in the group or in yourself, and what the best path to take is, whether it is changing your attitude, improving your standing, or simply finding a different group.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43887,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here are some ideas:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Bring along an ally who has some interest in the material.</p></li>\n<li><p>I was going to say, follow up after a group meeting, with an email to all the members of the group, but I just discovered you tried that but they ignored the email.</p></li>\n<li><p>Ideally the group should function with a talking stick.</p></li>\n<li><p>Visit some other groups to see if it's just your group, or if it's the general climate at the institution.</p></li>\n<li><p>When you get a turn to talk, if possible give them a little outline of what you're going to talk about. For example: \"I have two comments. First, ... (develop this one as extensively as you like)... My second comment is (this one should be the shorter one -- in fact it can be extremely short -- it was simply designed to buy yourself some uninterrupted time).\" If you get interrupted anyway, do assert yourself.</p></li>\n<li><p>Jot down key words and phrases of the things you'd like to talk about, 5 minutes ahead of time. It can be nerve-racking to try to speak when you keep getting interrupted.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43837",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30657/"
] |
43,840 |
<p>I'm elaborating a small scorecard for a comparison between two technologies, I was wondering if it would be formally acceptable to use "and/or" in my bullet points, e.g., "Not automated and/or involves excessive configuration."</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43841,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The construction \"and/or\" generally betrays a weak sentence construction. It's almost always possible to replace the use of \"and/or\" with a more satisfactory construction (such as \"either . . . or\" or \"at least one of\"). </p>\n\n<p>So while you are allowed to use it (unless your style manual tells you otherwise!), I think it's always better to avoid it in such writing. (One sign that it has not really gained widespread acceptance is the fact that most style manuals still tell you to eliminate \"and/or\" constructions entirely.) </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43857,
"author": "B Chin",
"author_id": 33357,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33357",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that \"or\" means \"and/or\", but I might use the latter in rare cases where emphasis of the \"and\" possibility was called for.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43885,
"author": "henning",
"author_id": 31917,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31917",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Even if your advisers allow \"and/or\", it is best to write in good style.</p>\n\n<p>In general, any phrasing that cannot be read aloud is bad style, because it will make the reader stumble.</p>\n\n<p><em>Try \"berries or apples or both\" instead of \"berries and/or apples\".</em> It is more legible.</p>\n\n<p>This is also what <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style\" rel=\"nofollow\">Strunk and White </a> recommend.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43891,
"author": "Koldito",
"author_id": 12314,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12314",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From a purely linguistic perspective, there is nothing wrong with <em>and/or</em>. Some languages do have dedicated conjunctions with this meaning ---e.g, German <em>beziehungsweise</em>, normally abbreviated to <em>bzw</em> in writing (and before you ask: yes, <em>bzw</em> appears in technical/formal writing too). Whether using <em>and/or</em> in a dissertation is ok from a stylistic perspect is a different matter. Strunk and White say it's not ok, but frankly, a substantial part of what Strunk and White say has little to no basis in reality. </p>\n\n<p>Semi-ultimately, it is up to whether your advisor is ok with it, and really ultimately, it is up to how much you care about whether future readers of your dissertation will be ok with it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43840",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30761/"
] |
43,844 |
<p>I will be entering my first year of college next Fall. Even if most of my AP classes don't count for credit, I will <em>probably</em> be eligible to graduate after six 15–16 credit semesters. Though my desires might change throughout the next few years, I intend to pursue a PhD in Computer Science, Neuroscience, or something else that I'm interested in.</p>
<p>So, if I am eligible to graduate after three years, and I apply to and am denied from desired PhD programs, can I complete a fourth year of my undergrad and reapply to the same places?</p>
<p>I understand that each year of undergrad adds an additional valuable summer of potential REUs, internships, and other experiences. What are other reasons (besides the aforementioned and taking more credits per semester) people advise against completing undergraduate studies in three years?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43846,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You are absolutely allowed to reapply to schools in successive years. However, unless you have had a substantial updated in your profile, such as through improved grades, or additional work or research experience, I would not necessarily expect a better result.</p>\n\n<p>However, it is definitely possible, and if there has been a substantial improvement, the results can be very different. (I've seen firsthand examples of this in students for whom I've written letters of recommendation!)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43850,
"author": "fedka78",
"author_id": 32808,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32808",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>On rather general grounds, I would recommend against viewing college as a race to be completed as quickly as possible. In all likelihood you really will not have another time in your life where you are expected and encouraged to explore the intellectual landscape in a really broad way (of course you're encouraged to explore it <a href=\"http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/\">much more narrowly</a> as a Ph. D. student), and if you rush through it you may look back on this with regret later on. That said, since I assume from the reference to AP tests you are in the US, given the cost of college these days I can understand viewing the expense of an extra year as an unaffordable luxury.</p>\n\n<p>More practically, as you already seem to recognize to some extent, finishing quickly will significantly reduce your chances of getting into a strong graduate program. I am a faculty member involved in graduate admissions at a decidedly non-elite mathematics department, and even here we expect our applicants to have done appreciably more than the minimal amount necessary to get a degree--e.g. they should have taken multiple graduate courses (if available at their institution) and/or have done some substantive research or seriously advanced independent study. Especially since you haven't even figured out what specifically you want to do yet, I'm pretty skeptical that you will be able to build the kind of record that's going to impress graduate admissions committees if you spend a less-than-normal amount of time as an undergrad.</p>\n\n<p>Of course I have no way of knowing your talent level, but whatever it may be, it seems almost tautologically true that the people who will be competing with you for admission to the kind of graduate program that you should be going to will be about as good as you, but with at least 3.5 years of undergrad experience under their belt when they apply (in the fall before they graduate). If you only have 2.5 years' experience when you apply then you have to expect that you'll lose out to those people, and end up somewhere not as good as where you should. </p>\n\n<p>This suggests a sort of compromise, which happens to be what I did as an undergraduate: plan to finish after 3.5 years. Since one applies to grad school in the fall anyway, the missing senior spring semester doesn't affect the strength of your graduate applications, but you do save a semester's worth of money. (As alluded to earlier, if money is no object then your goal should be to be an undergraduate for as long as you can.) I got into an excellent graduate program doing this, and while it would have been possible for me to graduate in 3 years instead I'm sure that this would have led to me going to a much weaker graduate program, which in turn would have done permanent harm to my career.</p>\n\n<p>But to answer the question in the title, unsuccessfully applying one year would not prejudice your application in future years, if your record improves in the interim. I would however recommend waiting to apply until your record is where you want it to be instead of applying early and going to a suboptimal (for you) graduate program, which would be the likely outcome. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43844",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
43,863 |
<p>I have been working for some time on a paper that I hope to submit to a mathematics journal. Buried deep in the guts of the paper is a technical lemma that I struggled with for some time before finally posting the question to MSE, where it <a href="https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1238197/prove-a-relationship-involving-floor-functions/1242017#1242017">promptly received an answer</a>. What is the proper way to acknowledge this assistance in the submitted manuscript? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43866,
"author": "gnometorule",
"author_id": 4384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In your case, the user who helped you participates under his real name (he's from my hometown :)). I would include his proof, with a footnote at the page bottom \"This proof is due to ...\", and additionally thank him where you usually thank people (I've most typically seen this as footnotes on the page of the abstract, but whatever is normal for you). To cover all bases, I'd finally contact Hagen by simply leaving a comment under his answer with @(name) either linking to this question, or outlining what you intend to do, and getting his sign-off to do so. I think in any case where you can identify a user by name, mention of MSE is optional.</p>\n\n<p>The same generalizes for those participating not under their real names. You should then just discuss in your @(name) message under which name (if any) user would like to be quoted. If user agrees to using their proof but prefers to not be mentioned by name, then thank an anonymous user of MSE.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43868,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The proper way to acknowledge <em>any</em> source other than your own brain is to formally cite that source in your bibliography; whether that source is a textbook, journal paper, proceedings paper, preprint, StackExchange questions, blog post, newspaper article, movie, cereal box, bathroom wall, or your mom is utterly immaterial. If your source is a StackExchange site, then you must cite the StackExchange site.</p>\n\n<p>See <a href=\"http://meta.math.stackexchange.com/questions/4259/do-i-cite-mathstackexchange-in-my-paper\">meta.math.SE</a>, <a href=\"https://cstheory.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/352/how-will-you-cite-a-discussion-on-this-site-in-your-paper\">meta.cstheory.SE</a>, and <a href=\"http://meta.math.stackexchange.com/questions/8212/citing-stackexchange-postings\">meta.SE</a> for a discussion of when, whether, and how to cite StackExchange questions and answers. </p>\n\n<p>(Full disclosure: I have cited blogs, StackExchange questions, Usenet posts, newspaper articles, movies, and video games in my refereed journal papers, and at least <a href=\"https://cstheory.stackexchange.com/questions/34/how-hard-is-unshuffling-a-string\">one of my StackExchange questions</a> has more citations than at least one of my research papers.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43863",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17928/"
] |
43,879 |
<p>Short version: Graduate prelims include lots of topics which are only distantly related to your particular research area. How does one motivate oneself to learn and do this stuff?</p>
<p>Long version with personal background: I'm a 3rd year undergrad who's planning on applying to graduate schools in the US next year (in mathematics). I'm taking a graduate course (Galois theory) which, in the graduate programs I'm looking at, typically amounts to less than 1/3 of the material on the algebra prelim, which is one of the usually 3 topical prelims. For me, the concrete consequences for failing this class are academic probation with possible loss of funding/scholarships; if I were in the graduate school here, this would be possibly ejection from the program.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I find this topic to be horribly uninteresting. I did very well in the first half of the class because it was essentially a very fast-paced redux of group and field theory, but I can't find a single drop of inspiration or interest in my mind for these classic Galois theory results that we're developing. I've done some undergraduate research in algebra (factorization theory) and, if I were to go into that as a professional, I feel confident that I will never touch Galois theory ever again. So for me, Galois theory being mandated to be learned by me for only this one purpose, a prelim exam. Therefore, I'm having trouble finding motivation to learn it.</p>
<p>The lectures are in the usual "lemma: proof, theorem: proof, corollary: proof" style (occasionally throwing in a sentence or two of motivation, why we study this topic), with weekly homeworks which heavily supplement the lectures (only a small percentage of grade), and 2 tests (midterm and fnial). These homeworks are pretty in-depth and are expected to take upwards of 5 hours to properly complete. (Usually 1-2 pages of proofs for each problem, and 3-5 problems per week.) Nobody is holding my hand any more and walking me through the class like in undergrad classes. (E.g., the homework problems aren't even close to self-explanatory and often cover topics not even mentioned in lecture.) Even though I'm showing up to lecture and taking detailed notes, I haven't even started the last 3 homeworks. The final is still 3 weeks away so it's not impossible for me to catch up, but it's going to take a <em>lot</em> of hours to get this material learned so that I don't fail the class.</p>
<p>As far as I can tell, this class structure is more or less standard in graduate mathematics, so if I'm serious about wanting to continue in academia I'm going to need to find out how to manage this problem (lack of interest). How do others handle this? Where does the motivation come from? (other than Adderall.)</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43880,
"author": "anon",
