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2014/07/22 | 2,637 | 10,639 | <issue_start>username_0: As a student I had free access to thousands of scholarly articles through my universities in databases/archives such as JSTOR, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, Econlit, PubMed, etc, etc.
With no subscription, glancing at the full text of any 1 article costs anywhere from $20 to $60.
For any one project or paper I'd use at least five to ten papers and I'd skim over the full text of many more. For a meta-analysis of the literature, I'd go over dozens and perhaps even over a hundred papers.
As a non-student the cost is extremely prohibitive to continue reading past the free abstracts. I don't want to pirate the papers or give up reading them, but I can't find any reasonable alternatives.
Does anyone know of any monthly subscription I could sign up for to give me student-like/institutional access to papers?
>
> **Note:**
>
> A [community wiki answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/27558/15723) has been added to this question to provide a list of solutions to the problem.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: * Many papers are freely available on authors' websites, and preprint servers (use search engine to find those).
* Write to the authors, asking for copies. Majority of academics are happy when their work is read, and will send you a copy.
* Your public library might subscribe to more than you suspect. Check it out. When I was a student in a community college, my local public library subscribed to JSTOR for example.
* Become a student or an academic again :-)
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: To add to username_1's suggestions:
* Many institutions grant library privileges to alumni, which might include remote access to the university's online subscriptions. You might get in touch with the librarian at your alma mater and ask if they offer such a thing. (In some cases you might be required to join the alumni association and pay dues, but this would probably be on the order of US$10-$100 per year.)
* Many universities open their libraries to the public. If you live near any university or college that has appropriate subscriptions, you may be able to just walk into their library, sit down at a computer, and download the articles you want. Then just put them on a USB drive, upload them to a cloud storage account, or email them to yourself. For older articles that aren't online, the library may have them in bound volumes; they may not let you check them out, but you can photocopy or scan any article you want.
* Institutional access to subscriptions is usually based on IP address - all computers on the campus's network have access. So if you still have a computer account at your alma mater, you may be able to log into it and fetch articles through there. You may even be able to set up a proxy/tunnel/VPN or something similar to let you browse from your own computer but have requests routed through your university account. For instance, if you have a Unix shell account, this is easily done with an ssh tunnel (but the details are beyond the scope of this site).
* If you have a friend who's still a student or faculty at your alma mater or elsewhere, you could ask them to download the occasional article for you. (This is probably not helpful for your 100-paper meta-analysis, unless they're a really good friend.)
Unfortunately, as you've probably discovered, personal subscriptions are usually prohibitively expensive, and may have to be purchased individually for each journal, or at least each publisher.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: * Depending on where you are, you may have access through government-funded agencies (similar to public libraries).
E.g. in Germany, the [DFG](http://www.dfg.de/) purchases [national licenses](https://www.nationallizenzen.de/) for quite a number of journals, and you can register for that as individual (technically, it works via the university library of Frankfurt)
* Your library may be able to get the paper via inter-library loan for less than the direct purchase costs.
* Not only universities, but also research instutes have libraries. These are often connected to library networks and may have access to quite a number of journals. In my experience, even if you cannot become member of that library, it is often possible to go there and read journals they have (including making a copy) as well as download papers they have electronic access to.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: You could also check out [Academia.edu](http://www.academia.edu) which encourages users to upload papers that are then made available for free to that community.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: If you are in the UK, then you may be able to get access [through your local public library](http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/publishers-launch-free-journal-access-for-libraries/2010999.article).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I believe the answer is fairly simple here. The subscription that you may be looking for may not be a specialized article service, but rather the university itself.
Just find a university that has a good network, and register to do a course there. I believe some universities allow you to sign up for a single course, evening school or for a parttime scholarship, significantly reducing the costs.
Of course you will need to check the legal requirements, but as long as you use your access for academic research I think you should be ok.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Depending on your field, the answer can also be to join a professional organization and subscribe to their digital library. As an example from my field, members of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) can purchase an annual subscription to the digital library, with access to every paper ever published in any of their publications, for $99. I imagine other fields may have similar deals.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: A month after asking this question I randomly stumbled onto the type of solution which I was originally seeking -- open-market subscription based access to multiple journals and full-text article links from sources such as Google Scholar, PubMed, EconLit, etc.
While searching for full text access to an article on Manufactured Environmental Toxins in umbilical cords I noticed that one of the full text options was through a service called [DeepDyve](http://www.deepdyve.com/).
It claims to be the "Spotify of Academic articles" ([Spotify](https://www.spotify.com/us/) is a popular Internet radio app that lets you download and play music at will if you subscribe). Here is a [somewhat dated review](https://library.osu.edu/blogs/techtips/2009/10/29/techtip-renting-scholarly-articles-through-deepdyve/) from Ohio State's TechTip a la 2009. It's a $40/mo subscription plan for non-students like the institutional access you get within academia. I'm on a 2-week trial of it now.
Of course, I'm still going to continue to make use of many of the other good suggestions and I'm on the lookout for other services like this to select from.
**USE WITH ADDITIONAL SOLUTIONS**
In addition to the service I found, I'm taking advantage of several other solutions offered. Even with the subscription-based service there are many papers and journals to which I do not have access and the follow suggestions remain vital:
* Many papers are freely available on authors' websites, and pre-print servers (use search engine to find those).
* Write to the authors, asking for copies. Majority of academics are happy when their work is read, and will send you a copy.
* Your public library might subscribe to more than you suspect. Check it out.
* Many institutions grant library privileges to alumni, which might include remote access to the university's online subscriptions. You might get in touch with the librarian at your alma mater and ask if they offer such a thing. (In some cases you might be required to join the alumni association and pay dues, but this would probably be on the order of US$10-$100 per year.)
* Many universities open their libraries to the public. If you live near any university or college that has appropriate subscriptions, you may be able to just walk into their library, sit down at a computer, and download the articles you want. Then just put them on a USB drive, upload them to a cloud storage account, or email them to yourself. For older articles that aren't online, the library may have them in bound volumes; they may not let you check them out, but you can photocopy or scan any article you want.
**LIMITATIONS OF THIS SOLUTION**
The subscription-based service isn't a perfect solution. [@J.Zimmerman](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7921/j-zimmerman) points out that, unlike institutional access, you do not have the right to print or download papers. It's "read-only" access.
The selection of journals is quite large, but still limited. My feeling is that it directly provides access to about the same selection you'd have with most universities, but unlike universities there's no inter-library loan or other work-around for when you do not have access.
**AFTERWORD**
As I use this solution more over the course of the next few days I'll update this solution with further limitations and I'll better integrate it with the other useful solutions which have been posted. I will also take a suggestion from the comments to make this a Community Wiki solution.
Finally, I will also be on the look-out for any competing services like DeepDyve. Please update this solution if you know of any, so that we're not inadvertantly providing an advertisement for one arbitrary commercial service.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_9: It turns out that a related survey was posted this week in [this PLOS blog post on how paleontologists access the (non-open access) literature](http://blogs.plos.org/paleo/2014/09/18/paleontologists-access-non-open-access-literature/):
>
> I put together an informal, non-scientific survey. The survey asked
> questions about how people access the literature, the kinds of
> journals they can access most easily, and basic demographics. I
> advertised the survey via Twitter and Facebook. I wouldn’t count it as
> a scientific sample by any means, but I do feel that I got reasonably
> good coverage of various types of paleontologists at various types of
> institutions (as well as non-paleontologists who follow the
> literature). 115 individuals responded, during the course of about a
> week.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/22 | 555 | 2,473 | <issue_start>username_0: How do I know my results are significant enough to be published?
I am a physicist and I have found a very common mistake that appears in every paper in my area of interest. I thought it would be nice to let the people know it should be corrected. However, it is a very simple mistake, very basic math. I thought at first I could publish that as a short letter, but then I realized that I am unsure what actions the significance of the error(s) warrant.
*How do I know whether an error is important enough to write a letter to the publication's journal?*<issue_comment>username_1: You should talk to colleagues from that area of interest to check whether it actually is a mistake or maybe a common generalization that, although not perfectly correct, is still 'good' in the systems that were discussed in the papers. Also writing a mail to the authors of said papers is a better idea before writing to the journals without any cross-check.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Many journals have special formats for such remarks, usually called *comments.* Though these are usually directed at single papers, there might be journals out there which do not impose such a requirement. Also, as such requirements are not carved in stone, you might just contact the journals which published most of the papers making the mistake whether they would consider such a comment for publication.
That being said, you should ensure that the presumed mistake is really a mistake and not just notational sloppiness or a standard approximation (see [BPND’s anwer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/26242/7734)), which nobody wastes words about anymore.
Finally, you might consider to not only mention the mistake but perform and report about some research and demonstrate or estimate the negative effect of that mistake and thus increase the impact of your publication. Also, to address one of your questions: The existence of such negative effects is a good criterion for the relevance of a mistake.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is where you define yourself. There isn't a right and wrong answer to be suggested. You're helping improve the wisdom contained within the Academic Establishment itself.
Otherwise, I'd say you don't have to know. That's what the peer review process is for. But it might save you some time to use this radical tool of the Internet, whereby you can be in informal dialog with peers across the world.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/07/22 | 772 | 3,405 | <issue_start>username_0: Can one list all the people who have written letters of recommendations for him in his reference part of his CV regardless to where those recommendations are written? Or he should specially prepare his CV for the company/university including only the reference people who have written letters of recommendation for him to that company not all of the people from whom he has recommendations?<issue_comment>username_1: Edited for clarity, since the question in the title is somewhat opposite to that in the body: do *not* list all your references on your CV. Only the ones who have written or will write to that particular potential employer. To list *everyone* might give several unfortunate impressions. First, that the potential employer can contact any one of those references directly. Second, if the prospective employer has received letters from some, but not all, they may think something's wrong... and one form of this is to consider your application "incomplete", but not inform you, and you miss the opportunity.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have never included references as part of my CV and rarely seen them in CVs that I've reviewed for admissions, hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions.
CVs are a public record of your intellectual accomplishments. They are public, they are shared. They should not be tailored for jobs. See F.N.
References should be in an addendum to the cover letter or a separate file. Including them is much more of a resume practice in my experience.
F.N. some grant agencies, notably NSF, require abbreviated CVs with particular specifications. Also, some jobs such as at conservative religious institutions might warrant some straightening up of the CV, that is if you would want the position. Otherwise, in principle your CV is not a tailored document.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There is certainly no reason that you should *every person who has ever written you a letter of recommendation on your CV!*
I have seen people who are on the job market list letter writers for *their in-process job search* on their CV. This seems harmless, but also unnecessary. The people who need to know who your letter writers will outline ways for you to communicate this to you (e.g., through a web form, through a list of letter writers, in the cover letter, or simply by seeing who sends in letters). It is normal to list your letter writers in your cover letter or, as requested in many job searches, in a document which contains the list of letter writers and their contact information. It simply does not need to be in the CV.
Letters of recommendations, like other letters, are from the recommender to another person. They are *about you*, but they are not *for you*, and their mere existence is not something that belongs on your CV.
You touch on the reason why in your question. The fact that somebody was willing to write a letter (which might have been glowing, luke-warm, or even critical!) does not mean that they would write a letter again today, or that they would write the letter same letter for a different position. If I have not talked to the student in 10 years, I would not write a letter for a start undergraduate who has since graduated with a PhD and is applying for tenure track jobs. The student may be great but my ability to sing their praises is not longer relevant.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/22 | 330 | 1,244 | <issue_start>username_0: A publication I submitted to said that I need to include a biography in the paper. I don't have many formal qualifications, aside from my degree. I have done my research on my own, and am unaffiliated. What can I put in the biography?<issue_comment>username_1: If you don't have strong qualifications or your own research history it is best to focus on your interests and goals. Think about these questions:
* What have you done?
* What are you doing now?
* What do you want to do in the future?
* Why is this publication important to you?
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I would check a few articles of the journal you publish in and look at what other author are putting in their biography.
Mostly it will be about your degrees (BSc, MSc, PhD, when and where), the field of research you are interested in and what is your current occupation. In summary you can state anything that shows your experitise in the subject you are discussing in the paper.
If no one but yourself paid you for the research, you can state it like:
>
> beside a job as *your paying job* he/she is working on *paper subject*
>
>
>
or
>
> Since *date* has been working on *paper subject*
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/23 | 608 | 2,735 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a PhD student working on a research project consisting of 2 teams. My team (team A) is on the practical side, we provide the problems related to our research and evaluate the theoretical solutions provided by the other team (team B).
Few months ago, I had an idea related to the work of team B and thought it would help to improve the quality of our research. I raised it during our project meeting but everyone was not interested and decided not to pursue it further. So, I decided to do it by myself. As the research was not in my supervisor's research interest as well, he did not pay much attention to it but still encouraged me to do it and publish a paper if possible. I occasionally gave him a brief progress update.
My effort paid off. I manage to publish a paper (in which I am the only author) and am planning to apply it into the project. At the recent meeting, members of team B were furious and accused me of bad teamwork as I did not inform them while working on something related to the project, especially when the idea belonged to their work, not mine.
I wonder if they are right and I should inform them my research, even though they were not interested at the beginning.<issue_comment>username_1: Congratulations on publishing a paper in the face of a lack of initial interest from Team B and your supervisor. That shows valuable tenacity.
I think, however, that you should have informed Team B as your work progressed, and certainly before publication. It is quite likely that you would have convinced members of Team B of the value of your work over time, and perhaps been able to involve one or more of Team B in your research.
From Team B's perspective, you have encroached on their territory, and published a paper which perhaps they feel they should have had a hand in (read: been co-authors of). Keeping all your team members informed of your work is good practice. Whether they should have been included as co-authors on your paper is a matter of your own publication policies.
Did Team A know about your work?
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If they weren't interested when you brought it up initially, then they are in no place to cast judgment after you published it. This is, of course, based off of the fact that you brought it clearly to their attention from the beginning. You have no reasonable moral responsibility to keep updating them on it, especially as it starts to gain traction.
They should only be mentioned if you gained specific knowledge that you otherwise would not have had without them from the beginning, but this is ignoring the fact that they initially rejected the idea.
Congratulations on your publication.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/23 | 392 | 1,822 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an Electronics & Communication Engineer and I want to pursue a masters degree. After completing the degree, I would like to work in industry with zero inclination towards a PhD.
I am considering two institutions and two possible specializations (e.g., VLSI vs. Signal Processing). I prefer one institution over the other because of its general reputation, faculty, placements, and lab facilities. I prefer one specialization over the other because of personal preference, prior knowledge in the specialization field, type of possible jobs, and placements in the specialization field.
Suppose I am offered acceptance into the more-preferred specialization at my less-preferred university, and the less-preferred specialization at my more-preferred university.
Which option will better position me for my eventual goal, of completing the masters degree and getting a job in industry? Which criteria is more important in choosing a masters program, the institution or the specialization?<issue_comment>username_1: If your interest is in "industry," I'd choose a school based on the institution. Most employers look at that as the "headline," and often "gloss over" the actual content of the degree.
If your interest was in research, I'd go the other way and emphasize "specialization." Because that is what research is basically about.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: i would recommend specialization primarily because better knowledge of the subject and personal preference will most likely yield better results and though the institution name is a factor for job applications, being the best at what you do will always tramp the good reputation of an institution (this is my opinion IF the job supply in both areas of expertise is pretty much the same)
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/23 | 379 | 1,625 | <issue_start>username_0: I graduated with a B.S. in statistics earlier this year and have been working as an actuary for the past two months. In all honesty, I'm not very happy with the job position in the little amount of time I've been working at it. I am very close to becoming a credentialed actuary (ASA for those of you who have heard of it) and anticipate making a decision on whether or not I should leave later this year.
*My dream is to become an actuarial science professor.* **I am really wondering whether I should pursue graduate school in statistics or just stick it out until I get a decade or so of experience (as every other actuarial professor I've seen has done)**.
I do realize that the Actuarial Outpost exists, but typically, actuaries tend to discourage people who want to pursue Ph.D. degrees.<issue_comment>username_1: If your interest is in "industry," I'd choose a school based on the institution. Most employers look at that as the "headline," and often "gloss over" the actual content of the degree.
If your interest was in research, I'd go the other way and emphasize "specialization." Because that is what research is basically about.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: i would recommend specialization primarily because better knowledge of the subject and personal preference will most likely yield better results and though the institution name is a factor for job applications, being the best at what you do will always tramp the good reputation of an institution (this is my opinion IF the job supply in both areas of expertise is pretty much the same)
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/23 | 3,234 | 13,345 | <issue_start>username_0: Many people, including myself, are fascinated by [TED](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TED_%28conference%29) speakers. They provide us a new perspective. For example, see the TED talk *[The best stats you've ever seen](http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen)* by [<NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Rosling).
However, when I talked about this to an anthropologist, he said that the statistics in this TED talk are unverifiable. He suggested that the speaker doesn't give us his sources, so therefore the talk is no longer a scientific talk. As a result, he suggested, real scientists are clever enough to stay away from these presentations.
Do TED talks have the necessary rigor and foundation to be citable in papers and other "scholarly" publications?<issue_comment>username_1: [TED talks](http://www.ted.com/) are for popularizing ideas in science, technology and arts, as emphasized in their tagline:
>
> Ideas worth spreading.
>
>
>
Very often they are a nice starting point to get interested into a certain idea and they serve as a general food for thought.
However, don't treat them as revelations, since:
* they are not comprehensive (in 5-20 min you can't give a comprehensive introduction to anything (some things require hours to explain, others - years of studies); moreover, if a talk is for the popular audience (as in case for TED talks), many crucial details need to be simplified or dropped),
* it is not rare that the presented idea is not considered mainstream (they do value originality; sometimes minority ideas can turn out to be a gold seam, which needs audience, in other cases it may turn out to be incorrect or inconclusive).
So, if you want to use the content of TED talks for anything beyond discussions over a beer, do consult other sources (e.g. scientific papers by the authors and check if the they are recognized in their field).
Also, very often checking out a relevant Wikipedia page gives insight into the status of a given view (is it present at all? is it disputed? is it this year's discovery or does it date back to ancient times?).
Or, as you did, asking experts (sure, they can be wrong too, but at least can be more objective than in a 15 min pitch).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Let us work out the following analogy: TED as a journal, Talk as a published article.
When one meets a questionable article with unverified claims, they may of course doubt the conclusions. A usual thing to do then is to write back to the Journal and raise your concerns to them. The Editor may possibly come back to author inviting them to write an erratum explaining / correcting / substantiating the conclusions of the Paper. This process is known as "scientific discussion" and is a blood flood of academia.
As long as the Journal maintains and empowers such procedure, I would see it as a completely trustworthy source, despite occasional mistakes and errors in published articles, which are probably inevitable in real life.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Not exactly an answer to the question, but I'd just like to correct a factual error in the question.
>
> The speaker doesn't give us his sources, therefore the talk is no
> longer be a scientific talk.
>
>
>
The time limit on TED talk probably prevents the speakers from disclosing all sources. I cannot speak for all of them, but at least for <NAME> (the one featured in your question), all the data source he uses are listed [here](http://www.gapminder.org/data/).
>
> he said that these statistics are unverifiable
>
>
>
This, I agree. Even sources are disclosed, we may not know if the sampling is well designed and executed, or if the measurement techniques are the most accurate. Some more exploration on our own in the data providers' site is perhaps necessary.
>
> And the real scientists are clever enough to stay away these bullshit
> presentations.
>
>
>
To be honest, I feel that your anthropologist seems no better. It takes only a few clicks to verify the data source, and yet instead of doing that, he/she decided to call the talk "bullshit." I'd recommend you to be more careful about what he/she has to say on all other "scientific matters." Better to verify them yourself.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I think you are asking two slightly different questions at the same time:
1. “Are TED speakers and their ideas credible? (as in "likely to be correct")” I'd say yes, since TED's process for inviting speakers is at least as strict as that of many scientific publications. Most TED speakers are invited to speak at TED because they've become renowned scientists through their peer-reviewed publications.
2. “Are TED talks scientific (as in "usable to base your own science on")?” Here the answer is definitely "no", for the reasons you mentioned: they lack the information needed to be independently verifiable.
Note that this does not mean that their content is wrong or unscientific; it just means that the talks are incomplete from a scientific point of view, and thus not by themselves verifiable. But most TED presenters will previously have published the findings they present at TED in a regular peer-review scientific publication in a scientific format.
The bottom line is: you should treat TED talks like you should treat Wikipedia: use it to quickly understand new and interesting concepts. But before you actually apply one of these concepts, verify them using scientific literature.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: TED is Technology, Entertainment, and Design. While speakers may use science to illustrate their topic, and may be presenting some or all of a scientific presentation, this is not a venue intended to disseminate scientific information.
Like Wikipedia, TED might be a place to provide pointers to the people, papers, and research that is ongoing in a specific area, but you should rarely find that the talk itself is a good source of scientific information. Generally such talks are snippets from experts, and what you really want is the expert or paper being discussed, not the discussion itself.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: I can only speak to my area of expertise (chemistry). That being said, some of the few TED talks on chemistry are "far-out," to put it politely.
For example, in this [talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/lee_cronin_making_matter_come_alive) (from 2011), the speaker proposes creating artificial (by that I mean inorganic-based, not the Craig Venter sort of thing) life (an idea that has been [pursued for decades](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment)) in two years (skip to 14:00 for the Q/A). Needless to say, we still don't have artificial life (which is probably a good thing).
Even optimistic experts agree we are many decades from approaching an understanding of how life emerges from a network of chemical reactions.
In this context, I feel that TED talks offer anything from fantasy to reproducible scientific "fact" (or the closest thing to it), depending largely on the speaker (what their goals are) and what's "marketable" to the TED audience.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: So for a concrete case to consider, the first statistics Rosling presents are about relative child mortality rate in 5 selected pairs of countries. The second are the result of a small informal test of his own students' knowledge of the first.
I don't think it takes an anthropologist to analyse whether Rosling's numbers are verifiable or not. He certainly does not provide evidence in the TED talk that they are correct, in that sense they clearly are not verifiable from the talk. If that's what your friend means then fair enough. A TED talk is *not* an academic publication.
I'm not aware that the field of anthropology rejects *in principle* the notion of child mortality being a real thing. So Rosling's comparisons could be checked against other sources. It would not be appropriate to cite Rosling in a paper if you needed a source for the relative child mortality rates of those pairs of countries. You would go to WHO and/or national medical reporting, and pay close attention to their methodologies. In that sense they can be checked, and either verified or falsified. Will your friend give you long odds that Rosling has those pairs of countries in the right order according to WHO or his preferred source? Thought not ;-)
Rosling also hasn't really demonstrated anything about the state of knowledge of Swedish students, although the insinuation is that he has. He (serious-jokingly) says that there's a role for him to teach them something. His small trial is sufficient to support his small claim. His methodology is simple and obvious enough that the test is repeatable with other groups. There's no problem of fundamental science here. I don't know (and I don't think it matters) whether he's ever published on that particular result, but it's probably never appropriate to cite *because it's such a limited and specific claim of no general interest*. And might be cherry-picked.
Next he shows off his visualization software. The important thing to note here is that this is not an attempt to publish academic conclusions on fertility or life expectancy. He's using UN data (about which a great deal has been written elsewhere), to motivate the use of a particular tool, to combat what he believes are out-of-date general intuitions about that data. His hurried narration makes no scientific claims beyond the fact that a large group of what would be called "developing" countries used to have high fertility and low life expectancy, and now don't. And that AIDS reduced life expectancy in Africa. Neither of those is really controversial enough to really warrant further justification in this context: like the comparisons between pairs of countries it just provides something for you to go away and look up if you want serious corroboration.
There is nothing really to verify or falsify beyond his claim that anyone holds this intuition about developing countries in the first place. That is substantial, it's presented as novel and, even worse than his informal student study, he doesn't quantify it, let alone support it. He's not properly publishing a scientific conclusion, but then I'm not persuaded that he's pretending to.
And so on. In the next comparison US vs. Vietnam, I think he says "by the end of the year" when he means "by the end of the decade". Slip of the tongue, should *never* be allowed to stand in a carefully produced, copy-edited, reviewed scientific publication, but there it is. So in a sense, no, public speaking is not credible *at all* since such errors are far more common. In another sense, does this mean there's something wrong with public speaking?
One cannot cite (or even trust) the content of a TED talk as if it were the content of a peer-reviewed journal. TED doesn't do that. Neither is there AFAIK any fact-checking other than what the speaker does or arranges. You can treat the content of TED talks the same way as you'd treat the content of any public address by that speaker. So if you were writing a paper that for some reason needed to know what Rosling specifically says in public, then using his TED talk as a source might be reasonable. Otherwise, not so much, but then why would you want to?
>
> the talk is no longer a scientific talk, and the real scientists are clever enough to stay away from these presentations
>
>
>
I think that's akin to saying that TV documentaries are not scientific talks and real scientists are clever enough to stay away from them. It's true that TV documentaries are not journal articles. It's true that there can be fakery and stupidity in their vicinity. However I don't think it's true that *no* real, clever scientist can get involved. They must distinguish the activities of "publishing research" and "popular education", and avoid claiming that one is the other, or applying the standards of one to the other.
TED talks are as credible as the individual speaker. The fact that TED has "chosen" them should lend no authority at all but probably, unfortunately, does. As for the credibility of TED as a forum, I don't recall what wit here in the UK observed that the country has very many people who would turn down an honour in principle, but tragically are never offered one. I suspect the same may be true of TED -- there are various reasons you might not want to do it, among them that the content of the talks tends to be over-trusted by people who enjoy TED and its speakers. These reasons are not universally applicable, and in any case apply most strongly to those who won't be invited.
Aside from giving talks, experts in the field might choose to watch or not watch the presentation on the same basis they choose any popular presentation of their field. On the one hand they might be interested to know what outsiders are hearing. They might enjoy the speaker. On the other hand, what are they going to learn? Everything shown will be either commonplace in their field or else the specific and perhaps controversial views of the speaker, that an expert could better assess by reading their publications than by seeing the simplified popular version.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/23 | 966 | 4,515 | <issue_start>username_0: Some of the students are doing research in another language than English because they are living and studying in a non-English speaking country; they may be doing research in their mother-tongue language because they are studying in their own country or they are studying in another country in which the language is not English.
If these students have non-English language publications which are published or sent to a non-English conference/journal; Do these publications still have the same value in their CV when they are going to send it to an English speaking university/company? Or only publications in English are of value in those institutions.
PS: I think the situation is easier for the students having English publications in their CVs and want to send it to a non-English speaking university/company as they welcome and accept those publications.<issue_comment>username_1: In an academic mathematics context: it's not a question of English itself, neither of the paper itself nor of the journal, but of the reputation of the journal. At the very least, French, German, English, and Russian are languages in which there is a very well established mathematics literature. I think all the better mathematics journals accept submissions in English, French, and German, at least.
It is true that perhaps one's paper will have the widest readership these days if it is in English, although 40 years ago anyone learning mathematics had to learn to read French and German, perhaps more than English, because the previous 150 years' mathematics was written primarily in those languages.
It is nevertheless possible that a very provincial situation or person would have a prejudice about non-English (or non-whatever) research papers or journals, and there is little one can do to guard against this.
It may also be the case that there simply are very few high-reputation journals published in "minor" languages, and this may be tangled up with the difficulty of readership. I do regret that I never learned Russian well enough to read mathematics in it. Similarly, there are many important mathematical papers published in Japanese in Japan, and I cannot read them. I would not be surprised to learn that the same is true in China, but I cannot personally certify this.
But any reasonable scholar would certainly recognize the *possibility* that a good paper can be written in a language other than English. The question of its inaccessibility if written in a language not widely used in the subject at hand is different. Perhaps one could wonder about the *wisdom* of writing in a not-widely-read language, but, again, that's different from the science itself.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Non-English publications will have significantly lower value in terms of reputation. This is because their target audience is usually very limited (often to a single country), while the target audience for English publications is usually the whole world. Thus, the reviewers of an non-English publication are likely to not be as good as for a typical English publication (since they were chosen from a far smaller pool of experts), and thus your publication may not have been evaluated as thoroughly. It also means that the number of rivals for acceptance was far lower than for international English papers, suggesting an overall lower quality of your publication.
Note that these points hold even if the audience of your CV actually speaks the language the publications were written in.
If - additionally - your CV audience does not even understand the language the publication was written in, then the value of these publications is even lower, as your audience cannot directly evaluate the quality of your contributions. In this case they may opt to use numerical metrics to evaluate either you (e.g. based on the `h-index`) or the journal/conference you published at (e.g. based on the `impact factor`), or they may decide to ignore non-English publications entirely. In my opinion, the latter is far more likely.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Of course they have value. If the journal or conference is not widely known in the country of the person reading the CV, then that person might find it hard to tell *how much* value to place on the publication. But you have two options: either you leave the publication off your CV and you're guaranteed to get no value from it, or you put it on your CV and get at least some value from it.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/23 | 1,585 | 7,037 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a student who graduated with a Master from a German university in April this year, ***majored in materials science***, willing to further pursue a PHD degree in a European university (or possibly a university in the USA if I can not get anything in the EU). I have already applied to a certain amount of universities´ PHD studentship programs.
I admit that there hardly are positions exactly fitting the thesis work and research activity I had in my Master study program, because materials science is a very diverse and gargantuan subject. Each different university has its own research preference and inclination. Sometimes you may say you can find between 20%-40% overlap with your past experiences, including the similarity of research content, or the techniques being used. So I tried to apply to all of them, the replies were mostly like this: "You can not fit the best of criteria.." It has been several months, there is still no slight improvement of my application.
My GPA is 3.4/4 (no publications so far), but according to the PhD advertisements I have viewed, some universities have rules about the basic grade requirement you need to have for PhD enrollment, some do not have. The universities I had finished my Master and Bachelor study have certain reputation in their own region or country. My Master degree is Master of science(M.Sc.), Master thesis is about metal-oxide nanostructures synthesis and its application (basically using different approach trying and trying again, compare the final results), on the one hand I am afraid of the simple and even boring thesis work could give people wrong impression about my research experiences that is poor and rudimentary, Professor will have some doubts about whether I am truly quantifying to do some sophisticated PhD work, on the other hand, if I stick to doing metal-oxide fabrication research or related in my PhD study, you need to have solid background in chemistry, which also is what I am lack of.
Unfortunately I do not have too much contact with my professor (thesis advisor) except having some discusses related to my Master thesis, because our group is very big one and each PhD student is responsible for supervising master students for their thesis work, so Professor could have time and energy doing other things, I only asked my professor for recommendation letter once, maybe I also need his suggestion about my applications.
After I have accepted some rejected letters, I started to think which kind of project could fit my profile, not only I can be accepted by them but I can also enjoy my project and stretch my muscle, doing some useful in materials science field.
Sometimes I am confounded by various projects and their fancy names offered in the webpages, and do not know what to do next. but I still have a dream about one day I could leave my fingerprints on the TEM machine and my thoughts on the scientific papers.***If you are a PHD student (have successful application experiences) majored in materials science or related area, I kindly ask for suggestion (any suggestion and any opinions will be useful to me).***<issue_comment>username_1: As for the question in your title (which originally was: "Is it really that difficult finding a funded PHD position?") the answer is it depends on the field and the country. As an engineer, in countries with a well-developed industry, the job opportunities for graduates outside academia are good, thus diminishing the competition for PhD positions. This being said, a grad student is not just hired to lay bricks because there is a wall to be built. It represents a substantial investment for professors who will thus rather have no student than a not-so-good one.
To the point, previous experience in the specific field of the PhD study is almost never a requirement, so I doubt it's the limiting factor in your case. Your grades might be though, or your written english proficiency, but these are guesses.
I think your strategy might be inefficient. From your text it sounds like you sent a large number of applications and are waiting for someone to bite the bait. A personal interaction with people in the labs you are interested in would be a better approach, for example via an internship or a visit, if you can afford it.
So I would narrow it down to a few places where you really would like to work, gather the reasons why you like them, and start establishing a contact via email, say what you like about their approach or research topic and how you think you could fit in. They will then be able to let you know what is needed to be accepted in the graduate program (note that you will still have to comply to the department, university or graduate school requirements in order to be accepted).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I am surprised there has been no mention of your Master's thesis advisor. Judging from my humble experience, your advisor's support can be *very* important for finding your next position.
This support could come from their scientific network (e.g. by establishing contact to a group you want to apply to), writing letters of recommendation, or even just looking over your CV and cover letter. They will know better what a “good” application should look like in your field.
Of course, all that is assuming that you have a good working relationship to your advisor. If not, maybe another professor / experienced researcher would be prepared to help you. You say you already graduated in April, so I do not know how much contact there has been since then …
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You yourself know what you are falling short of! You have specified yourself about your interests, your research work till today and expectations. You would score an accept letter if you apply to a PhD position that better suits your profile and your future expectations! It is like finding a job. You cannot be a doctor if you studied history!
Yes, PhD admission is competitive. It depends on you whether to make it difficult or easy. The PhD programmes are looking for researchers who deserve to be in that place, not for random people asking for acceptance. Your graduate advisor might help with the selection and application. The PhD supervisors during your MS thesis, might also be good guides. Identify the weaknesses of your profile and improve them before you fall into the abyss of rejection into PhD!
Wish you the best!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Mostly depends on your GRE score (if below 1000, try again), and your letter of intent. Add those up with some good recommendation letters and it should not that hard to get a scholarship (unless you are aiming for top 10 schools).
The topic of your MSc is not the limiting factor, looking at your courses list, they should get an idea of your background and educational knowledge. Maybe it is good to contact the professors that you are interested in first, and afterwards let them know that you will apply. Worked for me.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/23 | 940 | 3,636 | <issue_start>username_0: I am finalising a paper that is around 85 pages long. It consists of six main sections with a bunch of subsections. Should every subsection start on a new page? What is the convention concerning this? And should a subject also start on a new page after an introductory paragraph of its parent section? For instance:
---
>
> 3. Balloons are funny
>
>
> In this section I will first present reasons why balloons should not be used on occasions that are depressing. For
> instance, bringing balloons to a funeral will not cheer people up.
> Secondly I will discuss different colours that can lead to different
> reactions. As an example one should not bring red balloons to a bull
> pen. Lastly I will make clear why clowns should always have balloons
> with them as to not come across evil.
>
>
>
> >
> > <-- PAGE BREAK? -->
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> 3.1 Balloons are not a go-to cheer up tool
>
>
> When confronted with a sad or depression situation, a first reaction might be to try and
> cheer everybody up. One should be careful with the methods he uses
> though. Do not tell a joke about cancer patients if someone just
> deceased after months of chemo. Do not bring balloons to a funeral.
>
>
>
---
Hopefully this ad lib writing makes my question clear. (If it is any help, my institution uses APA as a style guide.)<issue_comment>username_1: Depending on the length and complexity of the work, you choose the top level sectioning.
* For **short works** -- scientific paper, lecture notes < 80 pages, etc., you in general use only **sections** and lower.
* For longer works -- thesis, long lecture notes, books, etc., you in general use **chapters**, **sections** and lower.
* If your **long work has multiple sort-of separated parts,** you can add **parts** -- notice, however, that usually, part numbering is independent. Therefore for instance Part I contains chapters 1, 2, 3 with some sections, and Part II contains chapers starting from 4, ...
Now, the standard way to go is to start parts and chapters on a new page, and leave sections running through the pages.
Needed to say, most standard publications (articles, conference abstracts, theses, books by standard publishers, ...) have to comply with some guidelines provided by the publisher, and these guidelines are usually very restrictive.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In general, publishers (e.g., books, journal articles) and universities (e.g., theses) have style guides. They vary in the degree to which they provide comprehensive recommendations (e.g., about exactly when to insert a new page). In the absence of any style guide from the publisher, or where the style guide does not provide direction, many disciplines have style guides (e.g., APA style). And beyond that, you can probably infer rules from conventions or use common sense about clarity.
Here are some general rules that I have seen regarding page breaks:
* Chapters start on new pages. This is true whether it is a book or a thesis.
* Sections of a journal article or chapter rarely start on a new page either at submission stage or in the final formatted manuscript.
In APA Style, when you are preparing a manuscript for journal submission. Abstract, Introduction, References, Appendices, Tables, and Figures all start on new pages. Other subsections (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion, etc.) do not start on new pages. Note these rules (particularly regarding tables and figures) are different when preparing an APA style thesis (e.g., tables and figures would typically be presented in text and not on new pages).
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/23 | 718 | 2,825 | <issue_start>username_0: While it is generally accepted to write papers using the collective we, what is a common practice for writing peer-reviews: I, this reviewer, or something else?
For example,
>
> This reviewer has a minor concern with how pink elephants are defined in this paper. It would have been helpful if authors defined an elephant first, and then added the color pink.
>
>
>
>
> I have a minor concern with how pink elephants are described in this paper. My recommendation is to define an elephant first, and then add the color pink.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: If you're writing a review that will be read only by the editor, you can use "I", but if you want to simplify the editor's life by giving them something to cut-and-paste, or forward, to the author:
In English, in mathematics at least, the contemporary style for publicly-consumed reviews seems to be to refer to oneself, the reviewer, as "this reviewer". Thus, "in the opinion of this reviewer...", "this reviewer cannot understand why the author is so dense..." :)
There are some observable exceptions, where a reviewer is enough of a big-shot to not merely "suggest" that the author has erred, but to be snarky about it, and in either first person, or an exaggerated third-person. My own opinion is that it is not nice to do this. That is, a forthright voice is best, and choice of voice not depending on status is tasteful.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I recommend the first person. Like most good linguistic constructions, the reader passes over it without explicitly noticing it, whereas your first construction with "this reviewer" holds up the entire mental process for a split second.
[The idea of](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/26311) using the third person to "soften" the criticism: well, <NAME> knows how much I esteem him, and we usually see eye-to-eye on things. But this time I simply disagree. The reviewer is empowered -- nay, enjoined -- to supply an opinion on the work. If you want to shade your opinion, explain very carefully and explicitly why you are doing that. Switching to the third person should not convey that you are less sure of yourself, and it does not convey that to my ear.
[Imagine my answer began with "This academic". Wouldn't that have been more distracting?]
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I have a third take on the issue: this is not about the reviewer nor the author, is about the work and as such, I think that it should be the subject of the sentence:
>
> The paper could benefit from a redefinition of pink elephants, possibly defining elephants in general at first and then by adding the color pink
>
>
>
In my opinion this has the benefit of making the review less personal and make it come through as more objective.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/24 | 515 | 2,110 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm looking for an M.S. in Computer Science and I found it difficult to properly navigate all the available degrees. I'm interested in a particular focus (computer graphics, not modelling and that kind of stuff but how to do use algorithms in order to create graphics). I also have some constraints on language: I currently speak both Dutch and English, so no German or French master's for me.
There are other questions on this site about [finding graduate programs](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5300/methods-for-finding-graduate-programs-for-specific-areas-of-research) and [their curriculums](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19732/where-to-find-curriculum-for-a-specific-program), but I'm mainly looking for quick preselection (like a top 30 of options I have). I'm looking for a overview of courses as it enables quick elimination which if I have to wait for each uni to answer will take quite a long time
Is there any website or other online resource that will allow me to filter all M.S. programs by my requirements (language or country, research focus) and then find out information (such as the list of courses that comprise the degree) about the programs that meet my criteria, all in one place?<issue_comment>username_1: The most useful I found (which also helped me finding one for me) is [Find a masters](http://www.findamasters.com/search/courses.aspx?DID=5).
It does let you select a country of your choice, provides a summary of program where courses list, research focus and other things important are mentioned.
It also lets you filter by program type (Dip, Cert or degree), by study plan (part time, full time etc) and more.
Lastly, it also provides a link to university website so you can go there easily for complete details if you like the description.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Have a look at this site [study in us](http://studyn.us)
They are still in early stages but have most of the information you need.
You can filter the colleges based on your requirements and find more details about each college.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/24 | 951 | 4,079 | <issue_start>username_0: My PhD Supervisor asked me to submit one of my work at an upcoming International Conference. He is amongst the program committee members. I was having a look at its committee members, the Advisory committee etc. It boasts of researchers from reputed Universities- with some of them quite well established (I know some of them personally). Further, the conference is happening for the 6th time.
However I found it quite strange that they are organizing the conference without any branding of IEEE/ACM etc. behind them. The proceedings of the conference will be compiled on a CD-ROM. This obviously means that if my paper gets accepted there, it is not going to be archived with IEEE-xplore or ACM digital library. Google may index it because they *may* put the PDFs on the conference's website, but that PDF exists only as long as the website for the conference exists.
The question in my mind: Is such a publication *bad* for a PhD student? If I put this work on my CV, nobody can find it on the Internet (except on my personal website or archived on arXiv). Then where is the **credibility** that work was actually peer-reviewed and published at an International Conference?
And what about **copyright** issues? The website says nothing of it. These are a group of researchers from different parts of the world coming together to organize a conference. There is no organization like ACM or IEEE behind them. So I am assuming that the issue of copyright transfers may never arise. Does that mean I can submit this work to other venues as well (since exclusive copyright are never transferred)?
Truly speaking, the only reasons I am going for it is because (1) my Supervisor wants me to, and (2) selected high-quality papers will get the opportunity to submit extended versions to special issue of a SCI journal (which is great for me!).
p.s.: In case it matters: until the past year, it was being organized as a 'workshop'. This is the first time they are calling it a conference and have a Journal extension.
p.p.s: My field is Computer Science.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that is very field-dependent. In my field there are two conferences that are not affiliated with IEEE. They are both small, highly-specialized, and very prestigious to get your papers in. One of them does publish the proceedings in a book with a highly-reputable publisher, the other one publishes the papers online only. Still, they are well-known and well-regarded in the field.
The bottom line is that you need to know your field. It certainly might be a red-flag, but not necessarily. The conference is as strong as its PC and its acceptance criteria.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Not being affiliated with an organization such as the IEEE or ACM is not, on its own, a bad sign. For example, what is currently the [IEEE Conference on Computational Complexity](http://computationalcomplexity.org/) has decided to end its affiliation with the IEEE and go solo; the [Symposium on Computational Geometry](http://makingsocg.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/results-of-the-vote/) likewise just left ACM. STACS is also unaffiliated.
It's not great if the proceedings are *only* distributed on CD. On the other hand, if you're already going to be preparing a journal version (and you should!), that will completely supersede any conference version, anyway. I would never read a conference version ("extended abstract") of a paper if a full version was available: in my area (theoretical CS), the conference version generally has the proofs missing and the peer review isn't very rigorous.
STACS publishes proceedings through Dagstuhl, which is basically a computer science conference centre in Germany and has close links to DBLP. In this case, copyright is retained by the authors. Note that, regardless of who owns the copyright, most CS conferences won't accept papers which have either appeared at another conference with published proceedings or have been submitted to such a conference. You don't get to double-dip your papers.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/07/24 | 628 | 2,667 | <issue_start>username_0: I want my thesis to be the best it possibly can be. My supervisor is away for one month right before my thesis submission. Is it inappropriate or poor etiquette to ask another professor in the field who has shown interest in the topic to read the paper and offer any suggestions? This other professor teaches at a different institution, and will not be part of the panel or defence process.<issue_comment>username_1: If you have an existing relationship with this professor, you could ask, but be prepared to hear "sorry, I don't have time".
If this professor is a stranger to you, this is probably an unreasonable request.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I would ask the other professor, but I would phrase it in a way that makes it clear that I'm not expecting them to proofread the entire thesis. Perhaps you could say something like "You expressed an interest in my research, so I wanted to give you a draft of my thesis. Perhaps it might be of interest to you or one of your students. And of course, If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them." They probably will read it and give you some comments, but they won't feel under pressure to do so.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If the other professor has expressed his interest in reading your thesis and is willing to do it, I don't see why not. It is better to have someone read your work out of interest rather than obligation. But it is also a good idea to let your supervisor know about it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I depends what that "lack of knowledge" means:
* is it an attempt to hide the fact? Then it is fishy
* or just "I will not bother my supervisor with this".
I have been on all the sides of this situation.
As a student I did not tell my supervisor that I was showing my thesis to someone else because I knew he would not care to know and would have encouraged me to do so (to get comments, ideas, ...). He was an excellent supervisor: present and active when I needed him and siding away when I was moving full speed ahead, sometimes against his recommendations. When one of these "without his recommendation" ("against" is maybe too strong a word) turned out to be a good idea he wrote himself off the paper I was publishing (he was second author) because he said he was not convinced at the time and that I should get all the praise. I am glad I met him.
I was also asked several times to have a look at a thesis. To be frank I never thought of asking the student whether his supervisor was OK or not with that because I did not think about the possibility of being against (and the associated reason).
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/24 | 2,141 | 8,825 | <issue_start>username_0: **Background:** I started my Ph.D two and half years ago in engineering/computer science field. I was pushed by my supervisor into a direction which he thought would be good (He switched directions and he knows nothing about the field, just because there were better prospects for getting grants). I never felt connected to the field and he never received any grants to study it.
I switched a year ago to a subject that I feel passionate about and started reading lots of literature. I have done some work and submitted (rejected at first, resubmitted and waiting).
So now I have completed 2.5 years in the program and no publications at all. I even find it very hard to find new novel ideas in my field as it is been actively researched for 10 years and it seems to me as if almost everything is already done but that is a different issue.
I am afraid I won't get enough publications in time before the Ph.D time limit expires.
**Question:**
Is it normal to be 2.5 years into Ph.D and have no publications?<issue_comment>username_1: One word.
**Yes !**
It is absolutely normal. I am a doctoral student in, what is arguably a top 5 CS department/top 5 HCI program in the USA.
Although, I had a handful of publications ***before*** I started my doctoral program, my first "real" paper (in a top flight venue) with my adviser was published more than 2.5 years after I joined the program. I had published a couple of workshop papers/posters in those years with ***other graduate students*** but the acceptance rates for them, even in highly ranked conferences, are pretty high so that doesn't really account for much. These had nothing to do with my dissertation but were just some side projects that we did.
Most of my colleagues and friends/acquaintances in similar programs in similar universities were in similar situations in that time. It takes time to read literature, come up with a compelling and important research question, design a study/prototype/system/algorithm, write the paper and most importantly, get it published.
Do not be disheartened. The quality of papers matter, not the quantity when it comes to being evaluated by search committees.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I would say it can be normal to have no publications until you're done with your PhD, and then your dissertation counts as your publication. There's nothing wrong with having no publications beforehand. These are often obsessions for university Deans and perhaps Admin, but they are not directly connected with the pursuit of knowledge or a Doctor of Philosophy.
In other words one can pursue knowledge without publishing anything. Further, a lessor degree does not say that you are ready to publish and contribute your own work to the corpus of the Establishment -- that SHOULD be saved until after you are rewarded the degree. The degree then acts as a badge you've earned as a member of the community.
Save publications for your career. Better to focus on making your PhD count for something, so that when you do get the award, you have something real to contribute to centuries of knowledge accumulation in Academe.
[Edit: for those arguing that it's accepted practice to dilute the publishing industry to meet your program's requirements, why don't you solicit your University to start the *Journal for "Paper's Required towards my PhD"*.]
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, it's definitely normal.
It can take time to find the topic that's close to your heart. Once you find a topic that motivates you, the publications will flow.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I wouldn't say it is normal, I would say it is not *that* big of a problem, but certainly not desirable.
It would be good for you to push harder and try to publish *good articles* now. And it seems you are already on this path.
I finished my phd with only one conference paper, and that was far from ideal and it did get in the way, a little...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: My impression is that "in the olden days", it was normal that the PhD thesis was the first publishable research one produced. But as academia became more and more competitive, many advisers became aware of the fact that for their students to be considered "doing well", they should publish before the end of their PhD. Some people publish preliminary results of their PhD research, only to quote them later in their thesis.
I would say that at a broad range of universities, advisers are looking to help graduate students publish as soon as possible. (But most advisers also know that giving a publication "for free" doesn't help develop the research attitude of the student.)
Still, I've seen in various places the practice of letting a student carry out some easy calculation, which becomes part of a more advanced paper, which the student may not actually fully understand. But still the student is listed as co-author. This is supposed to prepare the student for "research" and it may be considered part of the "learning experience" to present this paper at seminars or conferences.
In this way some Master's students have a (usually joint) publication with their adviser (and possibly other students). In particular, this means that, by year 2.5 of their PhD they have at least 1 or 2 papers.
This practice seems to be common enough for interviewers to not even ask about joint publications of graduate students (maybe unless they are in top journals). (I've been interviewed for funding and my interviewer asked me "So, I saw on your CV that you have a singly-authored paper..." ignoring my B-grade journal joint publication.)
In that way "The System" knows about smart advisers. Now, advisers are trying to help students prepare singly-authored papers (or "first-authored" papers, depending on the field). The motivational barrier is now much higher, of course, since the adviser won't be listed as co-author. One pay-off for the adviser would be to increase his citation count by having the paper cite the adviser's papers.
