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2016/01/05
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an undergraduate and currently applying to summer research programs that ask for letters of recommendation. Last summer, I did research at a university with a professor who I'm planning on asking for a letter. He mentioned how he would like more people who are studying computer science to apply to his summer program, so I was thinking of telling him after the request for the letter that as a token of my appreciation, I would be happy to encourage people in the computer science department to apply to the program.
Another professor who I was considering asking is thinking of teaching a course in the fall that I want to take. I was also thinking of asking him following the request for the letter of recommendation about whether he is still planning to teach the course and that I would like to take that course with him in the fall.
My intention is to give something to get something even if both professors would most likely write me a letter regardless of whether or not I "offered" them something in return. Are these things that most professors would appreciate, or do they sound too business-like and Machiavellian (in that they are part of an email asking for a letter of recommendation)? Should I just straight up ask for the letters?<issue_comment>username_1: Just straight up ask for the letter. There is no need to "pay back" with some favor. Writing letters of recommendation is part of a supervisor's job. However, it would be wise to include in your email:
1. Position description so they can describe the most applicable aspects of your prior work in their letter
2. Ask if they would be willing to write a "positive letter of recommendation" because if it is not positive, they should not write it
3. Information about: where to send the letter, to whom it should be addressed, and the date when the letter is due
4. Ask if they would like you to send a reminder email 2 weeks and also 2 days prior to the letter of recommendation due date
Additionally, if it has been some time since you spoke to this person or you do not know if they remember you, include your latest CV or Resume with your email. You should never have to draft your own letter of recommendation. I highly look down on this practice, though you may encounter it.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I wouldn't include anything that smelled of a tit-for-tat in your request. It's unbecoming of you and insulting to the professor.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: To take a slightly different tack from other commenters: I completely agree that you **should not** make it sound like you are trying to trade a favor for the letter. That is not how things work, and would come across as insulting (or more likely, just silly).
That said, your professor, like you, is an ape, and likes to be groomed. There's nothing wrong with combining your request with positive sentiments that will have the professor thinking favorable thoughts while also thinking about you. So in the first case you might say something like "I found last summer to be such a great experience that I'm applying for similar programs again for this summer..." and then do the brass tacks as username_1 says. Similarly, with the professor in your department, you can write out the email, and then add "P.S. I heard you were thinking about teaching course X next fall. It sounded pretty interesting. Are you still planning on it?"
Don't expect any remarkable results, but I don't think it's problematic to do so.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Offering something in return is a bad choice -- it smells of bribery and is insulting. Even worse, it's an insufficient bribe (not that I condone bribery, but if you do it, at least do it right). Seriously, in a way, the prof is vouching for you. You can't and shouldn't pay for that -- first no price is high enough and second, paying would completely remove any value of the recommendation (the person recommends you for your attitude/skills/etc, not because you did this person a favor).
**However, do what you wanted to do for the two profs (and yourself) anyway, just don't tell them about it. Don't even hint about it.**
This means:
* Recommend the summer program to others, but don't tell the prof about it and don't tell the students that you (also) did it to thank the prof. Do it because the summer program will likely be very well done and deserves more participants (if you think so; if you don't, then don't recommend the program -- you can't squander the time of other students to "reciprocate" a favor). If the students tell the prof that you recommended the summer program to them, that's fine, but don't force it. Telling the students to tell the prof that you recommended the program would make you appear very manipulative.
* Same with the course. Don't ask the prof whether he will give the course, find it out via the website. Don't announce your participation just take part in the course. And do a good job.
And if the apparent lack of reciprocity still bugs you, **pay it forward**. Come time, you will be in a position of doing something for others, perhaps including writing letters of recommendation. And if the person is good enough to deserve a recommendation, then do it.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/01/06
| 1,257
| 5,572
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<issue_start>username_0: I will be a teaching assistant for a couple of "tutorials" this semester. Basically, I just have a list of problems that we have to go over in the tutorial. Last semester, the Calculus for Engineering students were happy to participate, but the Calculus for Finance students were not. The only factor I can think of is that the Engineering students were more prepared. How can I get the students to participate? Should I just stall and not continue until someone raises their hand, and then they'll eventually get the message? Somehow I'm not sure that really works...<issue_comment>username_1: I often walk over to a randomly picked student and ask him/her a question. I do that randomly and unpredictably, including corners of the room or sides where students expect to be out of the action, and no student will stay inattentive. Under no circumstances belittle or ridicule, though, no matter how wrong they are, and if the student makes even a partial step in the right direction, give them credit for this. If they are stuck, you can then solicit help from others to further complete the answer.
For students avoiding your eyes, try to pick a question with unclear/ambiguous response. When you then ask the student, they are likely to respond with "I don't know" or similar, and you can then say that they are indeed right, that the answer is indeed unclear (and, of course, you discuss why). This gives them a confidence boost, and the next time you ask them they will be less worried to answer.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would tackle it by clearly defining (or even redefining) the term *participation*. Particularly I'd advocate for enhancing student's *engagement* rather than the traditionally defined participation.
Coming out to the board and writing down one's solution or answering the tutor's question on the spot is not the only way we can judge if someone is participating. If the Finance students are indeed less prepared, this is actually an intimidating experience for them, and can cause further withdrawal. Here I list some practices that I have tried and tested, there will be some over-generalizing so bear with me. In your situation the mileage will differ depending on how well you know your students.
First, **get them involved in deciding the format of the tutorial.** A good way is to send them a poll before or right after the first tutorial. Make the poll anonymous and ask them questions that can help you improve the teaching quality. For example, related courses they have taken, confidence in calculus, how they learn best, issues in the field of finance that interest them, preferred ways to participate (group discussion, showing answer anonymously, etc.)
Once you have the general gist, plan your format around it. You can alter your examples, your ways evaluating participation/engagement, etc.
For instance, **make your questions relevant** to their field of study. Sometime simply naming your variables with things that they are familiar with improves acceptance. If they are from the business school, **case study** instead of straight-up "please solve this" exercise would be a good and more familiar option. For example, you can present the challenge first, then data, then the formula. Try to make it as close to their future career experience as possible and this immersive approach may just interest them.
For less prepared students, you can consider group-work and group-self-teaching. For example, a mechanism called **jig-saw** may be a good choice. Let's say you have four questions and 16 students. Group them into four, and then have each group study one question and get that right. You can tour around and coach them. Then, reshuffle your group so that now the new group has one student from each of the questions (e.g. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 as a group) and each of them can take turn to explain his/her approach to the their group members. Each of them is still held accountable and the stake of massively embarrassing themselves is much lower.
Another group-based platform that may work well is **message-board**. Platforms such as [Piazza](https://piazza.com/) allows students to contribute to answer a question either with their name disclosed or anonymously. Instructor can then provide feedback. The math symbols may be harder to manage, but Piazza works with LaTeX so it's not that hard to master. You can consider **posting the question days before the tutorial** so that less confident students can do some extra preparation before meeting you. If coming up to the board and explain the answer is really your way of doing it, then you can also consider **assign the question to the students before hand** so that they can start working on the one they may be called upon to demonstrate.
There are easier twists and there are elaborated modifications. The overarching tactics can be summarized as:
1. Know the learning and communication traits of the generation and cohort you teach.
2. Write clear learning objectives and seek feedback on them from other experienced and reputable teachers.
3. Engage students flexibly rather than forcing them into a mold of "ideal student" that we or our teachers or our teachers' teachers once conceptualized.
4. Make their learning relevant and try your best to make them own their discovery.
5. Do not be afraid of setbacks. Changes do not always bring positive reactions, but they are crucial as our audience is ever-changing; the moment we stop trying new teaching methods is the moment we stop being a good teacher.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/06
| 531
| 2,190
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<issue_start>username_0: I received my undergraduate transcript with the fall semester grades a week back; I was wondering whether I should use it over an old transcript for my application to grad school in the US (top 10 in physics).
Reasons for sending old transcript (latest: spring grades from junior year):
* Spring semester showed good grades.
* Higher CGPA (+0.05 on a scale of 10.0).
* Subsequent fall semester shows a downturn in grades (-0.7 on a scale of 10.0).
Reason for sending new transcript (latest: fall grades from senior year):
* Shows advanced physics and math courses; I have talked a bit about these courses and a project in my Statement of Purpose.
One reason for the less than ideal performance in the fall semester is taking a lot of theory courses; however, I have not "explained" this in my SOP as there aren't any failing grades (or really poor performance).
Does the choice between the two transcripts really matter or am I overthinking this? If it matters, I am an international applicant from India.
P.S. I have completed the essential courses earlier so that is not a factor to be considered.
Edit: As pointed in a comment below, this question is not a duplicate as my grades are quite good (sorry for not mentioning this in the original post).<issue_comment>username_1: Generally the grad school you are applying will have guidelines on the specific transcripts to be sent. This will include *all* your previous grade cards including your high school and expect them to be checked thoroughly.
On an ethical point of view, hiding *relevant* information especially in *academia* for the sake of gaining a sweet spot is not advisable and most of the times are not going to pay well.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You should include the latest transcript. The reason is simple: that is now your true transcript, and replaces the prior transcript. If you don't include the most recent grades, then the universities where you are applying may wonder why: did you have terrible grades? Were you not attending classes at all?
Your current transcript is your transcript. Just include it, and don't play games about it.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/06
| 718
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<issue_start>username_0: I am proofreading a text where two authors are listed (one of which is the writer, and the other, apparently, only a "supervisor") and in reporting the author(s) use first person singular (instead of first person plural): I believe, I was surprised etc. I find this very illogical and was wondering whether there was a rule for this type of situation.
To be more specific: right below the title of the essay two authors are listed. However, in the introduction and in the conclusion, the author(s) say that "I was somewhat surprised..." and, towards the end, "it is hard for me to..." It seems illogical to me to list two authors and then report in the first person singular. When I suggested this be edited, they told me only "one person was the writer, while the other one was the supervisor".
What should be done in such a situation? Should the "supervisor" also be treated as one of the writers and verbs be written in plural, or should this person simply be removed from the list of authors regardless of his or her contribution?<issue_comment>username_1: Number in scientific writing is fairly straightforward:
* Multiple authors should be plural.
* Complementarily, a single author should be singular (except when speaking of author and reader together), but many academics are uncomfortable with this and end up either sort of doing a sort of "[royal we](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_we)."
The response of the authors seems to be asserting that the supervisor is not really properly an author. As such, I would suggest pointing them toward the [Vancouver Protocol](http://www.research.mq.edu.au/documents/policies/Vancouver.pdf) and giving them a choice:
* If the supervisor is really an author, the paper should be changed to plural.
* If the paper remains singular, the supervisor should be demoted from authorship to acknowledgement.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to @username_1's answer, I might suggest consulting the journal guidelines, or a field-specific style guide. Pulling my (now perhaps venerable) AIP Style Manual (1990 edition) from the shelf, I will quote (section 9(1), page 14):
>
> The old taboo against using the first person in formal prose has long been deplored by the best authorities and ignored by some of the best writers. "We" may be used naturally by two or more authors in referring to themselves; "we" may also be used to refer to a single author and the author's associates. A single author should also use "we" in the common construction that politely includes the reader: "We have already seen... ." But never use "we" as a mere substitute of "I," as in, for example, "In our opinion...," which attempts modesty and achieves the reverse; either write "my" or resort to a genuinely impersonal construction.
>
>
>
Clearly, for the American Institute of Physics, "we" should be the proper pronoun.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/06
| 1,683
| 6,373
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. student in Germany. For the past three years I have been paid by a scholarship grant. (The source of this grant and the subject I’m in is not of relevance. Consider it natural sciences.) This grant is now terminating after three years however I still have to write and hand in my thesis. The relevant university requires Ph.D. students to be properly enrolled, thus I qualify as a student.
I need to fill the gap between the end of the grant and having handed in my thesis in some way — I need food and to pay my flat’s rent. I am not entitled to *Arbeitslosengeld I* (unemployment benefits) because a grant is not considered an employment contract. And today I also heard that apparantly I am not entitled to *Arbeitslosengeld II* (social welfare benefits) either, because I am still enrolled as a student.
Is that piece of information correct? If that is the case, are there any social welfare benefits I can apply for? Or do I really need to rely on ‘rich parents’/savings?
---
Side notes:
Technically, my grant can be extended; however, I am unsure whether it will be or not. There is no way I can finish my thesis by the time the original grant ends and my supervisor does not have any spare money to finance me for the remaining time e.g. as a *wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft* (scientific helper).
I’m still checking with my university whether I actually must remain enrolled or not; please assume compulsory enrolment in your answers/comments.
So far in my life I have never paid into the unemployed insurance. Any student jobs I had gave too little salary.
In case it matters, I am a German national.<issue_comment>username_1: This is very normal to happen, you have three choices, which I would recommend the last two:
1. **Extend and Hope The Supervisor Comes Through**: Obviously you are extending your stay at the university, you can stay still and hope that your supervisor can find a funding somewhere, which is laying around, and then give it to you.
2. **Find a Job and Write Your Thesis**: Second choice is to go and find a job (postdoc or industry), since you are a German national, the world is your oyster. You do not need to waste time and energy for visa applications.
2.1 **Benefit**: You stack your experience, start earning based on years of education.
2.2. **Drawback**: You need to balance it out between your future job and writing your thesis.
***A Big Fat Alert***: The second option is the tricky one, not everyone can balance it out between a job and writing a thesis; and I know people who did fail their submission because they were too busy earning their living.
3. **Combination of the first two**: You can find a job at your university and then write the thesis at the same time.
**Main Benefit**: You can still discuss issues with your supervisor and be at the same environment until your submission.
**Conclusion**: You need to sit down and think about this very carefully, and then choose your option. Not the best scenario but it happens to many at the end of their third year period.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You could get a part time job.
There are some exceptions to this but usually you can keep your student status (e.g. with student tarif medical insurance and other student discounts) if you work 20h/week or less and are enrolled as a full time student.
Possible part time jobs include TA-/RA-Work (Hiwi-Jobs) which would usually be done by master students. As far as I know, the professors usually put in the worst-case budget for these positions anyway (i.e. they budget for someone with a masters degree even if they're planning to give the positions to someone with only a bachelor).
The benefit of TA/RA-work is that you can keep close contact with your supervisor, even if you don't work on your original project anymore.
But of course, your part time job could also be in the industry (Werkstudent, possibly with the company you're planning to join anyway) or anything else that pays enough for you to live on for a year or less.
The downside is of course that you'll have less direct contact with your supervisor.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> And today I also heard that apparantly I am not entitled to *Arbeitslosengeld II* (social welfare benefits) either, because I am still enrolled as a student.
>
>
>
I found out that this information is **incorrect.**
The highest court-ruling on the issue so far is one of the [Landessozialgericht Sachsen-Anhalt](https://sozialgerichtsbarkeit.de/sgb/esgb/show.php?modul=esgb&id=84009) (state social welfare court of Saxonia-Anhalt) and can be found under the reference number L 2 AS 71/06. The main point is that Ph.D. studies *cannot* under any circumstances be supported by BAföG benefits. § 7 section 5 of the *2. Buch Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB II)* explicitly mentions that those eligible for BAföG are not eligible for social welfare benefits *(ALG 2)*. The court ruling clarified that for a student to be ineligible for ALG 2, it has to be possible for *any* student to be eligible for BAföG benefits according to the BAföG law. In layman’s terms, that law excludes anything past a bachelor’s degree from BAföG benifits unless it is a consecutive master’s degree. Most importantly, under no circumstances can Ph.D. studies be supported.
The court is pretty clear in that interpretation:
>
> Promotionsstudiengänge gehören grundsätzlich nicht zu den nach BAföG förderungsfähigen Ausbildungen, weil sie nicht zu einem berufsqualifizierenden Abschluss führen.
>
>
> Ph.D. studies do not belong to the education supportable by BAföG under any circumstances because they do not lead to a graduation that directly qualifies for a job.[1]
>
>
>
Thus, even if one is enrolled as a Ph.D. student at one’s university, **one is eligible for *Arbeitslosengeld II.***
---
**Note:**
[1]: This is probably something very inherent to Germany, having to do with the history of the BAföG law. It was designed to support exactly one academic degree which was no problem in the old days with diploma/magister. But after bachelor and master degrees were introduced as a consequence of the Bologna process, suddenly the bachelor was a graduation qualifying for jobs while the master was comparable to the former diploma leading to a lot of complicated wordings and interpretations.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/06
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<issue_start>username_0: Here in Croatia, when students are finishing their 3rd year of undergraduate courses, they usually write a paper called "Završni rad" (eng. Final Work/Project). I'm trying to communicate some things with foreign colleagues and I'm wondering what that would be called in English<issue_comment>username_1: There is no one phrase, since different schools call such projects different things, so I would recommend just trying to a clear translation. The phrase "final project" is frequently used to refer to the final project for a class, so "undergraduate final project" is likely to be more simply understood as what you mean.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The term undergraduate dissertation, or Final Year Project Dissertation is also used. The word Thesis is usually reserved for a PHd or research degree.
As already mentioned this is very dependent on local terminology and will vary from country to country, discipline to disciple and institution to institution.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In my experience, in Mathematics, in the U.S., (where "senior year" is typically the last year of an undergraduate degree), things done beyond literal coursework can be called "senior project", "senior thesis", "honors thesis", "senior writing project", or nearly anything similar, with no precise sense from university to university or even from student to student. That is, *sometimes* "honors thesis" has some actual requirement beyond "senior thesis", but not reliably so...
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: From the previous answers, you could see a lot of different *names* for essentially the same thing. IMO, any suggested name fits, the key here is that ***you are going to communicate the impact and the results of your work whatever the title you give it.***
It is safe to use `(), .`
I second the comment by @vonbrand, *its advisable to give an explanation*, but keep it brief unless stated otherwise.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: *Degree project* or *Final project* is how some other Slavic-speaking places translate their local notion for the thing you write and defend to get a degree. Since it well describes what it is and it's quite a straight translation of the original notion, I would go with it.
Unless, of course, there's an official translation in your transcript. If this is the case, using the official translation is another option.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: My final undergraduate project/paper was called the capstone project.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: Thanks to the [Bologna Declaration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_declaration), the degree system is standardized between European countries, among which Croatia. In this system, the 'undergraduate' degree is called a **Bachelor** degree. Anyone familiar with European education will not confuse this term with any other degrees, and is likely reminded that you are talking about European education, which may have different requirements for various degrees depending on each country.
As such, the following terms will describe what you mean, without confusing your peers (other than those simply unaware of differences between educational systems). Pick the one that closest resembles what your project actually encompasses - for example, mine was called the Bachelor Final Project because it did not require an extensive report.
* Bachelor thesis
* Bachelor end/final project/paper
* Bachelor dissertation
Note that native BrE or AmE speakers may not agree, but I would like to stress that this may be a **cultural** difference, not a **lingual** difference: above phraseology might be quite uncommon because the concept of a bachelor thesis is unfamiliar to academics in the UK or US; I have however seen numerous terms like the above at various continental European universities.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/06
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<issue_start>username_0: I graduated from a top Russian university (computer science) with moderately high grades in 2013 and after 3 years of industry experience decided to pursue a PHD abroad (ideally, in Germany). I know exactly what topic I want to investigate, found a professor who had recently done research in this field and am now composing an email to him.
I got some useful pieces of advice here at SE:
[How to write a Cover Letter for applying to a PhD programme](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13993/how-to-write-a-cover-letter-for-applying-to-a-phd-programme)
[Optimal structure of cover letter for PhD application submitted directly to PI](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18058/optimal-structure-of-cover-letter-for-phd-application-submitted-directly-to-pi)
[How much detail to include in first email to potential PhD supervisor?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16721/how-much-detail-to-include-in-first-email-to-potential-phd-supervisor?rq=1)
[How brief I should be when contacting a professor for a PhD position for the first time?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/59916/how-brief-i-should-be-when-contacting-a-professor-for-a-phd-position-for-the-fir)
But one question remains.
In fall 2014 I discovered Coursera and since then completed nearly 30 MOOCs, most of them being relevant to the topic I want to do research in. These courses, despite being undergraduate level, did expand my knowledge a lot and, honestly, gave me a taste of what a world-class higher education looks like. I consider completing these MOOCs a valuable achievement of mine, but do professors think so? I'm afraid that if I briefly mention "some courses on the Internet", it would seem unprofessional (there's a ton of crap on the web that calls itself "online courses"). But if I go into too much detail ("completed MOOC X from Princeton, MOOC Y from Stanford, ..."), it would be too long for the initial email. As I already know, the most important thing when making contact via email is to be brief.
Would you include such information in the first email at all? My concern is that both my undergradute research and my job are not directly (but, somehow) connected to the research topic I'm interested in (the topic is quite new, not much research exists there yet). MOOCs are exactly what gave me a broader perspective and inspired me to continue my education.
What is the proper way to write about it?<issue_comment>username_1: It is possible to be both brief and comprehensive.
Be brief in the main e-mail: *completed X MOOCs from established institutes*.
Refer to an appendix for a complete list. In that case, if the potential supervisor cares at all, s/he can glance through the list to see if s/he is at all impressed.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think that most of the courses on Coursera are excellent and would definitely mention them in email. As suggested write the number that you have finished, maybe also the total or average length and list the topics covered (specially if they are related to you future work). This should be enough to prove that you are eager to learn.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/06
| 1,028
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm considering applying into an (individual) PHD program, after graduating from a top Russian university (computer science) with moderately high grades in 2013 and 3 years of professional experience.
However, I didn't notice whether mentioning recommendation isan necessary case for applying within the official and semi-official sources, I suppose it would be useful. But I'm not entirely sure how it is technically done.
I have a supervisor at the university, whom I have not stayed in contact with since 2013. Is it appropriate to email him with "Hello, I've decided to apply into a PHD program, could you provide a recommendation letter"? Do I get it correctly: if his answer is "yes, sure", then I will include his email in my cover letter (or CV?) and my potential PHD supervisor will send him an email, if interested in my case? Is it true that I will not see the recommendation, at all?
I also have a job, which is (somehow) relevant to my potential field of study. Getting a recommendation from my employer would be possible, but is it worth it? In one hand, our company is small and not widely known. On the other hand, it is pretty innovative and lead by a professor of the same University, at which I got an undergraduate degree. He personally didn't teach me, but I think he can confirm my research skills, as research is what I mostly do as my job. The output were not academic papers, but improving stuff within our developing tasks.
If the target country does matter: I am interested in German-speaking European countries, primarily Germany.<issue_comment>username_1: I have no experience applying to German institutions, but I have applied to programs in the US, Norway, Netherlands. My answer is based of those experiences.
If the program you are applying to does not specify that you provide recommendations, don't put them in your application. If the committee thinks you are a strong candidate, and they want a recommendation, they will ask for it. It is entirely expected however, that you should be able to present at least two strong recommendations upon request, in which case you provide their email and phone number in the application.
Since you have both academic and industry experience, it would be valuable to represent both. Email your supervisor from the University you attended and ask them if he/she can provide a **strong** recommendation for you. Briefly summarize what your research included just to help refresh their memory. It never hurts to mention why you enjoyed your research and why you are inspired to get a PhD.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is it appropriate to email him with "Hello, I decided to get a PHD,
> could you provide a recommendation"? Do I get it correctly: if his
> answer is "yes, sure", then I include his email in my cover letter (or
> CV?)
>
>
>
You need to contact him, anyway, and he will decide to act as a recommender for you or not. He even might be have more documents and evidences about you; as an instance, if you had passed any course under his supervision, he may ask you to send him his transcript to recall your grade of that course.
>
> Will my potential PHD supervisor emails him if interested in actually
> getting the recommendation?
>
>
>
If the admission process is supposed to be handled by the department, in a centralized manner, your recommender will upload his LoR, electronically. Then both admission committee and your potential supervisor will be able review the document, deservedly.
>
> Is it true that I don't see the recommendation at any point?
>
>
>
Yes, as a rule of thumb...
>
> Getting a recommendation from my employer would be no problem, but
> does it worth it?
>
>
>
As a matter of fact, you can declare any one as your reference, could who declare your capabilities, as well as possible. An employer would be a wise option, as (s)he could illustrate many effective points about you, such as your innovation in the professional job, your good job to use the theoretical points in the real projects, your great sense teamwork, and so on...
But... Some programs just accept the academic LoRs, not the professional type... So, before, providing that, you better check the credibility with the target department.
Best
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/06
| 3,046
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a relatively new PhD student, and I'm faced with a new (for me) situation. Before, I always had grades and the likes to tell me how good or bad I was doing: if I was at or near the top/bottom of my class, if I passed my exams or not... were all more-or-less objective indicators to tell me how I was doing.
But now that I've started to do research, I have none of that anymore, and it's quite discouraging. It's not that I need constant validation to boost my self-esteem, but rather I'm afraid that I'm not working hard enough, not learning enough... and that it's all going to crash down on me at the end ("welp, your funding has run out and you've produced nothing good enough, no PhD for you"). I sometimes find results, but they always feel rather insignificant. And the fact that I used to be good as a student whose only job was to learn about well-established topics from good professors doesn't mean I'm good enough at research, either.
I've read several Q&A's here (*[How should I deal with discouragement as a graduate student?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/2222)*, *[“I've somehow convinced everyone that I'm actually good at this” - how to effectively deal with Imposter Syndrome](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/11765)*) and they've been helpful, but simply telling myself that maybe it's just the impostor syndrome talking isn't helpful – maybe I'm really an impostor, too...
Of couse I can ask my advisor from time to time, but if I start asking every month I don't think he's going to appreciate it, and if I ask that bluntly he may not want to hurt my feelings and tell me the truth. So how do I, a PhD student, can evaluate how well I'm doing?<issue_comment>username_1: In universities and in general in life, an **external sincere evaluation** is the strongest tool you can have to assess if you're doing well or not.
Many PhD programs include an yearly internal evaluation of the student's work, but sometimes it's not enough. My suggestion is to **ask an informal external evaluation to someone outside your institution**. He/she might be someone who knows you a little or someone you don't know in person, but he/she must be someone **expert** in your field.
Once you found someone who is expert in your domain and is available to informally review your work, you should write down a **technical report** about your activities since you started your PhD program, and then send it him/her asking to evaluate it.
If he/she's a serious person, in a couple of weeks he/she will reply to you including his/her assessment of your work, and some suggestions on which directions to take.
If you were able to find more than one informal external reviewer, that would be even better.
G-luck!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The reality is that it’s impossible to evaluate how you’re doing in an entirely objective manner once you progress beyond the stage of doing problem sheets with well-defined answers. Once there’s no objective right and wrong, it becomes a question of what is valued and who assesses it. For example, people try to assess PhD students in terms of all kinds of things:
* How many papers they’ve published.
* Where their papers are published.
* How many people have cited their papers.
* How much impact they’ve had on their field.
* How often they’re invited to give talks.
* Where they’ve worked.
* How successful their collaborations have been.
* If they teach, how successful their own students are.
The reality is that all of these things measure something, to some extent. Different people will value different things, and assess them in different ways.
If you want to go into academia ultimately, and you’re asking because you want to know what the people who will assess you for academic jobs will value, a good place to look is at academic job specifications - they’re often very detailed and make it quite clear what they’re looking for. You can also ask your supervisor, who will probably be able to give you a good idea of what’s involved.
If you want to go into industry, they may be looking for very different things - again, you can find out by looking at the job specifications, and the skills of the people who work at the relevant places.
Ultimately, this is a good point in your life to realise that now you’ve moved beyond standard taught courses, you’ll never again have the same kind of “objective” outside feedback that you once did. Thus far, you’ve been optimising towards someone else’s objective function; from now on, you have to find your own. Other people can tell you what they value, or even what they think you should value, but no one can decide what you value but you.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: As PhD student, your supervisor is the key. He is probably the person that will have a higher stake at your final evaluation as a PhD candidate, both scientifically and bureaucratically. Therefore, he is the key person to talk to.
>
> Of couse I can ask my advisor from time to time, but if I start asking every month I don't think he's going to appreciate it
>
>
>
Of course, but that does not mean that you cannot evaluate how he reacts to your meetings. As scientist (and any other carrear path), you are expected to understand what other people think of your work. This starts during PhD and will continue to happen on your career.
It is also by his judgment, and the judgment of your peers, that you will start to be able to auto-evaluate your performance. And again, this is also expected from you at a later stages of both scientific and non-scientific careers.
>
> and if I ask that bluntly he may not want to hurt my feelings and tell me the truth. So how do I, a PhD student, can evaluate how well I'm doing?
>
>
>
If you suspect that he is not telling you the truth, then you have to fix that. Either on your side (e.g. he doesn't feel you can take the truth), or on his side (he is not able to tell you the truth),
having this fixed is something that both will profit from.
Disclaimer: I am a PhD student and this is purely knowledge that I gathered as a PhD student.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In my experience, it is very hard. If you do not already have self-confidence in your progress and skill development (and the fact that you ask, indicates you do not), you will need to accumulate experience to find out how to judge yourself; whether you are over-optimistic or undervaluing your work. A supervisor can help, but need not. They may think in different categories.
What you could do is, that, after accumulating a bunch of results, you ask your prof whether they can constitute a paper, e.g., for less dominant results, a conference. That externalised feedback is likely to be better and more specific than if you ask about your own progress.
Don't worry too much about impostor syndrome - it is the hallmark of conscientious students and signals that you care; it's ok to take that into account, but don't let it take over. Also, don't forget, if you compare yourself to the stars, you are not going to win - there are absolutely brilliant people out there which are able to do amazing things. So, forget them, and compare yourself to what *you* want to achieve and *your* progress in view of that, of course, with regular feedback from the scientific community, via talks, papers and the like. On the PhD level that's all that counts.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Your research has an ultimate goal. You divide the long way to the goal to X stages. Then you complete each stage, moving from one to another. Your success can be assessed as Y/X\*100% where Y is the number of successful steps.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_6: To expand on Stuart's list of what different people may find interesting
* What courses have they taken and how fast did they complete them? How relevant are they?
* (If teaching) How good they are at teaching, grading exams and producing teaching material?
* Have they had main responsibility of any particular course or lab?
* Have they participated and gotten experience writing applications and documentation?
* Have they gotten practice co-supervising graduate and/or undergraduate theses or (individual or group) student projects?
* (How well) have they learned to make presentations / explanations of their work tailored to a particular audience?
* Have they acquired practical know-how of independently working with the tools they use, and are those tools useful in other fields or industries outside of academia?
* Can the results be applied to solve any problems in their own, or other fields or industries?
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: As a Ph.D it really is simple:
1) Have a plan when to graduate and communicate that expectation to your advisor
2) Figure on publishing in referred journals three times - use these as your progress milestones
3) Don't get married
4) Don't have children
5) Live in the lab/library
Notes:
In re: 1) if your advisor cannot give you a timeframe - GET OUT FAST
2) Different disciplines have different expectations. If you are publishing, you will graduate and you will have what you need to get a job.
3) & 4) Dissertations are very jealous mistresses
5) If you ain't doing the work; the work ain't getting done.
And remember most of all: You are the only one who cares if you finish. To your advisor you are cheap labor.
Ed Ph.D, PE
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_8: Only as a partial answer: most grad students (in mathematics, in the U.S., my experience...) do not fully appreciate that their very *admission* is a strong vote of confidence from the admitting department. Further, although it would be wonderful if for any given person everything "clicked" *and* they were incredibly lucky and did something super-amazing ... this would be a ridiculous standard. Even at the most elite places, for all but a tiny fraction, a PhD is an apprentice-ship. What is a successful apprentice? Well, rarely glamorous, ...
Bottom line is that if you stay engaged, and still care about your studies/work, you are almost surely "successful". Successful *enough*... because now it would be non-sensical to think about "beating" other grad students, both because the notion is far too vague, and because the population of grad students in a reasonable program is heterogeneous in many senses that make comparisons unreasonable. Not to mention that as one is selected into ever-more-elite groups, "being the best" or even "being in the top half" (if that had a sense) becomes ever less likely (and/but, mercifully, ever less meaningful).
So, again, if you are staying engaged and working, you are doing fine. Period. Yes, your advisor should be able to confirm that. Yes, you may disturb your advisor by asking once-a-month... but that's probably ok. Your advisor may not have the insight/communication-skills to respond appropriately, which raises the possibility of misunderstanding... thereby upsetting *you*...
That is, once people have managed to get into graduate programs in the first place, they have adequate talent/capacity to finish PhD's, *if* they *care* and work hard. For most people, "lifetime accomplishment" is very hard to predict at the grad-school stage, yet that is what we should care about. Often, the most "obedient" apprentices give a good impression, but will not have the energy or imagination to do much on their own. Meanwhile, apprentices who had some difficulty making themselves "stay with the program" eventually make very valuable and original contributions.
(Paper-count, grades, all that stuff, ... is pseudo-objective, sure, but only loosely correlated with real-life success, ...)
So how does this answer the question? The answer is that you're doing fine, if you are working hard and staying engaged. Any attempt at finer pseudo-objective evaluation is probably nonsense. Even having trouble with "preliminary exams" (or whatever they're called locally) results far more often from misunderstanding (and mis-communication) than from incapacity. And I'd be remiss to not remind you that the gossip/opinions of other grad students is very often not merely inaccurate, but very wildly so. Even faculty often do not directly communicate the belief system that is the true basis for action, but, rather, quote standard professional mythology.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/06
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<issue_start>username_0: I would like to build my academic homepage and I am not sure how to organize it. I did research in several very different and unrelated **topics**, and in every topic I have different **types** of materials (e.g. introductory texts for students, published papers, presentations, working papers and open questions).
One option is to arrange the website by topic. This will help students and fellow researchers quickly find the material that they interests them and maybe lead to useful collaborations.
On the other hand, potential employers (academic personnel) looking at my website may wish to see the material arranged by type, e.g. see all the publications by years, all the teaching materials, etc, regardless of topic.
What is a good way to arrange such a website? Examples of good multi-topic academic homepages are welcome.
---
CONCLUSION: Thanks to all the repliers. I learned from all the answers and examples, and finally created my academic homepage here: <http://erelsgl.github.io> . The main technical decision I took was to use Jekyll - a tool for automatically building a static website from templates. It allows me to put all publications in a single data-file, and then automatically creates pages for each topic and a general "publications" page. It is very flexible and lets me easily manage a bi-lingual website.
EDIT: one thing I am very happy to have put in my website is the [wishlist page](http://erelsgl.github.io/pages/en/wishlist/). In it, I put some open problems and research projects I am interested in. So far, 4 different researchers have contacted me regarding these questions. In two cases, this have already lead to a joint paper. I warmly recommend this idea.<issue_comment>username_1: What is your *principal* audience? Presumably you'd contact prospective employers directly, with a polished CV. Many publications you'll have to publish as preprints (if at all), so perhaps a page listing publications (with links where available) ordered chronologically (including papers, class notes, whatever) might be enough. Or perhaps segregate into "formal" (papers, conferences) and "informal" (class notes, miscelanea). Leaves students or random drivers-by. Organize by topic for them.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: My opinion...Perhaps instead of trying to sort the 'topics' or 'content' on the site, you could instead sort by **user** with a menu bar on the home page.
Have separate tabs/buttons in the menu linking to separate pages: 1 for "Students"; 1 for "researchers/peers"; and 1 for "prospective employers".
That way, you can put exactly what you want that particular audience to see (even if some content is the same across audiences) on individual pages. You will have 1 site, with 3 distinct sets of content arranged by topic independently of each other. On each of those 3 pages, there can then be a specific menu or something for the content on that specific page, for that audience, arranged by either a topic, date, tags, whatever.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Is a typical user a student or fellow researcher? Than focus on them, and keep your material in a way that makes it easily accessible, e.g. by topic.
Potential employers will not necessarily expect to find a resume style first page when visiting your website, but make sure that you make it clear where such a place for them would be. A menu link saying something like "For potential employers", "CV", "About me", are all valid ways. In here, I would have a manually curated resume that puts it in an order that makes sense for the employer.
This allows you to also post informal things, such as blog posts or non-peer reviewed articles that you still think will help your fellow researchers, while keeping your list for potential employers more formal.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Firstly, this question is not really academia-specific, since it is applicable to any relatively complex multi-topic multi-user-type website (or any other information resource, for that matter) - however, I will answer it, since some time ago I was facing the same problem, so I understand your situation.
Secondly, this problem lies within the scope of the very large interdisciplinary field of *information architecture (IA)* (for some introduction, beyond the [corresponding Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_architecture), see, for example, [this page](http://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/information-architecture.html) and [this page](http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/complete-beginners-guide-to-information-architecture).
Thirdly, there is a multitude of approaches to solving this problem and finding the one ("good way", as you put it), which is close to the optimal approach, requires *consideration* and *prioritization* of multiple factors, including *perspectives* for different types of potential users of the site.
Since different types of users have different priorities and preferences, your analysis will most likely generate several (relatively) *optimal designs*. As some have already mentioned in other answers, those *user-type-based* optimal designs might be combined on a single site via tabbed interface, with each tab, focused on a particular type of user. Then, within each tab area, relevant topics can be arranged, based on topics hierarchy, using various methods (smaller tabs, navigational side tree or menu, etc.), plus, the hierarchy's content might be adjusted, based on the relevant type of users and their interests. This just one of the most straightforward and simple ideas. While the sky is the limit in generating site designs, I suggest applying [KISS principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle) to the site's IA for the optimal [UX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience).
There are many nice academic websites out there, but I can't really recommend much due to their diversity and lack of time (I'd have to dig through my vast number of bookmarks). If you care, feel free to visit [my own personal professional website](http://aleksandrblekh.com), which targets both academia and industry, but academic content is quite limited so far. Please keep in mind that I haven't had a chance to fully update the site in terms of both design and, especially, content, which I hope to get my hands on eventually. Nevertheless, overall IA of the site might give you some useful ideas for implementing on your site (i.e., *main menu structure*, project types *dynamic filtering* in the *Portfolio* section, etc.).
P.S. Despite warning, I have decided to made a quick review of my bookmarks in regard to the topic and here is a tiny subset of academic websites that I find useful, interesting and attractive:
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno)
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://www.davidketcheson.info) (this site uses *dynamic filtering approach*, similarly to my site's Portfolio section, but it is implemented more comprehensively and in several sections)
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://lorrie.cranor.org)
* [Website of postdoctoral researcher <NAME>](http://www.davidechicco.it)
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~aaronc)
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://kieranhealy.org)
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://procaccia.info)
* [Website of Prof. <NAME>](http://www.public.asu.edu/~tpavlic)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I suggest by-type-then-date organization, with a "Research Interests" menu which, when an item is clicked, leads to another page which is also organized by-type-then-date, but contains only materials relevant to that particular area.
By doing so you can keep the format consistent across multiple views, which provides a friendlier navigation interface to visitors than if they were faced with multiple disparate organizational schemes.
