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2014/06/23 | 782 | 3,347 | <issue_start>username_0: I just had a job interview for a tenure-track position where I interviewed with several people from the department. As far as I know, I'm supposed to send a thank you note after the interview. Should I send one to each person I've interviewed with or would this be perceived as excessive?<issue_comment>username_1: If you feel that you want to thank members of the panel for their time and consideration, go on and send them a brief note. In my experience, it is usually impossible to exclude one or two people from the list without irritating someone, so I would say — write to all of them or none. It is natural to feel that a communication like this is "meaningless", "time-stealing" and "unnecessary" — long story short, **it is not**. A senior academic receives a ton of spam and unrelated correspondence, which they delete with a grunt. Make your message short and positive, and they will delete it with a smile.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are planning on sending the notes because you think that it will improve your chances of being hired, don't waste your time. If two candidates were equally good in terms of their CVs, and equally collegial during the interviews, which they never are, then maybe, and only maybe, would the thank you not matter. As soon as one candidate is even a hair better than another, then the thank you note is not going to matter.
If you want to send thank you notes because you appreciate the time they took out of their schedule and you enjoyed talking about their research, and would like to potentially collaborate with them, ask them for feedback in the future, etc, then send them a thank you note. Job interviews, even if you do not get the job, are a great opportunity to network. A thank you note is a way to continue the conversations that were started during the interview. They are not an effective way of increasing your chances of being hired.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: A thank-you note can be useful if you're trying to gauge the department's excitement about your interview. An effusive and excited response *might* indicate a sincere interest in the candidate, whereas a terse, closely-guarded response could indicate a tighter competition for the position (or a lack of interest ... or an antisocial professor ... or a bad hair day).
I'd chasten against reading too much into the response - it's easier to ask directly from someone in the department with whom you have made some contact. In fact, this is much better than a "thank you" note, as it does not suggest an unduly attempt to influence a decision.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I think the only way it would be excessive would be if you thanked people whom you had no reason to thank.
Considering the phrase "thank you for \_\_\_":
If you can fill in the blank with something reasonable like "inviting me for an interview" (to the person who actually sent the invitation,) "taking the time to meet with me," or "showing me around the campus," then it would be nice to send a brief note to the person saying as much. These days I think e-mail would be perfectly appropriate.
On the other hand, if all you have to thank someone for is considering your application, then there would probably not be much of a point in sending a thank-you note to that person.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 859 | 3,605 | <issue_start>username_0: In 2006, when I was still in grad school, I wrote a paper that went through the usual motions: I discussed it with my advisor, I presented it at a peer-reviewed conference, and then published it as a refereed chapter in an edited volume. Right before the volume came out, I was explaining the paper to a friend from another university and he went: "oh, I think <NAME> said something similar in his semi-obscure 1970 dissertation!". I checked the dissertation in question and, indeed, what I wrote is essentially what <NAME> wrote in 1970, give or take some minor variations in the formalism.
Something to keep in mind here is that **this is not plagiarism**. I came up with the idea totally on my own, and I didn't reference <NAME>'s dissertation because nobody (not my supervisor, not the conference audience, not the chapter referees) told me about it in time. What worries me is that other people might think I took the relevant dissertation passage and plagiarized it. So far, nobody has happened, but I'm want to preempt plagiarism claims in the future. Obviously, nothing can be done about the published chapter, so I have modified the downloadable preprints in both my website and the go-to repository of my field, adding a note that explains the situation and giving proper credit to <NAME>.
Is this enough, or is there anything else I can do?<issue_comment>username_1: It is hard, if not impossible, to pre-empt accusations of plagiarism. The key is to be prepared to defend yourself. People rediscover stuff all the time. I would make sure that you keep all of your notes, drafts and any literature searches you may have done. I think keeping them privately would be fine, but if you really wanted to, you could make them publicly available in an archival manner to demonstrate that it is really your work.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: One of things to do is to start publicly acknowledge the previous work, mentioning that your own contribution has been merely a re-discovery of a lesser known result, or maybe a result from the other research field than yours. Such things happen from time to time, and are not necessarily considered as plagiarism, unless an author continue to act in a way that justifies such a characterisation.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: You will not be able to pre-empt every possible accusation in academia. If you were not aware of this earlier work when you wrote the paper, then don't worry about it -- at all. It simply isn't plagiarism. I would cite this earlier work in future papers, if it is relevant. But, dissertations are really not the best sources to be citing (at least in the social sciences) -- and the best dissertations are spun off into articles.
Also, what is the purpose of "giving credit to Professor Bigshot?" If the article was based on that person's work, then you give credit by citing that work accordingly. However, if you didn't even see that work when you wrote the paper, then it isn't necessary. Your steps to highlight this issue on your website is commendable, but I don't think it is warranted. I suggest that you don't worry about this issue anymore.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: There is absolutely no doubt that your publication constitutes plagiarism, but - importantly - of the unintentional rather than the intentional kind. It is still plagiarism however. The only proper course of action is indeed the one you have already taken; if the professor is still active, it might be a good idea to let him know directly.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/06/23 | 736 | 2,996 | <issue_start>username_0: The instructions of the engineering journal I submitted to (IEEE transactions on wireless communications) says this regarding the final submission of figures and tables
>
> Please upload the Originals (masters) of the tables and figures (in separate files, one
> figure per file). All graphics material submitted for publication must
> be original drawn figures in .eps format, with each figure submitted
> as a separate file. Figures exported from other formats (e.g., PDF,
> PowerPoint) will not reproduce well in print. Appropriate fonts
> include: Symbol, Helvetica, Arial, Times New Roman.
>
>
>
What do they mean by "originals (masters) of the tables"? Does it mean that I should submit each table also as a separate file? If so, in which format?<issue_comment>username_1: In my opinion, the guideline regarding tables is outdated, and one can safely ignore it. If you submit your manuscript in LaTeX, put your tables in the main text. This is a current mainstream in (STEM-related) journals, and it is good to delicately push IEEE towards it. In case if they insist on doing this the other way (which I seriously doubt), you can address the questions to their production team.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The guidelines aren't very precise, but this is what it means:
1. Submit your tables in separate files, one table per file, but only if the tables are [floats](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_block) (which virtually all tables should be anyway). The placement of these tables will depend on the journal's typesetting of the text in your document. They are very unlikely to end up where you put them in your text anyway, so it makes sense for the typesetters to insist they don't appear in the text in the first place. It's typically enough to put all tables at the end of the document, with one table per page. You can do this with the [endfloat](http://www.ctan.org/pkg/endfloat) package in LaTeX. If the journal really insists that tables should be submitted in separate files, you can use the [standalone](http://www.ctan.org/pkg/standalone) package. I sincerely doubt that tables need to be submitted as `.eps` files. Tables are text, not graphics, and your guidelines only say that "graphics material" need to be submitted as `.eps`. Submitting them as `.pdf` should suffice. The typesetters will create your tables from scratch anyway.
2. Figures are another matter. The typesetters will not alter them at all, they will simply insert them into the document in the place deemed most appropriate. You need to create your figures as `.eps` files and submit them as separate files. If the software you made the figures in doesn't include `.eps` as a native format, use tools such as [ps2eps](http://www.ipv6.tm.uka.de/~bless/ps2eps) (if your software includes `.ps` as a format) or [pdftops](http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/download.html) (if your software includes `.pdf` as a format) to convert your figures to `.eps`.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/23 | 1,294 | 5,325 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm working on a specific subject, and I thought that sharing my **bibliographical and synthesis work from peer-reviewed journals** on Wikipedia could be a good idea. Moreover, there is no Wikipedia entry on that subject.
But as I will use that work for my PhD thesis, is this problematic because someone might think that I have plagiarised the material from Wikipedia?
Note that this question could apply to any similar collaborative encyclopedia, not just to Wikipedia, and that the article I'm writing is subject to collaborative change.
---
Edit : by synthesis work I **do not** mean :
>
> combine material from multiple sources to reach or imply a conclusion
> not explicitly stated by any of the sources
>
>
>
but
>
> reduce the information in lengthy sources to an encyclopedic length
>
>
>
More information on [Wikipedias SYNTH policies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia%3aWhat_SYNTH_is_not) and [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia%3aSYNTH#Synthesis_of_published_material)
Also the question is related to sharing my bibliographical work on a collaborative platform, regardless to the platform policy (assuming I can), and potential problems re-using it afterwards, in a PhD thesis.<issue_comment>username_1: No, but make sure you cite it *and* mention it, to avoid being accused of copying and pasting from Wikipedia.
In any case, it is *great* that you have contributed to Wikipedia and I wish more people considered using pieces of their introductory chapters for Wikipedia. Just make sure that people know that you copied to, not from, Wikipedia. (I mean, the order is irrelevant, i.e. whether you first wrote text for Wikipedia or your thesis, but the authorship is.)
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it's problematic. Quoting wikipedia is, to some people, always dodgy, whatever the context. Just don't do it in an academic work.
And you can't reuse your own words, having broadcast them once in wikipedia, without explicitly stating that you're quoting wikipedia - that would be self-plagiarism, just as when if you'd quoted a previous paper you'd written, without explicitly identifying that it was a quote.
So don't do it.
If you've written your best stuff for wikipedia, and left yourself with a dead end for your academic work, then count it as a lesson learnt. But it's more likely that you've just put on wikipedia one first attempt at formulation. So now do a better one, completely rephrased, and use that in your thesis. Then you don't need to mention wikipedia in your thesis at all, except in the acknowledgements section if you wish.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: I think you can do this safely, but you will want to take some precautions like Piotr mentioned. However, from a practical standpoint, I don't recommend anything that might create problems with your dissertation work. You haven't finished your PhD thesis, and your efforts on that project are far more important than writing a Wikipedia entry for a topic that isn't covered. Even if you cover all your bases, you still have a risk of somebody raising the issue of plagiarism. I suggest minimizing such distractions and side projects and focus exclusively on your thesis. You can then devote your time to these projects after it is defended.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The other answers address the question of "once I post this on Wikipedia, can I include it in my thesis?" I would like to address another angle - I am not sure that you should be posting this on Wikipedia at all.
Wikipedia has a policy banning the inclusion of original research. This means "research that is not exclusively based on a summary, review or synthesis of earlier publications on the subject of research." (See English Wikipedia's policy on original research [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_research#Original_research))That is, basically anything that would be publishable as a thesis. This is because Wikipedia is an encyclopedia - that is, a tertiary source that aggregates information from secondary (and sometimes primary) sources - it cannot accept primary-source material like original research.
You say that you want to share your "bibliographical and synthesis work" on your subject. Bibliographical work may be useful for Wikipedia, but any synthesis you did to add your own ideas and/or discuss them may well be considered original research and be prohibited. The fact that no article exists on the topic leads me to think that it may be a theory or idea of your own and may be considered original research if posted.
That said, as username_1 said, it's great that you are thinking of contributing to Wikipedia. Wikipedia definitely needs more academics and people who are experts in various areas to contribute their knowledge - it just has to be knowledge that's already accepted in the field, rather than original, non-yet-peer-reviewed research.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: And why not the other way around? First, obtain your PhD and finish your dissertation. Once this has been done, cite among the other bibliographical items in Wikipedia your dissertation.
In this way, there will be no problem. Since it will be the Wikipedia article based on your thesis and not the other way around.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 580 | 2,459 | <issue_start>username_0: When writing a paper which applies some known method to a new problem, for completeness we may need to summarize that method, probably as a section on its own.
In the paper where it was first proposed, the method was described in a set of equations. In my case, I need to include some of these equations, because I need to refer to them in the subsequent part of my paper.
Currently I write something like the following:
>
> We apply the X method [citation], which we shall summarize below, to describe ...
>
>
>
and then comes the equations, interspersed with some texts, which are paraphrased from the originals.
How do we give the proper attribution to the paper in which the method was first described, without giving the impression that some of the equations are our own? Is the above sufficient? Including [citation] before every equation seems awkward, since all of these equations are from a single paper.<issue_comment>username_1: It is generally sufficient to say explicitly that "in this section we will recall the method X from [citation]", and then simply do it. However, you may find it preferable not to quote equations and text from the original paper, but to adopt it according to the style, notation and message of your own manuscript.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If the equations in your source are numbered, you can use the source's numbering, perhaps with a prefix. For example, if you quote equation (2.15) in the source, you could number it as (X.2.15). Then this prefix will serve to distinguish the quoted equations from your own. If you only quote a few equations, you could also follow them with something like "these equations appear as (2.15) and (2.19) in [citation]".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I would suggest making it clear, that you also quote the equations, e.g.
>
> We apply the X method [citation], to describe ... The derivations and equations below are cited and summarized from [citation]:
>
>
>
And I would also include the major equations in your paper. Not every reader may have access to your sources, and if the equations are necessary to understand your data/approach they should be provided in your text.
---
By *major equations* I mean final expressions but not the steps how they are derived. As author, ask yourself which equations are necessary to understand the methodology and not common lore in your field.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 1,737 | 7,385 | <issue_start>username_0: I have seen couple of questions related to rejection of submissions to conferences (CS). Coming to my case, this is my third rejection, I agree that first two were fair decisions as the paper was not clear and needed more thorough experiments. However in this third submission I have put in all possible effort to make it the best considering feedback from prior submissions.
I received initial comments from 4 reviewers with no scores and based on their comments it was on borderline. Since there was a rebuttal phase, I have sent a response clarifying issues raised by them. I received my final notification today and it was a 'reject' decision. The final reviews had comments from an additional reviewer. His comments are atrocious and unfair. He pointed out that he is rejecting the paper as some issue X was *not addressed at all*. However we have addressed X with a thorough evaluation in a subsection and results put up in a graph. I'm sure that this reviewer has not read it *properly*. If he raised his issue may be on the way we solved X, it would have been more appropriate.
I know that appealing to the PC chairs would be a futile effort but at the same time I do not want an unfair review. This feeling of rejection based on unfair review is depressing me. How do I go about it. I feel the only way out is to resubmit it for another conference in near future.
Please advise.<issue_comment>username_1: The possibility to have unfair reviews is one of the reasons why you receive multiple reviews. I have received multiple reviews where the reviewers clearly didn't review the paper carefully, and it's indeed quite frustrating.
That being said, when I looked back at the papers, I realised that they were not rejected because of one unfair review, but because I didn't manage to convince the fair reviewers: if you get four accept, then it does not matter if you have an unfair reject. Besides, it could also be the case that you've received an unfair accept review (i.e., someone who accepted the paper without really reading), so, in the end, it might balance things out.
Dealing with rejection is a huge step of the academic process, and as it has been said here in the past, if you never get papers rejected, you are probably not aiming high enough. As long as you have only one unfair review, ignore it, and move on to the next conference (and if you only receive unfair reviews, well, you are probably submitting at the wrong venue).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I feel the only way out is to resubmit it for another conference in near future.
>
>
>
That about sums it up. Negative reviews and rejections are hard to swallow. They are common in academia and you cannot let them get to you. The best thing to do is step away from the manuscript. If you need to cry, cry. If you need to scream, scream. After a while, generally for me a week or so, try and look at the reviews again. If they still piss you off, step away from them again. Once you can read the reviews objectively, start to tackle them. This might mean agreeing with the reviewer, or seeing where the reviewer got lost, or that the reviewer is simply a fool. Once you have taken everything from the reviews that will improve the manuscript, file it away and if necessary cry and scream again. Then resubmit the manuscript to the next conference.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: As you said, the paper was on the borderline after 4 (fair) reviews. I would advise first to discuss the paper and the results with your supervisor / colleagues, and if you are still determined to continue, rework it significantly, taking in account the criticism of four referees, that you consider as fair. Make sure the result moves far from the borderline (and in the right direction). Then re-think the remarks of the last ("unfair") referee and decide what you want to do with them. Probably, you should not trash them away completely — try to find a motivated comments and suggestions apart from the "unfair" ones.
When a new version of a paper is ready, you may wish to show it to your supervisor and send to several colleagues outside your group asking them for some pre-submission comments — this may save you a lot of time.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Are we talking about the same paper that is rejected a total 3 times? If so, you should seriously consider if this paper (however you improve it) will ever be good enough. Perhaps the problem you solve is not interesting enough or your solution does not promote the state-of-the-art significantly enough. In that case, maybe aiming too high is your problem. Also, note that in prestigious CS conferences (I assume this is your case, due to a rebuttal phase), borderline papers never make it. At the end, there are enough papers who pass with flying colors and the rest fail.
You should start considering submitting to a lower ranked CS conference or perhaps a workshop. You have already wasted a full year or more (that is what probably the time required for getting those 3 rejections)and wasting another 3-6 months for the next conference, might not be feasible. You should seriously start discussing this possibility with your supervisor.
I understand that rejection hurts but many of us had works that were rejected, kept improving it and got rejected again. At some time, it is time to cut your losses and move-on. I think it was @JeffE that said "The universe has spoken. Move on" and he is right. Submit to a lower conference / workshop to at-least patent those results and lower your sense of rejection, but without wasting too much time further improving those results. Instead focus on more interesting variations and move-on. But most-of-all discuss all these possibilities with your advisor
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I think that the real problem that may however be hard to address, is that there is a schedule to visit certain conferences well in advance and that you are supposed to come up with research results that will be good enough for those conferences. This is not what I am used to doing, but then my field is not CS. If you could simply work on your research program until you get outstanding results, then getting those results published in a decent journal won't usually be a problem. There will still be cases of bad refereeing but then you won't mind if the referee wants things that are already explained to be clarified if the report starts with the statement that the paper is excellent and should be published.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: In Hebrew there's a saying:
>
> צרת רבים - חצי נחמה
>
>
>
which means
>
> The trouble of many is half a consolation
>
>
>
Unfair reviews seem to be very common. I just got a set of reviews a few months ago with one reviewer saying (roughly) "section X was great but section Y was weak" and another reviewer saying "I really liked section Y; unfortunately, section X was sub-par" and they made conflicting suggestions regarding what to expand on and what to mention in passing. And then there are people who seem to just not be close enough to your field of research who review the paper in a way that makes that fact abundantly clear. etc.
So while this answer isn't any sort of practical advice, at least know that you're not alone with this experience.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 633 | 2,661 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm curious as to whether or not any departments ever attempt to evaluate their own admissions decisions. It seems quite plausible to do for any college or graduate program, but I've never heard of it done. I have in mind some kind of data analysis comparing student success in the program or beyond with variables from the application.
I understand some might not like the idea, but as noisy as admissions are, I was wondering if schools ever reflect on their own decisions and attempt to identify strengths and weaknesses?<issue_comment>username_1: This practice is not frequent, and it is rarely systematic and rigorous. However, from a decision-making perspective, this has been given attention by <NAME>, who was a very well-known psychologist at Carnegia Mellon. Here is one of his papers on the topic, which has been cited about 500 times (per Google Scholar). Some recent evaluations have been published, but relative to the total number of admissions committees that exist across all graduate schools, I can confidently say it is not many.
<NAME>. (1971). A case study of graduate admissions: Application of three principles of human decision making. American Psychologist, 26(2), 180.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: To me the best evaluation of an admissions process would be the success of students once through the system. I am not sure what would otherwise be evaluated? Perhaps that can be expanded upon in the question? In any case, I am sure many departments run tabs on where alumni go and I can only share the statistics from two departments my Alma Mater and my current workplace.
Figure 1. Statistics on post-graduate careers of students from the Geology department of University of Minnesota
Figure 2. Statistics on post-graduate careers of PhD students from the Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology department at Stockholm University
So from this perspective the admissions system is evaluated from the perspective of employability within the field.
To study the process itself one would need to set up some additional criteria against which to evaluate the process but I am not sure what those criteria would necessarily be. Some aspects such as gender and ethnicity bias are of course identified but it is unclear if there is a need to try to actively change the interest of applicants other than strive to reach under-represented groups. Such outreach activities are, however, not part of the admission process.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 809 | 3,322 | <issue_start>username_0: About a year ago, I was studying at a university. I had a subject with a tutor; since my family moved to a different city, I also moved to a different university and discontinued my studies at my former university.
I do not use my real name at Facebook for obvious reasons that we all know. In a public group in Facebook about ancient Iran, I posted an article and the tutor I had at my former university commented that my real name is something else: he also mentioned that I discontinued my studies at the former university: he also mentioned that I did not attend his classes.
Is not this abusing my privacy? He could sent me a private message if he wanted. To be honest, I am offended and want to make an official complaint to my former university. So I want to know if his act is indeed abusing my privacy and what is the best thing to do?
I also should mention that I sent him a private message on Facebook and asked him that one should respect indivisul's privacy in the hope that he will delete his comment but he did not.
His Exact comments were:
>
> Sorry for interrupting mate. I just visited your profile which shows
> you reside in somecountry. Just would like to know if your real
> surname is somename. If so, I reckon you were my student in tutorial
> sessions in Engineering Mechanics in UTS ayear ago; However, you
> stopped attending the sessions after the first few ones.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: I am not a lawyer, and I am not giving you legal advice. If you are in the US, you can view this matter from the Family Education Rights and Policy Act (FERPA):
<http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html>
Here are the key issues that should be considered:
1) FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."
2) Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record.
If this person published your name AND gave details of your educational record, then I think you have a legitimate complaint, provided that the tutoring was a service of the university. If you hired this person privately or joined a group that was not formally affiliated with the university, then the university will not pay attention to this complaint.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would only mirror some of the answers already provided - one of them asking if the tutor is an employee of the univiersity. If so, there may be a violation, however if you disclosed elsewhere online you are/were a student at the university, then there may not be - even if the tutor was an employee. The fact you discontinued studies from a non-employee would not be a violation of privacy as well. Typically, as long as its something private you made public, then the expectation of privacy is waived.
I assure you, the internet is not a pretty place. Watch what you disclose online. Wish you the best in any event and since this implicates a legal issue, no answer than an answer by an attorney is an attorney you'd want to trust.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/23 | 492 | 2,174 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm working on my Master's thesis in Computer Science. Shortly, I am "drawing" a diagram, which is then serialized and from the serialization I generate some source code. So, my question is not about the code of my application, but about the code generated by it. I think we can call it the result of my app.
I want to include an example of what output (source code, although I will also include the intermediary serialization) has my app for a certain input (a diagram). I mention that this would mean many pages, maybe a total of 7-10. Should I include this in the part related to the results or maybe in an appendix? Or is there a more suitable place? Or should I not include anything at all?<issue_comment>username_1: I assume you are publishing the code that you wrote by hand. Then, the interested reader can just run it and get the output.
Generated code is usually unreadable, so there is little point in going through tens of papers of near-garbage. What could be a good idea is to show some excerpts, no more than a paragraph. One option is perhaps some particularly clever parts, like the handling of a particular corner case; another would be a fairly general simple case, to see how readable it would be.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Short answer: **put your code in public repo, and cite the repo in your paper.**
**Long answer:** Any academic document you produce is supposed to be readable and useful to your readers. Try to put yourself in a reader's shoes and imagine how you feel reading through a 7-page long autogenerated code? Is is a pleasant or useful experience that you would like to repeat one day?
The modern technology allows us to use much more than just a text on the paper to present our research outputs. Although a short pieces of code may be extremely useful and appropriate in textbooks or some articles, the long code and auto-generated code really does not belong to the paper. It should be kept in a public repository, where it really belong, and used as a working example, which people can download, modify and execute, not just enjoy it aesthetically in a pdf file.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/23 | 691 | 2,712 | <issue_start>username_0: I initially thought this was off-topic but StrongBad told me this is not, so thank you.
A friend of mine has been a victim of fraud by someone at an university. This was investigated by the police and will almost certainly lead to a conviction and probably a prison sentence. My question is do universities (automatically?) expel people for committing criminal offenses whilst a student?
The specific University in question here is Cambridge.<issue_comment>username_1: I am aware of no University that automatically does anything. That said, most Universities, have policies in place to protect their reputation. At Cambridge, both [Christ's College](http://www.christs.cam.ac.uk/current-students/section-14-anti-social-behaviour-and-disciplinary-procedures) and [Griton College](http://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/anti-social-behaviour-a-disciplinary-procedures) have almost identical policies which makes me think there is an underlying university policy that I cannot easily find. To quote Griton's policy:
>
> Additionally, the University has a number of sanctions for behaviour impinging on the image of the University, while the most serious breaches, including all criminal behaviour, will be referred to the local police.
>
>
>
Basically, Universities should be reporting any criminal activity to the local authorities. They also have the right to follow their own policies, of which expulsion is a possibility. Universities like to protect their images (e.g., the recent sex offence scandals in the US). So what the University will do may depend on if the victim of the crime was another student and how vocal the sides are.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Short answer they definitely can expel you. Although they will generally have a process to follow. I suspect for most offences resulting in a jail sentence expulsion is highly likely.
Here are the rules for Imperial College <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/secretariat/collegegovernance/provisions/ordinances/e2> (I suspect most institutions have similar rules written somewhere).
Important points are:
* 6e: Misconduct of a nature which is likely to affect the good name and standing of the College is an offence. This likely covers any criminal activity.
* 10c: Summary punishment is available for minor offences for serious offences there are various boards/committees to deal with punishment. College Discipline Committee covers offences under 6e.
* 16-24: There are various proceducures covering how the committee must hear evidence and operate.
* 30f: Expulsion or suspension from college is a permitted punishment.
* 33: The committee shall take note of any external prosecutions.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 1,630 | 7,134 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm an individual interested in multiple academic disciplines such as neuroscience, biological engineering, computer science, history, anthropology, psychology, political theory ... to name just a few. Currently, I have a normal (40 hours/week) engineering job that leaves me enough free time to follow these topics to a moderately satisfying degree.
However, primarily due to intellectual curiosity, I'm considering doing a PhD (in Europe) and would ideally want to move to research later (discipline: something along the lines of genetic engineering, computational biology or cognitive neuroscience - not sure yet, but my background is in computer science). Given the highly specialized nature of modern scientific research that seems to demand intense working hours, one concern that I have is the **fear of becoming highly one dimensional**: completely failing to follow progress in other fields and in society as a whole, with publish or perish environment creating an inescapable feedback loop, where one cannot afford to read articles and books on topics not related to work, or follow public debates; yet alone write a blog about e.g. social issues.
I realize there are academics out there who seem to be prolific across multiple disciplines (e.g. Chomsky, Pinker ...), but the question still stands: **in a modern research environment, can one satisfy multiple intellectual interests that transcend immediate work requirements**, or has the game become too competitive and focused for that? What are the main variables?<issue_comment>username_1: You can do it, but you might not be a professor. I have a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, and I work in CFD, HPC clusters, and BigData/analytics when I do research. My primary job is running the HPC department at a large-ish computing center. If I were a professor, I doubt I could pull this off. My research output is much smaller that professors my age, but I still have a pretty satisfying career.
You best chance for doing lots of different kinds of research is to find a center who appreciates you for your broad interests and to help it grow its mission while pursuing your more esoteric interests when you can.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The answer may vary across field and institution and continent. But based on my experience, in short, I would say: Yes, a modern research environment permits and even benefits from broad intellectual interests.
But first let's draw a distinction between what I'll call your "output" and your "input". For most researchers, research output is highly specialized. It can take an intense focus to make progress on the hardest, most impactful problems (<http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/>). Not only that, your progress is generally a super-linear function of the time you put into a project. You invest in learning past work, concepts tools, developing ideas often over a period of multiple years -- and then connections happen faster, ideas mature, you know the software tools, and overall you produce much more quickly. Good interdisciplinary work is possible and does allow you to use expertise in multiple areas or fields; but, in my experience, this work can be just as specialized.
Your "input", however, is an inspiration for what research to tackle. I find that my creativity in producing good research ideas is substantially better when I explicitly take time to step back and think, interact with new people, and explore new concepts. And the best researchers have a good understanding of society and gut feeling about what will be really impactful in the next few years. If you completely fail to follow progress in your field, in other fields, and in society as a whole, you might produce more papers in the short run but probably have less impactful research in the long run.
As [Hamming said](http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html):
>
> Another trait, it took me a while to notice. I noticed the following facts about people who work with the door open or the door closed. I notice that if you have
> the door to your office closed, you get more work done today and tomorrow, and you are more productive than most. But 10 years later somehow you don't know quite know what problems are worth working on; all the hard work you do is sort of tangential in importance. He who works with the door open gets all kinds of interruptions, but he also occasionally gets clues as to what the world is and what might be important. Now I cannot prove the cause and effect sequence because you might say, "The closed door is symbolic of a closed mind." I don't know. But I can say there is a pretty good correlation between those who work with the doors open and those who ultimately do important things, although people who work with doors closed often work harder. Somehow they seem to work on slightly the wrong thing - not much, but enough that they miss fame.
>
>
>
Finally, as a professor, you have a great deal of freedom to steer your own research agenda; more than in most professions. While it's hard to make progress in wildly divergent fields concurrently, over longer timescales (5-10 years) many researchers do change their focus area quite successfully.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I know this question was asked a long time ago, but for future reference: I think the answer is "kind of."
The best way that I know to do this professionally is to become a "method development" person. In other words, if your job is to develop new statistical or computational tools, or to develop new instrumentation to measure things that weren't previously possible to measure, *and* if you are very good at striking up collaborations across different disciplines, then I think it's totally possible to remain somewhat agnostic about what exact questions you want to pursue using your new methods.
(This is adapted from something a previous advisor said to me, which is that you can be a "methods" or a "problem" person. At the "problem" end of the spectrum, to contrast with the above, you would be motivated by a really specific question, would understand it better than anyone else, and would be more willing to use a wide variety of methods to study it. It can be a good exercise to look at people's careers and try to see where they fall on this spectrum.)
The caveat is that in order to do this successfully, you're still going to need to go "narrow and deep" at the PhD level in something like applied math, statistics, algorithms, etc.; otherwise it's going to be very hard to do work that is cutting-edge enough to genuinely matter across a variety of applications. Doctoral work is all about making a unique contribution; if your knowledge doesn't take you "right up to the edge" of any field, that's going to be really difficult. You will also likely have to cede a little control in terms of choosing questions, because you won't always be able to shoehorn an existing interest around your analytic specialty. But if you want a lot of variety in a tenure-track academic career, I think this is your best bet.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/23 | 1,263 | 5,724 | <issue_start>username_0: Academic job applications usually require the submission of a research statement, which describes not only the applicant's research experience, but also future direction of their work. As such, it may contain some novel ideas.
Considering that a research statement is not a publication, and therefore, can't be cited, how does a selection committee ensure that nothing in an applicant's research statement (especially those of unsuccessful applicants) will be stolen by anyone in the selection committee who reads it?
I mean, since the applicant's submitted documents are probably only known to the selection committee and the applicant him/herself, isn't it easy for anyone in the committee to copy those ideas without being found out?
A related question, if a member in the committee identifies an interesting and promising idea of an unsuccessful applicant, and is keen to pursue the idea, what should the committee member do? How do you give credit to the unsuccessful applicant when the research statement is the only document where the idea is described?
To be clear, my concern is more on the committee, not how I can prevent the committee from stealing my idea. One day I might be sitting as a selection committee member myself, and I'd like to know what I should do in this situation.
This question is related to [Research statement ideas got used by interviewing committee](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5727/), but looking from the perspective of the committee.<issue_comment>username_1: Academics are presented with confidential material all the time. We review manuscripts and grants and we are expected to not steal those ideas. A research statement is very similar to a grant proposal. When we are given applications to review we are reminded that they are confidential and should not be circulated. This is the same as when reviewing a grant. While many funding agencies and publishers have clear statements that reviewers must agree to, departments generally do not produce such guidelines. That said, a department would likely come down very hard on an individual who did not respect the confidentiality of an applicant.
With that out of the way, it is often that a reviewer has similar ideas as an applicant. On the face of it, it may appear that the reviewer has stolen the idea from a proposal, when in fact it was an independent idea that the reviewer had already had. One question is should reviewers decline to review based on a conflict of interest when the proposed work is similar to their current/future work. In my opinion, they should not since they are in the best position to review the work and the similarity is likely the reason they have been asked to review. This then does leave the burden on the reviewers to be able to document that the research agenda is in fact their own and not stolen from the confidential proposal.
The final issue is to document anything that is unique to your proposal. Saying you want to study topic X does not make it yours. Saying you want to study topic X with method Y, isn't much better. If the proposal says I want to study topic X with novel method Y because of reason Z, then the linking of X, Y, and Z might be important. If you document this, then at least if someone studies X with Y, you can get the credit for coming up with the brilliant idea of using method Y on problem X. In some ways realising that problem X can be solved with method Y is more important than actually solving the problem.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Best way to prevent ideas from being stolen (IMHO): write them up and make them public. You don't need to publish them in a top journal or conference, simply write them up (as the research statement is probably already written) and put them on arxiv, figshare or whatever suits you (I think we need a list for these services). Short and simple.
I was told once that one difference between science and engineering is exactly that. The engineer will have an idea and protect it by not telling anybody and *patenting* it. The scientist will protect the idea (the authorship of the idea) by *publishing* it and telling everybody. I don't fully agree due to the characteristics of software engineering, open source and copyright, but I think it serves to illustrate the point.
Sure publishing on a journal or conference requires telling some people before that (the reviewers) and not all ideas are suitable to be published in such places (any reputed venue will reject most of the submissions, there are usually associated costs, etc.) There is the risk of reviewers stealing some ideas (not in a completely straightforward way, to abide the rules) and I think the main reason why there is arxiv is exactly that.
Publishing online is free and immediate. It won't give you much impact and it won't count for some metrics, but it will provide testimony that you had that idea at that time (even if more people could have had the same idea in an independent way, as @username_1 pointed). Then you should find a venue that accepts what you already published in this manner, not all venues will do so and depending on your area most venues may reject such papers, but the fact that most people do something doesn't mean that thing is right.
Finally, the problem (IMHO) is that we are giving great value to something as intangible as ideas, because they are important and have great impact on the progress of society and the career of those who are responsible for those ideas. However, as a society, we are not really prepared to handle intangible things properly, there are attempts to improve that, but all of them are still falling short in some aspects.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/24 | 1,302 | 5,694 | <issue_start>username_0: I developed a system, and wrote a paper about it. It includes formulas and pseudo-code. During the course of development I used Roman letters in the formulas. I eventually ran out of meaningful letters (letters that I could associate to some extent with what they represented), and started using Greek letters. The development went on until somehow I ended up having about 8 Greek letters and 2 Roman letters used in the final formulas and pseudo-code.
Now that the paper is written, I wonder if having all of these Greek letters is unusual. Would it be better to replace them with Roman letters? Would it be better to use Roman letters with subscripts, such as *t* for time, and *t\_scaled* for scaled time, instead of using Greek letters for that?
EDIT: To clear things up a little, my general question is: is it preferable to use Roman letters or Greek letters in a technical (engineering) publication, and is it acceptable or even preferable to use letters with word subscripts instead of entirely new symbols to label related variables or constants?<issue_comment>username_1: The writing style is really something very individual, and may vary a lot. There is nothing wrong with Greek letters *per se*, but it is slightly concerning that you use them because you ran out of meaningful Roman letters. That could indicate that you are using really a lot of notation in your paper, and from a point of reader it might be difficult to keep in mind what do these letters mean.
The use of semantics, i.e. notation like n\_cars or t\_scaled, may really help to reduce the number of "independent" symbols and improve readability. You may also wish to structure the use of variables, e.g. use Greeks as integers and Roman as everything else. It is very good idea to stick to some classical notation worked out in textbooks and major articles in your area of research. Ultimately, you may wish to present a table of all your letters with their meaning after the first section of your paper.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This depends entirely on your field, and specifically, what the norm is in your field. In mathematical fields like statistics, economics, physics, and math itself, and to a slightly lesser extent in chemistry and computer science, using Greek letters as variables is *exceedingly* common - in fact, it's unusual to see a paper that *doesn't* use a few, and there are many quantities for which the well-established standard notation involves a Greek letter. In other fields, perhaps that's not the case.
If you're still not sure after examining the norms in your field, I'd just go ahead and do it. Given that mathematicians use Greek letters all the time, it stands to reason that when you are doing math in another field, you should be able to do so as well.
However, I would caution you about one thing: try to make your variable names *descriptive*. That is, it should be easy for the reader to make the association between the variable name and what it represents. So when there is a standard notation for some quantity, use that; when there isn't, subscripted symbols like "t\_scaled" are one good way to do it. They do take up more space on the page, though, and can make formulas look unwieldy, so you have to strike a balance between aesthetics and clarity of meaning.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: >
> it preferable to use Roman letters of Greek letters in a technical (engineering) publication, and is it acceptable or even preferable to use letters with word subscripts instead of entirely new symbols to label related variable or constants?
>
>
>
In addition to the excellent answers that have already been given, I would like to stress the fact that your original question cannot be answered in the generality that you are apparently looking for. By and large, Greek letters are OK, as are Roman letters, as are either of those with sub- or superscripts. What is *preferable* depends entirely on context, the established conventions and notation in your field, and personal preferences.
When it comes to notation, the 3 golden rules are:
1. Make it intuitive. Don't use epsilon to mean *"a really large value"*. Don't use pi to refer to a constant value of 8.5. If you, for example, have instances and timestamps, don't use "t" to refer to the instances and "i" to refer to timestamps (real-life example I recently reviewed).
2. Make it consistent. Use the same notation in the entire paper. Use the same notation patterns throughout the paper (if you use capital Roman letters for a constant, use capital Roman letters for *all* constants, etc.).
3. Make it minimal. Never introduce notation that you are not actually using.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Greek letters are generally fine. In fact, some things are conventionally reffered to by greek letters e.g standard deviation is sigma.
xLetix's rules are excellent advice. I would just add to please put explainations of your variables close to where you use them. There are two things people do that annoy me in this respect.
* Putting a glossary at the beginning of the text and then don't explain there symbols. A glossary itself is fine but please put explainations in text as well as I don't want to have to flick back to the start to know what every symbol means.
* Similarly, people often put an explaination when they first use the symbol (often in the introduction) and then use it again several pages later with no explaination. This is fine if you have a few obvious symbols but when many with unclear names are used it is difficult to keep track of them. Just writing the name in words generally suffices.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/24 | 2,639 | 10,573 | <issue_start>username_0: Is it ethical to accept small gifts from students? In past years I have one or two students have given me small gifts, generally a box of chocolates. I judge the size of gifts on my international beer scale, where things that cost less than 4 beers, (maybe 10 USD) are small token gifts. These have always fallen into the small token gift category. I have typically either left these in my office and shared with people or in bountiful years brought them into the lab or school office. This year I have received over a dozen boxes of chocolates from undergraduate students. Individually each box is still small, but in total the gifts are no longer small. All but two of the gifts were from graduating students. I realised I don't have a well defined personal policy about accepting gifts and I am not sure the university has a policy either.
What should you do when students offer you gifts?<issue_comment>username_1: Fortunately for everyone involved, I am not a professor. I would be *very* uncomfortable even with "small" gifts (what's small for a professor with a salary could make quite a dent in some students' budgets).
There is a slippery slope involved here, and I personally would rather [avoid even having to think about this by laying down extremely simple rules](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0143122231). For instance, I kind of like [this](http://www.eclectecon.net/2013/07/open-letter-to-my-students-8th-revised-edition-august-2013.html):
>
> If I see you out on the town or at a sports bar, and you want to buy
> me a drink, you cannot currently be in my classes or ever take any of
> my classes again. Then probably you can buy me a drink.
>
>
>
I'd probably suggest that if anyone does want to express their appreciation of something I did, an email would be quite enough and would of course be very welcome. If someone *does* feel the compulsion to spend money, they could always donate to their favorite charity.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In the general case, professors/lecturers/TAs should not accept gifts from students, as these things can lend themselves very easily to accusations of conflict of interest. This falls in the same general category as dating one of your students, or grading your kid's exam.
That said, I can think of three situation where gifts are acceptable.
(1) a graduating student gets you something nice *after* graduation (e.g., in the department where I did my PhD, it is normal for students and advisors to exchange gifts after a successful doctoral defense).
(2) a current student makes a "collective gift", e.g., a student brings a cake to class to celebrate his/her birthday and offers you a slice.
(3) you go through some major life event and students pitch in to get you something, e.g., when I came back to work after having to get major surgery, the grad students in my department got me a nice coffee machine to celebrate that I hadn't died.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I have students bringing me gifts quite often. Like username_1, I am quite uncomfortable with it. I am made even more uncomfortable by the fact that in the local culture (not my native culture) it is common for subordinates to bring gifts to their boss, which seems to me like a continued corruption to keep ones job.
As should be obvious to anyone in a position in power, people subject to that power think it is great to be able to buy preferential treatment. Some of my students get chauffered to school in very expensive cars (>$100,000) so I am sure they have the money to give as expensive of a gift as they feel.
However, as the one in power, I must keep this tendency in check. I, therefore, simply do not accept gifts from individual students. Period. **I do, however, accept gifts if they are from the entire class** and presented by the "leader of the class" which all classes here have.
There are limits on what I would accept from the class but that has never been in question. The biggest gift I've received would set each student back $1. And to be clear, I would never accept cash or something very similar to cash.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I will disagree slightly with some of the previous answers. I come from a health-care perspective. A great deal of papers discuss the ethical/moral ramifications of accepting gifts from patients and subordinates and students/trainees. I will say up-front that I believe accepting valuable gifts from students is a problem and should be avoided in the vast majority of circumstances. In contrast, I do not ALWAYS see a problem with accepting small gifts from students/patients. Offering a gift is typically a way to express some appreciation and accepting the gift is a way to express your appreciation of the appreciation. Rejecting the gift can be slightly insulting and harm student-teacher rapport. Coming off in a stand-offish way to one student can have long-lasting implications.
I had two experiences where a student offered me a small basket of cookies and another offered a decoration with a value of 10$. I kindly told them no thank you, but they insisted. I insisted no thank you again, and they re-insisted. I know if I said no once again, she would have been insulted. It alienates the student and puts me in an awkward position of being an authoritarian person who cannot participate in typical activities (i.e., doing/accepting small favours). A teacher is not a friend, and that should be clear, but a teacher can still be warm, and approachable.
In essence, the benefits of accepting a gift (e.g., increasing approachability, seeming nice/human) can often outweigh the potential costs (which are often negligible if the gift is of nominal value). This is, of course, on a case by case basis. It might be appropriate in some contexts (e.g., very small class, clinical supervision) but not others (e.g., very large class). As is often the case, judgment is needed.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I think it's ethical, but I work hard *never* to accept gifts from students, past or present.
Present students
----------------
The reason not to accept gifts from present students is multifaceted:
* It sets up the possibility of a conflict of interest. I want to be as objective as possible in evaluating students and structuring my courses.
* It might signal to other students that they should consider giving gifts as well.
Past students
-------------
I don't accept gifts from past students as well because even past students still have professional connections with faculty:
* I get often recommendation/reference requests about past students. I have had at least one case where a weak student gave a gift in my name and then asked me for a recommendation letter for a job.
* There are reasonable and more appropriate ways for students to demonstrate support for their alma maters (e.g. making a donation to the school/college/department).
* It might set up the expectation among students that they should give me gifts.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: One of the circumstances when I see no problem in accepting a gift is when the gift has no monetary value.
I was offered once a polystyrene toroidal earth at the end of a geometry class, whose cost was only a little time and effort. I accepted it as a token of gratitude and see no problem with that. I was sort of a TA, and I was not grading the students (not that it would have affected my grading, but still an important note). It sits in my office from then, and reminds me that teaching well can be well-appreciated.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I occasionally give small gifts or presents1 to the students in my upper division classes---things like the specialized pads that are common in my field but the students are not familiar with (they cost a few dollars each and the students are unlikely to buy the without having tried them).
So rather than the beer scale, I use my donations to the class as a measure: if I could not afford to give something of similar value to *every student in the presenter's class* then it represents a problem.
None-the-less I am still a little uncomfortable with anything coming from a single student or small group of students. What is true for Ceasar's wife is still more true for Ceasar.
---
1 Here I make a distinction between "gift" and "present" that I read somewhere. A gift is something you give because you think the recipient will get enjoyment out of it but would not buy it for themselves. A present is something you give them because you think they should have it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I'm surprised that so far noone mentioned that the acceptable ethics are possibly spelled out as legally binding rules.
Giving something to a university teacher is totally unusual here (Germany). It is less unusul that a school class (or the parents) gives something to a teacher they had for years when the teacher will not teach the class any longer. But this is actually a situation where the [*legal rules can be more strict than what many people would intuitively consider OK*](http://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/geldstrafe-fuer-lehrerin-aus-berlin-wegen-schuelergeschenk-13376014-p2.html)
(see also [this poll](http://www.spiegel.de/forum/votes/vote-11187.html).)
Which is why I mention this here.
---
E.g. I live in Thuringia, Germany. Rules for employees of the state of Thuringia are in general are that anything above 25 EUR always needs explicit permission. And anything that is close to money is always inacceptable (including e.g. entrance tickets, gift cards/vouchers).
Rules can be more strict for certain types of employees, e.g. [School teachers in Thuringia need to obtain permission for anything with the exception of gifts that are of idealistic (?) value only](http://www.tlv.de/fileadmin/bfroehlich/Dateiliste_2/Lehrerdienstordnung.pdf).
Anti-corruption rules are something that every employee has to sign. Also, the TVL trade agreement I signed with my work contract states as "default value" that I'm not allowed to accept anything that is related to my work without permission. However, "automatic permissions" can be granted for small things. (e.g. the 25 € in the paragraph above).