(My personal impression is that "paper count" is a very poor measure of an application, but I also think it often still serves as a "rough first approximation" to the research ability of a student.)
To sum up, I think by now **it is rather uncommon for a graduate student to have *no* publication by 2.5 years PhD**. Many Postdoc positions in my field (Mathematics) are not filled with **Post**docs, but rather **PostPostPost**docs. Having no publications, or even just one publication resulting from your PhD work, I'm guessing it might prove rather difficult to find a job in academia.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I was in the exact same situation (also CS) and I would say that **it is both normal and cause for concern**. So there's no reason to take it personally, or to start worrying about your abilities, this happens to many people, but it is a situation that needs to be resolved. From now on, your number one priority should be to get a paper, put everything else on hold. Don't worry about getting enough papers, worry about getting one.
You have something under submission, so the odds are you'll get it accepted somewhere pretty soon. However, if you don't, I would recommend trying to find someone with experience who can coach you hands-on. Find someone who can read your draft in detail and tell you what needs to be done. 2.5 years with no publications is usually a sign that the supervisor is not paying very close attention, and it may be good to find someone who can pay close attention to you, at least for a bit. Getting a paper past reviewers is a strange, dark art, and it really helps to get some intense supervision for your first attempt.
**edit after comment**: Two further tips to help your situation:
* Idea generation is a skill and you can work on getting better at it.
[[1](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mr-personality/201305/training-creativity-0) [2](https://www.ted.com/talks/shimpei_takahashi_play_this_game_to_come_up_with_original_ideas?language=en#t-33569) [3](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=creative+thinking+exercises)]. If you're not generating ideas, tackle that problem head-on. Don't think of yourself as a non-creative person, and don't blame your subject: there are always exciting directions if you look hard enough.
* Try to write a **collaborative paper**, ask a postdoc or a fellow PhD in your group to do some brainstorming, and to find an idea that you can work on together. That way, the work becomes less lonely, and you have at least one other person who cares about it. It might be a little scary to initiate something like this, but if the alternative is working by yourself for the next 2.5 years, you may consider stepping out of your comfort zone a little bit.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/25 | 854 | 3,764 | <issue_start>username_0: I want to do phd in organisational behaviour. However, I am confused about how to chose a topic.
Beyond [general strategies for choosing a topic discussed here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/117/how-to-find-a-good-topic-for-a-phd-research-proposal?rq=1) are there any specific strategies for choosing a PhD topic in organisational behaviour?<issue_comment>username_1: Find a supervisor
-----------------
A supervisor will typically help you refine your PhD topic.
So the first step is to identify researchers in organisational behaviour in universities you are able to attend. It of course helps if you have an understanding of the area that you want to work in so that the supervisor can see the alignment with their research interests.
In general, organisational behaviour researchers go by a range of names and appear in a range of different departments.
Look beyond organisational behaviour to also examine areas like human resource management, management, and industrial/organisational psychology. You may find such people in management departments, business schools, I/O psychology programs, as well as a range other areas.
Get to know the literature
--------------------------
Read journal articles in the field to get a feel for what is current. Some of the highest impact journals related to organizational behaviour include:
1. Journal of Applied Psychology
2. Personnel Psychology
3. Academy of Management Journal
4. Academy of Management Review
5. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
6. Administrative Science Quarterly
7. Journal of Management
8. Journal of Organizational Behavior
9. Organizational Research Methods
10. Journal of Vocational Behavior
Attend major conferences to network and get to know what are the current issues.
Some of the biggest conferences are SIOP and Academy of Management in the United States.
However, there are many other conferences depending on your specific interests and where you are in the world. For example, Australia has an I/O psychology conference every two years.
Learn about practical problems
------------------------------
Organisational behaviour is an applied field. It aims to improve the performance and well-being of workers and organisations. So, it helps to learn about the practical problems that people in organisations are experiencing.
You can gain this experience in a range of ways. But in general its helpful to actually work or consult related to your area of interest. Talk to practitioners such as consultants, managers, and so on.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The ideas suggested in your link assumes that professors have the time, are willing and are interested to refine your topic. In my view, this assumption does not hold, 99% of the time. Even if they are willing, they will try to convince you to shew towards their area of research. Before coming to that point, you need to present your argument for your area of interest and try to convince the other person. I recommend that you explore journal articles until you find a research gap in the literature reviews, findings and limitations sections. In my case, none of the professors I approached were in my field of interest. And they did not have time to talk to me nor were willing take on additional students.
Also, get to know more academics in the field by engaging with them through forums, emails, university open days, etc. They could also be useful contacts or references during the course of your study. With dedication, you are bound to achieve a breakthrough. Although a title is important, be prepared to revise it during the study period. Its findings, publication of a similar study, etc may influence the change of title.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/25 | 979 | 4,261 | <issue_start>username_0: I am writing a physics paper, and I have decided not to write down explicit equations I have found since they are incredibly long. Instead I just report plots showing the behaviour resulting from these equations.
Is it deprecable to say something like the following?
>
> We have found analytic results, but we do not report them here for sake of brevity.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: Can you add an appendix to the paper? If not, I think whether it is reasonable to add the statement you proposed depends on how central the analytical results are to the findings in your paper.
If the result isn't important, I think what you propose is fine.
If the analytical result is crucial, then you need to think very carefully about making the result available to a reader -- maybe an extended version of the manuscript on arxiv? Or on your website?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Idealistically, a paper should aspire to contain all the information required for reproducing its empirical results and verifying its deductive results with reasonable effort. Just writing the suggested sentence, however, does not allow for this, as someone would have to redo your work on finding those equations from scratch.
This may drastically reduce the usefulness of your paper, as it unnecessarliy increases the amount of work other people have to put in using your results and decreases their perceived soundness (see [Fermat’s Last Theorem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat's_Last_Theorem) for an extreme example). This may also be harmful from an egoistical point of view as it does not improve your popularity amongst others in your field and you may receive less citations.
Depending on how exactly your equations were derived and look like, the following ways to include or not include them may be appropriate:
* >
> From [equations derived in the paper] we can obtain closed solutions for [variables] using [standard technique or computer algebra system], which we use in the following.
>
>
>
* >
> From [equations derived in the paper], we obtain closed solutions for [variables] (see Appendix X).
>
>
>
* If the target journal does not allow for appendices and has a content limit (in which case it will usually be a letter journal), the following may be acceptable:
>
> From [equations derived in the paper] we derived analytical results for [variables]. For brevity’s sake, these results are not given here and will be published elsewhere.
>
>
>
Something similar may also be appropriate if you are publishing in a journal of another discipline, e.g., you are publishing in a medical journal as your equations are relevant for an imaging technique.
Either way, it should go without saying that publishing the results elsewhere should be a realistic endeavour and actually be intended. Also, if you are not giving too much away, it would be better in terms of soundness and acceptance to actually publish your analytical work first.
As always, you will likely get a better answer from someone familiar with your work and field, such as your supervisor.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I was in a somewhat similar position some time ago and decided against publishing the analytical results, since they were too long. Essentially, I was solving a linear system of equations with Mathematica, which can produce horribly long equations, which are hard to analyze any further. Also, computers might actually be faster in solving the initial linear system numerically, then evaluating long arithmetic equations. For these reasons, I did not stress that I could have written down the solution in analytical terms in the paper. I just gave the linear system and said that we produced the plot from its solutions.
In summary, I doubt that the result is crucial, when the analytical equations are several pages long. That being said, if you can make the equations available (preferably in some electronic version, since nobody is gonna type them into a computer), that is certainly a good solution.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: You might want to consider attaching a Mathematica notebook to the arxiv submission, which is something I've been seeing relatively often lately.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/25 | 1,035 | 4,361 | <issue_start>username_0: I emailed my professor about two weeks ago, but there was no response to my first email. I sent a follow up, and got a reply saying they'd be happy to write one for me on the following weekend. I waited, the weekend passed, and nothing happened. I followed up again, and again no response to my email.
Now I am thinking to call as a reminder. My professor has written many recommendations on my behalf, and my guess is that it didn't get done due to laziness or forgetfulness. Now we have a long holiday coming for the next ten days and I want a recommendation as soon as possible. Is it appropriate to call on the weekend given the fact that it was said that it could be written one a previous weekend?<issue_comment>username_1: No -- it's totally inappropriate.
Seriously. Think about it. Unless you're at a school where profs phone grad students at their home on weekends to inquire about a late paper, it's totally inappropriate.
Note: Many grant agencies / admissions committees know that we (the faculty) are thorough flakes and couldn't be trusted to tie our own shoelaces in the morning. They usually give a few days of extra time for faculty references to come in after the deadline. Others, however, are very strict on deadlines and thus faculty need to be properly shepherded into getting their materials in time.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Well based on your past experiences you know your professor better. One of mine does miss many of my emails and another responds even at night or on holidays. So it's probably more of a habitual thing (considering most professors are busy but not all respond late) than ignoring you specifically for some reasons.
A reason for delay might be that he forgot your credentials and needed some time to look at those again, to write a more accurate recommendation.
A suggestion I would like to make though, use a mode of communication that this professor likes more (mine likes skype and responds quickly on those messages).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: If you are going to call on a weekend, call his office phone and leave a message there. Then he can check the voicemail if he chooses to.
When following up on these things, it is always good idea to ask if you can provide any additional information.
Btw, keep in mind, you can express your concern with the delay of your letter, remind them of the deadline, and offer to provide information. But you cannot require it done this weekend. This person is doing you a favor and nothing obliges them to write one for you this weekend, or ever again.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: No. In the cultures and universities I'm familiar with, **it is never appropriate to call your professor's personal or mobile phone**. It would be very unusual even to call his/her office phone.
And if you ask in person instead of by email (in the first place) you're more likely to get what you want. You're asking a busy person to devote a significant amount of time and attention to do you a favor, with no compensation. In most cultures, asking in person shows that it's important.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: When in doubt: no. But it depends on the teacher. And often fortune favors the bold and the brave. If you can get away with it, and it helps you get the recommendation, why not?
"Professionalism" is still secondary to results. Besides, if you have his cell number it is already a kind of permission. I mean it, you should only have gotten it to use it. Go for it, apologize for calling on the weekend to keep connected, proceed to give nothing but a gentle reminder (of your deadline/how nervous you are about getting all the documents together), that's it. Won't hurt either of you.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_1: As to professionalism, in the real world would you phone your boss on a weekend to remind him that he did not do something that he was supposed to do (such as email HR on your transfer)? No, you'd wait until Monday.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: On the converse. I once had a professor be relatively upset that I didn't call, after finding myself last second in a tough spot. There is an appropriate time and place to call, and some professors will be more okay with it than others, but I would only suggest you go through with it if they know you well.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/25 | 2,084 | 8,296 | <issue_start>username_0: The [Wikipedia rules](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:COI#Writing_about_yourself_and_your_work) about citing yourself state:
>
> Using material you have written or published is allowed within reason, but only if it is relevant, conforms to the content policies, ... and is not excessive.
>
>
>
While the Wikipedia rules allows self citation, is it ethical to self cite?
Short example: there are two good papers on the same topic, *A* and *B*. Is it ethical for the authors of paper *A* to include a reference to A and not B in the "References" section at the end of the article even if it is not cited in the article. On Wikipedia, it is pretty common for things to be just listed at the end and not mentioned in the article itself.
My questions are:
* At what point is it appropriate to edit references to my own papers/preprints into Wikipedia? (Maybe even add a paragraph claiming the same breakthrough I claim in my own paper.)
* What should one do when noticing that otherwise unknown and very new preprints pop up as (uncited) references in Wikipedia articles?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. it should be peer-reviewed, otherwise wikipedia would be working nearly as a primary source (anyone could write something on a blog and use it as a reference, laughable).
2. once it's peer-reviewed, the references should be reasonable, they should support what is written in wikipedia and what is written should have a general interest in the article itself. Maybe many people would see my paper on topology if I put it in the Pope's article, but that's basically vandalism.
3. every paper has a set of references and describes the state of the art in some area, some of those references may be self-references. That is mostly the type of content that should be provided in wikipedia.
>
> it has never occurred to me that there's a high potential of the same
> kind of abuse by academics.
>
>
>
*If well used*, this should be helpful for both academics and wikipedia.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Never.
------
Let someone else do it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: You should cite your own work if it truly adds to the quality of the Wikipedia article. It's true that it's in one's self-interest to get the publicity you described from having one's work cited on Wikipedia, but it can also be constructive. After all, who is going to know the subject better than the person who wrote a peer-reviewed journal article on it?
If it really is shameless and unethical self-promotion, people will see it and know, and so will the Wikipedia admins, who will revert it with prejudice.
Even though Wikipedia has rules against original research, once research is peer-reviewed and accepted by the scientific community, it doesn't really matter who adds it to Wikipedia. An example of a scholar writing about his own work can be found at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wheel_theory>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I think this question really has two parts, the **ethical** question and the **practical** question.
First of, the **ethical** question. Let me say that I am surprised that you see the issue whether it is *ethical* to self-plug your work on Wikipedia as an entirely different issue than whether this is *allowed* by Wikipedia policy. Wikipedia is a private web site run on private donations, and is entitled to define how they want to do things around their piece of the web (much like we do here at Stack Exchange, to the chagrin of plenty a new user). I think it is impossible to argue that it is ethical (for academics or anybody else) to (mis-)use their service in a way that violates their own rules for your personal gain. Hence, to answer your updated question:
>
> It's a question about what is considered ethical in academia
>
>
>
This is not, precisely due to the reason that you say you are not interested in: *it is not allowed by Wikipedia*. It cannot be ethical to use their service, but don't consider their rules.
Second, your question also has a bit of a **practical** part. You claim that it should be really easy to self-plug your work on Wikipedia, and that it will be hard to trace and prevent. (You also seem to imply that this impact on the ethical question, which I think it has not - whether something *can* be done is pretty much irrelevant to whether it is ethical to do it)
I have a bit of a case study for this. A large European research project I was involved with some time ago once got asked by its reviewers to add their own papers and other outcomes to relevant articles "to increase visibility". After some internal discussion, the project obliged and started with some really defendable and arguably independently useful edits (taking very stubby articles and improving them with peer-reviewed content from our own papers, and adding references). *All of those changes were rolled back within minutes*, with the explanation that the edits looked too much like self-advertisement. We tried again, even more conservatively, and the same thing happened again. It turned out that the self-policing in Wikipedia works *much better* than anybody in the project anticipated. We gave up on the issue quickly.
The morale here is just that Wikipedia is aware that people could try to do this (and I am sure many do), and are very vigilant. I am sure you are able to edit in your links given enough energy, but it may be much harder than you imply it is.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: The three columns of wikipedia are [Verifiability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:V), [No Original Research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NOR), and [Neutral Point of View](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NPOV). In my opinion (and this is established in a large part of the wikipedia community, imho), you should avoid adding your own citations, since it is hard to have a neutral point of view wether your citation is really that important.
What you can do instead (and what I have seen), is that you suggest adding your citation (or some paragraph about your work) at the **talk page** of the article. Have patience and see how other react to your suggestion.
If on the other hand you see questionable sources, you might remove it. But again if you feel unsure if this is appropriate use the talk page of the article.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: If you think that an article of yours would be a useful reference, you can mention it on the Talk page for the relevant article or an associated Wikiproject, and suggest to other editors that they consider adding it to the main article.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: A few thoughts:
\* having expertise in the subject of a Wikipedia article is (or at least should) be welcome;
\* that expertise may well be exercised through detailed reviews of the article on its talk page;
\* references not cited in the article text have a lower probability to stay for long;
\* references supporting statements made in the article are most needed;
\* if one of your papers qualifies for supporting such a statement, suggest the edit on the talk page first, and if nobody objects within a week or so, feel free to do it;
\* apart from supporting statements in the Wikipedia article, images or other media from your research article might be useful as an illustration in one or several Wikipedia articles (including in other languages); this only works with openly licensed stuff (see [overview of such uses](http://tools.wmflabs.org/glamtools/glamorous.php?doit=1&category=Open+access+%28publishing%29&use_globalusage=1&ns0=1&depth=5&projects[wikipedia]=1&projects[wikimedia]=1&projects[wikisource]=1&projects[wikibooks]=1&projects[wikiquote]=1&projects[wiktionary]=1&projects[wikinews]=1&projects[wikivoyage]=1&projects[wikispecies]=1&projects[mediawiki]=1&projects[wikidata]=1&projects[wikiversity]=1); link loads slowly);
\* there are ways to write an entire paper such that it can be published as a Wikipedia article ([details](http://wikiambassador.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2014/03/28/publishing-scholarly-wikipedia/));
\* there are ways to follow added or removed citations systematically ([example: DOIs](http://events.labs.crossref.org/events/types/WikipediaCitation))
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/25 | 613 | 2,680 | <issue_start>username_0: Background: My supervisor wants to quit my supervision due to reasons beyond his control. He suggested few colleagues to replace him. My only concern is that I be asked to switch my current research direction to meet that of my potential new supervisor. I have spent considerable amount of reading and review, designing simualtors and coming up with new ideas and I don't want to restart all over. I found a co-supervisor who is closely related to my field and agreed on supervision (He is not affiliated with my university anymore though), but still need a main supervisor.
Question: Am I obliged to restart over and lose all my reserach?<issue_comment>username_1: You are not obligated to start over. Talk to your provost or ombudsman if there isn't an immediate/good replacement. Your school has some obligation to fulfill it`s end of the bargain.
By telling your situation to them, they might be able to help the existing professor stay, or at least suggest the right direction for you to pursue.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The few times I've seen this happen, usually the new advisor in your home department is willing to let one continue on with the same research project. Beware that you'll have less support from your advisor than you might have had otherwise, but if you have strong people in the field outside your university, as it sounds like you do, then you should be ok. Another thing to beware is that your advisor's letter of recommendation is going to be crucial if you apply for postdocs or other academic positions down the line. Having your advisor not really know your field, or understand your work in depth is likely going to lead to a much shallower, less effective letter simply because your new advisor won't be able to speak with the same degree of knowledge about what exactly your contribution is.
So, you're going to have to weight these two potential cons against the cost in time and effort of simply starting over from scratch with a new advisor.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It's really simple:
**If your supervisor can no longer supervise you, you can continue the same work with another (willing) supervisor.**
I suppose there are some corner cases where this would not be possible (e.g. only old supervisor had the relevant equipment, or the research heavily depended on his/her involvement). But these things are not uncommon. And while the university/deparmtent may or may not *help* you find another advisor, they will certainly not be against it.
Caveat: I have not actually verified this is the case in many universities, this is a local experience + common sense answer.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/25 | 332 | 1,557 | <issue_start>username_0: Many times while reading papers (especially engineering), many concepts, algorithms or results are taken for granted because they are already established in research. Sadly, at this point, many are not even referenced directly or some authors refer to other publications which use them. Is there a good and a fast method to find the original paper?<issue_comment>username_1: The best way is to talk with your professors. They should be familiar with established research and the people who originated novel ideas.
Failing that, using your skills at research at your library or asking a reference librarian to help you.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Here's the (horrible cheating) method that I use: if something is so well established that people don't bother referencing the original paper, then there's a good chance it's got an article on Wikipedia or Wolfram Mathworld or some other reference site. The references of such an article often include the original paper, but even if they don't they usually include something close enough in time that it *does* actually reference the original (or at least something closer to the point).
In many cases, however, you may not actually *want* the original: as the original becomes better understood, its presentation is often made much clearer and more succinct, and later textbooks or reviews may actually be the right source to point people at. For example, consider the difference between Newton's calculus, and calculus as it is now taught to undergraduates.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/25 | 621 | 2,336 | <issue_start>username_0: Does anyone know of a good way to obtain data on the number of publications per year on a given subject? Scholar has an option to sort search results by date, but there does not seem to be an automated way of generating a report. In the worst case I will write a script that extracts the data I need, but perhaps someone knows of another system that offers such a facility? Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't know of a solution for arbitrary field and subject; I suspect none exists at present. But in mathematics, you could at least easily check how many publications there are each year in a given AMS subject classification.
For instance, [this search result](http://www.ams.org/mathscinet/search/publications.html?pg4=AUCN&s4=&co4=AND&pg5=TI&s5=&co5=AND&pg6=PC&s6=05C30&co6=AND&pg7=ALLF&s7=&co7=AND&Submit=Search&dr=pubyear&yrop=eq&arg3=2005&yearRangeFirst=&yearRangeSecond=&pg8=ET&s8=All&review_format=html) shows that 23 papers were published on *Enumeration in graph theory* in 2005. **Note**: you may need a subscription to access that link.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: ### ISI Journal Citation Reports
ISI Journal citation reports might give you some useful information (your university may have a subscription).
It allows you to browse citation reports by subject category (i.e., discipline). It includes things like impact factor, total counted citations, total articles in the focal year.
You can then click "view journal summary list" which will give you an overview.
For example, here is sample output for psychology in the 2013 JCR:
Of course, this only includes articles in journals indexed by ISI.
### Publish or Perish Software
More generally, you might want to check out [Publish or Perish](http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm). It is free software for Windows and OSX that provides a way of searching Google Scholar particularly suited to bibliometric analysis.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: [dimensions.ai](https://app.dimensions.ai/discover) automatically generates a plot of such information when you search for papers on it. I've found it very useful myself.
(I know this is an old question, but I'm adding this answer just in case someone comes across it.)
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/26 | 542 | 2,172 | <issue_start>username_0: I am looking for Research Methodology textbooks in the field of Computer Science. Most books I came across are useful to social science, economics etc.
In our part of the world a person who wants to do research should study a course in research methodology. But most books in research methodology are from social science, economics perspective.
Would like to know some from technology/computer science/engineering perspective. Some must read books for general reading also would be good<issue_comment>username_1: Research methodologies are usually independent of your area. Often, the application of some methods and the examples used to describe them differ depending on the area. For example, empirical research is a methodology that can be applied whether you do research in CS, psychology, or physics. This methodology teaches you how to conduct experiments that are sound (by minimizing different threats to validity) and how to analyze the data in a statistical way (e.g., when to use which statistical test to accept a certain research hypothesis).
In medicine, you might conduct experiments to analyze the effects of some drugs whereas is CS, you would do some performance experiments to analyze the effects of some optimizations. The methods used in both areas are the same, the application might differ largely though.
Hence, it would not harm to study a text book from psychology / statistics, because the tools you learn there are also valuable for CS (e.g., knowing the difference between qualitative and quantitative research or descriptive and analytic). Furthermore, there is no CS-methodology (at least I am not aware of).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: [This book](http://www.elsevier.com.br/site/produtos/Detalhe-produto.aspx?tid=3815&seg=3&isbn=9788535235227&cat=8&origem=Busca&tit=METODOLOGIA%20DE%20PESQUISA%20PARA%20CI%C3%8ANCIA%20DA%20COMPUTA%C3%87%C3%83O) is "research methodology for computer science". It's a quick and easy read that clarifies many issues specific to the computer science field. The problem is that it is available only in Brazilian Portuguese, as far as I know.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/26 | 704 | 3,149 | <issue_start>username_0: It is quite common in almost all position opening announcements in academic institutes to demonstrate EXCELLENT teaching capabilities. For instance sentences like below:
>
> Applicants are expected to demonstrate excellent undergraduate and graduate teaching capabilities
>
>
>
But the question is HOW to demonstrate that excellence? Is just listing subjects taught during last couple of years sufficient? I guess we can use teaching statement or teaching philosophy to demonstrate that ability too. But, what type of sentences show that excellence in teaching statement?<issue_comment>username_1: It is a great question that I have asked myself in the last several years and I'm also looking for an informed answer. In the mean while, I have come up with an idea to demonstrate my teaching abilities to potential employers:
After graduation, I taught several graduate courses mainly on mathematical analysis, such as measure theory, harmonic analysis, C\*-algebra. Based on these experiences, I have written a lecture note on C\*-algebras which is available in arXiv. I thought if a serious employer really wants to evaluate my teaching abilities, nothing speaks better than my lecture notes.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In my department (biology, at a large public research university), applicants give a job talk in addition to a research talk. They also provide a statement of teaching philosophy.
An applicant demonstrates excellence by:
1. Providing a teaching statement that discusses evidence-based teaching theory and gives an example or two of how the applicant has applied this ("Even in large lectures, students should spend time discussing the concepts they have just learned. I incorporated the use of clickers to expose a common misconception before each new topic, and had students work in groups to find the best answer.")
2. Preparing and delivering a job talk that a) demonstrates competence with the material, b) shows you are able to ask and answer "student" questions from the audience, c) incorporates at least a smidge of student interaction, and d) actually fits in the time allotted
I suppose if there is no job talk scheduled, an applicant might prepare as if there were one and be ready to discuss how they would teach topic X, with examples.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In my university, we have a quality system and part of this is the collection of student feedback. The feedback is gathered systematically and in an unbiased manner.
When applying to other positions we can refer to this feedback in *stating excellent undergraduate and graduate teaching capabilities*. The hiring body can contact our university/faculty/department to verify and receive a document regarding this.
Further, this is also used as basis for gaining additional, teaching skill based, percentages in ones salary.
When properly implemented, I think this is a great system.
Edit: forgot to mention the most important thing: We were struggling with the same issue as in the question and we suggested and implemented the feedback gathering as a partial solution to this.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/26 | 1,069 | 4,712 | <issue_start>username_0: I am currently writing the introduction to my PhD thesis and have one specific doubt about how to include or cite a review article that I have published with jointly with my supervisors.
In my opinion, a review article and the thesis introduction are quite similar - they review a specific field for fellow researchers. It's very difficult to make a summary of a review, given that it is already quite densely written. What would be the best manner to include my own text from the review in my thesis?
* Paste the review paper it as introduction chapter (with journal layout) ?
* Mention that this introductory chapter has verbatim extracts from my review and cut and paste the most important parts ?
* Summing up and rewording large parts of the review paper and avoid self-plagiarism?
Generally, my university allows to include my papers that are already published in the thesis, but the guidelines do not elaborate much more as I guess everybody assumes that research papers are pasted as result chapters. I have talked with several people (including PI, secretaries). I'd just like to consult the opinion of people outside my everyday universe. I am curious on what you have to say, thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: I suggest that you implement Option 2, but with some modifications.
Prior to the review sections of the Introduction chapter, you should include a sentence like this:
>
> The material in Sections X through Y of this Introduction draws heavily on the author's previously published literature review (citation).
>
>
>
Then, when you add the material from your literature review, *do not* simply copy-and-paste. Instead, you should modify or add text to relate this literature to your thesis, to your methods, to your decisions about scope and approach, and so on. Tell the reader in every sentence and every paragraph *why* this part of the literature is or is not important to your dissertation.
With this approach you avoid any problems of self-plaguarism because you give full citation at the start, plus you aren't doing simple copy-and-paste.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Generally speaking, the academic community does not consider it to be self-plagiarism to use your own previously published writings as part of your thesis, provided appropriate references are given. You can summarize or reword if you wish, but it is not necessary for ethical purposes.
Whether your institution, or the journal where you published your article, will allow this is a question that only they can answer.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would add the whole review into your thesis. Directly into the introduction, but it depends on your country or field specifics, too. You shouldn´t of course only paste it, but make for example an empty page where you will write only the bibliographical informations and than paste your review like an "offprint". So anybody who will read your thesis will note that there is some "special" chapter, allready published.
Another possibility is to mention it in the introduction, maybe paste the abstract into and add your review as a supplementary material at the end of your thesis. If somebody is interested in it, than he will find it at the end of your thesis and you don´t have to rewrite and rephrase it. You already done that work (I mean the introduction into your field) and the prove is that it was published!
And do not forget to mention the "amount" of authorship, in percentage or with list of chapter of that review written by you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: As others said, schools usually do not mind students to include their own articles, including reviews in their thesis. After all, they do not want to discourage students from publishing. Many universities these days allow students to just put their exact published papers as different thesis chapters and add a bit to intro and conclusions chapters to show how the papers are connected. My school specifically was fine with doing that and it was what I did. The problem I faced was my review paper was copy-righted and the publisher did not give me the permission to make it public in my thesis (something to keep in mind and put as a condition when submitting papers (for students) that is keeping the right to put their work in their thesis). Long story short, my school had a solution that was, I copied and pasted my review paper as intro (of course citing it) when I was about to send my thesis to my examiners. After my thesis was accepted the school allowed me to remove the bulk of intro, include a few short paragraphs to summarize it and mention one must check the full text in the journal.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/26 | 1,674 | 6,250 | <issue_start>username_0: I have recently read the following statistics in the book "The Survival of a Mathematician: From Tenure to Emeritus" by <NAME>, which seems a little odd:
>
> It is a hard fact that more than 90% of American Ph.D. mathematicians
> never write a paper. Of those who do, most write just one paper based
> on the Ph.D. thesis and that’s it. Nothing more.
>
>
>
I have seen several new PhD's (graduated in Canada, US, or Europe) with no publications, but my estimate for the rate of such fellows was way more optimistic than the above quote. So, I would like to know:
**How accurate is this statistic? Is it documented anywhere?**
**Are there similar statistics about Mathematics PhD's in other countries?**<issue_comment>username_1: As much as I enjoy Krantz's work on the whole, this sentence strikes me as not really qualifying as "hard fact." On the other hand, I think part what may be throwing you off is that he says "Ph.D. mathematician" not "new Ph.D." So, he's including mathematicians who graduated long ago (one of the issues with "hard fact" status is that it's unclear how far back he's going. To the first Ph.D. awarded to an American?), at a time when mathematicians were under much less pressure to publish.
For new Ph.D.'s this number is surely false. 10% of the Ph.D. graduates of American Ph.D. programs (from 2010) is about 160. That's half the number that are employed immediately after graduating at PhD granting institutions in the US. I find it hard to believe that half of those people will never write any published papers, and I know for a fact that lots of PhD's who are employed at bachelor's institutions or go on to other kinds of work have at least one publication. The numbers above come from the [2010 AMS Annual survey](http://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/2010Survey-NewDoctorates-Report).
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There have been several papers analyzing the data from the Mathematical Reviews database (MathSciNet). One of them is [Patterns of Collaboration in Mathematical Research](https://www.siam.org/pdf/news/485.pdf), <NAME>, *SIAM News* 35, 2002. That paper gives a distribution of number of papers by author. It confirms that 42% of authors in the database have 1 paper.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I sent an email to <NAME> mentioning the present discussion and asking him whether his numbers are "supported by published or rigorously gathered data, or your own observations, or are simply meant rhetorically". Here is his response, posted here with his permission.
Summary: he does not appear to have data at hand to support those numbers, but he believes they are accurate.
>
> Dear Nate,
>
>
> Your question is a good one.
>
>
> Certainly my statement is well supported by my own personal
> observation---after forty years in the business. But I have seen
> sources even recently that say pretty much the same thing. I'm sorry
> that I can't say what those sources are.
>
>
> You can think about the matter this way. The vast majority of
> academic jobs in this country are at what we call comprehensive
> schools. And those are places where teaching is the thing.
>
> Generally speaking, people don't do much research there. They have to
> publish a paper or two to get tenure, and those papers tend to be
> fairly close to the thesis. But then that's about it.
>
>
> A lot of other people get jobs at the National Security Agency, or Los
> Alamos, or another government think tank. Generally speaking,
> publishing is not the thing there either. Sometimes people publish in
> special classfied government journals.
>
>
> Other people get jobs at Microsoft or Hewlett-Packard or what have
> you. And publishing is not the thing there either.
>
>
> Those of us who are lucky enough to be in math departments at true
> research universities are definitely in the small minority.
>
>
> I believe that, at the time I wrote those words, I consulted some
> people at the American Mathematical Society and they had data to
> support what I was saying.
>
>
> Feel free to quote me to others if you wish.
>
>
> Best,
>
>
> <NAME>
>
>
>
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: To test Krantz's assertion for recent Ph.D.s from U.S. universities, one can use statistical sampling. The American Mathematical Society published a list of [2013-2014 doctoral degrees in mathematics from U.S. institutions](http://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/2014Degrees.pdf). Selecting random names from this list and checking the obvious places for papers should give a good estimate for what percentage have written at least one paper by a year and a half after graduating.
Unfortunately, I don't see a good way to sample uniformly from this list, without some counting or approximations. Instead, I flipped through it and grabbed ten names from near the centers of the pages, about three pages apart (in a 31-page document). This isn't a particularly careful sampling technique, and it presumably introduced some bias, but it should suffice to detect anything occurring 90% of the time.
For each of the ten people I selected, I looked for mathematics papers on Google Scholar, the arXiv, a home page, or MathSciNet. I did not count the dissertation itself, and I was prepared to exclude anything that appeared to be undergraduate research but this turned out not to be an issue. The results were as follows:
1. Six people had publications in journals.
2. Two more had papers they described as accepted by journals.
3. One listed a conference publication. Web searches make it clear that this paper exists (and it has been cited by another paper with disjoint authors), but I could not find a copy online.
4. For the remaining person, I found no evidence of any papers.
I was surprised at how high the percentage of people with publications was, and perhaps it indicates that my sample was not so representative. However, it appears that even people working in teaching-only jobs or outside academia are likely to write at least one paper.
If anyone carries out a more careful study of this issue, I would love to see the results.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/26 | 303 | 1,380 | <issue_start>username_0: I graduated from a European University with a Bachelor of Science Degree (Engineering Degree) and I'm about to move in the United States.
My specialization/ major would be Telecommunications Engineering.
What is the US equivalent of this ? I've noticed US colleges usually have EE(Electrical Engineering programs), which is the closest I've found.<issue_comment>username_1: Electrical engineering and (when it exists) electronics engineering usually cover telecommunications, as well as many other topics. Undergraduate degrees in NA are usually broader in scope than those in Europe.
But it wouldn't try to change the terminology of your own major: keep it as telecommunications engineering if that's what it is, and everyone will understand.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The closest you're going to get is Computer Engineering. Most universities will have classes on networking, but you'll have to look for those with telecom. Otherwise, if you want to specialize in telecommunications, your best bet is probably a trade school.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Electrical and Electronic Engineering usually refers to building electrical devices like computers, or cellphone networks.
Computer Science usually refers to using computers, especially programming.
I hope this helps clarify some terminology.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/07/26 | 575 | 2,378 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm taking a two day workshop at a technical institute, the instructor has said that all accredited courses must have final exams. Fair enough.
Since this is such a short course the exam will be on the same day that we are also being presented new material. This seems very strange to me, to be given an exam after approximately 5 hours of both lectures and labs throughout the day. That being said, I have a lack of academic experience, so I would like to hear from you.
Is this a common practice to have lectures and labs on the same day as an exam (of the same class)?<issue_comment>username_1: The university I'm at recently had a class with lecture in the morning, lab that afternoon, exam an hour after that, then a quiz the following morning in lecture, and finally a recitation that afternoon. Summer semesters tend to be like this as they are shorter in length than a fall or spring semester. No one is happy with it, but it's what needs to happen to cover all the requisite material.
What would typically happen during a regular semester is that labs can't be moved or adjusted, but usually the following lecture is either shorter of cancelled if it is the next day and the lecture the day of the exam is mostly review. But I must point out it is at the discretion of the professor.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have not met this scheme for university (or univerity-alike) courses\*,
but I have met it for professional training courses and other crash courses that lead to an exam (e.g. intensive courses leading up to exams you're required to take by law in order to be allowed to do/handle certain things).
However, for those courses
* The curriculum is defined, definitive, and well-known
* Exams required by law often have lists of accredited questions which are available. It is sometimes even recommended to study these catalogues as preparation for the exam.
[(example)](http://blak-uis.server.de/servlet/is/2146/P-4a.pdf)
* And the course materials are usually distributed well before the course.
\* Years ago I attended a summer school where I cannot remember whether there was an exam at the end or not. However, the certificate doesn't have grades, so if there was an exam, that would have been more a check for ourselves how good the understanding of the covered subjects was.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/27 | 1,135 | 4,767 | <issue_start>username_0: Do many universities allow students to get a PhD in mathematics without publishing a paper?<issue_comment>username_1: It is typical in the U.S. that mathematics Ph.D. students do not publish anything at all prior to earning a Ph.D., I think even at the elite places. Publication per se is not such a high priority, nor over-literal gauge of accomplishment, as it seems to be in some CompSci and Engineering disciplines (at least in the minds of some people).
That is, to be clear, especially for people who've thought, or been indoctrinated to think, that the measure of the value of something is the prestige of the conference or journal or ... in which it was published, the idea in mathematics still does seem to be that the thesis advisor and thesis committee decide whether the candidate has done sufficient work to earn the degree.
Seems a sane system to me, especially given the acceleration of freneticism elsewhere.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it is very common for students to earn a PhD in mathematics without publishing any papers before graduating. Here are a few pieces of context:
* I have read a couple research articles that analyzed the Mathematical Review database, which is a very thorough listing of mathematics publications. One such article is "[Patterns of Collaboration in Mathematical Research](https://web.archive.org/web/20170808140706/https://siam.org/pdf/news/485.pdf)". It states that 42.7% of authors in the database have only one article (likely taken from their thesis) and another 14.6% have only two. I recommend that paper highly for more information on mathematics publishing.
* Publication rates in mathematics vary significantly by subfield, because the threshold for the amount of progress needed for a new paper also varies by field. In some subfields, it is common for researchers to publish many (smaller) papers. In others, it can take years to write a single paper. Publication rates also vary by author: some prestigious faculty rarely publish, others are prodigious writers.
* My general sense is that publication rates are increasing: mathematicians in general publish more than they used to.
* I see much more emphasis on graduate student publication than I did in the past. While the majority of students publish nothing before their PhD, I think the number who do publish is going up. Similarly, there is more emphasis on undergraduate research, and this translates into more publications by undergraduates. In the 1970s, say, publications by undergraduates were much more rare.
* The increase in publication is especially true at mid-level schools, e.g. non-elite state schools and some larger non-elite private colleges, which want to raise their research profile and so expect more research than in the past. Historically, say 30 years ago, one might have been able to get tenure with only one or two papers, and teaching was the most important criterion. Now, research is the primary criterion and many of these "aspiring" schools. On the other hand, I had a job interview once with a school that explicitly emphasized they did not expect research - this trend toward more publication is not universal.
* There is also a distinction between *top* students (e.g. those who are competitive for prestigious postdocs and for job offers from R-1 schools) versus *typical* students (who may be perfectly qualified for academic jobs, but are not competitive for R-1 positions). In my experience, top students often have research collaborations outside their thesis topic before graduation, and often have other publications before graduation. But these students make up a small percentage of PhD recipients overall. Even at prestigious schools, not all PhD students are on track to be competitive for R-1 positions. And publication rates again vary by research subfield.
* Mathematics in particular is sometimes used for a "vocational" PhD, because it has always been possible for some to find work in industry (e.g. software or R&D) and government (e.g. the U.S. National Security Agency) with a PhD in mathematics. My colleagues and I often talk about bright researchers who we "lost" to non-academic jobs. For students who do not plan to continue in academia, I think there is a smaller incentive to publish extra papers beyond the PhD before graduating.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I think the answer will depend on the country, so let me answer for France.
From what I see, I would say that one is generally allowed to defend one's PhD without having published a paper, but only if the thesis contains the material for at least one international publication. This is judged by the two or three PhD referees and then confirmed by the PhD committee.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/27 | 214 | 967 | <issue_start>username_0: My paper is accepted for poster presentation for a conference. Is it allowed sent it again to other conferences without withdrawing it from first conference? I am looking for oral presentation.<issue_comment>username_1: Most computer science conferences do not allow this, look for the conferences' dual submission policy.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: username_1's answer is correct **for computer science**.
In most non-CS fields, there is much greater tolerance for "cross-listing" of talks, because the conferences are not the primary "publication venue" for papers. Therefore it is considered entirely appropriate to give a poster presentation at one conference, and an oral talk at another venue, particularly if the audiences are "non-overlapping." It would be expected, though, that unless the conferences are very close to one another in time, that you would update the presentation somewhat between conferences.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/27 | 849 | 3,636 | <issue_start>username_0: Call it stupidity or bad luck but I am guilty of submitting my research article to a journal which is listed in [**Beall's List of Predatory Publishers**](http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/).
It is my first article and I don't have much experience publishing articles. I was searching for a top impact factor journal and found this one on Google and in excitement sent my article (word and pdf files) in this journal a few days ago, only to discover later that this might be a bogus journal.
Now I am worried about that what will happen to my article. What if they plagiarize my paper, or send it to another journal not giving me credit?
My question is that what should I do now? Should I send my article to a reputable journal now? What should be the process? What if it is flagged for fraud by that journal? What are my options?
Any help would be appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: If the paper has not yet been accepted for publication, you are free to withdraw the paper from consideration. Depending on the policies of the journal to which you submit the article, you may need to disclose the prior submission, and explain why you withdrew the publication from consideration.
Unfortunately, there's little you can do to stop the publishers of the first journal from doing something unsavory with your article. You will need to exercise vigilance in monitoring the work in this area to ensure that the paper isn't mishandled or worse. Be sure to maintain records of all of the correspondence you have had with the journal—and make sure of all it is documentable—phone calls won't suffice here.
However, if all the journal has is a PDF of your original article, it makes it a lot harder to do anything with it: it is tedious work to convert it into the template that most publishers use without significant effort. Thus, without the original graphics and text files, it will be difficult for them to "transmit" the paper elsewhere.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: aesmail's post is right on. In addition, I would recommend creating some [Google Alerts](https://www.google.com/alerts) for some unique sentences or phrases from your article as well. Use quotes around the whole text in each query. Make sure that the ones you pick are unique to your work by finding query strings that are exactly from your work and return no results on Google now. That way, if they do make use of your words, you have a chance of finding out when it happens. You might have to make several of these, but if you use some key passages, you've got a good chance of catching them if they do.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I would like to add that a predatory journal is not always and necessarily a bad journal. All reputable publishers have low impact factor journals in their house, and some non reputable publishers may have good journals.
I've even heard stories for publishers from that list to be eventually removed from the list.
I don't see the fear on plagiarism very rational, as all papers are public in one way or another, so if someone wants to plagiarise, they don't need access to your paper. (So, you can withdraw it from the app and submit it asap somewhere else).
My main concern would be to connect my (first) work with a bad journal and the chance they publish it regardless you pay/withdraw or not. But before you panick, make sure how well this journal stands. If you found it as among the top impact factor ones in your field, it cannot be *that* bad. Check SJR and Scopus. Also, consult your supervisor or a colleague who can propose you a journal.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/27 | 2,072 | 8,894 | <issue_start>username_0: One of the reviewers of my conference paper (computer science), which got a *revise & resubmit,* criticized that my conclusions are not well founded in my experiment and that they don’t show my hypothesis. (In detail, there was no control variable, which he correctly remarked.)
The point is, I wanted to use this experiment to give an idea for the direction of the work following my results and to generalize my previous findings.
My question is, how could I respond to this comment, as deleting my discussion would cut out a huge part of my work?<issue_comment>username_1: Let me first recapture your situation as I understood it and based my answer on:
* You have essentially three Papers, let’s call them *Paper A, B* and *C.* Paper A has already been published, Paper B is the one you are currently working on and Paper C is a planned future publication.
* You drew conclusions in Paper B, which are not based on the research of Paper B alone but also require results from Papers A and C.
* The reviewer correctly remarked that your conclusions were not supported by your research in Paper B.
First of all, as your conclusions are not supported by published research yet, you cannot make these conclusions and there is no (ethical) way to leave them as conclusions. Rather from the situation at the end of Paper B, they are an outlook or speculations and thus should be marked as such.
E.g., you could write something along the lines of the following in your conclusions:
>
> Our results confirm the findings of [Paper A], which suggests [general hypothesis]. This could be confirmed by [ansatz for research of Paper C].
>
>
>
To the reviewer’s comment you could reply along the lines of the following:
>
> The reviewer is indeed correct that [general hypothesis] is not supported by our current findings. Rather, [general hypothesis] is something suggested by our results from our findings and [Paper A] and should be investigated in future research. We have insufficiently described this point and amended our manuscript such that this aspect is now made clear.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: First of all, I *love* the title of your question. What an open, honest way of phrasing things, which makes for a question which just about every academic I know can identify with.
Whenever you get a "revise and resubmit" referee report, the two key questions are:
* How many of the revisions do you want to make? How many can you make in a reasonable amount of time?
* Almost certainly you will resubmit, yes, but: to the same journal or to a different journal?
I take it that by "completely correct" you mean that you agree that all of the suggested revisions would improve the paper. That still does not imply that you want to make all of them: if the revisions ask for significant further work, then it may well be that, yes, you are in the midst of this work / planning to do it in the future but nevertheless you are seeking to publish what you have done so far.
Of course if you agree with all of the suggested revisions and you feel that you can do them in a reasonable amount of time -- e.g., in time to meet the deadline for a conference -- then it seems pretty clear that's the way to go.
I take it though that in your case it is not practical to complete all the suggested revisions in the given amount of time. Your remaining choices are then: (i) complete only some of the revisions, explain very carefully in your reply why you considered the other proposed revisions but did not make them, and hope for the best; (ii) indeed resubmit, but elsewhere; and (iii) withdraw the paper until you can complete the suggested work. Then resubmit (possibly to the same place, if applicable, but starting over again in the formal submission process).
These are tough choices, and obviously they cannot be made globally. All I'll say is that the more (!!) "completely correct" you feel the reviewer's suggested changes are, the more likely it is that if you do not satisfactorily incorporate these changes then the paper will not be accepted. This still does not mean that revising and resubmitting is a poor choice: you have to do an expected value computation (e.g. if you can respond to 2/3 of the suggested revisions within a few days, maybe give resubmission to the same conference a whirl: why not?) to decide what is your best option. This decision also includes how important it is to you that the paper be published sooner rather than later and how important that it be published in this specific venue. Ideally speaking, you should take the necessary time to publish a "complete" version of your work rather than an unsatisfactorily partial preliminary version...but in reality, many academics do not have the luxury of fully indulging this ideal.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I think the solution for the problem in the title is to revise the paper so that the undesirable consequences are no longer consequences. As I understand it, the reviewer correctly pointed out that your conclusion is not adequately supported by your experiment; the undesirable consequence is that this conclusion should be removed; it's undesirable because that would mean removing a big part of the paper. Fortunately, the undesirable consequence would no longer be a consequence at all if the conclusion were relabeled to match what you wrote in the second paragraph of your question --- for example along the lines of username_1's suggestion. More generally, instead of saying (incorrectly) that something is a conclusion from your experiment, say what it really is, as accurately as you can.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> My question is, how could I respond to this comment, as deleting my discussion would cut out a huge part of my work?
>
>
>
Trust me. I have been there.
Remove the questionable part, and even the whole paper if necessary. (Well, unless the reviewer is a well-known idiot :-) )
In the future, you will regret anything you published that is not perfectly fine and relevant.
PS.
Also, in the future, you may be involved in some competition or conflictual circumstance where a "competitor" or opponent may use a "scientific weakness" against you. And in this case you may "pay" a high price.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Firstly, I'm not totally clear about the exact situation. Here's how I understand it:
* some experiments have been done and analysed
* some conclustion *can* be drawn
* some control experiment that would allow far more general conclusions is planned but has not yet been done.
This is what the reviewer is worried about.
Author point of view:
---------------------
I'd say that the decision what to do depends on whether the conclusions that can be drawn are important enough to write a paper about them. Alternatively, the other way round: whether a paper written about both the already performed and the control experiments would be too long for a good paper.
In these situations, I'd
* agree with the reviewer (in the answer to the reviewers)
* but point out that after careful consideration you decided that the control experiments are out of the scope of the present (preliminary? feasibility? case?) study.
* In addition, I'd spell out the limitations of the present study very clearly
* while outlining the follow-up experiment as a solution. This needs some care in order to convince readers (and reviewer) that the follow-up experiment is really taking place: the literature is full of ongoing experiments that never went on.
* In the answer to the reviewers, state explicitly that you took care to clearly outline the limitatins of the present study due to the lack of control experiments.
Obviously, this approach can only work if the lack of control experiments has some sensible reason and doesn't appear to be lazyness. Spell out the reasons (careful with non-scientific reasons like feasibility [vs. laziness]).
---
Reviewer point of view
----------------------
When reviewing a paper, I find it quite OK if experiments have limitations\* if the authors are clearly aware of these limitations. I tend to be worried if the conclusion that the world is rescued is based on 3 dead mice.
\* Experiments will always have limitations. It is IMHO perfectly right to look at science as an iterative process of refining knowledge. It doesn't make sense to get thousands of patients for a preliminary study. But the preliminary study should spell out the limitations. And in practice, the preliminary study is (and should be) needed in order to get the thousands of patients, and/or better meta information, or other other labs joining the efforts etc. for follow-up studies. But also this will work only if the preliminary study is honest about limitations. Otherwise the topic will be perceived as "solved".