Of course it is possible to provide more than one level of "zoom" into a topic. Also, your topic-specific pages may want to include materials which you are not author of. In this last case you may also find that some of the topics are well-covered by group pages and you can link to them instead of maintaining your own.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/06
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<issue_start>username_0: Some tests have minimums in their possible score range. Cisco's 300-1000 point range, and the SAT's 200-800 point per section range come to mind.
What purpose does this serve? I assume there is some statistical logic behind it. Maybe it would make more sense to me if I understood how they go about calculating the score from a given number of (in)correct questions.<issue_comment>username_1: According to the [Encyclopedia of Research Design](https://books.google.com/books?id=HVmsxuaQl2oC) (page [629](https://books.google.com/books?id=-EmwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA629)), it signals that these are interval variables, not ratio variables:
>
> Standardized tests, including Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT), Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), and Miller Analogies Test (MAT) are also examples of an interval scale. For example, in the IQ scale, the difference between 150 and 160 is the same as that between 80 and 90. Similarly, the distance in the GRE scores between 350 and 400 is the same as the distance between 500 and 550.
>
>
> Standardized tests are not based on a "true zero" point that represents the lack of intelligence. These standardized tests do not even have a zero point. The lowest possible score for these standardized tests is not zero. Because of the lack of a "true zero" point, standardized tests cannot make statements about the ratio of their scores. Those who have an IQ score of 150 are not twice as intelligent as those who have an IQ score of 75. Similarly, such a ratio cannot apply to other standardized tests including SAT, GRE, GMAT, or MAT.
>
>
>
<NAME>., ed. *Encyclopedia of research design*. Vol. 1. Sage, 2010.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I would believe that this lower number for test scores and the range are arbitrarily chosen at random, perhaps to make people feel better when they get a low score like 300 - 500 or there about Cisco and 200 to say 400 or so for SAT so it is made that way for Psychological reasons and is arbitrary... I hope this answers you question, there may be other possible possibilities, but I think this one stands out as being of the highest probability.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to the reasons already mentioned: **because we want a more natural scale for the answers**: sometimes scores for an individual answer are on a scale 1-5 or 1-10, because it is more human-friendly than 0-4 or 0-9 (unless the human is a programmer). Adding individual scores up then results in a nonzero minumum.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: My maths teacher from high school used to say that just by showing up and writing your name on the paper is worth something.. respect at the bare minimum.. thus you get something for the effort of being there.
From a data management perspective, it sure is easier to use zero for special cases such as absent or kicked out, etc.. As from a statistical perspective, if said scores are compounded into a final GPA, then a zero would damage your average on a pessimistic side, and educators try to be optimistic about their pupils.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I might be able to help answer this from a background in Psychometrics. Where I work we produce many tests that are all standardised and then equated to be put onto the same scale. These scales however, from one test to another, are unrelateble, unless of course the two differing tests have an equating study completed to determine the shift factor to transfer a scale from say Test 1 to the scale of Test 2.
To construct a scale, we first analyse the test data, so student response data and item(question) data. We do the analysis using the Rasch Model, which only takes into account two variables, the students' abilities and the items' difficulties. This allows us to construct a dataset that contains the logit levels of the students' abilities and of the items' difficulties.
Definition of Logit:
>
> A logit is a unit of measurement to report relative differences between candidate ability estimates and item difficulties. Logits are an equal interval level of measurement, which means that the distance between each point on the scale is equal (1-2=99-100).
>
>
>
Once the logit tables have been created they can be used to create a scale by applying a simple linear transformation, such as:
>
> scale score = 10 \* logit difficulty + 250
>
>
>
In some of the work I do we have scale scores that actually are below 0, however most of the work I do, scale scores are constructed such that the minimum is around 200 or so. The construction of the scale is for the most part entirely arbitrary.
If you wish to see how the logits of students and items are calculated please read:
>
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasch_model#The_mathematical_form_of_the_Rasch_model_for_dichotomous_data>
>
>
>
Also as an extra note: There are other models for doing test analysis, such as the 2PL (Introduces an additional parameter to Rasch Model(1PL), the items discrimination), the 3PL (Introduces an additional parameter to the 2PL, which is a guess factor, this creates a minimum probability of getting the item incorrect which depends on your guess value), there is also a 4PL which adds an additional parameter(the slip paremeter, that creates a ceiling probability, that is not 1, for getting an item correct).
I hope this helps and provides some extra information that may be of use.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_6: It may depend on the test.
---
The Wechsler SD15 IQ Test is intended to produce scores such that the mean score is 100 with a standard deviation of 15, so about 5 percent of the population has an IQ score below 75 points. Assuming that the scores are normally distributed, subjects receiving a score of zero would be so vanishingly rare (a billionth of a percent of test-takers) that it would be impossible to ensure that the scores remain valid so far out in the tails. It would also be very difficult to ensure that these very impaired subjects realize that/how they're being tested at all. Pinning down the precise value may not have much clinical value either, so extremely low scores can be reported as <20 (or whatever).
---
The SAT uses a scoring system that penalizes random guessing:
* Correct answers increase the score by a point
* Blank answers neither earn nor lose points
* Incorrect answers decrease the score by a fraction of a point.
By choosing an appropriate fraction for the penalty, you can ensure that guessing has zero expected value. However, unless an offset is added, subjects can potentially receive scores below zero if they perform worse than chance. These very low results may not be particularly informative, so perhaps ETS reports something like max(earned score, chance).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: In the Netherlands, most children at the end of primary school make the Cito test, which is much like the SAT test, but with a score ranging from 501 to 550.
According to [this](http://www.nrc.nl/next/2009/02/03/waarom-geeft-de-citotoets-een-score-tussen-501-en-11677719) (dutch) article it is done to prevent parents from associating the score with school grades, ranging from 1 to 10, and IQ-tests, with an average of 100.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/06
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<issue_start>username_0: I know there have been similar questions asked, but the most recent question was focused on the transcript and the less recent question was focused on courses not relevant to the major.
My general question:
When is it a valuable addition to a Statement of Purpose to explain an isolated case of poor performance in important coursework?
My specific case:
I am an undergraduate currently writing a statement of purpose. I have had a 4.0 in math up until last semester. Last semester I took the following courses (with corresponding grades):
Graduate Real Analysis 1 (B)
Graduate Differential Topology 1 (A)
Graduate Probability Theory (A)
Undergrad Combinatorics (A)
Undergrad gen ed (A)
My explanation would include things like:
* I was working 15 hours a week
* I spent multiple hours a week applying for a Grant (and doing some preliminary Research along the way) and applying for the Goldwater scholarship
* I was naive and overconfident to think I could go beyond a normal graduate course load (or something to that effect)
My reason to think that an explanation may be worthwhile in my case is because the B was in a very important graduate math course and I feel that, in effect, I just displayed that I hit my limit and my limit is below graduate level rigor. In reality, with my explanation, I feel like I may be able to convince someone that I actually was beyond the rigor of a first semester in graduate school and was simply naive and over confident.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> My general question: When is it a valuable addition to a Statement of Purpose to explain an isolated case of poor performance in important coursework?
>
>
>
Among scenarios I can imagine, **never**. You don't want to place extra attention on potential mild weaknesses in your application.
As mentioned in the comments, in your particular case one B in a grad class while you were taking 2 other grad classes and 2 other math classes with all As doesn't really look bad. The normal interpretation would be this student didn't have enough time to get an A in that one class with all the other work.
For the general question, one situation you might want addressed is if you have a semester that really looks bad (light load and actually bad grades, e.g., F, D, C), maybe due to major illness or personal tragedy. However, the statement of purpose doesn't really seem the right place to address it. A good letter writer will know when and how to explain this in your references, so you shouldn't need to explain in yourself in your application (though you may need to explain it to your letter writers if they're not aware).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: \*\*\*\*\*\*Never mention negatives, ever...\*\*\*
Failures are essential for learning. Every scholar knows this, but when you are applying for a job, grad school, or you are making a statement of purpose you are selling yourself.
Sales is an important skill to develop for any person who has similar concerns, as the end goal is customer service. In this case, you want to show the board how you are going to bring value to the table.
That's it!
Tell me about yourself really means, Why should I consider you?
Answer this with not what you want to do, but rather what do you want to accomplish in this program? What do you want to change? How do you plan on brining about that change? What skills are you going to learn, or have you learned, or have you been teaching yourself?
I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me with inquiries.
PS: I am a business development manager in a great tech startup and a former entrepreneur. I know a thing or two about adding value and creating meaning from nothingness ;) You determine how much value you plan on adding and you mean something!
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/06
| 196
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<issue_start>username_0: An instruction email from one of the graduate schools I applied states the following:
"for the potential mentors you list on the application, after the January deadline passes, it’s a good idea to email them directly with a nudge to look at your application"
Is this necessary and is this a common practice?<issue_comment>username_1: It is not "necessary", but, if you are polite and considerate in your emails, at worst it won't hurt anything. Given the ease of application, most departments are deluged with applications, and it is easy to overlook (or forget to return to) any particular application.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If *they themselves* recommend to do it, follow their advise. Nobody can feel offended by you following their official advise..
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/07
| 348
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<issue_start>username_0: At my institution there's an on-site cancer research center. I applied to a lab through the center's careers page for the position Research Associate 1. Basically they took my resume, cover letter, personal info and there's a message in an automated system saying I'm currently being considered. I do meet the requirements for the position, but as for the hiring process they don't provide a way of contacting a hiring manager, HR, etc. (I've looked deep, there's nothing except a "we'll get back to you if we're interested").
I have the email for the PI of the lab, but I'm unsure if it's acceptable to contact him about the position. What would be acceptable to say?<issue_comment>username_1: You might try to find out from other people in-the-know whether the PI already has someone in mind, and is just going through the motions of posting this position on HR.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Unless this is an extremely high-profile position likely to get thousands of applicants, I don't think there is any harm in dropping the PI a **brief** email (3 sentences!) informing them you've applied for their position, telling them how much you respect their work, and letting them know they can contact you if they need any additional information. If their HR department is useless, the PI may ask you to send your cover letter & CV. But write the letter in such a way that the PI can easily ignore the letter (doesn't feel obliged to respond) if their HR department functions well.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/07
| 425
| 1,873
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently an undergraduate major in both physics and chemistry. It is possible for me to acquire a BS in both areas, departmental honors in both, and a delegation from the honors college in four years, but is this a wise use of my time?
An honors designation at my university requires 5 classes all 3 credit hours each. The only real immediate benefit I can see is early registration and the classes do not affect my GPA if failed, but the early registration isn't as useful to me because to the amount of credit hours I already have.
So my real question is, should I drop the honor college in favor of other opportunities? Without the honors college, I have the ability to take more courses related to my degree and even graduate courses. It also allows more time for internships and experience outside the academic setting. On the other hand, how beneficial would an honors delegation look on my degree or transcript? Which details do employers weigh more? Does it matter to colleges for graduate studies?<issue_comment>username_1: You might try to find out from other people in-the-know whether the PI already has someone in mind, and is just going through the motions of posting this position on HR.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Unless this is an extremely high-profile position likely to get thousands of applicants, I don't think there is any harm in dropping the PI a **brief** email (3 sentences!) informing them you've applied for their position, telling them how much you respect their work, and letting them know they can contact you if they need any additional information. If their HR department is useless, the PI may ask you to send your cover letter & CV. But write the letter in such a way that the PI can easily ignore the letter (doesn't feel obliged to respond) if their HR department functions well.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/07
| 767
| 3,151
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. student and met this senior scientist in a local conference, let's call him Dr. XX. (He is working in a research institute like Bell Lab, not exactly in academia.) We took some interest in each other's work and my supervisor allowed me to work with him. We (me, Dr. XX and my supervisor) just got our paper accepted in a journal as well. I liked working with him and learnt from him.
He also raised some excellent idea about how to extend the work to another novel domain and has been pushing me to come up with some literature study and run some experiment etc. Unfortunately, my Ph.D. supervisor (who is the boss I answer to) is not exactly enthusiastic in that and pushing me in a different direction.
I have conveyed it to Dr. XX in somewhat evasive terms, telling I need some time to decide etc. but just realised it has been a few months. I am not sure how to deal with this. I love both of the topics for the later stage of my Ph.D. but how do I prioritise?
Also, I know it is a question of interpersonal dynamics, but if you were Dr. XX, how would you think of me for being evasive? For example, while applying for postdoc position, will you write a recommendation for me, with this somewhat awkward situation?<issue_comment>username_1: First, congrats on being in a good position-- two directions laid out for you. Also it looks like you have hands on supervisors.
It is usually a good idea to work on more than one problem simultaneously. You may get stuck on one and yet still make progress on another.
Key questions (i) what is your capacity to undertake both problems? (ii) which one or both will get you a PhD? I.e., which one is more relevant to your PhD?
I would prioritise and explore both problems if possible. However do not sacrifice your PhD just to please the senior researcher. He/she should understand; I.e., You do not answer to him/her.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Personally, I am much happier when somebody tells me "I can't do this because XXX" than when they disappear on me. If they tell me they can't, then I can adjust my plans and act accordingly; if they don't tell me, then they leave me hanging and I find it quite frustrating.
I strongly advise you to make a clear decision about whether you are going to work on the project right now, and then go and clearly tell the person, through a direct video/phone link rather via email if possible. If the decision is no, because your current supervisor is pushing you to focus on something else, then that will be quite understandable and will make no prejudice against you for most people---it is a quite typical difficulty for many people in graduate school.
As for whether they will be willing to recommend you as a postdoc: personally, if I like and respect a student, that's not going to be changed if external circumstances disrupt our work together. If would not be as strong, of course, as if we had done more good work together that I could talk about more, but it would still be positive. Others, of course, may vary in their opinions, and you can only find out from your associate by asking.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/01/07
| 1,702
| 7,020
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm in a very unfortunate situation. I have B.S. from Computer Science and I change my field to Applied Mathematics for M.S. (because of recommendations of my colleagues from research).
In CS I was pretty good, I finished with Dean's award for Bachelor thesis (that's why I was offered a part-time position in research), but now I'm struggling heavily to even pass the first term in Math. CS program was concentrating on programming, so we had only single-variable calculus, basics of linear algebra and some graph theory.
Now I must take exams from Functional Analysis, Complex variables, Partial differential equations etc. and I'm afraid I'll not be able to pass them. I was able to pass lesser tests and projects, but I need a lot of time for every single problem and now, before exams, I see how many things I don't understand.
Additionally I'm suffering from high-blood pressure since I was 15, but now is my condition worsening very fast (probably because of stress). I feel tired, depressed and dizzy very often.
So, is it appropriate to ask the one professor, who is the head of department, about possibilities of suspension or simply going again into the first year of M.S. next year?
Maybe I'd like to ask him about his opinion about my talent for this, because I've never experienced such setback in school and so it's possible I'm simply too silly to comprehend Math.
### EDIT:
I'm studying in the Czech Republic.<issue_comment>username_1: To me it never hurts to discuss possible options. Complex mathematics can be a difficult hurdle to cross and it seems you're making a leap from basic math to university-level math without being prepared for it.
Explain your situation in detail. I'm sure this isn't a first for the head of your department and maybe (s)he can suggest some courses which might help you in catching up with the program.
I'd keep your high blood pressure problem out of the discussion.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you are looking to withdraw (I'm guessing that is what you mean by suspend).
It is worth speaking to your universities disabilities coordinator.
Both long-term blood pressure problems, and depression are both (at least where I am) the kind of disabilities they deal with every day.
The disabilities coordinators tend to have all kinds of special powers to adjust the rules. Such as the capacity to withdraw without it showing on your record, even after various cut off dates are long past.
Secondly, they will be keyed into exactly who else who you should see at the uni,
such as psychological counselors; and likely what kind of classes exist for catching up etc.
In my experience (which is pretty limited) most professors have no idea what is going on with anything even remotely administrative, like withdrawing (Which i don't think is unreasonable -- it is a totally different skillset). Exceptions apply for heads of school and various people who are secondly billed as course coordinators. But even then there were better student admin people to talk to.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: While both computer science and math are highly technical subjects, and the skill set is somewhat overlapping, many aspects are quite different. As a caricature (it is, of course, not always true, especially in high-class algorithmics), in writing software one often has a clear route, once the concepts are in place, of how to proceed.
In math, even the simplest problem statements can have highly non-obvious solutions (for an example, see <NAME>'s book on Fermat's problem, where there is a simple geometrical conjecture which remained unproven for 80 years until an elementary proof was found).
There is no reason to feel bad about that. Math **is** hard, and once you have seen top mathematicians at work, you will realise that there is essentially no upper limit to how much better these people can be compared to even strong students.
Most importantly, if you enjoy the topic in itself, try to find a route which gives you enough time to catch up, perhaps part-time or similar, until you get the hang of it. If, even with slowing down, you do not get the hang of it, it's probably not for you - but you should definitely try to give yourself more time. CS most likely did not provide you with the skill set of a general mathematician, so you definitely need time to adjust.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It also depends if you want a career in academics, or not (or maybe not really, read on).
If you want to go into industry later on, you'd be surprised how irrelevant the specific title from university often is. If you have a M.S. in a technical field from a good university and 3 years of industry experience, in 95% of the cases it won't ever matter anymore what specific field the M.S. was in. Therefore, if you want to go into industry, I recommend you to do an M.S. you can enjoy doing, that's the most important. To answer your question, in that case do not simply repeat the first year of the same M.S. - talk to the professor and also discuss the option of doing a different M.S.
If you want a career in academics, it obviously does matter a lot what field you did your M.S. in, and it matters even more what specific knowledge you gained during your M.S. - however, if you can't enjoy the field now there's a chance you won't enjoy it later. Especially since you mention depression, I know some people who finished their PhD, got hit by a real hard depression where they could do zero work for a couple years, and had to start a new career that ignored all of their academic work.
**In summary, this is too big to not talk about with someone**. Maybe it's best to pursue the current M.S. maybe it's best to repeat a year, maybe it's best to start industry work right now with a B.S. Maybe your Head of department can even offer you a job at one of the university's start ups - the world sometimes works funny like that. If your head of department can't help you they should be able to refer you to someone else who can.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I would definitely go talk to someone. It doesn't neccessarily have to the head of the department, but discussing the possibilities with someone from the faculty would be a good idea. After all, starting again one year later (if that is what you want) is far better then spending your time on something you don't want to do
Also worth mentioning is the possibility to go to your other proffessors (who teach you analysis, lingebra ..) and asking them for a personal consultation. They can help you not only solving equations but often times can offer a valuable insight to your situation.
By the way, if I can bet, you are studying Applied maths at FJFI ČVUT (I am as well). The teachers there are one of the best at dealing with such situations and usually won't let you down.
If I am correct (and even if I am not !) I would go see the "garant" (no english translation AFAIK) of your field.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/07
| 415
| 1,736
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<issue_start>username_0: I've been invited to visit a research center for a postdoc position, including giving a brief talk (25min) about my thesis.
My doubt is, should I refocus my talk to be closer to the research they are doing? If yes, how to do it, what to consider?
I think they just expect a good talk, since I will have later this day a meeting with future mentors, other postdocs and students.<issue_comment>username_1: No. Having given these talks (and attended a great many of them) in the past, I can say from experience that most likely the research center wants to know how you present work in general, and if you can speak to a wide audience.
If you want to tailor the your talk at all, make sure it is providing sufficient background and give a "big-picture" version of your work. It is fine to include details (indeed that is expected), but don't get your self hung up on minuscule details related to your methods (unless asked).
Best of luck.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You will be assessed on the quality of YOUR work and your ability to effectively communicate it, so I'd suggest not refocussing your presentation. That said, you should ALWAYS keep your audience in mind, and adjust your talk such that it is at an appropriate level for the audience. For example, if your talk is currently tailored to a room full of experts in your field, you may well need to add some intro material to bring your new audience to speed, and you may need to put some of the geekier details on a spare slide at the end to pull up if you get a question on the details.
Also, you might have the opportunity to explain why your work is relevant in the context of their work. Tell them why they should care.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/07
| 241
| 1,092
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<issue_start>username_0: I wonder why some conferences with double blind review ask for author names when submitting the paper for review. Why not asking for author information once the paper has been accepted?<issue_comment>username_1: Likely so they can track the papers internally by author. It prevents, for example, a submission being sent out to a reviewer who is on the paper.'
Double-blind just means that the reviewers are unknown to the author, and the author is unknown to the reviewers. It doesn't say anything about the conference organizers/editorial staff.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. So that the Program Chair can check for conflicts of interest beyond what authors may have reported.
2. So that new authors don't pop up or disappear magically once a paper is accepted.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: A sudden thought about one of the reasons for this just crosses my mind. Doing so also prevents authors from changing the author list. Although technically, one can encrypt the author names without exposing the names to the program committee.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/07
| 1,465
| 5,781
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<issue_start>username_0: I see most people use a black and white academic CV. Will it be any problem
if I use a color CV like this [template](https://www.overleaf.com/4036854vqqrbp), which is mostly monochrome but uses blue in some places.
(I am applying for Graduate admission)<issue_comment>username_1: The general advice is that CVs should be outstanding because of their content while their form should be relatively dull-to-boring.
The example you link to has very subtle use of color (a dark blue for headings) and is tolerable. However, you still run the risk running into faculty with the perception that:
1. your over-designed CV is either hiding things (i.e., lack of content)
2. your over-designed CV is just a dressed up resume and that you don't understand academia at all
For those reasons, it's safest to go with a boring CV style and work on building content instead. This is generic advice for both graduate admissions as well as academic job searches.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you do use a color CV make sure it still looks good when printed monochrome! Some people on the committee will prefer to read hard copies, and in all likelihood they will be printed in monochrome.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: The content is the most important thing on a CV.
Those reading your CV will be reading many others, and you want to do everything possible to make your CV easily readable, but you also want to make it stand out.
If you can use color in a professional way that makes important stuff stand out and enhances readability, it is my opinion that you should go for it! Just make sure your colors do not stand out too much against the rest of the text. (Bright red and black on white paper doesn't look good, but black and a gray-blue theme could go well.) Some color palettes are better than others, and different palettes might go better with different fonts or layouts.
Make your design **simple** (so as to not distract from your accomplishments), **easy-to-read** (to make the document easier to skim), and **visually attractive** (to make it stand out from all the other CVs). **Choose a color that enhances these qualities.**
I would also caution against using more than one color, unless you *really* know what you're doing and/or graphic design is part of the job you are applying for.
If you choose to use color, you may want to consider how different colors may be perceived by your reader, e.g. ["Colors That Give Good First Impressions"](https://www.leaf.tv/articles/colors-that-give-good-first-impressions/).
I strongly advise *against* using color for the background of your CV (again, unless you *really* know what you're doing). This is probably too unconventional for most people and that may be seen as undesirable to your intended audience.
I suppose you *could* choose a color palette that reflects your current institution's color palette and you could include your institution's logo/seal/etc. However, this is probably a bad idea. Your CV, like a resume, is meant to advertise you, not your institution. You should not show "brand loyalty" if you are looking to leave that institution.
As mentioned in [another answer to this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61285/32794), if you do use color, make sure it can print well.
Finally, if you *must* use more than one color, make sure it's colorblind-friendly. ["Coloring for Colorblindness"](https://davidmathlogic.com/colorblind/#%23D81B60-%231E88E5-%23FFC107-%23004D40) by <NAME> is a good resource for choosing good colors. If you have a different color scheme, you can use [the Color Blindness Simulator](https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/) to help you evaluate your colors.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In my point if view, a CV with colors is for digital viewing purposes. For instance, I usually color links in my CV for a person who views it in a PDF viewer to be able to click on the links.
However, if darker colors are chosen (such as navy blue or brick red), it would not cause any problems when printed grayscale. However, if one chooses to use colors like bright green, then the links (or references) will be printed obscure.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I agree with most of the replies given above. Most of the PIs use hard copies of applications while doing a video or phone interview with you and that is when they will look for specific points to frame a question for you. As such having a CV with black font is better. You can always use differences in font sizes for topics, sub-topics and text such that it becomes easily readable.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: The `moderncv` class is the left-justified Times New Roman of CVs in LaTeX.
It looks good, uses color reasonably, and has well-engineered defaults, so don't worry about issues when printing in black or white.
It is a very popular package; for sure, everyone who has ever had to scan an academic CV in a scientific field has already seen a CV formatted to look exactly like yours. This isn't a bad thing in my view: it is unlikely to attract negative attention. As for attracting *positive* attention, generally you want to do that with the content of your CV, not with its unusual formatting. :)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: My thoughts:
1. Body text should always be black. At small sizes on normal printers black text will be far sharper than any other color.
2. Background should always be white.
3. Larger text doesn't have to be pure black but shuold be in dark colors that will stand up well to black and white printing and/or photocopying.
Overall the template you show doesn't look too bad but a darker blue would reduce the risk of bad copies.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/07
| 1,413
| 5,812
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<issue_start>username_0: So, I am yet to make up my mind on which is a superior mode of teaching in flipped classroom videos:
1. Khan academy type model where you see slides or a digital drawing board and only listen to the instructor.
2. Or a video in which you see the instructor communicating with you. Maybe in one third of the video and the rest of the screen real estate is focused on graphics, video etc.
Let us assume that you have a superb communicator in both cases.
Which model is superior? Have there been any studies in this field?<issue_comment>username_1: I cannot cite studies, but extensive anecdotal observation (maybe 5,000 undergrad students, 500 grad students) suggests that about 1/4 of students do not need, or do not care, about the person who is the instructor. But a vast majority, perhaps 3/4, do care. There is a sense of needing/wanting reassurance from a *person*, and caring about the insights of a *person*. The lack of this need/want comes in (at least) two very opposite forms: obviously the oblivious/incompetent failure to see what's going on, but also the relatively-very-competent student who scarcely needs or wants reassurance and has better ways to spend their time. The middle ground seems not to exist.
So, operationally, for almost all purposes, the *person* who is the teacher matters, whether or not they are a truly wonderful teacher (as long as they're not completely inert as a human being).
(The "funny case" is the few students, both at undergrad and graduate levels, who for some reason expect/demand the teacher to be an automaton, reciting a text, not looking at students, not caring about students, not contributing, not critiquing, not improving. Yet they come to class rather than read the book? Maybe in anticipation of "books on tape", to have the classic text read to them out loud, in a room with other people?)
(The aspect of trusting in the expertise of the instructor seems, sadly, less relevant than the mandated understanding of their "authority". Tsk.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Audio stimulates one sense, video stimulates two. One sense may suffice for some material, but not for others. Equally, one sense may be necessary, e.g., some material thrives as a podcast, but wouldn't as a video. For highly technical content, I'd need video to provide information rich visuals to support the audio, others could perhaps digest the material with just the audio. (Albeit, I suspect the video's audio wouldn't suffice for many and audio-only delivery would require audio to be prepared for that purpose.)
Note: A comment suggests the OP *is not comparing video lectures to audio-only lectures*. Yet, the title (*How important is seeing the face of the instructor?*), bounty (*...additional effort and bandwidth needed for showing the instructor...*), and question body (*only listen[ing] to the instructor* vs. *a video*) suggest differently. Nonetheless, the comment is plausible. Perhaps the OP can clarify.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Which model is superior?
>
>
>
That entirely depends on the metric you use to measure superior. I will assume that your primary interest is how much knowledge ends up sticking in your student's brain, i.e., you are measuring *superior* as *better scores on learning outcomes*.
In your scenarios, the main source of difference is the social presence of the instructor. The primary advantage of the scenario that uses a video of the instructor is that you can communicate through gesture and facial expressions. As I understand you question, this video is only used to supplement the audio; it won't carry any meaning by itself, but may be used to emphasize. This increased social presence will likely lead to higher engagement (as also observed by username_1's anecdotal evidence), but its effect on learning outcomes is less clear.
There is a nice meta-analysis that looks at general interfaces that either have or don't have an embodied agent ([Yee et al. 2007](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1240624.1240626)); in other words, if it is useful to show the picture of a person, and how realistic that picture should be. The authors find a significantly larger effect of embodiment on subjective measures ("did you think you learned more?") than on objective measures ("What was your course grade?"). They also find a generally low effect of embodiment.
More close to this question, there exists a study by [Kizilcec et al.](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/60e8/979d41d91b2e1f779ff1c9de098f61b8d85a.pdf) that investigates almost what you are asking. The authors performed experiments on MOOC courses on Coursea (not a flipped classroom, but close enough). One version of the course videos had audio and slides only, the other had an added talking head in the corner of the screen.
In short, the authors find in a first observational study that, if a head is present, students *think* they need to exert less effort, and learn more, while also rating the experience as more positive when comparing to the version without a head. However, in a following experimental study, when comparing always showing a head to strategically showing a head for some (~30%-60%) videos, no difference on course grades or likelihood of taking assignments is found. The authors did find an effect on cognitive load, which seems to be influenced by the (visual vs. verbal) preference a of the individual learner. This appears consistent with the results of the meta-analysis on embodied agents for interfaces.
My opinion is that the direct effect of a video of the presenter on learning outcomes is likely too small to be of practical relevance; then again it might increase engagement just enough to get students to watch the video that would have otherwise not watched it.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/01/07
| 762
| 2,903
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<issue_start>username_0: Suppose we have some text in a scientific journal article A. It is a verbatim copy of some text published in a related article B which is referenced by A, and this phrase is used to explain the same topic in both articles. However, the phrase itself is short, not a complete sentence and not very relevant (it could have been written in many different ways) but it seems the author of A has taken it from the original (B). Is this text plagiarism? I would rephrase it because it looks like a copy (it's unlikely it happened by chance given that the paragraphs in the two publications are related and the reference to B appears in a nearby paragraph) and that's not elegant according to my style and taste, but is there a general rule?<issue_comment>username_1: There is not a fixed set of rules for what is considered plagiarism (e.g., "5 or more consecutive, not quoted words"), although [several guidelines](https://www.google.it/search?q=plagiarism+guidelines) are available. Unless entire paragraphs are copy-pasted, each case has to be evaluated on a single basis.
As for a partial sentence, it is *likely not* considered to be a bad case of plagiarism.
That said, it depends on what the actual sentence is about. Are [those 500+ papers](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=) plagiarizing each others because of that partial sentence? Certainly not.
If the partial sentence was about a particular discovery reported in a particular paper, and that partial sentence was copied to a new paper *as if the sentence belonged to the new paper*, without a direct quotation.. that would likely be considered as a candidate for plagiarism. Quite for sure, it would be considered as plagiarism if a reference was missing, as well.
You might have some fun taking [this Turnitin quiz on plagiarism](http://turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/plagiarism-quiz/).
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: "Suppose we have some text" (5 consecutive words), your first sentence, already yields 18 hits in Google. As you mention it is "not very relevant", and you know the origin, I suggest you to rephrase it.
There are no general rules, one reason why such matters are settled in courts. One clear rules though: "Give Credit Where Credit is Due". And many guidelines, like in [Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing](https://ori.hhs.gov/images/ddblock/plagiarism.pdf), Miguel Roig.
Two additional food for thought:
1. A common quote: [If You Steal From One Author, It's Plagiarism; If You Steal From Many, It's Research](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/09/20/plagiarism/),
2. <NAME> (my favorite author) wrote a novel on "[<NAME>, Author of the Quixote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Menard,_Author_of_the_Quixote)", which really makes you think about such matters.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/08
| 797
| 3,573
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<issue_start>username_0: Similar to this question [What happens to equipment purchased using a startup package after an academic leaves the university?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18581/what-happens-to-equipment-purchased-using-a-startup-package-after-an-academic-le) , I was wondering what happens if the items are not part of a startup package, but instead from grants received. Is there a universal rule or does this change between universities/countries?
I would like to know about all funding, but if it varies, let's say specifically an industry funded project.
I am not sure if this is relevant, but when receiving grants, I have been told if I were to leave the department, I would be able to transfer the grant to my new location (given the funder agrees). This was, however, with the grant money itself, and nothing stated about after its completion.<issue_comment>username_1: The answer will vary widely, but for *most* industry-funded projects in the U.S., the institution will be the official recipient, as ff524 says of government grants. This is because the grantor can (probably) take a tax deduction if the grant goes to the institution.
The real answer will be in the grant document itself.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The fate of equipment purchased with research funds generally follows one of three trajectories:
1. Small common equipment below a certain threshold of cost is typically categorized as something like "office/lab supplies" and is effectively treated as part of the overhead costs of doing research. Different organizations have different ways of categorizing and budgeting such equipment, but it generally includes things like laptops, pipettes, staplers, etc. These items will be owned by the research organization, but below some threshold they are ignored and treated as being owned by individual researchers (they care about your pipette, but nobody's going to track your pencils).
2. Specialized and/or costly equipment typically belongs to the funder of the project, unless specified otherwise as part of the contract. For example, the US government almost always retains ownership of equipment purchased using research contract funds. After a research contract ends, one of two things happens with such equipment:
A. The equipment remains in the hands of the organization, either rolled over into use by another contract or simply ignored and abandoned by the funder. In my experience, this is by far the most common outcome with research equipment, since it is generally useless to others and/or difficult to transfer, and the funder is often not interested in holding it in inventory.
B. The funder requests that the equipment be shipped back to it. This is most likely to happen when the funder is concerned about alternate uses that the equipment might be put to (e.g., supporting an industrial competitor) or is planning to give it to another organization.
One of the common frustrations is that it's often difficult to tell whether you're dealing with 2A or 2B, especially when dealing with the government, which may take years to get around to requesting something back. In the meantime, the organization still needs to track and maintain custody as though expecting the funder to want the equipment back.
Now, in all cases, the PI does not own the equipment, but if it is worthwhile to transfer a piece of funder-owned equipment to a new organization, the funder may be quite willing to do so, just as they may be willing to transfer funds to follow the PI.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/08
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<issue_start>username_0: I've heard it suggested several times on this site that advisors (especially in experimental fields where the PI may benefit from a cheap, highly skilled workforce) have an incentive to prevent their PhD students from graduating in a timely manner, or at least that they have no incentive to actively promote graduation when the student is "ready." (Whatever "ready" means for that particular student.)
For example, [user47148 says](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61288/11365)
>
> You are the only one who cares if you finish. To your advisor you are cheap labor.
>
>
>
[bfoste01 says](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/41995/11365)
>
> I often wonder if keeping highly-skilled cheap labor around to do something with the data that a PI is collecting from a high-profile grant is often an implicit factor that impacts students' trajectories. In which case it is not uncommon to see students in their 6th or 7th year of the program receive funding.
>
>
>
and [grandmah77 refers to](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/41699/11365)
>
> keeping your advisor from keeping you there forever as cheap labor.
>
>
>
I am interested in learning more about the opposite: what incentives do advisors have to *help* their students graduate as soon as they're ready?
[This question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/27537/what-incentives-do-professors-have-to-increase-the-phd-completion-rate-in-their) discusses incentives for advisors to increase their PhD completion rate. Presumably this is part of the answer, because a student who isn't allowed to graduate in a timely manner might just drop out instead.
But besides for that, what incentives (if any) does an advisor have to help students graduate when they are ready, rather than dragging out the length of their degree?
(In some programs, there are policies that limit the duration of PhD funding. I'm asking about programs where PhD students *can* potentially hang on for several years past the mean time-to-degree.)
P.S. answers supported by references to actual data would be amazing.<issue_comment>username_1: The incentives vary strongly by location, although I think the usual driver is monetary. For instance, in Germany, it is difficult to be employed as a PhD student at a single university for more than six years (following the completion of the master's degree). Moreover, because the recruiting of PhD students is often done "from within," if a professor becomes known for not graduating students, it can hurt long-term recruiting. (Also, DFG funding typically can be extended on a single project for five years.)
For US professors, there may be an expectation of graduating a certain number of students as part of the requirements for being granted tenure. However, I think the bigger incentive is that beyond a certain point it becomes too difficult to keep finding funding for a long-term student.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Pride, and the sentiment of a job well done.
Sure, as a supervisor, one is the student's "boss", in some places in the world, it's even formally the case (where PhD students are employees). But the adviser-student relationship is also the one of an experienced academic guiding a promising student on the path to become independent and start contributing to the field.
Getting the PhD degree is a milestone on that path, it's the point where an adviser feels confident that the student is mature and that the work enclosed in the thesis will be looked as worthy of the degree by everyone in the field. Some people are perfectionists and think as long as there is funding, there's an opportunity to make the work even stronger, but other than that, who would want to delay that sentiment?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is very simple. **I care about my students, and want the best for them.** Languishing in graduate school is rarely optimal for anyone. And then there is the issue of funding. For the same reason -- concern for my students' wellbeing -- it is very important to me to provide them with RA funding as close to year-around as possible. If funding starts to get tight, it doesn't help to have someone taking a luxury sixth year when he or she could have graduated earlier. I'd rather have everyone funded on RAships than have so-called "cheap labor" from senior students while junior students are forced to TA.
If the question is referring to why even a sociopathic advisor would want his or her students to graduate on time, there is some prestige in having students graduate quickly and move on to good positions, and some shame in having students in their sixth, seventh, and later years.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Good students reflect well on their advisers, but only when they're out in the world producing results on their own.
When I first arrived in my department, I was told, "We very much want you to succeed and do great things, and in return we'll bask in the reflected glory of your accomplishments and get credit for raising you." And indeed, everyone is expected to complete the masters + PhD program in 5 years in my department.1 (It used to be 4 not so long ago!) Though I'm not a professor myself, I can imagine there is a great deal of respect to be had in the community for training excellent researchers.
Moreover, the arithmetic is simple: if you keep your grad students longer, a fixed total amount of funding (and personal time) will cover fewer of them. Consider that in the limit of pure grant money with no university teaching support, keeping grad students around 7 years instead of 5 means you will be able to take on 30% fewer total students. I suppose this doesn't apply to professors who force students to fund themselves and who don't spend any actual time training those students.
---
Also, basic decency should be mentioned, obvious though it may be. Professors don't have to be coldhearted, amoral, selfish, rational agents bent on amassing large amounts of slave labor.
---
1Yes, this is a department policy. It's also a university policy, but other departments flagrantly violate it. Moreover, I've never heard of any similar policy in my field (we're rather infamous for kicking students out fast). So the fact that all my professors impose this on themselves means they must have internal motivations.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Prospective Ph.D. students talk to each other. Smart applicants will notice that a potential supervisor's students take a long time to finish, and they will go elsewhere. Professors looking for good Ph.D. students need to be attractive to candidates, too, so they have an incentive to do their best by them: supervise and coach them well, help them in their careers (also post-Ph.D.), integrate them in their network, connect them to other relevant people... and get them to graduate soon.
And if you have a *good* Ph.D. student, he will do his best to get the job done, write publications and graduate. I assume most professors would rather have two smart and driven students that do their Ph.D.s in three years back-to-back, than a single laid back student that takes six years and ends up with half as many publications as the two good students had after six years.
Finally, the most important driver will likely be that your money runs out. In Germany, grants are typically for three years, and you are expected to have finished both the study and the Ph.D. student's Ph.D. by that time. If you need more money, it will be progressively harder to get. Funding agencies notice whether you get your results in three years, too.
