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44,798 |
<p>A professor has a habit of starting oral examinations by asking for or looking up grade averages and grades from other subjects and then taking them heavily into account when evaluating the student in question. For example, I was allowed to be even considered to get an A in Real Analysis III, because I got an A in Real Analysis II and had a good overall grade average.</p>
<p>Is it ethical or helpful to ever consider student's performance outside the course? If not, what about subjects tightly interconnected? But then, most mathematics is interconnected in one way or another...</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44799,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>What you describe is, in my opinion, horribly unethical!</p>\n\n<p>Yes, past performance is often a predictor of present performance, but there are so many other factors involved as well. What if a student did poorly before because of any number of reasons, but have since stepped up their work, caught up, and really mastered the material? Or what if the student has been focusing heavily on this subject and has consequently fared more poorly in another subject? </p>\n\n<p>It is manifestly stupid and counter to the entire notion of education to ignore good work by a student in one location simply because the student did bad work in another course or another time. Ethical violations are a different matter---it is reasonable to be suspicious of a student with a history of cheating---but grading a student poorly for having the audacity to exceed expectations is a rank betrayal of the most basic responsibilities of an educator.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44800,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No, I do not think that basing grades on <em>past</em> performance is fair. Grades should be based on the performance being graded, and it should be clear up front what exactly is being graded.</p>\n\n<p>(Of course, if the syllabus explains that a grade will be based on homework and a final exam, then of course the grade would fairly be based on the final and the past performance in homework.)</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>One possibility for using past performance would be an oral exam. If I know the candidate sitting in front of me is very good or very weak, I might ask more targeted questions - focusing on basic definitions for a weak candidate, or on advanced understanding for a strong one, to avoid wasting everyone's time with questions that are too easy or too hard. If (!) the oral exam can then follow the natural development and the examiner adapts the difficulty of subsequent questions to the candidate's performance on earlier questions, then I'd argue that this kind of \"customization\" is acceptable.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44803,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, what you're asking is an unethical practice. I could see some exceptions to this where such considerations would be reasonable:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>You are taking a multi-semester course sequence, and the instructor is willing to base final grades on progression and improvement, rather than a strict numerical average. For instance, if you've improved from a B- to an A over the course of the year, your final grade in the second semester would be an A instead of say a B+ average.</p></li>\n<li><p>You are being judged for something like a qualifying exam, in which performance in coursework over one's career can help to ameliorate poor performance on the exam itself.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44804,
"author": "Daniel L",
"author_id": 381,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/381",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This scenario is ambiguous.there could well be and ethical abuse that the instructor is not doing his/her job, but the use of past performance as one input in the grade decision is not inherently an ethical abuse, depending on how one understands grades.</p>\n\n<p>There is not widespread agreement about what grades measure.</p>\n\n<p>Depending on whom you ask, grades might measure:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>how much a student learned in a course</li>\n<li>how much a student knows at the end of the course</li>\n<li>how much effort a student put into a course</li>\n<li>how well students complied wth course procedures</li>\n<li>what a student is capable of doing at the end of the course</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>And these comparisons could be relative to a fixed standard, or relative to other students in the class (\"on a curve\").</p>\n\n<p>All of the above have been used in courses I have seen. I'm afraid it seems that grades in a course mean whatever the institution or instructor define them to mean. There are some practices that would be widely condemned as abusive, but grading based on total proficiency and using past achievement as part of that assessment seems to be to be within the realm of defensible practices.</p>\n\n<p>If the standard is an absolute level of proficiency in a body of material, past work in the field is a helpful piece of information about a student's likely level of proficiency. In other words, if a grade in course N is intended to reflect how well a student can do tasks x and y, and tasks x and y require skills from course N-1, then it seems reasonable to use this information.</p>\n\n<p>This is not how I would advocate grading, by the way, but it seems to fall within the universe of acceptable practices. If a professor believed that the only way s/he were comfortable asserting that a student attained the level of proficiency s/he believed warranted an \"A\" grade were if the student previously demonstrated mastery at the \"A\" level of prerequisite course material, and also had high overall mastery of other material as demonstrated by a high GPA, this decision strikes me as unfortunate but not unethical.</p>\n\n<p>I would hope an instructor would allow other ways to demonstrate that mastery besides grades in a previous class; this example was unclear whether that was the case. When the instructor told the OP that an A was only in consideration because of past performance, I do not know if this was a general requirement, or the specifics of this case based on other assessments in this class.</p>\n\n<p>If the instructor views grades as a certification to the student's future instructors, employers, clients, etc of the Instructor's assessment of the student's proficiency with course material (far from the only meaning given to grades, but one widely accepted one), then this can be justified as ONE input in the grade decision. Given the set of observations about the student (exams, projects, homework, etc), how likely is it that the student has at least (excellent/good/fair/poor) mastery of course material? If the goal is to give the hugest grade the instructor an justify with confidence level x, past performance is an I out that adds information to the decision function.</p>\n\n<p>If the instructor based grades ONLY on what the OP described, that would be shirking the responsibility of the instructor. If the instructor said that the student's work in this course alone was not enough to definitively convince the instructor that the student was at an \"A\" level of mastery of course material, but that work combined with evidence of the student's past work raised the confidence level enough to justify certifying to future encountered of the student that the student mastered the course subject, that could be ethical.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44805,
"author": "March Ho",
"author_id": 26713,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26713",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I <strong>disagree</strong> with the notion that limiting marks based on past performance is necessarily unethical. If done without a valid reason (for example as a case of laziness on the professor's side), then it would very well be unethical, but there exist cases in which such a system is perfectly reasonable.</p>\n\n<p>One reason that would justify the professor's system of grading would be one similar to the <a href=\"http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/is-the-revised-gre-adaptive/\" rel=\"nofollow\">GRE's adaptive testing system</a>. </p>\n\n<p>If the professor knows that the student did poorly on his/her past course, the professor can then choose to administer an easier examination, which better distinguishes students of medium to low ability from each other. Similarly, if the student managed to obtain an A for the past course, the professor can then administer a more difficult exam to better distinguish students of relatively high ability from one another. Students who are given the \"easier\" exam would then not be able to achieve the maximum scores in the final grade.</p>\n\n<p>This would be analogous to the GRE's system which uses the results of the first section to produce adaptively a second section which is scaled to an appropriate level of difficulty.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44815,
"author": "Eread",
"author_id": 34039,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34039",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this is unethical. All instructors are vulnerable to bias and subjectivity in grading and ought to do everything they can to minimize that; looking up a student's previous performance introduces a strong source of bias that was completely avoidable. An instructor who looks up a student's previous grade on an exam is going to go into the exam <em>expecting</em> the student to do well or poorly based on that previous grade, and people tend to be biased towards seeing what they expect to see.</p>\n\n<p>I do understand why it's <em>tempting</em> for instructors to do this, though. I am a part-time instructor myself and have been a TA for many professors, so I see professors do things like this, and have been tempted to do it myself. Psychologically, I think the reason is that instructors are aware that grading is somewhat subjective, but that is also something that makes them uncomfortable. And they tend to feel uncomfortable if their grades look random: if people who did really well last semester do really poorly with this time, or vice versa, or if a student got an A- on one paper and a B- on the next and then an A on the next. Checking what grade a student got last semester, or on the last paper, <em>feels</em> like a way of double-checking your own grading, of getting a second opinion to double-check your sense of the student's performance on this particular task. </p>\n\n<p>But the problem is that, far from being an effective way to deal with bias, the above procedure just <em>magnifies</em> its effects. The way it works in my experience is that if the student got a high grade last time, it's tempting to think, \"Well, they're smart/a good student\" and then give them the higher grade; if they got a low grade last time it's tempting to think \"Well, even the lower grade is still better than they got the last time, so that's fine,\" or \"This student is just lower-performing,\" and then give them the lower grade. And that's just not fair. But it feels secure and reassuring to an uncertain grader to know what other graders have given a person before assigning them their own grade, so unfortunately it happens.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44873,
"author": "Smithers",
"author_id": 26724,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26724",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This reeks of typical halfassed professory.\nInstead of working to create an assessment (ie grading) method wherein he can comprehensively determine how well a student understands the topic, this professor has willingly created and accepted a sub-par assessment which requires reviewing previous performance.</p>\n\n<p>\"Well, the student failed my test... however, on related courses they passed. Therefore I must have a flaw in my assessment or my course, so I should let them pass because they <em>should have</em> understood it and my methodology can't tell me whether they <em>did</em> understand it.\"</p>\n\n<p>That's what I'm reading as the inner dialogue.</p>\n\n<p>However, at the same time, I love it. This is a very realistic method for complex topics which are not readily conveyed and/or the understanding of which are not readily assessed.</p>\n\n<p>And then I come back to hating it again, because <em>that's the professor's job</em>. Professors generally don't like the course work and teaching and testing... too bad. I never liked folding shirts when I worked at a retail store, and I never liked NBC warfare training during my military service, but they were part of my job. I didn't get a pass just because I \"don't like\" them.</p>\n\n<p><strong>So yes, it's extraordinarily unethical!!</strong></p>\n\n<p>Not only because it's not giving you the grade you <em>earned</em>, good or bad, but because the professor is doing this in lieu of a portion of the job they don't like/find hard. The university (and thus, you/your creditors) is paying them for a job they're not actually doing! That's unethical; that's fraud.</p>\n\n<p>But it's quite clever and realistic, so maybe... :(</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45012,
"author": "Zibbobz",
"author_id": 23717,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23717",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You should check your professor's grading criteria against his grading rubric - if 'prior courses' is not listed on that rubric, it's not only unethical, but duplicitous and could be brought up to the Dean if your grade or others' grades reflect poorly because of it. </p>\n\n<p>If it's not on the rubric, you could still bring it up with the dean as being duplicitous, but there would be less actual evidence to bring against the professor, and since it's an oral exam, you'd be hard-pressed to provide proof without some type of recording of the exam itself. </p>\n\n<p>If it's on the rubric, you could bring it up with the Dean and ask if it's really allowed for professors to do so, but if they say 'yes' then you're completely out of luck. </p>\n\n<p>However, it is <strong>completely unethical</strong> regardless of what the dean says - you may have some paths of recourse for it, but regardless of whether or not those pan out, it is still unethical, and you have every right to feel it is unfair. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45015,
"author": "P. O.",
"author_id": 15837,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15837",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although I agree it's unethical, similar patterns are sanctionned by the academic world. </p>\n\n<p>To play devil's advocate, maybe your teacher is adequatly preparing you to the way things work in higher education ? </p>\n\n<p>One of the most important criteria to get funding, a bursary , a grant, a publication or even a TA job is if you had that same sort of thing granted before. </p>\n\n<p>It's a vicious circle where if you've never had one of these, chances are you'll never get one and therefore probably won't have the extra \"humfes\" (jobs, contacts, money, opportunities) necessary to be in the top of your field.</p>\n\n<p>When you think about it, it's what a cv is for. While looking at your profile, a prospective employer looks first at what you've done –IF you've done the same job you're applying for, your odds are improving. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45022,
"author": "Patric Hartmann",
"author_id": 20449,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20449",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's very unethical in my opinion. I quickly explain my way of handling things when I examine students:</p>\n\n<p>Questions and answers for oral and written exams are set before the exam. For each question I expect certain key-content to be mentioned. If all is mentioned, it's full score for that question, if not, the score depends with mathematical precision on the amount of content mentioned compared to the amount expected.</p>\n\n<p>After an exam I publish questions and key-content. Every student can check what he did wrong and how his grade was made. I find this the only fair way: If you know what's expected, then you have full score and you have the right to know what you did wrong.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44798",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34027/"
] |
44,809 |
<p>Is it appropriate to include interviews (published online or in print magazines) in an academic CV? </p>
<p>What about articles/news published about your works? I mean brief (one paragraph) news that professional magazines publish about significant research articles.</p>
<p>If yes, how do you do this to avoid exaggeration?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44811,
"author": "Memming",
"author_id": 386,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/386",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends, but yes, I would include media exposure in a long form CV. This could be advantageous for grant applications, because it might be an evidence that you can generate a higher impact.</p>\n\n<p>For each media exposure, just put one line as a citation format. If you have more than 10 such items, select only the higher impact ones, and merge ones with similar content.</p>\n\n<p>Alternatively, you can put it is a footnote to your relevant publication.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44824,
"author": "bugsbunny5112",
"author_id": 34049,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34049",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Officially no need to include newspaper or magazine article containing an interview about the results of your achievement in science and technology in an academic CV, but it can be a plus factor when you're applying for a grant or scholarship where other applicants quite competitive. It will gives the reviewer impression of your commitment to areas of interest and the society impact of your researches.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44809",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34032/"
] |
44,819 |
<p>One of the key factor in the resume of an academic is the amount of research funds he was able to secure.</p>
<p>Most research funds go towards human resources, for example, postdoc fellows and PhD students. In my resume, I write the total funds I have received. A significant part of these funds is paid to my research fellows.</p>
<p>However, sometimes my institution hires staff for me. For instance, if my university gives me credit to hire postdoc fellows for my research, this is also a kind of grant that I have earned, but it is not a value to be summed (to estimate total funds I've secured).</p>
<p><strong>Questions:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The list of funds we secured are normally external funds provided by funding agencies. How do you calculate internal funds granted to you?</li>
<li>If your research institution grants you special access (as a reward to your achievements) to human resources or facilities, but no money is transferred, how do you estimate the total fund granted to you? And is it appropriate to do so?</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44811,
"author": "Memming",
"author_id": 386,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/386",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends, but yes, I would include media exposure in a long form CV. This could be advantageous for grant applications, because it might be an evidence that you can generate a higher impact.</p>\n\n<p>For each media exposure, just put one line as a citation format. If you have more than 10 such items, select only the higher impact ones, and merge ones with similar content.</p>\n\n<p>Alternatively, you can put it is a footnote to your relevant publication.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44824,
"author": "bugsbunny5112",
"author_id": 34049,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34049",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Officially no need to include newspaper or magazine article containing an interview about the results of your achievement in science and technology in an academic CV, but it can be a plus factor when you're applying for a grant or scholarship where other applicants quite competitive. It will gives the reviewer impression of your commitment to areas of interest and the society impact of your researches.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/04
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44819",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34041/"
] |
44,829 |
<p>I'm in the following situation. My first 7 months out of college, I worked software job I really didn't like, and then I hopped on to another job I like. I've been in that second job for about a year now, and even though my career is doing pretty OK, I'm thinking about going back to school for a MS and maybe a PhD. I have some concerns about going back to school that I was hoping I could get some insight on.</p>
<p>I didn't get funding for graduate school because I did no research as an undergrad and thus had weak references, but tuition for one of the better programs I got in to is rather low as its a state school and I'm in state ( Umass amherst). I was making a bit over six figures for both of my jobs, and I've saved up more than enough money to cover both my undergrad loans, and pay the entire cost of the master's program + living expenses.</p>
<p>I want to give grad school a try because I've gotten really into computer science these past two years, and I'd like to study it full time for two years while doing research. In college, I was too busy dealing with a deep depression and health problems to excell as a student to the degree I know I'm capable of, and I want to have the academic computer science experience I dreamed of when I was in highschool but was robbed of due to circumstances.</p>
<p>I am, however, concerned about my employability post-MS. I will have had two short stints on my resume - a 7 month job and a 19 month job - making me look like a disloyal job hopper, and I'm afraid that potential employers might be turned off by my over-education should I choose to go back to programming. I'm also concerned that my department might not treat me with respect as a self-funded student. If they thought I was good, they would have probably offered me funding.</p>
<p>How are MS degrees viewed in the industry? Are my concerns valid at all?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44833,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can respond to one of your questions:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I'm also concerned that my department might not treat me with respect as a self-funded student. If they thought I was good, they would have probably offered me funding.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Nothing to worry about here. Your professors won't care whether you have an assistantship, and they probably won't even know whether you do or not.</p>\n\n<p>If you decide to postpone starting your degree by one or two semesters, you could register for a class either locally or online. The key is to take it as a \"non-matriculated\" student, meaning that you won't be taking it as part of a degree program. (You can transfer it later and ask for it to be evaluated for possible partial satisfaction of your degree requirements at the institution where you end up.)</p>\n\n<p>The stand-alone course could result in a nice grade and a nice recommendation letter, if you're lucky. However, the main reason to take it is to start to satisfy your intellectual itch.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know whether you'd have a problem getting employment after the degree. If that does pose a problem, I suppose you could neglect to include the MS in your CV.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44851,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would take any advice about your employability post-MS you get at Academia.SE with a large, large grain of salt. Most people here are in academia and are not really qualified to judge your employability in industry. </p>\n\n<p>In fact, your question may well be closed as off-topic here. If so, you may want to flag it for migration to <a href=\"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions\">Workplace</a>.</p>\n\n<p>That said, I see your point about having rather short stints on your CV after the MS. I agree that this may leave a bad impression. I'd suggest thinking about postponing your MS until you have two or three years' tenure at your current employer. Anything beyond two years should make it clear you are not a job hopper.</p>\n\n<p>Do you have any colleagues, friends or acquaintances that went back to school after a few years in industry? What do they say? Did they typically have to explain their decision to potential employers after the MS? How did they do? (If you know anyone who was employed, went back for an MS and is <em>unemployed</em> now, buy him a beer and have a <em>long</em> talk with that person to learn anything you need to avoid.)</p>\n\n<p>During your MS, keep your network current. Your current employer may take you on board again, or at least provide references. Make sure they still know you two years later. Think about doing an internship or so.</p>\n\n<p>Or think about staying in academia, if you really find that the academic and researchy side of CS appeals to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44886,
"author": "Charles E. Grant",
"author_id": 464,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/464",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One recurring issue I've seen in folks considering a CS M.S. or Ph.D. is a belief that the advanced degree will qualify them to employers as some sort of \"super-programmer\". This is generally not the case, and I think it's where folks get the notion that an advanced degree can hurt your job prospects. In my experience very few companies are interested in hiring folks with advanced degrees for jobs that can be handled far more cheaply by someone with no degree, but a lot of experience.</p>\n\n<p>Where an advanced degree becomes helpful is in domain knowledge. Somebody with a C.S. Ph.D. may or may not be a decent web site developer, but there is supposed to be some (tiny) area of CS where they know as much as anybody on the planet. If they can find a company that needs that particular bit of knowledge (or something closely related), they have a good shot at a well paying job.</p>\n\n<p>Once you have an advanced degree you shouldn't be looking for \"programming\" jobs, you should be looking for jobs as an expert in a topic like machine learning, compiler code generation, agile methodology, high-availability databases, etc. etc. There aren't as many of these jobs as there are \"programmer\" jobs, but there is also a lot less competition for them. Lots of excellent programmers are self-taught, but not so many experts in convex optimization. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44829",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34057/"
] |
44,836 |
<p>I am a CS undergrad student who is just getting started with research and reading papers. My mentor has asked me to read a few papers. While reading I noticed that every few lines there are references to previous papers being cited and the entire paper just builds on the previously described architectures and then adds something new to it.</p>
<p>In such cases, if I start reading the cited ones (and there are many mentioned over and over again), I am afraid I might get stuck into a loop of such repetitions and never get to the main idea. How should my approach be ?</p>
<p>My mentor wants me to thoroughly understand the ideas stated here because we are going to be implementing those soon albeit with modifications. I know of the 3-pass approach but that does not solve my particular problem.</p>
<p>Note that my particular doubt is not on <em>how long</em> should reading take. I can see many resources explaining that very well already. So I don't think this is a duplicate of them.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44838,
"author": "posdef",
"author_id": 5674,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5674",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What you are describing is pretty normal in academia. People take on old and existing work, and build upon it. </p>\n\n<p>There are <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44374/what-are-we-expected-to-do-when-citing-literature/44398#44398\">typically several reasons</a> for citing prior studies, thus the impact of each individual citation might (and usually does) vary as well. I reckon this is all quite new to you. In your case if you can understand the work presented in the paper without diving into the citations, then just do that and ignore the references for the time being. You can always trace back to specific (read: not all) references later on to fill in any potential gaps in your understanding.</p>\n\n<p>If you cannot grasp the <strong><em>why</em></strong> or the <strong><em>how</em></strong>, then my suggestion is to pay more attention to the introduction section, checking out the important (often <strong>recurring</strong>) references, and then re-reading the introduction. You should get a fairly good idea of what the paper is really about this way.</p>\n\n<p>Another approach could be to try to discuss the paper with your supervisor or someone else who might be able to judge it better (any grad students or TAs?)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44840,
"author": "299792458",
"author_id": 17534,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17534",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There isn't anything surprising or unprecedented about references to earlier works, and the authors building on earlier models/structures. Additionally, not every article (in any field) is going to be pedagogic. While that could be due to the author writing style, it is not always possible to keep everything at a very basic level too. This is true, in particular for the stuff like <em>letter publications</em>, or <em>rapid communications</em>, where there are limits on manuscript length. Also, when there are existing pedagogic review articles, or otherwise detailed accounts which could pass off as pedagogic, authors generally tend to avoid a detailed presentation, simply cite them and get to their main point. </p>\n\n<p>Since you say that </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My mentor wants me to thoroughly understand the ideas stated here because we are going to be implementing those soon albeit with modifications.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>it is clear that he/she wants you to understand the basics thoroughly, and not just be limited to the arguments presented in the one article you have at hand. So, if this article appears cryptic, you have no choice but to go through the cited ones for clarifications. Try to see if they are less cryptic, it is possible that the authors may have cited a review article of the sorts I mentioned above. That will certainly help. Based on that understanding, when you revisit your particular article at hand, you will understand it much better and better understand what it adds to the subject. </p>\n\n<p>However, if that doesn't work out, and you still find the arguments too cryptic, consult your advisor and explain why you find it cryptic, which arguments are not transparent etc. It helps to carry along with you the attempts you made towards understanding it yourself, so that he/she knows you are not asking to be spoon-fed. Once he's convinced that you made an effort from your side, he will generally point you towards other articles which could clear up the specific point for you. </p>\n\n<p>I mean, there is no other choice. There is no way you can gain anything out of this collaboration, or implementing anything, unless you are clear about what you are doing.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44843,
"author": "Maarten Buis",
"author_id": 14471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14471",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Research papers build on previous work, so it can be hard to get started. In addition to the excelent suggestions already given you can also look for a \"review article\", or ask your mentor if he knows such an article. In many disciplines it is common that so every once in a while a (senior) researcher publishes an article that summarizes and reflects on the current state of art concerning a particular question. Such articles are very good for getting started in a discipline, as long as you keep in mind that such articles are not necessarily a neutral representation of the field.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44869,
"author": "Chris H",
"author_id": 8494,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8494",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The abstracts of those linked articles should be sufficient to tell you whether they are being cited as a major contribution to the work you are interested in, and abstracts should be written to be quick to read. With experience you will find that some referenced papers can only need skim-reading, others can be left to last based on the title, and a few will need detailed follow-up (though you have to learn when to stop). Groups of references will often not need full attention paid to all of them.</p>\n\n<p>Here's a little example, from a hypothetical paper about producing a better model building on previous models:</p>\n\n<p>I could guess that in \"methods based on the <em>xyz</em> technique[17-23] have been found to consistently underestimate reality in this region\", references 17-23 probably won't need reading (in detail); in \"the <em>abc</em> method[42-45] is a good estimator at low input values, while the <em>pqr</em> method[46-58] is more applicable for high values\" I'd expect to read some or most of references 42-56. If the author felt helpful or their mind worked this way, 42 and 46 would be good places to start, and in any case you should pick up an understanding without actively reading all the references in the range. If the paper carried on to say \"previous attempts[63-79] to combine these two approaches have shown some success, however...\" you'd probably have quite a bit of reading to do, as you're presumably interested in the combination as you're reading this paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44836",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34059/"
] |
44,852 |
<p>I submitted my thesis some days ago and I am currently preparing for viva. I have found an error in a figure which is a summary of four other figures. In fact, by means of Excel I did calculations and made a mistake regarding some numbers. I have prepared a new file with corrections but I confess that I am scared.
Anyone has experienced such a situation or may give any tip about what to do.</p>
<p>Thank you very much indeed</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44853,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Speak to your mentor. However, I see no reason to panic or to be scared, if the mistake doesn't influence some fundamental contribution of the thesis. I've found numerous cases where mistakes in the thesis were found years after the defense, even with considerable impact (one extreme case de facto made ~60% of the thesis obsolete aka wrong).</p>\n\n<p>If the thesis is completely printed/prepared/submitted, I guess that the mentor won't insist on repeating the process.</p>\n\n<p>Again, this is not a great issue, if the error is not of fundamental nature (e.g you base your thesis that the actual value of pi is 4, but somehow you miraculously discover now that you were of by 0.8584).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44860,
"author": "Chris H",
"author_id": 8494,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8494",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Don't keep it a secret, but don't walk in and start apologising for it either.</p>\n\n<p>If the discussion in the viva turns to the error, be honest about it. If it turns to that figure, I would raise it proactively. I'd also have a corrected copy with me if possible. There's no such thing as a perfect thesis (including when the final copy goes to the library) so make use of the opportunity to fix everything you can. I found nonsense (but not as bad as misleading) wording in my readthrough the night before the viva, as well as typos, none changing the outcome but some in equations. I brought a list and mentioned it at the end of the viva, and they were accepted as needing fixing with the corrections.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44852",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34068/"
] |
44,855 |
<p>Many of the research papers that I have read are not dated in terms of publication date. By dating I mean including at least the publication year. The papers I refer to are mostly free PDFs from the internet on various topics, usually affiliated with some academic institution (mostly universities).</p>
<p>One can then only guess the publication date from the dates of newest references. Does this weird trend have some reasoning? If I wrote a paper or even its draft and made it public I would clearly date it.</p>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong></p>
<p>It seems I have missed the option of checking the PDF document properties which show a creation date. But this still does not answer the question of not including the date within the body of the document itself.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44857,
"author": "DCTLib",
"author_id": 7390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7390",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most (CS) papers that you find on the websites of the publishers have the bibliographical information in the PDF, typically on the first page of the paper. This typically includes the year. These papers are however also typically behind paywalls, meaning that you won't get access to these unless you (a) buy a copy of the article, or (b) have access through your institutional subscription.</p>\n\n<p>Many research paper PDFs that you find freely on the internet are <em>self-archived versions of the papers</em>. These are PDFs provided by the authors on their personal or institutional web pages and not prepared by the publisher. While these do not constitute the <em>official</em> versions of the papers, authors normally do not modify the content of the PDF so that the official and unofficial versions of the papers get out of sync. Now it happens to be that most paper style files provided to the authors for writing their papers with for a specific venue do not feature a field for the bibliographical information. Rather, the information is later added by the publisher. Thus, the information is missing on the PDF made by the authors themselves. </p>\n\n<p>It should also be noted that only few people see this as a problem. The bibliographical information is contained on the authors' webpages from which you often download the papers. Also, you mainly need the bibliographical information for citing the paper, and for that, you can pretty much always download the whole bibliographical information entry for a paper from the publisher's website. Just type the paper title into your favorite search machine and click onto the respective result. For computer science, most papers are in DBLP anyway, which also gives you a complete bibliography entry at the expense of a mouse click.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44858,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>\"The papers I refer to are mostly free PDFs from the internet on various topics\"</em> – then it's most likely one or both of:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It is not a peer-reviewed paper published by a reputable journal. Be careful what you read, there are plenty of quack theories out there</li>\n<li>You are viewing a preprint, and by finding the article on the journal's website you will find the date. Also, the final version of the article will probably be better formatted, and may be better written and have mistakes corrected (this depends upon the stage of publication at which the preprint was circulated).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Many preprints are circulated prior to publication, so you may not find a better version yet. It's still really poor form for an author not to date a preprint. If a preprint is a few years old and has not yet been published, you have to wonder <em>why</em>.</p>\n\n<p>I can not recall ever seeing a journal that does not put the journal name, date, and issue number on at least the first page. It would be very poor practice not to do this, because taken on its own it is impossible (without further research) to tell where the article came from. It's common even to date <em>every</em> page with the journal name, date, and issue number.</p>\n\n<p>I suspect that if you're seeing this trend in most of the \"papers\" you read, that you really aren't reading research articles written by legitimate researchers. Ask your advisor or lecturer for the names of the most relevant journals in the field, and start from there.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 166636,
"author": "Peter Jackson",
"author_id": 138741,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/138741",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree that it is extremely frustrating to not have a date on a technical paper. It is often impossible to tell the currency and hence whether any conclusions represent the latest thinking. The only reason I can think of is that most technical papers are published by technical associations, who then generate revenue by selling access to papers. By not including a date, researchers are unable to identify currency and are thereby forced to purchase more papers than they need, hence generating more revenue for the publishing house or society.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44855",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9819/"
] |
44,864 |
<p>If one gets a grant, and by some reason (e.g., administration problems with the university) the project needs to be ended before the grant is over. Should one list such grant in the CV? or just let it go into oblivion?</p>
<p>If put it into the CV is OK, then should one state that the grant ended before its time? or even state the reasons?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44865,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The main reason to include a grant on a CV is to show that you can get a grant, which you did. Whether or not you made productive use of the grant is generally measured from the publications arising from the grant. You can provide explanations, if necessary, in accompanying letters -- a CV does not contain explanations, it just lists the essential facts.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44871,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to @user6726's great answer, I would further say that in what I've seen CVs just list the basics of the grant: funding agency, agency grant ID, title, date range, amount, and the role of the CV author in the grant, i.e. PI or co-PI. Often, people also list that they were part of the writing team of a large-scale or important grant even if they were not among the PIs in order to emphasize significant participation where agency regulations do not allow them to be otherwise included*. I rarely see the papers coming from a grant tied to that grant's listing in the CV or vice-versa. Each of the papers will individually acknowledge the funding source, but they are usually not tied together in the CV.</p>\n\n<p>In your situation, I would list the grant with the amount that was awarded (not spent) and the date range that it was active with no further explanation unless it was killed by the funding agency. If it was, you might offer an explanation if you can keep it short. Otherwise, if someone asks about a grant performance period that looks short, you can wait until then to explain it.</p>\n\n<p>*: NSF allows 5 people to be listed as PI/co-PI, but several of our grants have included more significant writers than that.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44864",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/249/"
] |
44,872 |
<p>I have published papers in the field of mechanical engineering, combustion, engines, etc. Previously I relied on MATLAB for most of my data processing, and C++/Fortran for computations. I duly cite languages used.</p>
<p>Recently I switched to Python for its great comprehensive library, plotting capabilities, support and above all I don't have to struggle with the licensing issues. Now I am worried if citing Python would affect paper acceptance, since it is based on an unconventional approach.</p>
<p>Will using an unconventional programming language increase my chances of rejection?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44874,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Any answer will likely depend on your field and the specific journal or conference you submit to. Programming languages are <em>tools</em>, just like your literature database frontend. As long as your tools are not manifestly unsuitable to the task or to the venue you submit to, I can't imagine anyone holding the tool against you. If you write your high performance computation in COBOL, I'd say this is a case where the reviewer might question your grasp of the field.</p>\n\n<p>This, of course, does not hold if you submit to a journal or conference that explicitly addresses a particular programming language or paradigm. If you submit a paper that exclusively relies on <a href=\"https://www.haskell.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Haskell</a> to the <a href=\"http://journal.r-project.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">R Journal</a>, you likely will be rejected.</p>\n\n<p>(And Python specifically is sufficiently hip nowadays that I don't think it will raise an eyebrow, except for possible performance problems, as per <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44872/does-the-choice-of-programming-language-affect-paper-acceptance#comment101199_44872\">@aeismail's comment</a>).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44875,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The short answer is, no. I've never experienced or heard of a reviewer caring about what language was used for code in a science or engineering paper.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, I don't think Python is \"unconventional\" in 2015. Here are some well-known and widely used codes that can be used for CFD with Python front-ends:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"http://pyfr.org\">http://pyfr.org</a> </li>\n<li><a href=\"http://fenicsproject.org\">http://fenicsproject.org</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://github.com/clawpack/pyclaw\">http://github.com/clawpack/pyclaw</a></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Note that all of these use Python in combination with lower-level languages for performance.</p>\n\n<p>I'll also mention the educational course <a href=\"http://lorenabarba.com/blog/cfd-python-12-steps-to-navier-stokes\">CFD Python</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 169770,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One case when the language may be questioned is when you are doing performance profiling and compare results with that others have achieved. For such cases, you usually get into least trouble when using that the majority uses. To compare the performance, the algorithms must be implemented on comparable platforms, not Python vs Assembler.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 169786,
"author": "A rural reader",
"author_id": 136702,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/136702",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Present it as a proof-of-concept code and you ought to be okay. If you believe it's beyond that, then use the standard languages for your field. Nothing wrong with Python, our computational physics friends use it and develop impressive libraries for it. (It's interesting to see comments from a few years ago when Python was the new kid. By contrast Python 3 pretty much dominates some areas now.) The goal isn't always performance on a particular problem, sometimes the mark of great code is the ease of adoption by others.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44872",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34075/"
] |
44,876 |
<p>When quoting the number of citations for each paper you have published, different sources can be used, Google Scholar, ResearcherID, Scopus.
Google Scholar covers a larger range of literature.</p>
<p>Is it acceptable to use Google Scholar? Or it is not a professional resource, and we necessarily should use ISI Web of Knowledge for counting citations?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44881,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>None of the citation databases are particularly good. Google Scholar tends to err on the side of inclusiveness (thereby over-representing impact), while the more curated databases (e.g., ISI WoK) tend to err on the side of exclusiveness (thereby under-representing impact). This is particularly acute in some fields: computer science, for example, is notoriously under-represented in the curated databases to the degree that it has is own independent citation database, <a href=\"http://dblp.uni-trier.de/\">DBLP</a>, which of course has its own different problems.</p>\n\n<p>You can potentially use any of these databases reasonably to report citations in a reasonable and professional manner, as long as you are consistent and make it clear which database you are using, such that readers can adjust their expectations accordingly.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 190056,
"author": "Ben",
"author_id": 87026,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/87026",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Google Scholar is actually quite useful, insofar as it draws a broad net for publications, whereas many other citation databases fail to capture important papers. Unfortunately, Google Scholar also has some problems with double-counting, since it often treats different versions of the same articles as if they were different publications, which can artificially inflate citation count. A secondary problem with Google Scholar (which also applies to other citation databases) is that it gives "raw" citation counts (and derived metrics like H-index, etc.) rather than "author adjusted" metrics. This also artificially inflates citation count, especially for authors who do most of their work with a substantial number of co-authors.</p>\n<p>One problem with Google Scholar is that its broad sources for papers means that it can be subject to manipulation by publishing mock papers that give no scholarly contribution but give citations to other works or to each other (see e.g., <a href=\"https://arxiv.org/abs/1212.0638\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">López-Cózar et al 2012</a>). The more tightly curated citation databases do not have this problem since they only count publications in approved sources; typically these sources are established scholarly journals with effective peer review processes.</p>\n<p>As the other answer here points out, none of the citation databases are very good. They all suffer from under- or over-coverage and most do not make a serious attempt to adjust metrics for authorship. Personally, I think Google Scholar is less bad than many of the others, since it at least captures all the important papers a person has written, rather than artificially excluding those that fall outside a narrow range of journals. However, you should be aware of its drawbacks in relation to other citation databases and ensure that you carefully inspect the individual publications when using it as an evaluative source.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44876",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34089/"
] |
44,877 |
<p>I am event manager in our university. I see that academics are very mobile through visiting scholar plans. I wonder if you have every seen mobility of university administrators?</p>
<p>I am very interested to go and voluntarily work in the event office of another university to earn new experiences.</p>
<p>Before contacting some universities to see if they have such possibility, I wanted to hear from people here, if it is a feasible and common idea or ridiculous one.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44879,
"author": "Tim",
"author_id": 12703,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12703",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have heard of temporary administration positions being created to fill a special need of the university, but I've never really heard them referred to as visiting. This probably more likely to be well received if you have some particular experience or skillset that would be useful to a university.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44887,
"author": "Jeromy Anglim",
"author_id": 62,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The term you might be looking for is <strong>secondment</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>To quote one example university (<a href=\"http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/secondment/guideline.html\">Macquarie University policy</a>):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><strong>Secondment:</strong> an arrangement made with the mutual consent of the\n supervisor and staff member, where a staff member is released under\n specific agreed arrangements to work in another area within the\n University or with another organisation for a specific period of time.</p>\n \n <p>A secondment arrangement may be made in the following circumstances:</p>\n \n <ul>\n <li>within the University (internal secondment)</li>\n <li>to an external organisation (external secondment)</li>\n <li>from an external organisation (external secondment)</li>\n </ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Thus, you may want to search your university for a similar policy.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44877",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34090/"
] |
44,883 |
<p>Graduate students (at least in the US) often have to take foreign language competency exams, particularly if they are in the humanities. In things like classics or Biblical studies, I might expect a higher standard. <strong>But what is the standard generally required of students outside of such areas (but still within the humanities) in the US?</strong></p>
<p>Since these are PhD programmes, I would normally expect a high standard (e.g. at least beyond the second year level in a good undergraduate programme). But purely anecdotally, I've reason to doubt this:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I know one person who was a native Japanese speaker and who used Japanese and German (or possibly English, via some exemption for foreign ESL speakers) to meet her language requirements, but who claims that her German isn't very good.</p></li>
<li><p>I know of a first-year student in art history who is using Italian and Chinese to meet such requirements. His comments about his Italian revision and experience suggested that he was at a fairly low level,<sup>1</sup> and his attempts to write or converse in Chinese were, speaking as a native Chinese speaker, not particularly competent. Apparently he had to take his Italian exam shortly upon entering grad school.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>While perhaps I'm just being too presumptuous of other people, this seems to suggest that the idea I have of language competency exams requiring people to comfortably read something like untranslated Foucault easily is wrong.</p>
<hr>
<p><sup>1. From his comments, it seemed that I know at least as much French as he does Italian, yet I have trouble reading French scholarly texts with confidence.</sup></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45060,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a comment, not an answer, but I don't think it will fit in the little bitty space very well.</p>\n\n<p>I'm not qualified to write an answer because I never studied humanities.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I know one person who was a native Japanese speaker and who used Japanese and German (or possibly English, via some exemption for foreign ESL speakers) to meet her language requirements, but who claims that her German isn't very good.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There are a couple of possible explanations of this. Perhaps her humility makes her say her German isn't very good. Perhaps she is comparing her German with her English, and her German is not as strong as her English.</p>\n\n<p>If she were doing a PhD in Germany, do you think her English is strong enough that she could use it to pass a foreign language competency exam? If so, then I think her department did the right thing by declaring her competent.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I know of a first-year student in art history who is using Italian and Chinese to meet such requirements. His comments about his Italian revision and experience suggested that he was at a fairly low level, and his attempts to write or converse in Chinese were, speaking as a native Chinese speaker, not particularly competent. Apparently he had to take his Italian exam shortly upon entering grad school.... From his comments, it seemed that I know at least as much French as he does Italian, yet I have trouble reading French scholarly texts with confidence.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't speak Italian, but I speak Spanish and French. I have noticed that Spanish is often more straightforward than French. I suspect that Italian is pretty straightforward too.</p>\n\n<p>Keep in mind the context -- the U.S. is such an overwhelmingly unilingual place and culture.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>seems to suggest that the idea I have of language competency exams requiring people to comfortably read something like untranslated Foucault easily is wrong</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>My guess is that your idea <em>is</em> wrong. (I wish it weren't.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47257,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'll give a sketch of an answer, from the perspective of someone at a top 10 university in the U.S.</p>\n\n<p>Recently, I had a consultation about potentially doing German coursework. It was also suggested I take a course for learning to <em>read</em> German that was intended for graduate students who needed to meet their reading competency requirements, particularly since I had placed (however accurately) into second-year German. <strong>The reading course presumes no initial German knowledge of its students. Moreover, the course only takes up the time of a single term.</strong> I would be thus inclined to say that the reading exams cannot be possibly so difficult, but I have a lot of trouble reading samples for the German one without more knowledge.</p>\n\n<p>Since the quality of my French is less suspect, I'll use that as an example. <strong>Looking at old reading exams for French at my university, I would probably be able to pass (or at least not fail abysmally), and I probably have at least the knowledge of almost two year's of college-level French.</strong> But what really helps is that I have a good chunk of knowledge about grammatical forms (so I can look at a verb and guess its infinitive easily and more experience with vocabulary than I do in German.</p>\n\n<p><strong>So perhaps the language competency exams, at least when based on more humanities-oriented texts, really aren't <em>that</em> difficult, but only in the sense that a student who knows a lot of grammar and has some good experience of vocabulary should be able to survive.</strong></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/05
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44883",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
44,885 |
<p>This question is related to one of my previous questions:</p>
<p><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44780/changing-university-in-first-year-of-phd">Changing University in First year of Phd</a></p>
<p>I just completed my senior year. I have been accepted to a grad school (say University X).</p>
<p>I want to reapply for some PhD programs next year (fall). But, at the same time, I don't want to lose the only PhD seat I've got. </p>
<p>So, I was thinking about deferring the admission to University X in order to apply to few other universities for next fall.</p>
<p>I have 2 questions regarding this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Should I mention about my deferred admission to Uni X in the Phd applications for next fall ? If I don't, Would it be treated as academic cheating ?</p></li>
<li><p>How much deferring should be enough ? (Next Spring, Next Summer or Next Fall)</p></li>
</ol>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44889,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Deferring admission is not an automatic privilege at most universities at the doctoral level. You will typically need to justify why you want the deferral, and explain what you would do with the time. For instance, a Fulbright fellowship or a \"service payback\" on a fellowship might be valid justifications to a deferral; applying to other grad schools most certainly is <em>not</em>. If you are found to be deferring at one school to apply to another, you may lose out on admission to both, as the first school may retract their offer, and the second would likely not want to accept someone who might try and hold out on them. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44891,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My understanding of a deferral is a bit different. It is more like getting an early offer of admission for the following year. Thus if you defer for a year you are not obligated to enroll in the program the following year. Well really you are never obligated to enroll in a program until you sign paperwork to that effect -- which, for many PhD programs, takes place when the student actually enrolls in the program. I also think that the most common reason for deferral is the OP's: that the student is just not fully committed to the PhD program she has been admitted to, and she hopes that the intervening year will clarify whether or not she should enroll. I think that a student <em>should</em> be pursuing other options during that year...assuming that the student and the program are on the same page about this.</p>\n\n<p>As others have said, of course there is nothing like a <em>right</em> of deferral: if the application was not solidly strong then presumably the answer will be \"No\" or \"Not without a good, specific reason\" (e.g. health or visa issues). But I think that in many cases, an admissions committee can look at an application and say -- sure, we are confident that we would admit the student next year if they submitted the same application. By telling the student that now, we make their eventual enrollment in our program the path of least resistance.</p>\n\n<p>Anyway, what's for sure is that in order to defer admission you need to have a serious conversation with the faculty of the program in order to make sure that you both understand each other and your commitments. In a comment on a previous answer I wrote that without mention to the contrary the understanding of deferral should be as in the first paragraph. Especially in light of Prof. Ismail's answer I now think that was a mistake. Sorry for giving bad advice in that regard.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44968,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>@zzz, you appear to be feeling rather stuck. You've been accepted to a school you don't feel a real commitment to. Do you attend and then transfer? Do you tell them you want to wait a year, and hope you catch a better fish? Do you just forget all about this school that accepted you, and spend a year feeling anxious? None of these solutions seem to fit very well, so you go around and around.</p>\n\n<p>I am going to suggest that you consider the following:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>forget all about this school that you feel so lukewarm (or even\ndoubtful) about;</p></li>\n<li><p>take this year to do something worthwhile. Here are some examples:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>enroll in a one-year master's program in a closely related field</p></li>\n<li><p>take some undergraduate courses at the same institution you are about to graduate from (in a related field)</p></li>\n<li><p>volunteer in an organization you deeply admire</p></li>\n<li><p>get a job and build up some savings</p></li>\n<li><p>audit some graduate level courses at a university you have a high opinion of (auditing costs a fraction of what it costs to enroll for credit)</p></li>\n</ul></li>\n</ol>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44885",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34018/"
] |
44,898 |
<p>I do <em>not</em> ask about special cases, e.g. supervisor does not approve the thesis, there is rivalry between the supervisor and the examiners and so on.