"author_id": 33379,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33379",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In this case, the best way to motivate yourself to study this uninteresting material is to try to become interested in it. It's important not to specialize too early, and as a third-year undergrad, you should only now be in the process of deciding a broad subfield of mathematics to specialize in (usually Algebra, Analysis, Geometry/Topology, Applied Math, or some combination of the above). Given that you're interested in becoming an algebraist, it's simply too early in the game to be crossing specific sub-fields of algebra off your list. Especially not Galois Theory, the basics of which you will very likely be expected to know if you take graduate courses in algebraic geometry, number theory, or the like. And even if you don't directly use this material in the future, it's a chance to develop mathematical maturity and intuition. (I'm glad to have been exposed to Galois Theory as an undergraduate, and I'm an analyst!)</p>\n\n<p>As for this particular class, it sounds like it's simply going too fast for you. Which there's no shame in; I certainly had the same experience when taking graduate classes as an undergrad. If you revisit this material in a few years, you may be surprised to find yourself enjoying it. In which case you'll be thankful for anything you learned the first time around, even if it didn't fully sink in.</p>\n\n<p>Basically, you should motivate yourself by keeping in mind that the effort you put into this class will benefit you in ways that aren't apparent right now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43881,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Good scientists need to have a fairly broad background in their area, the requirements of a department generally reflect what that department has decided needs to be part of that background in order for its graduates to be considered well educated in their area.</p>\n\n<p>Learning a broader base of material is important for a couple of reasons. First of all, it gives you more intellectual \"tools\" for approaching problems in your area. Even if a particular subject (e.g., Galois theory) turns out not to be very useful for the problems you are working on right this very moment, it is likely to be useful and important for a lot of things in the discipline, and if you have some understanding of it, you will be able to recognize when you are dealing with an unexpected case where it is the right tool for the job. Much time and energy is wasted when people who are missing a piece of background try to re-invent the wheel. Likewise, you should understand it well enough to recognize when it is the <em>wrong</em> tool for the job.</p>\n\n<p>Second, in most graduate classes there are two simultaneous lessons being taught: the material itself, and the structure of the science supporting the material. Galois theory is partly so hard because it is an example of a mathematically deep concept, and understanding how Galois theory works may also better enable you to recognize and develop another new deep concept.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, science will always be throwing new ideas and concepts at you, and is also increasingly interconnected and interdisciplinary. You need to develop the skills to be able to learn and cope with new material, even if it is not a type that you prefer, or else you will quickly become locked into an ever-shrinking subfield and likely obsolete.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43884,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Where does the motivation come from? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Ideally, the professor teaching the class should do a good job of motivating the material, but it sounds like they somehow aren't connecting with you. For a topic like Galois theory, which is a standard part of the core mathematics curriculum throughout the world, you can be sure many mathematicians find it fascinating and important. If your class isn't successfully conveying the fascination and importance, look elsewhere for it (this class shouldn't define or limit your explorations). Talk about Galois theory with your friends and classmates. If it's clicking for them, they can help you appreciate it; if it isn't, you can investigate further together. Ask the professor questions. Talk with other mentors. Look for other books that you might find more engaging. Search and ask questions online. All this is much more work than just going to lectures and working on problem sets, but it's the only way to get a deeper understanding. (And five hours of homework a week is not much for a graduate course. This leaves you some time to study the material on your own.)</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I've done some undergraduate research in algebra (factorization theory) and, if I were to go into that as a professional, I feel confident that I will never touch Galois theory ever again.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You may be right that you won't ever need it in your research. However, if you become an algebraist, there's a good chance you'll have to teach Galois theory someday. More generally, as a professional mathematician you'll be responsible for having a much broader knowledge of mathematics than just your own research interests.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Even though I'm showing up to lecture and taking detailed notes, I haven't even started the last 3 homeworks.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It sounds like a vicious cycle: your dislike of the material keeps you from working on it, but that limits your understanding and makes you dislike it all the more. The good news is that I'd bet you don't have an intrinsic dislike of Galois theory, but the bad news is that you'll have to break the cycle somehow. This is largely a matter of psychology. When I've been in situations like this, I've gotten out through indignation, along the lines of \"I'm not going to let some crummy lecturer keep me from understanding and appreciating one of the highlights of mathematics.\" But what works best for you will depend on your personality.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43950,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Lots of good advice here. But I'm going to take a different approach.</p>\n\n<p>You are not really interested in this material at this stage of your life. You might be later, but for now, you really aren't. It is unfortunate that your program doesn't allow you more freedom of choice.</p>\n\n<p>So now it's time for Operation Get By. There are several things that can help you accomplish this:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Find a human being to help you. It might be the professor, it might be the TA, it might be a professional tutor, it might be a friend, it might be a really nice grad student.</p></li>\n<li><p>Find a study group (it might be a bit too late in the semester for this -- but there's no harm in trying).</p></li>\n<li><p>Try some internet research, to see if there are some solved problems out there that are close enough to your homework problems, that you can use them as starting points.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I was forced to take Assembly Language once, and I HATED it. I have never used what I \"learned\" in that class. I cussed and whined my way through all the projects. I hated the teacher. <em>You don't have to love everything in math, or have a good fit with every teacher.</em> But you do have to pass your required courses. Sigh.</p>\n\n<p>What I am proposing you do is akin to faking it in music. Once I had to learn Tchaikovsky's Fourth in one week. There were masses of fast passages with lots of accidentals. The first couple of days, I did my best to plow through as much of the material as I could each day, trying to find sensible fingerings, practicing in a thorough way, to get the hand shapes comfortable. But by the middle of the week it had become clear that the conductor was NOT going to help. He was going to take the fast passages so fast they were UNPLAYABLE. He was not going to rehearse the most difficult fast passages carefully, to give us a chance to work up gradually to a fast tempo. So I gave up. I resigned myself to faking huge swaths of black notes. I have never done this before or since. But really, there was no other way out. I could have given myself lots of soreness in various body parts, practicing those passages like crazy, but the end result would have been no different -- so I cut my losses.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>if I'm serious about wanting to continue in academia I'm going to need to find out how to manage this problem (lack of interest). How do others handle this?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Don't worry about this. In graduate school, you get to follow your own interests more. You'll have a wonderful advisor, who will make sure your own interests are not leading you down a blind alley.</p>\n\n<p>Also, you will be a little older, more knowledgeable and more mature than you are now. Just take things one step at a time.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43879",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14068/"
] |
43,890 |
<p>I am a US graduate student, and recently I have had the great honor of being awarded a large fellowship that provides a sizable monthly stipend for tuition, living expenses, and conference travel.</p>
<p>I plan to travel to a couple of conferences in Europe this summer where I have accepted/pending submissions. However, there also happens to be a pair of nearby conferences a few days prior. These conferences are not as essential to my interests as my planned travel, but still extremely relevant, and if given the opportunity I would like to attend them despite the fact that I will not be presenting a paper.</p>
<p>But conferences are <em>expensive</em>. It is a huge stretch to afford all of these conferences, even with my stipend (which will begin in June, so I won't have had the time to save up). I would like to apply for the student volunteer positions at these conferences, which would reduce registration fees partially or completely if I were selected.</p>
<p>However, I feel anxious that I may be taking away the opportunity from a student who <em>really</em> cannot afford to go. Especially since, as I mentioned, I can stretch myself super thin to make it without the volunteer waiver(s).</p>
<p>On the other hand, though, I suppose it could be argued that I "earned" this financial freedom by earning the fellowship.</p>
<p><strong>Is it ethical to volunteer at a conference where the registration fee would be waived, if I have a fellowship and wish to attend the conference despite the lack of any obligation to do so?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43893,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The only problem would be if you were to misrepresent your financial position to secure the registration fee waiver. If the volunteer positions are truly meant to be for students of limited financial means, then it would be tough to justify. However, in many cases, it's based on a competitive application where ability to afford the conference is not taken into account. If that's indeed the case, then you can go ahead and apply with a clear conscience.</p>\n\n<p>(Also keep in mind that all or at least part of the travel costs for many graduate students would be covered by their universities, so they may not be paying as much out-of-pocket as you think!)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43894,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Volunteering is often a lot of work, so it is generally quite reasonable to see the coverage of costs to be not a scholarship, but as compensation for the many hours of labor that you will be putting in as a volunteer. It is for this reason that many conferences waive the registration fee for their organizers as well. As such, I think there is no ethical concern about getting a waived registration in return for volunteering. I would, however, find it ethically problematic to apply for a <em>scholarship</em> (which some conferences offer) when you could be covered by your fellowship.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43890",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33387/"
] |
43,907 |
<p>I am from a small country where we do not have many eminent professors, but I did work hard and published over 30 papers which were cited more than 400 times. I am applying for research jobs internationally, and a key factor is references.</p>
<p>It does matter who has written the recommendation letter. In addition to my unknown colleagues, I tried to find some eminent professors as professional references. I contacted several ones who have even cited my papers, but they simply replied "they cannot be my reference as they do not know me", meaning that why they bother to recommend someone they do not know.</p>
<p>This gave me a bad impression that no matter how hard or good you work, career success depends where you are and how many people know/care about you.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43908,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I contacted several ones who have even cited my papers, but they simply replied \"they cannot be my reference as they do not know me\", meaning that why they bother to recommend someone they do not know.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is to be expected. The purpose of letters of reference is to provide a personal perspective on a candidate from an eminent figure who knows the candidate well and is able to compare her/him with peers. The simple fact that they cited you means close to nothing. I have probably cited hundreds of researchers, maybe thousands, some of which I don't even remember the name. There is also the question what these references are actually supposed to write in their letters if they don't know you personally - <em>\"Mia wrote this pretty good paper in 2012, but I have never met her or talked to her outside of when she asked me for this reference.\"</em> isn't a great letter of reference.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>This gave me a bad impression that no matter how hard or good you work, career success depends where you are and how many people know/care about you.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is a bit of a depressing way of putting it, but at the end you are not incorrect. \"Knowing people\", or more correctly, \"making people know you\" is indeed very important for a researcher who wants to progress her/his career.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How to find professional references?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This depends a lot on your level. As a student, you typically want your professors to act as references. As a more advanced researcher, which you seem to be, it is very important that you:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Find and occupy a niche (that is, if people think about subsubfield A in area B, yours should be the first or one of the first names that pop into people's mind). This works only if you <em>repeatedly</em> annoy people about a subject in papers, keynotes, lectures, and tutorials. </li>\n<li>Go to conferences, write joint papers, and work on joint proposals related to said niche</li>\n<li>Visit other universities, or invite researchers from other universities working in your or a related niche</li>\n<li>In this way build a substantial network of collaborators and co-authors</li>\n<li>Follow-up on on your network, make sure that people that you once knew are still aware of your recent work</li>\n<li>Maintain reasonable standing with the important players in your larger area</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you end up with a reasonable network, which clearly takes time and dedication, you typically want to select the most eminent members of it suitable for a given application to act as references.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43923,
"author": "ceoec",
"author_id": 28695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>[This should be a comment but too lengthy to put in the comment box...]</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I am from a small country where we do not have many eminent\n professors, but I did work hard and published over 30 papers which\n were cited more than 400 times.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Write this in your cover letter, explain why you cannot find a famous reference. It is really an achievement that you published over 30 papers which got cited more than 400 times if you have not worked with famous professors. Make sure the reference you got from the \"not so famous\" people are good.</p>\n\n<p>Good reference is important, but that's not the only factor people consider when they read application. Try apply first before giving up and feel frustrated. Good luck. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43907",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33399/"
] |
43,910 |
<p>Is accepting or rejecting a paper the reviewers’ responsibility? Or is it left to the editor to decide based on all the reviewers’ comments? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43912,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Accepting or rejecting a paper is always left to the editor. The reviewers, however, are typically expected to summarize their review by providing a recommendation to the editor for the paper's fate. This is generally not just accept or reject, but may also have higher granularity such as \"major revision,\" \"weak accept,\" \"reject but encourage resubmission,\" or \"borderline.\"</p>\n\n<p>As an editor or program chair, I appreciate this feedback (even if I may sometimes ignore it) because sometimes it is sometimes difficult to judge a referee's judgement from the tone of their review. For example, a very long and harsh-sounding review may actually say something like: \"I am being very strict in my review of this paper because I think it is good work that can be a great paper on revision.\" I might overlook it amidst the harshness... or the reviewer might not be so clear.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43913,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Reviewers can only <em>recommend</em> acceptance or rejection (or a major or minor revision). It's the editor's responsibility to weigh the reviews, along with the manuscript, and decide.</p>\n\n<p>After all, you will often have multiple reviewers. And they will usually not even know who else is reviewing a given manuscript. So how else could you decide what to do with a manuscript where two reviewers recommend a major revision, while the third recommends rejection?</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43910",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33403/"
] |
43,915 |