EDIT: a longer list of Ph.D. students also looks nicer on a professor's CV. Better to have supervised two students in a six-year time span than only one. This is also sometimes incentivized by universities, in the form of a modest cash bonus per graduated Ph.D. student, or per Ph.D. student that graduated without taking longer than x years.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Mostly because it is very difficult to get the funding to extend the duration of the PhD position significantly. This is a very strong "motivation" for both student and professor, and there is no need for another one.
Failure to produce the descent PhD thesis during the allocated time would harm the reputation of both.
As a result, a professor usually cares about the success of the PhD studies. If the student is really bad, he is normally discarded as early as possible, way before the end of the PhD duration. Similarly, if there are some problems with professor, laboratory or research topic (also happens), a PhD student normally tries to migrate to another laboratory and this is relatively easy to do.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: At least at the university i'm at in the UK (and I belive this is true in the UK more generally and is pushed on them but some national body though i'm not sure offhand which) there is a 4 year limit on regular full time PhDs that can only be extended in exceptional circumstances. Students who fall off the end of said limit reflect badly on the department. Things that reflect badly on the department tend to result in the head of department having a go at the indidvidual academics who caused it
I belive this came about precisely because so many PhDs were dragging on for years and it was considered desirable to put pressure on both students and academics to finish up the PhD and move on.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/01/08
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<issue_start>username_0: I had an idea for a project and discussed it with my professor.
The professor said that it was a new idea and we could try it. We agreed that we would first research more about the feasibility of the idea. The professor would be the project head/guide for it with me and my friends as part of the team.
Now, he has given this project to his senior students.
He says that we still don't have much needed technical knowledge, so the senior project members will be of help.
This is correct.
However, I feel we, sophomores, will just be sidekicks in the process and will lose out as major contributors to the project, although we will be part of the team that will be involved in modifications and development of the prototype .
The fact that we need help from seniors is very true and necessary
I have just discussed the basic mechanism but design of the individual components with the professor and the design of the whole model itself still has to be worked out.
Do I really lose out on giving away my idea?
Thanks for all the answers and clarity.<issue_comment>username_1: EDIT: the original title of this post was "is this plagiarism?? what should i do now??"
To answer the original title question: this is not plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting another author's ideas, text, etc as your own.
Since it seems from your description that you are still involved in the described project, no such thing has happened.
It seems more that your professor has taken the leadership of the project (which is not strange for a project running in his group), and taken decisions that make you feel less comfortable.
Your fear is that you will not receive (enough) credit for suggesting the original idea. I think that it is best to address this in an early stage (i.e., now) to your professor. Most likely he will assure you that you will receive credit for the original idea. Write down any verbal guarantees that he might give to you in an email to the professor. Then during the execution of the project, make sure that any senior project member is aware of any agreement between you and the professor (e.g., by forwarding the email).
Try to do this in a graceful and polite manner, and try to avoid appearing (passive) aggressive.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: *I feel we, juniors, will just be sidekicks in the process and will lose out as major contributors to the project.*
Talk to your supervisor.
------------------------
I think presenting your concerns with your supervisor is the ideal thing to do. Being said that, I feel you are a bit overthinking things here.
Why did you share your idea with the professor in the first place? You could have done all the work by yourself. Even better would be to file a patent.
>
> But that is not always the way ideas evolve.
>
>
>
Did you even start the project? *I may not get...*, all these suggest your concern seem to be rooted in qualitative speculations rather than solid observations. Collaborations are necessary when a project need multiple dimensions to be analyzed. Your intention is obvious when you discussed the idea with your professor, who ideally be your *person of interest* as he may have experience in the relevant field.
Your professor thinks (Probably rightly so!) that the project need help from others. If you feel that it is redundant since one or two in the present group(that'd be you and your friend) can do all the work, you have every reason to object the collaboration.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/08
| 606
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a first year STEM PhD student in a US university, but I come from a different country. I took a couple of weeks off in this winter break to travel within the US, as it was too expensive to visit my home country.
Now, I have two options -
**1**. To visit my home country in the next winter (2016-17) for around a month.
**2**. To visit my home country in the coming summer (2016) for a short period (say 2 weeks) and get back to work AND to go back again in the next winter for around a month.
Now, the problem with **1** is that there is still a year to go (well, almost a year), and so there is a possibility of being homesick.
So, there is **2**. However, I am concerned if it will be seen as I am slacking off / going on holidays too many times etc. Now, I obviously understand that I should discuss this with my advisor and s/he should take the decision, but I am concerned if this is even a reasonable discussion topic (as opposed to the idea being so preposterous that there is no point even asking, and I should just stick to **2**)
Note that even if I go on a short holiday in the summer, I plan to spend most of the summer doing research at my university.
So, **tl;dr**:
Is going on holidays in 3 consecutive breaks considered reasonable? Or is it too preposterous?<issue_comment>username_1: Do you have an adviser? Have you talked to them about this? Most should be fine with you taking some time off to visit your family, but you should probably discuss longer breaks with them to work out all the details.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are looking for feedback prior to speaking to your adviser, I would highly recommend speaking to other students in your lab, and perhaps other international students in your program. The attitude towards breaks from research and face-time (i.e. time spent in lab where your adviser can see you) varies from PhD program to program, and adviser to adviser, as username_1 noted in the comments.
Also, as a first year STEM PhD student, are you currently in a rotation, or have you chosen a thesis lab/advanced to candidacy (is this a combined MA/PhD program)? If you haven't yet advanced to candidacy and are still taking classes, a long break may be feasible. However, if you do any sort of research that involves extended experiments/animal research, a longer break may be unfeasible.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Some Economics professors (e.g. [here](http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/directory/persico_nicola.aspx#vita) and [here](http://www.iza.org/en/webcontent/personnel/vitae/1054_cv.pdf)) obtained a PhD in Economics in Europe and then obtained a PhD in economics in the U.S. in just one year. I would like to do the same as I am finishing a PhD in Economics in Europe and I would like to get a PhD from the U.S. for obvious reasons (e.g., higher prestige, better job prospects).
How is it possible that they did the PhD in the U.S. in just one year? Is it possible that it was some kind of joint PhD? Or maybe they only did the preliminary examinations? I would appreciate any advice that would be useful regarding obtaining a second PhD (from the U.S.).<issue_comment>username_1: Note that both professors have their European degree from Bocconi. Double degrees appear to be a Bocconi (and some other universities') special. For the MSc level, it's explicitly mentioned on their web page as a highly selective option; see, e.g., [here](http://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/Campus+and+Services/Services/International+Relations/Bocconi+Students/Graduate+School/Double+Degree+Program/Double+Degree+Program_Monzini+2008+12+09+09+34). But you also find an economics PhD program [in which you spend a year abroad](http://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/Campus+and+Services/Services/International+Relations/Bocconi+Students/Graduate+School/Study+Abroad/What/Exchange+Program/Advanced+Economics+Exchange+Program/Advanced+Economics+Exchange+Program_Giannotto+2010+02+19+10+26) participating in a partner university's course work and studies, the AEEP. It is not explicitly mentioned that you'll get two PhDs - and you probably won't on a general basis -, but if you get close to a professor abroad during your year, and start your research with them, it doesn't seem a stretch to think you can negotiate two.
Note that one of the current partner institutions is Northwestern, as in one of the examples you linked, while the other (Berkeley) is not mentioned. This might be due to changes in times, or simply to the professors linked *not* having been part of this particular program. But as Bocconi is apparently very active in these international cooperations, it seems highly likely that both were part of *one* of them.
The bottom line is that, in my opinion, it will be very unlikely that you'll find a U.S. institution at which you can get a second PhD in only one year if you haven't been part of such a program, where the second degree is a natural and fairly minor extension of your work predominantly in Europe.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have a degree from MIT one year after a degree from Edinburgh (though I didn't do economics.) This is because I went to Edinburgh to do some research part way through my PhD, and the only way we could fund that research was with a masters, but I didn't really care about having (another) masters so it took me a long time to finish that dissertation, and then even longer to organise my viva for it. So really I had completed that Edinburgh degree in 1998, but it was awarded in 2000.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/08
| 652
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm from Palestine (or West Bank). Now I'm applying to Boston University (the deadline unfortunately is just ***a few hours from now***), and my country is not listed in their online application.
What can I do? There is not even an "others" option listed. Could I safely choose the nearest country to mine (Jordan), where incidentally I had earned my B.A. degree from? Or is that stupid to do? I can't call Boston directly now because their offices are closed now.
Should I forget about Boston University? (I did that, sadly, with UCLA for the same reason). But I really care about this school and I already sent both my GREs to them.
---
EDIT:
I have both Palestinian and Jordanian passports, in both of them my homeland is Palestine. I don't hold an Israeli passport or citizenship.
---
UPDATE:I submitted an application and followed it with an email explaining the issue. I'm still waiting for a response.<issue_comment>username_1: The United States [does not recognize the statehood of Palestine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_the_State_of_Palestine#No_diplomatic_recognition) (meaning technically that can't *be* your home country as far as that government is concerned), which makes it somewhat unsurprising that an American university might not have it listed as a country.
The Department and School likely doesn't have a particular stance on the issue - they probably didn't even design the application. Of course the ideal option would be to call them, but as this isn't an option at the moment, I'd put something close (Jordan - which as you mention you hold a passport for) and then call them to clarify as soon as you are able to do so.
Also, as this is clearly a recurring problem, you should seriously consider finding out if a given school's application has this problem *well before* it is due.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: First, this is just an error on their part, and not an issue of politics or policy. Contact them and they'll fix it, and in the meantime pick something close, as said in comments.
That said, it might be best to just pick Jordan anyway. If you were to be accepted, which passport would you use to get a visa? As a practical matter, this might be affected by which consulate you go to, which is obviously this is a little tricky since there's no consulate in the West Bank. If the answer is your Jordanian passport at the consulate in Jordan, then I'd pick Jordan as nationality, even if you currently reside in the West Bank. They're asking this question because they want to know what your visa situation would be.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/09
| 797
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm majoring in philosophy at my undergraduate university but I've also taken a fair number of math classes. I've generally found that taking math classes is very time consuming and dramatically limits the amount of time I can spend working on philosophy classes. On the other hand, I feel like I learn a lot in the math classes that sometimes influences how I think about philosophy. I'm a junior and I would need about 4 more math classes for a math major (I have three semesters left before I graduate). For purposes of admissions to philosophy phd programs, should I continue to take math classes and get a math major (in addition to philosophy), or should I just focus on philosophy?
ADDED: I understand that math will be helpful to me in studying philosophy. I am specifically interested in whether it is worth studying in the remainder of my undergraduate career given the opportunity cost for my ability to focus on philosophy.<issue_comment>username_1: I get the feeling that it always helps to have a second major, and math is seen as a difficult subject (most often) from the perspective of social sciences/humanities (reflecting well on your abilities). If it's only a course or two I'd probably say its worth it regardless if you end up using it or not. Ultimately, it will depend on the specific professors and their subject areas that you apply for -I'm sure a logics or cognitive science professor would be more inclined than an ethics one. This also depends on if you can spin your math interest in a philosophy area -just having a second major in math and then wanting to work in an area that never uses it, or, never including that in your applications to professors/universities, doesn't really make it worth your while (unless its minimal effort). Being in psy+phi myself, we'd probably have more use for you in psy than phi, but that's my specific area. Match what you want to do with what you are doing, and think about if you can use it as an argument in your favor when applying to PhDs (then roughly match the effort for the gain).
[Edit1: I'm doing Ecological Psychology and Dynamic Systems, we check our assumptions far more than other psychological areas and philosophy is tremendously helpful with that. Dynamic Systems relies, in part, on difference equations and ODEs, so maths would be great to be good at ;).]
[Edit2: Also read Daniel's answer for a more long-term perspective than the 'getting into grad school' part.]
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Recommend getting the math major if you can. (I have double bachelor's in philosophy & math myself, although my graduate school and professional work was in math.)
The undergraduate study is the best time to expand yourself into as many fields as you'd care to take. Generally, graduate school is the place that demands exclusive focus on one narrow area. So the opportunity you have now will not be available later on; and the degree will document permanently that you *can* achieve in any field you need to work in.
Plus, there's the possibility that later in life you may wish to adjust or switch fields. Having the math degree will allow you to immediately step into programs in any science-related area you wish.
Standing astride two separate fields like an academic Colossus gives you a perspective and options that few others can match, and now is the very best time to establish that.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/09
| 1,206
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<issue_start>username_0: Although it is optional, many publishers recommend creating a graphical abstract. According to some, this can provide greater exposure of your article:
>
> its use is encouraged as it draws more attention to the online article
>
>
>
Why?
---
Example of an abstract including graphical abstract, [from a recent issue of ACS Synthetic Biology](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssynbio.5b00170):
>
> **Memory and Combinatorial Logic Based on DNA Inversions: Dynamics and Evolutionary Stability**
>
>
> <NAME>†, <NAME>†, <NAME>†, <NAME>†‡, and <NAME>\*†‡
>
>
> [](https://i.stack.imgur.com/v0WVN.gif)
>
>
> Genetic memory can be implemented using enzymes that catalyze DNA inversions, where each orientation corresponds to a “bit”. Here, we use two DNA invertases (FimE and HbiF) that reorient DNA irreversibly between two states with opposite directionality. First, we construct memory that is set by FimE and reset by HbiF. Next, we build a NOT gate where the input promoter drives FimE and in the absence of signal the reverse state is maintained by the constitutive expression of HbiF. The gate requires ∼3 h to turn on and off. The evolutionary stabilities of these circuits are measured by passaging cells while cycling function. The memory switch is stable over 400 h (17 days, 14 state changes); however, the gate breaks after 54 h (>2 days) due to continuous invertase expression. Genome sequencing reveals that the circuit remains intact, but the host strain evolves to reduce invertase expression. This work highlights the need to evaluate the evolutionary robustness and failure modes of circuit designs, especially as more complex multigate circuits are implemented.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: I think it may be a substantial advantage. While I've never had the chance to create one, I really like them myself for a number of reasons.
* When searching through volumes of literature, they are much easier for a reader to take in at a glance than a traditional abstract.
* They often provide substantially more information about methods and results than can be packed into a traditional abstract.
* They are ideal for sharing on social media such as twitter, making it easy for you or others to promote your work.
And after all, a picture is worth 1000 words. Which is more than one gets in some glossy-paper journals these days.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Personally, I find "graphical abstracts" extremely useful, both as an author and as a reader of scientific papers. Even when I am not asked to provide a graphical abstract, I try to get an iconic figure onto the first page of my papers, where it can symbolize and summarize a paper to potential readers.
The reason for doing this with scientific works is the same as the reason for putting images in book covers, web links, and many other things: to communicate more effectively to people who are browsing. Since the scientific literature is so large, there is no person who can simply sit and read through all the possibly relevant papers in an area. People perform a triage as they search for information that is significant to them, typically beginning by skimming titles and abstracts, then looking at figures; if those are interesting enough, then they may begin to read the paper.
A graphical abstract effectively puts a figure out front, with the titles and abstracts, increasing the efficacy of information presented while browsing:
* From a cognitive perspective, this is extremely effective because it engages another input channel on our brains (imagery is handled through different neural pathways than text), making it easier to comprehend and remember something briefly glimpsed.
* Images also allow non-linear relationships to be presented succinctly, while text is strictly linear in structure.
* Text abstracts are often highly constrained in their structure and content, while graphical abstracts allow much more freedom in how the authors choose to convey an impression of their work.
They do, however, require new skills that textual abstracts do not, and a *bad* graphical abstract might be even worse for a paper than a bad textual abstract.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I haven't found graphical abstracts useful either as an author or as a reader, but we include them when we have the option because I assume it makes the paper stand out more in the index. I'm glad to read that others actually find them informative, but I personally much prefer text abstracts and then good figures in the text. I particularly dislike journals that hide the text abstracts from their index pages when there is a graphical ones and don't give you a way to turn that off.
To really answer your question, I assume journals include them because they generate more clicks.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/09
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a couple of papers that I have submitted to some journals but no feedback is received yet. meanwhile i'm writing my phd thesis and the defense is in few months, surely before getting any feedback from the journals. I'm wondering if it is okay to mention those submitted journal papers in my thesis.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes. It is both OK and common to mention them as *Articles Submitted*, or as *Manuscripts Under Review*, or in case you have any (e.g. arXiv) preprint, *Article Preprints* (with the appropriate arXiv identifier).
It might be relevant for me to point out from personal experience, that the only instruction from my department in this regard was - "Everything mentioned in the list of publications in the thesis has to be either published, or submitted for publication. There shouldn't be anything in the *articles to be submitted* category, because that category could be inflated as much as a person desires". The last part may be field and institute-dependent, but I think this conveys the basic ideology. Articles submitted are safe in terms of inclusion.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I'd say, unless you have specific instructions from your university (or your committee, or your advisor), you should probably do the same thing as you would for published articles. If your thesis mentions the articles you've published, then it should also mention the articles you've submitted. Otherwise, it shouldn't.
Unless you're asking whether you should put those articles in a bibliography/list of cited references. In that case, follow the same rules you would follow for referencing an unpublished but submitted article which someone else had written.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: If a paper does not exist (outside your computer), it is not a reference and should not be cited. You should at least make them available online. Publishing at ArXiv is one approach.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It's not obligatory to mention papers in your dissertation, except if you take a lot of text from them (particularly if they are multi-authored) then you really should cite them or even put a footnote at the beginning of the chapter (if a lot or all of the material from a chapter comes from one more more papers) with the title and author list, and where published if it is published. But if you aren't the sole author, you should do this whether or not the paper is published.
So, it's obligatory to mention any help you've had with the material in your dissertation, and to cite yourself like anyone else if you reference your own work a great deal. But **your dissertation is not your CV**. If your examiners wonder about your papers, you can tell them. When you apply for jobs, you will be expecting them to read a list of papers on your CV, and not your entire dissertation. In general, you should expect people are looking at your Google Scholar page, academia.edu, home web page etc. But (sad to say) next to no one who has power over you will read your dissertation all the way through. Mostly that will be done by students who come after you.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/09
| 283
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<issue_start>username_0: Some journals upload their accepted papers for public viewing shortly after the papers were accepted, examples of this include [J. Math. Phys](http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jmp) and [Cell Systems](http://www.cell.com/cell-systems/). What's the reason for doing this if the journal needs revenue?<issue_comment>username_1: I would suspect that they do that to attract some attention to the new articles. Once the attention has been established, they put them behind the pay wall.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't know about either of the two journals you specifically mention, but in math things like this are sometimes done to attract more high quality submissions to the journal to raise it's profile, particularly for new journals, since academics generally like open-access, and it can be a selling point when choosing a journal. (From what I remember, with new journals what I sometimes see is that the journal is open-access for its first couple years.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: They may have other ways of generating income. Also Open Access 'advertises' their publications so why shouldn't they be placed out there for everyone to read and learn from.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: My PhD supervisor always told me that we write papers "for the ages". The publication system being what it is, we cannot go back and update any links, so we should not cite or reference a source that may be gone in five years.
With that in mind, I'm looking for a place to *host* a small open-source web-application, consisting only of static assets (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), and I would like to link to it from my paper. GitHub being as big as it is, I suppose I will trust them for storage, but they do not offer hosting. Ideally, someone reading the paper should be able to go right to a URL and run the app.
Any thoughts?<issue_comment>username_1: [Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/) and [Google Drive](https://www.google.com/drive/) both provide the long-life storage and the permanent hyper links to the content of those personal repositories could be an option for you.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: [GitHub Pages](https://pages.github.com) web hosting really is perfect for your needs, but you might also want to consider [FigShare](https://figshare.com/features). You'll [get a DOI](https://ckummer.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/data-citation-figshare-doi/), which makes it easy for people to cite your HTML application. You could zip up your application using only local references so your app will be downloadable and usable as long as HTML 4/5 browsers exist. Until March 2015, content on FigShare was shared through an international alliance of libraries (CLOCKSS), [but alas no longer](https://figshare.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201953923-How-persistent-is-my-research-).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I have completed my master‘s degree work one year ago under supervisor A, and now I am doing PhD under supervisor B.
I have presented a part of my master’s degree work and included supervisor B’s name in the abstract since he paid the conference fees.
I have not requested for a consent from supervisor A about that and now supervisor A seems to be very upset and wants to complain.
Please advise me what should I do now?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. If someone has no input whatsoever on the content of a scientific publication, they should not be listed as a coauthor. In some fields, this input may be indirect, but merely paying money never establishes coauthorship. Based on your description, it seems that B should not have been listed as a coauthor at all.
2. Any submission for publication needs to be done with the consent of all coauthors. Adding a coauthor is a significant step, and should not be done without the agreement of the established coauthors: So if A is established as a coauthor, you should talk to A before adding B as a coauthor.
3. (Edit, as <NAME> pointed out in the comments): One musn't list someone as a coauthor in a publication without their knowledge and consent! If B consented to being listed as a coauthor, and indeed had no input at all on the project, this is misconduct from his/her part, too.
If B did not know about this: The straight-forward course of action would be to apologize to A and B and then to contact the conference organisers to amend the conference proceedings accordingly.
If B knew about this: In addition to apologizing to A, you should seriously reconsider whether B is a suitable PhD advisor.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: You cannot add someone's name to a paper if he or she has not contributed substantively. I wondered how B agreed.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I read on <https://www.aei.org/publication/leisure-college-usa/> :
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/aekCA.png)
>
> Study time for full-time students at four-year colleges in the United States fell from twenty-four hours per week in 1961 to fourteen hours per week in 2003.
>
>
>
The authors give some inconclusive statement regarding the reasons behind the trend:
>
> The decline is not explained by changes over time in student work status, parental education, major choice, or the type of institution students attended.
>
>
> Evidence that declines in study time result from improvements in education technology is slim. A more plausible explanation is that achievement standards have fallen.
>
>
>
I wonder why the time spent studying has declined so sharply in the United States over the the past few decades. I am only looking for data-supported answers (or pointers to them).<issue_comment>username_1: In 1961, one could easily get a good job paying a reasonable salary with the possibility of continued promotions without going to college. This is much less true in 2003, so many people are going to college not out of interest but as a default choice. Hence, while the population going to college in 1961 did so because they were interested in academics, many of the people going to college in 2003 don't actually want to study. Hence it is not surprising that, on average, they study less.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: In think the answer given that states "standards have fallen" - which is mentioned by your study authors is pretty much the reason.
However, there is a bit more to it - at least at a guess.
For example, here in the UK, successive governments have been league-table obsessive with the deranged expectation that the performance of schools and students can be measured accurately.
Along the way, GCSEs are also graded based on statistics where the most frequent mark is a middle C and the rest are arranged around it - this means worse performance by all does not result in worse marks.
But coming back to the league tables and rankings:
A bit issue of ranking is that nobody wins when someone does badly but everybody wins when they do well.
Exam boards have no incentive to provide hard papers, as schools prefer to pick the easy one - for a good ranking.
In addition, the current UK system relies a lot on fairly simple tests that can be marked quickly by the teachers paid to do so (still takes months...) - from questions that guide you, to multiple choice questions (at A-level at least). Especially multiple choice questions can also be solved by deduction rather than knowledge. In addition the format of today's questions has changed a lot.
In the past one may have asked you have a system with A, B, C, D work out X, Y, Z.
Today you would be given a system with A, B, C, D, told to work out X, then assume it is H, continue on to Y, assume it is I and then continue on to Z.
And there is technology:
In the past, if students wanted to cheat, they would spend a lot of time preparing their notes somehow, however the act of preparing notes is effectively revising.
Today, a student wishing to cheat would more likely try to use a mobile to google an answer.
And lastly, "learning to pass the test". I guess partially due to the ubiquitous access to "knowledge" on the internet, actually learning has become less important. It has become fairly standard to learn for tests only with students "cramming" before a test and then forgetting everything later...
Incidentally, simple questions that are easy to mark are a part of the problem here, if questions required and actual understanding of the problem, more time would have to be spent revising.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Part of the reason could be more political pressure/prioritization to produce higher number of graduates, which has resulted in lower achievement standards, and hence easier coursework. As a related example from secondary education:
>
> Most established tragically low expectations. President <NAME>.
> Bush’s 2002 education reform, “No Child Left Behind,” only worsened
> this problem. It set the impossible requirement that 100% of students
> be “proficient” in reading and math by 2014, and punished schools that
> weren’t making adequate progress.
>
>
> To bring themselves closer to 100%, many states simply lowered the
> score needed to pass their tests. The result: In 2007, Mississippi
> judged 90% of its fourth graders “proficient” on the state’s reading
> test, yet only 19% measured up on a standardized national exam given
> every two years. In Georgia, 82% of eighth-graders met the state’s
> minimums in math, while just 25% passed the national test. A yawning
> “honesty gap,” as it came to be known, prevailed in most states.
>
>
>
<http://fortune.com/common-core-standards/>
I know at the community college where I teach, a combination of pressure for higher graduation numbers, and also concern for students holding full-time jobs and caretaking families, has over time led to simplified coursework and fewer outside homework assignments.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: First, it is important to deploy your scientific skepticism in assessing this claim. The source, after all, is the American Enterprise Institute, which is a political "think tank" that is explicitly dedicated to pushing a particular point of view. Other key elements of its scientific record including [taking tobacco company money to produce pro-smoking studies the 1980s](https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=zjbp0085) and [recent attacks on global warming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Enterprise_Institute#Global_warming).
There does, however, seem to be at least some difference there, and [a deeper analysis](https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/its-about-time-what-make-reported-declines-how-much-college) of both the data and possible causes found that a major transition happened across the 1970s:
1. Expansion of the student population to include many more people who are working to support themselves, parenting, commuting long distances, etc., which means they *cannot* devote as much time, and
2. A shift in *faculty requirements* away from teaching and toward research, with a concomitant decrease in the amount of work that faculty are able to support asking from students.
From the early 1980s to today, however, the situation appears to have been more stable.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: As much as I'd like to leave this as a comment, I just can't. So here's a semi-rant but very informative piece of an American student's experience, and *why* we don't spend as much time studying as we may have 20-30 years ago.
As a full-time student with parents who have fallen into essentially infinite debt due to tax and bankruptcy laws, I have **zero financial support** in college. My tuition and living expenses are about $18,000 per year and yet, amazingly, my federal + state aid totals about $12,000 per year (and this is **90% loans**!). Yay America!
I had academic excellence scholarships my first two years, but when I transferred universities I lost the ability to obtain scholarships; the reason remains obfuscated to me to this day; universities are businesses!
So where does that leave me? Approximately $6,000 per year in deficit to my institution. I am **incredibly fortunate** to have chosen a major which has led me, after two years of hard work, to have two part-time jobs at approximately $14/hour each after taxes. **I work these two jobs a total of 30-40 hours per week in order to pay off this deficit**.
Now, imagine a full-time student who is in class 15 hours per week, with 10-20 hours per week of homework, working 30-40 hours per week to pay for school. The total? Approximately 60 hours per week spent on school and work, and **not counting study time**.
I satisfy the minimum requirements for my courses and work - I do my homework and work and pass my tests; believe me, I'd love to spend time studying more what I care about, but time does not permit. I am a lucky one in that I seemingly absorb information like a sponge and I don't *have* to spend time studying in order to satisfy university requirements. Others? They unfortunately have to spend 10+ hours per week studying to remember what they learned.
The point is, Americans in general have more financial assistance nowadays than before; ironically, the cost to students is **much** higher. Thus, many students like me *need* to work to afford school (even after taking out the **maximum of federal loans per semester**). In needing to work to afford school, we become trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy - students study less, care less about school, and drop out more, even though the cost (economically and personally) is more.
I study less because I have to do *more* to be *able* to go to school. I know that many others are in the exact same situation as me: less time caring about school and more time working part-time minimum-wage jobs to afford the ever-increasing tuition and living costs.
This is the current state of American public higher education, and it is not fun.
**Edit**: The issue of financial aid and taxes was brought up in the comments on this answer, so I'd like to talk about that in terms of the typical student.
### Financial Aid
Financial aid can be broken down into 4 basic parts:
1. Scholarships
* Usually privately funded by individuals or organizations
* Merit/need-based
* Essentially "free money" (well, you worked for it in high school, so technically not "free")
2. Grants
* Usually funded by the federal government, state governments, or non-profit organizations
* Usually need-based or promoting disadvantaged prospective students
* This really is free money (for the student)
3. Loans
* Funded by the federal government or private entities
* Paid for by the student (generally after graduation)
* This is the opposite of free money. Loan servicers make thousands of dollars off the interest.
4. Personal finances
* Funded by the students' family members or themselves
### The results
In my particular case, I receive $0/year in scholarships because I transferred universities and am no longer eligible to receive them; I receive about $1,500 per year in grants (the Pell Grant, specifically) because my parents make decent but not *great* money (middle class Americans); I borrow $10,500 per year in federal loans, and I fund the other $6,000 or so with my own personal finances.
The problem is that when this *deficit* occurs - when #1-#3 don't cover the entire cost of tuition + living expenses - it's up to the student or their family to pay it, and *on time*. Unfortunately, you can't just owe the university money when you graduate and pay it like a medical bill over time. You have to pay it up front or you don't get to register for classes; incidentally, if you don't register for classes for 6 months, you have to start paying your loans!
Like my family, the $6,000 per year to cover *one* child's education just isn't there. Most families I know don't even have $1,000 to spare, including mine. Thus, the student must take on the additional responsibility of working - and working a lot - because most jobs available to undergraduate students pay minimum wage. With some basic math, at $8/hour a student would need to work 15 hours/week year-round in order to make $6,000 to pay university costs. That is *not* time spent studying.
Even if I received the $6,000 per year in scholarships I was receiving at my first institution, I would still be borrowing $10,500 per year in loans. 4 years of that and the total debt after interest nears $47,000 and the interest continues to accrue during the repayment period. I am fortunate to be majoring in Computer Science, so I have very good job prospects to pay back such a balance. Others may not be so fortunate.
### The solution?
As James mentioned in a comment, it seems that I was implying that we should increase the available financial aid (which would mostly be loans). In fact, we should instead work to solve the crisis of public education in America by reducing tuition costs. As mentioned, taxes play a big part in that.
I'm no expert, but it seems to me that cutting our [$600 billion](https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending) military budget by $50 billion to add to our currently $70 billion education budget would immediately solve a lot of problems for American students. Relieve the pressure from students to put themselves tens of thousands of dollars in debt to get a bachelor's degree and maybe we would have more time to study. But I'll leave that project to the budget board that drives the future of our country.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_6: **Why would the students of 1961 spend more time "studying" than students today?**
In 1961 in the US, there was military conscription. Students who flunked out could be drafted and sent into the combat zone.
In addition, many universities had mandatory ROTC. When your ROTC instructor plows through, it is better for you if you are studying than if you are goofing off. If you can goof off with a book in your hands, you are "studying".
**Is there a decline in educational excellence**
Yes, there is a well documented decline in educational excellence. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/11/19/dreams-of-better-schools/>
>
> In some respects, it has always been so. With the possible exceptions of the postal service and the motor vehicle bureau, few public institutions rival our schools in public dissatisfaction. “We can all agree,” according to the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, “that American public schools are a joke”—and it is not hard to find comparable statements from commentators on the left.
>
>
> What should one make of such claims? In a study published more than a decade ago by the Century Foundation, <NAME>, who later became an education columnist for The New York Times, rattled off a list of similar lamentations stretching back more than 150 years. As early as 1845, when the nation’s first standardized test was administered to a group of fourteen-year-olds under the direction of <NAME>, the examiners were shocked by the “absurd answers,…errors in grammar, in punctuation and in spelling.” Writing in 1902, the editors of the New York Sun declared that America’s schools had sunk to the level of “a vaudeville show.” By 1955, a best-selling book, Why Johnny Can’t Read, charged that the failure of the schools was “gradually destroying democracy.”
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: I'm surprised nobody seems to actually be examining the paper itself. I expect most here are academics, and this is a study after all. I did this and already found potential issues. I'm sure as you dig in further, you will find more to question. Like any study, one must first find potential flaws and address then with a follow-up study.
The authors are examining surveys from several time periods done by different organizations. There is very much a potential for *framing* effects, i.e. the way a question is asked can bias the answer. The authors then seek to remedy this by taking variations on the survey questions and asking them to current students at a single major university in California. They then use the variation in answers and use that to adjust the results of the surveys.
There are two problems with this:
1) it addresses only the framing effect and introduces its own flaw, which is that they are randomizing across students today at a single university in California. There's no reason to believe that a student from 1961 from a different university would answer the same question in the same manner as a student from 2010 from that particular university.
2) In fact, I'm skeptical that they properly addressed the framing. As I looked into how the datasets were gathered, I found they were gathered in very different ways and I can't imagine how you could remedy this by just giving students randomized survey questions at the end of class. For example, the time-use survey from 1965 was done by asking respondents to *keep a diary*. Then this was followed-up by an *in-person interview*. Would results gathered in this way differ than asking people to fill out a form at the end of class? In fact, it's well-known that one way to bias a study is to ask people to keep careful records. By asking people to think whether they spend their time doing X, you actually influence the time they spend on X. In this case, I imagine asking students to keep track of their study time would definitely affect the time they spend studying!
Given these issues that arose immediately from just a quick glance at the paper, I would say one should keep a skeptical mind about these types of research papers, especially when the authors don't make it easy to refute their claims; I wasn't able to find the survey questions they used, for example, to address the framing effect, nor did I find any discussion of how they addressed the differences in data gathering or record keeping.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: The source article is not very clear on the definition of "study time", and it appears to be inconsistent with federal law.
In order to be eligible for federal student aid, a student must be enrolled in a *full time* course of study. 14 hours per week of study time do not qualify as full time studying. For financial aid purposes, full time is 12 credit hours for undergraduates, or 9 credit hours for graduate students.
<http://financialaid.gmu.edu/federal-stafford-student-loan/>
At the school where I teach, this usually translates to taking three classes of 4 or 4.5 credit hours per quarter. Each class requires about 4-5 hours of classroom time, plus another 8-10 hours of prep/homework time, for a total just shy of 40 hours.
This article claims a "study time" of 14 hours in 2003. My best guess is that they are only referring to classroom time. If that is the case, the statistics may simply indicate a shift from classroom time to homework from 1961 to 2003.
There are other possible explanations.
What is needed is a more rigorous definition of what this study was actually looking at.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I graduated with my PhD in math two years ago, and I am no longer affiliated with a university. However I am still actively researching. Often it's possible to get papers on arxiv or directly from the author's website, but sometimes it isn't (particularly for older papers). Public libraries, at least around here, don't have subscriptions to mathscinet. Do I really have to pay if I want these papers?<issue_comment>username_1: Are you doing research alone? Or do you still have contacts with your advisor or a collaborator at a university? If you work with an academic, speak with them; maybe they can find a way to get you an account to access the university network via a VPN.
This could involve giving you a meaningless title such as "external research associate" or "external collaborator". As long as there is a faculty member vouching for you, and it's free for the university...
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Mathematicians will often send you their preprints (not the work in progress), if not already on their pages, if you ask kindly. **I suggest to title the email with "Paper request: [Paper title], [Journal name], [Year]" for an efficient query**.
Back in 1996, I was working my Msc on a subtopic of number theory (diophantine approximations and continued fractions of polynomial roots in finite fields). I was away from my university, and working without a university student card. I was spending a lot of time at [Institut <NAME>](http://www.ihp.fr/en/), photocopying articles from mathematical journals for my research. I badly needed a conference paper: <NAME>, [Continued fractions of formal power series](https://web.williams.edu/Mathematics/sjmiller/public_html/book/papers/vdp/Poorten_ContFracsOfFormalPowerSeries.pdf), Advances in number theory, Proc. of the 3rd conf. of the CNTA, 1991. No university around had these proceedings, and Australia was too far.
"[Alf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_van_der_Poorten)" was a big name in the field (to me at least). And email and WWW were not very widespread in France. Yet I found his email, and spent about 1 hour to write the most polite email I could, in the afternoon. The next morning, the postscript was in my inbox, with a nice answer by <NAME>.: "thank you for your interest in my work, good luck with your study."
This gesture both:
1. permitted me to work on myy thesis,
2. boosted my confidence (as a low-level student) in approaching persons.
which helps me a lot now. I am still thankful to him now, and often think about him, even if I never met him. So far, mathematicians have always answered my requests, sometimes even with a scan and standard mail (with nice stamps) when the paper does not exist in electronic form.
Now, a lot of papers are available online. I insist one should browse researcher's webpage pages (instead of relying only on web search): sometimes, old papers are present in formats (dvi, ps.gz) that are not always indexed.
Finally, this could lead to discussions and, who knows, collaborations.
If everything else fails, different options exist. One with [twitter hashtags](http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/i-can-haz-pdf-academics-tweet-secret-code-word-get-expensive-research-papers-free-1525241) has made the news, I only mention it for the sake of information, and do not endorse the legal aspects.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Another option is to simply visit a university campus. The bigger the campus, the better. I would just go to one of their libraries, maybe even their central library. Connect to their wifi and then you should have access to journals and papers.
I also know of some university libraries where you can become a member even if you are not a student. Sometimes the memberships are free but sometimes you have to pay like an annual fee.
Further, you might be able to do something with your university where you graduated from. Plenty of universities have alumni services. My university has an alumni club with a ton of benefits but the only thing I use is access to the library which is way bigger/useful than a public library could ever be. In the last two of the cases, you should be able to use VPN to just log-in remotely from home and get the papers whenever you want instead of physically visiting a campus every time you need to read papers.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: There is/was an unofficial way to use Twitter to crowdsource papers. Here's how I was told it works:
1. Post a link of the paper with your email address on Twitter with the hashtag #icanhazpdf.
2. Someone emails you the pdf.
Now I know some people were using this to illegally get papers they hadn't paid for. These people would delete their first tweet after getting the emailed pdf. There's also apparently a rule where you're not supposed to thank the sender either. I don't quite understand that one.
I don't know if this is still a thing, but you shouldn't use this to get papers you aren't legally allowed to have. That would be immoral and deprive the hard working journals of their extremely reasonable and low priced access fees.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: As a PhD student, I face the requirement to publish at least one of my papers at one conference from a defined list of conference. In late November, I submitted a "draft version" of my work to my first and second supervisor.
In mid-December, I received feedback from the second supervisor. The feedback I received affected mostly writing style, making it appear more like a concise journal article instead of a book chapter suitable as part of a final PhD thesis, etc.
Since the holidays, I worked on my paper substantially, implementing ideas and criticism from befriended PhD candidates as well, and could send a new, final version to my supervisors Friday. My fist supervisor now explicitly told me that he read the **first** version of my paper, and now he wants to give me feedback, most of which he believes may have been included in the second supervisor's feedback and hence addressed in my new version.
However, he cannot give me feedback before Wednesday due to time constraints on his part, not even a phone call. Instead, he stressed that the first paper is not ready for submission.