Is there any general standard for viva, e.g. one needs to be able to answer 2/3 of the questions, etc.</p>
<p>I'm waiting for my viva, and I'm only worried about questions about related work. For example, my thesis only addresses a problem on deterministic programs, do I need to know all approaches to the same problem on probabilistic programs? (at the moment I don't).</p>
<hr>
<h2>UPDATE</h2>
<p>I would like to emphasize again that I do not ask about special cases, e.g. plagiarism, wrong methodology etc. I believe theses cases are extremely rare. I just want to ask about a normal case where one managed to publish some papers, and advisor (happily) approved the thesis.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44899,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>No, there are no general worldwide standards, other than \"the examiners should be satisfied\".</p>\n\n<p>Your advisor is probably the best person to answer questions like this for your specific case.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44900,
"author": "Jessica B",
"author_id": 20036,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20036",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I assume that the aim of a vivia is generally 'to establish whether the aims of the PhD program have been achieved', although I guess some will be more restricted than that (with another grouping checking the overall picture).</p>\n\n<p>Therefore generally there won't be a specific question-proportion to pass, since there's no set list of questions. You need to demonstrate that you wrote your thesis, that it is right (well, close enough, since there will usually be some mistakes somewhere), and that it is of a suitable standard. You probably also need to demonstrate that you've engaged with the professional development part of the program (as a PhD student you are essentially an apprentice professor/researcher). You should know stuff about your field other than your immediate thesis question, you should know how the research community works, and you should be able to communicate your ideas (in writing, in a planned presentation, and in answering questions). Having some realistic plans for the future might also not be a bad idea.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44901,
"author": "Charles Stewart",
"author_id": 24914,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24914",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Further to Nate and Jessica's answers, you can get an idea as to what the risks are in your institution and your subject area by asking around for examples of people who have failed their viva.</p>\n\n<p>'Failing' is also relative: the 'do not darken our doors, no option to resubmit' outcome is only likely to be a risk in case of plagiarism or <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/30951/24914\">moral turpitude</a>. The difference between acceptance pending corrections (regarded as a 'pass') and asking for a 2nd viva (often regarded as a 'fail') may not be huge in terms of the amount of effort on your part that is required to satisfy your examiners.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44905,
"author": "Peadar",
"author_id": 24761,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24761",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a former PhD student, now lecturer, it's very rare to hear of one failing a PhD viva. The most common outcome is to grant the PhD subject to minor corrections, which will be checked off by the internal examiner. Occasionally candidates will have to make major corrections for review by the external examiner, and much more rarely, candidates will be told to revise and resubmit where the process may or may not include an additional oral examination. Only the last outcome would be generally regarded as \"failure\". </p>\n\n<p>In the first instance the student's advisor would not recommend/allow (depending on the institution) the candidate to go forward for a viva unless the work was to the standard required. In many universities, this means publishable in whole or in part, and making a non-trivial novel contribution. One way to satisfy yourself about these criteria is whether you've published anything at all to date: if you have, it answers the question that the thesis is publishable at least in part. It's very hard to \"fail\" (see above) if these basic criteria are met.</p>\n\n<p>About related approaches, you would probably be expected to have a rationale for choosing your own approach. This would imply that you know your chosen method well, and know enough about the others to be able to make a comparative choice. E.g. if you were working in electromagnetics and chose the Finite Element Method to solve a Partial Differential Equation, you would probably want to be able to point out why you rejected Finite Differences and/or Analytical methods. But I would not expect you to be able to discuss the intricacies of Finite Differences in any great detail. The working knowledge you already have of your own approach and that of others is probably quite sufficient, as long as you can provide a strong justification for why you chose the methods you did. It's quite OK to justify based on ease of use, local availability, expediency etc. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44907,
"author": "Ubiquitous",
"author_id": 6879,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6879",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The following are some reasons that come to mind that might justify a failure in the viva:</p>\n\n<p>For the thesis:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>evidence of academic malpractice (plagiarism, etc.)</li>\n<li><em>fundamental</em> methodological flaws, such as a poorly chosen method or a misapplied method that calls into question the scientific validity of the thesis. My guess is that this is probably the most common reason for failure: that the work is just generally not a good piece of science and needs further development before it can be considered convincing.</li>\n<li>a <em>significant</em> failure to engage with preexisting literature, which casts into doubt the significance and originality of the thesis' contribution to knowledge.</li>\n<li>a general lack of academic substance such that the thesis is not of sufficient scope or novelty to merit the award of a PhD.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>For the viva itself:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>a general inability to answer questions about the thesis—to a such a degree that the examiners are led to question whether it is really the candidate's own work.</li>\n<li>a <em>significant</em> deficiency in the candidate's knowledge of the literature, such that s/he cannot confidently be held to understand the relationship between his/her work and that literature.</li>\n<li>a <em>significant</em> inability to justify the decisions made in the course of the PhD, calling into question the candidate's ability to construct a successful research project. For example, you should be able to say why you chose the approach you did, rather than some alternative. </li>\n<li>repeatedly giving answers that are so severely wrong that they call into question the candidate's competency in the field.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>The use of the words fundamental, significant, etc. in the above is quite deliberate. Examiners will forgive basic problems with the thesis or a somewhat flakey viva performance because they understand that passing the viva marks the start (rather than the end) of one's education. The option of minor corrections exists to deal with such issues.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44898",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15501/"
] |
44,902 |
<p>I got a denial to a PhD application I sent. The mail basically stated that they had picked another candidate and wished me luck.</p>
<p>I am doing my master in a German university and I applied to another department in the same university</p>
<p>Is it usual to ask the reasons of denial?. Would it even make sense?. If it is something like e.g. low GPA, there is pretty much nothing I can do to change that. If however it is something like "your motivation letter was too long" or something like that I guess it is salvageable.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44906,
"author": "Peadar",
"author_id": 24761,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24761",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The institution may have a feedback process that you can apply to. In many cases there are just too many applications to be able to offer or give feedback on. Depending on the country you live in you might also be able to use Freedom of Information legislation, but the process can be quite onerous. Could you get a friend in a graduate program to have a read of your application and give you some recommendations?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44908,
"author": "Ubiquitous",
"author_id": 6879,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6879",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Our department receives requests for feedback from rejected candidates fairly regularly, so yes it is quite typical. However, my university operates an institution-wide policy that no feedback will be given to unsuccessful applicants. I appreciate that this is not helpful, but (1) providing feedback to the (many) unsuccessful candidates would impose a large additional administrative burden, and (2) some candidates who bear a grudge would invariably use any feedback provided in legal proceedings against their rejection.</p>\n\n<p>So, in short: it can't hurt to ask, but be prepared for the distinct possibility that your request might be refused. In the first instance, it is advisable to write to an admissions administrator rather than a faculty member.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44923,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You can certainly try asking, but I expect you won't get a useful answer. In the cases I'm familiar with (mathematics departments in the U.S.), you aren't likely to get any official answer beyond \"no comment\". This isn't because the department is being unhelpful or deliberately withholding information they could reasonably share. Instead, it's because offering useful feedback is really hard.</p>\n\n<p>Rejected applicants sometimes imagine that the rejection may have been due to some identifiable flaw they could fix, but in my experience this is rarely the case. Most rejections are based on an overall evaluation, rather than isolated flaws. Even if a single problem derailed the application, there might have been other issues that were never identified because discussion stopped when the application died. Nobody wastes times on hypotheticals like \"Would the candidate have been admitted if it weren't for this problem?\", since the committee is eager to move on to the more contentious cases. So even if the committee can point to a specific problem, they generally can't predict that fixing it would lead to admission. It's not particularly useful or encouraging to be told \"Here's a serious problem with your application, but don't assume you'll get in if you fix it. We haven't even considered that question, so who knows?\" (Plus there are legal issues: you don't want to be sued by someone who is told their application was rejected for a specific reason and then discovers that you admitted another applicant with the same issue. You might have had an excellent reason - perhaps the rest of the other application was magnificent - but it could still look like a pretext for discrimination. It's safest not to offer any explanation that oversimplifies the full decision making process.)</p>\n\n<p>These cases with isolated flaws are really not typical. Instead, most feedback would fall into two categories: \"Your application just wasn't good enough overall for us to even consider you\" or \"Your application was good and you made the short list, but you were outcompeted by people with even stronger applications\". The first sort of feedback adds insult to injury, and it's wise to avoid making enemies among the applicants you reject. The second sort of feedback is also not constructive, since there's usually no good way to convey to the applicant how the final comparison was made. The evaluation process consisted of multiple readers, perhaps with differing opinions, followed by a committee discussion that compared the application with the competition. Confidential letters of recommendation played a major role, and in any case the process was lengthy and involved enough that it's difficult to summarize it usefully.</p>\n\n<p>For comparison, U.S. National Science Foundation review panels provide applicants with copies of the written reviews and ratings of their proposals, together with a brief summary of the panel discussion. This is about as much transparency as one could reasonably hope for, but it rarely leaves rejected applicants with a clear idea of how to improve their future proposals. In many cases they don't even have a good understanding of why they didn't make it (beyond \"some other proposals were even more compelling\").</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44927,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you're applying for a \"free-standing\" PhD position, then it is very unlikely that you will receive any feedback whatsoever, as such searches are tantamount to job searches. In general, candidates are not given feedback for why they are turned down for such positions, and I would expect such policies to apply to PhD candidates as well. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44940,
"author": "Neal Fultz",
"author_id": 14412,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14412",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most departments only have a few spots available with quite a bit of competition; in the majority of rejections, the answer is just that you weren't in their top <em>n</em> applications, not that you did something wrong. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44984,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I once got rejected from a with-a-stipend Masters' program (not exactly the same, granted), without a clear reason being given. Eventually I \"heard it through the grapevine\" that the department ran out of money on start-of-year stipendiaries and couldn't afford accepting the mid-years - but nobody would ever tell me that on paper (= officially).</p>\n\n<p>So, even if they would be willing to let you know, they might not be willing to let you know officially. Sniffing might be in order...</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44902",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32446/"
] |
44,919 |
<p>I've read that it's quite common among students to take a graduate program which is different from the bachelor's degree. I was wondering if it is possible for someone with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Master of Business Administration to teach Political Science subjects.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44921,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is possible for people to teach across disciplines if their record reflects knowledge in the course they will teach. With a BS and PhD in Aerospace Engineering I have taught courses in CS and a division of Statistics and Scientific Computation. I was eligible to do this because my background is in parallel computing for computational fluid dynamics problems, so I have demonstrated skills in programming, software engineering, numerical analysis, and parallel computing. The courses I was teaching were on scientific computing and parallel computing and were being offered first by a CS department and then by this division (which has now become a department). I was deemed qualified to teach them based on my background and demonstrated skills even though my PhD is in a different subject.</p>\n\n<p>So yes, it's possible, but I think you'd have to show some background related to the subject in question. It will also depend on what kind of job you are applying for. If a Poli Sci department needs an adjunct for one course, you might qualify to teach that course, but you are unlikely to land a full-time position unless your Doctor of Business Administration research was related to politics somehow.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44992,
"author": "Paul Gowder",
"author_id": 34179,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34179",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Highly unlikely. Even at the community college level, to teach in a field one must typically have at least some postgraduate degree in that field or in a closely related field. So you someone probably teach in a polisci department with a degree in economics, because they use many of the same methods and consider some of the same areas. Ditto philosophy. Not a professional business degree. </p>\n\n<p>(PhD political scientist here)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44919",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33677/"
] |
44,920 |
<p>A while ago, we read a paper published in a quite credible journal (impact factor around 3), which we believed had a few very basic but significant mistakes in the methods and final results. </p>
<p>The journal's guide for authors mentioned the possibility to submit a discussion ("Discussion: A short commentary (1000-3000 words) discussing an article previously published in XXX."). Together with a colleague, we decided to write a discussion manuscript highlighting the problems of the paper in two pages. We did it twice, actually—one time very polite, and a second time more to the point. </p>
<p>Although each time all of the reviewers agreed on the highlighted problems and one reviewer even recommended publication "as is," both times it was ultimately rejected, because the editor focused on a comment of the reviewer like: "was not general enough", or because "it is more a discussion, and not an original research contribution." (But this was actually exactly what was intended, and fully in agreement with the objective for this type of manuscript in the guide for authors.) </p>
<p>It is OK if a manuscript is rejected (I am a PhD student because I like to learn new things), but it should be rejected for the right reasons. The arguments against the article did not seem to consider properly the submission type, "discussion" instead of "original research article." Furthermore we have the feeling that the editor could be embarrassed to publish a discussion highlighting a paper with such errors that could be recognized by frankly any above-average high school student. (although the paper has been cited quite a number of times, apparently without anyone noticing the mistakes). </p>
<p>It is probably not worth the effort, but it became a matter of principle.
We contacted a few other people (not our friends) in the field for a quick opinion about the manuscript, and they confirmed our impression that it has probably been rejected out of embarrassment. This seems quite a disgrace, but what can one do about it? </p>
<p>Should we publish the manuscript together with the reviewer comments on our group website? Submit the manuscript to a competing journal? Would it make sense to contact the publisher (Elsevier) to complain about the editor in chief?</p>
<p>I should also mention that the writers of the original article are, according to their group website, co-sponsored by a big company which gains obvious advantages from their erroneous findings. Is there maybe an ombudsman to which we could go to?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44944,
"author": "Maxime Larouche",
"author_id": 34138,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34138",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can understand the editor's decision not to publish your discussion if the mistakes highlighted should have been identified by the reviewers.</p>\n\n<p>However, it does seem out of context to send the discussion of a paper published in a said journal to a different journal of which the first one was published in.\nAs for a solution, in your stead I would not really know what to do either. If you have a relatively significant connection to authors in your domain via social media (e.g. Twitter, ResearchGate), you could consider uploading your manuscript there.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44976,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The first step to take, if not already done, is to <em>answer back to the Editor in Chief</em>, politely explaining that the status of your submission (discussion letter) seems to have been overlooked. Stress again, politely, that the policy of the journal allow explicitly such letters, and that it would be better for everyone that they either enforce this policy (and not reject letters on the ground that they are not full research articles) or remove it from the guide to the authors. Given the answer you get, there are several possible follow-ups if your letter keeps being rejected. </p>\n\n<p>You can <em>contact the authors</em> and see what they have to say. In fact, it would be something to be done before any of the propositions below. They may acknowledge the mistake and publish an erratum by themselves, acknowledging you, and this would make things right in the best way. If they do not answer in a satisfactory way, at least they will have been warned and your case will be stronger.</p>\n\n<p>You can <em>appeal to an ethics committee</em> on your field, if one exists, disclosing both your letter explaining the error, the written exchanges you have had with the journal, and the conflict of interest you spotted for the authors of the original paper. Do not make assumption, just present the fact and let the committee judge for itself.</p>\n\n<p>You can <em>try to publish your letter in another journal</em>, in order to make the official record straight. Depending on the existing venues, you may have to add some flesh to your letter and grow it to a full paper, even if short. You are right in your principles, such mistakes should not be let unknown, and a blog post is too personal and too unofficial to make it right. People should get the information on the mistakes you spotted while using the databases usually used in your field.</p>\n\n<p>But, given you are a PhD student, <strong>before you take any step I very strongly advise you to ask your advisor (or another senior researcher you can trust) about it.</strong> Depending on your field, your situation, the stature of the author the work of who you criticize, you could end up in pretty bad situation if you do not beware. I cannot tell from the information you gave, but you also have to protect yourself, and unfortunately this is not always achieved by doing the right thing.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44920",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24490/"
] |
44,926 |
<p>Something that came up the other month, I was asked to sign a declaration that something I'd scribbled, amongst other things, didn't contain the names of any individuals: living, dead or fictional.... without "consent". Which lead me to ask a few questions such as WHY, and how can a fictional individual grant consent to cite a nonexistent work they haven't created. Anyway the WHY is apparently down to "<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/publicity" rel="nofollow">Right to Publicity</a>" statutes in various US states (There's no direct equivalent in the UK).</p>
<p>Anyway I'm still wondering if similar declarations are standard in all US publishing agreements, and whether there really is an assumed grant / waiver, on having something published, for others to cite it?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44944,
"author": "Maxime Larouche",
"author_id": 34138,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34138",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can understand the editor's decision not to publish your discussion if the mistakes highlighted should have been identified by the reviewers.</p>\n\n<p>However, it does seem out of context to send the discussion of a paper published in a said journal to a different journal of which the first one was published in.\nAs for a solution, in your stead I would not really know what to do either. If you have a relatively significant connection to authors in your domain via social media (e.g. Twitter, ResearchGate), you could consider uploading your manuscript there.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44976,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The first step to take, if not already done, is to <em>answer back to the Editor in Chief</em>, politely explaining that the status of your submission (discussion letter) seems to have been overlooked. Stress again, politely, that the policy of the journal allow explicitly such letters, and that it would be better for everyone that they either enforce this policy (and not reject letters on the ground that they are not full research articles) or remove it from the guide to the authors. Given the answer you get, there are several possible follow-ups if your letter keeps being rejected. </p>\n\n<p>You can <em>contact the authors</em> and see what they have to say. In fact, it would be something to be done before any of the propositions below. They may acknowledge the mistake and publish an erratum by themselves, acknowledging you, and this would make things right in the best way. If they do not answer in a satisfactory way, at least they will have been warned and your case will be stronger.</p>\n\n<p>You can <em>appeal to an ethics committee</em> on your field, if one exists, disclosing both your letter explaining the error, the written exchanges you have had with the journal, and the conflict of interest you spotted for the authors of the original paper. Do not make assumption, just present the fact and let the committee judge for itself.</p>\n\n<p>You can <em>try to publish your letter in another journal</em>, in order to make the official record straight. Depending on the existing venues, you may have to add some flesh to your letter and grow it to a full paper, even if short. You are right in your principles, such mistakes should not be let unknown, and a blog post is too personal and too unofficial to make it right. People should get the information on the mistakes you spotted while using the databases usually used in your field.</p>\n\n<p>But, given you are a PhD student, <strong>before you take any step I very strongly advise you to ask your advisor (or another senior researcher you can trust) about it.</strong> Depending on your field, your situation, the stature of the author the work of who you criticize, you could end up in pretty bad situation if you do not beware. I cannot tell from the information you gave, but you also have to protect yourself, and unfortunately this is not always achieved by doing the right thing.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44926",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4151/"
] |
44,931 |
<p>If you do work that requires a technical skillset (ex. programming, data science) and plan to work in the private sector. Is completing the Ph.D. degree a disadvantage in terms of what opportunities are available to you? Or, do the additional publications, work completed, and everything else that goes into a dissertation count as valuable experience? Is the degree viewed as valuable in and of itself? Additionally, is any increase in pay or job stability enough to offset the opportunity cost of making a graduate student stipend for 2-3 years?</p>
<p>I've wound up in a situation where I'll probably be financially unable to take a postdoc position upon graduation, and will likely be forced into the private sector anyway (which functionally closes me off from an academic career-track), so am considering the option of leaving my program after advancing to candidacy. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44933,
"author": "Wesley Bland",
"author_id": 8503,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8503",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As someone with a PhD who did a regular postdoc and now works in the private sector, the answer is definitely probably not...maybe. As with all things, it depends on the job and your field.</p>\n\n<p>I have a PhD in Computer Science. I did research for a couple of years as a postdoc. I enjoyed my postdoc, but a great offer came along for a private sector job. In my field (high performance computing), having a PhD is valuable whether you're in research or industry. In fact, we hire fresh PhDs as well as folks with experience.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, if you were to go to a startup in NYC or Silicon Valley with a PhD in CS, I'd imagine that while you would probably have as much chance of getting the job as anyone else, you probably won't be getting what you might call \"reimbursed\" for your opportunity costs. The big companies will have research arms where they know what to do with PhDs while the small ones won't.</p>\n\n<p>It all depends on what you want to do. If you want to get into research (or get back into it eventually), having a PhD will be a must, even if you take a few years in industry to shore up financially. However, if you don't get your PhD now, the chances of you finishing it later much smaller. There are plenty of people who do it, but if you look around your group right now, you can probably tell me how many you see.</p>\n\n<p>The exception is getting a job where your employer will essentially pay for your PhD (not like an RA position where you make beans). There are some companies or research labs that will allow you to work on your PhD while you work for them, often using a project with your company as a part of your thesis if your interests align with those of your employers. You might be able to find a position like that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44937,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A Ph.D. means that you are suitable for <em>different</em> work than if you did not have a Ph.D. </p>\n\n<p>Generally, it means you are well suited for jobs requiring initiative and creativity, and poorly suited for jobs that require reliable and precise performance. This is because a Ph.D. program trains you to want to take things apart, understand how they work, and improve the situation. This is good for creative jobs and bad for jobs where you just need to follow a procedure reliably.</p>\n\n<p>This is great for some types of industrial work, such as R&D, product development, consulting, etc. It is terrible for others, like being a line programmer working on little modules in a gigantic code base. Smart employers know this and hire accordingly.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44945,
"author": "Flounderer",
"author_id": 5842,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5842",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My experience was that a PhD made it more difficult to get a job because I was frequently told that I was \"over-qualified\". My PhD was in pure mathematics (in particular, no programming was involved.) However, I have friends who did PhDs in CS and Electricial Engineering, and their PhDs helped them to get jobs. So I think that if you are working in a more practical field, it probably helps but if you are doing the kind of PhD that only really lends itself to an academic career, e.g. humanities, it can hurt.</p>\n\n<p>One thing I tried to do was re-train as an actuary, but I think that once you have a PhD, you are no longer seen as a blank slate and people do not think you are capable of working in a relatively menial role. Like the mouse in the fable, you are perceived as having cut down your options and doomed yourself to follow the chosen course.</p>\n\n<p>For the work experience question, none of the employers to whom I applied viewed my PhD studies as work experience. Again, this might be different in a technical field like CS or Biology or Engineering, in which you might have produced something other than a thesis during your PhD, or been involved in commercial activity of some kind.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44947,
"author": "Michael Cabus",
"author_id": 34125,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34125",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am obtaining a second graduate degree, and yes, over qualification is a major problem for technical careers..the hiring person may in fact have less education than you, and this scares people from hiring you...I would avoid a PhD if you want a working career in a technical field..only get a PhD if you want to teach at university/do research.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44950,
"author": "BradP",
"author_id": 34143,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34143",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Certainly it depends on the field <em>and the location</em>. Comp Sci, Sciences, Engineering, Statistics and similar PhDs are in outrageous demand in Silicon Valley. In my experience in e.g. Washington DC you'll run into some latent reverse snobbery. Maybe other places as well.</p>\n\n<p>The opportunity cost, however is probably the bigger consideration. You'd make somewhat more in a few years hence with a PhD, but if you're a top performer and just get to work now it's unlikely the credential will make a huge difference in terms of dollars.</p>\n\n<p>Can you do both? Apply for jobs now and see what comes of it while plugging away at school.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44951,
"author": "Mark Joshi",
"author_id": 29181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29181",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I worked as a quant in a bank for a while. It is very hard even to get an interview if you don't have a PhD in a quantitative subject. The worst signal on a cv was an unfinished PhD since it marked you as a non-completer finisher. The PhD in this case definitely increased future salary prospects.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44956,
"author": "Amit Bhatia",
"author_id": 34147,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34147",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I run a career website - Tapwage.com. </p>\n\n<p>It really depends on the type of job you are looking for. The vast majority of software / technology jobs don't require PhDs and look for education / experience geared towards specific tools and skills. You will be eligible for those types of positions, but you will have to be prepared to address the question on whether you are \"over-qualified\" and if you your PhD skills are transferable.</p>\n\n<p>That said, we are increasingly seeing a greater demand for PhD candidates in computer science / electrical engineering across the board as companies look to tackle more complex engineering problems like data science and analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Three key categories of industries that are specifically looking for Phd's that you should consider in a job search:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Finance companies looking to tackle AI / machine learning and big data. These roles can be really interesting and very financially remunerative (especially relative to academia). A sample of such jobs is collected here:\n<a href=\"http://tapwage.com/channel/artificial-intelligence-meets-financial-intelligence\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://tapwage.com/channel/artificial-intelligence-meets-financial-intelligence</a></p></li>\n<li><p>Niche areas like space technology (spaceX, Virgin Galactic, NASA), automotive tech (Telsa) that are bulking up on technology Phds across the board. A sampling of jobs here:\n<a href=\"http://tapwage.com/channel/space-doctor\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://tapwage.com/channel/space-doctor</a></p></li>\n<li><p>Startups looking for PhDs - the startup environment is vibrant and as companies are looking to tackle complex solutions, PhDs are in meaningful demand. These may not pay as much cash compensation as corporate jobs, they do pay more competitively than post-doctoral positions and the equity could be valuable if you have conviction in the idea and the prospects</p></li>\n<li><p>Large technology companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter are all increasingly seeking PhD candidates in areas ranging from natural language processing to digital signal processing. </p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>We feature these types of roles extensively and if need specific guidance, feel free to reach out. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44986,
"author": "WoJ",
"author_id": 15446,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15446",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to the other answers, the <strong>country</strong> also plays a key role. </p>\n\n<p>If you look at the board of a German company, you will notice that the academic titles are prominent. Example: <a href=\"http://www.siemens.com/about/en/management-structure/management-board.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">Siemens</a>. When you get emails from Germany, the signatures often include basic titles (Dipl.-Ing). Another example is <a href=\"http://www.bmwgroup.com/e/0_0_www_bmwgroup_com/unternehmen/unternehmensprofil/vorstand/vorstand.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">BMW</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Same goes for Poland (mgr. inz - the engineering title is often added, particularly for large and older companies)</p>\n\n<p>In contrast, when looking at the board of <a href=\"http://newsroom.cisco.com/exec-bios;jsessionid=70D7BBF18B1195CB1F01A8B98CBBF44A\" rel=\"nofollow\">Cisco</a> you do not see tiles (even though P. Warrior has a PhD for instance). Or <a href=\"http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/Executives/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Oracle</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Sure, these are only few examples but there are more.</p>\n\n<p>In my initial answer I mentioned France, where it does not hurt to have a PhD, particularly if it is awarded via a <em>Grande Ecole</em> (~Ivy League). </p>\n\n<p>From experience, you will have in Europe and Asia, if not an advantage, a head start if you have a PhD.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44994,
"author": "Alex",
"author_id": 34177,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34177",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't have a PhD but I employ PhDs and work with PhDs. </p>\n\n<p>As others have said, it does depend somewhat on the field and the company. However, in my experience, if you have a PhD in a reasonably related field to the one that you'r applying for then it will probably be a positive if you've received your PhD. </p>\n\n<p>The last bit is important. Unless you are very lucky (or very forward thinking) it is likely to be the skills you acquired/demonstrated to get the PhD (independence, commitment, communication etc) that will be seen to be valuable rather than the papers/conferences/citations etc themselves.</p>\n\n<p>If you don't complete the degree then it'll be an uphill battle to demonstrate that you acquired those skills. Not impossible but you may well struggle to get in front of someone with a sympathetic ear.</p>\n\n<p>On a related note to the last point, (probably not helpful to you and probably not popular with some readers) but the next best thing to completing the PhD will be to drop out early. Saying that you started a PhD but it wasn't for you shows maturity. Hanging on for a few years is distinctly more problematic in my experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44996,
"author": "Dan Bryant",
"author_id": 12747,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12747",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I work as a consultant in industrial automation, so I've had a chance to see a fairly wide range of different corporate cultures. Among those with PhDs on staff, I've noticed a tendency for the PhDs and BS/MS engineers to group up into separate political factions. Amongst the engineers, there is a stereotyped perception that the PhDs (especially fresh PhDs) are oblivious to the practical considerations of building a product.</p>\n\n<p>Many companies talk about wanting to encourage innovation in principle but, in practice, they generally favor lower-risk tried-and-true methods that complete the projects as efficiently as possible, in order to maximize profits. Research is inherently a high-risk endeavor; it appears as a red line item on the company ledger, with a return on investment that is tricky to quantify.</p>\n\n<p>Since PhDs are trained as researchers, I suspect they will often approach projects from a research perspective, in order to study the problem and find good solutions. Engineers are more likely to dig through an existing box of solutions, find the ones that are 'good enough' for the requirements, then design/implement accordingly. There is some crossover of course, especially in the companies with healthy cross-culture dynamics, but this 'gap' does create some challenges.</p>\n\n<p>If I were a hiring manager for a non-research position, I'd generally have a few concerns when interviewing a PhD candidate. a) How much more will they want to be paid? b) How much work experience do they have outside research? c) Will they want to stay in this position or will they move on as soon as a research opportunity pops up?</p>\n\n<p>Basically, if applying for an entry-level technical position in industry, expect to face the same biases as any other 'green' candidate looking for their first job, but amplified by the perception that a PhD is going to want to earn more and possibly won't stick around. If applying for a research position, you'll likely have fewer hurdles to overcome, but I don't have much experience in this area to say for certain.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45025,
"author": "Jake",
"author_id": 34192,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34192",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>PhD is worthless. Employers will not pay for it. Very very very few recs are written exclusively for PhD's and if they are, they are either in education, meaning you'll be a teacher, or you'll be forced into management. Just because you have a PhD doesn't mean you can manage. I've been in the technical field my entire career and I make the same if not more than my PhD counterparts.\nI've seen some employers flipping through resumes and throwing out PhDs because they feel if they hired the PhD the person would expect more money than their counterparts and become unhappy when they don't and then ultimately leave.\nAn employer looks more for experience. Can this guy make these two machines talk to each other? Can this guy get this thing coded in a month? If this guy writes code will it be good code and modular or am I going to be rewriting it in two years. Can this guy write code that someone else will understand? In case he leaves because he's pissed I won't pay him 15-20K more than his counterparts like he was expecting when he got his paper. Take the paper, burn it. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44931",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34131/"
] |
44,941 |
<p>I received an email from <strong>world biomedical frontiers</strong> journal:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your recent paper “XXXXXX” (published in “YYYYYY”) has been selected to be featured in our next issue of World Biomedical Frontiers, because of its innovation and potential for significant impact.
Research results with significant potential to improve health – or to treat or prevent disease – often deserve an immediate leap onto the “front page”. However, scientific breakthroughs don't always make the front page – and some don't make any page! We are the platform for you to stand out from among ~100,000 papers published each month, in order to attract more attention from the public and potential investors.
World Biomedical Frontiers [ISSN: 2328-0166] focuses on cutting-edge biomedical research from around the globe. Our website receives more than 8,000 visits per month from an international audience of academic and industrial researchers and developers, providing greater opportunity for your results to be recognized and appreciated.
If you accept our invitation to feature your paper on our website, a $38 processing fee will be charged. We will then post the abstract/summary of your paper in the latest section of Stem cells , with additional information from you highly recommended to further explain your novel findings and concepts in plain language; photos and/or figures are welcomed. Here are two examples (1 and 2 ).
In order to report breaking publications in a timely fashion, please contact us within two weeks if you wish your paper to be featured in our next issue.
Sincerely,</p>
<p>Editor</p>
<p>World Biomedical Frontiers,</p>
<p>New York, USA</p>
<p>Phone: 1-(917) 426-1571</p>
<p>E-mails: [email protected]</p>
<p>Website: <a href="http://biomedfrontiers.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://biomedfrontiers.org/</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Should I trust them? </p>
<p>I read <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16996/an-invitation-from-frontiers-frontiers-research-topics">this question</a> and also <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/36790/would-a-legitimate-journal-send-unsolicited-email-to-an-author-offering-to-featu">this one</a>, but I wanted to know about this specific case and what to do about it. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44942,
"author": "Aaron",
"author_id": 1228,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1228",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No; this isn't how reputable venues approach authors. This will have at best zero value (possibly negative value if someone notices, which is unlikely given how little visibility they apparently have), and will cost you $38. </p>\n\n<p>(Its funny that they advertise that they get 8000 website hits per month. This strikes me as an exceedingly low count, given that they probably get a hit from many people they send this spam email to)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44972,
"author": "Stu",
"author_id": 34161,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34161",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suggest that you do not trust them. </p>\n\n<p>Reasons not to trust them: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Their <a href=\"http://biomedfrontiers.org/home/\" rel=\"nofollow\">home page</a> has a bare url lying around which accounts for lack of expertise. </li>\n<li>Their <a href=\"http://biomedfrontiers.org/faq/\" rel=\"nofollow\">FAQ page</a> has some serious grammatical errors (capitalization) which again point to the same direction. </li>\n<li>Their <a href=\"http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/http%3A%2F%2Fbiomedfrontiers.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">Alexa Rank</a> has fallen and the stats provided by them do not look reliable according to the Alexa page. </li>\n<li>Who provides site hits in an invitation? Thats like Google interviewer telling you Google's gross profit of the quarter to you before your interview.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44974,
"author": "cge",
"author_id": 34163,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34163",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is a pretty clear scam. These things are unfortunately common as of late in academia. There are scam journals that try to make money off of things like \"processing fees,\" scam conferences with scam talk invitations, and so on. Unfortunately, they'll just keep on contacting you, and you'll get more of them in the future.</p>\n\n<p>In this case: if a legitimate group wanted to feature your work in this way, they'd just do it on their own. It's very possible they wouldn't even contact you, or wouldn't be contacting you with the choice of whether to have it in their publication or not. And as has been noted in some comments here, 8,000 hits per month is <em>nothing</em>; it's surprising that they don't lie and give a reasonable number.</p>\n\n<p>In general, you shouldn't need to pay for things you are invited to; this is often a good way to discern scams from legitimate invitations. Additionally, you can often tell by the lack of effort (eg, form letters), and lack of knowledge about what you actually do (just copying your paper title).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44941",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22688/"
] |
44,946 |
<p>I'm enrolled in an honours philosophy program (taking premed prereqs and maths as electives), going into my fourth year. I had a 3.9 until today when I got my first B. I made a point of kicking the crap out of the final essay; Nevertheless, the TA crushed me on it. I received less than 60%. </p>
<p>I'm applying to med school in the fall. Given the way that the schools that I'm going to apply to weight the grades of applicants, that B is going to be considerably damaging to my application. </p>
<p>There are two phases in the univeristy's process for appealing a grade. </p>
<ol>
<li>Talk to the professor</li>
<li>Appeal to the university for an independent evaluation.</li>
</ol>
<p>To the best of my knowledge, independent reviews are usually kangaroo processes that just confirm the original decision. Fortunately, the university's process isn't the only way to resolve the problem. The TA, the professor, and the department head all could change the result. </p>
<p>I don't suspect the TA will change his opinion. </p>
<p>The professor is good friends with the TA. Generally, people tend to defend their friends when someone accuses them of making a mistake. Ultimately, if I appeal to the professor, no matter how I approach it, the appeal will amount to an accusation that her friend made a mistake. Accordingly, I don't believe that I would succeed if I were to do that. Moreover, if I were to appeal to the professor, she would need to justify her decision, and by doing so, would become convinced her TA got it right. </p>
<p>Accordingly, I see three ways I could go about it: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Write the professor (I can't meet with her, I'm out of province this week, and need to contact her within seven days) and hope it works out (I'm pretty confident nothing will happen). </p></li>
<li><p>Write the professor and, using all the tact I can muster, gently allude to the escalation process, and the fact that it would just be easier to give my essay a fair shake. I saw a lawyer use the 'it's just easier to say yes' approach with a judge once. It worked surprisingly well. Nevertheless, it's kind of a jackass thing to do, and could backfire if my tact fails me. </p></li>
<li>Approach the department head: I'm in his good book. I first got to know him after he emailed me to talk about pursuing work in philosophical research. It was out of the blue, so I figure that's some sign that he'd like to see that happen. (I'd like to help solve some of the conceptual problems that predominate psychiatry.) He and I have spent about ~20 hours working one on one to solve some philosophical problems. I've done well in his classes. So, he knows I generally do good work and he seems to want to ensure things work out well. I suspect that he would doubt that the TA could justify giving me <60% on the essay. Perhaps he might suggest some way to fix the problem, or might offer an alternative if I can't fix it (e.g. 'Try this, and if it doesn't work, come back and talk to me.')</li>
</ol>
<p>How can I effectively challenge the grade that I've received?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44948,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>4) Write the professor and, in addition to asking that the grading be reviewed, ask whether there's any way you could tackle a piece of extra-credit work to show that the grade does not accurately reflect your mastery of the material.</p>\n\n<p>It's your grade. Own it. Either a mistake was made, in which case a review should fix it unless there is active malice -- which you give no reason to believe --or your own evaluation of you work on the final if flawed and if you want a better grade you need to give some justification for deserving it. Volunteering for the latter may make the former moot.</p>\n\n<p>You may be charged for the summer session if you take this approach. It sounds like you feel that cost would be justified.</p>\n\n<p>Just be glad you don't have your heart set on becoming a veterinarian. From what I've heard, vet school is harder to get into than med school.</p>\n\n<p><em>(Valid counter-arguments below. But I'm going to leave this up because I think that's worthwhile discussion.)</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44949,
"author": "Jim Conant",
"author_id": 9464,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9464",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would go through the process set out by your university. Talk to the professor first. You don't have to phrase it as an attack on the TA. Just tell the professor that you feel the grade was too harsh, and you would like him or her to review it. If you feel that the professor doesn't fairly address your concerns, then take it to the department head, and perhaps ultimately to an independent review committee. Typically, in order to get a grade changed by a committee, you will have to show that there was an error in grading your paper or that your paper was not graded consistently with the other papers. If the TA graded everyone's papers harshly, then there's not much of a basis for a complaint. As was pointed out in the comments, if you go to the department head before you talk to the professor, the professor will likely be annoyed at being blindsided by an issue they were unaware of. Also faculty are given broad leeway in grading their classes as long as it is done consistently. Unless there is an egregious mistake and the faculty is uncooperative, it is not the department head's place to interfere, and they most likely will just leave it to the professor. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/06
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44946",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9263/"
] |
44,952 |
<p>Can you point me to resources (e.g. book, articles, etc.) or methods on teaching students how to think more logically/systematically about doing research?</p>
<p>I've seen a number of intelligent graduate students who do great in performing experiments, but struggle to make logical arguments about their research and conclusions. For instance I see students making statements without providing evidence/arguments for such statements (e.g. "increasing the temperature will cause the experiment to proceed better" but no evidence/reasoning is provided). I see writing from students that is an organized mess with no clear path or direction. I often see short confusing descriptions in written drafts when thorough explanations should be given. I see students put together graphs that are incomprehensible. On and on...</p>
<p>It seems that many students don't "get" how to think scientifically or research-oriented. I know this comes with time and experience, but perhaps there is a way to teach students the underlying principles and approach to doing research?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44966,
"author": "Tim",
"author_id": 12703,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12703",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course there's a way to teach them: have them enroll in a research oriented PhD program and practice for five years! An effective approach to research is a skill that takes a long time to develop and will have prerequisites that also take a long time to develop (e.g. how to read scientifically, how to formulate scientific questions, how to verbally express a scientific thought clearly).</p>\n\n<p>That being said, engineering degrees are largely aimed at formalizing the skills that would take a decade or more to acquire through practice. If you can describe a procedure formally in enough detail, maybe, students can just follow the procedure exactly and get acceptable results. I don't know whether this would work or be a good idea for research (BS in Research Engineering anyone?) but it's moot because science programs tend to emphasize content rather than process.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44987,
"author": "Drecate",
"author_id": 16049,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16049",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From what you described it seems like your students are having trouble with writing clearly and persuasively. If it is possible, you could ask your students to take some classes in humanities or social sciences. Although these classes do not help with the technical skills of your students, they do often require writing skills and critical and close analysis of texts.</p>\n\n<p>As an alternative, you could find some well-written paper in your field, and go over them with your students. Ask the students to pay close attention to the phrasing, structure, and logical flow of the paper. Ask them questions such as \"Why did the author review literature on XXX instead of YYY in this paragraph?\" or \"What potential confound can you think of in this study, and how did the author deal with them and explain their methods?\" or \"In what order did the author describe their findings?\" With enough close reading, your students should get a feel of how good scientific writing is done.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, you can always recommend books on critical thinking and scientific methods to your students. Do a search on Amazon with keywords such as \"introductory logic\", \"critical thinking\", \"scientific methods\", etc. should give you plenty of choices.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44952",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6093/"
] |
44,953 |
<p>I know that a big part of academic job interviews is for the candidate to evaluate whether they <em>want</em> to be in the department (not only whether the department wants them). </p>
<p>Are there some non-obvious general factors that signal a possibly dysfunctional department, or an otherwise undesirable position, that a candidate should be aware of? For example (but not limited to), is a poorly attended job talk, or only meeting a relatively small fraction of the faculty, a warning sign of something awry? </p>
<p>I'm asking this question because I have had two successful interviews and am weighing competing offers. This has left me considering some of the finer aspects of the interview experience. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44957,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some things to consider while judging the department might be recalling the following things from your interview:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>How enthusiastic the folks were while talking to you. How much of the details about the school, department, colleagues etc. were mentioned? Did the chair mention you would be a good team with Prof. Y because both yours and Y's interests match closely.</li>\n<li>What kind of publications are out from the department members: frequency, quality, collaborative, solo, etc. may give you idea on the work patterns.</li>\n<li>What activities are on: Have they organized seminars, invited-talks, workshops, etc. Who has visited them in the past?</li>\n<li>What are the missions of the department: student success, diversity, faculty success, being in the top 1%, being a research university, etc.</li>\n<li>What kind of answers you got when asked possible questions about your life on campus. How was the tone from different folks: welcoming, hesitant, unsure?</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44962,
"author": "Zach H",
"author_id": 8857,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8857",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One thing to consider is tenure rates. Some departments are much more difficult to gain tenure in than others. My undergrad institution is well known for tenure cases that end in litigation. Similarly, I am aware of a department (small liberal arts college, not MIT or the equivalent) that denied tenure to something like six assistant professors over the course of a decade without granting tenure to any of its hires.</p>\n\n<p>Additionally, it's worth considering whether the department has autonomy over the hiring process. If the meeting with the dean is not largely a formality, this might be an issue.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44953",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33116/"
] |
44,960 |
<p>Why is it customary to call people with doctoral degrees doctors but not people with masters degrees masters? They are both graduate degrees that supersede the undergraduate degree.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44963,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you're talking about the use of doctor as a title, as in \"Dr. Smith\", I doubt there's any compelling explanation. Most degrees don't come with titles: nobody say Master Smith or Bachelor Smith or Associate Smith. Historically, magister (corresponding to the master's degree) was just as appropriate a Latin title as doctor was, but it simply isn't used in modern English. These titles are nearly gone, with just one remaining. It's probably no coincidence that the last remaining title is also the fanciest, but that's just speculation.</p>\n\n<p>Even for the doctorate, the use of the term \"doctor\" has degenerated to the point where in English it can only be used as a title, and not as a general noun. If you say \"my friend John Smith is a doctor\", practically everyone will assume he's a medical doctor. You could only get away with the more general usage in the narrowest academic context, and even there it would be considered pretentious and archaic.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44978,
"author": "Pavel",
"author_id": 17596,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17596",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>In some countries the custom is different.</em></p>\n\n<p>In the Czech Republic, Europe, where I come from, it still is generally customary to call masters <em>masters</em>. The title is different (<em>magister</em>, <em>ingenieur</em>*, or <em>doctor</em>**) but is more or less equivalent to the American master. And yes, it makes it easier to study for the sole purpose of being called <s>names</s> titles.</p>\n\n<p>In neigbouring Germany, however, only doctors with degree equivalent to PhD. are titled by degree.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>*) Not to be confused with <em>engineer</em>, the <em>ingenieur</em> degree means roughly <em>master of engineering</em>.</p>\n\n<p>**) To add to the confusion, <em>doctor</em> degree can mean various <em>degrees</em> of a degree, not all of them being equal to PhD. </p>\n\n<p><em>Update for clarification</em></p>\n\n<p><em>Magister</em>, <em>ingenieur</em>, and <em>doctor</em> are called <em>magistr</em>, <em>inženýr</em> and <em>doktor</em>, respectively, in Czech. The names come from Latin which is still used widely in Czech academia (where applicable). The respective abbreviations are <em>Mgr</em>, <em>Ing</em> and <em>Dr</em>. Thank you, Emil Jeřábek, for bringing this up.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44979,
"author": "mort",
"author_id": 13427,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13427",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The situation in Austria is similar to what Pavel Petrman describes. We do like our titles <strong>a lot</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Although nowadays almost all studies follow the Bachelor/Master system, as an engineering/science graduate one is still allowed to use the traditional title <strong>\"Diplomingineur\"</strong>, usually abbreviated as <strong>\"Dipl-Ing\"</strong>, instead of a title indicating the Master's degree. This is done mostly because it has a very high reputation in Austria and other German speaking countries. So once I graduate, I will be allowed to either call myself \"mort, MSc\" or \"Dipl-Ing mort\". However, calling myself \"Dipl-Ing mort, MSc\", which is sort of a wet dream for every title lover, is not allowed (but you do see it sometimes). </p>\n\n<p>The equivalent for non-engineering/science studies was the title <strong>\"Magister\"</strong>. However, graduates of those studies are only allowed to use their Master's degree (typically a Master of Arts degree), as was the original intention when switching to the Bachelor/Master system. </p>\n\n<p>In regard to titles, Austria has a lot more anachronisms. For example, the title <strong>\"Hofrat\"</strong> is still in use, it usually comes with a high-ranking government job (it's not an academic degree). The title comes from the good old times when Austria was an Empire: \"Rat\"¹ means advisor, \"Hof\" designates the imperial court, so Hofrat literally means \"advisor of the imperial court\". Although Austria is a Republic for 70 years now, the title is still in use. </p>\n\n<p>So think that's a bit crazy? Well. You can also combine academic and other titles. So a high-ranking government official might feel that he should only be addressed as \"Herr Hofrat Dr. Huber\". His wife, although not having earned any titles herself, might call herself \"Frau Hofrat Huber\". </p>\n\n<p>Like I said, we do like our titles. </p>\n\n<p>¹ Pronounced on the \"a\", not like the English \"rat\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44982,
"author": "Koldito",
"author_id": 12314,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12314",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This question sounds like you can go around calling people <em>doctor [name]</em> outside an academic environment. I don't think that's true in English-speaking countries. When I got engaged to my wife (US born and raised), her mother was so excited that she was going to marry someone with a PhD that she started introducing me to the extended family as <em>my future son-in law, Dr. Koldito</em>. Literally everybody who heard her introducing me like that thought she meant I was a medical doctor. </p>\n\n<p>So, I don't think there is anything weird in not being able to call people <em>master [name]</em>. You just can't use academic titles outside academia.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 44991,
"author": "Adam Davis",
"author_id": 11901,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11901",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Historically, in the US, titles are not emphasized. Part of this has to do with the history of the US rejecting royal authority (ie, knighthood and family/land titles). Another aspect, though, is that academia is already considered pretentious to some degree, and requesting others address you according to your educational title in all social situations won't endear you to others, instead it sets up an unequal relationship.</p>\n\n<p>Today, however, so many people have bachelors (30% of the US) and even masters degrees that it makes little sense to call out your achievement, when so many others around you have attained the same degree. PhDs are still relatively rare.</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, note that it's largely within academia that the title is used on a regular basis - where even more people have bachelors and masters degrees. Usually one addresses their teacher with a title in many cultures (先生 in Japan, for instance). In the US, it's \"professor\" or \"doctor\", and usually professor is preferred.</p>\n\n<p>The reality, though, is that other than medical doctors and outside academia, few PhDs that I'm aware of want or expect others to use their title. Demanding someone use a title when they address you is often seen as arrogance.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 72978,
"author": "user58241",
"author_id": 58241,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/58241",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Technically the proper term of respect for an individual with a master's degree is \"Mister\". I think this usage is similar to that in the Royal Navy, where a ship's master would normally be referred to as mister, as in \"Mr. Brown\". Common usage has long ago eroded any significance that the title may once have had. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44960",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6756/"
] |
44,971 |
<p>I'm in the process of finalising my exam for my unit in second semester (based in Australia). </p>
<p>The exam will have 3 essay questions out of a total of 6 that students will receive prior to the exam. They will be asked to prepare responses to these 6 essay questions, but only 3 will appear on the exam (originally I had wanted to do 3/10 as a former professor of mine had done, but was asked to reduce this to 6). </p>
<p>These exams will be assessed against a qualitative rubric with no comments provided. </p>
<p>Other than considering faculty rules/procedures regarding whether or not students can receive feedback from formal examinations (which I still need to inquire about):</p>
<ul>
<li>Are there any downsides in providing students qualitative rubrics from their formal exams after final marks have been posted? </li>
<li>Does the term/nature of a 'Formal Exam' mean that students should not receive feedback?</li>
</ul>
<p>(As a side note my course has to have an exam as its listed in the 2015 handbook, but next year this has been removed to be 100% in-class assessment). </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44973,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One potential drawback comes to mind: if you release the rubrics and/or each student's assessment against these rubrics (it's a bit unclear to me which one you want to do), you will open the gates wide to long, tiresome discussions.</p>\n\n<p>If students don't know the rubrics against which their work is assessed, they will have a harder time arguing that \"<em>obviously</em> they addressed this topic, so they should get full points.\"</p>\n\n<p>(I'm not arguing against releasing rubrics and/or assessments just to reduce the teacher's workload. I'm pointing out a potential downside. I'd still argue that releasing at least the rubrics makes sense to help students improve. Just be prepared for discussions. A small percentage of students can be very tenacious in such discussions and appear to spend more time disputing their grade <em>after</em> the exam than preparing <em>before</em>.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 122830,
"author": "Buffy",
"author_id": 75368,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/75368",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually, you shouldn't <em>require</em> the students to do anything for which they receive no feedback at all. Even the best students need a bit of confirmation that what they have done is good.</p>\n<p>But you don't need to release the rubric for the exam if the scale required for giving feedback is reasonable. For students writing on paper, a note on the paper itself is good, provided that the papers are returned to the students.</p>\n<p>In other cases an individual email with a few comments is fine. You can even prepare a lot of those comments in advance or as you grade, so that you can just use copy/paste to write a lot of them.</p>\n<p>But learning requires both practice and feedback. That is why professional athletes still use coaches.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44971",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324/"
] |
44,981 |
<p><strong>Background:</strong> I work in a field where the use of LaTeX is common but still far from universal. So far I have been lucky in that all my coauthors in the past have been fellow LaTeX users, so collaboration boiled down to creating a shared Dropbox folder with the .tex and .bib files we were working on. Now I'm starting a collaboration with two colleagues who use Word, so they have proposed to collaborate with Google Docs. There are various reasons why this is a bad idea, the main one being that writing this paper is going to require doing things that are easy in LaTeX but difficult and time-consuming in Google Docs (or in a standard word processor, for that matter) ---e.g., Greek letters for variables, assorted math/logic symbols, trees (in the graph-theoretic sense), or frequent crossreferencing in the running text of numbered examples. </p>
<p><strong>Conflict:</strong> One of my colleagues has already said he has no interest in learning LaTeX. On the other hand, I don't want to go hunting through the Google Docs character map every time I need to insert a non-Latin character. </p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> Is there any collaborative writing software that allows including LaTeX tags and environments in a Word-like document? For example, when I'm writing semi-informal things like lecture notes, I can get by with markdown and then generate a pdf with pandoc. I don't know of any online services with similar functionality.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44983,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Excluding LaTeX-focused online collaboration services, such as <a href=\"http://www.sharelatex.com\">ShareLaTeX</a>, due to your new collaborators' preferences, I think that you have pretty much two major options, as follows:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.overleaf.com\"><strong>Overleaf (formerly WriteLaTeX)</strong></a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.authorea.com\"><strong>Authorea</strong></a></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Both online academic collaboration services support simultaneous use of LaTeX and WYSIWYG <strong>rich text mode</strong>, Authorea also supports some <strong>other formats</strong>, such as Markdown and HTML. Both services (to various extent) offer other nice collaborative features, such as data sharing, version control, revision notes and much more. Due to multi-format support, I would prefer Authorea to Overleaf, however, the final decision should be made upon a comprehensive <em>comparison</em> of both services across all available features and your detailed requirements as well as some <em>testing</em>.</p>\n\n<p>P.S. Just for completeness, I will mention <strong>two other options</strong>. The first is to use <em>blog engines</em> that support both WYSIWYG and LaTeX (most of the major ones do: from WordPress to Jekyll). It's a decent option, but I would prefer one of the above-mentioned dedicated services, for multiple reasons. The second option is to self-host <em>RStudio Server</em> (or maybe a <em>custom Shiny application</em>), which would allow academic collaborative writing, using RMarkdown, but IMHO this is the worst solution possible, as trying to implement various needed features and solve issues, such as version control integration, would bring you and your collaborators a lot of headaches.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45007,
"author": "Chris H",
"author_id": 8494,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8494",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I worked with someone who didn't use LaTeX, and by the last paper we worked on together, we figured out something that worked for us:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I wrote it in word, peppered with things like<code>\\cite{CiteKey}</code>, <code>\\caption{\\label{fig_some_figure}This is the figure caption}</code> and <code>\\ref{fig_some_figure}</code> (i.e. all the crossreferencing stuff). </li>\n<li>The equations (only a handful) were pasted as images from a compiled LaTeX .pdf.</li>\n<li>The figures were converted to .bmp (word doesn't handle any sensible vector graphics formats, or at least didn't in the version I couldn't be bothered to upgrade from).</li>\n<li>The contents of the relevant .bib file was at the end. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The figures needed commenting on and only the text needed editing so it worked out for us. We used word's \"track changes\" tools for the text edits. At the end I just pasted the text into a text editor, added about 3 <code>\\emph{}</code>s and compiled. It's a complete hack of a way of working but the extra effort was minimal and all on my side, so a saving of effort compared to writing a paper in word, which realistically was the alternative.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45009,
"author": "jb.",
"author_id": 117,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/117",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you're willing to drop \"online service\" requirement you might consider showing them <a href=\"http://wiki.lyx.org\" rel=\"noreferrer\">LyX</a>, which is a WYSWIM/WYSWIG editor that:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Compiles to latex </li>\n<li>Allows one to add basic formatting as in word </li>\n<li>Allows one to add figures, tables, citations as in word. </li>\n<li>Allows one to add raw LaTeX code </li>\n<li>Has super-usable equation editor that compiles code to latex, but you can insert equations without writing latex (you can write it if you want).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GTqiq.png\" alt=\"LyX window\"> </p>\n\n<p>Lyx is not so good at sharing --- but I've collaboratively worked on Lyx files using Git repository (you might use any other versioned service), and it was a very good experience. </p>\n\n<p>There is a slight problem --- if your colleagures don't use any version control system (or don't know what it is), in this case it is possible to: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>On windows: use some Git Gui (<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TortoiseGit\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Tortoise Git</a>). I've seen non-technical people use <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TortoiseSVN\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Tortoise SVN</a> to share documents. </li>\n<li>On Linux: add some scripts that perform VCS operations. </li>\n<li>In comments using Dropbox was suggested --- but Git is obviously better choice in terms of feature-set and stability, Dropbox may be easier to learn. </li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 62140,
"author": "hugke729",
"author_id": 47973,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/47973",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To address the non-latin character problem you mentioned in the \"conflict\" paragraph, you should use AutoHotKey (Windows) or AutoKey (Linux) to insert the characters for you when you type in specific sequences of keystrokes. The gif explains what I mean. You type /delta and it automatically gets converted to δ (regardless of application).</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/u1NUI.gif\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/u1NUI.gif\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></a></p>\n\n<p>Instructions are given <a href=\"https://brushingupscience.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/add-any-symbol-without-leaving-the-keyboard/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here</a></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44981",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12314/"
] |
44,998 |
<p>What can be done to correct an error that might be hiding a certain author's sole purpose of publishing a paper, no matter the soundness of their method? </p>
<p>In a nutshell, the particular case that spawned this question can be summarized in a few sentences:</p>
<ul>
<li>a paper presents a mathematical construction and proposes a numerical solution for the resulting nonlinear optimization problem</li>
<li>the problem has many local solutions that are not numerically distinguishable</li>
<li>it is impossible to ensure convergence to the real solution without actually starting near it</li>
<li>there are too many local solutions (an infinite set in some cases) to simply test the best sample</li>
<li>the authors claim unconditional convergence to the true solution, regardless the parameters</li>
<li>their results are consistent with their goal, but the mathematical formulation is in contradiction with the conclusions simply judging by the properties of the objective equations.