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/28 | 588 | 2,622 | <issue_start>username_0: My students often request letters of reference from me. Sometimes to attend graduate school in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and sometimes in countries not internationally known for their education system.
Quite often the student says the university wants them to enclose the letters of recommendation and clearly some universities do not want the student to be involved in that communication process.
My question is, **how do I know when I am writing a letter to a specific university if they prefer the student to submit the letter or if they prefer me to communicate directly with the school?** I could check with each school as I write the letter but that seems like a lot of work which need not be repeated for each letter-writer.<issue_comment>username_1: Well, many good answers are already included in the comment section, but Let my try to summarize and extend this a bit:
First of all, there are good reasons for not involving the student (you can be more honest, the student can not pre-select). To my knowledge, ther eare at least three different submission types:
1. Student sends in recommendation which is written openly
2. Students has to submit letter of recommendation, but it must be enclosed in a sealed envelope
3. letter of recommendation has to be sent directly.
The chosen method might not only depend on the institution, but also on the funding scheme if the student gets financial support. The sheer number of possible combinations, combined with funding schemes which might vary from year to year makes the existence of a complete list extremely unlikely.
I would suggest to follow the advice given by <NAME> to let the student figure out how the process works. It might be good to tell the student that if there are several options, you would prefer to send in the letter directly.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Adding a bit to this, for Japanese universities, almost all expect the letter to be open and included in the applications materials sent by the applicant (my experience here is for jobs -- not graduate school), then recommendation letters are submitted by the applicant in their package.
I gather this is also common in China. As an American, I find it bizarre, but it is what it is.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: What you are asking for is impossible because [Academia varies.](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4471/academia-varies-more-than-you-think-it-does-the-movie) Letter-collecting practices can vary between departments, degree programs, and supervisors. They can also change over time.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/28 | 1,203 | 4,895 | <issue_start>username_0: For my thesis I have had to go through many different sources to find relevant literature. I want to share my reading list with others to make it easier for people who want to study the same topic to find relevant information. I have set up a little database with meta info (title / journal / author / date / abstract). My idea is to put this online so others can freely browse this. Is there any copyright issue (or otherwise important issue) to take into account? Can I put the abstracts online as well?
Each paper links to the journal's official website and I did not put any actual paper or PDF online.<issue_comment>username_1: There's generally no copyright issue. You're giving fair credit assignment. Abstracts should be considered "marketing material" -- freely publishable (with proper references), as you're helping the author(s) as much as yourself.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: With the hopefully obvious caveat that I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice: at least in the US, this is probably fine. Copyright law ([17 USC § 102](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/102)) applies to "original works of authorship," not to ideas, and I think everyone would agree the metadata of an article's publication (including journal name, author, and date) fall in the latter category, not the former. Otherwise the whole system of academic citation would be untenable!
The title and abstract, on the other hand, are content created by the articles' authors and are protected by copyright law, but I think it's quite likely that fair use ([17 USC § 107](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107)) protects you from being held liable for using them in the manner you describe. With reference to the four conditions to be considered when determining fair use:
>
> (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
>
>
>
You say it's a free, noncommercial endeavor, so that works in your favor
>
> (2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
>
>
>
It's an academic article; the whole purpose of its existence is to be widely disseminated
>
> (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
>
>
>
The title and abstract are a small part of the work
>
> (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work
>
>
>
Using the title and abstract in a database like this will more likely increase the market for the original paper than decrease it (which is in fact the entire point of having an abstract)
---
In fact, you would hardly be the first person to do something like this. In high energy physics, [INSPIRE](http://inspirehep.net/) already aggregates abstracts and metadata from nearly all published papers.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Disclaimer: The following is not legal advice.
As the copyright laws of many countries may apply, you would have to check your projects compatibility with each of them, which you might consider a disproportional amount of work. However, there is a minimum allowance any country’s copyright laws have to make to be any reasonable (e.g., without which most journalism would be illegal). Assuming these, one can make the following thoughts:
There are only two things, to which copyright laws will apply: The title and the abstract. Everything else would at least fail to be over the threshold of originality (and probably many other criterions).
Now, a reasonable copyright law has to have some mechanism that allows for short quotations: In the U.S. this would be covered by *fair use* and maybe something else; Germany has a [special paragraph](http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/urhg/__51.html) for quotations, etc. However, at least in some countries, if not all, there are no clear legal limits regarding the circumstances and length of a quotation – e.g., the U.S. fair use is “only” likely to be in your favour [as explained by username_2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/26512/7734). While the title can be safely assumed to be legal to quote, the abstract is in this grey area (under the above assumptions).
Hence I would refrain from publishing the abstracts (even more so, as they are usually freely available on the Journal’s home page, which you can link).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Most publishers has a set, automatic way to get permissions to republish figures, tables, parts of text etc and also a rather elaborate copyright section. To study these I think the second best thing after taking the opinion of a lawyer. Note, they can vary publisher by publisher.
In my experience, journals are often broadcast abstracts eg in RSS feeds with a copyright tag, so I guess they consider it copyrighted but more or less sharable content.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/28 | 226 | 884 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate working with an advisor, but I do not know how to pronounce his/her last name. I have talked with several different people who work in the department, and have heard the name pronounced several different ways.
Is there a polite way of asking an advisor how to pronounce his/her last name?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> By the way, I have heard your last name pronounced a few different ways and I want to make sure I get it right. Can you teach me the correct way to pronounce it?
>
>
>
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I agree with the direct approach in the other answer, but if you'd like an indirect approach (that can be done before a first meeting), try calling the professor's office phone number when you know he or she is not there and listening to how the name is pronounced on voice mail.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/28 | 4,446 | 14,680 | <issue_start>username_0: This is a simple question but I am not sure how to find out the answer. Where in the world are the salaries of (senior) academics published and freely available? I found this [amazing web page](http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2012/univer12g.html) from Canada. Is it unique?
---
So far we have learned: (See answers and comments for more details.)
* Many US states give full salary details for public university employees.
* The province of Ontario in Canada gives full salary details.
* Switzerland gives full salary details (although no URL given yet).
* In Denmark you can infer the salary fairly accurately from seniority and job classification.
* In Finland (and possibly Norway and Sweden), everyone's basic tax records are public information although you can't access it online.
* In Germany salaries for individual professors are secret, but salaries for other researchers can be inferred from public salary tables.
* In the UK salaries for individual professors are secret, but salaries for more junior academics can often be inferred from published salary tables.
It would be great to get a fuller picture for Europe. What is the situation in France, for example?<issue_comment>username_1: Most US states have Freedom of Information Laws that allow for people to request this kind of information of public schools. You will find numerous databases usually run by some sort of local news organization that publishes this data. E.g. [The Texas Tribune Goverment Salary Database](http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/).
I don't know of a central resource for such things in the US. Public schools are typically run by US states, so the information is very distributed. Also, due to the nature of the laws, the information can be as much as a year old in many cases.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In Denmark (and probably other countries with similar, highly centralized wage bargaining systems), salaries for faculty at public (i.e., in Denmark, all) universities are determined by a single contract negotiated between unions and the national government. All faculty in Denmark are paid according to the same scheme, which is based on a combination of seniority, job classification (assistant/associate/full), and some smaller fringe benefits. These contracts are public information. [Here's the one that applies to my current position](http://www.djoef.dk/~/media/documents/djoef/a/aktuel%20l%C3%B8noversigt.ashx). I'm sure you could find similar documents for other countries.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Short answer: Germany. Somewhat.
To explain in more detail, there are four common modes for researchers in Germany:
1. Unpaid. (Typically PhD students in social sciences. Poor sods.)
2. Scholarships. ("Stipendiat"; PhD students and post-docs)
3. Employee of the state. ("Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter"; PhD students, post docs and (rarely) non-professor senior researchers)
4. Civil servant. ("Beamter"; professors and senior researchers)
The first needs no explanation. The second kind is -- from the perspective of how our system used to work traditionally -- a bit of an abomination with little to no regulation. The amount of the scholarship tends to be similar to the salary employees in similar circumstances get but is, ultimately, for the awarding institution to make up.
Now, for employees and "Beamte", there are well-defined salary tables which [anybody can inspect](http://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/). Be aware that these are *gross* figures. Depending on your circumstances 30+% won't even see your bank account; you can use the provided calculators to get an idea of the parameters and results (if you know enough German).
* PhD students usually get (some percentage of) a TVL E13 position, post-docs can get E14-15 depending on their responsibilities.
* Senior researchers with life-long positions usually start at A13 and can move up to A16 in leading positions.
* Professors used to get C1-4 but that was changed to W1-3; junior professors (with or without tenure) get W1, full professors W2 or W3 depending on the position.
However, professors are eligible to negotiate for higher salaries
+ during the hiring process ("Berufungszulagen"),
+ in case of above average performance ("Leistungszulagen") and
+ when they get offers from other universities ("Bleibeverhandlungen").Therefore, the real salaries of professors differ wildly (i.e. by integer factors). These figures are not public, not even in one department.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: A great resource containing lots of data for European countries is on the [European university institute](http://www.eui.eu/ProgrammesAndFellowships/AcademicCareersObservatory/CareerComparisons/SalaryComparisons.aspx#Information). More detailed information on the academic careers in various countries is on [another page](http://www.eui.eu/ProgrammesAndFellowships/AcademicCareersObservatory/AcademicCareersbyCountry/Index.aspx) of the same site.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: In the UK the UCU has negotiated a single [salary spine](http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2210) that ranges from £13,953 to £58,172. Only Professors exceed the top end of the scale so it is possible to make an educated guess at the salary of Lecturers and Readers.
Each university sets their own limits where Lecturers and Readers fall on the salary spine and the exact starting point on the spine is individually negotiated. For example, the [Manchester scale](http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=4291) has Lecturers between spine points 37 and 44, while the [Nottingham scale](http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/hr/guidesandsupport/rewardpayandallowances/salaryscales/documents/2013/2-57-point-scale-01-08-13.pdf) has Lecturers between 36 and 43. Readers are between 45 and 51 at both Manchester and Nottingham. I am ignoring the spine points between the standard maximum and the super maximum since progression in that region is extremely difficult (and generally results in promotion). Typically, you move one spine point a year so if you know how many years someone has been a Reader/Lecturer, then you can make a very good educated guess at the salary. For all but Lecturers who have been appointed in the past 3 years, you should be able to estimate the salary within +/-10%.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: (The following answer focuses on France)
Researchers
-----------
In France, [*CNRS researchers*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique) (largest governmental research organisation in France) are paid [according to the class they belong to](https://www.dgdr.cnrs.fr/drhchercheurs/concoursch/chercheur/carriere-fr.htm) (monthly gross salary):
* chargé de recherche de 2 ème classe: between 2 200 € and 2 600 €
* chargé de recherche de 1 ère classe: between 2 300 € and 3 900 €
* directeurs de recherche: between 3 000 € and 6 000 €.
In addition to the base salary [researchers get some bonus that can go up to 1275 EUR per year](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chercheur_des_%C3%A9tablissements_publics_scientifiques_et_technologiques_fran%C3%A7ais):
>
> Each grade has several levels that determine the remuneration of researchers . The gross monthly salary research managers is between € 3,000 and € 6,100 (assessments in September 2007) . In addition to the base salary directeurs de recherche receive a yearly research bonus ranging from 650 to 1275 EUR (depending on the [corps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grands_corps_de_l%27Etat) and grade) and , where applicable, family supplements.
>
>
>
---
Professors
----------
The following two Wikipedia pages contain the salary grid for Maître de conférences and Professeur des universités:
* [Maître de conférences](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%AEtre_de_conf%C3%A9rences_(France)):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ce8vL.png)
- [Professeur des universités](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professeur_des_universit%C3%A9s)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S4yFC.png)
---
Research engineers
------------------
[Gross salary for research engineers working in public institutions](http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid23194/ingenieur-de-recherche.html):
*Ingénieur de recherche de 2ème classe*
* Début de carrière : 1907,68 euros
* Milieu de carrière : 2 546,66 euros
* Fin de carrière : 3 301,39 euros
*Ingénieur de recherche de 1ère classe*
* Début de carrière : 2 694,83 euros
* Milieu de carrière : 3 398,63 euros
* Fin de carrière : 3 801,46 euros
*Ingénieur de recherche hors classe*
* Début de carrière : 3 046,73 euros
* Milieu de carrière : 4 079,28 euros
* Fin de carrière : 4 458,97 euros
---
For the sake of comparison, [the monthly gross median wage in France is around 1717€](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_median_wage), and [the average monthly net income is 2128€](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_average_wage).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: The best resource for info on US salaries is the [annual report on faculty salaries](http://chronicle.com/article/2013-14-AAUP-Faculty-Salary/145679?cid=megamenu#id=table) produced by the AAUP. In most states, faculty salaries at public universities will be public information, but since such a large number of US universities are private, this information may be misleading. Further, the AAUP report also helpfully distinguishes salary info in terms of seniority, the field of research, the geographical region of the country and the Carnegie classification of the university as well. A full professor in Law or Business at a doctoral program in the Northeast will make much, much more money than a lowly assistant prof who teaches English at a community college in the South, for instance.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Also in Israel, from the website of one university (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev):
<http://in.bgu.ac.il/hr/DocLib/Pages/salary_tables/salary-senior-Jan2013.pdf>
It's in Hebrew, so you can't understand much of it I guess. To sum it up:
* Top right: Professor
* Top left: Associate professor
* Middle right: Senior lecturer
* Middle left: Lecturer
* Bottom right: Senior teacher
* Bottom left: Teacher
In each table the rightmost column is number of years in the job, and the leftmost column is the total monthly salary amount, in ILS. So if you want to find out how much someone is getting paid, find out his rank and compare with the list.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: In Switzerland, being a confederation (well, nowadays more like a federal parliamentary republic), there are two levels of universities: federal and state universities. To the best of my knowledge there is no nominative list of individual salaries, as the law in Switzerland typically protects personal data (or at least, tries to).
For the federal level, i.e. the ETH in Zurich and the EPF in Lausanne, the range of first salary is given in [a document](http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/20031273/201401010000/172.220.113.40.pdf) (in German) available on the federal government's website. The salaries are in the order of (see top of page 8) 148k-270k CHF depending on the type of professorship and other factors that are negotiated individually.
For the state level, there is presumably more disparities between institutions. For example, the university of Lausanne publishes the salaries of the assistant professors (125k) in [a document](http://www.unil.ch/interne/files/live/sites/interne/files/textes_leg/1_ress_hum/dir1_24_fixation_salaire_enseign4.pdf) on its website but states that the salaries of full professor is determined individually.
On the subject, [this article in the NZZ](http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/schweiz/zahltag-an-der-uni-1.16961100) gives comparative salaries for professors between Switzerland and many other countries.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As in many other European countries, salaries in **Italy** are not negotiated individually but are a function of academic rank and seniority.
There is a small variable component that depends on the region where the university is located. The raw tables for my university (Pisa, Tuscany) are [here](http://www.unipi.it/index.php/download/category/84-docenti-tabelle-retributive?download=708%3A2010-vallide-anche-per-il-2011-e-il-2012) and [here](http://www.unipi.it/index.php/download/category/84-docenti-tabelle-retributive?download=707%3A2012-personale-assunto-secondo-il-nuono-regime-legge-2402010) for some newer positions (all these links are in Italian only).
There is an additional bonus for children and family (raw tables for my institution [here](http://www.unipi.it/index.php/download/category/77-carriere-docenti-assegno-familiare?download=653%3Atabelle-per-richiesta-dal-01072013-al-30062014)).
In theory one can compute the salary of each professor from these raw data, if they know their seniority and family status. In practice, the computations are absurdly complicated unless one is a professional bureaucrat. I am a mathematician, and I'd have no idea how to compute my own salary using those tables. :)
You can get a ballpark amount from the tables [**here**](http://alpaglia.xoom.it/alberto_pagliarini/TAB2010Aumento3e09percento.htm), published by an independent union expert. The net monthly salary is in column k, and the gross yearly salary is in the rightmost column.
(Quick legend: *T.P.* = full time; *T.D.* = part time; *1^ fascia* = full professor; *2^ fascia* = associate prof; *ricercatore* = assistant prof; *confermato/ordinario* = tenured; *non confermato/straordinario* = tenure track).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Most (if not all) Australian Universities publish their salaries in their HR pages. A simple search of the university name + salary would bring the correct page straight away. See for example:
* [Melbourne University](https://hr.unimelb.edu.au/benefits/pay/salary-scales)
* [UNSW Australia](https://www.hr.unsw.edu.au/services/salaries/salrates.html)
* [Curtin University](https://hr.curtin.edu.au/salary_scales.cfm)
Just as a few examples.
Positions and salaries here are also tiered. Academic positions are:
* A (1-8) as an Associate Lecturer with an A6 being the lowest tier that someone with a PhD will be employed,
* B as a Lecturer (or usually a researcher with a couple of years of experience)
* C as Senior Lecturer
* D as Associate Professor and
* E as Professor
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/28 | 4,245 | 13,881 | <issue_start>username_0: I am informed that submitted paper supposed to be sent to the typesetters today. I am advised to check the mails. Until now there is no acknowledgement except the first mail. I am curious about the typesetters job in this process. Do they make considerable updates? Do I have much work to do, after typesetter is done with the paper? Since, I am on holiday, I wonder if the workload will ruin my holiday?<issue_comment>username_1: Most US states have Freedom of Information Laws that allow for people to request this kind of information of public schools. You will find numerous databases usually run by some sort of local news organization that publishes this data. E.g. [The Texas Tribune Goverment Salary Database](http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/).
I don't know of a central resource for such things in the US. Public schools are typically run by US states, so the information is very distributed. Also, due to the nature of the laws, the information can be as much as a year old in many cases.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In Denmark (and probably other countries with similar, highly centralized wage bargaining systems), salaries for faculty at public (i.e., in Denmark, all) universities are determined by a single contract negotiated between unions and the national government. All faculty in Denmark are paid according to the same scheme, which is based on a combination of seniority, job classification (assistant/associate/full), and some smaller fringe benefits. These contracts are public information. [Here's the one that applies to my current position](http://www.djoef.dk/~/media/documents/djoef/a/aktuel%20l%C3%B8noversigt.ashx). I'm sure you could find similar documents for other countries.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Short answer: Germany. Somewhat.
To explain in more detail, there are four common modes for researchers in Germany:
1. Unpaid. (Typically PhD students in social sciences. Poor sods.)
2. Scholarships. ("Stipendiat"; PhD students and post-docs)
3. Employee of the state. ("Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter"; PhD students, post docs and (rarely) non-professor senior researchers)
4. Civil servant. ("Beamter"; professors and senior researchers)
The first needs no explanation. The second kind is -- from the perspective of how our system used to work traditionally -- a bit of an abomination with little to no regulation. The amount of the scholarship tends to be similar to the salary employees in similar circumstances get but is, ultimately, for the awarding institution to make up.
Now, for employees and "Beamte", there are well-defined salary tables which [anybody can inspect](http://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/). Be aware that these are *gross* figures. Depending on your circumstances 30+% won't even see your bank account; you can use the provided calculators to get an idea of the parameters and results (if you know enough German).
* PhD students usually get (some percentage of) a TVL E13 position, post-docs can get E14-15 depending on their responsibilities.
* Senior researchers with life-long positions usually start at A13 and can move up to A16 in leading positions.
* Professors used to get C1-4 but that was changed to W1-3; junior professors (with or without tenure) get W1, full professors W2 or W3 depending on the position.
However, professors are eligible to negotiate for higher salaries
+ during the hiring process ("Berufungszulagen"),
+ in case of above average performance ("Leistungszulagen") and
+ when they get offers from other universities ("Bleibeverhandlungen").Therefore, the real salaries of professors differ wildly (i.e. by integer factors). These figures are not public, not even in one department.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: A great resource containing lots of data for European countries is on the [European university institute](http://www.eui.eu/ProgrammesAndFellowships/AcademicCareersObservatory/CareerComparisons/SalaryComparisons.aspx#Information). More detailed information on the academic careers in various countries is on [another page](http://www.eui.eu/ProgrammesAndFellowships/AcademicCareersObservatory/AcademicCareersbyCountry/Index.aspx) of the same site.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: In the UK the UCU has negotiated a single [salary spine](http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2210) that ranges from £13,953 to £58,172. Only Professors exceed the top end of the scale so it is possible to make an educated guess at the salary of Lecturers and Readers.
Each university sets their own limits where Lecturers and Readers fall on the salary spine and the exact starting point on the spine is individually negotiated. For example, the [Manchester scale](http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=4291) has Lecturers between spine points 37 and 44, while the [Nottingham scale](http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/hr/guidesandsupport/rewardpayandallowances/salaryscales/documents/2013/2-57-point-scale-01-08-13.pdf) has Lecturers between 36 and 43. Readers are between 45 and 51 at both Manchester and Nottingham. I am ignoring the spine points between the standard maximum and the super maximum since progression in that region is extremely difficult (and generally results in promotion). Typically, you move one spine point a year so if you know how many years someone has been a Reader/Lecturer, then you can make a very good educated guess at the salary. For all but Lecturers who have been appointed in the past 3 years, you should be able to estimate the salary within +/-10%.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: (The following answer focuses on France)
Researchers
-----------
In France, [*CNRS researchers*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique) (largest governmental research organisation in France) are paid [according to the class they belong to](https://www.dgdr.cnrs.fr/drhchercheurs/concoursch/chercheur/carriere-fr.htm) (monthly gross salary):
* chargé de recherche de 2 ème classe: between 2 200 € and 2 600 €
* chargé de recherche de 1 ère classe: between 2 300 € and 3 900 €
* directeurs de recherche: between 3 000 € and 6 000 €.
In addition to the base salary [researchers get some bonus that can go up to 1275 EUR per year](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chercheur_des_%C3%A9tablissements_publics_scientifiques_et_technologiques_fran%C3%A7ais):
>
> Each grade has several levels that determine the remuneration of researchers . The gross monthly salary research managers is between € 3,000 and € 6,100 (assessments in September 2007) . In addition to the base salary directeurs de recherche receive a yearly research bonus ranging from 650 to 1275 EUR (depending on the [corps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grands_corps_de_l%27Etat) and grade) and , where applicable, family supplements.
>
>
>
---
Professors
----------
The following two Wikipedia pages contain the salary grid for Maître de conférences and Professeur des universités:
* [Maître de conférences](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%AEtre_de_conf%C3%A9rences_(France)):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ce8vL.png)
- [Professeur des universités](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professeur_des_universit%C3%A9s)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S4yFC.png)
---
Research engineers
------------------
[Gross salary for research engineers working in public institutions](http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid23194/ingenieur-de-recherche.html):
*Ingénieur de recherche de 2ème classe*
* Début de carrière : 1907,68 euros
* <NAME> : 2 546,66 euros
* Fin de carrière : 3 301,39 euros
*Ingénieur de recherche de 1ère classe*
* Début de carrière : 2 694,83 euros
* <NAME> carrière : 3 398,63 euros
* Fin de carrière : 3 801,46 euros
*Ingénieur de recherche hors classe*
* Début de carrière : 3 046,73 euros
* Milieu de carrière : 4 079,28 euros
* Fin de carrière : 4 458,97 euros
---
For the sake of comparison, [the monthly gross median wage in France is around 1717€](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_median_wage), and [the average monthly net income is 2128€](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_average_wage).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: The best resource for info on US salaries is the [annual report on faculty salaries](http://chronicle.com/article/2013-14-AAUP-Faculty-Salary/145679?cid=megamenu#id=table) produced by the AAUP. In most states, faculty salaries at public universities will be public information, but since such a large number of US universities are private, this information may be misleading. Further, the AAUP report also helpfully distinguishes salary info in terms of seniority, the field of research, the geographical region of the country and the Carnegie classification of the university as well. A full professor in Law or Business at a doctoral program in the Northeast will make much, much more money than a lowly assistant prof who teaches English at a community college in the South, for instance.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Also in Israel, from the website of one university (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev):
<http://in.bgu.ac.il/hr/DocLib/Pages/salary_tables/salary-senior-Jan2013.pdf>
It's in Hebrew, so you can't understand much of it I guess. To sum it up:
* Top right: Professor
* Top left: Associate professor
* Middle right: Senior lecturer
* Middle left: Lecturer
* Bottom right: Senior teacher
* Bottom left: Teacher
In each table the rightmost column is number of years in the job, and the leftmost column is the total monthly salary amount, in ILS. So if you want to find out how much someone is getting paid, find out his rank and compare with the list.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: In Switzerland, being a confederation (well, nowadays more like a federal parliamentary republic), there are two levels of universities: federal and state universities. To the best of my knowledge there is no nominative list of individual salaries, as the law in Switzerland typically protects personal data (or at least, tries to).
For the federal level, i.e. the ETH in Zurich and the EPF in Lausanne, the range of first salary is given in [a document](http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/20031273/201401010000/172.220.113.40.pdf) (in German) available on the federal government's website. The salaries are in the order of (see top of page 8) 148k-270k CHF depending on the type of professorship and other factors that are negotiated individually.
For the state level, there is presumably more disparities between institutions. For example, the university of Lausanne publishes the salaries of the assistant professors (125k) in [a document](http://www.unil.ch/interne/files/live/sites/interne/files/textes_leg/1_ress_hum/dir1_24_fixation_salaire_enseign4.pdf) on its website but states that the salaries of full professor is determined individually.
On the subject, [this article in the NZZ](http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/schweiz/zahltag-an-der-uni-1.16961100) gives comparative salaries for professors between Switzerland and many other countries.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As in many other European countries, salaries in **Italy** are not negotiated individually but are a function of academic rank and seniority.
There is a small variable component that depends on the region where the university is located. The raw tables for my university (Pisa, Tuscany) are [here](http://www.unipi.it/index.php/download/category/84-docenti-tabelle-retributive?download=708%3A2010-vallide-anche-per-il-2011-e-il-2012) and [here](http://www.unipi.it/index.php/download/category/84-docenti-tabelle-retributive?download=707%3A2012-personale-assunto-secondo-il-nuono-regime-legge-2402010) for some newer positions (all these links are in Italian only).
There is an additional bonus for children and family (raw tables for my institution [here](http://www.unipi.it/index.php/download/category/77-carriere-docenti-assegno-familiare?download=653%3Atabelle-per-richiesta-dal-01072013-al-30062014)).
In theory one can compute the salary of each professor from these raw data, if they know their seniority and family status. In practice, the computations are absurdly complicated unless one is a professional bureaucrat. I am a mathematician, and I'd have no idea how to compute my own salary using those tables. :)
You can get a ballpark amount from the tables [**here**](http://alpaglia.xoom.it/alberto_pagliarini/TAB2010Aumento3e09percento.htm), published by an independent union expert. The net monthly salary is in column k, and the gross yearly salary is in the rightmost column.
(Quick legend: *T.P.* = full time; *T.D.* = part time; *1^ fascia* = full professor; *2^ fascia* = associate prof; *ricercatore* = assistant prof; *confermato/ordinario* = tenured; *non confermato/straordinario* = tenure track).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Most (if not all) Australian Universities publish their salaries in their HR pages. A simple search of the university name + salary would bring the correct page straight away. See for example:
* [Melbourne University](https://hr.unimelb.edu.au/benefits/pay/salary-scales)
* [UNSW Australia](https://www.hr.unsw.edu.au/services/salaries/salrates.html)
* [Curtin University](https://hr.curtin.edu.au/salary_scales.cfm)
Just as a few examples.
Positions and salaries here are also tiered. Academic positions are:
* A (1-8) as an Associate Lecturer with an A6 being the lowest tier that someone with a PhD will be employed,
* B as a Lecturer (or usually a researcher with a couple of years of experience)
* C as Senior Lecturer
* D as Associate Professor and
* E as Professor
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/28 | 717 | 3,105 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a non-native author and I have a revised paper that has been edited for good English before the first review. Now I made major changes, but still a large part of my essay remained as before. What is the best way to get my revised paper edited for English and flow without having to get charged for the whole (relatively long) paper again? Was someone in a similar situation?<issue_comment>username_1: I am a native English speaker, this is based off my experiences proofreading papers for others in my lab who are not native speakers.
Changing even a small section of a paper can have repercussions throughout the rest of the paper in unexpected ways. Also, as important as it is that the English in the changed sections is correct it is also important that those changed sections flow appropriately with the rest of the paper.
To help with both of these issues it is best to have the entire paper proofread again. Even as a native-English speaker, I have others proofread my paper after revisions because of the above issues. It can be helpful to somehow mark the changed sections and request that the proofreader be aware that those areas were changed.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with username_1 that changing parts of the paper influences the remaining paper as well. The reason is that when reading / reviewing a paper you can easily spot different writing styles (especially if you have parts coming from native and non-native speakers). Having different styles within a single paper distorts reading and makes a bad impression. In your case, I would suggest to let proof read the whole paper again.
However, in general, I suggest to write papers with co-authors who are either native speakers or know how to write. Only this way, you can actually learn how to write, which is an important skill often underrated. I cannot see how you can learn writing scientific articles without having the opportunity to talk and discuss why some sentences or paragraphs are written in "native" way. So, my advise is to get people working with you and learn from them.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: ESL here and this is how I usually deal with similar situations.
**Go back to the same editor for a reduced rate**
It will not hurt to ask. Highlight the parts that you changed, and send over with an inquiry if he/she is willing to look at it again, with heavier grammatical checks in the highlighted sections and then overall flow, at a reduced rate.
**Form a weekly writing group**
This is a pretty stressful method but it's one of the best decisions I have made. Form a writing group with 2-3 colleagues. We model after this [article](http://chronicle.com/article/The-Rules-of-Writing-Group/126880/). All my partners are native speakers, and I often get English-related advices and even edits from them.
You may feel inadequate (I did at the beginning), but don't. Being an ESL has its appeal. If I can understand their work, it's very likely that native audience will also understand their work. In a way, I am their coal mine canary.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/28 | 815 | 3,204 | <issue_start>username_0: Currently, I am a M.S. student in Applied Mathematics division, and I will graduate in the coming Dec, 2014.
But I want to apply to a PhD. program to continue my study. But I have a complicated situation:
1. I had a bachelor's degree in software engineering outside US with GPA 3.7. But I'm pursing a M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics in a US college with GPA 3.6, the reason I am doing this is because I want to improve my mathematical background, and prepare for research oriented program in the future.
2. My native language is non-English, and my English skills are not that strong. I didn't have a competitive GRE test.
3. But I had some research experiences, both in and outside US. And almost all the research is either direct with national research labs or collaborate with them. However, I have no academic publications yet.
Is it possible for me to seek PhD in the future? I would like to go for it, but it seems more and more professors and universities focus on someone with higher scores and better publication record.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I want to apply a PhD. degree to continue my study.
>
>
>
I am going to assume that you are seeking a PhD in applied mathematics.
In regards to your first point, seeking a masters prior to a PhD is a good way to improve your skill set. Does the program you are currently enrolled in offer research opportunities as a graduate assistant?
>
> My native language is non-English, and my English skill is not that strong. I didn't have a competitive GRE test.
>
>
>
Each school treats the GRE differently. Some schools will use low GRE scores and low grades as a filtering mechanism to weed out unqualified individuals. So, a low score on one part part of the GRE is not necessarily going to prevent you from being accepted.
If you know that writing is the weakest point of your application, there are a few steps you can take. Have friends/classmates/professors review your personal statement. Alternatively, you can acknowledge that your English skills are low but you are taking steps to remedy this.
As for publishing, I have heard differing opinions on this issue. Some people will have published when they applied and others will not. Personally, I will be trying to have at least two papers in progress when I apply for my PhD.
>
> Is that possible for me to seek PhD degree in the future?
>
>
>
The short answer is yes. Based on your research experience and academic background, I can see no reason (at least at the present) why you wouldn't be admitted.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is it possible for me to seek PhD in the future?
>
>
>
Yes. It is possible to seek a PhD at *any point* in one's life, although at some point you will shift over into the "unconventional student" category.
Some universities/faculty *do* tend to overlook unconventional students. However, if you keep publishing articles, learning new skills (and demonstrating them), and staying up to date on the research in your field (and demonstrating that you have), then you'll be in a good position to get accepted by the more open-minded universities whenever you decide to apply.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/29 | 2,404 | 9,347 | <issue_start>username_0: The phd area is Computer Science and the other area can be anything - if this info makes any difference...
I am asking from the practical point of view, specially something that can be evidenced by real examples. Some career that requires/rewards the degree despite of being completely outside its scope would be a good example.
I was worried about asking something a little open, but I see it is pretty common by here, [e.g.](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1836/when-does-one-go-for-a-double-doctorate) - the opposite of other more harsh communities.<issue_comment>username_1: Though the topic of your dissertation may be extremely narrow and focused, the process of acquiring a PhD teaches you the skills to attack virtually any problem very deeply, if given sufficient time. Ultimately, the PhD is just a piece of paper. The real value of it is the ability to produce something of value to others (i.e. research, a product, etc...).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: One way to view it as the the PhD is a signal to employers and others of a certain capacity. This signal can in many countries open doors to other work not immediately related to one's field of inquiry. McKinsey for instance hires PhDs as consultants and hires them at a higher rank than others for that.
A parallel can be said about bachelor's degrees -- at least in the US. A lot of work doesn't really take a bachelor's degree in terms of skills nor does it do anything related to that, but seeing that someone could complete a four year degree signals something about the person's task-completion abilities and willingness to slog through areas they don't like (among other things).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There are careers where PhD as a degree/piece of paper can be helpful:
* Higher education. To be a teacher at a university, by rule, you have to have this piece of paper. It doesn't need to be in the same field as your teaching, though.
* Any business dealing with academics as costumers. Be in policy, salesman for a company or a patent attorney, academics will always welcome you much more warmly if you have that three letter next to your name.
* Consulting. If you do consulting, especially as a sole entrepreneur, PhD can give a lot of credibility.
Where they will hate it:
* If you want to work in IT, many programmer seriously despise PhD people.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Generally, the answer is "No, the Ph.D. title hardly makes you worth more as you step far from your main area".
Typically, doctorate training prepares you to do research, and by the time you graduate, you will have accumulated research experience in your narrow area. So even in academic CS, you won't be particularly welcome if you did research in compiler theory, and the department is looking to hire somebody in Big Data. Moreover, your compiler theory research experience is hopeleslly useless if you decided to work in medieval German literature or neuropsychology or plant biology. They will hire the specialized Ph.D. in that area any day over you. They will hire a linguist who said they took a CodeAcademy class in Python over you even if the project calls for text mining for unique patterns of word use in XV vs. XVI century.
If you slip out to the big real world outside of academia, you will find that you will have surprisingly little to offer on top of a good MA graduate while wanting a higher price tag. Microsoft or Adobe or any other MakeUpNameSoftMetrics do not develop compilers, and instead they would want you to deliver good quality production code (or, worse, to oversee a team of programmers who do that). So ask yourself again.
Paul said [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/26507/739) that Ph.D. develops "the skills to attack virtually any problem very deeply, *if given sufficient time*". I added emphasis, and I cannot stress this small print enough. My experience in industry is that the deliverable time is often yesterday, and few leaders have the patience for you to develop a perfect peer-reviewed published solution. It may not always have to be quick-and-dirty, but it is always have to be on time, so you need to have a better understanding of what the most important points and priorities in your project are which need to be addressed and accomplished first than academia can teach you.
Virmaior said [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/26508/739) that McKinsey happily hires Ph.D.s as consultants. That, of course, is true, but it does not mean that they hire any Ph.D. in any discipline out of charity. They are looking for specific communication and business skills -- essentially for people who made the wrong choice by going to a Ph.D., or had no other pathway to continue with their traning, or in other words who have the mega brains to do really smart work, but may not find themselves happy in academia. The work environment in a consulting firm is anywhere from three to five times as intense as your Ph.D. -- not necessarily in the hours, but more in terms of responsibility. You may be well paid, but you are absolutely required to deliver. McKinsey specifically has an "up-or-out" model: at a time for the regular review, you are either so good that they promote you, or the company will be better off with you working for their competitor. Compare that to "Oh, you worked on this project for two years, and all your mice died because somebody turned the A/C off for the weekend? Ah well. Let's find you another project where I need a qualified technician but I don't want to pay the full time position benefits..." (As a side comment, McKinsey's pricing structure ends up being absolutely, over-the-top ridiculously expensive, may be because they hire so many Ph.D.s that still need to be molded into industry setting.)
To round the picture up, in government of any kind, you will find spending 25% of your time on filling compliance paperwork, be that a job in a public school, an IT support job in state capitol, you name it. This is as far as it can get from being able to come to work in shorts and sandals at noon to work through the night. As far as what Ph.D. is worth there: if you browse some jobs on usajobs.gov, you will find a scale of GS-## (government service at a given level), and the relevant level for a Ph.D. is around 12. I found these two pieces in my area:
>
> In addition to the Basic Requirements:
>
>
> For the GS-12, applicants must have either (a) one year of specialized
> experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-11 in
> the Federal Service or (b) a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in
> statistics, biostatistics, computer science, mathematics, or a closely
> related field.
>
>
>
where in turn level GS-11 means
>
> In order to qualify for Mathematical Statistician, 1529-11/12/13, you
> must meet the following:
>
>
> Basic Qualifications
>
>
> Have at least a bachelor's degree that included 24 semester hours of
> mathematics and statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours were
> in mathematics and 6 semester hours were in statistics.
>
>
> or
>
>
> Have a combination of education and experience--at least 24 semester
> hours in mathematics and statistics, including at least 12 hours in
> mathematics and 6 hours in statistics, as show in A above, plus
> appropriate experience or additional education.
>
>
> Minimum Qualification Requirements for Mathematical Statistician,
> GS-1529-11/12/13.
>
>
> Have one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 grade
> level in the Federal service that includes experience performing
> statistical analyses on biological or biomedical research problems and
> conducting reviews evaluating statistical methods, procedures, and
> concepts involved with biological or biomedical applications.
>
>
>
So for that line of work, Ph.D. = Bachelor + 1 year. Don't quote me on this, job requirements keep changing, and I won't even bother putting links as these jobs expire quite quickly by SE standards.
As a silver lining, there are industry jobs where Ph.D. is required. However, these would be leadership positions in research-heavy types of work, and positions would be listed as "15+ years post Ph.D.; experience overseeing 10+ direct reports" or the like. By then, you will have retrained yourself into whatever the job really requires, so the Ph.D. is really just three letters after your name at that point. If leadership role is where your ambitions are, you should start taking classes in Business Administration immediately if your program covers arbitrary credits outside your major department.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: In some countries, there are some legal implications. For example, in the university I did my Master's thesis, you can only be hired for a maximum of six months, except if you are a student (master or PhD) or you hold a PhD, in which case there are no limits.
Also, it is easier to immigrate to the States if you have one, as it can be used as proof of "extraordinary ability" or be an "outstanding researcher" (granting you priority 1), or at least, "exceptional ability" and "advanced degree" (priority 2).
[Source](http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/types/employment.html#first)
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/29 | 695 | 3,140 | <issue_start>username_0: I am writing an article comparing three pieces of software. I have taken screen shots of all of them and would like to use them in a non-open access article. Given the intended journal, there is a reasonable chance of the images being on the cover. What are the copyright issues associated with screen shots?
Specifically, one of the pieces of software is free and open source (GPL v2), and two are free as in beer, but closed source with unknown licenses and no EULAs. To further complicate matters one of the closed sourced pieces of software looks and functions very much like a proprietary piece of hardware produced by a massive company. Three years ago I contacted the developer of the software and asked about using a screen shot and he said it was fine. The software is still widely available, but the direct download from the developers site now has text indicating that the massive company has "requested" that it be taken down. I own the physical hardware and am not aware of any crazy licensing restrictions. I could use a photo of the physical hardware if that is better.<issue_comment>username_1: You need legal advice. Talk to an attorney.
-------------------------------------------
Perhaps your institution has one that you can take advantage of. Everything from here on out is rank speculation, and even your attorney's advice may not protect your from suit.
If you can, get permission from each source you want to take a screen capture of. There may be copyright protectable elements in those screen shots. There may also be trademarked elements.
If you cannot get permission for whatever reason, you may have to rely on fair use. Fair use is a defense to an infringement suit not a get out of jail free card. By using a copyright or trademark protected work without a license, you run the risk of lawsuit. Your institution may not be willing to rely on a fair use defense. Also, your publisher may not be willing to rely on a fair use defense (since they will be the lawsuit target).
I personally think your use is without question a classic and canonical example of fair use, but that doesn't mean that you will prevail in publishing without permission. Many venues require that your sign a form saying that you have the copyright or permission to use all your images, so be careful.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: *If there's no explicit prohibition against it in a EULA* and it is publicly-available software, just mention the source of the screenshot, either in small print on the cover or in a colophon. Remember the law belongs to you at least as much as them and academics have been too passive in helping courts settle these issues. And the proof of it is shown in other`s answers suggesting you should contact a lawyer. But in the United States, the Law is explicitly reserved for the People, not lawyers. These aren't difficult cases to think about. Academia has been dealing with the issue of fair-use for centuries. Just look at the issue as if it were your own special software, and you'll be able to figure out reasonable and "fair use".
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/07/29 | 1,472 | 6,441 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a recent math PhD, working in Subject X. I had the good luck to give a counterexample to a conjecture in Subject Y, using ideas from X. I don't know much about Y -- in fact I learned the conjecture in a "Y for dummies"-type paper and immediately saw the example. The people I met in Y seemed to be pretty happy about this.
Now I've been invited to give a talk at a big conference about Y. I would of course be delighted to do so, but by the time the conference happens my paper will be about 18 months post-arxiv. I don't really have plans or competence to do further work in Y, and I'm concerned that my paper will be getting stale by the time the conference rolls around. On the other hand, I could give a basic introduction to X and my example, which I think would be interesting to the audience.
Any suggestions as to how to proceed? Should I accept and give a dated talk?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm a physics PhD student, so our culture is a little different, but I've seen people give talks that were primarily about work published multiple years ago. So if math culture is anything like physics culture (and what I've heard suggests that the time scales are even *longer* for you), I don't think it's a bad idea. Especially, considering the fact that you have been *invited* to give this talk, it seems they want you there despite knowing that your work will have been out for a long time by the time the conference happens.
If you want to inject something new into it, you could consult with some colleagues in subject Y and ask them what the relevance of your counterexample is. Then you could finish your talk with an overview of what they tell you.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm assuming that either your job or the conference (or a mixture of both) is covering your travel + attendance cost. If that is the case you should give your talk on it.
A couple of good reasons.
1) Your employer likely hires PhDs to publish papers and give talks, and invited talks always looks good when you're looking for a promotion or a new position.
2) Because Subject X provided a counter-example, it is likely much more relevant to Y than was previously though. Likely the researchers in Y don't know much about X, and would like to know more.
3) You say you believe the conference attendees would be interested in your talk. This is the reason people attend conferences, to hear about something they don't understand well but find interesting. Don't worry that the paper is a few years old.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: There is nothing wrong with the paper being old.
As an example, I once did a live experiment during a conference, with the attending people as participants in the experiment. Obviously, I couldn't evaluate and write up the data during the conference, although I had to give a talk with first results 24 hours after the experiment. I was also required to submit a paper with the complete results with the postproceedings, and these postproceedings appeared maybe 4 months after the conference and were sent to everybody who attended it that year.
I had to give the talk on the postproceedings paper the following year, when the conference was held again. Of course, it was attended by the same crowd of known faces (it is a conference for a somewhat small community). These were the same people who had heard the first results the year before, and then received the written paper.
Still, the talk was a success. The audience was very attentive during the talk, and I received both really good questions and great positive feedback afterwards, having professors come up to me, an unknown doctoral student, and express interest and praise for my work. They weren't bored at the "old news".
In fact, I don't think they had read the paper from the postproceedings, and that's fine. With the sheer quantity of research produced these days, nobody can keep up with all publications in their core area, and everybody picks only the stuff which has direct implication for their own work. They are still very interested in related topics when they get the occasion to hear about them, and enjoy good work. They just don't seek this information actively.
So, give the talk. It is a way to promote yourself and your work, and also your area X, which can have interesting synergies with Y. I doubt that anybody will have a negative reaction just because the paper has been sitting around for months.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: To add one aspect to the other excellent answers here:
Go and give that talk. Even if you don't really have plans or competence to do further work in Y, as you note, the topic seems to be interesting enough to enough people to explicitly invite you. So you never know, you might meet someone at that conference who you could collaborate with in extending your work!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: **Yes, you should accept and give the talk**. Here's why:
1) **You will be providing a public service**. Most of science is currently hyper-specialized and practitioners from different disciplines have trouble communicating their findings to each other because of the differences in jargon and mutually familiar techniques. You have managed to bridge a gap and it is very valuable to make more people in Y aware of your techniques from X. There might even be people from a related Subject Z at the conference, and they might also be looking to learn from you.
2) **There may be more low-hanging fruit in Y**. You state that you are not inclined to pursue subject Y any further. But perhaps there are other current topics in Y where yet another technique from X might make a contribution. Just listen to some talks on Y and talk to the speakers afterwards. Someone might offer to co-author a paper with you, where they do all the work on Y and you provide the proofs from X.
3) **You might initiate more fundamental research on X**. Why was the conjecture in Y formulated in the first place? Was your counter-example so hard to construct with the tools previously used in Y? Was the counter-example not a viable practical example in Y? How would other techniques from X map to the domain of Y? Perhaps there are aspects in Y that cannot be readily modelled using X. In that case, you might need to generalize some of X or combine it with tools from subject U.
**Conclusion**: go forth, inspire and be inspired.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/29 | 740 | 3,184 | <issue_start>username_0: Earlier this year I entered into a high-profile molecular biology lab and started doing wet lab work (I am an undergraduate). Knowing that I have a computational background, my PI asked that I also help with a project that had been conducted over the last two years and was nearing its completion. I was told that if I made enough of a contribution that I could be listed as a coauthor. I wrote a program for the post-doc that is leading this project and used it to analyze the validity of part of his data. The most current (nearly final) version of the project's manuscript that is being passed around the lab unfortunately don't have my name anywhere on it, even though my code is listed in the supplementary information section.
I have always heard that you should get an authorship on a paper if your work resulted in a figure or sizable part of the discussion. My contribution to this project only slightly altered one figure, ensured the figure's validity, and got about 2 sentences in the discussion. My relationship with my lab and my PI especially is very important to me (I would love to continue my work here for at least another 2 years), so is it worth asking for a co-authorship, or at least an acknowledgement? Would doing so be inappropriate given my relative contribution (a month vs. 2 years) and status as an undergraduate in the lab?<issue_comment>username_1: Asking whether a contribution merits acknowledgement or co-authorship is **always** appropriate, as long as it is done in a professional and non-confrontational way.
The answer may be "no," but it's certainly worthwhile to ask. (And if the answer is "no," at least you have learned something about standards for authorship and acknowledgement in your lab/field.)
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: At the very least, an acknowledgment would be appropriate. However, it very much depends on the standards in your field—and within your present lab—whether or not you'll be recognized for a small analysis tool.
Also, I would not expect that the tool would lead to multiple authorship credits—you created the tool once, and should receive "credit" for it once. (Otherwise, I'd need to cite the authors of the software I use in every paper out of my lab group!)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: To be acknowledged seem appropriate. When it comes to authorship, having your name on the paper implicitly means you should also fulfil several criteria such as outlined by the Vancouver Protocol (look at [this post](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/12030/4394) for details or search for posts with the tag [authorship](/questions/tagged/authorship "show questions tagged 'authorship'")). It seems unlikely that you would be eligible for co-authorship.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: A month's worth of work and a small analysis tool sounds like an acknowledgement, rather than an authorship. Depending on your relationship with the rest of the lab, I wouldn't press the point too hard -- a middle-author paper is worth something (but not much), and an acknowledgement is only worth the brief glow of seeing your name on a printed page.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/30 | 940 | 3,683 | <issue_start>username_0: I see [JeffE](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65/jeffe) mentioned the existence of a faculty mentor in his [comment](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11903/as-a-dissertation-advisor-how-can-i-best-help-a-typical-graduate-student#comment21937_11903) on [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11903/as-a-dissertation-advisor-how-can-i-best-help-a-typical-graduate-student), so I am wondering if there is usually a faculty mentor for every junior professor (e.g., newly hired untenured profs). If yes, what are their roles?<issue_comment>username_1: It's rapidly becoming the norm at least at larger research universities (R1s) for all junior faculty to have assigned mentors from the senior faculty. At smaller institutions, they may not be assigned and so junior people have to find a mentor themselves from within the college, go externally, use their thesis adviser as a continuing mentor, or choose not to get mentored altogether.