I am now facing the problem that the submission deadline for the journal is on Tuesday. Hence, I must choose between
* skipping the deadline and not submit anything,
which would be undesirable. Although there is nothing preventing me from choosing a later conference, the message this would send to my environment (and myself) about my work standards, communication flow and time planning would be demoralizing.
* submit the renewed version anyway,
without my first supervisor having approved of it (the second supervisor promised to still give feedback in time). I submitted the draft, with two months left to the deadline, to identify problems with the general direction, and I knew it was not ready for submission. The fact that the differences between the draft and the current, polished version are very large now tells me that the current version may be very well suitable for publication, even in his eyes, if he read it.
Essentially, my possible errors here are:
1. submitting a paper that, even in the second version, is bad.
2. not submitting a paper that would have been perfectly fine.
Regarding the first error, how strong is the effect of having been rejected from one journal or conference, as to not being allowed to submit to other conferences work that was already submitted once before? The research field is the intersection between management and corporate finance.
Is there an effect on my, or my supervisor's, or my university's, reputation from submitted a (potentially still by far sub-par) paper--after all, this should be anonymous?
Furthermore, there could be a negative effect of my supervisor feeling undervalued if I meet him Wednesday for feedback on a paper (although *not the same paper*) that I submitted the previous night. However, my supervisor is quite pragmatic, and I am sole author of this paper, so I am convinced he would understand my reasoning--but also the possible negative effects I mentioned above.
Regarding the second error, I would lose time, the opportunity of valuable feedback, and disappoint my research group, as this conference was defined as my submission target past summer already; all this over underestimating a possibly quite nice paper.
**Edit:**
I saw [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9392/is-it-a-bad-idea-to-submit-a-paper-merely-to-elicit-reviewers-comments), and want to stress that I honestly believe that my paper is not incomplete, and could be published (but then again, I am just a PhD student in my second year).<issue_comment>username_1: Ask your second supervisor to talk to your first supervisor about it -- they may be able to agree between themselves that the feedback from your second supervisor alone is enough, given the time constraints.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If *you* are confident you have addressed all comments by the second advisor, and your PhD colleage students's criticisms, and *you* are confident it is now OK, send it off. You should get feedback from the referees for the conference too, and integrate your first advisor's comments in that round (or at the very least point any out major changes when presenting the talk).
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Short background: I'm a first year undergrad student and one of our study untis aims to educate us on academic reading and writing, including citation styles. Our Faculty requested we use the IEEE standard.
We have to gather the bibliographic data for some articles and books given to us. Two of these are articles (one is a journal article and one is a magazine article), each having a DOI and each having a PDF version available for purchase.
Would these two have to be marked as available online (with the doi/url) given or are there other conditions for these to be marked as availble online?
Better yet, to generalise the question, what are the conditions to have a source marked as available online (thereby also providing the DOI/URL of the source)?
*By "marked online" I mean that the bibliography citation would have [Online] in the case of the IEEE standard*<issue_comment>username_1: There are two general cases for supplying a URL or DOI for information:
* Information where a URL is *required* in order to locate and uniquely identify a source, e.g., referencing a website or a software distribution. In this case, you must always include the link, typically along with the date retrieved, as the contents at the end of the link may vary over time.
* Information where a DOI (or similar persistent link) is a "nice to have" that gives a fast link directly to the original source, e.g., referencing a standard journal article. In this case, it is "best practice" to always include the link, but not strictly necessary.
Personally, I am lazy, and include DOIs in the second case only when the bibliographic source I'm pulling from includes them in the reference already---unless specifically asked for them I will no go through the trouble of looking up what is (strictly speak) redundant information. For this same reason, whenever I am hard up against a page limit, the DOIs are the first thing to be deleted, because it is better to delete redundant bibliographic information than to remove content from the text.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For my own use, my BibTeX bibliography database does contain all information I can get my hand on on each document. This includes (in unofficial, not printed) fields stuff like location of preprints. Everything interesting goes in there. When I need it later on, I'll know where to find it, and citing it is almost automatic.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/10
| 2,625
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an MSc student and in my class are 10 people.
The module has been taught exceptionally poorly and as a result none of us can see ourselves passing the module. The exam is in two days time.
By failing the exam we will have to retake it in the summer because we will not met the threshold to pass the module.
The lecturer mentioned that the department was thinking of scrapping this module so this may be the last time it is run. Also throughout the module we got the impression the lecturer was really concerned about us and we got the impression people have done really badly in this module in previous years to cause him concern. Talking to other lecturers in private, have supported the fact that this professor is very bad and has not taught the module well enough to prepare us for the exam.
In the open book homework assignments, the class average has been high, around the 60%-70% region. But these assignments in total only account for 20% of the final module grade.
The final exam accounts for 80% of the final grade.
What are the implications, if any, for the lecturer or the university if everyone in the class fails the final exam?
I am in the UK.<issue_comment>username_1: Everything will depend on individual university policies.
I can say that at my institution, more than a few eye brows would be raised and the professor would have to have a very good basis for failing more prone than the very unofficial maximum of about 15-20%. If it's because no one turned in their final paper, or everyone were caught cheating, the failing grades would be justified. If the final paper were unreasonable ("write a three hundred page paper, topic to be assigned two weeks before it's due"), then students should go through standard grievance channels.
If this were an undergraduate intro class with departmental exams and several other instructors teaching the same course, then if a pattern of poor exam performance is established, then if the professor were non-tenure track, they'd likely not have their contract renewed.
For graduate level classes, I'll admit, I've never seen or heard of such a thing. If students could document genuine pedagogical incompetency, then perhaps the department could arrange a solution, though what that would be, I'm not sure. If it's incompetent assessment (but not instruction) they could probably just give an alternate assessment and have other faculty grade it. Something similar happened to me when a professor died towards the end of the course although we didn't actually have to rewrite the paper thankfully.
In all cases, though, merely having all failing grades will only pique the interest of your instructor's colleagues/department head. Everything else will depend on department policies, the instructor's status in the department, the reason for the failing grades, etc.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your question is about the consequences for the lecturer, but you've asked in comments what you should do.
In the UK, if it's felt that noone has reached the required standard then noone will pass. The basic paradigm is that everyone is measure against a standard, unlike in North America where it's more about measuring students against the others in the class. Still, it would not be a popular move to fail a whole class. What the effect on the lecturer would be will depend on their position, and what the uni is like.
Given it's two days from the exam, and I'm guessing it's in maths or similar, I think you should start memorising. The pass mark is 40% (usually), and with high homework scores you can pass with slightly less than that. You're more likely to convince someone you deserve to pass if you can show you've understood the basic ideas of the topic. Make sure you can reproduce the key definitions and theorems, and have at least an intuitive understanding on the methods of proof appropriate to what you are doing.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: First, to make sure that we are talking about the same thing, let me make clear that my answer pertains to a scenario in which the entire class failed **after making a sincere, good faith effort to study and do as well as possible on the exam**. (If you are talking about something else, like students conspiring with each other to all fail the exam as a form of protest of the bad quality of teaching or because they believe it is pointless to even try to study for it, my answer would be very different.)
Now that we got that clarification out of the way: if all the students failed, that would certainly be a very clear warning sign to the professor and department that something has gone seriously wrong with the course. What I would recommend in that case is for the students to document their grievances in a very clear way, including any relevant evidence, and take the matter up with the department chair or head or other appropriate university authority. Assuming that you are in a reputable department at a reputable university, what I expect to happen is that the department will initiate some kind of external review of what took place by people other than your professor. Assuming that your claims are found to be reasonable, I believe the department will be strongly motivated to take steps to address the situation in a way that repairs at least some of the harm that was done to the students. This could be in the form of a change to some or all of the grades, or, if it turns out the grades are essentially meaningless and no useful information can be salvaged from them, some other creative solution.
If the department is unwilling to address your complaints, you can try to enlist the help of your student union, go to other university authorities (e.g., dean, grade appeal committee, ombuds office), and, if else fails, even try to use social media to create a scandal and rally support for your cause. However, if you really have a strong case with good evidence that you have been mistreated, I doubt that will be necessary, since no sensible department will want to risk having its reputation tarnished by mistreating its students in a blatantly unfair way.
Finally, let me add that in my opinion the right thing for you to do right now is to concentrate on studying for the exam and not worry too much about emailing the professor with your concerns or about what will happen in the aftermath. It may turn out that your concerns were unwarranted and a good number of students end up doing just fine, so all this energy that you are spending right now on worrying would have been better spent on studying. Good luck!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: It is very difficult to write an exam that everyone fails and still adhere to departmental rules and the office of the dean. In organic chemistry it is quite common actually for the majority of the class to fail just by the difficulty and amount of material. That is the purpose of the curve. I taught at the most prestigious engineering school in the country and it was mandated that a C- (70%) must be the average at the end of the semester. How that was done was not difficult as there is always some type of normal distribution unless there is an exceptionally small class, in which case the few in the course would earn a C-.
However there was a situation recently wherein the professor by deliberate choice [failed his entire management class](http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-professor-irwin-horwitz-just-failed-his-entire-management-class-2015-4) and there was a great deal of fallout. His reasoning was simply this:
>
> None of you, in my opinion, given the behavior in this class, deserve to pass, or graduate to become an Aggie, as you do not in any way embody the honor that the university holds graduates should have within their personal character. It is thus for these reasons why I am officially walking away from this course. I am frankly and completely disgusted. You all lack the honor and maturity to live up to the standards that Texas A&M holds, and the competence and/or desire to do the quality work necessary to pass the course just on a grade level ... I will no longer be teaching the course, and all are being awarded a failing grade.
>
>
>
As predicted, a higher-up in administration didn't elaborate but his pompous outburst was quashed as the university reported that his intentions would not come to fruition.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I have a suspicious mind. One possible cause of all students failing is the students deciding to fail in order to make trouble for the instructor. I am finding it difficult to see how the OP and the OP's peers can know they are going to fail unless that is what may be happening. They got good average grades on the homeworks, so it is not a case of unfairly harsh grading. If, in past years, everyone failed the exam they would know what happens afterwards.
That would be a very bad strategy, as well as dishonest. People experienced in grading exams in the subject are likely to be able to distinguish deliberate failure from students failing due to excessive difficulty of the exam despite doing their best.
I hope I am wrong, and the OP intends best effort on the exam.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: The OP indicates they are in an MSc (Masters ?) program. As such, one would expect to have sufficient academic experience and familiarity with both the college's, the faculty's and the professor's expectations by now. In a class full of experienced students someone should have been able to the identify teaching gap and raise the concerns with the lecturer or department faculty earlier. It seems rather too late to deal with now in an impartial manner
I had one such experience in my first year in a 100-level. By the end of the third week the class took their concerns to the department head and within 2 weeks they completed an assessment, validated our concerns, assigned a replacement lecturer and gave due consideration in the final grading that we could not reasonably complete the entire curricula under the circumstances in contrast to the other classes.
It's your education; take charge. If you sit there like a lump on a log, you get as much out of it as the mushroom does.
As for the actual grading question, again you should understand what are the expectations. My brother took a Master's level astrophysics course where the professor indicated at the outset:
This was probably the toughest course in the department and the college. In turn they were some of the brightest students in the school. The point of the course was to stretch the students understanding of the subject. His exams (mid and final) would be 3 questions each, 3 marks each. Expect almost all students to fail. Answering a question correctly would get you one mark; demonstrating an in-depth understanding of the material got you 2. If you got 3, you probably wrote the theory/book and are auditing the course. Most students were expected to get 3 marks (1/1/1) or (2/1/0). The class final average was ~ 2.7; yet all but was given a pass. That grade was not based on a curve, rather the professor's assessment of whether the students truly demonstrated they learned the material. Everyone understood the terms and expectations from outset.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/10
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<issue_start>username_0: A recent question in [Information and Security Stack Exchange](https://security.stackexchange.com/),
>
> [How to know whether a textfile has been edited or tampered with](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/110141/how-to-know-whether-a-textfile-has-been-edited-or-tampered-with)
>
>
>
raises a very good point: if one wants to archive experimental data in an open, text-based format, in the long term, it is desirable to have tools to prevent the tampering of the files, or at least detect the tampering if and when it happens.
The answers at infosec are good, but they feel somewhat abstract and hard to implement for a busy PI whose hands are already full trying to run a research lab. It may be, on the other hand, that solutions already exist that fulfil at least some of the requirements, or that they will appear not too long in the future; it's certainly reasonable to suspect that some form of tamper-resistant data or lab-book signature scheme is already in use at least in commercial research organizations.
This question is relatively hard to pose correctly, as there is an inherent vagueness in the requirements, and it is probably better to keep it general. The main problem is, given a set of text-based data files, how to signatures, or similar devices, that can be used in the future to provide guarantees that the data has not been tampered with. Are there any specific solutions that will do this in an accessible way?<issue_comment>username_1: In addition to good recommendations on the *InfoSec SE* site, some of which are not that difficult to implement (for example, *digital signing*), I would suggest another rather straightforward solution (unless your data is extremely large or extremely sensitive): simply use one of **Git repositories**, such as *GitHub* or *GitLab*, or **research data repositories**, such as *Zenodo* or *figshare*.
Git and Git-based services now [support large files](https://git-lfs.github.com), plus you will have an added benefit of *versioning* for data files that you can match with your research workflows to enable *reproducibility*.
Check my [related answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/53983/12391) on some arguments for potential preference for *Zenodo* vs. *figshare*.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: A common tools for checking data integrity is to use [MD5 checksum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5). If you have unix-based system, you can do it form command line:
```
$ md5 some_file.csv
```
or (`md5sum`, depending on your system).
It gives some hexadecimal number (like `dc50353b4a1e5d99cb49b65e33b18916`) which will (almost certainly) change with any changes to the file.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/01/11
| 814
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying to Oxford at the moment for graduate study. Under the section asking what undergraduate degree I'll be receiving, it gives me the choice of "Bachelor of Arts (non-UK)" and "Bachelor of Arts Honours (non-UK)." What is the difference between these two? I might receive departmental honors when I graduate, but I suspect this isn't part of the distinction.<issue_comment>username_1: Speaking from my experience in Australia -- but I think it holds for most Commonwealth countries.
A Bachelor of Arts (or Science) is 3 year degree, purely by coursework.
Though potentially some coursework units may have large research components.
You can get into it based on results from high school or some other tertiary entrance exam.
The adding of Honour means the the addition of an extra year, after completion, where you do some coursework, but the focus is on research, you produce somehting which might be called a Honours thesis or similar. Depending on the university, students doing honours may count as post-graduate students, or not (or somewhere between).
It may make sense to think of the Honour year as being a separate qualification -- it is often possible (if unusual) to get into Honours at a different university to where you completed your bachelors.
To get into this Honours pseduo-course, you need to have done well on your units in your bachelors. At the completion your honours results are graded and you get back a result like "1st Class", "2nd Class Division A", "Second Class Division B"; There are more classes, but I've not heard anyone say they have them (presumably because it doesn't sound good to say I have 3rd Class Honours, and/or they don't stick around in academia.).
Honours 1st class is considered roughly equivalent to having done a Masters, as far as getting in to a PhD goes. Thus the Honours pseudocourse can be used as a "shortcut" by high achieving students to get into a PhD a year earlier than they would if they did a Masters -- at the cost of a fair bit of stress usually, because a lot of Honours projects are as hard as Masters projects, and they tend to have a lot of coursework at the same time.
Away from BA and BS, other undergrad degrees may have "built-in" honours.
Bachelors of Engineering tend to have them (Particularly if the B.E. would make you a accredited engineer, without having to go on and do Masters). In these cases Everyone does a research based Bachelors Thesis, but only those who have it graded above a certain cut off, and who meet overall coursework grade cutoffs get awarded a Honours classification, and get Honours on their certificate.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In some cases, it is depends in where you are going to take it. For example, in Bangladesh, Bachelor Degree meaning, you have to take all the courses and its basically coursework. Nothing specialization here. We can call it **BA Pass Course** too and its duration is 3 years.
On the other hand, Bachelor Honors Degree is involved with semester and course credit system where students has freedom to choose. Of course, at the end of the day, students has to do project or dissertation.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I ranked first in my university in my undergrads, which had many affiliated colleges. How can I specify that in an essay in a compelling yet precise manner?<issue_comment>username_1: Making a note of the number of affiliated colleges might be fine. But I will suggest including the total number of candidates (students) in your batch that includes all affiliated colleges (if available) within which you've established your rank.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: From your comments, it is perfectly fine to state that you **ranked 1** in the *university.*
In my case I had been asked to provide the number of students. I had no difficulty since mine was a National institute which is a university by itself, all I had to do is to count the number of students in my class. But in your case you might have to give a brief explanation about the affiliation, possibly **an attestation from the University and college**.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/11
| 478
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a B.Sc. in CS, but I want to further in the GIS (geographical information system) line. I am thinking I'd have to do some sort of post-graduate diploma in GIS, before I can go for a M.Sc., which is necessary to hit my mark, seemingly...
I need your guidance about this case.
Thank you very much<issue_comment>username_1: Not necessarily...
Transition of CS students to other majors could be easier than the others in some cases. There are a great deal of ***computational*** projects within the science and engineering, could which be done, as well as possible, by the fellows who have deep ideas about the computation and implementation of simulated complex systems. As an example, I know a graduate of CS, who did changed his major to chemistry, to work on the simulation of an electro-chemical quantum reaction. He is really successful to handle the case, truly.
In such cases, one could assert that the target person might need to work hard, firstly, to construct the desired seminal background for collaboration in the new field, but this stuff is not often too tough for determined people, considerably; and the consequences would be noticeable, as the computational aspects of the project would be progressed.
So, if you are going to work on such computational subjects within your target field (GIS, or something), you better ***prepare a coherent SoP and assert on your goal within that. Then, your CS background would not be considered as an irrelevant background, but a to-the-point one, probably.***
Best
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I can't comment with authority on your specific case, but some GIS masters courses may not assume much GIS-specific prior knowledge. You should probably have an interest in mapping, cartography or spatial data, and - since you are coming from a CS direction - in databases or spatial computing; but interest does not necessarily mean in-depth knowledge.
I think my advice would be "find a course that interests you, and discuss it with the person in charge of admissions".
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/11
| 1,833
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<issue_start>username_0: Suppose in mathematics, someone finds a completely new elementary proof of a famous theorem and wants his work ''peer reviewed'' on a site like MathOverflow or MathStackExchange before submitting to a formal journal. How safe would this be ?<issue_comment>username_1: If you say you have found a completely new elementary proof of a famous theorem, you instantly put yourself into the 'nutcase' box until you can prove otherwise (or unless you have already proved otherwise). Posting on MathOverflow is a good step to additonally move into the 'nuisance' box as well. Even if you are right, you have not attached your name to the proof in any formal way, so someone could steal it. Probably the route that is most likely to win you acceptance within the mathematical community is to find someone at a university or similar who is willing to mentor you, and don't conclude your proof is correct until you can actually convince another mathematician it is correct. If it really is elementary then that shouldn't prove so difficult.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are an 'outsider' to the mathematical community and you have an argument which you believe provides a significant mathematical advance, you may well have broken new ground - but you should also seriously consider the possibility that your argument contains a mistake, and you should carefully think about your interactions with the mathematical community in that light.
I don't say this to discourage you, but I do want to impress upon you that you are part of a relatively large community of people who will look much like you to a mathematician - see for example the questions [Handling unsolicited proofs of famous mathematical problems](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/20674/handling-unsolicited-proofs-of-famous-mathematical-problems) and [I believe I have solved a famous open problem. How do I convince people in the field that I am not a crank?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18491/i-believe-i-have-solved-a-famous-open-problem-how-do-i-convince-people-in-the-f) on this site, which give a good impression of the volume of similar requests your work is likely to be embedded in. Again, this is not to discourage you, but to encourage you to think carefully, and take your time over, how you engage with professional mathematicians you are asking to review your work. If nothing else, make sure you read and mull over all the answers on both threads.
That said, when you do communicate your findings to outsiders, you are justified in seeking protection for your work so it isn't later claimed by someone else as their own. I would generally advise you to take it easy on such protections: your main problem is overwhelmingly more likely to be getting mathematicians to take your manuscript seriously, not defending it from theft.
In that regard, the best defence I can think of is to *make it publicly available, as widely as possible, under your real name*. This can include posting your manuscript to the [arXiv](http://arxiv.org) if [you can post there](http://arxiv.org/help/endorsement), to [viXra](http://vixra.org/) as an alternative, or to sites like MathOverflow or Math Stack Exchange. For good measure, if you post on Stack Exchange, you might want to ensure that your post is archived on the [Wayback Machine](http://archive.org/web/). It's important to note that even then, your work is not "safe" in that someone else could, in principle, take that work and submit it as their own to a journal.
However, this is academic misconduct of pretty much the highest order, and if that were to happen you should contact the journal editor and the dean of the author's institution with proof (like your MathOverflow post!) that you are the original author of the unattributed work. That is immediate grounds for an investigation which can result in retraction of the paper and severe academic sanctions against that author. If it ever comes to that.
It is also important to note that, regardless of whether your work is safe or not, it may or may not be appropriate to make such a request of MO or MSE. In particular, the threads [Using Math Overflow to check whether or not a proof is correct](https://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/1265/using-math-overflow-to-check-whether-or-not-a-proof-is-correct), [On discussion of published papers at MO](https://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/2328/on-discussion-of-published-papers-at-mo), and [Appropriate or not: “To what extent are the results in Paper X correct?”](https://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/2762/appropriate-or-not-to-what-extent-are-the-results-in-paper-x-correct) indicate that such a request would be considered off-topic at MathOverflow. To tie this in with my initial point, posting review requests in inappropriate venues is a good way to quickly exhaust the goodwill of the mathematical community and make it much harder for your work to receive appropriate vetting even if it deserves it.
So what should you do? I would start with [this advice](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/18570/820).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: If you post under your real name, I think that it is quite "safe" in the sense that your work is unlikely to get stolen because of this. In fact, posting your work on a public forum is the best defense I know against intellectual theft.
On the other hand, "Is this proof of a known result correct?" is generally not regarded as an appropriate MathOverflow question. There can be a fine line between asking questions that come up in one's research and asking others to vet your research. The former is the purpose of the site, whereas the latter is discouraged. Your question seems to fall on the wrong side. I think it would stay open, at least, on math.stackexchange.com.
If you have not already published work in the past, I might recommend that you try to get one-on-one help from a qualified (and trusted) mentor, rather than trying to crowd-vet your proof. It is not impossible to do research mathematics completely independently and with no academic affiliation -- I have seen people do so quite well -- but it is very rare and *much* harder than doing it with some assistance. It would be reasonable to seek help from the math department of any university near you. If the mathematicians you get in contact with can't help you, see if they can connect you to someone who can.
**Postscript**: I have observed on this site and others that amateur mathematicians often have significant concerns that their work will be stolen. I think these sentiments are very unfortunate, because they can serve to prevent these people from getting what would benefit them most: qualified help and supervision. I don't want to say that it is strictly impossible for someone's work to get stolen, but here are two things: (i) I have done mathematics for my entire adult life (more than 20 years), and I have **never** seen or heard of an amateur mathematician's work being stolen by a professional mathematician. Reports of theft of mathematical work of anyone by anyone have come to me...but very, very rarely. (ii) I would estimate that about 90% of the work done by amateur mathematicians is not publishable. This is not to say that most amateur mathematicians are hopeless or incapable of doing real, publishable work. However most professional mathematicians train for years and make use of enormous amounts of human capital in order to get to the point where they can do and write up publishable work. If they had been afraid of showing their work to their mentors, they would not have gotten anywhere in most cases. Just something to think about.
Upvotes: 6
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2016/01/11
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<issue_start>username_0: Two student just kissed each other, in public, in front of the other students and me (as the lecturer), in class!
Should I report the case to the administration?!
What am I supposed to do?
I'm a tenured female lecturer, at an american university.<issue_comment>username_1: (Assuming that the kiss was worth noticing: personally, I wouldn't mind) What do you do with, e.g., students who chit-chat in the classroom? With those who play with the phone? With those who look at Youtube videos? With those who eat spreading food everywhere? With those who arrive late giving high fives to their friends?
Do the same.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Talk to the students involved privately. (E-mail them, if necessary, to set up an appointment.) Ask them to refrain from over-the-top displays of affection during class. Once you have talked to them, make a concise announcement to the whole class that you do not want to see that kind of display during class (although it may be best not to refer specifically to the event that happened, so as not to embarrass the student involved). In the future, have more detailed notes in your syllabus about what kind of behavior you consider inappropriate for the classroom.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: As I'm sure you're aware, kissing in public is an entirely acceptable part of American culture. It happens at the bus stop, in the restaurant, in movies, on TV, and pretty much everywhere else where people can see you. In itself, it isn't a big deal, and nobody feels offended by it.
It becomes a distraction when it either happens at a *time* where it's in appropriate (e.g., during a quiet exam) or in a *way* that makes it inappropriate (e.g., a couple french kissing for an extended period of time in a fancy restaurant) or if the norms within your institutions are different from those elsewhere (e.g., in a strictly Christian college). Your question does not specify whether either was the case. If so, you are within your right to ask the students to not do it in the future. But if it was a peck on the lips somewhere in row 3 during class, or someone hugging and kissing during the break between classes, I don't think that that goes outside the norms of American culture. You can of course put something into your syllabus, or call out the students, but the best you're likely going to achieve this way is to come over as prudish. That's not likely what you're going for. If the students themselves feel distracted or think it goes beyond reasonable bounds, they will feel free to police themselves.
Upvotes: 4
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2016/01/11
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<issue_start>username_0: I am writing some thank you's for interviews I had recently. How big of a deal is it if I write UCLA instead of University of California at Los Angeles, for example? I have always spelled things out in cover letters and CVs and stuff, but especially at this point, it just seems like I should just be able to write UCLA. Would anyone not think kindly of this?
Some school names are short/you should always write out like University of Michigan instead of Michigan, or University of South Carolina instead of USC, but when there's no ambiguity like UCLA, it seems silly to write that out every time.
Thanks for the help!
P.s. these are for math positions if that matters.<issue_comment>username_1: I can't imagine that anyone would object, as long as the abbreviation is widely used by people who work at the university. (UCLA is fine, but I wouldn't call it UC Los Angeles, since I believe that's a much less common abbreviation.)
In fact, repeatedly writing out "University of California, Los Angeles" is more likely to stand out as strange than using the abbreviation UCLA is.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you use a widely used, well-recognised abbreviation, it shouldn't be a problem, unless in any extremely formal setting (like some legal paperwork). Use e.g. the abbreviation on their web page.
Use of abbreviations for *other* institutions would be a bit iffy, particularly if not well known or even potentially ambiguous (e.g. USM could be Universidad Santa María in Chile, or University of Southern Missouri, or perhaps even others).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: There are very few universities that are universally known by an abbreviation. MIT is one of them. Caltech is arguably another, but I find blank faces on the East Coast of the US when I mention the name, so there is an issue of recognition there to begin with.
USC is another that is ambiguous. It's easy to assume if you are from the West Coast that "clearly" this is the University of Southern California, but New Yorkers may or may not recognize this.
New Yorkers tend to think NYU is one of the great institutions in the world, but I find most people on the West Coast aren't familiar with it and default to thinking "NYU" means *the* state university for New York.
Some are suggesting it's weird to spell things out, but I've seen enough resumes to recognize that people spell out all kinds of things and as long as it's clear what is meant, there is generally more to worry about in a resume than that.
So what about your example, UCLA? I've met very well-educated people from abroad that didn't actually know what it was. It's true the brand is very strong (especially in Asia), but it definitely does not have the recognition of MIT. In this case, you might want to put "University of California, Los Angeles" but you run the risk of some people not recognizing this is the same as UCLA (I've seen this happen with people from Asia). This example shows it's important to recognize your audience.
In summary, whether to use an abbreviation depends heavily on audience. Lean towards not using an abbreviation if you are unsure, and keep in mind very few institutions are known universally to begin with and known by their abbreviation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I would suggest following usual rules for using abbreviations. Spell it out on first reference and use the abbreviation on subsequent references.
Obviously if you're addressing a UCLA faculty member you probably don't have to spell out University of California, Los Angeles, but I'd spell out pretty much anything else, you don't know what school they'll think of when you say UM. To me, that's University of Montana but I sincerely doubt that's many other people's first thought.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/11
| 671
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<issue_start>username_0: The group of my professor and another professor from a distant Asian country have signed a cooperation agreement.
As part of the cooperation, me as a rookie graduate student have to visit the other professor. Unfortunately, the proposed days of the visit interfere with a few days of a personal holiday. On some other time-frames it is either too late or the host professor has deadlines to work on.
The only time-frame which fits *all* is the one which infers with my plans.
Both the host professor and my professor in their email communication asked explicitly whether the proposed date fits me. Of course it doesn't, but I don't know if I should say that or should I simply sacrifice my plans (a weekend + two bank holidays), lose a few days of personal traveling, and opt for the visit?<issue_comment>username_1: How important is the research to you? And how hard is it for you to replan?
An enthusiastic grad student probably would jump onto the opportunity, but if you see it as a chore, and you do not see direct repercussions (after all, they asked you whether it works), you might decline it.
Of course, you may still be enthusiastic, but it may mean losing out on a pre-booked, expensive trip to the outback/jungle/mountains/etc. (or something else that requires a lot of organisation and/or money to arrange). In this case, the decision will be less clear-cut.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Depends exclusively on your ***priorities***.
No one can help you but you!
Notwithstanding that, since you are the part of a team, IMO the best is not to mess up with plans of your team leader if you find the plan is good for both you and your team in the long run. A moral obligation exists, at least have an open discussion with your supervisor, random people is of no use here.
**A personal side note**: I would jump in to the opportunity if I were you! Well, I must say it depends a lot on the *cumulative trust factor* between you and your supervisor among other things.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Have you already made arrangements for the holiday? Do these arrangements involve other people or major nonrefundable payments? If so, the holiday takes priority due to financial reasons or obligations to third parties.
On the other hand, if you can easily cancel all the arrangements and move the holiday to another date, be flexible. In this case, the visit is probably more important to you as an academic than the holiday would be to you as a private person.
Of course, I come from a background where PhD students are employees of the university with the same rights as any other employee. The answer might be different in a country where the student is subject to the whims of their supervisor.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/11
| 1,130
| 3,486
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<issue_start>username_0: I would like to cite a chapter from a book which is listed in the catalogue as *Attosecond and XUV Spectroscopy: Ultrafast Dynamics and Spectroscopy* (Wiley, 2014, edited by <NAME> and <NAME>), found [here at the Wiley site](http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527411240.html) and [here on Amazon](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/toc/3527411240/ref=dp_toc?_encoding=UTF8&n=266239). I'm somewhat confused about how exactly to cite this book, since if you look at the cover...
... the title is different. To add to the confusion,
* the book is listed under the catalogue title (*Spectroscopy*) in multiple library catalogues and most google search results,
* but not everywhere, including [WorldCat](http://worldcat.org/title/attosecond-and-xuv-physics-ultrafast-dynamics-and-spectroscopy/oclc/864307022&referer=brief_results) and several Wiley pages;
* the [citing articles](https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?cites=11773296504348961233&as_sdt=2005&sciodt=0,5&hl=en) on Google Scholar are split about 50/50 on both (with Google Scholar correctly recognizing both forms as citations to the same resource!),
* some of them even [switching](https://www.phys.ksu.edu/personal/thumm/RESEARCH/PUBLICATIONS/2013_Attosecond%20Physics%20_preprint100413.pdf) [sides](https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=q7stBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA387&ots=06kks9kO45&sig=pN4SV0rEYmPiGvRcjfBjGWgo22w#v=onepage&q=vrakking&f=false);
* the title page has the same title as the cover; and
* each book chapter has a footer with the cover title (*Physics*).
My question is: how do I cite this book? Given that pretty much every rule of libraryness seems to have melted down, do I just choose whatever I find sexier and forget about it all?<issue_comment>username_1: List both. The official title is whatever is on the book, no matter what (so even including any typos and stuff). Still, it makes sense to mention the problem:
>
> <NAME> and <NAME> (eds). *Attosecond and XUV Physics: Ultrafast Dynamics and Spectroscopy* [also known as "*Attosecond and XUV Spectroscopy: Ultrafast Dynamics and Spectroscopy*"]. Wiley, 2014, 624pp. ISBN: 978-3-527-41124-5.
>
>
>
Bear in mind that the title is the one listed inside (on the first sheet of paper), not on the cover (thanks Andrew for pointing this). Also, I would include the ISBN in this case, even if you don't include it for other book references. Either in a standard way as shown above, or in a note like the following; remember that rules for providing auxiliary information are quite loose and you can twist them to your needs:
>
> <NAME> and <NAME> (eds). *Attosecond and XUV Physics: Ultrafast Dynamics and Spectroscopy*. Wiley, 2014, 624pp. [also known as: "*Attosecond and XUV Spectroscopy: Ultrafast Dynamics and Spectroscopy*". ISBN: 978-3-527-41124-5.]
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Any one will do.
The main aspect behind citations is to make the reference reachable to the readers. If both citations indicate the same content then you may use any one you feel content with (and stick to it for uniformity).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Pick one, preferably the one that is listed on publishers own lists. The important thing is that the ISBN number is right and anyone who might be interesting in getting to the referred material can adequate do so with the given information.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/12
| 685
| 2,904
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<issue_start>username_0: One of my papers was accepted to a conference. There is this one thing that everyone asks about, including more than one of the reviewers, and other people I've talked to about my work. The answer to the question is sort of disappointing, and substantially deflates the balloon of my work. What is the best way to approach the question when people inevitably ask about it at the conference?
I don't think my advisor wants to talk about the thing, and he doesn't want to incorporate the reviewer comments that were about the thing, either.
Edit: To clarify, the question that people ask is something that most people ask out of curiosity, and it doesn't seem like a weakness until they know the answer to the question. I think if they knew the answer to the question, the paper might have gotten rejected.<issue_comment>username_1: How should you talk about the weakness? *Honestly.*
This doesn't mean you need to dwell on it or undermine all the rest of this talk around your point. But if you know about a serious weakness, you shouldn't be afraid to acknowledge it when necessary.
Yes, your work will appear less awesome as a result. But which of these two scenarios would you rather have?
1. You show the work you did, acknowledge the weakness, and discuss how you think it would be best to improve the work in the future in order to achieve the overall goals. You haven't solved the problem, but you've taken a useful step.
2. You claim your work has no weaknesses, and when people inevitably notice, they think that you are either too foolish to notice the weakness or too insecure and self-important to acknowledge it.
Your paper was accepted, despite the reviewers pointing out the weakness, and that means people must find something of value in it. Focus on the value that is still there despite the weakness, and let that be the point on which you build.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You may discuss the problem as a topic for future study.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Too long for a comment, so I'm posting as an answer:
Not meaning to be offensive, but it sounds like your advisor is not the most ethical of academics and is leading you astray. If the "question" that seems to be asked by "everyone" is highly relevant to the quality of the work, and yet doesn't have a satisfactory answer, then that fact should not have been hidden or glossed over just to get acceptance for the paper.
Now you're sort of in a bind. The best way out of this is to attack the situation head-on and be fully prepared to talk about that very thing as a significant limitation to your work, maybe even pre-emptively. Many papers freely discuss their limitations in the text, and this is considered a hallmark of intellectual honesty.
Remember, *your* academic reputation is very much on the line, along with that of your advisor.
Upvotes: 4
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2016/01/12
| 4,877
| 20,715
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<issue_start>username_0: A friend of mine is finishing up a masters program and has applied to PhD programs around the nation last fall, as well as within the existing college. She had received several glowing letters of recommendation, including one from a professor of a current class (this last fall semester).
This professor has now accused my friend of cheating and collusion on the final examination with another student in the class; which is absolutely not the case. The final exam was a take-home, open-book, open-Internet exam of which one-of-three portions was multiple choice and she and the other student answered a large portion of their incorrect questions similarly--a red flag it seems. It should be said that every prior assignment working together was encouraged so it seems obvious that they would have similar notes and thought processes.
Now, here's where it gets messy: The professor is behaving as the prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. He told them both that the "data is irrefutable" and he "doesn't want an appeal from either of you - my mind is already made up." He has not followed the procedure for the school's academic integrity guidelines in any way which, most disturbingly, completely removes her ability to an appeal. He has made several academic threats such as going to the doctoral programs they have submitted to "let them know of this incident" if they do not show any "credible remorse." He has decided he will come up with a secondary exam that can do nothing but be combined with and hurt their existing final exam grade.
Obviously, my friend is frustrated, angry, stressed out and frightened at these events, especially during this fragile time of waiting for responses to her applications.
So what can be done? The obvious thing would be to go to his department chairs herself and bring to light this ludicrous behavior and, if found that integrity is in question appeal the decision. But this would bring along **one major issue**: Once done the professor will surely reach out the academic programs to retract their recommendation, which one would assume would look incredibly bad to an admissions committee. She also has an "incomplete" in this class until this is resolved which is assumed to be--or will be--affecting the current school's PhD program application. He truly has her powerless and backed into a corner.
What would you do knowing this decision could *affect your entire future, academic and beyond*? (This is in the US, if that matters)
**Edit for clarification for secondary exam:**
The professor would not give my friend the new exam until he was able to talk to her on the phone. Her initial and current desire is to just get the exam and complete it to get this whole thing over with without affecting her applications; but she has no intention of admitting any guilt. The professor seems quite annoyed that she did not show remorse or admit any wrongdoing when asking for the exam (I was not there, but his email providing the exam said that the conversation "did not go as he anticipated" and did "little to alleviate his concern," I'm assuming because she did not admit to cheating).
As for the secondary exam, he has given her about half of original multiple choice questions from the first exam, some of which she answered correctly and some of which she did not. His stipulation is that any wrong answers will bring down her final exam score further from what she scored initially and any correct answers will not affect the grade positively or negatively. He has withheld her final exam this entire time so she has no idea which questions she actually answered incorrectly, but this also forbids her from verifying any of his claims as well. Further, she will have to complete additional long-form essays again, which he has not come up with yet.
He has also given her the option of not completing the secondary exam and taking a full letter grade off of her final grade (likely, a B-) and has told her he will not give her anything higher than a B+. I assume she has an A- but, again, she doesn't know how she did on the exam. He has said that he "really wants to give them both a B+" for what that is worth.<issue_comment>username_1: A student who is falsely accused of cheating should follow the official appeal or grievance process, even if they are threatened with retaliation for doing so. To threaten to retaliate if an appeal is made would be blatant misconduct. The student should keep careful records of everything that has happened thus far.
Unfortunately the student has no control over what the professor may communicate to institutions the student sent applications to. I think the student should prepare to wait for admissions results, possibly until the next application cycle, when recommendations from other faculty could be used.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: *Firstly having a multiple choice take home exam as part of the final mark is not a valid method of examining a student and shows a very lazy processor! (Unless workings are also required to be submitted along with the answer, as without having more information than an answer to a multiple choice question, it is not possible to see if someone has cheated.)*
**I think the issue is partly one of timing….**
The professor is willing to let the “cheating” pass with a lower grade and an additional exam, so solving the problem quickly.