<p>My abstract/paper has been selected at 2nd International MISG-2015 conference held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I would like to know if it's valuable for an Undergraduate student to present paper at this conference and will it have a high impact when I apply for an university for Masters?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43918,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As mentioned in the comments, you can see discussion about this conference <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43231/will-my-paper-be-published\">here</a> that suggests the conference does not have enough staff to excel in its claimed fields of expertise or review the submitted papers properly. A publication will, at first glance, look good on an application, but any investigation by the admissions board will highlight the fact that this conference is not prestigious and probably a scam. I believe that it would be possible for this to have a negative impact on your applications. The only potential redeeming factor would be if the process of its submission to this conference provides an opportunity to publish elsewhere. This seems unlikely given the conference but a real publication elsewhere would have a much greater positive impact on your research career.\nI recommend talking to academics at your university about this conference and if they have any knowledge of it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43921,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've got a fairly pessimistic view of the value of publishing in obscure, questionable places. As an admissions committee member, I periodically see applicants with papers in journals or conferences I've never heard of. Without more information, publishing in an unknown venue is completely meaningless, since the world is full of junk venues that will publish literally anything. Many of them claim to do peer review and enforce scholarly standards, but they will actually <a href=\"http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/\">accept nonsense text</a>. Unfortunately, there are no magic words (like \"peer review\" or \"international\") that will certify a publishing venue, because some venues simply lie, while others are honest but incompetent.</p>\n\n<p>When I run across a completely unfamiliar venue listed in a graduate school application, I do some quick web searches to try to find out more about it. Sometime I discover that I should have known about it, or that it's a perfectly reasonable and respectable venue that just doesn't have much of an international reputation, but often it looks pretty suspicious to me. In those cases, I have one of two reactions, depending on how the application comes across. Either I think \"Oh no, this applicant was tricked into publishing a possibly worthwhile paper in a worthless journal\", or I think \"Hey, this applicant is publishing in a worthless journal to try to manipulate the system\". The former is more likely, with the latter being mainly when the application contains unseemly self-promotion or exaggerations. Being tricked is mildly negative, since it suggests the applicant was naive and insufficiently careful, but it's not such a terrible thing. (The main outcome would be that the paper counts for little or nothing.) Being manipulative is very bad.</p>\n\n<p>If you can't evaluate a conference yourself, it's important to seek advice from people who can, since sending good work to a bad venue is not a winning strategy. As for MISG-2015, I can't speak from any direct knowledge, but the <a href=\"http://www.globalilluminators.org/misg-2015-kualalumpur-malaysia/conference-scope-sub-themes/\">list of topics</a> strikes me as absurdly broad, and I find it difficult to believe any <a href=\"http://www.globalilluminators.org/misg-2015-kualalumpur-malaysia/scientific-review-committee/\">scientific committee</a> of twelve people could possibly do a responsible job of handling submissions from such diverse areas.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43915",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
43,926 |
<p>This is actually just a revision of <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42918/does-one-need-a-masters-in-math-before-taking-a-phd-in-math">this question</a> in relation to <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/42923/22511">this answer</a>.</p>
<p>I ask "Does one need a master's in math before taking a PhD in pure math?" (And then applied to the US for this question)</p>
<p>Chris C's answer suggests that in the US, I may just go straight from a bachelor's in mathematics to a PhD in mathematics, but I don't quite have a bachelor's in mathematics. My bachelor's is in mathematical finance.</p>
<p>Edit: Sorry. I forgot to emphasize something. My bachelor's didn't have a thesis. I had a thesis in master's, but it was in mathematical finance. Will this be a problem? I was thinking math PhD programs in the US think students have <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42304/with-a-background-in-mathematical-finance-and-desire-to-apply-for-a-mathematics#comment95102_42304">some background in mathematical research</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A variety of areas throughout mathematics. And that answer of mine that you link was written for an audience completely unfamiliar with mathematical research - someone ready to pursue a PhD should already know what it says. – Nate Eldredge Apr 2 at 13:33</p>
</blockquote>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43929,
"author": "Zach H",
"author_id": 8857,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8857",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a mathematician. One of my academic siblings has an undergrad degree in mathematical finance. As Andreas Blass comments, grad school admissions committees are most concerned with sufficient background, as opposed to the particular credential.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43941,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It's very important to have a bachelor's degree, as typically there are bureaucratic rules that make it very hard to admit a student without one. The words it says after \"Bachelor of\" don't matter very much, as long you have some strong evidence that you can be successful in grad school, from your grades, test scores letters, etc. With mathematical finance vs. math, there's a decent chance the committee wouldn't even notice the distinction. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43926",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21026/"
] |
43,927 |
<p>This question is a bit different from this question: <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2717/what-to-do-if-asked-to-write-a-letter-of-recommendation-for-a-weak-candidate">What to do if asked to write a letter of recommendation for a weak candidate?</a></p>
<p>Instead of not knowing the student well enough, I know the student too well that I think he is not a suitable candidate. I have a good relationship with the student, it is just that I know I cannot comment highly on this application as he lack one skill that is particularly important for that post... I have suggested to him to try something else but he seems to be very keen in applying for the post. I cannot turn down his request because he said he could not find anyone else (He need 3 references) I never read a poor reference before; how honest usually are people in writing them?</p>
<p>(He is not a bad student, and I have written him a good reference on another application before, so I do not want to write him a poor reference...)</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43930,
"author": "Tobias Kildetoft",
"author_id": 12592,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12592",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you do not feel that you can avoid writing him a letter, then tell him precisely what you wrote here: That the letter will not recommend he gets the position, for the reasons you wrote (which will pretty much guarantee that he does not get the position). Chances are that he will then no longer want you to write the letter.</p>\n\n<p>You may also want to contact the people you send the letter to and tell them that you did warn him that the letter would be bad, or they might get the idea that you betrayed the student by writing such a bad letter.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43934,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here's how it typically works (at least in the U.S.). First, you should warn him that you don't feel you can write a strong enough recommendation for him to get this job, and that you're convinced he'd be better off with another recommender. You should try to explain why, so he can learn why you think this position is not a good fit for him.</p>\n\n<p>If he insists that he wants to apply and has no other options for a recommendation, then you should try to write a supportive but honest letter, typically by taking your previous letter and strategically modifying it to fit this particular job. By \"supportive but honest\", I mean making the best case you reasonably can under the circumstances, but being honest about any weaknesses and not endorsing him in any way you'd regret. Often, instead of saying \"I don't recommend hiring him\" you can instead say something with enough qualifications that anyone can read between the lines.</p>\n\n<p>For example, suppose an excellent teacher is applying for a job he simply doesn't have the research accomplishments for. You can send a letter that comments in detail about his teaching and concludes by saying \"Although Bob does not yet have any peer-reviewed publications, I'm confident that his work in progress will lead to a publishable paper. When combined with his excellent and enthusiastic teaching, this makes him a good candidate for a faculty position that prioritizes teaching over research.\" If you send this to a faculty search at a research university, they will read it as an automatic rejection, without your having to say so explicitly. (Note that if Bob actually applies to an appropriate teaching position, then you should not send this text, but rather a more enthusiastic version with fewer qualifications.)</p>\n\n<p>Of course you may not want to set up an automatic rejection, but rather just to make sure the hiring committee is aware of your concerns. Another possibility is to conclude by saying \"Bob is in many ways a strong candidate for this position. My one reservation is...\" If the hiring committee agrees with you that this is a concern, then they will reject him, but at least you gave him a chance to find out whether this issue worries the committee.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43938,
"author": "smci",
"author_id": 12050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12050",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Don't write a negative reference letter.</strong> Don't beat around the bush with fogging like \"the position is not suitable for you\". <strong>Set up a conversation where you tell him clearly and assertively what his negative trait is (you said impatience), and be constructive about how he can improve, and how to manage his career in the meantime (avoid or handle such situations).</strong> Do this very urgently, don't delay - it's already hurting his career. Do it verbally, behind a closed-door. Keep it constructive. Make it a two-way conversation, not a firing squad. Suggest or agree actions or metrics for the future.</p>\n\n<p>One important duty of a supervisor is <strong>giving negative feedback</strong>. That means you. If you don't do that you're a bad supervisor and you're not serving him well. If you're consistently uncomfortable doing that with people, the issue is primarily with you, not him.</p>\n\n<p>Do you mean:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>that this particular position requires an abnormal level of patience ('patience of Job'), or</li>\n<li>simply that he is in general abnormally or pathologically impatient?</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Those are two utterly different scenarios warranting two different courses of action. You're not being clear. Or assertive. Impatience is potentially a very good trait for some positions (and bad for others), so do you really mean he lacks the social skills or communication style to mask his impatience? Really focus on being clear and specific. Was it foreseeable that 1a) he should have been able to figure out said position requires an abnormal level of patience (in which case, help him figure that out), or 1b) is it that you somehow know this via the grapevine and are trying to secretly \"help him\" without telling him why? (in which case, teach him how to do his own background check on a position)</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I cannot turn down his request because he said he could not find anyone else. (He needs 3 references)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>EDIT: based on discussion with @Corvus, here is a major cultural difference between academia and industry: </p>\n\n<p>[In academia] References have a standard set of things, and it's considered ok to write a reference which intentionally omits some of those.</p>\n\n<p>[In industry] Absolutely you can! In fact, arguably <strong>you're obligated to, ethically</strong>. Arguably, the moment you detected a sufficiently seriously negative personality trait that would harm his career under your supervision, you were obligated to tell him promptly - not delay until the last minute when it damages his career or livelihood - as it is now. There's a pair of you in this situation, as they say.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Tobias K.: <em>\"You may also want to contact the people you send the letter to and tell them that you did warn him that the letter would be bad\"</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is all too weird and avoidant for words. If you're that unassertive and uncomfortable being a supervisor and giving essential feedback, you should step down immediately from being a supervisor, or at very minimum warn anyone when they start under you that you're incapable of giving negative feedback, and that their career will suffer for it. If people saw such a weird cover-your-ass but-I-told-him-so follow-up letter, they might conclude that the referee has basic issues supervising and communicating with people, and that the department is aware of this and doesn't care. Don't create that situation. Set up the conversation with him immediately. Don't be afraid of that conversation. Handled right, it may be the most important and constructive of his career. It may also equally be an important learning experience for you.</p>\n\n<p>You may want to try the book/audiobook/course: <em>\"Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition\"</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43943,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Others have already stated ways to write what you want to say, in terms that are typically found in recommendation letters. Another piece to it is that lukewarm letters are often short: they describe the candidate in positive but general terms, but they do not go into the details you find in good letters. (Such as: \"Specifically, among his publications, the one on homeomorphic indeterminate tangential operators stands out in its creativity: it introduces a new class of operators that ... ... ... . This paper, despite having been published only two years ago, already has 170 citations.\" This would obviously be for a more senior researcher, but you can find similar detail in good letters for students.) In contrast, letter writers who don't feel like saying very much because there is not much positive to say, often keep the letter to the most basic content -- not negative, but not detailed and positive either. A reader of the letter will clearly read between the lines why you are omitting the details.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43967,
"author": "Ian",
"author_id": 9902,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9902",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is as much about what you don’t say as what you do say.</p>\n\n<p>So write a reference that lists all his skills in the same order as the job spec, maybe even use the same headings as the jobs spec. But leave out the section he is week on.</p>\n\n<p>Writing a bad reference or refusing to write an reference could lead to legal problems…</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43927",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28695/"
] |
43,928 |
<p>The research (Delphi study) started with NN study participants in Round 1 (gathering demographics). Ten percent of the participants dropped out and did not complete Round 2 or (of course) Round 3.</p>
<p>I'm unsure how to report this. </p>
<p>Do I report the demographic results and then add a note to the Round 2 and Round 3 results ("Note: Of the NN people who completed Round 1, only Nn completed Rounds 2 and 3.") </p>
<p>Or do I remove from the Round 1 results the data gathered from the drop-outs?</p>