Some universities (in other states) have spelled out lists of what they consider so small that the permission is granted automatically such as: "collective" flowers from your colleagues for birthday, or the evaluation copy of a book that you review, pen with an advertisement on it.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/24 | 728 | 3,343 | <issue_start>username_0: I am BSc student. When I was in the fourth semester (end of the second year), I did my course project and submitted it to my professor. His efforts in order to publish it really shocked me. It was just a course project and I already had a conference paper out of it. I know the article was so foolish and basic but he is insisting on publishing it. After two rejections he is submitting it to another journal.
**Does this journal count this rejections as negative points for the authors?** If I am going to submit any paper to this journal in the future do they count this rejections?<issue_comment>username_1: I have never heard of a journal holding rejected manuscripts against the authors. Editors likely keep track informally of problem authors such that if an author is consistently submitting low quality work they may be more likely to desk reject the work than bother reviewers with it. That said, one or two low quality submissions would not be problematic.
The UK research councils have started to implement a waiting period for low quality grant submissions. Basically, if you submit two low quality grant applications in a row on sequential deadlines, you will be barred from submitting another application on the next deadline. Once the waiting period is over, the issue is forgotten. The penalty is pretty small since it is pretty hard, if not impossible, to rapidly come up with three good funding proposals. Having a mandated few month break is probably a good thing. This is relatively new and some day publishers may follow suit, but as of now, no publisher imposes such a model.
To summarise, if the PI thinks there is a reasonable chance of publication, then a few rejections (less than a dozen) will not hurt your reputation or future chance of publishing other material.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Rejections are not necessarily a negative when submitting to a new journal. Of course, it means a careful editor will take an extra careful look at the manuscript before accepting it for review. They key point is, however, that when submitting a previously rejected manuscript it is necessary to, first, be upfront with the rejection and the reasons for it, and, second, to provide clear details on how the previous reviews have been used to improve the manuscript for the current submission. So, clearly, of one simply submit the same manuscript over and over again, yes, there is a chance someone may accept it in the end, but it is very poor work ethics to do so. A manuscript that has been rejected and significantly improved from comments received and additional work done, will have a pretty good chance of being published. As an editor you can then see indications of what may be key issues with the paper. This does not mean, as some seem to think, that submitting half-baked manuscripts and have reviewers beat them into order is the way to write good papers so there are fine lines of good conduct which have to be followed.
As for holding a rejection against you: No, not unless there are repeated sloppy submissions. But even then, every manuscript receives an independent check to see if it is of sufficient quality. A bad reputation just means you will raise flags with editors whenever you submit. And, *once* will not create a reputation.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/24 | 868 | 4,013 | <issue_start>username_0: I'll be at a conference next month to present my paper.
I have a Master's degree in Computer Science and now I'm looking for a PhD with scholarship.
Well, is it right, with a common sense and in a polite way, to ask a professor at conference about a PhD position?<issue_comment>username_1: It is definitely OK. You should be more like @JeffE suggests "How do I apply?" rather than "Would you accept me for a PhD?".
Conference is a great opportunity to meet and discuss with your potential supervisor. You should try to judge, as much as possible, how easy would it be to work with that person for quite a few years. On the other hand, note that high profile academics are used to get approached by random people and you shouldn't be discouraged to formally apply even if they seem way too busy to have a long chat with you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it is OK but, before you attend that conference; try to identify the professors who come to the discussion panels and sessions. Their names are normally written in the conferences' websites. Then search their university homepage on the net and read some of their publications. This way you find two or three professors that their research interest is almost near yours. At the day of the conference, go to the sessions in which they present and politely after a short introduction about yourself; ask whether they accept any PhD student or plan to accept one or not.
I have seen that some MSc students go to the conferences and ask any professor they see without any previous search about their academic background. This behavior is so impolite.
Sometimes, in the professors' website, they have notifications about not accepting new PhD students. In this case, asking them for a PhD position is not acceptable and means that the person has never visited his website and probably he is not a good student at all. This way, they may not even listen what you are talking to about.
If in some cases, there are some positions available and notified on their website, then go to that professor, show them your curriculum vitae and ask them for a position; or talk to them about opportunities available for a PhD student.
If you are interested in working with a professor but there are not any positions available; then talk about doing some volunteer research under their supervision. However, it all depends on your research background and how much they find you suitable for working on a research topic. For instance, if you have a good programming background and they need a programmer in their research group, they may accept you to work on some parts of their research project; and after a few months, if any PhD position become available, you will have a higher chance to compete for that position, because the professor knows you better as you have previously worked with him.
Conferences are so valuable for the research students to become familiar with ongoing research projects and publications. In these conferences, you may talk to other researchers or PhD students and start a research project which is interesting for both of you. So, do not miss the chance to discuss and talk to the other people at the conference; and not just focus on the professors. Besides to these, some companies may need a person like you who has done a research in the field of your interest. So talk to them. There may be some funding or grants available which you can apply for.
I think that if you have your paper printed with your resume attached to it may help the professor to remember you and if any positions be available in future, he may contact you. Remember that not all the people have good memory to remember the others with detailed information about their resume and paper. People easily forget details about the past. If your resume be interesting for them and they forget you because they have no printed information about you, then you may miss a research position.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/24 | 427 | 1,705 | <issue_start>username_0: In Masters in Management (MSc Mgmt/MIM) admissions, how much weight is generally given by the Adcom to the applicant's undergrad performance, especially if it's an unrelated one like engineering?
Does it have any bearing if the applicant's undergrad performance is poor but his other credentials are excellent?
What kind of credentials should such an applicant aim to acquire before applying (Other than the GMAT, TOEFL, etc)?<issue_comment>username_1: I'll speak from my own experience.
I had only a 2.9 GPA in my major, Economics. But I had a 3.5 overall.
What may have helped me was my GMAT score (over 750). In any event, I got into several top level MBA programs, including the one of my choice.
It helps to work a year or two before applying to an MBA program. A "gap year" (or more) is probably more valuable for this degree than for other graduate degrees.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Your undergraduate GPA is important for MIM because it is one of criteria where the admission team can evaluate your profile.
However the damages done by a low GPA can balanced by a high GMAT score, internships and a strong SOP.
I've also come to understand that it helps if your country of origin is not highly represented in the college of your choice (disadvantage to Indians).
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: The engineering major is good in a way since they know you can handle MBA math. But they won't really cut you much slack for poor performance or say it is irrelevant. What is relevant is that you had a chance to get good grades and didn't. They are looking for people who excel in whatever they do (engineering, economics, literature, etc.)
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/24 | 490 | 2,110 | <issue_start>username_0: Some conferences are established by IEEE and ACM, others by only one of them.
I thought at first that such organizations somehow maintain a certain degree of high quality in the affiliated conferences. But I've seen beginner conferences saying they they are sponsored by IEEE, some say "technically sponsored", while they accept poor quality papers.
So what should "having the ACM or IEEE logo on a conference's website" mean to me?<issue_comment>username_1: In practice, it means that they publish the conference proceedings and you may get a registration discount if you are a member. Nothing more than that.
"Sponsored by" statements do not reflect [quality](http://www.nature.com/news/publishers-withdraw-more-than-120-gibberish-papers-1.14763) at all. Some quick Google search using keywords like "scam" or even better "random paper generator" will convince you.
N.B. That doesn't mean that all conferences of those organisations are bad, quite the opposite. The best conferences of many fields are endorsed by those orgs.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In part it means that the conference organizers have access to the conference administration tools and resources that IEEE, ACM, or the like provide. Having been around some IEEE-sponsored conferences, that can mean things like payment processing and credit card handling; access to a journal special issue for proceedings; conference organization website for registration, submissions, and reviewing; and registration discounts for members of the society.
Access to these features doesn't come for free. The professional societies charge for their use and stand to make money on them. As such, while you have to propose the conference and get it approved, after that the oversight is less. The quality of a conference comes down to the Organizing Committee and it's technical/content/papers committee. If you've never heard of any of the members of these committees, or many of them appear to have low-quality papers, there's a good chance that the conference isn't all that great.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/24 | 489 | 2,238 | <issue_start>username_0: As an editorial board member for a low impact journal, I've been approached to provide comments on whether I think a proposal for a special issue is acceptable or not. I'm quite inexperienced in this role, and it seems rather different from reviewing a paper or grant proposal. I have been provided a list of guest editors as well as a justification statement, however, the special issue is not directly in my field so I can only assume credibility from prior publications (if I can find them).
Have any others been in this situation, and if so, by what criteria did they make a decision on acceptability?<issue_comment>username_1: I have been receiving a lot of invitations lately to review proposals for special editions -- mostly open access. These proposals have been way outside of my area of study (and sometimes discipline). My guess is they scrape the web for potential reviewers and use a shotgun approach -- but that is just a guess.
I *ALWAYS* decline serving as a reviewer if I am not sufficiently expert on the substantive or methodological issues. I also try to highlight in my review where my expertise may fall short so the editor knows where to fill the gaps.
I suggest you decline any invitation if you are not qualified to review the topic.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is difficult to say what would be the best way to deal with this since the way journals set up editorial boards and then use them differ. As a member of a board I would expect you have been chosen to provide expertise within your field. I assume the proposal you received was sent to you from an Chief Editor or equivalent? If you feel you do not have the insights then the simple reply is that you do not have the insights to properly evaluate the proposal.
If, on the other hand, the proposal came from the outside, the appropriate thing to do would be to pass it onto the Chief Editor for further consideration. Again, I am working under the assumption that there is one or a couple of persons in charge of the journal and that they have an editorial board associated with the journal to help the journal in different ways.
So contact the person(s) in charge and explain your standpoint.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/24 | 890 | 3,812 | <issue_start>username_0: From reading the many questions on here that relate to CVs it seems that some items are necessary on a CV and others are more appropriate at the persons difference stages within academia. As someone at the very early stage, masters student with no publications, is conference volunteering a plus or minus on a CV?
In my own situation I helped out at a 2 day conference that my department held. I assisted presenters with setting up their presentations and video recorded the conference for the university. As a smaller conference I was the only grad student that assisted.<issue_comment>username_1: In general, it's a bad idea to put things in your CV that look like they are there exclusively to make it look longer. It gives the impression that you haven't done enough "real" stuff (teaching, publications, etc) and you are just digging for menial things to pad your CV up. The problem is that, as you pointed out, what counts as "menial" vs. "significant" depends to a certain extent on your career stage. If you are a grad student and your professor asks you to give a guest lecture in one of his/her undergrad classes, it's ok to include that in your CV, but if you are in a tenure-track job, you might want to only include courses for which you have full responsibility.
In the case at hand, I would say that it's ok to say that you helped at this particular conference, but keeping in mind that this line will have to disappear from your CV at some point in the future.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As a general rule: anything which is clearly academically related *can go on your CV*. As you say, there are certain things that are required or nearly required on your CV, but even these vary by discipline and sometimes people in the same discipline have divergent ideas. (For instance, every once in a while I find a CV which doesn't list the candidate's undergraduate institution, or lists it without indicating the years that they spent there. I would have thought that was strictly required. I guess I was wrong.)
What to fight in adding "academically related" information to your CV is clear: if you put in *too much* routine stuff, you'll get a bloated mess of a CV that few people will actually read. Drawbacks of a lengthy CV can be mitigated by very careful and clear organization. Nevertheless, you can compare CVs of two absolutely cognate people -- e.g. who attended undergrad and grad at exactly the same time and arrived at their current institution at the same time and with the same seniority -- and you'll find significant variations, including up to at least 1/3 in the total length. It's really your choice how much detail to put on your CV, and I would be skeptical of anyone who tells you too stridently what you must and must not do.
Having said that: yes, very early career academics (especially students) really struggle to have a CV that doesn't look unhelpfully skimpy. Conference work sounds like a great thing to put on a junior person's CV -- and in fact, even on a senior person's, although a more senior person might be more selective about the kind of conference work that goes on your CV.
One tip: "conference volunteering" might be an undersell. Most conference organizing is unpaid, hence is volunteer work. "Conference assistant" sounds like your work was really on the level of secretarial work / technical support. If that is an accurate description of what you did, great. If you do such things more than once or twice, you should think about asking to be let in on some of the more content-related aspects of the work. For instance, if you had a say -- however small -- in choosing or recruiting the speakers or attendees, then I would go for something like "co-organizer" rather than "assistant".
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/24 | 697 | 3,067 | <issue_start>username_0: I've recently finished grad school. I've written two papers since that time, and I think that I have more good ideas. However, I find it difficult to write now for two reasons. First of all, I don't have access to the ACM / IEEE literature databases anymore (they were gratis from my university.) Second, I have no one to review or even proof-read my papers.
So, how do people who are not active in the academic community write papers? Is it possible?<issue_comment>username_1: It is possible. After years away from graduate school, I am working on several papers, covering both old and new topics. However, it is very hard to do it completely alone.
I have the benefit of some contacts acquired through one of the forums on StackExchange. They are willing to spend a limited amount of time (say half an hour a month, to within two orders of magnitude) in email correspondence with me, to receive drafts from me (but not necessarily referee: just skim for a few minutes and find more egregious aspects which they kindly point out), and most importantly, endorse me for posting on ArXiv. Before the endorsement, I spent some time convincing them I wouldn't be a drain, that I could help them out, and that I might hope for a favor regarding endorsement, literature search, and so on. Realize that from their perspective, I could be a potential crank or downside on their career, as I have given them almost no verifiable information on what little credentials I have. I consider their involvement as a gift, and treat it with care.
With their minimum involvement, I now can post results on the ArXiv, and use that as a stepping stone to loftier research goals. Since your express purpose is to produce research for others to read, you need three things: the research, the others, and a means to get the research to the others. Getting to know one or two of the "others" is key. Getting them by being helpful on this and other fora is one of the easiest routes I know for this step, but there are other methods. There may be other repositories besides the ArXiv which may help you more, but I don't know of them; ask the "others" for advice, and respect their time. The research part, that's your problem, again with which "others" might be able to help.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I don't see a problem with either of your concerns if you have a good professional relationship with your former supervisor. Just contact them and ask if they would be interested to coauthor a research paper. Send them a draft paper or a description of your idea and a list of the ACM/IEEE publications you need for the research.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't know where you are, but in some countries public libraries have access to academic literature. You may have to deal with a large regional or a national library for this - for example, people in the UK can access almost anything through the British Library in London, but some journals are also available through the libraries in other cities.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/24 | 2,846 | 11,795 | <issue_start>username_0: So i am really interested in psychology, law, film studies, and writing. (very different topics) Could i double major in psychology and say political science and minor in film studies and something like English, and then go on to get a Phd in either law or psychology? By the time i get to college i am sure my interests will change and i could go into quantum physics or something else, but i am starting college applications and for some colleges it is smart to have a good answer on your desired major instead of putting down "undecided." I am just very interested to see what graduates think of doubling majors and minors and if it is even a smart decision to do so. thanks<issue_comment>username_1: Savannah-Jane,
The future is always exciting, especially for someone who has promise. But I would caution you into looking too far ahead and "smell the roses".
You have probably one of the most important decisions you will make in your life right before you; where you will go to college as an undergraduate. That is the decision I would focus on. The questions you are asking now are important to consider when choosing a school; no one with graduate school aspirations wants to attend a college that sends very few people to the types of schools you might want to attend. But, conversely, it would be unwise to make a decision about where you study just because you want to go somewhere else afterword: make sure that you go to a place you love for your 4-5 years. If a school doesn't provide enough undergraduate research opportunities, you can always do a masters degree before your PhD. If your classes are too hard senior year and you can't study for the LSAT, you can find a way to take a year off and apply next cycle. These things are important, but they aren't the most important.
When looking for a college, look for a place you can see yourself living. And studying. And getting drunk Friday nights if you are into that sorta thing. A place where you might fall in love. A place where you can make friends you can trust. Look for that professor that takes a special interest in his students, and work with him or her. When the time comes, bring up graduate school, what you are interested in, and these things will work out. There is always a way to study what you want if you work hard and are curious. There are certainly kids who would do better at a small liberal arts college than a large state school, but the converse is also true. Figure out the differences between those types of experiences.
My very good friend ended up studying computer science in college, but is now getting his PhD in political science. English majors go to medical school. Physicists go to law school. There will be some "general" decisions you will have to make in the beginning, like if you are more science or humanities inclined. It would be very hard for an English major to go into a Physics PhD program, but that's all you really need to know. There is no rush in picking a particular major. Don't try to design your whole life. Leave some things up for chance. Curious minds always remain curious.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I graduated with a Bachelors of Science, double major in Management and Electrical Engineering. I did them sequentially, first graduating with a BS in Management in 3 years (I took courses in summers) and then back to the same school for EE (in 18 months, again via summer courses).
The best argument in favor of double majors is that you can develop competency and strength in two fields. I personally think it's best if the two fields are related, so that your double major creates a hybrid mix.
This combination was an advantage for me in the job market (industry), mostly because it opened more possibilities (companies, and jobs within companies).
I'm a PhD student now (several decades after my BS) in Computational Social Science, which is in the neighborhood of my original degrees. This gave me a big advantage over other students who had either no background in computer science or none in social sciences.
As for your college applications, it may be fine to list your current ideas for a major, even if it's a double major. But much more than just listing them, I think it would be *vital* to explain in your essay *why* these two majors seem right for you, and therefore *what this tells them about you as a person*. Are you especially good at "creative synthesis" across diverse fields? Have you demonstrated this in the past? Are you intensely curious and thus you want to start with these majors as an entry point for a path of intellectual/personal discovery? And what does the preference for these two majors say about your choice of colleges?
It would also be good to avoid giving the impression that you want to go in all directions at the same time like an espresso-crazed humming bird. (If you are, in fact, an espresso-crazed humming bird, then you might want to get some help and support with that prior to entering college :-) )
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In high school and the first couple years of college you are allowed to explore different fields and it is easy to change your major. Sometime around the beginning of your junior year you will need to settle on one or two specific fields and enroll in the specific courses needed to obtain a degree in that major. Sometimes it is possible to complete a double major with an extra year of school work. As you get closer to graduation it gets harder to change majors because you already have a significant investment of time and money in the courses you have already completed.
While it is good to be a Renaissance person with many different interests, in today's world you will probably need to be a specialist in one or two narrow fields if you wish to obtain employment in that occupation.
There are some exceptions, the famous astronomer <NAME> completed a law school degree before chucking it all and starting over in astronomy, but that is not usually an option for people who graduate with a mound of student loan debt and a desire to get on with life.
It is not unlike dating, in high school you should be meeting a lot of different people, as you grow older you will probably want to develop a more serious relationship with only one person, but you need to try out a few (or a lot of) different people while you are young before you can decide on "Mr or Ms Right" when you are older.
Obtaining a PhD will require you to choose one extremely narrow field of study and to publish a thesis that represents a piece of original research in which you invent or discover something that nobody else has ever known before. One joke that is frequently heard in academia is that a PhD is "a person who knows everything about nothing", which refers to the fact that you will be a world class expert in a subject that is infinitely narrow. It is not uncommon for different faculty members in a university department to be working and publishing papers in fields that are mostly incomprehensible even to the professor who works across the hall from them.
A PhD is typically preparation for an academic career, which is nice work if you can get it, but academic positions are highly competitive and difficult to obtain. It is also the "license" that you need that will allow you to apply for grant money from government agencies or private foundations to fund the conduct of your research program. Notice that I said "allows you to apply for", not "assures that you will receive" such grants. Unfortunately there are many excellent grant proposals that never receive funding. Your proven ability to obtain money from external funding agencies is the primary thing that universities will evaluate when you apply for a faculty position.
As a result, there are many PhD's working in jobs outside of academia that they could have obtained with a bachelor's degree and a few years of on-the-job experience. There is a serious overproduction of PhD's which has led some academics to talk about the need for "academic birth control" to avoid producing excessive numbers of PhD's. Of course they usually mean that other universities should practice such restraint, not their own institution.
Employers outside of academia may be wary of hiring PhD's for jobs that don't require such a degree out of fear that you are planning to work for them for just a short time until you find the academic research position that you really want. Thus, you may find that a PhD actually limits your job options and the possibility of earning a middle class income in the future.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Here is ***MY*** personal suggestion for a specific approach to planning your education when you have so many different areas you want to study. I assume you will attend college in the U.S. as a full time student (12+ units per semester) so please adjust if that is incorrect.
In your first semester take the following 4 courses if you can:
* (1) a class on managing life as a college student (typically these are categorized as Human Development courses but check with your college counselor). These classes are survival skills training for college. Alternatively you could independently study the following textbook while you are still in high-school:
["**Becoming A Master Student**", <NAME>, Cengage Publishing, ISBN 978-1-285-19389-2](http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do;jsessionid=9E07A778E50461E03F9FFD00B17D790C?N=14&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=22116435118174932681451926148562150258&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial) (I recommend this specific book because it helped me immensely a long time ago. I am not connected with the publisher or author in any way).
* (2) a class in "how to tutor" which oddly enough will teach you about excellent techniques and habits for studying. It will also prepare you to be able to get a campus job as a part-time tutor if you decide you want to do that later on.
* (3A) if you need to, now is the time to take "English 101" (it may be called something else Like "English 1" or "Writing 1" but it teaches *standard college-level writing*). English 101 is typically a pre-requisite for many other classes. Also take any **workshops** your college offers on writing research papers. Depending on the subject of the class you will need to learn about using MLA, APA, **and** CMS citation styles. Purdue University's OWL website can be helpful with that.
* (3B) if you do not need to take English 101 (ask your college counselor) then take a course that is required for your "general education requirements". These are those fundamental classes every student has to complete in order to graduate, regardless of their major.
* (4) take ONE course for *sheer fun!* This is for helping you deal with the "pressure" of college. Find an introductory course in some creative hobby you have always wanted to try. Enjoy it (because learning should be fun sometimes) and don't stress about the final grade. But do give it your best effort nonetheless.
* (5) if by this point you are enrolled in less than 12 units fill in the rest with more "general education" classes (item 3B above).
For your subsequent semesters during years 1 and 2 be sure that 75% of your classes are "general education" classes so you can knock those out of the way. Work with your college counselor to use the other 25% of your classes as a means to explore beginning/introductory courses in the majors you are thinking about. Sometimes an introductory course can reveal information about a subject that can help you decide if that is really what you want to focus your education on.
**One Warning:** Do not take *too many* "excess" classes because this will affect your financial aid in the long run.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/24 | 461 | 2,064 | <issue_start>username_0: I am writing a paper on a topic closely related to previous literature (but in a different study population). As such, the statistical analysis is very similar to a previous publication and I really like the way the previous authors (which I have cited in the literature review) have structured a particular table.
Would essentially copying this structure, but putting in my own results, be a form of plagiarism?<issue_comment>username_1: I doubt anyone would consider a table format as plagiarized when used to show new data. It would be akin to saying use of Tukey's box-and-whisker type plots would be plagiarism. The question is understandable, however, since someone could arguably claim some such structure as intellectual property. I think the key here lies in what is being copied. You are copying the structure but not the content. To protect the form would be quite pointless since no-one would buy the rights and it would be simple to make sufficient variations to argue it is not the same form. I am sure this could be discussed at length by lawyers.
Although, not within the scope of your question, most author's will be happy to see something they produce becoming reused and maybe even a standard. I had a figure in a paper that was picked up by IPCC and used to show something different than my original but still unequivocally based on my design.
So in the end, as suggested in comments to your question. you can pay homage to the original by acknowledging the idea of the table in your acknowledgement or by citing the paper and stating the table is based on their table. Which makes most sense, will depend on circumstances in your paper.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think that we - myself included - tend to think of citations primarily as a defence against accusations of plagiarism, but don't they also provide the reader with an account of how the thinking behind the paper emerged? In which case citing here seems like an opportunity for a possibly quite valuable aside.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/25 | 3,046 | 13,159 | <issue_start>username_0: I’m a mechanical engineering student and I am about to apply for a PhD. I am certain about my desire to pursue advanced studies. However, I have serious doubts in what I want to pursue my studies on.
I have done research on structural health monitoring and power electronics. At some point I thought that I had interest in electrical engineering and after some research I got interested in mathematical physics and then in applied mathematics.
I started doing undergraduate research when I was a sophomore in the area of structural health monitoring. However my job was to write an algorithm to implement the methodology. I realize now that what interested me was not structural health monitoring, but to study the origin and derivation of the theoretical equations. I saw the profiles of various faculty in applied mathematics and I found some of their research interesting.
Doubts about applying:
* Although I have a GPA above 3.60 some programs require certain number of courses in mathematics. I only have the mathematics included in the mechanical engineering program and one course of elementary statistics. I have taken 5 courses in mathematics. However I don’t show strength because out of the 5 courses, in 2 of them I got B when I was a freshman. I think that the taking the elementary statistic course last semester was not a good idea. I should have taken a more advanced course.
* I have not taking any advanced course in mathematics.
* The application to the program requires the GRE, TOEFL and subject test in math. Some graduate programs say that the GRE math are not mandatory but not taking it puts you in disadvantage. I am not sure I will have time to prepare for it and as a result I don't know if I will do well.
* I have research experience, but it is not in this area. In addition, the reference letters will be made by engineering professors and not math professors.
* Since I am about to finish next semester, I don’t have much time to take more courses or do research in the area.
I looked at a few topics that I found interesting in applied mathematics but I haven’t done research in them. As a result I don’t know if I will get tired or if I will change my mind once I start on the program. If I were to apply for this program and I change my mind would it be easier to change even if it means going to other department?<issue_comment>username_1: Much depends on the specific university and department arrangement.
However, moving departments at the PhD level is *usually* quite difficult because it involves changes in your financial package. Transferring from physics to mathematics, for example, would mean your funding is coming from a different source. It also means that physics is losing a student, which can be bad for the department. Things are even more complicated if your funding is tied to a lab or an individual faculty member.
Many places consider transfers alongside new applicants (meaning, you are, in effect, applying to graduate school for the second time). You would have a slight advantage of knowing your professors, and perhaps of having an advocate for your candidacy, but you still have to write essays and get recommendations along with everyone else. I would not count on a transfer as a plan. You could just as well not get in, losing support from your home department in the meantime.
For these reasons, I often recommend students take some time between graduation and graduate school. Get a job at a lab or with a firm, take some courses, travel. Graduate school is like marriage--a long-term commitment. It is not a good place to explore or experiment with careers. There is no rush to make the decision, but once you do, make sure you are committed to your department and to your chosen discipline.
Master's programs are a different ballgame, since they do not normally fund students. It is probably easier to switch out of a Master's program. But once again, you would probably have to apply anew.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Unfortunately, no, it's not so easy to change PhD programs.
It isn't like changing your undergrad major, where you just have to fill out some forms and get your advisors to sign off. At the graduate level, each department does its own admissions. So if you are in a mechanical engineering program and want to switch to applied math, you have to submit an application to the applied math program just like anyone else. You'll be competing for a seat against every other applicant from around the world, most of whom will have completed a full undergrad mathematics major.
You might be able to improve your odds by getting to know faculty in the math program before you apply, perhaps discussing (or working on) research projects with someone there. However, keep in mind that you will also need to stay in good standing in the engineering program, and you won't have a lot of spare time to explore math opportunities.
Also, from your description, your math background sounds much too light for entry into a math grad program. Applied math can be more flexible than pure math, but having no advanced courses at all doesn't sound too good. In fact, I'd be concerned that without advanced coursework, you may not even have enough of a sense of the field to know that it's really what you want to do. Mathematics courses have a sharp change in flavor and difficulty as you transition from lower-level computational courses (calculus, differential equations, etc) to upper-level theory courses (real analysis, abstract algebra, topology). Entering a PhD program having only the former kind of courses would be roughly analogous to being a go-kart enthusiast racing in the Indianapolis 500. And it won't be easy to pick up extra math courses while in an engineering program; grad program requirements rarely allow for free electives.
Perhaps something that might better fit your situation is a post-baccalaureate ("post-bac") program. These are one-year programs designed for students who have completed a bachelors and want to attend grad school in math, but need further preparation. Such programs are offered by relatively few institutions, but I believe some of them are quite well-known in the community and have very good placement rates.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: A PhD is not like an undergraduate degree where you can do a bit of this, a bit of that, add up your scores and get your final grade. It's about doing research in a fairly narrow area, leading to writing a focused thesis on a particular topic. Spending, say, a year doing electrical engineering would normally give you almost nothing that would be useful towards a PhD in mathematics, and vice-versa. As such, transfering from one department to another is, essentially, starting a new PhD and would likely be treated as such.
It sounds like you don't know much about what a PhD involves and you should definitely find out before committing several years of your life doing one! I'm also a little confused by your statement that you're certain you want to commit several years of your life to studying a fairly narrow topic but you're not even sure what broad area that topic will come from. It seems that you're much more excited by the idea of doing a PhD than about any of the areas that you might research, yet doing the PhD requires being in one of those areas that you seem to find less exciting than the PhD itself.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: My advice is the same as username_2's, but let me make a few points.
>
> I am certain about my desire to pursue advanced studies. However, I have serious doubts in what I want to pursue my studies on.
>
>
>
To be very honest, for me the second sentence largely nullifies the first. Wanting to pursue a PhD in the abstract is a poor idea. In order to get any satisfaction out of a PhD program, you need to be pursuing a PhD in X because your love for X is so strong that you want to have a career doing X. If you think it might be X,Y or Z, I worry that you don't have a deep enough commitment to any of the three to make it worth the time, effort and career uncertainty of today's very harsh job market.
Perhaps by expressing "serious doubts" you are really explaining your desire to transition from your undergraduate field to mathematical physics / applied mathematics (henceforth I'll just say "math": that's where you would apply). I agree with username_2 that your coursework in mathematics is so minimal that you probably haven't been exposed to the flavor of graduate level mathematics....or at least, you haven't demonstrated that exposure in a way that would be convincing to an admissions committee. Further honesty: your self-described profile would make you a very likely decline from the math PhD program at UGA (about the 50th best in the country), except perhaps if you took the math subject GRE and did well on it. It would be a little surprising if you did well on that exam given your description of coursework...but of course it's possible, especially if you are very mathematically talented. It could be useful information for you to know how you might do on this exam, but unfortunately this exam is notorious for having had the same crappy study materials for the last 20 years (or more?). I don't know of any reliable way to gauge your score.
There are a lot more than 50 math PhD programs in the US, and I can't speak to your admit-worthiness for all of them, but honestly I would think twice about scraping the bottom of this particular barrel. The job market is so tight right now that degree pedigree is something to keep your eye on.
In conclusion, I come back to agreeing with username_2: you are not currently a good PhD candidate in math, and math faculty like us would worry about your lack of exposure. Of course this does not mean that you are locked out of further study of mathematics: that never happens to anyone. But if you think you are interested, find out by taking more math courses, in a non-degree program if need be. I should say though that your stated background of five math courses required by an engineering degree -- at least two taken as a freshman -- is less than halfway to a graduate-preparatory math major. In your case, after enrolling in a non-degree program for a semester or a year, if you really discover that this is what you want to do, you might actually want to explore a second bachelor's program. Either that or really work hard to develop a relationship with a department so that you can essentially do this over the course of 2-3 years with a lot of faculty contact.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Rick, you are not alone is feeling that the application process for PhD programs is enigmatic. It requires you to take knowledge that you have acquired and show evidence that you are committed to applying this already-obtained knowledge to a long-term research endeavor. Of course, you will learn a lot along the way, but depending on the institution, you will have very limited time to play catch-up. So, if you are absolutely set on your goals to pursuing a PhD program, either find a school that will be impressed with your credentials and allow you 1-2 years to settle into a research group, or you can work toward a more competitive school while maybe pursuing a master's degree in your chosen field of study.
Everything has its risk. Applying only to overly-competitive institutions can leave you stranded with no place to go. I recommend having a job or 10 lined up as a backup. Likewise, applying to only master's degree programs will mean spending more money. Sometimes, an employer will fund a master's program. I've been to career fairs where the recruiters brought that up without me asking about it - so it's quite common. If you want to pursue a prestigious PhD program safely, I recommend in the meantime finding an employer who hires engineers for math-oriented tasks (Two Sigma is a great example). Then see if they will fund your master's.
It may take you a few years, but there is plenty of time (assuming you are of traditional undergraduate age). I am 28 and will be finishing up my second bachelor's degree. I might not be that much more sure of myself in terms of research goals, and sometimes it feels like I'm faking it until I make it. But when the time comes to write your statement of purpose, show the department that you are competent in both research and your acquired knowledge at an appropriate level (we're talking at least two semesters of 400-level coursework in your target discipline).
Nate, Pete, and David give some very harsh but honest advice. Don't let that discourage you from pursuing advanced studies or ultimately a PhD program. If it takes you 7 years to finally get there, just remember, you're not alone. Just always have a backup plan.
Never forget: being intuitively skilled at math requires not only practice, but also an ability to recognize patterns and sameness among many things. In the words of <NAME>, an often-declared polymath, "Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things."
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/25 | 1,528 | 6,447 | <issue_start>username_0: There's a lot of text here, I do apologize. Many thanks to those who read it all and provide commentary.
Background: I have worked with my adviser for ~7 years now carrying out research with him in the field for many seasons, receiving my BS under his guidance, and TAing for him for several years until I decided to begin my MS with him. Early on, he had been having family issues and at a point near the beginning of my MS, he informed me he would be focusing less on work and more on his family due to his focus having destroyed his family. I took this as a passing phase as he had done before, but he has proven me wrong.
Overall Situation: My adviser currently has negative intentions to his students, the department, and the school. He does the bare minimum in courses- teaching ~1 class per quarter, showing up late, leaving early, is never in his office (I'm not exaggerating, he does not use his office. He arrives to campus, teaches, and leaves); has a very negative attitude with the department and school with never submitting forms or reports on time as well as not attending some department meetings (or commencement); and constantly sends emails to faculty and students informing them of how he is being screwed by the school (receiving reimbursements months later and having to deal with overdue bills and credit card charges). No students respect him within the department and his classes are the lowest rated to the point of being a joke. His reputation is so bad that when his next grad class is offered this coming winter, I feel it will be canceled because absolutely none of the students intend to enroll in it. Research-wise, he has been collecting data on a large project for ~15 years and has not published anything during that time. Currently the data and work sits and we are again in the middle of a summer when he intends to write something (this has been stated for each of the last 4 summers straight and it never happens).
My Situation: My thesis has gone no where. Meetings are constantly cancelled and put off by him, he has provided little to no literature (even then only broad background papers that he had me read for my BS), has shown no advancing interest in exploring ArcGIS with me to understand how to manipulate data. Some lunch meetings have taken place, over the past two years, but they end up being social and minor mentioning of work is as far as the conversation gets. The last two meetings I had with him were group meetings with 2 other students working with him (the other third already left for another project) and the meetings solely revolved around their projects and how I could help/guide them. Being roughly 6 months prior to graduation, I am currently assembling text and running analysis on data entirely on my own. Emails to meet and go over the process this week have gone unanswered.
Currently: Recent statements from other faculty and students are that in recent meetings my adviser has been using me as an example to state students need to submit 'final' drafts 6 months before defense. The department has a deadline of one month before defense for a completed 'first' draft. I am under the impression, given the past actions of my adviser, that he may be setting me up to make a point to the other faculty that 6 months beforehand is needed because he did not have proper time to read and review it. All of this would be fabricated from his own lack of meeting and involvement in my thesis writing. I am absolutely appalled at how he claim such expectations when he himself has put zero effort into the project whatsoever.
SO, with all that background, I sit here with ~20 pages of some spotty text and images and am very close to deciding, enough is enough, I would be better off dropping this project and ceasing work with him, and in turn picking up a project with another faculty member. I would rather spend a bit more time investing in a new project and doing that than finishing this and continuing to have to put up with his actions.
My question is, with what I have informed you of here, how do I do it? Also, along those lines, if I do decide to do this, would it be entirely unprofessional to inform the other grad student who just started up her project to drop it and go to another adviser? (She has already commented I have been more of an adviser to her providing background readings, information, and 100s of Mbs worth of unprocessed data for her project...)
Cheers<issue_comment>username_1: I am agreeing with @scaaahu on both parts of your question:
>
> How to inform an adviser I am ceasing work with him?
>
>
>
With what you are writing it sounds like your adviser already gave you an out ("he informed me he would be focusing less on work and more on his family due to his focus having destroyed his family"). In addition to that, he seems to care about nothing at the university any more. Therefore, I think it actually doesn't matter at all how you tell him, just that you tell him as soon as possible and more importantly: start looking for a new adviser right now. You do not want to waste any more time on the project.
I would just tell him that the project is not going as you wished, that you need more guidance, that you think he will not be able to give you that and that you are looking for a new adviser and project. If you can honestly say you are thankful for his guidance (maybe in your BS?) say so, otherwise just say nothing.
>
> Would it be entirely unprofessional to inform the other grad student
> who just started up her project to drop it and go to another adviser?
>
>
>
Yes, I think it would be unprofessional. Tell her that you are leaving and, if you know her well enough or if she asks, why you are leaving , tell her in the most objective way you can. Then she can decide for herself.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I am a faculty member and have seen similar situations in the past, both in my university and in others. In fact, a few years ago the son of a friend told me about a similar situation in his university (though less severe than yours). I have advised him to quit and switch to another adviser; he did that and he is just now finishing his Ph.D. and is doing extremely well. Similarly, I will advise you to switch adviser. And you should tell the younger student in the lab why you are leaving. Students should count on their peers for honest opinions.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/06/25 | 1,691 | 7,089 | <issue_start>username_0: My friend wrote a fantastic paper in their scientific field. I believe it is truly ground-breaking but it calls a lot of existing theory into question. If he's correct it will force many accepted articles to have to be rewritten.
Perhaps because this paper is controversial, then, my friend has faced a very uphill battle to get it published. It deals with quite some difficult-to-grasp mathematical models and concepts. It's in a field of science and an area of that field where experiments to prove things are simply not feasible, and instead, hypotheses rely on models to explain observations of large-scale real-world processes.
I'm deliberately avoiding mentioning what area of science this paper is in because I do not want them to know it's about them, in case they see this. Because while I feel that while their paper is great, on the other hand the writing needs some love. If the writing is improved, this paper could make this person's career. I'm a published writer and I have been paid to edit many things, but not scientific writing. I want to help them.
I would like to know what the best approach is for preparing myself to be able to edit papers for submission to any given scientific journal in any given field. I would think one great approach would be to read lots of articles in such journals. Do you know of any good guides? Are there any online sites where people can publish papers prior to submitting them to journals in order to get public comments and feedback to hone their work? What are some novel steps that could be taken? I just want to help.<issue_comment>username_1: You've already talked about reading up journal articles in the field, so I'll skip that. On top of that, there are a few ways.
**Follow the journal's format guide**
Ask your friend which journal is the next target. Go to visit the journal website and look for the "instruction to authors." You can find format-related instruction there. A format compliant article is less likely to trigger an instant rejection/return.
**Read about scientific writing**
There are a few guides that I consider pretty useful:
1. [The Craft of Scientific Writing](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0387947663) by Alley is perhaps a classic for engineer-type of writing. It also provide a good collection of tips and gems for different sections.
2. [Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Paper](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0071345442) by Zeiger is a wonderful desktop reference for biochemical type of writing. It also provides a lot of good vs. bad examples.
3. [Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0199760241) by Schimel is a bit of a black sheep. It does not teach you how to write, but it gives an excellent account on how to chain up or arrange ideas for maximal impact, done in the levels of the whole paper, to section, paragraph, sentence, and syntax. It also draws heavily from techniques used in fiction writing, which is quite intuitive.
4. [The Craft of Research](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0226065669) by Booth et. al. does not purely focus on writing, but also discusses how to set up arguments, present concepts. It may be a bit more hands on for you, probably more suitable for your friend who is doing the writing.
5. [A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Eighth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0226816389) by Turabian is an overall very useful desktop reference. It complements the Craft of Research.
**Talk to the specialists**
If the paper is really that controversial, I think you should talk to some people who have a good command in that particular field and get a gist of how to present or package the ideas with maximal chance of being considered.
**Hire a professional editor**
It's also prudent to know your limit. If you feel this is too much, then you should ask your friend to get help from the institute's English language support or hire a professional scientific editor. Editors can come with different specialties, some are experienced in medical writing, some are in science. Check their portfolio and try to match the article type as best as you can.
I said this because there is a problem in your question, if you feel that you're not capable of editing a scientific paper, how come you feel confident to evaluate his work with certainly such as: "*My friend wrote a **fantastic** paper in their scientific field. I **believe it is truly ground-breaking** but it calls a lot of existing theory into question. If he's correct it will force many accepted articles to have to be rewritten*?"
I don't mean to be insulting, just wish to point out that professional works sometimes are best left to professionals, especially when we don't have time to become one.
Best of luck, and I wish your friend a successful publishing process.
---
**Disclaimer for everyone:**
When reading/evaluating my answer, please be mindful that in no way I am agreeing that the paper is ground-breaking or fantastic. I merely provide resources to the questioner to improve his/her ability to comprehend and edit a scientific paper.
Whether someone with limited experience or capability can do ground-breaking work is not in the scope of this answer, and I have no comment either way. I just want to point out that I have not read the paper so I can't comment.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I would like to offer a little bit of writing advice that should be pertinent to the situation, even though it does not answer the post directly.
I think it is important to keep the attitude of "how great this is! the world really needs this!" in writing: it helps you maintain the energy to carry out the effort. However, the attitude itself should be muted or very carefully treated in scientific writing. If anyone is going to read it, they are going to be excited by a careful summary that reveals the basic ideas and then more so by something that explains the ideas in an accessible fashion. (I have made it a policy to ignore any Internet links advising to help me by using a "weird tip"; I discourage using similar promotional language which might appeal to people who, erm, "think less", or maybe "think differently", than science, engineering, and other professionals.) Here is an example from <NAME> on Cosmic Inflation <http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1691> that manages to convey the excitement and ideas without sounding cheesy. You may find it useful as well as inspiring.
I don't have any guides, but a suggestion for meta-guides: find examples of awards for good science and engineering writing and look at those. In combination with the guides mentioned in another answer, you as writer should be able to deconstruct the examples to find which characteristics you want to use in helping your friend.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/25 | 1,274 | 5,367 | <issue_start>username_0: I am writing a paper that continues and extends my previous paper (the usual situation), and I plan to submit it to a journal that conducts a double-blind review. It is a research that started recently, so I have only one paper published.
The published paper represents a strong foundation of the research, which means that I would have to refer to it in the new paper at least a few times (basically the new paper extends it). While the peer-review is double-blind, the reviewers would then easily realize who is the author.
Therefore, I can't just cite it as it's someone else's research because it's obvious that I am talking about a paper of mine.
>
> How can I refer to my previous paper completely anonymously so that
> the reviewers cannot realize who is the author of the new paper?
>
>
>
I am insisting on this because I don't believe that there is such a thing as a completely unbiased peer-review process, even when double-blind. I am new in the field, and I can imagine that this is where a reviewer could have prejudices. Stupid reason, but I already have an unpleasant experience with this.
I cannot cite the paper by removing the author and retaining the title, as it would take 5 seconds for a computer-literate person to find the full record.
On the bright side, while the previous paper is easily accessible, the reviewers probably would not be aware of it because it is from a conference that is not really in that field. But still, they would manage to find it with some effort.
Would it be acceptable that I mention that this paper extends my previous research that cannot be cited in order to accomplish the anonymity of a double-blind peer-review, and that the citation will be added later?<issue_comment>username_1: **Disclaimer: I work in a field in which double-blind reviewing is either completely absent or so rare that I have never encountered it.**
>
> Would it be acceptable that I mention that this paper extends my previous research that cannot be cited in order to accomplish the anonymity of a double-blind peer-review, and that the citation will be added later?
>
>
>
No, I don't see how that's possible. The principle that you must cite work that you use or build on -- no less so if it's yours -- seems much more basic than your desire to get genuinely double-blind refereeing. Moreover, if a paper continues previous work, can anyone sensibly evaluate its *added value* without having access to that previous work? I can't see how.
>
> I am a new guy in the field, and I can imagine that this is where a reviewer could have prejudices. Stupid reason, but I already have an unpleasant experience with this.
>
>
>
When you self-identify your reasoning as "stupid", there's a clear opportunity to think it through again. The process of journal submission and publication has a non-negligible random component: it would be unwarranted to assume that an experience that you had once or twice will necessarily recur. Your desire to circumvent an unfair refereeing process seems premature. If you feel like you're being treated unfairly as a new researcher, there are more productive ways to react to this: make it more clear why your work is competitive with or superior to the work done by more established researchers. I don't know of any academic field in which journals systematically don't want to publish work by new researchers that *they believe is better than prior work* just because those researchers are new. It is also true, unfortunately, that new researchers can overestimate (and also underestimate!) the value of their work. It is hard to hear that the thing you slaved over for months and years is not good enough for a second-rate journal in your field. But it may be true nevertheless.
Let me say finally that I see a little irony in your approach: you lament your treatment as an unestablished researcher, but you are in fact more established than most people: you have published a paper that your present work builds on. My experience is that it is much easier to publish a second paper on the same topic in a reasonable journal than a first paper, just as it is easier for an artist to sell their second painting for a reasonable price than their first. In publishing the first paper, the journal has conferred on your work the important imprimatur of *publishable value*. Insisting on throwing that away will probably increase your chance of receiving "anti-newbie bias" in the evaluation of your followup work!