Or the appeal process is used that will take some time and generate work for the professor, it may be reasonable while the appeal is going on for the professor to inform the other academic programs about it (All he has to say is that “I withdraw my letters of recommendation for reasons I am not permitted to tell you”, and leave the “reading between the lines” to others). By the time the outcome of the appeal is known, it may be too late to get into the PHd.
Very likely the outcome will be along the lines of “*not proven*”, so the processor will still be able to say he/she **believes (but could not prove 100%)** that the students cheated and the students did not show any remorse. The student can respond with the result of the appeal, but by that time questions has been put into people’s mind……
**This is way each student should have a personal tutor that they can discuss this sort of issue with “of the record”…..**
(I am assuming that the word “professor” is being used to mean someone that is a little more than a post dock, rather than the UK usage of the word. As if the professor is a top person in the department the politics may decide the outcome of the appeal.)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Your friend is in an extremely precarious position and falling back to the just approach may not actually yield the best outcome. In other words the immediate reaction that she should indeed appeal may not be the best course of action, at least not without preparation.
If your friend has access to the questions that she got wrong, she should go back and find the websites/resources that led her to think the answer she chose was the right one and document it. I think in most people's experience with multiple choice tests, the answers can almost always be narrowed down to two even when there are 4 possibles. If possible, perhaps document just how wrong the other possibilities were. She should present that to the professor and see what he says. I assume this exchange will be via email. If he is unswayed, which I expect, then she should meet him in person. In that meeting your friend should prepare to stand her ground that she didn't cheat and leverage whatever relationship and trust she has gained up until this point to get him to waver in his resolve.
If this fails then I would seriously consider taking the second final as the way I understand the situation, her existing grade will still count but this will perhaps be averaged in but only if it is a worse grade?
I don't know the official university guidelines but chances are the repercussions of taking the official path could be much worse. Consider that cheating on a test isn't murder where the people making the guilt/non-guilty decision are going to be looking for extra evidence. They're going to see the same thing that the professor sees which is that they got the same set of wrong answers. The people your friend would appeal to are the professor's colleagues not a group of peers. Keeping in mind that even if she does win this appeal, there would be nothing to stop the professor to take back his recommendations. If she does decide to make an official appeal then one approach she could consider would be asking the schools to which she has already used his recommendation to withdraw it because of an ongoing university issue. By her asking this, it is less likely they'll suspect the problem is cheating and more likely to assume the problem is a complaint against him. As long as she doesn't actually imply anything untrue then this should be perfectly fine. If, subsequent to her asking for those recommendations to be withdrawn, he comes around to withdraw them, it will look better for your friend than if she hadn't already withdrawn them.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: She should follow the designated appeals procedure. She should file a complaint with the University concerning the professor's behavior in this matter. She should have an attorney competent in this area of law write the university expressing concerns that the professor might attempt to interfere with her application at her current university or other universities, and pointing out any civil liability the university might face if that were to happen.
In addition, she should think back on her time in the class to any actions that might indicate behavior toward her that was suggestive of any violation of federal law due to any protected category into which she might fall. One example of this would be any form of sex or race based discrimination. Any behaviors that she can recall along those lines would of course could be valuable additional information that the attorney could include when the letter is written to the university. I'm not suggesting making something up, but she should think back on things that might have been ambiguous at the time they happened that now in light of everything that has happened could have appeared to be some form of discrimination. I realize that the professor wrote a letter of recommendation for her earlier, so showing discrimination could be a tall hurdle, but if any discrimination is being shown toward her it should be brought out in the open.
No matter which way she handles this, the possibility exists that the professor could cause her some difficulty at her current school. I feel that making a fairly aggressive response is the way to give her the best possible outcome both at other schools and at her current school as well.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: One thing that does have to be considered, is that in the grand scheme of things, quite often TWO different people will pick the exact same winning lottery numbers, quite at random. i.e. there's a 290 million-to-one chance against it happening, but it happens a LOT. CASE IN POINT: the january powerball drawing: 3 winners.
Particularly when two students have studied together throughout the semester. It can almost be considered surprising if there wasn't a lot of correlation on the wrong answers!
Finally: high correlation on wrong answers is much more enlightening about the test design itself. It often means there's a demonstrated deficiency in the match between the test and the material.
EDIT: another point I'd make is that, good or bad, professors have FAR LESS power than this OP assumes. I've personally witnessed at least half a dozen cases recently where professors/APs/Lecturers were themselves accused by students of inappropriately exercising their power over students, and each and every one of those professors was literally sweating bullets as the administration bent over backwards TRYING to find the professor at fault. Now, granted, these were all in state institutions (various states), where there's a decidedly anti-tenure twist in the administration's long-term vision...but...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Let me tell you a story.
Once I was driving in my car when out of the blue the traffic police pulled me over. A single police officer was present and informed me that I drove over a red light. I denied any such thing and honestly had no recollection of ignoring a red light. I also had a passenger who did not see any red light violations. The officer insisted and handed me a fine.
I decided to go to court and proclaim my innocence. The fine amount was not a big problem for me at the time but being accused of something I did not do was always a big problem for me and still is.
So I went to court.
I was a student at the time, intimidated by the court, intimidated by the process, intimidated by those with the power namely the judge and the prosecutor.
The prosecutor got the officer on the stand first and asked his side of the story. The officer related a tale of complete fiction, well a completely different story to how I remembered the incident. Apparently the road was wet and conditions were tricky.
The prosecutor finally asks, "When the light turned red, was it safe for the accused to stop?"
The officer answers, "No."
And this is where I made my first mistake.
Suddenly I was thinking why am I even here? Why did he fine me if it was unsafe to stop? What is going on? Didn't he just prove my case? While I am grappling with this the judge asks me whether I have any questions for the officer and still almost dazed I answered no.
Then I made my second mistake.
The judge asks, "So you agree with everything the officer said?"
And still completely off balance by the turn of events I said, "Yes".
And the trap snaps shut.
The judge then says, "As you are not an attorney I will assist you with some questions, Officer, was it still safe to stop when the light turned orange?"
The officer responded, "Yes"
And then everything made sense. They set the trap, they got me hook, line and sinker and the rest of the proceedings were just them reeling me in.
Note: this was in South Africa and in the traffic courts this would not have been a full blown judge.
I was pretty angry and surely it is a miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the people in power who should be acting fairly and in the spirit of the law. I was also disappointed in myself for taking their bait and not just sticking to the truth of what I recalled about the incident.
---
How does this story relate? Be wary when someone offers you an easy way out of a sticky situation.
In my calmer, less arrogant and righteous old age, instead of aggressively attacking the professor let me consider his position in a kindly light.
As a professor I receive two papers with enough similarities that it convinces me that there was cheating. I feel angry, betrayed, disappointed. I have two courses of action, either I follow the official disciplinary steps or I rap them over the knuckles and hope they learn their lessons. (I assume the consequences of being found guilty of cheating through the official disciplinary channel will be a lot more severe than what they have been asked to do)
What will convince me of the innocence of one of the students?
---
My advice is to stay calm. You have to live with the decision you make. I would definitely advise against admitting guilt when innocent. Is there any student bodies that could offer support? Is there any counselors at the university the dispute can be discussed with in confidence? Has the student point of view been clearly communicated with the professor?
The biggest problem here is the professor withholding the proof which prevents a defense by the students. My course of action would be to try and convince the professor to go through the papers with me so I can explain why I chose the answers that I did and to see first hand why the professor believes the proof is irrefutable. A heart felt email/letter (without any threats or accusations) could help to facilitate this.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Probability of two persons getting the exact same answers in a 40 question with 4 choices QCM are high
======================================================================================================
Given that the birthday theorem applies, the probability a bunch of 500 chimpanzees having the same answers in a bunch of 500 is about 2% ([Calculus here](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=squareroot%282*500*ln%281%2F%281-%281%2F40%5E4%29%29%29%29))
If it is known they have the same amount of right answers we get about 3.5%([here](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=squareroot%282*500*ln%281%2F%281-%281%2F%2830%5E4%2B10%5E4%29%29%29%29%29)), far from impossible. Data lies. It can multiply since people tend to make the same choises given the same formation and environement.
Your friend should follow the appeal procedure right now because the professor is either not liking her or not knowing any statistics to estimate the probability and thinks falsely. Yes, naive probabilities will give him a 0.0000004% of probability but it is an error.
Not an exact answer but hope it can help.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Going straight to the appeal is the obvious answer, but not always the best one.
As of this moment, begin documenting **everything**. Before your friend says another word to the professor, they should secure any documents pertaining to this event (if they have any). They should also try to acquire what they can through other channels before coming back to the professor. Once done, calmly explain to the prof that they did not cheat and losing marks is simply not an option. Without knowing more about the accusation or being shown the proof, they will have no choice but to appeal the decision unless the accusation is dropped.
Send this communication in the morning. If you receive no response by the end of the working day, begin the appeals process. You do not want a vindictive prof having time to build a case against you (and ideally this should have been done the same day the accusation was dropped).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: The professor needs to know that your friend knows how to go for his throat on this (metaphorically) and isn't afraid to do it. Trying to reason her way out of this is not the right approach because she is trying to argue with a crazy person.
Crazy people cannot be reasoned with, but they will modify their behavior when it becomes clear to them that it will be personally damaging to them if it continues. That is why your friend needs to figure out what her rights are and how to stand up for them in the way that will be most damaging to the professor.
I suggest that your friend figure out how to make an accusation of professional misconduct and to begin proceedings. It doesn't need to be an appeal to the professor's accusation, it needs to be an accusation of its own for the way he's behaving. Certainly, if he withdraws recommendations before the process has concluded, that would be grounds for disciplinary action. Your friend doesn't need to do anything yet that will be permanently damaging to the professor, but she would do well to start the process and get some other people involved.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_10: -Check if the professor has a history of such accusations,
-Ask to see the evaluation or have it checked independently
-Document all communications and ensure that all rules and regulations are followed by both parties if not issue written communications asking them to be followed and if not why?
-As part of appeal raise the concern on future prospect and get written confirmation that appeal will address reprisals in all forms
-Prove the statistical possibility that such an event could occur and has occurred in the past and that they have not been flagged previously
* Be open to some sort of compromise ( at least give the professor an opportunity to save face)
* Let the professor know your intent is strong and you are not open to bullying and threats but your open to work it out regardless.
* Both of you need to be adamant that its not cheating , if one of you gives then both will pay the price.
* Ask what other possibilities exists just something like this could happen and explore if they are applicable. ( same notes, same books same , lectures etc)
* Regardless of what happens , if you know your right stick to your guns , it will help your self esteem and let you sleep at night.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/12
| 1,098
| 4,850
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently reading a paper which devotes a section to reciting key valuation basics in finance, such as the time value of money and DCF analysis.
The paper goes so far as to explain the methodologies and historical significance of the valuation techniques. What is the point of a paper reviewing well known and understood literature? Isn't it entirely redundant?
To be clear, the paper was not an actual literature review.<issue_comment>username_1: Not everyone who reads a paper is going to be in your field and have the same background no matter how basic it might initially seem. In researching literature, I often come across sociology, economics, history, etc, papers. That initial regurgitation in a paper might seem really obvious to sociologists, economists, and historians, but it isn't necessarily so obvious for me (and nicely tends to give references if I feel the need for further background knowledge).
It also helps out people in the field, especially when they're not as current on the specific topic (when was the last time a scholar of modern American theater read Beowulf? Likely graduate school). It helps for understanding the approach used as well as seeing the paper's context, relevance, and importance within the field. Even at a basic level, when someone recaps a plot/situation in a single paragraph for me, it's enough to jog my memory and save me from needing to pull the book back out and read a hundred pages just to follow the paper.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I quite often asked this question myself but realized that much of the works out there simply are not focused for those fluent in the field. Granted, that doesn't mean someone from the field can't read it; it's more of a factor that the work is meant to appeal to people outside of the field too.
For instance, a document explaining how to use a piece of software, while it will obviously be rudimentary to people who use the software, the "John Does" of the world might not even understand the point or some of the spicy terminology. The software could be something like Microsoft Paint (where the use-case is at least somewhat intuitive) all the way to complex software development software such as NetBeans, Eclipse, and IntelliJ IDEA. Think of it this way: If I wrote a paper on how software is made but I use what are basic terms (such as compiler, IDE, etc.) to me, would you be able to understand what is going on in the work?
I would argue that having such details on some of the concepts may help people such as new learners to the field or even spark the interest of those who were not previously interested in the field. Reading works of others when I was much younger has prompted me to take up the field I've taken now.
I rambled a bit, so I'll summarize. It is because those not as fluent in the field will likely read the work or in the event that someone such as that does, the work can at least assist them to understanding basic concepts and terms used within the work.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to the other answers, it is often the case that commonly used terminology is actually rather imprecise, or may have related but distinct definitions.
For example, in astronomical science, [there is still no real agreement on what the word "planet" means](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_planet#Ongoing_controversies). If you are writing a paper about planets, you would do well to say which definition you are using. The same applies to a surprising number of other fields, and it is often easy to think the definitions are more settled than they are. Scientists often address these issues simply by not using the problematic word in a technical manner (e.g., if you are writing about Kuiper Belt Objects, it doesn't matter if Pluto and Eris are planets or not), but this is not always possible.
Devoting a small amount of space at the front of a paper to state a few key definitions, then, is often useful for making sure that the paper does not run into trouble with a reviewer or reader who may disagree with your definition. That way, you set a working definition up front, and even if they disagree with your definition, they can understand and agree with the actual technical content of the paper.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Apart from the usual cover-up to target wider audience and to illustrate base concepts, the overly obvious content is added as *space fillers* if the novel aspect of the paper seems to small in volume.
I've seen this on too many papers to count: definition and illustrations of neural networks, ad hoc infrastructure, basic security framework, even general use applications and editors. This generally occurs if the paper proposes only a minor improvement over the existing literature.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/12
| 2,042
| 8,897
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<issue_start>username_0: I am working on my application to UC Davis. It requires a Personal History Statement separate from the Statement of Purpose. I've been through this process with UC Berkeley, and the prompts are almost exactly the same. Davis, however, also has a diversity fellowship that I'd like to apply to that requires a short statement, and if I leave my Personal History Statement essentially the same as what I submitted for Berkeley, I'm afraid I may repeat a lot. I'm trying to figure out if and/or how to make them distinct.
This is the Personal History Statement prompt:
>
> The purpose of this essay is to get know you as an individual and potential graduate student. Please describe how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. You may include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, community service, outreach activities, residency and citizenship, first-generation college status, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how your life experiences contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity within a campus community and your chosen field; or how you might serve educationally underrepresented and underserved segments of society with your graduate education.
>
>
>
In my personal history statement, I talk about the interaction between my having a significant physical disability and the progression of interest and confidence in my ability to succeed in higher ed, discussing in one para. some of the challenges I faced. I also talk about helping interpret for my sister, who had speech production limitations after getting a tracheostomy -- how it really made me cognizant of language and grew a desire to affect some kind of difference for those who have language challenges.
The diversity fellowship prompt says to briefly explain how you fulfill their criteria. The ones that could apply to me are these:
>
> To be eligible for a fellowship that promotes diversity, applicants must have an interest in an academic career in teaching and research, be a United States Citizen or Permanent Resident, and meet one or more of the following criteria:
>
>
> 1. Demonstrate potential to bring to their academic research the perspective that comes from their understanding of the experiences of groups historically underrepresented in higher education or underserved by academic research generally.
> 2. Provide evidence of academic achievement while overcoming barriers such as economic, social, or educational disadvantage.
> 3. Demonstrate potential to contribute to higher education through the understanding of the barriers facing women, domestic minorities, students with disabilities, and members of other groups underrepresented in higher education careers, as evidenced by life experiences and educational background. Examples include, but are not limited to:
>
>
> b. ability to articulate the barriers facing women, racial minorities and other groups in fields where they are underrepresented;
>
>
>
I have fairly substantial experience volunteer tutoring ESL to refugees, too. I'm trying to figure out where and how exactly I could talk about that. So, my question for you all is, would it be a poor choice to focus on my disability in both statements?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't have any experience in evaluating graduate admissions, so you should probably wait for someone who does to reply to your question, but reading the statement descriptions makes me think that they're looking in your personal statement to figure out your motivations (i.e. what is going to keep you going through the hardest parts of graduate school), while they're looking in your diversity statement to figure out how educating you will benefit the world. I think it'd be a good idea to not focus on diversity prompt #2, which sounds pretty similar to what you talk about in the your personal history statement, but the other two could apply -- so I'd focus on those.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The short answer to the question is: You should not focus on the disability in both essays, unless the two essays are going to be read by different committees, and they will not have access to the other essays. (The department secretary will know the answer to that.)
Some general advice, to take to heart in all of your application:
* You have a limited number of words to impress upon the committee who you are; don't waste those words repeating yourself.
* Impressing 'upon the committee who you are' is not the same as 'impressing the committee *with* who you are.' You don't need to have climbed Everest, ran for Congress at 26 and come up with a unique proof of Bayes theorem. Part of the desire to focus on the disability comes from this impetus that many students have to seem larger than life, but we all live in our lives, so make sure that you show who you are, even in instances that are more mundane.
* Don't be overly humble either. Make sure that the great things you do are stated clearly.
* Graduate programs are looking for potential scholars, not leaders, characters or great stories. Above all else, you need to come across as a valuable contributor to the field in which you are applying, with potential to contribute long into the future. Your disability shouldn't hinder that, but you still need to meet that standard, and your disability won't help there either.
A few notes on the disability:
* Don't ever focus on the *disability* focus on *overcoming the disability.* You are not your disability, but your disability made you who you are, in part. Show them that.
* Don't focus on special needs you will have (e.g. wheelchair access) since they will be providing that anyway, but but forthcoming about anything non-typical that you will need to do your research. The objective here is to demonstrate that you have already done enough work or thought enough about the field to know what special needs you have to do it right, not to get them to pay for those things (which they may).
* Don't whine or try to create a 'special class' for you disability. Any disability is sort of self-defining, and has disadvantages--which is why it is called a disability. If you overstep that, however, and try to create 'additional disadvantages' you begin to sound like you are trying to exploit your disability for unfair advantages. (e.g. "Most people can imagine that it is hard to be blind, but what people don't realize is how bad anti-blind bigotry is!") Let the story speak for itself.
* Do mention funding opportunities for people in your situation you that have or will apply for.
* Do be grateful. On most local news stations there will be a story about once monthly about someone who has had something terrible happen to them, and they will be described as 'brave', 'strong', or 'an example to us all.' Generally, they meet their challenge, and remain grateful for the things they do have. Try to capture that spirit. The fact that you are applying to top programs indicates that you have had opportunities, in spite of your disability, so show that.
* **Don't** use your disability as an excuse, but **Do** explain instances when it affected performance legitimately. If you are paralyzed because of a car accident that happened your sophomore year, it probably also affected your grades. Explain this clearly, because although the readers may understand the timing of the accident and the grades, they may not connect the two.
* If possible, show a positive trajectory. If you weren't diagnosed as dyslexic until you were a senior in high-school, you probably had bad grades up until then, but after the diagnosis, you should point out you improving grades as your ability to cope improved.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: The two sections are read by two different (if sometimes overlapping) committees. The personal history will be read by the general admissions committee. They might note issues of diversity and disability which can lead to a fellowship, but if there is a separate question for that -- they may assume that that information will be duplicated there. **Still, if your disability played a significant role in shaping who you are as an academic -- the kinds of questions and approaches, or the empathy you bring to particular subjects or students -- I would include it in your personal history statement as that will speak to your motivation for study.**
The diversity / disability fellowship question is also important. There are many small fellowships in the UC system and faculty try very hard to ensure that students get every penny they can -- but this is only possible if students self-declare. I would not feel shy about repeating any information in the diversity fellowship response -- again, you want to ensure that you have the funds to study what you want to study.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/12
| 1,277
| 5,565
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<issue_start>username_0: Two weeks after sending my manuscript to a journal, it was rejected in the pre-review stage and hence, there were no comments from reviewers about problems with the paper.
* Can poor scientific writing be the reason for this fast rejection?
* What do editors do in the pre-review stage?
* How can I diagnose problems with a rejected paper?
>
> Thank you for submitting your article to AIDS.
>
>
> Unfortunately, your paper did not receive a high enough priority
> rating, and the Editors have decided that it should not be accepted
> for publication in AIDS.
>
>
> Decisions regarding acceptance of papers in AIDS are made in reference
> to the Editors pre-review and also in relation to the standard of
> other papers submitted. Our rejection rate is more than 70% and to
> save time the Editors of the Journal collectively evaluate submissions
> and consider whether a panel of other reviewers should review the
> article by determining if it would be of high enough interest to be
> selected for publication. On this occasion the Editors assessed your
> article without asking for formal reviews. There are therefore no
> reviewers' comments.
>
>
> Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider your work. We
> regret that we cannot publish your paper at this time, but we hope
> that you will consider submitting future papers to AIDS.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: The pre-review stage is generally a very quick assessment of the manuscript in which editors go through it to check primarily whether the article matches the scope of the journal, the level of novelty of the study, and how interesting it would be to the target audience. For a journal that has a 70 percent rejection rate, I don't think they would give enough time to a paper at the pre-review stage to reject it on the basis of the writing style, unless the style is really very bad. They would probably just read the cover letter, abstract, and results and discussion section carefully and skim through the rest of the paper.
I don't think there is any way to learn more about the reasons for rejection from the journal. However, don't get upset or think that the quality of your paper is not good. Since this journal has such a high rejection rate, it is natural that only the very best or the most path breaking studies will find their way to this journal. This journal might not consider your study novel enough or interesting enough, but there are many other journals that will find it interesting. At this stage, there isn't much that you can do to improve your paper, as you haven't received any reviewer comments. You will have to just submit it to the next journal and hope that the paper goes through peer review.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Going by what was written in the letter, the editors did not consider your paper sufficiently relevant for the journal from a quick assessment. In this case they are unlikely to accept a revised version of your paper (unless you add research that increases the paper’s relevance). The only hint at how your paper can be improved is that you might better highlight its relevance, in particular in abstract and conclusions – which were likely the only thing the editors read and based their rejection on. Except for this, nothing needs to be wrong with your paper (of course, it may be, but only peer review will tell). I once had a paper rejected for a similar reason, which was later accepted by another similarly ranking journal with minor changes.
However, some editors put little effort into telling you what’s wrong when desk-rejecting, resorting to some canned text. I once had a paper desk-rejected with a comment that it failed to meet the criteria of “high quality, scientific interest, and being an important contribution to the literature” and when asking which of these criteria it failed, I was told that the editors did not consider the paper to be in the journal’s scope. Thus, if you politely ask whether they could give you any hint as to what’s wrong with your paper (without disputing the decision), they might give you more to work with.
>
> How can I diagnose problems with a rejected paper?
>
>
>
The best way is to have a it “privately peer-reviewed” by a colleague. If you have doubts of the quality of your scientific writing, you should choose somebody who is more experienced in this matter. If your doubts are about language quality, the obvious choice would be colleague with good English skills (but this alone helps little, if they are not knowledgeable on your subject). If those are not available, try to find somebody with a different native language.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: One might pinpoint some potential guess about this happening... The editor-in-chief or editors often reject the manuscript for a couple of typical reasons:
* Your paper is out-of-scope in view of the journal...
* Some of well-known papers often apply many filters about the "subject" of the received manuscripts, however they could be relevant to the journal's scope. They are often eager to consider the manuscripts, have which covered really cutting-edge contexts, generally. So, most of the usual research results might have no chance to be taken into account by such publishers...
* The linguistic level of the manuscript and its composition would not be rated, as it should be...
* ...
If a manuscript fulfills the cases just like above points, it would have a noticeable chance to be considered to be peer-reviewed...
Best
Upvotes: -1
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2016/01/12
| 4,680
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<issue_start>username_0: During one of my undergraduate semesters I was pretty depressed (for various personal reasons) and was struggling with completing my coursework. One class in particular didn't have a final exam, there was a just a final essay to turn in worth 25% of the grade. I was really out of it, and in the end I couldn't meet the deadline and didn't even turn it in, I was so unable to concentrate that I was willing to just accept my fate.
For whatever reason, my professor gave me a B- in the class, which is just impossible. Though I did do reasonably well on the rest of the coursework, the highest I could've gotten was 75%, not to mention if there was some bigger penalty that my university had for not attending/doing a final assignment (like getting an incomplete or something, I have no idea). It's unlikely the class was curved that much either...I don't know whether it was a grading entry error, whether the prof accidentally swapped my grade with another person's, or if she just took pity on me (I had mentioned that I was going through some personal issues when I turned in an assignment late during the semester), but for whatever reason I got a B-.
At the time, I was surprised and just accepted it. But as I started to feel better I felt extremely guilty about not turning in the essay, and months later (I've since graduated) I sent my professor an email with the paper attached basically saying "Really sorry I didn't turn it in, I was feeling depressed at the time, I should've turned it in back then, here it is", to which she just hasn't responded. I'm fairly certain she doesn't care at all, but it's been bothering me for a while now.
I'm not sure what to do - should I turn myself in to the school? I feel guilty about the whole thing, but what's worrying me as well is that I also don't want this to bite me in the ass down the line later in life. Can I be punished for not turning the essay, or not telling my professor the grade might have been too high? Was it a mistake to email my professor at all afterwards, maybe I'm causing a problem for her? All in all, I'm really not sure what to think or do.<issue_comment>username_1: Don't worry about it. No one's going to come after you for failing to turn in an essay in some random course. No one's ever going to check and, if they did, they probably won't care too much.
Should you turn yourself in? No. There's absolutely no reason to turn yourself in. You've done nothing wrong. The professor is the one responsible for assigning your grade correctly. For all you (or we) know, they felt you deserved a B-.
Should you have emailed your professor the essay? Probably not, but mostly because they probably don't care. I doubt they read it and I very much doubt that you caused any problems for them.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Not sure if there are any strict grading standards in the academic institution in questions, but in my experience, teachers usually have some liberty in deciding the grade the feel is appropriate for a student, in addition to the raw numbers behind it. Beyond plain sympathy, a teacher can bump a student's grade just to give them a better chance to keep going with their studies, when they see potential.
It is also possible the teacher based the final grades on the highest grade in the class. This basically means the highest grade (doesn't matter what it actually was) turns into A+ and mathematically recalculate all the other grades on a sliding scale based on it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As others have said, professors have a lot of flexibility in assigning grades.
It's not unusual for professors to have a policy of dropping a worst assignment and averaging the rest. I've even seen this on final exams ("Happy with your grade going into the final? Don't take it." or the variant "If you have an 'A' going into the final, you don't have to take it.").
If your professor had any clue that your outside-class troubles were preventing you from doing the final project, it's quite possible that she elected to use such a calculation for your scores, even if she wasn't doing so class-wide. While at first glance this may seem unfair to other students, remember that the goal is to accurately evaluate your mastery of the material, not to make you do busy-work, and there's much more information about your performance in the assignments you did turn in than the ones after you got distracted. The principle of "measure mastery, not busywork" appears in other ways too, such as credit-by-examination.
Your late submission of the assignment isn't likely to result in any sort of regrade, assuming the professor is comfortable with the calculation she used. She might read it if she's interested, and your diligence in following up could lead to benefits beyond the course grade (recommendation letter, for example), but she's already decided she didn't need it to determine your grade.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: I see other people are saying don't worry about it, and I completely agree. At the same time, I think it's worth acknowledging that your feelings are legitimate and that you have some valid reasons to feel discomfort about getting a grade you don't feel you've earned. Like many of us, you probably want to be judged and achieve success based on your real hard work and achievements and not due to some random error or act of charity. There is also an issue of fairness. For example, this grade might improve your GPA in a way that gives you a small but real advantage over another student who also didn't hand in their final project but was not so lucky to have such a compassionate (or absent-minded) professor. None of us who has any sense of fairness wants to benefit from this kind of injustice, so I completely understand why you find this troubling.
With that said, if this concerns only one grade in an undergrad class, the whole thing is really too trivial to spend any time worrying about, for the following reasons:
1. It is the professor's responsibility, not yours, to determine the grade you deserve. It's quite possible she saw your potential and sincerely believed you deserved a B+ even knowing that you hadn't completed the final essay.
2. Grades only contain statistical information anyway. It's quite possible and even likely that in other courses you got grades that were *lower* than you deserved (either in the sense that a concrete, measurable error or misjudgment of on the part of the professor occurred, or in a more abstract philosophical sense that the grade did not reflect your true knowledge of the material), or that in the course of your life you will suffer some other minor injustices. In the end those small injustices will more or less cancel each other out. In fact, suffering from depression is certainly its own much more major form of injustice.
3. You mentioned that later when you emailed the professor you actually sent her the essay you had completed. If in fact you did end up completing the assignment, then you got the educational benefit of the class and the assignment and demonstrated your knowledge, even if belatedly. So in the end you probably completely fulfilled the professor's expectations that caused her to give you the grade in the first place. So really, what do you have to feel guilty about, other than some technicality?
4. *Lots and lots* of students get grades that are higher than what they deserve, whether it's due to outright cheating, [grade grubbing](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9014/what-to-do-about-grade-grubbers), or being intellectually lazy and just studying for the test without knowing or caring about the material. The injustice that you are describing (to the extent that it is one) seems to me like a pretty microscopic one that -- I'm sad to say -- drowns in an ocean of much worse injustice.
To summarize, I've often thought that guilt, while certainly a useful emotion, can at times be quite a counterproductive thing, and it is important not to obsess about it or let ourselves be paralyzed by it. The best thing you could do both for yourself and for the world is to focus on leading a good life and finding ways to help yourself and others, rather than worrying about a grade in some long-forgotten college class. I'm sure that is precisely what your professor would want you to be doing.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: Grades are often believed to be objective. They are almost never, except for some multiple choice tests, and yet, teachers can still weight answers.
I can only talk for myself as a teacher: I praise work, attention and effort. Some of my students have had grades they probably did not deserve, but I bet (experience?) that they have absorbed sufficiently from the lectures. I even have boosted grades when I thought they needed some self-confidence.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: A database that I touched a few decades ago tracked labwork for students and helped the professors assign grades (such things as having a photo and the name). It had a number of statistics that were available about the labwork.
Some of the information presented to the professor did some common hypotheticals that were asked of the data. Things like:
* what percent was turned in late?
* what would have been the average grade if everything was handed in on time?
* how many points from the grade boundary above? below?
* what would have been the average grade if the lowest scoring labwork didn't exist?
In more than a few cases, this gave the professor the ability to see "this one lab took an otherwise AB student to a BC grade because of the lateness and something going wrong," and make the corresponding discretionary choice to assign a grade *other* than what the pure numbers would suggest.
The linking of the face to the name and the grade also helped the professor recognize the student more easily and note the "the student was having issues that were outside of the immediate control, but otherwise showed a mastery of the subject matter from my experiences in other interactions." Again, helping the professor have a more complete view of the student than just numbers provide.
There are certainly professors who grade by just the numbers. I also had a class as an undergraduate where the entire grade was one oral exam at the end of the semester (talk about nerve-wracking - turned out I did very well in that exam, still... nerve-wracking). I had another professor who had me come in the day before grades were due (and two days before I was to leave for California) to review my answers to the final exam (which I did poorly on) with the book open which allowed my grade to be changed from an F to a D (and thereby having the necessary class to graduate).
The point I am trying to make is that professors *do* have the discretion to be able to assign a grade that may or may not be entirely based on numbers and that such situations are more common than you may otherwise expect (the stories of such are not widely circulated)... not necessarily *common*, but certainly not *never* nor *rarely*.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: If it would make you feel better, you should talk to the professor (if you still can). You could tell them about your situation before the essay was due and apologize for not being able to turn it in on time. Also say that you had sent them an email some time ago, with the incomplete essay, and ask if they had a chance to look at it. You could offer to complete the essay, not for extra credit or anything, but so that you feel better about the whole thing. Professors are also people, and they like a student who is honest. You could save yourself some guilt as well :)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Sounds like it's less a question of grading, but more a question of closure. That undeserved grade is nagging you. Some thoughts:
1. As others have written, what the institution does is not your problem. Things are done and you create more problems trying to change it than by leaving it as it is (for yourself, the prof, the university).
2. It won't bite you later because you were open about it and did turn it in. Usually, the cover-up kills careers, not the mistake itself, and you did not try to cover it up. Furthermore, there are legitimate ground for turning in papers later. It's easy to see when a person gets hit by a car, not so easy with mental disorders or the like. It probably wasn't formally correct, but that can happen when unforeseen things happen.
3. If this isn't the only instance when an undeserved benefit bugs you (in itself a socially advantageous trait, although undoubtedly career-negative), find out what helped in these other circumstances. People can tell you that you did nothing wrong (because you did not, e.g., you did not try to game the system), but you have to accept it for yourself (i.e., gain closure). Personally, I would see the turning in as end point, try to extract a few lessons how to act in the future (e.g., talk to the prof after getting the grade, although difficult in that situation), and move on.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: You may need to rephrase your concerns, in your own mind, to avoid this worry, and go forward.
Perhaps a better question for you, is "Do I understand the subject reasonably well, and will it allow me to do the work I want to do?".
Within a few years of working, the the particular grade of qualification will never be asked about, just like high school scores. Within a few years of that no one will even ask what course/degree it was.
Be wary of the idea that it's only hard work that counts, when you can work smart.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: As with Dan and LaurenT, I suspect there's a good chance the Professor saw something in you when you could not yourself see it. I think it's good that you're reflecting on this so deeply. Take it as a gracious, priceless gift. Don't squander it. And pass it on.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: Keep things in perspective here - you weren't accidentally awarded the Nobel Prize. You got (possibly, it's not certain) an extra letter grade in an undergraduate course. And you made a reasonable and honorable attempt to bring the matter to the attention of the instructor.
You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty or be worried about. Don't waste any more time or thought on it and put it behind you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: LOL! Good to see your concern about your unfortunate semester. Professors often take quite a bit into account to raise grades, seldom to lower them. Most likely, the Professor looked very hard at the grades before the grades were ever turned in and asked if any of the grades might be higher. Perhaps yours was raised, perhaps the overall curve was lowered. It was all very carefully considered and you got what you got! Congratulations and please accept the good with the bad.
Over the years, I've seen a number of interesting situations. The older trucker, wanting to be an Engineer, struggling through Calculus. He had no Algebraic Discipline! The Professor helped him through problems, one line at a time for a while, citing Algebraic Discipline. The trucker struggled through tests with grades of D, then C, then B, with a near A on the final! Did the trucker learn Calculus? Yes! Did he learn Algebra? Oh, absolutely! He finally had motivation to observe Algebraic Discipline! The trucker argued that the Professor gave him too high a grade. The Professor pointed out that the grade was simply the mathematical average. After the trucker argued more for a lower grade, the Professor said, no, the only regret is that the class syllabus had no provision for raising the grade a letter! (At that point, the trucker seemed satisfied!)
Perhaps depression is not the same as not knowing algebra, but each student is very important and you did not accidentally receive a higher grade. On the other hand, the Professor may not be able to fully account for all the factors that go into the grading, so may not have a satisfying account for you!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: Each individual must take responsibility for his or her own actions. From your description, you have done that. You did nothing to deceive anyone or to cheat in any way. You never asked for a grade you didn't deserve. While your guilt can't be ignored, you must realize and eventually accept that your grade was determined by your professor, who had all of the necessary information at the time to make a proper decision. Without seeing the grades of the other students and comparing their work to yours, it would impossible to say whether your grade is fair or not, so you'll never be able to definitively say what your grade should have been. But you should recognize that if the grade is not appropriate for the work you did, it is because of choices the professor made and not you. It's time to let this one go.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_14: I think that learning and education encompasses also a human interaction between the teacher and a student - it is much more than learning tasks or execute tasks.
Apart the fact that it is up to the teacher to evaluate and give a grade, it is so also in the society : let the other judge your work.
And people build opinions also taking into account the effort, the struggle, the process a person undergoes to achieve something.
So, if you where pretty depressed, as you wrote, most problably others noticed it.
I do not say that they give votes for charity to encourage people, but probably take into account also the difficulties that a person has in producing a result - which is a formation process.
Otherwise, we could ask to write essays to machines, and evaluate the essay on quality. But how would you evaluate the people who come to build the machines? Do you think a scale of marks would be appropriate and would reflect evenly all the different background and paths in their education?
So enjoy that you are no more depressed, and kick-ass in your next essay, and proof yourself you deserve a good mark, or either you don't care that much about that subject.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_15: With all due respect to people's philosophical and ethical musings about your situation, you asked "what to do". And you don't seem like the kind of person who appreciates the "you got away with it, just let it go" approach. Well:
* You are facing a dilemma regarding your studies which is not about the subject matter itself.
* You are unsure what's the correct way to act.
* Action may involve the professor or the faculty/university administration.
The answer seems to be: **consult them**. Specifically, do one of the following (in order of my preference):
* Talk to one of the course's teaching assistants, if it has any, to learn about the grading policy and its exceptions, and to ask them whether you think you should approach the Professor about this.
* Talk to the Professor him/herself, as suggested in [<NAME>'s answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61552/7319).
* Faculties/schools within universities typically have an academic staff member in charge of overseeing undergraduate student affairs, academically. Visit that person's office hours to ask him about this. I would suggest you begin by not mentioning the exact course and the exact numeric details, to make it a semi-hypothetical question first.
They might tell you it's alright and just to let it go, or they might say something else, but you would have certainly done the most fair and transparent thing you can and your conscience should be clear.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/12
| 501
| 2,132
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<issue_start>username_0: I am going to apply for graduate admission in the US universities. Most of the universities require official transcript which must be sent from my institute with official envelope and seal.
**I went to my university to send the offical transcript to the US universities. The controller of the examiner asked me that which one I want. New transcript or copy of my transcript verified by the controller with envelope seal.**
More precisely, they asked me to give them photocopy of my original transcript. After I give them the copy, they will sign and pul offcial seal to send to the university I wanted to send.
My question is that,,
>
> will the US universities consider the copy of the main transcripts(verified by the exam controller with enveloped and seal) as official?
>
>
>
or
>
> US universities are expecting original transcripts (with seal and
> enveloped) like I have a copy with me?
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: In order for your incoming school to accept your official transcript, it must be ordered from your previous school and must be sealed. They will not accept photographs, copies, open transcript packages. Contact your department of student affairs.
"will the US universities consider the copy of the main transcripts(verified by the exam controller with enveloped and seal) as official?"
Your school has an administration dedicated to supervising the transfer of international students. My educated guess is yes, it will be acceptable. Contact your student affairs department for more information.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: If this is about graduate admission, universities normally require an official transcript (i.e. NOT a copy). An official transcript normally carries the signature of the Registrar, is in color, and is put in an sealed envelop prepared by the Registrar's office.