<p>Or ... ?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43931,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is a very bad thing to remove people who dropped out from your data set. The problem is that you do not know whether dropping out is correlated with the effect that you are studying.</p>\n\n<p>For an extreme example, consider a study on the effect of being shot at on soccer ability. In round 1, people play soccer, then they get shot at randomly with a gun that might or might not hit them, then they play round 2 of soccer, then they get shot at again, and then they play round 3 of soccer. Of course, anybody who actually gets hit when they are shot will probably drop out. If you eliminate those people, you will vastly underestimate how badly soccer players are affected by people shooting at them.</p>\n\n<p>This may seem like a rather extreme example, but things very much like it happen frequently in biomedical or psychological studies, just with less obvious causal connections.</p>\n\n<p>Report exactly what happened, and take the missing people into account when you are computing your effect size. If you need help on the technical aspects of that, you should ask on <a href=\"https://stats.stackexchange.com/\">Cross-Validated.SE</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43932,
"author": "Compass",
"author_id": 22013,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22013",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You should present demographics for every round available for accuracy, completeness, and your own personal sanity. Drop-outs and people lost to follow-ups, are still data points, especially in medical/psychological/sociological studies. They may not have any associated data, but they were recruited and participated at least during the initial phase of data collection (demographics), and not counting them can imply other things.</p>\n\n<p>Anyways, I like using an example to show why it helps present a clearer image.</p>\n\n<p>Let's say 100 animals sign up for a study at Round 1. The demographics are as follows: 50 dogs, 50 cats.</p>\n\n<p>However, when Round 2 rolls around, 20 cats are nowhere to be found. The results are collected from the remaining subjects; 25 dogs are peanut butter lovers, and 15 cats are peanut butter lovers.</p>\n\n<p>If you only say that 20 animals dropped out, the information presented here doesn't mean very much, since you don't know what animals dropped out. In actuality, both dogs and cats had a 50% split based on the population of data collected, but presenting information only partway can be misconstrued as perhaps it was 25/40 dogs and 15/40 cats, because you haven't provided any. In addition, neglecting to mention that you originally had 50 dogs and 50 cats and only presenting that you had 50 dogs and 30 cats in the final results could indicate selection bias or a lack of interest, as opposed to losing cats to follow-up exams.</p>\n\n<p>So you would present in a nice table or summary:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>During Round 1, 50 dogs and 50 cats were recruited for the peanut butter study. However, 20 of the original 50 cats (40.0%) dropped out before Round 2 testing and could not be replaced. During Round 2 testing, it was found that 25 of 50 dogs (50.0%) and 15 of 30 cats (50.0%) preferred peanut butter.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43962,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I fully agree with the other answers that you should do statistical analyses on your dropouts, and report and think about the results. Did people who dropped out differ significantly from participants that stayed on? For instance, more women may have dropped out, or more men, or the less successful in initial rounds. If so, you may have confounding effects like selection bias, which you should discuss. (Or you may already have your next research idea right there ;-)</p>\n\n<p>As others write, <em>don't</em> just drop data. Data is precious. Use all you have.</p>\n\n<p>The <a href=\"http://www.consort-statement.org/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">CONSORT group</a> (which stands for \"Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials\") has some materials. It also publishes a <a href=\"http://www.consort-statement.org/download/Media/Default/Downloads/CONSORT%202010%20Flow%20Diagram.doc\" rel=\"noreferrer\">flowchart template (MS Word doc)</a> that seems to be becoming the norm for reporting dropouts in the course of trials. I know of a few journals that require exactly this kind of flowchart for submission, which will usually end up in the online supplement of the article. I find such a structure enormously helpful, certainly more so than a free text description that one needs to wade through. I'd strongly recommend you include this kind of flowchart.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 127406,
"author": "Francisco Maria Calisto",
"author_id": 36915,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/36915",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some time ago, we developed a work titled as <em><a href=\"http://www.inesc-id.pt/ficheiros/publicacoes/11389.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Adaptive Q-Sort Matrix Generation: A Simplified Approach</a></em> [1] to support our research. This work aims to implement a system related to the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi_method\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">DELPHI method</a>. In particular, the goal was to develop the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_methodology\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Q-Sort method</a> for information retrieval of an experts' panel. The reason why we did it was to provide a new and simple algorithm to generate the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_methodology\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Q-Sort matrices</a> that adjust to the size of a given survey. Therefore, we can have more questions whose weight is null for the outcome of the round. On the same hand, giving experts the need to prioritize some questions, above others, in order to reach a consensus in a more direct way.</p>\n\n<p>[1] Oliveira, B., Calisto, F.M., Gomes, L. and Borbinha, J., Adaptive Q-Sort Matrix Generation: A Simplified Approach.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43928",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33058/"
] |
43,940 |
<p>I'm a new graduate student and my adviser asked me to set up a meeting with some out-of-state colleagues (whom I haven't met yet) to start working on a collaboration that I'll be playing a major role in. One of these colleagues suggested a "webinar" or video conference for the meeting. I was wondering what kinds of video conference software are appropriate for this kind of situation - I asked my adviser but he's a little older and not technologically savvy. Is Skype too informal for a video conference like this? Is there another software that is more accepted among academics? These collaborators are at various institutions across the US (where I am), and are all either academics or government employees.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43942,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I use Skype and Google Hangouts all the time. No stigma attached. Go for whatever is convenient for everyone.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43945,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your university may pay for a license for one of the major web conference software packages like WebEx, GotoMeeting, Adobe Connect, or ZoomMeeting. You should check. These may have better screen-sharing features for slides, shared whiteboards, and the like. They all pretty much have free clients as long as some party to the call has paid for the service.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43955,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have direct experience with Skype and WebEx. Of these two, I have found Skype less reliable. I like the WebEx technical support.</p>\n\n<p>I find that if I use the computer for the audio, there is a bit of a delay, just enough to be annoying. So I use the telephone for the audio. WebEx allows you to choose how you will do your audio.</p>\n\n<p>You should buy a microphone headset for whatever you decide to use (computer or phone). Unfortunately the ones for the phone don't work with the computer, and vice versa.</p>\n\n<p>Find some live webinars and the like to participate in so you can see a good moderator in action. Then practice using the software, with a friend, colleague or relative.</p>\n\n<p>You can feel good about reducing your carbon footprint!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43957,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As somebody who does a <em>lot</em> of remote collaboration, I find that there is a distinct tradeoff between link quality and software. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Google Hangouts is the worst for audio and video quality, but is more resilient to bad connections. It will usually get <em>something</em> through.</li>\n<li>Skype is great when there's a decent connection, but degrades badly when there is not.</li>\n<li>Most paid software (e.g., WebEx, GoToMeeting) has less choppy video than Skype, but the audio is unreliable: some days it's great, some days it's crap. The audio problems seem to have to do with the phone part of the connection, not the network. </li>\n<li>Given good bandwidth, BlueJeans gives the best video and audio of any I've encountered, but will shamelessly dominate your machine's network connection and processors.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43960,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Personal anecdote: I am not allowed to install Skype on my corporate machine, for security reasons. (I'm unclear whether the issues our IT people fear are that people might listen in on our <em>secretsecretsecret</em> Skype calls, or whether they fear Skype might be a vector for malicious software.) So don't be surprised if someone cannot do Skype.</p>\n\n<p>My company has a (likely expensive) <a href=\"http://www.pgi.com/\">PGI</a> subscription. This runs in browsers, so we have less security concerns. It allows the host a lot of options and will work for larger videoconferences (multiple hundreds of participants).</p>\n\n<p>I realize that this is not academic use <em>per se</em>, so feel free to flame me ;-)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43988,
"author": "Jacobm001",
"author_id": 33455,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33455",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the culture will vary pretty dramatically based on the university you're at. Oregon State University's email accounts are through Google Apps for Education. Because of this, Hangouts is the primary chat/video conferencing application on campus. </p>\n\n<p>My recommendation would be to simply ask the people you're trying to conference with. List a couple services and ask what they're most comfortable with, if the choice isn't obvious.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44023,
"author": "BiLaL",
"author_id": 33481,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33481",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on over a decade experience of online collaboration for business and personal uses:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Google Hangout was the first major name to introduce group video chat [max 10 participants]. The main advantages of it is its smart codecs, which scale Up or Down the video quality dynamically based on the internet connection performance. By this way your connection remains connected and not goes on hold like Skype.</p>\n\n<p>There are some options to record the chat without third party softwares (<a href=\"https://plus.google.com/hangouts/onair\" rel=\"nofollow\">Hangout OnAir</a>)</p>\n\n<p>Along with this, it has got some 1 click enhancement options (e.g. brightness adjustment, auto enhance etc.)</p></li>\n<li><p>Skype has also got the group video chat option now. It is recommended in case of strong and reliable connection ONLY.</p></li>\n<li><p>GoTo meeting and GoTo Webinar are getting more popular for larger participants. Webinar is used for a larger audience, you can provide them the option to speak to all or write to you (organizer only).</p>\n\n<p>GoTo meeting is more suitable when all the participants are expected to have active participation.</p>\n\n<p>GoTo solutions provide the telephonic participation for audio also. I have shared a sample registration confirmation email on <a href=\"http://pastebin.com/mpNyQXag\" rel=\"nofollow\">PasteBin</a>. (The actual email is well formatted not just text based)</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>There is another aspect of this question. Nowadays institutes are having complete solution package from different providers i.e. \nGoogle Apps for Education or Office 365\nare the top most these days. </p>\n\n<p>ALSO, <br/>\nif the sensitivity of the meeting contents is high, at-least skype should not be your selection.</p>\n\n<p>Zoho, WebEx, Voxeet are some other names to mention.</p>\n\n<p>TeamViewer is a decent and very old screen sharing solution, it supports multiple users and the video result is very stable. It is free for non-commercial use. You can compliment it with some other audio option for best results.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45350,
"author": "silvado",
"author_id": 3890,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3890",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The German research network DFN is running three Adobe Connect Servers for web conferencing (see <a href=\"https://www.vc.dfn.de/en/web-conferencing.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.vc.dfn.de/en/web-conferencing.html</a>). Every member of a German research organization that is part of DFN should be able to use this service without further cost. In my case, I can simply log in with my University computer account and create sessions. I can also invite external attendees as guests.</p>\n\n<p>Regarding features, I particularly like the different whiteboard options in Adobe Connect for discussing academic content. Also, as this runs over servers of the research network, there's not the issue with data security that some may have when using Skype or Google hangouts.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 63014,
"author": "Nick Ayres",
"author_id": 40768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/40768",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Our research collaboration uses Clickmeeting <a href=\"http://www.clickmeeting.co.uk/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.clickmeeting.co.uk/</a> . It is an online meeting tool which does not require installation of any software and runs entirely in the browser. We've used it successfully for meetings of around 30 participants. It supports voice, camera, chat and screen sharing. We don't tend to have any connection problems, but if we do it is quick to rejoin the session.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43940",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21458/"
] |
43,953 |
<p>If a phd student is completely funded by an outside institution and don't cost the school or the university anything, what impact would that have on the student relationship with his advisor? Especially on things like interest on the student progress. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43956,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The main effect of external support on a student/advisor relationship is that there is less external pressure for production of short-term results. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends strongly on the individual student and advisor. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>With less pressure on the student, there is more freedom to develop a unique research agenda but also more opportunity to get \"lost\" in the possibilities and waste time.</li>\n<li>With less pressure on the advisor, there are fewer boss/employee dynamics in the relationship and generally less strain, but also more opportunity for the advisor to be distracted by other short-term concerns.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>A secondary effect is that the student may have less opportunities to be apprenticed in grant-writing, since their support is already assured.</p>\n\n<p>In sum: with a good advisor and a student with a mature outlook, the freedom of external support is a blessing. If either of those two ingredients is lacking, it can be a problem to lack the forcing functions of external support.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43973,
"author": "A.S",
"author_id": 22447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22447",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although each case is unique, my general sense is that advisors tend to care the most about (invest more time/effort into) students who are \"their\" students, in the sense that they are brought into the program to work with (be funded by) them, to conduct research within their general research field/agenda, and to adhere to their recommendations, including the approximate study plan and time to degree. </p>\n\n<p>With this in mind, the more you can emulate this dynamic (align yourself with advisor in ways that minimize differences caused by independent support), the less awkward the relationship will be. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43994,