I'm currently serving as a senior faculty mentor to a junior colleague (I was assigned this person by my Chair) and am an informal mentor to two others. As I see it, my roles are to:
* Show an active interest in my colleague's work. Read their published and unpublished work. Go to their internal talks and try to go to their annual conference talks. Provide feedback.
* Serve as a soundingboard for my colleague -- which journal should they publish in, should they change the structure of their article, what should their publishing schedule be. Suggest, but don't direct.
* Serve as an advocate for my colleague at senior faculty meetings and to the university at promotion and tenure time
* Take the colleague out for lunch from time to time.
In general, try to be a decent human being to them. Especially at the larger R1s, decent human beings are rare so this takes quite an effort. :-)
Note that I've seen a lot of bad mentoring by senior faculty. I'm not sure if they do this because of spite or because they are Evil People®. In my mind, bad mentoring is worse than no mentoring, so I'm not sure if mandatory mentoring programs such as at my institution are a good idea.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This will be a slightly different persepctive from username_1's. I work in a small American liberal arts college in a small department. We have five tenure lines split between math and CS. My college does assign mentors to new faculty who are given funds to take the mentee out to lunch a couple of times. What is different from an R1 setting is that the mentors are specifically and intentionally from very different departments. These assignments come from the Faculty Development Office. Mine is from history.
A few thoughts about what advantages having a mentor from an outside department may have:
* An outside mentor helps navigate the politics of a small department by knowing everyone involved but not being part of the situation.
* A lot of what the mentor gives is insight into navigating the college's structures and politics that are independent of departmental affiliation. For example, the relative workload of the various college-wide committees.
* It helps get you outside of your own department to meet people from across the college. In a small town in a small college this social role is more important than you might imagine.
What this model does not accomplish is any sort of discipline specific mentoring on research or teaching. Those matters are left to informally acquired mentors and friends. This system may not be the Platonic ideal of mentoring but it does accomplish some good without too much bad.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/30 | 681 | 2,726 | <issue_start>username_0: Typical disclaimer is now just common fodder for all papers and books. Any advice on a more original take to this generic statement would be appreciated!<issue_comment>username_1: Making the manuscript error-free is left as an exercise for the reader.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: What is the point? If errors are due to factors other than those under ones own control, it should be mentioned (people are usually careful to protect their own names from problems they are not responsible for). Any unreferenced errors, ambiguities, misconceptions will clearly be labelled as the fault of the author by default.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Usually, such a disclaimer appears when the author of the paper/book acknowledges some contribution from other persons that do not appear as authors, especially when (for papers) the referees are acknowledged for constructive comments and suggestions.
The polite way is to say "all *remaining* errors are my own".
The "heavy-weight professional" way is to say "the usual disclaimer applies".
A natural way to create a Catch-22 (a vicious circle) would be to state "to the best of my knowledge, this paper contains no further erors".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: <NAME> writes in the Preface of Volume 4A of his series *The Art of Computer Programming*:
>
> I fear that [errors] lurk among the details collected here, and I want to correct them as soon as possible. Therefore I will cheerfully award $2.56 to the first finder of each technical, typographical, or historical error.
>
>
>
This is not novel but if there is a greater way to own up and ask for help, I don't know it. This assumes, of course, you want to know about errors and not just issue a blanket "my faul, duh" statement.
Incidentally, Knuth cites <NAME> (*Computational Complexity*, 1994) just below; if you are in for a little snark:
>
> Naturally, I am responsible for the remaining errors---although, in my opinions, my friends could have caught a few more.
>
>
>
I don't think it makes sense to copy such a statement (even as citation) to replace your own words. The best way is probably to be authentic and write what you think.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I find the increasing prevalence of this type of acknowledgement annoying. In political science, it seems like it is on almost every paper. Indeed, some authors have now switched to just writing "the usual disclaimer applies". Why I would need to acknowledge that I am responsible for (errors in) something I have authored continues to allude me. A novel (yet pleasantly classical) strategy would be to say nothing of this sort at all.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/30 | 1,269 | 4,896 | <issue_start>username_0: So when writing a manuscript I usually go about as follows:
When reading papers on my topic I copy/paste or summarise those parts, which may be relevant for me and collect all these bits in a Word Document. It'll look like this:
```
Species A grew taller than Species B (Smith et al. 2013)
Growth rate depends on genetics (Miller et al. 2012)
For Species A growth rate did not differ between experiments (Jones et al. 2013)
```
So basically a list of statements that I then regroup (manually) by topic. However, that last part is quite tedious (and I have to decide on how to group the bits, e.g. by "Species A" or by "growth rate").
So I am looking for a tool (online or downloadable) with which it's possible to collect those text bits, assign tags to each and then select which tag to group by and get the selection of statements.
Are you aware of such a tool?<issue_comment>username_1: Endnote can do such a task but you have to play a little bit with the fields in a reference.
Each reference entry in endnote has some fields, e.g. author, title etc. The aforementioned ones are typical in all references' entry. But, there are some fields entitled "custom". These custom fields can have whatever title you want and can be used in order to make smart categories.
E.g., I have used 2 custom fields. One for sub-fields of my field of study and one with notes. Based on the sub-fields, I have set up smart categories which hold papers-references with specific sub-field tag. Also, I can perform a search and EndNote will search also in the Notes custom field.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I use Qiqqa to manage my PDFs when writing research papers. It allows you to highlight text or add notes to the PDFs. You can then tag the notes, and run "reports" which essentially will pull all of the tagged sections from all of the PDFs in your library into a single paper (similar to the Word document you mentioned) so you don't have to do that manually. It will show the original snippet from the paper, any notes you've made regarding that snippet, and the citation for the paper. There's also a neat brainstorm function that will let you visualize papers, tags, or notes and move them around/link them together; I use that to organize papers sometimes.
There is a free version which will let you try out some features, and an affordable pay version that has more enhanced options. There are some helpful how to videos on Youtube that provide a nice sense of functionality and may help you decide if it's the tool you're looking for. I've been using it since I started grad school and it's been tremendously helpful in organizing my academic writing.
<http://www.qiqqa.com/67642>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I prepare a tex file for note taking (I learnt this by reading [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/10616/15723) to the question [How to read and take notes on research papers](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10578/how-to-read-and-take-notes-on-research-papers)) and I think that this method will help you. If you don't know how to work with LaTeX, it is very easy to learn; but you can make such file by means of any other typesetting software.
You can organize your notes by having each chapter or section for any of the papers you read. For instance, section 1 is for the first paper you read. Then you can use the [makeidx package](http://www.ctan.org/pkg/makeidx) to tag the content and prepare an index for your notes. And after all, you can add references to your notes. Every sentence you write from a reference, you can cite it by putting a simple citation code in front of it.
So, by using three easy codes for [indexing](http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Indexing), [referencing](http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Bibliography_Management) and preparing [tables of contents](http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Document_Structure#Table_of_contents); you will have a PDF file which is searchable, you have the references available and a table of contents which helps you to find your notes of papers. Also, you can categorize your notes of your papers by chaptering your file. For instance:
```
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Topic 1
Section 1: Paper 1
Section 2: Paper 2
Chapter 2: Topic 2
Section 1: Paper 3
Section 2: Paper 4
References
Index
```
Benefits:
* You can easily find your notes of your papers.
* You can have a references list of all the papers you have read.
* You have an index, so can find the keywords you are looking for easily.
* You have the papers you read categorized in each chapter, so you can easily manage your literature review and form the text you are writing.
* You can copy and paste the content of your tex file to your report or paper.
* You can print your file, or share it with a colleague or advisor for review.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/30 | 821 | 3,605 | <issue_start>username_0: I have seen that students have two ways to write their thesis,
1. They have a separate chapter to write an introduction to their thesis. This chapter usually consists of a literature review of their research topic.
2. They have an introduction section at the beginning of each chapter and they write a separate introduction to each chapter and they don't have any introduction chapter for literature review.
Also, I have seen such behaviour in references part;
1. some prefer that each chapter having its own references part;
2. some other prefer all the references come at the end of the thesis report.
Could you please help me know which of these are standard and if any official guide to each exists, I will be happy to know and read them.
---
**EDIT:**
Thanks to the answers to this question of mine, I read the writing guide for masters thesis at my university and consulted my question with my advisor, and looked at the previously submitted theses, I wrote the introduction and literature review of my thesis in the very first chapter exactly after printing the abstract of my thesis and brought all the references at the very end just before the final page of my thesis.<issue_comment>username_1: Well, I think there is no specific answer as if which is the "best" way of writing the Introduction chapter. I believe it boils down to preference. Sometimes it is possible to have both of them.
I prefer,having an introduction chapter which talks about the topic overall and provides the basics to the reader, and then for each chapter you provide an introduction paragraph or section which tell the reader what is going to be solved in that chapter of the thesis.
However, in most of the universities i.e. research groups, the student gets a template which he has to respect when writing the thesis. It is rather interesting that you have the freedom to choose that what type of template you will use for your own thesis.
In any case before you start wasting time on considering which template you should choose, make sure that the research group where you will be writing your thesis does not provide a thesis template of its own.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You mix up two things: **Thesis introduction** and **Chapter introduction**.
From what I observe, every thesis has to have an introduction. It makes sense after all: You need to introduce the topic of the thesis etc. You can't simply start a math thesis by **Theorem. For all X ...** -- you need to start somewhere, and that's the thesis introduction.
The chapter introduction is a nice thing to do, and there are more options. It can be a short text before the first section, a separate section, some people even provide short (3-or-so-sentence) abstracts to each chapter. However, this is mostly part of your writing style, and it can't be so much enforced (well, it can, but that is IMHO ridiculous).
---
As for references, there should be guidelines for them. If there's no, then I advise to include full list of references at the very end, since that's what people expect by default, but it's only an advice, not a rule.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Standards and common practices vary widely between fields, regions, and institutions. There are no general rules or official guides.
If it is similar to what previous students have done, your advisor says it is okay, and it doesn't violate any style guide that your university may have, it is fine.
(This answer applies to a lot of the "thesis style" questions we've seen recently on this site.)
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/30 | 2,556 | 10,677 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm just starting to investigate doctoral programs in education in the United States, and I'm considering how to handle the GRE requirement:
1. **Hardline Activism:** submit my incomplete application with a well-researched essay justifying my refusal to take the GRE.
2. **Soft Activism:** submit my complete application including my first-try GRE scores along with a well-researched essay debunking the significance of my GRE scores related to my value as a candidate in the Ed.D. program, AND flatly stating that I spent no more than four hours (the length of the exam. i.e. No test prep.) on the GRE, in light of my scientific conclusions about it's relevance in this situation.
3. **Passive Acceptance:** submit my complete application with my first-try GRE score and hope for acceptance.
4. **Active Acceptance:** Study hard and take the GRE, then study some more and take it again. Submit my complete application and hope for acceptance.
Are there other options that I'm overlooking?
My position is not "the GRE has no value." My position is "I'm an excellent candidate for this doctoral program, as evidenced by my application. GRE scores would not alter that conclusion."
I found [this discussion](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11812/the-gre-why-does-this-still-exist/11817#11817?newreg=eab060635122496c891515b5e196c4b7) very useful, especially the answer and citations by [<NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62/jeromy-anglim).
As an aside, I admit that I enjoy testing boundaries just for fun, but this issue is more than that. As a proponent of thoughtful, responsible education reform, I'm leaning toward options 1 and 2.<issue_comment>username_1: I think the answer to your question is this:
How much do you value getting into graduate school versus how much do you value feeling like you are making a point?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you value feeling like you are making a point, by all means, pursue the Soft Activism. My guess is that it will come across to the department like a complaint that you didn't do well enough on the test and are going rogue to make your point.
If you value getting into graduate school, then engage in "begrudging acceptance" that this is how you get into that particular graduate school. Like it or not, there's often a line of people willing to take your place, suffer the test, and smile. Moreover, if there's money on the line in the forms of scholarships or fellowships, consider the time/money you put into the test an investment. Study, practice, and prepare until you get a score you can submit in the hopes of getting in. You don't have to actively like the idea, you just need to accept this is the means to acceptance in graduate school.
For middle ground possibilities, I actually think the "hardline activism" approach is softer and less whiney than your "soft activism", because true or false it makes it seem like you've had a principled stand against the GRE since the beginning. Depending on the contours of the education program that might bode well for you. Some education programs might agree that the testing is bunk; my colleagues in education don't like standardized tests.
You can of course just submit the scores you have, but if you think they are inadequate for acceptance, that seems unwise.
---
After you're in, then write all the principled essays you want against it and try to change the system.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: These opinions are based on my discussions with faculty members involved in PhD admission committees.
I think your crusade against the GRE will be more productive when you become the department chair or the dean of a school. Right now it just sounds like you're afraid.
Among the options you've listed, I would recommend #3. You should know that the GRE plays a small part in what gets you accepted in a good grad school. The admission committee cares about your essay, your letters, your past productivity, and how you've done in specific hard courses.
The GRE is correlated with IQ and simply enables the committee to focus their efforts on a smaller pool. They know that they might miss on a good candidate who inexplicably bombed the GRE but they also know that they would easily find many many equally good candidates in the pool of those who did average and above on their GREs.
If you do exceptionally well in your GRE (98 percentile +) then you will stand out. If you do average, the committee will focus on what they really care about, which is your essay, your letters etc. If you bomb it then your application likely won't be looked at.
Don't waste your time and money taking the GRE many many times. Your score won't change very much and what's really important is the rest of your portfolio.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: If you want an exception from the GRE requirement policy, submit other materials and politely ask the head of the admission committee for an exception. In the request build carefully your case as why you think you would be successful in the school. Remember, the school admission is not about your principles, it is about the Department having confidence you would be successful. And that's what you need to show in your petition.
In my case, my GRE scores were excellent, but too old (10 years). Since taking the test I completed a Masters at one of the top schools with high GPA, and had a successful employment record at reputable (and picky) employers. The Department for my PhD program had no issues waving the requirement to retake the GRE, simply because I had other means to show that I would be successful in the program.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Consider a PHD program in Europe. To my knowledge and experience,
you will get more papers published during a European program,
and the number of papers in good journals is what determines your future academic career.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: As someone who recently took the GRE for grad school I feel your pain. I didn't do badly but certainly not as well as I would have liked. I'm not a good standardized test taker and felt at a disadventage when taking it.
BUT, my department (no idea about yours), does not weigh the score of the GRE very heavily. Unlike the SAT or ACT, there is no minimum score that you have to meet. I actually emailed my advisor for grad school, asking him about my scores and if they would do (or if not, would I need to take it over). There is no "this score is good, this one is bad" scale so I really didn't know how I stood from other candidates.
My advisor essentially said this: they have the GRE as a requirment because they have to (or at least, it's the standard). However, they look more at GPA, letters of recom., and advise from the faculty. There are students from foreign universities who bomb it because of language barriers but that doesn't prevent them from getting in.
Bottom line, I would ask the school(s) you are appling to directly if you are worried about getting in to see how heavily it weighs. In my opinoin and from those that I've talked to, nobody really believes the GRE is some great test that determines sole ability for getting through grad school.
Now, if you just want to kick up some dust and try to take down the GRE all togehter, more power to you :p It's an antiquateated and unfair test and through my previous points of most schools (well, my school at least) not really caring about it, it's just a way to make more money.
Though I would advise against option #1. Not submitting a GRE I don't think will do anything than merely have your application by incomplete. Mine was all done online so without having every box checked off, it wouldn't let you submit it anyways and as fair as I know you can not apply unless it's online.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: One word of caution regarding options 1 and 2: In many (if not most) U.S. colleges, the office of the Graduate School has the final say over who is admitted to candidacy for a graduate degree. GRE score requirements for that candidacy are usually a matter of official university policy and cannot simply be overridden by the faculty committee reviewing applications in a particular department. Getting an exception to university policy just because you don't like the GRE requirement seems very unlikely. There might be a few schools where that would work, but I would guess it to be a small minority.
I would agree with the advice of others that you play by the rules to get into the program and then work from within to change the requirements for others in the future. This doesn't require several levels of administration to approve exceptions to university policy, it doesn't make it look like you just don't want to take the test, it doesn't make it look like you're trying to hide or excuse a poor test score, it doesn't make it look like you feel entitled to special treatment that other candidates aren't getting, and it doesn't make it look like you're going to be unwilling to work with others when you can't have your way. Of course, as username_1 said, this decision also depends on how much you value getting accepted into the program. My answer is assuming you value it highly. Also, again, results at your particular school will vary and will depend strongly on the university policy of the school as well as the viewpoints of the graduate admissions committee in your department as well as any levels of administration that may be required to approve their decisions.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Best option if you want to make a point: Take the GRE, get a perfect score, then write a letter asking them to disregard your score in their evaluation of your application on the grounds that it is not an appropriate measure of your ability.
---
Don't expect that if you submit an incomplete application the people evaluating it will see your application or if they do see it, they may not have time to read your well-researched letter.
It will likely be a committee, some of whom may not have looked at applications before the meeting (for an academic job hunt, my wife once learned she was on the short-listing committee when she got a 300 pg pdf file consisting of all the applications on Friday and was told that the meeting was on Monday).
Someone not involved in the decision process may go through and throw out any applications that don't meet the admission criteria - if you're admitted despite failing to meet the criteria they are opening themselves up to a lawsuit.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/30 | 502 | 2,194 | <issue_start>username_0: I applied for a tenure-track faculty position at a particular institution in the U.S. I was selected for a skype interview, but was not invited for an on-campus visit. I snooped around on the department seminar web page, but did not find any evidence that this particular department actually ever invited anybody for an on-campus interview.
Today, I received an email from the department stating:
>
> Thank you for your interest in the faculty position within the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of [redacted]. Our search to fill this position produced many impressive applicants. **However, for a number of reasons beyond the department’s control, the position was not filled.**
>
>
>
I can think of a couple of reasons that a department may not fill a vacancy, such as:
* the finalists all ended up taking a job somewhere else
* none of the finalists could agree to the terms offered by the department
So, besides those possibilities listed above, what are the other possible causes of a faculty position going unfilled?<issue_comment>username_1: You will probably never know the full reason, because departments are not quick to air their internal issues with job candidates. But here are a few possible reasons:
* The search was halted by higher administration. One possible reason to do this so late in the process is because of funding changes (e.g. the funding for the position disappeared or was reallocated elsewhere).
* The search was halted by the HR department due to some violation of hiring practices.
* The search committee was unable to come to an agreement about who to bring to campus for an interview, or the dean rejected all the candidates before they were interviewed.
* Although this is less likely, someone who had planned to retire might have decided not to retire, or someone from another department may have been moved into the department (e.g. for legal reasons to settle a complaint).
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There may have been a change of administration in the middle of a search, and the new administrator didn't like the position description posted.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/30 | 513 | 2,369 | <issue_start>username_0: In the acknowledgement section of a thesis or paper, the authors usually thank the funding institution of their research project and people who had significant impact on their publication.
When acknowledging companies/institutions in a publication, should they be informed beforehand? I mean, should authors ask for permissions before acknowledging any names in a publication?<issue_comment>username_1: As long as you're not publishing their logo, you should be able to print their name in an acknowledgement section. **However**, if you are getting sponsored by them, it may be *necessary* (according to terms of agreement(s) or as a courtesy) to show their logo.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If the agency provides funding, and you are not sure about their policy, you can always contact the person who administers your grant to find out.
Some private foundations do have specific requests for acknowledgement. For example, I seem to remember that the Templeton Foundation likes authors to include a statement such as "The opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of the John Templeton Foundation."
Your grant agent can surely tell you about this. And they will almost certainly be happy to hear you are publishing something with their support.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It likely depends on what field, and what you're acknowledging them for.
In most medical journals, and as such most journals of "allied" fields like nursing or public health, you *must* name your funding sources, so institutes and companies take it as assumed that their names will be appearing in publications. One company that's funded projects of mine even provides the boilerplate language in their funding agreement.
If you're acknowledging them for *help*, or the reasons you'd acknowledge an individual, rather than for funding? Again, likely depends on the field - again, in medicine, many journals consider being in the acknowledgements section to be a tacit approval of the results of the paper, and require you seek permission to put them in the acknowledgements section.
Regardless of whether or not you *need* to, it's probably decent practice to let them know, especially if they're funding you, because it tells them you're doing productive things with their money.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/30 | 1,194 | 5,117 | <issue_start>username_0: I am doing BS Computer Science. I will be starting my final year in August and my CGPA is 3.05. I don't have any research experience yet but I am pretty sure that I want to get a PhD degree.
Will 3-4 months of research experience be enough if I involve in a research project now (considering the 15 December deadline for PhD application)? Or should I apply next year and get more research experience?<issue_comment>username_1: PhD programs are for applicants who know and show, all they want to do is research! If the research project you are involved in, right now is extraordinarily productive, then you might get into a PhD program this year itself, given that the PhD would be about the research you are doing right now. You can also start writing review papers or research articles to start building your publication record. Even if it is under progress during the time of application, it still counts.
If all (or most) of these are non-feasible for you for the time being, I'd suggest waiting till next year. That way you'd know better what research you want to pursue for PhD and would have a strong profile too. Chances of admission are higher, if you do it(apply for PhD) next year.
Good luck :)
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Plenty of PhD students go into their program without research experience. I would say that of the PhD students I know who went into their PhD directly from their BS in CS well over half had no previous research experience. Previous research experience can help during the application process but it's not required.
That answers your overt question of "Do I need research experience to get into Grad School?" but let's take a moment to look at some of the implied questions you bring up.
Spending more time researching prior to applying for or attending graduate school can help you make sure that a postgraduate degree is really what you want. You should spend some time figuring out what kind of job you want after you are done with school and seeing what level of education will help you reach that goal. Or, in other words, *why* do you want to go to grad school? There were be a lot more happy grads students if more of them stopped to consider this question. I found that I while I enjoy research, I hate writing research papers SO MUCH that I couldn't face 5 - 7 years of research papers. I also discovered that for the jobs I wanted a PhD wasn't very useful at this point(and that most jobs I looked at would eventually pay for me to go back and get a PhD).
Spending some time researching prior to applying or attending grad school would also be useful if you felt you needed to improve your application packet. You mention a 3.05 CGPA which is kinda, just 'ok' you know? It's not amazing but it's also not bad enough to prevent you from attending graduate school. It's the kind of CGPA that needs strong extracurricular activities, external projects, great letters of recommendation and strong statements of purpose in order to succeed. How are your letters of recommendation? Do you have a good relationship with any instructors that could write a personalized letter? Were you involved in good extracurriculars(not necessarily CS related, but, rather, extracurriculars where you *did* something)? Have you taken the GREs? How did they go for you? What schools do you want to do your PhD at? How competitive are these schools? These are the kinds of questions that will strongly effect your chances at getting into graduate school. Time researching could help with some of these - it could get you stronger letters of recommendation, buff up missing or subpar extracurriculars, give you time to study for and retake the GRE.
Finally when you start thinking about a PhD you should consider a couple of things:
* If you are not 100% positive(and even if you are) that you want to get a PhD and do all the stuff that comes along with that then you should apply to a program that gets you a Masters degree along the way. This way if things don't turn out the way you want them to you still end up with a very useful piece of paper.
* What do you want to research? Just saying 'I want a PhD' is a short road to a shitty PhD experience. What are you willing to spend almost the next decade of your life researching? Who do you want to research with? If you want to study, say, Human Computer Interaction then you should be applying to schools that have those programs and have professors publishing and researching in that field. If you aren't sure what you want to study then, perhaps, more time researching before you apply would be useful - it would give you a chance to get the lay of the land and make some decisions(and possibly connections).
* I've already brought this up but it bears repeating. What do you want to do with a PhD? Do you want to research? Do you want to teach? Get this shit locked down before you sign up for anything. So many PhD students go into their degree program because 'I want a PhD' without thinking about the why and the what and a not insignificant amount of them end up never finishing.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/30 | 1,259 | 5,424 | <issue_start>username_0: As the lone experimentalist in my group, I end up supervising most of the students (M.S., B.S. and high school) who do experimentation-focused research in my lab.
I am always trying to improve my mentoring and supervision skills. So I would like to ask my current students for some feedback at the end of the summer.
However, I want to make sure they don't feel pressured in any way by this request, that they are assured there will be no negative or positive consequences to them, and that they understand that I really want honest answers. (I'm not fishing for compliments.)
And, I am looking for specific feedback that I can use to improve or build on, not just general complaints or reassurances that everything was fine.
Given the goals stated above, what's the best way to ask for this kind of feedback? Should we speak face to face in an "exit interview" kind of thing, or should I ask them to write something in an anonymous form online, or something else entirely?
What specific questions can I ask to get focused, helpful feedback on my supervision and mentoring abilities?
Does anybody here have experience (as either supervisor or supervisee) with this kind of assessment, and have useful techniques to share?<issue_comment>username_1: You can do an anonymous survey. Ask them to rate you on certain criteria(that you mention in the survey, and want to get a feedback on!) Have them add additional comments too after the survey so they can add things that they feel, you should know about. This would be completely anonymous so they won't be too afraid to be honest. But on the other side they might still hesitate to open up completely as no one wants their boss to be mad at them just because they spoke the truth.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I (am) was in a similar situation as you are. I ended up supervising a team of BS and M.Eng/MPS students for a project. Most of the work for them involved programming and data visualization.
After the end of the semester/year, I took them out for coffee in a casual setting and asked them how I needed to improve my supervision skills. Since I worked with them closely throughout the semester/year, we were on friendly terms and I got some very constructive feedback. This helped shape my supervision in the next semester.
I did not ask anyone for help but this was what I had observed my previous adviser(s) doing with me so I followed their example.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: **Set the Stage**
At the start of each relationship, let each student know that you value feedback, that you are adaptable/flexible in your approach to supervision, and that you will be asking for their feedback both during and at the end of the end of the supervision period.
**Reinforce the Message and Values**
During the supervision period, look for opportunities to demonstrate your adaptability, your interest in feedback, and it is OK for them to offer feedback even if they might feel a bit uncomfortable. (Some people resist giving feedback to supervisors, including for gender/age/cultural reasons. They need to *experience* the process working successfully to overcome that resistance.)
**Asking for Feedback**
Aim for a face-to-face meeting, though it's fine if some people prefer to give feedback in writing. Before you ask for feedback, first ask what is important to them in supervision relationship. You need to understand their frame of reference and values. Then ask: "What worked well for you? And what didn't?" Then you can ask the feedback question: "For those things that didn't work so well for you, what would have worked better for you?" You are asking how things could be different for them, within their frame of reference. You aren't asking them to step into your shoes and advise you on how to be a better supervisor.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: The bigger question behind your question is: How can I be a more better/professional manager? Right?
And to answer that, it's probably not as simple as posing a question on SE.
I would ask you: Why do you think you need extra feedback? Do you think your students are hiding their thoughts or fearful of voicing their feelings to you? Because otherwise you should be fairly "in sync" with them while you're interacting, presuming your not managing from afar. That is the *key* indicator for supervisor performance, and there's no boilerplate that you'll be able to make for every situation and every type of person. If you try, you become the another PHB.
As a former manager, I know that if your employees aren't voicing their true thoughts or concerns to you, there's already a problem. And it's not necessarily them.
So the other key item, if I've guessed your intentions properly, is how do you develop this skill(s)? And for that you need to listen and dialog fluidly in each situation you encounter so that you *never miss a step* and always stay on top of things. That takes courage (because you will fail) and time (because it takes a diversity of experience), not technique.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I tend to have a group lessons learned session, either periodically or at the end of a project/phase. Phrasing questions in terms of the project, what worked and what didn't, sets up a stage for a frank and constructive discussion. Since it is not about you, you can participate as well.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/30 | 1,523 | 6,452 | <issue_start>username_0: During my studies I've read a number of published articles where spelling mistakes have somehow squeaked through the review process. For example, I have found a paper with a section entitled *Turbulance Model* when the title should be *Turbulence Model*. I would love to be able to submit an errata if I knew it was going to be a one or two line email, but I don't know of anyone else who does this. Will editors be annoyed with little corrections like this? Surely there isn't a need to bother the corresponding Author with such a matter, is there?
To be clear, I am only thinking of cases like the example I've given; a clear spelling mistake or a missing word. I wouldn't start arguing with an author/editor over wording issues or other gray areas.<issue_comment>username_1: On the arxiv there exist *versions* of manuscripts, which are a great way to get rid of this kind of mistakes. I hope that with the onset of online-only journals and the prevalence of internet for article reading this will become more mainstream. In the meantime, I would certainly not bother the author or the journal about such *obvious* mistakes: almost everyone will understand *turbulance* is misspelled, and although annoying to read, it certainly does not add confusion to the message. It is great to read nicely-written misspell-free papers, but my opinion is that we should not overlook the scientific quality of an article because a few words were wrong or the author was not a great writer.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Let’s be utilitaristic and do a **rough, optimistic calculation**:
First, how much time does correcting a spelling mistake cost?
* First of all, it costs you some time to find a way to contact somebody from the journal. I ran an experiment with a random journal and it took me three minutes to find a way to contact the chief editor and to ensure that there is no easy way to contact somebody closer to actual typesetting.
* It costs you about one minute to write the mail.
* It costs the chief editor (in our example) at least one minute to read the mail and redirect it to typesetting.
* It costs the head of typesetting at least one minute to delegate the work.
* Whoever is actually doing the work, has to find the source of the paper, correct the mistake, check whether the whole paper is still neatly arranged (even if the correction did not alter the number of lines in the paragraph, the linebreaking algorithm or the font might have slightly changed) and every sentence is still on the same page (in fields, where references to pages happen). Again, I ran an experiment on one of my own papers and it took me two minutes (as the correction had no major effects) – and I operate my computer mainly via keyboard and consider myself a fast typer and well organized, not to forget that I do not have so many papers. Additionally, let’s consider one minute for uploading or similar.
So, all in all, mankind has spent nine minutes on correcting the mistake.
Now, At the end of the day, the reason why we bother with spelling is that it speeds up reading texts, i.e., saves the reader some time. Let’s say a small spelling mistake (like *turbulance*) costs every reader a second. Thus to break even with our nine minutes, the respective word has to be read about 500 times. I do not have any direct numbers on this, but as papers are mainly read by the same people who write papers, this would mean that I have to read (every word of) 500 papers for every paper I write – which is very far from reality.
**Thus even under the above optimistic conditions you are likely wasting more time than you are saving.**
---
Also, from another point of view and my own experience: The involved people do not care. I can tell a story of how much trouble it was to make a typesetter change the way one of my tables was formatted such that it was any readable even if that would make it deviate from the journal guidelines – and that was a severe issue.
Finally, it’s likely that you only need to read a few papers to spot a terminus technicus with confusingly wrong hyphenation. My favorite example is »generalized onset seizure«, which denotes seizures with a generalised onset and not onset seizures, which are generalised.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It is not necessary to make an errata for simple mistakes. That said, however, you need to consider whether the simple mistake may change the meaning of what is written so the key issue here is "meaning". Anything that can create confusion of introduce an error in vital information necessary to understand the material should be corrected. Since it is generally not possible to change published (e.g. journal) material, an errata note should suffice. Otherwise, the misconception introduced by the mistake might propagate and your original work may be misunderstood. So check whether your found errors introduce any major consequences for correctly understanding the text.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The definitions of Errata are also very specific to each publisher. *E.g.* [Springer's policies](https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/authorandreviewertutorials/biomed-central-editor-tutorials/post-publication-issues/making-corrections/10495904) state that publishing an Erratum is appropriate in
>
> cases of serious mistakes or a factual error or omission in the methods, results, or conclusions. To warrant an erratum the scientific error must be serious enough to affect the replication and interpretation of results.
>
>
>
While [Elsevier](https://www.elsevier.com/editors/perk/policy-and-best-practice-errata-And-corrigenda) make a distinction between Errata and Corrigenda:
>
> An erratum refers to a correction of errors introduced to the article by the publisher.
>
>
> A corrigendum refers to a change to their article that the author wishes to publish at any time after acceptance. ... Authors should contact the editor of the journal, who will determine the impact of the change and decide on the appropriate course of action
>
>
>
Both seem to correct already published articles only by publishing another note about the changes, whatever that note might be called. Unless the meaning and understanding of a word or sentence is severely impacted or the scientific message changes, correcting spelling mistakes does not provide any benefit to the already published article.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/30 | 1,137 | 4,850 | <issue_start>username_0: I have background in languages (BA in English Literature and Teaching in China, MA Conference Interpreting in Manchester, UK) and I am eager to do a PhD in cognitive science in the UK.
During my MA studies, we were studying fundamentals of psychology and cognitive sciences related to translating/interpreting. During the course of this study, some modern research techniques such as FMRI, EEG were touched upon but the course was not very comprehensive, as the focus of the field was never really on how the interpreters’ brain works during simultaneous interpreting or other language activities.
I found languages and cognitive sciences closely related, because it is very natural to bring up questions in one area while discussing the other. It’s close to instinct that an interest in one can seep into another, at least that was the case for me.
I am really keen to further my education in the area of Cognitive Sciences, and it's been the case for the last couple of years. But it’s a bit saddening to see that the minimum entry for these programs usually require a science degree in relevant fields, for example, CS, EE, Psychology, Neuroscience, etc. And at the moment (I'm 26), I can't really do one more undergraduate degree.
However, I understand that there are gaps to fill for a person to change their area of study. Usually in the UK, PhD programs would encourage the students to do the 1+3 program, where first years have the opportunity to fill this gap. But I fell that even for these 1+3 programs, students who have a liberal arts degree are still discouraged from applying because these PhD programs specifically require students to have background in relevant science fields.
So what should I do to be more qualified and have a better chance to be accepted as a PhD student?
My plan is to learn some fundamentals by finishing online courses in the following areas: Math (e.g. Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability, to be more comfortable with fundamentals), Computer Science (such as basics of algorithms and Python to be able to perform some scientific computing), and Neuroscience (as it is fundamental to Cognitive Sciences). What about MOOC courses, more specifically, how are they viewed in the academia in the context of someone who is using them to fill in the gaps when changing fields?
I would like to know whether or not I have underestimated the difficulty and hard work required to put myself on this track.<issue_comment>username_1: I studied at Edinburgh with a few friends who had come for the arts world into CogSci and CS Masters courses, they shared many lectures with us (Bio-Informatics). I would suggest either doing a Masters in a related field, before jumping into the PhD.
I took some CogSci and Neuroinformatics modules for my MSc and I struggled not coming from that background, if I were doing it again and wanted to prepare I would look to the online courses. Many of them are excellent.
MIT have an Opencourseware section on CogSci: <http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/brain-and-cognitive-sciences/>
No one will look down on you for saying you have worked through an MIT course. They also have extensive CompSci resources. Coursera also has many excellent course, that will help fill in gaps in you education.
I don't think you will find many people in academia who will look badly on people using any resources they can find to expand their knowledge and understanding of a given field.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: As a PhD science student you will be expected to handle numbers, statistics, algebraic manipulation, calculus, and in particular these days, computational numerics---all as a matter of (relative) ease. Not that you can do it in your head, or you know the answers off by heart, but rather that you are not daunted when an author casually jumps between prose and mathematical symbols every few words, because you have been literally solving similar problems for the past five years.
There will be some PhD projects that are more "numeric" and some that are less, of course.
I don't say this to put you off! Rather I am trying to say that the typical beginner PhD scientist has spent as much time steeped in this kind of thinking as you have spent learning and thinking about languages. It's not so much doing coursework and ticking the boxes, rather it's three plus years deeply embedded in this kind of world. So that puts you in a very different place.
Now that isn't to say this is impossible. Your language skills may well give you an edge somewhere, and really the student molds the project to his own strengths, so I encourage you to apply. But you should definitely discuss this situation with potential supervisors before you apply. Some will be happier than others to accept what is an edge case, if you don't mind me saying.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/31 | 579 | 2,428 | <issue_start>username_0: Whenever I meet my advisor and interact with him, in class or otherwise, I can't help feeling intimidated. I feel scared of the fact that I may fall below his expectations, and I become tongue-tied and mind frozen even though I know stuff.
How can I avoid this? Is this common at this stage? (I am an undergrad and just beginning research.)<issue_comment>username_1: I think this is a typical syndrome for young students, or those students who have massive respect for their Professors or Teachers.
Usually the students consider their Professors to be superior to them; In addition to this the student might have some expectations in the future from that guide, trying to impress him all the time, so he is rewarded later on.
The way to solve this is to have more communication with that person and after all realize that he is a regular human being, who sometimes in the past used to be a student, and most probably was intimidated by his guide.
As you get to talk interact with your guide the Myth that you have in your head about him/her will start to get into the frames of normality, and the intimidation will go away after a while.
Long story short: he is a human being as well
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with the answer by Kristof, just to expand on their suggestion to get to know the person. I would take extensive notes in class, read the book, and come up with a lot of questions. I would try to answer them on my own, but some of them I could not, even after more than one try (this is pretty important).
I would then go to the professor's office hours and ask the questions, that I had *previously written down*. This built up a rapport, let me ask intelligent questions without having to rely on being confident and eloquent because I was initially nervous, and also helped me learn the material.
I'll be honest: with some professors I never got over being nervous. But to a person, they remembered me, respected me, and helped me get into graduate school because they saw that I cared enough to read over their lecture notes, the text books, and to write down good questions to bring them to their office hours.
Confidence comes with time, sometimes not until graduate school or you are a professsional in your field, frankly. What is important is gaining competence, and knowledge, and experience. With those, confidence will follow.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/31 | 720 | 2,875 | <issue_start>username_0: I am currently pursuing my masters degree in computer science from TU Munich, and I would love to pursue my PhD soon after my graduation, but I am worried about the finances at the same time.
What I gather is I should be able to make a decent enough salary but what I do not understand clearly, is whether I would retain my student status during my PhD and enjoy reduced taxation?
With reduced taxation and few other student benefits, it could possibly mean I have a more stable financial situation.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes and no. Student status does not lead to reduced taxation in Germany (that should hold for non-locals, too). Instead, low incomes and scholarships are not subject to tax, which is probably what you are referring to. The maximum amount for scholarships before they are subject to taxation is said to be higher for non-Germans, though. As a student, health insurance is also cheaper.
You are unlikely to get the cheaper health insurance as a PhD student as well. Depending on the state in which you do your PhD, you may or may not be allowed to enroll as a PhD student, so you may lose benefits such as cheaper food in the student canteen. Other than that, see the links provided in the comments to your question by <NAME>, as the taxation situation is very much dependent on how your PhD studies are funded.
However, being subject to taxation and full-fee health insurance is not necessarily bad, as if you manage to find a 100% paid scientific employee position (which is not uncommon for CS), you will see that the net income is actually quite ok - even if you take the higher accommodation cost in Munich into account.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I'm not sure where you get the idea that a CS grad student in the US makes more than a CS student in Germany. If you get a full TV-L position (100%), which many CS positions are, then your [net pay after deductions](http://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/tv-l/west/) starts at 25,000 € per year (roughly $34,000), and goes up from there. I know of very few US graduate students whose *net* income is that large—most of them may get that much as a *gross* salary, and are then responsible for paying taxes and health insurance out of that sum.
If you aren't trying to raise a family, or have exceptional financial circumstances, the graduate salary (it's a salary, not a stipend—as it usually is in the US) is probably more than sufficient to live anywhere in Germany. (Also, you receive full social benefits, including retirement and health insurance.)
So, salary considerations shouldn't be a significant part of your decision-making process—at least not in the sense of "can I afford to be a graduate student?" You can ask if that's a lifestyle you want to be living, compared to what's possible if you go into industry.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/31 | 2,740 | 11,902 | <issue_start>username_0: How should a teacher and student cope with a situation like this.
I've been studying spanish for about a year and enrolled in a successive course. However, the course starts really early and there is only one other student, who should probably be in a more advanced class. The other student has been studying spanish for probably twice as long as me and already knows most of the grammar to be covered during the trimester. Obviously, this puts some stress on me, as I don't feel good about interrupting each exercise asking for translations and slowing the class down. On the other hand, I would definitely be in the right if I did, but that isn't much help.
How can I and the teacher work together to make this situation acceptable for all parties? Honestly at this point I'm thinking about dropping from this trimester and taking the financial hit from tuition fee I will not get back.<issue_comment>username_1: If the course has a specific level e.g. A1, A2, B1, B2... It is none of your problems that a guy who most probably belongs to a higher level is sitting there. You should not feel ashamed for that, and put pressure on yourself. Usually each level has its own learning/teaching goals. Look at the learning goals of your current level. If the other guy is above the learning goals simply make yourself comfortable. Continue with your own pace, because its not you who is in the "wrong place" (although the term wrong place might be misused in here). On the other hand if you are below the learning goals, then simply move one level below, this way you will be in an environment where you will feel more comfortable.
If it were up to me, I would not mind if there is a super-duper guy in the class. I would keep my own flow. I would raise my concerns to the teacher, in addition to that, if I were paying for that course I would "force" the teacher to work the situation out.
In the end of the day, it is your teachers problem to provide the best effort and ensure that she/he taught you. But for that to happen you will have to let the teacher know the situation.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is a hard situation to be in. I was in the same situation, different language, not all that long ago. It was a tiny class and although I had progressed through each of the preceeding levels with acceptable marks there was a student in the class who already knew 8+ other languages and whose career was based around learning and using languages. Compared to that me, who had never learned a language before in my life, and there was a huge disparity.
How to handle this really depends on a couple of factors.
One of those factors is the instructor. The instructors for the course I was in were nice and sympathetic but, ultimately, unable or unwilling to reign in the advanced student. Without instructor support in such a small class situation you will have difficulty making any changes in what is happening.
That leads to another factor... What are you willing to do about this? I spent an exhaustive semester trying to 'catch up' to this student so I wouldn't constantly feel like I was being left behind. This is tempting for a lot of students in this situation. "I will work harder! And this will make things better!" The problem is that this depends on your other time commitments(can you afford to spend an additional *\_* hours every day on this language), your aptitude for learning languages(some people are just slower at learning certain topics than others), your other base knowledge(if you don't remember what a conjugated adverb is then you'll have another layer of learning on top of what you are currently learning), and, frankly, your own frustration level with the course and subject material.
I don't normally say things like this but I think <NAME>'s answer is unhelpful at best. Learning a language in a class should be a collaborative effort among students guided by their instructors. I'm iffy about the decisions to have super tiny language-learning courses (my situation became untenable once the course size dropped to 3 students) because when you run into this situation there's no buffer. Things would, I image, be very different in your situation if there was a range of other students in the course with a range of other skills. But as a student there is only so many times you can 'risk' saying something in another language to be immediately, and always, corrected by another student in the course. If there is no give and take, if there is never a time when you are correcting and the other is learning(and vice versa) then it pushes the corrected student into an unfortunate position.
Ultimately, and this may or may not be what you want to hear, I finished off the semester(it was needed to graduate on time) and I dropped the language(which I was planning on taking throughout my student career). Additionally I was put off both on the language itself and the process of learning languages in general. Having been in your situation, and maybe projecting a bit based on my own experiences; if your instructor is unwilling to go to bat for you and make sure things stay at an appropriate level, the other student is not dominating the learning time and you are not left feeling like the 'stupid one' in the class then, if you can, you should drop the class.
You have done nothing wrong. The other student, probably, has also done nothing overtly wrong(though good golly can they seem like jerks in this situation). But it's not going to be a great learning environment for you and, if that's the case, you'll get more benefit by using your time in a less frustrating environment.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Having been that "advanced student" in a similar situation, I'd like to point out that in such a small class environment, there is really no reason that this shouldn't be an ongoing discussion between all three participants, throughout the duration of the course. Everyone has their own pace. In truth, everyone has their own pace through individual topics.
With a little open communication you can likely resolve this in a manner that is appropriate to the particulars of your context. In my case, I had been worried about the student that I felt was falling behind. I not only didn't worry about going a bit slower in class, but I also invited him to a once-a-week study group between the two of us. I've found that teaching concepts is the best way to cement them myself. The entire experience was quite fulfilling, and I consider the course to be a complete success - even from a purely personal educational perspective.
Your situation will be different, obviously, but the I think the only real answer is consistent, open dialog.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I've been the "better student" (an advanced beginner) in a language group (French) where the other two parties were a native speaker, and another student (a rank beginner).
The better student tries to teach something to the worse student, and the teacher corrects one or the other, or both, if there is a mistake made.
Or the teacher teaches something to the better student, who passes it along (perhaps in watered down form) to the other student.
When you have one teacher and two students, it's not really a class, but more like a tutorial, that allows for a lot more "one on one" or "one on two" work.
In a workplace, it would be like a boss acting as "team leader" with two subordinates, instead of as a "department head" with 5-10 "reports."
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: There are at least two major false assumptions that many instructors tend to have:
1. The first false assumption: Most students of most classes are very similar, with very little difference in pre-knowledge and conception. Welcome to actual teaching: You always have a diverse body of students. The bigger your class, the more diverse. Assuming that they are all about the same, and that they just understand what you are saying, is damaging and leads many instructors to just keep talking for hours on end, based on a wrong conception of their audience, and are then satisfied because they set "lecturing" (i.e. talking and illustrating) equal to teaching, leaving most students untouched (unless they are good story tellers, but that's a different topic).
2. That brings me to false assumption number two: The idea that your teacher must be a complete expert on the topic in order to be helpful to you. It is certainly useful to know a lot about the domain, but no one is perfect. There are always "gaps in knowledge" and understanding. People might argue that an institution has bad quality control if they let non-experts teach students, but domain knowledge (or "hard skills", which in your case is Spanish) is only part of the equation. In order to help *people* learn more efficiently you need... well... *people* skills, i.e. soft skills. You need good communication, presentation, project management skills, and you need resourcefulness. Soft skills can be just as, or even more important to your teaching efficiency as domain knowledge (given you have at least a good basic understanding of the subject at hand).
In your particular case, you can help the advanced student by finding better, possibly interactive, material and maybe even letting him help you help others. There is a whole body of research showing evidence of teaching being a very efficient learner tool [[1]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_by_teaching) [[2]](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1235&context=ajte). If you have the time and motivation, you can even try [flipping your classroom](https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/TLE_pdf/TLE_Nov13_Article.pdf) entirely. Make sure though that he understands the special role he would play, so he won't feel "out of place". Most of this approach requires you to be a good communicator.
Please consider [this article titled "Moving away from teaching and becoming a facilitator of learning"](http://www.academia.edu/1180001/Moving_away_from_teaching_and_becoming_a_facilitator_of_learning) for more information on moving away from archaic models. Don't be afraid to try out something new! "Trial & Error", a general problem solving technique, found in almost every other field, is just not very common in education yet. But if your students are aware of your shortcomings and aware of your "experiments", your attempts of trying out something new, and you are in good communication with the students, you can make the entire experience more valuable than traditional "you talk and they might or might not listen" methods, every single time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: First remember: it's *your* class as well as the other student's (assuming that you have enrolled in the class with due regard to any prerequisites or other conditions that were specified). Therefore you have just as much right to be instructed at an appropriate level as he/she does. It's easy to feel stupid when you ask a question that may be obvious to the other, but try not to be overwhelmed by this feeling: as I always impress upon my (mathematics) students, the only stupid question is the one you *don't* ask.
A possible suggestion: ask the teacher if he/she would permit the other student to teach you some of the material during class, with the teacher observing. This could be of real benefit to the other student too: attempting to teach a subject is possibly the best way to find out whether or not one really understands it, and in such a situation the teacher may very well notice some things that the student doesn't completely understand, and by explaining them improve his/her learning too. Moreover, if the other student is learning the language with the intent of teaching it in the future, the sooner they start practising, the better for them!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/07/31 | 732 | 2,735 | <issue_start>username_0: I am reading through a manuscript that I am co-authoring with a colleague and I noticed that it used digit separators/marks for all the numbers (i.e. 2,500 instead of 2500). Maybe it's just me but I think this style started after my colleague started doing a post-doc in the U.S.
I have checked the author guidelines of a couple of journals that are likely submission targets in our field and they don't seem to include anything about decimal/digit separators. I also checked my previously published articles and noticed that numeric values were not edited (by press editors that is) to include digit separators.
Thus my question, is there a general rule-of-thumb regarding number formatting, especially considering digit separators?<issue_comment>username_1: I think that, in as much as there is such a standard, it tends to breakdown between scientific and humanities fields. In general, I would argue that the modern standard in science is to use only spaces as separators ("2 500" instead of "2,500" for instance), while the reverse tends to be true in the humanities.