Some US universities require that your transcript comes directly from the Registrar's office of your institution, while some would accept one that you send in as long as it's inside the sealed envelop prepared by the registrar's office.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/12
| 3,007
| 12,901
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<issue_start>username_0: I was taught that conference papers in computer science count as publications. Therefore, a journal paper cannot be presented in a conference because of plagiarism reasons, and vice versa.
I confirmed this information:
* [Publishing the same results at multiple conferences](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5314/1033)
* [Submitting the same research to multiple conferences](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/51/1033)
* [Journal publication and acceptance to competitive conferences](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/331/1033)
* [Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/2673/1033)
* [Present journal paper at conference or the same work at multiple conferences](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5820/)
The weird part for me is understanding which authority (IEEE?, ACM?) regulates this? Is there any document that support this? It seem that this policy in CS emerged from the community (bottom-up; see for example [this](http://marksanderson.org/publications/my_papers/JASIST2015c.pdf)) – sort of like hand shaking or bowing in Japan – and is therefore self-regulated by people.
Related to this question (EDIT: I will ask them separatedly later as suggested in the comments but I feel I need to clarify certain issues I seem to be confused with):
1. I have had multiple arguments with colleagues of other fields
that disagree with me in that conferences papers/presentations don't
count as publications (I am in a multidisciplinary field). I feel I
tend to loss these argumentations because it is one CS student against
the rest. In a way, it would be easier if I could refer people to some
authority.
2. If I simply don’t want to follow the rule for conferences that
apparently don't count papers as publications, what are the real
consequences apart from the social lynching? To be clear, the work is
done but not published - just somehow presented in a conference (\*).
**Is there any way to confirm that a conference or proceeding is formally
registered as an (or to an) editorial/publisher?**
3. Is there any other way of presenting published results in a
conference as, for example, simply abstracts (\*)?
(\*) In some areas people just present abstracts, and depending on the area, the conference accepts almost everything. The main goal of this seems to be networking - presenting the work and having the opportunity to interact with people that assist to your presentation (if any).<issue_comment>username_1: *As is*, a journal paper cannot be presented in a conference in many fields, not only in computer science, whether the conferences are counted as publications or not. Of course, you can always present an improved version of a previous work, if the improvement is significant.
>
> It seem that this policy in CS emerged from the community (bottom-up) (e.g. see this), sort of hand shaking or bowing in Japan - and therefore self regulated by people.
>
>
>
The entire academic world is somehow self-regulated by people, and most people agree on the fact that trying to resell the same paper twice is unethical because it can lead to an artificial inflation of the number of publications, which is one of the many indicators employed to hire people in academia.
And even if you don't find that unethical, you don't want to read the same publication again and again, do you?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There is no central authority that regulates anything. Each journal and each conference have their own policies about such things. In any case, it is not in general true that in computer science "a journal paper cannot be presented in a conference because of plagiarism reasons, and viceversa". [My answer to another question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/54476/40589) explains more about the difference between conference and journal publications and how they interact with each other (the answer is not area-specific, but it was informed by my specific knowledge of computer science publication conventions).
As for your other questions, they are a bit vague but I'll try to answer them:
>
> I have had multiple arguments with colleagues of other fields that
> disagree with me (I am in a multidisciplinary field). I feel I tend to
> lose these argumentations; and basically nobody really believes me
> because I would need a bunch of people in my field as proof.
>
>
>
If I understand correctly what it is that you are claiming in your arguments with your colleagues, it sounds like they may be in the right. However, it's a bit unclear what your position is precisely, so perhaps you should try to clarify that.
>
> If I simply don’t want to follow the rule, what are the real
> consequences apart from the social lynching. In a multidisciplinary
> field we are already kind of being punished when we hear that
> conference papers don’t count as publications. Is there any way to
> confirm that a conference or proceeding is formally registered as an
> (or to an) editorial/publisher?
>
>
>
Again, I'm not sure what rule you are referring to. As I said above, there is no centrally regulated system of rules. Each journal or conference will have their own publication policies which you should comply with. These are not "rules" in the sense that disobeying them will get you arrested, but not complying with these policies will quickly get your papers rejected and/or get you labelled as a dishonest or unethical researcher. If you are after an academic career, it is completely counterproductive to do this, and if you don't want an academic career, I don't really understand what would be your goal in trying to work around the publication conventions in such a way.
>
> Is there any other way of presenting published results in a conference
> as, for example, simply abstracts?
>
>
>
Again, I disagree with your premise (at least in the generality in which it is stated) that one cannot present published results in a conference. I'm in math rather than CS, but I have done precisely that many times (**Edit:** to clarify: in math, conferences usually don't publish proceedings, so "presenting" does not equate to a publication). Even in many CS conferences, you could do that by taking care to first submit an extended abstract version of your paper to the conference, presenting it there, and following that up with a more detailed paper which you will submit to a journal. The order does matter, as the answer I linked to above discusses, but that's the logical order of doing it anyway, so I don't really understand what the source of your frustration is. If you add more details to your question I'll be happy to discuss them.
---
**Edit:** Here are some more thoughts addressing the very helpful clarification comments you left below my answer.
1. I sympathize with your money issues, but honestly you are mixing two completely unrelated things here. The fact of the matter is, publishing in a journal first and then in a conference is *less logical* and rather defeats the entire purpose of the system of dual conference-journal publications (and, to be clear, I rather dislike this system myself and think it has some serious flaws, but it does have a certain logic to it, which you are trying to work against because of the unrelated money issues).
What I think would make sense for you to do is to determine what is the optimal way to publish your research **from a scientific point of view**, ignoring the funding issues, and then go to your advisor and/or department, explain the problem to them and ask them to help you achieve that goal. If they are running an honest graduate program, *it is their responsibility to provide grad students with the resources they need to succeed in their work*. So, I think that problem ought to take care of itself if you go about things in a mature way instead of trying to work around the system, flawed though it might be, and ignore well-established conventions in your field.
2. As for "conference papers don't count as publications", that statement simply does not have a well-defined truth value, and in fact, I think asking questions like whether a conference papers "counts" or does not "count" as a "publication" (whatever that is) is misguided and unhelpful. Here's what in my opinion is a more helpful way of thinking about this topic: a conference paper is precisely what it is, nothing more or less - it is a form of publication that has certain characteristics in terms of the rigor with which it was evaluated, the level of certainty that it is correct, etc. When you are evaluated by others in connection with job applications, promotions, etc., it is important that they understand the context for your achievements so that they can reach an informed opinion about how good your work is. When working in a multidisciplinary field, you are correct that there can be a risk that the people evaluating you are not sufficiently informed about the conventions in some of the fields you are working on to have that context. I agree that this can be frustrating and worrying, but I think there is only one correct way to address this concern, and that is to provide that context in an honest, clear, concise and readable way in your CV and other documents (research statement, publication list). If your department is unfamiliar with CS conference proceedings papers and how much they "count" for, **explain to them** what such papers are about; e.g., have two sections in your publication lists, one for journal publications and another for conference publication, and include a small footnote to explain the distinction.
On the other hand, **do not** be tempted to try to game the system in any way, by, for example, withholding that context, trying to pass off a conference paper as a journal paper, ignoring editorial policies of a journal or conference you submit to, or any other means that can be viewed as dishonest or unethical. That will only lead to trouble.
To summarize, I understand from your comments that you have some legitimate concerns about funding travel to conferences and about having your work be evaluated by people who do not understand publication conventions in CS, but it seems to me that you are contemplating some rather ill-advised means for addressing those concerns. Academia is not perfect and one often encounters such less than ideal situations in almost every discipline, but I find that a little bit of creative thinking, maturity and honesty will almost always overcome them.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: One reason conference proceedings are accepted as publications in computer science is likely because CS moved much faster than physics or mathematics. In the latter a multi-year review process was acceptable, but not in the former. So the latter accepted conferences only as a presentation platform, but not as final verification/peer reviewing opportunity.
It may be that in future, with accelerated publication channels, this will change and even CS conferences may lose the stamp of publication (except for the top ones), but cultural inertia is usually slower.
However, as long as proceedings count as publications, they should not overlap significantly with a journal publication - publications are the currency of the scientific community. And while there is no central committee enforcing that the currency is valid (i.e. publications are valuable and original), the members of your narrower community carry out social control. Compare that to pre-state social control in a small village. You didn't need a central police force, the decentralised village community was perfectly sufficient for this. In fact, historically, this would be the earlier stage and science mostly still works like this, because of expertise horizon.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: The main reason why conferences with formally published proceedings do not accept work which has been already published or accepted elsewhere is to avoid duplicate publication (<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplicate_publication>). It is just the same as Journal B will not accept/publish a paper already accepted/published in Journal A. Such rules are regulated by publishers, conference organizers, and the whole ecosystem is coordinated by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) - <http://publicationethics.org/>
In other fields, conferences do not have formally published proceedings, just sth like a book of abstracts. That's why you can present the already published work there.
While you are asking about presenting journal work at a conference, the opposite case is quite common in CS. For instance, you publish sth at a conference, then extend this with new results, more details, state the increment and voila - you can submit this new work in a journal.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/12
| 1,905
| 7,892
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<issue_start>username_0: So I applied to a linguistics PhD program my senior year of undergraduate studies in Chinese and Spanish. I wasn't accepted, and the university provided the explanation that essentially I didn't have enough background/research experience in the field. I am reapplying to this graduate program now five years later, and I am wondering if I should apply directly to the PhD program again or to their master's program. My career goal is a professor, so I know I will need the PhD for that. I also know that funding preference is given to PhD admits, but I just don't know if I have a strong enough background for them to consider me.
There are prerequisites to the program that I still only fill one of unfortunately, but they do allow you to take them your first year if needed. What is new to my application is that I've taken three linguistics MOOCs (massive open online courses), audited a phonetics course in the speech language pathology department, and completed a TESOL certificate program. My work experience is as an ESL tutor. I do not have any research experience.
Thanks in advance for your time and help.<issue_comment>username_1: Why not apply to both? I know that some schools will allow you to apply for both a Masters and a PhD with one application.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: *(Disclosure - I am part of the admissions staff at a linguistics department in a UK university)*
Talk to the department you are applying to first. Although they won't be able to give a definitive 'no - you won't get the PhD offer if you apply', most departments (at least in the UK) will be happy to talk, informally, about whether you fulfil the prerequisites.
There are some general points to remember though. A student enrolled on a PhD will be required to submit a substantial body of scientifically original work at the end of the course, and your ability to deliver this is what the admission committee will be trying to gauge. In your case, it is worth remembering that linguistics is the **scientific study of language\*** - and actually has a very little to do with language skills themselves. Unfortunately, knowing Chinese and Spanish, and being able to teach English as a second language, do not provide evidence of your understanding of the *science* of linguistics (although they clearly show your enthusiasm with languages, which will be a plus). You have gone about correcting this in the right way, by doing MOOC and phonetics courses, but this may not be enough. The committee have to be sure you will be able to write up a good *scientific* thesis - if you are accepted, and are subsequently unable to write a good scientific thesis, (in the UK at least) they may stand to loose funding.
You don't say where in the world you are applying, but if it is in the UK, most prospective PhD's students have decided beforehand - at least vaguely - the broad sub-field they plan to do their PhD in, so they can approach a PhD supervisor at the department they intend to join. (So, for linguistics, subfields include semantics, first language acquisition, phonetics, prosody etc). This is why masters courses are so useful as a first step before a PhD - they allow the student to be sure of the subfield they want to work in, to work out if that department has the supervisor they want, and to familiarise themselves with the field so they can locate potential supervisors in other universities.
You say you aspire to be a professor one day - if so, perhaps a masters course would help you find that subfield of linguistics you really enjoy, and to find a supervisor that will inspire you to do great science.
Good luck!
\*<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics>
**EDIT: Added after further information by the original poster**
>
> I had actually considered asking but was worried about making a poor
> first impression. I don't want to start out appearing doubtful of my
> abilities to do graduate study.
>
>
>
If you are asking for information about the course, or clarification about entry requirements, this will not be seen as you doubting your ability. It will be seen as you having the maturity to find and clarify the information you need to make the right decision about which course is right for you.
>
> I plan to apply to UC Davis - who exactly should I ask, do you think,
> about their general admission standards for MA vs PhD?
>
>
>
The ‘graduate administrator’. For UC Davis’ graduate linguistics programs, the name and email address of their administrator can be found at the bottom of this page: <http://linguistics.ucdavis.edu/graduate-program/admission> (her title is ‘graduate co-coordinator’). If you email her, then she will answer any questions you have herself or forward it on your behalf to whoever is best placed to answer them.
I agree that (to me at least) the [prerequisites to this course](https://apps.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/programs/degreq/2010-glin.pdf) seem a little ambiguous, saying that, if you haven’t taken some of their prerequisite undergraduate courses, you can take them during the first year – which makes it seem like they are not prerequisites at all. But this is a perfectly sensible clarification to ask by email, something along the lines of:
* I am considering applying to your department for a graduate course and I am trying to decide whether your masters or PhD course is more suitable for my circumstances.
* I see that the prerequisites for the PhD on your website are courses equivalent to four undergraduate classes.
* I have taken the online [*fill in MOOC course here*] linguistics course, which covered [*X*] hours of teaching and [*X*] hours of course work. Would this set of courses fulfil the prerequisites for your PhD program?
As I say, this is a very reasonable question, and the email itself will not negatively affect your chances of getting in. There are two further pieces of advice I would give based on the information you have given:
* Each course they list as a prerequisite is [3 or 4 hours each](http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/programs/LIN/LINcourses.html). Some include course-work or discussions. I'm afraid that, if your MOOC course was not of a similar high standard, you should be prepared for the answer to be ‘no’.
* You mention that you completed a TESOL certificate. While this is a great thing to put in your application to show your enthusiasm for the subject area of second language development, I suspect the admissions committee may not feel it demonstrates your ability as a **scientist** in this subfield. But again, ask the department first to make sure - they may feel differently.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Arguments for applying direct to PhD from a BA
1. Some US institutions have lots of research training and seminar work in the PhD that will equip you for the original research component.
2. Many PhD students have to learn a lot about a new field if their research stumbles into it. Your ability to learn quickly and independently is one of the things they look for.
On the whole, however, I wouldn't advise it.
1. Being inadequately prepared reduces your chances of successful completion. Besides, "linguistics" is a very broad and complex field. Most likely, you will be able to do only one sub-discipline. So skills in some other parts of linguistics doesn't necessary prepare you for your specialist area. Even if the rules say they could accept you, they don't want someone at high risk of non-completion.
2. Many US schools now require more than a bachelor degree for PhD admission, even though it was once more common to go direct from a BA. In some jurisdictions, accredited institutions are not even permitted to admit applicants to a PhD without a Masters.
3. As has been said above, having a set of applied skills is not the same as ability to handle theory development and research.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/12
| 698
| 3,102
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<issue_start>username_0: What I mean is to change mistakes/typos other than the proposed changes your reviewers pointed out to you.
As this article is based on a previous thesis (which had a very similar focus, only it was oriented towards a different cultural context) I've noticed a few paragraphs that could use a clean up (for example it would help to clarify that I use a certain term because it is related to the administrative divisions in my country,etc.).
I also noticed a typo on one of the results on the table that got carried over to the abstract. It doesn't change the results or findings or anything, basically it's just a decimal that should be lower.
My question is, would it be OK to change them now? And in case it was should I let the reviewers know I cleaned it up or go through each change, besides the ones they asked me to do, obviously.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, this is completely OK. You are not bound to perpetuate typos from earlier versions just because reviewers did not find them.
It's always good to indicate that typos were cleaned up and similar, though you shouldn't note every single typo. I'd write something like "we corrected typos, especially in section X, and tightened up the prose in paragraph Y" in the answer letter - just to make sure that nobody thinks you are trying to smuggle in larger changes.
Of course, there is a bit of a gray area between small and not-so-small changes. If you want to change something that goes beyond simple spelling errors or awkward prose and starts to change your argument, you should draw the editor's and reviewers' attention to this more explicitly, since they should really sign off on any not completely minor changes at this stage.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, correcting typos while making revisions (major or minor) is not only completely okay, it is strongly encouraged. In general you should feel free to make such changes, without explicit comment, as long as:
(i) A neutral, well-qualified reader (not necessarily a leading expert; just a generic member of your target audience) would regard your changes as having no nontrivial intellectual / academic content,
and
(ii) These changes do not significantly alter the length of the paper.
If you run afoul of condition (i) or (ii), you should think one more time as to whether you want to make these changes. You can still make them, but you should alert the editor to them -- and in case (i), enumerate them explicitly. You should understand and be prepared to have your work refereed again. If the changes are **so** significant that a neutral, well-qualified reader would be concerned that an article submitted in the revised form would not have been accepted (or made it to whatever stage of the process you have attained), then you should think one more time about making the changes, and if so you should probably suggest to the editor that the paper may need to be re-refereed. In other words, you can yourself make a major revision in place of a minor revision...but be prepared to accept the consequences of that.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/01/13
| 3,664
| 15,568
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying to UIUC and have asked 3 of my professors to write me recommendation letters. One professor, who I discussed my application with before extensively, wrote back to me after I was done with everything that he doesn't write a LOR to students who do not waive their right to view the letter at a later date, because if I don't trust my professors, I shouldn't be asking for their help.
I'm pretty dumbfounded by this, considering that he never mentioned this before and that I've never come across a situation like this. It's not even a trust issue! It's pure feedback. Why would you keep feedback from someone anyway?
So I waived my right to view his letter, but now I'm not sure how to write back to him. I don't want to write an uncomfortable email to the department I'm applying to - UIUC procedure - as to why I have to switch professors if he still refuses to write one. Is there a polite, apologetic way to say to him that I had not intended to convey any feelings of mistrust, and that it was to see what were my strengths and weaknesses from a professor's perspective? Or should I take the weird route and change professors, because he'll write me something less-than-glowing now?<issue_comment>username_1: Just simply write down that it was your mistake not waiving your right to read LOR and ask him to write a letter. Don't wait too long to respond back to him, make your response succinct. Most importantly, do not explain to him why you wanted to see the letter in the email. Good luck.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Just let him know that you've waived your right to see it; I don't believe that you've offended him. It's fine to also ask him for feedback, but be aware that a recommendation letter and direct feedback are quite different and serve different purposes.
>
> It's pure feedback. Why would you keep feedback from someone anyway?
>
>
>
Feedback is information from your supervisor about your performance that is given to **you**, primarily for your own benefit.
**A recommendation letter is not pure feedback**. The letter is information about your performance given to a third party, to help the third party make a judgment.
Another way in which feedback and recommendation letters differ is **expectations** and **interpretation**. When giving feedback, I try to be generous with both positive and negative observations, comparing a student's performance to what I view as the student's potential. The negative is often the most valuable part of the feedback, since it suggests ways to improve. In a recommendation letter, *I am expected to compare the student not to his/her potential, but to other students*. I focus much more on the positive, because I only agree to write a letter for a student who I see as above average -- and because there is an expectation that the letter will be strongly positive, so any negative comments are taken very seriously. At the same time, I focus more on achievements than on potential, since the letter will be used to make a material decision in the present.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> I'm pretty dumbfounded by this, considering that he never mentioned
> this before and that I've never come across a situation like this.
> It's not even a trust issue! It's pure feedback. Why would you keep
> feedback from someone anyway?
>
>
>
First, let's be clear, you are not in a position to pass judgment on your professor for making you waiving your right to view the letter a condition to writing it. It is his right to make this a condition for any reason whatsoever (or even for no reason at all), and he is not required to provide any explanation. So, my main advice is that, whatever you write to him, make sure that it doesn't contain even a trace of the slightly judgmental attitude I am sensing in the question you posted here. Just say that you were not aware this would be an issue, acknowledge that you understand his request and that you have complied with it.
With that said, since you ask, there are some perfectly logical reasons why a professor would not want their student to view the letter they are writing. The most compelling reason for me would be the following: a letter, even a very positive one, contains statements about the subject of the letter that normally one would not be inclined to tell someone about themselves in person, both because it's awkward and because it is potentially counterproductive. The knowledge that the subject of the letter would not be reading it eliminates this problem, and provides me with reassurance that I can state my true opinions without fear that my writing would be affected (positively or negatively, and consciously or subconsciously) by any concerns about how the subject would receive those opinions. Again, I emphasize, this reasoning is valid for very positive letters (as well as more obviously for letters also expressing some negative opinions).
As an example, say I believed that a student was the greatest mathematical genius since Euler. I would certainly want to say that in a letter of recommendation, right? Now, you might think that I should have no reservations about telling that to the student as well. I mean, why not -- surely he/she would be flattered and feel great, right? Well, the thing is, hearing that you are the greatest genius since Euler may actually not be good for you, even if it's true. It could inflate that person's ego to the point of making them arrogant and obnoxious, and demotivate them from working hard since they would reason they can achieve great success with very little effort, and maybe have various other negative effects. So, you see, not wanting them to know this opinion that I hold, and not having to worry that whatever I write about them will be influenced by such concerns about secondary and unintended effects of my writing, are completely valid and legitimate reasons for me to request this kind of confidentiality.
The bottom line is, not waiving your right to view the letter is essentially tantamount to making a rather aggressive demand for "pure feedback" from the professor, taking advantage of the fact that he is bound by a promise to provide honest feedback about you to someone else. I think your professor is absolutely justified in refusing to cooperate. If you want feedback from him, ask him for it in the right way and at the right time, without tying your request to anything else related to external circumstances, so that he'll have the ability to consider your request without any pressure and decide if that's something he wishes to do.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I think by not waiving the right and not telling the prof that you won't at the time of the letter request, you're putting the prof in an awkward situation. It's happened to me, and I've taken to specifying that I only write confidential letters when a request comes to me.
I recommend writing the the professor, and just flat out saying that you were unaware of stigmas surrounding non-confidential letters, that you've now waived your right to view, and that you hope you haven't made him uncomfortable.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: In addition to recommending a perfunctory apology for an error in failing to waive-the-right...
... as other answers have mentioned, these letters are addressed to a different audience than the student. In addition to issues of ego and such, there is an even larger issue of the huge difference of *context* of a grad admissions committee (nowhere near 20...) and applicants (typically very near 20). Words mean vastly different things to different people. What is clear and sane in one context can be perceived badly in another.
No, it is not possible to write a single narrative that nicely imparts the same message to all parties... though I occasionally remember that there is a label in "rhetoric" for the capacity to say something that is sufficiently ambiguous, though not sounding overtly so, that it pleases everyone, no matter their disagreements. In any case, this rhetorical device is not what you want your letters of recommendation to be. You *do* want effective communication to the admissions committee. The compromises involved to make the statement communicate to you what the writer would want would make it *fail* to communicate necessary things to the committee... I claim.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> ...wrote back to me after I was done with everything that he doesn't
> write a LOR to students who do not waive their right to view the
> letter at a later date, **because if I don't trust my professors, I
> shouldn't be asking for their help.**
>
>
>
In my opinion, your professor didn't need to say "because if I don't trust my professors, I shouldn't be asking for their help." That's his interpretation, not yours.
That being said, don't start to defend yourself even you feel you've been insulted. Look for the kernel of truth of what he's saying and agree with that part. This isn't the first time, nor the last, that someone is going to attribute a negative intent that you do not hold. To be successful in life, you have to be willing to pick your battles and not try to challenge every little misinterpretation someone may have about you. It's not worth it. Look at the problem from his perspective.
This Professor is very busy. Writing Recommendation Letters is just one more chore that he can say 'no' to (when he probably has a backlog of required work that can not wait and that he can't say 'no' to). And out of all the requests he gets, I'm sure that all the students expect a glowing recommendation from him, but in order for a recommendation letter to be valuable and interesting to its intended recipients, it actually needs to be as brutally honest as possible.
In other words, you should indeed acknowledge that he changed your mind, that you do trust him, and that his recommendation letter may probably be the only one taken seriously by its recipients once you waive your right to view it. You should further acknowledge that you know he's very busy, that he doesn't need to write you a recommendation letter, and that it's perfectly fine if he doesn't want to do it, but that you would be super grateful if he did (now that you've waived your right to review it).
In other words, you need to give him a way out, you can't guilt him into writing a letter, nor can you force him through arguments into writing a letter, because if you do any of that, that may taint his letter negatively and having a tainted letter will be a thousand times worse than having no letter or having to call and change the name of the Professor your recipients should expect a recommendation letter from.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_7: An important thing to recognize (from [here](https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingrecommendationlettersonline/node/116))
>
> studies find that confidential letters contain comments about students that are less favorable than those in open access letters. However, reviewers of letters are also more likely to trust the information when they know that students have waived their access rights (10, 11). In plain terms, everyone is more comfortable when a student opts for a confidential letter, and such a letter will also likely be perceived as more trustworthy.
>
>
>
**First**: since many people reading the letter and deciding on your admission would be surprised by your unusual choice to not waive that right, I recommend changing the conditions for all the letters so that you waive your right.
**Second**: Send an email to the professor with something along the lines of:
>
> I apologize. When I checked the box, I didn't understand what the implications were and why they were asking. I've waived my right to read the letter (and made the same change to the letters from other professors). Would you still be able to write me a positive letter in the time remaining?
>
>
>
This tells him 1: it wasn't a trust issue, which is reinforced by the fact you've changed all of the letters. 2: if he is genuinely still bothered, it gives him a way to say "look for someone else" without coming across as a jerk. You don't want to make him feel like he's trapped into writing the letter.
Do not say: "the reason I wanted to see the letter was ..." as that's going to come across as making excuses.
Alternately - send the same message without that final question.
>
> I apologize. When I checked the box, I didn't understand what the implications were and why they were asking. I've waived my right to read letters from all my references. By way of apology, I'll ask someone else to write this letter for me, but I hope you will be able to write a positive letter in the future.
>
>
>
This means that for this letter you don't have to worry at all that you've offended him. It gives him time before the next letter to relax about it. And it shows you are willing to accept the consequences of the mistake without complaint.
Which option you go with may depend on your impression of the instructor.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Don't take his comment personally. He has a blanket policy on not writing non-confidential letters, and he's explaining the reason behind it. It isn't aimed at you as an individual.
I would write him back with no sense of awkwardness or hesitation. My sense of the situation is that he is offering you a free choice: To waive your right and get a LOR, or not waive it and not get one (from him). I have every confidence he'll respond positively if you go with the first choice.
This is obviously a common enough situation that he's worked out a general approach to it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: I've already picked an answer by username_6, but I figured I'd explain here what I actually ended up doing.
I wrote back to the professor:
>
> Dear [Professor's name here]
>
>
> I did not intend to convey any feelings of mistrust. It was my
> assumption that this would not be a problem based on my other letters
> of recommendation. I completely understand your viewpoint, and have
> made the necessary changes. I would greatly appreciate it if you could
> write me a recommendation letter for my application.
>
>
> Best regards
> [My name and contact details]
>
>
>
Like most of you recommended, I didn't try to imply I resented his implication that I didn't trust my professors, and respectfully just did what he asked. I'm still not going to pretend I really understand why this waiving thing is so important, because even if the audience or purpose is different, it is still feedback - an analysis of the student's strengths and weaknesses, and their aptitude, scope and overall mannerisms. However, to each their own. That's why the option is there.
I just wish he'd told me sooner, because I've never had this issue before. I've had professors send me the letter separately for my approval, and their idea is that if they didn't want to recommend me, they'd just refuse. Getting into graduate programs is already nerve-racking and complicated.
But anyway, I found out that this professor is careful about these kinds of things because of past experiences, and that some students have acted less than appropriately with regards to graduate programs and LORs. So he acted according to his discretion. I spoke to another faculty member who knows him, and he was very understanding, and said he would help me get through to the professor.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/13
| 521
| 2,164
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<issue_start>username_0: This is a review report of an article on the EVISE revision status website:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WVVld.png)
Does this mean my article was rejected? Why there isn't any "Complete and send review" for the second reviewer? And why is the status of the article "Decision Pending"?<issue_comment>username_1: My reading is that the associate editor has rejected the article and it just has to be formalized by either the editorial staff or the editor-in-chief.
Prepare for an email with bad news :-(
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Generally, the Associate Editor of a journal makes a recommendation about whether the paper should be accepted or rejected. In your case, the AE has recommended a rejection. However, the final decision is taken by the EIC. That is why the status is still showing "Decision pending." Once the EIC formally takes the decision and communicates it you to over email, the decision making process will be considered formally closed.
In most cases, the EIC’s decision matches with the AE’s recommendation, and the EIC's decision is a mere formality. However, in some exceptional cases, the EIC might review the manuscript himself and give a different decision. However, such cases are extremely rare, and you should be mentally prepared for a rejection.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Thank you for all of your answers and comments. This was some bug in EVISE system. Supporting section of EVISE is trying to fix it in next updates.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I think it's not necessarily a reject. I saw the same status on one of my papers for 2 days and finally it was a minor revision.
My paper status changed from "under review" to "Ready for decision" to "Decision pending" and finally "Revision requested".
I think if an associate editor rejects, EIC will never go for a minor revision.
Additionally, after reviewing the comments of reviewers i realized that it should be a minor revision (Rev1: Accept, Rev2: Some minor things relate to text and format, rev3: Few suggestions).
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/13
| 3,678
| 15,848
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<issue_start>username_0: I teach undergraduate and graduate level courses in mechanical engineering at a research oriented university in the United States. I am a teaching track professor and my sole responsibility, on which I am judged for pay raises or promotions, is teaching efficacy.
The courses I teach have a strong mathematical component to them. Some notable examples would be: computational fluid dynamics or finite element methods. For those here familiar with these courses, you would know that calculus background is necessary to understand the nuances.
However, I find that the students I teach this to (mostly 4th year undergraduate students) balk at the prospect of doing some analytical "pen-on-paper" work and would like only to know how to use relevant software skills for these, with no mathematical background.
This leads me to receiving unsatisfactory end of semester evaluations (3.90/5.00) from students with a lot of them complaining that "the course is too math-y"(verbatim). The department requires teaching professors to consistently receive a 4+/5.00 for courses they teach and base promotions, continuing contracts and raises on this.
Unfortunately, I refuse to pander and just teach students "software-button-clicking" alone. Software skills can be learnt from Youtube and they don't really need me to teach them that. I continuously tell them that mathematical/fundamental analytical skills are far more important because the software landscape is quite fickle and ever-changing based on industry whims and fancies. However, fundamental mathematical skills are resolute and robust and may be applied to *most* engineering problems.
**Has this been encountered by other folks on this SE and is there some effective method you have devised to counter this?** My university is significantly "engine research" driven and students end up getting jobs at the "big 4" automotive companies. Perhaps I need to ply my trade at a different department like "applied mathematics"?
On my part, I juxtapose software results with analytical results continuously to explain how analytical results are necessary for validating software results. However, students are under the impression that the "software is always right" irrespective of whether or not their problem set-up and boundary conditions are correct or not.<issue_comment>username_1: Well if you insist on delivering content that your students dont want, and not the content that they do want, then you should expect a low score.
Most CFD users see it as a problem solving tool, and you are not really preparing your students to solve problems if they have no software tool experience.
You could spend more time showing them how to actually solve real world problems with it, even without getting too hung up on what software package you use.
The counter point to "software can be taught from youtube" is that the math can be taught from any of a dozen reference textbooks. Software is inherently more useful to the students. As for the "you always have to check the software" approach, you are right that the software cant be trusted alone, but it can be validated through other means, such as prototyping.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Based on your comment that the mathematical ability of the students is poor, to the point that they struggle with 1-D Calculus, I think you need to drastically adjust your expectations. I don't know how deeply you get into the mathematical basis of the Finite Element Method, but doing it "right" requires knowledge of functional analysis at an advanced undergraduate level. For a student who doesn't even understand 1-D calculus well, most any sentence in a functional analysis textbook will be literally gibberish. You couldn't bridge this gap in a one-semester class even if the entire focus of the class were functional analysis, let alone in a course with other priorities. So while I agree that your students *should* learn the material you're teaching in a perfect world, it's unrealistic to expect them to learn something they don't have the necessary background for. This isn't only a problem for your teaching evaluations--your students are very likely not getting much out of this class (at least the more mathematical parts of it), and in fact they have every right to complain.
So, how can you avoid this problem without pandering to the students' unambitious goals? If I were you, I'd probably do some combination of the following two approaches:
1. Rename the class something like "Mathematical Methods in Mechanical Engineering" and state clearly in the course syllabus that there is a significant mathematical component to the course. If you can, list a sophomore-level math class or two as prerequisites. This is to attract students who will get something useful out of the more mathematical course you want to teach.
2. Choose different, less complex, engineering topics to teach, but dig into the mathematical concepts behind them, which hopefully will be closer to earth. Focus on examples where blindly using the software without understanding the math will give the wrong answer. They will be "toy" examples, but if you're lucky, they will instill in your students a lesson that they will remember when they use software on more complex systems.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: There are several aspects to examine:
1. Students' expectations of the course
2. Your expectations of the students' abilities
3. Course alignment with curriculum
Let's take #3 first. Presumably, you live in a state that licenses Professional Engineers. Since you mention Big 4 auto, I'm going to take Michigan as an example. The [Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs](http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-72600_72602_72731_72865-360382--,00.html) declares:
>
> Article 20 of Public Act 299 of 1980, as amended was created, to license and regulate the practice of professional engineering in Michigan. Article 20 defines professional engineering as professional services, such as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design or review of material and completed phases of work in construction, alteration or repair in connection with a public or private utility, structure, building, machine, equipment, process, work or project when the professional service requires the application of engineering principles or data.
>
>
>
Michigan [requires](http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-72600_72602_72731_72865-360375--,00.html) PE applicants to pass both the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam and the Principals and Practices Exam of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). As you know, these are standardized national exams. Your students will generally take the [FE](http://ncees.org/exams/fe-exam/) in their senior year of college, which is the year of the students you're asking about.
You should make sure that your courses align with the topics that your students are expected to know for the FE. These include calculus, differential equations, and numerical analysis, which your students already seem to be having trouble with. The bulk of the [test for mechanical engineers](http://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/FE-Mec-CBT-specs.pdf) (pdf) consists of MechE topics: statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, material properties, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, measurements and instrumentation, and mechanical design. Your students will need to know these topics cold in order to pass the FE.
As for #2, given that calculus is a series of freshman courses, and all of engineering builds upon it, you are not unreasonable to expect your students to be able to practice it.
As for #1, my suggestion is to clarify in your syllabus for each course that the goal of the course is to have the students understand topics X, Y, and Z that are covered in the FE, with links to the NCEES site. It also might be a good idea, for each new module that you cover within a course, to identify which section of the FE that it addresses.
Your students may protest that they are only getting the degree for its own sake, or they will immediately go to business school for their MBAs, or whatever. Emphasize that many engineering jobs will be closed to them if they don't follow the PE path. Also, if they are going for an MBA, a PE+MBA combination would facilitate their going into business for themselves.
Disclaimer: I have an engineering degree but am not in academia and am not a P.E. Also, I am from Texas and not Michigan, but the tests and accreditation are national.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I certainly agree that you should not pander to a teach me the 'software-button-clicking' mindset in an engineering course. When I took Finite Element Analysis during my undergraduate engineering degree, commercial FEA packages were not covered. Everything was done by hand with some work done in Matlab. I am personally a strong supporter of this fundamental approach.
As others have pointed out, it would be worth checking that the mathematical rigor you are using in your course is appropriate to the students at your university. Some schools/countries are much more mathematically focused. Perhaps go through your lecture notes with a lecturer who is popular with the students, or with a graduate student who did their undergraduate degree at the same school. From the universities I have been at the level of mathematics in a text such as Hutton - *Fundamentals of Finite Element Analysis* has been appropriate for upper year undergraduates.
I don't know what material you are covering in your course and how you are approaching it, but perhaps a few adjustments could boost your ratings. Some things that I have found useful in the past:
1. Include a project in the course where the students use a commercial software package to solve some problem. Don't teach them the software in class, let them learn it themselves (or give them some instructions to follow). Have them solve the same problem by hand and compare the results.
2. Focus more on applications in assignments and exams, but cover derivations in lectures.
3. We wrote a direct stiffness method FEA program for analysing trusses in Matlab as part of a course. I thought this was useful, but some students struggled with the programming aspect.
4. Nonlinear stuff is likely beyond undergraduate capabilities.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The professor that taught me statistics dealt with this basic problem, which is that students would come into the course thinking it was like any other "narrative" style of course (like a history class), but the truth is it was a math class that was not listed as MATH 3XX.
Part of the job of a student is to pick courses, ordering them and balancing them into a semester that allows them to handle all of their classes. If they do not have the information they need to balance their schedule (as some classes are naturally heavy loads and others are light), they cannot do their job. So here's how I learned to help them do ***their job*** so that they would *feel* that you were doing *your* job.
Reset Student Expectations
--------------------------
On week 1 or 2, assign a special test. Include absolutely the most challenging math you expect them to do for the entire semester (not hard for the sake of being hard). Make it absolutely clear that this course does in fact require previous knowledge and ability, and that this test is designed to do just that - test their readiness for this class. You can make it an in-lab assignment and just give credit for doing it - you can give them the answer key and let them grade themselves.
Clearly explain to students that if they cannot complete this test satisfactorily, that is information *for them* to decide if they are ready for this class. When I ran this lab session I personally explained to students that if they weren't willing to spend at least X hours per assignment per week, they would be unlikely to do well and should reconsider their plans now while they can still re-arrange their schedule. I had a few students drop by the next week, but then everyone who stayed stuck with it all semester.
Don't Make Students Feel Dumb
-----------------------------
One of the great dangers of being an expert and a teacher is that you become very distant from that point in time when the material was truly difficult for you, and you lose some of your understanding of what it was like to not know. You are also likely to have an IQ far beyond the average, as well, so you might not ever have experienced this material as difficult - which makes it even harder to avoid this mistake.
I personally remind myself of the time where I had scrawled out about 8 pages of hand-written calculations and equations to solve a factorial analysis of variance by hand, because my professor said it was important. If someone at that moment had looked at what I was doing and even vaguely implied "oh, that's mostly just basic algebra, that's not so hard" I would have stabbed them in the neck with my pencil right then and there. (The pencil was dull and my wrist was tired, so they would have probably escaped serious injury. But still!) Maybe it wouldn't have been hard for them, but it was a challenge to me.
With your advanced understanding of mathematics, you might unintentionally be sending your students a message along the lines of, "oh, this math is pretty basic first year stuff, you shouldn't have any trouble with it". Math is often hard and time consuming and mind-bending and forgotten quickly, even if it is important, and to imply otherwise is insult your students intelligence and character. This will likely result in them not liking you, and worse - they may not learn as much from you as they could have.
Be honest, but take care to honor their struggle with fundamentally non-trivial material. Students appreciate "I know this may seem hard, but you can work through it" more than "this is easy, work harder".