Hence, such results are, at best, a stroke of luck, if not part of a probably much different approach. </li>
</ul>
<p>After spending almost one month trying to understand not one, but a series of three inter-linked articles on a scientific subject, I have mathematically proven that the central assumptions and claims in that series of papers were wrong and/or incomplete. As the papers were peer reviewed and even published in reputed journals or conferences, I feel there is a need of saving other people the trouble of wasting valuable time trying to reproduce a falsely advertised behaviour. What is the proper action to take in this situation (for example, writing to the editors of the journal)?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45001,
"author": "Koldito",
"author_id": 12314,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12314",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Write a paper explaining what the errors are and how they invalidate the results of the papers in question, then submit it to a journal with good visibility and get it published. Writing directly to the journal editors is appropriate only if you have good evidence that the errors in question are deliberate (e.g., the authors have fabricated data in order to obtain the results they wanted).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45005,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I have mathematically proven that the central assumptions and claims in that series of papers were wrong and/or incomplete.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is a very complicated statement and it is important to understand it in order to know what to do. The two issues are assumptions and claim.</p>\n\n<p>People often make assumptions to solve difficult research problems under the assumed conditions. If your assumptions are too extreme, or worse known to be wrong, then no one will care about your solution. The key issue, however, is that if someone later proves that your assumptions were wrong this does not make your results wrong. It just means that the conditions for which you solved the problem are uninteresting.</p>\n\n<p>Given a set of assumptions, regardless of if they are true or untrue, claims based on those assumptions can be correct, incorrect or incomplete. If in a further investigation you realize that the claims are incorrect or incomplete, or the assumptions needed to obtain the claims are either incomplete (i.e., you need additional assumptions) or incorrect (i.e., the wrong assumption was made not an assumption that was wrong). In these cases there is an issue with the research that should be corrected. Most journals have mechanisms for correcting errors or at least alerting readers to errors.</p>\n\n<p>The concept of proving an assumption to be wrong is a strange idea. An assumption is an idea that you take to be true while an idea that will be subjected to testing is generally called a hypothesis (or in mathematics I believe a conjecture). Taking someone else's assumption and hypothesizing that it is true (or false) and then testing that can be very valuable research. Proving that the assumed conditions do not occur reduces the importance of the previous research that assumes the conditions occur, but it does not change whether that previous research is correct or incorrect. In this case you need to decide if the proof that the conditions do not occur is interesting enough to publish.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45016,
"author": "Nemo",
"author_id": 32575,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32575",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Approach the authors to explain them the issues and ask them how to work together on publishing a rebuke of their own papers. If possible, do so with the help of someone you know who knows them.</p>\n\n<p>Unless you are an authority in the field, in which case you can do whatever you want, it's much easier and more productive to \"withdraw\" published claims with the authors' collaboration. Also, you might earn a long-term collaboration with their research group.</p>\n\n<p>Suggestion based on how a professor I know (having a h-index around 50) solved such an issue.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45029,
"author": "Flounderer",
"author_id": 5842,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5842",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Basically there's nothing you can do. I had exactly the same experience with a paper written by some Ivy League computer scientists whose algrotihm I was supposed to implement. Their papers contained no information about how they chose the starting points for their optimization, which was a serious problem because there were many local maxima. They had written a software package but it had been withdrawn from circulation.</p>\n\n<p>I discussed my problems with other researchers in the field and was told that it's generally known that \"there are problems with that paper.\" That's as far as it goes, really. It would be nice if there was some way of calling them to account for wasting peoples' time and making claims that they couldn't substantiate, but there's really nothing you can do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45103,
"author": "Huitzilo",
"author_id": 34268,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34268",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course, you could write a paper proving the original work wrong and try to get it published. But experience shows that such papers tend to have a hard time in review, because they challenge a (more or less) widely accepted method. Just consider, even if the method is not guaranteed to yield the optimal result, it may still be \"good enough\" to be useful for many purposes. Simply refuting the method is thus only of limited use for the scientific community - in absence of a better method they will just keep on using it. Your paper may end up being simply ignored. </p>\n\n<p>Ideally, you'd start from your proof that the method doesn't work and develop an improved method that avoids some of the shortcomings of the original method. If you can show that your new method really improves performance, you'll be in a good position to publish with good visibility. Such an approach would also be a lot more useful for the scientific community, because you don't simply refute the original, but improve on it. </p>\n\n<p>And make sure you publish that code under an open source license in a persistent, public repository, so everyone can use and improve it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44998",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2819/"
] |
45,002 |
<p>I recently took a class where the Professor created multiple online study guides, on popular student sites, which intentionally contained the wrong answers. He did this because his exams were based heavily on the end of chapter questions in the book. Also, the Professor told us at the start of class using Google to help answer the questions would be useless because all the top results regarding these chapter questions were his wrongly answered guides.</p>
<p>Was this ethical of the Professor to do? The book used in the class contained no answer (or partial answer) keys and no additional student material was provided for the book. I understand he did this in order to force students to read the book and keep them from simply Googling all the answers at the end of the chapter. However, this removed a way for students to verify their answers were correct.</p>
<p>Edit: In response to some of the comments, he was not bluffing. During the course I was unable to answer one of the questions (it turned out to be a misprint in the book) and tried using online resources. The wrong guides were easy to spot, because half the chapter questions involved determining which SQL statements were valid. Some of the guides were simply answered as A, B, C, D, A, B in order down the list. Other were just flat out wrong. Also, as far as the exams went, I shouldn't say they were heavily based on the book. The Professor literally copy and pasted the questions from his instructors manual and didn't bother changing any wording or the answer order.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45003,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well, like everyone he is free to post on the internet anything he wants that is considered legal. Wrong answers are legal from that perspective.</p>\n\n<p>Regardless what he intends to teach/enforce his students, there are likely other people who google similar questions and are mislead by his \"trolling\" (to use internet jargon). For a professor, who should be teaching and spreading knowledge to people, spreading misinformation to intentionally mislead readers is wrong and unethical.</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, I guess the book is not very well written, the books I studied, usually had questions which challenge the general understanding of the subject rather than a google-able fact.</p>\n\n<p>In the end, I don't think there is anything you or anyone else can do about him. Even under pressure, the professor can simply post anonymously and don't tell the students up front.</p>\n\n<p>PS I'm really perplexed that someone takes time to systematically alter the perception of some topics on the internet, instead of only adjusting the (exam) questions like every other teacher I know does. This tilting at windmills shows extreme weakness of character in my eyes.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45004,
"author": "Patricia Shanahan",
"author_id": 10220,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10220",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I have a strong negative opinion on this. </p>\n\n<p>In 2002, I joined a PhD program and was at the same level of computer science education as peers who had recently completed CS degrees at good schools. My last prior formal CS education was a master's degree that I completed in 1975.</p>\n\n<p>I achieved that, as well as staying employable in the computer industry for over 30 years, by continuous independent study. As computer science kept changing around me I felt at times like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: \"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!\"</p>\n\n<p>Not having answers to the questions in a textbook was something I could handle, though undesirable. If I had found answers on-line that conflicted with my answers I could have wasted a lot of time trying to resolve the discrepancy, including trying to contact the answer author to point out an error. </p>\n\n<p>Wrong answers to questions in a good textbook are particularly destructive. I put a lot of effort into selecting the books I use. In order to progress, it is necessary to attempt exercises that are a stretch. In some cases, it is difficult to check whether an answer is correct. Searching on-line for answers may be the best available resource.</p>\n\n<p>The professor was, intentionally or not, sabotaging independent study.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45006,
"author": "Compass",
"author_id": 22013,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22013",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This \"solution\" you've presented <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/30012/22013\">was brought up in a related question from a while ago</a>.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>...Then I went to Yahoo Answers, made a bunch of fake accounts, and posted tantalizingly wrong answers to all of my own HW questions. I have told all subsequent students not to google the HW answers because there are wrong solutions out there.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The consensus at the time was that this is not appropriate, and ultimately impedes the process learning for most of the community for the \"benefit\" of preventing cheating in your class.</p>\n\n<p>Let's consider the action your professor has taken.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Also, the Professor told us at the start of class using Google to help answer the questions would be useless because all the top results regarding these chapter questions were his wrongly answered guides.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Let's look at the effort spent trying to do this. The professor found the right answers, and then purposely answered them wrong, and published them around the web to \"solve\" his problem for a relatively \"personal\" benefit of ensuring academic integrity in his own course, at the expense of <em>every</em> student of that course in the world.</p>\n\n<p>At the very least, it's not helping anyone. At the very most, if he is using his <em>position</em> as a professor (i.e. actually listing his credentials/qualifications) for these study guides, that would raise additional red flags that could potentially be grounds for something that the university might need to be made aware of.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>He did this because his exams were based heavily on the end of chapter questions in the book.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In my opinion, he should have instead used his time to write exams that were not so heavily based on end of chapter questions in the book.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45013,
"author": "Zibbobz",
"author_id": 23717,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23717",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is massively unethical, because the internet does not exist in a vacuum. </p>\n\n<p>Consider the possibility that someone looking for a valid answer online, because they do not have or cannot afford this textbook, finds your professor's answer and assumes it is correct. Because of his deception, he has misled this and every other person who seeks this answer by knowingly posting the wrong answer himself. </p>\n\n<p>It is also ultimately futile and harmful to the learning process - it discourages students from trying to use all resources available to them, discounts the possibility that the <em>text</em> could be wrong, and gives students a sense that they are being cheated by the professor. </p>\n\n<p>It is unethical, it is detrimental to the learning process, and frankly his disrespect and sabotage of online resources makes him look like a luddite. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45023,
"author": "David Fass",
"author_id": 34187,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34187",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree, this is somewhat <strong>unethical</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>I can understand wanting to discourage just Googling the answers - however, where the unethicality of kicks in is for those people who <em>dont't</em> know that this professor has <em>deliberately</em> poisoned the well and released study guides that are flat out <em>wrong</em> - and pushed those wrong guides high enough in the results lists to be common.\nNow, not knowing this, a person unrelated to the class in question gets a hold of this guide; they <em>might</em> try to use said guide to try to learn the material in question - only to be using the flat out wrong materials, and not knowing they were <em>deliberately</em> made to be <em>wrong</em>.\nDepending on the <em>knowledge</em> level of the querier, they <em>might</em> figure out the guide was wrong - but, what if they don't know any better? Since it was pointed out, he deliberately made sure <em>his</em> bogus guides were <em>highly</em> likely to show up as a result.</p>\n\n<p>I also see a problem in the fact it's being pushed up to a global search engine - so, it's spreading misinformation to more than just the class.\nI mean, if it were just doing Professor X's CS310 class study guides - OK, bad form poisioning those specific key words - but Google sub-parses the documents, so now, <em>other</em> people see these results.</p>\n\n<p>Sounds like he is just too lazy to write up good questions and wants to just cut and paste his Teacher's Edition textbook questions.\nI just wonder what his teacher/course evaluations are like, and what <em>his</em> supervisors and those higher up the food chain think of his practices and doing this? Maybe it's time (or <em>just</em> after you get his grade) to go to the head of the department and/or the dean of students and figure out what is up and why this is an acceptable practice, and why you feel it's unacceptable and how this kind of inhibits self-learning. Pretty much, come in ready to defend your position. If it's not just you, well, then I would make it more the merrier and show the administration how you feel.\nPerhaps they aren't aware of exactly what he's doing, and the extent to which he's going about it.</p>\n\n<p>Defend your position, but don't necessarily come off as overly troublesome and trying to make drama - more as concerned about this issue.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45127,
"author": "Christian",
"author_id": 10073,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10073",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If an academic publishes incorrect information that's an ethical problem. Academics who lie when publishing information about their domain of expertise when it suits them can't be trusted to be honest when they publish scientific papers. </p>\n\n<p>I would look at the ethical guidelines of your university to determine what they have to say about lying and deliberately publishing incorrect information. If those guidelines not only forbid lying in scientific papers but are more broad, forward information about the case to the relevant authority in your university that deals with ethical breaches.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45002",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34181/"
] |
45,010 |
<p>When repeating a course, why are the grades averaged for GPA?</p>
<p>For example, a student takes course X and receives a C (2.0) and then retakes the course and receives an A (4.0), my university (and I believe most universities in the US at least) will end up with a "B" (3.0) impact on their GPA.</p>
<p>The student has exhibited an "A" level of "knowledge" so why penalize them. If the student attempted to learn on their own and did not attain "requisite" understanding prior to attending the course but ended doing very well in the course they would not be penalized. </p>
<p>Or perhaps offer two measure's of GPA, one as a summation of everything and one that only includes the students best performance for each course taken?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45011,
"author": "Compass",
"author_id": 22013,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22013",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An average is used to reduce the impact of grade inflation and encourage people to do well the first time. You always take something more seriously, if it always counts for something.</p>\n\n<p>If not, people could take a hard course once to get all the tests and answers, and then \"do it again\" to get an A in the class, and have no evidence of the D from the first run.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45038,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As others have said, different universities -- and even different programs within a university -- have different policies about when repeating a course is allowed and if so, how it counts towards the GPA. </p>\n\n<p>Actually, it's even more complicated than this: the same student enrolled in the same program can have multiple GPA's! It is my understanding that at many if not most American universities, there is one GPA that is simply the average of the numerical scores (on a 4 point scale) over all courses one has taken. With respect to this system, if you take a course once and get an A and then again and get a C, then it does not go into your GPA as a 3.0; it goes in as a 4.0 and a 2.0. The average is the same, but the weight is twice as much, reflecting the fact that you completed two courses rather than just one. However, GPA \"in your major\" may be counted with a different weighting system.</p>\n\n<p>You seem to think that there's something unfair about averaging the grades. To me, it sounds like a generous system: and in fact, I don't think that it is guaranteed that a student is allowed to repeat a course to improve their grade if the grade they got the first time around is considered \"satisfactory\". This practice again depends on the university and the program.</p>\n\n<p>You write:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The student has exhibited an \"A\" level of \"knowledge\" so why penalize them.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Sorry, where is the penalty you speak of? They got a C and they got an A, and both are being recorded. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>If the student attempted to learn on their own and did not attain \"requisite\" understanding prior to attending the course but ended doing very well in the course they would not be penalized. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Again, I don't see how anyone is being penalized. A low grade is not a penalty.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Or perhaps offer two measures of GPA, one as a summation of everything and one that only includes the students best performance for each course taken?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you want to present this alternate calculation of your GPA to someone else, you can. But you also have to record the official GPA. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, I think that the practice of allowing a student to take a course multiple times and only record the best grade is a poor one, for several reasons:</p>\n\n<p>i) It is fundamentally not transparent. The standard unit of coursework in most American universities is the semester-long course. You are registered for a certain number of courses each semester, and you get grades for each of them. If grades get replaced by later grades, this kind of information is lost, and it may be that the student is recorded as taking nothing during that semester! This leads to:</p>\n\n<p>ii) Because high course grade are very desirable, this practice would encourage students who got good but not optimal grades to repeat the course until they got the highest possible grade. If you think this through soberly for a while, you'll see it's just a bad idea. The whole point of a grade like a B is that it's good enough to move on to the next course. Students who repeat courses until they get A's could take much longer getting through the program. It will create a culture where most students who are taking the course the first time are taking it \"for practice only\". If courses were heavily populated with more advanced students who did well the first time around and are insisting on taking it again to get the highest possible grade, then that could seriously skew where the course is being pitched, which would encourage yet more students to repeat every course they take. Finally:</p>\n\n<p>(iii) We do not want students to be able to graduate with a perfect GPA if they spend seven years in college instead of four. Moreover -- sorry to divulge the ugly truth -- <strong>we don't want a substantial percentage of college students to have the highest, or essentially the highest, possible GPA</strong>. While the competitive nature of GPAs in the current university environment has many unpleasant aspects, the vast majority of American culture is fully bought into it...especially including the students. If 50% of every class got a 4.0 GPA then most of the advantages of having such a high GPA would evaporate, and employers / graduate schools would hire you based on other metrics. (Note that people often talk about grade inflation, but really grade inflation is only a problem to those who are not familiar with the current university system. For everyone who is sufficiently informed, it doesn't matter whether the average grade in a course is a C or a B+. Still, after taking about 40 courses, there will be a small tail of students who have gotten almost all A's. So there is no problem here.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45010",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21194/"
] |
45,017 |
<p><strong>Situation:</strong> I’m completing a master’s degree in computer science. Currently, I’m at the final stage and finishing writing my thesis.</p>
<p>Usually, similar theses in my institute have the following structure:</p>
<ol>
<li>Introduction.</li>
<li>Literature survey.</li>
<li>Proposed solution, method, framework, ...</li>
<li>Implementation and case studies.</li>
<li>Conclusion.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Actually, the research problem that I’m undertaking is a little complicated and crosses multiple landscapes; it’s about designing data warehouses using ontology. So the way I have followed is bottom-up, providing a chapter of foundations before the solution chapter (point 3 above). These foundations contain multiple basic definitions, constraints and rules that I build upon in the next chapter (including some novel theoretical issues), in order to give the reader the sufficient tools to launch reading my work.</p>
<p>However, my supervisor told me that this is not the best way, and that reader may be confused with all this much of theoretical knowledge in a bottom up fashion, that may lead to getting lost. Instead, he suggested to define any concept only whenever I need to use it, even if it this concept is proposed by me.</p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> Though I know that there may be no specific answer. However, in such a situation, which is better? bottom up or top down? Any suggestions?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45066,
"author": "stijn",
"author_id": 34229,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34229",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have not enough reputation to comment. So, we will have to go with an answer. I disagree with Cameron Williams and I agree with your supervisor. Your thesis is not a textbook and front loading in a thesis will not have the intended effect. Frankly, if you start with basically a set of definitions, it is quite likely that your assessors will only cursory read that section. They might then be confused when they read the actual solution chapter because they don't have the necessary understanding of the concepts you thought they would have.</p>\n\n<p>I think you should follow your advisor. Think of your thesis as telling a story where you introduce new concepts at the point where you need them. You can always have a glossary at the end of your thesis to gather all relevant terminology in one place.</p>\n\n<p>The exception to this advice would be if you are writing in an area where there is a lot of confusion around terminology and names of concepts. If your goal is to argue that prior literature was sloppy in naming its concepts and you want to clarify the literature, a discussion of definitions at the start could be warranted.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45073,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>These are just two different styles, and no one can say one is better for all things, though one may tend to work better with certain manuscripts with certain audiences. In this case, since your advisor has specifically suggested top-down as being better, try it his way. Trust your advisor.</p>\n\n<p>It's not clear from the question why you think the top-down approach is not as good. If you're worried that there are too many new definitions etc. that people will have trouble remembering and be difficult to locate, this can be solved with an index or index of notation and/or creating subsections at the appropriate places to treat new concepts in a mini-isolated environment where they're introduced. For readers who already know these concepts, they can just skip those subsections.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45083,
"author": "Ben Voigt",
"author_id": 8705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8705",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's very common to see</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Introduction.</li>\n<li>Literature survey.</li>\n<li>Contribution 1\n<ol>\n<li>Proposed solution, method, framework...</li>\n<li>Implementation and case studies.</li>\n</ol></li>\n<li>Contribution 2\n<ol>\n<li>Proposed solution, method, framework...</li>\n<li>Implementation and case studies.</li>\n</ol></li>\n<li>Contribution 3\n<ol>\n<li>Proposed solution, method, framework...</li>\n<li>Implementation and case studies.</li>\n</ol></li>\n<li>Conclusion</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>My own dissertation was originally structured like you have in the question, with all results coming after all framework. This got very negative feedback at my oral defense, and I reorganized it as shown prior to signoff and deposit.</p>\n\n<p>The negative feedback wasn't specifically directed at the structure, but at the fact that I had failed to coherently link everything together, and the chosen structure was a major cause.</p>\n\n<p>In contrast my Powerpoint deck was organized around the three contributions, and was received very positively, which helped me reach the decision to use the same approach for the dissertation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45126,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Ultimately, I think that you should follow your supervisor's advice, unless he/she offers you enough <em>freedom</em> in that regard. However, I would like to emphasize the following <strong>aspects</strong>:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Your thesis' <strong>structure</strong> is <em>very typical</em> for a single topic scholarly works (the rarer alternative, used more frequently in Ph.D. dissertations, is a collection of essays on a common theme) and has a solid <em>research methodology</em> foundation, so I wouldn't worry about that at all, unless your supervisor require you to make structural modifications (in that case, I would politely present my arguments, but comply, if meeting the requirements is demanded upon).</p></li>\n<li><p><strong>Terminology</strong>-wise, I think that the above-mentioned standard approach to <em>structuring</em> academic work should not be called <em>bottom-up</em> - if you insist on using such terminology, I would rather refer to it as <strong>top-down</strong>, since you analyze the topic from more <em>general concepts</em> to more <em>detailed</em> (discussion of rationale for <em>choosing</em> between those two approaches is beyond this scope of this answer, but, briefly speaking, I think that it mostly depends on the availability of some <em>theoretical foundation</em> on the topic: if it exists, then I'd use top-down approach, otherwise - bottom-up).</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45137,
"author": "regdoug",
"author_id": 34299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34299",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd just like to provide a bit of personal perspective. Last week I defended my Masters thesis in Mechanical Engineering. I wrote it in the style you call \"bottom up.\"</p>\n\n<p>My thesis was an experimental comparison of different published literature methods for testing thermoelectrics, so I started with a chapter on thermoelectrics, followed it with a chapter on the testing methods, and then moved to the more traditional goals, methods, results, conclusions for the remaining chapters.</p>\n\n<p>By putting the requisite technical background at the front, I was able to make my discussion of the methods in the experimental section more succinct and discussion of the basic mechanisms mostly out of my conclusions, but I did repeat key concepts <em>throughout</em> the thesis. I think that it is possible to write in a \"bottom-up\" manner, but remember that you may still have to briefly summarize concepts as they come up in the work.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45017",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31861/"
] |
45,018 |
<p>I would like to pursue summer college courses - particularly a creative writing class and a computer science class - to help broaden my knowledge and improve upon myself as a person. </p>
<p>However, looking at some college courses in the local city, tuition alone for a single undergrad course is <a href="http://www.albany.edu/studentaccounts/ANTICIPATED_(3)__Summer_2015_Per_Credit_UNCAPPED.pdf" rel="nofollow">upward of $800 for a three-credit Summer class</a>. </p>
<p>This seems a little excessive. Is this a typical cost for college summer courses in most areas? And is there a cheaper alternative if I'm seeking to expand my knowledge pool, and not necessarily seeking academic credit hours? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45024,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The cost of summer courses in the United States is likely to be as staggeringly variable as the the cost of courses during the semester. To the best of my knowledge, most universities generally do not change their tuition fees significantly during the summer.</p>\n\n<p>As such, it will range across at least two orders of magnitude depending on the school you are dealing with, and can easily change by nearly an order of magnitude depending on the type of student that you are. Consider, for example, <a href=\"https://www.maui.uiowa.edu/maui/pub/tuition/rates.page\">this table of tuition rates published by the University of Iowa</a>: you will find that summer course charges are almost identical to semester charges, and differ wildly for Iowa residents and students coming from out of state.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45156,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>to help broaden my knowledge and improve upon myself as a person</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you don't need the credits toward a degree, then the solution is to audit the classes. What might trip you up is that summer programs often do not allow auditing, whereas the fall and spring semesters do.</p>\n\n<p>The audit fee is often on the order of 10% of the normal charge.</p>\n\n<p>However, even that has a potential solution. Send an email to the instructor, asking him/her to give you a call please. (What you're going to say needs to be said in person or on the phone, not in an email.)</p>\n\n<p>Explain that you would like to audit his class, but since auditing isn't permitted at this institution during the summer session, you'd like permission to do an informal audit. If the instructor is a reasonable person, the answer will be yes.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>On the other hand, if you need the credits, take a look at <a href=\"http://www.collegecalc.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.collegecalc.org/</a> to compare tuition rates.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Please note, you can get a very good creative writing course at some community colleges. Sometimes that's the best place to get individualized attention. Don't forget to check ratemyprofessor.com before you register for classes.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45018",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23717/"
] |
45,027 |
<p>I have two offers for a Visiting Assistant Professor position. Can I negotiate for a higher salary for a VAP position?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45028,
"author": "Brian Borchers",
"author_id": 4453,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4453",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You can certainly try to politely negotiate salary, but I wouldn't count on getting much if anything at all. </p>\n\n<p>At my institution, my experience has been that the administration simply won't negotiate on salary. For a VAP, the department is simply looking for someone who can handle teaching load for a year or two. There are typically many qualified applicants with enough teaching experience, and because the position is temporary there just isn't any point in paying more than necessary. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45064,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Brian is right that you're unlikely to make much headway. I think maybe he isn't recognizing the variety of positions that go under VAP (some of whom have serious research expectations), but still, I expect they will have relatively set salaries; it could a lot of work and bureaucracy for the chair to request the change even if s/he wants to. It's often a bit easier for chairs to sneak other things into offers. You might be more likely to be successful if you asked for, say, 1k in research funds rather than salary, since often those funds are more flexible.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45095,
"author": "orbatos",
"author_id": 27761,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27761",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Ben has precisely shown the issue, funds for these positions are difficult to change. If you politely query research or accommodation funds however you may find they are able to allocate from the department budget or various grants as well as pre-purchase items such as laptops (within reason).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59494,
"author": "Oswald Veblen",
"author_id": 16122,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16122",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It may depend, to some extent, on how much the university wants you, and on how much flexibility they have. If the school doesn't often hire visiting professors, there is more chance they will treat your hire like any other hire (although not tenure track) with some room for negotiation. If they hire numerous VAPs each year, they are more likely to think of it as a more routine kind of hiring with fixed parameters. </p>\n\n<p>Here is a personal anecdote. I had a one year VAP at one point. That year, I also had the option of remaining at my PhD school as an instructor, which would have been less ideal but which would have certainly been cheaper. I managed to convince/negotiate with the other school to raise the salary slightly to compensate (not more than a couple thousand, plus some moving expenses). But, I believe they really wanted me to come. </p>\n\n<p>One thing to keep in mind is the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiated_agreement\" rel=\"nofollow\">BATNA</a> on both sides. For example, do you have alternate positions available? Does the school likely have equally qualified candidates to choose from if you don't accept the offer? There was a <a href=\"https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/13/lost-faculty-job-offer-raises-questions-about-negotiation-strategy\" rel=\"nofollow\">news story last year</a> about a tenure-track job offer that was derailed by negotiations that the university thought were too aggressive, so it may help to inquire informally about how much flexibility there is on the salary. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59509,
"author": "Anonymous Physicist",
"author_id": 13240,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13240",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to the other answers, if this position is covered by a union contract, that contract will specify if the salary is negotiable. Typically these contracts discourage individual salary negotiation. Often the contract is available from the institution or union website.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45027",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22503/"
] |
45,032 |
<p>From September I will be starting my final year project at a UK university. </p>
<p>I will be developing some software. However the software I wish to create has multiple "modules" to it. Approximately 16 modules for 16 different functions. </p>
<p>A fair few of these modules have been created before by various people and the code is completely open source with no licensing restrictions. </p>
<p>I will be writing a lot of the code myself, but I do not see the point in "re-inventing the wheel" by writing some code which will do the exact same thing as some software already out there.</p>
<p>Is it okay to re-use their code in my project? To what level is it okay to do this? 2/16 modules? 6/16? I do not want to go over the top into the plagiarism world. Obviously all work would be credited etc.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45037,
"author": "Arno",
"author_id": 12047,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You absolutely must not use the work of others without attribution. If you credit everything you use in an adequate way, there is absolutely no limit on how much stuff from other people you can use. However, for your project to be successful, you will need to have a sufficient amount of your own contributions. To see what counts as sufficient, look at past projects and ask your supervisor.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45043,
"author": "Floris",
"author_id": 15062,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15062",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Writing your own software for the sake of not using something that is out there is disingenuous - unless your goal is to learn how to create, say, a quick sort routine from scratch, you should absolutely \"stand on the shoulders of giants\". By using whatever exists, you will be able to \"see further\" - the intellectual effort and contribution will come from \"boldly going where no man has gone before\".</p>\n\n<p>So</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>full attribution of open source material used</li>\n<li>emphasis on something new</li>\n<li>work even harder than if you rolled your own code from scratch: since you had a head start you will be expected to reach a higher level</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>And of course check with your course director / advisor / supervisor. The above makes sense to me, but it may depend on <em>what the educational goal of the project actually is</em>.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/07
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45032",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34202/"
] |
45,034 |
<p>I'm currently in first year of MS by Research in computer science. The first year includes coursework and second year is research thesis.
I've been working part time 20 hours a week in a software company. I have 4 subjects. So far I have managed to complete assignments but haven't really studied well.
Now as the semester is close to end, I have projects, assignments and exams. I'm struggling to decide if I should continue working here. Sometimes I think it's doable but it's a little risky. I may not get proper marks to progress to next semester. What would you do in such situation?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45046,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is most certainly possible to get a research degree while working part-time --- or even full-time. I know a number of people who have done it. As you are finding, it is quite rigorous, however. In many cases, it may be better to take the <em>coursework</em> part time, so that you have enough space to really absorb the material, rather than just trying to hit passing marks.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45155,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another option might be to focus on your studies full time, without working. Do you have savings that would permit this? Can you get a teaching assistantship? What about a student loan? Perhaps your employer would give you a leave of absence.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45034",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34204/"
] |
45,045 |
<p>I am curious to know what actions are generally thought to be acceptable when one sends a request for a paper review, especially a journal one. </p>
<p>When academics are asked to review a manuscript and they have the relevant expertise, is it common for them to decline the review without giving any reason?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45047,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Speaking as an editor: generally if somebody declines they do <em>not</em> give a reason.</p>\n\n<p>The biggest reason for this is that the automated \"please say yes or no\" forms generally don't force people to explain why they are saying no. So they don't say.</p>\n\n<p>I think this is a good thing. If somebody doesn't feel they are willing/able to put in the effort to give a thorough and professional review, I would much rather they be able to simply and easily say \"no\" rather than either being pressured into saying yes or having to come up with excuses.</p>\n\n<p>The people who I really <strong>love</strong> though, are the ones who point me at somebody else who wants to do the review. I don't care why they aren't reviewing; I do care about finding competent and professional peer reviewers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45049,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Established scientists receive a large number of review requests. A few years back I decided to tally the review requests I received, and the number I accepted. In the end I received 112 and accepted 28 over the course of a year. Add to that the editorial work I did for three journals and you get an awful lot of uncompensated, unrewarded time invested for the good of the field. (I typically spend about eight hours a week on reviews and editorial work.) So yes, I declined a large number of review requests every year, many of which I would have been well qualified to handle. When the editorial system allows, I try to at least leave a note explaining that I'm too busy, but as jakebeal notes, this is not always an option. </p>\n\n<p>So yes, qualified reviewers can and do turn down many review requests, often without providing an explanation. As an editor, I know that if I ask well known researchers this will happen as often as not, and I don't mind that one bit. What I do dislike is when people don't bother to click the \"decline\" link on the review request, and force me to wait for a week before giving up and trying to find a new reviewer. This slows down the review process and ultimately slows down science for everyone. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45045",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34214/"
] |
45,053 |
<p>After a couple of years in a decent grad school, passing quals, many times thinking about quitting (the usual: impostor syndrome, stress etc), and one paper. I feel like I have a clear head to make this decision. I do not want continue with a career path in academia, I want to be an engineer (or other technical field). In short, I will be happier that way and need to support my family with a better income.</p>
<p>I love physics and it will always be a part of my life and would love to still work with it. Currently, I work in experimental condensed matter: know a lot of fabrication techniques, studied lots of mechanics, can build circuits and perform fairly complicated electronic measurements, written programs for analysis (mostly Matlab, but some C in the past). The list can go on... I feel like the transition with this track record shouldn't be hard - but I don't want to be misinformed or get too "cocky". </p>
<p><strong>What can I do to be a competitive applicant that will have to contend with people that have engineering degrees and training?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45055,
"author": "Ritika",
"author_id": 34219,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34219",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, Physics is part of engineering. Not in so much depth but still if you chose electronics or electrical field in engineering, you will still be doing physics.\nJust rethink on why you want to do engineering actually?\nIs it because you want a better income in your future for your family or you really have your interests. I would say just follow your interests.\nIt will not be right to change your career just because of good income as their are lots of unemployed engineering grads also.\nJust follow your dreams and be happy.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45056,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You probably already know that, but, supporting @scaaahu's advice, I want to emphasize that you should have an industry-focused <em>resume</em> versus an academia-focused <em>CV</em>. The latter should focus on your <strong>skills</strong>, but since your future engineering work will likely be in industry R&D or similar domain, make sure that relevant research and education details are mentioned in your resume as well.</p>\n\n<p>Speaking about a potential strategy for transitioning from academia to industry, one IMHO easiest approach would be to try to find positions, relevant to your skills, experience and goals, in high-level research facilities. For example, for condensed matter physics, you could take a look at (here I assume that you reside in the USA) corresponding departments at <a href=\"http://www.bnl.gov/cmpmsd\" rel=\"nofollow\">Brookhaven National Laboratory</a> and <a href=\"http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/physics.html#phy_lab\" rel=\"nofollow\">many other US government labs</a> as well as <a href=\"http://weitzlab.seas.harvard.edu\" rel=\"nofollow\">Harvard</a> and many other research universities, hosting experimental physics labs. While many of positions there might require specific training and degrees, I'm sure that some don't (probably, highly dependent on area and institution), so your expertise and skills would be enough to secure employment. Best of luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45093,
"author": "Amit Bhatia",
"author_id": 34147,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34147",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are actually a few areas where you might stand out more than someone with a straight up engineering background.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Look at specific types of organizations like Space research and exploration organizations. These typically have other PhDs in Physics in their program and you might have a better shot. A collection of such roles is here:\n<a href=\"http://tapwage.com/channel/space-doctor\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://tapwage.com/channel/space-doctor</a></p></li>\n<li><p>Another area are interesting startups. Something like 3D Printing focused startups are looking for bright scientists. Given your experience with mechanics, electronics and tools like Matlab, that could be an interesting area and startups might be more amenable to looking beyond very structured educational experiences as they look for good talent\n<a href=\"http://tapwage.com/channel/engineer-in-3-dimensions\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://tapwage.com/channel/engineer-in-3-dimensions</a></p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Ping me via the tapwage.com site if you have further questions or clarifications and I'd be happy to answer. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45053",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34217/"
] |
45,054 |
<p>I'm really not sure how to proceed from here.</p>
<p>I'm an undergraduate Computer Science student, planning to earn my MSc in the next couple of years.</p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with a professor (I'll call him A) on an informal setting, and, since he was my teacher on an area relevant to the subject, I discussed with him an idea I had, and about how I was trying to make it my own thesis project.</p>
<p>I have also previously "pitched" this idea to another professor (B). He liked it, and we agreed that once I graduated, he was willing to be my advisor, and I could work on it.</p>
<p>However, I was recently shown the list of thesis proposals for current students, and my idea was among them - being supervised by prof. A, and an unrelated professor, C.</p>
<p>The details are so close to what we have discussed that this is almost surely no coincidence.</p>
<p>Now, I can't say I'm 100% sure he stole my idea, but he didn't mention any of this when we talked, and this thesis list was made <em>after</em> our conversation.</p>
<p>Anything could have happened: either I'm right, or prof. C actually came up with the same idea, or prof. A had a similar idea in the past but didn't tell me about it.</p>
<p>I don't know how to proceed. I am already skeptical of academia - seeing my peers work on projects and write papers that didn't interest them, for the sole purpose of earning an MSc, means I'm not interested on working for it unless it's a subject I really care about. That is - I either find anything I <em>want</em> to work on, or I don't care about earning an MSc at all. This was the case. I found a project I wanted to work on.</p>
<p>My question is on the ethics of what may have happened. I have zero experience on academia or research environments, but I have always considered ideas as important as research. That is, copying an idea is as serious to me as copying research. This would fall into plagiarism. </p>
<ul>
<li>Is this perspective shared among actual academics? Am I naive in thinking like this?</li>
<li>Am I right in wanting to "keep" an idea to myself, in order to work on it later?</li>
<li>Should I just stay quiet the next time? Shouldn't I be able to discuss these kind of things with people I consider to be honest or "bona fide", without having to be afraid of being copied?</li>
</ul>
<p>I see multiple possible courses of action, but in the end, I don't know what I want to achieve. The thesis is already assigned, so I probably won't be able to take it away from the student who got it. I also don't know whether this is an ethics violation from prof. A or not, since this is "just an idea" that I voluntarily shared with him.</p>
<p>I can confront prof. A about this, either sending him an e-mail or speaking with him in person, to get his side of the story.</p>
<p>Or I can go to prof. B and tell him about this situation, to see what are his thoughts on it. He looked interested on working with me on this, so maybe he'll know better how to proceed.</p>
<p>What is the best (or "a good") course of action now? I don't feel I should forget this whole story and move on to a different subject, but I don't see what can be done now.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45063,
"author": "Alexander",
"author_id": 12974,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12974",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An idea is an important part of research, but copying an (unpublished) idea is not entirely plagiarism, I fear. Academia is dealing with a two-bladed sword here.\nOn the one hand, it is about plagiarism and authorship and credit; on the other hand, really good ideas have to be preserved, even in case you lose interest in the matters (or drop out or sth like that).</p>\n\n<p>I guess Professor A assumed that, since you are years away from your degree, and since master thesises, unlike PhDs, are not strictly required to dig into a completely new topic, academia can cope with multiple master thesises on your topic, and decided that he cannot wait to push such an interesting topic until after you publish your initial work, should that ever be the case. I don't know about your university, but at mine, a third-semester C.S. bachelor has a less than 50% chance of actually getting a master's degree. Most dropouts here are \"caused\" by mathematics and/or engineering basic courses, not by CS classes, and they also befall CS students who score above average in the CS classes.</p>\n\n<p>Now, if you really want to pursue that issue, there are three leverages you have. Let's call them A, B and C:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Depending on your current situation, you can state to A that the \"idea\" of that master thesis is what you start working on very soon, and ask him to take the topic off his list for a certain amount of time. I personally do not believe that he will take it off his list for as long as three or four years; this is a really long time in CS.</li>\n<li>You may also talk to your to-be-supervisor B, state to him the fact that you presented your ideas to A on that matter on , and that this very idea was published on the site only afterwards. If both professors are of the same institute, he should be able to sort it out (but I don't know if he will do it, for the aforementioned reason).</li>\n<li>And you can send an eMail to C, informing him about the very same fact, and ask him whether he can definitely say that the idea of A is older, and if not, whether he is comfortable with being part of a situation of stolen ideas. This may only have the effect that C does not do co-supervision.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I personally would recommend against any of these actions, they burn bridges without promising any positive effect. But you should consider it a valuable lesson learned for your PhD:<br>\n<strong>Mouth shut, ears open!</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45067,
"author": "Gabriel C. Drummond-Cole",
"author_id": 23800,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23800",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think it's very clear that you should talk with (B). You had previously discussed this idea with (B) so s/he knows that it was something that you had been considering. Furthermore, (B) also presumably knows the situation within the department better than you. Maybe (A) is known for doing things like this. Maybe the overlap isn't as serious as you think and (B) can reassure you that you can still do your thesis as you wanted to. No one here can decide whether either one of these is the case.</p>\n\n<p>One word of advice: in talking with (B), present this situation as something that you are concerned about, but stay unemotional and stick to the facts: (B) knows that you were interested in this similar project, you discussed it with (A), and now another student is doing this project with (A). You do not need to connect the dots and accuse (A) directly of plagiarism or dishonest conduct in an initial conversation with (B). If this is a misunderstanding or miscommunication then doing so makes you seem aggressive and prone to jumping to conclusions. If (A) did something that is as blatantly dishonest as you have suggested, then that will be obvious to (B) as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45077,
"author": "Coderaemon",
"author_id": 34008,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34008",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Anybody can steal an idea. Theres not much worth of an idea in itself. The main thing is the execution. That nobody can steal. IF you believe so much in your idea. Why don't you make it a reality.\nBefore Google there were 100s of search engines. So idea in itself is worth a dime. It's the real tangible form of it which matters. If you like it so much , go for it before anyone else.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45087,
"author": "abcd1234",
"author_id": 32039,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32039",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree that you should talk to B about it.</p>\n\n<p>In the meanwhile, let me offer another perspective. Given that you are an undergrad, it is possible that you are not experienced enough to judge:</p>\n\n<p>1) what the research frontiers are in the field</p>\n\n<p>2) how \"close\" two ideas are</p>\n\n<p>For example, it may be the case that your idea was something general like \"I would like to use technique X on problem Y\". But the novelty may come from the fact that technique X needs to be modified drastically on problem Y (e.g. if Y is a super large dataset). In this case, ostensibly the ideas are similar, but in fact the core of the idea, at least from a \"contribution to science\" perspective, is different.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45125,
"author": "fajar",
"author_id": 24430,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24430",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is something everyone in academia is concerned about. I agree that you should discuss it with professor B as suggested in the positively-voted answers above. In addition, you can after that do a series of quick research pertaining to your algorithm and produce something publishable, possibly collaborating with professor B. A conference paper is a good target.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 134124,
"author": "user7868",
"author_id": 82454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/82454",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I suspect it will still be possible to ask the student (call him (D)) to change projects. Changing research areas happens all the time, and while it won't be ideal for (D), surely (A) or (C) will be able to find another project for him, or (D) can change projects. It's more unfair to you to have your idea stolen than it is to (D) to change topics. </p>\n\n<p>I would probably have a word with your department's (or your smallest organisational unit's) head of postgraduate research about this. They can probably have a word with (A) and ask them to change (D)'s topic, hopefully without disciplinary action. This will be much easier if you have a written record of having discussed the idea with (B), as well as any detailed, date-stamped notes you took on it. As everyone else has said, I would talk to (B) before this to get his perspective, and ask (B) if he has any written records of discussing your idea. But I would have a plan before you talk to (B), in case (B) doesn't want to push your case himself to protect his relationship with (A).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45054",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34216/"
] |
45,071 |
<p>I'm a first year masters student. Currently I'm doing coursework but I'll have research in second year. I find all subjects interesting. I feel better when I'm doing subjects including a bit of mathematics and rigorous thinking. Algorithms in particular.
But I'm not really good at it. I try hard but it's just not happening. Still if I'm given opportunity I want to do research in Algorithms.