However, the best guidelines for these sorts of issues, as usual, is to consult with the guidelines and recommendations of the individual publisher.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Digit separators differ between countries, particularly since the decimal seprator is comma in many countries but a period in English/American. Hence in English you may use commas as digit separators while in other countries periods are used. Space is therefore the only separator that is not confusing. A general rule of thumb is to not use separators for single-thousands but start to use them for tens of thousands and up
>
> 1000
>
>
> 10 000
>
>
> 100 000
>
>
> 1 000 000
>
>
>
When using spaces in writing, it is good to remember to use non-breaking spaces so that numbers are not broken over lines.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In scientific literature it is common to employ a *thin* space to separate groups of digits (see e.g. [NIST SP811, §10.5.3](https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-chapter-10-more-printing-and-using-symbols-and-numbers#1053)). If you're using LaTeX to write your articles you can obtain this spacing in two ways:
1. Directly with the small-space command `\,`. For example: `There were $10\,000$ people at the concert last night` (well, not exactly a scientific example).
2. Using the *siunitx* package and the command `\num` (or `\qty` for quantities with units), which can take care of the spacing automatically. For example: `There were \num{10000} people at the concert last night` (it adds automatically a small space after the 10).
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/07/31 | 892 | 3,566 | <issue_start>username_0: So there are already some good questions on the topic of double doctorates:
[Is doing two PhD's a good path?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17232/is-doing-two-phds-a-good-path/17256)
[When does one go for a double doctorate?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1836/when-does-one-go-for-a-double-doctorate)
I'm looking for some advice specific to my situation. I'm currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in a mathematical field (computer science) but most of my research is geared towards applying these methods in a scientific field (stellar astrophysics). Because of this, my advisor is encouraging me to take up a second Ph.D. in astro. He says I can write one dissertation to get both degrees, and he doesn't think that it will delay my time to graduation too significantly.
On the one hand, it is attractive to me, because it might help qualify me more towards future positions in astrophysics. On the other hand, I don't necessarily see too much additional value in getting a second one; to me a Ph.D. is a license to do research, and one doesn't need two licenses. Further, I'm sure there is a real risk of it delaying my time to graduation significantly despite what I might be told. I'm also not completely convinced that it would equip me with skills that I wouldn't already be getting, although it might demonstrate to others that I have those skills. But then again, can't they just look at my publication record? Finally, while I absolutely love astrophysics, I am also attracted to other sciences, and I wouldn't want a doctorate in astro to cause people to think that I can't work in other sciences also.
Are all these concerns legitimate? Have I laid out the pros and cons appropriately? Are there other considerations I should contemplate? Are there some drawbacks or advantages that I haven't listed?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't really see the point. I agree with a PhD being a license to do research. If you are interested in astrophysics and want to get a strong profile for future work there, make sure your publications are related. That's much more convincing than two PhDs.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your research interests and ability to articulate your interests in grant proposals will be significantly weightier in your future career than precisely which department from your university's school of arts and sciences signed off on your dissertation.
Your publication history (which journals, what topics, etc.) will be more convincing than a dual PhD (which, honestly, would get you more sideways glances than researching or professing outside the department of your degree issuance).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> ...my advisor is encouraging me to take up a second Ph.D. in astro.
>
>
>
I would not trust random strangers on the internet more than my advisor. He has nothing to gain with proposing this and he is probably genuinely interested in your welfare. Still, he may not know well the administrative part of his proposal, so make sure you know the details well by asking the administrative people of your university.
* Is there extra courses required?
* Do you need to write only one dissertation? How will your dissertation change in case of the dual PHD.
* Will the PHD awarded from the same department as the single PHD or from a combination of departments.
* How much longer will your PHD take?
So make sure you get your facts straight and then talk your objections with your advisor. Then you can decide what you want
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/07/31 | 905 | 3,905 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a paper on the Arxiv which has recently been referenced in someone else's published work. I have since used the new work (of someone else) to significantly extend my current Arxiv work. Since my previous Arxiv posting has not yet appeared anywhere, I am sending the old work along with the extensions to a journal in a single paper. So my question is this: should I update the Arxiv listing for the previous paper with the new extended version as a revision or should I add it as a new paper?
I guess my worry is this: let A be my paper, B be the other paper that references A and A' be my extended paper which builds on some ideas from B to significantly extend A. If I post A' as a revision to A, then there is a weird referencing problem where B refers to my Arxiv post without knowing that A' builds on B. However, if I post A' as a new paper, then it includes essentially all of A in it (though presented in a more clear manner) and so there seems to be some duplication.<issue_comment>username_1: As long as the results of A are a subset of A', I see no problem with posting it as an update.
To avoid confusion due to the circular references, you could mention something like "Paper B builds on an earlier version of this work" when you first cite B.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Ideally the someone-else should have included the version number of the arxiv posting. In that case, there is no possibility of confusion.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I agree with username_1 that there's no problem with updating the previous paper if your new version subsumes the previous one. It's understood that results in preprints are sometimes improved before publication, and so this won't trouble anyone. Furthermore, there are several reasons why you should (and not just can) do this:
1. It's best not to leave incomplete versions of the paper lying around, since someone may run across them and never realize there's a better version elsewhere. For example, it's better if readers following the reference from B learn that there's a new version, rather than just seeing the old one and potentially assuming that's all there is.
2. Posting very similar papers can look bad, like you are trying to inflate your paper count with minor variations. That's not your intent, but someone browsing through your arXiv papers won't having any way of knowing. You might also trigger the arXiv flag for text overlap between your papers, in which case the similarity will be explicitly pointed out to everyone.
The comments field in your arXiv submission can help address the potential for confusion. Whenever you make major changes to an arXiv paper, it's a good idea to explain in the comments what has changed, so that someone who has already read a previous version knows whether it's worth another look. Highlighting the changes in this way will also help clarify things for readers following older references.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I at one point took the route of adding a new paper, and had it come out badly, so I'd recommend replacing. In summary, we had [paper A](http://arxiv.org/abs/0903.3694), a lengthy preprint which developed a lot of theory in a somewhat confused order. We then realized that a large fraction of the results could be proved in a more general context and in a much cleaner way, which became [paper B](http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.3939). However, there remained a number of elegant combinatorial arguments which only worked in the original context, and became [paper C](http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.3660).
I have had to tell a lot of people not to read preprint A, just B and C (which are now published). In retrospect, I think I should have made C a replacement for A. It seems that the argument for this is strongerin your case, where you are only replacing a paper by one paper, not two.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/07/31 | 2,193 | 8,769 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm actually asking this question on behalf of a sibling who's pursuing a PhD in Biology. While I'm a Mechanical Engineering student and am "computer-savvy" and experienced in learning programming languages from technical textbooks and internet forums, she is very inexperienced in programming in any form.
What textbooks would you recommend for the self-teaching of MATLAB and/or Excel for the purpose of data analysis? If she wanted a technical book, I could find one in five minutes. I'm looking for a book that can explain MATLAB to an inexperienced user with no programming background.
Also, if you learned MATLAB or a similar program with great success, what tips would you give for self teaching? Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: Learning Matlab (I prefer) or R will ultimately make you a more efficient researcher: not only do both languages allow you to do advanced mathematical data processes, but also make publication quality graphics. Excel requires much more work to get data visualization publication ready, in my experience.
While your friend is a biologist, and field where my impression is that R is more heavily used that matlab, if she really wants to learn matlab, this book is great:<http://www.springer.com/earth+sciences+and+geography/book/978-3-642-12761-8>
While it is designed for Earth Sciences, the tools are universal. Not only does it teach you how to use matlab, but, it goes over statistics and numerical methods as well in a very easy fashion. This book was used in one of my masters classes, and most of the people in the class barely had calculus 2.
My real suggestion is to explore R, as I think in general the world outside the physical sciences is moving towards using that.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The book I used as an undergrad: [Scientific Computing with MATLAB and Octave](http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-642-45367-0) written by <NAME>.
It's not a beginner's tutorial, but it gives you the mathematical theory behind some of the most used functions. I found it useful because it really helps to know what the functions *actually* do. It contains sample code as well.
One thing that biologist often need to do with Matlab is image processing. If it is the case, the book [Digital Image Processing Using Matlab](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0130085197) can be handy (lots of practical examples).
The second is most likely available in the library of your/her institution, the first is a bit more confidential but should at least be available through inter-library loan. Note that a good person to ask about books and resources is your librarian.
As a side note, an open-source alternative to Matlab is [Octave](http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/), which has a good online community around it and shares a good deal of its syntax with Matlab.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> If you happen to have bookmarked those resources when you used them, could you please post an answer linking to them?
>
>
>
A good online resource for MATLAB is found at the [Introduction to Computing Resources](http://www.math.uh.edu/~torok/math_6298/) page, put together by <NAME> of the University of Houston. I linked to the main page as there are other resources listed in the contents menu which your sibling may find useful.
>
> Also, if you learned MATLAB or a similar program with great success, what tips would you give for self teaching?
>
>
>
As with the self-teaching of other subjects, there is no good substitute for getting your "hands dirty" and playing around with what the tool has to offer. Start by learning the basics (as discussed in the online resource linked above), and progressively increase the complexity until you reach the desired level of understanding.
---
Edit — I'm including a few more online MATLAB resources that I know of:
* [UCLA MATLAB reference](http://www.math.ucla.edu/~anderson/MDocs/index.html)
* [Michigan Tech MATLAB help](http://www.math.mtu.edu/~msgocken/intro/intro.html) (also mentioned by @rch above in the comments)
* [Utah MATLAB help](http://www.math.utah.edu/lab/ms/matlab/matlab.html)
* [GMU MATLAB page](http://bass.gmu.edu/matlab/matlab.html)
* [Indiana MATLAB help](http://rt.uits.iu.edu/visualization/analytics/math/matlab-getting-started.php)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: (with full agreement with the people who says that online resources, including even youtube are nowadays better than textbooks)
If I were her, I first would learn statistics (that is relevant to her field). Is she an ecologist? A biochemist? Doing in silico bioinfo? They are pretty different fields.
Learning MATLAB without having any clear idea about mathematics (linear algebra, statistical tests etc) she wants to use, is pretty damn difficult. This is the typical "I just want to do ANOVA! just tell me where i should click?" problem. On the other hand when she is already able to write down basic equations to paper, and understand what letter is what, and have at least a vague idea of the mechanics, the MATLAb/octave part become pretty straightforward.
Two remarks:
- I wouldn't waste my time reading 400 pages books discussing everything from PDEs to symbolic calculations. Any 2-10 pages long tutorial from the net gives the same info, with often better pedagogical part.
- While Excel has many annoying features, it is very good to organize and save certain type of experimental data. You can put anything in it, figures, short notes, explanations for yourself, keep everything in one place and for printing one can use something else, gnuplot etc. Of course, it is subjective.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The best tool to learn depends on the actual job. For very basic data analysis, Excel has the lowest entry barrier, but the learning curve gets steep soon. Learning a full language will take some months, but will greatly expand the things she is capable of doing. Also, knowing programming in a field where everybody uses Excel can be a great advantage and unique feature for employment.
One important factor deciding which language is the environment she is in. Having people used to the tools and perks of a language can be very useful when learning from scratch. On the other hand, I'd only count "modern" options (some old professors are very fond of FORTRAN77 and IDL, but learning these is like learning to train dinosaurs).
She should consider not only her lab, but also ask at the Bioinformatics department, and take a look at other labs in the branch she is in. In my experience, for the most informatics side of the field, people use mostly Python, C++, and Java for some machine learning. I have encountered some MATLAB, but definitely not much.
One last note: I think in learning your first language you want the cleanest and less quirky possible. MATLAB in this respect is a mess of a language, with a crappy syntax and bad scalability. My personal choice would be Python, so here are some introductory materials:
* [Summer school](https://python.g-node.org/) on scientific programming and [introduction to Python.](https://python.g-node.org/wiki/introductory_material) All materials are posted.
* [The official tutorial](https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/). There is a lot of things that are not for useful for scientists, but it is very good introduction to the language.
* [Khan academy.](https://www.khanacademy.org/) They have everything. Very nice.
* Coursera has a full assortment of courses. She will surely find something of interest there.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: As said previously in the answers to the question, the textbooks do not usually work great for programming.
I am an Engineering Physics student working with Applied Mathematics and have been using and promoting MATLAB since I started. However, this summer I was out of my license and therefore turned to Anaconda.
I am going to go off on a spin and recommend [Anaconda Scientific Python Distribution](https://store.continuum.io/cshop/anaconda/). Anaconda is based on Python which is a great language to start of on, if not the best. Not only is it free and open-source but can be used in so much more then MATLAB. They also explain why they give this out for free on their website.
* We want to ensure that Python, NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, IPython, Matplotlib, Numba, Blaze, Bokeh, and other great Python data analysis tools can be used everywhere.
* We want to make it easier for Python evangelists and teachers to promote the use of Python.
* We want to give back to the Python community that we love being a part of.
From my experience so far, it has been more intutive to implement more complex tasks as well as being even a bit FASTER!!
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/07/31 | 1,174 | 4,457 | <issue_start>username_0: I knew that the difference between SCI (Science Citation Index) and SCIE (Science Citation Index Expanded) is that SCI has a list of top quality journals, while SCIE includes more than the former.
I found a [link](http://courses.emu.edu.tr/grad501/Lecture%20Notes/Research%20Guides%20-%20How%20to%20search%20for%20all%20research%20articles%20and%20what%20are%20citation%20indices.htm) that seems to support this previous statement. However, I can't find any official information on this regard.
Does someone has some official links to what the difference is? if any.<issue_comment>username_1: From [<NAME>](http://jmst.ntou.edu.tw/webdownload/SCIE_Letter.pdf):
>
> ... the evaluation of and acceptance of a journal for the SCI or the SCIE is essentially the same with ONE major difference. The only difference is the storage media. SCI is only available on CD/DVD format; however, SCIE is available online.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: <NAME>ers customer support explanation on SCI and SCIE:.
>
> The Science Citation Index (SCI) is a sub-set of the Science Citation
> Index Expanded (SCIE), containing journals that rank competitively
> among the most highly-cited core journals in their category or
> categories. The Science Citation Index Expanded is essentially the web
> version of what used to be a database available only on
> CDRom/Diskette.
>
>
> When selecting the journals for the Science Citation Index we choose
> the top journals from each subject category and supplement this with
> top regional journals from each category to give broad geographic and
> multidisciplinary coverage. The evaluation of and acceptance of a
> journal for the Science Citation Index Expanded or the Science
> Citation Index is essentially the same with one major difference.
>
>
> This difference is in the application of citation analysis to the
> journal. **While every science journal in our database is covered in the
> Science Citation Index Expanded and only those journals of relatively
> significantly higher citation impact are selected for the Science
> Citation Index.** In other words, Science Citation Index covers only the
> most highly cited, highest impact journals in each category. This is
> because of the constraints of the CDROM and print media there is no
> difference in the selection process for Science Citation Index and
> Science Citation Index Expanded journals.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: **I got an explanation from Clarivate Analytics:**
Based on the fact that <NAME> selects journals of SCIE (including SCI) through a strict selection process, we hereby prove that journals of Science Citation Index® (SCI) and Science Citation Index ExpandedTM (SCIE) have the SAME QUALITY as the journal selection process for journals of SCI and SCIE is essentially identical.
**The only small difference between of Science Citation Index® (SCI) and Science Citation Index ExpandedTM (SCIE) is the storage format. As known, both SCI and SCIE are available online. However, SCI is available on CD/DVD format but SCIE is not**.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Another difference between SCI and SCIE journal is that SCI has non zero impact factor but SCIE journals are just ranked for impact factor.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: I think the correct understanding is that:
1) All journals in SCIE and SCI undergo the **same selection process**, i.e. the regularity of publication, the peer review process, the editorial team, etc. So you can said they all passed the "quality check" (this doesn't mean they are the same quality..., even not all journals in SCI are same quality, aka Science/Nature/PNAS vs PLoS ONE - which is better? why rank journals on impact factor or why even publish their impact factor if they are same quality?)
Now comes the difference ...
2) Every journals in SCI is in SCIE, but not the reverse. The reason is "only those journals of relatively **significantly higher** citation impact are selected for the Science Citation Index"
I think we can figure this out.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think that the researchers who published their work in a sci journal say that the scie journals are of low standards.
As they have pulished in sci so sci is superior to scie.
But most of the phd scholars says them same with a difference related to media.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/01 | 780 | 3,412 | <issue_start>username_0: I know the university system as it is understood today dates at least as far back as the 13th century or perhaps even to the time of Charlemagne, Alcuin of York, et al., but how was higher education handled before universities? Was it by private tutoring?<issue_comment>username_1: It depends on what you mean by higher education.
Degrees are highly inflated nowadays, now practically everyone and his dog has a PhD, or at least a BSc.
100 years ago passing final exams in high-school practically was the terminal degree for most administrative positions. Much fewer people went on universities, mostly engineering, doctors and such.
If you go back a couple of hundred years you realize that very few profession actually needed university degree, and universities were mostly scholarly centers for philosophy and religious studies. Most engineering didn't even exist 500 years ago, and what existed was taught by professional communities through apprenticeship, not by universities. So what you call higher education is defined very much by the post-industrial area.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As with many things the history of higher education is not well known since accounts may be scarce or missing altogether. Early evidence indicate that schools existed in Egypt where, primarily, boys would learn to read and write etc. One has to remember that such skills were not for the masses. Religiously connected schools also emerged where religious texts were handled and copied. Theological and medical teaching was also done but very little else. evidence of mathematics have been found so there were also schools, perhaps aiming at architecture, astronomy , etc. relevant for the culture. None of these has a degree at the end but was likely based on apprenticeship and mastery evaluated by the teachers. Similar evidence for teaching exists in all older cultures and seem to focus on maintaining order in the social and cultural basis for society.
There seems to be a big step when considering Greek education which was far more comprehensive than the pragmatic education earlier. In the city states of ancient Greece specialized schools emerged where teaching circled around very specific topics such as the Hippocratic school of medicine on Cos. This specialization seems to have continued with the well known Greek philosophers/scientists such as Aristotle, Plato etc. and teaching progressed in directions envisioned by these founders. In other words, there was no single systematic way for schools to teach and operate.
In the Roman world subjects were ordered in groups that we can recognize today: I grammar rhetoric, dialectic; II geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, music; III medicine, architecture. This was how the *liberal arts* (defined as theoretical and intellectual activities by the Greeks) were seen. The subjects have of course survived to modern times although organisation has changed. So education became more organised but the education was not open and still served a purpose for maintaining government rule. Out of the post-Roman world came the first universities as stated in the question where education became even more organized and eventually including fixed degrees.
This answer is loosely based on the excellent book: *The first universities* by <NAME>, Cambridge UP, 1997. I strongly recommend it!
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/08/01 | 897 | 4,077 | <issue_start>username_0: I was reading a paper from a reputable journal and found that the authors misrepresented earlier papers that they cited, by saying something like
>
> Theory X was developed in [A, B, and C], but the underlying assumption was not general enough, and therefore it is insufficient to address our problem, which warrants a more general approach.
>
>
>
The fact is that A, B, and C (which are well-known papers in the field) actually presented a general theory, which is applicable also to the problem considered in their paper. The rest of the paper sounds like an argument against something that was not there in the first place.
I think it is a serious misrepresentation if they did it intentionally. Otherwise, they should have been more familiar with the papers they cited. The fact that such misrepresentation slipped past the peer-reviewing stage also suggests that the review was questionable.
As a reader of the paper, what should I do if I find such misrepresentation?
In my case, the first author of the paper is someone I personally know.<issue_comment>username_1: In general, there is not much you can do. If a misrepresentation leads to erroneous results, one way is to write a "letter to the editor" straightening out the error. Such an approach does not seem right in your case since the error is to state that someone has not reached conclusions they really have. I do not mean to say that this is ok but it is harder to get a comment published when the problem, for example, does not affect future research by introducing errors. One also has to bear in mind that the error apparently escaped both reviewers and editors on the way to publication. It may also well be that the author actually see it the way they write it which means the misrepresentation is not intentional (as you seem to imply). So in the way I read the particular case, I cannot see an immediate way forward. If one writes about a problem where the conclusion you refer to is cited, it is of course possible to point out who was first and thereby contribute to setting the record straight.
So, if a misrepresentation leads to errors, it can usually be pointed out in a published letter. If the misrepresentation concerns a non-critical issue, it is still just as bad, but the possibility of publishing a clarification is much smaller. Now, clearly, these issues are on a sliding scale, so it may be difficult to see where a correction may be reasonable. In such cases, the editor of the journal where the paper was published should be able to provide some feedback on how to proceed.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Since you say that you are concerned about the longer term implications of this error being included in the scientific record, you could consider applying the general theory of A, B, and C to the problem in the more recent paper yourself.
If the approach is successful, as you imply it would be, you could write up the results in a white paper or maybe a conference paper. Their journal submission will almost certainly get more exposure, but researchers seriously attempting to build on their work would more than likely find your rebuttal (for lack of a more appropriate word).
This is of course a lot of effort to go to for something that probably doesn't directly affect you, but it could also ingratiate you to the authors of A, B, and C, if that's something you care about.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Since the misrepresentation seems only to strengthen the motivation or novelty of the approach the authors of the paper in question present and don't, from your description, introduce technical errors which may be likely to propagate into future works, I would likely just mention to my friend (the first author) that the way I read them papers A, B, and C present a more general view than his interpretation seemed to suggest, then have that discussion with him.
It could be that he has some insight into the real generality of the earlier papers than you do, or you could wind up enlightening him.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/01 | 609 | 2,586 | <issue_start>username_0: A large majority of researchers in my field publish in Elsevier journals. However, a professor who is widely regarded as an authority in my field has, some years ago, signed [The Cost of Knowledge](http://thecostofknowledge.com/) pledge to neither publish nor review for Elsevier. I think this is sad, since someone who is highly qualified to review these papers will no longer review them and improve their quality.
This professor has published in other journals, but it does not seem that others are following suit, since these Elsevier journals seem to be highly prized. What can he do to be able to review papers that would have otherwise come to his perusal without having to recant?<issue_comment>username_1: Sounds like he's sticking to his moral principles, which is the best anyone can do. Maybe he could evangelize his opinion more to increase the impact of his crusade, but that's about it.
I disagree with the insinuation that he may be doing his field a disservice, since moving away from the ancient publishing model is a good thing for any field in the long run. Besides, it's not like he has left the field; just a small part of its publication scene.
Just because nobody seems to be following him (yet) does not mean he failed in any way.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: If authorities disregard a journal *en masse*, that journal (or series of journals) will lose any reputation for quality publication. If poor-quality papers get through to publication due to a drop off in submissions or high-quality available reviewers, that journal will lose even more reputation for quality. This sort of issue should be self-correcting if enough researchers feel strongly about it.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: (This answer is adapted from my comment below <NAME>'s answer)
In the spirit of the pledge, this professor could put a banner saying in substance "I do not review for Elsevier journal, so if you are an author hoping for me to review your paper, submit to other publisher's journals".
One important thing about such a pledge is that it is useless if it is silent; this is an initial observation by <NAME> that lead to the pledge. Now that 14000 people have signed it, each one of them is somewhat hidden in the crowd, so making this kind of statements on one's web page is a way to make one's pledge more public, and to give the movement some momentum. Here, a prominent professor has also the possibility to influence the submissions of his or her colleagues, which is a good bonus.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/08/01 | 735 | 3,329 | <issue_start>username_0: According to the reviewers, the paper I have submitted is now ready for publication.
How long I should wait to know the final decision of the editor-in-chief?<issue_comment>username_1: Reviewers can only recommend a verdict so what they say is not necessarily the outcome, the editor has final say. Of course if two reviews agree then it is very likely the outcome will be what they suggest. In a normal review situation involving an editor, the reviewers provide their reviews to the editor who in turn will make a judgement and pass on comments and possible suggestions for improvements to you. If your manuscript is in an open review system (such as the discussion format of Copernicus Open Access journals), you may see the reviews before final decisions are taken and in such a case, I would not trust reviewers opinions on the verdict until you also hear so from the editor.
As is pointed out in a comment, it is a bit intriguing that you seem to have the reviewers comments but not that from the editor. The time between completion of reviews and to a decision by an editor will vary depending on many factors. The editor has to read the reviews in light of the manuscript and then value the comments and provide a synthesis of the outcome for you. Obviously the editor will have other manuscripts to handle in parallel which influences the time a decision may take. To state a time that can be applied to any situation or journal is therefore pointless. I am, however, certain that any serious editor is not keen to hold on to a decision for any extended period. With the journals I have published and the one where I am Editor-in-Chief times from receipt of reviews to decision can vary from maybe days up to a month in rare cases. This seems reasonable for the field in which I work but I am sure that such times vary between both field and journals within a field.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I am late to the discussion, but these issues are timeless, so I hope its okay. The reviewer comments, if positive, certainly influence an editorial decision positively, but you can't rely on them. Wait for the editor to respond. Different journals have different policies. Here is an anecdote from a BMC journal.
My paper was in review at this journal for close to 4 months, during which we went through two revisions. At the end of it, two of the three reviewers took cheap shots at our product and shot the paper down. The editor, as it turned out, a person with a Master's degree opined "based on reviewer reports, we are rejecting this manuscript". We complained because there was no editorial opinion and were asked to resubmit the manuscript. During second review, they invited two additional reviewers and we finally were able to provide satisfactory revisions and both reviewers recommended acceptance. Again no editorial comment was provided. Our editor during the second submission is a fresh PhD graduate. We have been awaiting a final decision for 10 days. Upon inquiring we were told that now a senior editorial board member is assessing the manuscript before a final decision could be rendered.
I certainly do not think this is the norm, but keep in mind that there are journals out there who do a sloppy job and employ unqualified people in editor's position.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/01 | 2,155 | 9,392 | <issue_start>username_0: I have just finished my bachelor's degree in computer engineering. I am doing an REU with the professor who will be my adviser this fall when I enter grad school.
Currently my future Adviser has me working on research that involves image processing. I was hoping to head in other directions in embedded computing and security.
From our weekly research meetings it seems like my adviser will be assigning me research topics through out my grad school career. Is this normal that an adviser would insist on determining the research topic of the PhD students under them. I have not pushed back on this yet but I am not prepared to go in depth in image processing. I am not a math major or CS major and that field gives me little interest.
--ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW--
As far as funding goes I am currently funded by and REU(research experience for undergraduates) and am unsure of where this funding comes from(NSF, department, professor). Here in 2 weeks though I will be funded by a Distinguished Academic Fellowship(DAF) that my university graduate school awarded me.
In order to get my DAF I had to write a research proposal. I proposed research into microprocessor, GPU, FPGA unification. As I understood it from those within my department I am not required to carry out that research as the proposal is more a way for the DAF committee to see that I can write a coherent proposal for later on in my academic career.
Concerning the union of my professors research interest and mine: He focuses on embedded system design for single specific applications. It just happens that in the current path of research he is onto it involves cameras. This then introduces the field of image processing into the project.
It seems that all his grad students are doing peripheral work on UAVs that will be coalesced into a UAV platform of some sort.<issue_comment>username_1: I think the short answer should be "NO", but there are a lot of stuff which have to be taken in consideration.
Is it clear on what type of project you will contribute with your research, or is it a research that is not on the frames of any project?
If it is a research within the frames of a project which has got funding based on its documentation, you will have to work on what that research asks you to. And it is up to you to decide if you want to work on that topic or not.
In both cases, I think that the field of research and the expected outcome of your research should be defined even before the research starts. Of course along the path you might hit obstacles and look at different stuff, but not to the extend of completely switching fields.
Looking at your description it seems that you are working on completely off-topic stuff.
Bear in mind that the Adviser might be testing you, and see your reaction. Maybe if you don't react and accept to do everything that he asks you to, then he will continue with the same later on. Also, he might be testing your patience.
In any case, I strongly recommend that you have a very thorough and mature discussion with your adviser *before* starting to work on the research. And make sure that this discussion will result in "clearly" defined research goals, at least a well defined topic to focus on!
In general, you are supposed to know the fields of interest of your adviser and expect that he will ask you to do work on those fields.
image processing, security, and embedded are very broad definitions and (at least to me) look very unrelated especially when the granularity of a phd research is considered.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This depends very much on:
1. How much interests and your advisor's interests align
2. Where your funding comes from
First, interest alignment: Starting a grad program, you find an advisor with interests that overlap with your own, do the foundational things that need to get done, then expand on it with your own ideas. Later, when you are pitching grants, very much the same thing but with program officers: you have a great idea, and you find a way to dovetail it with their calls for proposals. Finding the common ground between your research and others' research is a fundamental academic skill.
Second, money: if you are funded through a grant that needs image processing research done, do you think that your advisor or the funding sponsor will give you a big thumbs up when you say, "Actually, I have some great ideas for embedded security devices I would rather work on." Nope. If you were in their shoes, shelling out $30-60k on a student for a year, wouldn't you expect them to help get the grant completed successfully? If you want full control over your research, become independently wealthy first.
Successfully doing your own research in academia, in grad school and beyond, involves a lot of meeting in the middle. Given the huge disparity of research topics you mentioned (image processing versus security), I genuinely wonder about the overlap of interests. If there really isn't much overlap, it might be worth looking for a different advisor. You won't become an expert in one field by being mentored by a guy in another field, even if your advisor lets you run wild with any idea that comes into your head.
**Update**
----------
Since more info was added about the funding and interest overlap, I can note a bit more here. It sounds like your funding is relatively portable and not tied to a project. In that case, you should have pretty strong control over what you want to do. You should not be using this control to just pitch ideas and run with them. The benefit of a PhD program (as opposed to learning how to research while living in a shack) is to apprentice with people who are experts in what you want to do.
However, having your own "batteries included" funding means you should be able to match with the best advisor for your interests. It sounds like you need to discuss the issue of overlapping interests with your current advisor. If you don't want to go in the same direction as the lab, maybe they can suggest another group who does something that is a better fit. Alternatively, maybe they will hit topics that you find more interesting during other phases of projects. It's not uncommon to switch advisors in the first year: I knew a professor in undergrad who actually recommended avoiding even starting in a given lab, so you could just meet with professors to find the best match.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In many fields, it is common for the advisor to "suggest" research projects to graduate students (including PhD students). In my own area of mathematics, for example, this is the case.
Of course, there is give and take between the student and the advisor about exactly what project the student will work on, and one can never know the outcome of a research project before it is done.
It is a well known phenomenon in math that some advisors have a vision for a long-term research program with many required intermediate results, each of which they will assign to a different PhD student as a thesis project. Depending on how many students they advise, not all the students may work on these results, but many of them will.
On the other hand, there are some advisors who give students more flexibility to choose a thesis project. But the project will always need to be in an area where the advisor has real expertise - otherwise, the advisor is not a good choice for the project.
It is also worth keeping in mind that the goal of graduate education is to get students to a point where, *at the end*, they are able to select their own research projects and carry them out independently. This does not mean that the majority of students are already able to do so when they enter graduate school. It is easy for a graduate student to take on more than they expect, if they choose a thesis project unwisely.
Ideally, you will find an advisor (1) who is very good at advising; (2) who you can work with successfully; (3) who works on topics you are very interested in; and (4) whose students have a history of good jobs after graduation. But sometimes it is not possible to achieve all of (1)-(4), in which case you have to compromise. For some students I have known, giving up on (3) was easy - after all, working on something long enough often makes it interesting. For others, not having (3) would be a deal breaker.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The answer is YES, sadly. If you do not like it, you got to talk to him/her, or get another advisor if no agreement can be reached.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: No, it isn't normal or desirable. The point of getting a PhD is to learn how to conduct research, and part of that is learning how to choose research topics. Your advisor should suggest topics and steer you away from bad ones and toward good ones, but summarily giving you research topics for the entirety of your time in grad school is doing you a disservice. Find a different advisor. (In case it helps, my advisor did the same thing: He presented me with a list of topics he found in a paper somewhere, told me to choose one from them, and refused to even entertain my suggestions when I asked for something else to work on. It was one of many reasons why I got nothing out of my time in grad school, and I don't want you to have to go through something similar.)
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/08/02 | 2,674 | 11,413 | <issue_start>username_0: In the past few years, I've become very interested in staying in academia for as long as possible. I really wanted to be a professor, and I still do. Using the internet and meeting with a few professors, I've researched various aspects of life as a professor, including daily schedules, salaries, etc. While trying to get an idea of what a typical professor's salary might look like, I always stumbled upon "Head of Department" salaries, which were considerably greater than other professor salaries. I liked the idea of being paid more, but I always dismissed the idea of becoming a "Head of Department" because I thought that their work was more related to administration than teaching or talking about the field of their department. (One of the main reasons I want to be a professor is the opportunity to be directly involved in the fields I'm passionate about every single day.) However, I recently traveled to a university in my state with the company I am interning at, and I met the head of the department of mechanical engineering. Though that is not my field of interest, I was very glad to have the chance to meet with her. I learned all about her day-to-day life as head of department: I learned that she is quite actively involved in many PhD students' projects, and oversees many research projects. There is also an administrative aspect in her job, but it isn't nearly as overwhelming or burdensome as I thought. Since the visit, I've become very interested in a job like hers.
Is my perception of "Head of Department" skewed? What can I do to be involved in my field like she is in hers?
I would love to learn about and teach my passions for a living.
Side question: How involved are deans of \_\_ in their respective fields?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't have exact knowledge about what the life of a Head of Department Professor is, but looking at the Professors who act as heads of departments in my university, I can tell that they are equally involved in teaching as the other Professors.
Simply if you want to deduce if a particular head of department is involved in teaching and research, look at the number of his publications after he became head of department (I know, this information can be misleading), also look at the courses they teach. I have not noticed any change in those numbers (in my University) after a given Professor became head of a department.
It is true that they are more involved in administrative/managerial tasks. But, I think that is something that comes with experience. I assume you are a young scholar and eager to do teaching, but do you think you will have the same amount of desire after 20+ years on the field? Some managerial experience might look interesting then, right?
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think this varies a lot depending on the field, the department and it's size. In my experience department chairs/head of departments (US/UK terminology respectively, on the whole) spend the majority of their working time on administration, but will remain involved in research and teaching, though at a reduced level. I think the degree to which they do this depends on their preferences. Those who are ready to stop or take a break from teaching and research can and people generally don't blame them; those who are still excited about it will find a way to continue them. It all just depends.
However, I feel like there's a fallacy underlying your question. You seem to think (forgive me if I'm wrong; I am reading a bit between the lines) that "Head of Department" is a separate career track or something. In fact, I've never heard of a department head who wasn't a "normal" professor for 15 to 20 years before becoming head of department. It's not something I have a special interest in doing, but I have every reason to think I'll probably do a stint or two as department chair 20 or so years from now. So, at this stage in your life (your profile says you are 17), there's no reason to worry about whether you want to do it. Assuming you go into academia, become a professor, and stick with for a couple of decades, then you can think about whether it's something that makes sense for you, in the context of your department or one doing an external search at that time.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Another factor to consider is that at least at US universities there seem to be two extremes for how departments are run. At one end, the Department Head or Department Chair is strong and has considerable influence over the direction of the department as a whole. In such places, the Chair can direct the research direction of the department, make faculty hiring decisions, and steer the department as though it were their larger research group. At the other extreme, the departmental committees really have the power. There, the Chair is more of a rubber stamp for the committee decisions and represents their wishes to outside entities. In these models, the Dean or Head of School or whoever the Chair reports to also has a lot of power over the department.
In the weak Chair model, department insiders usually take turns being Chair and then return to being regular faculty after their turn is up. In the strong Chair model, a national or international search will be done to find a top candidate to come in and lead the department to glory. Such a Chair might run the department for much of the rest of their career.
All of the above are caricatures of the way departments work, but they give you an idea of much of the range of what is possible. In either model, the Chair may be involved to a greater or lesser degree in teaching and research depending on their preference and local culture.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I had the great (mis)fortune of being a department chair for four years. This was at a small, not prestigious, liberal arts college. We use the "weak" chair model as mentioned by username_3 (which I think compromises such things as chair evaluations of faculty: pan someone, even fairly, and they will get the chance to return the favor). I was an associate professor when I took the position, it was my turn. I did get a course reduction, from four to three courses per semester, along with a minor stipend (I could have made more, with less time commitment, teaching five courses). There were the expected administrative duties: making schedules each semester, purchase orders, budget, etc. Since the position had no real power, I was a glorified secretary to the department. All but one of my facult were former chairs, but they all came to me with every little problem as if they had no idea of what to do. Finally, I reminded them they were former chairs and if they had some request that needed my approval. then they should get the necessary forms, fill them out, and bring them to me for signature. This solved that problem.
However, it always seemes there was something to take care of. As an example of how frustrating things can be, I arrived at my office one day at 8:00AM with three things I wanted to do. I left for home at 6:00PM having done none of them.
I was just beginning to solidify a research program when I took the job. When I was done, I seriously considered leaving academia. After a few years of decompression, I revived my enthusiasm for research and am getting back to speed, but those several years off, complicated by some family issues, really hurt me from a professional standpoint.
Now that I've related my horror story, I should point out that there are some people at my school who honestly enjoy being chair. Nonetheless, I would caution anyone to think long and hard before taking the plunge.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: "Department heads" come in different types. Some are like the kind that you say, basically faculty members with some administrative duties. Others are more "political" types, who are better noted for their administrative, than academic abilities. These two archtypes will fulfill the role at different times and situations.
I'm writing about the experience of my father, a retired civil engineering professor, who spent a year and a half as the Acting Department Head. It was an "interim" position, held after a "political" type left, in which the priority was to restore the confidence of the faculty. My father participated heavily in PhD thesis supervision (a favorite activity of his), and worked closely with the Faculty Senate (which would be his next destination). All this was made possible by the "temporary" nature of the position.
All this changed when there was a new dean, who wanted a Department Head to "kick the asses of the full professors." My father's successor was a tough minded man (a Holocaust survivor, for starters), who did just that. But the pressures of that role were too much, even for him, and he had to step down after several years. While he was there, he relied on my father, who had been a department head, while being a good link to the Faculty Senate.
It sounds like you could do well as one type of Department Head but maybe not the other. So you need to keep your eyes out on the institution to determine which is more likely to be the case. Bear in mind that is analysis could be complicated by the fact that the institution's needs may change from time to time as well.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: The simple answer to your question "What is life as “Head of Department \_\_\_\_” like?" in one word is: difficult. Other words I can think of include thankless and masochistic. Perhaps I am being too cynical (after having had the role for four years). It all depends on which country you are in, what type of institution, the stage at which you are in your career and your overall aspirations. You talk about money, but the reality is that the remuneration is unlikely to equate to the workload and pressure, so I would never do it for the money alone. If that is what you want, go into industry or commerce.
Head of Dept. is the description used in the UK. In the UK system, it is a powerful role and you will have a lot of influence on the direction and strategy of the department. This can make it very rewarding, but it is also a potential minefield. Don't expect to be friends with everybody; getting a group of academics to agree is rather like herding cats. There is also the stress associated with all manner of problems, such as difficult student issues, difficult staff issues, dealing with higher and lower levels of admin, not to mention the time required for all of this and the countless meetings you have to attend. This is a job only for those with a thick skin, lots of stamina, a sense of humour, good management and diplomatic skills. Also bear in mind that unless you have a reasonably sized research team, you will find it hard to produce any research in reasonable volume.
Having said all that, there are people who relish academic management, and if you are in the right place at the right time, it can be the first step on a career path in the university management system. Someone who is Head of Dept. in their late 40's, for example, might well spend the rest of their career in senior university management as long as they don't screw up. At the end of the day, someone has to manage the system and if you are OK with it, go for it. But as someone else said, think long and hard about it.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/02 | 1,540 | 6,630 | <issue_start>username_0: Most research profiles I've seen focus on a set of similar topics.
Does anyone have experience in partaking in / conducting research in 2+ disparate fields? (especially if 1 of the fields is pretty different than what they studied in an institution)
For example:
* *Pure mathematics* and *biology* (e.g. solving an open math problem and studying purring in cats)
* *Aerospace engineering* and *psychology* (e.g. modeling vortices and researching psychological effects of isolation)
If a person had interest in researching a multiple, ranging topics, what advice would you give them? How do you think they should go about doing it? (if you'd recommend they do it at all)
**Edit** - I'm an undergraduate mechanical engineering student. I'm interested in eventually researching two topics, one in my chosen field, one in genetics.<issue_comment>username_1: It might be possible (though I would say extremely unlikely) for someone to do two PhDs at once. The sort of mind necessary to do that would necessarily be extremely rare. (As in someone at least 3 deviations or more past the standard).
---
Instead if you really want to do research in two fields, I can imagine two realistic routes:
**Route 1:** (a) build a career in one discipline by pursuing the PhD and then getting hired for it and then (b) get a second PhD in the disparate field and research in that. The example I can think of is [<NAME>horne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polkinghorne), physicist and theologian.
**Route 2:** Do a second field as a hobby while gainfully employed in a different arena. But generally that requires strong overlap or that one be an armchair-pursuable field.
Don't be fooled into doing an interdisciplinary PhD -- that generally either means you won't be prepared for any research at all or that you will be prepared for a single overlapping field.
---
But depending on the specific avenue in mechanical engineering, there may be topics that do overlap with genetics -- such as DNA recombinance which involve machinery that can rapidly do DNA-typing or things like biophysics with flow mechanics. This would be a much more realistic goal.
This is not uncommon in the sciences these days -- to have studied a topic in say physics and be working on biology that is heavily-dated and equation oriented later.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You can find a way to tie math into damn near any field or topic. Often at the graduate level you end up working with tools from "outside" of your discipline to solve a problem within it, or using the machinery of your field to solve otherwise-untenable problems in another. It's getting very multi-disciplinary out here, and very translational, and whatever other term you like for that kind of thing.
Essentially, if the tools are applicable across fields, it's no big deal: your literature familiarity just has to have more breadth than typical. If they're legitimately unrelated and you aren't interested in trying to connect then or your solutions to the problems in the fields, it will be a very hard row to hoe.
From a fellow MechE, take further classes in both and see which field looks most promising and exciting to you and follow that one professionally. Keep up with the other casually and consider how your understanding of one facilitates your work in the other.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Multidisciplinary research is currently a popular buzzword among the sciences, with a lot of (PhD) funding requiring that research students span multiple departments.
However, you will need to combine them in some way, you cannot research completely unrelated topics simultaneously (or at least find it very hard).
I am currently working in Systems Biology, which spans Biology and Mathematics, applying mathematical modelling especially to experimental biological data.
The relatively new discipline of Synthetic Biology might be suited to you, which seeks to apply the rules of engineering to molecular biology. This is an extension of the now standard practise of genetic engineering in biology. It is attempting to deconstruct biology into distinct parts and devices which can then be combined in novel ways.
Other pairings such as Physics and Biology are also very suitable.
At higher research levels, the subject lines tend to get blurred, you use whatever you need to answer the question most effectively, whether or not that falls within the discipline you trained for.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I second username_3's advice to try to combine the two fields instead of having two completely separate projects in different areas. An additional benefit is that there may be "low-hanging fruit", that is, you can get some interesting results from the applying standard methods and theory of an area to another, where they are less known and standard. There are lots of researchers that can do research in one topic, but very few people that know the language, problems and methods of two different fields and can "bridge the gap" and act as interface between two research groups.
This works particularly well with computer science, mathematics and statistics; everyone needs them, but often they have no idea that they do.
However, even if multidisciplinarity is a well-received 'buzzword' at the funding stage, it might count against you in some cases. In recent times people rely a lot (too much, arguably) on paper and citation counts to evaluate the output of a researcher; they may not realize that they have to normalize your impact factors and citations to the standard of a different field, or just strike you down because "his/her publication history is only partially relevant to the subject". Much depend on how the hiring system is organized in your country, though. This will only matter much later in your career though, when looking for a postdoc or a tenure-track position.
That said, my advice is **go for it**.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Separating this for a moment from the internal mechanics of educational establishments, physiologically, you may find "context switching" unexpectedly tough.
Some mental agility tests are designed to be hard by challenging participants to rapidly switch between multiple different tasks.
However even on slower time scales, the time time it takes for your mind to warm up from thinking about one thing, to thinking about another, is called "context switching", and there can be many levels of context, that each need to be noticed and require a conscious push, over a significant period of time.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/02 | 946 | 3,791 | <issue_start>username_0: I have been researching a topic in Computer Science for several years now. The topic was interesting, but while I managed to get some conclusive results, I was not completely happy about them. It was like something was missing, but I knew that I really needed to talk to somebody more specialized in the topic, but unfortunately a lot of external professors that I contacted did not have enough time to collaborate. Anyway I submitted it to two conferences, which were ranked like B according to the [Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) schema](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excellence_in_Research_for_Australia):
```
A* - flagship conference
A - excellent conference, determined by a mix of indicators
B - good conference, determined by a mix of indicators
C - other ranked conference venues
```
The final verdict at both conferences was a weak reject. So I made the corrections that the reviewers suggested and submitted it to another conference. This new conference has a rank of C, but it deals with the subject that I was making research; the final verdict was accepted as a borderline paper.
Now, the question that I have is that if I should present my paper at that conference, or should I try to fix other things and resubmit to other higher-ranked venues? For me it would be more practical to leave it as is, and let another researcher pick it up if she is so interested.<issue_comment>username_1: You should have asked yourself this question before you submitted to the conference. Withdrawing your paper now, after it's been accepted, means you wasted a bunch of people's time (editor, reviewers, ...). Do unto others ...
Additionally, given that it was accepted as a borderline paper and was rejected at two previous conferences may be a hint that your work is not perceived as top of the line by external referees. I doubt you can shoot much higher than what you have now.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: ERA ranking is subjective, I am not aware of peer-reviewed evidence that it works. Personally, I know conferences ranked as A, and whose quality is below acceptable. On the other hand, EuroPLoP is the premier conference for software patterns practitioners, and is ranked B in ERA.
So, do not dismiss a conference just because it is marked as C there. If it is not relevant to Australian community, it does not mean it is not relevant to European/Asian/US community. It is always better to see PC, authors published in the past editions, and other factors to make a decision, not relying on some subjective number.
BTW, there are more conference rankings:
* [Conference H-index calculator](http://shine.icomp.ufam.edu.br/index.php)
* [Microsoft Academic Search ranking](http://academic.research.microsoft.com/RankList?entitytype=3&topDomainID=2&subDomainID=0)
* community rankings: <http://perso.crans.org/~genest/conf.html> and <http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/assourav/crank.htm>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: ERA rankings are a left-over from earlier days when venues couldn't be easily and quantifiably evaluated in terms of "impact". The ERA rankings are/were driven by apparent popularity and "votes" cast by a small subset of Australian academics. This makes ERA rankings dubious since they are largely subjective.
These days one has access to various online tools to evaluate the impact of a venue, such as Google Scholar Metrics (h5-index) and Scimago Journal Rank. In turn, these tools often expose many ERA rankings as erroneous.
In terms of getting feedback on your work, conferences are not the only venues. You may also want to try "Letters" type of journals, which allow publication of short communications. Even if your paper isn't accepted, the feedback from the reviewers can be very useful.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/02 | 422 | 1,660 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm Java course which they said to me that they can arrange a Bachelor's degree from "The Chamber of Chartered Java Professionals International."
I did a little research my own, and from what I can see, they don't really have any verifiable information to confirm their existence.
1. Is there such chamber that can give people a degree?
2. If they can, is it a reputable degree?
My course is covers regular software engineering, including generic languages and sometimes specific languages. I also submitted a few assignments, and projects to the institute that I'm following the course with. From what I understand, they can make them equivalent to their degree requirements. However, their reputation and existence remain mysterious and I chose not to rely on what the institute says, which of course, technically, is a business.<issue_comment>username_1: In general, degrees are given by universities, technological institutes, and other similar **accredited** institutes of higher learning. A degree without such an accreditation in place offers extremely limited value.
While this does appear to be a "real" organization, it does not appear to have any accreditation, which would make its degrees worthless junk.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Heard of Chamber of Chartered Java Professionals International?
>
>
>
No.
---
>
> 2. If they can [offer a degree], is it a reputable degree?
>
>
>
No.
---
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: According to my knowledge, this chamber is owned by IJTS (a private sole owner company provides Java courses) in Sri Lanka.
Not reputed.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/02 | 871 | 3,956 | <issue_start>username_0: In applying to graduate program, what are some ways to prove knowledge gained from self-study?
I've been told of the following:
* Independently conduct research / create projects that require the knowledge
* Partake in research that requires the knowledge
* Contribute to a project that requires the knowledge
But the former seems like an expensive hurdle in many experiment-heavy fields, and the latter two seem like a catch 22. You must collaborate with people to prove your knowledge, but you must prove your knowledge to be considered for collaboration.
Are there other ways to do so?<issue_comment>username_1: How about giving a talk on what you have learned -- e.g. at the scientific student society (or perhaps there is a separate student seminar)?
If for some reasons this is not feasible, consider finding other students interested in the subject and form a (informal) study group to study this subject deeper. If you form such a group, you can also consider asking the professor who is an expert in the subject to (informally) guide/supervise this group in some way.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you have your own professional site (science blog, tasteful web comic, whatever) you can produce some original content that builds on the knowledge gained during your independent study.