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The standard practice in my field (i.e., psychology) where blind review is required is as follows:
**Just cite your own previous work as if you were citing any other study that was not yours**.
For example, if your name was <NAME> and you published a study in 2015, and you are now writing a paper that builds on that study, you could write something like:
>
> Smith (2015) recently extended research on X. The present study builds on the models proposed by Smith (2015) to ....
>
>
>
In a few other contexts, it can also be appropriate to black out some text with a note saying "hidden for purposes of blind review". I would not use this for references. But I have used it, for example, when I needed to state the specific university ethics board that reviewed a study.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/25 | 956 | 4,075 | <issue_start>username_0: After applying for a number of PhD positions I ended up with a surprisingly high rejection rate, and as little as 3 acceptances. Waiting for a positive answer from other labs (which I liked a lot better), I ended up inadvertently losing these 3 offers as well.
This seems to have been very unwise in hindsight, but at the time I did not believe I would get so many subsequent rejections (I still find it hard to believe...).
In any case, I have to apply to more labs now, and one of my referees refuses to provide further references for me because he already did it for quite a few of my applications, and is also - in his own words - "more than irritated" that I took the liberty to turn down any offers at all. I can't say I entirely disagree with him, since I actually did feel a bit guilty in the first place for asking him to be my referee for so many applications.
So, here I am, and I would be very curious whether you have any ideas:
* If there is anything I could say to maybe change his mind (currently not responding to my emails).
* If there is any way to make people whose labs I apply to understand why I can only provide one reference without completely ruining my chances.
Sadly, I am applying for a field a bit different from what I nominally studied (cognitive neuroscience as opposed to molecular neuroscience), and there are no other referees I can choose from with whom I have worked on cognitive topics. Also, the referee in question was my MSc. supervisor, so I would immagine people will like to hear from him anyway.<issue_comment>username_1: The letters of reference show in some way that you can be trusted for your work. They are good to have in your application, but there are other ways to show that you are knowledgeable and competent.
If I was in your position I would try to know the interesting groups and get in touch with the professors from there. If it is physically feasible, you can visit the groups and meet the people there. Maybe even a small internship? You will understand whether you fit the groups and at the same time they will know that there is someone interested working with them, in case they have an extra position or receive funding for another project. You can also try to attend a workshop or a conference (as a student volunteer) and network with the people there in search of a position. This way you will discuss your ideas be known by those that will ultimately make a decision on your cv and recommendations. The more information you provide to them on your abilities, interest, and motivation, the easier would be for them to choose you in the end.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The answers to your questions relatively:
* No. He is currently very angry with you. Because probably he lost a lot of reputation. A letter of recommendation does not only mean "Take this guy, he's great.", but also means "I entirely trust this guy and I guarantee that he will not leave you in the lurch." By getting acceptance and not taking the offer is usually interpreted as hesitancy. Thus, people from the labs you've turned down will consider your advisor as someone who easily recommends a student. They will think that a student does this even at the beginning will easily give up on tough research duties.
* Conspiracy theory: the subsequent rejections may be the result of *grapevine*. In my country, top universities' professors are usually classmates or former colleagues. If a student applies with a good background and strong recommendations, they call each other and ask about that student. You know, if that they ever heard about that guy, who is considerable. And guess what if one or two of them told: "I accepted him and he ended up not even starting."
I think, for a short period of time, you should lower your standards. Try applying a lab in your field.
Don't send consecutive mails to your advisor. Talk to him face-to-face. Ask him if you can do something to make it up. At that point, you should be prepared to take *no* for an answer.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/26 | 609 | 2,589 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a junior college student that goes to a top 6 CS school. I will be graduating a year early and am starting to think about whether or not I want to get my Master's degree.
However I have an egregious academic integrity violation from my first university from which I was expelled (which was a top 4 CS school, during my first semester). I have since learned from the incident and transferred to my current college, where I have been studying for 3 years.
If I do decide to get a masters degree, I would either plan on pursuing it at my current school (where I believe I will be accepted, due to my academic performance/relationships with professors/ the fact that my department head knows about my past) or at another top-6 cs school.
Would a school of such caliber be willing to look past my academic integrity violation, or should I not even bother applying for a Master's degree?<issue_comment>username_1: Although it is perhaps possible that a school has a policy where they will not accept people with past issues involving academic integrity, I feel like this will mostly depend on the person or committee reviewing the applications. If you did well overall, I would think they would overlook something that happened years ago.
However, if it were my decision, I would apply to the school you're currently attending (since you said you know a lot of the faculty and it sounds like you're fairly confident that you would be accepted there; this would be your backup plan) and whatever other school you are thinking about applying to. Is there really any harm in applying to see if you will get in?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The very basic principle of Economics: **Every choice is give up.**
Hence, if you give up on something, you are choosing another thing.
Therefore, if you have nothing to give up, then those are not choices.
What will you lose by applying a master's degree anywhere on earth? Why not *bother*? I don't think it is a question of *bothering* if you're really planning to do master's degree. This is an academic decision.
On the other hand, what will master's degree give to you? Are you planning to do a PhD as well? Or do the companies you'll apply seek master's level as a requirement?
As username_1 stated, it highly depends on the person who will evaluate your application. Moreover, you get to write a cover letter for your application. Great chance to clear it up! Write your excuses, write what you've gone through, etc.
By the way, did you talk to your professors about this situation?
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/26 | 2,280 | 9,466 | <issue_start>username_0: I am making a final dissertation for my graduation. I want it to have a better design than the boring traditional. When I read [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9026/making-it-look-good-is-it-always-important) and [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7948/is-use-of-unconventional-design-elements-or-layout-something-frowned-upon-in-aca), I think that the downside is because it makes the thesis more clearer, any good or bad thing will be crystal clear. However, a default Word 2013 theme is easily to get and takes you not much effort. I don't want my thesis to be colorful so much, but I also don't want it to be monochrome. Elegance isn't necessary to be black and white.
My university requires me to have the format in form, but I think it's boring. Should I take a risk to make my thesis have better design? If not, why? I need a reason.
Do I really want to graduate? Of course I do, if not, I will happily take that risk immediate. I know that's a risk, and you may have to pay for that. My inspiration is coming from [Dance your PhD](http://www.ted.com/talks/john_bohannon_dance_vs_powerpoint_a_modest_proposal#t-32504). Of course I won't dance on my defense day, I just want to say that bad representation is wasting time. You can say, "it's all your choice". I just want to make my choice to be right.
What if I losing point from this? I hope that people will think again when they do a thesis. If they do, then I'm willing to lose my point.
Why does the font need to be Times New Roman, not Calibri?<issue_comment>username_1: Are you interested in receiving your degree? Then submit a thesis meeting all of the university's requirements. If you think the formatting is so terrible, feel free to post a differently-formatted version on your website or whatever.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Most of the restrictions for thesis formats came from the years when theses were transferred to [microfiche storage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microform). Standardizing the format made sure that the reproductions would be as legible as possible.
Similar issues are still in effect, except with respect to electronic scans and the like. Choosing consistent designs and formats makes life easier for everyone. Even though it may not be your personal preference, you should follow the guidelines. The university can choose not to accept your thesis if its format strays too far from the official guidelines, which will force you to spend valuable time (and possibly money) preparing a revised version.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If you want to improve your Universities recommended/required thesis formatting, you should go ahead. But, **submitting a differently formatted thesis, just to spite them is not the right way to go**. And it will not accomplish anything.
*All scientific publications have a required format.* You submitted to a conference that prescribes double column, but your paper is single column? Automatic rejection without reading the paper. You don't like the formatting of the journal best suited for your work? Tough luck. You submit a 10-page paper to a conference with 8-page limit? Reject.
It is simply how scientific publishing works. If you want to publish your *original* content, you have to follow the *well-established guidelines*.
If you really think that **changing your Universities required formatting is a worthy goal**, and want to do it for non-selfish reasons, for all the generations to come, you should do it in a proper way. Try to use proper channels, and do it like a responsible adult with an idea, not like a child doing things out of spite because they don't like the way the world turns.
---
*Some things you might try:*
Make examples of a sensible new format. If there is any current templates, make some for your own formatting. If you can find some proof that your formatting is better, that's good (e.g. it is proven that some fonts are more readable and better than some others). Find the right person, in charge of that. Try meeting with them, and leading a sensible, non-heated discussion. Argument you opinion and proposition. Explain why you think the current design is outdated and why and how you think the new one will be an improvement. Offer your help in implementing the new system and offering new guides and materials. Finally, if you succeed in changing something, you can feel content you did something good for future generations. If you don't, at least you know you gave it your best try, and you tried to do it in the way with best chances of success.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Regarding serif and sans serif font, the conventional wisdom is that serif fonts are easier to read (especially on paper). This argument is often used to justify the requirements. Of course, another related factor is just the desire to have all theses be in a uniform style--it looks neater! There seems to be [no conclusive evidence](http://upstatement.com/blog/2013/02/which-is-easier-to-read-serif-or-sans-serif-type/) that serif fonts are actully easier to read, but I must admit that I strongly prefer a serif font--username_1es New Roman or Cambria being among my favorites. In a similar situation, I recently had to submit a paper in Calibri, which was a strong insult to my aesthetic sense. My personal post of the paper is in username_1es New Roman!--but I submitted per the guidelines.
Others claim that sans serif fonts are better for reading on a screen (note that this site is entirely in sans serif!). However, there is apparently *no empirically valid data* to support either claim. <NAME> does a [nice job](http://alexpoole.info/blog/which-are-more-legible-serif-or-sans-serif-typefaces/#part2) of reviewing the convoluted history of this dispute.
So although there seems to be no clear evidence that either type of font is actually better, you are bucking conventional wisdom, tradition, and university policy by advocating for sans serif font in your thesis. I'd say use the serif font for the official version, and then, as JeffE and username_1 suggested, post a 'prettier' version everywhere else. If you are determined to try to change the status quo, follow username_3's excellent advice.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: What is good or bad is not easy for anyone to judge. Typesetting a document, including selecting fonts, is in essence a profession which through technology has been put in our hands. This has resulted in significant downgrading in quality although some enlightenment has also occurred. The problem is that it is easy for someone to chose a type face and set it as you see fit without actually knowing how it appears to the reader. This is why it is common to come across thesis and reports that are quite awful in type-setting and therefore unnecessarily difficult to read.
Times-Roman, is a type face developed to be space saving. This means it may not be the prettiest but it is easy to read and you can fit more text per page. There are other similar fonts that are less condensed and more easily read such as the popular Garamond. Sans serifs are relatively commonly seen in texts, despite the fact that they were not designed for such use. The are generally no well suited for large volumes of text. There are hybrids such as Optima that works a little better but using Sans Serifs in the text body is not a good idea, typographically speaking. You can pick up any book on type-setting and type faces to learn more. A good example is perhaps <NAME>sts *The Elements of Typographic Style*. Hartley & Marks Publ.
When it comes to colour in a thesis, it can easily be stated that colour improves readability of diagrams and illustrations. The downside is that the colour is poorly reproduced in a B/W copier or when printed on a B/W laser printer. There is thus still incentive to be selective when using colour. unfortunately all plotting software (from things like Excel to R and Matlab) provides colour as default and so turning multicoloured plots into B/W involves extra work. Part of being professional is, however, to make such decisions and simplify. I think this can be seen as part of your professional development through graduate school and shown in your thesis. What must be colour should be colour, nothing else.
So trying to provide some direct feedback. To redesign what you see as boring may sound simple, you comment on choosing some built in Word does not sound very thought through. I believe you should approach the layout of your thesis as professionally as you do your science. You therefore need to get yourself familiar with a little bit of typography and graphics design. The latter can be done by looking at the books by <NAME>, particularly his [The visual Display of Quantitative Information](http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_vdqi). If you just put your thesis in the hands of software designers, you have no control over what you actually get. You need to assess what is better or worse in typography and graphic design. The alternative is to be *boring* and stick with the standard thesis format and I would actually suggest that if you want to save time. In addition, you of course need to figure out what the university allows, there should be some guidelines available.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/26 | 242 | 1,053 | <issue_start>username_0: Is it possible to add a new co-author when requested for a second revision?
Another co-author would help improve the quality of the manuscript, but I am not sure if this is possible.<issue_comment>username_1: A revision to a manuscript is a chance to correct any issues raised in the original review. If you and your co-authors feel that adding a co-author would make the manuscript better, then it is of course acceptable to do so, absent **explicit** instructions to the contrary from the journal (although I am unaware of any journals with such rules).
However, you will also need to **clearly** explain in your cover letter to the editor why you added the co-author, and exactly what her contributions to the paper were.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is quite common. Authors take in an additional author to help sort out a specific problem and add that author to the paper. It is of course customary to provide a detailed account of this change as well as any other revisions made for the review.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/26 | 710 | 3,118 | <issue_start>username_0: I just finished my master in Geophysics with [some help from here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23231/is-it-appropriate-to-acknowledge-stackexchange-in-my-msc-thesis) ;). Now I applied for several PhD positions in Natural Sciences and just got an invitation for a personal interview for one of them.
The topic of the position is described in the call but over all it seems very general to me (I really have no experience if that is common for PhD positions).
During the interview I’m supposed to give a 10-15 min oral talk about "specific research questions and methodologies" I suggest to focus on and about "results of a first paper".
I have some experience in one of the methods mentioned in the call and could probably come up with a quite elaborated idea for a paper (though I would have no idea if everything or anything would work the way I propose it, never having worked on a paper)
My understanding is hat even older scientists need time and work in a topic to figure out what exactly there paper will be about. So probably I should just kind of suggest a focus topic within the broad framework of the topics covered in the call?
I guess my main question is: How specific should I really be?
(because I should obviously try to avoid boring my interviewer by only repeating part oft he call)
I should probably also mention that I have only three days to prepare.<issue_comment>username_1: The way I interpret the topic you were asked to present on is that they want you to present on some work you have complete such as your first paper (or possibly a masters thesis if you have not published anything).
The idea of this is probably to get an idea of how you think/do research and provide a nice introduction into finding out what your interested in.
From your question it sounds like you think they are asking for something else. Now I could be entirely misunderstanding what is asked for (I just have your question), but if you are unsure I would suggest you send a polite email to clarify what the talk should cover.
For what you should say in the talk I would try and answer these questions:
* What was the motivation for the research (why is it interesting)?
* What did you do?
* What are your results/what do they show?
* Why are the results significant/interesting?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Although it suprises me that you are asked to give a presentation covering the project you apply for without having access to a grant proposal or other detailed project description, in comparable situations I experienced (as a third party) the presenter started broad and went into detail on very specific and single points (or directions), leaving aside other possible directions (but state that you saw them!).
By that, you show that you are able to immerse yourself into an unknown problem and on your own design a possible route to tackle a specific problem.
Staying unspecific and broad throughout the whole talk would probably bore them more -because they often already heard of it quite some times- than going into detail.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/26 | 1,290 | 5,637 | <issue_start>username_0: As a recently graduated researcher in the field of physics, I am in the early stages of establishing my scientific career, which involves being hired by senior researchers and professors. Much of the likelihood of being hired in a reputable group relies on my publication record and, for good or for bad, on my citation count.
I have always played a significant role in all the papers I have written or coauthored, which justified my inclusion in the list of authors. Thus I feel that I have earned the many or few citations to my papers.
In the context of a competitive mindset in which your quality is often (perhaps unfairly) measured by the number of citations your work has attracted, it has always bothered me how endless author lists from large collaborations boost the citation counts of those people. It is just a matter of common sense to assume that not all of them have *significantly* contributed to a paper. I am thinking especially about particle-physics collaborations, such as LHC at CERN. As an example, take [this highly cited paper](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037026931200857X) with a couple of hundred authors sharing authorship. The same or very similar author lists appear in several other highly cited articles. I am sure most of these are highly capable and competent researchers, some of which are leaders in their field. But did they all *really* contributed enough to be credited as authors? Another question: how much is enough?
How can one trust the citation count model (whether it’s fair or not) when there are these collaboration-enhanced players in the game?
How much do professors and PIs rely on citation counts in order to make a decision on hiring a researcher?<issue_comment>username_1: In biology these papers have become extremely common. These papers are often results of high-throughput data generation projects (e.g. genome sequencing projects). Since they generate a lot of data, their data is often used thus generating many citations (this is why journals like these papers - they are impact factor boosters).
However, I think this is not such a big problem.
In many cases where it is important for people to understand your contribution, there tend to be means of doing this. For example, some funding agencies may ask you to specify verbally or numerically what your contribution to each paper was. If these are the only papers you have, the relevant people will want to know what your exact role in the project was. You will almost always be able to explain or emphasize your role in a cover letter.
When it is less important for people to understand your exact contribution, I find that people will usually give a very low weight to such papers. I guess this comes from an underlying assumption that without prior knowledge we can assume that the amount of contribution is the inverse of the number of authors (maximum entropy?). That said, in biology the first and last authors have special status and I think this is also the case in these papers.
So the main problem, I think, is not getting more recognition then you deserve but actually less if you are some author in the middle of the list. However, as I mentioned, you will usually have some other venue to explain your exact contribution. The only way I could see these papers being very useful for a CV is as an indicator that you can get collaborations and funding (these projects are typically well-funded).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Where I work at a academic computing center, when hiring at the postdoc and research associate (junior researcher) level, I never look at citation counts. We are *very* different from an academic department, and citation counts aren't all that useful to us. We are looking for a certain skill set which includes good publications, but it also includes lots of other things.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: A general rule of bibliometrics is that they *shouldn't* be used to compare people (or projects, or papers, or research projects) across different fields, because publication culture can vary wildly even within disciplines and between closely allied fields. To begin with, the size of the field - the number of papers published per year, for example - has a direct impact on how many citations each paper gets.
Your quandary is an example of this. In certain fields such as high-energy physics, astronomy, or parts of biology, a lot of the science is concentrated in very large collaborations, which produce papers with many citations and many authors. It is indeed unfair to use citation counts to compare such a CV with, say, a mathematician's, since papers there tend to have few authors and, in many specialized fields, be read by very few people indeed, even for high-quality papers.
Whether such bibliometrics are used in practice by hiring committees - well, that obviously depends on the field, the institution, and the specific people involved. If all the applicants are from similar fields then this may not be a huge problem, but the numbers need to be treated with some distance to avoid the problem you point out. If a hiring or review process places a large emphasis on citation counts (or other bibliometrics) for applicants from different fields, then that is indeed a problem.
One final thing you should keep in mind is that applicants with a high-citation-count, large-collaboration paper in their CV are likely to get asked at interview questions like
>
> So, what was your role in this collaboration?
>
>
>
in any case, as part of the interview process.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/26 | 1,134 | 4,626 | <issue_start>username_0: After completing a PhD in Particle Physics I left academia and have been working in industry for a few years now. However, during that time I've become more and more interested in Pure Math, to the point that I am considering trying to go back to academia and pursue my interest in full.
However, since the topic is so different from my PhD, I realise this would involve doing another PhD, if not a MSci before that. The grades that got me into my first PhD (an MSci equivalent degree) were not bad, but perhaps not enough to get me into a top MSci/PhD program now. My PhD dissertation, on the other hand, was awarded the maximum grade.
My question is: is it possible to use a previous PhD as an entrance degree to a second MSci/PhD? Would this be regarded positively by a top-level admissions committee?
As background, my first MSci and PhD were in Spain, and I am considering studying either in the UK (my current residence) or Germany.<issue_comment>username_1: If you got the maximum grade on a dissertation in another PhD program, that would be viewed positively. The admissions committee would be hoping that you will do the same in their program.
The basis for concern is that your pre-dissertation work will "average down" the value of your application. It's not something to be ignored, but most admissions committees will give the greatest weight to 1) the highest level of work that you have achieved and/or 2) the most recent level you have achieved. in both cases, your PhD dissertation grade is a big help.
I might refrain from taking math courses until getting into a program, even at the expense of being less prepared. Because if you take those courses and do badly, that becomes the new "most recent."
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: With a PhD in particle physics, you'll get on most MSc programs in maths, and if you show expertise in a certain area of pure maths, lots of PhD advisors would be interested.
One thing I would say is that to convert from physics to pure maths really requires going from the beginning of undergraduate (at least via private study, which you'll find very enjoyable given your experience), so 4 years, then 4 more years or so for the PhD.
One fast track idea is [Part III (MMath/MASt) at Cambridge](https://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/postgrad/part-iii/part-iii-guide-courses) (or something similar), but actually look at those exams. Eventually, you trace it all back to first year undergraduate courses you/I didn't do, like group theory or number theory. There is a lot of abstract algebra for example. There is no shortcut. The sort of maths you learn on a physics degree is of little value in pure maths (I converted to mathematical physics/applied maths career from a physics and philosophy degree). Pure maths is a world in its own, there is almost no crossover. Not so true the other way, but still very true.
You can skip straight to the PhD and avoid the previous degrees themselves, but you need to study this stuff, its amazingly different from physics. Once you know a certain area e.g. algebraic geometry to a graduate level (which requires 4 years of about part-time work even with a physics PhD, including more or less every course you see on a maths degree as a preliminary), you can definitely get on a PhD in that area. I suppose any attempt to fast track it will just make you passable but ultimately not particularly good at what can be an almost impossible research world to take part in even with 1st class honours etc in a maths degree. But not impossible, just need the desire and commitment.
Just teach yourself maths (i.e. all the usual courses, see e.g. [here](https://courses.maths.ox.ac.uk/)), then maybe do some research and publish it (you have experience in this). Then apply to do a PhD in that area, given you've already published in the field. That will probably be faster, easier and cheaper than the degrees, and you can select the courses directly that back up what you want to do. Getting a publication in a pure maths area should be a good sign you are very ready to do the PhD, as you know from your own experience in particle physics.
Could also be good to just apply now to some PhDs and see what happens. A crossover between pure mathematics and particle physics might be a good idea as you can sort of do all this on the job. If you self-fund it will be much easier, as the funding from what I understand is potentially reserved for first time PhD candidates. Much depends on the specific university/grant, though as I say they tend to bias funding for first time PhDs.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/26 | 323 | 1,391 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm wondering if there's a more efficient method of booking an academic supervision appointment. The method I experienced was a schedule on the professor's door, first-come-first-serve.
How do we employ technology that is the most efficient (reduces scheduling time, permitting all students to view sign ups)?<issue_comment>username_1: Not sure what you need beyond standard calendaring software, such as Outlook or Google Calendar or whatever. Simply set up a recurring meeting and meet at that time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I use Doodle a lot. It is possible to tie Doodle in with Google calendar (which also means I see it in my calendar on my Android smartphone). You can set up available time slots in Doodle that can only be filled by one person. Once it is filled it becomes unavailable to others. There may be similar tools but I have only used Doodle and find it extremely efficient. The only drawback are those who insist on having access at some other time but there will always be a few of those, and, it is easier to accommodate a few exceptions this way. I use the method for the 50 grad students in our department, with who I need to meet once a year. I schedule hours at the beginning of the term and ask them to book as soon as they can.
So using Doodle with Google calendar or some similar combination is a useful tool.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/15 | 1,502 | 6,390 | <issue_start>username_0: Depending on the project, many researchers have to rewrite code and reproduce datasets from previous works in order to perform experimental evaluations. Although some dataset are understood to contain private data, and thus cannot be shared, it would be very nice to have access to the source code and results produced along with the papers.
Most of the big data works present results from experiments run with very large databases, and the code developed, which is usually non-trivial to rewrite, is rarely available to the public. I even heard once that some conferences would start to request the source code of the project to be submitted along with the paper.
My question is: is there any *global regulation* that states what a conference must request while accepting a paper? And, if so, are there any proposals at all to make source code sharing a must?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't know any global regulations, but scientific community understand the problem that you described and that is why github recently made it possible to get a [Digital Object Identifier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifier) (DOI) for any GitHub repository archive ([blog post](https://github.com/blog/1840-improving-github-for-science)) making the code citable.
As far as I remember any DOI should be maintained for at least 10 years.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There is a Coursera course of the Data Science Specialization track which talks about this topic. The course is:
* Reproducible Research
* website: <https://www.coursera.org/course/repdata>
* Institution: Johns Hopkins University
* Instructors: <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>
* Note: the course can be done for free.
Some of the topics of the course are:
* Explanation of what is the replication a research work
* Explanation of what makes a research reproducible (from your question, you are basically asking whether reproducible research is a standard in the scientific world)
* Description, tutorials and exercise on how to use Rmarkdown which is a package of the R language developed to create code that can be both: converted to a human readable format (Sweave the code) and executed to perform a data analysis of some sort (Tangle the code).
* The last lectures are quite interesting, because they talk about real examples that have occurred in the past where reproducible research has been useful, and cases where the lack of reproducibility has been a problem.
>
> My question is: is there any global regulation that states what a conference must request while accepting a paper? And, if so, are there any proposals at all to make source code sharing a must?
>
>
>
I don't think so. My personal hope is that reproducible research will tend to have more citations and that it will be more valued by peers.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This problem has been recognized, but there is only slow progress on the sort of institutional innovation necessary to address it. Many technological components of the solution are in place, but their are socio-cultural forces of resistance in nearly all academic disciplines and academic journals. NSF and other funding agencies are looking for ways to overcome the resistance.
For a thorough analysis and prognosis, you could listen to this talk: [THE CREDIBILITY CRISIS IN COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE: AN INFORMATION ISSUE](http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/newsandevents/events/deanslectures/20120201) (includes slides).
**EDIT**: Here's a recent blog post about this in the field of bio-medicine: [Can you show us that again please?](http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2014/06/26/can-you-show-us-that-again-please/)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: The academic 'process' is an unregulated mess of random, contradictory habits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To directly answer your question, ***NO***, there aren't any global regulations on what conferences or publishers should require or how they should do anything else.
It's a key point of academic independence - anybody is free to run their academic conferences or publications as they like. There is an unwritten consensus on what constitutes good practice, but it's not regulated, it's not mandatory, it varies across academic fields, and it varies across countries.
Change happens by convincing lots and lots of unrelated people and organizations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any proposals to change something (say, make source code sharing a must) only become real when lots of separate organizers (most of them who never ever hear about each other) in different fields agree that it's a good idea; that it benefits *them* without making it too hard for *them*; and take the initiative to implement it. It helps if some academic subfield implements the practice and it's widely seen as working well.
The only force is funding
-------------------------
Large funding agencies have the only practical power, as if they make funding conditional on X, then people will try to get X - or at least something that on paper looks similar to X. Note that if they don't think that X benefits them, then it will be the latter option; doing the very minimum possible to tick a checkbox "yes we do have X". And it's by definition not a global regulation, but a country-specific one.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: There is no particular "universal" regulation, and attempts to do so, even for things like the [PLoS data sharing policy](http://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2014/02/24/plos-new-data-policy-public-access-data-2/) go somewhat pear-shaped. This is because, as @username_4 mentions, academia and research is a rather unregulated bunch. There's no guiding force, and there isn't really the backing for there to be one.
Even things that *are* firmly enforced, like the protection of human subjects, have standards that vary from place to place.
Personally, I also think that those advancing these policies often forget that different fields have different problems. For some fields, "Make your data open" is committing them to a rather intensive hosting and software support problem with very little money to back it. For others, "make your data open" may be exceeding the informed consent their patients gave.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/26 | 473 | 1,996 | <issue_start>username_0: Is it common to discuss the fact that one didn't have time to do more reading, or didn't have time to elaborate certain sections, in the "limitations" section of a thesis?<issue_comment>username_1: "No", for several reasons. First, even if literally true due to external constraints, it sounds too much like one really didn't care enough, or had other, more important things to do. Second, if it's a sort of excuse for not having a better paper, that's both unprofessional and will only make people mistrust you all the more. Third, although scientific and other scholarly literature has manifest limitations, to apparently concede huge limitations at the outset is pathetic.
Even if such remarks are a (misguided) attempt at some sort of modesty, don't do it. Your thesis is not "about you", but about its subject. Personal remarks should be limited to thank-yous and such in the acknowledgements.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **No**. It not common, nor should you do it! As username_1 pointed out, this type of excuse makes it seem as though you didn't care or couldn't be bothered to do a better job.
I would add also that no matter how much time and effort you have put into developing an idea and writing your paper, it is almost inevitable that there will be something that you missed or could have done better had you had/taken more time. Even the magnum opus on which you have spent your entire lifetime will be superseded by better or more complete thoughts; this is an inevitable reality of academic writing, and not one you should apologize for.
Perhaps especially as a student, one struggles to find the balance that represents maximum output for minimum time spent. Knowing when to 'let go' is a function of maturity and experience. When you've made that decision (or have had it made for you, due to time constraints outside your control), accept that this might be better, but don't apologize for the inevitable.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/26 | 2,568 | 10,450 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a grant proposal that I'm ready to submit, and I would like to re-use a significant amount of the text (on the order of 5-8 pages) in a paper that I intend to submit to a journal for publication. Is this considered self-plagiarism?
As I suggested in the title, I am also interested in the reverse direction of this. Is it okay to take significant amounts of text from (e.g.) my own unpublished doctoral dissertation and use it in a grant proposal?
If this were an issue of paper-to-paper copying I know both of these would be clearly off-limits. The key issue that I am wrestling with is whether the rules are different for unpublished works like dissertations and grant proposals.<issue_comment>username_1: **Copying proposals to papers:** I am sure many have not thought about this but many have copied material to and from proposals. Copying from a proposal to a paper should not be a problem since a proposal is normally not a publication and I have never come across a funding agency that claims copyright on proposal texts sent to them. If anyone knows of exceptions, it would be very interesting to know how they handle proposals. Taking the idea to the (silly) extreme one could argue that copying what you write in a notebook to a computer-written manuscript is self-plagiarism. The key lies in what sources are considered published and which are not.
**Copying papers to proposals**: Copying from a journal paper to a proposal should normally not be a problem either since the proposal is not a publication and not something that should be distributed. But, the journal text may be subject to copyright so it makes sense to see to what extent one might infringe on those rights by copying text to a proposal. I doubt any journal would care much (or indeed find out) as long as the proposals are not made public. Since most application processes are very strict and reviewers are not allowed to disclose materials (some actually ask you to physically destroy any printouts) I doubt there is a problem but strictly speaking this may indeed be a grey zone.
EDIT: I will add a definition for self-plagiarism: *Copying material you have previously produced and passing it off as a new production* from the site [plagiarism.org](http://www.plagiarism.org/). From this perspective the question becomes, is one trying to pass of the copied material as a new product?
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: As in your comment on PeterJansson's answer: there are two different issues, namely, the literal copyright business, and then also "ethics". The copyright aspect is quasi-objectively decideable.
So, suppose there's no copyright conflict. The "ethics" issue still needs clarification. First, there's the idea of accidentally or intentionally double-dipping in terms of getting two status-credit-points for just one thing. That's the main external objection to "self-plagiarism", as opposed to plagiarizing from others. A grant proposal scores no status points in my world, so that element of ethical problems seems not present.
It's true that an over-the-top notion of self-plagiarism would seem to dictate that one is never allowed to re-use anything one has written, no matter what. I can't agree with this, even at the level of work done for courses, where I have very mixed feelings about declaring students cheaters because they re-use their own work to varying degrees. One objection I have is that this only really makes sense if either the university or instructor declares that it "owns" all the work done by students, *or*, worse, that the only point of the enterprise is in-the-moment... no accumulated expertise is re-usable? Odd.
Similarly, it seems to me that too often our thinking about self-plagiarism in professional settings is exaggerated, due to thinking of things as mostly pointless except for status/money-scoring aspects.
Srsly, we're not allowed to ever re-use bits of things "of our own" that have been polished a bit, etc? Start over every time? A very artificial constraint. For that matter, isn't most progress fairly *incremental*? Obviously... so it is perverse to require that everything be retyped every time, etc. And be sure to use different words... even if one took considerable pains with the earlier wording? Old effort must be discarded? :)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Well, the operative question is not really whether this is called "plagiarism" - it definitely is - but whether that's a bad thing. After all, the intended audience of any given document you prepare might be okay with copying large sections of another work; if that's the case, go ahead and plagiarize all you want, nobody will care. But if the people who will be reading a document do not want to see plagiarized material, you'd better not do it, regardless of whether the document will count as a "publication."
From what I've heard, grant review boards generally fall in the latter category. There are probably some exceptions out there, but I've been told in no uncertain terms that plagiarism in a grant application will result in instant rejection, and perhaps even punitive measures such as a temporary or permanent ban on submitting any further grant applications to that funding agency. I've seen examples of proposals which were rejected because they copied as little as one paragraph, or one figure, from decade-old papers, despite the proposals having excellent scientific merit. The copying need not even be exact, so tweaking a few words per sentence from your existing writing doesn't make it okay (as is the case for plagiarism in general).
Bottom line: everything in your grant application should be written exclusively for that application, not repurposed from elsewhere, just as you would do with a published paper. Grant reviewers treat plagiarism much the same as journal editors do.
(And also: though this answer treats plagiarism in general, as far as I'm aware the same rules apply to self-plagiarism.)
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: The 'right' answer seems to be field-dependent. In my field, mathematics, it is customary for phd students to convert any unpublished parts of their thesis into papers after graduation. This is not only accepted, it is even expected.
I myself would have no difficulty reusing any amount of a submitted grant in a paper; I don't believe this constitutes any form of Questionable Research Practice, and I believe that that would be the opinion of my peers too. (The Dutch Royal Academy recently wrote a [letter](https://www.knaw.nl/en/news/publications/correct-citation-practice?set_language=en) on reuse, which doesn't explicitly mention grant proposals, but gives guidelines for published sources that support this point if view; it takes 'false impressions' and 'harm to others' as central criteria, which exonerates reuse of material from your own grant proposal).
The best advice I can give you is: talk to the people around you, find out what they think.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: **Summary:** Yes, you can reuse text from your own grant proposals because you
did not assign the copyright to the NSF. The NSF states that proposals are the
property of the proposers. A publisher could, in theory prohibit this, but that is unimaginable.
Going the other way—using material from a paper in a proposal—is less clear, but should also be fine. See below.
---
The issue is not what constitutes a "publication". That matters only for conferences and journals that refer to it in their policies. For anything else—such as grant proposals—the important issues are (a) "copyright infringement" and (b) "self-plagiarism". (I'll throw in regular plagiarism below, for context.)
* **Copyright infringement.** If you assigned copyright to your
(or someone else's) published paper to the publisher,
then you no longer own the copyright. Therefore, if you use it in
your proposal, you may be guilty of copyright infringement. However,
such use would probably qualify as "fair use" since it is
non-commercial and does not diminish the financial value to the copyright
owner (publisher to whom you assigned your copyright).
Yes, you could be guilty of copyright infringment, for using something that
you created yourself. For example, imagine if a programmer at Microsoft (or
wherever) was paid $200K to write some code, and then took it and sold it on
the side. Since they were paid to do it, it would be copyright
infringement. If you have assigned your copyright to a publisher, the
situation is actually similar.
Takeaway: It is best not to use work that was published as "archival" with
the copyright owned by a publisher, but even that would probably be excused
as "fair use". This only deals with copyright (lawsuits), not allegations of
plagiarism (below).
* **Plagiarism.** The National Science Foundation (NSF) defines “plagiarism”
as “the appropriateion of another person's ideas, processes, results or words
without giving appropriate credit.” ([45 CFR § 689](http://www.nsf.gov/oig/_pdf/cfr/45-CFR-689.pdf))
This is separate from the issue of copyright. Even if someone gives you
written permission, it is still plagiarism if you don't give them credit.
* **Self-plagiarism.** If you submit your previously used text in a setting
that requires only original (i.e., first-time use) text, and you have not
attributed the original source clearly and dilineated the quoted text,
then you are guilty of self-plagiarism. This depends entirely on the policy
of wherever you are submitting to. For example, many conferences state that
previously used text can be used, if it was from a "non-archival"
publication. Then, they (hopefully) define what "non-archival" means to
them.
The laws that govern the NSF's rules on research misconduct do not mention
self-plagiarism. ([45 CFR § 689](http://www.nsf.gov/oig/_pdf/cfr/45-CFR-689.pdf))
More information on the NSF's position and enforcement actions regarding plagiarism
is contained in this [detailed report by the NSF to Congress](http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/oigseptember2002/pdfversions/investigations.pdf) (pp. 40-42). Also, searching for
[searching for `unattributed text` within the NSF site](https://www.google.com/search?q=unattributed+text+site%3Ansf.gov)
reveals many examples of prior investigations by the NSF Inspector General.
For example, a professor was accused of copy-pasting text from a former student's dissertation.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/26 | 3,745 | 15,685 | <issue_start>username_0: **Background information:**
I have just finished refreshing my high school courses in order to enter into university for engineering. Because I have a strong desire to become an engineer I have not moved past any material unless I fully understood it. That being said, the courses I took have had many mistakes in the material (online material as this is through online correspondence). I have had to fight tooth and nail to correct some of the material, even though I was a student, because I believe the material should be correct so that future students do not suffer the same frustration nor are taught improper concepts.
**An example to convey the level of quality of the course material:**
One example was in the Physics course, the concept of work being taught was equal to force times the distance the object traveled. This is fundamentally wrong; the real concept of work is force times the distance the force was applied over. I wrote to many people and eventually the business owner before my concerns were heard. The only reason I knew this was wrong was because it defied the law of conservation of energy. Though the fact that I, a student, was the only person who realized the mistake and sought to have it fixed reflects very poorly on the quality of the institution.
**Strictly relevant to my question:**
I have gotten into the habit of contesting test questions which are incorrect, and since every question on the final exam is worth 0.66% of my final grade, I take the time to make sure each mistake was mine. After contesting 2 questions on my last Chemistry final exam I have found that the head of the science department (whom I correspond with) does not understand a specific concept regarding a question. Now, I realize that it is only 1 question and my grade will go from a 97 to a 97.6, but I strongly dislike the idea of losing a mark for a concept which I deserve the acknowledgment of understanding (the grade). In order to explain why my answer was correct, I don't know how to do it in a way that is not condescending towards her (the head of the science department); no matter how you look at it, it will be a student explaining a concept to a teacher.
**I am asking for criticism here.** Please criticize me and tell me if I am being too much of a perfectionist. Is it appropriate to always contest questions during an academic career or will it have a negative effect on my success in the long run? Also, is it really worth it? What are the pros and cons?
**EDIT:** I can see my comment about the Physics concept of work is being met with a lot of skepticism; so I am including the link to the [Physics.SE question I made](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/70928/is-my-textbook-teaching-an-incorrect-concept-of-work) in order to verify without a doubt that the lesson was indeed incorrect. When I saw that this was a mistake I took every measure that I could to ensure it was in fact a mistake before I proceeded to contact the head of the science department and then the business owner (when my concerns were not being heard). In no way did I take this lightly and assume I was correct, I did the necessary research before raising concerns.<issue_comment>username_1: Professors are not allowed to retaliate for students asking questions/contesting test items so you have no need to fear. That being said, human beings are human beings and there is natural variation to how people respond. Most academics I know love having students who are as committed to their education as we are and we view questions (including contesting questions) a sign of commitment. Given professors are human beings, we will make mistakes and it is important to be aware that your texts are also filled with errors! So I would encourage you to continue asking questions and contesting items throughout your education. But I caution that you do so in a respectful way. Particularly for internet classes, it is easy to lose sight that the person with whom you are communicating is highly qualified in a specialized area and is due respect. They owe you an equal amount of respect, of course. But when communicating via email, discussion boards, class-related blogs, or any other means that does not involve being face-to-face, two errors emerge entirely too often. People are sometimes disrespectful because they do not realize how difficult it is to show respect via these technologies. People may also be disrespectful because the anonymity makes it easier to be rude/condescending or to lose ones temper. Make no mistake, asking a question is not disrespectful, it is the way questions that are sometimes conveyed disrespectfully. Avoid these errors and you should experience no problems.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is it appropriate to always contest questions during an academic career or will it have a negative effect on my success in the long run? Also, is it really worth it? What are the pros and cons?
>
>
>
No ,it is **not always appropriate** to contest questions during an academic career! Let me hasten to add that most of the time, under most circumstance and with the right attitude, it *is* probably appropriate. The key is your attitude, which seems to be appropriately focused on learning rather than on showing up the professor. However, the second part is how successful you are at conveying that attitude, particularly in an online format, which, as others have mentioned, lends itself to miscommunication.
**Approach this with an attitude of learning from the masters**, as in "Can you show/tell me why this answer is not what I thought it should be?" rather than, "This question is wrong and I want you to fix it!" Professors are human too, and most of us have hard time responding kindly to a smarty-pants student who is intent on showing that s/he knows more than we do!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Though the fact that I, a student, was the only person who realized the mistake and sought to have it fixed reflects very poorly on the quality of the institution.
>
>
>
Yes, it does.
>
> I believe the material should be correct so that future students do not suffer the same frustration nor are taught improper concepts.
>
>
>
Of course it should. But ultimately, the correctness of the course material is the responsibility of the instructor, not your responsibility.
>
> I have had to fight tooth and nail to correct some of the material.
>
>
>
That strikes me as quixotic.
It's certainly reasonable, and helpful to future students, to report errors that you find in the course material. The instructor should then either fix it, or discuss with you why the course material is actually correct.
But if the instructor does not seem interested in doing so, then it's probably a waste of your time to "fight tooth and nail". Unfortunately, crappy courses and instructors exist, and it's not your job to fix them all. Simply quit giving them your money and attention: look elsewhere for better courses. If you like, leave negative reviews. Future students would be helped by having the errors fixed, but if the courses are as poorly managed as you describe, they would be even better off not taking them at all.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: I'm writing as someone who has questioned/challenged exam questions, and even the entire teaching approach to a graduate-level course. (I'm a PhD student). I do this rarely. I don't do this because my answer was marked wrong or because my exam grade might be improved. In other words, when I challenged the professor I had no intent to have him change my grade. My goal was 100% focused on improving "the system" that gave rise to that exam and exam question in the first place.
Look at this as a social system. All systems improve their performance in response to feedback, a.k.a. error signals. Your teachers and professors operate in social systems that include their training, their experience, their discipline norms and culture, their peer influences, their incentives, their resources, and so on. Any given exam question exists within this larger "field" of testing, grading systems, degree programs, academic accreditation, and so on.
Consider how this is similar to customer complaints in commercial settings, complaints by line workers in a manufacturing process, or whistle-blower complaints in a government department. Regardless of the merit of any individual complaint, these are all *vital* and *essential* signals for each of these organizations and institutions. Enlightened and mature managers (and professors) will understand this and will do their best to solicit such corrective signals, and will act on them systematically.
Alas, many (or most) managers and professors are not enlightened. They won't learn and they will suppress the feedback, and maybe react negatively to the person or people who raise such feedback.
With this perspective, the best that you can do is provide feedback in a way that people can learn from it, and so they can change the system to benefit future students (or customers, or line workers, or citizens).
---
Using your example:
>
> [In a] Physics course, the concept of work being taught was equal to force times the distance the object traveled. This is fundamentally wrong; the real concept of work is force times the distance the force was applied over.
>
>
>
You describe this as "fundamentally wrong". Really? It may be erroneous at a conceptual level (i.e. how "resultant distance" is different than "applied distance") but "fundamentally wrong" to me would be "Work = Force X Velocity" or "Work = Force ^2" or "Work = Distance X Mass".
Most important: how would you modify the education material related to "work" and how would you modify the exam question associate with "work"? And what modifications are required to the System that this exam questions lives in?
Is the professor not using the latest research? Is the professor taking short-cuts, where a more complete treatment is necessary? Is "teaching the formula" taking precedence over "teaching the concepts" or "teaching the theory"?
In my opinion and experience, it's these latter questions that you should address in your feedback in this particular case.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: You are being too much of a perfectionist. Rather, you are being a perfectionist when it really doesn't matter. There is no point in fighting the inaccuracies you find in the lower education system because quite often (as you pointed out) the teachers don't have a good understanding of the material. Whether or not the errors are fixed will not matter because everyone who does not go into physics or chemistry programs in college won't care, and those who do will quickly learn the correct thing in their first semester.
Yes, professors are sometimes wrong, and yes, those errors should be fixed. But it's important to remember that the vast majority of teaching faculty you interact with have PhD's in their field and have devoted their lives to the subject. Professors (especially in intro courses) are very rarely wrong, and when you correct them, they are more likely to say "oh yeah, that's what I meant" instead of giving you a hard time. If you believe you should have received credit on a test question, (A) go to your professor's office hours and ask a question, (B) write up a formal proof of why you are correct, and (C) talk to the professor or grader who is in charge of your grade.
And - congratulations on asking questions. The more you ask the better you will understand the material in question.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: The problem is that you're accusing your elders of understanding the concept wrongly. Possibly they are, but most likely they apply it perfectly, and the breakdown is in communication.
You should try to express yourself like this:
>
> I believe I've found a clearer way to express this law. "Work equals Force times the Distance the force was applied over." Is it correct?
>
>
>
Assuming the others are not in fact incompetent, they will agree this is correct. Probably they will even agree it is a clearer statement than the original.
If you just protest the original wording though, "Can't you see this is wrong?", then no, you won't find agreement.
All human communication is built on a foundation of assumptions and shared experience. For them, that it is "the distance traveled while the force is acting on the object" not "the distance traveled ever" or even "the distance traveled as a result of the impulse transmitted by the force" is second-nature, and they never think to express it explicitly.