This will obviously require mathematical thinking.</p>
<p>Is it good to pursue research career in a subject which I'm interested in ignoring the fact that I do not have strong base and understanding of it? Or should I choose something easier based on my abilities?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45072,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Doing research on a subject is the best way to get a good understanding of something. Presumably, if you do reasonably well in the parts of your coursework covering algorithms (in the eyes of the professors), you're doing well enough. Mathematics and rigour are hard, even for most people who are capable of doing good work in the area. Also bear in mind, humans are subject to the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome\">impostor syndrome</a>. If you find a professor who knows you and is willing to guide you in research in this area, then I don't see a problem.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45114,
"author": "Omar Sar",
"author_id": 34278,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34278",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is something that happens a lot to students. I have seen some students coming from all over the place into the Computer Science department, which is a little heavy in terms of the Algorithms skills that is required. A great strategy to go about knowing if you will be okay is through Advisers. It is important that they know the skills you possess. They will normally have a plan for you. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45121,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The question, as you formulated it, is practically impossible to answer with enough <em>certainty</em> to be useful. The difficulty lies in the fact that the problem has many specific <strong>factors</strong>, such as your personal and professional goals, family situation, mental toughness (perseverance) and others, and only you are aware of them. Thus, only you can figure this out or, rather, try. Therefore, I will address how I believe you could think about the problem, which is essentially common sense.</p>\n\n<p>I think that, basically, you have two options, which, per your question, you seem to understand: 1) <strong>easier route</strong>, where you choose your research subject and/or topic, based on some arbitrary criteria (for example, based on research interests of a faculty member, which you would like to work with), but <em>avoiding the tough ones</em>; 2) <strong>more difficult route</strong>, where you choose your research subject and/or topic, based on essential criteria, such as your interests, <em>even if the chosen subject/topic is challenging</em> for you at the moment. In the latter case, you would make <strong>commitment</strong> to master the subject, despite obstacles, in other words, <em>pushing yourself beyond your current limits</em>. Based on such <em>logical framework</em>, the choice is always yours, and remember that you always have the <em>freedom to re-evaluate</em> your decisions at any moment, should changed circumstances, interests or needs <em>warrant</em> that. Best wishes for whatever route you decide on.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45071",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33165/"
] |
45,078 |
<p>For Ph.D. theses, I think nobody would disagree with adding acknowledgements. But what is the stance in different places for a bachelor’s and/or master’s thesis?</p>
<p>When I was doing both, I strictly followed the guidelines laid out by the university which required me to include an abstract in both English and German, introduction, results, discussion, experimental details, a table of contents, a statement that it’s my own work and an appendix (which included literature, copies of the NMR spectra and Perl scripts) — acknowledgements weren’t mentioned anywhere. (The Ph.D. student whom I was working with during the bachelor’s thesis and the subgroup leader where I did my master’s were included in the statement that it’s my own work.)</p>
<p>Now, during my Ph.D. work at a different university, a lab colleague is finally completing his master’s thesis and has different samples from former master students. Most of these included acknowledgements (even though they often didn’t say much).</p>
<p>I found one site with a non-representative poll which was in favour of not including them, the reason being the duration of the work just being too short; but that’s merely anecdotical, not representative.</p>
<p>So outside of universities where either version is required, should a master’s or a bachelor’s thesis include acknowledgements? Is there any kind of general practice?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45084,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Acknowledgments are almost always an optional part of a document that you can choose to include but don't have to. This is true for PhD theses as well as MSc, Diploma theses, or any other kind of document.</p>\n\n<p>The guiding line is: If there are people or institutions who you feel you want to thank or acknowledge their support, then do so. If you think that everyone in your life and your university has let you down, then don't.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59988,
"author": "Karl",
"author_id": 45983,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/45983",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><em>Bachelor thesis</em>: Nobody will think a second about a missing acknowledgement. If you want to add one: Make it damn short. Your direct advisor, parents or partner, one additional person. No professor, no other coworkers, unless they really went over the top in helping with your work. You don't want to look like an ass-kisser to next year's students. ;-)</p>\n<p><em>Master</em>: Not absolutely necessary, but as you worked together with people for half a year or more, you likely have reasons to thank them, and should. Keep it under one page.</p>\n<p><em>PhD</em>: If you feel you have to go over one page, make it entertaining. It's the first thing people check in a thesis, so don't be a bore.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45078",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34242/"
] |
45,094 |
<p>Some papers I wrote recently as an independent researcher, several years after receiving my Bachelor's degree have been accepted at good CS conferences (rank B in the <a href="http://www.core.edu.au/index.php/conference-rankings" rel="nofollow">CORE conference ranking</a>).</p>
<p>I'm considering getting a PhD. Is it realistic to expect that these papers can be used to partially fulfill my PhD requirements?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45096,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it realistic to expect that these papers can be used to partially fulfill PhD requirements?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Probably not, if you're in the U.S. There's a concept of a \"Ph.D. by research\", which is awarded on the basis of past research accomplishments. This only barely exists in the U.S., although it's more common in some other countries.</p>\n\n<p>Instead, the way most U.S. Ph.D. programs work is that the dissertation must be based on research conducted as part of the program. One reason I've heard is that overseeing research in person makes it easier to judge how well or honestly you are carrying it out or how much assistance you might be getting. In any case, being unable to use your previous papers in your dissertation is generally not a real obstacle to graduating quickly, if that's your goal. Much of the time in a Ph.D. program is spent developing the ability to do high-level research, and if you already possess that ability upon entering you could finish substantially more quickly than usual. (I'm not convinced that finishing quickly would be a good career move: it's almost always much better to focus on depth rather than speed. However, you shouldn't worry that putting your prior work off-limits for your dissertation will be a burden.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45099,
"author": "Nick Cain",
"author_id": 34266,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34266",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Although I'm a social scientist, this would not be acceptable in my program. In fact, I was not allowed to use a paper I had published during the program directly in my dissertation. </p>\n\n<p>Of course, you can very likely make use of elements of your previous research (e.g., the literature review and perhaps even data) to help reduce the amount of work required to complete your PhD dissertation. At the end of the day, you are going to have to ask your dissertation committee chair and/or department chair what the rules of your program are -- but at most schools in the US, the department wants to see evidence of your ability to work as independent scholar before they let your graduate.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45140,
"author": "Rikki",
"author_id": 12230,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12230",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most academic work is only judged on what you produce during the period of study, so in that sense it is unlikely that an institution would accept previously published papers to tick certain boxes.</p>\n\n<p>It's worth clearing up this issue of publication underlying your question. A PhD is awarded for performing and documenting research of publishable quality during your candidature. It's up to your external examiner to decide whether your work meets that standard, but it helps them make their decision if it has been published (as it means some others have peer-reviewed it).</p>\n\n<p>If your previous work is a solid foundation for your new work, then it may count in your favour, but it would be even better to publish your new work. As you have experience of producing publishable quality research, this goal should be within your grasp :-) Best of luck!</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45094",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6626/"
] |
45,097 |
<p>Trying to figure out the difference between these. I've lost completely as different source/answers interpret it differently. Does anyone have clear understanding about what does undergraduate/graduate/post-graduate student mean in USA?</p>
<p>I've seen this nice timeline in <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7469/undergraduate-graduate-or-post-graduate-student-is-that-bachelor-master-phd-o">other question</a> however answers are still controversial.</p>
<p>As well, trying to figure out who the hell am I - I have a Bachelor in Computer Science, Master in Computer Science and another Master in Business Information Systems. Is that graduate or post-graduate? Also, I'm not a student anymore.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45100,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Part of the confusion may be that these adjectives are used in (at least) two different contexts: to describe <em>degrees</em> and to describe <em>students</em>.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>An <em>undergraduate degree</em> generally means a bachelor's degree (B.S., B.A., etc): a degree requiring about four years of university-level study beyond high school.</p></li>\n<li><p>A <em>graduate degree</em> or <em>post-graduate degree</em> is any higher degree that has a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite, such as a masters or doctoral degree (M.S., M.A., M.F.A., M.B.A,. Ph.D., etc.) Depending on context, this term may also include professional degrees (J.D. for law, M.D. for medicine, D.D.S. for dentistry, D.V.M. for veterinary medicine, etc).</p></li>\n<li><p>An <em>undergraduate student</em> (or simply <em>an undergraduate</em>, or colloquially, <em>an undergrad</em>) is a student who does not yet have an undergraduate degree, but is studying to earn one.</p></li>\n<li><p>A <em>graduate student</em> or <em>post-graduate student</em> (or colloquially, a <em>grad student</em>) is a student who already has an undergraduate degree and is studying to earn a graduate degree.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>So in general, the adjectives <em>graduate</em> and <em>post-graduate</em> are synonyms. This may seem contradictory (since you might expect <em>post-graduate</em> to refer to something after <em>graduate</em>) but that is how it's used. I understand this as coming from the fact that a <em>post-graduate degree</em> is something that you work toward following your <em>graduation</em> (i.e. the moment when you earn your <em>undergraduate degree</em>).</p>\n\n<p>My impression is that people within academia generally prefer the term <em>graduate</em> to <em>post-graduate</em> in both contexts; the word <em>post-graduate</em> is used more often by non-academics, to whom the word <em>graduate</em> is more likely to seem ambigiuous. </p>\n\n<p>So you could say you have an undergraduate degree and two graduate degrees. You could also describe your degrees as post-graduate degrees for further clarification, which would normally be needed only when speaking to someone not intimately familiar with academia.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45117,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>\"Post-graduate\" is simply not a commonly used term in the US. I wouldn't expect Americans to use it consistently. It's not commonly used to describe a person who has graduated with any type of degree; I've found references to \"post-graduation\" on US/Canadian websites (just referring to the time after someone has graduated), but . In Britain and much of the Commonwealth, \"postgraduate\" (with no hyphen) refers to studying for a masters or doctoral degree; in the US, we would use \"graduate\" instead. So, Americans would say you have a \"graduate degree,\" Britons would say you have a \"postgraduate\" one. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 79182,
"author": "Ben Voigt",
"author_id": 8705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8705",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have to say that there is one difference between <em>graduate</em> and <em>post-graduate</em> -- while both mean \"beyond Bachelor's degree\", the first refers to <em>level</em> and the second to <em>time</em>.</p>\n\n<p>If I were asked for a transcript of my graduate studies, I'd have to list several courses taken before receiving my B.S. because these were graduate classes -- designed for and taught to graduate students -- and I was permitted to add the classes by special permission. But if asked about post-graduate studies, those wouldn't be included, since they did not chronologically follow my graduation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 94434,
"author": "ANIH FIDELIS",
"author_id": 78369,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/78369",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A graduate is seen as someone who has successfully met the requisites for qualification on an undergraduate course and has been awarded their certificate of graduation.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45097",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34264/"
] |
45,104 |
<p>Years ago I had a really rough few years of college, inability to focus, tons of stress, manic episodes etc. Instead of going into the drama of it all, the bottom line here is that during those years I cheated in a few classes because I felt paralyzed and paranoid almost all the time; by the time I was able to move about without that weight I was into another manic episode trying to get things done but not finding a way out (at this point I knew something was wrong but not what it was). I was caught and in the aftermath I submitted a statement that I fully accepted the consequences instead of contesting my obvious guilt.</p>
<p>Later I would find out that I had type 2 bipolar syndrome that was untreated for the past decade and I was told that I was lucky that it hadn't gotten worse. Once I was on medication I tried college again at a different school and graduated recently with honors.</p>
<p>My question here is that I'm really interested in going to a masters program but I don't know how to explain my first attempt at college, the failures, and the mental illness or even if I should mention it at all. I don't want to hide things but I'd appreciate any advice on this</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45106,
"author": "Tim",
"author_id": 12703,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12703",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your outstanding performance in your second attempt should be your focus. Don't let yourself downplay how much you've achieved this time around, because every candidate without your history will be singing their own praises. However, you should, briefly, discuss the previous attempt with as much specificity as you are comfortable in your personal statement. A past failure with mitigating circumstances should not be held against you provided you acknowledge it and your recent performance clearly demonstrates that you've overcome these circumstances.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45113,
"author": "Omar Sar",
"author_id": 34278,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34278",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your whole story sounds like what you would go through during your graduate period. Don't worry about it much. From my experience during the last few months in a Master's Program, there is a bit of panic in the beginning but as long as you understand that failure is a part of the whole process then you should be fine. I failed a lot during my first year but still managed to pick up myself and excel during the last months.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45119,
"author": "jj080808",
"author_id": 34280,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34280",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If your rough patch was so bad that you MUST address it in your application, your best move is to be honest (but brief!) about what happened, demonstrate how you've moved past your mistakes, and focus on your recent achievements. </p>\n\n<p>I speak from personal experience. My second year of undergrad was rough. I was suicidal, diagnosed with a mental illness, abused my medication, failed classes, cheated, the works. I was caught cheating and received essentially the maximum punishment that wasn't suspension: I had to fail the class, and there would be a permanent note on my official transcript that says \"This person received a mandatory fail for class XXX due to violation of the academic code.\" It was a huge wake-up call. I worked my ass off for the next few years, pulled my grades up, and ended up getting into my top choice Master's program (Ivy!)! If you told me that in undergrad I would've laughed because I thought no grad school would accept me. Here's what to do:</p>\n\n<p><strong>1. Mention it only if you have to.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Only mention your mistake in your application if it's visible to the admissions committee. In my case I had to because it was in my transcript and NOT explaining the note would be a huge red flag. If whatever you went through isn't obvious from your other application materials, then mentioning it is unnecessary. The admissions committee only skims your application, and something you think is horrible could be something they don't even notice. Can you give me more details about your situation? What exactly happened that was so bad that you're considering explaining it in your application?</p>\n\n<p><strong>2. If you have to mention it, be honest but brief.</strong> </p>\n\n<p>Don't dwell on your mistakes; a few sentences of explanation are sufficient. You want the committee to focus on your achievements and not your failures, so just mention the negatives as straightforwardly, concisely, and professionally as possible and move on. Don't give more information than you have to and don't get too personal. In your case I would not mention the mental illness unless it's absolutely relevant. I didn't even mention my bad grades; I just explained the cheating. I didn't want the admissions committee to remember TWO negative things about my application.</p>\n\n<p><strong>3. If you violated a moral or legal code, show remorse and show that you've learned from your mistakes. Demonstrate how you've moved past your old mistakes onto future successes.</strong> </p>\n\n<p>The point of disciplinary action is to teach you a lesson. Show that you have learned from your errors. End on a positive note by mentioning how you've overcome your mistake to achieve your recent successes. Show that you've moved past your mistake and ready to work hard in your dream school's grad program.</p>\n\n<p><strong>4. Submit the explanations document separately from your personal statement if possible.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Your personal statement should be overwhelmingly positive and confident in tone, and anything negative in it will be jarring to the reader. If there is a separate section in the application for you to submit this explanation document, then do that. If they don't offer a separate section, contact the school and ask.</p>\n\n<p><strong>5. If there's someone with clout who can write you a recommendation letter, ask them to explain it for you.</strong></p>\n\n<p>This person should be pretty influential, though -- it should be someone the admissions committee can trust. In my case I got a professor who was on the admissions committee of the school I was applying to to write me a recommendation letter. I had taken a class with him as a visiting student, and when I asked him for advice about explaining my academic violation in my application, he offered to explain it in his letter. This is something I would do only if your letter writer is someone the admissions committee trusts more than they trust you.</p>\n\n<p>Admissions committees are people and they're willing to forgive you. They were students once too. </p>\n\n<p>Congratulations on your recent successes! Overcoming mental illness to graduate with honors is an amazing achievement that you should be very proud of.</p>\n\n<p>I hope I've helped. Feel free to contact me privately to discuss your situation in more detail, if you'd like. I spent a lot of time and met with a lot of professors to figure out how to address this in my application. I'd be happy to share what I've learned.</p>\n\n<p>I should mention that I'm in the US and studying computer science. My academic violation was in an art history class unrelated to my major.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45138,
"author": "alephzero",
"author_id": 32961,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32961",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your story seems very simple and straightforward:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>You had an undiagnosed and serious medical problem.</li>\n<li>After diagnosis and treatment, the problem is fixed.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Your grades are the clear evidence for point 2, and in the unlikely event that the admissions process asks for proof of your medical diagnosis, that should be easy to provide. </p>\n\n<p>There are lots of people who are taking life-long medication for a wide range of conditions, and that doesn't prevent them having successful lives and careers. Don't get stressed out just because you are another one of them.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/08
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45104",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34269/"
] |
45,107 |
<p>I submitted a paper to a conference, and got it accepted. While I was preparing for the camera-ready version of it, I made a mistake and an error slipped in.</p>
<p>After the firm deadline, I asked if a correction was possible, but they said it's too late since it had gone through all the procedures. So, it seems my conference paper will be uploaded online with an error, which is not too obvious, but obvious enough that a careful reader can spot it.</p>
<p>I'm writing a journal version of it, and making sure it doesn't contain any error. Would it be okay to have the journal version published error-free, while the conference version has an error?</p>
<p>Many say that no one actually carefully reads conference papers as they are mainly aimed to let others know new results, and say that it is journal papers that others read with more care if available.</p>
<p>This is my first published conference paper, and it is really embarrassing. I was obssessed with finding typos, and blind to technical errors.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45108,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While there will certainly be a mistake in the version published with the proceedings (i.e., on the USB stick or other media given out at the conference), it is likely that it can still be corrected in the final archival version. If your conference is associated with a professional society that maintains archival versions (e.g., IEEE, ACM, AAAI), check and see if the same mechanisms for handling errata on a journal article post-publication can be applied to errata on a conference article post-publication. I had much the same thing happen to me with one of my early conference articles as well; it was in an ACM conference, and though dealing with the errata was a pain, I got it through and the version you download today should be correct.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Correction: per the OP's comment apparently <a href=\"https://supportcenter.ieee.org/app/answers/detail/a_id/172/~/i-found-some-errors-in-a-paper-in-ieee-xplore.-how-can-these-errors-be\" rel=\"nofollow\">the IEEE won't do it</a>, which seems problematic and is news to me. In that case, the best thing to do is probably to just</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Make sure it's correct in the journal version (and include a footnote in that paper that explicitly notes the error in the prior conference publication), and</li>\n<li>Post a note alongside your self-archived pre-print giving the errata as well.</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45109,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The reality is that the best answer is simply \"get used to it\". It is sad that this happened to you in your first conference paper, but things do get published with mistakes, and there is really nothing very much anyone can do about: you can proof read papers as often as you want, and there will always be mistakes. I'm not saying this because I am a nihilist but simply because I'm pragmatic: of course I want papers to be perfect; it just isn't practical.</p>\n\n<p>The interesting question is only: how severe is the error. You don't answer this in your question above, but if it is really only a typo or misspelling, then it would not be worth your sleep. If it is a mistake that a reasonably educated reader will be able to understand as a mistake, the same would probably apply. If you submitted a proof that has a mistake and upon further thought you realize that the whole theorem is not true, that would be a separate matter -- but you wouldn't introduce such an error while dealing with the final version of the paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45107",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34271/"
] |
45,115 |
<p>I am from India and we have two different degrees. One would be honors and other would be pass. I graduated with a Bsc(pass) degree. Now this degree included studying Physics, Mathematics and Computer Sciences at breadth. An honors degree would require me to complete a depth requirement in only one subject.</p>
<p>Now as I was looking for the eligibility for a masters' degree, I am finding it difficult to find the equivalent of my degree in UK. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45760,
"author": "Gaurav",
"author_id": 60,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/60",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this is going to vary from university to university and course to course. A good starting place might be the <a href=\"http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/international-qualifications\" rel=\"nofollow\">international qualifications required for Cambridge</a> and <a href=\"http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/international/admissions/entry-requirements/#i\" rel=\"nofollow\">the University of Warwick</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45762,
"author": "Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩",
"author_id": 26708,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26708",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>All UK universities use a Government body to verify and calibrate overseas qualifications for the purposes of admissions and employment etc.</p>\n\n<p>Their web site is <a href=\"http://www.naric.org.uk/\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.naric.org.uk</a>.</p>\n\n<p>It is their rating of your qualifications against an equivalent UK degree that will be used by any admissions tutor of any Master's course you applied for.</p>\n\n<p>I quote from NARIC:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>UK NARIC can provide two officially-recognised documents. The first is a Statement of Comparability, which will include information about the standards of your awards in comparison to UK qualifications. It confirms the status of overseas qualifications and their comparable level in the UK, irrespective of it being an academic, vocational or professional award. It is used by universities, colleges, employers and Government departments and agencies, forming part of their decision-making process.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45115",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31973/"
] |
45,141 |
<p>What do you think about the addition of animations to powerpoint presentations? I'm not talking about the generic animations that can be added to powerpoint slides, but the use of animated films to illustrate a concept (I'm in biology by the way). </p>
<p>Despite going into the sciences, I've always had a love for the visual arts, and have been teaching myself animation for the past little while. I think it can be used as a great way of communicating scientific concepts, and will also likely make me stand out in a room full of graduate students. However, I'm not sure if this could possibly back-fire and make me seem less serious about the science? The type of animation I plan on making would hopefully be on par with ones made by professional medical animators. </p>
<p>I'm also a little unsure of the intellectual property aspects of this process. I have made short animations for my presentations before, and although people were quite impressed, my old supervisor seem to think that she (along with everyone else in the lab) could simply start to use my animation in their presentations. I didn't have a problem with this arrangement since it was my first animation, and I definitely was not expecting to be paid for it. However, as I'm starting graduate school and entering a different lab, I would be a little hesitant to agree if it were to happen again, now with animations I've spent a considerable amount of time working on (especially if I will not be the first one presenting it since I'm a new student). I'm currently thinking about showing an animation I made to a PI that I hope to work with in the end (made specifically to illustrate her research). Although I want to impress this person who I think is a great scientist, I also don't want to be taken "advantage" of... Would it be unrealistic to be paid for some of my work during graduate school?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45142,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unless the animation serves a specific pedagogical purpose, DON'T. It will usually be more distracting / cheesy than useful. As with website animation, less is more.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45143,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not in the biological sciences, so take this with a grain of salt.</p>\n\n<p>I'm assuming you're referring to an animation that is something analogous to a technical drawing, giving a visual illustration of a physical process or something similar. Animations can certainly be a great way to convey this kind of information, if well done and appropriate; I've seen animations that helped me visualize processes in ways that I couldn't before. I don't see why they should make you seem less professional, unless they are unprofessionally done. It's a good idea with any presentation to practice it first with a friend or colleague, and as part of this, you could ask them for feedback about the animation.</p>\n\n<p>One thing to keep in mind as you go along is that if making animations is time-consuming, you have to consider whether it is the best use of your time. In research, there is always an issue of balancing your time and other resources between conducting new research, and disseminating work you have already done. Creating animations for a presentation would fall into the latter category, and so you want to ensure it doesn't take so much time that it interferes with your other projects. Helping you strike this balance should be part of your advisor's role as a mentor.</p>\n\n<p>Regarding intellectual property: in general, in academic research, once you have shared your work with the world by publishing or presenting it, it no longer really belongs to you. People will share it, quote it, extend it, and generally use your ideas and work to enhance their own. That is how research progresses. You don't really get the right to stop them. (You may have this right in law, but trying to assert it would be harmful to your standing in the academic community.) What you can expect in return is <em>credit</em>.</p>\n\n<p>So if you create an animation and share it in a way that makes it possible for others to reuse it (by distributing a movie file, posting it on YouTube, etc). you should expect that others may use it in their own lectures and presentations, attributing it to you (\"Animation by Cornyvita\"). To assist with this, you may want to include your name, date, and affiliation somewhere in the video. This isn't people taking advantage of you - this is you making a contribution to the academic community.</p>\n\n<p>If you don't want other people to use it, don't share it in a form that makes that possible; or explicitly tell them \"please do not share/reuse this\". However, unless accompanied by a good reason (e.g. \"this is unfinished\", \"it still has errors\", etc), this will likely come across as selfish.</p>\n\n<p>It is definitely unrealistic, and unreasonable, to expect other researchers to pay you for the right to use your animations. People don't have the funds for that, and it would be rather contrary to the spirit of academia. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45150,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>What do you think about the addition of animations to powerpoint presentations? [...] the use of animated films to illustrate a concept (I'm in biology by the way). </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There are lots of situations where animation can help much better than verbal descriptions only to show what happens. I'm chemist, so I immediately think of an animation showing (bio)chemical reaction mechanisms.<br>\nI'va been using animations of data point clouds of time series measurements: animations work most intuitively if the explained mechanism works actually in a time domain. </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, I usually avoid animation <em>movies</em> in a presentation. \nHaving a number of slides that evolve and can be played almost like a movie by going fast through the slides allows better control of where to stop in order to give explanations and also of the time taken for the whole animation: this gives degrees of freedom that help to stretch/squeeze the presentation in order to finish on time.</p>\n\n<p>Bottomline: I'd recommend to think hard whether a good (static or evolving) illustration isn't more suitable for the oral presentation than a movie-like animation. But I somehow assume that you like to do one almost as much as the other.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>seem less serious about the science</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This won't be an issue if there's good scientific content in the animation. Particularly if meant for an oral presentation, it should be very much to the point and it should have a clear \"added value\" over a verbal description with the aid of a few static illustrations.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Now about the intellectual property part of the question. Obviously, this depends on your legislation (and on your actual situation). </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>my old supervisor seem to think that she (along with everyone else in the lab) could simply start to use my animation in their presentations</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Situations exist (in my legislation: Germany) where the supervisor does have the right to do this: e.g. if you produced the animation as part of a paid full-time employment contract. In your legislation, it may even be legal to ask the student to sign over the copyright for all they produce during their thesis to the university (in Germany it is <em>not</em>).</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand: in 3 out of 4 institues where I have been I was responsible for my presentations. If a PI wanted to use one of my slides they asked me (and I was of course happy to allow use), but there was no default unasked use. Insitute no. 4 has slides given to the suüervisors/director by default - but in practice they anyways ask for a slide being prepared for them for a particular purpose when they need something. </p>\n\n<p>In any case, anyone showing your animation needs to attribute you as the author. </p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>There is nothing wrong with asking to be paid for producing animations. But you should expect that it doesn't work out. Technically it could be done with a student employment contract which would mean that the animation is then a work made for hire (and the employer gets the copyright including the right to tell you to <em>not</em> have a \"cornyvita's animation\" line in the movie). I'd think it likely that money is scarce, though: PI usually won't have money to hire you for producing animations. Tons of other things are more urgently needed. </p>\n\n<p>I therefore recommend that you make up your mind why you want to do the animations (hobby or paid work). And, if you produce them in what \"currency\" you'd like to be paid: citations? being known? money (hint: there may be faster and easier ways to get this. Being a professional illustrator is not generally known as the fast track to become a millionaire...)? </p>\n\n<p>But: Don't underestimate the value of being known as the author of those really great scientific animations. This can translate to employment later. While super-fancy presentations won't get you hired if you suck scientifically, being a good scientist <em>and</em> being known to deliver good presentations is a hard to beat combination. Note that the presentations are the icing on the scientific cake: don't neglect your science for the animations. Also, this means that preferrably <em>you</em> are showing your animations on conferences. Second best option (in addition?): your PI attributes you explicitly as the author (\"This is illustrated by cornyvita's great presentation here\" ) rather than just among all those names on the acknowledgements slide at the end. Just like the PI can distinguish other important contributions \"cornyvita isolated the protein, and ...\" costs only few milliseconds compared to \"we isolated the protein, ...)</p>\n\n<p>The only situation that comes to my mind where I think there could be money for producing animations in the usual university settings are projects for producing teaching material. Some projects also have a bit of a PR budget but my guess is that a single animation will easily cost the whole PR budget for a project... </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45152,
"author": "E.P.",
"author_id": 820,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/820",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Nate and cbeleites have handled well the finer points of the advisability of making the animations. I would encourage you to go ahead with them, but there are a large number of detail-dependent considerations that need to be made. I want to weigh in on the intellectual-property aspect of your question.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Would it be unrealistic to be paid for some of my [animation] work during graduate school?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In a word, <strong>yes</strong>. You are already being paid to produce research and its corresponding dissemination materials. Asking your group to pay extra for a specific class of dissemination material will strike people as odd and probably as very selfish. I think it is unlikely that anyone will agree to this and you risk alienating your group and the rest of the community.</p>\n\n<p>In addition to this, I do not think you should attempt to limit the spread of your animations. Instead, <strong>get ahead of the market</strong>, and engineer a situation where (i) people will want to share and use your animations, and (ii) people using your animations will bring credit to you and your group. More specifically:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Make sure all your animations identify you as the author, and your university and research group. Make this visible enough that viewers will see it and have enough time to register it, but discreet enough that users of your animations will not be tempted to remove it or skip over it.</p></li>\n<li><p>Keep your animations publicly available in a visible and discoverable place online. This can be a YouTube channel, GitHub repository, university webpage, something else, or some combination of the above. Make it easy for people to find the animations <em>from you</em>, instead of getting <em>n</em><sup>th</sup>-hand copies from someone in their lab. </p>\n\n<p>This online space can then grow to include, say, your research papers, potentially turning some of your animations traffic into interested readers of your publications. This gives you as direct a benefit to your career from your animations as you can really hope for.</p></li>\n<li><p>Provide clear licensing details for your animations, which could be <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/\">CC-BY</a> or <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/\">CC-BY-ND</a>. Make this clear but concise and easy to follow. It is up to you to gauge your audience, but I would claim that people are much more likely to use your content in ways that you would like if you (1) actively give them permission to use it, and (2) clearly state the ways you would and would not like your content to be used. If you provide your animations under CC-BY and state as the attribution requirement that people provide a link to your repository, you are creating a contract of sorts between you and those users, which adds a barrier on <em>their</em> side of the channel (they need to actively breach the contract to misuse the content).</p>\n\n<p>Moreover, if you do this early then you can get ahead of the game and set clear rules for how you want your own research group to treat the animations. Make it easy for people, and particularly for your own group, to know how to credit you, and they are very likely to do it.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Academia is a weird place, and there are many ways to be compensated for work which are not monetary. (Think, for example, of journal editors and paper referees, who perform their jobs on a voluntary basis, in the understanding that they are service activities that actively contribute to their standing in the community, and therefore indirectly to the visibility of their research, their avenues for further collaborations, and ultimately them keeping their day jobs.) You should not expect direct financial compensation from your animations, but there is no reason why you can't market on them and use them to further your career. You just need to be somewhat more clever about it.</p>\n\n<p>In this sense, the situation admits a clear analogy to the (sad) state of the music publishing industry over the past twenty years or so. People are going to pass around your animations, whether you want it or not, in much the same way that people are going to share music illegally if it is the cleanest way to obtain it. The music industry we have spends all its resources trying to clamp down on this, with little effect beyond alienating people; don't be like them. Instead, be like the music industry we wish we had: actively trying to harness the new technologies and media to generate new, fresh, legal ways to get the content, that actually make you <em>want</em> to use them. This is what I mean by beating the market.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45180,
"author": "Chris H",
"author_id": 8494,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8494",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You've got some great answers already, so here's something shorter and more general.</p>\n\n<p>A well-chosen, well-executed animation (which can actually be quite simple) can really help a presentation. There are (at least) 2 caveats to this, which if you bear them in mind will help you make best use of your time and make a good impression:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>You're not the best judge of how your animation (or even the whole presentation) comes across.</p></li>\n<li><p>You'll need to rehearse the presentation more. Narrating over the animation is more akin to an actor learning lines than to normal scientific presenting. You need to get the timing spot on and be confident. If you do this at/near the beginning of you're talk you'll be well set to carry on doing it well.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Overall these mean that it's more important to get other people's input. You might want to sketch something out with a friend working on something related, then with your PI, before putting lots of time in on the animations. Then rehearse in front of the research group or perhaps some other postgrads from the department. You have some control over where your work ends up, but assuming it's good, expect to share with the rest of the research group and collaborators. Wider sharing is up to you after discussion with your PI.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45188,
"author": "Jan",
"author_id": 34242,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34242",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are two types of animations present in presentations: Those that should be there and those that shouldn’t. Luckily for you, if your supervisor wants to use your animation, you can consider it to be of the first type.</p>\n\n<p>The difference between the two is pretty simple. Good animations are those that illustrate scientific facts or research. Thinking of a biological example, say you’re discussing the formation of a multi-protein complex and have evidence to suggest that <em>A</em> meets with <em>B</em> first, <em>B</em> then phosphorylates <em>A</em> which leads to the association of <em>G</em> etc. … It’s a long story that you can present in a series of pictures or a ‘simple’ animation. Another one would be a protein crystal structure that you animate to be shown from different sides so you can discuss different things about them.</p>\n\n<p>The bad ones are the ones that serve no further purpose. Although I’m a chemist, I’m on a campus full of biologists. During our last retreat, one presentation discussed something to do with bats (I think). About every second slide had an animated picture of a bat flying in and flapping around. I think even Batman appeared once. None of these bats served any purpose whatsoever in the flow of the talk. I only remember them because they were irritatingly out of place. Do not include this kind of animation in your talks.</p>\n\n<p>That is not to say a flapping bat is a big taboo. Rather, if you’re discussing how bats fly when compared to insects and/or birds, an animation of a flapping bat can well serve a purpose. But if you’re discussing how <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> infects bats, it’s out of place.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45141",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33881/"
] |
45,149 |
<p>I am an undergraduate student who got into a voluntary internship for a year in my department.</p>
<p>Without going into much detail, I'm a trainee in the lab where programming lessons are held with lots of computers available for the students(Teaching Lab).</p>
<p>The main problem of concern is that my supervisor, who also happens to be the administrator of the lab, does not seem to believe in my abilities and underestimates my intelligence, which I can't understand why.</p>
<p>When I signed up for the internship I submitted my resume, followed by a short interview from the university. I can say I got the job easily mainly due to my background.</p>
<p>I was hoping that I was going to work on something productive, like a research project. On the contrary, my supervisor seems to be very lazy and constantly assigns chores to me (cleaning, being his personal mailman on the university etc).</p>
<p>At the start since he found out I was bored he suggested to study some basic HTML (Fact is, I worked as a professional web developer some time ago!). If I reply that the tasks he sets for me are easy, he gets mad and tries to get me wrong so that he can show that I have no idea what I'm talking about.</p>
<p>Professors who knew me before and visited the lab asked my supervisor to offer me some motivation for extended bibliography and some more productive learning. He answered that if I have the right foundations then we can negotiate for something more productive! (Yet, he only has one paper, published 20 years ago).</p>
<p>What are your opinions on this? I was about to withdraw due to boredom but I only have some months left. Should I talk to a professor about this topic? Am I expecting too much or am overqualified?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45151,
"author": "Ketan Maheshwari",
"author_id": 6103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6103",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While your situation is tricky, from your description it sounds like you have a bit of an ego which is not helping you. </p>\n\n<p>One sure shot solution to the problem is to <strong>let your actions speak for you</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>For instance, try to apply your web development skills when your supervisor expects something done in HTML. Try to show how meticulous you are when you are given chores (I know it can get boring but may be you will rise in his eyes if you do chores in an impressive manner). Find out what he is doing and has done in the recent past and see if you can act on something that helps his work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45157,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't say this lightly, but given everything you've said: <strong>I think you should probably quit the internship, or at least present the prospect of that to your supervisor</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Some key points:</p>\n\n<p>1) You say it's a \"voluntary internship\". Well, all academic internships are voluntary (I hope!), so I think what you mean is that you are a <em>volunteer</em>, i.e., unpaid. [<b>Added</b>: I just looked this up, and apparently this phrase is quite common in parts of the anglophone world outside of North America. Sorry.]</p>\n\n<p>2) You wrote</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I was hoping that I was going to work on something productive, like a research project.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That is a very reasonable expectation for a volunteer internship. However, the parameters of the job seem to be very different:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I'm a trainee in the lab where programming lessons are held with lots of computers available for the students.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>But that doesn't sound research-related at all: it sounds like you're in a <strong>teaching lab</strong>, not a research lab. If you were actually doing the training, you'd be some kind of TA...without pay. Unfortunately:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>On the contrary, my supervisor...constantly assigns chores to me (cleaning, being his personal mailman on the university etc).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Having to clean up a laboratory space <em>after using it</em> is very reasonable. In my branch of the academic world at least (North America), cleaning up after other people is a paid job, not part of an internship. Similarly, mail delivery is the sort of thing for which someone is usually paid an hourly wage. If you are doing some of this and some of something else, it might be okay if the something else were especially attractive and rewarding. But given that you're not, it sounds to me that you're simply being exploited. Certainly I would feel that way if I were you.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Yet, he only has one paper, published 20 years ago.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yikes. So the professor is probably not even <strong>research-active</strong>, or at least not to the level necessary for it to be plausible that he is the head of some kind of research team. He is not a good choice to supervise your research. In view of everything else you've said, I'm afraid that it seems likely that the business about your having a \"proper foundation\" -- especially in the context of his willful ignorance of the skills that you already have -- is just an excuse. </p>\n\n<p>I would go to this professor and say that there's been a misunderstanding. You thought you were getting involved in a research internship, and as it hasn't panned out that way, you'd like to give notice. If he wants to change your mind, have him mention not just the prospect of future research \"when you're ready\", but actually nail down research that you can get started on right away. </p>\n\n<p>It would also be good to speak to at least one of the other faculty members you've mentioned. I don't know where in the world you're writing from, so it's possible that your local academic culture is very different from mine. But unless you find out that it would be a big bridge-burning mistake to quit your internship, I think you should be angling for that outcome.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45158,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your relationship has degenerated into mutual provocation, it sounds like. Not a healthy situation. Just try to get out of there as gracefully as possible. If you were being paid, it might be somewhat different. But in an unpaid internship -- well, it's reasonable for you to make yourself useful to some extent; but you should be learning and growing.</p>\n\n<p>You might be interested to read what the U.S. government considers the definition of an unpaid internship to be:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the\nfacilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be\ngiven in an educational environment;</li>\n<li>The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;</li>\n<li>The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under\nclose supervision of existing staff;</li>\n<li>The employer that provides the training derives no immediate\nadvantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its\noperations may actually be impeded.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>See <a href=\"http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm</a></p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Edit</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Should I talk to a professor about this topic?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, that would be fine, as long as you can avoid whining or complaining. If you're past the point of talking about the problem calmly then it would be better to leave as soon as possible.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/09
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45149",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32563/"
] |
45,165 |
<p>I just noticed the following words from arXiv:</p>
<p>"You are encouraged to associate your <a href="http://orcid.org/">ORCID</a> with your arXiv account. ORCID iDs are standard, persistent identifiers for research authors. ORCID iDs will gradually supersede the role of the arXiv author identifier."</p>
<p>I thus wonder if a person's profile in ORCID is really that important, given that the person would like to pursue a career in academia? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45168,
"author": "Ian",
"author_id": 22000,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22000",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My personal opinion is that right now ORCID has pretty much zero traction in academia: when my university partnered with ORCID and pushed uptake quite hard internally (by its standards, at least) I was the only person in my department who'd even heard of it (whilst nearly all knew of, and used, the arXiv).</p>\n\n<p>I think it likely that ORCID take up will increase, but in the short term it's of no importance at all.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Update</strong>: <a href=\"http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6025/2/Jisc-ARMA-ORCID_final_report.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">Here</a> is a JISC report on the trial implementation of ORCID at a number of UK HEIs, including my own. It lists a number of benefits (the key ones covered in @jakebeal 's answer), but more importantly illustrates the high level (research council etc) support for ORCID. With my sceptical hat on I will note that I couldn't find numbers as to how many new ORCID IDs were generated by this pilot.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45171,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>While I largely agree with Ian's answer (ORCID might matter in the future, but doesn't right now), I see one place where it may already matter and a reason why it should come to matter more in the future.</p>\n\n<p>Right now, there is a strong implicit presumption of the uniqueness of a scientist's name, and all of the literature searches and citation databases, etc, of the world get rather confused when you have a person who either a) shares the same name as other practicing scientists or b) has a name that changes over time (e.g., marriage, gender identity change) or is represented differently (e.g., transliterated) in different papers.</p>\n\n<p>On this site, we have a number of good, difficult questions dealing with the problems that <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/search?q=name%20change%20is%3Aquestion\">name change and transliteration</a> cause, which is particularly acute for academics in countries that don't use the Latin alphabet (e.g. <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/44310/names-in-my-language-used-in-publications-are-inconsistant-should-i-worry-about\">this excellent question</a>). These problems will grow in importance as the number of practicing scientists grows and becomes more diverse, and as the duration of the readily searchable literature grows as well.</p>\n\n<p>In short: there is a rapidly growing need for <em>something</em> like ORCID that makes it easy to distinguish scientists without context-sensitive text mining. Whether ORCID is that thing, and how long it will take for it to be widely adopted and effective, are both open questions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45228,
"author": "StasK",
"author_id": 739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/739",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me count how many academic IDs I have:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=TuJeDtcAAAAJ\">Google Scholar</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2977-7326\">ORCID</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stanislav_Kolenikov\">ResearchGate</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"https://ideas.repec.org/e/pko3.html\">RePEc</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.researcherid.com/rid/F-8341-2010\">ResearcherID</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/23447997\">Microsoft Academic Research</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=6507422527\">Scopus ID</a></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>They never agree on the counts of my citations, of course, or even on the number of published works, even though some of them cross-link to one another.</p>\n\n<p>Google, Scopus and Microsoft are, of course, automatic. ORCID, ResearchGate, RePEc, ResearcherID require registration. I don't have arXiv ID; I've never been able to extract value from that service, and at the time I bothered about these IDs, it was purely mathematical, which did not quite ignite me, and it failed to compile my LaTeX code because I had graphs in my papers that exceeded the then-existing file size limits (something like 1 or 2Mb in early to mid 2000s?). I am sure I am missing another five or so academic ID services. I remember starting some of them, but never being able to populate them properly, because they said something like: \"Oh, just push this button, and we'll search ISI WebOfKnowledge for you\" -- guess what, they don't do it on <em>their</em> end, they do it on <em>your</em> browser, so you need to have access to ISI for that stuff to work.</p>\n\n<p>Does missing any one of these services matter? This is probably discipline-specific; I would venture a guess that nobody in this thread heard of RePEc (REsearch Papers in EConomics)... but if you talked to economists, they probably would not have heard of ORCID in return. Given that you are coming from arXiv, you are probably a mathematician or a physicist, and arXiv is probably the default for these disciplines, with little to no need for other IDs. That is to say, if you only care about becoming a famous physicist through publications, stick with arXiv ID; if you want to be a good citizen of academia, so that other academics sort of recognize you when you step out of the door of your home department, or if you reasonably expect to collaborate with other disciplines, ORCID will probably help.</p>\n\n<p>Coming back to the OP question, my specific suggestion would be to check what people put on top of their CVs in your discipline/in the departments where you are looking for a job. If it is an ORCID, you need to get one. If it is an arXiv ID, you need to get one. If it is a picture of their chihuahua, you... well, you get the drift. (My scanning of CVs in a discipline that has a sort of dual identity, sociology, when I was interviewed by a sociology department years ago, revealed that some of the faculty think of themselves as <em>scholars</em>, and list their published works under <em>Scholarship</em>, with these works being books or chapters in books, with few to no papers -- these would be doing sociology theory or some social forces or stuff like that; while others would refer to themselves as <em>researchers</em>, and list their published works as <em>Research</em>, which would consist, for the most part, of journal papers, which would be more likely to use quantitative methods. I don't know much about sociology, but I imagine there are internal tensions between these groups, with one not understanding the approaches and achievements of the other.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 158405,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>NSF has just thrown out it's CV/resume system for grant proposals and adopted <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">ScienCV (NIH's sysetm)</a>, roughly speaking. This system can, with a fair amount of work, mine your ORCID and setup your CV for NSF's grant proposals for the future. If you submit a proposal without using this "new" system, NSF will return it without review. ORCID is probably the easiest way to construct what NSF and NIH want in ScienCV, though I haven't completed mine yet (I've barely started it).</p>\n<p>ORCID may never take off as a universal system for finding researchers and their latest publications, but US researchers who want to keep their jobs will be forced to keep theirs sort of up to date so that the granting agencies at the federal level can see them and use them for review. Whatever ORCID does, it still suffers from an/the updating problem.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45165",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18107/"
] |
45,170 |
<p>Many months ago, I had to drop out from a prestigious university.</p>
<p>Lately, the university contacted me and asked me if I were considering enrolling once again, and said that if yes, I should do so before a certain deadline.</p>
<p>Is it common for universities to contact drop outs?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45172,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer may depend on why you had to drop out, but many universities simply consider you to still be their student even if your studentship is disrupted by events beyond your control, and will assume you are likely to wish to continue your education there. </p>\n\n<p>You do not say why you had to drop out, but common reasons for somebody to withdraw or fail include: mental health issues, financial crisis, physical illness, death or serious illness of a close family member, visa problems, etc. None of these indicate anything negative about your potential as a student <em>even if they caused you to fail all of your classes.</em> I have known people who dropped out for a wide variety of such reasons, many of whom then returned to finish at the same prestigious institution after their life circumstances had improved.</p>\n\n<p>Many universities thus make it easy for a student who left for such circumstances to return and complete their studies, and that is likely what is going on with your university as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45174,
"author": "Zarrax",
"author_id": 30688,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30688",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Many students who drop out eventually return, and being away from the university they may be unaware of the deadline. So they may have simply been sending a courtesy message informing such people of when the deadline for re-enrollment is. There probably isn't any deeper meaning than that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45237,
"author": "Adam Davis",
"author_id": 11901,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11901",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In theory the classes you took should be good forever, and the program would never change. If this were strictly true, then you could take classes for years, a few at a time and with frequent long breaks and still obtain your degree.</p>\n\n<p>Most schools consider students to be students from admission onwards, and they never take them out of the system.</p>\n\n<p>However, degree programs change, requirements change, and the schools must change their curriculum. While they grandfather in older, possibly out of date classes, and older programs, they have to limit them, and the easiest way is by time.</p>\n\n<p>If you start a bachelor's program you can expect to be able to follow it without issue for 4-6 years without change even if the program changes for newer incoming students. If you change degrees you'll have to adopt a new program.</p>\n\n<p>However, if you drop out of school, the school doesn't think of you as a person who will never return. But if the programs and classes are changing they will remind you, even if you haven't attended for some time, that in order to fit under the old program you'll have to complete it by a certain date.</p>\n\n<p>So this is why they've sent you a letter. You are, in their eyes, still a student, eligible for a degree in a specific program, and they want you to be aware that even though you haven't been in some time, if you had intended to complete your education with the program you started then you will have to do so by a deadline.</p>\n\n<p>Not all schools send out such letters.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45260,
"author": "Not Actually Paranoid",
"author_id": 34409,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34409",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Watch out for phishing; they may not be who they say they are. Don't give the caller/writer any information beyond what you'd give to a stranger on the street, and if you choose to give the issue further thought, verify the offer at the admissions department's public phone number.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45170",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21764/"
] |
45,173 |
<p>I wish to properly cite the amount of times a paper has been cited according to Google Scholar. However, I couldn't find a proper answer to this question. </p>
<p>The paper in question is: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Blei, David M., Andrew Y. Ng, and Michael I. Jordan. "Latent dirichlet
allocation." the Journal of machine Learning research 3 (2003):
993-1022.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hansen, S., McMahon, M., & Prat, A. (2014) note that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>LDA is widely used (...) and has been cited over 8,000 times</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But they cite no source! What is the proper source to cite here?</p>
<p>My first thought was something like this: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>LDA is widely used (...) and has been cited over 10,000 since its
publication, a search on Google Scholar reveals (Google Scholar,
date).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>edit: I e-mailed my advisor and ended up citing Hansen et al. (2014) saying that the paper had already been cited 8000 times. Not really a satisfying answer ... alas .. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45175,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I don't find such citations to citation counts very helpful in reading an article. Assuming such numbers are reasonably accurate, they only represent a snapshot of the popularity of a technique at the time you wrote your article. I would recommend simply saying that it is a popular technique and leaving it at that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 151431,
"author": "Tripartio",
"author_id": 20418,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20418",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would not give a formal citation, but I would mention something like this:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>LDA is widely used (...) and has been cited over 10,000 times as of July 2020, according to Google Scholar (<a href=\"https://scholar.google.com\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://scholar.google.com</a>).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Key points to note:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>The URL to Google Scholar is sufficient as a reference. Nothing more is needed and nothing needs to go in the bibliography.</li>\n<li>It is very important to specify the month and year of the search since, obviously, when the reader eventually reads your article the citation count will almost certainly not be the same.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45173",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34325/"
] |
45,179 |
<p>I'm about to finish my 4th semester as a pure mathematics undergraduate. I took one introductory course to programming in my first semester, and another more advanced one lately. Although it was only one course out of several others I took last semester, I spent much more time on the computer than on the math books, and I conjectured that I would probably be happier as a programmer than as a mathematician. </p>
<p>The problem is that I spent most of the past 3-4 years doing nothing but mathematics. Practicing problem-solving, developing critical thinking, establishing deep knowledge in foundational mathematics and growing very good general knowledge about advanced math topics and history of mathematics. Besides, I get top grades in my college, and I do like what I am doing.</p>
<p>In brief, I can see myself as a promising person in the world of mathematics. I am confident that in comparison to most of my peers, I am more powerful in this domain. And this, in particular, is what makes me hesitate about even thinking of switching my major. </p>
<p>Above all, I enjoyed that programming course much more than I enjoyed any other math course that I took (except, perhaps, metric topology and some abstract algebra). And I have a feeling that this is what I should truly go for.</p>
<p>What is the best decision that could be done? Especially that I still have only one year to get my Bachelor degree. If I would switch my major, I'll have lost one year of my life because of the regulations in our college.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45200,
"author": "Jan",
"author_id": 34242,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34242",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Switching one’s major (or subject altogether) is generally something that should not be done light-heartedly. But there are often valid reasons for doing so and it can take some time to notice these reasons.</p>\n\n<p>Assuming you took some time to choose the subject you studied (which it sounds like you did) there are probably good reasons why you chose it. Probably you like maths (you hinted it be fun), maybe you were just good in maths at school or maybe you just wanted to be one of the cool nerds with glasses. One student at my university started studying chemistry because she found it fascinating and liked it at school. I started my master’s majoring in biochemistry because I liked the work we did in our practical courses and because it sounded interesting.</p>\n\n<p>Once you’re now thinking about switching majors, something from your motivation must have changed. I’m inferring from what you said, that you spent more time (and maybe even had more fun) sitting at the PC doing some coding work. That’s a very positive way to think. The student I was talking about above underestimated the workload she was going to put into chemistry studies. She also failed a practical course (that really wasn’t dramatic; it’s a course that more than 10 % fail in their first attempt including me who’s doing a chemistry PhD now) and finally started spending more time with her other scholarly love, Japanese. In my case, I still (would) enjoy the practical parts but I underestimated the amount of rote memorisation required for passing the exams — I’m bad at that.</p>\n\n<p>Once you’ve identified the true reason why you want to switch, you need to debate whether switching is an appropriate action or not. The student I keep mentioning switched to Japanese at a different university closer to her home. I still think that she just made herself too much work, tried to understand stuff way too deeply at a way too early level. She could have stuck with chemistry if she had tried to learn less (yes, that’s sometimes a thing). I haven’t spoken with her for quite a long time, but I assume she thinks it’s the right choice she made (She did take a long time considering it). In my case, switching majors from biochemistry to inorganic chemistry was essential to pass my master’s.</p>\n\n<p>Now onto you. First off, programming or computer sciences are a lot closer to maths than Japanese is to chemistry (although they both sound similar to some, I am told). They’re not as close as inorganic and biochemistry in my opinion, though. It’s highly possible from my point of view to enter similar master’s programmes with both degrees, especially if you’re looking somewhere where both of them meet. You will also have gained valuable skills that you list in your question — problem-solving, critical thinking etc.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Do you think that you can fulfill the requirements and achieve the degree your aiming for now? </li>\n<li>Do you think that your final mark might be (significantly?) <em>worse</em> if you switch? </li>\n<li>Are there computer science/programming programmes that allow a pure mathematician to start them?</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you answered those three and a half questions with <em>yes</em> then don’t switch. If you answered the half question with <em>no</em> and the others with <em>yes</em>, I would recommend you don’t switch. Only if you answer <em>no</em> to all three questions should you <em>definitely</em> switch.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p><strong>The most important note of the whole text:</strong> <em>Have a chat with an advisor</em> if grains of doubt remain, e.g. if you’re not sure about fulfilling the requirements of whichever master’s programme you’re interested in due to your non-programming maths bachelor degree.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45210,
"author": "Dinosaur",
"author_id": 32937,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32937",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Change-of-interest among mathematicians is more common than many would have imagined. Reasons vary, some decided to do something more applied, some decided to work in the industry for the better pay, some decided to work in a more dynamic environment than the academia...</p>\n\n<p>I can assure you that the time you spent on mathematics is time well spent for your intellectual development and that your advanced math training will be a valuable asset wherever you go. Even though you may not be solving abstract algebra or real analysis problems for your future career, it's the analytical skills that you're equipped with that will make a difference between you and other candidates. Mathematicians, if well trained, develop unique insights to problems and are often highly detail-oriented.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to switch to computer science, there are a number of Masters Programs in computer science that will accept non-CS majors. In fact, if you have taken sufficiently many advanced courses in computer science, you may apply to grad school in computer science right away without going through the (often exorbitantly costly) masters program. Many of my classmates have done that and successfully transitioned into computer science.</p>\n\n<p>Last but not least, speak to your academic advisor and discuss your situation.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45211,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Good question (+1). Generally, I agree with @Jan's advice (also +1), with the exception of the last sentence - I don't think that a conversation with an advisor is or should be the critical factor. Ultimately, I believe that the <strong>main critical factor</strong> should be your <em>gut feeling</em>, of course, combined with <em>practical considerations</em>, some of which Jan mentioned. I think that a math degree, especially undergraduate, provides a <strong>solid foundation</strong> for your future career, regardless of your decisions along the way, such as to continue career in mathematics or switch to more applied areas, such as computer programming, operations research and data science.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore, <strong>my recommendation</strong> is to <em>continue</em> with your current program, while testing some specific areas, where possible (i.e., for programming, participating in open source software projects might be a good idea), unless you are <em>absolutely sure</em> that you <strong>have</strong> to switch majors. Let me finish my advice with mentioning a popular saying/idiom, which seems to be appropriate here: <em>\"Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream\"</em>. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45224,
"author": "Jude Niroshan",
"author_id": 31635,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31635",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I see <em>Good answers</em> here. </p>\n\n<p>Adding for those,\nI'm a Java Developer working almost 2 years in the industry now. Currently I'm following my Bachelors degree in Software Engineering.\nI was one of the bullets in my class in High school for Maths. But <em>Unfortunately</em> I choose the path to programming. I know not everyone will agree with the word I wrote <em>'Unfortunately'</em> in my last sentence. Personally I am really really worrying about the decision that I dropped my Maths degree. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Please don't make that mistake!</strong></p>\n\n<p>There are lot of paths you can choose to continue when you have a Mathematics degree in your hand. (Games; of course comes to my mind, <a href=\"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/q/136987/167527\">There are many</a>)</p>\n\n<p>Continue your Maths degree. After that you can have some industry recognized exams(e.g. Oracle certifications, Microsoft certifications). These exams will not take too much time to finish. As Aleksandr said, you have strong foundation if you have a Degree in Mathematics. That's my opinion for this good question.</p>\n\n<p>Good Luck! </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45241,