If you can manage to propose some minor extensions or future applications of that knowledge, even better, as it shows that you not only learned something but you have thought of where it can be applied in future research.
Then just tactfully reference this content in your application.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: One may prove their knowledge by these aspects.
* They may have a certificate of the courses they have passed.
* They may have a publication or patent registration in the field of their personal studies.
* They may have worked in the field of their knowledge and their projects and portfolio is a proof of their knowledge.
A website designer may not have any certification of their design knowledge, but the websites they have designed are the proof of their knowledge.
1. You may have done voluntary/paid teaching at your undergraduate university or in an educational institute, so you have the certification of your teaching activity and that may be counted as a proof of your teaching and your knowledge. (Also teaching/research assistantships to a course which you have never passed but you did assistantship in that area.)
2. You may have some publications in the area of your knowledge, for instance, a published paper or book; or a contribution to a publication which is so related to your knowledge.
3. You may have done some jobs related to your knowledge. An engineering design, done some code-developing, etc.
4. You may have a recommendation letter from a professor in which has written that you have sit in their class for that course, but you have never registered for the course; so it proves that you have the knowledge of the course.
However, as far as you are registering for a graduate program, you must fulfill their requirements not what is generally/logically reasonable or what seems to be acceptable. So it is better to provide all your proofs in your CV or their application process website and let them ask you for more official documents. Also, you can email them and ask for your special issue.
P.S. It seems that your question indicates self-study knowledge, but some people may have done some non-degree programs and certificates of those courses may also prove their knowledge in the course.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: One way of proving your knowledge is getting a letter of recommendation from a professor, or someone who can vouch for it.
One of my favorite professors told me, "If you ever come by some knowledge where the source isn't obvious I'll vouch for your knowledge of it if you can demonstrate it to me."
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/08/03 | 2,944 | 12,143 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an economics PhD student; I'm seeking to wrap up my PhD and do something outside of academia.
If I don't plan on ever being in academia, is there any value (career-wise) for me to get any of my work published in economics journals?
Ideally I'm looking for answers pertaining specifically to economics; but information on other fields is welcome too.
*To elaborate (following some comments):*
The reason I do not want to stay in academic economics is that too much (though certainly not all) of it is bullshit I cannot believe in. (This of course is just my humble opinion.) If I wanted to stay in the game and do well, I feel I'd be forced to manufacture similar BS that I simply don't believe in.
In other words, doing this PhD was for me a mistake. If and when I do get my PhD, I will not even feel proud about it. But now that I'm near the finish line, I reckon I may as well cross it, if only for the credential.
Right now I'm looking at working for one of the MOOCs. I enjoy teaching and believe that teaching/education is important. But it is also possible that I might do something completely different; I don't quite know yet.
So now I'm thinking: Should I just try to graduate ASAP with the lowest quality work possible? Or should I invest a bit more time and effort to polishing my work up, so that some of it can get published?<issue_comment>username_1: If you are planning to work outside academia as a specialist in your field, then you need to have academic knowledge. I don't see any value of having PhD papers publication while you are seeking non-research job positions; but, a wise employer will decide upon your CV.
As far as most of your time as a PhD student has been spent on research, so the employer is probably seeking the out put of the years you spent in university. These are the years you did not have enough freedom to work in industry, so the question here is what this candidate did at the university.
username_2 wants to hire a tired and depressed candidate who did not do well in his studies as a student and it may come to mind that he will be as tired as the years he was student, why to have him in company?!
So by having publications in your CV, you not make your CV comparative and comparable to the other candidates registering for the job; but also you will show that you are an ideal person in every situation. When you attend university, you did your best, finished your degree and have some publications; and the employer becomes more sure about choosing you. Percents bellow is my approximation of the need of publications in job market.
If I want to generally answer your question:
1. If you are going to be hired somewhere:
* **100%** If it is a research job and related to your studies; then you absolutely need to show your research capabilities. So you need to prove that can do the research chores and then having paper publications is good idea.
* **80%** If it is a research job and not so related to your field, then the title of your papers may have no significant value but you need to show your ability to conduct research and having publications shows that you have the ability and the knowledge to do research.
* **50%** If it is a non-research job and related to your field, it seems that having publications does not make any sense but you have to show what you did in your education years, so if you don't have work experience in your CV, show that you have published something, show that you are expert in your field, have something in your CV!
* **10%** If it is a non-research job and not so related to your fields of study; then you may not need that much publications (see my answer above).
2. **0% to 100%** If you are going to work on your own and do not have any plans to be hired somewhere, do some business, be an entrepreneur, etc., you are the one who wants to hire you, so having publications isn't significant. But keep in mind that having research publications gives you ideas to work with, opens your eyes as a specialist and opens many more job opportunities than a person who has not any insight to research. So having publications may give you many more opportunities than having no publications.
In my opinion, be firm in every step of your life, finish your PhD with most output and publications; and enter a job which is so related to your field and make use of the things you learn during your studies at the university. If you do not gain much from your education, then it seems that you have lost your time for a PhD. So what was the use to get a PhD?
By the way, I think that your question highly depends on answering to this question: What are you going to do after graduation? And, What the consequences of not having publications would be in your future careers and jobs. *You* are the only one who can answer these questions precisely.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> The reason I do not want to stay in academic economics is that too much (though certainly not all) of it is [BS] I cannot believe in.
>
>
>
Exactly because you think there are so much BS there, you should publish your papers if they are not BS.
I would review my manuscripts to see if they are good if I were you. If I believe they are of good quality, i.e. non-BS, I would submit them to the journals for peer review. If they do not match good quality standard, I would improve them so that they are not the same as those BS I saw in some journals. I then submit them to the quality journals which do not publish BS.
P.S. In my opinion, your question really has nothing do with where you are going to be and I consider MOOCs is part of Academia.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Disclaimer: I know nothing about the research in economics.
Publications are useful when applying to a job closely related to their field of study, but are almost never a requirement outside academia. This being said, if you want to 'work for one of the MOOCS' you might want to reconsider, because they very often *are* made in universities. I never applied to a teaching position, but I suspect it's not irrelevant to have at least one publication (although again, not a strict requirement).
Anyway, regardless of what your plans are, if you think your papers are not worthy of being published (what you qualify as BS), *don't submit them*, you will only lose readers' time. People apparently forget that the point of publishing is to show your work to others thus contributing to the field. The CV part is a by-product (at least it should be).
In addition, publishing something you don't 'believe in' is going to be a long-lasting pain in the neck (that is, in reputable, peer-reviewed journals). It could take you month of struggling with a paper that you do not want to read again, but have to. If you made your decision never to work in academia again, then it's pretty much pointless.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: **Disclaimer:** *I never worked in the industry, so I have no first-hand information and everything I write is what I picked up from old colleagues, ... .*
That said, I think in economics outside Academia a publication is worth barely the space in the CV. When applying to positions in consulting you may have luck and someone recognizes the journal you are publishing in, but in large companies you rarely meet someone who even knows what AER or Econometrica are.
So publications might look nice on the CV but (if you are not applying to a university or maybe a consulting firm) no one cares if you published at Econometrica or the working paper series of the university of nowhere.
However, your case is a little bit different: MOOCs (and most teaching jobs) are at a university, so I would consider them as part of Academia and there publications might be worth something. Maybe not much but something at least.
To put that in (pretty random) numbers:
```
100% For a research job (normalized)
50% For a teaching job at an university
10% - 20% If you are "lucky" and someone with a PhD in Economics makes the decision
0% Otherwise
```
Publishing takes a lot of time and effort, so, if you are sure that you do not want to stay in Academia (or work at MOOCs) graduate faster without polishing your papers too much (if you are getting some kind of grade: that usually does matter, so some polishing is probably needed).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm in a different policy field, but share the same sentiments as you about academia. Consequently, I'm in the same situation of wondering how much I should care about publishing.
Here's some of my observations to date:
* You have to show that you did something with your time while in a Ph.D. program. Publishing shows that I worked productively with my boss (advisor) on something "important" while I was a graduate student. However, this has diminishing returns. Namely, I'm perfectly content pumping my work out to a mid-tier journal, where I'm confident most of what I do would be published with just some simple edits that come about from the peer-review process at that level. My advisor, on the other hand, has a "go big or go home" mentality to publishing, which suits this person well given his/her career, but doesn't particularly help me get through the program rapidly to get a job outside of academia.
* The best part about being in graduate school, but also being certain that I'm not going into academia, is that I have all sorts of time to build skills on my resume that will help me land the kinds of jobs that I want outside of academia, but are skills I wouldn't otherwise gain through the formal experience of a Ph.D. program. For me, this is computer programming. I'm great at statistics, understand research designs very well, and plan on leaning on these skills on the job market. However, a perfect complement to those skills, for the positions I'm interested in, is to be able to hack my way around several programming languages. Now, I can build something tangible with the analyses that I was already quite fluent with. Aside from the basic work that I need to do for my lab, and the program requirements I need to fulfill to get out the door, I really focus on these tertiary skills while I have the time to focus on such things. This means I usually am less concerned about the conference deadlines that seem to loom over the other graduate students, or revising that paper for the 100th time to try and impress my advisor. However, I should say that I also get a lot of shit done for my lab, more than other grad students, and work in ways that are much more smart/efficient than other students in my department. So, I find it easy to find the time to focus on other skills that might be beneficial to me on the job market. So, I hope given your disposition about academia, and your career goals, that you are using the extra time that comes from letting go of engaging with the rat race in order to do something cool for your resume.
* The hard part is getting your advisor on board with your goals, which are reflected in a lack of concern about publication. First, it's harder to get them to pay attention to you if you aren't publishing things that are going to help them and their career. Two, if you're dealt an unlucky hand in being advised by someone who's never done anything other than academia (which is my case), it's hard to get them to understand your position. He/she might support your longterm goal, but will not be able to provide a vision of the intermediary steps one needs to take to reach that goal. I'm in the midst of negotiating my publication path with my advisor (i.e., "this is a perfectly fine article that would get published in a range of mid-tier journals." Advisor: "I just think if you redo this, that and the other thing, and then do this other thing, and think about this stuff then you could get it in one of the top journals..."), you might find yourself in the same position.
I really could go into so much more about being in the position you are in, and the difficulties that come from it, but that would get away from the question at hand.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/03 | 4,052 | 16,745 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm an Asian student working with a European prof. My adviser told me several times that when he read my writings (our papers), he just wanted to rewrite it.
He told me that my English was rather OK, but "the way Oriental people think is different from us". By "us" he meant Europeans.
My adviser could not tell me exactly what was the difference. So I would like to ask if anybody here has experience working with Asian co-authors, and has the same feeling?
Or is this only my problem and my adviser is trying to avoid being straightforward?
Note: I do have problem with my writing. My first conf. paper had been rejected 6 times before it was accepted.
---
**UPDATE**
Thanks for the answers. I just want to make clear that:
* I'm asking about the narrative of a paper, and how the content is represented. I'm not asking about the use of language expressions or passive/active writing.
* Judging the comment of my adviser racist is unfair to him. He treats students like friends and 3 out of 5 of his students, including me, have been Asian (and I guess he has this feeling with all 3 of us).<issue_comment>username_1: I am not sure if it is fair to distinguish between "Asian" and "European" as such. Modern scientific writing is highly condensed and certainly follows a certain style. This style can perhaps clash with other traditional ways of expressing matters such as to never contradict senior scientists and other more regional etiquette based issues.
The basis is to have good command of English and to get to a point where you can express your thoughts clearly and concisely. This is difficult for all and the way to learn it is to follow good examples. You should carefully look at articles you read and try to learn from the good examples (not everything you read will be good!). There are also many books that you can study and use as a reference although reading a book will not be enough. In the end it is only practise that makes perfect and for some of us (being a non-English native myself) it takes time and a need for good examples to follow.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think your advisor's statement was not well-stated, but there is a kernel of truth: people speaking different languages express themselves very differently, and this carries over to writing. It is not just a matter of "European" versus "Asian"; even among European languages, there is tremendous variation.
For example, consider the use of passive voice. English uses the passive voice much more frequently than German, while German uses it much more frequently than French (where it is to be avoided as much as possible, with the use of reflexive and generic third-person subjects). These characteristics, along with others, show up when people attempt to write in another language, because that is "what they know."
Because Asian languages are so different from European languages in structure, syntax, grammar, and even basic organization (logograms versus phonograms, for instance), it is natural that it will take some adjustment from what can be written in an Asian language to how one would write in English.
However, I would make sure to ask if your university offers training in academic writing in English, rather than just let your advisor do all the work. It will be a skill that you will need to develop in the future regardless of who fixes things now, so it's better if you learn it now rather than wait until you really need it.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I thought it was just me. I have had the very same feeling. I am married to a Chinese lady and her sister stayed with us for some time while attending to her graduate studies here in Sydney, Australia. I would often review her writing and constantly had the deep urge I wanted to restructure it --- not merely fix grammar and style, but restructure bottom-up. I didn't attribute it to culture or language at the time and usually resisted the urge to rewrite and confined myself to correcting just the spelling, but having read this post, I have to say it deeply resonates! I think there was a difference in the way thoughts were connected and in the flow of reasoning that was employed. I saw connections, but constantly asked myself "why" as if to compensate for something she'd omitted. The mental connections were there but somehow structured differently. I've spent considerable time in Canada, the US, UK, Sweden, Germany, Australia, and China. There are differences between European cultures also, but what I've seen in difference between Asian and European styles goes well beyond this.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The statement, while somewhat sloopy, definitely true.
Different cultures has different rhetoric styles, and that definitely influence how essays are written and how arguments are built up. I have several Japanese and Chinese co-authors, but more experience with the former ones. E.g. the Japanese style of argumentation is often described as circular, and there is a whole bunch of literature on how this style is different from the Western traditions.
If it bothers you the best thing you can do is to read papers you consider good and understand how they build up their arguments.
ps:
While you stated that your command of English is good, it is definitely a major issue with many Asian authors, too. It is very typical to see "recycled" sentences and phrases all over in their writing, which are often used off the context or with slightly misfitting meaning, without real connection to the text. This can destroy the flow of any argument and are pretty big turn offs.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I teach at a university in Japan, and I think there are severe differences between the expectations of Western academic writing and at a minimum Japanese academic writing (though I don't have the knowledge to make claims beyond those borders). This might shed some light on where this kind of conflict can be happening. There are severe stylistic and expectation differences in paper writing between Japan and Western contexts.
Let me explain, in my discipline (philosophy), the standard style in America is quite simple:
```
Introduction = statement of thesis and major claims (5-10%)
Body = arguments for the major claims necessary to defend thesis
Conclusion = restatement of major claims and thesis (~10%)
```
and then within body, there should be responses to potential objections.
My sense is that writing in many other fields in English mirrors this -- at a minimum with the claim and argument centered structure.
---
A Japanese academic essay in contrast follows a pattern that I believe originally has a German origin:
```
Introduction = explanation of why you are writing the paper (15%)
*Haikei* = extensive background of prior work in the field (maybe 80% of the paper)
Conclusion = put in things you want to say (5%)
```
This then bleeds over into my students' attempts to write academic English papers.
I think the German one is similar but the difference is what is placed in the background section. From my experience with German articles, you must write in a way that demonstrates general mastery of the literature. In the Japanese version (at least among the many papers I've read), you respond as a reader to things you like and don't like in the literature.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: No, this is absolutely not just your problem! I am also an ESL and this very comment has been given to me numerous times: *Your writing is weird, but I can't really tell how.* After many years of working on it (including reading many books about writing, joining a writing group, publishing some papers, and writing pretty much everyday), my writing is still, well, weird. I have come to terms that I will never be able to conceal my "Asian-ness," and I'm fine with that.
Though, in the process, I did learn some tricks. I hope some of them will be useful to you.
**Have basic grammar all nailed down**
I understand that you are not seeking for grammatical advice. But people don't just judge your work's structure and suspect its lack of European thinking style from the get-go. Small mistakes such as (taken from your question) "By 'us' he *meant* European," and " I do have *problems* with my writing," can prompt readers to think of you as a foreign writer. And once that thought is sparked, a lot of scrutinies will follow.
Side notes: Some friends did give me very thorough diagnoses on my writing style, which may be useful to you: Generally I suffer from: i) lack of agreement between subjects and verbs, ii) wrong use of articles, and iii) lack of conjunctions and connectives. I have been working hard on addressing those problems, and it's probably going to be a life-long project which is fine by me.
**Have him rewrite it**
>
> I'm an Asian student working with a European prof. My adviser told me
> several times that when he read my writings (our papers), **he just
> wanted to rewrite it**. He told me that my English was rather OK, but
> "the way Oriental people think is different from us". By "us" he
> meaned European.
>
>
>
Why not? Politely invite him to rewrite a few of your paragraphs. If he cannot name what is wrong, but he can rewrite it, then the solutions lie in the rewritten version. Schedule a meeting with him and go over the sticky parts. By that time he *will* have some ideas about your problems because after rewriting the piece, he will know what he has changed.
Even if he cannot give you any suggestion, with the two versions you can now easily show any writing coach what you wrote and what your instructor thought you wrote. The writing coach should be able to pinpoint the some basic stylistic differences.
**Analyze articles' structure**
When you read an article, read it a few times with different lenses. First, read for general sectioning, then read for information, and lastly read for its syntactic structure. A wonderful book that I have come across on this kind of analysis is Schimel's "[Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0199760241)." It provides tools and examples on dissecting an article from paragraph down to wording sequence in a sentence. There are many grammatically correct ways to put together a sentence, a paragraph, and an article; this book talks about the subtle effects of those different ways.
**Do not start from your mother tongue**
One old habit that I have successfully gotten rid of is to mentally draft a sentence in my mother tongue and then translate that into English. The process was counter-productive at best because the revision was quite time consuming and painful. A couple tricks helped me through the struggles:
Start from `Subject + Verb` or `Subject + Verb + Object`, then slowly add different modifiers. A wonderful book that teaches me most of these is Williams's [Style: Toward Clarity and Grace](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0226899152). If you get a chance, please read it. I still read it time to time as a writing therapy.
Use a [mind-map](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map) to gather ideas. Mind maps, in my opinion, operate very much in the way that scientists display ideas: using categories, hierarchies, relations, and lists. By focusing on this device, I could make the structure tighter and more coherent.
**Other resources**
I have also grown bold enough to answer some writing-related questions on this site. Here are a few that you may find helpful:
[Any place for people with fear of writing?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18079/any-place-for-people-with-fear-of-writing/18098#18098)
[How can I best edit a paper to help get it published?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23955/how-can-i-best-edit-a-paper-to-help-get-it-published/23956#23956)
Good luck and keep working on it! Your (and my) problem is something that will not totally go away, but can definitely be lessened. Just enjoy the learning process and don't care too much about sounding 100% like a European thinker.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_7: I'll add my data point: From my experience with different co-authors I can not underpin the claim that Asian authors have a different writing style than European authors.
Although the case of the OP seems to resonate with several people I am not really sure if this is really an "Asian/European" thing or even a cultural thing. It may well be a personal thing, i.e. a clash of two different styles of writing and thinking. As far as I see, different writing styles also exist for people with similar cultural background and, vice versa, people with different cultural background may still think and write in similar style.
My personal experience is this: I have written papers with two people from Asia and with both I never felt a desire to "just want to rewrite the paper". I noticed different use of articles and also a little different language but still, I was totally fine with that and the collaborative writing went smoothly. On the other hand, I have written papers with other Europeans (other Germans, like me, to be precise) and sometimes felt the urge "to rewrite anything", also without being able to nail down what precisely was wrong. With some other authors from Germany or other non-Asian countries the writing also went smoothly. So my data is:
* Two cases of Asian co-authors with no problems in collaborative writing.
* Three cases of non-Asian (in fact European) co-authors where I thought about "rewriting anything".
Hopefully, this question and its answers may end up and give some hint how the bigger picture of the issue looks like. So please consider upvoting the answer which reflects your experience or contribute another answer.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: General advice for clarity (US style):
1. Re-frame your thoughts into facts. No circular arguments nor implications. State them as simply as you can. Write them in bullets points and then add conjunctions. Don't pad them with fluff. Think about how to shorten/simplify for someone who has only 10 years of English. (Sad, but it works) Think about how your words might be interpreted in different ways and re-write it such that they have only one meaning, as simple as you can!
2. Use first-person AND active voice. Not "we might", not "one found that", but rather, "I did this!" I personally don't like to claim individual credit for group work, nor state "fact" for uncertain things, but this style of writing is less ambiguous for the reader to comprehend *sigh*. Put your caveats *after* your claims.
3. Structure:
3a. 20~30% lit review.
3b. 40% your experiment reason, methodology, findings.
3c. 10~20% discussion of findings, future research.
4. Submissions to conferences: don't write it like a publication, ffs. The reviewers usually have a rubric: does it fit the track theme? does it add value to the attendees? what do you plan to do in the session? how *little* do I have to freaking scan before I get the answers. I've had to review 20 submissions in 4 hours, so please just get to the point and don't brag about your achievements.
Good luck with your submissions.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: Which field are you working in? This makes a big difference. If you are writing in, say, medicine or hard sciences, the differences from region to region would be minor. In other fields, such as history or other humanities, there could be substantial differences in expectations of both reader and writer in organization, rhetoric, and so forth.
Your professor mentions "thinking," which would lead me to think he is referring to "big picture" issues. But I have seen professors react to the "accent" of second language writers with misleading comments, when, in fact, they were simply not reading through the "accent."
I would ask your professor to guide you through a revision of a single page of the paper--a reasonable request--and less vague, more constructive feedback may come through.At that point, I would follow the excellent advice from "<NAME>" above, "Analyze article's structure."
Good luck to you!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: I once rewrote a Ph.D. thesis for a Chinese student on the request of her thesis adviser, who said it was basically unsubmittable.
Everything the student wrote was in 'Yoda' - backwards every sentence wrote she did. Most peculiar it was really. Just wanted to rewrite it after a few sentences you did.
I never found out if she had the degree conferred. The thesis adviser said her work was marginal at best, notwithstanding the bizarre English.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/03 | 1,053 | 4,381 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm working on a literature review for a masters thesis in the sciences, and I have a ton of sources that cover the topic. Many specific points are covered *ad nauseam*, and many similar ideas can be cited multiple times. My question is how many is acceptable? Is there a general rule for citing sources per sentence/idea? Does more look better? Basically, is there a limit?<issue_comment>username_1: The short and somewhat unsatisfactory answer is: *enough*. There is no formal limit but obviously too many becomes impractical. If you can reference a huge number of references for a single statement (sentence) it is normal to pick one or possibly a few by using a format indicating these references are just examples:
>
> (e.g., Smith et al., 1943; Turner and Anthony, 1963)
>
>
> some statement by, for example, Smith et al. (1943) and Turner and Anthony (1963)
>
>
>
I am assuming Harvard style formatting in these examples.
Exactly when it is reasonable to show examples and when one actually have to show al references is a matter of context. If you, for example, have a series of references that together build up some matter and where none is more important than the other and none summarize the other, it could be necessary to list them all regardless of how many there are. I suggest you try to look at a number of different papers of a similar type (literature review) to the one you are writing to see how others handle such instances. You should also look at other masters thesis if you have the possibility.
The main point of this is to know when it is sufficient to list only (good) examples rather than all possible references. This is of course a matter of training and learning to assess when which format is appropriate. It is therefore necessary to assess when papers simply duplicate each other (from whatever view point you reference) or when they each contribute something unique that merits their reference.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: And to add to username_1, don't over do it. A literature review in an article is meant as a general reference, so the reader can get "up to speed" in the state of the art of the topic under discussion. In your thesis, you have to show that you are able to search the literature, you understand it, and are able to extract the important information.
If you put every single article, you are not fulfilling any. On the one hand, the reader will not know what are the most relevant articles for your work. On the other front, anyone can get all the articles published in a subfield in the last couple of years and write a sentence, based on the abstract and the figures, in just a few days.
In short, show that you have comprehended the literature by finding the most informative subset of articles.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Some more concrete thoughts (background is biological sciences):
1. A "particular point" may be covered *ad nauseum* in backgrounds and introductions of papers in the field, but where did that idea originate?
2. Cite review papers sparingly. I generally cite reviews only when pointing out that there's a tangentially related body of work well covered in someone else's review.
3. The only time to cite MANY sources for a particular point is when the point is (or is considered) controversial.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Besides whether or not the citations themselves are necessary, it's also important to consider how they affect the flow of your writing.
If it is actually *necessary* to cite all those papers (see [Is there such thing as too many references for one paper?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13570/is-there-such-thing-as-too-many-references-for-one-paper), as well as the other excellent answers to this question), it would look much cleaner to place the citations in a footnote (especially if you use the author-year rather than numbered style).
If you use numbered citations and LaTeX, the `sort&compress` option in `natbib` can reduce clutter by citing a range (ie [7-16]) of sources rather than [7,8,9 ... ]. However its effectiveness depends on how your bibliography is ordered.
If you must cite many papers in a single sentence, you should at least make every effort to ensure it reads fluently and that the citations do not distract you from the main text.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/03 | 729 | 3,069 | <issue_start>username_0: I am doing Master's in Applied Science in Civil Engineering. In my research I work with big data analysis which has gotten a fancy new name in past few years "Data Science". When I joined the master's program I didn't knew much about programming and had basic knowledge of statistical analysis. Over the period of about 2 years I learned a lot about data analysis in R language, developing data apps, creating interactive documents, etc. Although my research area had no direct relation with any of those things, I enjoyed learning them and using them in getting insights about data.
On the other hand, this journey has been very frustrating because I could get very little useful knowledge for my research study. My 2 supervisors have been very supportive and both have asked me to continue my work and switch to PhD.
One part of me long for getting out in the 'field' and have a 9 to 5 job with set amount of tasks everyday. But at the same time I am afraid to leave academia as this is all I've ever done in my career (worked as a Lecturer previously and now have graduate assistant positions). Money is another concern as I've not yet determined how much I would be able to get in scholarships/ grants during PhD.
I don't know how to keep myself motivated continuously during research, so there are always some days when I just don't do anything. I am really confused at this stage as to what should I do, complete my master's in next 4 months and graduate or go for a PhD. What are your thoughts/ experiences?<issue_comment>username_1: You shouldn't stick around for a PhD because you're afraid to do something else. A PhD is something that you should do because you're motivated to use the skills you acquire in the PhD in your later career (either as a researcher, or in a research-oriented field).
If you're not excited about being a PhD student, then it's not worth it in the long run to be miserable for several years of your life to obtain the degree. Moreover, because the PhD can limit your ability to take certain jobs—because of the perception of overqualification—if you're not motivated, don't do it.
In other words: Choose to do something because you want to be there—not because you're afraid to be somewhere else!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: FYI: Big Data analysis and Data Science are two different things, that can certainly involve one another, but one does not have to involve the other.
Also, Data Scientists don't fully know how to define data-science (i.e., is it a singular person with specific multiple overlapping skills, or is it a team of people with multiple overlapping skills? How is it different from a statistician? How is it different from a programmer?)
Anyways, I'd take a job then come back and get a Ph.D. if you still want to go that route. It will be clear to you a few years into your job if your heart was really in academia or not, and if your heart isn't fully in academia you'll at least have a clear rationale for what the value added of a Ph.D. would be for you.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/08/04 | 1,728 | 7,268 | <issue_start>username_0: As a research student, I spend most of my time working on my research career, even when I am at home, I am awake until 3 or 4 A.M just doing my research-chores.
As a matter of fact, long-term having not enough sleep, putting myself under huge amount of stress and hard work and more important, not getting enough exercise will directly put the person's health in to danger.
**Q:** How should a researcher balance their life to both maintain their health and do their academic job?
I am wondering whether professionals and scientists really hardly worked this much and how their healthy and balanced academic/work life-style is.<issue_comment>username_1: I put my health first by committing to healthy activities that involve other people, so I will have to stick to them.
For example, I
* Have a standing weekly running appointment with a faculty member at my school. I won't cancel this appointment because she will be disappointed.
* Have a standing non-academic volunteer commitment one afternoon each week (giving back to my community is essential for my mental health). I won't cancel this because there's a classroom full of 12-year-old girls waiting for me to come help them with their homework.
* Spend 25 hours each week, from Friday night to Saturday night, completely disconnected from the Internet and anything work related. (I do this as a religious observance, but it's definitely good for my physical health, too!)
* Hold meetings with students and faculty in other buildings in their offices, not mine, so that I am forced to occasionally go outside during daylight hours (if only to walk from one building to the next).
All of these things are non-negotiable to me. That is, no matter what how busy I am or what deadlines are coming up, I will not compromise on any of these things. They're essential to my health and well-being, I arranged them so that other people are depending on me, and so I prioritize them.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I know that for myself, regular running has helped a lot in the past.
The miraculous thing about regular physical exercise is that even though it takes time, you may find that it *seems* like you suddenly have more time overall.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: First of all. Sleep. And sleep well. Increasing sleep hours increases productivity and not the other way around. Sleep early (people are not supposed to work too late at night) and wake up after good-solid 8 hours of sleep. Then when you wake up, you will realize that you have amazing clarity and excellent productivity. Also, two hours before sleep abandon work and do something relaxing, such as listening to music or spending time with your significant other. Work or stressful activities before bedtime, disrupt your sleep and its quality. So, that leaves you about 24-(8+2) = 14 hours to work which are more than enough.
Devote at least one hour per day on average for exercise. Any sport, workout is better than nothing. Also, try walking. One hour of walking per day does wonders for your heart, lowers stress and you can still think about research while doing it (I do not advice this though). It also alleviates headaches (stress or work related). Also, mind what you eat. Keep your weight steady and do not eat too salty or fatty foods, that inhibit body and mind performance. Use a multivitamin every two days (after consulting your doctor). Also remember that a healthy body always performs better, including mind activities. Also maintaining a good, healthy appearance increases your chances for a fruitful social life, which will prevent you from overworking and overstressing yourself.
And just a reminder. You should not spend too much time on Stack Academia as well :-)
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: You are only as busy as you want to be. How many hours you can put into work activities without affecting your mental well-being depends on how much you enjoy your work. Given that you describe your work as chores, you should be trying to adjust the cause, not mitigate the symptoms.
There is no way that you can realistically handle the kind of workload you describe long-term. Putting in that many hours to the point that you're basically pulling all-nighters *might* be justified at crunch time: when a project is due and external factors or bad planning prevented you from finishing in time. The first step to improving your situation is to give yourself a realistic workload, likely something between 40 and 60 hours a week. Then set up a plan for your research that takes into account the hours you have available and set your goals accordingly.
You can try this for a week to see if it helps with your mental fatigue and what the impact is on your research. There are any number of studies that prove the importance of work-life balance for productivity so while you might feel like you're working much less than you should, you should be accomplishing much more with your time.
In other words: Work smarter, not harder.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: You should work less and take breaks, for the sake of the success of your research! Out of experience, most, if not all insights/breakthroughs came while taking breaks/ holidays etc…
These breaks allow you to take some distance and give you perspective w.r.t. to your current work. On top of all the good reasons given by the other answers.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Prioritize you're health, happiness and relationships first. Nowhere is it written that a graduate student needs to work insane hours, answer every email the minute it comes in, etc. Frankly, if I worked for someone that had that expectation I'd leave. In fact, I did work for an advisor who was like that and I switched after a year. Life's too short. The stress, fatigue, unhealthy eating, lack of connection with other people outside of academia... it wears on your health.
Don't fall into the rat race. I don't know your field, but in mine it's common for grad students to work insane hours because they just work inefficiently, so just work smarter.
Also, under-promise over-deliver... always.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: On the issue of workaholism, I think it all boils down to why people feel they are more valuable if they work hard. What makes them believe this? Are they trying to impress people and gain acceptance to fill a void?
Does a person "work to live" or do they "live to work"? The latter seems a waste of life to me.
If working very hard makes a person happy then perhaps they should do it. But if they are doing it for another reason and are not very happy, then maybe they need to reconsider.
Maybe a lot of this comes from popular culture when media personalities talk about somebody's "amazing body of work". We've heard that phrase many times. Ironically, very, very few people are remembered for their "bodies of work". It takes an EXTREME amount of EXTREMELY high quality work to be remembered for it.
People remember Mozart, but they don't remember the very good violinist that played with the city symphony 10 years ago. People remember <NAME>, but they don't remember lesser mathematicians who still contributed somewhat significantly.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/08/04 | 1,113 | 4,702 | <issue_start>username_0: I have worked as translator for more than seven years in the industry. I have a background in cuisine for more than ten years. Now I would like to add an graduate degree related to *Tourism, Hotel and Event Management* to my professional experience.
*Can I enroll in such a masters program without first acquiring a Bachelors degree?*<issue_comment>username_1: Masters degree without a Bachelor at all, or Masters degree after having a Bachelor from an unrelated field?
I think the first one is strictly impossible. So far, I have never heard of someone getting a Master before having the Bachelor first.
I know there might be corner-cases for geniuses who do both at the same time, or get directly accepted to phd studies skipping everything. But that is highly unlikely in usual cases of regular people.
If you have such a goal, it will be a massive administrative obstacle to overcome. And I don't see how you could convince an established university to give up their requirements.
Maybe in 3rd world countries you can get any type of degree by throwing some money, but it does not seem to me as if that is your goal.
EDIT (after @Mad Jack's comment below): Yeah there are always corner-cases which may change the story. Given that your experience is worth more than a undegrad diploma, or the fact that you might hold different certificates might give you a chance. But, then again you will have to ask the admission office to make an exception for you. Tough, but not impossible as I learned something new!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I know people who have attended and graduated from master programs in Australia and the UK and I've seen people considering such programs in the US (though I don't remember the school in the US and it was about 10 years ago but I thought it was Carnegie Mellon). These schools were all reasonable, fully accredited schools.
The students in question all were missing their bachelor degree. One had no university at all while others had most of their undergraduate credits yet had not finished. They key is that, like you, they all had significant real-world experience which was seen as offsetting their lack of credentials.
So, the short version is, there are schools who will accept master-level students without an undergraduate degree and there are schools who will not accept them. You just need to do the leg work and see which schools will make that exception.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I attained my master's degree without having fully completed my bachelor's. It was for an MFA however, and my portfolio was strong enough to earn admission. I think it would be more difficult for a master's in the sciences or in a business related field.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I know of someone who got into a graduate program without technically finishing his Bachelor's, and then repeated that when getting admitted for PhD. However, this didn't save him much work; he still needed the earlier education and had to get top grades and demonstrate that he'd be a great researcher to be considered for these exceptions.
That isn't what you were asking about, but it does show that unusual admissions are possible if you can impress the fight people. For most of us that isn't practical.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Absolutely. In the UK this is rather the norm. In Australia it is also common. I think other con tries are moving toward that direction as well, but for now I know that the UK and Australia would do it for sure.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Absolutely it is possible to obtain a Master's degree without a Bachelor's degree. I have a MSc from one of the top (#2 or #4 depending on which survey you choose) schools in the US. I had some (less than one full year) undergrad course over 20 years earlier.
I am not familiar with the specific field you mention or the accredited schools that offer degrees but you should approach the dean of the school directly and establish a relationship then have that person guide you through the admission process. You must present exceptional credentials to be accepted but top business schools quietly admit one or two per year each class.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Yes, it is absolutely possible. But are there any degree-granting institutions that are so enlightened?
In my educated opinion, a Masters is for industrial and other trades, while a PhD or even a Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts) are for transcendental ideals. You don't need writing, a second language, a range of scientific and liberal courses for most fields.
So you can be a Master, if another Master declares such.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/08/04 | 947 | 3,960 | <issue_start>username_0: Due to a combination of factors, I ended up going for my undergraduate studies to a relatively unknown university that was close to me geographically.
Let's say that I have a relatively standard background for someone trying to apply to top tier schools for graduate studies (some research experience, some low to medium quality publications, very strong grades, good recommendation letters). Then how much does the alma mater have an impact for someone like me? I obviously know that it is still possible to be accepted, but how much of a disadvantage am I looking at exactly?<issue_comment>username_1: My impression after being accepted and discussing this with senior faculty was the following:
A large, top tier graduate program receives applications. Some fraction of these (say a quarter) are entirely unqualified and will be discarded.
Another, very small group are fantastically qualified, with great research experience and superb academic credentials from the very best schools. These few will almost definitely get in, but may not accept.
Finally, the largest group consists of people with credentials that are no better or worse than yours (maybe they attended a better school, but their record is slightly worse, or their recommenders are more prestigious, but the letters are less personal). If you are in this group, you should do everything you possibly can to improve your application, but ultimately you're playing the odds.
The biggest obstacle you will face at the top tier schools is that they receive so many more applications that the acceptance rate might only be a few percent. This means the odds are very unfavorable that any particular top tier school will accept you as a solid, but not extraordinary applicant.
This is how it was explained to me anyway. So, I don't think your school is a serious handicap, but it probably does exclude you from the "Oh my gosh, must accept and give all the money!" pile. You might consider applying to more programs to compensate.
EDIT: As <NAME> pointed out, "Apply to more programs" is incomplete. You might consider applying to more high quality programs.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You don't mention what field you're in. At least in the social sciences at my R1, we look at various factors. The admissions committee knows that people have to choose the college that they went to for various reasons other than just academic excellence.
One of the factors that I look at is trajectory. Someone who went to a public high school, then a community college, and then transferred to a public university, with perhaps middling grades the first year but then quickly ramps up to stellar grades by the time they graduate is very interesting to me -- much more than someone who got all As at a *good* school but doesn't seem like they pushed themselves very hard.
With the portfolio that you describe for yourself, I'd say you wouldn't be eliminated in the first round, but you'd struggle in the second and third rounds to stand out. How you stand out is up to you. I'd work on a stellar statement of purpose -- one that strongly articulates why you want to go to graduate school to study what you want to study.
Again, this is in the social sciences at my school (a large private R1), your mileage may vary.
Part of this is because brilliance by itself isn't enough for grad school in the social sciences. Perseverance and autonomy and the ability to get knocked down and get back up are also critical.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I recommend reading the following article:
>
> [Why You Can’t Catch Up, by <NAME>; The New York username_1es, (August 1, 2014)](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/education/edlife/why-you-cant-catch-up.html?_r=0&referrer=)
>
>
>
The takeaway is that anything is possible, but you're much less likely to get into top tier grad schools with a low-tier undergraduate.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/04 | 933 | 3,869 | <issue_start>username_0: I intend to work in industry after finishing my Masters in Statistics and am considering some universities in the United States. How will a Masters in Statistics with thesis, no thesis or with capstone project impact my career prospects? I've read that having written a thesis that is relevant to the employer's business would be beneficial. But how does that compare to a capstone project? It sounds to me that a capstone project and thesis mean the same thing as both involve research.<issue_comment>username_1: My impression after being accepted and discussing this with senior faculty was the following:
A large, top tier graduate program receives applications. Some fraction of these (say a quarter) are entirely unqualified and will be discarded.
Another, very small group are fantastically qualified, with great research experience and superb academic credentials from the very best schools. These few will almost definitely get in, but may not accept.
Finally, the largest group consists of people with credentials that are no better or worse than yours (maybe they attended a better school, but their record is slightly worse, or their recommenders are more prestigious, but the letters are less personal). If you are in this group, you should do everything you possibly can to improve your application, but ultimately you're playing the odds.
The biggest obstacle you will face at the top tier schools is that they receive so many more applications that the acceptance rate might only be a few percent. This means the odds are very unfavorable that any particular top tier school will accept you as a solid, but not extraordinary applicant.
This is how it was explained to me anyway. So, I don't think your school is a serious handicap, but it probably does exclude you from the "Oh my gosh, must accept and give all the money!" pile. You might consider applying to more programs to compensate.
EDIT: As <NAME> pointed out, "Apply to more programs" is incomplete. You might consider applying to more high quality programs.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You don't mention what field you're in. At least in the social sciences at my R1, we look at various factors. The admissions committee knows that people have to choose the college that they went to for various reasons other than just academic excellence.
One of the factors that I look at is trajectory. Someone who went to a public high school, then a community college, and then transferred to a public university, with perhaps middling grades the first year but then quickly ramps up to stellar grades by the time they graduate is very interesting to me -- much more than someone who got all As at a *good* school but doesn't seem like they pushed themselves very hard.
With the portfolio that you describe for yourself, I'd say you wouldn't be eliminated in the first round, but you'd struggle in the second and third rounds to stand out. How you stand out is up to you. I'd work on a stellar statement of purpose -- one that strongly articulates why you want to go to graduate school to study what you want to study.
Again, this is in the social sciences at my school (a large private R1), your mileage may vary.
Part of this is because brilliance by itself isn't enough for grad school in the social sciences. Perseverance and autonomy and the ability to get knocked down and get back up are also critical.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I recommend reading the following article:
>
> [Why You Can’t Catch Up, by <NAME>; The New York username_1es, (August 1, 2014)](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/education/edlife/why-you-cant-catch-up.html?_r=0&referrer=)
>
>
>
The takeaway is that anything is possible, but you're much less likely to get into top tier grad schools with a low-tier undergraduate.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/04 | 3,163 | 12,931 | <issue_start>username_0: I recently received an acceptance letter from a honor society (I am leaving off the name for now but can include a link to the website).
The offer said I qualified because of my grades or a nomination. I read a little into it and it a lot more like a sales pitch. Offering discounts, exclusive scholarships, and career services in exchange for a biannual fee.
The website does look very professional. I am not sure if it is a scam, a profit driven real honor society, or what else. Aside from intuition is there any ways to tell what an invitation entails without all the hype?
Also, even if they are a profit driven business is it likely worth time to invest in a short term membership?<issue_comment>username_1: There are three metrics I use to see if a 'exclusive' society is a scam or not.
1. If they are imprecise when it comes to why I was invited. "Because of your grades or a nomination" is pretty weak honestly. Who nominated me? What was the grade cutoff? Are they associated with group in my university such that they could even have access to my grades? If your invitation comes from a nomination, a legitimate honors society should be willing to name the nomination.
2. Do they want me to pay money? It's true a lot of honor societies may have a entrance or membership fee. This should be minimal and obvious and you should have a direct idea of what this is going towards. A 'honor society' which is vague the criteria upon which you were invited and who wants to charge you money is pretty sketchy.
3. Have you heard of them before? Has anyone you respect heard of them before? When you google them - do they have conferences? Meetings? Journals? Are they cited anywhere? Or is there nothing but advertisements for them when you google the name?
It's not that any of the above criteria, alone, is enough to make a 'honor society' sketchy. And I'm sure there are, in some fields, societies that hit all three of the above and are totally legit. But, to be honest, a blind email to you that has a "You may have won!" feel to it is probably a scam on some level.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Ah yes, the always exciting "you are so awesome, here join my honor society!". My method is to simply google "name of honor soceity" scam. You would be amazed at how much info is out there already answering your questions for you.
To be honest, most "honor society's" are mostly just scams. Perhaps not as overtly as, say, a Nigerian prince being captured scam, but honestly, how many people sign up to be a member but never actually use any of their resources, even if they are legit? It's like a gym membership, only effective if you actually use it.
Anyhoo, I only joined ones that were directly related to my school/ had specific branches on my school and only joined two, a very well known one and the society for my direct major. And those were more to do with resume fillers than anything else.
Truth is, as far as I've ever seen, no one cares about the honor societies. If it's for an awesome gpa, well, your gpa on your resume covers that. If you do volunteer work, again, stating what you do is much better than just naming off an honor society.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In all of my experience: **no one within academia cares about honor societies whatsoever**. To expand on that: in academia we routinely (closer to constantly) evaluate people based on their academic qualifications, in a very serious way: i.e., the "winners" get offered substantial scholarships and/or jobs. Not once have I ever heard anyone mention membership in an honor society in any of these decisions. Not for faculty hiring, not for graduate admissions, not for picking TA's...never.
When I was an undergraduate I did join Phi Beta Kappa (junior year: whoop de frickin' doo) and Sigma Xi. The way I recall it, I was moderately encouraged to do so by my undergraduate program. And I must say that the amount of money that I gave to these people -- if any; maybe my school paid it themselves? -- was truly negligible: at most $40, or something like that. Based on this money, for many years afterwards I got:
* Regular newsletters from the organizations that made what looked like reasonable attempts at giving me some kind of scientific / academic contacts. (Not that I read them...)
* Semi-regular very strange calls offering to sell me gold-laminated books and other such frippery. Often these were done with enough of a "hard-sell" solicitation to get me a little steamed: one caller spoke breathlessly about the gold-laminated books and at the end asked me how many additional copies I wanted to order at a discounted price. I mentioned that she skipped an important step, and she asked what that was. I revealed that at no point in the conversation had she asked me whether I was even the slightest bit interested in buying anything from her. The rest of the conversation was brief but tense.
Based on these experiences, whenever any student asks me whether they should join an honor society -- the ones which are *not* supposed to be scams, like Phi Beta Kappa -- I say "I do not advise you to do it if you have to pay more than the most negligible amount of money."
However, I have occasionally talked to other faculty and university personnel about this issue, and their experiences are not always as negative as mine. What I suspect may be true (but I have unfortunately never had the occasion to find out!) is that: **academic honors societies may be useful for people who are leaving academia, by providing some kind of modest continuing contact with the academic world**. I mean, the idea that I need to open up a bi-annual newsletter and read about what other academics are doing makes no sense for me: I learn about what other academics are doing by *going to work*. But for people who go off into industry -- or something else -- maybe it is valuable. On the other hand, I have to imagine that, as with so many things, the internet makes this kind of thing largely obsolete: the amount of access that any citizen of the world with an internet connection has to current academic activity is greater now than what any professor had twenty years ago.
One final question: does *anyone* care if your CV says you are a Phi Beta Kappa (junior year!)? I suspect not -- as someone else mentioned, these awards are given for your GPA, and you put your GPA on your CV anyway. But I would, as ever, be interested to hear other perspectives.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: **People do care about honor societies. That includes prospective employers, your peers, your teachers, your family and friends, as well as you.** I've seen an endless amount of these types of discussions on the internet as well as within groups of people I know in college. And, there are always very similar responses from two distinct groups: people who are actually in them (both the legitimate ones and the less prestigious ones), and the other large contingent of people who are not invited and who just outright know next to nothing about the honor society being discussed.
**There's always going to be noise from people who neither put in the work, nor have the successful mentality to appreciate the role of rewards** when persevering through long stretches of almost unthinkable difficulty in school. My advice is to ignore these people. They will exist throughout your entire life and will never cease trying to convince you that your success is unnecessary, and that you should lower your standards to match theirs. I promise you. These people will exist in every nook and cranny of your life from now until you die. It's best to shoo them away and bring in other success-minded people who lift you up.
**There are indeed some hokey honor societies out there who don't have the history or structure to hold any weight.** Golden Key was the best example of this at my university. I couldn't find a single person who could recommend joining. Although their requirements are so-so (I believe it's upper 10% of your class), no-one thinks highly of this. And, there's very little practical incentive to join like scholarships, discounts, etc. Despite being invited, I did not join this group.
**But, there are in fact many honor societies that will incite looks of approval from esteemed professors, directors, chairs of departments, and potential employers.** I know this because I have personally experienced it. There are professors teaching your classes who were not invited to join honor societies. Many partners at firms I've interviewed with are not members and were not invited. Acknowledgement of my membership in these honor societies is a frequent point of discussion and I've never had anything but positive feedback about my involvement with them.
Aside from the hokey honor societies like Golden Key I am excluding, **there are two major types of honor society you can join: major-specific like Beta Alpha Psi which is specific to accounting majors, and large, interdisciplinary honor societies like Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa.** These two different types are similar, but serve different practical purposes. I'm an accounting major, so I've been involved with Beta Alpha Psi for almost a year now. The requirements aren't that demanding: 3.0, involvement in a BAP committee, and 20 professional/service hours per semester. But, the rewards of involvement are HUGE for a prospective CPA. I've been heavily involved with all large and small firms (both local and big four), and I've been interviewed and offered jobs frequently. (And on a side note, there is nothing more academically rewarding than being able to constantly turn down offers for both internships and FT jobs.) I am good friends with many of the top notch students, and casually acquainted with most accounting firms. This is an immense advantage and it's directly linked with my involvement with Beta Alpha Psi.