...and make sure the material Is Really Relevant
------------------------------------------------
Yes, math is important and sometimes being able to do it by hand is even important. But I've had teachers include complex material based on the idea that it would be on X industry test that was 3+ years away and that I would not ever be taking, and could otherwise be looked up in < 10 seconds if I really needed it. Sure, now if I get stranded on a desert island I'll be able to calculate proper binary subnet masks so I can build a complex routed network for all my coconuts, but otherwise I'm still a little annoyed I spent hours on that mess when I could have spent it on my research projects.
Motivating the material with a calculation the computer can't solve but they can do it by hand, if such an example exists, can help. It may also be helpful to really drive home the point that if you don't understand the underlying math you'll click stuff that is laughable and makes no damn sense, but the software didn't know any better so it did what you asked anyway.
Still, make sure you really aren't including tough material (according to the students) just because you really think its cool and is technically somehow applicable, but not really necessary or very valuable to the student. Those topics might be a perfect fit in another course - just not this one.
---
I think you'll find that if students are made to understand what will be expected and necessary upfront, you empathize and honor the challenges your students deal with, and you pair down the material to what truly best serves students, you'll find that not only will students like you more and rate you more highly - but they'll also learn more and the class will be more fun to teach, too.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/13
| 1,907
| 8,539
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<issue_start>username_0: This is a second attempt to ask about peer evaluation, after a [pretty unsuccessful one](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/60774/how-should-we-evaluate-our-peers) which was probably much too broad. Let me start again, with a more precise subquestion.
The point is commonly made that one should not judge one's peer by looking at the impact factor of journals where her papers are published, as IF is a very poor indicator of the citation rate of individual articles, and certainly even poorer at asserting the intrinsic merit of individual articles. Some go further and consider that one should not judge one's peer by looking at the prestige of journals her papers are published in (e.g. because more selective journals tend to publish less reliable science). Last, the sheer number of publications is obviously no more useful to judge one's peer than the sheer number of books written is useful to judge a writer's merit. So, following these principles, one is lead not to use publication lists in peer evaluation.
However, publication list is most certainly the main component of a record in many, if not most, evaluation.
I have several questions on this paradox, to which I have personal answers which are partial and non definitive.
>
> **Q0** What are the actual practices you witness about the use of publication lists in peer evaluation?
>
>
> **Q1** Are there circumstances where using IF, journal prestige or other aspect of publication list leads to a better evaluation than not?
>
>
> **Q2** What other proxy if any can be used for evaluation that are expected to be done rather quickly (e.g. extracting a short list from dozens to hundreds of applicants for a tenured position, attributing small fundings), and what are their pros and cons?
>
>
> **Q3** What criteria can be used for evaluation that are expected to be done more thoroughly (e.g. hiring for a tenured position once a short list has been established), and what are their pros and cons?
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: **Q0**. Short answer, all kinds; from trying to dig into all details you mention in your backgroudn text to simply looking at the number. My experience says that evaluations often have lofty aspirations but when it comes down to actually performing the evaluation, a time crunch or other circumstances makes evaluations boil down to simple statistical measures.
**Q2**. The short answer here is, we do not know. In order to say that one approach yields better results than any other we need some form of comparable materials. I have not seen such comparisons made (which of course does not mean they do not exist).
Bibliometricians work with more advanced tools to try to work out comparable numbers. Having been through a few such processes, for organisations not persons, I can say that the results often indicate whether the object is good, average or perhaps poor and not much more; very relative terms. In my experienced studies the litterature is dealt with after having been subjected to, for example, field normalization since different fields have very different publication strategies. This i sone reason why a straight IF or h-index has limited value; it is important to know with what one is compared.
**Q2**. What immediately comes to mind is funding. If one is looking for a person that will contribute to a department through their activity, looking at their publications may not reveal the whole. Ability to attract funding may be equally important. It is obvious that the two may be well correlated in many cases and really poorly in others so even this would not be straight forward. Again, one has to look at the norms for the particular field to see how these can be used.
**Q3**. Thhis goes back to my answer under Q2 to some extent. I think, however, that in order to successsfully select a person for a tenure track, one has to be very clear of what one expects from such a person. Looking at publication rate is one thing but let's say that person locks themselves into a room and is never seen except whena new paper is published. Is that what the department really was looking for?
Appointing (good) people (contributors) is a difficult task and I very much doubt that using simple tools is the best way. Surely some tools such as IF end the like can be used to narrow down a larger group but the smaller the group from which to select, the more obtuse such tools become. I believe multiproinged approachs where the search criteria are clearly identified from the beginning and followed up by an assortment of means is the way to go. This usually involves interviews etc. to figure out how a person can and will integrate and contribute to the work environment.
So the short of it is that you get what you deserve if you use simple tools and underestimate the effort that is needed in the recruitment process.
This answer is very relative, I know, but I am convinced that hiring people is so much more involved than what simple statistics can resolve.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is true that looking at a measure of the quality of the journals a colleague publishes in (such as your personal or your community's assessment of a journal or, if need be, the Impact Factor) is, by itself, a relatively poor indicator. It's also true that the number of journal articles is, by itself, a poor indicator.
But taken together, these two are certainly highly indicative: If someone has half a dozen publications in Science and Nature over the last decade, then she's clearly doing good science. If someone has 50 publications over the last decade but all of them in journals you've never heard of and published in second and third world countries, then that also tells you a great deal about the candidate.
You can make similar arguments about most other combinations of criteria that have to do with bibliometrics: taken in isolation, they don't tell very much; but if you consider two or three of them together, they are highly correlated with the quality of science someone does.
(I will add the following, because this argument has been made so many times and I'm tired of it: of course, the fact that there is a strong correlation between a combination of metrics and the quality of science neither implies that (i) there are no examples of candidates for whom the metrics incorrectly predict poor science, (ii) there are no examples of candidates for whom the metrics incorrectly predict great science. An example for the first point above may be <NAME> pre-FLT, who did not publish much. But the important point is that *just because there are outliers does not mean that the approach has no merit*. You will, in most cases, be easily able to spot the outliers once you use the combined metrics on a candidate. It just requires a human inspection. But the inspection requires less work, and the results are *far easier to document* by taking into account metrics.
The argument that *no metric, in isolation or combination is reliable* is, in my view and observation primarily made by people whose metrics do not look great (but reasonable), and whose overall science career does not look great (but reasonable). They would not have much to win if someone took a quantitative approach to their annual evaluation. But just because a sizable number of people claims that metrics are "plainly unusable" to evaluate candidates *does not make it so*.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I find that a publication list plus citations lets me answer three key questions about a person:
1. Has this person done a least some things that people care about a lot? (i.e.., a few highly-cited papers)
2. Is their work generally respected by their community? (i.e., many moderately cited papers)?
3. Has this person been consistently active in recent years? (i.e., good numbers of recent publications)
The numerical thresholds and definitions for judging all of these depend, of course, on field and career stage. I do *not* however, find publication venue to be a particularly interesting or convincing metric: strong publications in good venues are typically well-rewarded with citations, and I find that includes them in my evaluation well enough. To also count venue would effectively be double-counting.
Note that there are also key things that do not show up effectively on publications lists. For example, a person might have made a major contribution in software or community organization that would show up elsewhere on a CV.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/13
| 1,696
| 7,427
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<issue_start>username_0: Last term I taught a large undergraduate course. I had assignments (online) due a week after we finish a chapter. There were two minor problems with this. The first was that I had to deal with students who enrolled one, two or even three weeks into the term and gave them extensions of the first several assignments, which involved logging into the website, finding the student, setting his/her new deadline and answering the student email. Secondly for some of the chapters that take more time than others, some students would bombard me with requests for extensions. So I am thinking of adopting a different method next time. Specifically, I plan to divide the 12 chapters into 4 modules with 3 chapters in each. Each module has a deadline for all 3 chapter assignments. I am hoping this would give students more flexibility on their time management, and have a little more time working on those long assignments. It also saves me from handling those extension requests because of late registration or others. The potential peril I can think of is that some students may not start on the assignments until the last minutes and it would be very difficult to crash 3 assignments within a short time. I would appreciate other thoughts on the pros and cons of this method.<issue_comment>username_1: I would recommend not batching up assignments to a common deadline, because that makes it even more challenging for students to manage their time properly. If someone waited to the last minute on an assignment in the prior regime, now they'll be waiting until the last minute on *3 assignments* and be in even worse shape -- compounded by the mental effort in prioritizing which one they should work on first. Under the original regime, they have more opportunities to engage in this cycle and get feedback on how their study skills work for them.
My response to these types of problems is to have a blanket policy of dropping a certain number of grades from consideration; for example, in my classes, there are 12 weekly online quizzes, and the lowest 3 are dropped for each student at the end of the course. There are absolutely no makeups or past-due work allowed for any reason, which massively clears out my own time (absolutely no chasing students or managing late work after my grading process is completed). Plus, the "drop N grades" is automatically supported by the Blackboard management system.
In my classes, I don't give any special allowances to students who first show up later in the semester (but this may vary for your institution). I had a student join my class in the 2nd meeting last week, and he had already missed the first quiz submission; he asked "Can I make that up?", and the answer was simply, "No", and being pointed to the syllabus for the drop allowance, which in the years I've been using it has always been accepted quite gracefully. In my opinion, it's the most efficient use of your time as an academic.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I've tried both methods for our introductory classes. To be honest, I haven't seen very much difference. The students who will wait until the end to do all three sections are going to be the ones that will wait until the end to do each individual section. In all cases, you're getting rushed work that they're likely to hand in late, except that they're spreading their work out (better learning, mayhaps) but sending you more e-mails, or they're cramming their work but sending you less e-mails.
To help them with time management, you could give them estimated completion times. Even if they're much faster or slower than the estimate, they can figure the others out relatively speaking after doing one or two ("Professor said section 2 takes two hours and section 3 takes four hours. I did section 2 in only an hour so I can probably do section 3 in two hours").
To avoid the e-mail bombardment, I'd consider instead just instituting a general late policy. It could be one that slowly penalizes more (so that one day late = 10/20% off, two days = 20/40%), or a one-off decrease (50% off), but they key is to balance it: too punitive, and they'll still e-mail you, too easy, and they'll take too much advantage of it. Or you could say "I will permit *one* module to be handed in up to X days late".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As a current engineering student, third year, I would be rather wary of the idea of grouping all the assignments together under a common due date. Especially if, the course in which this takes place is a first or second year course. This is because younger students often manage their time rather poorly.
As username_1 noted, attempting 3 assignments the night before their due date can be a discouraging experience and yield dismal results. I would also add that, as a Prof, you should set the timetable and not the students. It is very annoying to see a lenient teacher extend a deadline because a student is not on time. Especially so, if said student is behind because they are not working on the assignment and is using their time for other activities. After all, part of the skills one is to develop through a bachelor degree is time management.
Lastly, you should check either with your faculty or department if they have a late work policy, if so you should reference it in the syllabus, if not get them to establish one.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In your case, I'd try a larger number of smaller assignments, spreading the work out rather than bunching it up. Your grading load doesn't change, but the students can manage their time more easily. Put "due means due" in the syllabus and set a hard cut-off in the learning management system.
No matter what you do, the poor students will wait until the last minute, turn in rushed work, and earn poor grades. Like you, I have a desire to help such students, but I haven't found anything that works. By having more assignments, each one is worth less, and perhaps some students will learn after the first couple of rushed assignments earn bad grades.
For students registered late, which is really a different problem, set a time from registration date by which they must be caught up, put it in the syllabus, and set the LMS to enforce it, which you can probably do easily on an individual basis.
Be sure to see my comment on "late days." It's a comment to the original question.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: As others have already given good answers for the 1-3 week late admissions problem (dropping lowest grades and/or a blanket reduction of points for late work). I will offer another option for dealing with the problem of too many extension requests for homework assignments when dealing with *online* courses.
A policy which has seemed to work well during my studies was one where professors in common undergraduate requirement courses agreed on alternate due dates that mimicked the due dates of on campus courses or simply set their due dates to match on campus meetings of the same or a similar class. It seemed to help new students budget their time more effectively - keeping all the assignments from each class being due on the same day (Sunday) - and did not seem like a lenient policy as it was essentially the same amount of time to work on assignments as it would be for on campus students (may get an extra day or so depending on when one posts the assignments online).
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/01/13
| 422
| 1,648
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have completed all the requirements for an M.S. degree and have filed the appropriate paperwork. All I have left to do is walk at the end of this semester. I want to put this on my CV, but it seems appropriate to differentiate it from my Ph.D., which is (only) "In progress", and another M.S. which I completed a few years ago.
**How should I express this on my CV?** Should I say "Anticipated" or "Expected", with the date?
My question is different than [Should one list incomplete degrees on a CV?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13100/should-one-list-incomplete-degrees-on-a-cv) because that question asks about a degree that was entirely incomplete, unawarded, and is not likely to ever be awarded. In my situation, the degree needs only to be formally awarded.<issue_comment>username_1: For in-progress degrees, you should indicate the expected approximate date of completion. For instance, if the only open action is waiting till the end of your semester and then deterministically going through one bureaucratic hoop, you would write:
>
> in progress: M.S. (estimated date of completion: March 2016)
>
>
>
If you would like to volunteer more details about the single steps still missing, you can do so, but only if the total length of the CV warrants such details - in overall short CVs, the reader will be more interested in the details of the steps you have actually completed than in your upcoming plans.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If for example it's a PhD which has been ratified but not officially conferred, you can write:
PhD (Discipline) Awaiting Conferral.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/01/13
| 1,205
| 5,118
|
<issue_start>username_0: This [recent question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/61584/what-this-elsevier-evise-report-means) on the Elsevier online submission system prompted this question to me.
It seems like there are lots of outstanding examples of bad [usability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability) and overall negative [user experience](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience) with the workflow between scientists and journals. For instance, citing only things from the top of my mind:
* bad copy-editing (as in: they introduced many more errors instead of fixing them);
* old, unwieldy, and non-standard LaTeX templates;
* confusing or outdated instructions to authors on websites;
* confusing e-mail interface: for instance, in my experience, in all the e-mail I get from Elsevier journals, the editor in chief is listed as the "From" address, even when it comes from another editor. Another example that comes to my mind is a Springer journal which has no online editorial system whatsoever, and editors treat the submissions by bouncing e-mails manually back and forth with the authors and reviewers, with all the problems that this entails.
* the copy-editing phase taking months, and then corrections on the drafts needed "within 48 hours".
* complicated submission processes, in which the authors have to fill in manually lots of data that are unnecessary at the refereeing stage. or could be inferred automatically from the TeX source.
If one compares them with commercial websites, where the philosophy is "the customer is king; let's do everything so that they won't waste 30 seconds more than necessary filling our forms", the user experience seems poor, overall. It's not the kind of treatment I get on Amazon, Booking.com, or Google, for instance. Far from it.
I am not an editor at any journal, but if I were one, I would definitely try to complain about these practices and general approach. So, my question is:
**Do editors (and editors-in-chief especially) complain about usability problems like these ones? If the answer is yes, why don't things get fixed? If the answer is no, why? Is it because they don't realize that there are these problems, because they don't care, or because they know no one would listen?**<issue_comment>username_1: Of course we do! I don't edit for any of the big commercial publishers, but I do for top open access publishers that use similar or even the same manuscript submission systems. I'm continually badgering them about this detail or that one.
Some get fixed, some don't. When they don't, I'm not really sure why not. Maybe the systems don't allow the flexibility. Maybe there are good reasons for the hassles they impose. Maybe the journal staff are so busy putting out bigger fires that this never makes it to the top of the list.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I am an editor for a journal, and the terrible user interface provided by the publisher is a frequent topic of discussion amongst the editors. My "favorite" of many problems with the interface, which I think make everybody's interactions much worse are:
1. People can't respond to a review request without having an account. When I invite a person to review, the system thus sends them a rather obnoxious spammy email trying to enroll them into the system, and only afterward does it send them an email telling them I've invited them to review a paper. I think this makes it much harder to get reviewers.
2. As an editor, I do not have permission to correct obvious errors in a reviewer's account, such as a misspelled name, incorrect title, or the system thinking they are the wrong gender. Emails that I trigger manually, I can force the system to let me edit, but if I forget to check or if the email is sent automatically (e.g., reminder emails), then the person will see a terribly unprofessional error. Worse yet, this happens **ALL THE TIME**, because the system creates accounts for reviewer the author suggests, and if they don't put in the title, for some reason it defaults to "Ms."
Thus, as an editor, I frequently have emails automatically sent to prestigious academics, with my name on them, which sound like I am a terrible spammer: *"Dear Ms. <NAME>, ..."*
Can you tell that this really pisses me off? I should probably stop being an editor complaining about the journal's crappy user interface now, but well, your question really got me going.
The point is, yes, we complain. The publishers, however, are pretty insensitive to complaints: they effectively have a captive audience, since it is still quite difficult for a journal's staff to switch publishers or go it alone. Among other things, that would completely destroy the brand for most journals, along with the absolutely critical rankings (e.g., impact factor), which are vital to many of the authors who publish in a journal because of pressure and requirements from their institutions and funding agencies.
So yes: the editors don't like it either, and in most cases they have little more power to change the situation than the authors do.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2016/01/13
| 655
| 2,736
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm a high schooler who recently found a derivation of a trigonometric function over complex numbers. I typed it up as a LaTeX paper and know it's probably not publishable to an actual journal. I'm deciding if I should publish it to arXiv and when I tried registering as a user it asked for my affiliation. Is an affiliation necessary to register and publish? Is it even worth trying to publish?<issue_comment>username_1: Independently of whether you need an affiliation, this sounds like a well-known representation of trig formulas (Euler's formula). There is quite some theory involved with this, including and up to Galois theory. You should check with someone knowledgeable whether you indeed discovered anything new.
It's fun to discover new stuff, and it's a cool feeling to recover things that very smart people came up with, but, once you are there, you have to give it the reality check, which is the ultimate hallmark of the scientist.
Perhaps some friendly mathematician from the local college is happy to spare half an hour with a talented high schooler to give you at least an idea how novel the idea is or what else to try from this point on?
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I believe an affiliation is not necessary when registering, although their [help page](http://arxiv.org/help/registerhelp) only mentions that if you supply an affiliation, it has to be correct. If the signup form insists that you fill out the field, you can always write "None" or something like that. Note however opening a user account is only one part of submitting an article. In your case it is likely that you would need to be endorsed first for the category in which you want to submit. This would require you to find someone who has published a few papers in your category to endorse you. The arXiv recommends that endorsers do a quick check to see if the manuscript is appropriate for the arXiv or not. More information can be found [here](http://arxiv.org/help/endorsement).
That being said, username_1 makes a good point, and it would be wise to first check if your work adds anything to what is already known and available.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: No, you don't need an academic affiliation.
I registered with arXiv a while back. I may or may not have entered the name of my employer (a large software company, in no way an academic institution). I have also been endorsed, so I could upload something. (I haven't done so yet, because I found [the process to be painfully cumbersome](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/49386/4140).)
If you *must* fill in an affiliation field, I'd suggest you just put in the name of your high school, or "independent".
Upvotes: 1
|
2016/01/14
| 1,228
| 4,897
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have a hoodie with Dalhousie University written on it (where I used to work), but I now work at Nankai University.
*Question*: Is it significantly inappropriate to wear clothes bearing the name of University X, when working as an official employee at University Y?
I'm thinking I'm overthinking this, and it's a case of "no one cares". Or, if someone does care, it would only be a momentary blip. But I'm not 100% certain.<issue_comment>username_1: There are definitely cases in which it would stand out as strange or inappropriate. You should be careful in cases of a rivalry, since that may be viewed as a significant statement even if you meant nothing by it. (I'm thinking of Harvard vs. Yale or Illinois vs. Iowa. Athletic rivalries are particularly troublesome, since students may consider the clothing a sign of active support for the rival university. No reasonable person could take offense, but not everyone is reasonable.)
It's also risky spending too much time wearing clothing emblazoned with a much more prestigious name than the university you are currently at. You don't want to look like you are ostentatiously reminding everyone that you graduated from Harvard, unlike the riffraff around you.
I don't think either of these will be an issue for wearing a Dalhousie University hoodie at Nankai University. If this were in the U.S. or Canada, I don't think it would be a problem at all: the worst case scenario is occasional good-natured teasing, and even that's far from certain. However, I have no experience with how it might be viewed in China, so it's worth looking into that specifically if you have reason to fear the reactions might be different.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If there are hot rivalries between the two universities, then it might be taken as offensive or rude.
I am not familiar with the universities you mentioned, but if you were talking about Texas Tech vs. TAMU or Oklahoma University vs. Oklahoma State then I would say definitely wear the local colors.
Further, as a faculty member - you are almost expected to promote the university brand; and it might seem as odd that a faculty member is wearing "opposing" colors - again, the degree of animosity you would face would depend on the degree of competition between the institutions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In general, research and education is one big (read: global) network. Unlike it may be the case with commercial entities, competition usually happens on friendly terms (you try to be better, but your goal is not to make the competitor disappear) and it does not preclude collaboration.
A few members of one university might get caught up in feelings of rivalry, but I cannot imagine that to have any real effects towards people with links to the so-called "rival" university. We're talking about universities, not elementary schools.
With this in mind, any obvious links to other places (e.g. clothing from another university) seem positive; they underline that the lecturer has gathered some experience at various places, and thereby, indirectly, imply that the university has a well-connected staff with diverse backgrounds.
In the described situation, one thing to note is, however, that there should be some connection to the institution advertised on the clothes. As described above, when I see staff at my university with clothes advertising a different university, I would consider that positive (=> "people with experience and connections"), but if I found out they have not actually been to that place, I *might* feel a bit cheated, even though [I wouldn't care otherwise](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/41433/14017).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I think it is appropriate to wear clothes bearing the name of University X.
No one can ask you to wear what you do not want to wear, with a few exceptions.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: My experience is that faculty members don't take "rivalries" very seriously, so as a faculty member you should feel free to wear clothing from any university you want. The one caveat (noted by other posters) is that it is a bit lame if you wear clothing from a prestigious university you have never had any affiliation with. This is actually good advice for *everyone*; I have run enrichment activities for high school students, and I roll my eyes whenever I see a high school student wearing a Harvard t-shirt.
Mostly I'm answering to share the following anecdote, which illustrates how much you can get away with. When I was an instructor at MIT, I gave a talk at Caltech. As a sort of gag gift, they gave me an anti-MIT t-shirt (it says MIT on the front and "because not everyone can get into Caltech" on the back). I used to wear it when I administered exams. People were amused, but as far as I can tell no one was genuinely offended.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/01/14
| 644
| 2,100
|
<issue_start>username_0: I was a member of a study team that produced a couple of research papers.
The authors of the paper are, for example:
>
> <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME> and The ABC Study Investigators
>
>
>
In the acknowledgements, it reads:
>
> The ABC Study team consists of members from Harvard University (<NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, and <NAME>)
>
>
>
(Suppose that my name is <NAME>.)
Can I list such papers in the publication list of my CV?
If not, how can I show that I participated in these research papers?
In PubMed, my name was listed as one of 'collaborators.'<issue_comment>username_1: Consortium authors are authors as well, just much less "important" authors than the main authors. The situation is in fact quite similar to being in the middle of a large author list (e.g., one of my papers where I am 12th out of 32 authors).
As such, you should list the paper in a way that is clear, transparent, and easy for a reader to understand its stated authorship. Put the paper in your CV with the authors just as they appear in the standard citation, then add a note at the end of that citation that says you were part of the consortium authors. Following your example:
>
> * <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME> and The ABC Study Investigators, "Totally Awesome Science," Journal of Irreproducible Results, 12(6), pp. 406-453, 2012.
> *(Member of ABC Study Investigators)*
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You can switch to the citation style that allows this easily. I'll list two standard papers and a paper written in a team:
>
> *Study of DEF*. Journal of DE **15**(5):1388-1391, 2013.
>
>
> *Note on XYZ* (with <NAME>). Journal of XY **51**(3):820-840, 2014.
>
>
> *Note on KLM* (with <NAME> and Team ABC, as a member of Team ABC). Journal of KL **8**(1):1-15, 2015.
>
>
>
This is clear, you're not lying to anybody nor hiding any substantial information, yet the presentation of the publications is easy to read: (1) paper title; (2) authors; (3) journal specification.
Upvotes: -1
|
2016/01/14
| 1,031
| 4,083
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am a lecturer at a public university in Bangladesh. I am going to give recommendations for students from my class who are going to apply for graduate admission to some US universities. These letters will be submitted online.
My problem is related to the signature. Please check the my recommendation style: I have written my name as a recommender. Is it essential that I also **sign** the recommendation?
>
> To who it may concern,
>
>
> [actual letter]
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
> <NAME>
>
>
> \*\*\*\* University
>
>
> email: \*\*\*\*
>
>
> mob: \*\*\*\*
>
>
>
**I am talking about a signature like this (below red marked): I will upload a letter in the style of that shown below in the (online) recommendation form. Is it necessary to put a signature on a letter, like the one I have marked below?**
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Xde4q.jpg)<issue_comment>username_1: I do not think you will require a sign on the top of your name. It is because, you will send the letter via email or online recommendation form. The graduate committee will understand this. :)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Personally, I always sign my recommendation letters, including the ones submitted electronically. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever submitted a physical recommendation letter.
I do this for two reasons:
1. In the United States, at least, it is still quite strongly the custom for such letters to be signed.
2. It at least proves that the person writing the letter has access to a copy of my signature.
Now, both of these might be a bit archaic in our modern networked world, but the customs haven't really shifted yet, and until they do, it's good to keep doing it the way that will be expected by many recipients.
That said, you certainly don't need to go through the hassle of printing, physically signing, and scanning: if you have a high-resolution image of your signature, you can affix that as an image in the appropriate part of your document. Some word processors or PDF editors will also allow you to "digitally sign" and associate this with some form of cryptographic signature.
In short: sign your letter, but do it the easy and electronic way if you can.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: A signature is just a means to verify that it is indeed you creating and verifying the letter. The letter is being uploaded by you, which could serve as a digital signature. The written signature in this context is a formal nicety (I would do it anyways). I would add a line that indicates that the letter is original content produced by you.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: At this year (2016), most mathematics graduate program applications in the U.S. seem *not* to really *require* a (graphical) "digital signature", and I think this is because the population of letter-writers has not quite caught up to the technology to create such things. Instead, the on-line interfaces sometimes ask that you type your full name "in lieu of signature", supposedly as confirmation that you are who you say you are, and so on. Currently, it does *not* appear that an imbedded graphical signature is acknowledged to suffice...
Currently, the genuine security, such as it is, in these applications, is that a password is sent via email to the email address of the recommender, provided by the student. Completely unclear how fraud is promised to be avoided, since a student could provide emails that went to someone else...
Also, at this time, there appears to be no genuine (cryptographic) digital signature (e.g., md5) of content of these letters, etc.
In summary, at this time, for U.S. math grad schools at least, there is absolutely no compulsion to imbed graphical signatures in PDFs for letters of recommendation.
(I do have an imbedded signature in the letterhead template I've constructed, etc., which seems necessary for some *other* purposes (NSF, in the U.S.), but currently irrelevant for grad school applications, apparently.)
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/01/14
| 618
| 2,756
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am an M.Sc. student in a university in a developing country, and I am frustrated with the volume of useless writing that we are supposed to do in my program. Every single course has a class project, in which we need to do a literature review a project and then at the end need to submit a 10-15 page report. We also need to submit a thesis progress report every three months and a lot of other writing matters that I am sure will not be read by anyone.
I have no problem with writing real papers that help other researchers to improve the field. My problem is with writing useless course reports without any innovation (because of the time limits) or Progress Reports, which I am even not sure that will be read carefully by the instructor or the grader! At first I considered these things an exercise for real papers, but now I think I don't need this type of exercise any more!
I am wondering: is this large volume of writing in U.S. top schools too?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you should expect to do quite a bit of writing as part of your courses in any high-rank U.S. university. It is, indeed, good practice, and in a good university your work should indeed receive significant scrutiny and feedback from the instructors.
Furthermore, I would not be so quick to dismiss such practice in technical writing. First, the quality of prose that you have produced in the initial version of this question clearly indicates that you have a long way to go before you can routinely achieve a high professional standard of writing. Second, no really good writer ever considers their art to be finished, and that includes long-experienced academics.
Do not forget that communicating your technical work effectively is just as important and difficult, if not often more so, than doing that technical work in the first place. I know people who have run their careers into the ground from a reluctance to invest sufficiently in becoming comfortable with scientific writing.
In short: if you want to be a scientist, you've got to embrace the writing.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Try to find authors who write well and learn from them, in writing or in person (even luckier if your supervisor is one of them) - there are techniques for good writing which turn writing from a chore to a pleasure.
Especially technical people often very much dislike writing as opposed to programming; to those I recommend to think as follows: writing is like programming - you need to declare the known setting, decompose the problem, build a systematic, logical sequential case, compile it and link it all together. (*pun intended*)
Writing is like developing software that is interpreted not by a computer, but by a human.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/01/14
| 427
| 1,802
|
<issue_start>username_0: Is there any integrity/plagiarism issue if I use ideas I developed/argued in my master's essays and dissertation in the PhD proposal? Can I do this? What can I do to prevent potential problems?
**Edit:** none of those essays or dissertation are published, if this helps clarifying. So even that they're not published, I should cite myself as I would with published work?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see any problem with it as long as:
1. Ideas in your Master's essays and dissertation are truly *your* ideas. If your Master's supervisor was a substantial contributor to the development of those ideas, you could run into issues.
2. Your Master's ideas should ideally have been substantiated by researchers outside if your group (in the form of citations or similar work).
3. You've asked your Master's supervisor if you can pitch expanding on your Master's work as part of your proposal.
Best to check all the angles at this stage, than deal with a very big headache later.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: You may use the ideas for your PhD proposal. Ideas, unless patented, are free and can be passed between people, projects, institutions, etc.
However, do make sure that the source of the original idea is attributed. Particularly when other people contributed to the ideas, attribution is due (from an ethical point of view).
This might be done in the following way: 'I propose to investigate the method that was developed by my supervisor , my lab partner , and myself, described in my master thesis [reference], in the following way ...'
I would certainly advise to reference your master thesis (even if it is not publicly available), since it is a perfect source where the ideas can be found in an elaborate written form.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2016/01/14
| 2,409
| 10,062
|
<issue_start>username_0: Plagiarism is,
>
> the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and
> publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or
> expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original
> work.
>
>
>
as defined [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism),
and
>
> According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original
> ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by
> copyright laws, just like original inventions.
>
>
>
as mentioned [here](http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/).
However, what is the definition for *expressing ideas*? What is the limit for person B(ob) to be have plagiarized person A(lice)'s work?
Clearly, Alice has to prove that she expressed it before Bob. But what counts as a proof?
Please consider the following scenarios:
1. Alice asks a question in StackExchange (or any other site), defining her problem in detail, and Bob somehow figures out what the answer is. Instead of writing the answer, he publishes the paper himself.
2. Alice writes a technical report (not a full paper) and publishes it in her website. Bob downloads the technical report, shares it with his teammates and soon, they publish a paper based on Alice's technical report.
3. Similar to (2), Alice has published a technical report in her website, defining a problem, with a first-attempt solution, which clearly can be improved. Bob, on the other hand, sees the technical report and finds a better solution. Then, publishes it. Now, Alice cannot publish her results because Bob's solution is better.
4. Alice spoke about the problem (or experiment) she is working on in an informal public place (e.g. cafeteria). Bob heard it, and found a way to solve the problem (or carried out the experiment she intended to). He published it in a journal.
**Important note:** I am pretty sure, in all cases Bob has plagiarized Alice's work. What I am asking is, can Alice actually **prove** that her work is plagiarized? Especially, in case 4, can she show witnesses about her talking about the project first?
What if Bob was working on the same problem longer than Alice? Does just *expressing* the idea make it Alice's?<issue_comment>username_1: Probably the question cannot really be about *plagiarism*, literally, because most traditional senses of "plagiarism" refer to specific choices of language, rather than "ideas".
In the first three cases, Bob's behavior would be completely within the range of standard operating procedure. Public information is public. Yet, also, at the same time, many people would consider such behavior rude and mercenary. That's not the same as illegal or unethical, whether or not it is immoral.
(The fourth case is harder for me to simulate in my head, and I have no comment on it.)
Yes, one could imagine that mentioning a problem or idea publicly gives one some sort of right to it. However, in practice, this cannot possibly work, because it is extremely difficult to gauge what *more* is required to make an idea into something substantial. The only viable default is to imagine that whatever one says publicly is then truly available for all. One cannot control it, or guarantee "getting credit". Yes, the most virtuous people will give credit to the origins of their ideas, etc. ("Duh!")
If the real question is how to stake a claim on ideas in a fashion that prohibits others from doing anything with them ... as opposed to taking the idea, doing something, and giving credit for origins... I have no suggestion except keeping secrets.
EDIT: and, no, merely expressing an idea does not create "possession"... Not at all. But, among decent people, credit would be given. Can't rely on this, etc.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Summary: if Bob is the genius who can easily spot the answer to Alice's question or if he's willing to dig into the work for weeks or months, what he produces is (deservedly) *his* work.
---
Copyright is about works (that is here the form of expression of the idea), not about the idea itself. In order to protect a (technical) idea, Alice needs a patent.
Also in science, you can (and are expected to) use other people's ideas. But you must properly attribute their origin.
Assuming that the *answer* is not entirely trivial, it qualifies as work of its own. Bob's work that is. Question/problem and answer/solution are typically considered *different* ideas, and often the work to get the answer/solution is considered larger than the work of identifying the question (although that shouldn't be underestimated, neither).
>
> Alice asks a question in StackExchange (or any other site), defining her problem in detail, and Bob somehow figures out what the answer is. Instead of writing the answer, he publishes the paper himself.
>
>
>
Thus, he can post it on SX where he licenses the use of this per CC-BY-SA. This means, Alice when writing her paper, needs to attribute Bob properly.
Bob is free to publish his answer wherever he likes. Thus, also in a journal. Note that the answer without Alice's question may not be quite understandable, so he needs to attribute Alice for the question (which is also CC-BY-SA licensed). In addition, in a scientific paper he needs to cite Alice's question.
There's nothing wrong with a paper "A (new) solution to Alice's problem". In practice, I guess Bob could contact Alice to make a shared publication: at least in my field this could be a typical constellation of Alice Applicationexpert together with Bob Theoryspecialist. And even though Bob may be able to spot an answer, this doesn't mean he recognizes all that was behind the question.
>
> Alice writes a technical report (not a full paper) and publishes it in her website. Bob downloads the technical report, shares it with his teammates and soon, they publish a paper based on Alice's technical report.
>
>
>
Here the question is what this "based on" means in detail: it may be anything from plagiarizing over derivative work, dependent work, to Bob's own work - depending on how close it is to Alice's report.
Whether derivative or dependent works violate Alice's copyright depends on the license Alice grants. If she did not specify anything, it is a copyright violation. (Plagiarized work is a bit difficult, because Alice could license her work in a way that does not require attribution by Bob - but in a scientific paper, he still needs to cite her properly. Plagiarism in science does not have the totally same meaning as wrt. copyright issues)
Side note: Many technical reports I know are actually more comprehensive than the respective paper.
>
> Similar to (2), Alice has published a technical report in her website, defining a problem, with a first-attempt solution, which clearly can be improved. Bob, on the other hand, sees the technical report and finds a better solution. Then, publishes it. Now, Alice cannot publish her results because Bob's solution is better.
>
>
>
See above.
Note that Alice may be still happy even if Bob did not contact her, because Bob's paper allows her to concentrate her efforts on the application problem she wants to solve. It may also be that Alice still needs to write her paper, because Bob did not talk to her and unfortunately did not know about some implications of the question - so his answer is a good hint, but does not entirely solve the problem.
>
> Alice spoke about the problem (or experiment) she is working on in an informal public place (e.g. cafeteria). Bob heard it, and found a way to solve the problem (or carried out the experiment she intended to). He published it in a journal.
>
>
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I've tried to find solutions I need by talking/asking on conferences quite a bit. Far from anyone stealing my ideas, I typically hear that everyone would like to get informed when I find and publish a solution - meaning that noone is willing to relieve me of the work to find a solution.
In other words, in practice there's quite a barrier to this type of scooping because if Bob is not willing to cooperate with Alice, he needs to put in the effort Alice has already put in. Thus he goes for an uphill race when trying to be faster than Alice with the publication.
Also, are you seriously underestimating the amount of work that goes into preparing and actually doing an experiment? By the way, in many fields, Bob would get a much better experimental paper if he pooled his efforts with Alice and they got twice the sample size for their paper.
Again, if Bob performs his own experiment, it is his own. Then there would be two studies that more or less coincidentally show the same (well, if they actually show the same...).
Sometimes the time is "ripe" for some specific question - so this can also happen totally innocently. Scientifically speaking this is good, because experimental science nowadays has IMHO more problems due to a lack of replicate experiments than the other way round.
Again my experience is that in this case the studies will still not be quite the same.
---
How can Alice prove that her work was plagiarized
-------------------------------------------------
She needs to show that Bob copied her work without license and without proper attribution. That is, she needs to show
* Which part(s) of Bob's work are the same as hers, and
* that her work was done first.
The method that gives you best legal chances is: use a notary. That's very expensive, though. There are less expensive methods that should work in practice. E.g. if it is about the idea how to set up the experiment, Alice could show her paper lab book where she always neatly puts all her thoughts with proper date etc. Same if there's a record of a lab meeting/seminar where Alice presented her results. If it is about some part of the paper, Alice could also show when she checked these sentences into the version control server her group uses. Of course, if Bob than shows that their VC server got his sentence earlier, Alice is in trouble.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I simply could not pay attention in a lecture if I brought in a laptop. I always take notes by hand, especially since that's supposed to be better for learning.
A professor of mine stated that laptops are **distracting to other students** and **moved them all** to the left part of the lecture hall.
I'm curious, what are the pros and cons of using laptops in a lecture, from both a note taking and teaching perspective?
I would like to teach someday and I can see myself banning laptops (I also hate the typing noise but that's just me).<issue_comment>username_1: I think due to increasing lecture sizes, and in complex or technical courses, having something like a tablet or laptop is considerably useful!
There's something to be said of classroom etiquette, however, in that not everyone is equally courteous. Some big no-no's for most of my lecturers were:
(1) No recording via the built-in camera, *especially* without permission, and no holding things up and taking photos. People learn in different ways, but we have to standardize the classroom somewhat, because not everyone can idly sit by and concentrate while 10-20 people are holding up their tablets, taking flash photos, or doing something otherwise weird/distracting to copy lecture notes.
(2) If you have the slides up on your personal device, make sure it's the only thing you have up unless otherwise specified. No one wants to see someone elses Youtube, Facebook, etc. during the lecture.