"author": "Zach H",
"author_id": 8857,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8857",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Some points to consider:</p>\n\n<p>1) You don't need a CS degree to become a programmer (as Aleksandr says) or to study CS at a graduate level (as Dinosaur says). There's nothing to stop you from completing your math major while spending as much time as possible on the programming that you like. When you graduate, getting a programming job should not be substantially trickier than if you had majored in CS.</p>\n\n<p>2) Just because you are a promising person in the world of math does not mean you are obligated to fulfill that promise (as dinosaur says). Only do math if it's what <strong>you</strong> want. Many people with great promise drop out of the field at every stage of a career, and that's okay. Some examples: </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Undergrad: Bill Gates</li>\n<li>Grad School: Reid Barton</li>\n<li>Professor: James Simons (whose impact on mathematics is in my mind greater as a philanthropist than it was as a mathematician)</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>3) You can come back, if math is truly where your heart is. I know several people who have turned away, be it towards programming, finance or elsewhere, only to return.</p>\n\n<p>4) Towards (3), programming skills are incredibly useful in many areas of mathematics.</p>\n\n<p>From what you've described, I would follow Aleksandr's advice and complete your math major (it sounds like you might already be done!) with an eye towards developing skills as a programmer. If this is not possible, keep in mind that losing a year (and it wouldn't be truly lost) is a far better option than failing to notice that your current path is a waste. Remember that, even if you stay in the academy, your formal education is only a small part of what you will learn. Start casting forth for what you are most passionate for, and good luck!</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45179",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34330/"
] |
45,191 |
<p>Is it possible to submit a paper to a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal without PhD? More specifically, what would be the bare minimum qualifications that would grant one the possibility of the paper being published in a peer-reviewed academic medium?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45192,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes. In practice, graduate study is one of the main ways people attain the skills to write such a paper, but a Ph.D. is not a requirement. Qualifications would be a choice of the individual journal, but I don't know of any that have a policy of requiring degree credentials from submitters. For example, quite often graduate or undergraduate students write such papers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45193,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Submitting an academic paper for publication (and potentially getting it accepted) does not require any qualifications whatsoever. You don't need a PhD; you don't even need to have gone to college. There are no educational, employment, or membership requirements at all.</p>\n\n<p>That's not to say it's easy to get a paper accepted with no formal training in the field. Learning how to write a compelling paper is much easier if you have a mentor to offer guidance. However, if you can figure out how to do it without a PhD, then your lack of a PhD will not be held against you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45194,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, it's possible to get a paper published without having a PhD: PhD students do it all the time. Submitted papers are supposed to be evaluated according to what they say, not who said it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45201,
"author": "Thorsten S.",
"author_id": 13452,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13452",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a bit more skeptical than the majority of the answers.</p>\n\n<p>The first reason is more profane:\nThere are journals with more reputation and some with less reputation. The journals with more reputation have more readers and if you are published in this paper, it will foster your reputation. The direct effect is that <em>everyone</em> tries to get published in the most prestigous journals. So the editors get swamped with papers and must choose by priority. If two results are equally impressive, the probability that the more experienced and reputable scientist will be published is very high.</p>\n\n<p>So the standard approach is to contact the journals in descending order of reputation and ask for publication. So, yes, you can be published, but it is likely that you must choose a journal with less reputation and that means that your results are likely to be ignored.</p>\n\n<p>That get us to the second problem: \nIf you have an impressive result, then the editors will scan your paper more closely. Unusual language (there is a specific lingo you use in papers), strange format (Word instead Latex) and an impressive result from someone who is not known before raises a red alarm. If Anonymous Mathematica claims that \"your lack of a PhD will not be held against you\", then I say, nope, this is not remotely true. It is very likely that you and your paper are not scrutinized anymore and rejected. If you try to battle the decision, the label <em>crackpot</em> is attached to you faster than you can breathe. So you must be extremely careful to publish a paper as amateur. Especially because there are journals which are so...problematic that publishing there will harm your reputation.</p>\n\n<p>The arXiv uses an endorsement system to guarantee that only people from universities and research centers can submit papers; other people are locked out.</p>\n\n<p>If you really have an impressive result: In both cases, arXiv and respectable journal it is unfortunately necessary to contact someone from a university etc. which helps you to get through the barrier.</p>\n\n<p>So, principially yes, but there are barriers. Do not underestimate the problem.</p>\n\n<p>UPDATE: Some information beforehand. The reputation of a journal is measured by the impact factor and since 2005 also by the <a href=\"http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?area=0&category=0&country=all&year=2013&order=h&min=0&min_type=cd\">h-index</a>. For 2013 Nature has rank 7 in the impact factor with 38.6 and leads the h-index with 829. Science has rank 20 (but is preceded by 9 (!) Nature specializations) and is second on the h-index with 801. So pretty important journals.\nNature offers an <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/get_published/\">overview</a> over the publication process and in fact the rejection rate steadily increased from 89% to 92% which I would call \"swamping\".</p>\n\n<p>Corvus now claims that my analysis is glaringly wrong and gives the explanation that other journals except Nature and Science do not have the need to pick between papers, if I have understood him right.<br>\nCorvus, it is your claim that other high-reputable journals both by h-index and impact factor do not have the problem with picking a paper and therefore high rejection rates ? Do you stand by your claim ? If my information is outdated or simply wrong, then I will retract it, but I <strong>will</strong> research it.\nGlaringly wrong, yes or no ?</p>\n\n<p>JeffE, do you agree that being of member of the Computer Science Department in Illinois (which incidentally built the ORDVAC and ILLIAC and are currently responsible for the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure) with a very long tradition and an own ACM chapter might give a paper some recommendation ?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45212,
"author": "Count Iblis",
"author_id": 17479,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17479",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's not only possible but it is a requirement at many universities that your Ph.D thesis be completely based on peer reviewed papers.</p>\n\n<p>Another issue here is the fact that in science only the research results should matter, not who is presenting those results. If Prof. Dr. X has submitted a paper that is found to be wanting, then it should be rejected. if John Doe Y who dropped out of primary school, submits a paper containing ground breaking results, then that paper should be accepted. If this were not (in principle) true, then that would mean that science is not conducted in an independent way. Arguments from authority, rather than those based on the merits would to some degree corrupt the scientific process.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45221,
"author": "GDumphart",
"author_id": 34363,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34363",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As an extreme example, here are some groundbreaking pre- or no-PhD discoveries:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Henri Lebesgue developed his <a href=\"http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebesgue-Integral\">famous integration theory</a> as a young high school teacher in 1902.</p></li>\n<li><p><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siavash_Alamouti\">Space–time block\ncoding</a>, a theoretical concept that is now essential to wireless communications, was invented in 1997 by Siavash Alamouti as a practicing engineer with a master's degree.</p></li>\n<li><p>The <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKS_primality_test\">AKS primality test</a> was the result of 2002 undergraduate research at the Indian Institute of Technology.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>It's clear that such contributions warrant a publication irrespective of the author's status.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45232,
"author": "terre tulsiak",
"author_id": 34382,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34382",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Of course publications want to be read. There is no doubt that anyone who can submit work that is clear, concise, innovative and readable will be considered. But no matter what an individual's personal experience has been, or even the official policy, it comes down to the work, how it is expressed, and the integrity and professionalism of the scientist author. Somehow, nitpicking others' comments seems to be related more to the desire an individual may harbor to be published- even if it's in an online forum!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45349,
"author": "stevenvh",
"author_id": 34480,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34480",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As others have said: no, a PhD is not required. Remember that Einstein didn't have a PhD when he published his paper on the photo-electric effect, yet it would win him a Nobel Prize. </p>\n\n<p>A requirement for getting a PhD degree is often to publish a paper where you are the first author. So then you don't have a PhD (yet) either.</p>\n\n<p>What's more important is <strong>references</strong>. Even if you have a PhD, but your list of references only is two items, chances are it will be rejected, unless of course you made a Really Great Discovery.<br>\nReferences are important because they show that you studied and are familiar with the work of your peers in the field.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 75782,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If a peer-reviewed journal published a paper on the basis of the letters after the authors' names, then the journal would undermine its own credibility. When you drive across a bridge, or undergo open heart surgery, the engineers' or surgeon's professional registration is your assurance that they know what they're doing; but scholarly publications are supposed to be written in a way that makes them <strong>self-evidently</strong> good — they shouldn't need propping up with letters after the authors' names. Look at a few reputable journals and you'll see that they just print the authors' names (no letters after!) at the top of each article.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 77514,
"author": "Pia",
"author_id": 62503,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62503",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes you can. I still was a MA's student when my paper draft was first accepted. I even attended conferences. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 133904,
"author": "GEdgar",
"author_id": 4484,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4484",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Another example... found in the <em>Chronicle of Higher Education</em> (July 19 issue)</p>\n\n<p>Nora Keegan, age 13: Her paper was just published in the journal <em>Pediatrics & Child Health</em></p>\n\n<p>It was her 6th grade Science Fair project. The judges suggested she write it up for publication. She did. It was rejected by one journal, but accepted by the second one she tried.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://news.yahoo.com/13-old-girl-gets-study-211803783.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">LINK</a></p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45191",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33695/"
] |
45,196 |
<p>As I'm sure many lecturers/professors would attest, one of the frustrations of teaching can be the continuous asking of questions that had a student read their syllabus and/or navigated the online learning site, would have most likely been answered.</p>
<p>I teach a social science class and I spend a lot of time on my syllabus, and even more time on the learning site we use. I have an abundance of extra resources to help students out and everything is neatly organised. Regardless, I still receive countless emails and questions not about the content of the course, but when my office hours are or where my office is, or when is the assignment due, or do they have to attend class, and so on.</p>
<p>In speaking with a number of academics, some of the solutions have been creating assessments based solely on the syllabus, such as a 5% quiz in the first week of class. A colleague of mine who was concerned about students not knowing how to navigate the library created an assessment where students had to go to the library and answer a set of questions.</p>
<p>My faculty is quite strict about assessment tasks though, and I've been informed I can only have a max of 2-3 in my unit, so I'd rather not waste them on a syllabus test.</p>
<p>I was thinking about setting up some online bonus mark quizzes where students who wanted to earn a little extra credit could complete them. They wouldn't be worth much, maybe .5% per quiz, perhaps totaling to a bonus of 2.5% or something similar (my best student typically has a grade of around 94%). They'd be on the syllabus, the learning website, perhaps a research bonus quiz (navigating online databases) and so on.</p>
<p>I will consult with local faculty and check my institution's policies. But beyond that: does this seem like a good idea? What factors should I consider?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45220,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>As I'm sure many lecturers/professors would attest, one of the frustrations of teaching can be the continuous asking of questions that had a student read their syllabus and/or navigated the online learning site, would have most likely been answered.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Ha ha! Yes, it really happens all the time.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Regardless, I still receive countless emails and questions not about the content of the course, but [...] where my office is</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>My students typically wander at the opposite side of the university with respect to my office and when they eventually succeed in finding me, I ask them: haven't you read the location of my office on the syllabus on the course website? I let you figure out what the answer is...</p>\n\n<p>Students simply don't read page-long bureaucratic information.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In speaking with a number of academics, some of the solutions have been creating assessments based solely on the syllabus</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't like this idea nor that of bonus quizzes.</p>\n\n<p>To solve this problem, this year I've decided to remove the syllabus altogether (no one reads it anyway) and to send updates by email to all the students (e.g. hey guys, the new homework is online and is due by etc.). Every email should contain just one piece of information and have a length of just a couple of lines. As for the office hours, they are by appointment and I give office directions when they ask for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45222,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'd avoid setting summative assessments (i.e. for course credit) on topics other than the subject material you expect the students to learn. Doing so might come back to bite you, even if you keep the relative contribution to a final grade as low as you are suggesting. </p>\n\n<p>Perhaps you could spend half of your first lecture rhetorically asking the sort of frequently asked questions that get your goat, while at the same time navigating your course webpage, to show where a student will find the answer to your questions. After reading out five or so of the most commonly asked questions, the students will get the message:- the answer is likely to be on the webpage. Look for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 68604,
"author": "thebishopofcalc",
"author_id": 54015,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/54015",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not sure if this applies, but any school that would support tangential \"assessments\" such as a participation/attendance score would surely fund no fault with this second cousin, which would have the fringe benefit of raising awareness of the very sort of policies that such a participation score is likely to be measuring. I have taught at numerous universities that have tried both ends of this assessment spectrum, from read-for-detail \"quizzes\" in the first week to contract-mimicking \"I read it and understand\" signature pages to detach and turn in. </p>\n\n<p>I'm contemplating one that forces a detailed perusal: burying a code phrase, Waldo-style, in a random location deep within the syllabus along with instructions to send me that code phrase in an e-mail (to establish their knowledge of my e-mail, at yet another school in which at least two colleagues have nearly identical addresses) after receiving verbal instructions to read the syllabus cover to cover \"and do what it asks you to do\" on opening day, just to try out such a novel approach.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 115463,
"author": "Tripartio",
"author_id": 20418,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20418",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have indeed given bonus points for questions from the course syllabus and it seemed to resolve the problem that you described (although I never did a formal before-and-after test, I did get a subjective impression that after I implemented this, I was much more rarely bothered by students asking questions on what is clearly on the syllabus).</p>\n\n<p>However, I implemented my system with some slight but very crucial differences from what you described, that seem to have resolved your concerns:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>First, some background: in many of my classes (mainly for undergraduate students), I begin the class session with a reading quiz of around 5 multiple choice questions. These are low-level comprehension questions based on the assigned reading simply to make sure that they read the assigned material. I do not ask any tough questions that require deep understanding--only very surface questions with the aim that if they actually read, they should get 4/5 or 5/5, but if they didn't read, they should not be able to guess more than 1 or 2 correctly.</p></li>\n<li><p>To this reading quiz, I add a bonus question taken from the course syllabus (e.g. when are my office hours; or what is the deadline for the 1st milestone of the semester project). With this bonus question, there are 6 questions in the reading quiz.</p></li>\n<li><p>I still score the quiz out of 5. So, if they got 4/5 of the regular questions plus the bonus syllabus question correct, their score is 5/5. (If they get 5/5 + the bonus correct, I still give them 5/5, not 6/5.)</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The advantages of this system:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>I do not dedicate any extra time, whether as a dedicated assessment or class time, to getting them to read the syllabus. I simply inform them of the bonus questions from day one and then the syllabus assessment is built into whatever assessments I've already designed.</p></li>\n<li><p>Because I give my regular quizzes throughout the semester, students are motivated to read the entire syllabus early on in the semester and they are also motivated to refresh themselves on the details all the way up to the last regularly scheduled assessment.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>All that said, as you have noted, the idea of assigning course credit points for syllabus content is controversial to some people. However, I have no problem with it. I firmly believe that students who are well aware of the syllabus learn more in the class, because the syllabus is designed to maximize their learning experience. So, I believe that giving bonus points for knowing the syllabus content indirectly but very meaningfully increases their learning, and so is well justified.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/10
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45196",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324/"
] |
45,215 |
<p>For my bachelor thesis, I have to reference a lot to the various C++ standard documents, be it the original standard or some of the working drafts.</p>
<p>How do I cite such documents? Many of the working drafts don't even contain a
title page to extract information from.</p>
<p>Working drafts are available at <a href="https://isocpp.org/std/the-standard">https://isocpp.org/std/the-standard</a></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45217,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would cite the current version of C++ standard, based on the <strong>APA Style</strong> (6th edition), in particular, based on the <a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10\">APA guidelines for citing electronic sources (Web publications)</a>, as follows:</p>\n\n<p>ISO/IEC. (2014). <em>ISO International Standard ISO/IEC 14882:2014(E) – Programming Language C++.</em> [Working draft]. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Retrieved from <a href=\"https://isocpp.org/std/the-standard\">https://isocpp.org/std/the-standard</a></p>\n\n<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> When the current standard will be finalized and published, the citation will have to be updated accordingly by removing \"[Working draft.]\" phrase and updating the year (i.e., 2015).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 117671,
"author": "Adam Erickson",
"author_id": 98661,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/98661",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One can find nearly every citation for the C++ standards in BibTeX format here:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/bib/isostd.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/bib/isostd.html</a></p>\n\n<p>For example, here is the reference to the ISO C++98 standard:</p>\n\n<pre><code>@Book{ISO:1998:IIP,\n author = \"{ISO}\",\n title = \"{ISO\\slash IEC 14882:1998}: {Programming} languages\n --- {C++}\",\n publisher = pub-ISO,\n address = pub-ISO:adr,\n pages = \"732\",\n day = \"1\",\n month = sep,\n year = \"1998\",\n ISBN = \"????\",\n ISBN-13 = \"????\",\n LCCN = \"????\",\n bibdate = \"Tue Dec 12 06:45:55 2000\",\n bibsource = \"http://www.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/bib/isostd.bib;\n http://www.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/bib/mathcw.bib\",\n note = \"Available in electronic form for online purchase at\n \\path=http://webstore.ansi.org/= and\n \\path=http://www.cssinfo.com/=.\",\n price = \"CHF 351, US\\$18 (electronic), US\\$252 (print);\n US\\$245.00\",\n URL = \"http://webstore.ansi.org/ansidocstore/product.asp?sku=ISO%2FIEC+14882%2D1998;\n http://webstore.ansi.org/ansidocstore/product.asp?sku=ISO%2FIEC+14882%3A1998;\n http://www.iso.ch/cate/d25845.html;\n https://webstore.ansi.org/\",\n acknowledgement = ack-nhfb,\n xxISBN = \"none\",\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>You can copy and paste this into your <code>.bib</code> file containing citations for LaTeX, which you should be using instead of Word anyway : ) You can use the <code>natbib</code> package to format it into whichever citation style you like.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45215",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34360/"
] |
45,227 |
<p>I have done my bachelors in Electronics & Communications Engineering from India and I am currently working as a software developer with 1.5 years of experience.</p>
<p>I would like to do my masters from Europe but either in Computers or Software Engineering field. Is it possible to change from a field like electronics to software specifically in Europe ( preferably Germany or Netherlands).</p>
<p>I know it is quite common in US but I am not able to figure this out about European universities.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45250,
"author": "fgoettel",
"author_id": 34399,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34399",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is definitely possible in germany, but depends on the university. </p>\n\n<p>But why change? \nI studied electrical engineering in my b.sc. and and m.sc in munich. </p>\n\n<p>My masters studies had a strong focus on the software part of electrical engineering (security / machine learning). </p>\n\n<p>So its definitely possible to do a master focused on software with a electronics background in germany. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45273,
"author": "cleverrainbow",
"author_id": 34418,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34418",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I only know about Germany, and as @deloz already mentioned it is definitely possible.</p>\n\n<p>Most Universities will look at what you have already studied during your bachelor's degree and sometimes require you to take extra classes during or before your master's degree in order to catch up to their standards.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45274,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I will put a bit of a damper on cleverrainbow's and deloz's enthusiasm. </p>\n\n<p>First, there are two kinds of masterks programs in Germany: consecutive and non-consecutive. Non-consecutive programs are open to anyone who meets the general admissions criteria, while consecutive master’s programs require that a student have a degree in the same discipline as the original degree, and enough overlap between the curricula at whatever school the student did their bachelor’s at compared to the bachelor’s at the school with the master’s program. If the difference is too large (more than about one semester’s worth), you can be refused admission.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, if you are coming from outside the EU, the university must recognize your undergraduate degree as being at a school comparable to the one to which you are applying. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, in the event you are admitted, you may find that you need to get approval from the study advisor of the major you wish to pursue, and possibly have to obtain credit for <em>each</em> individual course you want to transfer from <em>each</em> individual instructor responsible for the respective courses at the new university. Moreover, if you are missing too many credits, your application for transfer will likely be declined, as there are generally minimum limits for how many credits can be transferred from the bachelor's degree.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45227",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34377/"
] |
45,230 |
<p>I am editing a small scholarly journal published by a learned society. One of our authors, after his manuscript was finally accepted for publication and he had signed and returned the publishing agreement (with copyright assignment), is trying to negotiate after receiving the first proof version. </p>
<p>He insists on adding new content and a new reference to the main text of the article, which I, as editor, will not allow. He is offering to resubmit the manuscript with the new content included, and to wait for the results of a completely new peer review. He is very persistent about including the new content which, I think, has no impact at all on the overall quality or on the conclusions of the paper. The reference is a fresh (2015) self-reference, so I assume that he simply wants to increase the visibility of that other paper.</p>
<p>One of my main problem with the new reference (and the related content) is being to one of the author's own paper published in a predatory open access journal. The publisher is listed on <a href="http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/" rel="noreferrer">Beall's list</a>. When I pointed at it, he said that his paper was subjected to valid and rigorous peer review and other people's bad experience have nothing to do with the academic validity of that specific paper. I disagree, and as I am responsible for our published content I feel adding the new reference is a risk to our journal's reputation.</p>
<p>It would be a waste of our journal’s resources to disregard that we have the copyright of a manuscript, which we accepted for publication after rigorous peer review. We do not feel that we should comply with what the author wants, and we feel that we should publish the paper even if the author will not approve the final proof. </p>
<p>What do you think about this situation? I have a few other options, namely to reject the paper altogether and to go on with the new round of reviews. Both choices would make me feel being strongarmed. Any advice would be appreciated.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45231,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>While you might be in the legal right, I think trying to publish when the author wants to withdraw is likely to be more trouble than it is worth for a small society journal. You probably don't have the resources to get into a protracted battle if the author decides to be <em>really</em> problematic (e.g., a lawsuit).</p>\n\n<p>As I see it, there are three reasonable approaches at this point, in increasing levels of assertiveness on your part:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>If the new content isn't very big (e.g., a paragraph or two and the reference), just let it be; just make the change at the proof stage and let it stop being your problem. If it really does make little difference to the paper, as you say, then this is a reasonable triage to do to get this author out of your hair.</li>\n<li>Reject the paper and send it through a new round of peer review. It's not too bad a waste of resources, particularly if you use the same reviewers, who will be able to just look at the new version in terms of its differences from the old.</li>\n<li>Offer the author the choice between a final rejection (no resubmission will be reconsidered) and publishing as-is.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Which you choose probably should be guided by just how willing you are to invest your time and reputation into a battle with this author. Some people are known and repeat-offending bullies, and it's definitely worth standing up to them. Other times, you've got a person who is normally reasonable and who has just gotten a particular fixation on this particular issue and it's worth accommodating them one this one occasion. If you do decide to accommodate the author, however, you need to make it very clear that this is an unusual exception and you will be holding them to much stricter guidelines in the future.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45240,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>It would be a waste of our journal's resources to disregard that we have the copyright of a manuscript, which we accepted for publication after rigorous peer review. We do not feel that we should comply with what the author wants, but we feel that we should publish the paper even if the author will not approve the final proof. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I would absolutely recommend against this. It may be legally acceptable, but I would consider it an immoral abuse of copyright. There's a lot of debate about whether publishers should hold the copyright to papers and what the costs and benefits are, but I've certainly never heard the view that publishers should hold copyright in order to facilitate publishing the paper against the author's wishes if the author becomes uncooperative partway through the publication process. I'm sure the author did not think of the copyright transfer as meaning the journal could simply publish whatever version it chooses in case of a dispute, and taking advantage of this technicality would hurt the journal's reputation far more than the author's.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The reference is a fresh (2015) self-reference, so I assume that hu simply wants to increase the visibility of that other paper. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If the other paper is unrelated, then this is worth arguing about (not because it's a last-minute change, but because inserting unnecessary self-references is itself problematic). However, I see no good reason to object to adding a last-minute reference if it's actually on topic. Surely the cost of making such a change is minimal, and it might actually be useful for readers.</p>\n\n<p>The additional content is a more subtle issue. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>He is very persistent about including the new content which, I think, has no impact at all on the overall quality or on the conclusions of the paper.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I can sympathize a little with the author, since this content might be worth recording in the literature but simply not publishable on its own (too short or too closely tied with this paper). That's a reasonable argument in favor of including it in this paper, even if it doesn't improve the paper's quality or change the conclusions. However, making nontrivial changes to page proofs is certainly disruptive.</p>\n\n<p>I don't see reviewing as a real obstacle if the changes are modest. If the author just wants to add some brief and uncontroversial comments, I imagine you could get one of the original reviewers to look them over very quickly and approve them as unproblematic. Of course larger or potentially controversial comments would require serious reviewing.</p>\n\n<p>If the other last-minute changes would increase the typesetting and copyediting costs, then you could ask the author to cover the increased costs. (That may upset the author, but it's a traditional approach to handling this situation.) You might also keep costs down by adding the material as a \"note added in proof\" at the end of the paper.</p>\n\n<p>In any case, I'd explain to the author what you see as the problem here. Disruption to the journal's internal processes, increased costs, the potential for an end run around the reviewing process, etc. You might be able to convince the author by pointing out issues hu wasn't thinking of, such as \"You might think adding two paragraphs on page 1 is no big deal, but the copyeditor has already spent time optimizing the layout and figure/table placement throughout this long paper. I don't feel good about saying that needs to be redone just because you didn't submit a truly final manuscript when asked for one. I can't run the journal effectively if the staff feel I'm wasting their time or not standing up for them.\"</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Both choices would make me feel being strongarmed.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This sets things up as a power struggle between you and the author over enforcing the rules as you interpret them. That sounds like an unnecessarily stressful and confrontational approach, and also one that is not likely to be persuasive to the author. Your discussions so far have established that the author feels these changes merit an exception to the rules, while you are unconvinced. Going forwards, I'd focus on what the underlying difficulties are, rather than whose will is going to prevail.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45244,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I just wanted to add a third opinion: it is really not a good idea for you to publish an article against the author's wishes, even though you hold the copyright. If you did this, then at best you would never have any dealings with this author again. (In reality: that outcome must be acceptable and perhaps even desirable for you to contemplate this course of action.) More likely, the author will complain about it to a smaller or larger number of people, creating a bad name for your fledgling journal. For what it's worth, if I heard a story about this from an open access journal published by a regional scholarly society: I would not do business with you.</p>\n\n<p>If I am honest, I didn't find your reasons for not publishing the change to be very convincing. It sounds like you are viewing this as a power struggle with the author that you want to win. You write:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>He insists on adding new content and a new reference to the main text of the article, which I, as editor, will not allow.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Why not? You don't really say why you care so much.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>He is offering to resubmit the manuscript with the new content included, and to wait for the results of a completely new peer review. He is very persistent about including the new content which, I think, has no impact at all on the overall quality or on the conclusions of the paper. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If in your professional opinion the added content has no impact on the quality of the paper, then in particular it has no negative impact. So what's the problem?</p>\n\n<p>The offer to get a completely new peer review seems like a generous move on the author's behalf. He's saying that he's not trying to sneak anything by you but rather wants to err on the side of going through the process thoroughly, even to the extent of having the publication delayed (surely) or jeopardizing the acceptance of the paper (possibly). But because you feel the change is so minor, you can just bypass this entirely. It seems to be matter of retypesetting the paper.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The reference is a fresh (2015) self-reference, so I assume that he simply wants to increase the visibility of that other paper.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This seems like a rather bad faith assumption. If the author feels that his other \nwork is relevant, it contributes to the literature to have the citation appear. In general, it can be tricky to get cross references in one's own recent papers right, and last minute additions can be very helpful here: if it's a 2015 publication then it is plausible that the author didn't have the full bibliographic data until now.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It would be a waste of our journal’s resources to disregard that we have the copyright of a manuscript, which we accepted for publication after rigorous peer review.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That's written as if you're conveying information, but to me it sounds like a dogmatic assertion about you've already decided to do. <strong>What</strong> resources would be wasted by retypesetting the paper? Let me quote from another answer which approaches this issue more reasonably:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>If the other last-minute changes would increase the typesetting and copyediting costs, then you could ask the author to cover the increased costs. (That may upset the author, but it's a traditional approach to handling this situation.) You might also keep costs down by adding the material as a \"note added in proof\" at the end of the paper.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In other words: if it is really a waste of your resources, ask the author to financially compensate this waste. Or tell him that you need to accommodate him in the most inexpensive possible way unless he is willing to financially contribute. Either of these is so much more reasonable than publishing a paper that the author doesn't want you to publish. You speak of being \"strongarmed\" but many authors would regard the behavior you're contemplating as an extreme example of that. Can you not work with the author to come up with an outcome in which neither is strongarming the other?</p>\n\n<p><b>Added</b>: I just read the bit about the added publication coming from a predatory Open Access journal. I think that probably should have been part of the question, since as my answer above indicated, the explanations by the OP didn't really explain the motivation. This does. However, I don't think it really changes my answer, except to say: either you have concern about the added content or you don't. If you do, you <em>should</em> get it re-refereed. If you don't, then the fact that the citation is to a not-so-great journal is really not your concern: citations should not be censored (which is not exactly what's happening here, but just to enunciate the principle) by the editor because they are unseemly to the journal. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45253,
"author": "Alecos Papadopoulos",
"author_id": 8575,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8575",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It takes two to tango -and tango it should be, and not <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tug_of_war\" rel=\"nofollow\">tug-of-war</a>. </p>\n\n<p>You representing a collective entity (a journal), should take the high moral ground here, not the legal one. I would suggest to send the updated paper with a full copy of the other paper that the author wants to add as a citation, to the same reviewers, asking for their help, in the name of science (and anyway, since they know the paper, it should take them little time to judge the worthiness of the added material and of the citation). It is fair also to inform them about your concerns. </p>\n\n<p>If they give the green light, the author's persistence would have been vindicated by the same people you have trusted in the first place. If they don't, you can tell the author that the new version did not pass the test. If then he wants to completely withdraw, so be it. You will have done what a scientific journal should do: give science a chance -and sometimes, two.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45328,
"author": "gnasher729",
"author_id": 11873,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11873",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am wondering not about the academic view (where clearly you shouldn't publish if the author doesn't want you to publish), but about the purely commercial view. </p>\n\n<p>Up to some point in time a publisher wouldn't care much if an author withdraws. A bit later it becomes inconvenient because it's too late to find a different paper, and a 100 page journal might become an 80 page journal. Next stage is where the journal has been sold and the buyers won't be happy if they don't get the pages they paid for, or where buyers have been promised a great article about a subject and that great article isn't going to be there. Then a stage where the printer charges for the empty pages, and the final stage would be where the journal is printed, and withdrawing would mean to destroy the print run. </p>\n\n<p>At the point where withdrawal causes the journal financial damage, the withdrawer has to take responsibility for this and face the damages. And if he wants to increase the visibility of his other paper by referencing it, he has to accept the risk that after withdrawing his first paper, it may not be accepted for the next issue of the journal. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45230",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31208/"
] |
45,236 |
<p>My recommender and I know each other through scientific discussions and collaborations. I have never been his student.</p>
<p>He told me that in the online recommendation form they asked him some questions like "Which courses has he/she taken with you?" or "How do you rank the applicant among all your students?" and he does not know what to say.</p>
<p>How should he answer these questions? Should he leave them blank and just write the recommendation letter? Would this not be perceived negatively?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45238,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would recommend that he fill these fields to the best of his ability, following rather the spirit of the question than the literal letter. The first question he would need to leave blank. For the second question, he might be able to compare you to actual students he did have - if this is not meaningfully possible (e.g., if he is an industrial researcher, who never had any students), then he should leave that one blank, too.</p>\n\n<p>He should then point these questions out in his recommendation letter and explain why he could not enter anything there.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>The problem of course is that you don't know whether these online forms are first processed automatically, and whether blank fields could count against you without a human even parsing the explanations in the recommendation letter. I would assume that such issues arise frequently and that the people who create such forms are smart enough to understand this. In which case I would assume that blank fields are treated separately and do not lead to an automatic exclusion of your application.</p>\n\n<p>(Of course, it could be that if a \"large\" percentage of blank fields could indeed be an automatic rejection, since one could argue that the recommender might not even know you well enough in an academic context.)</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>EDIT, in the light of <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/45239/4140\">xLeitix' answer</a>: I realize that I answered based on the assumption that these questions are multiple choice questions, not free text questions. If these are free text questions, then yes, he should answer truthfully that you never were a student of his (and still go into details in his recommendation letter).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45239,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>He told me that in the online recommendation form they asked him some questions like \"Which courses has he/she taken with you?\" or \"How do you rank the applicant among all your students?\" and he does not know what to say.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Well, he should say \"kasramsh has never been my student\". What else could he truthfully say?</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Should he leave them blank and just write the recommendation letter? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>He shouldn't leave them blank but answer them truthfully. \"I know kasramsh from [...]. He has never been my student.\". Somewhere in the letter, the relationship betweem recommender and student should be explained anyway.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Would this not be perceived negatively?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, it is the way it is, and there is no way how you can spin it that the target institution would <em>not</em> figure out that you are not your recommender's student.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45236",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32385/"
] |
45,243 |
<p>Is there any technical as well as practical differences between the two academic positions, one being a permanent faculty position in the UK (or Australia/NZ and other similar systems) and the other being a tenured position in the US/Canadian universities?
I believe most things may come down to the instances when they can be fired. While this question (<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/28569/would-tenured-professors-who-are-charged-with-a-crime-generally-be-fired/28570#28570">Would tenured professors who are charged with a crime generally be fired?</a>) addresses this aspect for the US/Canadian system, I don't know a comparison among different systems.
Edit: My question is different than <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/31873/us-statute-of-higher-education-system">US statute of Higher Education System</a> because that question refers to the authorities and rules in different countries that grant professorships. My question is regarding the actual (technical and practical) differences between 'permanent' and 'tenured' faculty members in different systems.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45248,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the most important difference relates to \"redundancy\" in terminations. In the UK, administration can decide to stop teaching a subject at a university, and faculty may become \"redundant\". There are various protections in the UK such as the need to try to find alternative employment for the staff member etc. but in the final analysis, if they want to stop teaching Vedic Epistemology, the Vedic Epistemologist could end up sacked. With a tenured position in the US, that would not be sufficient grounds for termination (following university rules that I am aware of -- rules are set by each institution, though there is considerable similarity). A correlated difference is that there is a huge tenure ordeal in the US (the \"up or out\" rule -- either you get tenure, or you get fired), which does not exist in the UK.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45262,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Apart from the differences due to the educational systems (expectations for teaching, types of classes, recruiting grad students) and funding opportunities/expectations, one difference is that the UK system has finer gradiations of rank beyond the usual titles (Lecturer, Reader, Professor, etc.) whereas most US universities do not. This determines your pay grade and salary increases, which is fixed and not subject to negotiation like in most US universities. In terms of salary in US institutions, merit-based raises take the places of these promotions to higher pay grades, but these are much more fickle in general.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45243",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30606/"
] |
45,247 |
<p>I am finishing my Master in a foreign country on a student Visa. The Visa will expire in one and a half month, the exact time I was appointed to receive graduation, but my Thesis supervisor wants me to stay one additional month to "finish" the Thesis. Indeed, he says he won't accept it if I don't stay to include additional verification, rendering me unable to fulfil my graduation requirements. </p>
<p>I have asked for support at the International Office of my University, but it seems nothing can be done at this point to extend the Visa. I should have begun the process at the beginning of the semester if I needed an extension. Therefore, I am facing the imminence of being deported, not to mention that: 1. Without a valid student Visa the University can't award me my degree. 2. If I remain in the country, I will become homeless because my student's room contract will end at the same time that my Visa and, as a foreign student, I don't have enough money to rent a room on my own. </p>
<p>I had a tense relation with him after one month on my thesis. He wasn't particularly interested in my Thesis (poor communication, not interested in students benefit but on his project, disappeared for months and then reappeared totally disconnected, etc.), but I remained because of his prestige and fear of losing one complete year of preparation in the field. This is the worst moment in our relation. On his criteria, I have been lazy and put myself in this situation. Either way, I have to solve it now or lose two years of hard work and spent money.</p>
<p>How can I solve such situation? How can I make my a Professor aware that there is bureaucratic world beyond academia, that I don't have the same privileges as a national of his country? Maybe a foreign student had a similar problem and can give me advice or tell his/her experience...</p>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong> I have to mention that my supervisor has a legal/financial obligation on the project I am part of henceforth comes his worry. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45248,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the most important difference relates to \"redundancy\" in terminations. In the UK, administration can decide to stop teaching a subject at a university, and faculty may become \"redundant\". There are various protections in the UK such as the need to try to find alternative employment for the staff member etc. but in the final analysis, if they want to stop teaching Vedic Epistemology, the Vedic Epistemologist could end up sacked. With a tenured position in the US, that would not be sufficient grounds for termination (following university rules that I am aware of -- rules are set by each institution, though there is considerable similarity). A correlated difference is that there is a huge tenure ordeal in the US (the \"up or out\" rule -- either you get tenure, or you get fired), which does not exist in the UK.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45262,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Apart from the differences due to the educational systems (expectations for teaching, types of classes, recruiting grad students) and funding opportunities/expectations, one difference is that the UK system has finer gradiations of rank beyond the usual titles (Lecturer, Reader, Professor, etc.) whereas most US universities do not. This determines your pay grade and salary increases, which is fixed and not subject to negotiation like in most US universities. In terms of salary in US institutions, merit-based raises take the places of these promotions to higher pay grades, but these are much more fickle in general.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45247",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34393/"
] |
45,268 |
<p>I have applied to 2 postdoc jobs in the same university and have been selected for a 2nd interview in one before doing the first interview in the other lab. </p>
<p>The interviews are set at different times and so I will not be able to attend both so I wish to cancel the one where I haven't been yet. Should I say to the professor the truth "I will be interviewing with another lab" or shall I just say that for some reason I have to cancel it without mentioning the other interview?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45269,
"author": "Aaron Brick",
"author_id": 14140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14140",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>tell the truth, as you haven't done anything unethical. however, just attending the interview is still a good solution.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45800,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Title\nName\nAddress</p>\n\n<p>Dear University B -</p>\n\n<p>Thank you very much for notifying me that I am on the short list for position W at University B and for scheduling me for a first-round interview on February X, 2015.</p>\n\n<p>I have recently been notified by University A that I am a finalist for a position at Lab A and they want to schedule a second-round interview, also on February X, 2015.</p>\n\n<p>As the Lab A request is for a second-round interview, I feel that I must prioritize this against first-rounds, even though I am still very much interested in pursuing the position at your lab. </p>\n\n<p>Would it be possible for us to reschedule my interview for Feb (X-7)? I understand that this may raise logistical concerns and appreciate your consideration.</p>\n\n<p>Sincerely,</p>\n\n<p>User34154</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45268",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34154/"
] |
45,280 |
<p>The questions says it all. I have an report I want to write. The level expected is slightly lower than that of a master thesis. I do need to write an introduction to the topic and there is a very recent literature review online. It covers some things that I want to use in my introduction. I do not have the possibility to access all the papers in the review as they are behind a paywall. How should I cite the review or the papers in the review? What is common practice in psychology?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45281,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>If you copy the review text from the web into your own thesis it is a clear case of plagiarism. </p>\n\n<p>When you write academic text where there is a need to provide the sources for your information (as references) you need to have read the sources. It is not ok to quote sources without having even looked at them. In very rare cases, may it be acceptable to quote a source quoted by someone else in a publication. These cases may include very hard to find literature or literature in a different language. But, such secondary references should not be used unless deemed absolutely unavoidable.</p>\n\n<p>If you need to cite the on-line review, you will need to look at how web-sources are cited at your school (if they are allowed). you can also look at the recommendations at American Psychological Association (APA; very appropriate for you) and their <a href=\"http://www.apastyle.org/\">style site</a>. You may find many other bits and pieces that are of interest to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45300,
"author": "Murphy",
"author_id": 16078,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16078",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to disagree with Peter on this.</p>\n\n<p>Almost anything is acceptable if you are utterly utterly open and honest about it. If you lift sections from the review without proper attribution that's plagiarism but if you properly cite and properly quote a block of text from the review with quotation marks and indentation making clear where it is from then it's not plagiarism.</p>\n\n<p>There's nothing wrong with including a quoted block of text with something along the lines of \"and this concept is well explained in A. Bsons review [title] (20xx) \" followed by a quote (even quite a large quote) which is properly indented and shown to be a quote so that people are clear what are your own words and what has been written by the other author. </p>\n\n<p>Now for one reason or another the review might be incorrect or a poor choice of source or a source that is unacceptable for some other reason within the bounds of what you've been assigned to do or someone may have specifically specified that reviews must not be used as sources but that's all separate from plagiarism.</p>\n\n<p>To answer in the spirit of my answer:</p>\n\n<p>User woj <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15446/woj\">https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15446/woj</a> on this site once commented that </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>\"I reviewed once a thesis which had a copied/pasted page from a\n publication (with an authorization from the author and clear\n citations) and the author added in a footnote that this is by far the\n best explanation he read and does not see any reason to phrase it\n differently (that was in an introductory chapter). I was very fine\n with that.\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As a comment in this page:\n<a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/41551/are-you-allowed-to-copy-text-from-your-masters-thesis-into-your-phd-thesis/41555#comment92104_41555\">Are you allowed to copy text from your Master's thesis into your PhD thesis?</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45305,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here's my two cents. The OP's question is formulated as \"is it plagiarism/OK\". Therefore, if someone copies large parts of someone's work and provides <em>proper attribution</em>, it is <strong>definitely not plagiarism</strong>, but it is IMHO <strong>strongly not OK</strong>. It is not OK for the following two reasons:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>most academic guidelines (i.e., dissertation guides) <em>significantly</em> <strong>limit</strong> the <em>size</em> of direct copy/paste materials, so it is not possible to do that without violating those guidelines;</p></li>\n<li><p>even in the absence of such guidelines, direct reusing of someone's work represents the (almost complete) <strong>lack</strong> of <em>academic effort</em>, thus, making that paper/report <strong>irrelevant</strong>.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45280",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34430/"
] |
45,283 |
<p>I'm wondering about the best way to handle the following situation. Some time ago I've asked my then-potential referees about possibility to become my reference sources and they kindly agreed, after which I've updated my CV with their contact information.</p>
<p>After some analysis of the academic job market advertisements, I had an <em>impression</em> that most institutions (at least, solid ones) do not expect receiving letters of recommendation <strong>directly from a job applicant</strong>, but rather <strong>from referees</strong> (via either e-mail, or online forms). However, recently I ran across at least several institutions (including some well-known ones), which, in their instructions, ask job applicants not only the traditional set of documents (cover letter, CV, samples of research, teaching and research philosophy, transcript, teaching evaluations), but also <em>recommendation letters</em> instead of references.</p>
<p>The problem is that now I have to explain this situation to my referees and kindly ask them to send me those letters of recommendation (for institutions, expecting them from applicant) <strong>plus</strong> to submit those letters directly to institutions, which expect that information from referees. Is it a reasonable request? My referees are very nice people, but quite busy, and I feel uncomfortable to bother them more than needed. However, I don't really see any workarounds in this regard. Is there anything else I can do to optimally solve this problem? I would appreciate your opinions.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45284,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Everything will be fine. If they have ever written more than a handful of these letters for others, they will recognize that different institutions have different requirements. Just tell them what you need, and thank them very much for their time and patience. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45288,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are a student or postdoc, your current institution may be willing to take care of this for you. I remember when I applied, the secretaries sent out all the (paper) applications for me. They had my letter writers send a copy of their letter directly to the office, and they made copies (I think with a note) for each application. I never handled these letters myself at all.</p>\n\n<p>If you department does not do this, the usual thing to do for writers to give you sealed envelopes with the writer's signature/intials over the seal to show you didn't open them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45307,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>When I was applying for postdoc positions, I sent in about 50 applications and researched quite a few more that I wound up not applying for. Out of these many applications, only one or two asked for references' contact info; the rest wanted recommendation letters. In every case the letters were to be submitted directly by their writers, not by me.</p>\n\n<p>The point is that, at least in my corner of academia (but I think in many others as well), when someone serves as a reference for an applicant, it is a standard expectation that they will write a letter on behalf of the applicant and submit it in some form that does not allow the applicant to see it. I would be very surprised if any of your referees/references agreed to fill that role without expecting to write a letter on your behalf and submit it to whatever institutions you're applying to. Of course they won't write a brand new letter for every application; typically they write a generic letter that can be used for many jobs, possibly customizing it a little if they happen to have connections at a particular institution. Once the letter is written, it's very little additional effort for them to submit it to each new application.</p>\n\n<p>Note that, as I hinted at above, it's standard for reference letters not to be visible to the applicant. I think it would be quite strange for a job listing to require that a reference letter, written by someone else, be submitted by you.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45283",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391/"
] |
45,287 |
<p>In Computer Science, you find yourself overwhelmed by the huge number of literature available over a certain subject.</p>
<p>I searched online on how to proceed and write a literature review <strong>(in a way that i could publish it)</strong>. </p>
<p>A lot of the information online will go over the same generic things, so am seeking help in this community.</p>
<p>I would appreciate some advice/strategy from your previous experiences</p>
<p><strong>Reference:</strong></p>
<p>Kotz, Daniel, and Jochen WL Cals. "Effective writing and publishing scientific papers-part I: how to get started." Journal of clinical epidemiology 66 (2013): 397.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45290,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Let me share some insights, I hope it will be useful. I will break down my answer, based on your question's main dimensions, that is <em>help</em>, <em>knowledge</em> and <em>motivation</em>. Speaking about the first dimension, it is unclear to me what do you mean, so I will leave this aspect for you to clarify and for others to address.</p>\n\n<p>In regard to <strong>knowledge</strong>, the best advice I can give is to get a decent book specifically on writing literature reviews (i.e., Hart, 2005) or, even, a good book on research methodology, which has comprehensive enough chapter on the topic (i.e., Booth, Colomb & Williams, 2004; Creswell, 2007, 2014; Davis & Parker, 1997). This is just to start. More importantly, IMHO, after you will read some theory on writing literature reviews or research manuscripts, is to start <strong>reading real literature reviews</strong>: either <em>review/survey papers</em> (for Computer Science, there are specialized journals that publish such papers, for example, <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACM_Computing_Reviews\">ACM Computing Reviews</a> and <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACM_Computing_Surveys\">ACM Computing Surveys</a>), or simply <em>focused research papers</em> on the topic of your interest (most of them will have a corresponding section, which is usually titled \"Review of Literature\", \"Introduction\", \"Background\", \"State of the Art\" or similarly).</p>\n\n<p>Speaking about <strong>motivation</strong> for writing a literature review, that IMHO should come from your <em>excitement</em> about (<em>interest</em> in) a particular <em>topic</em>. If you won't have excitement or, at least, enough interest in a topic, I don't see how you can obtain motivation. It's that simple. Your other questions are rather broad, but I'm sure that you will be able to answer most of those questions after reading some foundational literature on research methodology, as I recommended above.</p>\n\n<p><strong>References</strong></p>\n\n<p>Booth, W., Colomb, G., & Williams J. (2004). <em>The craft of research (2nd ed.).</em> Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.</p>\n\n<p>Creswell, J.W. (2007). <em>Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.).</em> Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.</p>\n\n<p>Creswell, J.W. (2014). <em>Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.).</em> Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.</p>\n\n<p>Davis, G. B., & Parker, C. A. (1997). <em>Writing the doctoral dissertation: A systematic approach (2nd ed.).</em> Hauppauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series.</p>\n\n<p>Hart, C. (2005). <em>Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination.</em> Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45320,
"author": "henning",
"author_id": 31917,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31917",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here are some generic points:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Your topic has to be narrow enough, but it does not need to be as narrow as a specific research question. For example, the topic should not be as broad as \"German politics\" (too much literature to cover), it can be as broad as \"policy change in German federalism\", and it should not be as narrow as \"the impact of the reunification on policy change in German federalism\" (because that would be a specific research question).</li>\n<li>At first, read as much on your well-delineated topic as you can. Once you recognize certain sub-topics, issues, questions, patters, debates etc., begin to organize your reading and further research around these emergent sub-topics. Decide, which you would like to cover in more detail. This adds structure to both your work and to your review.</li>\n<li>Start to write from day one. At first, you will only be able to write short notes. Later, you will be able to arrange those notes around the sub-topics that you begin to discover. This is the outline of your first draft.</li>\n<li>Your review needs a structure. It should answer one or a small number of questions. Resist the temptation to try to summarize everything that has been written on a topic. Instead, the purpose of your review is to chart the territory and identify the research frontier. Someone who has read your review should be able to identify the open questions and possible avenues to answer them in the future.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://secondlanguage.blogspot.de/2009/08/reading-and-writing.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">More</a> along those lines.</p>\n\n<p>And there is also <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3420/how-can-i-do-a-literature-review-efficiently?rq=1\">related question</a>.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45287",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22618/"
] |
45,291 |
<p>I got a paper rejected even if the associated editor and the referees liked the paper - it was more of a question of fit. Now I am sending the paper to a similar ranked journal that might be a better fit for the paper. The anonymous referee gave lots of good constructive feedback. Should I thank him in the new version? I am reluctant to it for two reasons. First, the referees or editor at the new journal might correctly infer that the paper was rejected elsewhere and that might bias them against the paper. Secondly, even if the referee was anonymous, given his tastes and comments, I am almost sure he is someone I already thanked in the paper but of course I can not be 100% certain of it.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45293,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Your first concern is pretty close to the point. I really see no benefit in thanking the reviewers in a subsequent submission of the paper. It just takes you pretty close to a grey area where theoretically no harm would be done, but in practice there is often some degree of bias involved. Again, no benefit, only potential harm.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 60753,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't see a gray area here at all. If someone has helped improve your paper, you <strong>must</strong> acknowledge their contributions, either by co-authorship, citation, or acknowledgment. Yes, even in the submission. Yes, even if there is some small chance that the new referees will notice that your paper was rejected elsewhere <em>and</em> will let that fact unprofessionally bias their review.</p>\n\n<p>Even if your submission is double-blind, you can always thank ███ █████ and ██████ ██ for their helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper.</p>\n\n<p>Less forcefully: It is <em>never</em> a mistake to sincerely express gratitude.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>even if the referee was anonymous, given his tastes and comments, I am almost sure he is someone I already thanked in the paper but of course I can not be 100% certain of it.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You are not supposed to know who the referee is. So don't guess; just thank the anonymous referee. There is absolutely no harm in acknowledging the same person twice, once by name and once in their role as anonymous referee.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 60756,
"author": "vonbrand",
"author_id": 38135,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/38135",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Do <em>you</em> feel grateful for the reviews? Then acknowledge them, perhaps together with the reviewers of the current round. If they are supposed to be anonymous (but you can guess/know who they are), just leave them their anonymity.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45291",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6556/"
] |
45,295 |
<p>Suppose I see that Book X is cited by several papers with reference to some particular Fact Y. I wish to cite Fact Y. As far as I know, Book X is the only reference for Fact Y. </p>
<p>I have never looked at Book X. Nonetheless, I cite it like this:</p>
<p><code>'Fact Y' (see Book X)</code></p>
<p>My question is: Is this ethical, given that I've never looked at Book X?</p>
<p><strong>More context for my question.</strong> I am NOT asking whether this is good scientific practice. I am NOT asking how a good scientist should actually go about citing Fact Y. I am NOT asking if this could undermine your credibility as a scientist.</p>
<p>Instead, I am asking this question because it seems to be a somewhat-common practice. And moreover, as far as I know, no scientist has ever been issued even an official rebuke (much less fired) for engaging in such practice. This would suggest to me that this practice is not considered to be unethical. </p>
<p>Of course, it is not binary as to whether a practice is unethical. But I would simply like to know whether the academic community in general considers this to be even a mildly unethical practice. Or if it is perhaps very slightly unethical, but not a big deal. Or if it is not in the least bit unethical.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45299,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>When you cite a source, you are not actually claiming that you have read it. What you are <em>actually</em> doing is staking your professional reputation on that source containing the information that you claim that it contains.</p>\n\n<p>In most circumstances, of course, this gets instantiated exactly how you would expect: at least one of the authors has personally read the source. There are, however, certain circumstances in which citation of an unread source is actually appropriate. Let me give two examples:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The source is cited as a secondary source, e.g., \"Feng et al.[17] claim that the species presented in the Necronomicon[18] can be found in Antarctica.\" Here is is appropriate to give the bibliographic \"pointer\" to the secondary source even if you cannot access it yourself.</li>\n<li>The source material may be known by a different route than the original publication. This frequently happens with software tools and standards: for example, you might cite a standard that you are using even if you haven't read the standards document. Likewise, if I am using a software tool, the authors often point to a particular paper as the preferred appropriate citation for the tool, and I am happy to take their word for it without reading that paper.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>There may be many more cases as well. It all comes down to this: how certain are you that you <em>really</em> know that the document you cite serves the purpose for which you are citing it?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45306,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's less unethical than the circumstance you want to compare to without question. I don't think anyone has ever gotten fired citing something they didn't read, but it's possible for there to be a lot of trouble. Imagine the case where you cite a source for some fact which that source got from somewhere else. If you don't go check that they got it right, the entire validity of your article could come crashing down because you didn't bother to read enough sources. That's unlikely to cost you your job, but it could if the consequence of your article's invalidity are high enough.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45309,
"author": "Andrew",
"author_id": 34444,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34444",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If not unethical, I would certainly say unwise, since you are unable to find the context surrounding the statement of fact or answer that you want to reference. To clear yourself of this, you would have to mention that the text <strong>X</strong> is unattainable and that it mentions fact <strong>Y</strong> as useful, but that you would need further review of the material to verify the complete veracity of the statement as it applies to your specific usage of that fact. In other words, if you have bias in your presentation, acknowledge it clearly and don't hide it. </p>\n\n<p><strong><em>In answer to your specific question of how ethical this practice is...</em></strong></p>\n\n<p>I would say that it is unethical. The lesser transgression of ethics would be simply that the article would be using another person's work to pad the robustness of the bibliography. This is a minor point. \nThe greater transgression brings me back to my earlier point of referencing a fact without context, which puts you in a questionable position when someone asks you for more information about that fact. Worse still would be to base one of your key thesis arguments on a fact from a text you couldn't find. </p>\n\n<p><em>I understand that <strong>you</strong> are not actually doing this, so am only using <strong>'you'</strong> for the purposes of conversation.</em></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45313,
"author": "299792458",