And that's also why no one else sought to have it "fixed".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> **I am asking for criticism here.** Please criticize me and tell me if I
> am being too much of a perfectionist.
>
>
>
I think, what you do is not perfectionism. You're very close to being ignored by your instructors.
>
> I strongly dislike the idea of losing a mark for a concept which I
> deserve the acknowledgment of understanding (the grade).
>
>
>
Going after what you deserve is a very natural and legitimate behavior. But there is one question: *Does %0.66 grade change anything?*
If your grade were to go from A to A+, or it is a matter of passing and failing the class, not a single person will be inconsiderate. However, if you're doing this for only numbers on a piece of paper, then you're not usually welcome.
>
> no matter how you look at it, it will be a student explaining a
> concept to a teacher.
>
>
>
Human beings learn. All the time. Assistant Professor, Professor, Dean are only titles. In my opinion, if someone chose to be an academician, they chose to be a student for all their life. So, in this case, a student explaining something to another **more experienced** student.
Besides being a student, an academician also has a duty, which is to teach courses. This is a different aspect. This requires a skill to keep a group of different people up and awake for a period of time. Therefore, even though an instructor can make a mistake and have actually something to learn, **time and place matters** to teach him/her where (s)he is mistaken.
Actually, this is a question of respect. I'm sure that you don't want a professor calling your idea *nonsense* or calling you *moron*. If you raise your hand and tell him "you don't know this subject, let me teach you", two cases are equivalent.
**The more you learn, the more you forget**
At least, this applies for me. In my country, we take a test to enter a university. The test is so hard, only the math section covers all the topics those are taught in the university, in 4 semesters. I once could solve really hard trigonometry questions by hand. Now, I'm dealing with computational geometry, but am astonished when I encounter a simple question about complex numbers. Similarly, your physics instructor, or the author of the book *might have* missed some basic points. That does not mean *they are wrong*, that means *they should be corrected* (you can also correct something even it is right).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: In answer to your question "Am I being too much of a perfectionist?" - it depends. If you are creating security software, no: please be as nit-picky as possible! In other situations, perhaps. Sometimes the correct answer matters less than we think. In others (mars rover?) it does matter. If you can let the bone go when it is not important, then you are not "too much of" a perfectionist. But you must hang on to it when it does matter.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/27 | 3,086 | 13,402 | <issue_start>username_0: During my masters, I used to ask a lot of questions in class and during the lecture. Whenever I had a doubt I used to ask questions. It was my habit which my undergraduate teachers inculcated in me and inspired us to do so. However, here, in my masters, I got the impression that this is probably a bad habit as professors tend to think that I am asking my questions to test them. Ultimately, it was proven to reflect badly on me.
I am about to go to another institution going for my PHD. Since then, I have changed my habit and I haven't asked a single question in the last several lectures. Instead, I wrote my questions down in my notebook and later read books or Googled them to search for answers.
Is this really the right way?
How can I ask a question such that the professors shall not think that I am somehow mocking them?<issue_comment>username_1: if your question imply that maybe you hadn't learned the prerequisite classes well enough, then they could be taken as annoying to both professor and some other students. the prof wants to make sure he/she gets through a sufficiently prescribed amount of material (indicated on the syllabus) and spending a lot of time on remedial instruction might cost too much time to move ahead at the needed rate.
but, if it's relevant and at the correct level (like the level of the class learning this stuff), thoughtful questions **should** be appreciated by all.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You should not always resort to Google. If the professor feels bad if you ask in front of the class, note down the question and either ask at the end of the class on one-on-one basis, or ask in a separate meeting during their office hours. Consider asking TAs too.
This is not the ideal solution though, as asking in the class provides others the opportunity to ponder on the question.
One litmus test that you might want to do before asking the question is, whats the point of the question, and whats the point of the current lecture. Are you asking a question that goes deep down some unnecessary details, or does it ask for a piece of information thats relevant and important?
Another way to test your questions is, what would I lose (or what would I be not able to do) if I don't know the answer to that question.
One more way can be that before asking the question, you verbally clarify what you understood, and then ask which bit you didnt understand. Similarly, verbally clarify what details you know, and then for which scenario, you need the additional information. That would not only justify it as a legitimate doubt, but also clear the context of question A LOT in your own mind.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Asking questions is a good thing, but you need to make sure that the questions you ask are appropriate. The best thing to do is judge for yourself whether or not a majority of the audience might be interested in your question.
An example might be that the lecturer has made a mistake, or has forgotten to define something in a mathematical derivation. In such cases, perhaps you could whisper to the person next to you for a quick second opinion.
If a concept has been neglected or poorly explained, then you should ask for expansion or clarification if you think that most of the class will be in the same boat.
These aren't always easy judgements to make. If you're uneasy, save the question for after class. You can also simply ask the lecturer if he or she minds you asking questions, or your classmates if they thought your question was a good one. *Good* questions enhance the learning experience for everyone.
The bottom line is that most good professors like to have some interaction with the class. Many students audience don't like to say anything, so it's often up to just a few students to ask any relevant questions. But more than one question every ten minutes or so can start to get tiresome for the lecturer, so unless it's a tutorial class you shouldn't turn it into a Q&A session.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: From my experience in college as a student who *asks* questions (as opposed to those who stay silent even if they do not understand what they're listening to) you can divide the process into the student's part (asking) and the lecture's part (answering). The student's part is the one you have control over, and so there are at least two possibilities:
* The question is pertinent: it adds to the discussion, is useful to the general audience and it does not disrupt the lecture.
* The question is not pertinent: it is too deep (save it for later when you can meet the lecturer in a one-to-one basis), it is too shallow (you were not paying attention, or lack previous knowledge needed for the present course, etc.), or it is irrelevant (you're trying to correct or point out some insignificant mistake or make an appreciation that does not help anyone except your ego).
If your question is *not* pertinent then do a favor to everyone (including yourself) and don't ask it.
Now, if the question *is* pertinent it is up to your appreciation and experience in that class to figure out whether that particular lecturer will welcome it or not. Some lecturers will be happy to answer anything they think adds up to the discussion and to be corrected whenever they are wrong. Others will feel that their students are being intrusive towards their work and even get defensive if they're pointing out a mistake.
Examples:
* I once pointed out a mistake a lecturer had made on the board and he dismissed me implying I was clearly wrong without even giving a thought about what I was saying. Right after class I talked to him privately and he was happy to acknowledge I was right.
* I did the same with another lecturer and he immediately admitted his mistake and thanked me for pointing it out. Asking a tricky question to this same lecturer he admitted he didn't know the answer but came the next day with two sheets of paper where he had worked out the answer after class during his own time.
To sum up:
>
> It is your responsibility before asking to make sure yours is a *good*
> question. But it is also up to your judgement to decide whether asking
> that particular lecturer that particular question benefits you or not.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Asking Question is a good thing but ask in a right way is cumpulsory and you can not find your answer as you need to know on google so asking your teacher is a good thing but is to be done in a right way.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: Several answers have touched on asking the right type of questions. While this is important, *how* you ask a question can matter as well. (FWIW, these come from a US perspective.)
I find questions prefaced with "I know you covered x earlier, but I'm still not clear on..." get good results. It acknowledges that you were paying attention, that the professor covered some part of the topic, but it's asking for increased understanding. The same for questions like "You just said x, but the text seems to say y. Could you talk about the difference?"
Another factor is *who* asks the question. I'm usually the top student in the class, and the professors know it. So if I ask a question that starts with "I didn't understand how you went from step A to step B", they know it's because something was truly unclear -- I've already done the reading, and I've been following the lecture closely, so the professor is less likely to take offense. I often volunteer to ask this type of question for my classmates, because I know the professor will be more patient with the question if it comes from me.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: A good talk from the auditory that professor likes (or, even if one does not, sees as "ok") is the one that **contributes to the lecture**, increasing its quality for all students, for instance:
* An answer to the question that the lecturer has just asked for the auditory, aiming to attract attention to important topic.
* Asking to comment on unmentioned yet widespread or very obviously looking alternative hypothesis, point of view or simply common misunderstanding, if still in the scope of the lecture.
* Asking to clarify something that was really covered too fast, leaving half of the auditory confused (a knowingly good student should ask).
* A typo in a formula on the blackboard that 50 students just wrote down (but double check first as false alerts are not welcome).
It is very difficult to ask such questions as they may require more knowledge from the student than it would be presented in the lecture. Indeed, one of the possible replies from the professor is "a good question, now please answer it for us" that may not already be difficult. If you managed to ask one such question per semester, this is already great and enough. If you keep trying but the questions are not so good, you may get one or another hint to interfere less.
If a question does not add much to the lecture, professor may see it as a waste of the precious time that could be used more efficiently. The amount of personal attention professor is capable of giving to each student is limited even after the lecture, and during the lecture you are also using time of many other students.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: There are many ways to ask questions in seemingly appropriate ways and yet completely ruin the flow of class and earn some negative points with the lecturer/teacher. Here are some examples:
* Asking a question about something that was just explained in great detail (but during which the student who is asking the question was busy texting or browsing on their phone or was simply not focuses). This type of question adds nothing of value, but suggests that explanation was not good enough. I even see other students roll their eyes and some just laugh out loud at one such student who seems to have that special talent for asking really bad questions. For instance, right after stating a fact such as "The sky is blue" they would ask "Excuse me, I am just not sure - is the sky blue?"
* Asking a question that on the surface seems relevant, but in reality is about material which was not covered yet. For instance "Today we learn that at noon, the sky is mostly blue" and the student asks "What about the sky on Mars - is it also blue?". Students who do that do it for few reasons: they want to show that they are advanced (they usually use terminology that was not even explained yet almost like "name dropping"), and they like the attention they are getting. This is counter-productive and I just ask them to wait until we reach that point later. But the worst ones will keep asking such questions: "So, I just wanted to ask, if it is middle of the night, would the sky still be blue?"... and earn a bad grade as a result (since they are focusing on stuff that is not covered yet, they are not focusing on matters at hand, and that shows in their work).
* Asking trivial questions, to which they could simply find answers themselves if only they remembered what was covered in the past or even just tried before asking (I teach practical stuff that is done on computers, so they have their tools right in front of them). For instance "What would happen if I...?" to which I would say "try it, see what happens, and get back to us!". Or at other times "How do I (do something simple)?" - again just asking for attention. First it tells me they don't care to remember important details and cannot learn more advanced concepts which rely on previous knowledge, but more importantly, they show their laziness and disinterestedness as such simple tasks can be figured out within seconds. The question would be along lines of "How do I switch my mouse to left handed?" - they have not even tried to open options and see what is in there, and to make it all worse - both how to change options and how to "switch to left handed" was explained more than once. (and - no I don't teach such simple stuff, it is just an illustration)
* Even if questions are relatively OK, they can be asked in such a manner as to interrupt the flow of a good class. I expect my students to raise their hand when asking a question, but some of them will do so every few minutes. Some will ask a question by raising their hand, only to switch to not raising their hand when it matters the most - like when an important "A-HA" moment is about to happen in students' mind. Some complex concepts and ideas need a bit of a build-up to be understood, and that moment of understanding can be ruined by a question, asked aggressively. Or some others will raise their hand at the most inappropriate moment and try and get my attention with no regard for the explanation that is taking place. All they need to do is wait about 30 seconds and they can ask all they want then, but they are too eager to ruin the flow of lecture.
Basically, those who do this in a class are psychotic individuals who cannot live without being the center of attention for more than a few minutes. Unfortunately, they are also very skilled at ruining a class without doing much of what is clearly prohibited so they are hard to deal with (you can't tell them "Don't ask questions"). I just fail them or give them a really bad grade; usually their homework is not that great either, so failing them is easy.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/27 | 4,742 | 20,014 | <issue_start>username_0: Background: I was a senior at a very prestigious, high-ranking university in the US. At the time my GPA was around a 3.9 and had never had any issues with professors (and actually socialized with a few outside of class).
Fall semester I ended up getting pinned taking two classes from a female professor that had a reputation for being an extreme feminist. I only mention the "feminist" part because this reputation preceded her around campus. My adviser who was female, basically said "sorry about this" but I have to put you in her classes. I also mention it because the department head (later in story) is very quick to pull me from her class with little discussion. I am not anti-feminist nor did I care. If anything it made me act more cautious around her.
Both of the classes were very basic so I figured, whatever. Well I get my first few papers back and there is little feedback other than very minor sentence rewording. "C"s. No notes.
I ask her about her office hours (after class) so I can talk about the issues on the papers. She simply told me she finds me intimidating and that she would rather talk to me in class with other people around. **This was my first direct interaction with her, and I was standing beside a few friends.**
So I ask her what I need to do to not get a "C". She says that she doesn't feel comfortable talking to me because she feels threatened—again I have two or three female friends standing a few feet from me. That's it. She wouldn't talk to me because I was a big male. (At the time I was boxing professionally but I really doubt she knew this. As a 6'3" 200-pound white male, she just would not talk to me based on how I looked.)
Next step was going to the department chair. Basically he looked at a few of my papers and we went around in circles over the grades. But that didn't matter. The professor basically told him exactly what she told me. And she told him that it was the first time I had ever talked to her.
He offered to grade the rest of my papers and give me grades for the classes. I opted out of that because basically I would have started off with a 70% in each class (he could not change my grades, I was told). So he offered pass/fail. I took that option. Didn't go to class. Turned in a bunch of papers and passed both classes.
My question is did I handle this correctly? Should I have paid for those two classes? What would be the norm in this situation from a student's perspective?<issue_comment>username_1: We (and the department) need to ignore **any** and **all** issues of appearance and ostensible political leanings. the OP (no matter how he looks), if he pays tuition (which partially pays the professor's salary) has a right to *some* explanation of the grade. If the professor made no notes on the paper about **content** (not just style or usage, which if not flagrantly bad, should affect the grade only a little), then the student has a right to hear from the professor **what**, in the content, she was looking for and was missing in the paper. Alternatively, the professor should convey what was included in the paper that was "wrong" in some sense, either factually incorrect or irrelevant.
This professor should have office hours. If they all conflict with other classes or academic commitments, the student has a right to request some time by appointment. If the professor agrees, make the appointment. You should not need to bring "witnesses". The professor should just do her job.
If the professor continues to stonewall (using her fear of you as an excuse), try getting either your adviser or the department head to stand with you as you ask her again for time to substantively discuss what she is expecting in the work from each student in your class, and **specifically** where your work came short in her professional opinion. Come prepared about the facts and content in the work that she's grading so poorly.
Perhaps your poor grade is appropriate and you can learn something. Perhaps it was not appropriate and *she* can learn something. Either way, you have a right to specific information for how your paper falls short, and what she expects of you for a better grade. You might not like the information, but she has no right (since she is partially paid by the tuition you pay) to deny her services, as a professor and teacher, to you.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: My opinion is that you handled this difficult situation appropriately, assuming what you have described is accurate and forthcoming. The only suggestion I could make is this: When she said that "she wouldn't talk to you because you were a big male", you might have suggested that she send you an email with the explanation. She may or may not have done it, but at least you'd be giving her a path of communication that didn't involve you being present with her.
In the end, the "pass" result was probably as good as you could expect.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Generally speaking, humans - even professors with a bad reputation - behave the way they do in a way that is sensible in at least some context, even if that context is only in their own mind. Without knowing the situation, this behavior could be anywhere from an indefensible prejudice to a "reasonable person" response that one simply fails to understand or have sufficient information to interpret.
So, let's walk through a couple of reasonable interpretations.
Honest Interpretation
---------------------
In the first interpretation, the professor responded honestly - she felt fear or discomfort in meeting with you privately. "Why" she felt that way cannot be determined from a simple reading of the narrative presented. She could have a disability (panic/anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress), she could have been threatened in the past, she could have believed you were affiliated with people who had threatened her or wished her ill, or she could have interpreted your tone or body language as being angry or...well, intimidating, and surely other reasons I cannot so easily imagine.
People have a right to feel safe, and to insist they not be put in a position where they are made to be in perceived or real danger. When one can un-self-consciously walk down a dark street alone without fear because of one's skin color, size, gender, or physical training, it is easy to be unaware of the fear that others who are not so fortunate must live in continually - often for all too real reasons. As I have two daughters, I can attest that this is a rather disgusting realization to have to come to - but it is an important one in understanding our place in the world and our relationships to others.
Legally and ethically, the University is almost universally required to provide reasonable accommodations to this end for both students and faculty - both you and your professor.
In all this, this does not require that you did anything wrong, nor that you should receive adverse treatment. If the professor was hard of hearing she could require all advisement to be by email, and this would be a reasonable accommodation. To request an appointment with a chaperon might feel silly when you don't see the need, but it can be a reasonable accommodation none the less.
Unfair Treatment Interpretation
-------------------------------
Interpretation Two: you were singled out for unfair treatment. In this interpretation, you were treated explicitly unfairly and the professors attitude and actions culminated in adverse, unwarranted treatment.
As a student and "paying customer", you have the right to receive services you paid for, comparably valued substitute services, or a refund. The University makes certain guarantees of service, and they are obligated to make good on their contract.
The University, along with applicable law, usually provides for how complaints should be handled. Generally, the head/chair of the department is involved, and at times special departments (like an Ombudsman or Student Services) can also seek to find a reasonable resolution.
There is not, however, always a guarantee that a class will be offered by a professor who likes you, or whom you like, or who is even in any way helpful or beyond vaguely useful. It's hard to bar passive-aggressive behavior that's shielded by unethical but hard to disprove veils of personal boundaries or safety.
From your writing, it seems a member of administration offered a number of remedies. You likely had the right to complain to administration, be given an administrative (no cost/fault) withdrawal from the class with potential return of related fees, receive 3rd party grading to remove questions of improper marks, a pass/fail opportunity for credit, etc. While none of these are ideal resolutions, there are often no perfect fixes for problems like this.
Part of this is often what is really sought in remedy is not possible or not stated. If you felt insulted and discriminated against, you might have wanted the professor penalized or to apologize to you - which might have been objectively inappropriate or just impossible. You might have wanted your paper regraded as stated, but there may have been insufficient grounds for this is as it is simply an extraordinary request. If a 3rd party can look at your paper and say "it is not beyond reason that a professor, even if they would be very harsh, would have given this paper a C" then it's just a no go there, too.
So, administration has a duty to find a way to make the best of a bad situation. From the sounds of it, they offered pretty much all the recourse they had to offer to you. You could take it or leave it, but by staying in the class and taking the pass/fail offer and receiving credit (and choosing not to attend lecture - which was certainly understandable but not strictly demanded by the situation) the University upheld their end of the bargain - albeit in a not very satisfying way.
A Word on Feminism
------------------
One note of issue: the problem with how this is stated in the post is that feminism isn't actually related. If someone is known to have a militant or unkind attitude, behave in a way that discriminates against certain genders or types of people, or just has a reputation for being a terrible teacher or nasty person, say so.
The problem is when words are used as code words for something else entirely. If the administration was unwilling to give a refund it would be appropriate to say they were playing hard ball or being stingy or greedy - not to say they were known to be of a certain ethnicity renowned for thrift (to be time-insensitive, I am presently aware of three entirely different sets of people who have this notion assigned to them).
So, if a professor has a reputation of being nasty or terrible or discriminatory, please just say so outright. To say "feminist" or "extreme feminist" to imply being a man-hating shrew does a dis-service to yourself, your question, to feminists, to man-hating shrews, and to society as a whole.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: I once had a comparative politics professor that was a short, older Latina. She included attendance and tardiness in the course grade. I recall once a rather big fellow once tried to get her to not mark him tardy by physically intimidating her.
She didn't back down and she told him to have a seat - and he did.
However, I could see someone else having a very different response, and I was watching carefully to intervene if he became belligerent.
What's going on in her mind may or may not reflect an objective view of reality, but being a boxer, it strikes me that your gauge of your aggressiveness when you confronted her about your grade could be off.
I'd like to present you with a specific principle that might help in future situations:
>
> Assume Positive Intent
>
>
>
No one shows up at work telling themselves they're going to be evil today. (Except maybe Dr. Evil.)
In this case, you might have been careful to cooperate with her, and credit her with innocent (if misguided) fearfulness, which would have allowed you to further test your hypothesis, and you would have either won her over (possible, but unlikely, given most professors' fondness for acknowledging a misgrade) or had more evidence for the department chair.
Nevertheless, you ask:
>
> Did I handle this correctly?"
>
>
>
You did the best you knew how, and a "Pass" beats a C (for an A student) any day.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Whether this female teacher actually had a bad experience with an intimidating student or it was just all in her head, is an irrelevant point. If your interactions with her were just as you stated (and no subtle context was left out, like you standing with your "guns" across your chest, or worse), then you were blatantly discriminated against. The reason that I say her past experience is irrelevant is because had she had a bad experience with a school athlete or body builder, she is still basing her opinion of you on that experience, which is prejudicial, also known as discrimination.
I think that if a professor told me they would rather talk in class, my response would be that you do not discuss other peoples academic status in front of others, so, either 1, you allow me to bring a friend in to the meeting whom I feel comfortable with, or 2 you have another professor or a student aid present, or 3 you call campus security and have them present at the meeting ...
And, actually, this is the best possible scenario, especially if she already has preconceived notions, because it would protect you from false accusations, and other lies, like when she claimed you never approached her before. I dont know how or why she was able to get away with this lie, when you stated you were with friends at the time you approached her about your grade.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Most universities have a academic coordinator, or something like that, who you can address with issues like these.
If that fails, I've heard of people who have successfully sued the professor, because if the do something unfair and produce a damage in the finances of people, they can get compensation. That is what laws are for.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: This hasn't been said yet so I'd like to draw your attention to a couple of situations with students that I've experienced. But first....
**Coded Body Language/Image**
First, you mentioned that you are a white, 200+ pound male training to be a boxer. Western culture has coded muscular bodies in two ways, the first, as 'healthy' (a completely different discussion) and the second, as 'powerful' 'aggressive' and 'hostile'. So while you may not have meant to appear threatening, she may have read your body language and attitude as threatening just by the way you look. Is this discrimination? Yes BUT bear with me.
After all, if we constantly receive messages through various mediums that men with muscular bodies are meant to be aggressive and violent (sports, action movies, body building etc) than it is not all that surprising that she reads you as threatening even if this was not your intention. There are also socio-cultural and historical contexts here at play. As a white male you do have access to levels of privilege (depending on other factors, such as class, ability etc) and combining this with a hard body, it is very well that she may have perceived you as a threat despite what your intentions may have been.
As a female, she has also been taught that men are threatening. Through various forms of mediums, women are constantly told that men are threatening, that they can't behave themselves, that women risk provoking men, women are victims of men and often deserve it and so on. So again, the socio-historical-context here is that she has been taught to perceive men as a threat.
This isn't to excuse her behaviour, it's just a more nuanced explanation. Combining the historical context of what women are told, and the coded messages around a hard, male muscular body you may have come across as threatening.
You also mentioned that her face had a look of 'disgust' but just as YOU felt you weren't in a body position of hostility/aggression, perhaps her look was not disgust but actually fear. How you receive a message is not necessarily how people give them. To be honest, as a young female with a severe knee injury, if I *perceived* you as highly threatening, I might also be wary of meeting with you privately...
**Options She Should Have Offered**
If she felt threatened, a more appropriate response from her would have been to arrange a meeting in which a neutral third (and perhaps fourth party) could be involved to mediate the discussion. She does have the right to turn you away from a private one-on-one discussion if she genuinely feels threatened. However, offering an option in which perhaps a faculty member, and a student rep like an adviser to sit in on the discussion would have been a more tactful way of handling the situation, giving you a fair chance to discuss where you went wrong (if you did go wrong).
This should have been offered for you, especially as this was a first time request for office hours. It does not sound as though you had repeatedly harassed her in any way. This is what I would have offered. I'm aware that this may come across as insulting or offensive, but this would not be my intention. It would be to protect myself and offer you a fair chance for discussion.
I know there's that hashtag #notallmen; however, I would say that enough men engage in violence and threatening behaviour to warrant some caution around those we do not know. Which is very unfortunate, I disagree living in a world where I have to constantly be cautious as the result of my gender, but this is where we are at.
**My Experience as a Female Lecturer**
I have been threatened and been in hostile situations with students on a few occasions. Surprisingly though, I have never had a situation with a male student, only female. However, a number of my colleagues have been in situations where their male students have harassed them, threatened them, have been physically violent with them and so on. So it is unfortunately, not an uncommon experience.
My worst experience was last year, where a student was taking my class but couldn't handle the controversial content of the material, or the setting of the classroom. They wanted me to change my entire curriculum and change how I was lecturing completely (including changing rooms, changing light settings, not using slides and so on). During and after class they would berate me about how I was not being accommodating despite trying to work with them and their disability case worker. On numerous occasions it was suggested that if they couldn't handle the content they should drop the class, but they refused. It got to the point that all interactions with this student had to be mediated with another member from my department, a member from safer communities unit and their disability caseworker. That's 5 people including myself for ONE student.
To be fair, this student was really struggling mentally, and trying to get into a psychiatric ward for fear for themselves but the medical system was screwing them around. So while I was being harassed and threatened, I also know that this was not so much the student hating me, but rather, venting all of their frustrations and current mental illness onto me. I became a target.
**Did You Handle This Correctly?**
I think you did the best you could considering the circumstances. I'm surprised a third party option was not offered for you and as others have suggested, perhaps a pass is better than a C. Maybe in future if a professor indicates they feel threatened, you could offer some alternatives to help them feel secure. While they may be in positions of authority, this does not mean they are flawless, or do not have their own concerns and fears.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/27 | 998 | 4,516 | <issue_start>username_0: I’ve red that some universities in Japan offer a non-degree program called *research student.* I want to know:
1. Why do students usually apply as a research student?
2. Do research students work on things that haven’t been done before? Or do they work on anything that interests them (of course) but that is not necessarily new?
3. How does a research student differ from a master student? What does a research student presents in his/her last year?<issue_comment>username_1: I've only encountered the term "research student" in Japan (研究生), most (all ?) graduate schools in Japan offer it (see for example the [Graduate School of Information Sciences of Tohoku University](http://is.tohoku.ac.jp/_eng/entrance/guide.html)). As I understand it
1. A student will apply as a research student if they wish to conduct research at the university under the supervision of a faculty member, but are not interested in taking classes or obtaining a degree. You could want to do this for example as a "gap year" between undergrad and Master's (or Master's and Ph.D.), this could be a way to get some research experience under your belt, and perhaps improve your application for Masters or Ph.D.
2. Anything goes, as long as it is agreed between the student and supervisor.
3. You are not required to present anything. Since there is no degree to be obtained, there are no requirements to be fulfilled.
4. is subjective.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Usually, students who go through a research program, aim for a research project or a project the output of which may be a research report or a scientific publication. As far as this program is only offered in a few number of universities or research centers; I just want to add some comment to the questions you asked.
In some universities, non-degree programs are offered as some students want to attend to the university not going through the official class-attending programs. I mean, in a non-degree program, the student may not have to attend all the courses offered in a degree leading program. The student has the opportunity to choose the courses he likes and the ones mostly near the field of research he likes to do. It may be noted that in a degree program, the student may have to pass a few number of courses which may be chosen by the group or department; but in a non-degree program, he has the opportunity to choose from a wide range of different courses which he likes more. I insist that that because these programs may not lead to a degree, each university may have its own regulations and the student may or may not have the opportunity to choose as many different courses as he wants. It is better to check the universities' websites.
The answer the your question about *why students apply for such programs* varies. Some students prefer to enjoy the freedom of the program, choosing a number of courses and pass them,while they do some research activity in the research institute. Some researchers prefer to apply for this programs as they have passed some courses before and they are coming with a good research background; so they apply for a non-degree program just to expand their researches and do some publications at the end of the research period. Some other students are the ones who work in industry and do not have enough time to attend a complete degree leading program and have a research topic in mind; so they apply for such program and do research in the field of their desire.
*When we are talking about research*, It means that we are looking for something new. When something is done before and the researchers looks for it; it is called research but the output may be a Review Paper not a Research Paper.
A non-degree program may differ as a matter of time. The research period may be three months, six month, one year or more. But as the research non-degree program student does research under supervision of a professor at the university; the output should be something like a publish paper, conference paper or a research report or book. If the person applies for a non-degree program and does not have any publication at the end of the research period, why does he attend the university?
The research student may *take most of the research period*, by talking to the other researchers and students at the university. Go to some courses and read as much as papers and reports as he can. Develop new ideas for his future projects and gain ideas to make his work better.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/27 | 546 | 2,143 | <issue_start>username_0: So with the job market being as it is, I'm considering the prospect of leaving academia after my PhD. The problem that I have is that the name of one of my Areas of Specialization has been co-opted by some new age mystics and if you search "X" after seeing that I specialized in "X", you're more likely to think I specialized in some arcane form of crystal healing than the work I actually did.
My other AOSs sound fine, even semi-impressive to the layman, and so don't really concern me. This one, however....
So, two quick and related questions:
1. Am I right to think that my AOSs at least would still remain when listing my PhD on a non-academic CV/resume? Or just "PhD in field X"? [(The question on CV for leaving academia didn't provide too much specific guidance here.)](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17347/cv-for-leaving-academia-after-phd)
2. Is it ethical to leave one of my AOSs off of the CV, assuming I leave the others untouched? In a sense it is misrepresenting what I did during my PhD, since I really did a lot of work in all three of these areas. On the other hand, listing this troublesome AOS might misrepresent what I did even more--- crystal healing and such.<issue_comment>username_1: This seems like an obvious opportunity to briefly explain yourself on your CV by listing the formal names but then stating what that actually means in parentheses. As an example:
```
PhD, Some Named Institution (2007-Present)
Areas of Concentration:
- Science thing 1
- Science thing 2
- Crystal healing sounding thing (Chemical Engineering)
```
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are applying for jobs in industry or consulting, your Area of Specialization is much less important than the *skills* you have developed and your *proven record of performance* (producing results, completing projects, writing and publishing papers). You could omit your Area of Specialization completely and just list your major and your skills, e.g.:
* PhD in Biochemistry. Skills: Experiment design and analysis, statistical analysis, computational modeling of protean evolution.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/27 | 1,298 | 5,610 | <issue_start>username_0: I have had the need to dig deep into the theory of architecture and in doing so I have encountered various authors who make extremely grandiose claims about themselves and their work.
This of course is not a measure for the actual value of their achievements, but sometimes it is hard to find out if an author is just very bad at expressing themselves, want to mask their ideas with jargon in order to make them seem even deeper, or if they really are just fabricating incoherent theories.
I by no mean want to denigrate anyone, but I don't want to learn from authors who are practicing junk science. The problem with architecture are authors who talk not just about architectural theory - but connect various disciplines to it, for example psychology, computer science, mathematics, etc... I have no required knowledge of any of those disciplines - so it is impossible for me to know if they are just using complex constructs from another discipline in a way that is just "sugar coating" for their claims.
A bigger problem is that there are very few people who have studied both architecture and some other discipline in detail and are able to comment both.
In this case I am baffled by two authors: <NAME> and <NAME>. Their book make incredible sounding claims, and their homepages and Amazon reviews are full of praise that rings all kinds of alarm bells, but at the same time they have permanent positions in universities which to my knowledge are quite reputable, and they have published a lot...
Regarding Michael Leytons theory of perception and cognition, there is a detailed criticism by Hendrickx and Wageman, but as I said, I am no mathematician... Apparently there is something wrong with the mathematical side of his theory though.
Is there any way to find if I can trust these authors? They seem to gather citations from their students and other people who use their work without any kind of criticism. Do I need to go through the magazines they publish into and find out if they are peer reviewed and of good reputation? How would I go about doing that?
I don't want to pollute my work with bad science, and I am very hesitant to make any claims myself if I don't have good grounds for them. With complex interdisciplinary claims like the ones these two authors do, should I just not use them at all since it seems so hard to find out if they can be taken academically seriously?<issue_comment>username_1: I think your definition of academic fraud or pseudoscience is *way* over the top. I am neither a mathematician nor an architect, but just doing a quick background search on both authors you mention gives me *no* indication that they are some wackjobs that use terminology from other disciplines to sound smart. If that is the case, they sure have convinced a lot of people that certainly know more about these fields than me (and, maybe, you).
Sure, a lot of people *disagree* with their theories, but that's completely ok, quite naturally actually. Most theories that go against the mainstream in a field are critiqued strongly. <NAME>, for instance, is a professor of theoretical computer science at Rutgers. His theories may or may not be correct, but I would be *very* hesitant to call it pseudoscience in the absence of further evidence.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Context: I'm a PhD student in Computational Social Science, so I'm very knowledgable about Complexity Science and related fields and how they are applied to design, architecture, organization science, and economics. Also, my adviser is a leader in the field of Design Science, particularly how Cognitive Science and AI can be applied to understand design and designers. Finally, I have a lot of domain knowledge regarding Pattern Languages and generative models of conception and design.
>
> Is there any way to find if I can trust these authors?
>
>
>
I've encountered many authors, researchers, and consultants who I have identified as "charlatans" when it comes to applying Complexity Science or other models or theories to social systems. For the most part, they apply Complexity Science only in a metaphorical sense (e.g. "edge of chaos" concept), but have no basis or foundation in empirical or theoretical research.
But to determine whether any particular author is a charlatan or not, there is *no substitute for **you** understanding the underlying theory or method*. There is no reliable method for you to determine whether author ***A*** has a valid foundation in theory ***X*** unless you do your homework and develop a working understanding of theory ***X***. If, on the other hand, you stay with your position that "I'm not a mathematician", then you have no basis for deciding either way. Looking at what other people say or citations will not help you, in an academic sense.
If you don't want to do the work to understand the mathematics, computational science, and formal methods that these author use, then just go another direction. If you must include them in your papers, then just say that you have no opinion on their validity or significance because their methods/theories are beyond your grasp.
Finally, just because you don't understand the mathematical and computational methods these authors use their theories doesn't mean there is any "junk science" going on. As <NAME> (7 Habits) advised: "Seek first to understand."
---
**Edit**: Whether or not these authors have tenured positions at important Universities is not very good evidence regarding whether their "science" is "junk" or not.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/06/27 | 2,795 | 12,065 | <issue_start>username_0: Recently I submitted my first paper to a philosophy journal and got a rejection. This is of course nothing unusual, but as someone with a STEM background, I was surprised by the reason for the rejection: While there were no complaints regarding contents or correctness, it was felt that the paper failed to cite and engage with the recent literature on the topic.
The latter is indeed true: I did ignore the latest papers in the field and only referenced a handful of "classic" papers from the last century. But I also thought this was okay, as it seemed to me that the recent literature didn't add much to what was already covered by the classic papers, and was in any case not essential to the discussion.
Now, I'm not here to complain about having my paper rejected, or to argue about who's wrong or right. I just would like to know whether the requirement to cite the recent literature is a humanities-specific thing, or whether this is a common requirement in most fields. For instance, I imagine that if I had submitted a maths or computer science paper that referenced only a handful of classic and old, but relevant papers, my own paper, if correct and substantial, would have been accepted.
**Note**: Since people seem to misunderstand me, a bit of extra clarification: I don't have a problem with citing recent literature, if that's what it takes to get a philosophy paper published. I just want to know if this is more or less the same in most fields, including maths and CS. In the latter, so I believe, it's less of a big deal to cite the latest papers as long as the submitted paper correctly solves some well-known open problem.<issue_comment>username_1: Your assumption is wrong: The requirement to cite the recent literature is a valid reason for rejection on many fields as well and is certainly not a humanities thing. Why? You give the answer yourself:
>
> my own paper, if correct and substantial, would have been accepted
>
>
>
But how can the reviewer judge that (the substantial contribution at least) if you do not cite the recent papers? Perhaps what you propose, has already been done before and even in a better way that the one you propose in some recent papers. Science is not rebuilt from scratch every year and reading just a classic textbook is not enough to address the state-of-the-art in any field.
Also, not acknowledging the recent works is not only lazy (since you have not done the necessary "homework" regarding your scientific area) but it can also be intentionally misleading (perhaps you hide the recent papers because you know they are much better than yours). At the very best case, it is just ungrateful on those dealing with the same problem as you, since you seem not to consider their work significant enough for citing them on your paper. If you take into account that those reviewing your papers are also moving around the same problem area as you, by ignoring their work, is a sure way to get your paper rejected.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: This question seems to be based on a common misconception about the role of citations (see [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21666/is-it-proper-to-cite-something-when-using-it-just-as-an-example) for a related issue). Citations aren't just there to list content your work builds on; they're also there to provide the reader with context and motivation.
The reason you should be citing recent work is to help the reader. If you were familiar with various unsuccessful solutions, it's likely that some of them motivated the successful one, even if only by identifying things that couldn't work, and that merits a citation. Even if not, many of your readers are likely to be people who've thought a lot about one or more of those unsuccessful approaches; you're in the best position to explain how your approach differs.
(I'm writing from the perspective of mathematics, by the way.)
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In applied computer science, not citing recent literature (and in this case, "recent" really means "the last couple of years") correlates *very* strongly with rejection. Essentially, when I review a paper where all references are old according to the standards of the field, the reason can be either that:
1. there is newer related work, and the author is not aware of it or wilfully ignores it
2. there is indeed no recent related work; this is at least an indicator that the problem is either solved or deemed irrelevant by the community
3. the paper has been written a long time ago and has been rejected at multiple previous attempts at publication
4. the paper author is just a crank, who believes he has redefined (for instance) the concept of object-oriented programming
Points 1 and 4 warrant rejection on their own. Point 2 and 3 are at least a strong indicator that a paper should be rejected. That being said, I cannot remember ever rejecting a paper *only* for failing to cite recent literature. In all cases that come to my mind, this was just a minor sidenote and the paper actually got rejected for much more fundamental issues.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Citing papers is primarily to provide reference to the source of information gained from sources other than yourself in the study you are writing about. There are some instances where reference is made to works that provide background to the topic, in my field often review papers that summarize knowledge up to a point in time or papers that discusses methods and similar cases that can shorten your own description of some aspect of your manuscript
The main question is not so much if the latest material is cited but rather if the right material has been cited. Most research builds on earlier studies and is located at the cutting edge of knowledge so it seems unlikely that references to new or the latest findings within a subject would not have its place in a paper. That said, I would add that there is often a lack of historical knowledge as well. People (again in my field at least) reference papers from within the last five years for findings that were done half a century or more ago. This lack of knowledge about the origins of ideas can sometimes be problematic since one trusts someone else's interpretation of the original work when referencing new material that builds on the original.
So reference the right material, old as well as new, and be aware what the papers you cite actually say and from where they in turn sourced their information.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: It's dangerous not to cite works from the present. Most reviewers live in the present and have a "frame of reference" there. Your best shot would have been to hope for a bunch of reviewers who are now at least 45-50 years old, who remember "the good old days" of the past century. Apparently that didn't happen to you.
It's possible that there are some fields where, for whatever reason, the work done before the turn of the century was better than the work that was done after it. In that case, you might have to rely heavily on the pre-turn of the century work to critique the more recent work. But at least cite the recent work.
A paper or idea, even if meritorious that is not "modern" already has one strike against it. The damage is "double" or more, if you haven't considered (or at least appeared to have considered) the recent ideas in the field.
I found this out the hard way with my book "A Modern Approach to Graham and Dodd Investing" (Wiley, 2004), that preached that a "modern" version of the (1930s) ideas of Graham and Dodd would be more useful than the ideas that were then in vogue. But at least I couldn't be accused of "ignoring" them.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: You asked about maths and CS in particular. username_3 wrote about CS; I am going to write about math from my perspective publishing in the field.
In math, there is much less of a need to cite "recent" work - although there is still *some* need, as I will explain below. In many areas of math (perhaps not all), the referee really *can* verify the arguments by logical reasoning, so references are less important to verify that the argument is correct. (Of course, if you use previous results, they will need to be cited.)
For this reason, citation practices in math are well known to be different than other fields. We publish less and have fewer citations on average than some other fields (so our journals have lower impact factors) and our citations are, on average, to "older" papers compared to other fields.
As a perhaps extreme example, I published a paper in 2010 with 14 references, of which 11 were published before the year 2000. The paper is in a respected, selective journal (an "A" journal in the [Australian Math Society ranking](http://www.austms.org.au/Rankings/AustMS_final_ranked.html)). This paper is an outlier, though, compared to my other papers. My most recently accepted paper has 8 references: 1 is still a preprint, 2 were published in the last 4 years, 2 are from the 1990s, and 3 are from the 1970s. I don't think that is very far from normal in my area of mathematics.
When I referee papers in math, I look for references that:
* Provide appropriate links to background material (these are particularly helpful for non-experts who read the paper).
* Give appropriate credit for previous work.
* Motivate the new work by showing how it relates to previous work. The 3 "newer" references in the paper from 2010 that I mentioned were exactly for this purpose. They showed how the problem we were studying had been posed by others, and how our work was related to published open questions in another area of mathematics.
When someone submits a paper to a selective math journal, the referees and editors will look for all these things. A paper that is full of brilliant technical results, but for which the editors can't see any motivation or interest, may end up being rejected because there are other papers that *also* have brilliant technical results, but which have clear motivation and are likely to be of interest to many others. Because journals have space limitations, correctness on its own is often not sufficient for a paper to be accepted.
At less selective math journals, correctness on its own may be the main criterion, but I would still expect a referee to comment on a under-referenced paper.
---
As for the situation in the question, it helps to remember that philosophy is generally focused on the types of problems that *cannot* be solved by mere logical reasoning. The same holds for many areas of the humanities, as well. In these fields, one cannot simply prove one's argument from commonly held axioms - the problems being studied are not amenable to simple logical analysis like mathematics problems. Each paper is viewed as a contribution to a discussion about the topic.
This leads to another key difference between citations in math and in some other fields. In mathematics, we usually try to cite the *original* source of an idea, to give credit to the first person to define or prove something. In other fields, the practice is instead to cite the *most recent* references on the idea, because they give a better representation on the current state of the discussion about the topic.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I will try to add another perspective (I hope I don't repeat anybody else, if I do, please alarm me).
One of the measures that can be used in pre-review to see if the article is suitable are the references. For example, if your article cites only low-quality journals, it is presumed that it will be cited only in low-quality journals. Similarly, if it doesn't cite anything newer than X years (where X may vary from field to field), it is presumed that it is not interesting for the community and it will maybe not cited ever.
If the editor sees the article, doesn't find it very interesting, and moreover it has this problem, it may get rejected without review.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/27 | 2,266 | 9,474 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a university student, doing a scientific bachelor study. I plagiarised multiple exercises from multiple homework sets for three different classes, all in all about 50% of all the homework for those three classes. I passed the final exams of those three classes. Realizing what I have done, I am considering turning myself in, unless the punishment would be too severe. What do you think?
Edit: I actually got caught once before for plagiarising on a single homework set.
Edit2: I calculated that redoing the courses would cost me *at least* $7000, this is also a consideration for me personally.
Edit3: I actually copied the homework of a friend who gave it to me because he trusted me. I broke this trust, and now he terminated our friendship. I asked him about it and turning myself in is the only way to earn back his respect.
I'd like to know from more people what kind of punishment I could expect. If I turn myself in, I would find it fair to only have to redo the three classes.<issue_comment>username_1: You should talk to an ombudsperson at the university or an academic dean and tell them the whole story. They will likely punish you, but the punishment should be mitigated by the fact that you voluntarily provided the information even after "getting away with it".
If you keep this to yourself, it will either haunt your conscience for the rest of your life, or you will learn to be comfortable with wrong behavior. If that's the type of person you want to be, you don't need me to tell you otherwise. However, the fact that you've published this question suggests that you know that this needs to be rectified.
Either way, there is clearly an endemic problem at your university that the administration should know about.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I am considering turning myself in, unless the punishment would be too severe.
>
>
>
You are describing an *extremely* serious violation of most university's academic integrity policies. The most likely punishment is that your credit for those classes would be revoked, your grades would be changed to Fs on your transcript, and you would be suspended or expelled. (That would certainly be the most likely result at my university.)
Nevertheless, I believe you should turn yourself in.
Ari gives a good summary of the ethical argument, but there is also a selfish practical argument. Since you mention being caught once, there is good reason to believe that your work will face additional scrutiny. If you get caught before turning yourself in, the result is much more likely to be *permanent* expulsion. If you admit your plagiarism, the punishment will be slightly less severe; in particular, even if they decide on expulsion, the university will be much more likely to readmit you after 2-3 years.
Even if you decide not to turn yourself in, I recommend taking a short break from university, if you can afford it. The amount of cheating you describe indicates that something is very wrong — maybe you were overwhelmed, maybe you were scared, maybe you were lazy, maybe the homework were insultingly stupid, maybe you just didn't want to be there — but **something** was preventing you from engaging in those classes as a responsible student. You need to figure out what that something is and address it, or you'll just fall into the same pattern again.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: As a student in the sciences, I see cheating all the time. My undergraduate institution had a strict honor code we had to sign; Many people cheated. I'm not sure how aware or unaware professors really are to the fact; I remember having one very strange conversation with one of the professors I'm closest too:
"There is good cheating and bad cheating"
is the exact phrase he said. He wasn't advocating to cheat, but what he said was that as long as the cheating didn't hurt anyone else directly (curved grades) or undermine the point of the class ( doing poorly on tests) then one could say that you cheated not because you weren't capable of doing the material, but moreover you cheated to save time. In undergrad, I think, many people get away this this type of cheating.