"author": "Tim",
"author_id": 33459,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33459",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am tempted to say that if the student is good, then the professor will push him/her to do more, and vice versa.</p>\n\n<p>A professor's success depends <strong>a lot</strong> on the group's PhD students. Once a hiring decision is made, the professor doesn't really get reminded of who's footing the bill every day. Therefore the level of supervision would stay uniform across the board.</p>\n\n<p>It is very much a semiotic relation, not a parasitic one.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44000,
"author": "sevensevens",
"author_id": 14754,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14754",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First off, having a PhD paid for by an outside institution is a big advantage for any PhD student. This generally makes it much easier to gain admittance to a PhD program as you are essentially free labor. <strong>Be sure your advisor can take advantage of this in a way that benefits you.</strong></p>\n\n<p>I've seen this situation most often when a company foots the bill for an employee. If this is the case, be sure your advisor's work lines up well with what the company is doing. You're generally expected to work for the company after graduation, so keep this in mind.</p>\n\n<p>If you are lucky enough to get a full scholarship for the entirety of your PhD, skip to the next paragraph. If not, keep reading. Most PhD student \"pay\" for their education via GRA/GTA positions at the university, and by bringing in outside research grant money. Many of these grants are called scholarships, and will only last 1 year.</p>\n\n<p>If you are entirely funded from the outside, reach out to people you know who went to the school, and find a prof who has worked with people who are \"self-funded\". Some profs are very happy to work within constraints that may be set by your scholarship, while other would prefer you be funded under their projects.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43953",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21517/"
] |
43,959 |
<p>Assume you are writing a manuscript and you have uploaded your raw data to a relevant hosting site (e.g., The Dataverse Network, FigShare, etc.). Where in the manuscript should you indicate a link to this?</p>
<p>This question was posted on <a href="https://twitter.com/nicebread303/status/590395191359582209">twitter</a> and one suggestion was to include a link in the author notes and the results.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43961,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am sure there are many ways to do this, but I have recently started to end the paper with a specific (unnumbered) section <strong>Further Material</strong> (or something like this). For an example, you can check <a href=\"http://arxiv.org/abs/1411.2429\">this preprint</a> of mine.</p>\n\n<p>Before, I primarily gave a link to the online material as a footnote somewhere in the Experiments section, or wherever else it made sense from the text flow. However, it happened to me more than once that a careless reviewer overlooked these footnotes, and complained that the data has not been made public.</p>\n\n<p>Some journals will also allow you to upload accompanying material to their website. However, at least in my field this is so unusual that I would be afraid that potential readers will not even look for the material on the publisher's website.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43964,
"author": "Andrew",
"author_id": 27825,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27825",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some journals ask for a standardised data section - see, for example, the start of <a href=\"http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122588\" rel=\"nofollow\">this recent PLOS paper</a>. Some (eg <a href=\"http://publications.agu.org/author-resource-center/author-guide/text-requirements/#ack\" rel=\"nofollow\">JGR</a>) recommend putting it in with acknowledgements. Many more (eg <a href=\"http://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/227_Instructions+for+Authors+-+specific+requirements-Jan+2015.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-1404302-p1031155\" rel=\"nofollow\">Marine Biology</a>) are somewhat vague but suggest in-text citation of the dataset. It'd be worth checking what's standard for the journal(s) you're planning to submit to.</p>\n\n<p>If there's no guidance at all, then putting in a short section at the end on accessing data is perfectly reasonable - it stands out, as xLeitix says, and it is easy enough to move it around elsewhere if requested. And if you have a DOI for the data citation, use it - it'll help credit the data if reused in future.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Edit</strong>: <a href=\"http://www2.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/publications/authors/journal-and-bams-authors/journal-and-bams-authors-guide/data-archiving-and-citation/\" rel=\"nofollow\">here's an excellent and detailed example</a> of how to do in-text citation of data, from the American Meteorological Society. They explicitly deprecate the acknowledgements approach (though suggest both can be used in parallel if desired).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44070,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In epidemiology and other medical research it is extremely common to both describe the data set in question, and to discuss what software package was used to do the analysis, both of them in the <em>Methods</em> section of a paper.</p>\n\n<p>As such, the most logical place is to link to open data is at the end of this description.</p>\n\n<p>For example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>These data sets do not include patient-level information, but rather laboratory confirmed, suspected or probable cases of the disease, which is thought to represent the best available estimate of the current state of the epidemic. A curated version of this data is available at <a href=\"https://github.com/username/horribledisease\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://github.com/username/horribledisease</a>.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43959",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62/"
] |
43,969 |
<p>In chemistry and physics, there are now a number of scientists who appear as authors on over 1,000 papers. Famous professors can have good funding and then a large research group where their research fellows work in parallel while they apply for more funds.</p>
<p>However, when it comes to 1,000 papers, to me it no longer seems possible for a person to make a legitimate contribution to each paper. In other words, it seems the famous professor's contribution must be trivial to many of these papers. I even wonder if there is time to read all of their papers carefully.</p>
<p>Do these authors simply get authorship in return for getting funding and running a group, or is it possible for them to be a full author in the normal sense of the word for most or all of their papers?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43970,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It seems like a single person could make a meaningful contribution to 1000 papers. Assuming 40 years of high publishing productivity (35-75 years old), 1000 papers requires 2 a month. With an 80 percent time commitment on a 50 hour work week, that is 80 hours of contribution per paper. I think 80 hours is enough time to make a contribution to a paper worthy of authorship. Simply discounting papers because someone has published a lot seems unfair.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 63500,
"author": "Boris Bukh",
"author_id": 609,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/609",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To answer the title question: Yes, it is possible, as shown by the following convincing example.</p>\n\n<p>Logician Saharon Shelah has written <a href=\"http://shelah.logic.at/\" rel=\"nofollow\">over a thousand papers</a> (in addition to a number of books). The inner workings of collaborations are never public, but the norms of the field and the fact that the papers have very few coauthors strongly suggests that he did indeed make substantial contribution to all of them.</p>\n\n<p>[ Whether most scientists with over a thousand papers to their name \"earned\" them is a different question. ]</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 93244,
"author": "J Fabian Meier",
"author_id": 27442,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27442",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While it is possible (as other answers show), there are also professors whose name could be considered as the collective pseudonym of their PhD students: The students publish papers with the author \"Prof X\" (and their own name), so that they can write grant proposals for \"Prof X\", citing all his papers.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43969",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33431/"
] |
43,974 |
<p>I am currently a PhD student in a biomedical related field.<br>
I came a long way. I first did my undergraduate and worked for a few years, though not research related. Later, I identified my research interest before embarking in the PhD with the hope of fulfilling my career dreams. I used to love and enjoy science, but that was long ago. I was happy when I got into the PhD program. Now I'm nearly 2 years into my study, mostly 'wet' lab and basic sciences research. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, my experiments - most of them - fail. Initially, that was due to lack of skills and experience - with time things have improved but I am still lacking good results that can give clear direction in my work.<br>
My project has been modified a few times because initially there were problems with the biological samples so I had no choice. Then, I tried to 'reproduce' a piece of result done by a colleague few years ago but the results were always 'off' no matter how many times I did it. Even someone else with better experience in the lab tried but could not replicate the same result. The conclusion was perhaps, change in phenotype of biological samples over time.<br>
Then my project changed again, and the technique is now becoming more complicated and 'taxing'. Partly, because my supervisor is not very happy and feels that it is time I should be producing good data and should aim for higher impact. With more complicated experiments, I also need to beef up my basic sciences knowledge but as someone coming from a different background it is taking me extra time to grasp. With my confidence going in a downward spiral. </p>
<p>I am finding more and more difficult to articulate my thoughts clearly to my peers and I feel constant 'rejection' and 'guilt'. Most of my colleagues are actually good people, but harsh words, although not ill-meaning, are slowly eroding my confidence. When I ask questions because there is something that I don't fully understand (without prior knowledge and not something I can read up on), people appear impatient and ask back (e.g. "why are you asking?", "what do you think?", or just "I can't give an answer to you on this"). It feels more and more difficult for me to ask questions or speak up for myself. </p>
<p>One day, I was blamed for something (from someone outside the lab) that I didn't even do. The accusation was pretty unreasonable - others who witnessed the event felt the same - but to me I felt I was just a bully target. I just broke down and cried because I realized I couldn't take the stress and frustration of rejections and failure.<br>
My friend in the same lab gave me some counseling but also at the same time asked me whether working in this lab is truly what I want to do. I don't want to quit my PhD, but then again I don't know how I can get out of this situation. </p>
<ul>
<li>Should I change project?<br>
But my PhD qualifying exam is coming up and I am having a massive problem with writing up a good proposal because of all the frustrations happening. </li>
<li>Should I change to dry lab?<br>
I am afraid of talking to my mentor because I don't know whether at my current mental state I'll just suddenly break down again. </li>
</ul>
<p>In summary, my resentment and contradictory statements that I receive: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ideology: To do a PhD, perseverance is more important than being smart.<br>
Reality: You need to be smart. REALLY SMART. </p></li>
<li><p>Ideology: There's not such thing as a stupid question. Ask if you don't understand.<br>
Reality: Huh? Why do you even ask?</p></li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43996,
"author": "sevensevens",
"author_id": 14754,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14754",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <ul>\n <li>Should I change project?</li>\n <li>Should I change to dry lab?</li>\n </ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>A PhD can be extremely frustrating and discouraging. Whatever you do, don't make a major decision while you are stressed and upset. Take a deep breath (and maybe a day off) and decide what you need to focus on.</p>\n\n<p>Since you will be qualing soon, you likely need to spend a significant amount of time studying for that. Passing your quals are important, and will likely give you a confidence boost.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, consider finding a social outlet. Many grad departments have a weekly social meet-up at a bar. Apart from meeting people that work in different labs, it is also quite likely you will meet other people who have gone through this issue, and will help you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44005,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's good that you are reaching out for help. To address all the issues and problems you face will be a long process. Start by focusing in just the first steps.</p>\n\n<p>First, I suggest you recruit a \"coach\" -- a respected peer, a recent graduate, a researcher from another department, or a PhD who works in industry. This \"coach\" should <em>not</em> be your supervisor or anyone in your lab. You need someone with whom you can be totally open and honest, and even be \"messy\". This \"coach\" won't give you much advice and certainly won't solve any of your problems. They just need to be understanding, supportive, and consistent in their connection with you.</p>\n\n<p>Talk with your coach <em>every day</em> for at least 15 minutes. Set short-term goals -- just for the next day -- and hold yourself accountable in front of your coach. Set a few number of <em>small</em> goals, e.g. \"Tomorrow, I want to rewrite four pages in my lab notes\".</p>\n\n<p>Second suggestion -- start a journal (NOT on a computer or on the Internet) where you record ONE positive experience or accomplishment <em>every day</em>, no matter how small. Maybe it is just something you noticed or someone you appreciated. Maybe it is something that made you laugh. The point of this is to make a habit of paying attention to -- and <em>soak in</em> -- positive and expansive experiences.</p>\n\n<p>Again, these two suggestions are just the first steps, aimed at giving you a more solid footing emotionally so you can deal with the bigger long term challenges you face.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43974",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33441/"
] |
43,977 |
<p>I want to know if it is ethical to present the same paper in two different conferences, where the conference that is to be held earlier does not publish in it any journal/conference proceedings, while other conference will publish it in a conference proceedings.</p>
<p>The field is mathematics.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43979,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The issue is highly field-dependent. In computer science, it's probably still considered highly unethical, but in my field—chemical engineering, where papers are not normally \"published\"—presenting the same talk in multiple venues is not normally considered a problem. Other fields lie somewhere in between.</p>\n\n<p>I think that, regardless of the ethical dilemma, the issue is that the more likely you are to have overlap between the two audiences who will hear your talk, the less you want to give the same talk—even if it's ethical to do so. At the very least, you should have enough new material in the later talk that it's worth the audience's time to hear the second version if they've already heard it at the first conference.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 73517,
"author": "Conceição Costa",
"author_id": 58771,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/58771",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree that's not unethical to present the same study for different audiences. But no to publish or try to publish the same paper in several publications. Editors does not allow and I agree.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 73518,
"author": "GEdgar",