"author_id": 17534,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17534",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>(<em>This is largely a response prompted by your addendum 2</em>)</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I'm not asking if such practice is a good idea or good scientific practice. (One comment and one answer seem to be saying that it is not good scientific practice. Which I agree with.) Instead, I'm asking if it is viewed among academics as unethical. (And to what degree: Is it no big deal? Or something to be deeply ashamed of if you're caught?)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Everyone agrees that it is neither a good idea nor a good practice, for reasons pointed out in the other answers. So, let's leave that out and focus on the crux of your question.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Is it unethical?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes. It is. More generally, claiming anything to be true when you are not too sure is unethical in the strict sense. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>... something to be deeply ashamed of if you're caught?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Absolutely (i.e. if you are caught). Reputation (or disrepute) spreads. Or even if it doesn't, at least the people who catch you will always be skeptical of your claims, even when you are right. These seemingly innocuous, freak mistakes can easily blemish the reputation you earn the hard-way, by working very hard. Irrespective of how you try to <em>sell</em> it (upon being caught), it does count as unethical and is bound to leave you red-faced. </p>\n\n<p>A big part of being successful and renowned in academia is earning respect and credibility through work. This question is best answered by asking yourself - <em>Would I believe the claims of someone whom I've caught doing this</em>?</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>PS - I'm sorry, I'm being the ethics police here. Other answers are claiming that this is harmless and won't cost you your job. I agree it won't, but it will cost you credibility and respect. If you repeatedly stress that your question is <em>Is it ethical</em>, I'm afraid, someone will have to stress that it really is not ethical. :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45316,
"author": "Mike",
"author_id": 34454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34454",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Think of the case when you are the author of the paper that wasn't read. A paper I had written was cited, but the authors only quoted a counterargument I had used, not the main conclusion of my paper. They then went on to argue that I was wrong, but reached the very same conclusion that I had presented later in my paper, but claimed theirs as a new result. Whether technically unethical or not, how do you think I feel about the authors and their paper? I certainly wouldn't be likely to collaborate with them or recommend their work, for fear of having my own work stolen or again misrepresented. As others have pointed out, their reputation, as far as I'm concerned, is gone.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45317,
"author": "Jason",
"author_id": 32310,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32310",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You make statements that you believe are true, e.g. citing a source for a fact. If you cite that source incorrectly - you fully believed that source corroborated your fact, but you were in error - you did poor work, but you did it ethically. If you <em>can</em> do more work to verify your source, but you do not, or you represent that you <em>have</em> done more work to verify your source that you have not done, then it doesn't matter whether the source corroborates your fact or not, you have behaved unethically.</p>\n\n<p>If you are completely honest about exactly the level of work you have done to verify that the cited source corroborates your fact, you are in danger of being proven wrong, or of being dismissed as not having done the appropriate level of verification, but you have behaved ethically.</p>\n\n<p>It's situational, in general it's probably poor practice but if you as the reader are aware of this situation then I'd say the author has at least behaved ethically.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45354,
"author": "Ned64",
"author_id": 34487,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34487",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, I think you can cite in a way that is ethically correct. If you claim c which is mentioned in book C, but you know this from book B which references C, you can cite:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>AuthorC: \"C\", PlaceC, TimeC, cited in AuthorB: \"B\", PlaceB, TimeB.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>even without ever holding book C in your hand. You delegate the responsibility for correctness of the information c to B.</p>\n\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/148878/phrase-cited-after\">https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/148878/phrase-cited-after</a> as well as <a href=\"http://www.reading.ac.uk/library/finding-info/guides/lib-citing-cited-ref.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">http://www.reading.ac.uk/library/finding-info/guides/lib-citing-cited-ref.aspx</a></p>\n\n<p>The phrases \"cited in\" and \"cited by\" are more common, albeit you may find \"cited after\" in some cases.</p>\n\n<p>With regards to ethics, using the abovementioned method of citing you do avoid being dishonest and deceitful. However, the professor marking your scientific text may still think that you have cut a corner by not tracking down the actual source yourself.</p>\n\n<p>Still hoping my answer helps,</p>\n\n<p>Ned64.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45370,
"author": "drawinfinity",
"author_id": 34507,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34507",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a Computer Science major and I have come across obvious instances of this in several of the journal articles I have read. Sometimes it seems ethically sound and sometimes it seems like the person was being lazy.</p>\n\n<p>I agree with others that the key to remaining ethical is not presenting the information in an ambiguous way where a reader might think you have read the work when you have not. For instance, you have seen in book Z that book X is a reference to fact Y. I do not think it is then safe to say, \"According to [book X], it has been shown that [fact Y],\" but it is ethical to say \"[Book Z] claims [fact Y], referencing [Book X].\"</p>\n\n<p>Whether this is effective enough in a paper is a matter of opinion I suppose, but I do think it is fair to say that it actually depends somewhat on the field. The more the research is based on experimental data, the more it seems like you would want to review the data yourself before citing it. However, if you are talking about what people are saying as opinion, academic, professional, or otherwise, you run less risk of making your paper less credible if you are clarifying that another author first made that interpretation of what that opinion might mean.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45374,
"author": "Joe",
"author_id": 1622,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1622",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is often known as an 'indirect source' or 'secondary source'. Check the citation standards for your community, as there may be a specific style that should be used for these cases. In some styles you list only the secondary source in your reference list (with original mentioned in the text), in others you list both the original and secondary source as seperate items, and in others you have a sort of merged reference entry. </p>\n\n<p>Note that you should only use this case if you either can't obtain the original (check with your library; they can make requests through inter-library loan, but this doesn't work if it's something that was never publihed), or you can't read the original because it's in a language that you don't undertand.</p>\n\n<p>Here are libguides from various institutions that cover some common styles:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://libguides.sullivan.edu/SUCOPAMA/intextcitation\">AMA</a> & <a href=\"http://alliant.libguides.com/content.php?pid=268617&sid=2956256\">APA</a> : use the phrase \"as cited in\", cite the secondary source.</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://libguides.murdoch.edu.au/content.php?pid=156934&sid=1329007\">Chicago</a> : use \"cited in\" or \"quoted in\", cite the secondary source</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://libguides.trumbull.kent.edu/content.php?pid=333150&sid=2844963\">MLA</a> : use \"qtd. in\", cite the secondary source</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://guides.lndlibrary.org/content.php?pid=409107&sid=3362224\">Turabian</a> : merged reference (<em>Original</em>. Cited in <em>Secondary</em>)</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45389,
"author": "Greg",
"author_id": 14755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14755",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The devil is always in the details, but it can be perfectly ethical and professionally correct. There are several cases when it is almost inevitable: depending on your field, many equipment, software etc require to cite given references when you use them. These are technical citations that you may or may not read, and most of the times they have little useful information for you and you cite it to indicate to use the given method. </p>\n\n<p>In e.g. chemistry typical examples are crystallography software, quantum chemical simulation software, visualization software, but I am sure you can find typical examples in many other fields.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45423,
"author": "ShinTakezou",
"author_id": 34521,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34521",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think it’s not unethical in general, even if there could exist cases when the decision could be poor judgement, hence diminishing the credibility of the authors and trustworthiness of their work. But this is not about ethics.</p>\n\n<p>As said in a comment, I don’t expect authors to have read all the cited works (each wholly, instead of partly, or indirectly…). In the same time, when I read a paper and find a specific claim with a reference, say, <em>The fact Y holds [X],</em> I expect <em>X</em> to be the paper or book supporting the statement. I am not really interested to know whether the authors have read <em>X</em> at all: I have only to know if <em>X</em> supports the claim or not.</p>\n\n<p>Nonetheless, what if I read <em>X</em> and find that it is misquoted? Or if I discover that its results are misunderstood and that they do not support <em>Y?</em></p>\n\n<p>Since I don’t know whether the authors haven’t read <em>X</em> and they are instead trusting (wrongly) another source I can’t trace back (since they missed to provide me with the proper clue), their credibility crumbles in front of my eyes. In the same time, the citing paper loses all its supposed value.</p>\n\n<p>Thus I can see only two reasons why authors should specify that the claim is supported in <em>X</em> <strong>and</strong> that “the claim is supported in <em>X</em>” is stated in a paper <em>Z</em> (<strong>and</strong> that this is how they know, or believe to know that <em>Y</em> is true):</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>to aknowledge authors of <em>Z</em> for their work (in fact, I suppose there’s a reason if the authors have read it);</li>\n<li>to keep every link of the “chain of trust”.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In my opinion, only the former has something to do with ethics, while the latter has something to do with how scientific (and non-scientific) knowledge proceeds. I won’t elaborate on this “chain of trust”, but think about few things: If <em>Z</em> (containing the claim supported by <em>X</em>) was peer-reviewed, would you feel suspicious when you read <em>The fact Y holds [X]?</em> Would you act like a reviewer or just like a user assuming <em>Z</em> already proved to meet the necessary criteria to be considered trustworthy, in general and so in particular about that specific claim and the references? Would you instead go and check and verify all references, and then all the references contained in the referenced works, and so on? Would you stop at level 2, level 3, level 4 or level N before you think something is trustworthy enough? And if the paper is not peer-reviewed at all, what does it make trustworthy to you in first place?</p>\n\n<p>When you decide to write <em>The fact Y holds [X]</em> and skip the link with your primary source, you are making a precise bold judgement: The link you are skipping is 100 % right, errors-free and nobody needs to check it (or even to know you relied on it). This is problematic for you, as an author, but not for any reader: You are not cheating “against” the reader, since to judge your work he only needs to know if <em>X</em> really supports <em>Y</em> (in turn, if the reader trusts you, he might decide you are not lying, unintentionally or not – another link in the chain), and you give him the reference, so he knows where to check for the claim. But, skipping the link <em>Z,</em> you bring on your shoulder the burden of anything <em>Z</em> does, mistakes included.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore I agree with anybody saying it’s <strong>good practice</strong> to be accurate and let people (and reviewers) know <em>The fact Y holds [X]</em> is written in Z, and that this is your primary source for the claim. But I can’t see grounds to say that if you don’t, it is unethical – rather, it is simply in your own interests to do so.</p>\n\n<p>In your case, there’s no <em>Z,</em> if I’ve understood correctly. It seems there’s something like a common knowledge, i.e., a collection of sources agreeing on the fact <em>Y</em> and suggesting (or stating) that the claim is supported by <em>X.</em> Your paper adds one more to this “cloud”, eventually growing the loop and a possible bubble — bad approach (especially if actually the author hasn’t picked one of those sources at all), but isn’t unethical to me.</p>\n\n<p>(Let me say that if <em>Y</em> is something like <em>James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA</em> and the book is <em><a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/074321630X\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Double Helix: A personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA</a>,</em> I would not say that it is a bad approach. So, it might strongly depends on what we are actually talking about.)</p>\n\n<p>I hope my answers, while touching already cited themes, adds few sparks to elaborate over the reason why it should, or should not be considered unethical the behaviour the OP describes.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45295",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
45,318 |
<p>Is there an academic justification behind most U.S. classes weighting exams at very high percentages of the overall grade in a course? So if a student does exceedingly well throughout the course in all projects, but bombs both tests, their grade is drastically skewed towards the exams rather than the coursework leading up to the exams.</p>
<p>Full disclosure, this happened to me this semester. I have a 97.75% on our projects throughout the course (4 major projects, each taking ~20 hours to complete). However, I admittedly bombed the final and did fairly poorly on the midterm (37% and 70%, respectively). Projects in our course are weighted 60%, but the remaining 40% is entirely midterm/final. My final grade for the class is hovering around 80% before the curve.</p>
<p>I want to understand the mindset behind these weights though, and where the idea of heavy cumulative exam weights came from? In other words, if I've <em>demonstrated</em> the understanding of the material to almost perfect standards, but I failed to <em>represent</em> that on a test, how does that translate to me being given a grade that doesn't really represent a strong understanding in the subject?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45319,
"author": "luisluix",
"author_id": 31868,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31868",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Cumulative tests show that you understand everything so far; they are meant to help students who perform poorly on the first exam, so they can do better on the second one, since they will have an idea of what to expect on the second one. It is uncommon when a student does worse from one test to the next.</p>\n\n<p>Also, going back to projects, some professors don't value homework/projects as much because any student can copy / get help for their projects. Some professors I know would even give 100% for homework/projects just for turning them in, as they are meant for students to practice and learn by themselves. They are meant to help students prepare for tests. Because of this projects and homework are not a good (trusted) indicator of how a student is doing in a class.</p>\n\n<p>By the looks on your grades, most likely you still don't know the topics of your class, if it was a more strict professor / class, just for failing the cumulative final, you would have failed the class as well, as this would be an indicator that you (<em>maybe</em>) cheated on your projects.</p>\n\n<p>Cumulative tests are usually weighted high because in order to do the last topic you need to know the previous topics as well.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45336,
"author": "Mangara",
"author_id": 8185,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8185",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At my department, the final exam is typically worth around 50% of the grade. This has two main causes:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Our department has a rule that requires at least 50% of the evaluation of the student to be done by the professor. Since assignments and midterms are typically graded by TAs, this leaves only the final exam.</li>\n<li>It is much harder to cheat on the final exam. A determined unscrupulous student could easily cheat on most assignments and midterms. By weighting the final exam at 50%, it is much harder to pass the course without a solid understanding of the material.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45318",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34457/"
] |
45,323 |
<p>I'm currently working closely with a professor on a research project as an undergrad student. I always address her by her last name: Dr.xx. However, this makes me feel distant from her.. I am wondering by which point I could call her by first name? </p>
<p>Here is some background info:
I got to know her in person by taking a class taught by her and then started working together on this project at the end of last term. We had meetings together for a few times and exchanged a few emails back and forth. She always addressed herself by her first name in the email but I insisted called her Dr.xx to show my respect. However, some of her grad students in the lab are calling her by first name...</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45324,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Ask her!</p>\n\n<p>Forget about figuring out <em>when</em> you can address her by her first name. Be up front, and ask politely if you can address her by her first name. </p>\n\n<p>Do not be offended if she declines. </p>\n\n<p>Naturally, if in conversation she invites you to call her by her first name, then that's pretty clear. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45348,
"author": "Keine",
"author_id": 32446,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32446",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In Germany; when he/she tells you to do it.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45323",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33477/"
] |
45,325 |
<p>My apologies in advance if this is a duplicate. I did search a bit about this before posting here. </p>
<p>This is related to my previous posts so, briefly: I want to leave my current position and I have another offer that I will eventually accept (not finished negotiating). I won't be able to "officially" drop the hammer for at least 1-2 weeks (negotiating, getting the offer, signing it, etc.). I teach one absolutely essential course in the fall (a core course in a graduate program) and no one else is qualified to teach it but me. </p>
<p>My question: In a tenure track position, what is the minimal notice period for leaving? This is not a question about "what my department would like" or how to optimize my standing with the department after leaving. This is a question about <strong>professionalism</strong>-- specifically what is the minimal notice period where the department members couldn't justifiably go around calling my conduct unprofessional. (I couldn't create a "professionalism" tag, so I tagged this with "etiquette")</p>
<p>Clearly, leaving one week before the semester is too late. Giving 2 years notice is probably more than enough. The answer must be somewhere in between. In my own case, I am contemplating delivering the news in around two weeks (so, over three months before classes begin). </p>
<p><strong>Edit</strong>: (1) This is related to a previous question I asked</p>
<p><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43528/i-want-to-leave-my-tenure-track-position-before-fall-i-have-great-prospects-but">I want to leave my tenure track position before fall. I have great prospects but no new position "locked up": when should I break the news?</a></p>
<p>But I think it is still distinct. That question raised the issue of whether to inform my department <em>before</em> having a definite offer, in the interest of giving them enough time to plan. This question is about the standards of professionalism in resignation notice (analogous to the conventional two weeks in many non-academic jobs). </p>
<p>(2) Our contracts are year-to-year (August through April) with guaranteed renewal before tenure review. There are no specific terms written there about resignation periods. I could just fail to renew my contract (this issue would arise in about two months) but, still, the question is whether this is meets the standards of professionalism in academia, not whether it's "legal". </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45329,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Hiring an adjunct or borrowing someone from another department for one course is about the least bad thing that can happen in this world. Giving the kind of notice (9 months?) that would have allowed them to do a full candidate search is impossible for folks who move laterally out of a department. This is pretty common and departments simply have to manage it. Everyone knows that offers are being locked in during the April-May time frame, and sometimes you lose someone key. It would not be unprofessional if you chose to avoid delaying your career by staying for an extra semester in order to make your current department's process painless. </p>\n\n<p>Nobody wants to see you go, but you're working within the system to the best of your abilities. You're not screwing them, and it's not unprofessional to wait to give notice until the new offer is accepted.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 54032,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The American Association of University Professors has established ethical guidelines for hiring faculty from one institution to another. Perhaps the most relevant clause in their 1993 policy document <a href=\"http://www.ccas.net/files/EthicStatement.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer\">\"The Ethics of Faculty Recruitment and Appointment\"</a> is the following:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>An offer of appointment to a faculty member serving at another institution should be made no later than May 1, consistent with the faculty member’s obligation to resign, in order to accept other employment, no later than May 15. It is recognized that, in special cases, it might be appropriate to make an offer after May 1, but in such cases there should be an agreement by all concerned parties.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://www.aau.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=13252\" rel=\"noreferrer\">American Association of Universities</a> adopts a slightly stronger stance:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We believe that a responsible approach for both institutions and the faculty members would be to consider offers made or pending on May 1, or thereafter, to be effective normally only after the intervention of an academic year.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In my experience, US universities that follow these policies do so as follows. Suppose university X wants to hire someone on the faculty of University Y, to start the following fall (typically August 15). If the offer is made after May 1, the appropriate dean at University X first officially requests permission from the appropriate dean at University Y to extend an offer. The dean at University Y will usually agree, especially if the request is made early in the summer, but for late requests or other special circumstances, the dean at University Y may request (or \"demand\") a deferral.</p>\n\n<p>There is no legal force to these policies, but following them is widely considered good professional practice — bluntly, the protocol is enforced by peer pressure. Deans that don't agree to <em>reasonable</em> hiring requests may find their own faculty hired away without their agreement later. Also, these agreements bind <em>institutional</em> behavior, not the behavior of individual faculty; under normal circumstances, you do not need your dean's permission to resign. (There are some exceptions; for example, my university requires faculty on sabbatical leave to either return to campus for one year after the sabbatical ends or repay their sabbatical salary.)</p>\n\n<p>So if you were in the US, your current dean, and therefore your department chair, would <strong>already</strong> be aware of your offer. Even if they don't, the AAUP guidelines strongly suggest that <strong>three months notice</strong> (May 15 to August 15) meets any professional obligation to your current university.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45325",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33116/"
] |
45,330 |
<p>Based on my limited experience in academic job search, most advertisements for <em>academic positions</em> (it seems, more often the faculty ones) include phrase, similar to the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To guarantee full consideration, applications must be received by
<em>DATE</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am curious about the <em>strictness</em> of that requirement, in other words, what "full consideration" really <strong>implies</strong>. The requirement seems to be <em>relative</em>, but to what extent? Moreover, I'd love to hear your advice on best <strong>strategy</strong>, if any, in terms of applying to positions, where the specified date has <em>already passed</em>, but the position advertisement is <em>still active</em>. <strong>Just ignore the requirement and apply? Are there any differences in that regard between faculty positions and postdoctoral positions? Is there anything else that I need to know?</strong></p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45333,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What is usually means is that they will start reviewing applications on or after that date. How much of a disadvantage applying later is will depend on things like (i) how much later, (ii) how fast the department goes through the hiring process, and (iii) how difficult it is to find suitable applicants.</p>\n\n<p>It's generally not as bad to apply late for postdoc positions, since hiring is often more flexible for that. (For tenure-track there are meetings to decide who to interview, etc, so if you apply after these meetings, it's harder to be considered.)</p>\n\n<p>One thing you can do, if there is someone you think will be genuinely interested in your specific application, is contact this person to let them know you applied. That way, even if they are already done looking at applications, they may take another look when yours comes in.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45378,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>@kimball is partly right in that applications may also be considered later than the deadline, in particular if you know someone in that department who can speak for you.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, many departments start building consensus for candidates even <em>before</em> the deadline. For example, many departments have deadlines in mid-December for full files, but members of the department know many of the candidates and start talking about them to their colleagues long before that. (Between the mid-December deadline and early January, nothing much is going to happen anyway.) If an application appears on the date of the deadline out of the blue, it will be considered, but human nature being what it is, it may be difficult for this applicant to supplant a candidate whose file has already made the rounds within the department and has been found to be a good match.</p>\n\n<p>In other words, while there really is no reason not to send an application <em>after</em> the deadline, my recommendation typically is to (i) send the application well <em>before</em> the deadline, and (ii) tell your friends in that department that you applied there so that they can talk to their colleagues about your files before other candidates become lodged in their heads.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45330",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391/"
] |
45,331 |
<p>I am currently trying to change careers after doing postdoc physics research for many years and not being able to obtain a research faculty position. I really enjoyed my university teaching experiences and want to focus on teaching as a career. But I haven't been successful in finding a nonresearch teaching position with an EECS PhD.</p>
<p>My goal now is to teach Mathematics at either the community college or liberal arts college level. Is it impossible to achieve this goal with only a BS in Mathematics plus EECS PhD? It seems like I need at a minimum a MS in Mathematics.</p>
<p>There was a related question <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/36498/is-it-possible-to-earn-a-phd-in-mathematics-with-emphasis-in-teaching">here</a>. There was a suggestion for that person to look into getting a DA degree in Mathematics as a way to get a doctorate with an emphasis on teaching. I've never heard of it, but based on descriptions of the DA program I've found online, it seems to match my teaching goals perfectly. (There were also suggestions to consider the PhD in Mathematics Education, but I don't think it would be a good fit for me.)</p>
<p>My questions:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Am I wasting my time applying to college-level math teaching jobs with only a BS Math + grad engineering degrees?</p></li>
<li><p>Is a Master's degree good enough or even preferable to a DA if I only want to teach? </p></li>
<li><p>I am interested in the DA, but I'm worried that the commenter in the link above says "It's a bad idea". Is it true that most Math departments don't even know what a DA degree is? Will having a DA put me at a disadvantage compared to others having a PhD if I apply for a teaching position requiring a doctorate degree? </p></li>
<li><p>Since it's been a long time since my BS Math degree, would getting a MS Math degree first be a good idea before thinking about getting a doctoral degree?</p></li>
<li><p>I'm not sure if getting another degree is a reasonable way of planning my second career. It's been 10 years since my PhD and if I decide to do this I will be over 40 by the time I finish another degree. Is it a bad idea to go back to school as an older student just so I can teach college math?</p></li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45379,
"author": "Wesley",
"author_id": 34515,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34515",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I attended a junior college before finishing my BS Math at university. My University Physics II instructor at the junior college had a BS Physics and a Master in Church Music. I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to find a job teaching mathematics at a junior college with your doctorate. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45529,
"author": "kishjeff",
"author_id": 32367,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32367",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think you would be especially qualified to teach an applied mathematics course – I would say go for it now not later</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45611,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You mentioned positive university teaching experiences. That's a big plus.</p>\n\n<p>I wouldn't mention \"doing postdoc physics research for many years and not being able to obtain a research faculty position\" in your cover letters or your interviews. You probably weren't going to, but I just wanted to make sure. You could say that as you were wrapping up a project, you realized that the most rewarding job you've ever had was teaching.</p>\n\n<p>If you don't mind being a poorly paid adjunct instructor at the beginning, you should be fine.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps you could take an education class concurrently with starting your adjunct teaching.</p>\n\n<p>You may also want to consider high school teaching as an additional possibility. If you do that, being able to teach both math and physics will be a special plus.</p>\n\n<p>Contact some instructors and ask permission to do some observing.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Getting a job has a lot to do with timing and luck, so don't get discouraged if a department doesn't snap you up right away. You can mention your postdoc physics research background, but you need to give a different spin on it than \"not being able to obtain a research faculty position.\" You could say something like \"physics research is fascinating, but I have discovered that what's most important to me is helping young people get the tools they need to be successful in a STEM area.\"</p>\n\n<p>You could get your feet wet with teaching as a Peace Corps or other type of volunteer, or as a high school substitute teacher. Anyone with a Bachelor's degree can work as a sub. </p>\n\n<p>Practical experiences like these can give you clearer ideas about what would be a good fit for you, and you may also be able to get some strong recommendation letters.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45331",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34453/"
] |
45,334 |
<p>I would like to advertise some PhD scholarship positions located a Sydney, Australia in the fabrication of novel nanoporous material like mesoporous silica. I am finding that it is not straightforward to advertise locally and internally. Most of the big scholarship and general job sites are expensive to post too.</p>
<p>What other options exist for finding candidates?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45386,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Posting to social media is free, but only useful if you make the effort to identify and connect with people that might be connected to good candidates. Likewise, you could post to professional and academic mailing lists related to nanotechnology. Finally, you could send direct emails to the Department Chairs for relevant departments in Australia (Materials, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Industrial Engineering, or what ever fits).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45467,
"author": "Geo",
"author_id": 34545,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34545",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Are there discussion boards, social media accounts, or email lists for societies or interest groups that are directly/indirectly part of your field? Can you email the links to other researchers (the ones you cite or who cite you)? Perhaps there are researchers who are particularly adept at their internet presence (websites, social media accounts etc) who would be willing to share the information.</p>\n\n<p>In my field, there are numerous opportunities for free advertising on all of the above-mentioned areas. Most faculty I know of are happy to share opportunities like that for students, since they recognize funded opportunities are increasingly rare.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45761,
"author": "jewelhuq",
"author_id": 11641,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11641",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sponsor your post in facebook & show this advertisement only to those who have interest about that particular topic.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45334",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34470/"
] |
45,337 |
<p>
<p>Something I have noticed in my courses over the years is that in addition to all the online distributions of textbooks (which I understand to be mostly illegal), I can often times find universities posting sections of books online, particularly just the exercises. Doesn't this violate the same copyright law?</p>
<p>Here are some examples of what I am referring to from books I have studied from in the past.</p>
<p><a href="http://fermat.usach.cl/~vguinez/GeoDif/Guias/guia10.pdf" rel="nofollow">Do Carmo, Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces</a></p>
<p><a href="http://math.sfsu.edu/beck/papers/complex.pdf" rel="nofollow">Here is a solution manual</a> to about half of Brown and Churchill's book in complex analysis (sections of the book itself can be found as well, and it may be worth noting that this is not the university the authors were associated with, I don't know).</p>
<p>There are other examples from other pretty well known texts in mathematics.</p>
<p>How is this legal for universities to do? Do they need to consult the publisher or something first?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45344,
"author": "jwg",
"author_id": 5824,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5824",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, copyright infringement on this scale, which is not done for financial gain (in most common law countries) is not <em>illegal</em> but <em>unlawful</em>. The difference between these two things is that illegal behavior can lead to punishment, whereas unlawful behavior is simply <em>not protected by law</em> - if you are doing something lawful, you are protected from someone seeking redress. If someone seeks redress from you because you have distributed their copyright work, you cannot argue that your behavior was permitted by law.</p>\n\n<p>With this in mind, it's not necessarily an important question whether or not your university is doing something which infringes copyright. In theory, everything is either lawful or unlawful, legal or illegal, with nothing in between. In practise, the only person who might reasonably be able to determine this is a judge (assisted by several lawyers). Partly because the time of judges and lawyers is costly, whole areas of human behavior exist in gray areas which are not in anyone's best interest to resolve one way or the other.</p>\n\n<p>People break the law all the time. Some laws are never enforced, and some laws are unenforceable. Everyone is familiar with urban myths about various commonplace things such as Christmas pudding, or kissing on a Sunday being illegal in various jurisdictions, other practices such as outdoor nudity or urination being technically legal although they might be expected to lead to arrest, and yet further things such as weekly archery practice being required by law. Some of these stories are completely true, by the letter of the law. Large organizations such as Apple and Microsoft agree on wide-ranging 'patent swaps' rather than try to figure out who is infringing whom. Doubtless any organization as large as a university is constantly breaking some law or other, if you include building codes, employment regulations, health and environmental restrictions, tax codes, immigration requirements, etc. Probably lots of people are employed to do nothing except check that the university meets the regulations, but these people are constantly playing catch-up to new rules, as well as trying to make sure that the thousands of people working within the institution are obeying the internal policies which call for compliance to the law, rather than disregarding them (as they usually are).</p>\n\n<p>Now, most academic publications are both written by academics and mainly bought by them, as well as by academic libraries. Academics are paid by universities to do research which includes the writing of books, and while lots of textbook publishers are corporations, some belong to universities, or work in joint ventures with universities. Thus publishers, authors, editors and readers of these books together with university organizations form a <em>community</em>. For publishers to spend their time trying to investigate instances of copyright infringement like the one you mentioned, would be the equivalent of you constantly remeasuring the borders of your backyard, trying to determine the exact boundary line ever more precisely, asking your neighbours to tear down fences and re-erect them a few inches over, and snipping the branches of plants which overlapped by a small amount. While your legal right, it would be very detrimental to the community, in this case the community of people who live in your neighbourhod, of which you are part. It would also be a huge waste of your time, for little or no benefit.</p>\n\n<p>Far more important than legality is the question of <em>ethical</em> behavior. Unlike the law, one is not expected to attempt to conform as best one can, but to behave completely ethically, and make it clear that one is behaving ethically, at all times. The flip side of this is that you cannot behave unethically by accident, or without your own knowledge.</p>\n\n<p>For a textbook publisher to reprint (say) a complete collection of one academic's papers which were published on her website, without notifying her or asking her approval, would be completely unethical, even if they were stated to be in the public domain. Similarly, it would be unethical for that academic to turn her university homepage into a site called 'FreeTextbookz' with a large collection of files and paid banner advertising. Many things which fall in between this are accepted by consensus of the community as being benign or trivial.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45362,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In ordinary language usage copyright infringement (such as you describe) is illegal, specifically it is a civil tort, not a crime (except in the US when the infringement passes the $1000 threshold). In the Beck et al link, posting the book is not infringement since the would-be infringer and copyright holder are the same. In the case of the exercises that you linked, we (at least, I) cannot tell -- is the \"host\" the author, or does he have permission to post the exercises? This may not constitute infringement.</p>\n\n<p>I do know (from having been violated, myself) that some faculty arrogate to themselves the right to claim the right to freely distribute other people's creations. The remedy in individual cases is for the copyright-holder to file a take-down request, but that requires specific knowledge of the infringement, and often, stolen books are only accessible from behind a pay wall. But also note that these items were not posted by the university, they were posted by people with an affiliation with the university. As such, the university deserves moral blame only if they have willfully tolerated copyright violations. For the most part, universities are diligent (albeit rather ineffective) at combating blatant copyright infringement, though many do play rather fast and loose with \"course reserves\" and the concept of fair use. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45337",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28193/"
] |
45,338 |
<p>I've recently embarked on my PhD studies (cancer, structural biology) and have yet to publish. Currently, there are some 200 papers in my name and several thousand under my surname. Because of this, I am considering switching my surname to an old, rare, surname in my family, which is only used by one active researcher.</p>
<p>My question is this: are there any reasonable alternatives that does not include legally changing my name? I personally don't mind changing it, but the old surname happens to be "noble", and may come off as quite pretentious. I would be able to change to another, less pretentious, surname, but in terms of rareness, no alternative comes close. </p>
<p>In short, what are my alternatives?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45342,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are going to change your name (and I'm not convinced that you need to) why not change or add a middle name? There may be many John Smiths in cancer biology, but I imagine there are few John X. Smiths. Even the relatively poor disambiguation technologies in use at various bibliometric databases can handle middle initials with relative ease. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45343,
"author": "Jessica B",
"author_id": 20036,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20036",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In terms of publishing papers, I'm not aware of any requirement to use your <em>legal</em> name. A common example would be those who continue to use their maiden name (where people change their name on marriage). A friend of mine did the reverse, and wrote her first paper under the name she would assume when she married shortly afterwards.</p>\n\n<p>The trickier case is what will appear on your PhD. It may not matter much, but it would probably make life easier if that said the same as your papers. You'd have to talk to your university about their rules.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45347,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The previous answers point out two things:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>add/modify a middle name</li>\n<li>use a pseudonym</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I can agree to the first one, but the second seems more trouble than it is worth, as you yourself state. Further, I find modifying your name a bit of an extreme measure, i.e. \"legally\" changing your name, solely for the purpose of academic recognition.</p>\n\n<p>I'd advise you to shift your view to other means of identification. All papers that I came across have some information regarding the institution of the authors and their emails. This info is also mostly freely available, even revenues that charge you for the paper usually allow free access to the abstract and author information. So, I don't really see a problem that someone wouldn't be able to contact you or find your website or your profile at your institution. Even with a large amount of redundancy, e.g. someone with the same name at the same institution, your email is still unique.</p>\n\n<p>Consider also that a great amount of publications require a bio of the authors, mostly including a picture.</p>\n\n<p>You mention citations, they are kept intentionally very concise, because they primarily point to the reference in the literature section of the paper. There is the full reference to be found and by following the above approach, everyone interested will be able to identify you.</p>\n\n<p>The point being, aside from taking very drastic measures, you will not be able to guarantee that your name is/stays unique.</p>\n\n<p>I suggest you stay with your present identity, the one which identified you throughout your life and which family, friends, and colleagues use to identify you and let the scientific community get acquainted with you as you are. I'm sure in time you'll see that it isn't such a big deal and your earned scientific renown won't suffer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45352,
"author": "Murphy",
"author_id": 16078,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16078",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would suggest that you take into account where your name would come in papers ordered alphabetically in your field. </p>\n\n<p>At least one of the authors of this paper on the subject considered legally changing her name because it has such a notable effect on career outcomes in their field due to conventions about how names are ordered on scientific papers. </p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/debraj/Misc/LastNames/Einav_Yariv.pdf\">http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/debraj/Misc/LastNames/Einav_Yariv.pdf</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45355,
"author": "Peteris",
"author_id": 10730,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10730",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<h2>Add a name instead of changing it</h2>\n\n<p>Using a different name than your legal name can bring all kind of difficulties, however, people often use a <em>subset</em> of their full legal name. While changing names legally can be a hassle, <em>adding</em> an extra first or middle name is much easier.</p>\n\n<p>Assuming that your current name is, say, Eric J. Smith with a middlename already, amending your legal name to e.g. Eric Aardvark J. Smith would allow you to his would allow you to still use the sub-name Eric J. Smith in most normal situations, while having Eric Aardvark Smith (or Aardvark Smith for alphabetic ordering reasons) on your publications and academic business cards. This has the advantage in case of any misunderstandings with 'non-matching names' an ID with the full name clearly resolves them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45356,
"author": "sean",
"author_id": 15501,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15501",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have the same problem like yours since my mother tongue consists only of one-syllable words, each of them are extremely common. </p>\n\n<p>Adding a hyphen between middle name and first name works for me. While it make significantly different in Google search results, nobody will care a hyphen. My university even allows me to use my name with the hyphen in my thesis so that it is consistent with my other papers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45360,
"author": "mtb-za",
"author_id": 34501,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34501",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Have you looked into using something like <a href=\"http://orcid.org/\">ORCID</a>? It will not prevent people from talking about the \"Smith paper\", but at least it makes things easier to identify as yours, after the fact.</p>\n\n<p>Also, nothing wrong with going with a \"von so-and-so\", but it seems like more trouble than it is worth....</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45449,
"author": "Marianne013",
"author_id": 34571,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34571",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I also have a very common name (usually quoted along the lines of \"Smith, J.\") and despite the fact that I have worked and published with two different institutions there has never been a problem assigning all my papers to me personally (ORCID and other system let you take your institution(s) into account). As long as there isn't a person with the same first and last name in your institution (and even then, it usually a couple of clicks to rectify the situation and I am speaking of someone who had to contend with a Joan/John Smith situation).</p>\n\n<p>My university makes all researchers from post doc onwards keep a list of their publications on their official university homepage, so even google will associate my publications correctly. So if you come across a paper from my old affiliation you can get my current contact data from this.</p>\n\n<p>And honestly most subfields are specialised enough that people roughly know that John Smith at institution A is working on a certain topic (because that's what your group does) and John Smith at institution B will probably not have published a particular paper. If people want to talk to your about your results, they will find you, even with a common name.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45338",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34475/"
] |
45,351 |
<p>I'm over half way into my PhD in psychology and neuroscience in the UK. I think that leaving the programme is the best decision but I'm unsure whether my reasons are good enough. I have gained some valuable experience: computer programming, applying basic mathematics, addressing software and hardware issues etc. </p>
<p>I approached my supervisor and the director of research 4 months ago about quitting and I was encouraged to continue, but these 4 big issues with the project have persisted, which are sufficient to make me think quitting the programme is the right decision:</p>
<p>1) Before starting, I was not aware how involved the post-doc would be in my project, who is overbearing and has been very difficult to work with from the very beginning. The post-doc is more concerned about being right and getting his own way than being helpful. This hinders my progress because I have to wrestle with what their idea of what my PhD should be. If I had known this, <em>I would not have applied for this PhD.</em> However, I think it's too late to point out this problem and my supervisor would probably think I'm using it as a scapegoat for my own problems. For now, I'm treating it as a 'training exercise' because you can never choose your colleagues in the real world - but this is a bad reason for staying on with a PhD.</p>
<p>2) My passion for the subject is gone and I have no intention of carrying on in academia afterwards. I don't think my PhD has a use in the real world, so I will definitely be applying for jobs in in the real world. However, if I quit prospective employers will think I'm 'a quitter' and will be put off employing me, but carrying on comes at the expense of experience in the real world, which I think is more valuable.</p>
<p>3) I have found the PhD experience very alienating and I find what I do for a living embarrassing. I'm reluctant to talk to new people because what you do for a living inevitably comes up and I like to avoid talking about it.</p>
<p>4) There is a some mathematics that I have to teach myself (I'm ok with this in principle), with no support from the department, leading to uncertainty as to whether I'm doing it right or whether I'm qualified enough for my position. This combined with reason 1 is slowing down my progress and I'm afraid I won't get enough done and fail the programme.</p>
<p>Do these reasons seem sufficient or should I bite the bullet and carry on?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45490,
"author": "Demis",
"author_id": 34595,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34595",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with you that, regarding 1) - difficult co-workers - you very well might quit and have just as overbearing a boss outside academia. Although it is difficult, that shouldn't be a key driver in your decision. \n(Note that pride is strongest within academia, so working with people who always think they're right is pretty normal!)</p>\n\n<p>However, reasons #2) & 3) - having no passion because you don't think your work is useful to anyone, and being embarrassed about what you do - are very good reasons to seriously consider changing jobs. This would probably be true in or out of the academic world.</p>\n\n<p>Reason 4) - the fact that you have to learn something difficult all by yourself - may be pretty normal for many different research fields. However, the thing that often propels people through these difficulties is a passion for what they're doing, either because it's enjoyable or because it feels like it'll be really useful later (to yourself or others). If you don't feel either of those, then learning the new topics might be quite painful.</p>\n\n<p>Depending on your situation, another option may exist - assuming you, at some point, were really excited about starting research in this field, perhaps changing projects (or changing the particular aspect of your project that you pursue) could reinvigorate you?</p>\n\n<p>It should be noted that just about every PhD goes through a time similar to what you're experiencing - the end not in sight, too many hurdles, just want it over, along with the constant fear that you're underperforming. For me, I realized that at least I could say I loved my daily work, and thought it was really cool. If I hadn't had that passion for what I was doing I wouldn't have been able to make it through the slump(s).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45501,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me offer you my two cents, as a recent Ph.D. graduate, who was in the program for a <em>very long time</em> due to serious family circumstances. Generally, I think that decisions of such nature and scale are <em>highly personal</em> and <strong>significantly</strong> depend on various <em>factors</em> and <em>circumstances</em> that nobody on this site is aware of (your brief description of the situation IMHO is not enough and, this, I wouldn't count on it). Therefore, I would advise you to take all advice here with a huge grain of salt. I think that the best advisor in such situations is... <strong>you</strong>, meaning your <em>gut feeling</em>. Having said that, keep in mind that your gut feeling <em>might change</em> over time and due to changing a perspective, when looking at a particular subject or matter. Now, I will briefly address your concerns/reasons, as they appear in your question.</p>\n\n<p>1) You're right in considering your difficult to work with postdoc as a <em>real-life test</em>. Plus, it is a <strong>temporary situation</strong> and, hopefully, further in your career (in academia or beyond) you will be working with more cooperative and nicer people. Moreover, even from this difficult situation you might take some really <strong>valuable experience</strong> from interaction with that postdoc (for example, his perspective, thoughts, approaches, skills, etc.).</p>\n\n<p>2) While your feeling that <em>academia</em> is not for you might be the right one, it is very well <em>might be the wrong</em> one. Speaking about your lost <em>interest</em> in the topic, this might be permanent, but, as well, you might <strong>regain interest</strong> in that topic, if you could look at it through different <strong>\"lenses\"</strong> or via different <strong>perspectives</strong>. The world is not black and white.</p>\n\n<p>3) While working on Ph.D. is mostly alienating or, rather, <em>lonely</em> experience, the research (or other work) that follows afterwords, is mostly not. Quite the opposite - it often represents <strong>collaboration</strong>. As for \"embarrassing\", I'm not sure why you use this term - I find research (as well as teaching) a <strong>respectful</strong>, even <strong>noble</strong>, activity, as it involves seeking the truth and expanding humanity's knowledge horizons and, even, producing some practical and, often, immediately useful results.</p>\n\n<p>4) It's a valid point of concern (but IMHO should not be considered as one of the critical factors, when making the decision). I can relate to that, as I remember my sense of being completely lost in the <strong>ocean of statistics</strong>, when I decided to use certain statistical methods for my quantitative dissertation research study. I might have gotten some statistical support from my advisor, but I have decided to ask help from an external consultant, who not only was very knowledgeable in the methods I was employing, but also in R statistical environment, which was very helpful and, even, crucial to the success of my research, considering that I was writing software in R for data analysis. However, recognizing this consultant's significant help, I think that, ultimately, it was me, who pushed myself forward to the success, via long hours of reading books and papers, <em>immersing</em> myself into statistical topics as much as possible, participating in discussions on StackOverflow (R-related) and Cross Validated (statistics-related), as well as reminding myself periodically about the <em>larger goals and aspirations</em>.</p>\n\n<p>One more aspect. I'm not sure how your studies in the Ph.D. program are handled financially, but, seriously consider the <strong>financial aspect</strong>, especially, if you have some <em>family responsibilities</em>. I was thinking dropping out of the program after some very serious life-changing events, but, considering all the efforts (mine and my loved ones), time, money and, most importantly, larger goals and personal promises, have decided to continue and complete the program (plus, I was farther than your mid-way point in the program, so that also impacted my decision). However, now I face serious financial issues, which I have to deal with, hence my emphasis on this aspect. <em>RA or TA positions</em>, <em>grants</em>, <em>fellowships</em> and other means were not accessible to me for various reasons, but, if you can use any of them, strongly consider that help. Hope that my answer is helpful. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45526,
"author": "bfoste01",
"author_id": 19610,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19610",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'll answer because I've had a similar struggle, and maybe just hearing how someone else is thinking through his/her experience will help you. </p>\n\n<p>I've grown to really loath my time at graduate school. The PhD program is not at all what I imagined it would be. I went to an applied department with aspirations of making a difference with my work, doing \"real\" research with \"real\" people, being on the front lines of the biggest issues our country is facing, etc. From the onset I had no aspirations to pursue \"the life of the mind\" or to be a professor. I wanted the PhD so I could impact policy outside of the academy. </p>\n\n<p><em>What went wrong?</em> </p>\n\n<p>A lot of the same issues you are facing. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Realization 1</strong></p>\n\n<p>The first frustration I faced was realizing that the process of getting a PhD was not something I could push through based on my own hard work. The reality of working for an advisor and in a lab, and maybe this is unique to the social sciences or my experience, is that I found my timeline for getting through the program totally dictated by the needs of my advisor's projects. Fine. I could deal with that. Maybe I'd work on projects I didn't like or what not. What I had a problem with was working hard and trying to move my own work along in the face of this context, only to have my timeline for moving through the program constantly moved. We don't have funding... suddenly I went from graduating next year to 2 years from now. When you are already struggling on a stipend it is just totally disheartening. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Realization 2</strong></p>\n\n<p>I focused on honing the very skills most graduate students in the social sciences struggle with... statistics and programming. I'm very good at those skills and I have put in and continue to put in substantial time, study and practice to stay on top of those skills. As I ultimately became one of the 2 or 3 default stat persons in my department I found myself feeling a bit more taken advantage of in my lab. Unrealistic work deadlines, needing to take on more and more work simply because others could not handle even beginning the tasks, and being micromanaged on projects where the person managing me couldn't even do the project by him-/herself themselves, and feeling like in the face of that when I'd express concerns about the pace and quality of work I'd just be ignored, all left a sour taste in my mouth. If this was a job and not linked to getting the degree in the end I would have simply left my job without hesitation. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Realization 3</strong></p>\n\n<p>A total loss of faith in the quality of published research. I simply couldn't replicate results in our field and I was tired of doing my own research and feeling pressured to find the p-values that would conform to the narrative people wanted to hear. When you see confirmation bias in vivo over and over again it just gets discouraging. I don't think that the people I was dealing with have any real malice about it, it's just that there's too much pressure to \"get the next grant\" or \"find the results that will help get the next grant\" that it just becomes part of the greater context that you have to exist in. Read Andrew Gelman's blog. He likes to pick on social psychologists, but the problems he points out, in my opinion, are systemic in other fields, and at the least all of psychology.</p>\n\n<p><em>What am I doing about it now?</em></p>\n\n<p>Like you probably have done, I'd chat with my closet friends in the program. Some of them would understand my frustrations other's seemed to just totally buy into it all and seemed to care more about being Dr. so and so than I ever would. I got the mix of feedback: maybe you just need to talk to your advisor, maybe you need to change labs, maybe you need to take a year off, maybe your are depressed and should talk to someone. </p>\n\n<p>I thought long and hard about it all. I wasn't depressed. I'm super happy in all other aspects of life, have a great partner, family and friends. I have all sorts of passions outside of academia. Maybe I'm just not passionate about being a scholar. Talking to my advisor hadn't worked in the past when I had tried to come at it indirectly. Moreover, the biggest predictor of future behavior is what has been done in the past. So, I truly felt like no matter what the conversation was that we had, when the deadlines came marching in everything would go back to what it was like before. Taking a year off became more intriguing. </p>\n\n<p>I settled on just not working for my lab. I'm in the midst of looking for a part time position that would pay me more than I make as an RA, and would leave me 20 hours a week to focus on just MY work. Honestly, when I've chatted with potential employers no one has thought of me as a quitter! You might want to even consider the fact that by getting a PhD you will be over-qualified for what it is you want to do. PhD does not = job. </p>\n\n<p>Anyways, it sounds selfish, but it's the only way I'm going to get the space to move my work along. Further, by removing myself from the context of working and being in the lab all of the time I'll realize whether or not I truly love my research or still care about getting a PhD. Maybe my advisor won't be happy with that decision, but I'm not happy, challenged or getting any personal or professional growth with my lab responsibilities and that's what should matter the most in all of this. The process of getting a PhD is <strong>your</strong> experience and no one else's. </p>\n\n<p>So, that's what I'm in the midst of doing. </p>\n\n<p>You know what? Second to the decision to propose to my fiancee, I've never felt more happy and at peace with a decision in my entire life! </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 80665,
"author": "Harleen",
"author_id": 65535,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65535",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's been a long time since you posted this question, and I hope that you are at a much better place now. God forbid, if you're still at crossroads, I'd like to recommend a book by Cal Newport - So good they can't ignore you. The book busts the 'follow your passion' approach and encourages a 'craftsmanship' approach wherein dedication, and hours of deliberate practice helps you invest in your career capital, so much so that you get so good at it, that it will make you feel good about yourself, add to your self-worth, and in turn make you love your job because of how amazing it makes you feel about you... You will have turned your work into your passion then... Please don't quit! We as humans are fickle, our desires, even our basic natures change, what you are passionate about today, might be something you loathe tomorrow... Follow your heart is terrible advice, the heart can't be trusted! </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45351",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34481/"
] |
45,366 |
<p>I often write promotion letters for faculty going up for tenure or promotion to full professor. For those who are unaware, this involves reviewing a candidate's entire portfolio including research statement, publications, teaching, funding, etc., and cannot really be done properly without reading several of the candidate's papers. </p>
<p>Recently I received a request of a new sort: I was asked to go through the entire process associated with a tenure letter, simply for a third-year review of a tenure track assistant professor at another institution. (If it matters, the request is from a good R1 school, but not a super-elite ivy or equivalent.)</p>
<p>To me this seems a terrible practice. It is already a ridiculous waste of time that some schools ask for 15 or more promotion letters. Figure that letter each takes a minimum of one day for a well-established senior professor to write. Could the marginal information provided by the 15th or even the 10th letter possibly be worth that much of the community's time? We are already suffocating under our peer review obligations; adding the huge additional burden of writing promotion letters for routine reappointments strikes me as ridiculous. Yet I'm loathe to refuse, lest I hurt the candidate. </p>
<p>Is this a practice that others are seeing in their fields, or is this some dean's stupid idea that is being forced upon a single unfortunate college?</p>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong> If this is uncommon, we should nip in the bud. Bureaucracy, like entropy, is monotone increasing in this particular universe. Thoughts on what I should do would also be appreciated, though I suppose that's technically a separate question.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45369,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If this is a request from outside your university, tell them no, and tell them why. If this is from inside your university, get with your department chair and go to the dean in question. You don't want to seem uncollegial, and you don't want to be seen as refusing to write a letter for this specific person, but I think you're right to want to cut this off now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45372,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As in my comment, I've not heard of any such thing in mathematics, ... but hadn't really been worrying about it.</p>\n\n<p>It appears a gross inflation of things, yes, and wasteful, and so on, as in other comments.</p>\n\n<p>Yes, I fear a refusal <em>could</em> be used against the candidate, by anyone <em>interested</em> in pushing against them, despite the problems with this general direction.</p>\n\n<p>It occurs to me that this grossly inflated situation <em>could</em> be occurring due to some political infighting at that other institution, so that some faction hostile to the candidate is \"playing chicken\" with the supporters of the candidate, and/or with the candidate themself. This is already a bad thing. So, yes, anyone's refusal to write a letter could be aggressively interpreted against the candidate (despite the usual convention that it is possible, in principle, to refuse to write a letter, due to other commitments... which could in an adversarial situation be aggressively re-interpreted...)</p>\n\n<p>Is it possible to get some side-channel information from the other institution and department, without compromising yourself or the candidate? If so, a \"what the heck is going on?\" is irresistible to me. If you have no side channel available, I think you might have been \"succesfully\" extorted into writing a letter.</p>\n\n<p>Sufficiently long <em>after</em> the letter, some systematic push-back should be harmless to the candidate, but would be informative, ...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45373,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't know whether it is common, but a version of it, a 4th-year review, exists (determined by department pattern of administration) at Ohio State, and it's actually useful. It gives the candidate a good feel for what the actual tenure review will be like the next year, and alerts them to problems that can be remedied. Letter writers are usually asked to update their letter for the real review (though not if they wrote a crappy letter for the 4th year review). Similar letter-inflation exists in Alaska, Vanderbilt.</p>\n\n<p>I take the point that this is a form of bureaucracy- and service-inflation, but it actually gives reviewers a longer time to read the papers, in case they are not familiar with the candidate's work. The problem-detecting function is quite valuable, I would say.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45382,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have heard about this in math, and in fact believe that my department does it too (though only a small number of letters, if I do recall correctly).</p>\n\n<p>Now, here's my (probably unpopular) opinion on letters in general. In applied mathematics, it is not usually very difficult to judge whether a candidate is good or bad just by looking at the basics: publications (where, how many, how often they have been cited), grant funding, impact in general. Realistically, I cannot name a case where letters were really necessary to make the case for or against a candidate. Certainly not within a department, but probably also not with the higher ups -- they, too, will be able to identify the strong and weak candidates just from their CV.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, candidates in pure math oftentimes have relatively few publications and fewer external funds. Publications are also often not very well cited. All of this may come with the turf -- or maybe it doesn't and it really speaks to the candidates, I don't know. In any case, in such cases it sure helps to bring letters from Fields Medalists or similar luminaries to the table, in order to push a candidate beyond the finish line. Within the department such letters are hard to argue against. For the higher ups, they may sound reassuring.</p>\n\n<p>The thing I find annoying that in pure math the letters are almost uniformly positive and do, in fact, not really help distinguish between candidates -- I could not name a case where the letters <em>really</em> helped me identify who really is very good and who is just ok (which, I will admit, is often good enough in my view to get tenure). All of these letters praise the impact of the work (which isn't backed up by citation counts), the fact that they have proved some deep conjecture (of which of course there are many), and that the mathematics is beautiful. The candidate is also invariably among the best -- at least among those between 35 and 45 working on cohomologies over fiber bundles of the projective space F_2/Z endowed with a nonstandard topology (i.e., the subfield is so small that there are likely only a handful of people in this age group anyway). These are all things I can't judge as an outsider to the field -- I simply have to believe it, and trust my colleagues who understand the issues better. In the end, however, I find that many of these letters are slightly dishonest in that they never really reveal how good a candidate <em>really</em> is because they are so uniformly outstanding (a sentiment I know many of my more applied colleagues share).</p>\n\n<p>So the purpose of these letters in math, and their number, seems to me to be more as additional ammunition to prop up cases that by themselves (i.e., by just looking at the CV) do not look all that impressive. This propping up will likely help both within the department and upstairs: bring enough letters that all sound very good without really making a distinction, and the candidate's file looks pretty positive.</p>\n\n<p>So there certainly is room for improving the process in our discipline. (And no, I'm not up for having this fight.)</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45366",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900/"
] |
45,375 |
<p>I submitted by math paper to an Elsevier journal around 6 months ago. Today I logged into EES and saw that the status changed to "Required Reviews Completed" about 10 days ago. Is this good news or bad news ? Does it mean my paper is rejected and the Editor is basically preparing the rejection letter :( ?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45376,
"author": "Behacad",
"author_id": 15261,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15261",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This simply means the reviews are completed. It is not good news or bad news, it simply means the reviews are available to the editor. Hopefully you hear back soon, although frankly sometimes even at this stage it can take weeks (even months)!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45381,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You need to learn to have patience with the peer review process. It means neither good nor bad, just that the reviews are in. You can't see further into this hole than that.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45392,
"author": "CrepusculeWithNellie",
"author_id": 34524,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34524",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It doesn't even necessarily mean that <em>all</em> reviews are completed. Sometimes editors invite more reviewers than is required. This message only means that the configured lower bound has been reached.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45402,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It means just what it says on the tin - that the required reviews are <em>complete</em>. It says nothing about their content, and whether a paper is accepted or not, it will likely come with a number of revisions and the like from reviewers. The editor needs to read the reviews, decide whether or not to accept the manuscript (and there are several different scales between just accept and reject), compile those comments into something coherent, etc.</p>\n\n<p>The only thing you <em>can</em> divine from that message is that it wasn't rejected without review, which is also a potential outcome of a paper submission.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45403,
"author": "jak123",
"author_id": 31480,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31480",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Based on my experience, it is a good news that you will be hearing soon from the editor regarding your paper (although you might hear a bad news).</p>\n\n<p>In general, it is good to get an idea about the time frame for the journal your are submitting to. I use the Journal Finder from Elsevier (<a href=\"http://journalfinder.elsevier.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://journalfinder.elsevier.com</a>), which you can use to make a decision regarding the journal. This will show you the different times and acceptance rate. </p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 62149,
"author": "lu-bhz",
"author_id": 48057,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/48057",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I had the same question and I got in touch with the journal editorial office and got a quick reply saying:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Upon checking, I noticed that some reviewers have yet to submit their\n reviews. The status \"Required Reviews Completed\" shows when the\n required number of reviews is reached. Please note that the editor is\n still waiting for additional reports for your manuscript. Rest assured\n that you will be notified once updates are available.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So as others mentioned above, some reviews came through, maybe 2 as the minimum default on the system, and there still some to come so the editor is waiting to receive all prior to submitting a final verdict.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 140942,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have got the same situation. I also submitted a math paper. This status implies that the referee have submitted his/her report. The handling editor then looks into it and make the next step: revise/final decision/reject. </p>\n\n<p>In my case, I got this status two times. At the fist time, the handling editor required to revise the manuscript. And at the second time, the status changed to \"decision in process\". Finally, my paper was accepted.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 145460,
"author": "user120548",
"author_id": 120548,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/120548",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you see this status after submitting the revision, it is definitely a good News.\nIf it is after the first submission, it means that you will received the comments from the reviewers! keep your belt fasten! </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45375",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34514/"
] |
45,383 |
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.aaup.org/report/ethics-recruitment-and-faculty-appointments" rel="nofollow noreferrer">American Association of Union Professors (AAUP)</a>, </p>
<pre><code>A faculty member should not resign, in order to accept other employment as
of the end of the academic year, later than May 15 or 30 days after
receiving notification of the terms of continued employment the following
year, whichever date occurs later.