**The other two I mentioned, Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa, have a completely different criteria for joining and thus, serve a completely different purpose.** These are a traditional "honor society" that most people think of when these talks come up. But, there are very specific reasons why I both wanted to join, and actively pursued fulfilling the requirements to join when I first started college. **First, they are exclusive and prestigious.** At my university, these two are the only two honor societies formally recognized when you graduate. **Second, they have high standards for joining.** **Phi Kappa Phi is based off how high your GPA is in relation to yours peers and only invites juniors and seniors.** Since I was invited as a Junior, I know I have a higher GPA than 92.5% of the people in my class. Despite what people will attempt to convince you in discussion forums, this is something to be very proud of. **Omicron Delta Kappa** has what I feel are even stricter requirements. At my university, **you have to maintain above a 3.3 gpa, but also demonstrate 3/5 leadership skills** by active involvement in your university, community, etc. This was the HS I was most proud to be invited to, and I happily joined. **Third, both of these HS' are over 100 years old, have many successful, very well recognized names among their ranks like past presidents, politicians, artists, scientists, etc., and are pretty much universally acknowledged as being an honor to join.** And finally fourth, you get to wear honor cords and/or stoles when you graduate.
**So to sum up, try to avoid getting caught up in the net of bitter people who don't encourage you to enjoy your success and rewards for hard work.** Again, they will attempt to buzz around and distract you for the rest of your life. Whatever people try to convince you, **no-one is getting rich on some obscure concept of an honor society scam.** These organizations run on a shoestring budget consisting mainly of volunteers and charitable donations. If it is a "scam," it's the worst scam in history created by some of the brightest individuals available. **It doesn't hurt to have these on your resume, but it's also very rewarding to be a part of something that rewards and encourages excellence.** Most of the people who matter will think highly of your membership as many of the people teaching you weren't invited or are not members. **Good luck!** I hope this sheds some much needed light on your decision.
p.s. As someone above me mentioned, being involved in a leadership role will always be more advantageous than just being a passive participant. But, it just depends on the nature of the HS. I'm running for an officer position at the end of this semester in Beta Alpha Psi, but I have virtually no involvement in the others. I know this is a huge boost to my resume, but it's more of a practical decision that is slightly outside the topic of discussion here.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/08/04 | 419 | 1,794 | <issue_start>username_0: My Name is among tens of authors of a paper on global health.
For the purpose of my CV update, I need to show my name without showing the names of all authors of the paper.
My preferred style is JAMA, which shows the names of the first 3 authors followed by 'et al'.
Would the following format be appropriate, at least for my CV, when My Name is published in the middle of a long authors' list ?
First Author, Co-Author, My Name, et al
If so, will this (customized) format ever cause any confusion for any group of audience?<issue_comment>username_1: If I understand correctly you suggest adding your name as third regardless of where it occurs (later than third). I would not recommend such a solution since it may be thought of as inflating your own importance (assuming author order reflects that). Even if such a solution would be acceptable within a specific community, one has to consider how it can be construed by others. In my CV I have set my name in bold face and I list all author names in a reference. This way my "contribution" becomes reasonably clear even at a glance.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: The bolding trick suggested by others is fine up to a point, but eventually it will get to be silly.
I'm coming from a nuclear and particle physics background and have papers with hundreds of coauthors. So I *didn't* take care that my name showed up. I just built my publication list using bibtex in the standard format for my discipline and assumed that readers who wanted to check that I was on those papers know how to use InSpire (the go-to publication database for these disciplines).
That means that my name appears on my publication list only a few times, but it is also there in big letters at the top of the page.
Upvotes: 5 |
2014/08/04 | 500 | 1,660 | <issue_start>username_0: Recently I heard from a senior student that the celebrated adaBoost [paper](http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.32.8918) was originally rejected by a conference.
Are there any other instances of seminal papers (in any field) which initially could not warrant a publication?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm not sure if this counts, but <NAME>'s original paper on smallpox vaccination was rejected by the Royal Society.
>
> In 1797, Jenner sent a short communication to the Royal Society describing his experiment and observations. However, the paper was rejected. Then in 1798, having added a few more cases to his initial experiment, Jenner privately published a small booklet entitled An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae, a disease discovered in some of the western counties of England, particularly Gloucestershire and Known by the Name of Cow Pox (18, 10). The Latin word for cow is vacca, and cowpox is vaccinia; Jenner decided to call this new procedure vaccination. The 1798 publication had three parts. In the first part Jenner presented his view regarding the origin of cowpox as a disease of horses transmitted to cows. The theory was discredited during Jenner's lifetime.
>
>
>
Reference: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: One should also mention Fermi's famous 'Beta decay' paper, which was rejected by Nature and appeared in Z. Physik 88, 161(1934). English translation of the paper: <http://microboone-docdb.fnal.gov/cgi-bin/RetrieveFile?docid=953;filename=FermiBetaDecay1934.pdf;version=1>
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/05 | 1,515 | 5,790 | <issue_start>username_0: I was wondering if there is any kind of "reliable" CS conferences ranking available on the web. I have searched on SCImago, but I believe it only ranks journals, and there is no mention about conferences. Actually I am curious about it because in the faculty that I am currently working we want to know which papers are presented to good conferences, and which ones are presented to bogus conferences.
Is there any way to know that for the field of Computer Science? I know there are some tools like Google Scholar, but I believe it is not so trustable after all. Should we rely on Scopus maybe?
Any advice?
Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: There is [CORE](http://core.edu.au), an initiative by universities from Australia and New Zealand. On their website, you can find both journal and conference rankings. Most of the rankings are ok, but (of course) there are individual entries that seem too high or too low to me. As far as I know, many research organisations and faculties in the APAC area use this ranking to assign "credit" for papers.
That being said, if your goal is to distinguish good and bogus conferences, I am not sure CORE will actually help you. The main problem is that CORE is only updated every few years, and only with entries which got submitted by somebody during a nomination phase. Hence it is never really complete. Actual bogus conferences (such as the infamous [Worldcomp](http://www.world-academy-of-science.org/worldcomp14/ws) series - see also for instance [here](http://worldcomp-fake-bogus.blogspot.ch)) are not listed at all, but so are smaller legit venues as well as any new conference or journal (of any quality). Hence, you can use the *presence* of a ranking in CORE as a signal that the venue is probably not bogus (it may still subjectively be better or worse than its ranking indicates, but it is very unlikely to be an actual scam), but you **cannot** use the *absence* of a ranking to indicate a bogus venue.
Another problem that you may run into is that a few bogus venues have taken up the practice of using a name that is "coincidentally" very similar to existing high-ranked venues (cp. the top-quality [WWW conference](http://www.www2015.it) and the very low-quality [WWW/Internet](http://www.internet-conf.org) conference). To complicate matters further, in some emerging fields, even more or less established publishers sometimes churn out journals with basically identical names at more or less the same time (e.g., Springer's [Journal of Cloud Computing](http://www.journalofcloudcomputing.com) vs Inderscience's [Journal of Cloud Computing](http://www.inderscience.com/jhome.php?jcode=ijcc)).
Finally, established conferences occasionally change their name, sometimes as part of a merger with other conferences, and hence "fall of" the ranking if you do not know what the conference used to be called in the past.
All that is to say that CORE is a tool that can help you get a feel for the value of a publication, but it will not relief you from the task of actually looking at the publications themselves to assess their value.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Check the last answer at [To publish or not to publish a paper in an ERA "type C" conference?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26719/to-publish-or-not-to-publish-a-paper-in-an-era-type-c-conference/26777#26777) - I put there several community rankings, highlighting some problems with CORE ranking. But CORE is a good start, I agree with the previous answer.
P.S. Google Scholar does index conferences, but not correctly identifies all of them
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The Chinese Computer Science Federation's rankings are, in my experience, very good. You can view an English translation of them at the [PandaSearch](http://pandasearch.ruc.edu.cn//mainAction!ccf_rank.action) website. Searching Google for "computer science conference rankings" will turn up several alternative ranking lists; of these, the Chinese rankings are the most stringent.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: The most reliable and up-to-date ranking I know of is the [GII/GRIN Computer Science and Computer Engineering Rating](http://www.consorzio-cini.it:8080/consultazioneclassificazioni/), which is based on CORE, SHINE, and Microsoft Academic Research Conference Ranking, and has undergone several manual adjustments. It only includes conferences so far, but it's a good start.
--- Edit
A revised version of the ranking, updated with the new CORE 2017 data, is available at [valutazione.unibas.it/gii-grin-scie-rating](http://valutazione.unibas.it/gii-grin-scie-rating/) and now also involves the Spanish Computer-Science Society, besides Italian GII and GRIN.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: The website <http://valutazione.unibas.it/cs-conference-rating> allows you to look for a conference and gives you its rating in not one, but three conference rankings (CORE, MAS and SHINE), together with an aggregate rating.
I think the CORE ranking is pretty reliable as far as rankings go, for the conferences that are listed. You only need to be careful with not equating "unlisted" with "bad" - it may just be a small conference or one that was not included because researchers in CORE's geographic area didn't participate in it lately. But for conferences that are listed, the ratings are quite trustworthy. CORE A\* (in the aggregator website they call it A++) are top tier conferences.
I can't vouch for the other two rankings as I haven't used them much, although the three of them seem to be at least roughly in agreement most of the time.
A caveat: the aggregator was updated in 2015, while if you go straight to the source for [CORE](http://portal.core.edu.au/conf-ranks/), you'll get ranks from 2017.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/05 | 719 | 2,784 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a senior year undergrad student from a prestigious institute in India. I intend to pursue a PhD after graduating. While researching universities, I stumbled upon the fact that many of the top schools have a minimum GPA requirement. For example UCSD has 3.4/4 as its minimum requirement.
My GPA is 7.2 on a scale of 10. It is quite above average in my school, but it translates to a 2.9 on a scale of 4 which looks pretty bad. DOes this mean that my application is likely to be rejected outright?
Also, I heard that most universities don't consider converted scores (by WES, for example) in a good light. I have research experience in my undergraduate years to offset the GPA. I really hope that the universities have a look at that.
Should I not apply to schools with such a requirement?<issue_comment>username_1: There's no absolute here—it really depends on the program in question. Some departments are stricter about cutoffs than others. It depends a lot on the number of applications they receive, and how selective they need to be. However, I know that many good departments don't screen on GPA alone.
However, even if you're GPA is not "elite," that's not the end of the world, so long as you have the research experience and the letters of recommendation to support you. (A student from our department was recently admitted to a top-10 engineering program in the US on the basis of his research experience—his GPA was pedestrian at best.)
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Fundamentally, graduate schools are looking for evidence that you can successfully complete the program and graduate. So to get in, you have to make a convincing argument that this is the case.
Your GPA is unimpressive, but there are a few things that can make up for it. Two of them are test scores and faculty recommendations. What you need to do in both cases to rank much higher on these metrics than the typical "2.9" student. Then the fact that "my GPA ... is quite above average in my school," will start to count for something. Specifically, it may get your graduate school thinking, "This "2.9" GPA is at least a 3.2 or 3.3 on our scale, maybe more."
You're still not home free, but this is where your research comes into play. If you can convince the school that you have exceptional research potential, they may think, well, this guy is a "doer" who will "ace" the thesis, and get 3.2-3.3 in his courses, just enough to get the 3.4 average. Or it could be that the required 3.4 represents "insurance" against a graduating requirement of 3.2 or 3.3.
You'll probably want to get more and better advice from a faculty adviser. But if you do apply to the school of your choice, the above represent things to keep in mind.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/08/05 | 1,432 | 6,171 | <issue_start>username_0: Suppose one works in field X, and has say two or three manuscripts ready for journal submission. Journal A is a good fit for all the manuscripts, but journals B and C would be appropriate as well.
All else being equal, is there any benefit in having papers in different journals? Does it hurt to have all of your papers, or say a substantial amount of them, in the same journal A? For example, would it be a good idea to submit one to journal A, and the other one to journal B?
I could think of someone saying "I read journals B and C, but not A", so in this sense spreading your research in different journals would make sense. But maybe this is not so typical to begin with.<issue_comment>username_1: There is obviously no right or wrong here, one should try to publish in the best suited journal. That said, in fields where there are several options, sticking to a single journal may look a little strange. If you publish in different (but suitable) journals, it may be looked upon as that your research is accepted by a wider set of peers. Some may perhaps also think you have a special connection to the journal etc.
So the need to publish in different journals should primarily be the focus of the journal. Some people I know enjoy the fact that they are published in widely different journals and some people may see that as your research being more widely accepted (right or wrong).
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I will answer only in the prospect of making one's CV look good; note that I am a mathematician and that this certainly affects my answer, notably because in mathematics (at least from what I see in France) the impact factor is rarely considered.
The way a journal is seen can vary a lot from one person to another (for example, some journals cover several subfields but are important and selective in some subfields, less so in others). So, if you publish all your papers in the same journal, in addition to the effect described by username_1 you will reduce the probability that any given person looking at you CV would think "wao, he or she published in that excellent journal Y" where Y will be A for some people, B for some else, and C for others.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In additions to the existing answers:
* CV beautifying, part 1: Publications in journals with different focus topics make you look more like an interdisciplinary person (which is usually preferred), while publishing in identically themed journals or even only one journal makes you look rather single-minded.
* CV beautifying, part 2: Excessive publishing in one journal may make you look like somebody who never tries new things and sticks to whatever is working.
* Publishing in different journals will give you a broader experience, though mostly with how publishing can be handled. There is one important exception to the latter, though: You may learn about advantages and disadvantages of the individual journals, e.g., if you only publish with journal A, you might never learn that journal B is better at organising and speeding up the review process, has a better style file, has better copy editors, etc.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It's unlikely that two or three equally good journals exist to serve a single audience. That is: while your work may be a "good fit" to all three, it is likely to reach a somewhat different audience in each case. In my field, for example, one journal has a more "theoretical" outlook than another. Plenty of papers could easily fit in either, but theoreticians may be more likely to read them if they are in one journal rather than the other. This may be a consideration, depending on the content of your paper and what you hope to achieve with it. Equally, you may bring your work to the attention of a wider audience by publishing in multiple journals: even if people do not read your paper, they may come to recognise your name.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Depending on your country, there might be an "official system" that classifies the quality of publication channels, i.e. ranks journals (this happens in e.g. [Finland](http://www.tsv.fi/julkaisufoorumi/english.php?lang=en)). Whether you like it or not, people e.g. outside of your field might judge your merits based on these rankings. The rankings live and might change over time, and if all of your papers are published in a highly ranked journal X today, the ranking of X might drop tomorrow.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: Most people would base their decision on:
1. The relative **rating or impact factor** of the journal compared with others relevant to the same field; and
2. The **relevance** of your material to what the journal typically publishes and their audience.
The **citations you are likely to get** will be influenced by both the profile of the journal and the relevance of the material to its readership.
Its therefore perfectly feasible (and sensible) to publish material in a 'lower ranked' journal if the research you are looking to publish **has greater relevance** for that audience.
BUT - if the research in question is genuinely only a **1-shot-at-goal** only situation when it comes to publication - then you would usually be inclined to go for the highest rated journal that you can as these outlets can be very selective.
Be aware however that, for better or worse, most academics will now '**salami slice**' the output from their research, or different aspects of it, for different outlets. This is not always a bad thing (and may not actually constitute 'salami slicing'). For example, a paper emphasising theoretical or methodological aspects to the research may go to a different outlet to one that is more applied or gives greater emphasis to context, findings or implications in practice.
This final point does however flag that if you are only ever publishing in one journal it does convey a relatively narrow focus in terms of **how you convey the relevance of your research** and **your willingness to engage a broader audience**.
So in this case it sounds like publishing across different outlets is a good idea :-)
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/06 | 1,590 | 6,903 | <issue_start>username_0: Attending conferences is considered one of the perks of working in academia, for a variety of very good reasons:
* networking, meeting new people
* cutting edge research results and new directions
* advertise your own research (while networking)
* (often) nice venues
In some domains, such as computer science, conferences are (becoming) the main exchange site of top work. In some other domains, conferences are considered entertainment. Next to this quality ambiguity, there are some downsides:
* travel costs can weigh on budgets of smaller research groups
* conference papers more likely to be dismissed by hiring committees than journal papers
A consequence of the first downside is that many groups only allow researchers to attend conferences if they have accepted talks/papers, which is difficult in top venues. A consequence of the second downside is that some researchers prefer to submit top work to top journals rather than top conferences.
I do consider the second con relevant to the question, as this is one of the reasons for ending up wanting to attend conferences without having any accepted papers.
Given the ups and downs, I would like to assess the importance of attending top conferences (even without accepted talks/papers) for both individual researchers as well as their research groups.
My field is machine learning, but answers concerning other fields are more than welcome.<issue_comment>username_1: There is obviously no right or wrong here, one should try to publish in the best suited journal. That said, in fields where there are several options, sticking to a single journal may look a little strange. If you publish in different (but suitable) journals, it may be looked upon as that your research is accepted by a wider set of peers. Some may perhaps also think you have a special connection to the journal etc.
So the need to publish in different journals should primarily be the focus of the journal. Some people I know enjoy the fact that they are published in widely different journals and some people may see that as your research being more widely accepted (right or wrong).
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I will answer only in the prospect of making one's CV look good; note that I am a mathematician and that this certainly affects my answer, notably because in mathematics (at least from what I see in France) the impact factor is rarely considered.
The way a journal is seen can vary a lot from one person to another (for example, some journals cover several subfields but are important and selective in some subfields, less so in others). So, if you publish all your papers in the same journal, in addition to the effect described by username_1 you will reduce the probability that any given person looking at you CV would think "wao, he or she published in that excellent journal Y" where Y will be A for some people, B for some else, and C for others.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In additions to the existing answers:
* CV beautifying, part 1: Publications in journals with different focus topics make you look more like an interdisciplinary person (which is usually preferred), while publishing in identically themed journals or even only one journal makes you look rather single-minded.
* CV beautifying, part 2: Excessive publishing in one journal may make you look like somebody who never tries new things and sticks to whatever is working.
* Publishing in different journals will give you a broader experience, though mostly with how publishing can be handled. There is one important exception to the latter, though: You may learn about advantages and disadvantages of the individual journals, e.g., if you only publish with journal A, you might never learn that journal B is better at organising and speeding up the review process, has a better style file, has better copy editors, etc.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It's unlikely that two or three equally good journals exist to serve a single audience. That is: while your work may be a "good fit" to all three, it is likely to reach a somewhat different audience in each case. In my field, for example, one journal has a more "theoretical" outlook than another. Plenty of papers could easily fit in either, but theoreticians may be more likely to read them if they are in one journal rather than the other. This may be a consideration, depending on the content of your paper and what you hope to achieve with it. Equally, you may bring your work to the attention of a wider audience by publishing in multiple journals: even if people do not read your paper, they may come to recognise your name.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Depending on your country, there might be an "official system" that classifies the quality of publication channels, i.e. ranks journals (this happens in e.g. [Finland](http://www.tsv.fi/julkaisufoorumi/english.php?lang=en)). Whether you like it or not, people e.g. outside of your field might judge your merits based on these rankings. The rankings live and might change over time, and if all of your papers are published in a highly ranked journal X today, the ranking of X might drop tomorrow.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: Most people would base their decision on:
1. The relative **rating or impact factor** of the journal compared with others relevant to the same field; and
2. The **relevance** of your material to what the journal typically publishes and their audience.
The **citations you are likely to get** will be influenced by both the profile of the journal and the relevance of the material to its readership.
Its therefore perfectly feasible (and sensible) to publish material in a 'lower ranked' journal if the research you are looking to publish **has greater relevance** for that audience.
BUT - if the research in question is genuinely only a **1-shot-at-goal** only situation when it comes to publication - then you would usually be inclined to go for the highest rated journal that you can as these outlets can be very selective.
Be aware however that, for better or worse, most academics will now '**salami slice**' the output from their research, or different aspects of it, for different outlets. This is not always a bad thing (and may not actually constitute 'salami slicing'). For example, a paper emphasising theoretical or methodological aspects to the research may go to a different outlet to one that is more applied or gives greater emphasis to context, findings or implications in practice.
This final point does however flag that if you are only ever publishing in one journal it does convey a relatively narrow focus in terms of **how you convey the relevance of your research** and **your willingness to engage a broader audience**.
So in this case it sounds like publishing across different outlets is a good idea :-)
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/06 | 7,250 | 30,318 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a young teacher at college. I have to go way too long, I know but I have the following problem.
In one of my classes, I have this guy who pecks at me for everything I say. He is surely conceited, but it hurts like hell when he makes fun of me in front of the whole class.
However, I take no note of it in class, but later I feel very sad. This makes me frightened to go to that class at all.
He is overconfident and imposing and seems to have got a big gang behind him. He is a threat and he disturbs me. Please help me tackle this situation.<issue_comment>username_1: As a first step you could ask one of your more experienced colleagues to observe your teaching. Let the students know the colleague is there to evaluate your teaching. While it is obviously not a formal evaluation, it is an evaluation of how you handle a difficult teaching situation. You want to tell the students that you are being evaluated so that the trouble makers feel like they can sabotage you. If they do not know why they are being observed, the trouble makers may behave better. The goal is not to "catch" the student behaving badly, it is to have an example of bad behaviour so you and the evaluator can work through possible responses after the class.
Hopefully the trouble makers will try and "undermine" you and act out. With first hand knowledge the colleague may have specific suggestions of how to deal with the student. If the student does not act out you can then discuss the types of behaviour the student shows with the colleague.
Ideally the observer would be from your department, but if it is difficult to find someone, the observer does not need to be from your department nor understand the material you are teaching. They do not need to commit to the entire lecture, 15-30 minutes is often enough. The key thing is they need to be experienced enough to be able to provide suggestions and someone you respect enough to take the suggestions on board. If they understand the material even better, but you want someone that you respect with the needed experience.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Maybe you have been out of luck and got the 'bad' class (my teacher friends always have one from time to time) but if this problem is recurring, there is probably something you can do to improve yourself.
I also think @username_1 answer is a good way to find help to solve your problem with this guy in particular.
As student, I have observed some attitudes were much more prone to gain the respect of the class.
* Confidence (really the most important): Of course it was more present with older teachers who commend their course content and have a lot of teaching hours behind. This is cruel, but this is played in the first 30second you meet your new class. The way you speak and hold yourself in this period can go a long way...
* Ask questions: when you know the teacher might ask a tough question at any time, you follow much more and it usually avoid too much discussion. As student, often you don't want the teacher to see you and ask you to answer a hard question in front of every one. If really one guy is bothering you why not call him in front of the class and ask him to do a tough demonstration?
* It is sad to say, but the harder/more important courses will always be more quiet than the easy one even if the teacher is bad.
* Make it interesting: if the content is interested and well presented most student listen.
Again this is only my observation from the bench point of view...
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The problem is one of basic psychology. In a classroom environment, an effective teacher needs to be respected as the leader - either respect for the authority of the position itself, or respect for the knowledge, or just basic good manners. By being disrespectful and undermining you and your authority, the student is implicitly challenging you in an attempt to elevate his social standing within the group.
>
> it hurts like hell when he makes fun of me in front of the whole
> class. However, I take no note of it in class, but later I feel very sad.
> This makes me frightened to go that class at all. He is overconfident
> and imposing and seems to have got a big gang behind him.
>
>
>
Your main problem is that you are under-confident, and your authority has been challenged by someone who is more confident, more imposing, and better able to "work the crowd". You need to regain the respect of the students. How you do this is up to you, but I would note:
* Be confident. Act confident. Act like you are actually in control. When you begin to act like you are in control, you will begin to appear like you are in control, and, eventually, you will be in control.
* Stop being scared. This person can not physically hurt you. If he can mentally hurt you, then that is because you allow that hurt to happen. You need to find a technique to reduce your fear. Some people do this through contemplation, some through repetition of phrases like *"I am a tiger"*, some through more physical techniques like study of martial arts. Do whatever works for you.
* Play to your strengths. You are the one who is an expert in the subject that you teach. The student is not. In this domain, you are the more powerful one. If you choose to engage him, do not engage in bickering, because that is his domain. Engage him in the domain where you will win - in the exercise of academic and technical excellence.
One option is to ask him if he knows the answer to a particular question, and ask him to explain it to the rest of the class on the board. This does not require singling him out - you can ask other students to also answer questions - but what it does is put him on the defensive. Either he admits that he does not know the answer, or he has to get up in front of the class and explain it.
If the latter, then you have turned the focus of attention towards his knowledge and his teaching ability. It might help him to realise that he does not really want to be the leader in the domain where the leader has to stand and teach everyone else. He will probably get parts of the answer wrong, or have an incomplete answer, and afterwards you can probe this, and ask the other students to explain where he went wrong. This re-establishes you as being in control, and turns the focus of the class to subject knowledge and academic ability. You do not need to undermine him, just encourage him to demonstrate his lack of knowledge, and then let the other students demonstrate their own ability. This is enough.
* Be interesting. Boredom is a driver of problematic behaviour. The fact that other students are following your problem student indicates that they perhaps are not being challenged by the lessons. If you see the eyes of your students glazing over as you begin to speak, then change direction, and structure your lessons to directly engage the students. One technique is to have them work on problems in pairs, and then randomly choose one of them to present the solution to the rest of the class. This forces them to work, and forces them to come up with an answer that they not only understand, but understand in a way that they can explain to everyone else. Nobody wants to stand up in front of the class and look like an idiot. It takes the focus off you and your teaching and knowledge, and puts it back on the class, which helps to make the lessons more social and interesting.
* Take control. Changing the structure of the class and engaging the students in a way that allows you to demonstrate your leadership may encourage your problem student to back off. He is a part of the class, and if you have control of the class, it is likely that he will defer to that. But if he does not, you may consider a more direct approach:
+ The warning. Confront the student outside (or at the end) of class. Tell the student that his constant undermining is disruptive to the class and you are not going to stand for it any more. Tell him that if he can not be respectful, and does not value your teaching, then you do not want to see him in your class. Do not be angry or scared or emotional - just be straight - you are done, this is not a negotiation, this is the way it is.
+ The appeal to authority. Tell the student that you are not going to stand for his behaviour any more, and if it continues you will report him to the disciplinary authorities. All institutions have formal mechanisms for dealing with discipline. The threat of this may help him to temper his behaviour.
+ Remove the student from your class. Not always possible, but, either officially or unofficially, get rid of him. Officially, you can request a formal transfer. Unofficially, you can tell him that you will keep his name on the register but you do not want to see him in your class again.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: To be honest, sometimes you just get a dick. However, I have seen more often that the students merely thrive on the attention and have little regard to how you perceive it.
Without examples of what this student does it's hard to give great advice but here are some of my suggestions based off of observing both confident and in control teachers and those who are timid and meek.
I'm assuming this student asks questions designed to throw you off or tries to contradict you/ correct you at every turn. To this I ask "does it throw you off and is what he says accurate and you were wrong?"
If he's trying to throw you off just tell him that his question isn't applicable to the lesson. If he wants to talk about it later on in more depth, then invite him to discuss it further after class or during office hours (they 99% of the time never do). This can keep you on task and not battling the everlasting "but what if" questions.
If he's correcting you, is he right or wrong? If he's wrong then don't be afraid to tell him so (or that both answers are correct). If he's right, well, to be honest, that hurts your credibility a lot. No teacher that I've ever seen who is consistently wrong has the respect of their students. You really need to evaluate how/ why you're teaching and perhaps need to brush up more on concepts you don't know.
If he simply disrupts class, then you need to take charge and be the leader of the room. When you have someone interrupt you and let it continue happening without saying anything, obviously that sets a precedent. The teachers that I've seen where this happens are quiet and meek and usually try to laugh it off while feebly getting the class back under control. Does this sound like you? Once this precedent is set, it is very hard to go back. I would advise working on that for the next term (assuming you are closer to being done and can just wait it out until this class is gone).
Bottom line, it's your job to be in charge. Some students will walk all over you if you let them. Don't give them that chance. You can be respected and in charge without being a jerk or overly strict. The best teachers are the ones who are confident in their subject and respect their students, which, in turn, reciprocate with respect for the teacher. It's like the old saying goes "Those who have to say they're in charge are clearly not".
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I think the best way you can react is not to take personally his "attacks". Act like the guy does absolutely not touch you, that his questioning comments and remarks are useless and uninteresting. But for that, you should trust yourself and abilities. Don't let him spread doubt in you.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: I think you have a potential ally in the rest of the students, if you treat them correctly. You are in a university, not in a troubled high school from a bad film: most of the students are mature persons, that are there because they want to learn.
When I was an undergrad, I had a few friends in class, but most of the people were from completely strangers to no more than acquaintances towards the end of the degree. This means that I don't have any kind of loyalty or tolerance towards them: if you are annoying me, I am not going to like you.
What do you think would happen if an outsider interrupted the class saying that the Apocalypse was going to happen in four months and you are all going to be abducted by UFOs? And what if this happened every week? Do you think your students would like it?
It is important that you don't turn them against him, but instead give them the chance to do it. Put them on your side by engaging in a good interesting lesson. If you are teaching one of these subjects that nobody likes, try to make it more appealing by doing an experimental demonstration every now and then.
If you try to actively turn them against this annoying subject, he will get angry, and things will get worse. And the students may misinterpret what you are trying, not like it, and things got even worse. Instead, you have to bring them in your boat because they want to learn and you are there to teach them. That guy is the enemy just because he is getting in the way, but you are a magnificent god, and he is welcome if he stops acting the way he is.
Your mindset has to be that you are there to teach the class, and you have to take whatever means are necessary for it. If someone comes in late, making a lot of noise, and disturbing everybody, you have to show them you don't accept it and even tell them off. If someone consistently asks **stupid** questions, you can tell him to shut up. If someone is derailing off topic, you should kindly invite them to discuss after class. If someone starts to make political interpretations of Matrix Algebra, tell them that is not the place or the moment to discuss it. If someone is willingly hurting you, you may consider telling them that it is not nice and they should stop it. If you firmly invite an offending person to leave the room, they would either do it, or chicken out and apologise. If he just refuses, or decides not to acknowledge your request, or attack you verbally, his peers will see it as childish behaviour.
Any confrontation you have with a student, is it not you, Name Surname; it is the lecturer of Your Subject. Once you step out of the building, you don't personally hold any grudge against them. This is where your power comes from, and also your shield: it is not you, it is the lecturer.
You need confidence before getting in that class, and the best you can get is with passion for your subject and teaching. Prepare and rehearse your class beforehand, make sure you know everything you want to say, prepare the questions they may have; and when the day comes, go into that room knowing that you are going to nail the lesson, no matter what.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Giving authority to problematic students often helps as delegating responsibility will put him under pressure and divert his mind from generating devilish ideas towards escaping / fulfilling the responsibility that you have just burdened onto him. Example: Make him a Class Representative or a leader of the course.
OR
Reverse Psychology - Applaud his comments, Use sarcasm, intelligent phrases or sheer innocence to mess up his "efforts".
This will not only eliminate the problem but also set an example for other students.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_8: Read [When I Say No, I feel Guilty](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0553263900) by <NAME>.
I realize that this book sounds like it has nothing to do with your situation, but before you dismiss it out of hand, I implore you to read some of [its customer reviews](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0553263900) on Amazon.
Note that it's a book that is best read backwards, from the back of the book, where the examples begin, to the front of the book, where the theory is actually discussed.
On that note, someone else mentioned using sarcasm, but the book and I would advise against that. It's important that you do not throw verbal stones back at him and it's important that you do not scold him and make him lose face in front of his classmates. If or when that student crosses the line, ask to speak to him privately. Once alone with him, assuming you feel safe enough to meet him privately of course, he won't have an audience to play for, so he's much less likely to act out if you can be assertive about what you want from him.
Next, I'd suggest that you take up some kind of combative sport, like martial arts, or boxing, or even a sport like rugby. This is not to encourage you to fight, please do not misrepresent my intent, this is just to teach you how to carry yourself with confidence and to mitigate some of the fear of a physical confrontation.
Next, I'd suggest that you practice public speaking in a safe environment. The best place for that is <http://www.toastmasters.org/> (it's a non-profit club, so it's a cheap way to practice public speaking and to bring up some of the problems you've been having in class and discuss possible ways to address them).
Just one warning thought. Not all Toastmasters clubs are equal. If you don't like the vibe in one, try another one, and if you don't like that second one, try a third one. They're basically everywhere and there are many to choose from. The key is to keep on going, and to participate, even if you don't feel comfortable at first. If you go frequently enough, you'll feel comfortable enough and it can become like a second home to you.
Next, and this is the most difficult challenge I can give you, so I don't really expect that you'll do it. But once that you've done all those three things I've suggested, I'd encourage you to take it up a notch higher, and that's to join a comics class sponsored by a night club, or to participate in poetry slams, or even to sing at Karaoke clubs, all the while staying completely sober. I'm not saying any of these things are going to be easy, especially not for the type of personality I envision you to have, but if you can do any of these things (without the help of alcohol), handling a single heckler in your class will seem like a real walk in the park after that.
Please note that these things are worth doing, even if that guy ends up dropping your class. Our society tends to reward confident and extroverted people. And aside from the book I've suggested, which is one in a million, nothing beats practicing frequently and sharpening yourself against the brunt force of a real live audience.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: The following are slightly generic remarks. They may not help much in this particular case (first impressions being so persistent, you may have lost this particular charmer), but might be helpful in future.
Remember we all of us are apes, and have ape-like notions of territory. He is acting as if the classroom is his territory, whereas it is in fact *your territory*. But how do you establish that?
* Often inexperienced teachers stand right up at the blackboard, apparently as far away from the students as they can possibly get. Move forwards.
* If you can get into the class before them, welcome them in – nothing fancy, just generic "good, good, come in, hurry up... hello..." You're giving them permission to be in the room.
* Look into their faces as you talk; you're the authority figure, and you get to choose who you look at. Apes really react to being seen.
* I generally start a lecture by deliberately and obviously moving to the front of a class, just in front of the front-most rows, and just stand waiting expectantly but alertly. The students I'm looming over shut up promptly, and a wave of silence spreads outwards. If people are still talking, look right at them; others will follow your gaze, and there's nothing apes notice more quickly than people looking at them. If they keep talking, keep on looking, in a "you're wasting all these people's time" way. It takes real aggression for someone to blatantly keep talking in those circumstances. If you just keep standing, impassive, repeating in your head "you are a stupid little dick, boy; you are a stupid little dick, ..." you'll freak out the class and they will probably suppress misbehaviour themselves.
* **Move into the class**. This is your territory and not theirs, remember, and so *you* can walk into the middle of it and they can't. If the layout permits, teach from the *centre* of the class occasionally. If you're explaining something on the board/screen, perhaps do so from half-way up the side of the class, facing in the same direction as them (apart from anything else, this provides variety and stops them or you getting bored!).
This doesn't have to be some massive mind-game, and it doesn't have to be and shouldn't be some sort of contest (which is the sort of game where social aggression wins). And I'm not suggesting you spray on the walls! But teachers often forget that physical presence and movement, and where you choose to stand, can send very powerful signals to creatures of all shapes and forms.
Building confidence is hard; moving a couple of metres forward is less so.
*An exercise*: assemble four or five friends in a row of chairs in front of you, looking straight at you. Stand in front of them, looking back into their faces in turn, in a nice friendly way but saying nothing. It's weird how difficult it is to keep this up for even one minute. Part of what's initially challenging about teaching is the discomfort of having a room-ful of people looking straight at you, and if you can get used to this (in this context, without the distraction of having to teach at the same time), and if you remember the feeling of being looked *at*, you'll become more able to deploy the gaze in your territory.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_10: That can be brutal. Two possibilities:
1. You have just stumbled upon a "worthy opponent" which offers you *the best* opportunity for your academic life: a chance to **master** the skill of *dialectic* in a war for nothing less than your intellectual integrity. This requires building the skills of ruthlessness and patience. Take care not to let ruthlessness devolve into cruelty. And you'll have to master timing for it not to blow up in your face. Forewarning: this could take months. Time it for the end of the semester. :)
2. Don't fight him in the slightest, but humor him. But do talk to the Chair. Try to engage him/her on the problem since they are responsible for assisting you in exactly these issues by position of their office. If they can't help you, you can be sure that they don't deserve the office, because this is one of the most important issues for building the integrity of a university program and it is their job to help their faculty.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_11: As @username_3 said, do not engage in bickering. I would like to pick up on this and amplify it a bit.
My suggestion is: whatever the student says, *take it seriously* - even if he clearly does not mean it seriously. Do not take it as an attack on you - even if he clearly means it as such. (Or, if you can't help taking it as an attack on you, at least try not to show that in front of the class.)
When I say "take it seriously", I mean something like this: if you express an opinion and he says "that's a really stupid comment" - don't retaliate, but ask him politely, "Why do you think it's stupid? What is your opinion on the question?" If he replies with evasion or further abuse, quietly but firmly repeat the question. If he tries to get out of it by saying "well the whole question is a waste of time" you can ask "What do you think are the important questions, and why do you believe they are important?" Make him commit himself: let the whole class see that he is the one being unreasonable, not you.
It is important, however hard it may be, to stay calm and polite. You may at present feel that the situation is you against him, but I can assure you that many students in your class will want to learn the subject and will be on your side, even if this guy and his gang have scared them into not admitting it. If he is abusive and you are polite, the class will be even more on your side - nobody *really* likes this kind of behaviour.
Sometimes (I don't know how it is in your subject) the line between robust discussion and personal attacks can be fuzzy. If, however, he engages in definite personal abuse (of your race, gender, appearance, manner of speech and so on) then he has clearly crossed the line and has forfeited his right to be in your class. Get the authorities to remove him. And if it results in his being tossed out of his course, don't even think of being sorry for him.
Another thing: if the situation is seriously making you sad and frightened to go into class, then this could be turning into an occupational health and safety issue. Those who are in charge of such things in your institution may be able to help you.
Finally I would like to support what others have said - if you could give more specific examples of what this student is doing, then you will probably get some more useful advice. I am sure that many people on this site have been in the position you describe and would **love** to be able to help you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_12: There are some good tips in the existing answers, but I would give the following advice as a crucial first step: be very careful with your iterpretation of the situation.
You've already branded this guy as "out to get you". That means you've made it personal, which is a bad place to get to. Not only because it leads to nasty behaviours and escalations on both sides, but also because that's what allows him to get at you confidence.
Being in front of a classroom enhances certain signals and dulls others and can make you very paranoid. I've had situations where I couldn't figure out what was going on and why people were laughing and as soon as the class was over I suddenly realized that someone was making a simple joke. Not at my expense, nothing to do with me, just a normal joke. And of course, to make it worse, the students have no idea how blind you are to social cues up there (at least when you're starting out) so they think you're a total dork.
A lot of things that feel like heckling can actually stem from other reasons. It may be that he's just a little socially awkward, and asking real questions. It may be that he's actually nervous and it's coming out in a strange way, and it may well be that he disagrees with something, but doesn't yet have the academic skill to show it in a civil manner.
However, even if he is just out to bully you, and you see no point in trying to understand where he's coming from, it's best to hold on to your detachment. Don't let him him drag you down to his level. If he is heckling, he's basically brought high-school level behaviour to a university. I would prefer to act with almost astonishment. Let him explain himself, and really act like you'd never expect anyone to behave this way. Don't be indignant, or in any way affected, just act as if he's just sat the wrong way around in his chair or drawn on the table with crayons. Convey in your attitude and body language, as much as you can, that he's behaving very out of place and very childish. Ask him to explain (in a gentle tone, like you genuinely don't understand and want to find out) and don't be afraid to leave long pauses.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: Another way to deal with this sort of a problem is to only engage with students' questions when they have questions that (in your judgment) are of direct relevance to the lecture. You can tell before you start that you're running a bit behind and that you'll now limit discussions during the lectures, students who have additional questions will be able to discuss that during the break.
Then when a question is asked or a remark is made that you feel is not constructive, you'll just say so (e.g. you can say that you can't address this right now, but you're happy to discuss this in detail after the lecture). If you think that you're losing control of the class due the problem student having a following and they then start discussions in class among themselves, then a very effective way is ignore what's going on and to lower your voice so that you make yourself a bit more difficult to hear.
This "lowering of the voice-method" is often used by professors when teaching to first year students who come straight out of high school. The alternative would be to ask the students to be quiet, but this then opens up a discussion about keeping order in class and that's not the ideal position to be in. You have your job to do which is to teach the subject, you're not a Kindergarten nanny. It's the student's job to master the subject and part of that job is attending college to follow the lectures. If they can't hear you because other students are talking they can ask them to stop talking, lowering your voice will force their hand immediately.
Exerting your authority explicitly is best done at the first lecture the moment you address the class. At that point there is no problem at hand, so the ball is firmly in your court. You can then explain the rules for the exams and the consequences of failing the exam. Here it helps if the subject you teach happens to be one which is difficult to pass and there are a limited number of make-up exams. This puts a lot of pressure on the students to act in a serious way. Also it would help if attending the lectures is not compulsory.
But suppose that the subject you teach is easy to pass and that attending lectures is compulsory so that you're going to get quite a few bored students in class. In that case you should consider modifying the lecture plan so that it includes additional tests. You then make it a requirement that students are allowed to sit the exam if they have done sufficiently well on the tests. You make it clear that this is going to be purely your judgment, that no appeal is possible. Also, you can mention that you have the right to deny a student the right to participate in a make-up exam. This can happen if the student does not show up at the exam and doesn't have a valid excuse (to be judged by you).
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/06 | 871 | 3,523 | <issue_start>username_0: Two years ago, I completed my bachelor degree with highest honor ranking 1st of my class in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department in my university in Egypt. Since then I have been working as a teaching assistant in the same department. I was seeking to pursue my Msc degree at a high ranking university and hence I applied for a Msc in 12 universities. I was able to gain admission(without funding) in four of them(among them was Carnegie Mellon and University of Michigan ann arbor). Meanwhile, a friend of mine helped me to get a research as position in a low ranking university in the US (No. 160 according to Us news ranking).
In the low ranking university, I am supposed to work intensively (the lab director requires the students to work on Sundays!) on a field that is not my primary field of interest. Also, he , this adviser, expects me to continue my Phd with him and my friends in this lab informed me that he will not give a recommendation letter if I want to leave his lab later. However, I am shooting for a higher ranking university for the Phd.
Do you advice me to go to the low ranking university with this adviser and then shoot for a higher one for the Phd? Or to wait and apply again for other universities for my Msc?
Also, is it OK to change my field of interest after finishing the Msc? will this limit my opportunists for a Phd in my primary field of interest?
Finally, how important is the Msc adviser's recommendation letter while applying for a Phd?<issue_comment>username_1: The answer is clear, and has nothing to do with ranking: if you want to go onto a PhD, your application will mostly depend on the letter of your research advisor.
That being said, there are terrible warning signs, and I would not take that position. Requiring you to work on sundays (and saturdays I presume) does not make a healthy student. Even students need down times. Sure, when I was writing my thesis I worked for a month straight; but thats crunch time. During normal students life it should be fairly balanced (40-60 hours a week working, with some play).
If you are willing to pay (another topic) go to the higher ranking schools, or wait a year and reapply to see if you can get funding at a better school. The advisor at the lower ranking school seems unethical, and I would not work for him even if he was at a school like MIT or Caltech. The fact that he wouldn't write you a letter of recommendation if you decided to leave is truly an indication that he does not have your best interests in mind: writing letters his his job.
As so many put it here, **run don't walk**.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In the US, going for your MS and PhD at the same school is the preferred approach in engineering. The MS is seen as a golden parachute if you can't pass the qualifying exams for the PhD. Some schools even see having an MS as a disadvantage when applying for a PhD for this reason. If you think you might continue on for a PhD, then choose the school and adviser that you would want to continue on with.
The question of funding vs. prestige is a tricky one. Do you want to work after school or do you want to stay in academia? Funding will leave you less in debt after school, but for a career in academia, the prestige of your program and adviser is very important.
In your particular situation, there are terrible warning signs for the low ranked school so I would avoid that situation regardless of what your longer term goals are.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/07 | 1,786 | 7,118 | <issue_start>username_0: As stated in the title, I'm wondering if someone could shed some light on whether it is possible to land a tenure-track position in philosophy with a J.D. By way of background, I double majored in philosophy and psychology, and I am heading into my 3rd year of law school. A life as an academic sounds more appealing than it did a few years ago when I chose law school over a Phd., and I'm curious if a J.D. could suffice. Any helpful insight on this topic would be greatly appreciated!<issue_comment>username_1: It is possible but you'll be competing against people with doctorates in Philosophy and dissertations and publications in philosophical journals.
Usually the requirement for faculty at colleges and university is the "terminal degree in the field." For law professors, this is the JD. For studio artists, the MFA. And most other faculty, the PhD.
I don't think the Provost would raise any issues with your hiring in terms of credentials, but the more difficult thing will be to convince the hiring committee (consisting of mostly philosophy profs with some other humanists) that you're the right person for the job.
Be prepared to articulate why you'll be capable of not only teaching PHIL101, but PHIL2xx, 3xx, and 4xx. If you're at a university, would you be capable of mentoring PhD students? The assumption will be that you don't have that experience, so the burden of proof will be on you.
Many JDs figure it's just as easy to get the PhD with a few more years of school and emerge with a JD-PhD.
[Editorial Aside: That all being said, I think you're a bit nutso. Have you seen the starting salaries for law professors? They are earning $150,000+ in the few few years and often have tenure by their 4th year. If I were you, I'd go into the teaching of law and teach very philosophical law classes.]
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Realistically, no.
There's more philosophy PhDs looking for jobs than jobs available in philosophy, and your undergraduate experience while helpful probably won't make you stand out as an expert in philosophy. Or to put it another way, while you've been earning your J.D. which prepares you for law, philosophy PhD earners have been studying the very subject material they will teach.
*But* you might be eligible for positions where they are looking for someone in philosophy of law. Specifically, if they want someone with practical experience (but then they wouldn't want you straight out of your J.D.). Probably a good way to ask this question would be to e-mail <NAME> (or someone else) who works in law and philosophy.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I think in part you're mixing up (or at least not clearly distinguishing) two separate questions:
1. If you have a J.D., could you become a philosophy professor without getting any additional formal qualifications? (Yes.)
2. If you have a typical resume for someone just finishing their J.D., would anyone hire you to be a philosophy professor? (Almost certainly not.)
To go to an analogy that might be more familiar, your question is a bit like asking "Can you go to Harvard if you get a GED?" The answer is yes in a certain formal sense; I'm sure there are people whose highest qualification is a GED who have gone to Harvard. Probably, somebody, somewhere, with a JD has gone on to being a philosophy professor without getting an additional degree, but that doesn't mean it's something a reasonable person should expect to do.
The important point here is that having a degree (even a very specific kind of degree) is not the primary qualification for becoming a professor. It's publishing in your field, convincing important people in the field that you are smart and good at what you do, and being able to teach undergraduate and graduate students in your field. A PhD helps you become a professor because it gives you a chance to do those things in a conducive environment, not because you get a sheepskin at the end. If you are able to do those things, maybe you can be successful in philosophy. It doesn't sound from your question like you've had much of a chance to do them yet.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The fact that you are a freshly graduated JD, and not a PhD cries out loud that you don't have any substantial research in the chosen field (neither other academic field). I don't think it is a good sign...
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: At a theoretical level, it's certainly possible. [Saul Kripke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Kripke) never went to graduate school at all, but that didn't stop Princeton from giving him tenure in philosophy. If you're the next Kripke, then nobody will care what sort of degree you have.
At a practical level, you can't get hired in philosophy with just a J.D., assuming you aren't talking specifically about philosophy of law (which might draw on your legal background on an equal footing with philosophy). If you are, then that's worth a more detailed and specific question regarding the necessary background and experience. For a start, see [these comments](http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/lawsch.asp) by <NAME>. If you want to do philosophy of law with a primarily legal background, it sounds like the chances are higher if you look for a law faculty position rather than a job in a philosophy department.
On the other hand, if you have in mind a philosophical career that does not make heavy use of your legal background, then the J.D. will be essentially useless. It's a terminal degree, but not one that certifies any level of background or experience in philosophy, so it will be irrelevant. The only way to get a job in a philosophy department at a four-year college or university is to convince them that you have the equivalent of a Ph.D. in philosophy (including not just basic knowledge, but also advanced seminars, carrying out research, and writing a dissertation - even if you won't be doing further research or teaching graduate courses).
This level of experience would be rare among law students, and even if you genuinely have the equivalent of a philosophy Ph.D. you should expect to have a difficult time making a convincing case for this.
I haven't seen your particular case (applying for philosophy jobs with a J.D.) in practice, but I've seen similar sorts of job searches in other fields (arguably with closer degrees, since Ph.D. degrees in related fields are more similar to each other than either is to a J.D.). In order to pull this off, you must have credible and compelling recommendations from mainstream faculty in the field you're applying to. So one key question is what the philosophy faculty at your current university think of you. Are they willing to write letters making a case that you are as qualified as their own Ph.D. students? If so, then you may have a shot at this, and you should talk with them for advice based on your personal situation. If you don't know any philosophers who are willing to write that sort of letter for you, then that will be a major barrier to getting a job in a philosophy department.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/08/07 | 836 | 3,686 | <issue_start>username_0: I want a good relationship with my advisor. But he is very busy with his projects and I am very busy with my master thesis as well. It is very clear to me where my project is going, I just need time to get it done. So basically, for now I don't need to meet my advisor and he doesn't have time anyways. For technical questions I can always ask some PhD students from him and I work usually at home.