I would not turn myself in. I have never cheated, but I don't see why turning yourself in helps the university or yourself as long as you never cheat again. You obviously learned the material; make sure you try your best to be as honest with your work as possible from now on.
Not all lessons learned need to have punishment, having to learn is sometimes consequence enough.
Now, if your courses were curved, and you might have harmed someone else's grade, that is a totally different story.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: For whatever your reasons may be, you choose to submit someone else's homework as your own and received credit for being able to do so. In the real world that is not any different than benefitting from work given to you by a volunteer or an employee. These things happen thousands of times day in the normal course of life.
The important thing here is that you passed your exams on your own demonstrating that you had a mastery of the material, which is the purpose of education, isn't it? Your exams reflect your own ability and since those were done without cheating, you should simply continue on with your life.
If you've resolved not to continue this behavior and are done with it, I see no reason to submit yourself the school or any of its representatives. They have your money, You have the knowledge. The transaction is complete.
Einstein was a "poor student" yet revolutionized physics. <NAME>, had no college degree yet revolutionized the fledging auto industry. What matters here is not what school, "a self appointed authority" thinks of you, but what you think of yourself.
If you can resolve to work harder at your studies, or find something you're actually interested in and can change your behavior so as not to put yourself at risk, I suggest you are done and should quit punishing yourself for the past.
As much as they would like us to think otherwise, schools are a very poor place to learn most of the real knowledge you need to survive and prosper in real life.
Let it go.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I suggest you approach a guidance counselor at the school (or a school psychologist, or equivalent). I think they are in the best position to help you in this case. (You might want to check first if your conversations will be treated confidentially.) The punishment you will receive for confessing will greatly depend on what the school policy is and I think the school's guidance counselor would know how cases like yours were handled in the past.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Your university likely has rules about academic misconduct. At my university the rules and penalties about academic misconduct are pretty clear. The minimum penalty we can apply to second offenses is a zero on the piece of work and the maximum penalty is a zero for the year. For third offenses the penalty starts at a zero for the class.
I sit on our academic misconduct committee and in general we try and be forgiving, especially to students who admit guilt. Other committee might simply expel you.
For our committee, you admitting copying 50% of the course work would make it difficult to conclude anything other than that you committed an academic offense. We would then be left with trying to mitigate the damage within the rules. We would likely argue that all the copying is a single offense (i.e., nothing falls into the third offense category) and that all the pieces of work that have copying should get a zero. We might be so lenient as to only penalize the first piece of work. Then again we could be mean and argue for multiple offenses and expulsion.
I think if you turn yourself in, the penalties could range from rather light (a zero on one piece of work) to expulsion. Getting caught without turning yourself in would likely increase the minimal penalty, potentially to a zero on all pieces of affected work. It is not clear if this additional penalty would have an affect on your ability to graduate or make a substantial change to your transcript.
That said, I would talk to a lawyer and figure out your legal responsibilities and weigh those against your moral/ethical responsibilities. It is not clear that a university would be able to retroactively amend a degree for academic misconduct related to homework, especially if, if all the affected pieces of work were given a grade of zero and you would still pass.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Honestly, no one cares. I plagiarised in all 3 of my degrees and I am a doctor. Do NOT turn yourself in. Everyone does it. The lecturers did it. Your children will do it. Uni is a process to get to where you need to. Your real learning starts in your career. Not on an exam paper or essay that is double spaced, size 12 arial narrow font and referenced in Vancouver style. Seriously, it will not affect any part of your life going forward. To everyone else who is getting cut at this, move on. Assignments are there to reduce the workload of the lecturers. Our thesis was 100,000 words. I copied at least 30% from other people and made up half of the references. My lecturer (after uni and over a couple of beers) told me he reads the intro, picks 10 pages, adds comments and reads the conclusion.
Move on and enjoy your life.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/06/28 | 375 | 1,681 | <issue_start>username_0: I hold a PhD in pure mathematics and am looking for mathematics teaching positions in the UK, preferably at University level.
1. What would be some websites where to find such ads?
2. What is the standard application procedure/requirements? When are the deadlines for applications? When are the offers typically made?
*A note on question#2:*
I would be interested in finding out whether there are any general comments one could make regarding the application/selection process by analogy to the US postdoc application system outlined in the next sentences. In the US, in order to apply for a postdoc position [research and teaching] one typically needs to submit 3 research recommendations, 1 teaching recommendation, a research statement, a teaching statement, cv, cover letter. Most deadlines are around November, December, January and I believe most offers are made in January - early February.
Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: Academic jobs in the UK are usually advertised on [jobs.ac.uk](http://jobs.ac.uk) website, but there are of course many others. Typically, you will be asked to submit your application online, including application form, cv, supporting documents and details of your references. Answers to other questions are more specific to each position. You may wish to familiarize yourself with the positions currently advertised on the website, to get a sense of the job market at the moment.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Such jobs are also sometimes posted on the [site of the European Mathematical Society](http://www.euro-math-soc.eu/jobs) and on the mathematics departments webpages of the universities.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/28 | 758 | 3,389 | <issue_start>username_0: On average do grad schools offer more distinct courses than undergraduate schools?
If that is the case, then it must mean there are more professors teaching in graduate schools. And common sense tells me that there are less students in grad school than undergraduate.
Does that mean there a disparity in the student-teacher ratio in grad and undergrad schools?<issue_comment>username_1: I will limit my answer to American universities.
Do you mean more courses per semester, or more distinct courses that are listed in the course catalog and offered with some regularity?
If you mean the former: in any given semester, most departments offer many more undergraduate courses than graduate courses. This must be the case for the reason you suggest: the number of students taking undergraduate courses in that department is usually far in excess of the number of students taking graduate courses in that department.
But most departments offer largely the same undergraduate courses every year (or sometimes, on a two-year cycle). Many undergraduate courses at a large university have multiple sections running concurrently. The most popular courses -- e.g. freshman level courses for non-majors -- are in some departments run in ten, twenty or more sections each semester.
If you mean the latter: yes, many -- perhaps most? -- departments with large graduate programs offer a larger number of distinct graduate courses over the years than undergraduate courses. Each course is populated by a smaller number of graduate students, but graduate students stick around for at least as long as undergraduates and, unlike undergraduate students -- recall that I am talking about American universities -- take the vast majority or the entirety of their courses in a single department. Sometimes graduate students repeat courses or stop taking courses at a certain point, but in many PhD programs -- including the one at my university -- graduate students are required to take a minimum (positive!) number of courses every semester, some of which are unrepeatable.
In fact, most departments devote much more thought to which graduate courses they are going to offer in the next year or two years, both in order to make sure to offer enough courses for their students to take, and conversely to ensure that enough of their current students will want to take any given proposed course in order for that course "to make", i.e., to meet minimum enrollment requirements and be run.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For the UK and EU universities I am familiar with, your logic is a little off.
That is, I believe you are saying more courses require more teachers. However, graduate course and undergraduate courses are not the same at all.
An undergraduate course would typically include 4 to 6 hours per week for a single subject. This would continue for somewhere between 9 and 16 **weeks**.
A graduate course would typically include 3-4 hours per day, for 5-10 **days**.
So you can see, graduate courses are more compressed as far as contact hours, mainly because the students are expected to do significantly more independent study. Because a graduate module is compressed into 5-10 days, one teacher could teach more of those in the same time as one could teach a single undergraduate module (considering only classroom hours).
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/28 | 1,103 | 4,873 | <issue_start>username_0: I sit on my department's academic misconduct committee. When students are suspected of academic misconduct they are invited to a meeting with the academic misconduct committee. The university polices are pretty clear that students not only can, but should, have an advocate attend the meeting. The policy also states that the advocate cannot be a lawyer providing legal representation, but can be a friend/family member who happens to be a lawyer. The university student services provides an advocates if students request it. At our last meeting we had a case of suspect collusion by two students. Both students had been assigned the same university advocate.
These collusion type meetings tend to be messy and involve bringing one student in and hearing that side of the story, sending that student out and bringing the other student in and hearing the other side of the story, and then often iterating a number of times. We attempt to keep the students isolated so they do not hear each other's side of the story. In the case of the same advocate representing both students there is obviously a confidentiality issue.
Based on the evidence we had it was clear student A had copied/worked with student B and produced a "joint work product" and turned it as her own. This expressly prohibited and constitutes academic misconduct. We did not have evidence that student B had knowingly colluded with student A and therefore were going to let student B off.
We called student B and the advocate in for a final meeting and began explaining to the student that they had not done anything wrong and no penalty would be applied, when the advocate proverbially threw student B under the bus and said that student B had colluded with student A. The end result was that both student A and student B were penalized. It is not clear if we applied a lighter penalty to student A because of admission of wrong doing by student B. I walked away from the incident feeling dirty.
We have not referred the case to the central university committee because of "procedural irregularities" because the central committee is consistently harsher than us and we are confident the central committee would have penalized both students (even without the admission of student B) harsher than we did. Should that matter or should we just report it to the central committee?
This incident has raised a number of related questions for me. Should the advocate be reported? Do we need to convince the university to change its advocacy policies for claims of joint work? Is there a fundamental conflict of interest of the university advocate and should students be encouraged to get their own independent advocate?<issue_comment>username_1: It seems to be that the overall process is working well. The problem is that Student B was denied the opportunity to have an advocate truly being a proper advocate.
In absence of any university regulations which require you to bump it up higher, I would recommend handling it locally if you can. There seems not benefit to engage higher ups if not needed.
I would, however, have someone examine the entire advocacy system used. The fact that two students were given the same advocate on a case where they are basically claimant and defendant comes off as wildly unfair. Of course, the advocate is not a lawyer but still, the system simply should never allow that to happen. When you saw it happened, it would have been better (if it is allowed) to stop the proceeding immediately and sort out the advocacy issue.
**In short, the problem is with the advocacy system, perhaps not with the advocate. Someone should dig into and fix that so that such problems never happen in the future.**
As for the current two students, if Student B (not the advocate) did admit, then it seems clear that blame should be shared (it was not theft but rather collusion).
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This may be a bit over the top, but I think it's pretty unethical to have one advocate represent two students who may be in opposition to each other. US states, at the very least, have ethical rules for attorneys that are designed to prevent this sort of thing and are taken pretty seriously. The fact that your University has its own procedures for dealing with academic misconduct that attempt to mimic the legal system (a "trial", "advocates", etc) without some of those ethical safeguards is troubling.
Without discussing the case at hand, I would recommend raising the issue up through the chain of command or committees that sets the rules for these proceedings. The process clearly needs to change. If your school is a state entity in the US, it has left itself open to lawsuits claiming lack of due process. If it is a private school in the US, it may also open itself to legal claims of another nature.
Upvotes: 5 |
2014/06/28 | 1,166 | 4,751 | <issue_start>username_0: Do people ever upload papers exclusively to arXiv, or do authors simply use arXiv to assist in review while they find a journal to publish in? If people sometimes publish exclusively on arXiv, what's the point? What do they get for their work? A paper on their CV? Is it at all prestigious?<issue_comment>username_1: I suppose some senior people may publish exclusively on arXiv but they are a minority and I can't think of any examples right now. Publishing in mathematics takes a long time. Journal backlogs of multiple years are common enough that if you wait for your paper to appear in print it is already old. This is less of a problem in the other subjects that arXiv covers but still...
So what does publishing on arXiv get the author? Primarily it gives the paper a time stamp and makes it publicly available. Putting up a paper is fast, it only takes a few minutes and it gives a reference number so that you can cite it in a talk or in a paper. Normally you would have to wait until you get page numbers from a journal. And if you are giving a talk on your paper when you have just finished the work that might still be years in the future.
One interesting feature of publishing on arXiv is that you can write small notes and put those up. You can write the "user's guide" version of a paper. You can post a supplement to a paper that wouldn't be publishable on its own.
Ultimately what it all boils down to is that people post documents to arXiv that they want other people to see and hopefully read.
As for prestige, no. There really isn't any as far as I know.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A notable example of arXiv-only publication is <NAME>'s proof of the [geometrization conjecture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometrization_conjecture), see arXiv:[0211159](http://arxiv.org/abs/math/0211159), [0303109](http://arxiv.org/abs/math.DG/0303109), [0307245](http://arxiv.org/abs/math.DG/0307245).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: @username_1 mentions the advantages of having a time stamp and making it publicly available; another advantage, one that I have come to value a lot, is that all those people who follow the 'new articles on (...)' announcements will see your paper *the next day*. It gives your paper instant distribution.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: One more way in which arXiv can be used is for distributing papers which are not publishable in their own right, but are still important for some reason. Presumably, if the people consider the paper to be interesting, then this earns the author some reputation (although probably not in any quantifiable form).
I am aware of a case of a somewhat accomplished mathematician, call him S., who came up with a brilliant idea for a new proof of an important theorem. However, carrying out the proof was a big undertaking, and in the end he did not manage produce a paper that was rigorous enough for publication. A version of the paper which was rejected from the journals was posted on arXiv, and sparked a lot of interest, also among the leading experts in the field. As far as I know S. no longer works in this area, but I am aware of others who do. If the proof strategy proves successful, this will surely be very good for S.'s reputation. More importantly, the S.'s ideas were passed on to others, which was beneficial for mathematics.
For a well documented example of a similar situation, look at Mochizuki's proof of the ABC Conjecture. To put it briefly, he built a huge theory that very few people really understand (possibly only he understands it fully) which supposedly is able to prove one of the most important conjectures in number theory. However, given how much effort would be required to verify Mochizuki's work, I am in serious doubt if he would be able to publish it in the sort of journal this result deserves. I don't think he published the papers on arXiv, but if he had, I think it would make sense for the reasons mentioned above.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Along with the otherwise excellent answers here, there is something to add:
*It depends on what field you're talking about*
While in some fields there might be some benefit to publishing primarily on arXiv, especially if you're important enough to have the reasonable belief that even your preprints will be read, there are other fields where the only response you're reasonably going to get is "...where?"
This may seem like something of a self-evident point, but I've found many researchers, especially ones working in interdisciplinary research, forget that their field's conventions are not the conventions of all fields. For example, in my own field, the answer is simply "No."
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/28 | 1,745 | 7,437 | <issue_start>username_0: I know some PhD students have their own business cards, but I don't know if it is a standard practice for PhD students to have their own business cards. I think a business card can be useful for networking in conference or collaborating with some industrial partners. So, is are business cards necessary for a PhD student or other graduate students attending conferences?
PS: in case it is field-specific, I would like to know the different practices in different fields<issue_comment>username_1: As a PhD student, I had business cards and never used them. Now I don't even have cards. I consider them a relict from different times. I would say *nobody* strictly needs a business card anymore, and I rarely see them being exchanged at conferences either.
Now, a **homepage** is a different story. [You definitely need a homepage](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/616/is-web-presence-important-for-researchers/674#674), for many of the reasons you think you may need a business card.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It's probably discipline-specific, but I hand mine out all the time. That being said, I talk to lots of vendors of computer hardware that I want to get back in touch with, so exchanging cards is helpful. As a grad student, it might be worth having some small cards from someone like [Moo](http://moo.com) that have your name, email, affiliation, and a link to your website. It might be easier to hand those out than to carry 20 preprints of your article when you're giving a talk.
All that being said, it'd be pretty unusual to push your cards on people you meet at conferences. If someone asks for your information, or a copy of your publication, you might offer the card, but I wouldn't volunteer it unless you've been asked for something. It's just not part of the culture in most of the fields I have experience with for students to do so.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: If there's any chance that you're going to be interacting with industry at conferences or other events, you need business cards. It's part of that culture. If there's any chance you'll be interacting with anybody from the far East, you need business cards (and ideally, a briefing on the etiquette of giving and receiving them).
Within academia (and not in the far east), it may depend on your field. Coming from a commercial background I was surprised to find that they aren't used in the same "scattergun" way in mine; but it can still save time with scribbling details, and a good card, offered appropriately, may make meeting you stand out in the fog of somebody's post-conference memory.
Summary: it's worth having some, but try to judge what is "normal" before pressing them on people.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: This probably varies from country to country, but given that business cards can be had for the cost of running off-the-shelf preperforated stock through your computer, I think it's worth having a few. It does make handing your contact info to someone easier, plus giving you and/or them a surface upon which to scribble a note about why they should contact you.
And at least around here, many restaurants collect business cards as tickets for a free-lunch lottery. Trade shows may also use them as lottery entries.
Yes, e-mail addresses are starting to replace business cards as e-mail becomes an acceptable replacement for postal mail and phones, and smartphones can be used to enter contact info into a website.... But it isn't a complete replacement yet, and may never be.
And I find I use them informally as well, when I want someone I've just met to contact me about something.
Recommendation: Spend a small amount to print off a few, see how quickly you're using them, use that to guide how many more you obtain, how often, how many you should bother carrying at once, and how much effort you should put into the card's aesthetics.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: This may depend on the country. In some countries, PhD candidates are employees of the university just like anyone else employed there, and thus get (or can get, upon request) any number of business cards printed from their office supplies department at any time. Thus, in such places, the effort of getting one's hands on business cards is virtually non-existent and hence there, it is a standard practice.
As implied by other answers, handing out business cards greatly simplifies establishing contact with other researchers on conferences, which is one of the main benefits one can draw from attending a conference.
In terms of establishing contact, I have only ever met two kinds of people on CS conferences - those that had their business cards ready and could thus easily provide some contact info at the end of a fruitful conversation and the agreement to keep in touch or exchange some further information, and those that did not, that would instead start a cumbersome search for something to write, use the back of someone else's business card (!) or require the recipient to find some suitable virtual place in whichever electronic device they currently have nearby to store the address, and remark that they "should really print some business cards for the next conference".
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: In the US, at least in doctoral psychology programs, we're often encouraged to have business cards to hand out at conferences. Conferences are often seen as a way to start building connections for internship, and a business card is a simple way to come across as polished and prepared (it's also less likely to be lost than a slip of paper, as I've seen faculty slip my card into a card holder). Further, my mentor does a great deal of field research in health clinics, and it's helpful for her students to have cards with their contact information readily available when coordinating with site staff.
In my department, our academic mentors typically pay for the cards, which are designed with the school's logo, just like the faculty members' cards. However, most of us wait until we have received our MS as part of our program requirements. We don't attend as many conferences pre-MS anyways, and since they're ordered in bulk (250 minimum) that way you don't have a large number of unused cards. In sum, it's not necessary to have business cards, but it can be helpful.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: In 15 years in academia (theoretical computer science, UK and Greece, plus conferences and workshops in several different countries in Europe and North America), the closest I've come to a business card was when somebody I'd befriended at a conference gave me a card for his hobby photography website. I've never had business cards printed and, to the best of my knowledge, nor have any of my colleagues.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I'm in the biomedical and clinical sciences (Epidemiology in particular) and I regularly hand out 5 to 10 business cards at the average conference I've gone to, and often get just as many. I tend *not* to actually engage with industry that much, but they're an excellent, quick way to give someone your contact information in a way that's about as non-disruptive as possible. They're also harder to lose than scraps of paper, and as someone else mentioned, easier to keep track of - business card holders can not only hold your business card, but the cards of others.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/28 | 604 | 2,435 | <issue_start>username_0: I have written papers on the topic of network security. Now I am trying to find a place to publish one of them. Is there a list of publications by topic, somewhere? If I come across such a list, how can I determine the reputation of the various publications?<issue_comment>username_1: When you want to figure out where to publish something do the following:
1. Figure out what journals the articles you cite are published in. Try there.
2. If that doesn't work, look at the other outlets that the authors of those papers also publish in. Then try there.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Try [Google Scholar Metrics](http://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues). I guess the topic you are looking for would fall under [Computer Security & Cryptography](http://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues&hl=en&vq=eng_computersecuritycryptography).
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: On top of the other answers, which are valid, I can add the following.
First, ask your colleagues/supervisor/boss. Senior people know the field better than you.
Then, there are some tools to automatise the process of finding journals.
There is the plain old directory-based search offered by [journalseek](http://journalseek.net/). With that tool, you look for your discipline and see what are the journals registered there.
There are also new fascinating tools, where you can input your paper title and/or keywords and/or abtract. The tools will look for similar papers in other journals and return the journal names for you (with a similarity index).
The most famous are the [JournalGuide](http://www.journalguide.com/) and a similar tool offered by [ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publicliterature.PublicLiteratureSearch.html).
Some publishers offer similar tools for their journals only. For example, Elsevier offers a [journal finder](http://journalfinder.elsevier.com/), which works quite well. Springer offers [a similar service](http://www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector), although it is hidden in its editing services.
I am by no way saying that those tools are the definitive way to find the perfect journal for your article. However, they enable the discovery of new journals, which is always good.
When you find a journal that seems to be suitable for you, read some of the published articles in order to grasp the quality of the journal.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/28 | 992 | 4,402 | <issue_start>username_0: Sometimes I am in a conference presentation or seminar which there are only a handful of audiences, and after the presentation the atmosphere simply urges the audiences to ask questions or the presenter will be embarrassed. I do want to contribute to a meaningful discussion, but the problem is that I am unfamiliar with the topic, and after listening to the presentation, I can only understand the background briefly. I cannot formulate a good question after the presentation.
You may wonder why I attend a presentation which the topic I am unfamiliar with, and sometimes it is driven by curiosity, and sometimes it is compulsory (like invited speakers from my supervisor etc). I know it may be possible to formulate a good question by reading the publication of the speaker beforehand, I have tried it actually but the efforts to understand an unfamiliar topic seems too much, and it may not worth it especially I cannot come up with a good question afterwards.
I don't want to be looking stupid after a presentation, but also don't want to start a discussion which is not quite meaningful just because nobody raises a question. Is there any way to help one to start a good discussion for a topic which I am unfamiliar with after a presentation?<issue_comment>username_1: You don't need to feel pressured to participate in a discussion that you are not familiar with. If it is a subject that you feel strongly about and are familiar with, I am sure a question would come to you; if, OTOH, you are not familiar and were there just because you were invited, and had not time to get acquainted with the subject discussed prior to the presentation, it is best to stay quiet. Do not force it, as it will be obvious and you will end up looking not-very-smart. Leave questions to those who know what to ask, and if they ask nothing, it is not your duty to save the day.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it all depends on the type of presentation/discussion. If it is a less formal one, asking a personal, but interesting question will both engage the speaker and the audience. For instance "What was the hardest part of the project?"
Again, it helps if you inform yourself prior to the presentation - do not just walk in there without knowing nothing about the subject discussed or the presenter, if you want to participate. Asking a question unprepared can even lead to some awkward situations, e.g. asking an actor how he feels about working with some actress who just happens to be his wife whom he is divorcing right now and she is suing him for millions...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In general I agree to what @username_1 and the others said: If you do not have a good question (and no good reason to ask one anyway) it is better to be quiet.
However, sometimes it is important to ask a question. Two examples that come to my mind are:
* You are the discussant of the talk (and you had no opportunity to read the paper before the talk or the speaker already answered all your questions in his talk).
* You have a very shy audience that whats to ask questions but no one wants to be the first one to ask.
But there are probably others.
The best thing to do would be to read the paper first and think about a question related to it. If that is not possible there are still some other options to use:
* If you haven't understood something during the talk: ask about that.
It is not your field of expertise, so no one expects you to know
everything about it.
* In most fields a very common type of question is about applications. In economics this could be "What are the policy implications
of your results?". @JeffE has the following examples for (theoretical) computer science "Does your algorithm work well in practice?" and for non-theoretical computer scientists "Does your technique have any theoretical guarantees?".
* "Sensitivity analysis type questions": Is the assumption A crucial?
How would your result change if you change assumption B? They still
require some knowledge of the subject but not as much.
These questions can be used as backup as long as you still have some knowledge about the topic of the talk and you have paid attention (asking something the speaker explained 10 minutes earlier makes you look really stupid). However, it is usually better to avoid asking questions than forcing you to ask one.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/28 | 1,393 | 5,754 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a 19 year old sophomore at a well-regarded state university. I currently have a double major in the arts/humanities and public policy, with a minor in linguistics. I just took the intro to PoliSci course, and I think I've done pretty well in it (practically guaranteed a 4.0).
Anyways, onto the question. So I emailed my professor (as it was an entirely online course), and sent this....
"Professor ----,
[insert some stuff about grades, course]
Lastly, are you aware of any research/volunteer opportunities in the PoliSci department at ---? I am aware of the [insert name of local policy network], but was wondering if you knew about any other interesting things going on. I'm really interested in public policy (my additional major is in it!), but the international relations section in the course also interested me. I'm particularly interested in humanitarian/human rights work. I haven't taken many PoliSci courses yet, but I would be interested in getting involved in the PoliSci Department in any capacity.
Thanks,
Corjine"
He responded a few days later with this:
"Hi Corjine,
[stuff about courses/grade]
In terms of research work, most professors are happy to work with students as both research assistants (i.e., you help a faculty member on their work) or as research advisors (i.e., you work on your own research project and a faculty member provides oversight). I'd recommend looking at our bios online and directly contacting anyone that who's work look interesting or related to what you're wanting to research on your own. **If you need additional help, you can also ask me and I'll do my best to refer you to the most appropriate person (I can also send an email introduction to that faculty member to help grease the wheels).**" [emphasis mine]
thanks,
Professor ---"
I haven't taken many PoliSci courses yet. The meat of my courses for this upcoming year will be my arts/humanities and linguistics courses, as that is how my degree is designed. The majority of my junior and senior level classes being PoliSci and upper level courses. So for the next year or so, I'm not going to have much formal polisci experience. I'll only be taking public policy analysis and a methods of analysis class (read: statistics for PoliSci students).
What I'm worried about is how I'll go about getting research experience without much of an academic background in it. I've had a passion/enthusiasm for politics for a long time, and the intro class was a breeze for me (barring a few theoretical concepts). I'm just afraid about how it will pan out if I take shots in the dark without having the proper background, so to speak. I'd love to get a jumpstart on research/volunteering/engagement if possible, but would it be more valuable for me to wait until junior year? And would that reduce my chance of a good recommendation from the professor?
I really am at a loss here. I haven't had any formal research experience before, and I'm working my first, true job this summer. I'm winging it the best I can, but I want to make sure I'm not totally shooting myself in the foot at the starting gate. Any suggestions/advice would be helpful!
tl;dr Is enthusiasm/willing to learn a good substitute for formal academic experience, or should I just hang tight for a year and wait to do some research?
Also, if this isn't an appropriate question for SE (I'm still pretty new here), let me know and I'll post elsewhere. Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: There is no harm in asking.
To answer your tl;dr question, it depends. "Research" is not a monolithic thing. Some professors may be working on projects that would be accessible to someone without a strong background in the subject, or would be willing to work with you to bring you up to speed. Other projects may need someone who already has a strong background in a particular area and can jump right in.
Clearly you would be looking for a project of the first kind, and the only way to know whether anyone has one to suggest is to ask. If you hear of something promising, talk to the professor; try to get a sense of whether it seems like something that would be interesting and accessible to you. Be honest with the professor about what background you do or don't have. (Don't try to present yourself as knowing more than you do; if you end up working on a project that you aren't prepared for, the result will only be frustration for everyone.)
If you find something that seems to be a good fit for you, great; if not, try again next year, with more courses under your belt.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Many schools have a program specifically to allow professors to list openings for undergraduate assistants. Whether any of those openings will be in your department, and whether any of them will be able to use you before you've gotten some basic grounding in the fields, is an open question... but that's where I'd start looking.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It's okay if you don't have all the "prerequisite" knowledge. I think undergrad research is primarily supposed to be a learning experience. At least, that's what my experience has been.
To give an anecdote, I switched majors to computer science last semester. I expressed interest in AI to a professor, and soon enough I was doing undergrad research on AI. I obviously didn't know anything about it at the time, but I have nonetheless been one of the biggest contributors to the project.
Computer science may be different from your field, but I think the general idea should still stand. If you're willing to put in the effort to learn what you don't yet know, why should anyone else be bothered that you didn't know it in the first place?
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/28 | 783 | 3,134 | <issue_start>username_0: Can the word "subsubsection" be used in a thesis?
For example:
The next subsubsection discusses so and so.
It is not listed in English dictionaries.
What do you think?
Thank you<issue_comment>username_1: It's better to avoid it if you can. Rephrase it with something like "Later we will...", "further in the text...", "in the following we will...", etc. You can also refer to it specifically as "in Sec. X.Y."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: By definition, (although the word is not in the dictionary), **subsection** is a division of a section, hence, does not have a meaning of its own. **Section**, however, if isolated, has a meaning of its own. Each section can be read and understood without reading the other sections. If necessary, other sections can be referred.
>
> In this experiment, we validate the theorem presented in Section 4.
>
>
>
is a fine sentence. Whereas, a subsection might be entitled **Experiments with Abnormal Data**, such that one cannot understand before reading the definition of *abnormal data* (which is probably given at the beginning of the section).
Therefore, instead of
>
> The next subsection discusses the effects of abnormal data to our
> super-duper proposed solution
>
>
>
I'd prefer
>
> We examine the effects of abnormal data to our super-duper proposed
> solution in detail, in Section 4.3
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: One very important point has yet to be touched on. Indeed, *subsubsection* is not a dictionary word -- and even if it were, it's awfully cumbersome. Saying *"section 1.2.3"* is neater and more informative, as it tells the reader exactly where to go.
The most important reason to use *numbered* references is if the order of your text changes. For example, if you move a particular subsection to another section or chapter, any references to it in the form of *"the next subsection"* will now be invalid. By using numbered references and attaching these to either the subsection header or a key sentence (as appropriate), the numbers will automatically update and your referencing will remain correct.
The above is applicable to references to anything. It is *very* dangerous to write such things as *"in the following..."*, *"in the previous section we introduced..."*, etc. Such phrases do not refer to an exact place, and they can easily became invalid as you add, remove, or change parts of the text. Proof-reading will also be more difficult.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I think the problem with "subsubsection" is that it leads to troublesome situations for the reader.
In your case, if you are in a section, then you will introduce a subsection.
If you are in a subsection, then you will introduce a subsubsection.
If you are in a subsubsection, then you will introduce a subsubsubsection.
And so on.
This is a situation you are going to get into if you want to be consistent in your thesis, and as it is not convenient, I suggest you to avoid it early. Use labels for referencing portions of your work. Just like Dimitry says in his answer.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/29 | 2,749 | 11,208 | <issue_start>username_0: ResearchGate is pretty well placed on Google. But it does not have a lot of contents or active users, despite their constant invitation spam.
So they spidered a lot of publications, and provide some metadata on publications *and authors* on their web page, **even when you do not join**.
Given the amount of spam I receive from them, I'm considering to file a cease-and-desist letter, disallowing them to use my name or work for advertising their service and for encouraging users to join their site, and instead display a clear statement that I am not a member and disable search indexing for these pages.
Currently, ResearchGate has a pretty bad reputation, see e.g.
[ResearchGate: an asset or a waste of time?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16870/researchgate-an-asset-or-a-waste-of-time)
as well as the Wikipedia article.
I'm really annoyed by them:
* They have a fake profile page with my name, affiliation, co-authors, publications, and a big "sign up" button; that **does *not* state that I am not a member**, as if they could contact me this way.
* They publish incomplete numbers of citations and impact, which one may consider to give me a bad reputation on their site. (I don't care, but this may be a legal point to make?)
* They have information pages of many of my articles, **with a big "request full-text" button**, which will not work, as I am not a member and do not get contact information.
* They use a proxy redirector to have their website show up first in Google search results, even when the actual contents are only available on a different website,
Do you think that it is **detrimental for my career** to have such contents removed (by sending a C&D letter to them), or do you think they will ultimately manage to become a useful platform, and then it would be better to not have my data removed? Even with a C&D, I could probably retract it at some point and join. After all, the real contents are available on my homepage and Google Scholar; and these are the locations I want to show up first (fortunately, most of the time, they do).<issue_comment>username_1: In the US a cease and desist letter does not do what you think it does. C&Ds are outside the usual legal process and serve as a warning to the recipient that you might sue them. Good ones describe in some level of detail the legal wrongs that the recipient has perpetrated against you and spell out the sender's plan to sue if the recipient does not cease and desist from the wrongful activity. They are a prelude to legal action and have no force of law in themselves.
I'm not sure that everything that ResearchGate is doing is legal. They may be contributing to copyright infringement by encouraging their users to post full-text copies of articles that neither ResearchGate nor the authors have license to post. However, I don't think making a stand-in profile page for a non-member is a crime or a tort. They seem to be trying to post true facts about you and your work to the best of their knowledge, which isn't illegal. It may turn out that their citation counts are wrong, but I bet that many such services (Google Scholar, Web of Science, etc) have errors in their databases. A factual error about you is typically not something you can sue over, especially when they've given you the opportunity to help fix their database by making an account.
Finally, getting litigious about their site is likely to lead to others discovering that you threatened ResearchGate. Due to the [Streisand Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect), sending them a C&D letter or suing them is likely to do your career more harm than if ResearchGate had complied with your wishes.
I think that most people who care about your citation counts and published papers understand that ResearchGate is of low quality on these metrics so far. They will compare their results to other services and use the results that make the most sense to them. I think you're probably much better off either ignoring ResearchGate or joining up. Though, I wouldn't post any articles for which you lack either the copyright directly or the license to post freely from the current copyright holder.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Do you think that it is detrimental for my career to have such contents removed (by sending a C&D letter to them), or do you think they will ultimately manage to become a useful platform, and then it would be better to not have my data removed?
>
>
>
Clearly, one can only speculate, but given their current track record I would not hold my breath. I think the danger of real career detriments due to not being on RG are currently so small that this factor can probably be ignored in your decision making. And, as you say, opting in later on will likely not be a problem.
That being said, for me personally just sending them a C&D letter and making sure it is enforced would probably not be worth the effort. They are operated out of Berlin, so I am not sure whether US law (I am assuming that you are US-based) applies. Trying to go through international law to make them remove your data seems like a lot of hassle to me. Most importantly, your point:
>
> they publish incomplete numbers of citations and impact, which one may consider to give me a bad reputation on their site.
>
>
>
is maybe too paranoid. Many, many places maintain publication and citation indices of authors, and practically none of them actually have all your citations in place. I think nobody who has any impact on your career would stumble over your machine-generated RG profile and assume that it is necessarily the complete truth.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In the [terms and conditions](http://www.researchgate.net/application.TermsAndConditions.html), they state the following:
>
> ARTICLE 4: NOTICE AND TAKE DOWN
>
>
> If a user feels that any information provided within the Service
> infringes his/her or any third party's rights, he or she shall notify
> the Provider before taking any legal action.
>
>
> Upon such notification,
> the Provider will expeditiously check the objectionable information
> and will, where necessary, remove or disable access to this
> information ("notice and take down" process).
>
>
> The Provider will
> respond to any such notification within two business days.
>
>
> Users shall
> not take any legal action before the Provider has dismissed the
> notification or two business days have elapsed without response.
>
>
> The
> Provider disclaims liability for expenditures, including court and
> lawyer fees, if legal action is taken earlier, unless the Provider has
> caused the infringement intentionally, recklessly or negligently.
>
>
>
There is a [contact form](http://www.researchgate.net/contact) with an option for "Legal and Data Protection". You could try that as a first step.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Yes, unless you have a clear and quantifiable rational for explaining a future PI or research associate why you were driven to use legal means rather than negotiate.
In your professional life you have to push your personal research agenda through myriads of (small) political hurdles, in the long run your reputation is a two-sided coin. It does you no good to be a stellar researcher if you cannot work smoothly with others (teamwork is the Hallmark of 21st century research) and just working with others without inventing new paradigms will not make you a stellar reputation.
ResearchGate is free and they by and large try to help people, so I think your question is a red-hearing. I would say go back to work and make a name for yourself.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I am a law professor, and I am equally pissed with research gate.
It would be unwise and inappropriate to give you specific advice about your own situation: this would likely constitute the unauthorized practice of law; for actual legal advice about the claims and defenses and legal strategies that apply to your situation, ***consult a competent lawyer admitted to the bar in your jurisdiction***. I will recount my own experiences below by way of generally informing the world what one person's approach is to one specific situation (i.e., mine).
That being said, here's how I've dealt with Research Gate. They committed four serious affronts against me:
1. Fraudulently inducing me to sign up for the site by sending invitations claiming to be from my coauthors,
2. Forging my name on e-mails to other people claiming that I invited them to sign up to the site
3. Posting a draft of a paper of mine without permission, and
4. Maintaining a profile of me on the site without permission. (This one, as others have noted, may not be illegal---I am not sure---though it is certainly offensive in context, and to the extent it involved misleading attributions of endorsement may be illegal.)
In response, after learning about 1, 2, and 4, I sent their customer service people a nastygram over e-mail demanding the forged emails stop and be unsubscribed. They sent me some useless response claiming I could unsubscribe. I thought nothing more of it, but continued to hear of forged emails.
I then discovered 3 via a google scholar alert and really blew my stack. So I contacted their general counsel, also listed as their contact for [DMCA takedown notices](http://www.sfwa.org/2013/03/the-dmca-takedown-notice-demystified/) and send them a DMCA takedown combined with an [incredibly nasty cease and desist letter](https://gist.github.com/paultopia/c12187153f0c2c17cafb).
Their general counsel promptly replied and informed me that he'd taken down the paper referenced in #3 above. I haven't verified that this is true, or checked on any of the other ongoing acts of wrongdoing (the serial email forgery etc). I have some hopes that this will work, however, I am prepared to file suit against them on my own behalf should it not.
What can others learn from my experience? It's not clear yet. I am of the opinion that this company operates by massive fraud and needs to be put down, but if my attempt to menace them into acting a little more law-abiding at least with respect to me succeeds, it may only be because I'm a law professor and they know that it would not be hard for me to drag them to account.
Of the various wrongs they inflict on the world, the posting of unauthorized copies of papers is the easiest to stop---the DMCA is a blunt instrument, and, moreover, the publishers also have an incentive to put a stop to this. The next time I see a paper of mine on their site, I may not even going to bother with doing my own DMCA, instead just turning it over to the publisher.
The rest? As I said, for myself personally, if the forged emails don't stop I may go looking for a class action plaintiff's lawyer, or just file seeking an injunction myself.
But otherwise, the best choice may be prevention. Don't sign up for their site. Tell your friends not to sign up for their site. Let people know if emails inviting them to do things on that site show up under their name. Publicize their practices so that others stay away from them. *Starve the beast.*
Upvotes: 5 |
2014/06/29 | 2,261 | 9,381 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate student doing summer research and I am helping a PhD student to write a portion of her PhD thesis and with a bit of editing here and there. I am wondering how would credit be distributed since I don't think a PhD thesis can be co-authored. Also, when I apply to graduate school afterwards, how would I show the admission committee that I have done this work?
To clarify: I had two kinds of contributions to this thesis. There are parts describing research we collaborated on, but it was mainly me in that I collected the data and performed the analysis but she gave me advice. There are also parts that describe her research, that I helped to edit.<issue_comment>username_1: For my MSc Thesis, I put the people who proof read and helped edit my thesis in the acknowledgements.
I think the admissions committee would care if you did some of the research, and if the PhD student was your primary advisor for that research, it would be good to get some form of letter of recommendation from him/her. A few people I know submitted 4 letters instead of 3, because a lot of the research they did was a PhD student and they thought a 4 letter from that student would help them.
If you didn't do any research, you basically edited and made suggestions, I'm not really sure an adcomm would be interested. Great, your a friendly dude who helped his friend, now show me what you've done yourself.
But I'm not really sure how the adcomm will look at "editing" someone else's PhD thesis.
If you did some of the writing for the PhD thesis, I think thats weird; all of the writing should be done by the PhD student.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You write that you are "helping a PhD student to write a portion of her PhD thesis".
Clearly from your question and comments this isn't a stapler thesis: this isn't a case where you and the PhD candidate have co-authored papers, where your work would be in the thesis and explicitly attributed to you.
In your other comments, you make it clear that you have written passages that are in her thesis. That goes way beyond just doing collaborative research. If it's in the student's PhD thesis as her own writing and her own research, then she is falsely representing that she's done the research, and she's falsely representing that the thesis is all her own writing.
In any university that I knew of up til now, that would result in the thesis being failed.\*\*
I think you need to find out the rules of your university pretty quickly, because although the PhD candidate will get the worst of the enforcement, you could get hurt by this. This is now your responsibility to put right, for your own sake. That's because if it is against the rules, then you have unwittingly been complicit with the PhD student in what, upon submission of the thesis, would be the breaking of those rules. I think ignorance of the rules is unlikely to be taken as innocence in any ensuing disciplinary proceedings. At best you could make a case of being led astray by trusted colleagues, but that's going to damage your relationship with them. It is possible, as things stand, to extricate yourself from this situation without too much damage.
So don't go to the candidate or her supervisors to ask for their interpretation of the rules yet (if at all). Find and read the relevant rule yourself. They are almost certainly on your university intranet, if not the outward-facing website; failing that, ask in the university library.
Here, for example, is the rule for PhDs at University College London (UCL):
>
> The work in the thesis submitted by a student must be their own work and the submission of a thesis for examination will be regarded as a declaration of that fact.
>
>
>
The thesis may include collaborative work, but this should be stated as such, and must be written up by the PhD candidate, not the collaborator(s).
If, as I suspect, co-authorship of a PhD thesis at your university is not allowed, then you need to insist to the PhD student and her supervisors that the passages you've written be removed from the thesis. Do it gently, politely, in a collegiate spirit, but do it unambiguously. As you've done genuinely new research, you'll be submitting the words you've written to a journal, so tell them that - that should be enough for them to be sure to remove it from the thesis. Keep the paper trail of all of this (including the emails or other records of when you've sent your material to the PhD candidate in the past), to protect yourself.
---
\*\* though through the comments below, I've learnt that the University of California in San Diego does allow some co-authoring, providing advance permission from the Dean of Graduate Studies has been obtained.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In some fields, almost all work is done as a collaboration. In these fields, it is not at all unusual for this collaborative work to end up in a student's thesis. However, the thesis text should clearly state "This chapter describes joint work with X" (e.g. in a footnote).
However, to really get credit for this joint research, you should prepare a manuscript and try to get it published, or at least release a preprint you can put online (if there isn't time to get it published before you apply to grad school).
For the editing assistance, the most you can get is a thanks in the acknowledgements, and help with editing is not likely to impress an admissions committee.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: My answer is somewhat of an amalgam of previous answers, with a little softening.
As to the editing, there is no problem. It is fine (and encouraged) for PhD students to ask others to proofread or edit their writing. Out of courtesy, she should acknowledge your assistance in an appropriate part of the thesis (usually a special page near the beginning). But you should be doing this either as a personal favor to her, or in exchange for money; other than that, there is nothing in it for you. It isn't something that would likely interest an admissions committee (though you could certainly list that you did it, as it does give you a little extra exposure to professional writing).
As to the substantive research and writing contributions, there are possible ethical issues. You should talk to the PhD student and make sure that she has told her advisor and her committee about your contributions, and that they are okay with it. You should also ask about any special procedures that the university might have for including collaborative work. (For instance, at my PhD institution, they would need a signed letter from you confirming which parts were yours.) If you get *any* sense that she might not be following all the rules, or that she may be intending to pass off the work as her own, you should go to her advisor and explain everything. (Ideally, you have already been talking to her advisor, since he or she presumably is the ultimate supervisor of your research work.) The fact that some of the text was actually written by you will invite the most scrutiny, so be sure this is clear to everyone.
She should certainly describe your contributions, very specifically, in the acknowledgements. If the thesis work is going to be published in a paper, depending on the level of your contributions, you might be entitled to coauthorship on that paper. You should discuss these authorship issues with the student now (e.g. who will be first author, etc), but you might also want to talk with some other faculty member, since it sounds like you may not have enough experience to know what is reasonable or customary in your field.
In the short term, the way you would get "credit" for your work, for the purposes of graduate admissions, is to get a letter of recommendation from the student, as well as from her advisor or whichever other faculty member is supervising your research. They can tell the admission committee in detail about what you did, and how they think it reflects on your research potential; that's likely to be even more helpful than being able to point to a part of a paper or thesis as yours.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> I am helping a PhD student to write a portion of her PhD thesis.
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Based on this statement, I assume that the thesis is a monograph. I think it is very weird for an undergrad to write parts of a PhD thesis. Although the work in a thesis can clearly be the result of collaborative work (in the form of co-authored papers or other publications), a thesis in essence must be an individual effort.
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> ... and with a bit of editing here and there
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The PhD student should describe in the acknowledgement section that you proof-read and/or edited parts of the thesis.
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> Also, when I apply to graduate school afterwards, how would I show the admission committee that I have done this work?
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If there is a scientific or research value to your contribution, some or all of it could end up in a publication, of which you can ask to be a co-author.
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> I don't think a PhD thesis can be co-authored.
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No, and again, I find it very strange that you are actively writing sections in the thesis. Furthermore, most academic institutions will ask PhD students to sign a document stating *"I am the sole author of this thesis"* when submitting their thesis.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/29 | 3,073 | 12,479 | <issue_start>username_0: A friend of mine has told me that his Master student (Chemistry) defended his thesis sometimes ago and everything went alright and he graduated.