"author_id": 4484,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4484",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>\"The ethical issue in CS is double publication, not double presentation\" ... I think the same is true in mathematics. </p>\n\n<p>Way back, a year or so after my Ph.D., I proved a <a href=\"http://www.ams.org/journals/proc/1975-049-02/S0002-9939-1975-0372586-2/home.html\">certain result.</a> I submitted it to a journal. Then I was invited to 2 or 3 conferences, where I was expected to talk about that result.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43977",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13294/"
] |
43,981 |
<p>I am a full professor of chemistry from Iran. I want to move to the United States. I have a good record of publications, teaching, executive positions, conference participation, etc.</p>
<p>However, as I applied for full professor position, I was not successful. Apparently, my credentials are equal to successful candidates or even better (I checked with the names announced), but their works were in the same country.</p>
<p>I do not care to apply for an assistant/associate professor position, but the requirements are different. They expect young people to start.</p>
<p>What can be a promising pathway for me to enter the US higher education?</p>
<p>Is it actually possible? Can a professor from a developing country find a place in the US higher education?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43987,
"author": "Jeremy Miles",
"author_id": 6495,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6495",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Short answer: Yes, a professor from a developing country can find employment.</p>\n\n<p>Longer answer: It's hard for anyone to get a position as a full professor. It's likely to be harder if you are from another country. </p>\n\n<p>\"I applied for full professor position, I was not successful.\" Many, many people apply for full professorship positions. Most of them are not successful. There are many reasons you didn't get offered the position.</p>\n\n<p>One of the reasons may have been that there would be more hassle to do the necessary paperwork for immigration purposes. Not all universities will do this.</p>\n\n<p>The main reason was that there was someone that the appointing committee liked more. </p>\n\n<p>You might ask for feedback about why you weren't offered the position, but the university might not be forthcoming. </p>\n\n<p>The big hurdle that I think you are going to have is fear from the university. If they appoint someone and they turn out to be unsuccessful, they have a problem on their hands. Removing a full professor is difficult. Someone they know (or know of, through contacts) is always going to be a safer bet than someone who they don't know. (I read somewhere recently, and I can't think where that assistant professors are appointed because of hope - the hope that they will do well. Full professors are appointed through fear - the fear that they won't turn out to be a disaster for the university).</p>\n\n<p>I would have two pieces of advice: (1) Keep applying, and seek feedback about your application. (2) Don't be too fussy about the position; if you are in the country and have a job, it will (I think) be easier to get a different job.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 43990,
"author": "gnometorule",
"author_id": 4384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My spontaneous thought when seeing your question was whether you had considered a visiting position as well. The barriers for a non-permanent position are naturally lower. I've seen cases where this happened in a different field in Zurich, where a Russian Academy of Science member was a semi-permanent guest (this was a long while back after the borders had just opened, and so it somewhat compares). It comes with risks and possible frustration: the person I have in mind - a distinguished academic in his home country, advanced in age (mid 50s), and highly intelligent - relied on continued good will; the resulting feeling sometimes showed. While there is never a guarantee that this translates - somewhere in your target country - to a permanent position, at least you'd have your foot in the door. </p>\n\n<p>I also remembered a quote from my old Latin teacher: connections only hurt those that don't have them. Iranians have a sizable presence in the US - both from before and after the revolution. Many are highly successful and accomplished, and to further their goals, associations exist. By its name, the association of <a href=\"http://www.iaapdc.org/about/\">Iranian-American Academics and Professionals</a> sounds like a fit (and if not, there are others). I'd consider reaching out to them for advice too. Maybe they can set you up with someone who has the same story, and is willing to mentor you. </p>\n\n<p>Given the current political situation, I don't know if any of the above raises additional issues for you. You'll only know after you tried. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44001,
"author": "DVK",
"author_id": 20300,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20300",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p><em>What can be a promising pathway for me to enter the US higher education?</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You mentioned \"a good record of publications, teaching, executive positions, conference participation\" but didn't offer any details. </p>\n\n<p>One possible approach likely to help is <strong>to co-research and co-publish with US academia members</strong>, ideally from schools you are interested in.</p>\n\n<p>If they come out of the collaboration impressed with you, they can serve as <strong>local advocates with their institution</strong> for you. A publication might carry less weight than a personal recommendation from a colleague they personally know who can describe the work you did for that publication, in most situations - and would to the hiring committee as well.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43981",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33450/"
] |
43,982 |
<p>I recently published a paper in a journal which does not offer a notification system to send email alerts when a paper is cited. The journal is a well known and has a high-impact factor in my field. Are there free services which can automatically send me an email alert when my paper is cited in another publication?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 43983,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You can set up an <a href=\"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_alerts?view_op=list_alerts&hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">alert on Google scholar</a> that will do exactly what you want. From Google's <a href=\"http://scholar.google.com/intl/en-US/scholar/help.html#alerts\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">help page</a>:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>How do I get notified when a particular paper is cited?</strong></p>\n<p>Search for the title of your paper, e.g., "Anti de Sitter space and\nholography"; click on the "Cited by" link at the bottom of the search\nresult; and then click on the envelope icon in the left sidebar of the\nsearch results page.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>An even more effective way can be to set up a google scholar <a href=\"http://scholar.google.com/intl/en-US/scholar/citations.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">citation profile</a> and select "Follow new citations" from the appropriate checkbox in the "Follow"/"Following" menu of your own profile.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44032,
"author": "kroneml",
"author_id": 33485,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33485",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another option would be <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/\" rel=\"nofollow\">ResearchGate </a>. It a bit like facebook for academia (e.g., you can additionally follow people and get alerts when they publish new research). It's free, so you can give it a try.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 110699,
"author": "Caleb Stanford",
"author_id": 7368,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7368",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The top answer mentions setting up a \"google scholar citation profile\" to get notified automatically when any of your articles are cited. Those instructions may be out of date, so here's how to do it <strong>as of June 2018:</strong></p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Go to your own google scholar profile (you probably have to set one up first)</li>\n<li>Click the blue \"Follow\" button</li>\n<li>Select one or more of the three checkboxes: \"New articles in my profile\", \"New citations to my articles\", \"Recommended articles\".</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>If you like, you can also subscribe to these categories for other researchers' pages (probably \"new articles\" is the most useful in that case).</p>\n\n<p>All of these email notifications can be listed and managed, along with your keyword alerts, in your Scholar Alerts page, which can be found at <a href=\"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_alerts?view_op=list_alerts&hl=en\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://scholar.google.com/scholar_alerts?view_op=list_alerts&hl=en</a>.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43982",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29042/"
] |
44,013 |
<p>In computer science, I often see companies sponsoring academic conferences. What do companies hope to gain from doing so, and is there any evidence that these hopes are fulfilled?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44025,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Advertisement. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>is there any evidence that these hopes are fulfilled</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes: if it didn't work, companies would slowly stop sponsoring.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44072,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Three reasons immediately come to mind:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Advertising. I have a <em>staggering</em> amount of marketing material from tech companies, and I don't even go to that many C.S.-type conferences. I've got things covered in stickers, a t-shirt or two, etc. And there is something to be fair for your firm being on people's minds associated with the conference.</li>\n<li>Recruiting. It's very common for there to be recruiting events, tables, or the occasional pitch during a conference. It's an easy way to reach an audience of people who have a particular skill set you know you're looking for.</li>\n<li>Supporting the community. Many commercial businesses are built on software and systems built and maintained by the community, their employees use that software, etc. If a conference sponsorship keeps that going, it's probably worth it as essentially an R&D expense.</li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44013",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/452/"
] |
44,014 |
<p>I'll be attending a accredited/well-recognized university for my undergrad this coming fall, and I'm just curious about research correlating with publications. I have a particular yearning passion in enhancing the field of pediatric robotic surgery, a new field of medicine that just opened up very recently, and I am firmly intrigued in doing undergrad research along with a publication from that department. Now I know for a fact publications take up an exceeding amount of time. </p>
<p>My main question is :</p>
<p><strong>How long does it take a student to conduct undergrad research and then release a publication based off of that research?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44036,
"author": "user33493",
"author_id": 33493,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33493",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think your question is perhaps ambiguous (does \"typical length of time\" mean hours you put in, or days/months from the start of the project?), and not really answerable regardless of the interpretation. There are different kinds of undergraduate research. Here are a couple of the usual ways undergrad research is done:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>A somewhat intensive short period of time (6-8 weeks, say) where a student works on a topic chosen by an advisor ahead of time. Presumably these topics are carefully chosen so that the student is able to make real progress in such a short period of time. These projects are often in the form of an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates). If you do some googling, you will likely find REU's in your field of study, and some advisors/organizers nicely list all of the publications that come out of the REU's. You will see that not all REU projects result in publications.</p></li>\n<li><p>Working over a longer period of time with a specific professor in your department. This can be an actual job, where you are paid to work in a research lab, or it can be an \"independent study\" course, where you actually get a couple of credits to work with a professor on a research project. If you are being paid to do research as a student job, your hours may be (at least technically) limited by university policy. This type of research <em>can</em> be very substantial. For example, I knew a person who worked in a professor's fluid mechanics lab for all 4 years of his undergraduate education, and I think they produced and published some nice results.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So, for shorter more packaged projects, I think a \"typical\" time would be 6-8 weeks. For longer, more open-ended projects, you could potentially work with a professor for years (depending on lab space, grant money, etc.). All of this is highly field-dependent I'm sure.</p>\n\n<p>Now, all of this being said, I think the most important point to make is that <em>publications should not be your ultimate goal</em>. Work hard, be passionate about your field of study, learn as much as you can, and keep up on the other things you have to do as an undergrad. If you do this, then you will impress your advisors and have great letters of recommendation, which will help you get into a great graduate school, and then you can spend the rest of your career worrying about publications :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44037,
"author": "Stephanie",
"author_id": 32695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32695",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer depends on many many factors </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>How intelligent you are</li>\n<li>How concentrated your work is</li>\n<li>How hard what you're doing is</li>\n<li>How much support you get from the rest of the group</li>\n<li>How much previous experience you have</li>\n<li>Whether the project actually ends up producing publishable work</li>\n<li>What the rest of the group is doing, where they are at with publications</li>\n<li>Whether you're first author/who actually writes the paper. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I go to a famous university in the UK and even though I've spent two of my summers doing research projects that were 8 weeks long, I've only been listed as an author in one conference abstract & talk so far. \nFor example my first project would have been publishable if it had worked but the problem was far too complex and it didn't work out. </p>\n\n<p>I'm now in my masters year and much more likely to get a publication from the work I've been doing in the past few months (2-3). There are up to 3 papers my supervisor is talking about my work being included in and .\nI put this better outcome down to better vision from the supervisor, harder work and better work from myself due to experience and the fact the group are looking to publish soon.</p>\n\n<p>It's very complex balance of things, if your main goal of a project is to publish which is fair enough because this is how we concretely measure progress in academia, I'd suggest a minimum of 8 weeks work would be required. You also want to keep an eye out on how frequently groups are publishing and ask the research scientists you look to work with about publishing prospects when deciding. \nIf you were writing the paper yourself then you need extra time for that too. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44014",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33474/"
] |
44,017 |
<p>I was assigned a research topic for one of my psych classes this term. I designed the study, collected and analyzed data and then wrote a paper. After I presented my paper to my professor, she was very excited and said this paper was publishable. She would definitely run follow-up studies on this topic. I then offered to join her team to run this study and she agreed. </p>
<p>Now I am not sure if I am only participating as a volunteer research assistant or as a co-researcher for this project, considering the research topic is not my original idea. I just designed the study, ran it and received significant results. </p>