I guess emailing once a month with updates would only overload his email address. Do you have any other ideas how to keep a good relationship with my advisor although there is no direct need for it? No matter how good of an advising this is, what can ***I*** do to make a good relationship?<issue_comment>username_1: Keeping your advisor up to date with how your work is going is important. You might think that your work is going along the correct path, but it is quite possible in research to start heading off down a path which - while possibly interesting - may not be the route your supervisor wants you to go down (at least, not without discussing it first).
One way of damaging a good working student-advisor relationship is to end up in a situation where your advisor is demanding to know why you have taken the research in a new direction, without consulting your advisor for his/her advice.
I do not think that a monthly update is going to overload your advisor's email account - unless he or she is an internet hermit. If you are worried about annoying your advisor with information overload, you could always end your initial email reports with words indicating that you are more than happy to talk face-to-face about your progress, or say that you are happy to make the email updates less frequent.
No advisor wants to be left in the dark about what their students are doing. A good advisor will not consider a regular email update from their student a negative prospect - so long as you don't try your advisor's patience with multi-page long emails. For an MSc thesis project - where time is tight - I think that reporting on a monthly basis is about right.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: First of, you are absolutely asking the **right** question ("what can I do to make a good relationship?"). The answer depends a bit on the preferences of your advisor - what works for some may not work for others. Here are a few things you could think about:
* You say you work from home. This automatically decouples you from the lab and your advisor. Have you thought whether it would be possible to work in the lab (if they have room for you) for, for instance, two days a week? This would also help make sure that you stay on the track your advisor wants your research to go, see also username_1' answer.
* You say you work mainly with some of his PhD students. Try to bond and network with the PhD students you like, and impress them with your technical aptitude and motivation. Thinking back on my PhD advisor, the only master students he really remembered were the ones that his PhD students were constantly praising in *their* meetings with him.
* See if there is a chance to publish something (with your advisor) in the context of your master's thesis. This not only shows motivation, but also has an immediate benefit for your advisor. During paper writing, you will also automatically have a number of meetings with your advisor.
* If you are interested in doing a PhD, indicate this to your advisor and ask for feedback. I have the impression that many professors take significantly more interest in master students that want to stay on the academic path than in those that are about to leave to industry.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer] |
2014/08/07 | 927 | 4,169 | <issue_start>username_0: Recently I got a rejection of my paper from a reputed journal. There were two reviewers who reviewed my paper.However reviewer1 accepted it while reviewer 2 rejected with some suggestions that can be well implemented. The strong reason for the rejection mentioned by the reviewer 2 was the some similarity with my earlier paper.
**My Query**
One of the associate editor of this journal is the well known author working in my field and he has also received the mail notification regarding rejection of my paper. Perhaps he has reviewed this work as well. Shall I contact him to discuss about this rejection and ask for help to further improve our work as per his suggestions. I am fully confused and depressed with this rejection. As I was expecting this paper to be published in that journal.
I need help and suggestions. It would be of great help if someone could help me
in such case how to write mail. As English is not my first language I find it hard to write a convincing mail.<issue_comment>username_1: **No**, I don't think you should contact the editor. Journal editors are very busy people, and they don't have time to offer individual comments on every paper.
If you think that your paper did not get a fair review, for example if you have reason to believe [the reviewer did not read or understand the paper](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5865/what-to-do-if-reviewers-reject-a-paper-without-understanding-the-content), then that is worth contacting the editor about. But if you simply want to discuss the paper, the editor will likely view your request as not worth their time. They have already given you their comments on the paper, in the form of a rejection decision: in other words, the editor does not consider your paper appropriate for publication in the journal, and a discussion is not going to change that.
I also think asking for suggestions on how to improve the paper would be inappropriate, because you have already been given suggestions, in referee #2's report. My advice: make the improvements suggested by referee #2 and try submitting the paper to a different journal where it might be a better fit.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: No, you should probably not contact the Associate Editor.
First off, referees do not generally make decisions about accepting or rejecting a paper. Referees make recommendations to associate editors and editors, and they, in turn, make decisions. Thus, the associate editor who was cc'ed on the email to you is probably the decision-maker who read the reports from the referees and decided to turn down the paper. This person also knows who the referees were, and is in a situation where this input can be appropriately scaled by the referees review history, level of experience, etc. For what its worth, I consider it bad form when refereeing to make my recommendation known to the author. I give an honest assessment, describe my issues, and then make my recs to the editors in the appropriate fields. (I also make it my personal policy for manuscripts, at least, to never say anything that I wouldn't say to the authors face)
There may be check boxes in the reviews that you aren't privy to. Even your reviewer who seemed to recommend acceptance may not have been all that enthusiastic about it, or may not have thought the paper to be very important.
You should make use of the feedback you got, which suggested that there was too much similarity with another paper of yours. You should make the paper clearer as to what the new findings are. Take a step back and determine if, given the magnitude of this extension, is this worthy of a full paper, or perhaps the field would be better served by some sort of short report. Then pick the appropriate venue for publication.
There are some legitimate cases where you might drop the editor a note. Certainly, if something "very wrong" happened during the review process, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. My experience is that this is rare, and most reviews are fine.
Your most productive action at this point would be to discuss the reviews with a mentor.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/08/07 | 6,347 | 26,593 | <issue_start>username_0: I enrolled at my current MSc in computer science program last year having never completed a single computer science course in college. I decided to apply because 10 years after college I had a fairly successful career as a front-end web developer and figured it would be great to have a degree so as to look like a more legitimate programmer than what my anthropology B.A. degree might imply. I had taken several math and physics courses in college and did well, so I figured a computer science degree could be manageable.
Now, it's been over a year since my program started (I attend part-time). I dropped a core class in basic algorithms in my first semester because I couldn't understand algorithms and decided to enroll in the same course offered this summer. I'd hoped to do well this summer, but it looks like if I pass I'd be just barely scraping by. It feels like everyone is doing much better than me and can solve problems faster and more accurately. If you were me would you quit the program? I'm not sure if it is:
* a lack of a background in undergraduate computer science
* the fact that I am an older student who is nearly 40
* a lack of aptitude for this subject
Any thoughts from others in computer science, engineering, and mathematical sciences would be much appreciated.
EDIT: It's been 7 months since I posted this and I've realized the problem. Front-end web development quite frankly is *nothing* like computer science. Many concepts in my basic algorithms course requires a good grasp of recursion, which I didn't have before entering the program. All the programming I had done in the past was iterative. Once I was able to understand and (more importantly) correctly apply recursion to everything from Towers of Hanoi to dynamic programming the algorithms course got much easier. To anyone starting graduate school in computer science--never underestimate the importance of recursion! Even if you think you understand it, test yourself with other students to make sure your understanding is solid!
More generally, my advice to anyone starting out in computer science is to figure out what it is you are weak at and work to get stronger in it. That can be hard to do initially if you are overwhelmed by the material and everything just appears really difficult, but talk to your professor and ask him or her to help identify your areas of weakness, never give up, and you will be able to master the material soon.
Btw, I did take a one year Intro to CS course for students without engineering/math backgrounds, but it mostly focused on object-oriented programming and glossed over recursion.<issue_comment>username_1: First, talk to your advisor. He/She would know your situation much better than us.
I would not quit right now if I were you. I think quitting now is a premature decision. I think it is understandable that you cannot catch up very fast especially you attend only part time. You probably should take lower level courses (probably undergrad level) to refresh the knowledge you acquired 10 years ago. If you still cannot do them very well, then consider to quit.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds like you fell into a couple of common traps at the same time.
**Trap 1:**
*I am good at front-end web development, I am surely good at computer science as well*
As you likely learned by now, it is possible (quite common, actually) to be a terrific *programmer* and still struggle with fundamental CS topics, such as algorithms. There may have been a time when programming was really applied algorithms, but today the skills required to write your average web application is relatively disjoint from what you learn in CS 101.
**Trap 2:**
*I did decent in (undergrad) maths and physics courses, surely those (master) CS courses will be ok.*
This is a combination of multiple fallacies I have seen. Firstly, you may have not taken into account that master-level CS courses are, well, for students on master-level. They assume a strong command of the basics, which, by the sound of it, you lack. Further, doing ok in maths and physics is a good indicator that you'll do well in maths and physics, it by no means qualifies you directly for a CS master.
**Trap 3:**
*I know what I need to know, I just applied to the master because I need a better degree.*
You say that:
>
> [I] figured it would be great to have a degree so as to look like a more legitimate programmer than what my anthropology B.A. degree might imply
>
>
>
I find this statement very concerning, as it seems you are more interested in getting a degree than in learning CS. If that is the case, you should seriously reconsider whether the degree is actually worth the trouble. Frankly, for most programming houses I am in contact with, 10 years of experience count for more than a master's degree anyway.
**Now to answer your concrete question:**
>
> If you were me would you quit the program? I'm not sure if it is a lack of a background in undergraduate computer science, the fact that I am an older student who is nearly 40, or a lack of aptitude for this subject.
>
>
>
I would not assume that you are just "not good enough", and the age shouldn't really be an issue either. It definitely sounds like you are lacking background, and the fact that you are doing the master part-time surely isn't helping either. All in all, that does not make for very favorable conditions.
username_1 but you can tell whether you should quit, but given the information, I would re-evaluate whether (a) a master is achievable for you, and (b) whether getting a master's degree is actually worth it for you.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: I think the lack of background is a huge factor.
I *already have* a master's in mathematics, graduated 14 years ago. I'm certain I couldn't do a master's in mathematics now without going back over undergraduate material first. I'm fairly sure that revisiting that material would take rather more than just the spare time that I have left over after doing a master's in the spare time from my job. Of course mathematics isn't the same as CS, but I think the same consideration would apply.
Doing OK in maths and physics at undergraduate level *might* have prepared you somewhat for a CS master's (although like everyone says, it's by no means guaranteed to be enough). But 10 years is long enough to forget even what you had, quite aside from the fact that what you had was a few courses rather than the syllabus of a mathematics major. It's not just the content of the course (most of mathematics is irrelevant to CS), it's the mindset of "being a mathematician" and "doing mathematics formally" that's similar to the formality required in your course, but is mostly absent from everyday apps programming. If you're anything like me, you have to some extent forgotten how to operate in the necessary mode, it no longer comes naturally.
As a test, take a look now at the harder mathematics and physics problems from the courses you took. Can you site down and do them now with anything like the ease you did then? Even with an "open book" to look up definitions you don't recall? If not, then you're less prepared for CS now than you were then, and like everyone says you weren't fully prepared then.
I think your best source of information is whoever decided you were qualified for the course. They must have thought you could get up to speed. Check with your professors whether you've done the sorts of things they think you would have to do to prepare, and whether that preparation is feasible on your schedule. Until you deal with the lack of background I don't think there's any way to tell whether you lack aptitude.
Age shouldn't inherently be a problem, since people take degrees in all subjects at all ages. However, your life being full of other stuff *is* an obstacle to some extent. Part of the reason I was much better at mathematics 15 years ago than I am now, is that 15 years ago I did it every day, usually for several hours. So I was simply in a better position to accept information delivered in a "mathsy" way, which I think CS courses basically are. No doubt there's material out there specifically intended for part-time students, that could help you attain and maintain "the zone".
>
> I can't understand recursive equations like how you construct
> T(n)=log(n)+O(1) from an algorithm
>
>
>
If explanations that work for your colleagues don't work for you then you might consider one-to-one tutoring. Naturally that's extremely expensive, but if the class hears "and then throw the Master theorem at it" and knows what that means and how to fill in the details, and you don't, then clearly they have background you don't and so you need things filled in that they don't.
>
> If you were me would you quit the program?
>
>
>
If I were you I would probably be asking the university (a) whether there's anything else I can work towards with the course credits I have, (b) whether there's an approved means to take the program more slowly, giving more time to fill in any missing background as I go. I have no idea what the answers would be, but I'd want to know my options before seriously thinking about quitting.
If it's just this one course (admittedly an important one, presumably other courses later require it) then it's entirely possible that you'll crack it eventually. There was one undergraduate course that I repeated (informally: my problems weren't being graded the second time) even after completing it the first time to what would have been a passing standard if my university worked that way (not in the US). It was *way* easier after that. You've seen some of this course twice, but some of it not at all (since you dropped it the first time and haven't reached the end this time). Personally I wouldn't do anything hasty until I'd at least reached the end of the course once. And if you scrape a pass that doesn't mean you can't visit the tougher material at the end a second time, and the early material a third. Although presumably if you wanted to be re-graded you'd have to formally enroll in the class yet again?
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: **Survival guide from someone who's been in your situation**
I think you're getting many discouraging comments here which doesn't help you a lot. You already know you don't have the best possible qualifications, you don't need people reminding you. The question is, *what can you do about it?*
I'm a CS major, but I started out as a physics undergrad. I had the kind of courses you're talking about, multivariate calculus etc. This means that when I had my algorithms course (following the same book as your course), I hadn't had any discrete math at all.
The discrete math helps you understand the data structures. The data structures are used when implementing the algorithms.
Proof techniques from discrete math helps you understand the correctness and runtime complexity of an algorithm.
Even though having a vast knowledge of (discrete) math would aid your understanding of algorithms, it is a great overstatement to imply that you can't get by without it. I picked up all these things during my algorithms course. If I, like you, had asked people whether I should quit because I had zero knowledge of graphs and trees prior to taking the course, I would probably have received discouraging comments as you do now. As it happens, I got a perfect score for the course because I studied hard at exactly what the exam demanded. I rehearsed every single proof in the syllabus (mine was an oral exam).
I don't know what type of exam you're up against, but I suggest you narrow down the syllabus as much as possible, and concentrate only on what you're supposed to know that will *get you to pass*.
'Introduction to algorithms' is a very comprehensive book and there's a lot of stuff in there you don't need. A lot of people here are perfectionists and think you ought to know everything, I've even seen someone here suggesting you should know Lagrangian mechanics, I really don't see the relevance of that at all. This is not a physics course.
Finally I'd like to add a comment about recurrences T(n). This can be hard to understand because the book doesn't give you an exact recipe for this.
It's helpful to think of the recurrence relation T(n) as the behavior of the problem. The problem is the input to the algorithm and is expressed in terms of n - the size of the problem.
Example: I assume you're familiar with Mergesort. With the algorithm Mergesort you take the problem n and divide it into two equally large problems (you can tell from looking at the algorithm). These problems are half the size of the original problem, so you get a recurrence that says
T(n) = 2T(n/2) + O(n)
The recurrence basically says that the problem starts out as n and then becomes two problems of half size, which the algorithm is then applied to (hence the T). (You might notice then, that the recurrence relations are only applied to recursive algorithms). The O(n) expresses the linear cost it takes to merge the two problems together once they have been solved (because we know this is performed by the subroutine Merge). This step is not recursive, as it is performed after the problem has "come back" from being recursively solved.
So as you can see, the recurrence relation is gleaned from looking at the algorithm. The relation is then solved by either the master theorem or the substitution method or gleaned from drawing a graph of the recursions (recursion tree) and then proved rigorously with the substitution method.
The solution will tell you the nature of the runtime, i.e.: If you increase the size n of the problem, how much do you increase the runtime?
For Mergesort the answer is Theta(n log n) which means that the increase in runtime will be a function of the type f(n) = n log n. You compare runtimes by looking at the steepness of the slopes of these functions. If the runtime is Theta(2^n) then the slope will be extremely steep, and the time it takes to run the algorithm will increase very fast, so the algorithm is said to be very slow.
This is the answer you're looking for when you construct the recurrence.
And finally: don't despair, it might seem very difficult at times, but you'll probably be closer to understanding than you think.
A very good tool for me was to watch the lectures on algorithms and datastructures from the MIT opencourseware.
<http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-006-introduction-to-algorithms-fall-2011/lecture-videos/>
and
<http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-046j-introduction-to-algorithms-sma-5503-fall-2005/video-lectures/>
Good luck!
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: I am mildly confused about where you started with your Masters? But here's my experience as someone in similar shoes.
I have an undergrad degree in Political Science but wanted to pursue a Master's in CS. In order to do this I had to start from the ground up and delayed my undergrad graduation to take the prereq classes for the Masters. Now here's the thing for anyone: getting into CS late in the game is hard. You have had no experience whereas others have had ample (as so many are coming from either being self taught or seeing it in high school).
Learning CS can be daunting and I would guess from what you said your job is that you don't realize a fundamental thing about programming, and that's to make it easier for other programmers. From what I've seen of many web based programming is that there's a lot of backdoor programming going on. That's not a bad thing but as others have pointed out, programming is different than CS.
To be honest, this sounds like a personal choice and not really heavy on pros and cons that aren't personal. You aren't getting it because you're out of options, because you've always wanted to learn it or because your job demands it. You're going because you think it might help you on paper. i'm not saying that's a bad reason, but it certainlt isn't helpful in the motivation category.
I've known a lot of people getting their BS in CS and they suck at it. They fail at almost every class (or just barely scrap by). But man are they still sticking with it (for better or worse, who really knows). So what I'm saying is, your not alone in finding a CS topic hard or confusing. It's more, is it really worth the effort for you at the end of the day?
Oh, one last thing, are you afraid to ask questions being a more senior member of the class? Do you just sit there hopelessly but afraid that everyone knows more than you? If so, stop that. They don't know more than you and quite possibly don't get it even worse. Go back to 20 year old you in undergrad, what would you do then? You would talk to your classmates and teacher to get a better understanding. If you do this already then good for you, but if not, you might just be surprised about where you actually stand in the class. (I've had classes where just scrapping by is considered an achievment as there is a tramendious failure rate)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think first you need to start taking the subject seriously.
> I had heard that CS is mostly math, so was under the (mistaken) impression that doing well in math means doing well in CS.
That's like "I had heard that basketball is mostly running, so was under the (mistaken) impression that doing well in running means doing well in basketball".
Yes, you'll need your running. No, it does *not* at all save you from training like the others. Because everyone *knows* it to be a prerequisite.
>
> I had a fairly successful career as a front-end web developer and figured it would be great to have a degree so as to look like a more legitimate programmer than what my anthropology B.A. degree might imply.
>
A front-end web developer qualifies you for a computer science degree like typing 100 words per minute qualifies you for a typewriter mechanic.
>
> If you were me would you quit the program?
>
Before quitting, it might be worth checking what it would take to *start* for real. Only *then* are you in a situation to judge whether the effort is feasible/possible for you and worth it. For a programming job, a CS degree is of somewhat marginal value.
For a programming job in Scheme, I'd probably look and interview carefully before making a decision between someone with a degree in ancient Greek and Arabic or in Computer Science. Chances are that the former is so much better at thinking analytically and out of the box and not being scared of challenges that coming from an entirely different discipline is causing him less trouble than being schooled in a different programming language paradigm does the other.
Seriously. So if you are going to try doing a CS degree, don not make it about getting a degree. It is a completely different and new skill set. If you want to work in your current profession, you might not even be able to put it to much use.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: At the undergraduate level, "Data Structures and Algorithms" is typically the weed out course for our department. Students take it in their second year after having had intro to programming. The sorts of problems you encounter in that course will help you reason about coding, however it's very possible to work in front end web development without encountering them. Typically, the place where this sort of logic is most useful is in the backend not the display layer.
The graduate version of that course is likely to be the hardest course you have to deal with and the most unfamiliar to your skill set. It's also one of the few places where a firm understanding of discrete math is going to be very helpful. It's very common for Graduate students arriving from other disciplines or universities that did not cover this well to have trouble with this course. Frequently the solution is to have them audit the undergraduate course first.
As for whether you should continue, If you find that after some experience you are interested in "data structures and algorithms" and "formal languages and automata", then a theory focused computer science degree may be interesting to you. If you don't, then focusing on management relevant courses like software engineering may be interesting to you. If you're in this program because you want to learn more for your own sake, that's great you will get out of it what you put into it. If you're in this program for career advancement, this degree might help you land management level positions but will have little or no effect on your ability to find developer level positions for frontend work. It may open up some new opportunities for back-end work, however if that's your interest the certificate route might be a lot cheaper and faster for you. As a developer, your 10 years experience is far more valuable than a masters in cs.
If you have not already, I recommend taking the undergraduate discrete math, undergraduate data structures and algorithms, and undergraduate formal languages courses before continuing with the hard subjects in computer science. If you need to take some graduate level courses at the same time, take some soft subjects like software engineering which will likely be much more familiar to you.
Also, while the coursework for algorithms is fairly well defined, not all books are equal. I recommend <http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/introduction-algorithms>.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Had to leave a separate answer because I don't have enough rep to put it as a comment on @username_4's answer.
First, I salute you on your attempts to become a *proper* programmer ;)
Second, I want to scotch some of the BS that other's have written:
1. You do not **need** an undergrad degree in CS, **unless the course says that you do**. Many Masters courses are **designed** to accept cross-discipline students, which yours **clearly** is, as it wouldn't even *have* a DS&A module if it weren't!
2. Age probably isn't a major factor. Yes, neuroplasticity drops as you get older, but all that means is that you need to work harder **not** that you can't do it. Certainly, I've found that there are things that I can understand intuitively now that I couldn't when I was younger. Also, if you have a settled/stable home life and job, that's going to put you at a massive advantage compared to many, as anxiety is the biggest blocker to learning you can get.
It smells to me like you've got two separate things working against you:
1. You're doing part-time.
2. You're *worrying* about passing; about whether you can do it.
Part-time is ++hard (see what I did there? ;) ) - **the** most valuable resource you have at university are your peers. I found that just having other people to talk about stuff with helped me enormously both in improving my understanding and consolidating my knowledge as well as building my confidence.
So, my #1 tip to **anyone** undertaking a university-level course is: find people on your course(s) that you get along with and build relationships with them around the work. Don't worry about 'the age thing', worry about if those people help you understand what's going on or not.
Also, don't worry about asking someone 'super clever' for help - you'll actually be doing them a *favour* by getting them to explain it to you in a way that you can understand. Sounds strange, I know, but having to explain something to someone (who may or may not be as clever as you), **forces** you to understand your subject better; to organise your own thoughts. I'm sure you know from your real-world experience, that being 'good' and 'clever' isn't enough - you *have* to be able to communicate your ideas to others and work collaboratively, because interesting software is non-trivial and non-trivial software is too big & complex for one person to do on their own.
Worrying about succeeding or not will always hold you back. It's something that I've struggled with many times.
One strategy I found works for me, is to just focus on learning *stuff*; just learn *anything* that's related to the course. Read for the sheer hell of it! Focus on the stuff that you find interesting. And write lots of code.
By focusing on *just learning* you'll get much more out of the time you put in and you'll be more satisfied with what you've learnt. True, it may not help you pass your course, but chances are, it will, because when you've got back into the habit of just learning stuff, you'll find it easier to learn the stuff you need to pass.
Another strategy is to *write more code*. One thing I definitely didn't do enough of as an undergrad, was write enough code. This is particularly important for stuff like DS&A - the only way to get really familiar with an algorithm or with things like pointer manipulation, is to do it. Lots.
If you can do it and can explain how it works, then you understand it.
This should be where your broader experience comes in; you've got 10 years experience of writing code, so you've no doubt picked up lots of techniques and skills that will help you. Use them!
Use things like dry-running (something that I don't think is taught much these days, but it's still a fantastic tool, particularly for learning DS&A) and/or interactive debugging to step through your execution.
The third technique I found really helpful is mind-mapping. I used it as a way to fill the gaps in my knowledge, by breaking a topic into its constituent parts, exploring the things I didn't understand and then return to the parent topic while this new knowledge was fresh in my mind.
For example (sorry, no pictures), the subject of 'linked lists' might decompose into:
* list
* pointers
* head
* tail
* dynamic memory allocation
I'd then look at each of these and ask myself "do I *know* what each of these is?" If the answer is 'yes', then I move on, if 'maybe', I check my knowledge against Google, if 'no', then I create a separate sheet and work on it until I do (decomposing further as necessary). That way, the next time I'm coming to a subject I and I see "linked list", I will either:
* know what a linked list is and how it works; or
* have a good set of notes that I can quickly use to refresh my memory
Again, practice, practice, practice. The more code you write and have to debug, the better you'll get to understanding what's going on.
This turned into a much longer answer than I'd intended, but I do hope you find it useful.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/08/07 | 1,268 | 5,383 | <issue_start>username_0: I graduated from my undergrad program last December. My grades and GRE scores are good but my school is relatively unknown. I don't really have research in the sense that I haven't published anything, and I don't believe anything I've done to be particularly novel. The school I went to was a teaching college, there wasn't a strong emphasis on research.
That said, I have been known (as my recommendation-writing professors will surely vouch) to do projects wherein I pick a topic, read a bunch about it, and then implement what I've read about. At present, I'm writing a ray-tracing renderer, and I plan to implement a lot of advanced features by the time I actually apply to grad school, such as photon mapping and an BVH data structure. I also plan to implement a few more shiny bells and whistles based on techniques I've read from different SIGGRAPH papers, but I don't believe I will be doing anything that no one else has done before, especially in the 4 months left until my application is submitted.
For what it's worth, however, this project is 100% my own. I never took a graphics class while in college. I work 40 or more hours a week a software developer, and I do most of my work by waking up at 5:30AM and working until I start work at 9. I do most of my research (into papers and topics) when I get home, and during the work day when I have a few minutes.
My question is, how valuable is the information I just listed? Does the attitude demonstrated above make up for the fact that I don't really have terribly original research? What about the fact that my professors probably aren't that well known?
This applies mostly to the top tier of schools. I will be applying to several non-elite schools as well, but it is with the top schools that I am most worried about my lack of research. Do I have even a small chance to get into a top school, or am I simply noncompetitive as a candidate?
-- As for work experience, I have 8 months of experience as an intern at a fairly high profile research institute, but the truth is the work they had me do while there really wasn't research. My current job is developing mobile applications and websites. I find it very underwhelming, and I imagine graduate schools will as well.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> How valuable is the information I just listed?
>
>
>
Very, since it shows that you are capable of reading and understanding the literature, and capable of implementing what you read (the true test of understanding).
>
> Does the attitude demonstrated above make up for the fact that I don't really have terribly original research?
>
>
>
I doubt that any faculty, anywhere, expects undergrad students to have published research. I think the attitude you describe is very valuable for grad school.
>
> What about the fact that my professors probably aren't that well known?
>
>
>
Well, having a famous professor vouch for you certainly counts for a lot. But not having that network at an undergraduate level shouldn't preclude you from getting into a good graduate course, especially if you have some nicely implemented projects up your sleeve.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I am coming from a very similar background (high performing student in an average CS program, with no formal lab experience). As far as your chances at a top program, [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26791/how-handicapped-am-i-in-graduate-admissions-if-i-graduated-from-a-lower-tier-uni) was recently discussed. I don't think anyone can say for sure except the committee members, but it's definitely possible.
I was accepted with a few independent research projects, none of which had any real "results". What I did (YMMV) was review the literature and come up with incremental modifications or advancements, or in one case an experiment for which the outcome was pretty obvious but which had never actually been performed.
In my interviews, the emphasis was not even the details of these projects, but how I could relate the skills I had gained to the topics my potential advisers were interested in. As Dylan mentioned, even top programs don't require that incoming students are already accomplished researchers (what would be the point of attending?) but that you show initiative and capacity for research.
My advice then, would be to use the 4 (+- 1) months you have until you submit to spin your implementations into independent research projects. Try to push just past the limits of the research you reviewed. If possible, you should document these projects by submitting technical reports somewhere (e.g. your undergrad dept. might be able to assign a technical report number and host the document).
But even if you can't do that, try to clarify in your own mind how the experience of independent study might have prepared you for research, so that you can communicate that effectively. Good luck!
Oh I almost forgot, everything I have ever read about non-research work experience indicates it's basically unimportant... however, if you happen to apply to non-CS programs that need programmers and you have work history showing your ability to build non-trivial programs it could be a significant advantage. This might backfire if your adviser wants you more as a programmer than a researcher, but nevertheless it could help you get in.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/08/07 | 583 | 2,437 | <issue_start>username_0: I looked around but did not find that anyone has asked this before, but what are the fonts that are standard/recommended while writing academic reports/papers?<issue_comment>username_1: If there's no template, then the choice is yours. However, you should make sure to pick a font that's easy to read. The usual standards in academia tend to be the Times, Helvetica/Arial, and Computer Modern families. This doesn't restrict you from using fonts like Book Antiqua, Myriad Pro, Goudy Old Style, or Garamond, but they're definitely not standard.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For an academic paper each publisher journal have their standards. These do not affect or are affected by the manuscripts sent in to the journal. Some journals specify fonts, commonly standard Times Roman, for their manuscripts. If the journal specifies something, follow that specification. Otherwise use a font that is easy to read. There is no need to use anything but a standard font for whatever typesetting/word processor system.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As others have mentioned, the standard font varies, but is usually a serif font such as Times New Roman, although sans serif fonts such as Arial and Helvetica seem to be gaining traction as well. Their is major disagreement over which is easier to read--serif or sans serif fonts, with no clear consensus on the outcome. For example, see [this paper](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=5701275453838264877&hl=en&as_sdt=0,39).
Font *size* is typically twelve point. Follow the guidelines on this one, and make sure to keep your font consistent. Nothing is more likely to get you minus points than some obvious monkeying with the font size, whether to lengthen your manuscript (most commonly seen in undergrad papers) or to fit your text into the page limit (the rest of us!).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: **There isn't any.**
Focus on the content, write using your favorite writing software's default font, and let the journal's typesetting staff worry about the looks of the published version.
For the subset of journals that do not take care of typesetting, first make sure they are legitimate, then use the template they provide.
If no template is provided discuss with your supervisor and colleagues whether the journal is really worth your time, if it is then use your favorite software's default font.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/07 | 774 | 3,261 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm currently an undergraduate, and I will finish my bachelors this coming spring. I've been looking at graduate programs, including one physical chemistry masters program in the Amsterdam. I found out that I'm visiting Amsterdam in less than a week, and I am now wondering if it would be appropriate for me to ask the program contact person if I can visit the campus and maybe talk to a professor or two about their research and the program.
I'm concerned because it is short notice, and I haven't started any application with the school. But, I would like to know if the school is a good fit. I don't live in Europe so this is my only opportunity to visit the campus in the foreseeable future.
Would it be appropriate for me to ask if I could visit the college/institute? Also, should I mention a few projects that caught my eye and ask to meet the professors in charge? If so, how would be the best way for me to phrase it?
Thank you for the input.<issue_comment>username_1: If you are going to be visiting the city anyways, there's nothing wrong with asking if you can visit the department. The worst-case scenario is that they will simply tell you, "no, it's not possible."
However, visiting the department and talking with staff and students there is often a good way to show your enthusiasm for applying to a particular program, and can help to set you apart from other applicants. I know that a student I supervised in research did something similar and ended up being admitted to the program (one of the few he was accepted to, in fact).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is totally appropriate and a great idea.
Simply send an email to the contact person (who may have a title like "graduate coordinator" or "graduate chair").
>
> My name is <NAME> and I'm a junior at the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople. I am interested in applying to your program next year. I will be in Amsterdam next week and was wondering if I might be able to meet with you or some of your colleagues to learn more about the program and some of the faculty's research.
>
>
>
They should certainly say yes unless there are some extenuating circumstances. Graduate programs are always eager to recruit students, especially in a case like this where it costs them nothing. They probably do these sort of meetings all the time, so it should not be much of an inconvenience for them, even on short notice.
They may also offer to set up a campus tour, arrange a meeting with one or more current grad students (very useful), and provide some information about living in Amsterdam.
If there are one or two professors whose research particularly interests you, you could send similar emails to them directly. (Mention that you are already getting in touch with the contact person, otherwise they will probably suggest that you do so.)
One final note: your phrasing "asking for a site visit" suggested at first that you were going to ask them to pay for the costs of your trip, which would be sort of an unreasonable request (it would be for them to offer if they wanted). Of course, that isn't what you meant, but you might just want to check your phrasing when you write your email.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2014/08/07 | 969 | 3,653 | <issue_start>username_0: Let's say that Jones and Smith publish a mathematical paper containing a result (Theorem 3.1, say,) which is said in that paper to be due to Smith alone but appears for the first time in her joint paper with Jones. How should I cite this result?
Here are a few examples of ways I might cite the result if Jones were *not* a co-author of the paper (for definiteness let's say the paper is number 7 in my bibliography):
1. "By a theorem of Smith [7, Theorem 3.1]..."
2. "Our argument is based on that of Smith [7, Theorem 3.1]..."
3. "...implies the hypothesis of Smith's theorem [7, Theorem 3.1]..."
How might I adapt these phrasings to the situation described above?<issue_comment>username_1: This is an unusual situation in mathematics: I'm not sure if I've ever seen a singly claimed theorem in a multiply authored mathematics paper except when the theorem has its provenance in explicitly mentioned earlier work of the single author. (I would be interested to see an example.) I'm pretty sure there is no "standard" answer.
One idea would be to bail out of listing either author's name: you could just say "Our argument is based on [7, Theorem 3.1]...." This is not ideal: I think that when you cite someone's work in a critical way then their name should appear in the text itself rather than be pointed to / abbreviated in the bibliographic citation. But this is not a hard and fast rule, so far as I know.
I suppose that if the paper itself says the theorem is due to Smith alone and not Jones-Smith, then you should attribute it that way in your writing. Thus all of your suggested phrasings seem appropriate to me. Readers who see "theorem of Smith [7, Theorem 3.1]" and then flip to the end to find a paper of Jones-Smith may be a bit surprised...but then they'll read the paper and see that you've reported the attribution as Jones and Smith themselves did.
If this is a really famous theorem then the community at large -- or even different portions of the community -- may have its own feelings about how to refer to it. (A vaguely similar instance in contemporary mathematics is that some people speak of Maynard's Theorem and others speak of Maynard-Tao...) In this case, by saying one thing rather than another you may be signalling some kind of political allegiance / personal fealty....Such issues are beyond the scope of this answer.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I would just cite it as "<NAME>" and not worry about it. The standard in math is to cite papers by their authors. If Smith wanted to be cited alone, she should have published the result herself.
I think this situation has some precedent in other fields. I might be wrong, but think some journals such as Nature (see <http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/#a5.5> "author contributions") make the authors disclose who did what. It does not mean that the paper needs to be cited differently depending on what part of it is used.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The examples you suggested are fine even when Jones is a coauthor of paper 7. In fact, I see it as the best way of conveying the information. I have seen such citation being adopted, e.g., in [this paper](http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1959/246). If you have access to it, see page 258, where the authors wrote
>
> ... in Budal’s original derivation [12, eqn (5.2)],
>
>
>
although the cited paper 12 is a two-author paper, as you may find in the references. In this example, one of the authors who cited paper 12 was a coauthor of that paper, so he knew that the derivation was due to Budal alone.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/07 | 877 | 3,442 | <issue_start>username_0: At my UK university all new teaching staff, as part of the requirements to fulfil the requirements for a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE), have their teaching observed by a member of their department, a member of another department, and a member of the Education Department (who run the PGCHE course). I don't understand the advantages of being observed by the three different people. What should I strive to get out of each observation?<issue_comment>username_1: This is an unusual situation in mathematics: I'm not sure if I've ever seen a singly claimed theorem in a multiply authored mathematics paper except when the theorem has its provenance in explicitly mentioned earlier work of the single author. (I would be interested to see an example.) I'm pretty sure there is no "standard" answer.
One idea would be to bail out of listing either author's name: you could just say "Our argument is based on [7, Theorem 3.1]...." This is not ideal: I think that when you cite someone's work in a critical way then their name should appear in the text itself rather than be pointed to / abbreviated in the bibliographic citation. But this is not a hard and fast rule, so far as I know.
I suppose that if the paper itself says the theorem is due to Smith alone and not Jones-Smith, then you should attribute it that way in your writing. Thus all of your suggested phrasings seem appropriate to me. Readers who see "theorem of Smith [7, Theorem 3.1]" and then flip to the end to find a paper of Jones-Smith may be a bit surprised...but then they'll read the paper and see that you've reported the attribution as Jones and Smith themselves did.
If this is a really famous theorem then the community at large -- or even different portions of the community -- may have its own feelings about how to refer to it. (A vaguely similar instance in contemporary mathematics is that some people speak of Maynard's Theorem and others speak of Maynard-Tao...) In this case, by saying one thing rather than another you may be signalling some kind of political allegiance / personal fealty....Such issues are beyond the scope of this answer.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I would just cite it as "<NAME>" and not worry about it. The standard in math is to cite papers by their authors. If Smith wanted to be cited alone, she should have published the result herself.
I think this situation has some precedent in other fields. I might be wrong, but think some journals such as Nature (see <http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/#a5.5> "author contributions") make the authors disclose who did what. It does not mean that the paper needs to be cited differently depending on what part of it is used.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The examples you suggested are fine even when Jones is a coauthor of paper 7. In fact, I see it as the best way of conveying the information. I have seen such citation being adopted, e.g., in [this paper](http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1959/246). If you have access to it, see page 258, where the authors wrote
>
> ... in Budal’s original derivation [12, eqn (5.2)],
>
>
>
although the cited paper 12 is a two-author paper, as you may find in the references. In this example, one of the authors who cited paper 12 was a coauthor of that paper, so he knew that the derivation was due to Budal alone.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/08/07 | 4,089 | 16,147 | <issue_start>username_0: **Question:** The [impostor syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) seems to be common in academia and there are quite a few questions about it. I wonder if there is something like the inverse impostor syndrome.
I'm not referring to the [Dunning–Kruger effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect), I don't feel particularly superior to anyone. That's not it. Metaphorically: I don't feel like I have a greater slice of cake because I don't see any cake, even though everybody speaks about how big, moist and delicious their slices are and how knowledgeable they are about cakes.
To me, **everybody feels like an impostor**. (And everything feels like a lie)
Is there a name for this feeling? I deeply and seriously wonder about how accurate and shared it may be, if it has a name then most likely I'm not alone in this and therefore maybe I would not be completely mistaken.
**End of the question.**
**Examples** (in case you need them, I work in computer science):
* Head of the department speaking about "big data" for an excel file of several megabytes.
* Planning setting the deadlines looking exclusively at the calendar (and not the work).
* Gantt where activity A ends before activity B starts. A requires B.
* Becoming an expert on a topic overnight because it's trendy and a buzzword.
* Correcting English grammar and paper structure, for the worse.
* Paper reporting evaluation results before any code has been written.
* Paper reporting evaluation results when the code does a different thing.
* Coauthoring a paper, without even laying their eyes on it.
* Directing a thesis, not checking the formulas, only the "easy" parts.
* A researcher makes the GUI, gets all the credit.
* Constant meetings with no agendas or minutes (or effects)
* Micromanaging without actual managing
* Powerpoint before actual research or Powerpoint instead any research
* Re-selling old ideas with new labels and minor cosmetic changes that are for the worse
* Most of the tweets with the tag #overlyhonestmethods. However that's being sloppy, I mean being an impostor, focusing solely on how things look because:
+ Doing some research formally (writing proofs) and empirically (developing a system and testing it with a benchmark, creating a benchmark!) and writing about it on a paper takes much longer than
+ Writing some fiction on a paper, which anyway takes much longer than
+ Subliminally collaborating on a paper and putting your name in it.
BTW: one of the problems why there are so many impostors (as I see it) is that open source code is not requested.<issue_comment>username_1: My two cents: Academia is a very competitive field. Many smart people have to compete for a small number of opportunities, such as (but not limited to) funding, grants, positions, publications on prestigious journals etc. In such a highly competitive environment it is partially necessary to oversell yourself (and your team's) abilities and the importance of your research, otherwise better "salesmen" might easily steal your "spotlight", even when their research might be less significant (according to who is another question) than yours. Of course the more important your research is and the more prestigious your position is and the more weight you carry in the scientific community, allows you not always having to oversell yourself and your abilities. But for the most of us who do not belong to those chosen few, networking, connections and advertising our work is certainly necessary in most of the cases.
In this scenario, how much each one of us oversells himself is a question of personal ethics, upbringing and aspirations. Many go overboard and might fit the negative scenarios you describe. But this type of behavior is not Academia specific and the world is full of such people in any profession. This is a fact of life and you have to "deal with it". In some cases, it is useful that such people actually exist for you to realize what not to become and who you really want to be.
But as a friendly advice, you also need to to calm and vent down. Focus on the positive aspects of life and your work and make your own rules on how you play the game. If your working environment is toxic, minimize its effects by living a full, meaningful life outside Academia. Our work is only a part of who we are and in the long run and there are many more important things in life.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I have on occasion felt the same myself (sometimes still do), and know of many disillusioned PhD students who felt exactly like that. There are dark moments in the night, when you are wondering whether funding for CS will be cut down entirely eventually, when funding agencies also get to the conclusion that CS is one big science of imposters.
However, what you need to realize is that this **is in fact impostor syndrome** - only that you are not comparing yourself to your peers, but rather you *and* your peers to e.g., other sciences. However, the reason why it happens are the same: you have unrealistically high expectations of the research community, which it cannot possibly live up to in reality. You know the shortcomings of your community all too well, but do not have enough insight to see that other research communities or professions are also far from perfect. Yes, all the crap you mention happens on occasion, but guess what? We are all human, so it is simply unrealistic to assume that every professor will always be a good manager (or even a decent human being), that every dean will always still be an active and good researcher, or that every paper is always published with the most noble intentions.
I should also mention that your conclusion that, if you are not alone in this feeling, you surely need to be right, is fundamentally flawed. History has shown all over again that *many* people can be wrong in the same way at the same time.
**Edit:**
By the way, I think your question title is wrong. The opposite of the impostor syndrome is, as you say, more or less the Dunning–Kruger effect. What you are referring to is not the opposite.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: A literal answer to a literal form of the question ("is there a name for this?") is "jumping on a bandwagon". :)
CompSci obviously has the blessing/burden of the internet. Probably the only other things equally over-hyped (!?!) are gambling, porn, and various fraud possibilities. The only "completely legal" one of these four is CompSci... but the pressures to fudge are amazingly great.
A comparable bandwagon-corruption (at least in the U.S.) was/is "basic science", esp. math and physics, after WWII, where the "bandwagon" was that this would "save us from the commies" (because building The Bomb had ended WWII... crypto was still secret). So then we had the NSF (National Science Foundation) throwing money at people in math and physics for a while... so NSF funding became a test of credibility, and often at R1 universities nowadays it's impossible to get tenure if y're not vetted by the NSF. But there's not enough money to go around, etc. Unsurprisingly, the NSF has evolved into (pardon my saying-so...) an intensely bureaucratic entity, decisions made in ever-deteriorating fashion.
Similarly, not everyone can successfully author a video-game or internet-app or ... "Market saturation" is another very-relevant descriptor in such situations.
"People tend to jump on(to) band-wagons."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It is called realistic worldview or healthy criticism. Once one has a sufficient impressive publication list and good political sense, academia can be a very nurturing place for laud incompetence. A friend of mine called it "<NAME>" referring said authors competence in philosophy.
One problem is the hero worship: "If someone is smart / talented than she/he is competent in anything". At a (or more like beyond) career point most people in academia really believe this and applies to themselves as well as other people judged.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> Is there a name for this feeling?
>
>
>
If there was a name for this feeling, that would imply that this interpretation was just a feeling and wasn't real (and that impostors are not the norm in your field).
You don't believe that your feeling is wrong? Do you?
The actual term you're looking for is probably [cargo cult](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult) worshipers and that's not the feeling you have, but the label you'd use to describe the impostors in your field. <NAME> even coined the term "cargo cult science", which would imply that he found the majority in such a science to be negligent and most of them potential impostors.
See this entry in Wikipedia on [cargo cult](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult):
>
> The metaphorical use of "cargo cult" was popularized by physicist
> [<NAME>](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman) at a 1974 Caltech commencement speech, which later
> became a chapter in his book [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surely_You%27re_Joking,_Mr._Feynman!), where
> he coined the phrase ["cargo cult science"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_science) to describe activity that
> had some of the trappings of real science (such as publication in
> scientific journals) but lacked a basis in honest experimentation.
>
>
>
See his explanation:
>
> Following is an excerpt from speech (taken from the book).
>
>
> In the South Seas there is a cargo cult of people. During the war they
> saw airplanes land with lots of good materials, and they want the same
> thing to happen now. So they've arranged to imitate things like
> runways, to put fires along the sides of the runways, to make a wooden
> hut for a man to sit in, with two wooden pieces on his head like
> headphones and bars of bamboo sticking out like antennas--he's the
> controller--and they wait for the airplanes to land. They're doing
> everything right. The form is perfect. It looks exactly the way it
> looked before. But it doesn't work. No airplanes land. So I call these
> things cargo cult science, because they follow all the apparent
> precepts and forms of scientific investigation, but they're missing
> something essential, because the planes don't land.
>
>
>
I suppose that term "cargo cult" could be used as a qualifier for many different areas. For instance, if one was so inclined, one could say "cargo cult academia", or "cargo cult business", and so on...
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: There actually specific terms/descriptions for what you are experiencing. A few of them are "becoming jaded", "cynical", or - depending on what connotation you'd prefer - "being a realist". This isn't rare, and in general is a side effect of increasing knowledge and experience.
The impostor syndrome and Dunning-Kruger effect is all about a false, biased impression of reality. If you have simply become a cynic, this can become a bias where you come to just assume - and automatically perceive - everyone to be full of it, regardless of whether or not they are.
I have found as I get older and learn more about the world I have to actively fight this bias and assumption that everyone else is full of it, for a simple and all too common reason: people are in fact very often full of it. But let's look at why:
1) As humans we usually do not know what we do not know.
2) Being wrong actually feels exactly like being right, all the way to the very instant we realize our wrongness.
3) There is so much to know about the world that even the most brilliant of us can know only a tiny fraction of what there is to know.
4) The world is complicated and difficult to predict.
5) We have very limited knowledge and ability to predict things, yet we must try to be the masters of our fate and make decisions anyway.
6) Our very physical bodily makeup causes us to be drawn to confidence, and it is often easier to be confident when one knows little. In the words of <NAME>, "The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt."
7) Bluffing can be a highly effective real-world strategy ("faking it" is often a highly profitable strategy).
...and more.
One of the "treatments" for this bias, if you will, is to remind yourself that while all the above is true, it is just as true of ourselves as it is of others. Most material in the world might very well be chaff, but sometimes you find something of great value, and it isn't good to just plug one's ears and believe nothing or to believe everything.
In other words, work towards a healthy skepticism instead of biased cynicism.
Another issue, dealing with #3 above, is as one learns one quickly develops knowledge that is greater in that specific area then the vast majority of living people. As a simple example, a basic undergraduate course in statistics can give you greater understanding of stats and probability than over 95%+ of all people in the entire world (if you pay attention and think about the material, anyway). With such training you almost immediately notice that nearly every use of statistics in mass media (to say nothing of politics) is wrong, biased, an outright lie, and is at least fundamentally unreliable.
This applies to all of your bullet examples. If we assume most human skills and traits are normally distributed, it suddenly becomes no surprise that most people (managers or otherwise) aren't very good leaders, aren't remarkably honest, tend to exaggerate or make stuff up, and so on.
However, this is all very much the reason why we have science in the first place: to err is human, and oh how oft we err. If we weren't so prone to such errors, we wouldn't need specially developed methods refined over many, many years to help us move towards correctness.
I personally feel that much of the reason for doing science is precisely this realization that most of what we know and believe is probably wrong - and if we are right about anything, it's mostly an accident. And anyone who pretends otherwise is full of it, whether they know it or not - and that includes me, too.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: False humility.
>
> deprecating one's own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments
> for the sake of receiving praise or adulation from others - [Wikipedia on Humility](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humility)
>
>
>
The "impostor" doesn't realize how awesome they are, and downplays themselves. When you see that you are smarter and more aware than those around you, but choose to not see this, that is exactly what impostor syndrome is.
[From Wikipedia:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome)
>
> The impostor syndrome (also spelled imposter syndrome), sometimes
> called impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome, is a psychological
> phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their
> accomplishments. Despite external evidence of their competence, those
> with the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not
> deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed
> as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they
> are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to
> be.
>
>
>
In your case, you go on to consider that the others around you should know better. And because you don't accept and represent your true nature that is "smarter"/"more aware" than those around you, you become an impostor like them.
In effect, it is two sides of the same coin. You're looking at those around you as being on one side of the coin, and you on another. The truth is that you're both the same coin.
We are brought up to believe that it is "good" or "right" to be humble. And to an extent, this is truth. I'm not arguing that. However, it seems that you've taken this point to the extreme where you're now falsely humble.
*It is false humility that is the impostor you are looking for.*
Upvotes: 2 |
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