He recently realized that in the acknowledgements part the student has copied practically (word by word, line by line) the acknowledgements of another thesis available on the Internet by replacing the name of my colleague with the name of the supervisor of that thesis. He added that he was hurt by the fact that the student has not tried to say his 'thank you' words by his own words.
My first question is that can this be considered as a plagiarism?
My second question is that is it necessary to inform the student about this possible (if any) misconduct?<issue_comment>username_1: Formally, the copy-pasting of the Acknowledgements section is stealing the other author's language, expressions and maybe even ideas, that fits into the common understanding of plagiarism. Therefore, it might be a good idea to discuss this with the student.
However, before you do this, you may wish to double-check your internal motivation. Do you do this to help student realize that even if they copy a small piece of text like this (not directly related to the academic content of theses), it still can be considered as a breach of ethics and negatively impact their future career? Or do you do this because you feel for your friend and have some hard feelings about the ungrateful student?
The situation is definitely very delicate, and should be carefully dealt with. It touches the field of academic ethics in two separate points: copypasting the text, and expressing gratitude. It is crucial to separate these two in the discussion with student.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> He recently realized that in the acknowledgements part the student has copied practically (word by word, line by line) the acknowledgements of another thesis available on the Internet by replacing the name of my colleague with the name of the supervisor of that thesis.
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I'm slightly confused: I assume that in order to discover this, the advisor must have run the entire thesis through some plagiarism-detection software. But the question indicates that this took place *after* the student's graduation. I don't understand that: two reasonable times to run your student's thesis through plagiarism detection software are (i) at some point before you sign off on it and (ii) never. Would one really do this after the fact out of idle curiosity, or did the advisor have some other reason to suspect that plagiarism took place?
Is line-by-line copying of someone else's acknowledgments a form of plagiarism?
Well, plagiarism has a sufficiently precise definition that I don't see how the answer can be "no". The better question is whether this is viewed as unacceptable enough to do *anything* about.
I think that part of that question depends upon the writing quality and originality of the purloined acknowledgments. As @Andreas Blass points out, if you've seen 10 different thesis acknowledgments, you've seen 1000 more: such acknowledgements are formally part of the thesis but they are not part of the *academic / intellectual content* of the thesis. So they are not vetted in any way, and there is no expectation of intellectual originality. There is more than one way to phrase "Thanks so much to my parents, my friends and my thesis advisor", but the number of *standard ways to phrase that* is so much smaller than the number of theses that the pigeonhole principle applies to show that many people are writing the same sentences in their acknowledgments. If the purloined acknowledgments contained many clever and original turns of phrase, then it looks worse: the fact that what you stole has nothing to do with the intellectual content of the thesis cannot excuse the fact that you are taking credit for someone else's distinctive writing. That's a really icky thing to do in acknowledgments to your own thesis.
Unless the purloined acknowledgments contained several paragraphs of poetry or something similarly egregious, I would not consider a formal plagiarism inquiry. This runs the risk of getting the degree rescinded, which to me is clearly too harsh. But there *is* a real problem here:
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> He added that he was hurt by the fact that the student has not tried to say his 'thank you' words by his own words.
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Ça y est. The student's former advisor has discovered that the student has cut corners and compromised some academic integrity *just to get out of thanking him in his own words*. What a slap in the face! I think that if something like this happened to me, I would have to bring it up with the student (though it would be painfully awkward) just because I would feel like I have to be honest with them about the change in my opinion of them resulting from this discovery. Without some kind of sincere apology / explanation of this, the future of this professional relationship is at risk. The student, alas, may need to be informed that he should look elsewhere for future recommendation letters and so forth.
**Added:** A lot of people seem to be suggesting that parts of this answer are an overreaction. I tried to make clear that I don't find the premise of the question completely plausible or understandable, but after discussing that I did what I think is the appropriate thing on Q&A sites like this one: I *assumed the premise*, in some form which made sense to me. Yes, if the "word-by-word, line-by-line" copied acknowledgments constitute five lines thanking the student's family, friends and advisor, I see no problem at all -- and I don't see it as a reason to run the text of the acknowledgment through an internet search. Nor would such a search turn up a unique antecedent; it would turn up hundreds or thousands of cognate passages, as <NAME> pointed out. Thus to assume the premise I had to assume that the purloined text was much more substantial and distinctive. To be more specific, imagine the text was:
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> I feel greatly honored to be able to add, in some small way, to a subject founded
> by so many [Field Xers] whose work I so deeply admire; among them are
> [My Advisor], [Person A], [Person B] and of course [Person Whose Name Appears in the Thesis Title], the richness of whose ideas seems undilutable by time.
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> I thank [Professor C] and [Professor D] for suggestions directly relevant to the material appearing in this thesis. I thank [Fellow Student E] for helping me – quite a while ago now – with some results of [Somewhat Technical Theory] that appear in the appendix.
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> I thank [Postdoc F] for helping me calculate a fistful of [Something] (I regret that none of these calculations appear in this thesis)
> and for generally being so free with his technical and [Field X-ical] insights.
> I am grateful to [Recent PhD G] for making his own as yet unpublished thesis
> work available to me.
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> The graduate students in the [University Y Department of X] have been without
> exception intelligent and friendly, and it has been a pleasure to learn from them and with them over the years.
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> Thanks to [Old Girlfriend H] for providing comfort in the sad days of [a few years ago]. Her kindness will never be forgotten.
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> I am indebted to my thesis advisor [My Advisor] for more things than I can list
> here, but most recently for a careful reading of an early, ugly draft of a certain lengthy [Field X-ical] document.
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> My father would have been proud of this thesis beyond all moderation. My
> mother has long made and continues to make me proud of her strength in the
> face of all the challenges life has to offer. I thank them both with all of my
> heart.
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Imagine that the advisor read this the first time around and was happy to be thanked along with so many other people who made a difference in the student's life. Then later, for whatever reason, he does an internet search on or including this text and discovers that it is lifted word-by-word, line-by-line from [this 2003 PhD thesis](http://alpha.math.uga.edu/%7Epete/thesis.pdf). The specificity of the stolen text would be downright creepy. Is it really an overreaction if the advisor is upset by this??
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You should really take a step back and put this into context. This is *just* the acknowledgement section.
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> My first question is that can this be considered as a plagiarism?
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The acknowledgements are not really part of the academic work. In general, it's the only part of a thesis where the writer has a larger degree of freedom regarding style and content. This should certainly not be *academic* plagiarism per se.
There's also the secondary question of copyright infringement, but in all likelihood, the text is too short for this to be clear cut. I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect this could fall under some sort of fair use (although some form of citation would be good I guess). Nevertheless, the one who could be upset about this should be the initial author of these acknowledgements, if they care. Of course, if a court of law decided this was indeed copyright infringement, this would have an impact with respect to the plagiarism policy of the institution.
I'll just assume that no one felt this issue had to go outside the scope of academia.
It sounds like this is more an issue about causing offence than about actual plagiarism.
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> My second question is that is it necessary to inform the student about this possible (if any) misconduct?
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You can have a quick word with the student, since he or she visibly caused offence, but I wouldn't call this misconduct.
Putting things back into context, the acknowledgement section of a thesis will be ignored by 90% of the 0.00000001% of the world's population who will have read the thesis (I might be generous there).
Acknowledgements are mainly a name-checking exercise:
* You thank your parents so they can be proud when they exhibit the precious copy you gave them to their visiting friends shortly after the graduation ceremony, before gathering dust until eternity. You can also thank a few close friends for the bond of common graduation experience.
* From a professional point of view, you also thank your supervisor and possible funding bodies who might have given you grants for the work. The latter are the points that really matter: the supervisor and funding bodies will be able to put the student's thesis as part of the achievements of their own careers and projects.
Besides that, I'm afraid to say no one really cares about the wording in general, as long as it's not offensive or outstanding in the wrong way (one should avoid things like "*[...] Prof X was the catalyst that enabled this exothermic reaction inside me to produce this marvellous piece of work [...]*", simply because it's ridiculous, not because it might be plagiarism). If someone takes interest in the work and want to find out under whom this was conducted, they'll have a quick glance at the acknowledgement section, look at the name of the supervisor, take note and move on.
Perhaps there is some cultural context at play here. You're not saying in which country you are or what your friend's cultural background and seniority are.
The student probably didn't mean to cause offence. Since it sounds like the text is sufficiently distinctive to be identifiable, it sounds like the student actually did make an effort to find something original to say, at least something distinct from the basic "*I would like to thank Prof X for his (in)valuable advice*". If anything, your friend should be flattered, by this attempt (sadly failed). The acknowledgements is probably one of the last sections that was written in a rush before the submission deadline.
As I said earlier, it doesn't sound like a plagiarism issue, but like someone who inadvertently caused offence. It's not so much about informing the student about a possible "misconduct", rather it's about defusing the situation, between the two of them. It can be tricky if your friend is seriously offended. In fact, perhaps you should have a word with your friend first to try to calm down this situation. If I was the student, I would feel really awkward having to work later (e.g. in a PhD programme for a number of years) with a supervisor who is likely to hold some sort of grudge for this.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/06/29 | 566 | 2,471 | <issue_start>username_0: Around 3 months ago, I submitted a paper to a Math journal for peer-review through an online submission system. The same day I received in my e-mail an acknowledgement saying that the paper had been received.
The problem is that the status of the paper on the online submission system is still "Manuscript submitted".
I think this means that the paper has not even been assigned to an editor yet (once this happens, the editor will probably start looking for reviewers), but as far as I know submissions are assigned to editors within a few weeks (I once submitted a paper to another journal and when an editor had been assigned, the status on the online system changed to "Editor handles" or something like that).
I know that publishing is a long and complicated process and I'm not trying to rush anybody, but sometimes manuscripts are lost in the system. In fact, this has once happened to me, so I just want to make sure that the paper was not lost in the system.
Should I send an e-mail asking for the status of the paper?
PS: I think that, at the time of submitting the paper, I didn't choose any specific editor to submit the paper to.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you should send a quick email asking for an update. In my experience, every electronic manuscript submission/tracking system seem to be different. Even different journals from the same publisher who use a unified log in system, seem to have tweaks to what you see. I think that after one month at any one stage, with the exception of "under review", it is perfectly reasonable, and probably desirable, to ask for a status update. The time a manuscript spend "under review" is often very field, and even journal, specific and can range from days to 12+ months.
When sending an email, be polite and explain that you just want to make sure that you do not need to do anything at the current stage. In all likelihood the status update will be no more informative than "we are working on it" (i.e., they haven't lost it), but that is informative.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: When this has happened to me, I was told to look at the journal's list of editors that are in the appropriate subject area, and contact them directly to see if they would accept the task. You may have to do something similar. Ask Nicely! It will also help if you have colleagues in common so that you can strike up some conversation and get them interested.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/29 | 354 | 1,481 | <issue_start>username_0: Should I use the pronoun 'my' in the title of an appendix of a thesis?
For example:
Appendix A: An Example of My Participation in the Community's Rituals<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you should send a quick email asking for an update. In my experience, every electronic manuscript submission/tracking system seem to be different. Even different journals from the same publisher who use a unified log in system, seem to have tweaks to what you see. I think that after one month at any one stage, with the exception of "under review", it is perfectly reasonable, and probably desirable, to ask for a status update. The time a manuscript spend "under review" is often very field, and even journal, specific and can range from days to 12+ months.
When sending an email, be polite and explain that you just want to make sure that you do not need to do anything at the current stage. In all likelihood the status update will be no more informative than "we are working on it" (i.e., they haven't lost it), but that is informative.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: When this has happened to me, I was told to look at the journal's list of editors that are in the appropriate subject area, and contact them directly to see if they would accept the task. You may have to do something similar. Ask Nicely! It will also help if you have colleagues in common so that you can strike up some conversation and get them interested.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/06/30 | 961 | 4,225 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate and I have no experience in research papers. I have come up with an idea to write a simple research paper on "Emerging fiber optic networks in Africa." To my utter astonishment, I have seen a few papers already published in IEEE forum: one titled "Developing a fiber optic backbone for Africa" and another one I can't remember...
How can I deal with such a thing? Should I go and do my own research on the topic and see what happens? Or should I come up with another idea?<issue_comment>username_1: Papers have been written on nearly every topic you can possibly think of. I would be shocked if someone HADN'T written a paper on your potential research area by now. The trick to good research is to *position* your research in the space alongside other papers. What did 'Emerging fiber optic networks in Africa' conclude? What was their methodology, sample size, literature review or most importantly their conclusion? Each one of these areas can be used as a jumping point for *your* research to confirm, critique, dispute, refute or supplement theirs. It's good that others have come before you to beat down the path so that you can potentially tread a little further off the beaten trail. To answer your question, I personally think you should continue to pursue your research area, there is always scope to perform more research, especially in your field of interest.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: There's a subtle shift in the meaning of research as you transition from high school and lower-level undergraduate work to graduate school.
Early on, a teacher may ask for you to do research, and it means: Look up everything you can find on this matter, and report what you have found. You are essentially writing a "research report," summarizing what is already known about a certain topic.
As you get into more formal academic research, however, *research* means: Come up with a problem that hasn't been satisfactorily solved, form a hypothesis on how to solve it, then test your hypothesis with a series of carefully crafted scientific experiments, and finally report your results. You are essentially expanding the scope of knowledge in a certain field, and doing so using the scientific method.
It's also worth noting that the first section of most research papers summarize the already-established knowledge in the problem area. So, in a research paper about fiber optic networks in Africa, the author(s) would probably have some novel idea about how best to, say, install or maintain such a network, and they would likely begin by summarizing what has already been done so far, before explaining why their idea would potentially improve the start-of-the-art. Therefore, it's very **normal** to find other related papers when you start doing your research. In fact, that should be your first step: read and study every one of them you can find.
If you are doing a "research report," that's pretty much the end of the line. But if you are doing graduate-level research, that's merely the beginning. Incidentally, it can easily take a year or more to do the rest (even longer if you are doing doctoral research).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If someone else has done research on the very same theme or idea that you have, then you should rejoice. You are part of a research community, and what counts to society is what the community produces, not just what each individual researcher produces.
Even more significant: if someone else has published research on your idea, then it is evidence that you aren't crazy. It's a good sign, not a bad sign. I'm serious about this. Really great ideas are not the creation of solo researchers operating in isolation. They arise in a community through social interaction, engagement, and rivalry. If there is existing research then it connects you to the community of researchers who are working along similar lines. These are your most valuable allies, even if you vehemently disagree with them on specifics.
Don't be too attached to this one idea. Explore it as far as it goes. But you should pay attention to what ideas might follow, or at least how this develops your intellectual curiosity.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/30 | 2,077 | 9,094 | <issue_start>username_0: I am in the last months of my MSc and I have done my thesis. I have published some conference papers but most of them were literature reviews. My MSc thesis is about solving wave equations by means of method of potentials and boundary elements. I am interested in pursuing research in another field (differential equations) but I have no idea how to start any topic that may lead to a journal publication.
By asking this question, I want to understand how a research student, whether a recently graduated MSc student or a PhD student, can start searching for a new research topic and develop some researches based on his own interests. Specially, I would like to know:
* To what extent should a graduate student be dependent on faculty members? How can he be more independent and start his own research activities?
* Is it a good idea that the graduate work on another topic with the faculty member or work independently on a more recent research topic?
* If the person is in a research group or at the university, is it a good idea or is it ethical that he develop his own research interests, besides to the topics which are being developed in that institute?
* How should a graduate student manage this and make some progress in the research fields of his own interest? (In particular, sometimes the faculty members are not interested in the topics you are interested in and the person has to start his own research activity.)
And also, if this research is part of his independent research, at the time of publishing what affiliation should be used in the publications. Should it be "Independent Scholar" as mentioned in [this link](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19710/what-to-put-in-affiliation-field-when-submitting-paper-without-affiliation) or something else? This is important in academic publications, because sometimes, the person is in a research group, but he is publishing a paper as part of his own researches not the things he is doing in that institute; in this case, has he mention that institute's affiliation or use his own one? So please make it clear that how the affiliation would be when the person does research independently in the cases like when he is not working in a research group or he is working with a professor or research group but his publication is output of his own research activities? It is a little unclear.<issue_comment>username_1: As a graduate student, you are not yet expected to conduct research that is completely independent of an advisor or mentor. The fundamental goal of (doctoral) graduate education is to develop your research ability so that you have the ability work completely independently after you graduate. There is nothing wrong with being "dependent" on your advisor, in a certain sense, when you are still in graduate school. Of course, you will have to do your own work to earn the degree.
You should start thinking about your own research interests, but budget your time and prioritize your projects appropriately. If you have the time, energy, and ability to work on independent research while also working on your dissertation, that's fine.
But be careful: it is easy to underestimate the amount of effort required to finish the dissertation. And, in general, you want to have an *excellent* dissertation if you are planning to continue in academia. So a certain amount of focus and single-mindedness is needed to complete your degree well. Don't spread your effort too thin.
You should also make sure that your advisor is aware if you are making any serious progress on other research - at the least, so that they know you are also still serious about your dissertation. It would be risky to keep your advisor in the dark, if only because they may feel you are not dedicating sufficient time to your dissertation. And be ready to sell your project to your advisor, as [described by <NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/10111/16122).
Finally, if you are a graduate student at a university or research group, then your affiliation is that university or research group. This is no different than for a faculty member at the university.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Context: I'm an older PhD student (mid-50s) and had a couple of publications before entering the PhD program. I'm in an interdisciplinary field where there are few well-established research programs. It's very common for PhD students to embark on their own research interests that are different from their advisers. Myself, I started submitting papers after my first semester based on class projects and side projects. I even developed a paper that started as my answer to a question on our Candidacy Exam. I was a research assistant for three years with sole responsibility for a very complex Agent-based Modeling simulation.
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> To what extent should a graduate student be dependent on faculty members? How can he be more independent and start his own research activities?
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Start as soon as possible to develop your own *intellectual curiosity*. This involves thinking hard about the research in your field relative to the fundamental questions in the field. This is more than "picking sides" in intellectual debates. It involves developing *mental models* of your field, the various research methods, research questions, and research results. What's important? What is not?
You might start with a single important paper. Look at the section of the paper where they describe opportunities for further research, or maybe limitations. Read other papers that critique this important paper. All the time, you should be asking yourself: "What do **I** think should be done to improve/extend/solidify this research?"
You could also start with a survey paper, which often include extensive discussions of future research directions.
As soon as possible, you should put your intellectual curiosity into action. I'm fond of class projects and papers for that but not all disciplines have courses that support project work. Either way, "directed reading" courses are ideal settings to write conference or journal papers of *your choice* under the supervision of a professor (not necessarily your adviser).
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> Is it a good idea [to do] the graduate work on another topic with the faculty member or work independently on a more recent research topic?
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If your intellectual curiosity leads you to research questions/methods that can be successfully done in collaboration with a faculty member, then approach them and suggest a collaboration. If, like me, your interests and ideas lead elsewhere, then do your research independently.
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> If the person is in a research group or at the university, is it a good idea or is it ethical that he develop his own research interests, besides to the topics which are being developed in that institute?
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It's a good idea to develop and invest in your own research interests if they diverge from your research group. There is no problem with ethics if you are open and forthcoming about what you are doing and why. This might go against the cultural norms of the university or research group, but you should make decisions you feel good about in terms of your ethics and values. If other people aren't happy with them or push back, then my view is that is their problem. If they have power, you may suffer negative consequences. So be it. Don't bow before people in power just because they are in power.
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> How should a graduate student manage this and make some progress in the research fields of his own interest? (In particular, sometimes the faculty members are not interested in the topics you are interested in and the person has to start his own research activity.)
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Make a work plan. What is your output (results, papers, articles)? Where will you submit it? In what sequence? How much time will it take -- daily, weekly, monthly? If you can't make a plan that answers these questions, recruit a mentor. It could be anyone who you respect and who knows your field, maybe faculty at your university or maybe someone far distant.
In general, the more you can weave your independent research into your other activities and projects, the better off you will be. That's why I like class projects. But same goes for research assistant work, industry work, or other work. Look for as much synergy between all these activities as you can.
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> [...] if this research is part of his independent research, [...] what affiliation should be used in the publications? Should it be "Independent Scholar" as mentioned in this link or something else?
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No, you shouldn't use "Independent Scholar" as affiliation as long as you have an official affiliation as a graduate student, post-doc, or other. You should *always* use your primary affiliation, even if it is Physics and your paper is in Art History. The exception is if you have multiple official affiliations (e.g. Visiting Researcher) and your research was done at or was supported by these other affiliated institutions.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/30 | 1,593 | 6,906 | <issue_start>username_0: What is the difference among the terms *paper*, *thesis* and *dissertation*? Which one should I use, for instance if I am completing a master's degree? Are they interchangeable ?<issue_comment>username_1: As a graduate student, you are not yet expected to conduct research that is completely independent of an advisor or mentor. The fundamental goal of (doctoral) graduate education is to develop your research ability so that you have the ability work completely independently after you graduate. There is nothing wrong with being "dependent" on your advisor, in a certain sense, when you are still in graduate school. Of course, you will have to do your own work to earn the degree.
You should start thinking about your own research interests, but budget your time and prioritize your projects appropriately. If you have the time, energy, and ability to work on independent research while also working on your dissertation, that's fine.
But be careful: it is easy to underestimate the amount of effort required to finish the dissertation. And, in general, you want to have an *excellent* dissertation if you are planning to continue in academia. So a certain amount of focus and single-mindedness is needed to complete your degree well. Don't spread your effort too thin.
You should also make sure that your advisor is aware if you are making any serious progress on other research - at the least, so that they know you are also still serious about your dissertation. It would be risky to keep your advisor in the dark, if only because they may feel you are not dedicating sufficient time to your dissertation. And be ready to sell your project to your advisor, as [described by <NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/10111/16122).
Finally, if you are a graduate student at a university or research group, then your affiliation is that university or research group. This is no different than for a faculty member at the university.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Context: I'm an older PhD student (mid-50s) and had a couple of publications before entering the PhD program. I'm in an interdisciplinary field where there are few well-established research programs. It's very common for PhD students to embark on their own research interests that are different from their advisers. Myself, I started submitting papers after my first semester based on class projects and side projects. I even developed a paper that started as my answer to a question on our Candidacy Exam. I was a research assistant for three years with sole responsibility for a very complex Agent-based Modeling simulation.
>
> To what extent should a graduate student be dependent on faculty members? How can he be more independent and start his own research activities?
>
>
>
Start as soon as possible to develop your own *intellectual curiosity*. This involves thinking hard about the research in your field relative to the fundamental questions in the field. This is more than "picking sides" in intellectual debates. It involves developing *mental models* of your field, the various research methods, research questions, and research results. What's important? What is not?
You might start with a single important paper. Look at the section of the paper where they describe opportunities for further research, or maybe limitations. Read other papers that critique this important paper. All the time, you should be asking yourself: "What do **I** think should be done to improve/extend/solidify this research?"
You could also start with a survey paper, which often include extensive discussions of future research directions.
As soon as possible, you should put your intellectual curiosity into action. I'm fond of class projects and papers for that but not all disciplines have courses that support project work. Either way, "directed reading" courses are ideal settings to write conference or journal papers of *your choice* under the supervision of a professor (not necessarily your adviser).
>
> Is it a good idea [to do] the graduate work on another topic with the faculty member or work independently on a more recent research topic?
>
>
>
If your intellectual curiosity leads you to research questions/methods that can be successfully done in collaboration with a faculty member, then approach them and suggest a collaboration. If, like me, your interests and ideas lead elsewhere, then do your research independently.
>
> If the person is in a research group or at the university, is it a good idea or is it ethical that he develop his own research interests, besides to the topics which are being developed in that institute?
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>
>
It's a good idea to develop and invest in your own research interests if they diverge from your research group. There is no problem with ethics if you are open and forthcoming about what you are doing and why. This might go against the cultural norms of the university or research group, but you should make decisions you feel good about in terms of your ethics and values. If other people aren't happy with them or push back, then my view is that is their problem. If they have power, you may suffer negative consequences. So be it. Don't bow before people in power just because they are in power.
>
> How should a graduate student manage this and make some progress in the research fields of his own interest? (In particular, sometimes the faculty members are not interested in the topics you are interested in and the person has to start his own research activity.)
>
>
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Make a work plan. What is your output (results, papers, articles)? Where will you submit it? In what sequence? How much time will it take -- daily, weekly, monthly? If you can't make a plan that answers these questions, recruit a mentor. It could be anyone who you respect and who knows your field, maybe faculty at your university or maybe someone far distant.
In general, the more you can weave your independent research into your other activities and projects, the better off you will be. That's why I like class projects. But same goes for research assistant work, industry work, or other work. Look for as much synergy between all these activities as you can.
>
> [...] if this research is part of his independent research, [...] what affiliation should be used in the publications? Should it be "Independent Scholar" as mentioned in this link or something else?
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>
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No, you shouldn't use "Independent Scholar" as affiliation as long as you have an official affiliation as a graduate student, post-doc, or other. You should *always* use your primary affiliation, even if it is Physics and your paper is in Art History. The exception is if you have multiple official affiliations (e.g. Visiting Researcher) and your research was done at or was supported by these other affiliated institutions.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/30 | 971 | 3,999 | <issue_start>username_0: I want to conduct some research and will apply for IRB approval. But, finding money to offer incentives for respondents may be difficult. I do not mind using personal funds as the total amount is very low.
1. Is there any ethical issue with using personal funds for research?
2. Do you know of any IRB related regulations that address the above issue?
If it matters I am at a US educational institution.<issue_comment>username_1: I assume you are interested in additional ethical issues with paying subject out of pocket as opposed to paying subjects from a grant.
I have never listed where the subject "payments" (today's term is "inconvenience allowance") come from on an IRB form and have never been questioned about it in either the US or UK. This is not an issue that I would bring up with the IRB and it is not even clear where you would list this in the IRB applications that I am familiar with.
There may be some tax and liability issues associated with paying out of pocket. While I would not bring this up to the IRB, I would mention it to your research support officer. If/when I over spend on my overhead account I can make up the difference from my pay check. I think it is even possible to divert some of my salary directly into my overhead account, even if I haven't hit zero balance. This way the university is officially paying for the research, they take care of the research liability, and any potential taxes the subjects need to pay. There might even be tax savings for you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I've sat on an IRB panel and we've never been concerned about the source of funds for participant gift-cards.
p.s. Note I'm an ethnographic fieldworker and I often buy small gifts for the families and individuals who participate in my projects. It's too much of a pain to pay for these out of my research account (why do you want 15 stuffed bears and keychains?) so I buy them out of pocket.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would like to **supplement** everyone's excellent answers by saying that sometimes, especially in social science experiments, the choice of incentive is very important. Importantly, the choice of funding source has also been explored somewhat in research methodology literature.
An influential paper in this regard is linked [here](http://ssc.sagepub.com/content/22/3/355.short) (paywall) and [here](http://socialmedia.northwestern.edu/files/2013/10/Social-Science-Computer-Review-2004-Birnholtz-355-62.pdf) (free!) A brief summary of this paper is that, it takes 3 popular incentive choices (in social science for experiments) and looks at the choice of said incentive versus data collection and sampling. These incentives are cash, gift certificate via snail mail and gift certificate via email. The results indicate the cash might be the most effective incentive structure in similar experiments.
In response to a comment, I would state that does exist a relationship between the funding source and incentive choice. In one of our previous projects, where the funding came from a "named" foundation, we had a condition to use funding for participant recruitment in a very specific way.
**Disclaimer:** The first author is my previous adviser.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: As a counterpoint, the last IRB application I filled out (at a US university) had a section asking where the money was coming from (grant, start-up account, departmental funds, industrial partner, etc).
From the questions, I got the impression that the IRB wanted to
1. Avoid conflicts of interest, Taking money from industrial sponsors might introduce some potential biases)
2. Be sure that the money would actually be available. It might put the university in a tight spot if you promised subjects money or reimbursement, but could not afford to pay them.
Number one probably isn't an issue for you, and #2 might be solvable by putting the money "in escrow" with the department.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/06/30 | 484 | 1,977 | <issue_start>username_0: I am currently working on my bachelor's thesis in computer science in Germany. I have created a few charts/graphs, making heavy use of icons downloaded from <http://www.thenounproject.com/>.
Most of the icons I did use are published under a *Creative Commons* license. I am not sure how to credit the authors of the icons. The website states the following for *books*:
>
> The attribution should be displayed either on the same page as the symbol, with the colophon, in the bibliography or Credits section.
>
>
>
The license text (<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/>) states the following for attribution:
>
> If supplied, you must provide the name of the creator and attribution parties, a copyright notice, a license notice, a disclaimer notice, and a link to the material.
>
>
>
I don't think it makes sense to credit the authors of the icons in the bibliography of the thesis though.
How is the usual procedure to give picture credit in theses? Is it considered appropriate to use these kinds of graphics for illustration in academic contexts?<issue_comment>username_1: I would add the information to the figure caption. Something like "The icons are courtesy of ABC." If there are a lot of figures with difficult to attribute icons, I might refer readers to a footnote or even an appendix. I am not sure that the icons being released under creative commons really matters in terms of how you attribute them.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Personally, I would go for the colophon option. This will be a natural place to look for anyone who has ever read a book, and it doesn't "interfere" with the scholarly work you are presenting.
Captions of figures are also fine, but if you use the icons in more than one figure, I would definitely prefer to place the credit in the colophon.
In the end it is primarily an aesthetic choice, but I agree with not putting them in the bibliography.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2014/06/30 | 447 | 1,888 | <issue_start>username_0: My university requires one to submit a printed copy of the dissertation. The paper has to be 100% cotton, white, and 20- to 24 lb weight.
Since I have a choice in the weight of the paper, my question is if there are any advantages to one weight over the other.<issue_comment>username_1: Lighter paper is usually slightly cheaper. And your finished book would be also lighter (pretty much by definition); this may or may not make a difference for when you carry it to the various offices/libraries as part of the process of finishing your degree.
Heavier paper has a better "feel" when you flip pages (think about the difference between a high quality hardcover book versus a cheap paper-back novel). It is a bit more resistant to wear and tear, and if you scan/photocopy pages it will be less likely to have the effect where the "next" page shows through.
---
If the only publicly available copy of your dissertation would be the copy you submit, I would ask you to do would-be readers a favor and use heavier paper. But if you intend to publish your thesis (take chapters and publish them as journal articles, or just put the entire thesis online for the world to see), then the lighter paper will save you a little money, and perhaps be marginally better on the environment.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I don't think the weight of the paper is as important as the material from which it is made. So long as the paper is "archival quality," meaning no acids or other components which will allow it to degrade more easily over time, the choice is somewhat arbitrary. username_1 raises some valid points in his answer, though—the slightly thicker paper will help future readers more than the thinner paper, and the relative change in weight is probably not so large as to make the thesis cumbersome as a printed volume.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/06/30 | 1,448 | 5,999 | <issue_start>username_0: I think of a thesis as sort of an immature document, by definition. It delineates the university era from the professional era, and is bound to lack some practical elements. Should a student refrain from publishing his or her thesis on the Internet, for this or any other reason?<issue_comment>username_1: Every document is, in the way you define it, immature. With everything you write your writing improves. Your papers will not be better because you have a degree. They will be better, because you learned something (i.e. made mistakes) before.
However, there might be reasons not to publish your thesis, but it is not so different from normal working papers. Maybe your thesis is just bad, you did not get any meaningful results, you have made significant mistakes, etc.
So if your university allows, publish it online if you want to (or if you think it may be worth reading / you can not think of a good reason not to); everyone knows, it is only a master's thesis and will read it in a different way than they would read a published paper (or not at all).
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Like you say, a thesis is not necessarily as thoroughly peer reviewed as a journal article. In my opinion, that doesn't mean the thesis should not be publicly available, just that a reader should keep in mind that the document is a thesis when reading it and (potentially) citing it. The onus then falls on the reader of a thesis, not on the writer.
In the end, the decision of whether to make your thesis public is more about your university's policy. At the University of Waterloo, for example, all accepted theses are publicly available by default through [the same web portal](https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/). Other university's have IP policies that may not allow you to publish your thesis (though these policies are rarely enforced).
When the policy is ambiguous or left up to you, I would strongly recommend making it publicly available.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Unless there is a compelling reason not to, **yes, you should put your thesis online.**
A thesis is supposed to represent your first foray into academic research. The whole point of academic research is to make a contribution to the body of human knowledge, and share it with the academic community. As such, I would encourage you to make it as convenient as possible for the community to read your thesis, and posting it online is a good way to achieve that.
If your discipline uses [arXiv](http://arxiv.org) or a similar preprint or document server, I would encourage you to post it there as well; that way it will remain accessible even if your web site moves.
I would not worry about your thesis containing "immature" work. It's a *thesis*; everyone knows that it's your first research product, and nobody is going to judge you harshly in 20 years because your thesis wasn't a work of staggering genius. But on the other hand, they very well might still find it useful. You spent a lot of time writing that thing; don't you want it to be able to do some good?
Also, there's a good chance that your thesis is already publicly accessible (via interlibrary loan from your university, or a commercial thesis database, or something similar). If so, then posting it just saves (possibly a lot of) time and effort for those who want to read it.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of compelling reasons why you might not want to post the thesis.
* Your university's intellectual property policies forbid it. (If so, shame on the university. This seems unlikely to me, but some other answers think it's plausible, so I suppose you should check.)
* You have submitted parts of your thesis as a paper to a journal / conference / similar outlet, or plan to do so, and the journal's copyright agreement forbids you to post the thesis. (If so, shame on the journal.)
* Your thesis contains collaborative work (such as jointly authored papers), and your coauthors object to you posting the thesis. (If so, shame on your coauthors.)
* You have published your thesis as a book, or plan to do so. In that case, posting it might hurt sales of the book, and might also be forbidden by your agreement with your publisher.
* Your thesis contains ideas of commercial value which are not yet patented, or un-patentable ideas that you plan to exploit commercially. (But as noted above, your thesis may be available to the public already, albeit less conveniently.)
* Your thesis contains a serious error that invalidates its results. (But you might still want to post it along with an addendum that explains the error; there may be parts of the thesis that people would still find useful.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: My school, while doing a [Master of Advanced Studies (MAS)](http://www.ti.bfh.ch/en/weiterbildung/sws/mas_it.html), **required** a thesis to be publicly available. It only grants exclution to this for commercial reasons, when the thesis is sponsored by a company. However, still, the abstract will be published.
The school provides a search for all Thesis papers, for example here (search is german, but papers are sometimes english):
<http://www.ti.bfh.ch/de/master/msc_engineering/studierende/master_thesis.html>
I like the idea of publishing my thesis, it's a work I am somewhat proud of. I even have a download link on my personal homepage.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: If your thesis contains classified material, you obviously cannot put it online. otherwise do it.
You will get feedback and you will get pointed out about good or bad things. This is a standard scientific process and as well a good opportunity for you to optimize your neural network (aka "learning").
If it turns out that your thesis is overly bad, you can still take it offline later. And if someone later still has a copy and asks you why your thesis was so bad, then accept and explain that you know that and learned from it. There is no shame in improving.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/06/30 | 776 | 3,269 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm applying to a online Bachelor of arts degree at a very well established university in the United States.
However, I'm almost through the application process and at no point did they require an actual print of my high school diploma. They simply asked me to sign (digitally through docusign.net) that I have completed high school. I've been corresponding with an agent of theirs and according to him they are just reviewing what I've sent them (which does not include a diploma) and after that I can enroll.
I do have a high school diploma but how come they don't require proof of this?
EDIT: Continued story:
I recently got accepted into a university and they had me attest to having a high school diploma, which I did. After being accepted without needing to provide any proof of having said diploma, I naturally asked why they didn't ask me to provide proof of graduation.
They replied: "We randomly select 1 out of every 20 students to provide further documentation. You would’ve been selected at this point so it looks like you were not chosen."
Is this normal in the United States? Where I'm from (Iceland) this just sounds plain weird...That potentially 95% of students can get in without a diploma at all?<issue_comment>username_1: This is *not* normal in the US -- but that doesn't mean it's an illegitimate process. Private institutions can select applications using whatever criteria they deem appropriate; so while it sounds a bit questionable to me, it's perfectly within reason.
It is also perfectly valid to admit students *without* a high school degree; it happens to be uncommon, but depending on the subject matter of the BA, it may not be (at least in the university's eyes) a strict necessity, provided your other credentials are sound.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: From a technical standpoint proof is really hard. Anyone can print up a fancy looking diploma on nice paper, so a diploma is not really proof. Similarly a dishonest student could produce fraudulent letters of reference.
Even if the university independently found the contact information for the school, got in touch with someone who could verify if someone was a student they would not be done yet. The university would then need to verify the student was in fact who they said they were. While forging government documents (e.g., a passport) is more extreme than forging a diploma, if the verification of the diploma was only done on the basis of a name, then a dishonest student only needs to find someone who had the same name as them and graduated about the same time as them.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Contrary to popular belief, in the United States a high school diploma is not required to enrol in a bachelor's degree. Indeed, there are no universal requirements at all. Each university is allowed to set its own admission standards, which might make a high school diploma manditory.
Personally, I obtained a bachelor's degree and a PhD without completing a high school diploma. At Simon's Rock College, nearly all the students are completing bachelor's degrees without completing high school. The practice of blurring the boundaries between high school and college is a trend right now.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/01 | 733 | 3,184 | <issue_start>username_0: Say I discover an “interesting topic” (at least from my perspective), and I do all sort of work necessary to formulate and tackle the problem (it is an optimization problem), nearly a month of work, and now I suddenly come to realize that the close-form analytical solution to this problem is not possible (or that the solution is too complicated).
What should I do? Should I continue to solve the problem using a numerical method (using computer simulation tools from Matlab), or should I give up my topic?<issue_comment>username_1: This depends entirely on the standards in the particular field, previous work on this topic, and the specific topic and problem domain itself.
A closed form solution is not always necessary in order to make a research contribution. Sometimes formulating the problem is itself significant; sometimes numerical methods offer useful insight; sometimes saying "we tried applying technique X to problem Y and found that it cannot work" is a contribution.
Another possibility in some cases is to simplify or modify your problem formulation to something that lends itself more easily to a closed form solution.
Reading the literature surrounding the problem is a good way to become familiar with what kinds of contributions are considered useful in this area. Then you can decide whether to proceed with numerical methods or do something else. You should also try and find a faculty mentor (if you don't already have one) to advise you on what your next steps should be.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: My topic is numerical (computational) mathematics. In this area we develop algorithms and apply them to (hopefully) important problems, which typically do not have a pen and paper solution. I am doing this for more than 15 years and see no reason to give up.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Most real world problems don't have closed-form solutions. Somehow, we manage.
You write:
>
> the close-form analytical solution to this problem is not possible
>
>
>
If the impossibility of a closed-form analytic solution is in itself a new result, then that may well be a publishable result. If you can also find an efficient method to get a numerical (approximate) solution, that's either a heavier-weight first paper (combined with the proof of the non-existence of closed-form solution), or it's a second paper in its own right.
You then wrote:
>
> OR the solution is too complicated.
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>
>
If there may be a closed-form analytical solution, but it's just too complicated for you to find, then that's an entirely different matter. In which case, you've got nothing to publish. Just a very hard problem that you can either persevere with, or you can stop working on it for a while, and go do something more promising. There's no harm in stopping working on it for a while. Just keep the problem in the back of your mind, along with a handful of other unsolved problems: and every time you learn a new heuristic, algorithm, or solution pattern (or an enhancement to an old one), then try to apply it to the unsolved problems you've been storing up (kudos to the late <NAME> for this).
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/01 | 846 | 3,434 | <issue_start>username_0: I am submitting a publication to IEEE. In the course of the process, they've asked for a cover letter. Is this request typical of journals and other publications? What is expected to be on such a letter?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, it's reasonably common.
The guidelines for authors typically describe what is expected of the cover letter, as well as of the paper itself.
Follow those guidelines.
If in doubt, ask an editor at the journal; but that should be rare - established journals have had so much experience that the guidelines (in my experience) tend to be pretty clear, and to pre-emptively answer all the frequently-asked question.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The practice of cover letters predates the now common online submission systems by centuries: Before online submission, papers were submitted by sending a hard copy via postal mail to the editor-in-chief (in person, not via a journal). Now it's mostly a formality, but since scholars are a traditional bunch, old habits die hard.
(**EDIT**: Even so, if the journal demands a cover letter, you *must* provide one, or risk having your submission rejected for not following the guidelines.)
In principle, any information contained in a cover letter should also be put somewhere into the submission form, so those can be of some guidance. Things usually appearing in the letter include
* the **title of the work**;
* the **type of manuscript** (if the journal not only publishes standard papers but also short notes, literature review etc.);
* the **name of the journal** you are submitting to (since the editor might manage several journals);
* a **brief summary** (one or two sentences) to give the editor some idea
whether the manuscript is within the scope, and which associate
editor to forward it to;
* a clear **statement that the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere**;
* the full **contact details of the corresponding author** (presumably the one signing the cover letter);
* a list of **preferred or excluded referees and/or associate editors**, if applicable.
Here's what I usually write (addressed to the editor-in-chief at his department address):
>
> Dear Professor X,
>
>
> please find attached our manuscript "A Note on Piffles", which we
> would like to submit for publication as an original research article
> in your journal *Wuffle Review*. Our main result is that all universal
> Piffles are strictly ascending, which proves a conjecture of Smith et
> al. This work has not been submitted elsewhere.
>
>
> The corresponding author is
>
>
> [...]
>
>
> We are looking forward to hearing from you.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Y
>
>
>
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Note that in journals which have a high pre-review rejection rate, the cover letter is required and critical. In such journals, the editor will decide, based on the cover letter and a brief look at the work, whether to reject the paper or pass it to review. Given that their understanding of the specific field of the paper is often limited, the cover letter has the crucial role of convincing them that the paper is important and a good fit for the journal. Furthermore, it can affect their post-review decision if it is not clear-cut.
On a side note: in life sciences cover letters are the norm - I don't remember hearing of someone submit a manuscript without a cover letter.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/01 | 2,375 | 10,457 | <issue_start>username_0: Several times my supervisor has asked me for my opinion on papers he is reviewing. I find this helpful as it encourages me to read things I otherwise would not, helps me understand how to review articles, and can lead to interesting discussions. Presumably my supervisor also finds it useful to have a second opinion or sometimes to act as a sanity check.
Recently I was wondering is this entirely appropriate. Not least because all the manuscripts for review have confidential for review only in bold at the top.
So my question is what are the legal/ethical issues with asking a student/colleague/supervisor's (depending on your position) opinion on a paper you are reviewing?
Note I'm not saying that they write the review just that you get them to read the manuscript and ask their opinion on certain points.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that this practice violates the usual "confidentiality agreement" that presents (formally, or customary) in a review process. However, I would agree that this is a common practice, and for some people it is just hard to work on their own, although technically you are supposed to give your own opinion on a paper you review.
I would say that if you really need to show the paper you review to someone else, you should check the following boxes:
1. make sure the person understands that they are looking on a paper under review, and agrees to maintain the confidentiality, i.e.: not to talk about the ideas from the paper with someone else, not to produce own work based on these results until they are made public, etc.
- The actual material paper, and the file, do not change hands: do not send the pdf manuscript to your colleagues, do not leave the printed paper with them for a while.
- Ask specific question(s) about the paper, for which you need second advice, not just a general opinion. Remember, that you should review the manuscript yourself. Definitely do not use the second opinion to shake some work off your shoulders and go.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The safest course of action would be to ask the editor: "My colleague <NAME> has relevant expertise that would help me understand the paper and write a better report. May I share and discuss the manuscript with her?"
If the editor says no, you'd be justified in replying "Since I don't have the expertise to fully understand the paper on my own, I must decline the invitation to review."
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Normally "no". The issues range from privacy to priority to... If you feel like somebody else would be able to provide some valuable opinion you cannot provide yourself, you can always recommend the editor to consult that person before making the final decision on whatever particular issue you think he can help with.
The only exception I would make is when everybody already knows everything anyway (like when the copy of the same paper is on the arXiv and has been discussed in the relevant expert circles a few times already). Then it becomes a purely "tricky legal issue" with all common sense moral considerations removed and I usually just decide what to do on a case by case basis.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: This varies by field. In computer science, the members of the "program committee" of a conference are each responsible for reviewing some number of the submissions. However, they also have the power to unilaterally select sub-reviewers (sometimes more than one per paper) to provide input. How this is actually handled varies by venue, but sometimes can be as informal as sending an email to a colleague or graduate student asking them to take a look at the paper and provide input to the committee.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I am neather a reviewer of journal nor a professor at the university who has published various papers; but I as the question seemed so interesting, I searched over the net and found some references in which your question is exactly answered. Moreover, our own logic can also judge about the ethics of such question. As it is written in [this webpage](http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/resource-library/editorial-policies/white-paper-on-publication-ethics/2-3-reviewer-roles-and-responsibilities/):
>
> ***Confidentiality***. *Material under review should not be shared or discussed with anyone outside the review process unless necessary and approved by the editor.* [...] Material submitted for peer-review is a privileged communication that should be treated in confidence, taking care to guard the author’s identity and work. Reviewers should not retain copies of submitted manuscripts and should not use the knowledge of their content for any purpose unrelated to the peer review process.
> Although it is expected that the editor and reviewers will have access to the material submitted, authors have a reasonable expectation that the review process will remain strictly confidential. If a reviewer is unsure about the policies for enlisting the help of others in the review process, he or she should ask the editor.