</code></pre>
<p>...</p>
<pre><code>An offer of appointment to a faculty member serving at another institution
should be made no later than May 1, consistent with the faculty member’s
obligation to resign, in order to accept other employment, no later than May
15. It is recognized that, in special cases, it might be appropriate to
make an offer after May 1, but in such cases there should be an agreement by
all concerned parties.
</code></pre>
<p>The few relevant comments in this thread</p>
<p><a href="http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,163851.15.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,163851.15.html</a></p>
<p>(e.g. comments 23, 26, 27) seem to indicate that this standard isn't important/widely observed. </p>
<p>However, it appears that some universities do observe it (or some variant), e.g. <a href="http://www.provost.pitt.edu/memo/05-08-2006.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">University of Pittsburg</a> and <a href="http://apfd.louisiana.edu/sites/apfd/files/Document%20XXVI-AAUP%20Statement%20on%20Recruitment%20%26%20Resignation%20of%20Faculty.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">University of Louisiana and Lafayette</a>. </p>
<p>My questions are</p>
<ul>
<li>Is this etiquette widely observed? That is, would this be a reasonable barometer of what is "ethical", or is the standard dated (if ever relevant), as indicated by the commenters in the linked thread above? </li>
<li>should I let the existence of this AAUP standard modify the way I handle accepting a pending offer that would require me to go beyond this May 15th deadline?</li>
</ul>
<p>I'm soliciting anyone with knowledge of these matters but information from deans, department chairs, or anyone who has resigned at this late stage would be especially valuable. Thanks for any info. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Note</strong>: Previous posts of mine give a bit more (probably not relevant) background: </p>
<p><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/43528/i-want-to-leave-my-tenure-track-position-before-fall-i-have-great-prospects-but">I want to leave my tenure track position before fall. I have great prospects but no new position "locked up": when should I break the news?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45325/proper-notice-period-for-resigning-a-tenure-track-position">Proper "notice period" for resigning a tenure track position?</a></p>
<p>The second one is closely related but is distinct in that this question specifically is about observance of the AAUP standard that I learned about today while reading the chronicle. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Note 2:</strong> Mine is an AAUP school but does not have any explicit policy like the two mentioned above. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 46705,
"author": "Ari Trachtenberg",
"author_id": 15885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have seen faculty leave or take positions at all kinds of times during, before, or after the semester or even right after (or during!) sabbaticals. The AAUP guidelines are nice, but, ultimately, everything depends on the schools involved.</p>\n\n<p>If you are concerned about ethics, I would recommend being upfront with both departments (the one you are leaving and the one where you will be hired) and coming up with something that leaves both of them satisfied.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 46714,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Given that generally universities do not provide faculty with the supposedly-relevant information (salary increases... but, also, anything else that will be top-down foisted upon us) in any sort of timely fashion, it is absurd to imagine that we (faculty) have any substantial obligation to make future promises... when none have been made to us, etc.</p>\n\n<p>Yes, this situation is deeply disturbing! Why <em>can't</em> we find ourselves in situations where both sides have made sincere, binding commitments, in all good faith? Ah, well, we should all know better than to think that any such thing is the norm in human conduct... (E.g., this is why we need unions.)</p>\n\n<p>That is, the two sides are wildly disproportionate: the institution will always find a way to cover its ... obligations/butt... but it is not nearly so easy for an individual. If you are simply honest with your colleagues, but not allowing yourself to be set up for disaster, it is entirely morally correct. Ethically, sure, easily.</p>\n\n<p>Such questions are analogous to asking whether it is \"unethical\" to try to prevent a tiger from devouring you. The only possibly ethical/moral issue is whether you escape by leading the tiger to your friend, a slower runner, and less aware of the danger. >:-(</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45383",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33116/"
] |
45,401 |
<p><a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/12/4403.abstract">Implicit gender bias</a> is present in academia (at least in the sciences). I've heard that some journals hardly accept any manuscripts written by Muslims. To what extent do the religious beliefs of an author affect their paper's chance of being accepted? Have there been any studies that look at implicit religious biases?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45441,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's plausible that there's cultural bias that's correlated with religion, but it's hard to imagine that religion is actually the primary factor. After all, referees typically have at best weak indications of the author's religious beliefs. Furthermore, cultural and religious bias could play out identically in practice, which makes them near-impossible to distinguish.</p>\n\n<p>I don't think gender bias is a particularly illuminating comparison. There are widespread implicit associations of men with science and math competence, which at a nationwide level are correlated with differences in achievement. (See, for example, <a href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/106/26/10593.full\">this study</a>.) These implicit biases could also interfere with the evaluation of academic papers. However, whatever negative associations people have with Muslims, I don't believe being bad at science and math is generally one of them. That makes it a rather different form of bias, and one that's less likely to play an insidious role in evaluating academic work.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I've heard that some journals hardly accept any manuscripts written by Muslims.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This sounds like utter nonsense, although of course it can't be disproved. For one thing, there's no official list of journals: anyone could set up a web page entitled \"Journal of Hateful Bigotry: No Muslims Allowed\". Furthermore, I can imagine weird exceptions, such as theology journals run by religious groups that have no interest in an outside perspective. However, I don't believe any mainstream journal holds articles by Muslims to a much higher standard than other submissions. Certainly not in mathematics or related areas (which are the cases I'm most familiar with), and I'd be amazed if there were examples in other fields.</p>\n\n<p>It's plausible that there's bias against researchers working in developing countries, which for researchers in developing countries that are primarily Muslim could be difficult to distinguish from anti-Muslim bias. This bias could manifest itself in various ways. For example, prejudice against topics that are particularly popular in developing countries, or against researchers without prestigious affiliations. There's no doubt that research from or on developing countries is <a href=\"http://www.voxeu.org/article/geographical-bias-top-journal-publication\">underrepresented</a> in the top journals in at least some academic fields, such as economics, but it's difficult to pin down exactly why. (One key difficulty is that we have no objective, absolute standards to compare with.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45452,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In my entire scientific career, I have seen religious belief come up precisely once: an (apparently Christian) author closed a paper with \"AMDG,\" which apparently stands for <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_maiorem_Dei_gloriam\">Ad maiorem Dei gloriam</a>. Of the set of three peer reviewers, one ignored it, one was confused by it, and one asked for it to be deleted as irrelevant to the substance of the paper. The authors removed the acronym as part of their revision (amongst other changes) and the paper was published.</p>\n\n<p>The other place that I know that religion comes into play in scientific publication (though I have not personally encountered it), is when a person attempts to use statements from their religion as evidence for a position. This never goes well: in a scientific context, claiming \"the Bible says ...\" or \"the Koran says ...\" is equivalent to saying \"The Lord of the Rings says ...\" or \"Fifty Shades of Grey says ...\" Such a document is a secondary source at best, and one that has no particular reason to be regarded as a reliable source of evidence, despite the magnitude of cultural belief. Such books can, of course, be cited and analyzed just as any other literary/historical work, but that is different than using them as evidence for a scientific position.</p>\n\n<p>So, in short: if you don't make your religion an issue in your manuscript, it should never come up as an issue in the normal scientific publication process. This doesn't mean you might not encounter horrible and inappropriate behavior (scientists are just as capable of being terrible people as anybody else) but it is definitely outside the norm of the peer review and publication process.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45535,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to address part of the question, because I think there's an important comment on the nature of such accusations.</p>\n\n<p>The \"this [bad thing that happened] was because [person or group X] is prejudiced against [group Y with which I'm affiliated]\" trope is one that I've heard for many, many years, in part because I am part of multiple such groups Y which have been the subject of societal prejudice.</p>\n\n<p>However, it is also the case that most of the people I've heard who have used that line of reasoning are using it as a rationale to place blame on someone else. Before jumping to claims of bias and prejudice, one should check that one's own behavior isn't at least partially the problem. For instance, blaming prejudice for not getting a job when one's cover letters are <em>pro forma</em> templates and one's CV is full of typos and useless information is just shifting blame and responsibility. It's easy to do, and it perhaps makes one feel better about oneself (\"it's not me, it's them\"). But in the long run, it's a dangerous attitude to have, because it hampers one from the self-improvement needed to break out of the cycle.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45624,
"author": "Kakoli Majumder",
"author_id": 9920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I've never heard of religious bias existing in academia. You might face problems if your field is closely related to religion and you are expressing views that are fanatic and not based on clear reasoning or evidence. However, apart from that, I don't see any reason why journals would not accept papers written by members of a particular community. </p>\n\n<p>However, I have heard of a case where an author's paper was taking a long time to be processed after acceptance by the journal because he was from a country that's politically unstable. According to this author, the journal required some special permission from the government for publishing papers from this region. However, all this was being taken care of by the journal; the author just had to wait a month or two longer than usual for the procedures to complete. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45401",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34526/"
] |
45,407 |
<p>I am PhD student. My PhD advisor wrote a research paper literally copy pasting several paragraphs from a already published paper, which was written by me as main author and he is just second author. Copy-pasted paragraphs where without any citation to this paper written by me.</p>
<p>QUESTION:
1) Is the accuse of plagiarism still standing, when the main author of a paper copy-pastes from a paper where he/she was only second author?</p>
<p>2) What is your opinion about addressing the issue directly to the funding scheme which has financed the project and of course the scientific output?</p>
<p>3) Furthermore he copy-pasted a full methodology from a un-published document written by me, of course without citing. Unfortunatly this document has no specified authorship although through email traffic I can proof that I am the main developer of this document. Do you consider that also plagiarism?</p>
<p>thanks for answer provided.
Alfred</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45409,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Re-using text from a previous paper on which one was an author is known as <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2893/attitudes-towards-self-plagiarism\">self plagiarism</a>. Opinions vary on the gravity of this sin, but it is pretty clearly not best practice. In my opinion, re-use should be allowed for descriptions of methods or presentations of proofs, provided that they are adequately flagged as such with citation to the original paper. \"Following our previous analysis (Smith et al 2013), our methods are as follows...\" If no citation is provided, this seems to me to be a transgression. </p>\n\n<p>Authorship order is not relevant. Self-plagiarizing from a second author paper is no better or worse than doing so from a first author paper. Overall, you seem to have a misunderstanding of how collaboration works. Once two people collaborate on a paper, the output belongs to them jointly. One author does not have greater ownership over a particular paragraph what for having written the initial text of that paragraph.</p>\n\n<p>I would hope you would directly discuss this with the PI before going to a funding body. </p>\n\n<p>Depending on the circumstances, using your text may or may not be plagiarism. If I am paying an RA to work on a paper but she does not rise to the level of authorship, I see no obvious reason why I cannot ask the RA to help draft portions of the text. Similarly, PIs routinely ask graduate students and postdocs to help prepare grant proposals on which the PI is the sole author. I've never heard this considered to be plagiarism. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45418,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Ethically, it is unwise to use large portions of a document written by a subordinate in one's group without giving appropriate credit (which in this case would be co-authorship). However, it is <strong>not</strong> the same as saying that the PI has plagiarized the earlier document, as it has not been entered anywhere into the record.</p>\n\n<p>Quoting a paper that has been published <strong>is</strong> a problem, as Corvus points out, because it's self-plagiarism. This is true for any author who quotes a paper in which she was an author, regardless of being the first, second, or <em>n</em>-th author on the quoted paper.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45407",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34529/"
] |
45,411 |
<p>I know asking undergrad questions are not well received here. But I don't know any other place have the standard of this place. </p>
<p>I am a Bachelor of Information technology student. I am maintaining a second upper GPA at school. My target is to become a data scientist. And this is my plan.
I will learn data science basics on coursera. I will start with a diploma in applied statistics parallel to my final year of my degree. Then I will go for a M.Sc in CS. Where I come from doesn't have undergraduate/pg math degrees available for me (only for few merit students who enter state universities get to those). I will do a research more related to data science. (Not sure if I can do it in a M.Sc in CS)
I know there should be opinions, and this question won't lead to a one single perfect solution. But I'm asking if you can tell me if this is a good plan.?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45412,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Question</strong>: How can one become a data scientist? </p>\n\n<p><strong>Answer</strong>: Call yourself one. </p>\n\n<p>That's what everyone else does. (Yes, cynical, I know.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45419,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I have answered several related questions on the <em>Data Science SE</em> site some time ago. I hope that my answers are relevant to your situation and will be helpful. Wishing you best of luck!</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://datascience.stackexchange.com/a/3737/2452\">Graduate Degree Choices for Data Science</a></p></li>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://datascience.stackexchange.com/a/742/2452\">Starting my career as Data Scientist, is Software Engineering experience required?</a></p></li>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://datascience.stackexchange.com/a/843/2452\">Data Science Project Ideas</a></p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45411",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22684/"
] |
45,414 |
<p>I'm uncertain whether speeches by Heads of State or other governmental figures are academic sources? Can someone please clarify?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45415,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A speech by a head of state is a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source\">primary source</a> and can be used and cited as such:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address begins \"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation\" [Lincoln, 1863]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is not a peer reviewed scientific document, however, and should not be used in that way:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The United States was founded in 1776 [Lincoln, 1863].</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That's a very easy way to get things wrong, because speeches by heads of state are generally used for political effect, not for delivering factual information. For example, if you used Lincoln as a citation, you'd be rather misled, because the United States per se did not exist until <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#Independence_and_expansion\">the adoption of the constitution in 1789</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45417,
"author": "A.S",
"author_id": 22447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22447",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Speeches by public officials, and especially heads of state, are historical documents, as they often crystallize and clarify political priorities, justify policy decisions and set the tone and direction for action. </p>\n\n<p>Thus I would not call speeches by heads of state \"academic\" sources, in the sense that they are neither written and delivered by academics, nor are they intended for academic audiences or purposes. </p>\n\n<p>As @jakebeal points out, they are not peer reviewed, nor are intended to be, in the same way as are academic publications. </p>\n\n<p>However, in certain disciplines, especially history, political science, and communication/media studies/PR, they are probably widely used and considered acceptable primary sources that can be tapped for citations to support academic arguments (e.g. political positioning, rhetoric, or persuasive strategies). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 62631,
"author": "Andreas Blass",
"author_id": 14506,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14506",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If President Obama says, in a public speech, that the Riemann Hypothesis is true, then this is sufficient backing for writing, in an academic paper, that \"President Obama said that the Riemann Hypothesis is true.\" It is not sufficient backing for writing \"The Riemann Hypothesis is true.\" </p>\n\n<p>This has nothing to do with his being a head of state. The preceding paragraph would remain correct if you replace both occurrences of \"President Obama\" with \"Miley Cyrus.\"</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45414",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34544/"
] |
45,427 |
<p>I am working on research that will lead to a paper. The research isn't finished but I've finished enough that I have a good idea of what the basic idea of what the paper will say and look like. Is it better to start writing the paper now and make revisions as my research progresses or is it better to finish the research, have firm conclusions already in place, and then start writing?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45431,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The concept of \"finished\" is problematic when it comes to research. I think that <a href=\"http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Val%C3%A9ry\">the same quote applies as for art</a>: research is never finished, it is only abandoned.</p>\n\n<p>Less poetically and more pragmatically, it is often only in the process of writing that certain critical aspects of the work become apparent. When a person is in the midst of working on a project, they tend to get very close to the material and begin to take as clear and obvious things that are very much not so for others who are not so deeply involved. Writing one's work up in a scientific paper forces one to step back and build those gone-implicit arguments from the ground up (or at least it does if you are writing well). </p>\n\n<p>This often leads to discovering unexpected problems, which lead to new literature searches, new theorems, new experiments, and even whole new perspectives. I have had nearly the entirety of a paper change out from under me as we wrote it and revised it, and the work became much better as a result.</p>\n\n<p>So, to return to your question, of when to begin writing up a paper. My advice and experience is this: begin writing when you think you have achieved the key results that you want to build the paper around. As you begin to do so, you will likely discover gaps that need to be filled in, which will shift how you write the paper, etc. When the process converges, you know you've got a good paper on your hands, and it is ready to submit into the tender mercies of your dreaded peers.</p>\n\n<p>Don't let yourself move <em>forward</em> with the research, though, to try to achieve the <em>next</em> key result. It's fun and exciting to do new things, but you must also have the discipline to cross the Is, dot the Ts, and observe the little things that need to be corrected and might otherwise escape your notice.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45432,
"author": "hBy2Py",
"author_id": 27271,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27271",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To sharpen jakebeal's point a bit: my primary specific recommendation is that you not spend any significant amount of time <em>polishing</em> the paper until you're confident that very nearly the sum total of its contents are collected in front of you, literally or figuratively. A more-or-less-messy pile of scratch can be enough to facilitate the process of thinking through one's lines of argumentation, depending on one's personality and modes of thought, while taking a comparatively small amount of time away from continuing the necessary research/experimentation.</p>\n\n<p>Just like it's often a terrible waste of time to plan most experiments or lines of research too far ahead, it's also typically a terrible waste of time to refine a manuscript too far ahead. You may find you've spent a couple dozen hours wordsmithing text that never finds its way onto an editor's desk.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45434,
"author": "Bitwise",
"author_id": 6862,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6862",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For me, writing a paper is a process that is not unlike how an author writes a book. I am constantly thinking about the \"story\" while I am doing the research. While working on a research project, I will suddenly think of some nice manner of presentation, phrase or even a single word that capture nicely some aspect of the work and I write these down in a raw manuscript file. Then, as the project advances to a more mature state where I know the majority of the results I will jot down a very rough outline. The actual hardcore writing then consists of putting everything together.</p>\n\n<p>So in short, I suggest to start jotting <em>ideas about writing</em> as early as possible, but don't worry waste time on organizing or polishing these notes.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45450,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>It depends</strong> – on your content or type of research as well as on your approach to writing.</p>\n\n<p>The two <strong>approaches to (scientific) writing</strong> I would like to distinguish are:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Start with writing a quick draft and then revise and restructure it many times.</li>\n<li>Start writing with a clear structure in mind and try to optimise every sentence from the beginning.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>In my experience, neither approach is generally better, but for most people, one approach is better suited than the other. If you are the person who prefers approach 1, you might start writing as soon as you finished an aspect of your paper; if you prefer approach 2, this may be a waste of time, depending on the content (see below). While there is a grey zone between the two approaches, I have not met anybody yet whose approach lies in it.</p>\n\n<p>The types of <strong>content</strong> I would like to distinguish are:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Modular papers: There are several chunks of work that have little interdependencies to each other. If you would practice extreme salami publication, you would publish each one as a single paper, with no paper building up upon an unpublished one. So while some of these papers would cite others, there would be no loops in the citation graph.</li>\n<li>Interdependent papers: There is no structure like the above. For example the results of experiment A lead to experiment B, whose results in turn inspire to repeat experiment A with other settings and so on.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Obviously, modular papers are much more suited for early writing.</p>\n\n<p>To give an <strong>example from personal experience</strong>, I am the sort of person who prefers the second approch to writing and I wrote most of my papers so far after all the work was finished. Nontheless, I recently wrote a paper in a totally different style. However, this paper was a method paper, which I knew to be modular. I did things in the following order:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Encounter a lack of a method during research.</li>\n<li>Have an idea for a method.</li>\n<li>Look, whether somebody had the idea already or there is a better method.</li>\n<li>Devise the core method.</li>\n<li>Find central conjecture required for core method.</li>\n<li>Prove conjecture.</li>\n<li>Write down core method and conjecture (I started this step the very next day).</li>\n<li>Perform theoretical runtime analysis of method.</li>\n<li>Write down runtime analysis.</li>\n<li>Apply method to artificial data to test its performance.</li>\n<li>Write down results.</li>\n<li>Devise artificial test case to compare method with best existing method and perform the comparison.</li>\n<li>Write down results.</li>\n<li>Apply method and existing method to real-life problem from step 1.</li>\n<li>Write down results.</li>\n<li>Write abstract, introduction and conclusion.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>At no point in the process did I need to perform revisions to already written stuff other than adding a sentence for explanation or renaming a variable. While I am very happy to have done it this way and this saved me a lot of time, I also know that this approach would not have worked at all for any of my other papers.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45427",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34556/"
] |
45,429 |
<p>Recently I was offered a full salaried postdoctoral position (not a fellowship) in Australia (with a long lead time).</p>
<p>I am a US citizen, so can also apply for the NSF international postdoctoral fellowships.</p>
<p>Suppose, hypothetically, that I apply for and receive an NSF award.</p>
<p><strong>Is it acceptable to increase my postdoctoral salary with the fellowship, or would it not make a difference?</strong></p>
<p><em>Given that I already have an offer in hand, if the NSF fellowship wouldn't increase my salary, then it isn't worth it to me to apply</em> (I realize there are other benefits, prestige, that go along with receiving a fellowship, but I'm time-strapped at the moment).</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45430,
"author": "Wolfgang Bangerth",
"author_id": 31149,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31149",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There will be rules that NSF sets for these fellowships. You need to look them up and/or talk to the program officer who administers the grant.</p>\n\n<p>My best guess is that you can't double dip. So you will likely have to decline one salary or the other. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with still listing the grant on your CV -- it is a grant you won in a competitive solicitation, so it belongs on your CV.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45483,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am only familiar with the US NSF Fellowship, but there should (hopefully) be a comparable FAQ for the international version. But in the US, you are allowed by the NSF to accept a fellowship and other source of funding - potentially!</p>\n\n<p>The NSF explicitly forbids \"double-dipping\" of <strong>federal</strong> funds - so <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12062/nsf12062.jsp#irag\" rel=\"nofollow\">you are not allowed to accept an NSF fellowship and a DOD fellowship</a>, as they both are paid out of US Federal Government funding sources. </p>\n\n<p>Are you allowed to accept other sources of funding, along with the NSF fellowship? According to the same FAQ for the US domestic fellowship:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p><strong>Where can I find funding for my Reserve Years?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Many programs and departments have research and teaching\n assistantships and fellowships available for GRFP Fellows. In\n addition, the nsfgrfp.org website has a listing of other funding\n opportunities. See the Guide for rules regarding multiple funding\n sources.</p>\n \n <p><strong>May I be supported by a Traineeship (e.g., NIH, IGERT, etc.) while on Reserve?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Yes. Traineeships are appropriate for Fellows on Reserve.</p>\n \n <p><strong>May I accept or be paid from a private Foundation Fellowship?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Supplementation to a Fellowship while on Tenure is at the discretion\n of the GRFP Institution. Fellows should check with their COs.</p>\n \n <p>...</p>\n \n <p><strong>May I also be paid (supplement my Stipend) from a university or private Fellowship?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Supplementation to a Fellowship while on Tenure is at the discretion\n of the GRFP Institution. Fellows should check with their COs.</p>\n \n <p><strong>May I be paid (supplement my Stipend) as a teaching or research assistant on top of my Stipend?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Fellows are expected to devote full time to advanced scientific study\n or work during tenure. However, because it is generally accepted that\n teaching or similar activity constitutes a valuable part of the\n education and training of many graduate students, a Fellow may\n undertake a reasonable amount of such teaching or similar activity,\n without NSF approval at the affiliated institution. It is expected\n that furtherance of the Fellow's educational objectives and the gain\n of substantive teaching or other experience, not service to the\n institution as such, will govern such activities. Compensation for\n such activities is permitted based on the affiliated institution's\n policies and the general employment policies outlined in The\n Administrative Guide for Fellows and Coordinating Officials.</p>\n \n <p><strong>May I have an outside job?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Outside employment is not governed by the NSF. Fellows should check\n with their CO about specific institution policies.</p>\n \n <p><strong>Does the NSF GRFP Fellowship provide funds for my research project?</strong></p>\n \n <p>No research or travel allowances are provided with the fellowship.</p>\n \n <p><strong>May I accept funding for my research project?</strong></p>\n \n <p>Yes. Fellows are permitted to solicit and accept, from NSF or other\n federal and private sources, support for research expenses, such as\n laboratory supplies, instrumentation usage fees, field-station usage\n fees, travel expenses, conference/registration fees, workshop\n expenses, or subscription fees. For Fellows on Tenure, support for\n living expenses associated with off-site research activities will\n require approval by the CO.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So the answer for US NSF guidelines is that you are free to accept monies that are not strictly from US federal government fellowships in addition to the NSF fellowship. Whether or not this is also true of International applicants, I am not at all qualified to say - but hopefully this will help you know what to look for and what questions to ask of your sponsoring institution and of the NSF international program.</p>\n\n<p>Note that some institutions establish stipend maximums, often under conditions such as \"if the scholar is receiving any stipend from the school, their total stipend may not extend X\". If your outside funding is greater than the school maximum you are generally allowed to decline the school stipend and accept the greater outside funding, sometimes while the school still provides other compensation such as health insurance, etc. Again, at least this is true of US institutions - I can't speak for Australian rules.</p>\n\n<p>If you are still interested I would encourage you to review the NSF international rules for similar provisions, and speak with your sponsoring department in Australia to see if they have any experience with these sorts of arrangements. There's nothing sneaky or dishonest here, and such financial questions aren't weird or out of line. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45429",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4572/"
] |
45,440 |
<p>I am a junior student at a private engineering college. The amount of dishonesty I have seen in the last 3 years is tremendous. </p>
<p>There has not been a single assignment which hasn't been plagiarized by the entire class. Usually a couple of people do it early and everyone just copies it from them. This is not even considered cheating but rather treated as real work. Some of my friends think that this is the way assignments are supposed to be done because this is the kind of culture they have heard about from their friends in other colleges and even from lecturers' description of their years in college. It does not end here.</p>
<p>I have seen the entire class cheating in exams. Almost every time, there are people who are carrying the entire book in their pockets to cheat from. They generally get the textbook copied to A6 or A7 pages. Numerous times I have seen invigilators either actively passing around answers or mostly just letting everyone and anyone copy answers from each other.</p>
<p>Our course grades are decided 80% by the final exam and 20% by mid term examinations. I have seen very few(hardly 3-5 course instructors out of the 36 courses I have taken so far) course instructors who did not manipulate the 20% mid term grades heavily. Each semester has a certain number of labs and these grades are also rigged.</p>
<p>There have been exams when every single person in the university knew the question paper in advance. It was reported in the <a href="http://udaipurtimes.com/rtus-1st-sem-engineering-exam-paper-leaked/" rel="nofollow">newspapers</a> but was plainly brushed aside by the university management.</p>
<p>This has effected the quality of my education to an unusual extent. It is very lucrative to cheat when you realize that you are failing the course and a single peek can pass you. I do not think I will be able to stand against this alarming tolerance for dishonesty any longer.</p>
<p>It makes me question the authenticity, if there is any left, of my degree and the value of my education. Can I do anything at all to change the status quo? How should I go about collecting facts around this and document my findings as something concrete that will likely create an impact?</p>
<p><strong>Edit</strong>:
I should make an important distinction between my university and college and clarify that my university is an Affiliating University. There are 128 engineering colleges in the state, both public and private, that operate directly under it. If you were to pick say 5 colleges in this sorry mess that attract the most employers, my college will certainly be in that list. Yet, that says nothing among the quality of the jobs offered which are both low-paying and disappointing.</p>
<p>I have sat and talked about this with my parents and professors. A lot of answers suggest transfer or a fresh application to a different institute. I am, however, reluctant to go for either of these for a variety of reasons.</p>
<ul>
<li>There is a serious lack of such institutions in India. I have talked to a lot of people from all parts of the country and the academic dishonesty is omnipresent. I would not be surprised if a link is ever found between academic dishonesty and bureaucratic corruption. A handful of institutions which still uphold the standards of formal education (by my perception) do not have undergrad programs or they are terribly tough to get in.</li>
<li>The financial burden of a fresh application or more expensive tuition at a different institution will be huge. Most of the scholarships offered in India are based on GPA or Entrance Exam scores, the rest are only for applicants of certain castes. Neither do I boast phenomenal test scores nor am I from those castes.</li>
<li>Physical classrooms are a very inefficient method for delivery of information and ideas. A fair share of what I have learnt comes from the freelancing and the internet. I have varied interests in a lot of subjects. For that reason, I have rarely been doing anything for longer than a month or two. I have been a huge supporter of OpenCourseWare movement and MOOCs for a long time.</li>
<li>The only reason I have not dropped out yet is because I do not know what will I do if I drop out and secondly, I find college an amazing place to interact with a lot of people.</li>
</ul>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45445,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There really isn't much that you can do to change the system, especially if it actively turns a blind eye to the issue. If that is the trend at your university over a significant number of past generations, the credibility of the university might already be damaged. That can hurt you chances with employers. If this trend is relatively new, the bad reputation will come, albeit hopefully well after you graduate.</p>\n\n<p>You can do something how you tackle your education. You should try to learn more than you're required to pass the exams. Browse other programs' curricula and see what the differences are and then try to fill those gaps. Find internships to get practical experience. In other words, try to acquire much more expertise than your peers. Although a university's reputation goes a long way as a recommendation, in the end it is your skill level that defines your worth. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45683,
"author": "A.S",
"author_id": 22447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22447",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sounds like extreme case and very difficult situation. Assuming the situation is in India based on link in OP's post.</p>\n\n<p>To answer your specific questions:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Can I do anything at all to change the status quo? How should I go\n about collecting facts around this and document my findings as\n something concrete that will likely create an impact?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I would advise to save yourself a lot of time and frustration and <em>not</em> challenge the established system. I agree with previous posters who also advised against this. If the system is complicit and the practice exists in spite of widespread awareness of it, then you are facing an uphill battle that should not be where you need to invest your time as a student. </p>\n\n<p>An exception might be a situation that nobody (or only a few accomplices) is aware of, in which case whistle-blowing might yield results with minimum adverse impact for you. As it stands, even if you step forward, you will likely face retribution and will lose more than you will gain, except a clear conscience. </p>\n\n<p>Instead, I would suggest to speak up through your own example and action: take whatever knowledge you've learned with you and move to another place where you can enter a more reputable institution. Once you are safely established in another university, write an (anonymous) but public, open letter to the administration of the \"problem\" university outlining your reasons for leaving in relation to the cheating practice. </p>\n\n<p>To make it count, you might consider publishing your letter as an anonymous (under a pseudonym) letter to the editor of a more progressive local newspaper in the city where this university is located, in print and/or online (especially online, where it cannot be forgotten the next day). Public shaming can be a powerful weapon, especially in the East/Southeast Asian cultures...</p>\n\n<p>What you are describing does indeed sound like a waste of your time in a formal education environment. </p>\n\n<p>Therefore, I'd say to cut your losses while you still have time, enroll in a better school (transfer credits from this school if you can) and finish your degree there.</p>\n\n<p>In the end, this is about principles, and what your education and future is worth to you. It is easiest to think short-term: \"hey, others are still studying here and seem to be graduating and getting OK jobs, why should I be different?\" Such short-term thinking might give temporary comfort. </p>\n\n<p>But the long term cost of such near-sightedness will be high: foregone opportunities, low reputation of your degree, limited job prospects, and a different self-image and identity as a result. To me these factors seem important enough to seriously evaluate other options. </p>\n\n<p>Even if a better choice may be more difficult in the short term (finding/moving to another area and enrolling in another institution), the long-term wisdom of such a decision is not to be underestimated. It will pay dividends with better education, better career prospects, and a brighter future. You will thank yourself for it soon enough. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45716,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I do not think I will be able to stand against this alarming tolerance for dishonesty any longer.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think what you are saying is that you are feeling yourself starting to give way and succumb to participating in the cheating at some level.</p>\n\n<p>Here's why I think you should continue to resist the temptation.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>I doubt you need to cheat.</p></li>\n<li><p>Cheating would corrupt you and change you into a different person.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45440",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34564/"
] |
45,443 |
<p>I intend to pursue a masters in business analytics in the United States. However, since this is a highly quantitative program, I doubt I will stand a chance to be admitted given that my undergraduate degree is in accountancy.</p>
<p>What are the options available for me to obtain the requisite quantitative knowledge? I think the Quantitative Studies for Finance program offered by <a href="http://ce.columbia.edu/certificates/quantitative-studies-for-finance-certificate" rel="nofollow">Columbia University</a> would be suitable but it is quite pricey.</p>
<p>Are there similar programs in other universities or alternative modes of study that can give me sufficient quantitative background to apply for grad school?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45445,
"author": "user3209815",
"author_id": 14133,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There really isn't much that you can do to change the system, especially if it actively turns a blind eye to the issue. If that is the trend at your university over a significant number of past generations, the credibility of the university might already be damaged. That can hurt you chances with employers. If this trend is relatively new, the bad reputation will come, albeit hopefully well after you graduate.</p>\n\n<p>You can do something how you tackle your education. You should try to learn more than you're required to pass the exams. Browse other programs' curricula and see what the differences are and then try to fill those gaps. Find internships to get practical experience. In other words, try to acquire much more expertise than your peers. Although a university's reputation goes a long way as a recommendation, in the end it is your skill level that defines your worth. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45683,
"author": "A.S",
"author_id": 22447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22447",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sounds like extreme case and very difficult situation. Assuming the situation is in India based on link in OP's post.</p>\n\n<p>To answer your specific questions:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Can I do anything at all to change the status quo? How should I go\n about collecting facts around this and document my findings as\n something concrete that will likely create an impact?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I would advise to save yourself a lot of time and frustration and <em>not</em> challenge the established system. I agree with previous posters who also advised against this. If the system is complicit and the practice exists in spite of widespread awareness of it, then you are facing an uphill battle that should not be where you need to invest your time as a student. </p>\n\n<p>An exception might be a situation that nobody (or only a few accomplices) is aware of, in which case whistle-blowing might yield results with minimum adverse impact for you. As it stands, even if you step forward, you will likely face retribution and will lose more than you will gain, except a clear conscience. </p>\n\n<p>Instead, I would suggest to speak up through your own example and action: take whatever knowledge you've learned with you and move to another place where you can enter a more reputable institution. Once you are safely established in another university, write an (anonymous) but public, open letter to the administration of the \"problem\" university outlining your reasons for leaving in relation to the cheating practice. </p>\n\n<p>To make it count, you might consider publishing your letter as an anonymous (under a pseudonym) letter to the editor of a more progressive local newspaper in the city where this university is located, in print and/or online (especially online, where it cannot be forgotten the next day). Public shaming can be a powerful weapon, especially in the East/Southeast Asian cultures...</p>\n\n<p>What you are describing does indeed sound like a waste of your time in a formal education environment. </p>\n\n<p>Therefore, I'd say to cut your losses while you still have time, enroll in a better school (transfer credits from this school if you can) and finish your degree there.</p>\n\n<p>In the end, this is about principles, and what your education and future is worth to you. It is easiest to think short-term: \"hey, others are still studying here and seem to be graduating and getting OK jobs, why should I be different?\" Such short-term thinking might give temporary comfort. </p>\n\n<p>But the long term cost of such near-sightedness will be high: foregone opportunities, low reputation of your degree, limited job prospects, and a different self-image and identity as a result. To me these factors seem important enough to seriously evaluate other options. </p>\n\n<p>Even if a better choice may be more difficult in the short term (finding/moving to another area and enrolling in another institution), the long-term wisdom of such a decision is not to be underestimated. It will pay dividends with better education, better career prospects, and a brighter future. You will thank yourself for it soon enough. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45716,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I do not think I will be able to stand against this alarming tolerance for dishonesty any longer.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think what you are saying is that you are feeling yourself starting to give way and succumb to participating in the cheating at some level.</p>\n\n<p>Here's why I think you should continue to resist the temptation.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>I doubt you need to cheat.</p></li>\n<li><p>Cheating would corrupt you and change you into a different person.</p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45443",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20358/"
] |
45,446 |
<p>Just like the Latin honors system in undergraduate programs, is there such a system for postgraduate degrees ?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45448,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think that it significantly depends on country and university, but, based on my kind of unfortunate experience, graduate schools very rarely use the Latin honors system (with the exception of the JD degree and, less frequent, some other degrees - see below for an example).</p>\n\n<p>As a recent Ph.D. graduate with high GPA (3.94, which usually corresponds to <em>summa cum laude</em>), I was wondering the same thing, while updating my CV and resume. I have asked someone at my program's office, but the reply was that at our university the Latin honor system is used usually for undergraduate and, perhaps, for some medical degrees. The lady was polite and advised to inquire further at the program's office. However, after reading <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_honors\" rel=\"nofollow\">the corresponding Wikipedia article</a> and browsing some graduation-related documents on my university's website, I have figured that further research is not worth spending my time, so I have just made sure that my CV and resume contain correct GPA numbers for all my degrees (it is not as practical as the Latin honors terms, since those terms can be used in other contexts beyond the one of CV or resume). I hope this is helpful.</p>\n\n<p><strong>NOTE.</strong> Here's the information on grading and academic honors at some of the top MBA programs: <a href=\"http://poetsandquants.com/2014/02/27/how-mbas-are-graded-at-top-schools/2\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://poetsandquants.com/2014/02/27/how-mbas-are-graded-at-top-schools/2</a>. Note the total <em>lack</em> of graduation honors at Yale. Despite the existence of a variety of <em>unique honors</em> at some of the top schools, for the majority of the rest of graduate schools, the most common academic honor terms at the graduate level seem to be \"with distinction\" or similar, as mentioned by @RoboKaren.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45462,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At my university, you can graduate at the doctoral level \"with distinction.\" This is the only honor we offer (aside from dissertation prizes) and it's entirely based on the dissertation, not on coursework.</p>\n\n<p>We don't even calculate the GPA of our graduate students.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 122468,
"author": "PatsyMayonnaise",
"author_id": 102614,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/102614",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No, there are no such titles or honors with grad school, as you must maintain a B or higher to pass. A grade of B- or lower will result in failing or incompleting the course. Due to this standard of requiring at least a 3.0, all\nstudents inevitably have high GPA's upon graduating. Ultimately, grad students are expected to work harder, provided harder work and obtaining a high GPA is no longer an accomplisment, but rather anticipated.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 148893,
"author": "user123925",
"author_id": 123925,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/123925",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not in the US. However, many Universities will put \"passed with distinction\" or some variant of that on your transcripts.</p>\n\n<p>As for the people that say \"nobody cares about your grades in grad school\"... try explaining your theory to a potential employer when justifying why you are a better choice with your 3.4 than your competition that has a 4.0. Employers do care because your grades are a solid indicator of the level of work you put into things.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45446",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34569/"
] |
45,453 |
<p>I wonder why editors sometimes do reject submitted manuscripts for being out of the journal's scopes while the authors have utilized published papers from the same journals. </p>
<p>Is it just a polite way of rejection? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45455,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Citing articles form a given journal does not automatically mean your paper is in its scope.</p>\n\n<p>Even if the subject and methodology of your work seem similar to the ones of the articles in a given journal, the scope can also include quality criteria. As an example, Nature Chemistry, in the <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/nchem/authors/aims_scope.html\">description of its scope</a> says:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Nature Chemistry is committed to publishing <strong>top-tier</strong> original research in all areas of chemistry [...]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Or, some journals decide to accept only papers based on their impact potential. If we look at the New England Journal of Medicine, the <a href=\"https://cdf.nejm.org/misc/authors/\">scope description</a> states:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We are interested in original research that will <strong>change clinical practice</strong> or <strong>teach us something new</strong> about the biology of disease. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>etc.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45456,
"author": "Andreas Blass",
"author_id": 14506,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14506",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Cape Code has given a good answer, but it's not the only possibility for such a rejection. Suppose you publish a paper in, say, \"Topology and Its Applications\", in which you prove some topological result using (among other things) a set-theoretic lemma. And suppose I later prove some result in algebra using (among other things) your lemma. Of course, I would cite your paper, but that doesn't put my algebra paper into the scope of \"Topology and Its Applications\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45457,
"author": "DCTLib",
"author_id": 7390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7390",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One of the most common cases for being out of scope for the journal in such a case is that the paper is not at the right level of the theory-practice scale. </p>\n\n<p>In particular, an application paper can make use of a lot of concepts of earlier theoretical work. Yet, that doesn't meant that the application paper is in scope. If the readership of the journal most likely does not understand the details of the application that are needed to understand the paper, then this is a good reason for rejection.</p>\n\n<p>Likewise, for a theory paper, the problem studied may be well-motivated by practice. Yet, if the novel result builds on concepts that are out-of-scope for the rather practical journal, then the paper is also likely to be rejected.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45494,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'll add another example to the several already given. There are a number of journals (e.g. some or many of the <em>Letters on...</em>) which have a somewhat fast review process, in order to publish results on \"hot topics\" in a relatively short time.</p>\n\n<p>However, to publish in those kind of journals, not only does your work have to be on-topic, original, innovative, etc. (the usual stuff), but you should also justify the need for such a fast publication track.</p>\n\n<p>Now, even if you produce an original high-quality work with the aim of publishing in such a journal, and even if your paper is apparently within its scope (and even citing references from that same journal), you might have worked on a topic which was hot ten years ago but now barely warm, and your paper would definitely fall out of scope.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45453",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34526/"
] |
45,459 |
<p><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11191/do-online-cs-cse-masters-programs-add-any-value-when-applying-for-doctoral-phd">This question</a> seems to indicate the answer is no but I don't know enough to see whether being accepted into a PhD program equals getting a teaching job. I attended a private four-year school at which the professors did minimal (if any) research and spent a lot of time personally assisting students outside of class. Because I've never attended a large, state school, I don't know if this is what it's like but I've heard it isn't.</p>
<p>I am much more interested in what I described (teaching and helping students) than in having large, impersonal classes and conducting research. </p>
<p>Would an online masters degree increase my chances of getting a job teaching computer science (the subject of my four-year degree) in the manner described above?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45460,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Probably not. Most teaching jobs require a PhD, and those that don't tend to be reserved for PhD students (my freshman and sophomore English classed were taught by PhD students, quite well, I might add). After many years of established practice as a computing professional, you might find yourself able to apply to teach at a community college in your area (if you're in the US) since your professional experience might substitute for the PhD. You might also qualify to teach a single special course as a adjunct professor in your narrow area of practice at a 4-year school, but it is doubtful that you would be hired as part of the regular faculty.</p>\n\n<p>As noted in the other question, online master's degrees tend not to be focused on research, and so don't help much towards getting a PhD. We can argue about whether it is truly necessary to have a PhD to teach at the college level or not, but that is the norm in the vast majority of university education in the US and most of the world. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45463,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<h2>No.</h2>\n\n<p>In the US, permanent university-level teaching positions in computer science, even at small four-year colleges, require a Ph.D. As I explained in <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/11209/65\">my earlier answer</a>, an online master's degree will <em>not</em> help you get into a PhD program.</p>\n\n<p>For some non-tenure-track positions, a master's degree <em>with a thesis</em> may be enough, but a terminal/professional/course-based master's degree won't be; whether that terminal master's program is online or on-campus is essentially irrelevant.</p>\n\n<p>In short, if you want a permanent teaching position, you need formal research experience.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45466,
"author": "Geo",
"author_id": 34545,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34545",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A master's degree would probably put you in a position where you could teach as an adjunct at a university. Adjuncts typically teach on a class-by-class basis, they are generally not full-time employees, and don't get paid very well. You might be able to teach at a community college as well (likely in a similar position).</p>\n\n<p>Your master's degree program will probably influence your ability to get a job. While some online programs are good, many are not, and some come with \"baggage\" that might get in your way (for-profit degree programs for example). </p>\n\n<p>If you still live in the same area as your undergraduate institution, you shoiuld mention to a faculty member you are close to there that you are interested in teaching as an adjunct. They would be able to give you better advice for what to do. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45459",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31509/"
] |
45,475 |
<p>I am currently undertaking my PhD in a very niche sub field of Artificial Intelligence. However, I have, what I consider, a strong background in programming and often contribute to many open source projects in my spare time. I have recently started an Open Source project which solves a very particular problem, but is outside the scope of my PhD research.</p>