<p>Should I ask for clarification on my role at the upcoming meeting with my prof ? If so, how should I approach? I don't want to appear too aggressive.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44022,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you have conducted the pilot study and are also part of the follow-up team expanding it into a full publishable study, then you should definitely be invited to help write and be an author of the paper.</p>\n\n<p>This should also be an easy and uncontroversial decision for your professor. It's also fine and in fact good to get that clarification explicitly now. You can just ask something like: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I'm excited about helping turn this project into a paper. Am I right in thinking this means I will be an author of the paper as well?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is not a hard question, so if your professor says anything other than \"yes,\" (possibly with appropriate caveats about you actually sticking with the project) then you should be concerned.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44034,
"author": "Mfornari",
"author_id": 33489,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33489",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Before talk with your professor, take a look at other papers published by him/her; you will get a sense if he/she usually includes all involved students as co-authors or not. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44043,
"author": "userABC123",
"author_id": 32873,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32873",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>All of the other answers give good advice.</p>\n\n<p>It should never be considered aggressive to ask. You certainly shouldn't assume your name will go on the paper. It may be too early to tell if you'll be first author, so I'd use \"co-author\" instead of \"author\" when asking.</p>\n\n<p><em>I don't know what the psych field is like. I've had experience in microbiology (where the average number of authors is ~5) and physics (where the average number of authors in some fields is ~2).</em></p>\n\n<p>If asking about authorship makes you uncomfortable, another (lesser) way to do it is to offer to write up a more polished version of the paper. This will get you to the point where the professor is editing the paper and byline will be filled in. Or the professor may bring up the topic for you.</p>\n\n<p>Assuming your account of how the research progressed is correct, if your professor says \"no\", it's time to find another lab. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44085,
"author": "TeraTon",
"author_id": 33528,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33528",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you can prove that you were a major contributor to the paper as it seems from the fact that you \"designed the study, collected and analyzed data and then wrote a paper.\" then you should definately be one of the authors on the paper as a major contributor. </p>\n\n<p>The role of the main author differs by university/country, but if you already have written the paper and it just needs edits from more experienced academia writers, then you should be in my opinion the main author.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44017",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33477/"
] |
44,019 |
<p>There is a degree called “Masters by research” in Australia, in which a researcher basically researches for two years(full time) on the topic or research problem(differs from Phd on many aspects especially minimum requirements).</p>
<p>What is its equivalent degree in USA? </p>
<p>Is it MPhil? Are they both same or are they different? (may be based on entry requirements, task done and degree completion requirements).</p>
<p>As far as I know, both require dissertation but there are not many taught courses in Masters by research and you are expected to make some unique contribution to knowledge body.</p>
<p>Is MPhil restricted to certain faculty such as arts or it can be in any fields (For e.g., computer science)? </p>
<p>I am bit confused as some Australian universities also offer MPhil in addition to master by research degree and I could not find degree called "Masters by research" in US universities.</p>
<p>Can anyone please clarify?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44035,
"author": "Wesley Bland",
"author_id": 8503,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8503",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience, there isn't a separate degree in the US for achieving your Masters degree through research. In fact, in many places, that's the only way to do so. At the university where I received my Masters degree, you had three options, all of which granted the same degree:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Coursework</strong> - Take something like 30 course hours.</li>\n<li><strong>Coursework + Project</strong> - Take fewer hours (around 20 - 24) and do a larger project than a normal project course.</li>\n<li><strong>Coursework + Thesis</strong> - Take fewer hours (around 20 - 24) and do a smaller thesis than a PhD.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Many universities don't have of the options and just have #3.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 89038,
"author": "Richard Erickson",
"author_id": 33210,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33210",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am not familiar with the Australian higher education model, but there are no standardized degree requirements across the United States. Most program requirements are similar, but specific program requirements vary both within and among universities (e.g., most PhD programs require coursework in the US, but not all). </p>\n\n<p>To answer your question <em>What is its equivalent degree in USA?</em>, I'll build upon Wesley Bland's answer. I've personally observed that some programs in the US give Masters of Science (MS) degrees for thesis based graduates (Wesley's option 2) and Masters of Arts (MA) for non-thesis based graduates (Wesley's option 1). Wesley's option 3 could be either an MS or MA degree. <strong>But</strong>, this trend is not consistent across school or even programs. Additionally, I've seen some programs give MAs to MS students who fail their thesis defense (rather than an MS degree if they re-defend their work or no degree at all). </p>\n\n<p>Last, there is a current trend for schools to offer \"professional\" Masters level degrees in the US because these programs generate income for the university (see this <a href=\"http://www.chronicle.com/article/Those-Master-s-Degree/146105?cid=rclink\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">article</a> for a discussion on the topic. Some of these are MS degrees, some are MA degrees. Others are program specific degrees (e.g., Masters of International Affairs). </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44019",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15389/"
] |
44,026 |
<p>I have been working on a research project and have submitted the paper to two different venues(not simultaneously), and both times I have gotten reviews which criticize the paper for a lack of novelty. What exactly makes an algorithm or system design novel? How can I judge the novelty of my solution? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44028,
"author": "gefei",
"author_id": 9829,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9829",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Try to answer these questions and write your answers down in the \"Related Work\" section:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>What are the related algorithms? </li>\n<li>Is there any problem that they have not solve but your algorithm has?</li>\n<li>If yes, it's easy for you. </li>\n<li>If no, why is your algorithm different? </li>\n<li>Is it more efficient in terms of time or space? </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you have answered these questions, I think you are off to a good start to judge the novelty of you algorithm.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44029,
"author": "Tim",
"author_id": 33459,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33459",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think you should know the answer more than the rest of us. It is novel if no one else has thought of it or implemented it. You must show this sufficiently in your literature survey (background section) to satisfy your reviewers.</p>\n\n<p>As long as you can differentiate your work from others in the same field, then it is novel. I would think it is easy to show that an algorithm is novel, can't you test your algorithm against others that attempt to do the same thing, and test it using the same benchmark? Focus on computation expense and storage?</p>\n\n<p>Feel free to send a rebuttal asking which paper(s) they think talk about the same thing, thereby making your paper not novel. Chances are, they have something to substantiate their claims. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44030,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The novelty of a scientific result is defined in terms of its relationship to previously published results. In order to perform such a comparison you need:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>to have a good idea of what related works have been published by the community, typically obtained by some combination of reading papers and attending conferences, and </li>\n<li>to compare your your system against the most similar prior systems and demonstrate its quantitative or qualitative superiority (e.g. \"my system is three times faster\" or \"my system can process widgets AND frobs, and all previous systems could only do one or the other\").</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>The \"amount\" of novelty is then how <em>much</em> better you are, relative to the interests of the community, and is very community dependent: a 2% improvement in the cost of manufacturing concrete is worth billions of dollars, while a 2% improvement in the speed of a personal computer program is generally unnoticeably tiny.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44052,
"author": "Razvan",
"author_id": 33507,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33507",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is very difficult to commensurate novelty. To make sure you score well at this topic you have to provide a good and fair comparison with what has been already developed in the field. You have to be well aware of the state of the art. </p>\n\n<p>Similar to a mathematical theorem, novelty is demonstrated, and not implied. Don't expect the reviewer to do your work and compare your methods with other methods.</p>\n\n<p>Also, try to see if the conclusions of any paper, that also contains a set of challenging problems, not solved yet, can be be addressed by your work. Also, try to get some position papers where the problem you solve is being acknowledged.</p>\n\n<p>There are different orthogonal aspects you have to care about, novelty is one. Importance of the work is another, third is how to disseminate it easily to the public. History of science is full of people who made breakthrough discoveries and remained anonymous, while the scientist doing the mass dissemination actually got the credit.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44026",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33483/"
] |
44,039 |
<p>I will have my master thesis defense in one week and today my advisor wrote me he is not sure about a method I used to obtain a result (this will not ruin the entire work, but still will make some results useless). </p>
<p>I explained him the theory behind the method (which I found in a highly reccomended book, and I decided to apply after having written to the book's author to ask clarifications), but still he keeps raising doubts about it.</p>
<p>The fact is that now it is too late to change things, because the thesis has already been registered and anyway I do not understand why the method should be wrong. Therefore I stick to what is written in the book and to the explanation the author gave me. </p>
<p>I thought that maybe he just want to make sure I will be prepared to defend my work that day, but he is actually having words on the method itself, which is not something I have invented: I am just applying it as it was explained.</p>
<p>This is making me really anxious, because I do not know how to deal with this if such a question should be asked during the defense. I mean, I will give the same explanation, but what if someone insist on it? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44041,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is not something you should get to your defense with your advisor still doubting. You and he need to sit down ASAP, work through the material, and not stop until he is satisfied. I would would hope that he would be willing to take this very seriously. No advisor should let a thesis go to a public defense with this kind of question looming in their mind. No one should be forced to do a defense that their advisor thinks they're not ready for. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44042,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The part where you say that you do not understand why the is wrong and you are just stick to what is written in the book and the author's explanation is most likely to be the problem. The first step is to understand the advisor's objection to the method. Now that you know that there is a reason to doubt the method, you should concentrate critically on that method, and do your best to find the flaws in the method. Do not be distracted by the fact that it is too late to change anything, and focus on truth. It may well be that there is some minor change in the method that would solve the problem, which you need to discover. That is the purpose of graduate education.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44081,
"author": "moooeeeep",
"author_id": 2800,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2800",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Criticism about other scientists methodology is an essential part of any scientific discourse. You should not consider results bullet proof anyways, that have not been verified by other research units, possibly using a different methodology.</p>\n\n<p>You are lucky as your advisor told you about his objections before the defense. Make sure that you understand the reason and the consequences of the criticism, so that you can prepare a response in beforehand.</p>\n\n<p>Your response should make clear that you are aware of the issue and how it would influence (or even invalidate?) the results you've obtained (if it were true). Also think about whether you think the criticism is relevant, justified and what measures could be taken to avoid the issue (as part of future works on the topic). </p>\n\n<p>You might also want to add a note on this to the discussion part of your thesis and a slide about it to your presentation that you may turn to when the question comes up.</p>\n\n<p>If you find out that the approach you've taken is indeed flawed it shouldn't mean that your thesis failed altogether. But you should describe specifically why and how your approach did fail and how you think future works should approach the research question to be effective. Note that there's even a bunch of journals that also publish negative research outcomes to counteract publication bias.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44039",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28587/"
] |
44,044 |
<p>Apparently, Iowa's politicians intend to enrich the tenure experience by annual <a href="http://academeblog.org/2015/04/21/culling-the-iowa-faculty/">gladiatorial games</a> at state schools, regardless of tenure:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>those being evaluated below some threshold shall be terminated, and</p></li>
<li><p>after (1), the 5 remaining lowest scoring professors will be put to a public student vote, and the one with the least student support shall be terminated.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The source looks legit - blog of the AAUP. I'm not sure if this is enacted, or proposed (I think proposed). I'm also not entirely sure how to link this to an answerable question fit for Academia.SE, but maybe: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Is this a joke I didn't get, or is it true?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it part of a broader wave? </p></li>