>
>
>
As it is written in the text, papers under review should *never* be shared or *discussed with anyone* unless approved by the editor. When we go to the logic of this, it is obvious that the reviewer should never discuss the paper with anyone. That is because the paper, the methodology, the outputs and the review process should be confidential. This is because it may happen that when the reviewer discusses the paper with a person who is not responsible with the review process, the chance that the innovative idea of the author be stolen and even submitted to another journal. Moreover, when the reviewer has access to the author by any mean and has the chance to ask his questions or ask the author to make some vague parts more clear; there is no need to talk about the paper with anybody else. Even, if there some minor questions exist for the reviewer, he can ask the editor or discuss with him about the topic.
In [this link](http://radonc.yale.edu/Images/Ethical_Issues_in_Peer_Review_tcm307-34211.pdf), the reviewer is also informed about the things he should pay attention to **after reviewing** a paper.
>
> [...] Because most reviewers prefer to read hard copies rather than electronic text, the reviewer will probably have a paper copy of the manuscript. **This should be destroyed immediately in a way that ensures confidentiality.** The reviewer should keep a copy of the review itself until she/he is certain that the review has been received by the journal office and that the editor has no questions. **This review should be kept safe and confidential until it can be destroyed** (the reviewer will not need it; if the journal sends a revised manuscript for re-review, it will also send copies of the initial review).
>
>
>
When it goes to after review process, the text says that the reviewer even should destroy any hard copies of the manuscript after he finishes the review process and mentions that in the *re-review* process, journal will send him copies of the initial review too.
By reading this, we understand that the reviewer has not only the right to talk about the paper to a third person who is not responsible for the review of the paper, but also he has to destroy anything that may conflict the right of the author for being the review process confidential. In the next page of that document we read:
>
> [...] Even after the paper is published, information on the review process should remain confidential. The reviewer should not reveal the identities of reviewers to the authors. This is especially important when there were differences of opinion between reviewers or when contentious issues
> were raised during the review process. Some authors remain angry about events that occurred during a review even after the paper is published.
>
>
>
So the reviewer is also responsible for other reviewers of the paper as the high levels of angriness may still exist because of the review process.
>
> If a reviewer anticipates being in a situation where the paper will be discussed, the reviewer should read the final published version of the paper.
>
>
>
The point the review process should always be confidential is that much important that the reviewer even should pay attention to the discussions he has and should never talk about the content of the manuscripts. He is only allowed to talk and discuss about the **published paper's content**.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Just to add evidence of a slightly different policy (used by the [RSC](http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/guidelines/RefereeGuidelines/sect6.asp)):
>
> 6.0 Suggestions of Alternative Referees
>
>
> The Editor welcomes suggestions of alternative referees competent to deal with particular subject areas. Such suggestions are particularly helpful in cases where referees consider themselves ill-equipped (in terms of specialist knowledge) to deal with a specific paper, and in highly specialized or new areas of research where only a limited number of experts may be available. If, in such a case, the alternative and the original referee work in the same institution, the manuscript may be passed on directly after informing the Editor.
>
>
>
In other words, there's no way around reading the policy of the journal in question.
And, by the way, when my supervisor asks for my opinion about a manuscript (or a part of the manuscript) I assume that he did inform the editor.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) provides [Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers](http://publicationethics.org/files/Peer%20review%20guidelines_0.pdf) which can be thought of as best practice. These include:
* respect the confidentiality of peer review and not reveal any details of a manuscript or its
review, during or after the peer-review process, beyond those that are released by the
journal
* not involve anyone else in the review of a manuscript, including junior researchers they are
mentoring, without first obtaining permission from the journal; the names of any individuals
who have helped them with the review should be included with the returned review so that
they are associated with the manuscript in the journal’s records and can also receive due
credit for their efforts.
* keep all manuscript and review details confidential.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/01 | 210 | 915 | <issue_start>username_0: What does the distribution of wait times for a editor decision look like for a manuscript submitted to Science or Nature?
(You are not allowed to say "Gamma" unless you give a shape and scale parameter)<issue_comment>username_1: Usually they decide in less than a week after the initial submission. Either rejection or sending it out for review.
Sometimes they are more busy. For our last submission the decision took 25 days for which the editor apologized.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: My experiences with these journals have not been this positive. It's true that editorial rejections can be very rapid based on scope and perceived 'gee whiz' factor. I've had Nature hold up papers for months and been forced out by a singe powerful reviewer with advice to publish the paper in another highly ranked (but not glamour mag) journal. These are very political journals.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/02 | 2,958 | 12,233 | <issue_start>username_0: During the discussion [How/when to become independent in research as a graduate student?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24170/how-when-to-become-independent-in-research-as-a-graduate-student), there were one or two professors who not only agreed with the idea of independent research, but also said that they encourage their PhD students to conduct independent research as long as this helps the students to be more mature and successful researchers in their future academic career. I decided to bring this question to the main topic that if you are a professor and allow your students to do independent research:
* What do you mean by independent research?
* Should your students conduct independent research and publication in the field of their PhD/MSc research topic or it can be in any other field of their major and interest?
* If their independent research is not in the field near to their PhD research, should they inform you about their other research projects or not?<issue_comment>username_1: I'll answer, not from the perspective of a professor (I'm not one) but as a student who had advisors who were very generous in that regard:
>
> * What do you mean by independent research?
>
>
>
When people say this, they usually mean research that is outside a clear plan of action. For example, in the biomedical sciences, it's somewhat common to turn a particular specific aim of an R01 grant into a PhD student's dissertation. That's a plan. But along the way, the student may be interested in a methodological musing, a side project, a short data analysis task on something interesting that's come up, etc. So basically, I'd take it to mean anything that's outside what you've been tasked to do, or come up with tasking yourself to do, as part of your degree program.
>
> * Should your students conduct independent research and publication in the field of their PhD/MSc research topic or it can be in any other field of their major and interest?
>
>
>
It probably shouldn't *detract* from their research topic, but I've never seen any reason why more general topics are a problem. Indeed, if the student is restricting it to their research topic, than why isn't this part of their thesis/dissertation in the first place?
>
> * If their independent research is not in the field near to their PhD research, should they inform you about their other research projects or not?
>
>
>
It's good for them to inform you of what they're working on regardless. They may be able to provide support, put in a kind word to an editor, etc. And these people will be writing your letters of recommendation - they should be able to talk about the exciting stuff you do even if it's not directly their project. And they should be informed so they can tell if you're potentially overburdening yourself.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I'm not a professor neither, but a previous grad student who had very loose/inexistent supervision. Here are my thoughts on the subject. I know that loose supervision of PhD students is popular on this site (see the frequently upvoted comment [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/21000/10643)), but I think caution is necessary. PhD students start grad school with various degrees of maturity and supervision should be tailored to every individual.
Dear professors, PhD students are your Padawans. That is, they should certainly not have to live in your shadow, but they probably do not fully know how to invest their efforts appropriately. Kindly telling them that, if they wish to pursue an academic career **focusing the efforts** on a subject is the way to go, is going to be valuable. Let them be free to follow your advice or not, but they'll know what to expect.
It also depends on the field I guess, but in mine (metrology/biomechanics), the chances of achieving good research worthy of publication in a good journal on your own are *practically nonexistent*. Even if they do manage to publish, if it's in several different fields, people will wonder what is their primary field of research, see the discussion on [this thread](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21888/is-it-bad-for-ones-future-career-prospects-if-the-phd-thesis-topic-is-broad).
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying students have to be babysat, they should have to show that they can conduct research independently, that is the point (in my opinion) of pursuing a PhD degree. But if they do so with guidance, they will hopefully be independent *and* attractive for hiring committees.
>
> What do you mean by independent research?
>
>
>
To me it means being able to do the following without the supervisor having to give instructions:
* see a gap or a boundary in the current knowledge
* come up with a plan to try to answer/expand it
* ask for/marshal the necessary resources
* do the experiments appropriately
* know where and how to publish the results.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: * At the end of a PhD a student should be able to conduct their own research. To reach this goal it is helpful to reduce the amount of direction given during the course of a PhD. When the student starts, some defined goals and guidance can allow the student to make rapid progress.
* Students should make unique contributions and understand a broad range of concepts. For example, producing a PhD thesis just on one tiny component of an analysis is a bad idea. Students should be allowed to make mistakes, but be prevented from loosing a large amount of time on bad choices.
* Within highly competitive research environments one might have to defend a students work with additional members of staff, since students are typically slower than experienced post-docs.
* All students are different. Therefore, the level of guidance needed should be balanced accordingly.
* The final mark for the PhD should reflect the ability of the student.
---
>
> What do you mean by independent research?
>
>
>
Completely independent research implies that one has to define the project and direction, using knowledge of the field of study. One needs to read journals and join workshops/conferences to determine what has not been studied and can be studied within a reasonable time frame. Given this, one then writes software/develops an experiment to measure the chosen parameter(s). (There are many holes that a student can fall into along the way). It is a lot easier to carry out independent research as a post-doc or professor, since one builds up knowledge.
>
> Should your students conduct independent research and publication in the field of their PhD/MSc research topic or it can be in any other field of their major and interest?
>
>
>
Their PhD is typically on one topic e.g. particle physics. The independent research should happen within the discipline that is being assessed.
>
> If their independent research is not in the field near to their PhD research, should they inform you about their other research projects or not?
>
>
>
PhD theses contain a fraction of a student's work. They do not contain all of the work of a student. *For example*, one might build a silicon detector for two years and then spend 1.5 years performing a data analysis. The silicon detector work (even if performed independently) may not end up in the thesis. It is very hard for examiners to assess work that is not in the thesis.
(From ~13 yrs of supervising particle physics PhD students.)
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> What do you mean by independent research?
>
>
>
In the context of a PhD student, independent research involves formulating, researching, and suggesting preliminary solutions to a problem independently of the advisor.
I expect the crowning component of any PhD thesis to be this type of "independent research".
>
> Should your students conduct independent research and publication in the field of their PhD/MSc research topic or it can be in any other field of their major and interest?
>
>
>
The expectation is only within the broadly-interpreted PhD research topic, although I think it's great if students do research outside of their area (in their free time).
>
> If their independent research is not in the field near to their PhD research, should they inform you about their other research projects or not?
>
>
>
If this work is happening while getting paid as a research assistant and during time that should be rightfully devoted to that assistantship, then I expect to know about the project. Otherwise, I would like to know about the project or at least that there *is* another project (and this is the proper etiquette), insomuch as it can affect or stall the student's progress.
Ultimately, however, it all comes down to **progress**. A student who is progressing normally towards a degree has much more latitude than a student who is not.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> What do you mean by independent research?
>
>
>
Research that leads to a publication without the advisor's name on it, following the standard rules of co-authorship in the student's field. In other words, precisely the same kind of research they should be doing five years after their PhD.
>
> Should your students conduct independent research and publication in the field of their PhD/MSc research topic or it can be in any other field of their major and interest?
>
>
>
As a general rule, *every* researcher should limit their research to fields where they have sufficient background, experience, intuition, resources, and maturity to make a real contribution. Students are no exception.
Research by PhD students is *usually* closely related to their thesis topic, if not directly part of their thesis, but I know of several successful exceptions.
>
> If their independent research is not in the field near to their PhD research, should they inform you about their other research projects or not?
>
>
>
Yes, please. My job as an advisor is to help students become mature, successful, independent researchers. That's what a PhD **is**. It is significantly easier to do my job when I have all the data.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: I am not a professor but I would like to offer my views since my PhD was purely research (ie no teaching) and I only attended a 2-day research methodology class during my study.
>
> What do you mean by independent research?
>
>
>
From my view, it refers to whether the individual has the capacity to make independent contribution to knowledge through original research. The quality of the independent research depends on depth and width of reading and querying relevant publications and experts on a critical level. Although there are times when knowledge is clear, there are also moments of confusion. Both moments should be given equal priority towards developing original research because they teach, unteach and re-teach us.
>
> Should your students conduct independent research and publication in the field of their PhD/MSc research topic or it can be in any other field of their major and interest?
>
>
>
From my view, the choice of field does not matter. [Amabile and Kramer (2011)](http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins/ar/1) suggest that if individuals have interest in their work, they are likely to develop the capacity to persevere. Both choice of field requires the implementation of learning and questioning effort until it makes sense. Though, I find that diving into an outside field will require more time and effort.
>
> If their independent research is not in the field near to their PhD research, should they inform you about their other research projects or not?
>
>
>
Yes. There should be open communication on student's research load between the student and supervisor so that they can succeed in their jobs. For example, an experienced mentor is able to advise the student on how to better manage the student's research load, if he or she is informed. [Louis and Sutton (1991)](http://hum.sagepub.com/content/44/1/55.abstract) suggest that attention and cognitive thinking could suffer when individuals engage in switching activities such as in multitasking.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/02 | 1,268 | 5,128 | <issue_start>username_0: My paper was rejected a few hours after submission with the following explanation:
"Regretfully, your manuscript is being Immediate Rejected without review since it is a short correspondence item while we do not publish correspondence. "
What does this mean? Is my manuscript too short?<issue_comment>username_1: Many journals publish correspondence or short reports that are brief research works, usually with a single finding, straightforward methods, and not much more than that. They are intended for quick, "Hey, we've always wanted to know the value of X, and turns out it's 7" studies - they belong in the literature, and may be useful, but are not a full research paper.
They are often also referred to as letters, notes, or by other names. Sometimes they're purely defined by concept, sometimes by word count.
For example, consider *Ecology*:
>
> "Notes are short papers that present significant new observations and methodological advances. Notes may contain results that are not sufficiently elaborated or developed as to justify an Article, but which are still of considerable potential significance."
>
>
>
vs.
>
> "...an Article tells a more complicated story with distinct components. The greater length of Articles relative to Reports must be justified by their greater complexity
>
>
>
Or *American Journal of Epidemiology*, which uses word counts:
>
> The maximum number of words per article, exclusive of tables, figures, references, and abstract, should be as follows: Original Contribution, 3,500; ...Brief Original Contributions, 2,000 (with no more than 2 half-page tables and 40 references)
>
>
>
or *Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology*:
>
> Original Articles should include a title page, a structured abstract of no more than 250 words (see below), a text of no more than 3,000 words, no more than 7 tables and figures, and no more than 40 references.
>
>
> Concise Communications should include a title page, a narrative abstract of no more than 50 words, a text of no more than 1,200 words, no more than 2 tables or figures, and no more than 10 references.
>
>
> Research Briefs should include a title page, a text of no more than 900 words, no more than 1 table or figure, and no more than 10 references. This category of article is intended for the presentation of short, focused, and evidence-based experimental observations: substantial preliminary and novel results of importance to the journal readership but not substantial enough in content to warrant a longer presentation. Research Briefs undergo the same peer review as longer article types.
>
>
>
Your paper is either too short, or only presents a short, focused result that the journal does not consider a "full" paper. It's hard to know, as they won't exactly lay out the definitions of papers they don't accept, but you may want to look at similar journals to see if there is a field-based consensus for what a sufficiently large finding *is*.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: username_1 already gave an excellent general answer, but I may be able to add some specific information if your submission was to one of the IEEE Transactions (rejection from which would put you in fine company).
Some of the Transactions indeed used to publish "Correspondence Items"; from the [*Transactions on Signal Processing* Author Guide](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=05410637) dated October 2009:
>
> Correspondence items are short disclosures with a reduced scope or
> significance that typically describe a use for or magnify the meaning
> of a single technical point, or provide brief comments on material
> previously published in the TRANSACTIONS.
>
>
>
However, in the current [Author Guide](http://www.signalprocessingsociety.org/publications/periodicals/tsp/tsp-author-info/), this category is absent and replaced by the "Comment Correspondence", which is a different beast:
>
> Comment Correspondences provide brief comments on material previously
> published in the TRANSACTIONS.
>
>
>
Presumably, this is due to the fact that there is now a dedicated journal, the [*IEEE Signal Processing Letters*](http://www.signalprocessingsociety.org/publications/periodicals/letters/). However, this has a different scope:
>
> The IEEE Signal Processing Letters is a monthly, archival publication
> designed to provide rapid dissemination of original, cutting-edge
> ideas and timely, significant contributions in signal, image, speech,
> language and audio processing.
>
>
>
Note that in contrast to a Correspondence Item, a "significant contribution" is still required, and that in addition (and in contrast to the Transactions) this needs to be on such a hot topic that by the time the normal reviewing process has finished, there would be significantly less interest in it.
---
(If you did not submit to IEEE, this may still be a useful indication how another discipline handles this type of publication, and underline the fact that there are several different categories of short communications.)
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/02 | 1,398 | 5,755 | <issue_start>username_0: I would like to increase my use of formative feedback (feedback showing students whether they understand material correctly without impacting their grades) and would like to integrate it with online quizzes.
I'm wondering if this has been found to be effective.
My goal is to make it simple and automated. While I could write one myself (school generally does not pay for things like this), I would prefer to avoid building it (or paying). What I'm really looking for is something like forms in Google docs but would also somehow automatically *and instantly* score the answer (limiting student answers to multiple choice) and displaying the results to the student as soon as the submit button is pressed.
So, this is a compound question: **Does using online auto-scoring quizzes help students** (I believe it will) through formative feedback **and is there a way to get Google forms to give immediate results**?<issue_comment>username_1: Many journals publish correspondence or short reports that are brief research works, usually with a single finding, straightforward methods, and not much more than that. They are intended for quick, "Hey, we've always wanted to know the value of X, and turns out it's 7" studies - they belong in the literature, and may be useful, but are not a full research paper.
They are often also referred to as letters, notes, or by other names. Sometimes they're purely defined by concept, sometimes by word count.
For example, consider *Ecology*:
>
> "Notes are short papers that present significant new observations and methodological advances. Notes may contain results that are not sufficiently elaborated or developed as to justify an Article, but which are still of considerable potential significance."
>
>
>
vs.
>
> "...an Article tells a more complicated story with distinct components. The greater length of Articles relative to Reports must be justified by their greater complexity
>
>
>
Or *American Journal of Epidemiology*, which uses word counts:
>
> The maximum number of words per article, exclusive of tables, figures, references, and abstract, should be as follows: Original Contribution, 3,500; ...Brief Original Contributions, 2,000 (with no more than 2 half-page tables and 40 references)
>
>
>
or *Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology*:
>
> Original Articles should include a title page, a structured abstract of no more than 250 words (see below), a text of no more than 3,000 words, no more than 7 tables and figures, and no more than 40 references.
>
>
> Concise Communications should include a title page, a narrative abstract of no more than 50 words, a text of no more than 1,200 words, no more than 2 tables or figures, and no more than 10 references.
>
>
> Research Briefs should include a title page, a text of no more than 900 words, no more than 1 table or figure, and no more than 10 references. This category of article is intended for the presentation of short, focused, and evidence-based experimental observations: substantial preliminary and novel results of importance to the journal readership but not substantial enough in content to warrant a longer presentation. Research Briefs undergo the same peer review as longer article types.
>
>
>
Your paper is either too short, or only presents a short, focused result that the journal does not consider a "full" paper. It's hard to know, as they won't exactly lay out the definitions of papers they don't accept, but you may want to look at similar journals to see if there is a field-based consensus for what a sufficiently large finding *is*.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: username_1 already gave an excellent general answer, but I may be able to add some specific information if your submission was to one of the IEEE Transactions (rejection from which would put you in fine company).
Some of the Transactions indeed used to publish "Correspondence Items"; from the [*Transactions on Signal Processing* Author Guide](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=05410637) dated October 2009:
>
> Correspondence items are short disclosures with a reduced scope or
> significance that typically describe a use for or magnify the meaning
> of a single technical point, or provide brief comments on material
> previously published in the TRANSACTIONS.
>
>
>
However, in the current [Author Guide](http://www.signalprocessingsociety.org/publications/periodicals/tsp/tsp-author-info/), this category is absent and replaced by the "Comment Correspondence", which is a different beast:
>
> Comment Correspondences provide brief comments on material previously
> published in the TRANSACTIONS.
>
>
>
Presumably, this is due to the fact that there is now a dedicated journal, the [*IEEE Signal Processing Letters*](http://www.signalprocessingsociety.org/publications/periodicals/letters/). However, this has a different scope:
>
> The IEEE Signal Processing Letters is a monthly, archival publication
> designed to provide rapid dissemination of original, cutting-edge
> ideas and timely, significant contributions in signal, image, speech,
> language and audio processing.
>
>
>
Note that in contrast to a Correspondence Item, a "significant contribution" is still required, and that in addition (and in contrast to the Transactions) this needs to be on such a hot topic that by the time the normal reviewing process has finished, there would be significantly less interest in it.
---
(If you did not submit to IEEE, this may still be a useful indication how another discipline handles this type of publication, and underline the fact that there are several different categories of short communications.)
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/02 | 954 | 4,113 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an international student(south Asia) who has recently completed his 4th semester in CS.
My current CGPA is 3.2 (social science courses in my freshmen year messed it up) and Major GPA of 3.6.
I am expecting my CGPA to be around 3.5 by the time I graduate.
I do not have any research experience and I am worried that I might not get into any good program.
My question is that How much research experience or publications are required to get into a good PhD program in US? or that How much experience does an average accepted candidate has? Phrased in a different way:
What kind of experience should I aim to get by the time I apply to grad school that I get accepted into a good program.
I am not talking Stanford, MIT etc but may be among the top 30-40.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you should focus more on the quality and focus of your research than the amount. If you are researching a concrete topic, and have 1-2 solid works dealing with it, then you are golden. Make sure you explain the value of these works in your research statement/essay. That would be more or just as important as the resume, because it is an expression of you as an individual.
Other people will tell to go down the bullshit path and sprout several pieces that milk the same research but add little to the field. Some schools will buy that, but others will not differentiate you from the rest of students. You can also try this approach, but it may be even more time-consuming than the first.
Reading your question again, it is better that you engage in research before applying. Perhaps you can contact a professor and work with him, or a PhD student at your university, or find a research institute in which you can put in some time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am relatively familiar with this for domestic (US) students, but less familiar with the requirements for international students. I'll assume the requirements are the same....
Have you done any research at all, even for a big class project or something on your own? If so, mention these. The admissions committee that reviews your application will want to know that you're interested in doing research and that *you know* what you're getting yourself in to.
If you have a couple years left before you graduate, I would try hard to get a research experience before you apply, even if you have to volunteer (work for free) for a semester. If I **had** to make a guess, I'd guess that most programs would want to see that you have done at least one or two research experiences, if only so that they know that you know what research is.
**Formal research experiences (summer research internships, for example) and publishing a paper or two are great, but they're not the only criteria.**
First, it depends on how competitive the program you are applying to is. More research experience may be needed to help you stand out enough to be accepted. Publications are always great, but research experience (which may not have resulted in a publication) is still well-regarded.
Another factor grad programs consider is how focused you are, and if you have an existing connection with a research group in that program. For example, you may have previously collaborated with a professor in their program, and he/she is familiar with your work. If you show a genuine interest in working with him/her, it will reflect well on you, and who knows -- he/she may be able to help your application get accepted. If you just want to get accepted into their program, but it looks like you have no direction or research interests after that, the committee reviewing your application will look less favorably on you.
Lastly, when you apply, you should apply for a spread of schools. Apply to 1-2 competitive programs which, if they accepted you, would make you feel lucky because you weren't sure you qualified. You should apply to several programs that you think might accept you. Lastly, apply to a few programs which you are *certain* you would be accepted to, just in case you aren't accepted to any of the others.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/02 | 563 | 2,466 | <issue_start>username_0: I have done 5 different projects in my undergraduate course and all of them are from different areas/fields. My project work during High school is from a different area still. The reason of working in different fields is that I was trying to figure out what exactly interests me.
Having found that, I am interested in doing grad school after I finish my bachelors.
Does the fact that I have done all my research projects in different areas say that I'm not sure what interests me?
**UPDATE**:If this is sounding vague, I'll clarify. My major is chemical engineering. I've done projects on Synthesis of nanoparticles, Bionanotechnology-Tissue Engineering, Analysis of a thermodynamic cycle, Microreactors and Reaction Engineering.
I intend to apply for a program in Bioengineering/Bioprocess Engineering<issue_comment>username_1: Trying out several projects in different areas does not necessarily say that you do not know what interests you. You have to show them that you are interested in several areas and that you wanted to get an insight in order to obtain a wider range of possibilities.
I think that there are few people who immediately find the right area that fully interests them. It is important that you present it that way. Working on different projects brings more extensive experience in any case.
If you have then found the right area, you can deal with it more intensely.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: When applying to grad school in ecology, I had research experience in stream restoration, dynamical modeling of HIV infection, and a NASA internship where I worked on bioregenerative life support. I had also done a research project in cultural geography (cosmopolitan thought in Cold War America) and completed two internships in which I had done a number of different projects. While I only got into one program (out of the three I applied to), it was one of the top programs in my field and came with the best fellowship the university could award. Now, I had good GRE scores but a so-so GPA (3.2), so I'm sure the research projects (and the variety of letters of recommendation that came with them) really helped my application. The lab I got accepted into was highly integrative, so my broad background made me a good fit.
Also, as the other commenter said, nobody really expect an undergrad to immediately know what they wanted to specialize in. I'd be concerned if they did!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/02 | 1,445 | 5,797 | <issue_start>username_0: I recently joined a research group as a postdoc. I wrote the professor an email to ask quick but important questions including asking him when when he wanted me to start. It's been over a week and I haven't received get an answer. Other emails I've sent previously have also gone unanswered for long periods as well.
With that background, my question is: do professors sometimes (intentionally or otherwise) not respond to emails in a timely manner?<issue_comment>username_1: Since it has been a week, I think it would be acceptable to email them again just saying that you just want to make sure that they did get your email and that you would appreciate their opinion/response/whatever regarding your questions.
Professors receive *tons* of emails daily, and it isn't uncommon for them to miss important ones that get buried in their email.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I know the problem very well and had to wait very long for an answer. It should not be understood as an impoliteness. Professors get a lot of emails and answering every email can be a lot of work. If they just do not have time and read the email, then they forget often to respond later. This issue is not specific to academia.
I would first of all not write email, but call him. Another email could also be overlooked.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> I wrote him an email to ask quick but important questions, like, when do you want me to start. I didn't get an answer even after a week. And similar things happened before as well.
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Some professors are notoriously bad in answering emails. This does not necessarily mean anything. Don't fret about it.
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> So I want to ask that as a professor, sometimes will you (on purpose) to NOT answer emails in time?
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I'm not a professor, but, no, this is not how I would expect an adult person (in a management position, none the less) to behave. If the professor is indeed having second thoughts about you and decided to just not answer anymore, I would say you dodged a bullet there.
However, I really think that this is unlikely. Just send a polite reminder, or propose to have a quick chat e.g., over Skype, at a time of the professor's convenience.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Unlike other professionals, academic faculty have multiple competing tasks of wildly varying natures and deadlines. Broadly divided, we need to balance:
* Teaching: Two to four courses a semester with dozens, scores, or hundreds of students; a handful of TFs; and occasional irate deans and parents. One or two or three independent readings with students outside of that. Letters of recommendation. Trying to find internships and grad programs for advisees. Handling postdoc requests. Working with academic review committees. Working with course of study committees. etc. etc.
* Service: Serving on several unrelated college or university committees. Serving on the steering committees of affiliated programs at the university. Having the provost scout you out for a pet committee. Running a search committee. Doing grad admissions. And this is just university service. If you do service work on your national association, then there is considerable committee work there. Not to mention doing peer reviews of journal articles, book manuscripts, grant proposals, etc. etc.
* Research: And if you can find time after all that, there is your own research. Trying to keep several articles in the pipeline, tracking down an editor to listen to your book proposal, getting around to writing the conference paper you promised, etc. etc.
The way some faculty handle the multitasking is by singletasking. They only do postdoc intake work on Friday mornings, for example. Others give up and have a mailbox from hell.
In other words, things can easily get lost. While a simple questions such as yours might seem to be simple, it might require the prof to have to e-mail the department chair (who is even more busy than the average prof) for an answer, which then gets lost again.
I'd give it a week and then politely ask again. Use the same e-mail title (or reply-all to your own e-mail) so as to bump the e-mail thread back up to the top of the prof's e-mail queue. It's important to try to keep e-mail threads together as faculty have limited brain resources and we rely on our e-mail as our offline memory extension.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: **Visit or call.**
For a while, I used e-mail as a rough to-do list - if there was something in my inbox, it was a task - once I sent a reply, the task was done (in my mind - acting as though a reply was guaranteed). Psychologically this worked well for me, as it let me off the hook. And, this may work well as a student, if you receive only a few dozen e-mails a week, of which many will be group e-mails.
But, as everybody has said, professors get a lot of e-mail.
So I came up with a new system. As early as I could, send the briefest possible e-mail, with a succinct subject, and add it to a list. Whenever I see my advisor, or whenever the list gets a bit long, or whenever a deadline is approaching, I corner my advisor and go through the list. In most cases I find that he's seen the e-mail(s) and didn't get a chance to respond, *because he gets hundreds of important emails each week.*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Timely manner differs for everyone. Also, some professors do not regularly check their email, or they may have a specific email address they use aside from their college/university address.
I have found it is usually best to ask a professor which way they prefer to be contacted, than to just send and email and expect to hear back in the same amount of time that, say, my parents would write me back.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/02 | 2,856 | 11,974 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate student who has developed a novel new model which according to my PI (principal investigator) will have a high impact.
My PI assigned a grad student to supervise me. Supervision consisted of meeting once a week to update him on my progress so far. Sometimes he would provide certain helpful suggestions(none that are actual innovations just slight fixes/alterations that would improve the model).
During the course of the year he (the grad student) has become more and more annoying. Unhelpful suggestions/requests, etc.
During our last meeting the grad student made some bold claims on the model developed by me claiming to be an equal author/developer. He made it clear he wanted to get a large amount of credit for the model (co-authorship).
I do not think that he has done enough meaningful work to deserve credit for the model (although he would be listed in acknowledgements). Knowing his intentions I wish to distance myself from him(including not having him review the paper), as to lower his chance of becoming a co-author.
I would like to achieve this in such a way that does not negatively impact my relationship with my PI, as grad schools require reference letters.
**EDIT:**
I don't think I have been very clear and for that I apologize. I acknowledge that he has contributed to the work. I also understand that having more authors doesn't reflect badly on me(I didn't even know about the score system). I just have problems with his claims of equal authorship. As we are nearing final results/submissions of paper and he has better relation with the professor he may try to take the first authorship position.
*Additional:* By my university guideline policies about co-authorship he has not done enough to deserve even a co-author position.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I am an undergraduate student who has developed a novel new model which according to my PI (principal investigator) will have a high impact.
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Great!
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> My PI assigned a grad student to supervise me. Supervision consisted of meeting once a week to update him on my progress so far. Sometimes he would provide certain helpful suggestions(none that are actual innovations just slight fixes/alterations that would improve the model). (...) Knowing his intentions I wish to distance myself from him(including not having him review the paper), as to lower his chance of becoming a co-author.
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Less great. Much less great. Let me make something clear here: this is not **your** project alone, this is the project of you, your advisor, and the PhD student. The guy has invested a serious amount of time into this project (not as much as you, clearly, but still a significant amount), and now you have unilaterally decided that he is to be cut out when the time comes to publish your results? Likely, this is not to be going over well either with him or the advisor, and for good reasons.
Deteriorating professional relationships are never fun, but it is simply not feasible to decide midway through a project that you now would rather not have another researcher on board. If he has already made contributions to the project, and it certainly sounds like he has, it would be unethical to publish without him now.
**EDIT:** to make it clear, I am not saying that he should get *equal* credit to you. But it certainly sounds like he should get *some* credit.
The very least you need to do is follow user11192's recommendation:
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> it is best to meet with your advisor (and possibly the grad student) to discuss an authorship plan.
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Finding a "sneaky" way to get rid of the grad student before publication time is not particularly ethical, and has a pretty high possibility of backfiring on you.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: It looks to me like the coauthorship decision is being clouded by the graduate student supervisor's annoying behavior, including his claims of being "an equal author/developer". Whether this graduate student should be a coauthor is not a part of the question -- rather the question is how "to get rid of" him. But based on what you've said I think this is wrong: you do need to consider the case for his coauthorship. To my mind it rests on two things:
1) He was assigned at the beginning by your PI, whom you say absolutely did supervise you and was crucial in the creation/implementation of the model, and whom you will be including as a coauthor. Well, part of your PI's supervision was to assign this graduate student to you, whom you met with much more frequently than the PI. Thus the three of you entered into a collaboration.
2) There seems to be no doubt that the graduate student followed through with the process of supervising you. You write:
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> Supervision consisted of meeting once a week to update him on my progress so far. Sometimes he would provide certain helpful suggestions (none that are actual innovations just slight fixes/alterations that would improve the model).
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So he met with you regularly -- more regularly than your busy PI. Regular weekly meetings are amazingly helpful in keeping people on track (especially at the junior level...but also at the senior level, honestly). He didn't just listen to you but provided helpful suggestions. And not just suggestions that sounded helpful but some which actually *improved the model*. Thus he made an intellectual contribution to the work.
The confluence of 1) and 2) makes your desire to have the graduate student supervisor not be a coauthor look unreasonable to me. Coauthorship is a convenant that people enter into: it is an agreement that they will do certain work and as a result be part of the final product. There is a certain base level of involvement that various professions and journals require for coauthorship: that seems to be safely met here. Collaborators are also free to impose higher standards, but these standards should be made clear in advance. It is very uncollegial for you to turn around after work has been done of the form that was specified and try to shut someone out of coauthorship.
In general, I would say that if someone does what they were asked to do *procedurally* for coauthorship but comes up a bit short *intellectually* -- i.e., it turns out in retrospect that their contributions are not so valuable or essential to the final paper -- then the decision on whether to withdraw from authorship rests with them and not the other collaborators. If you feel that someone else didn't pull their intellectual weight, then the time to bring this up is in a discussion of whether the collaboration should continue. (I should say that most people I know have a very acute sense of "not pulling their intellectual weight", and it is rather rare to see a math paper with a coauthor who could not point to a theorem or proof in a paper and say "I did this part". But other fields may differ.) This is still a delicate conversation, of course.
I think what you are really trying to say is that you want to be first author. Based on your description of the work, it sounds reasonable that you would be either first author or co-first author with the PI. That is a discussion for the three of you to have.
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> I would like to achieve this in such a way that does not negatively impact my relationship with my PI, as grad schools require reference letters.
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Yes, be careful about this. I am going to guess that the PI will not be pleased at an attempt to cut out his own student from the paper: that is going against the plan for the work that he set up. Finally: "...as grad schools require reference letters". Hmm. True gratitude is golden, but knowing which side of your bread is buttered has got to be worth something.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm confused on why you wouldn't want to have him as a coauthor ? Does it some how diminish the work you did? On the contrary, publishing work with coauthors is not only expected, but essential to survive in academia.
My suggestion? Relax. If you publish as an undergraduate you are already golden. You can get letters from both the PhD student and the PI, glowing letters as you published. It certainly seems like both the PI and the graduate student deserve credit, making them 3rd and 2nd authors respectively seems very reasonable.
Before you go on destroying professional relationships, at least build them up first.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> During the course of the year he (the grad student) has become more and more annoying. Unhelpful suggestions/requests, etc.
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Since I don't know you personally, I hope you won't mind a candid question. Is it possible that the graduate student is pointing out correct suggestions based on greater experience that you are stubbornly ignoring? I've seen this happen several times, especially with bright undergraduates.
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> I do not think that he has done enough meaningful work to deserve credit for the model (although he would be listed in acknowledgements). Knowing his intentions I wish to distance myself from him(including not having him review the paper), as to lower his chance of becoming a co-author.
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As far as I can read from the tone of your question, you appear to trust the PI ... why not go directly to him/her with your concern? Let the PI decide how to handle it, or, if you're not comfortable with that, why not approach a neutral third-party professor who could understand the work and give *you* a candid assessment?
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> I would like to achieve this in such a way that does not negatively impact my relationship with my PI, as grad schools require reference letters.
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Ultimately, it does not hurt you to have co-authors on a paper, as long as they have actually contributed to the intellectual merit of the work. However, if, even after impartial third-party assessment, you feel that the work is rightfully yours, fight for it wholeheartedly and directly. Tell the graduate student and the PI what you think, and insist that you should be the sole author.
Academia is a place where you have to fight for your ideas, or be trampled by the herd.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Something to keep in mind, Academia involves politics and some things cost you little.
Your PI wants his grad students to do well too.
That means getting their names on research papers.
Even if he's annoying, you said yourself: he's contributed.
If there's 2 other names following yours then that's fine.
3 or less names on your paper doesn't hurt you in any way.
Getting published as an undergrad is already great.
Your only concern as the person who did the majority of the work is that your name come first. That's it. First name in the list is what you want. That is your one and only goal.
If it makes your PI happy to give a little boost to the career of one of his grad students that is perfectly reasonable (also, other people you'll want him to recommend you to will want to know you're easy to work with and willing to play the game of politics because they're all doing the same).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: If this is copyright infringement, or intellectual theft then get a lawyer. At least call one, consultation is generally free. In fact, the lawyer will know more than the school as to how to proceed here anyway... Good luck.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_7: Start writing the paper now, make a preliminary draft and send it out to all of them. In the draft, put yourself as first author, add the phd guy as second and the PI as senior author. If at one point the phd guy thinks he should be first author, you can ask why he thinks he deserves it (do that in front of the pi). Then tell him that you respectfully disagree.
These kinds of things happen but as long as your, rightfully so, first author, everything is ok. I heard of people being removed from author lists even when they had done the majority of the work.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/02 | 410 | 1,515 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm filling out a form with information about my publications, and one of the fields is "Type of Journal." I'm not sure what this means, except that SCI and EI are possible values. I'm guessing the former refers to [Science Citation Index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Citation_Index), but I can't find what EI is. It seems this is something they are expecting me to know so I can only assume it is common knowledge among academics.
What are the possible types for a journal (if a comprehensive list exists), and most importantly, for any given journal how do I find its type?<issue_comment>username_1: Just wondering if those refer to ISI (and/or other organizations) list of journals
* SCI: Science Citation Index (Thomson Reuters or ISI)
* SCIE: Science Citation Index Extended (Thomson Reuters or ISI)
* SSCI: Social Science Citation Index (Thomson Reuters or ISI)
* A&HCI: Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Thomson Reuters or ISI)
* EI: Engineering Index or Compendex (Elsevier)
You can find the list of those journals in their perspective sites or just by searching their search engines.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I have set up a webpage ([**click here**](http://www.philippe-fournier-viger.com/links.php)) which provides links to the list of journals that are SCI, SCIE, ISI and EI and also let you check the impact factor of a journal. You can follow the links on that page to find out if a given journal is EI, SCI, SCIE, etc. Hope that it helps!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/02 | 283 | 1,126 | <issue_start>username_0: Potentially predatory publishers and journals (as listed on Beall’s list [here](http://scholarlyoa.com/2012/10/22/science-target-targeting-your-author-fees/)) are springing up more and more often, but they do not always stick to journals and publishing articles. Some host conferences, workshops, or other events with reputable chairs and directors.
If the publishing agency behind a conference is fishy or believed to be predatory, but the conference it hosts is chaired by reputable names, is it still best to avoid the conference?
Has anyone had experience going to a conference or workshop like this?<issue_comment>username_1: Publishing in predatory journals looks bad on your resume. It suggests that your work was not good enough to publish in a respected journal/conference, and, frankly, you're better off *not* publishing the work.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Why would you spend your time and money to attend one when there is no shortage of good, legitimate conferences? Your time is valuable. Stay away from anything that you even suspect might not be first-rate.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/02 | 875 | 3,654 | <issue_start>username_0: My paper is accepted with minor revisions and now is in proof stage. Unfortunately, I have found computational errors in my calculations which have led to some wrong results.
What should I do?<issue_comment>username_1: If you really care about the validity of your data and that it may be used for future research by yourself and others, I would say that it is vital to send the errata to the editor and you will feel better for three reasons:
1. You will have produced and published an honest piece of empirical research, unlike many shady and incomplete papers out there.
2. You never want to be accused of fudging your numbers by your colleagues/peers.
3. If you were the editor of this journal, would you like to foster a sense of scholarly pride in your published paper's validity, re-testability etc?
It will probably have to be re-reviewed, but if you're up front and honest with the editor or copy-editor about the errata, it's unlikely they'll reject the paper.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If your findings and conclusions are unambiguously unaffected, send the results to the editor saying you found an error with the numbers and asking for it be fixed. The editor might be annoyed at the last minute change but they are used to this sort of thing. I don't know what your "paper value" refers to.
You seem pretty worried about this. If this is because you think other people might assume that this difference would, in fact, have affected the findings and the way in which your paper was reviewed? If so, that *is* an issue. If this is a concern, you should email the academic editor and explain the situation. If things are as you think, there won't be an issue. If the editor disagrees, the paper might be need to be re-reviewed. In any case, it certainly seems best to have this all above board.
Changes in language, like changes in numbers, can have an important impact on a paper. As an author, you have a responsibility to not make substantively important changes to either after the paper has been accepted. It's your responsibility to not abuse the editorial system. If you are worried that you might be, you need to talk to your editor.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Sometimes mistakes happen. Yes, it's a pain to have to deal with this mistake now after the paper was accepted for publication, but it's a good thing that you caught your mistake *before* the paper was published.
**Note:** If you have coauthors, before doing anything, contact your coauthors and explain to them the changes you need to make. **Do this before doing anything else.**
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> What should I do? Should I send the errata to editor or copy editor?
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*As you mentioned that you are dealing with an IEEE journal, my response here is specific to the IEEE:*
Talk to the senior editor that you are working with currently. Tell them specifically the changes you want to make and that "the logic of the concluding remarks is still correct and the discrepancies only impact the affected numerical results and the specific conclusions drawn from them," and that "the other numerical results are correct."
The senior editor will take it from there. Based on my past experience, you *do not* need to contact the editor-in-chief about this directly.
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> Will it affect my paper's value?
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No, but I don't really follow why you think correcting a mistake will affect your paper's value. Correcting a mistake prior to publication is a *good thing*.
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> Will it need to go through another review cycle?
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This will depend on the steps taken by the senior editor.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/02 | 1,372 | 5,647 | <issue_start>username_0: After a series of discussions about the level of dependency of a research student on his advisor in [this link](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24170/how-when-to-become-independent-in-research-as-a-graduate-student) and [this link](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24264/to-what-extent-should-a-professor-give-students-freedom-to-do-independent-resear), a question comes to mind that when the person is graduated and leaves the university; even he is now working independently in a company or he is a faculty member of a university; as far as most of the researches he is going to do may be based on his PhD dissertation;
* Until when should this person contact his supervisor about the researches he is doing?
* Should he ethically acknowledge that his researches is roots of his PhD project under his advisor's supervision?
* If, based on his dissertation, he works on a research project; should he talk about it to his supervisor and he should be aware on every single after-PhD project? Just because the base of the publication and research is the PhD dissertation which is done under his supervision?
* To put in a nutshell, as a matter of academic ethics, what are exact rights of a supervisor in projects done based on his student's supervision (after graduation of the person)? What are the rights of the university from which the student is graduated?<issue_comment>username_1: I am currently returning now to a thread of work that I started as a PhD student many years ago, but have not had opportunity to work on since then. I will not be including my advisors as authors on the new papers that result, because the work goes beyond anything that we worked on or discussed during that project. So there's no direct overlap there, and thus they have no intellectual investment in the project.
I would argue that you would continue to include the advisors if they are actively collaborating with you on the current work that you're publishing—or if the original work that you're publishing was done while you were under their supervision.
Of course, you do need to cite the previous work that you've done on the topic as part of placing the work in its appropriate context within the larger experience. You should also be notifying your advisors of your recent work because it's the smart thing to do—you should always keep mentors apprised of your ongoing research activities!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: (I think... as a mathematician...) such situations are very field-dependent, and context-dependent. If, on one hand, one's advisor is an eminent master in the field, and one has inherited/acquired/learned some amazing riffs from them, then it would be fair to acknowledge this, although co-authorship is essentially ridiculously not called-for. If, on another hand, one's thesis advisor has been no more than a funded drivers'-training instructor, then, no, do not acknowledge them every time you drive to work and do something worthwhile.
:)
And, yes, there are (at least) two things to be distinguished: formal/practical dependency, and genuine scientific dependency. Money and knowledge are often confused in academe, unfortunately. Yet, yes, money and staying alive by being able to buy groceries at the end of the work-day are real things.
An example resolution of the question: if one's advisor did no more than provide a stipend, and sign papers, then that should be appreciated, and acknowledged, but don't over-interpret it.
If, on the opposite hand, one's advisor has shaped one's outlook on the whole enterprise, this, too, should be admitted whenever relevant. But that does not entail co-authorship. And one should hope that one's advisor will not be in the state of needing to pump their stats... (Not good to have an advisor who's still in that state, in the first place.)
General guideline: be real.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: >
> Until when should this person contact his supervisor about the researches he is doing?
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Until this person chooses not to collaborate with their former supervisor. (Which, if the student wants to develop an independent reputation, should be about five minutes after the thesis is signed.)
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> Should he ethically acknowledge that his researches is roots of his PhD project under his advisor's supervision?