<p>I wish to publish my hobby research and I doubt this is something my project supervisors, or university would be interested in. Should I go ahead and publish without their knowledge, or should I ethically bring it to their attention before I send it off? It should be noted, because it is my hobby project, I don't particularly want it influenced by an academic agenda.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45477,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is something that you need to discuss specifically with your advisors. They may or may not be interested in the publication—but they may also have an interest in ensuring that your goal of publishing doesn't interfere with your paid work. (For instance, spending a lot of time editing your \"hobby\" manuscript when you should be working on your talk for an upcoming conference for your \"paid\" project.)</p>\n\n<p>You should also check with your university's intellectual property office about the guidelines for such work. So long as you're doing things on your own without university assistance or resources, there might not be a problem. But if you need to use equipment owned by them to produce your idea, things might change.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45478,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I wish to publish my hobby research and I doubt this is something my project supervisors, or university would be interested in.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Well, why not. As long as it does not interfere with your day-to-day work, I would not assume that your advisor has quarrels with that. However, note that e.g., going to conferences might be tricky. In a bad case, you'll need to fund it all by yourself, and conferences can get quite pricey. In the worst case, you even need to take off to visit the conference.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Should I go ahead and publish without their knowledge, or should I ethically bring it to their attention before I send it off?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Only if you desperately <em>want</em> this to end badly. If they don't want you to do this research for some reason, them finding out after the fact won't make it better at all. If they like you to do this research, or don't care, they will <em>still</em> be pissed that you did not say anything. I can't imagine a realistic scenario where it's better for you to not have said anything.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>It should be noted, because it is my hobby project, I don't particularly want it influenced by an academic agenda.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If they don't care about the project, why would they want to influence it? <em>If</em> they care about it, they will be annoyed that you decided to work on this on your own one way or another.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45475",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34573/"
] |
45,476 |
<p>I'm just curious. I have a strong GPA, but I heard that's not enough. I was told that among a GRE score, schools actually place stronger emphasis on performance in 4 classes: a proofs/logic course, analysis, discrete math, and a linear algebra course (this was apparently has less emphasis than the first 3). I was told that these classes are the bread and butter of most graduate math classes and are indicative of how well you can learn the more rigorous content. Is this true?</p>
<p>I have some research experience under the NSF in mathematical epidemiology with a few poster presentations and abstracts at conferences. </p>
<p>Do these schools care about extracurricular such as volunteering experience? I know these aren't going to get you into Harvard per se, but do they slightly augment your profile? I know academia is primarily concerned with research so this may not be too relevan. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45480,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am an (associate) professor of mathematics at the University of Georgia and was involved in graduate admissions for several years. My answer is based on a perspective which is somewhat skewed towards pure mathematics: we have applied mathematics in our department as well, but it is one of seven research groups, so when looking at applications, to a first approximation we select for the same things among pure and applied applicants (and in fact not all applicants clearly identify themselves as one or the other, which is fine). There are other departments that are more than half applied mathematics, and yet other departments (e.g. at Harvard) where applied math is a separate department entirely. </p>\n\n<p>The main things we look at are competitive GRE scores (including the math subject exam), strong grades attained in strong courses, and very strong recommendation letters which convince us that the student would have a good chance of succeeding in our program. These letters generally come from faculty who have taught the student multiple courses, including an advanced course and/or a reading course. Getting one letter of recommendation from someone who directed undergraduate research is a popular choice and is fine, but it does not really make a big contribution to the application because most such letters sound exactly the same (no one is going to say \"So and so did an REU with me, and let me tell you: we got nothing done over the whole summer.\") </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>[S]chools actually place stronger emphasis on performance in 4 classes: a proofs/logic course, analysis, discrete math, and a linear algebra course (this was apparently has less emphasis than the first 3). </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't find this to be especially good advice. For me, the key courses are \n(i) real analysis, (ii) abstract algebra, (iii) topology, especially the first two. These are in fact three of the four topics in which most of our PhD students take qualifying exams [some applied students take numerical analysis and/or probability]. Moreover, every graduate program in math I've ever heard of requires students to take exams in real analysis, abstract algebra or both. Because these courses exist at both the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level, we really want students to have taken the undergraduate versions and have done well in them. If they haven't, then they need to begin a graduate program taking these undergraduate courses, then make the transition to the graduate versions and then take and pass the quals, all within a couple of years. That's hard.</p>\n\n<p>Concerning your list:</p>\n\n<p>(i) proofs/logic</p>\n\n<p>Many students do not take a separate course on this. In my undergraduate program we have a course on this but the strongest track of student avoid it by taking a kind of analysis class in which this material is taught on the fly. Whether a student knows proofs and logic should be clear from the rest of their coursework and their recommendation letters.</p>\n\n<p>(ii) analysis</p>\n\n<p>Yes, this one is dead-on. Let me say that a lot of courses are called \"analysis\". We look carefully to see what the text is and what the topics were. Something at the level of Rudin's <em>Principles of Mathematical Analysis</em> should be taken in order to be competitive.</p>\n\n<p>(iii) discrete math</p>\n\n<p>No, this is really not a critical course. I can't think of many graduate courses that have such a course as a prerequisite. Also the name \"discrete math\" is often used for a lower level course not even taught to majors. But if you mean something like combinatorics, probability or graph theory: these are courses which most students enjoy, but they are not the courses we are looking to see if our applicants have taken. This is not to say that the material from these courses is not important or useful in mathematics: it most certainly is, increasingly so across all parts of mathematics. But it's not hard enough to learn to separate applicants like certain other courses. I have never taken a course in graph theory, but some of my papers contain results about graphs: it's just not that hard to learn graph theory on the fly. </p>\n\n<p>(iv) linear algebra</p>\n\n<p>Yes, you need to have taken such a course, just like you need to have taken a course in multivariable calculus. But this is (at the latest) a sophomore-level course for most students who go on to graduate school. A course (or more) in <em>abstract</em> algebra, which will in places build on the linear algebra, is much more critical.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I was told that these classes are the bread and butter of most graduate math classes and are indicative of how well you can learn the more rigorous content. Is this true?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>As above, I don't think the list is well-chosen to be among the most important courses. Also \"indicative of how well you can learn the more rigorous content\" is a red flag to me: a student's graduate application should be replete with <em>evidence</em> of how well she has learned the more rigorous content, by successfully completing coursework containing this content! </p>\n\n<p>Who is giving you this advice? Faculty in your department? </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Do these schools care about extracurricular such as volunteering experience?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not really.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I know these aren't going to get you into Harvard <em>per se</em>, but do they slightly augment your profile? I know academia is primarily concerned with research so this may not be too relevant. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Very slightly at best. Just putting it on your CV is probably worth precisely nothing. If you can describe your volunteering experiences in your personal statement in a way which makes them sound compelling <em>and</em> relevant to your graduate career then....well, then you have written a good personal statement, which could help you a bit. If you did something really substantial which shows \noff organizational and administrative skills that most students lack, that would also help a bit...but not as much as the time you put into it. Obviously there are other good reasons to do volunteer / community work that have nothing to do with an academic application, so you should certainly feel free to do so. Just don't think of it in terms of improving your application.</p>\n\n<p><b>Added</b>: The OP asked for followup information from an applied perspective. I can only give the perspective of a math department that admits some students who study applied mathematics. In our department, the requirements for applied students are only slightly different from all other students. In particular, <a href=\"http://www.math.uga.edu/written-qualifying-examination-study-guide\" rel=\"noreferrer\">see here</a> for qualifying exam information, which shows that all students are required to take both real and complex analysis and (algebra or topology); students who do not want to take both algebra and topology can take probability (which by the way is very close to real analysis and quite challenging) or numerical analysis. I believe that the vast majority of students in my PhD program specializing in applied mathematics have taken the abstract algebra qual.</p>\n\n<p>My department has recently added on <strong>applied area of emphasis</strong> for its undergraduate math major. In this track, abstract algebra is not requrired (though it is required for all other majors): <a href=\"http://www.math.uga.edu/sample-math-major-programs\" rel=\"noreferrer\">see here</a> for some sample programs. On the other hand, as a student interested in graduate study you need to know that these major requirements are very intentionally designed to be <em>as minimal as we can get away with</em>. We want to have more math majors, not less. Students who want to take more classes are always free to do so. Moreover we tell our students that for certain career paths they should take more classes. Especially <a href=\"http://www.math.uga.edu/doctoral-work-mathematics\" rel=\"noreferrer\">here</a> we recommend further classes, including two semesters of algebra. This advice is not specifically targeted at students who are interested in pure mathematics. And by the way, there are many kinds of applied mathematics which you would be absolutely locked out of without an undergraduate background in algebra. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I do not think I will need abstract algebra directly, but I'm slightly ignorant.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It is very unlikely that any undergraduate math major can say with any assurance what kind of mathematics they will not need in their PhD studies or later career. Making this kind of decision is a kind of negative investment in the future. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Some schools of interest do not have that content in the curricula. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Please let me know what specific programs you are looking at. That would be useful information to me and I could give you more targeted advice. In particular, all of this advice is predicated under the assumption that you are applying for graduate study in a <strong>mathematics department</strong> in the United States. If you are interested in an interdisciplinary program, or e.g. want to do mathematical biology from a biology department, then things will be <em>very</em> different. If you are applying to a university which has separate programs in pure and applied math -- or has separate posted admissions requirements -- then things will be different again. But for general admission to a math department in the US: not having abstract algebra will be a huge point against you, I believe. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45492,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Seconding @PeteLClark's points, and continuing on certain points, such as Mark Meckes':</p>\n\n<p>First, as Mark Meckes' comment: even successful grad students (both in admission and in the program) very often do not understand what it was about their situation that gained admission, and has allowed them to succeed afterward. That is, people with little perspective cannot know whether success came <em>because</em> of X, or <em>despite</em> X, etc. Ask faculty, especially people who've been involved in admissions. </p>\n\n<p>About REUs: while \"applied\" REUs can be more genuine, if you're part of an ongoing research team that was not called into existence just for the sake of \"having an REU\", then this starts to be a plus on your CV. On the other hand, if you're the most-junior author on a five-author paper, that in itself is not so special. If the project is genuine and on-going, and you can get a letter saying that you made a contribution at the level of somewhat-more-senior team members, that's worth something... But, still, application of routine mathematics outside of mathematics is not strong evidence of future potential. In many cases, letters from non-math people endorsing grad math applicants are not so helpful because they give immediate evidence of having too little idea about what is routine versus new, etc., in mathematics.</p>\n\n<p>I would think that \"swapping out\" abstract algebra for numerical analysis is ill-considered, even if the (minimum?) standards of some program allow it. The very-basic abstract algebra (much like very-basic analysis) is necessary to avoid pretty-serious illiteracy (e.g., in understanding some aspects of numerical analysis...) Over-narrowing, or misguided premature \"specialization\", is unwise. \"Advanced undergrad\" material is ... not very advanced: it's just the basics. Don't short-change yourself.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45476",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34587/"
] |
45,481 |
<p>I realize this is field- and topic-specific but I'm hoping some of this is generalizable. </p>
<p>I'm in the social science side of information science and narrowing down dissertation topics. Some of what I'd like to do is frankly probably too ambitious for a dissertation, involving randomized control trials in the field (a developing country) that may take a while to get right. So I've thought of doing the dissertation as mixed-methods, based around interviews and surveys, but in such a way that it plants the seed of an RCT that will bear fruit after I write the actual dissertation. </p>
<ul>
<li>Generally speaking, in the social sciences, does it make sense to embark on a longer-term project but write a dissertation on one part of it?</li>
<li>What external resources could help me figure out the trade-offs here? Obviously my adviser and committee will be the best resource, but it could also be helpful to network with people who have done something like this. Where would I find them?</li>
</ul>
<p>Again, this may be so context-specific that it's hard to give useful general answers, and I can try to rephrase it in a more helpful way. But info science is a pretty small field, the part that deals with international development smaller still, so asking a question specific to that niche seems unlikely to benefit anyone else.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 53855,
"author": "vonbrand",
"author_id": 38135,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/38135",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Research is rarely a one shot affair. Whatever you do you'll likely be building on later on, whether it was your original plan, or some offshoot you didn't even dream of initially. So I'd say you should be glad to have some plan for \"after dissertation\" now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 54265,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is, in my mind, a fairly common way to actually do a dissertation, and if you're proposing extensive field work and I was on your committee, something I might actually insist on, for one reason alone:</p>\n\n<p><strong>Field-work is unreliable</strong></p>\n\n<p>So your data gets lost when a truck upends on some rural road. It turns out the place where you should be getting subjects who have X trait doesn't actually have anyone like that. You wanted to kick off something in rural Guinea in the summer of 2015, but you'd rather not get Ebola...</p>\n\n<p>RCTs and field studies are long, they're hard, and they're expensive. Having a smaller part of it, whether it be a mixed-methods paper, preliminary data, theoretical work, etc. can help insulate you from some of the perils of that by making sure you at least have <em>something</em> to write about.</p>\n\n<p>From my own experience, I embarked on a project that was way more ambitious than was really advisable for my dissertation, and as one mentor put it after I had finished 2-3 papers...\"Cut and run. Finish stuff up for your postdoc or faculty position.\" Having created a larger project, having lots of data, etc., and having thought about your work in a larger context that you're already working on is, in my experience, a nice way to be able to articulate your future plans as a researcher on the job market.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45481",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32906/"
] |
45,482 |
<p>To give a bit of context: I got accepted to UIUC for the Fall 2015 semester to start my graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering. I've been interested in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences as a field to specialize in for quite a while now. As such, I've been contacting many professors in that area to see if they have RA positions, but all have not been fruitful (no open slots). Having some sort of assistantship is the only way I can pay for tuition there without resorting to loans, which I really want to avoid since I was able to do so for my undergraduate studies. There are still professors I can contact in the area, but the number of options is dwindling. I've considered looking into the other departments in hopes of finding something before the Fall semester starts. I would like to "stick to my guns" on this because it is an area that I am actually interested in, but time is catching up with me quickly. </p>
<p>It says on the MechSE website that 85% of students receive funding this way, so it seems like I would have a good chance of getting something. Should I be worried that I don't have something definite at this time? Most of the professors have been able to respond quickly (less than a week sometimes), but some simply do not respond. I'm not sure of what to do except keep emailing professors and consider my other research options. </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 53855,
"author": "vonbrand",
"author_id": 38135,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/38135",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Research is rarely a one shot affair. Whatever you do you'll likely be building on later on, whether it was your original plan, or some offshoot you didn't even dream of initially. So I'd say you should be glad to have some plan for \"after dissertation\" now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 54265,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This is, in my mind, a fairly common way to actually do a dissertation, and if you're proposing extensive field work and I was on your committee, something I might actually insist on, for one reason alone:</p>\n\n<p><strong>Field-work is unreliable</strong></p>\n\n<p>So your data gets lost when a truck upends on some rural road. It turns out the place where you should be getting subjects who have X trait doesn't actually have anyone like that. You wanted to kick off something in rural Guinea in the summer of 2015, but you'd rather not get Ebola...</p>\n\n<p>RCTs and field studies are long, they're hard, and they're expensive. Having a smaller part of it, whether it be a mixed-methods paper, preliminary data, theoretical work, etc. can help insulate you from some of the perils of that by making sure you at least have <em>something</em> to write about.</p>\n\n<p>From my own experience, I embarked on a project that was way more ambitious than was really advisable for my dissertation, and as one mentor put it after I had finished 2-3 papers...\"Cut and run. Finish stuff up for your postdoc or faculty position.\" Having created a larger project, having lots of data, etc., and having thought about your work in a larger context that you're already working on is, in my experience, a nice way to be able to articulate your future plans as a researcher on the job market.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45482",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34593/"
] |
45,488 |
<p>I am currently an undergraduate student at a large state university.</p>
<p>I have good grades (>3.90 GPA) in Biochemistry and I am now adding computer science courses. I am doing equally well in those (>3.80 GPA). But the majority of my research is in biochemistry. I did my honors thesis, worked in a wet lab for two years, and have two research publications. But these all have nothing to do with computer science. </p>
<p>I am really happy with the people in biochemistry and molecular biology, but not with the field itself. My biology advisors tell me I can probably do very well for myself in biochemistry. But I want to do computer science, since that is where my interests really lie. I like making algorithms out of strange algebras that don't exist and really fancy statistics that pretend they can think, and that is almost non-existent in my field of molecular genetics. I am not a fan of bioinformatics.</p>
<p>I already have research experience. But it might not be the right type of research experience. Nor do I have CS internships. Just lots of biology. Should I apply for those phd programs now, or should I wait until I have more research in computer science before I apply for Ph.D. programs?</p>
<p>Now suppose I apply for these top ten Ph.D. programs and I am rejected. How are reapplicants viewed within the academic cs community? Can I try again after a stint in your average brand-name company?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45491,
"author": "adamconkey",
"author_id": 34596,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34596",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In navigating my own applications over the years, I'm led to believe that the most important thing they want to know about you is are you going to be a good researcher. That you have publications in a technical field helps you a lot, it demonstrates you know the process one must go through in pursuing original work. </p>\n\n<p>I will say that going straight to a PhD at a top 10 university in the field is somewhat of a leap without having much CS background, they won't have much evidence that your research interests are well-developed and that you are really serious about sticking with studying computer science at that level for 5+ years. But if they like what they see from your research and undergraduate coursework and recommendation letters (VERY IMPORTANT), then they will often just have you take a handful of pre-requisite courses at the beginning to get you caught up to where they think a beginning PhD student should be, e.g. taking some upper-level undergraduate classes that give you a good breadth of CS knowledge. </p>\n\n<p>You would have a much better shot at getting into a Masters program in CS coming from your position, if you are willing to fund it yourself or take out loans. Oftentimes your PhD funding comes from a member of the faculty and so they need adequate convincing that you're worth the money. </p>\n\n<p>My advice would be: apply to a few top 10 PhD programs you think you'd be a good fit for, apply to a few middle-tier PhD programs to give you some options, and then apply to a few MS programs if you think you'd be willing to go that route. You'll probably get an MS acceptance somewhere, you have a good shot at getting into a middle tier school, and you never know! They may just really like your application bundle and you might land a golden seat at a top 10. </p>\n\n<p>And if you don't like the results, spend a year or two doing things to improve your application (CS research, online classes, work through problems in well-known textbooks, get a MS degree, read A LOT of papers and develop very specific research interests, etc.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 145893,
"author": "James Bedu Eric Kodjo Graham",
"author_id": 120923,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/120923",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I actually see that you need to revaluate your Priorities about the so called Top 10 Universities.</p>\n\n<p>I now see that the so called Top Schools are just Ranking Junkies.</p>\n\n<p>Apply to lesser Known Schools in the USA Canada or Europe because the Top Schools attract too many Applicants for just 1000 Spots.</p>\n\n<p>In 2002 Harvard Attracted 22.000 Applicants and now in 2020 it attracts 39.000 Applicants just for BA Degree Levels.</p>\n\n<p>Top Colleges are now behaving like Corporations making money or mining their Students instead of Giving formal Education to their Patrons.</p>\n\n<p>Hence Lies the Tragedy of College and University Education in the Western World.</p>\n\n<p>So many students graduate with huge Student Loans worth averagely 45.000 US Dollars in the Grand Scheme of affairs.</p>\n\n<p>College more important especially when it comes to Medecine Engineering and the Law.</p>\n\n<p>Other subjects are just taking up land and Campus Space.</p>\n\n<p>Besides one can also learn in the library and do Online Courses to add to the University Diploma Gained.\nLess Known Colleges and Varsities have time for you and will enable you to become Outstanding at your Pace.</p>\n\n<p>You see College must go at the Pace of your Intellectual Ability</p>\n\n<p>Loren Pope said there is life beyond the Ivy League so do not at all disregard the State Schools and Universities in the USA Canada and Europe.</p>\n\n<p>Be humble and get into a lesser Known to avoid Wasting Dollars and Precious Time in So Called Elite Schools.</p>\n\n<p>Think about it we are the all the same humans no matter the School we attend for a Diploma or a Certificate.</p>\n\n<p>The Editors who create Rankings assume that creating a Social Class will get People a sense of Ego Snobbery and Nepotism.</p>\n\n<p>If one can write and understand Good English then one has a leg up un the World of Academia and Graduate Schools.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45488",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34594/"
] |
45,493 |
<p>I'm 27 and looking for advice on the career path for lecturing in Computer Science. At the moment I have just started a job at a blue chip company in Software Engineering. However my prime goal is to become a lecturer.</p>
<p>My education background is a little sidewards in terms of fundamental knowledge in Computing (details in algorithms, memory, programming) as I have a BA in Graphic Design and a conversion Masters in Computing (which skimmed the subject). </p>
<p>I would be interested in pursuing a Phd in Computer Science focusing on HCI/ software engineering. However my concern is whether or not I have the confidence in the fundamental knowledge as I only achieved a Pass on my Masters.</p>
<p>So my question is, would taking a postgraduate diploma in Advance Computer Science benefit before fully undertaking a Phd? </p>
<p>Both courses would be undertaken part-time whilst working.</p>
<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45496,
"author": "Raydot",
"author_id": 13535,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13535",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that would depend on where and what you teach. I've been a \"computer science\" prof for years because at the beginning of my career while working for a \"dot com\" I was asked to substitute for a class at a very famous design school and the instructor never came back. Then I went to the department chair with a bunch of suggestions for things I thought they could improve in the program and they made me an assistant professor. Then they put me in charge of the technical faculty. Then they let me expand \"coding\" classes out into things like physical computing and HCI. And because of this experience (teaching, curricular development, faculty leadership, not to mention panels and publications) I've been hired at other places, and go back and forth between industry and teaching. </p>\n\n<p>It does sound like you're in the UK but I know a lot (most) schools in the US will hire people with very strong industry experience even if they don't have a Ph. D. So while having a Ph. D. might be a clearer path to some extent, teaching gigs are competitive no matter what you do. Working in the industry might not necessarily work against you!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45608,
"author": "aparente001",
"author_id": 32436,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32436",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not familiar with \"postgraduate diploma in Advance Computer Science.\" If you were in the US, I would say, don't spend a lot of money at this point, just take a few courses as a non-degree-seeking student. You need to get deeply into the key undergraduate computer science courses, because you said you only skimmed computer science.</p>\n\n<p>Getting admitted to a PhD program isn't the only hurdle. We also want to make sure you have the requisite grounding in the fundamentals so as to have a good start in your PhD program.</p>\n\n<p>When you're doing your applications for a PhD program, you can present whatever degrees you have, and also the individual non-matriculated courses you took after graduating, with transcripts for everything you studied. They will be able to put the puzzle pieces together to get a full picture of you as an applicant.</p>\n\n<p>(I'm assuming you have your own strong reasons for wanting to teach, so I'm just taking that as a given.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45650,
"author": "Rikki",
"author_id": 12230,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12230",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A PhD can very much be tailored to your skills: there are lots of areas of research in computer science and your interdisciplinary background will likely help find you a niche.</p>\n\n<p>Of greater concern is what sort of academic career you want. At some universities a \"lecturer\" is 50/50 teaching and research, at others it is mostly teaching. If you want to work at a research-led university, a PhD is crucial and you may be able to just teach the topics you research.</p>\n\n<p>At a teaching-led university, your industry experience will be of benefit (as modules tend to be more practical, less theoretical), but with greater teaching load you may end up lecturing something you're less confident in. This is fine: you'll learn the subject well enough, and really the skill is in constructing a suitable environment to facilitate students learning the subject, rather than reciting everything you know. But if this is the route you want to follow, you might save yourself some stress later by becoming a bit more confident in the fundamentals now.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45493",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21999/"
] |
45,497 |
<p>Is there any university in the US offers PhD admission for the Spring? I'm trying to apply for the Cell and Molecular Biology at any university in the US</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45498,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Not any place reputable. All of the reputable schools follow the standard application schedule of Nov-Dec deadlines and spring notifications for matriculation in the fall.</p>\n\n<p>There may be some online or non-traditional schools with rolling deadlines, however these should be avoided.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 112548,
"author": "Mohammad Rahman",
"author_id": 94913,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/94913",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Florida Atlantic University and Tennessee State University admit students in the Spring semester for PhD program. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45497",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34599/"
] |
45,500 |
<p>Is there any website/forum where people post their application results? For instance a website where people write the name of university they applied for, their GPAs, their GRE/TOEFL scores, their subject, ... and the result of admission? I'm just eager to see some admission results from top US universities specially in Statistics and/or Computer Science.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45539,
"author": "Sergio Gucci",
"author_id": 28982,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28982",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>thegradcafe.com is a popular website that, as far as I am aware, is the only site that really covers most of what you're asking for. If you search for some key words you can get a spread of a single program or university, and you can see what kinds of students are getting in or rejected.</p>\n\n<p>However, people don't always state all of their information... I have seen many people who just say they \"got in\" or didn't. So it isn't always the most helpful source for anything but statistics, which you want, but that can be moot if only four or five students have said anything about the particular program. This happens a lot. It isn't the best spread. I also can't imagine there isn't lying going on.</p>\n\n<p>One lesson to take away from that website is that there's an amazingly broad set of students both getting in and being rejected by all sorts of universities... I believe that it's a much more complex process than in undergraduate institutions. Perhaps don't be so concerned about where you match up against a couple of people there. Ask your advisors, perhaps, where you may stand, or better yet, be in touch with professors at your chosen institution!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45541,
"author": "Roger Fan",
"author_id": 20375,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20375",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As others have stated, <a href=\"http://thegradcafe.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">thegradcafe.com</a> is the most used site for posting results. It seems that applicants from almost every discipline use their <a href=\"http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/\" rel=\"nofollow\">results tracker</a>. However, it isn't very comprehensive when it comes to stats, and many people choose to omit the limited information that it can track.</p>\n\n<p>Their forums are sometimes frequented as well depending on the discipline, while some disciplines have other common discussion sites. As far as I remember, the <a href=\"http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/48-mathematics-and-statistics/\" rel=\"nofollow\">statistics forum</a> at gradcafe was fairly active during the admissions season. I know that a lot of math grad admissions discussion goes on at <a href=\"http://www.mathematicsgre.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">mathematicsgre.com</a>, while most economics applicants gather at <a href=\"http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/\" rel=\"nofollow\">urch.com</a>. I'm betting that almost every discipline has some kind of forum or discussion site that people congregate at, but I am not as familiar with other fields.</p>\n\n<p>If you're looking for in-depth profiles, these forums are often the best places to look. The sample size isn't very high, but most of the time they have some kind of \"Profiles and Results\" thread each year that people post in (e.g. <a href=\"http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/60631-2015-applicant-profiles-admission-results-biostatisticsstatistics/\" rel=\"nofollow\">stats</a>, <a href=\"http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/155010-profiles-results-2015-a.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">econ</a>).</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45500",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32385/"
] |
45,505 |
<p>I would like to know whether I can place an inquiry to a journal editor about writing an invited review paper. In particular, I would like to write a review paper on a particular topic which is currently of significant research interest. However, I have not been invited to do so from the journal (where I would like to publish this review paper). In this regard, I am wondering whether I could draw the editor's attention via email and ask him whether I could be requested officially from him to write this review paper. Is it a valid inquiry from my side? </p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45510,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it a valid inquiry from my side?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>NO</strong>. Invited reviews are the word \"invited\" means. The other party invites you to write a literature review paper because of your great expertise. You do not invite yourself. If you are Mr.Nobody, the whole effort of self-inviting will be embarrassing for you.</p>\n\n<p>That does not mean that you should not actually proceed with the review paper. Just keep in mind that review papers are usually done by respectable and well-known authors who have contributed greatly and have great expertise in the suggested area. Also, remember that writing an extensive literature review may be very time consuming if you want to cover a great area. This is why review papers are done my multiple well-established authors who contribute almost equally and not by a single inexperienced author. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45514,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, you can. What sort of reply you will get is, however, uncertain, probably ranging from no reply to a kind explanation of what applies. </p>\n\n<p>Invited reviews are just invited and the way the journal editors make the choice varies. I am sure the term <em>Invited review</em> is used varies from the case where every published review is though of and invited by the editors to the case where editors consider suggestions from others, perhaps ranging from prospective authors to their own ideas of useful reviews.</p>\n\n<p>Running a journal where <em>Invited reviews</em> are accepted, I can say that the word <em>Invited</em> for us means there is no point in just sending in a review for consideration, it will be rejected, but we do accept suggestions which we then check for general interest and suitability and only then, maybe, provide a go ahead. In other words, an <em>Invited review</em> strictly means we have to agree that the proposal is viable. Suggestions can come from anyone, including as mentioned authors. So this being just one case, still serves to show that the concept <em>Invited review</em> can be viewed slightly differently from the literal.</p>\n\n<p>So you can send your mail but please make sure you try to figure out as best you can how the individual journal invites such reviews, it should be clear from their journal page or their \"Instructions for Authors\".</p>\n\n<p>EDIT: I should add that any letter should also include a proposal of the review which should clearly and in a short form describe the necessity for a review of that field. This is probably a point that is \"make or break\" if the journal accepts suggestions from prospective authors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45528,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think there is some confusion in this question stemming from the notion of \"official invitation.\" Unless you have some odd bureaucratic requirement that you have to fulfill in order to submit, requesting an official invitation seems odd.</p>\n\n<p>I think that the notion you are actually trying to get at is what is more typically referred to as a <a href=\"http://blogs.plos.org/biologue/2012/06/28/whats-there-to-gain-from-a-well-explained-presubmission-enquiry/\" rel=\"nofollow\">presubmission inquiry</a>. In a presubmission inquiry, you write to the journal editor and say essentially, \"I'm thinking about writing Article X. Would you be interested in me submitting this article to your journal?\" The editor then comes back with \"Yes,\" \"No,\" or \"Maybe, if you do the following...\"</p>\n\n<p>Presubmission inquiry can often be a good idea for everybody, because it means that you don't waste your time writing something the journal isn't interested in, and the journal's submissions are more aligned with what it wants to receive. Pretty much every journal is open to them, and some journals even encourage all authors to go through a <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/submissions/presubs/\" rel=\"nofollow\">formal presubmission inquiry process</a>.</p>\n\n<p>In short: don't ask to be invited; send a presubmission inquiry to ask if they are interested.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45505",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34604/"
] |
45,506 |
<p>I invented something as part of my job in R&D, and I plan to patent it and get clearance from my company for publication in an academic conference. All the key novel ideas are mine, and I implemented them all and ran all the experiments.</p>
<p>However, I just don't feel comfortable about putting down my name as the sole inventor and author. When I see single-author papers, they always make me wonder if the author is dishonest and/or bad at working with others.</p>
<p>But no matter how much I look at my paper, I just don't see any noteworthy contribution to it from any of my co-workers. We were working on the same problem, but each taking a different approach.</p>
<p>Hence, the solution I've come up with is to put a co-worker's name on my paper and ask (force?) him to make some contribution to it, like helping with the literature citations and/or experiments.</p>
<p>But even then, I'm pretty sure he won't contribute much and I'll still end up doing all the work. </p>
<p>Do I really need to go out of my way to avoid being a single author? :(</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45507,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I do not see any <strong>ethical</strong> reasons to insist on avoiding being a single author in the situation you described. I think that you are overreacting with your negative view of single author scientific artifacts and their authors. However, as you most likely understand, it all highly depends on a particular circumstances and in many cases it would be unethical not to include other people as co-authors, if their <em>contribution</em> is significant enough.</p>\n\n<p>I think that the <strong>legal</strong> aspect might be much more difficult to resolve, unless your company is not interested in your ideas, as AFAIK most employment contracts assign <em>intellectual property</em> of artifacts, created during employment time frame and at employment location, to the employer.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45508,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As the proud author of many papers with all sorts of numbers of authors, anywhere from just myself to dozens of co-authors, I see no reason to avoid being a single author. </p>\n\n<p>In evaluating a researcher, I would only have concern with their ability to collaborate if they show a <em>preponderance</em> of single-author papers. If somebody has a mix of single-author and multi-author papers, then my reaction will instead be <em>more</em> positive, because it shows they are both capable of collaboration and also capable of initiating truly independent work.</p>\n\n<p>So: go for it on your single authorship (and/or inventorship)! Just make certain that your co-workers agree with you that they should not be authors/inventors, or else you may have an entirely different type of problem on your hands.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45516,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is nothing inherently wrong with single-author papers. It seems that you have a prejudice against single authors and, instead of using your experience as evidence to throw off that prejudice (you weren't dishonest and you presumably feel you're fine at working with others), you're trying to hold onto it by projecting that prejudice onto others.</p>\n\n<p>Don't try to draft somebody in at the last minute just to avoid being a single author. To be honest, the way you describe it sounds manipulative and an example of being bad at working with others. Co-authorship is supposed to be about collaboration; it's not a mechanism for using other people so you can feel better about yourself. If the work is all yours, you are the sole author; if the contribution of others would improve the technical content of the paper, invite them to join you and do that.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45506",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34605/"
] |
45,513 |
<p>Most colleges in developing countries are sub-par by western academic standards. In one developing country, for example, professors are not obliged by law or by their institutions to pursue a doctoral degree. Even worse, this country’s state colleges lack decent science and computer laboratories, affecting in turn the quality of learning experience. No doubt, higher institutions in improvised countries have much to invest in their facilities, research, and faculty.</p>
<p>Having said this, does a student who graduated from a lower-ranking university in a developing country have a chance to be admitted to a graduate school in a western country? Based on your experience, do graduate schools give much weight to the reputation of your undergraduate school? If your school is accredited in your country, will this help?</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45520,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is a chance, but it is not easy, unfortunately. We get a good number of such applications at my department, and the problem is that we have no context to evaulate what the transcript means or what standards are used in the recommendation letters. (In fact, often the letter writers do not seem to know how to write useful letters.)</p>\n\n<p>As a result, you will probably need to do something else to (i) make sure you are prepared for serious graduate studies, and (ii) show that you are prepared for serious graduate studies. For instance, study some serious books and write notes on topics online, or get actively involved in an SE site in your discipline. If you can arrange to do something like an independent study with someone, or study abroad, at a reputable institution, that's even better as you can get a meaningful reference.</p>\n\n<p>When you do apply for grad schools, say if you want to get a PhD from a good school it is probably easier to try to do a masters' degree at decent but not top school first, then try move onto a PhD program at a better institution.</p>\n\n<p>See also the related question: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/26791/19607\">How handicapped am I in graduate admissions if I graduated from a lower tier university?</a></p>\n\n<p>PS I doubt if the admissions committee will have any idea whether a random school from your country is accredited or not, but if it's not, there's even less of a chance it will have prepared you for grad school.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45522,
"author": "bfoste01",
"author_id": 19610,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19610",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Agreed. I went to a no-name non-ranking public university in the states because I was a first generation student, and that is what I could afford. I scored very well on GRE, and had a more substantial lab experience than most of my colleagues from known schools (e.g., received a fellowship in the thousands of dollars to run my own research project, etc.), but I found I was met with a bit of snobbery in the application/decision phase. I didn't understand it at first because there is a general feeling that your work should stand on its own merits. I'd interview and professors would say things like: \"I'm very impressed, but where was your college again (the state was in the title!)? Oh, I've never heard of that. It sounds quaint.\" Ultimately, I found an advisor who took a risk on me, more because of what my profession was outside of college and how it related to her project. I found once I was in the PhD program and it was decision time that people would talk quite openly about how coming from a certain institution meant that the candidate likely had the \"right pedigree.\" Maybe they were/are right, but it reeked of elitism. </p>\n\n<p>It's going to be a tough climb. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try if you want really want it. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45513",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33677/"
] |
45,537 |
<p>I recently attended an IEEE conference and presented some work. Empirically, how long does it take for my paper to appear online?</p>
<p>On both: live chat and the FAQs, I got the response that it may take <em>several weeks</em>. That is less than useful. What is the average duration in general? </p>
<blockquote>
<p>How long does it take for conference proceedings to be loaded in IEEE
Xplore?</p>
<p>IEEE publishes more than 1,300 leading-edge conference proceedings in
electrical engineering, computer science, and related fields each
year. Conference proceedings appear in IEEE Xplore approximately 30 to
60 days following receipt of the content by IEEE. Please note that
conference proceedings often arrive at IEEE several weeks after the
conference date. To view the status of a conference, download the IEEE
Xplore conference proceedings title list (options at bottom of the
page).</p>
</blockquote>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45538,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Depending on the particulars of production on both the conference side and the IEEE side, you should expect anywhere from a few weeks to six months. Both the IEEE and the conference staff can introduce delays here (I was recently publication chair for a conference whose proceedings were delayed by five months by the IEEE simply because they kept dropping the ball).</p>\n\n<p>Note, however, that the <a href=\"http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/search.php?id=38&fIDnum=%7C\">IEEE allows authors to put a copy of their own work online</a>. This means that you can make your own work accessible much more quickly, and can often find PDFs of the works other others as well, well before the official version appears in IEEE Xplore.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 162676,
"author": "Aditya Jyoti Paul",
"author_id": 85854,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/85854",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience, especially with IEEE conferences in India, it usually takes 60 days to 90 days from the date of the conference, very few conferences may unfortunately have delays, but I've not seen it take longer than 6 months.</p>\n<p>Pre-print publishing is widely accepted in IEEE and most publishing houses these days, and you can read more about them when submitting the final agreement and submitting the copyright form to IEEE. <a href=\"https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/become-an-ieee-journal-author/publishing-ethics/guidelines-and-policies/post-publication-policies/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Details of the policy are outlined here.</a> For specific examples of how to write the preprint/postprint messages, you can check out the footers in the <a href=\"https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/2011/2011.13741v1.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">initial</a> and <a href=\"https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2011/2011.13741.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">final</a> versions of this ArXiv article.</p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45537",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34618/"
] |
45,547 |
<p>I have recently abandoned my master's program. Long story short, she was a very strict director who always put me down. I didn't get along with her, and she never gave me any emotional or financial support. Now that I have quit, she asks I do a backup of all of the work I have done for her. I don't think it is fair that I have to give it to her, especially since there was no funding AND she kind of forced me to quit. I can't find any rules that adresses this type of situation. </p>
<p><strong>Should I give her what I have done since I produced those results while being her student?</strong></p>
<p>Here are more details: After 4 semesters, she told me that I didn't have the abilities to complete the masters program, and that she didn't know what to do with me. While it is true that my work wasn't the best, there also were a lot of problems with the actual project which explains why we weren't going as fast as she would have liked. She went on to talk to the dean, and I went to see my co-director for some alternatives so that I can complete my studies. He came up with a new project,with less interactions with her and more with him, which she rejected. She said that seeing how I have "not produced a single result", she won't start a new project. if I want to continue with her, I have to complete a number of tasks (on the original project) within the semester, and if I fail to complete them, the project is over. Since I was (still am) in a deep depression from working with her, I refused to continue seeing how I don't want to get psychologically weaker. I left school and hoped to get all of this behind me, but she then writes to me saying that since I decided to abandon, I need to give her my all of the data, articles, and other works. I don't understand why she wants my work when she says that I was an incompetent student who hasn't produced any results.</p>
<p>She never did any investment apart from giving her time, I paid for all of my studies and did my own research alone. I don't think I owe her anything.</p>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 45548,
"author": "Anonymous Physicist",
"author_id": 13240,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13240",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Typically students' work belongs to the university. The professor is responsible for keeping track of it whether she wants it or not. The professional thing to do would be to provide the professor with all the records of your work. In fact, your supervisor should have told you to do that on a regular basis when you started, not when you left.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45550,
"author": "Aleksandr Blekh",
"author_id": 12391,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12391",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I disagree with @AnonymousPhysicist - AFAIK, based on <a href=\"http://www.copyright.gov/title17\">US Copyright Act (Title 17 of the US Code)</a>, copyright is, by default, assigned to <em>authors</em> of <em>original works</em>, with some exceptions (for details, see the Act or the article linked below). In addition to those exceptions (which, I believe, don't include specific references to academic environment), it is important to emphasize the term \"joint work\", as it very often is applicable to academic and research environments. For that, you need to check your student handbook and/or other university policy documents. For a brief, but more readable than legal text, explanation, see <a href=\"http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/faqs/copyright-ownership\">this page</a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45555,
"author": "Prof Michael Hinkley",
"author_id": 34634,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34634",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am a professor (UK). Ordinarily work produced by students belongs to the University - I believe our policy is that submitted work belongs to the University which is a subtle distinction.</p>\n\n<p>In practice, if you don't provide her with the work they aren't going to do anything about it. So if your professor was as unpleasant as you suggest, just keep the work in spite.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45562,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>She never did any investment apart from giving her time</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Whoa, there! That sounds like a significant investment, to me. Indeed, it's hard to see what other investment you could reasonably expect her to make. She's not responsible for your funding; she can't do the work for you because it's supposed to be your master's project, leading to your degree, not hers.</p>\n\n<p>Nonetheless, it is typical for an advisor to provide sufficient guidance intellectual contribution to the project that they could reasonably expect to be a co-author on most papers coming out of the project. This is joint work and it belongs as much to your collaborators as to you, even if you don't get along with your collaborators any more.</p>\n\n<p>What does it cost you to hand over the material? Do you expect to benefit from it in some way that will be diminished by giving it to the professor? If it costs you little or nothing, it's hard to see any justification for not handing it over. \"I don't like her\" is spite, not justification. The main benefit that I see from handing it over is that you can expect to be a co-author of any paper that results directly from the work you have done. And, if you do hand over the data, you should make this a condition.</p>\n\n<p>You should also consider the impact of your decision on your future career. If you intend to leave academia then it's probably minimal: you're unlikely to be asking for a reference from this professor and it's unlikely you'll have any interaction with her in the future. However, if you intend to stay in academia, you need to think carefully about this. People's perceptions of your actions will depend very much on who they think was at fault. If, for example, your professor has a reputation of being difficult, maybe you gain sympathy from the community. However, if she has a reputation of being reasonable, trustworthy and easy to work with, there's the danger that you acquire the reputation of being difficult to work with, falling out and torpedoing projects.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45569,
"author": "jb.",
"author_id": 117,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/117",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not a lawyer, and I think that this whole discussion over who owns the copyright is pointless</p>\n\n<p>Copyright law gives copyright owner a monopoly over distributing copies of copyrighted work. So if University has that monopoly OP can't lawfully use the data for his own good. Hovewer copyright owner can't (I'm not a lawyer) force anyone to give back a copy of copyrighted work. </p>\n\n<p>University shouldn't also be able to force you to do any work for free (and backing up two years of work is a serious effort), so answer: \"I'm busy\" should be accepted. </p>\n\n<p>In my university there is no regulation stating that student is obliged have their work properly backed up. So you are not obliged to even have the data on your computer. </p>\n\n<p>So IMO you are not obliged to give back the data. Wheter you should depends on whether you want to leave academia (and you are sure that you'll never want to go back to academia). You need to decide that yourself.</p>\n\n<p>If you give the data back, plesae note that you should, at least, be a co-author of all publications based on your work. On the other hand, even if she promises to give you co-authorship, you'll have no means to enforce that promise. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 45844,
"author": "guest",
"author_id": 34854,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34854",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm sorry to hear about this difficult situation and your resulting depression. It sounds to me like you feel like you're being taken advantage after a few semesters of bullying and put-downs. Do you think your former supervisor is a narcissist? If so, you might want to read up on that disorder before deciding how to respond. Here are some options to consider:</p>\n\n<p>If you give her your material, that represents a significant amount of time to back up the work. You won't feel great while doing it, because you'll probably feel like you're being non-assertive and bullied again. That said, you might feel better knowing that by doing so, she's less likely to contact you again and that you can close that door and begin to move on. If she's a narc, this is probably the least dangerous option, and that might make you feel better about taking this option - knowing that you have other choices to ignore/decline her, but that you're choosing to do this for yourself to minimize damage. If you go for this option, you will want to politely email her the information and also indicate that you're not interested in continuing communication with her in the future. You'll want to give a lot of thought into your response, but something along the lines of: \"Attached is the information you requested - I trust this meets your expectations. I am currently moving into a different direction, so we don't need to stay in contact, but I wish you all the best with your future research.\"</p>\n\n<p>If you are feeling too down for that, then you might temporarily feel better to ignore the request. That might solicit more emails from her, which probably won't help you - you'll probably feel guilty or bad about yourself every time she writes. She could also get increasingly aggressive. This therefore wouldn't be a long-term solution - only if you are too down to deal with it \"right now\".</p>\n\n<p>Another alternative is an honest \"no\" along the lines of: \"I'm afraid I can't attend to this at the moment - this represents a significant time investment and I'm currently quite busy doing other things at the moment. I am currently moving into a different direction, so we don't need to stay in contact, but I wish you luck with your future research.\" This is all true, because you're busy trying to recover and presumably find another route in life. Like the other options, it isn't great, because if your former supervisor is in fact a narcissist, she might get pretty toxic (mean, slanderous, etc), and she's in a position of power while you're not.</p>\n\n<p>This is a tough call - there is not easy or right answer in my opinion. No matter what option you go for, remember to be polite. Also try to be compassionate to yourself no matter what you decide. Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 119078,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If she didn't help at all or provide any guidance, then it is your work completely. Don't give it to her. She didn't do her part in being a good advisor why should you do your part in being a great student at this point? \nProfessors think they can get away with anything. They don't do anything. They barely provide funding or guidance. You as the student come up with the idea and do all the grunt work and in the end you shouldn't be expected to advance her career when she barely lifted a finger for you. </p>\n"
}
] |
2015/05/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/45547",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/34627/"
] |
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