<li><p>Does this contradict any case law, or is being fought already somehow; or will professors just have to live with it? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>If this is true, and stands in Iowa, to be worried for the US at large one just has to look at how quality of life legislation spread like a wild fire once enacted in one place. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44046,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Proposals to \"reform\" or end tenure are not new—they have been going around for several decades at least (as I remember such stories when I was an undergraduate in the 1990's).</p>\n\n<p>This is not yet enacted legislation—it is merely a proposal that, as far as I can tell, probably has not even had any hearings yet. As such, I would suspect that such a bill would be shot down in committee, as the proposed methods would probably violate at least some sort of labor laws, as the faculty would in effect be judged by students with whom they have never interacted. Such \"popularity contests\" would pretty much dry up any opportunities for faculty recruitment. (Who would want to work at such a school?)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44068,
"author": "eykanal",
"author_id": 73,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The <a href=\"http://academeblog.org/2015/04/22/culling-the-faculty-part-ii/\">follow-up post</a> to the aforelinked post mentioned above answers most of your questions. Specifically:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The bill is not a joke, it was actually <a href=\"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/Published/LGI/86/SF64.pdf?hc_location=ufi\">submitted as proposed legislation</a>.</li>\n<li><p>The proposed bill, like many before it, is a very clearly a Bad Idea™. To quote from the blog:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The absolute nuttiness of the bill is the best defense against its ever becoming law. Iowa, though, has other protections. Katherine Tachau, President of the University of Iowa AAUP chapter, informs me that this dead-on-arrival bill was intercepted by the Iowa Senate Education Committee chair, a professor at Iowa State, who sent it to a subcommittee chaired by another ally of education. Tachau writes, “I’m inclined to think that this bill belongs to the large category of ill-informed bills on any number of subjects with no chance of passage with which the records of all legislatures are replete.” I agree.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It does not appear that this bill has any chance whatsoever of actually becoming legislation.</p></li>\n<li>Unfortunately, this bill is not alone; there are other examples of the teaching professions being attached through legislation.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44044",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4384/"
] |
44,045 |
<p>I will just project my mind here and see where it goes. A lot of this will seem childish/immature/ Due to various problems from a multitude of directions in my life; some serious, some idiotic (mid-life crisis at 18?! What the hell was I thinking); I decided to defer my enrollment to Imperial College London last year. I will now be joining the Theoretical Physics course this October. For some reason I felt I did not have enough life experience to go to university but I ended up getting a job in consultancy and have plans to travel for a while before going to uni in five months.</p>
<p>On paper it seems there is not much wrong but I am telling you it is not so. The pain of not learning anything new is a lesser one than others but still one I feel keenly. The knowledge of being behind on the treadmill of life compared to my friends is also worrisome. When I read about my lifelong idols (Feynman, Erdos, Einstein etc.), people I respect greatly, I feel for some reason I can never think on the same plane as them anymore due to missing out on a full year of education. I know how silly that sounds, but the feeling is there nontheless.</p>
<p>Either way, feelings aside, how will this year gap affect me career-wise? If there was an alternate-reality, naïve version of me who went to university straight away, what advantages would they have over me? What will professors think when when/if I apply for a PhD? What percentage of academics have also had a similar break, roughly? </p>
<p>Basically I just want to count my losses and ensure I extract as much juice out of the next 5 years as possible, so I look upon this period as just part of my life rather than an ugly blotch. Thanks for reading.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44047,
"author": "Andreas Blass",
"author_id": 14506,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14506",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If I regarded life as a \"treadmill\" and if I expected to \"think on the same plane as\" Feynman, Erdös, and Einstein, I'd certainly get depressed, and the same goes for almost everyone in academia. You can have a perfectly good, rewarding, non-treadmill career on a lower plane than those superstars.</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, I would expect that one year's delay in entering the university will ultimately have practically no effect on your career. Certainly, when I'm involved in hiring new faculty, I don't ask at what age they entered the university or graduated or got their doctorate. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44049,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A year more or less makes zero difference for anything that's more than a year removed from the reason to take the break.</p>\n\n<p>You worry unnecessarily about the issue -- plain and simple as that.</p>\n\n<p>(Now, on the question to comparing yourself with Feynman, Erdos, and Einstein: If you want to stay sane, you need to at one point come to the realization that these can be idols, but not a status you can aspire to ever achieve. They lived in different spheres, and the number of people at this level is minuscule. I think a lot of us who consider themselves reasonably successful in academic life had, at one point or another, a small crisis when we realized that our contributions will not amount to much 100 years from now -- and eventually came to the realization that that (i) doesn't mean that we can't have a satisfying life that includes other things we're proud of -- such as raising children, or just inspiring students, and (ii) that most of science is actually many relatively small steps, of which we can contribute many.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44116,
"author": "user3780968",
"author_id": 32158,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32158",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think taking some time \"off\" before entering university could be a good thing, rather than a bad thing. </p>\n\n<p>It means you enter university not just because it's the next step on this path you're following (as was presumably the case through school), but because you made a conscious decision to go there. You're slightly more mature, you've probably learnt quite a bit from your job (and you will from your travels)... really not a bad decision at all.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, having taught (TA'd, mostly) many early-year classes, I think many students have no clue why they're there. If you were not ready for university, whatever your reasons and the judgement you might put on them now, better you stayed away.</p>\n\n<p>Are you worried that your ability to learn has suffered from being away from school? I took a six-month break after my third year, then worked for two years before my masters, travelled for a year between my masters and PhD, hardly felt that at all. You might lose some of the automatic behaviours of a student, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. </p>\n\n<p>Compared to that other version of you who went straight to university, my guess is you're better off.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44134,
"author": "MathAndCo",
"author_id": 28473,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28473",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are countries, like mine, where several years of military service right after high school is mandatory.</p>\n\n<p>There are many people who have to work for awhile before they can financially allow themselves to begin studying.</p>\n\n<p>There are more people than you might think, that simply did not even made up their mind about which subject should they learn at 18.</p>\n\n<p>A year is nothing.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44045",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33501/"
] |
44,048 |
<p>I currently work full-time for the Department of Defense. I usually get three-weeks worth of paid time off every year. This has been helpful because I like to go back home to visit family for about two weeks or take a long weekend and visit friends around the country. </p>
<p>I will be starting my master's degree program this coming fall and I have managed to obtain a part-time graduate research assistantship (GRA). In reading the student handbook, I noticed that GRAs are required to work year-round and only allowed to observe certain holidays. There is a provision that you can work more hours over several weeks in order to get some consecutive days off. </p>
<p>My question is, in the graduate student lifestyle, is my dream of maintaining 2-3 vacation weeks a year completely thrown out the window? Will I be expected to stay on campus and work every single possible day? Do GRAs grant vacation hours that you can accrue?</p>
<p>Thank you for your time.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44050,
"author": "bxfd82",
"author_id": 33244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33244",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Congrats! As far as I can remember as a Graduate Assistant we were not offered vacation time or personal time as part of the deal. You can speak to someone in Human Resources or at your Graduate Student Union to learn more about the policies at your particular institution. Keep in mind that many schools have fairly generous semester breaks so you might easily be able to squeeze 3 weeks in between December and January. However, the answer will be specific to your particular institutions policies.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44051,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The answer is: <strong>it depends.</strong></p>\n\n<p>The biggest factor is where you're a graduate student. For instance, graduate students in Germany receive up to six weeks of vacation per year, while graduate students in the US may only get two weeks' vacation per year, if even that much.</p>\n\n<p>However, I think that in the US, where policies are a bit less generous, the real deciding factor is your graduate advisor. I think that reasonable graduate advisors will permit students to take off a few weeks per year (especially since most of them might do so themselves!), provided that you make sure it doesn't conflict with any major deadlines or events in your group. For instance, asking to take substantial vacation time just before your first big conference is probably inadvisable. But time during the holidays or during a relatively \"quiet\" time in your group (whenever that happens to be) would probably be OK. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44048",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31246/"
] |
44,055 |
<p>Suppose a work (a book with abstract math research) is presented as LaTeX source under a copyleft license available at a public Git hosting service.</p>
<p>Will scientists be reluctant to cite such a work, because it was not published "officially"?</p>
<p>Having asked this question, I mention that in my opinion that publishing under copyleft in a Git repository is a better means to hunt errors than traditional peer review, because everybody can track and patch errors in the book. But will this real security convert to enough sense of security of academic community?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44058,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Scientists typically only cite works that have been evaluated by experts, although reviews are not an error-free guarantee of truthiness. A good way to catch errors is to temporarily post a preliminary version, and then revise for reviewed-publication in light of comments that you get. Add the possibility that anyone could modify the work -- effectively making the book a Wiki-type publication -- then there would be even less trust in the work, if any random drive-by web-surfer is given permission to modify the book. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44067,
"author": "GEdgar",
"author_id": 4484,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4484",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the old days, cranks would pay vanity presses to have their work published, then donate the books to university libraries, hoping they would end up on a few shelves. Nowadays, they just put their work on line. Simple. </p>\n\n<p>One suspects that (in most cases) work is placed in non-traditional places because it is not good enough to be published in the traditional places. I guess there are a few non-cranks who do this, but they are vastly outnumbered by the cranks.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44076,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are two separate questions tangled together here. The first is whether scientists will cite something that has not gone through a traditional peer review process, and the second is whether a copyleft / open source repository project is a good way to manage such a non-traditional publication.</p>\n\n<p>To the first, the answer is most certainly yes. Many non-peer-reviewed publications are not just cited, but highly cited, particularly technical reports and standards. These do not undergo peer review, but if they are useful to people, they will cite them---sometimes thousands of times.</p>\n\n<p>For the second, well, consider the fate of most free and open projects, whether on GitHub or elsewhere. Almost every project of this type dies quietly in the dark, because nobody notices or cares about it. Some, of course, succeed, and a few have massive impact. The question is: why should anybody care about your project? If they do, then copylefting in a git repository is no better or worse a way to manage the document than any other way that communities manage non-peer-reviewed documents (though make sure you do it with a <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/\">CC license</a>, not a code license). If they don't then the technological or ideological elegance of your approach will make no difference.</p>\n\n<p>The bottom line is: you are focusing on the technology, rather than the community. You need to understand how your work will interact with your community, and then the technology is a secondary issue that will follow from that interaction.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44055",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1637/"
] |
44,059 |
<p>I have sent an article for a conference in Computer Science and in the Important Dates of the call for papers, it says the notification to the authors is April 20. Now we are at April 22 and the status of my paper still appears as Under Review. I was wondering how many days should I wait for sending a remainder email to see what has happened with my submission?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44060,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It's fairly frequent, particularly for smaller or less tightly run computer science conferences, for the response to authors to slip back by a few days. Often, this is because some reviewers may not have sent their reviews in on time, and if the program committee isn't proactive about scheduling for slippage and having backups available, it may take them a few extra days to get enough reviews to decide on those papers. This then is likely to delay responses for <em>all</em> of the papers, because both the organizers and the conference software wants to sent all of the notifications at once.</p>\n\n<p>So, to your question of what to do:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>If you know anybody else who sent in a paper, compare notes with them. If they haven't heard yet either, no worries. If they have heard, then you can email immediately.</li>\n<li>If you don't know somebody else, give it a week, and then ask.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44141,
"author": "Noemie Martin-Pascual",
"author_id": 32935,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32935",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As an abstract management system, we work with a lot of academic conferences. Quite often, the organisers don't even communicate the deadline for author notification officially.\nJust like a high number of conferences will extend the submission deadline because authors submit at the last minute, more often than not, the peer review process will last a bit longer than anticipated because reviewers haven't completed their reviews yet. Besides, picking which submission to accept and which to reject might also take more time and push back the final decision.</p>\n\n<p>I agree that waiting for a week before contacting anybody is reasonable. \nThen you can email the Chair or the programme chair to ask if they could give you an idea of when the results will be published.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/04/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44059",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6144/"
] |
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