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Of course. You should cite all prior work that your research is based on. Whether that prior work is part of your thesis is immaterial; if you build on it, cite it.
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> To put in a nutshell, as a matter of academic ethics, what are exact rights of a supervisor in projects done based on his student's supervision (after graduation of the person)?
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Exactly the same rights as they have to work done in collaboration with any other colleague; no more and no less. They have the right to authorship on any future paper to which they have contributed (or are contributing) significant intellectual content, and other rights and responsibilities that go with authorship such as approval of the final manuscript,
However, these rights have nothing to do with their former position as an advisor/supervisor. In particular, funding, signatures on theses, and recommendation letters are **not** intellectual contributions.
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> What are the rights of the university from which the student is graduated?
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Exactly the same rights that the university would have to the work of the former supervisor with any other colleague; no more and no less. If you are neither employed nor enrolled, the university has no special rights to your work.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/03 | 1,518 | 6,349 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student and I am doing a literature review for my dissertation. Despite the fact that I am working on the topic, I am not an expert; but I have enough information because of my previous research during MSc and have a published paper in my CV.
I submitted an abstract of the review paper for oral presentation in the most important conference about the topic and it was accepted. The review is about the developments and contributions from researches in some countries. Then, I told my advisor and he suggested me not to submit the final paper because he thinks that kind of review paper must be done by experts, not by PhD students (it would seem such as teaching to experts); further he thinks I will spend a lot of time which should be spent on my PhD dissertation. I really want to present the review; however, I do not want to contradict my advisor.
Do you think it is convenient to present the paper?<issue_comment>username_1: There are two points that can be considered on your question.
* You work under supervision of your advisor and he is, to some extent, responsible for your progress at this stage of your academic life. If he thinks that the review paper should not be sent by *you*, it means that based on his assessments, you are not prepared enough for submitting a review paper.
Moreover, it is normal that a PhD student think that he knows many things about his field of research; but his advisor has done many more researches and advised many more students and I think that his assessment about your knowledge is far more precise than your assessment about yourself.
As an example, the PhD student is like a driver in a car and the professor is like someone in a helicopter, you have driven far distance in your car and feel like you are far away from the other drivers. But the one in the helicopter sees the way, you and other drivers better from the top and he knows that you are still in the middle of the way, not more progressed than the others.
* As a comment on the type of your paper, you are trying to write a review paper which I also think, as your professor had mentioned, is normal to be published by some experts in the field. I mean the ones who have worked years in industry, or the professors who have released many publications and supervised few research students. I think that review papers should be written and presented by a more aged person than a research student.
Imagine the conference that people aging fifty and sixty are sitting in audience and a 26 or 27 years old PhD student goes and reviews the topic for those experts. I am not saying that the PhD candidate does not know anything about his field of research; but he needs some more years of research and work to become an expert in his research area. It is a little odd to see a PhD student publish a review paper, as he is not an expert in his field.
But a PhD student may participate in a review paper which is going to be published in a journal or presented by a professor. But still there needs an expert or a professor to be the main presenter and contributer of the publication.
However, the situation may be a little different from one major to another; and from a research group to another. I think that your supervisor is the best guide for you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What is the contribution of your paper going to be? It's a review paper, so you're not going to be contributing any new techniques or results. You say you're not an expert so you're not likely to make any deep connections between different areas of the field or between your field and other areas of study or present any great insights about why things are the way they are, where the field has come from, how it got where it is and where it's going to go next. So what *is* the contribution?
The usual deal with a conference talk is that you stand up and tell people about *your* work. They want to listen because they don't know about what you did and you understand it better than they do. What you're proposing is that you stand up and tell them about *their* work. They already know what they did and you're not an expert on it, so they (at least, some of them) understand it better than you. Why do they want to listen?
Your main motivation seems to be to score "CV points" by presenting at the conference. That could easily be nullified by giving yourself a reputation for not doing research and giving superficial talks with nothing much new in them.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Addressing a few points in your question individually:
>
> The review is about the developments and contributions from researches
> in some countries. Then, I told my advisor and he suggested me not to
> submit the final paper because he thinks that kind of review paper
> must be done by experts, not by PhD students (it would seem such as
> teaching to experts)
>
>
>
I strongly disagree with your advisor. Non-systematic reviews are often done by senior people because the papers can get a bit opinionated, touching on what needs to be done, the quality of evidence, etc. in a subjective way, and it's nice to have that come from an authority figure, someone whose seen the field develop, has a broader view, etc.
But that's not to say that *all* review papers are like that, or that you're not an expert. My most cited, and one of my best received papers, is a review I wrote as an *undergrad*.
Additionally, unless your abstract was incredibly obfuscated, it's been accepted - which means the reviewers and conference organizers thought it was worth doing. It seems like the relevant determination as to whether or not this abstract "belongs" has already been made.
>
> further he thinks I will spend a lot of time which should be spent on
> my PhD dissertation.
>
>
>
This is a more valid concern, imo, and you should work hard on making sure that this doesn't obstruct your PhD research. Ideally, lengthy review paper would be *about* the topic of your PhD, and thus do double duty.
>
> I really want to present the review; however, I do not want to
> contradict my advisor.
>
>
>
This is a decision you have to make - how *much* do you want to present the review, how much you're willing to risk irritating your advisor, who is paying for you to go, etc.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/03 | 1,046 | 4,477 | <issue_start>username_0: I am trying to write a review on a published paper for Mathematical Reviews. The paper proposes a generalization of K-theory. Its main definition is fundamentally problematic. So the rest of the results are worthless. Therefore, I cannot write a brief summary of their results, because it means that I did not understand the mistake. On the other hand, the abstract of the paper is very concise and misleading, so I cannot recommend it as the review to MR either. Besides, I do not want to spend too much time to explain all the mistakes and errors in the paper (it is not my duty as a reviewer!). Therefore I was thinking to write to Mathematical Reviews and let them know about the situation and deny writing any review for this paper. But before doing that, I was wondering if there is a better solution for this problem?
P.S. For those who are not familiar with Mathematical Reviews, I should add that MR asks mathematicians to write brief reviews on papers (book, etc) that are already published and these reviews are available at mathscinet. So, these reviews are different than referee reports.<issue_comment>username_1: Your job as a reviewer is primarily to give a summary of the results to help other researchers find the papers they are interested in; you are **not** expected to evaluate the quality of the manuscript. However, there's the following passage in the [Guide to reviewers](http://www.ams.org/mresubs/guide-reviewers.html):
>
> **Evaluative reviews.** Your review may include a positive or negative
> evaluation of the item. Critical remarks should be objective, precise,
> documented and expressed in good taste. Vague criticism offends
> authors and fails to enlighten the reader. If you conclude that the
> item duplicates earlier work, you must cite specific references. If
> you believe there is in error in the item, please describe it
> precisely in your review and provide evidence validating your claim
> (e.g., a counterexample, an exact reference which supports your
> assertion, or an indication where the error arises in the paper). You
> should bear in mind that the MR Database does not include author
> responses to critical reviews.
>
>
>
This means that a critical review, as opposed to a summary, will likely be more work than you seem to think the manuscript is worth. In this case, there's the "nuclear option":
>
> Two other treatments of items are possible, but should be used sparingly. You may recommend that the item be listed without a published review, or you may recommend that the author's summary be used as the review. If you decide to recommend one of these options, simply put your request in the Review text box (e.g., "Publish without a review", or "Use the summary as my review"). However, in most cases, the mathematics community would prefer an insightful review to either of these two treatments.
>
>
>
If you choose "Publish without review", the paper will be listed as "This item will not be reviewed". For a regular paper, any seasoned user of MathSciNet will understand this as "do not bother to read".
**EDIT**: This used to be the case; now there's no such remark anymore, but the icon next to the MR number will say "Indexed" instead of "Reviewed" -- less strong of a signal, but a signal nonetheless (especially to people who remember the old remark.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your review should do three things (not necessarily in this order). It should tell the reader what the topic of the paper is, perhaps including the authors' main "theorem". (This presupposes that the paper is clear enough to have a topic; I've reviewed garbage that didn't have a discernible topic, but I gather from your question that this is not the case here.) It should make it clear that you think it's wrong. And it should give enough information about the error to allow people in the same area to understand why you think it's wrong. (Once you've explained the essential error, it's not necessary to list a lot of other errors, unless you think that doing so would help the reader or make it clearer that the paper is wrong.)
It is especially important to indicate accurately just how bad the paper is. For example, is it nonsense, or is it just wrong, or does it give a possibly correct theorem but with inadequate or erroneous proof? You can save potential readers of the paper a lot of trouble by making the situation clear.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/03 | 193 | 734 | <issue_start>username_0: One of the interview excerpt I want to quote include "haha."
Is it permitted to quote an interview excerpt with 'haha' in a thesis?
I asked because it seems like it is too informal.<issue_comment>username_1: You should consult with your advisor about conventions in your field. I think generally, people lightly edit interviews such as these, so if the laughter isn't revelant to what the subject is saying, you can leave it out. If it is important, you don't have to onomatopoetically transcribe it as "haha." You can write
"[laughter]" or "[interviewee laughs]."
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is permitted to do whatever is necessary to get the information across.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/03 | 913 | 3,857 | <issue_start>username_0: I have to hand in the thesis to my supervisor, but I could neither find him in the faculty nor contact him, but I know his house.
Is it advisable to hand in a thesis by visiting my supervisor's house?<issue_comment>username_1: I wouldn't find it okay if someone would come to my house because of that. Work and personal life should be separate and it would be inappropriate to visit the supervisor there.
Does he not have an office? If nobody can tell you where to find him, then you should call him or write an email and ask for an appointment.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As a faculty member, I value my privacy. Home is home and work is work. Unless I suggest this myself, I would be displeased by a student coming to my house unannounced.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I have myself handed in a thesis by visiting a professor's house. But I had contacted him beforehand.
You need to answer -
* Is it really urgent to hand in thesis now?
If the answer is `no`, don't bother with going to house.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: How do you know your advisor is at home? What if he is on vacation? What if he is out of country?
The purpose to hand in your thesis is to let him read it and review it? right? If he is not home, how do you know he will get your thesis and read/review it?
You need to find his whereabout first. Then contact him and ask him how and where to deliver your thesis. If he tells you to hand in the thesis to his house, do so. If he wants to get it at his office, do so. It's your responsibility to make sure he gets the thesis and read it.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Following on from a comment by the OP that this supervisor has refused to give his supervisees his personal contact details, I think it's important to say very strongly that **no, in this case it is entirely inappropriate to go to the supervisor's house**.
To even ask it is creepy and weird. If a student actually did this, after I'd refused to give out my personal contact details, I'd be talking to the university administration office; and, depending on their advice and whether or not this had happened before with this student, the police might get involved too. Based on previous experiences, when a student with this sort of serious boundary problem starts creating these sorts of issues, it's important to act decisively and quickly to close things down before they escalate into really serious problems.
**So no, don't go round to your supervisor's house, given that they've already refused to give you their personal contact details. To do so would be creepy and weird.**
Ask the department administrator how you should hand in your thesis to your supervisor: they will either take it on their behalf, or point you at a suitable location to leave it, or provide other guidance.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: As mentioned previously in comments, this answer really depends on the culture of where in the world you are. Within my country, South Africa, I am positive that none of my professors would mind in the slightest if I tracked him down at his home for any query at all. I'd say he would invite me in for coffee while we discussed the issue at hand.
Of course there are exceptions to any rule. There are probably some professors in my institution that would indeed take offence. It could also depend to some small degree on the professor's specific attitude towards the student in question.
I'm talking about an environment where the amount of students any single professor would supervise is small enough that he would know each student personally at least to some degree.
To recap, in my institution I would and have tracked professors down at their homes if I have any queries, even if the reason is not considered particularly urgent.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/03 | 716 | 3,113 | <issue_start>username_0: Even after having proofread my thesis many times, I think asking another person to proofread it before submission is necessary.
Is it considered cheating to ask a friend or tutor to proofread your thesis before submission?<issue_comment>username_1: I can't imagine why it would be cheating: So long as you're producing the majority of the content, it wouldn't be cheating to have someone check for the problems that are now invisible to you!
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Definitely not. In fact, I wish more students in my department would do this!
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: No. The purpose of your thesis review is not to test your ability to use a word processor or to compose text in a social vacuum. It is a test of your ability to conduct research and communicate those findings to others. Treat it like you would treat any publication, and get feedback from your peers in order to make it as good as possible.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: It is normal practice in the UK to have your thesis read by your supervisor and, probably, others. However, you should check the rules for your own institute as they may vary on what exactly is permitted.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: **No, not at all!** Every writer needs readers, and the purpose of those readers is, as already mentioned, to find the errors, typos, and unclear sections that are now invisible to the writer who has seen the manuscript a thousand times.
Obviously, if your friend or tutor is actually providing content for you, and you are not acknowledging their contribution, then that **IS** cheating. When you ask someone to read for you, be sure to tell them exactly why you need another set of eyes on the manuscript. I usually ask my friend (or supervisor, if willing) to simply flag all typos and mark the margin where a paragraph is less than clear to them. I can usually figure out what is wrong without having them actually give me any content.
I find that writing--at least good writing!-- is usually not a solo effort, and I am always indebted to at least one person for taking the time to read my manuscript and flag the problem spots for me.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: If your thesis is in math, by all means have others proofread it. Once it is released, it will no longer be possible to correct an error!
However, if your proofreader finds something more substantial than a typing or simple mistake, you must not only credit him with his ideas on the acknowledgement page, but also in a footnote. No harm in this. It is better to get it right and give credit than to get it wrong and take the credit for that for yourself! The quality of your work also reflects on the reputation of your project director and your committee members, you have to respect them by turning out a high quality product.
However, I have found that the probability of a totally error-free thesis is equal to or less than the smallest positive number.
I cannot advise those whose who are English majors; that is a foreign language to an engineer!
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/07/03 | 710 | 2,935 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a 2nd year student writing a request to volunteer as a research assistant to a professor. From what I've read, attaching a transcript to the introductory email is a good idea. [[1]](http://ugr.ue.ucsc.edu/email_examples)[[2]](http://www.virginia.edu/cue/urn/how-to-successfully-e-mail-professors.html)
I'm considering not including it as my 1st year marks were pretty terrible. My 2nd year went well, but I suspect my 1st year might give a bad impression and disqualify me for many professors.
In such a case, which (if any) are a good idea:
1. Include the transcript, don't mention anything in the email
2. Include the transcript, explain reason for bad marks in the email.
3. Don't include the transcript. Mention good GPA received this semester.
4. Don't mention the transcript.<issue_comment>username_1: I'd say a mixture of points 2 and 3. It's always good to be honest with your colleagues and especially a potential supervisor. We've all messed up some grades along the line.
If you include the transcript, mention your relatively good GPA this semester and outline very briefly the reasons how you've improved dramatically compared to last semester I think you'll sound professional as well as eager. Professor's love students who surprise them with their performance and growth, so play up your adaptability, resourcefulness and hunger for results.
Also as a previous commenter said, send the email and then seek them out in person, put a face to the name and start a good impression from the outset.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: There are two reasons I want to see a transcript when I take on research assistants:
1. I want to know what relevant classes they have taken, and how they did in those classes. This (hopefully) tells me something about what kind of basic knowledge I can expect them to have in my subject area, which in turn helps me evaluate whether I have a project that is well-suited for them.
2. I don't want to hire a student that is struggling with their coursework, because a research position is very demanding in terms of time and attention. A student who is currently barely passing classes should be focusing on that, not taking on a new major responsibilities. (My university has a minimum GPA requirement for student research assistants for this reason.)
Definitely include your transcript with your email. Don't explain the reason for the bad grades straight off - why draw attention to the negative? But ideally, you should be able to say something like "I took 'Highly Relevant Course' this spring and it made me really interested in pursuing research in this area", where 'Highly Relevant Course' is something you've done well in, that is directly related to the professor's research. The idea is to show that you have basic knowledge in the relevant area, and you're also not currently struggling to pass your courses.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/03 | 579 | 2,362 | <issue_start>username_0: I know that college mathematics typically start at Calculus I (Differential Calculus) and then Calculus II (Integral Calculus). Then after Calc II, it starts to branch off a little. One option after the first two semesters of Calculus is Calculus III (Vector/Multivariable Calculus). Another option is Linear Algebra, and then the next course is Differential Equations. I know that other, more advanced math topics exist like Number Theory/Abstract Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Partial Differential Equations, Geometry Topics and Topology. I was wondering what order the above mentioned math topics go in and what their prerequisites typically are. If anyone can provide me with a flow chart, then that would be great.<issue_comment>username_1: Heavily depends on the university. For Germany, Calculus is already covered in high school.
However, since you are probably not going to study in Germany, your mileage might vary. I would suggest looking for specific programs at universities you are interested in - there you will be able to see the exact courses offered (as well as the different concentration, e.g. pure mathematics).
[This would be a good example.](http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/cosm_home/math_home/math_undergraduate/under_degrees)
On there, you can find road maps for the general undergraduate degree in Mathematics (for many different concentrations). Hope this helps!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This depends heavily on the student and his/her interests. You will need almost all of these courses, but it's a bit murky after linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and differential equations. Did you learn proofs in any of those courses? If not, then maybe a proofs course. This all depends on the department that you're in and how they arrange how they teach mathematical maturity and theory.
Since you asked for a flow chart, I can give you an example of one department's flow chart for their courses. Hopefully this can give you an idea: <http://www.math.uga.edu/~curr/prereqs.html>
What the numbers all mean can be found here: <http://www.bulletin.uga.edu/CoursesHome.aspx?Prefix=MATH>
Hopefully this gives an example of what one department's "flow chart" looks like. You can clearly see there's a lot of choices to take and a huge 'choose-your-own-adventure' part to it.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/04 | 720 | 2,955 | <issue_start>username_0: After joining a research group, I discovered my colleagues are always lowly motivated. They play card games and online games, and they listen to songs with the loudspeakers on all the time. They never discuss research-related things, and the only time they open a spreadsheet is to calculate some kinds of points in online games. This all happens in office hours in the laboratory.
I expected my colleagues would be happy to discuss with me about research problems, but it turns out nobody is willing to do this except my supervisor and some of the post-docs. They just focus on their entertainment. I do not know why they want to do a PhD; maybe they just want to delay their entry into the job market. However I really want to be trained as a good researcher and I am serious about my PhD. I cannot stay motivated all the time because their attitudes seem to gradually be affecting me, and the atmosphere is simply full of laziness. I can notice myself sometimes lowering my standard in research work now.
My supervisor seems ok with it and does not get angry at their slow and boring progress. My research interest matches quite well with my supervisor's, and I do not want to change my supervisor just because of those lowly motivated students. How can I still be motivated in a lowly motivated environment?<issue_comment>username_1: Heavily depends on the university. For Germany, Calculus is already covered in high school.
However, since you are probably not going to study in Germany, your mileage might vary. I would suggest looking for specific programs at universities you are interested in - there you will be able to see the exact courses offered (as well as the different concentration, e.g. pure mathematics).
[This would be a good example.](http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/cosm_home/math_home/math_undergraduate/under_degrees)
On there, you can find road maps for the general undergraduate degree in Mathematics (for many different concentrations). Hope this helps!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This depends heavily on the student and his/her interests. You will need almost all of these courses, but it's a bit murky after linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and differential equations. Did you learn proofs in any of those courses? If not, then maybe a proofs course. This all depends on the department that you're in and how they arrange how they teach mathematical maturity and theory.
Since you asked for a flow chart, I can give you an example of one department's flow chart for their courses. Hopefully this can give you an idea: <http://www.math.uga.edu/~curr/prereqs.html>
What the numbers all mean can be found here: <http://www.bulletin.uga.edu/CoursesHome.aspx?Prefix=MATH>
Hopefully this gives an example of what one department's "flow chart" looks like. You can clearly see there's a lot of choices to take and a huge 'choose-your-own-adventure' part to it.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/04 | 398 | 1,789 | <issue_start>username_0: In my thesis, I have five chapters, each of which includes sections and subsections. Each of the five chapters has an introduction and conclusion.
Should chapter introductions and conclusions be included in the table of contents?
If yes, should they be formatted as a first heading, like that of the APA style?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, *Introduction* and *Conclusions* are core parts that need to be included in a ToC. Note that it is not necessary that the chapters have these titles although in the vast majority of cases they do.
The *Introduction* sets the perspective for the chapter and the *Conclusions* summarizes the important conclusions reached in the discussion. Hopefully the *Conclusions* tie in with the perspective(s) set in the *Introduction* since they constitute the head and tail of the chapter and the partial conclusions reached therein.
In cap off, if you have a heading within the main part of the thesis it should be in the ToC and this includes *Introduction* and *Conclusions*. In the case of a chapter, it may be worth providing a more meaty, descriptive title for the introduction that ties in with the theme of the chapter. This is in my opinion less so concerning conclusions.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The overriding response here has to be "consult your supervisor, or any documentation that you university says on how they want things to be formatted".
However, if neither of those gives useful information, I would simply include them if you are including other headings at the same level. So if each chapter has multiple sections of which the introduction and conclusions are examples, I would format them the same as other sections and include all of the sections in the ToC.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/04 | 720 | 2,865 | <issue_start>username_0: Should the table of contents of a thesis include beyond heading level 3?
I would like to know if there is a rule specifying this issue either in MLA or APA?<issue_comment>username_1: In general, tables of content shouldn't span more than two pages, otherwise they lose their utility of being a quick guide to the structure of the content.
A good keyword index at the rear of the document can handle many of the issues in their stead. That is, if you want people to be able to quickly see where you described the laser engraving process, then "laser engraving" can have a keyword in the index. Or if you make an argument against <NAME>'s sick role, similarly you can note both "<NAME>" and "sick role" at the back.
(note: I do encourage my grad students to CREATE extremely detailed tables of contents that lay out their entire argument. This helps them write their dissertations as it gives a roadmap and structure. But when it comes time to submit their thesis to the university, or revise for publication, they should strip their table of contents back down to a minimum of one or two levels).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A ToC (Table of Contents) serves two purposes:
* Giving readers an overview of your document (hence chapter/sections titles), and
* Guiding them towards the content they are looking for (hence page numbers).
In order to be efficient, your ToC must thus delivers enough information (one hierarchical level might not be enough if you have three chapters only), but not too much (hence the "two-pages limit" [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/24386/50010) refers to). In the , the ToC is not very useful; in the other, readers are overwhelmed with information and thus perceive even less of the intended message.
It is based on these rules that you should define how much is enough. My advice would be to even strive for a one-page long ToC, with a clear contrast between hierarchical levels (I'd say indenting is not enough). I would also suggest you to use only two hierarchical levels.
Calling the first hierarchical level "Chapter" and the second "Section", here is the "official" answer from the "*Chicago Manual of Style*" (§1.37 in the 16th ed.):
>
> [Sections] are usually omitted from the table of contents, but
> if they provide valuable signposts for readers, they may be included.
>
>
>
Note that in some cases, chapters are clustered into parts - where chapter numbering is not reset after a new part.
In this case, parts are not a hierarchical level strictly speaking; and ToC would thus be divided in Parts/Chapter/Sections.
**TL;DR:** Two hierarchical levels in the ToC. If necessary (long thesis), you can include "sub-ToC" at the beginning of each chapter (again, with two hierarchical levels). Parts doesn't count.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/04 | 834 | 3,431 | <issue_start>username_0: I have my Bachelor's degree in Business and Marketing and my Master's degree in Computer and information Science.
This year I have applied to 3 different universities in Germany for taking another Master degree in Computer Science and have been told that my bachelor's degree does not correspond to the one I am applying and have been rejected for those 3 universities with the same reason
Next year I am planning to apply for PHD program and would like to have advise from experts, some people say there are specific PHD programs which require both Business and Computer Science degrees. I was wondering if anyone could give some resources where I could find best matching universities for my case.
Thanks in advance :)<issue_comment>username_1: In general, tables of content shouldn't span more than two pages, otherwise they lose their utility of being a quick guide to the structure of the content.
A good keyword index at the rear of the document can handle many of the issues in their stead. That is, if you want people to be able to quickly see where you described the laser engraving process, then "laser engraving" can have a keyword in the index. Or if you make an argument against <NAME>'s sick role, similarly you can note both "<NAME>sons" and "sick role" at the back.
(note: I do encourage my grad students to CREATE extremely detailed tables of contents that lay out their entire argument. This helps them write their dissertations as it gives a roadmap and structure. But when it comes time to submit their thesis to the university, or revise for publication, they should strip their table of contents back down to a minimum of one or two levels).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A ToC (Table of Contents) serves two purposes:
* Giving readers an overview of your document (hence chapter/sections titles), and
* Guiding them towards the content they are looking for (hence page numbers).
In order to be efficient, your ToC must thus delivers enough information (one hierarchical level might not be enough if you have three chapters only), but not too much (hence the "two-pages limit" [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/24386/50010) refers to). In the , the ToC is not very useful; in the other, readers are overwhelmed with information and thus perceive even less of the intended message.
It is based on these rules that you should define how much is enough. My advice would be to even strive for a one-page long ToC, with a clear contrast between hierarchical levels (I'd say indenting is not enough). I would also suggest you to use only two hierarchical levels.
Calling the first hierarchical level "Chapter" and the second "Section", here is the "official" answer from the "*Chicago Manual of Style*" (§1.37 in the 16th ed.):
>
> [Sections] are usually omitted from the table of contents, but
> if they provide valuable signposts for readers, they may be included.
>
>
>
Note that in some cases, chapters are clustered into parts - where chapter numbering is not reset after a new part.
In this case, parts are not a hierarchical level strictly speaking; and ToC would thus be divided in Parts/Chapter/Sections.
**TL;DR:** Two hierarchical levels in the ToC. If necessary (long thesis), you can include "sub-ToC" at the beginning of each chapter (again, with two hierarchical levels). Parts doesn't count.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/04 | 765 | 3,304 | <issue_start>username_0: I really enjoyed my research but it happens that whenever I tell somebody about it, I have the impression I'm making it sound boring, unimportant and not exciting.
Americans have a way of telling a story, I know this kind of "performance" does not suit my habit. I'm more the continental European, a bit reserved, a bit technical. Not everything I did immediately is about curing cancer, I admit it.
I started by adapting a kind of top-down approach, first I say "Simulations", usually people feel they can relate to that. And if they wish to know more, then I can start going into some details.
I think this approach makes sense, but still, I find others can induce interest by the other person immediately from the start of their explanations.
Question: **How can I communicate my research to a general audience in a way that is more exciting and interesting?**<issue_comment>username_1: Try lots of different things. You've tried one thing, and it hasn't worked.
Treat it like any other kind of experimental research. Try new things, monitor the results, adjust your approach accordingly.
Some things that can work:
* **use specific examples**: identify a very specific problem that they can understand, and show how you're trying to address that problem
* **use analogy and metaphor**: find out something about what interests them, and draw parallels between that and what you're doing
* **be passionate**: talk about the aspects of your work that you really care about, and why you are passionate about them; even if they don't understand the words, they'll understand your emotions.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Perhaps the real problem is that you're not describing your research *clearly*, and at the *appropriate level* for the person you're talking to. This is a skill that definitely takes practice to get good at. You'll know you're doing it right when the other person asks good questions; that's proof that they are engaged. So I suspect if you focus on being clear and getting the level of explanation right, you'll end up making the research sound more interesting without even trying!
I take advantage of every opportunity I can to explain it to adults and children, academics and non-academics, and so on. I've definitely improved with this practice. The number one mistake I (and probably most people) tend to make is to explain at too high a level. I always have this fear that I'm going to insult the other person's intelligence by explaining things too simply. But that doesn't happen. If the other person does want more detail, they'll ask.
Another possibility is that you're trying to sound professional when you explain your research, and that's inhibiting your natural style. But it's perfectly OK to sound like an excited kid in this situation, if that's how you feel. A lot of well-respected academics sound like kids when they start talking about something they're interested in, because they do feel passionate about it, and that makes the audience more interested too.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Switch focus from the hows and whats to the whys and do a top-down break-down from there. Your peers will be able to follow your break-down for longer than laymen, but all will be more interested in what you do.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/04 | 2,651 | 9,740 | <issue_start>username_0: It's been mentioned before on this site [how important it is to have a webpage](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/616/is-web-presence-important-for-researchers).
Most academics don't have a lot of experience with web development, and do not realistically have time to learn it *and keep the knowledge up to date*.
What are some good ways/tools to create and *maintain* a professional website when the priority is *minimizing long term maintenance burden*?
My experience is that it's not uncommon that people will put in the effort to build a very nice website once, but they simply won't be able to maintain it long term. Either it's too much effort to add new content (too busy to do it), or they change institutions and it's too much effort to migrate the site (because e.g. the new institution's hosting doesn't support some of the necessary tools, such as PHP, etc.) Even if I put in the effort to learn a bit about web development today, I won't be using this knowledge contiually, so I'll forget how to do it. At that point it might become too much of a burden to keep a website up to date, so eventually I'll neglect it.
This question is about how to avoid this situation, and what tools or hosting methods to use to minimize maintenance burden so a home page can realistically be kept up to date.
The simplest solution seems to be to only use basic (static) hand-written HTML and maybe a simple CSS stylesheet. Many (most) academics are doing this. The result will probably not be very beautiful and will look like webpages 15 years ago, but it can serve the purpose. Are there any better ways? (Typing all that and and and *is* in fact still rather tedious and error prone compared e.g. to writing MarkDown here.)<issue_comment>username_1: The main thing that needs frequent updating is your bibliography. Some people don't try to maintain a bibliography list; instead they put a link to their DBLP search results. For example:
<http://dblp.uni-trier.de/pers/hd/h/Holland:John_H=.html>
This may not show extremely recent publications, but it may be more accurate than one you maintain manually and forget to update!
Another option is to link to a Google Scholar search. For example:
<http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wfAPzPQAAAAJ&hl=en>
Aside from the bibliography, I don't think there are any requirements that are specific to academia. There are so many options for creating and maintaining websites. Which one is right for you depends on how computer-literate you are, among other things, and would really be a [boat programming question](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1016/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-boat-or-not).
---
EDIT: To avoid dealing with the HTML directly, there are the usual suspects: Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal.
A "hand-built" website doesn't have to look old-fashioned. If you decide to go this route, you can find some attractive, free templates here: <http://www.oswd.org/>
---
EDIT: If you have a GitHub account, you can create a website for it using [GitHub Pages](https://pages.github.com/). You can write your pages using markdown (there are other options as well), and you can have your own custom domain.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It's really not that hard to analyse the options.
**1. Self-managed page**
You certainly don't want PHP or anything server-side here, probably your university (institute or whatever) will provide you some web space that you *"should"* use and it's not going to run anything as fancy as PHP (let alone Python or Java). Which means that you have either:
a. some HTML with Javascript, possibly parsing BibTex files, should be feasible.
b. some script/program that generates the static web pages (and possibly updates them via FTP) and here you can program in whatever you want and do really cool things like updating your CV in PDF using LaTeX at the same time. But it's going to take a while to program it, unless you find it already done or you find someone else to do it (paying helps in finding, usually).
Everything is client-side, nothing on the server, no different reasonable options in this regard...
**2. Linked page**
If you are really worried about maintenance time then you can link to another page from the static HTML page, it may be updated automatically, which is great. Options are dblp and google scholar, among others. (e.g. [Microsoft Academic Search](http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/18581060/walter-c-willett))
The maintenance is zero, so there isn't anything more to reduce. This option works with static HTML with no Javascript, as opposed to the previous one.
**3. Third party managed page**
If you don't want to use that webspace provided by your organization, if you don't ever want to see any of the ugly HTML code, make design decisions with CSS, etc. and you don't want to do anything that even slightly resembles to programming but still have a nice webpage with your personal information, publications, etc. then let the professionals do the job.
There are several portals that can offer such a thing. Research Gate is the first one that comes to my mind, but I think LinkedIn provides a reasonably good page for academics and sure more people will be able to provide more examples.
**And that's pretty much it.**
We all would like to have robots that do everything for us, but the closest to that is option 2, with the robots that crawl the web and index the publications for their authors. Beware, though, that they may fail at finding some of the publications (specially when moving between institutions, and publishing with disjoint sets of authors).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: **tl;dr**: Wordpress (installing a Markdown plugin), if you are a techie, Jekyll.
(My website is in Wikidot, I created for my group with Wordpress.
**EDIT**: [Now I use Jekyll; here's why](http://p.migdal.pl/2015/12/02/first-post.html))
See [Software for Scientists: Website tools](https://gist.github.com/stared/9130888#website-tools):
For personal homepages, lab notebooks and conference websites.
>
> * [WordPress - code](http://wordpress.org) and [WordPress - hosting](http://wordpress.com)
> + Examples:
> - <https://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/>
> - <https://gowers.wordpress.com/>
> - <http://netsci2013.net/wordpress/>
> * [Jekyll](http://jekyllrb.com/)
> + For writing blogs in Markdown and easily putting them on GitHub
> + Tutorial for using LaTeX in it: <http://cwoebker.com/posts/latex-math-magic>
> + Examples:
> - [Open Lab Notebook in Jekyll](http://carlboettiger.info/2012/09/28/Welcome-to-my-lab-notebook.html)
> - [A homepage](http://ivanzuzak.info/)
> * [Wikidot](http://www.wikidot.com/)
> + e.g <http://offtopicarium.wikidot.com/>
> * [Wikispaces](http://www.wikispaces.com/)
> + Simple wikis, very easy to create and manage
> + Used as open science notebooks, for instance <http://usefulchem.wikispaces.com/>
> * [Site44](http://www.site44.com/)
> + Showing small site by putting files into a [Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/) folder
> * [GitHub Pages](http://pages.github.com/)
> + Static websites with Git
> * [Instiki](http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/wiki/instiki/)
> + Wiki especially for mathematical collaboration
> + Examples:
> - <http://www.azimuthproject.org/>
> - <http://ncatlab.org/>
> * [WorkingWiki](http://lalashan.mcmaster.ca/theobio/projects/index.php/WorkingWiki)
> + Wiki especially for mathematical collaboration
> * [Sphinx](http://sphinx-doc.org/)
> + Great for writing documentation
> + Example (in Polish): <http://django.carrots.pl/>
> * [Jekade](http://zohooo.github.io/jekyde/)
> + Jekyll-like static pages with built-in LaTe support, in Node.JS
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: From my experience, I can recommend to stay away from both hand-made sites and general-purpose CMS.
[OpenScholar](http://theopenscholar.org/) seems to be a good fit. It is open source (based on Drupal), allegedly "easy to create and maintain" and certainly designed exactly for your/our use-case.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I'd discourage you from using any CMS backed by database --- keeping software stack up to date, coping with backup and migrations might be very cumbersome. Of course you can leave outdated CMS version or don't do backups... but this will bite someday, as someone break in. So really you need to keep the software up do date whether you change content or not.
I had some success with using a tools like [pelican](http://docs.getpelican.com/en/3.4.0/) or [sphinx](http://sphinx-doc.org/) (this documentation generator for python projects but works well for course materials, etc.). Both tools take input in [reStructuredText](http://sphinx-doc.org/rest.html) and produce static HTML from it. You might code something similar from scrath using for example [pandoc](http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/) or [docutils](http://docutils.sourceforge.net/), that will take care for conversion between input format and HTML.
I like these tools because:
1. Input format is user readable, text based and easy to learn
2. I backup wepbage using tools I know (like [git](http://git-scm.com/)), or really just zip everything and store on some disk.
3. I don't need anything from website administrator --- just a plain webserwer.
It specifically decreases maintenance because:
1. Zero maintenance costs if you don't change the webpage, no need to update CMS and so on.
2. Very low maintenance costs when you just add some content to the webpage --- just regenerate HTML and you're done.
3. You can safely use outdated (but working) version of generator --- since there are no security bugs whatsoever.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/04 | 592 | 2,579 | <issue_start>username_0: There has been general discussion of [whether one can use a published work in their dissertation](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1897/can-i-reuse-part-of-a-paper-for-my-thesis), with the consensus being 'of course'! The first two chapters of my thesis will be published works. I'm interested in the reverse now; I intend to write the third chapter of my thesis as a draft of sorts for a publication. Now I'm wondering whether including text and figures from my dissertation in a [future] manuscript constitutes 'self-plagarism'.
A fellow graduate student advised me that it's only 'self-plagarism' if I formally copyright my thesis, however, I'm skeptical of that being the important distinction.<issue_comment>username_1: In general this is OK or, in some fields, even recommended. It does not make any difference if the dissertation comes first and then the publication or vice versa.
However, I would reference the thesis/paper(something along the line: this paper was part of my dissertation ... or this chapter was published as ...) and you should talk to someone (your supervisor? the postgrad coordinator?) in your department about that. There might be some rules regarding that practice (I never heard of anything like that but just to be on the safe side).
Btw: Self-plagarism has nothing to do with copyright violations.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In the context of a university, self-plagiarism (or auto-plagiarism, as it tends to be known) generally only refers to submitting the same work for two or more different credit-bearing assignments within the institution, or submitting work which has been awarded credits at another institution.
There's generally no restriction on using work submitted for a university degree in a publication, unless the university specifically expresses its ownership of that work (which sometimes happens if the work was involved in a commercial or collaborative project).
You can get into trouble for publishing the same work in more than one publication, but because the contract you sign with the publishers will specifically prohibit you from doing this (or will specifically allow it) this is not plagiarism as much as it is fraud. Even then, providing they know in advance, most publishers will allow authors to include chapters in monographs that are based around previously published articles, providing the initial copyright holder gives their consent (which in academic work they usually will, as long as the original publication is cited).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/04 | 522 | 2,200 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a math major who will be a senior next year and hope to graduate a semester early for financial reasons. During my semester off, I plan to continue my (mostly trivial) research in algebra and independently work through three graduate level texts. However, I am going to apply to grad schools for pure mathematics in the fall and worry this may ultimately hurt my graduate school applications.
Will this have a negative effect on my math grad school applications? How can I best communicate that I will not slack off in the spring semester, but will continue working?<issue_comment>username_1: Volunteer to do a research project with a professor in the department. This will demonstrate a continued effort in the field. Ultimately, however, what matters most is your grades and recommendations. If they say you're good, a semester off won't hurt.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your application will be essentially complete by the end of fall term, but it should *very pointedly* mention what *further* work you will be doing in the spring term, whether or not you are paying tuition for the privilege of studying and thinking about mathematics.
There really needn't be a formal structure imposed on your work/study/research, and it needn't have any official label "research" versus "study". But *do* write what you plan to do, and *do* mention the guidance you hope/expect to have from more-experienced mathematicians (as opposed to just doing whatever strikes your fancy off in some closet). That is, do be sure to make the point that you will be *engaged* with actual contemporary mathematics, arguably more intensely, and at a more serious level, than the usual homework-exam model would encourage or allow.
If you can describe your plans for "spring term" in vivid and enthusiastic detail, you can make it sound far better than "taking classes". I'd not worry about hype-ing "research" too much, although, yes, it would be intellectually dishonest to not follow one's curiosity. But, of course, one's personal discoveries, however novel to oneself, may be old news to experienced professionals, so one should not presume.
Just tell your plans!
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/05 | 1,240 | 5,302 | <issue_start>username_0: I am now working as a postdoctoral researcher in Japan. I came to work at this institute when it received a big grant from government more than 2 years ago. My research budget is paid from a small part of that grant. I am affiliated with a lab run by my current advisor, but I do my own research topics and build my own experimental setup without support from the advisor.
This year I applied for my own funding and was lucky enough to get a small grant for young researchers. My advisor applied to the same grant (more senior category) but failed, and later I learned that he has not succeeded to get any grant up to now. Last week he asked me to use my budget for his projects, because "in this lab, we share the budget together", as he said.
I feel awkward because I don't want to share my budget with him, but if I deny the request, our relationship will be damaged.
Has any of you experienced the same problem? Is my advisor a bad one? How should I deal with this?<issue_comment>username_1: I would suggest looking at the terms of your grant. You could get in a lot of trouble with the granting agency if you use the money for something other than what you wrote in your grant application. There's a little slop in the exact percentages of work that you do, but most agencies have rules requiring that you certify your effort on the project.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: This is delicate issue, and I would advise you to proceed with utmost care. There are a number of ethical, legal, and practical issues to take into account.
First, the **legal side** - as username_1 already mentioned, it is not a given that you even *can* (easily and legally) move money from your grant to somebody else in your lab. In a nutshell, only the funding agency or the respective support department from your university can help you with this.
Second, in terms of **ethical issues**, the question arises whether you do in fact "share budget in this lab". In other terms, did the lab head also share his budget with you when you did not yet have a grant? Do think about this critically. In my experience, young independent researchers (myself included) tend to take the support we get from senior researchers for granted sometimes, while being rather protective about our own funding. From your description, it does sound like you yourself are being funded from money acquired by the lab head. In that sense, asking you to give back a small part of your grant to support his research is not necessarily unethical. Further, has he helped you with your grant application? If he has, sharing a bit of your grant with him may be the right thing to do (if even possible, see above).
Thirdly, in **practical terms**, the question arises whether it is worth for you to fight over this issue. This largely depends on how bad it can end for you if the lab head is *really* mad at you (in Japan I would assume the answer to this is "very", unfortunately) and how much funding money is concerned. This is another issue that you can really only decide for yourself, but (again), do proceed with caution. You should consider that you not only need to work with this guy day to day, but you may also need his support for your next career step. I have unfortunately seen a few young researchers taking a stand with their mentors "on principle" over relatively minor issues. This kind of thing tends to not go as well as people hope.
All things considered, you would do well to not let your successful grant application go to your head. It is certainly a very important milestone in you career, but don't get into a lone wolf mentality (*"I'm so good, I don't need anybody to succeed!"*).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Excellent answers from the other respondents.
One solution may be that some grants allow for administrative overhead or indirect costs. At some universities, this can be over 50% and literally keeps the lights on and the trash bins emptied.
You may want to see if you, the senior scholar, the university, and the grantor agree to divert some of the indirect costs to him.
(And yes, his behavior is inimical, at least as you describe it. Promise to yourself that you won't be that type of jerk to your own students and junior colleagues.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Do the right thing and ignore/stop the recursive career considerations of the other answerers. If he helped you, now you help him. If he was not helping you, then explain you cannot. If he was miserly, then be miserly. You are ultimately beholden to your own self.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: If you do decide to share, consider working with him to identify equipment, services, and resources that you could purchase with your grant that would benefit your work that you could share with others.
Turn the conversation from "You must share your money with me for my purchases" into, "We both are doing research in this direction, let's buy equipment/services/resources that will help everyone rather than just support one grant."
Further, involve everyone in the department in this discussion. That way even if he does complain you can point out the discussions you've had, the purchases you've made, and show how you shared the grant and how it's benefited him.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/05 | 875 | 3,935 | <issue_start>username_0: I am writing my thesis in computer science and I am looking to include some references. I need to include though the researchers who first wrote about a specific subject and not others who expanded the original ideas.
I use Google Scholar for searches but there isn't an option to search for this criteria.
How can I find the first researcher who wrote about a specific subject?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm a little unclear about why you might want the very first, but at least in CS you have a limited history to work with.
The most detailed way to find this is to start with current papers (maybe a good review article) on the subject and to track back the references until you find the first one, paper-by-paper. If you already have a few early papers, obviously looking at their references is a better place to start. You haven't given us the topic area, but you might just ask for the earliest papers on the [CS Theory Stackexchange](https://cstheory.stackexchange.com/). You might also try searching on Google by year if you are certain that you know the right keywords--binary searching the years back to 1900 or so will probably be most efficient.
Finding the right paper might be a little challenging, especially if the topic has changed names a few times since it started.
Edited to add: If you are at a university with a good library system, you might find a research librarian who does this kind of thing for a living and ask them for help.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: While your question was already anwered by username_1, I want to try and answer the question that you should have asked:
>
> How to find the right paper to cite for well established facts / problems / theorems / etc.
>
>
>
If this is what you actually intended, than the first paper ever published on the topic is only one possibility. Often a better option is to look for a good review paper on the topic and cite that. A reader is much more likely to gain knowledge from a good review than a (probably decades old) first publication.
Have a look around, how others cite this specific subject and immitate them if you want to make sure not to violate unwritten etiquette. There are basically three possibilities
* No citation: The subject is assumed common knowledge and can probably be found in any standard textbook.
* citing the original paper: this is what you intended. Even if the first publication on the subject will likely not include all of the knowledge on the subject that you have and the reader might thus need to look at other publications as well, this is often done to acknowledge the work that the original author put into this. Make sure that you reference any further work that is needed to understand your work, e.g. during your own summary of the subject.
* citing a recent paper or review article: a) The subject is likely already well established and almost assumed common knowledge. The citation helps the reader to either catch up on some recent developments (paper) or to get a general overview (review). b) The subject has a long and active history. The subject in the formulation that you use probably has no clear first author. Due to numerous modifications / the natural evolution of notation etc. the original publication on the topic is probably of no use to the reader. In this case either a paper with a good introduction or a review can be cited.
Of course combinations of the above are possible as well. E.g. citing the original paper to acknowledge the first author as well as a review article such that the reader might catch up on any results that are already available prior to your work.
Unless you are currently writing a review though, you are not required to dig through generations of publications to find the first paper on a subject. If nobody in your field cites it, you can safely stick with one of the other two options.
Upvotes: 3 |
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