Beyond that it *is* distracting to hear the tapping of many keyboards vigorously trying to take notes all-at-once. I think that these people do themselves a disservice by taking word processor notes, however, and that to a great extent hand-writing the notes even if you have a personal device helps to enrich you in the material. My personal method was laptop set to slides, write notes on paper. But again, not everyone learns the same way. At that, for some complex courses I constantly search terms I didn't understand or concepts I might have forgotten about so I don't get utterly lost in the process. To me this decreases the amount of hand-raising and review questions.
I think that having some *ground rules*, and a little talk about common courtesy in the beginning of the term is good. It's penalty enough for some people to get called out for being discourteous in front of the class, so a ban? Perhaps not. And like I said in the beginning, lecture sizes are up there and not everyone has choice hearing/vision, so laptops/tablets help supplement those people who can't see the presentation or can't hear the lecturer.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: [Recent research by psychologists](http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/22/0956797614524581.abstract) (paywalled) suggests that you will learn material better when taking notes by hand than when using a laptop.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I can only provide a STEM-course perspective of the issue.
Personally, I find writing my own notes on a laptop a more efficient way of note-taking than written. I took some effort to learn to write lecture notes in LaTeX, but in the end, that turned to work very well for me. I can write text, add equations and paste pictures from lecture slides on the fly. I still resort to handwritten notes for graphs and plots, but I hope I'll master Mathematica some day to produce plots equally fast.
Electronic notes are superior to handwritten also in terms of re-reading them in a couple of years (you don't have to decode your sloppy handwriting) and sharing them with others.
That said, I'm advocating for laptop use in classes, but there are caveats. Firstly, learning styles differ, and there are surely people around who will find taking notes distracting. Secondly, I did find that I had poor retention of textbooks read from screen as compared to paper. Writing my own electronic notes, however, provided me with a high enough level of engagement to retain the information.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Way back during the summer before my senior undergrad year, I interned at a company where I was put to cleaning out an old IT supply area. I salvaged an old 286 laptop from that space, back when Pentium III's were still new, and was able to get it working (in part by installing OS/2 on it!).
I would have to sit at the back of the room in classes, in order to use the power outlets. The laptop wouldn't hold a charge even through half a class period. The idea of any internet access from this machine would have been crazy. I took some notes on the laptop, but rarely referred to them later. It was more about engaging my brain a second time to process and organize the info that seemed important. I've heard that hand-notes would have been even better, but I believe the typed notes still improves over no notes at all.
More than notes, though, I'd sit there in the back of the room and use the laptop to play card games. It might not be a popular view here, but *I found the practice of playing games during class to be incredibly valuable*. No one is able to be fully alert every day for a full day of classes, and I would do this when I felt myself starting to disconnect from the lecture. The notes would still be open in another window, but I feel like having the card games available allowed me to switch gears a bit without fully disconnecting from what was going on in class, as I would otherwise have done. I credit this practice with improving my grades nearly a full letter grade in every class where I was able to use the laptop (not all my classrooms had good outlets).
---
As a separate point, I've seen many students these days at the college where I work choose not to purchase physical textbooks whenever possible. They'll have a kindle or tablet, and get their books in electronic format. I remember helping one student break up a large PDF textbook so that each chapter was a separate file, in order that it would load and respond more quickly on her device.
The point is that, in many cases, the electronic device **is** the textbook. A blanket policy prohibiting devices in cases when the textbook would be available seems unwise.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: *Just a note, this is a bit long for a comment so I'll be posting here. I don't intend to adress the whole question but just to explain why I did find using laptops to take notes useful in my case.*
We used to take note on laptops during my master CS degree. For us the main advantage was that we used shared notes (using Google Docs), this way several people could work on the same document at the same time. This allowed us to have a more complete document because even when the course's pace is fast, there are different people who can work on different parts. For exemple someone is the main note writer, while someone else draws any schema (which is usually fastidious / long), while someone else writes down the oral comments of the teacher or the questions asked by a students and the answer given by the teacher. The roles were switched several times a day and were mainly on a voluntary basis. This was put in place rather spontaneously without
Google docs features a chat which also helped in case of conflict, errors, or any kind of problem without disturbing the class. The chat (and the ability to comment on a part of a document) was also useful after the class when people were studying on their own, because thay could talk to people who were doing the same.
Aside from the note keeping aspect, we also used a shared folder to share any document used by the course (documentation, the course's slides when available, source code used for exercises, logos used for official stuff, past years test subjects, related websites, wikipedia articles, any loosely related stuff).
I feel this helped me a lot because I'm usually not good at taking notes and this way I always had something correct at the end. Even when you aren't fully following (you're tired, sick, bored, sleeping, absent or whatever) you can stop taking notes, just listen to the teacher and you know you won't be missing anything. There were foreign students who used this as a way to check their notes by comparing the shared one and their own (the documents were most often written in English even if we were not in an English speaking country ... in CS most if not all of the documents and some of the courses were in english anyway).
There were times, obviously, when it was used for fun. Someone often shared funny pictures this way. In our case it was always minor and never in a way that bothered the ones taking the notes and cleaned up afterwards, but I guess it depends on the students.
*Some context :
We were about 35 students taking this degree. Everyone had a laptop, though not everyone used it to take notes. There were usually 2 concurrent shared documents done by different people (between 3 and 8 people were participating on each document). Both documents were shared freely with all students, whether they participated or not.
In some case the documents were also given to the teacher at the end of the semester (at their request).*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Here's a community wiki to summarise points. *One sentence each*.
### Pros
* Network-connected laptops can be used to find supplementary material, for additional context and detail.
* Digital notes are much easier to store, share, search, and collaborate on.
* Instructors can use online tools such as Socrative (which is like a clicker that works with a browser) to validate comprehension.
* May be required by those with certain disabilities [which make hand written note taking difficult](http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/accommodations-and-services/)
### Cons
* Anything irrelevant on screen may distract other students, and some students find screens themselves distracting even if material is supposedly relevant.
* Typing notes [has been shown](https://sites.udel.edu/victorp/files/2010/11/Psychological-Science-2014-Mueller-0956797614524581-1u0h0yu.pdf) to reduce content retention versus handwriting.
* Drawing diagrams by hand is faster than on a laptop, except with touchscreen devices.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Since nobody has covered the issue as to whether one can actually ban laptops (and other mobile devices) in a classroom - and with the standard IANAL caveat - I will put forth that it may not be possible to blanket ban laptops at least in cases of certain disabilities.
For instance, I know of a fellow veteran who is a double-amputee who has great difficulty writing quickly but can type at a reasonable rate - and would not have been able to attend college if not for his laptop. Here in the US, ADA and other laws required that he be able to use his laptop - no matter the policy of the professor. In this case his disability was obvious, as was the aid a laptop gave him, but there are many others who have less obvious disabilities for which electronic devices, for note taking, are key to their ability to simply attend college.
If one instead attempted to apply a policy of "banning laptops to anyone without a reasonable need due to a disability" - one may run into other problems. As some universities such as [The University of Washington](https://www.law.washington.edu/students/academics/LaptopPolicy.aspx) and [The University of Waterloo](https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/lecturing-and-presenting/logistics/laptops-classroom-virtue-or-vice) see such a policy as being a *very visible accommodation* of a disability that is *tantamount to our disclosing to our disabled students' classmates a disability that they might not wish to be made public*
So if one's university policy, national regulations, or regional regulations essentially force one to allow laptop use - I would call that a fairly strong pro.
---
**To update for post-2020:** The state I teach in has passed a number of regulations which now make banning laptops impossible at public institutions. These include bills like [HB 233, section 3 part g, pg.6](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/233/BillText/er/PDF) which specifically states:
>
> A student may record video or audio of class lectures for their own personal educational use, in connection with a complaint to the public institution of higher education where the recording was made, or as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. A recorded lecture may not be published without the consent of the lecturer.
>
>
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So the discussion on banning laptops has become a moot point at my institutions as use of electronic devices in the classroom for "note taking" is now a required exception on every syllabus.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Bit of a wall of text coming up...
As a physics student I find taking notes by hand to be unbelievably superior to typing along. We follow derivations and other maths through about a third of our time per lecture, copying diagrams many times too, and I find it very useful to have a combination of each step written out explicitly and additional notes with pointers to specific components or demonstrating links between lines. Doing this on a laptop would be so much slower that I think I would actually lose out on some content if I tried. Furthermore the flexibility of taking notes by hand far outstrips laptop, from intuitive formatting to speed of note taking.
Now, I'm not saying that notes produced on a computer are inferior to notes produced by hand, in fact typed up notes I also find to be very effective, but not making them during the lecture. Typing the handwritten notes up afterwards is a great way of re-reading notes and processing the information a second time, thus making effective revision.
This, of course, is all from my perspective as a physics student. I can imagine if one were taking notes that were entirely in strings and sentences, with no diagrams or equations, and one were to be a very good typist then laptop note taking could be more efficient, and allow for increased focus. However, for myself personally it makes no sense to move away from handwritten notes.
On the subject of other students using laptops in the lectures, it depends. If everyone were exclusively using their laptop to type notes or follow along the lecture slide show then that's totally fine, not even a hint of any issue. However, as soon as other students begin to stray, opening facebook or youtube or playing games then many students, myself included, do get distracted. I am of the opinion that if the user thinks that going on facebook or playing hearthstone (to be fair, the guy was really good) is more worth their time than making notes and focussing on the lecture then they shouldn't be there, especially if their actions taken through boredom distract other students, doubly so when our lectures are recorded and made available to us as video podcasts. At that point it's rude and disrespectful to the lecturer and the other students.
tl;dr: depends on what you use it for, notes by hand are more flexible to produce, notes on laptop are easier to archive and re-read. Laptops carry more risk of negatively influencing the folks nearby than handwriting.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: From my syllabus:
>
> Laptop use in lectures in the past has proven distracting to instructors, fellow students, and birds passing by, and has been scientifically shown to be detrimental to learning ([1] [2] [3] [4]). So I request that there be no laptop use during lecture (except mine) and no mobile phones. You are to take notes on paper and then review the topic at home. Taking pictures of me or the slides, or recording what I say is not permitted. Use your brains, plus pen and paper.
>
> [1] <NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2013). Everyday attention: Mind wandering and computer use during lectures. In: Computers & Education, Vol. 68, October, pp. 275–283. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131513001218>.
> [2] <NAME>., <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. In: Computers & Education, Volume 62, March, pp. 24–31. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131512002254>
> [3] <NAME>. (2014). Why you should never take notes on a laptop. [Blog post] <http://contemplatingcognition.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/why-you-should-never-take-notes-on-a-laptop/> Retrieved on 7 June 2014.
> [4] Ravizza, <NAME>., Uitvlugt, <NAME>. & Fenn, <NAME>. (2016 December 20). Logged In and Zoned Out: How Laptop Internet Use Relates to Classroom Learning. Psychological Science. Retrieved on 2016-12-21. DOI 10.1177/0956797616677314
>
> See also <http://www.explosm.net/comics/3230/>
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I was a summer intern at a research group while I was in high school. They submitted a paper with me as an author and it was rejected in large part due to similarity to their previous paper which I am not an author on. I wasn't aware of this misconduct and am concerned this could follow me into my future career. Also, what is a good way to explain not wanting to be an author on future submissions of this paper, even though I contributed significantly (in fact my work was the only novel part)? I also don't want to burn bridges.
Also, should I refuse to be an author on any future paper with them, even if the paper no longer looks similar to the previous work? At this point I'm not sure if I can trust my former supervisors.<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, don't worry (yet). No one gets in trouble because a paper got *rejected*. If it had been *retracted*, that would be a different story.
Secondly, I would be slightly cautious on coming to the conclusion right away that this was misconduct. Work builds on old work. My latest manuscript was sent back because it **didn't** provide a proof that was 95% identical to a now 40 year old proof. If the paper is genuinely attempting to present published work as novel work (without mentioning that it was ever done before), that's certainly an issue. But if it's spends 80% of the paper saying "here are the things leading up to our contribution", that's fine. In my case, I resubmitted my paper with the proof, along with saying "this proof follows a nearly identical form as ...".
Finally, if you still feel that the work is, in fact, attempting to pass published work as novel, **now** you have yourself a situation. There's not really a nice way to handle it, but perhaps you could begin with saying "what do you think of the reviewer's comments about the work not being original?" If they do not give you a satisfactory answer, you can say "I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable putting my name on this work". As uncomfortable as that will be, the good news is that they cannot put your name on without your approval. Telling the group that you don't want your name on the paper will very likely burn a bridge, but it sounds like you may have more concerns by keeping that bridge intact.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If you don't want to burn bridges then I would continue to publish with them for now and observe whether their future behavior is appropriate. Assuming that you will need their support for your academic career to begin, it would be unwise to jump to conclusions and tarnish your relationship (which I feel that withdrawing authorship rights would probably lead to).
While I don't have the complete information about your case, it appears that they didn't engage in serious misconduct. Indeed, what occurred (not referencing their previous work and thus violating conference rules) might simply have been a mistake on their part rather than deliberate misconduct. Again I don't know exactly what happened but I can see situations where previous work might not be relevant to cite even if methodologically similar to current work (for instance if examining a different research question).
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I have written a paper on applying a mathematical theory to a linguistic problem. I privately submitted it to several renowned professors (some of them very famous indeed) in the field of linguistics, semantics and so on. They made some suggestions and expressed some criticism on some details, but for the most part they praised the quality of the paper.
Following their suggestion, I submitted it to a leading journal in the field. The answer I got from the journal’s preliminary assessment was that the paper had huge potential, but was too mathematical for them. They advised me to resort to their sister publication, where much more focus on natural language processing and mathematics is to be found. The answer was the mirror image: nice paper, definitely scienficially worthy, but too soft, that is, too linguistic or informal for advanced mathematicians or computer scientists.
Now I am in no man’s land. The paper is indeed interdisciplinary (as corresponds to a linguist using some mathematics as he needs them), but I find it very unfortunate that due to a false sense of the own domain, noone seems to feel responsible for its contents, which I deem valuable. Before trying any further submission, I was entertaining the option of submitting it to the ArXiv, but I do not know whether that will make any sense.
How can I proceed to find a journal that considers my paper to fit within its scope?
I posted this question [on Math Stack Exchange](https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1610613) before and was recommended to repost it here.<issue_comment>username_1: Interdisciplinary papers have this problem a lot. A - now - very influential paper in my field, I was told by the first author, was in limbo for 4 years before it was published, despite the senior author being world-famous.
Persistence is the key. Try to find someone influential who is knowledgeable and you can convince to help you expanding/adapting/explaining the work better and you could then co-submit with. Or else, you could consider aiming for a general-purpose journal such as PLoS ONE, and whose reviewers are advised to select by novelty and correctness, rather than (subjectively judged) relevance.
Learning to write for the specific audience of a journal can also help.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Here are some suggestions to get your work published, that may or may not apply to your case – you have to judge for yourself.
### Ask the journals
When submitting a rejected paper to another journal, it is often recommendable (and some journals even require it) that you detail to which journals you submitted your papers before and why they rejected it. In your specific case, this may lead to editors being more lenient regarding the scope, in particular if we are talking about sister journals and even more so, if they aspire to cover the entirety of a given field.
If you did not do this, I recommend writing to both journals you submitted to so far and inform them that the respective sister journal also rejected the paper for being out of its scope. At the same time, you can ask the respective journals to recommend a suitable target journal.
Another possibility that you have to consider is that declaring the paper off-topic was an easy way out for the editors to deal with a paper they didn’t really know what to do with. So it may be that your paper does have some relevant flaws that were unmentioned. If you write to the journals as suggested above (and if you do not make any accusations in this direction), they may give you some hints as to what you can improve.
### Ask your private reviewers
Another inspiration for journal selection may come from the professors who privately reviewed your paper. If it pertains to their field, they should be able to recommend you a journal. At the same time, you can ask them whether there is anything they would change about the paper to adapt it to the journal they suggest.
### Split your paper
This is a standard technique used by my interdisciplinary surrounding: Publish a methods paper (or similar) in a more theoretical journal and then publish an application paper in a more applied journal. A major problem of an interdisciplinary paper – even though never said explicitly – may be the journals have no idea who could review it (this problem would even arise with [mega journals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megajournal)). Remember that they need to find a number of people who have sufficient knowledge of all relevant fields and they have to accept to review. Splitting your paper may allow each part to be reviewed by experts of the respective field and thus solve this problem.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: To go a little further than username_1's answer: even for people doing non-interdisciplinary fields, it's pretty common for nice papers having trouble finding a venue. One important conjecture in my field (and has motivated a lot of my personal research) was made 30 years ago and remains unpublished because the author had trouble getting it accepted and eventually gave up.
In addition to persistence being important, I want to add: **browse journals for similar kinds of papers**.
I also had trouble getting one of my papers published because it was on a novel type of problem, which both makes it hard to gauge interest and makes it hard to find appropriate referees. The first journal we submitted to had it refereed by someone in another field who didn't seem so interested in the pure mathematical aspects. Then we tried a couple of other journals (including one recommended by an editor of a previous submission) who said it wasn't a good fit and/or couldn't find referees. After looking around again and browsing a lot of papers in various journals, we finally found an appropriate one. Yay!
Also, in order for editors and likely referees to be able to properly understand it and find it appropriate, you may need to rewrite it for the intended audience of the journal (Cap. Emacs' last point). Again, browsing papers in the journal will help you get a better sense of the intended audience.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: My suggestion is to try to present the result in a conference first. In some fields (not sure if that's true for yours) the bar for getting into a conference is lower to some extent; and even if that's not true, a conference organizers may be more inclined to have a "weird stuff / odds and ends / couldn't fit this anywhere else" session. Maybe even try to get it in as a non-refereed paper, i.e. as an invited talk - that would mean contacting the organizers rather than the program committee, or both.
When this happens, you might be able to attract enough attention to increase your chance for a journal publication.
This is not to detract from the fine suggestions in @username_2's [excellent answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61724/7319).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Linguistics Ph.D. student here.
I'd say keep looking through the linguistics journals. Several of the big name ones seem to be able to handle quantitative analysis just fine, and some of them welcome it.
What I'm thinking of specifically is that at the recent meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, the award for the best paper that appeared in the prestigious journal *Language* in 2015 was given to [a phylogenetic analysis of various features found in the Indo-European languages](http://www.linguisticsociety.org/sites/default/files/news/ChangEtAlPreprint.pdf), pinpointing the likely geographic origin of the language family. I read this article in its entirety when it first appeared in print. It's fairly math-heavy for a linguistics article, and I certainly didn't understand all of the numbers and statistics in it; regardless, evidently the journal evidently did not object, and the linguistics community in general was impressed. Offhand, I know that *Language* also once published an innovative article detailing a rather unorthodox use of geometry as applied to the analysis of a language's morphology. What you've come up with probably isn't weirder than that, at a guess.
I get the feeling that even theoretical linguistics is becoming more and more receptive to empirical/quantitative work. The *Journal of Semantics* was pretty open to interdisciplinary research last time I looked into it. Others that might be worth trying: *Linguistic Inquiry*, *Natural Language and Linguistic Theory*, and *Natural Language Semantics*. (And if you can tie the project to language change at all, *Language Variation and Change* always expects to see numbers in some form or another.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I sense impatience or even desperation in your original question and comments: If you have got serious indications of you are about to be scooped by other scientists, then I will advise you to publish now on ArXiv or likewise.
In some other scenarios, you could benefit most of keeping your paper secret forever. More on this later on.
Do you realize that your research from a mathematician's point of view most likely is applied science, but might be basic science in the field of natural language analysis? Scientists with a pure linguistic background might not even be aware of the potential of advanced mathematic theories.
I can hardly imagine a single paper suitable for journals in different fields without heavy editing aimed for each separate field: Mathematicians want to read about implementation details of the theory, and why one method works better than other ones. Too less of this stuff and your work is “too soft”. However, they do not care about the implications of your results in the field of linguistics.
Language researchers prefer to know what results you can achieve using advanced mathematics but too many implementation details will look like unnecessary "noise", which never will pass the assessment committee.
Even you do not like the journal's comments I will encourage you to consider that they provides you with useful facts.
Suppose a journal accepted your paper just to make you happy. Language researchers scanning literature for a method to solving a specific problem identical to yours setup, say extract meaning of natural language texts in the style of IBM’s Watson, will not get the point in relation to their fields, because they do not understand larger parts of your paper. Mathematicians looking for examples of appliances of
the theory you applied, say bayesian networks, will quickly move on to papers they can read with lesser efforts.
Only people with experience from both fields can take full advantage of the paper, which implies a very low number of citations. That is not what you want.
Interdisciplinary research often leads to spectacular new knowledge and if your paper contains revolutionary concepts or eye-catching implications, it could be a candidate for Nature or Science without changes. Also, try reading “call for papers” for conferences. If you match their hot topics, they will probably accept your paper as it is.
Otherwise, it is a matter of finding that journal, which you most easily can make your paper fit into, and which is the best choice for your career:
Did you ever ask yourself why you wrote this paper? Academic ambitions? Then I guess only journals of linguistics will count. Do you look for a position as researcher in a private company? Then you should go for applied mathematics.
Based on the comment "definitely scienficially worthy, but too soft" and the professors' general acceptance, it sounds like that the right way for just proper academic recognition could be to rewrite your paper as a book. Wiley, Prentice Hall, etc. tend to listen to recommendations from professors - their actual customers. A submission to ArXiv does not prevent this, and you do not write a single line until you have got a signed contract.
Follow up on just submitting to ArXiv:
A scientist uncovering new areas should always discuss the potential for patents with attorneys before attempting to publish. Publishing prevents patenting. Patenting will worst case only delay publishing.
If your research is useful for software making Siri looking like a toy, I assumes you would like to get along with financial strong companies (Google/Microsoft), which usually keeps their best secrets as secrets and that means no patents/publishing. You deserves *economic* recognition too.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: My Library is already partially organized (manually) with regular filesystem folders. But it is pretty messy right now and getting unwieldy.
Also several files should be renamed to something meaningful (right now paper titles-author-year is best for me).
I am wary of pulling the trigger, Mendeley may make things worse, not better.
Any opinions? Experiences? Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: I've personally used this feature, and I really like it - though honestly, part of the value I get from Mendeley is that I stop worrying about my files and folders and just use the software itself most of the time. As I have it sync them up I'm not even really concerned with where it stores them any more.
My recommendation is just to copy-paste your directory of files to a separate area "just in case", then fire away. File naming is (was) a pet peeve of mine, and I really like to have the files nicely named so I can search them - then I usually also sync that folder to Google Drive so I can access my documents anywhere (phone, guest account, etc).
It's a useful and nice feature, but honestly I found less value from it than I expected precisely as I began using Mendeley more. I still use the feature, but the other things the program does make it almost redundant - but still nice and I'm glad its there.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Mendeley has always like to describe themselves as "Opens up Science for Everyone", but their EULA is very restrictive (e.g,. see my [question on Open Data.SE](https://opendata.stackexchange.com/q/3979/3988)). Mendeley is now owned by Elsevier. Many people felt betrayed by the move (cf. this article in the [New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/when-the-rebel-alliance-sells-out)).
Academic careers are long and I would be very hesitant about putting my library of articles in a closed source system with a restrictive EULA that is owned by one of the major for profit publishers. While Menedely might be better than your current system, it is unlikely to remain the best system over the next 30+ years. You might be better served by developing your flexible system for keeping track of articles.
I am not aware of a FOSS clone of Mendeley (see [Free, open-source substitutes for Mendeley?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5352/free-open-source-substitutes-for-mendeley)), but FOSS projects like [JabRef](http://jabref.sourceforge.net/) and [Zotero](http://jabref.sourceforge.net/) might meet many of your needs and provide better flexibility going forward.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Mendeley does this quite well. The options for folder organization are any combination of author/title/journal/year, in any order you want. The options for file names may also include any of author/title/journal/year, in any order, where you can separate by underscore, hyphen, comma or period.
One thing which could be improved is that Mendeley will not let you change the format of individual fields. For example, for author names, if there are up to 3 authors it will have all author names (e.g. "<NAME>, Livingstone\_Nature\_2013.pdf") but if there are more it will write it as "Johnson et al.\_Nature\_2013.pdf". Also as you see it uses spaces and commas. So if the exact formatting is very important to you this may be a problem.
Note though that Mendeley has a special site where you can ask for new features and follow up on their progress. It works pretty well, though the timelines can vary (took them ages to get an android app).
As BrianDHall mentions, there are many other better reasons to use Mendeley - I definitely recommend it.
Upvotes: 1
|
2016/01/15
| 1,045
| 4,172
|
<issue_start>username_0: When I went for my very first PhD interview by a potential supervisor, I hadn't applied for other universities. I promised that supervisor that I would definitely work under his supervisor if I was given an opportunity. He told me that he had a bad experience of a student replacing him with another supervisor after 1 yr of phd course. So he repeatedly ensured that I would work with him. But now
I have been offered a place there. Before getting the offer, I applied for two better universities and I have been waiting for the results of these two uni and I need to decide whether to accept or reject the offer by the first uni before I have known the results of the other two.
Please advise me what I should do. Is it unethical if I turn down the offer after giving such a promise? I know it is risky to wait for the other results if I will be rejected in other two.<issue_comment>username_1: I've personally used this feature, and I really like it - though honestly, part of the value I get from Mendeley is that I stop worrying about my files and folders and just use the software itself most of the time. As I have it sync them up I'm not even really concerned with where it stores them any more.
My recommendation is just to copy-paste your directory of files to a separate area "just in case", then fire away. File naming is (was) a pet peeve of mine, and I really like to have the files nicely named so I can search them - then I usually also sync that folder to Google Drive so I can access my documents anywhere (phone, guest account, etc).
It's a useful and nice feature, but honestly I found less value from it than I expected precisely as I began using Mendeley more. I still use the feature, but the other things the program does make it almost redundant - but still nice and I'm glad its there.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Mendeley has always like to describe themselves as "Opens up Science for Everyone", but their EULA is very restrictive (e.g,. see my [question on Open Data.SE](https://opendata.stackexchange.com/q/3979/3988)). Mendeley is now owned by Elsevier. Many people felt betrayed by the move (cf. this article in the [New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/when-the-rebel-alliance-sells-out)).
Academic careers are long and I would be very hesitant about putting my library of articles in a closed source system with a restrictive EULA that is owned by one of the major for profit publishers. While Menedely might be better than your current system, it is unlikely to remain the best system over the next 30+ years. You might be better served by developing your flexible system for keeping track of articles.
I am not aware of a FOSS clone of Mendeley (see [Free, open-source substitutes for Mendeley?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5352/free-open-source-substitutes-for-mendeley)), but FOSS projects like [JabRef](http://jabref.sourceforge.net/) and [Zotero](http://jabref.sourceforge.net/) might meet many of your needs and provide better flexibility going forward.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Mendeley does this quite well. The options for folder organization are any combination of author/title/journal/year, in any order you want. The options for file names may also include any of author/title/journal/year, in any order, where you can separate by underscore, hyphen, comma or period.
One thing which could be improved is that Mendeley will not let you change the format of individual fields. For example, for author names, if there are up to 3 authors it will have all author names (e.g. "<NAME>, Livingstone\_Nature\_2013.pdf") but if there are more it will write it as "Johnson et al.\_Nature\_2013.pdf". Also as you see it uses spaces and commas. So if the exact formatting is very important to you this may be a problem.
Note though that Mendeley has a special site where you can ask for new features and follow up on their progress. It works pretty well, though the timelines can vary (took them ages to get an android app).
As BrianDHall mentions, there are many other better reasons to use Mendeley - I definitely recommend it.
Upvotes: 1
|
2016/01/15
| 913
| 3,630
|
<issue_start>username_0: As a PhD student there are limited funds available for travel to conferences. Should presenting at conferences with proceedings be prioritised over conferences without proceedings? Are conferences without proceedings considered less prestigious? I'm interested specifically in applied mechanics and materials science conferences.<issue_comment>username_1: I've personally used this feature, and I really like it - though honestly, part of the value I get from Mendeley is that I stop worrying about my files and folders and just use the software itself most of the time. As I have it sync them up I'm not even really concerned with where it stores them any more.
My recommendation is just to copy-paste your directory of files to a separate area "just in case", then fire away. File naming is (was) a pet peeve of mine, and I really like to have the files nicely named so I can search them - then I usually also sync that folder to Google Drive so I can access my documents anywhere (phone, guest account, etc).
It's a useful and nice feature, but honestly I found less value from it than I expected precisely as I began using Mendeley more. I still use the feature, but the other things the program does make it almost redundant - but still nice and I'm glad its there.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Mendeley has always like to describe themselves as "Opens up Science for Everyone", but their EULA is very restrictive (e.g,. see my [question on Open Data.SE](https://opendata.stackexchange.com/q/3979/3988)). Mendeley is now owned by Elsevier. Many people felt betrayed by the move (cf. this article in the [New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/when-the-rebel-alliance-sells-out)).
Academic careers are long and I would be very hesitant about putting my library of articles in a closed source system with a restrictive EULA that is owned by one of the major for profit publishers. While Menedely might be better than your current system, it is unlikely to remain the best system over the next 30+ years. You might be better served by developing your flexible system for keeping track of articles.
I am not aware of a FOSS clone of Mendeley (see [Free, open-source substitutes for Mendeley?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5352/free-open-source-substitutes-for-mendeley)), but FOSS projects like [JabRef](http://jabref.sourceforge.net/) and [Zotero](http://jabref.sourceforge.net/) might meet many of your needs and provide better flexibility going forward.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Mendeley does this quite well. The options for folder organization are any combination of author/title/journal/year, in any order you want. The options for file names may also include any of author/title/journal/year, in any order, where you can separate by underscore, hyphen, comma or period.
One thing which could be improved is that Mendeley will not let you change the format of individual fields. For example, for author names, if there are up to 3 authors it will have all author names (e.g. "<NAME>, Livingstone\_Nature\_2013.pdf") but if there are more it will write it as "Johnson et al.\_Nature\_2013.pdf". Also as you see it uses spaces and commas. So if the exact formatting is very important to you this may be a problem.
Note though that Mendeley has a special site where you can ask for new features and follow up on their progress. It works pretty well, though the timelines can vary (took them ages to get an android app).
As BrianDHall mentions, there are many other better reasons to use Mendeley - I definitely recommend it.
Upvotes: 1
|
2016/01/15
| 9,456
| 37,809
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am just starting out my PhD which will take 5 years to complete and I am dealing with a person in my own research group who cannot stop putting me down every chance she gets.
In our research department in neuroscience engineering I guess she would be considered a very ambitious person. She has good grades and has some papers published despite only being in the university for about three years. But she has a very bad personality and constantly attempts to put me down by comparing me to some of the other researchers in the department.
* For example, she will come up and say I know so and so who is in the
same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't.
* Or I know this other person who did really well in a class and even got
the professors recommendation while you are only an average student.
* She will non-stop ask me for my GPA as an undergrad, and how I am
doing in my courses. I thought she cared about me at the beginning but I am realizing that she is only exploiting my weaknesses.
* She will also ask me about my research focus and tell me whatever I
am trying to do has no value or too small scale. She will openly laugh about my research plans in front of other people and say that it has no value.
* Even when we first met she asked me about my background which I said
was in industrial engineering and she just kind of laughed because she
was in some sort of advanced research program which is in her
opinion more prestigious
* Finally, she has no moral qualms doing all the above in front of other people. In fact she only does this to me when other people are around.
Worst of all is that she is making an assumption in almost everything. I have a few research papers published, just not at the current university so it is not listed. My GPA was dragged down during first years of undergrad but it picked up and at the end I had a 4.0. Plus she is not doing too well either, only with a few minor publications on very specific applications, and she is only known for certain speciaties and not much of a generalist and knows very little about the fields immediately outside of her research. But do you think I ever tell her this? Call her out about her lack of creativity? Or ask her about her GPA and the courses that she does bad in just so I can tell her that "Mr X is doing much better than you in that course"? Of course not because I am a decent person.
We are in the same research team. We should be working together and learning from each other, yet she behaves this way to me. I was so relieved during first few months when I started out my research because I have heard so much about these kind of people you encounter during graduate school yet I have not even encountered one and everyone is so helpful, but there she is. Since we cannot move forward in an amicable relationship, what is the best alternative for me? Am I being too sensitive?<issue_comment>username_1: I favor the Confusingly Positive/Neutral Response in these situations.
* "So-and-so did Awesome Thing and you --" "Wow, that's great! When will it be published? I'd like to read it."
* "What was your undergrad GPA?" "Uh, I don't even remember. It got me in here, though, and I love it here!"
* "Bah, what you're doing is garbage." "I'm finding it a lot of fun, and learning a lot!"
When she pulls these stunts in front of others, you will look infinitely classier than she for refusing to play the game.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Work on not letting it bother you. It's extremely clear that she's putting you down in order to feel better about herself. If you internalize the fact that she's not the hot shot she's pretending to be, and that *if she were, she wouldn't be talking to you this way*, it's easier to brush off her comments. For example, when she says "so-and-so scored much higher than you did" say "Good for her!" in as genuine a tone of voice as you can muster. If she says that your research project has no value, cheerfully say "Thanks for the advice!" and go back to what you were doing. And so on. When she puts you down, show her that you don't care what she thinks enough to get upset. This approach has two bonuses: 1. It will be absolute torture for her to not get the satisfaction of seeing you bothered, and 2. The people who witness these exchanges will be impressed that you don't let her get to you. They see now that she's bullying you, and likely feel sorry for you. If you take the "zen" approach I'm describing, they'll be laughing at the bully with you.
The above advice doesn't fit all bullying situations, but your case is probably not severe enough to make it worth complaining to your PI, unless things escalate further. At this stage, someone is simply being mean to you, and the best approach is to develop a thicker skin. This is easier for some people to do than others, but it's the first thing to try.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: The previous answers are quite good, and I'd like to add another possible line of defence.
If possible, minimise interaction with her. You will not learn anything from her (except how not to behave), and she is very unlikely to improve (miracles happen, but very rarely).
If you do not feel in the mood to give cheery/positive answers, another strategy is to respond blandly, such as with a politely interested "Really?"/"That sounds interesting"/"how lovely" or the like. Blandness and being boring (to her, not to others) takes the fun out of trying to upset you.
Most importantly, make clear to yourself that she has no role in your scientific life. She is not your boss or your adviser. You decide what you need. Don't watch how others in your department are doing. The only people you may need to watch are competitors in your research field at other institutions. The progress of some random colleague at your institution doesn't tell you anything about how well you are doing or should be doing. They may rush ahead, and fall back again with respect to you, you never know; fields are not comparable.
Your colleague clearly does not have the ability to judge with confidence where she is placed herself, and she is so worried about others that she tries to transfer this worry to you. Don't let that happen, you are not her emotional recycling bin. At this stage, however, which you describe I do not see a necessity yet to involve any third person.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: Note: I'm not proposing this as the surefire 100% guaranteed to work solution, but if you think this might work with her then it's definitely worth a try.
Invite her out for a bite to eat (or find some situation in which you two can talk alone and it does not seem awkward), and discuss the matter with her in private. In talking to her be careful not to upset her as you are dealing with a graduate student with the emotional intelligence of a high school student. In order to prevent this from happening, I would talk to her keeping the following 2 things in mind:
(1) Make sure to give her all the validation she appears to be attempting to give herself by disparaging you. Give her credit where it is due, and do it in the most genuine way possible.
(2) Talk in terms of ***her interests*** when asking her to stop. DO NOT make the conversation about you and your needs, only about her. For example, I'm not entirely sure how much you contribute, but if you are viewed as an indispensable member of the team make sure to say something along the lines of how it effects ***her*** paper having someone not able to work at full capacity since you are doing group work (or if this is not completely relevant find some other way to relate it to her).
Now if she remains unreasonable even after an attempt to work things out with her one on one, talk to your advisor as mentioned previously in the comments.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: 'Workplace Bullying In Academia' probably best fits your situation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying_in_academia>
It's a more specific form of:
'Workplace bullying', here's an excellent website for strategies to stop it.
<http://www.workplacebullying.org/individuals/problem/being-bullied/>
'Psychological Abuse' describes the phenomena you describe as well though it's not focused just on the workplace.
'Gaslighting' is yet another term used to describe the phenomena of sabotaging someone's confidence in themselves.
I would have posted more links but wasn't allowed to because I'm new, a form of 'website bullying in academia' I suppose.
There's always one jerk in every workplace, classroom, or other venue where people congregate and they always attack the nicest people in an effort to salve their own insecurities. They attack the nicest people because they're cowardly and know that the meanest people will stomp their butt. It's not your fault and can be neutralized with appropriate strategies. You should try and address it before it blows up though because once it does, superiors, like parents, sometimes punish both 'kids', regardless of which one started it and the innocent kid usually gets punished the worst.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I've had strikingly good results by calling them out on their game. But that's me, maybe you can't. I'm a nice guy too, but when someone ticks me off, I start thinking hard.
*Plus she is not doing too well either, only with a few minor publications...*
Her put-downs come from her insecurities. A very typical pattern, as you've already found. She's probably doing a lot worse than you even know. So as to not feel so bad about herself, she puts you down. And probably others? She's probably suffering from depression; this is a very common mental illness and she has it bad. Her thoughts are irrational and you can capitalize on that.
Often the insults will mirror her own problems. If she's getting a B-, she has to make you get a D+ or worse, and the worse the better, in her mind. This is difficult for her if you're actually getting an A-, so she'll use exaggeration or outright lies, as you've seen. Or, she'll change the venue: talk about undergraduate grades or something. Don't play along and answer matter-of-factly; instead, make similar insults toward her, and call her on what's really going on - her insecurities. For instance:
she: I know George who is in the same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't.
you think: she's putting down my number-of-papers cuz her number-of-papers is low, or somehow embarrassing to her. It might not seem embarrassing to you; don't be fooled because what matters is her fears and perceptions, not yours.
you say: How many papers have you published? [adjust this to fit what you know about her] I've got more papers published than you have, don't I? In fact, doesn't everybody in this department have more papers published than you? [you can exaggerate a little if she's already exaggerating - especially as a question.]
she: reacts angrily...
you don't answer her questions, just continue on: So did you bring up George's papers because you haven't published any? You have to put me down because you don't have any papers, right?
Again, adjust this to the realities, and what you know about her. Stop trying to be 'accurate'. You want to say, out loud, what her own fears about herself are saying. Maybe everybody else who hears it, thinks her paper count is OK, but that's irrelevant.
Watch how she works, especially as she cuts other people down - you don't have to talk so you can listen more carefully and think of what insecurity she's trying to cover for. You can use the same weapons against her - practice! Try it out on friends - that's what friends are for.
I remember dealing with a woman who would lash out at people with insults, and when the victim would attack back, she would act really hurt and appear to cry. Out loud, I described this game to everybody in the room. It was like the wicked witch of the west: she exploded with insults and crying, it was astounding really. Nobody else talked to her again. She shut up and went away. Problem solved.
she: So what's your GPA this semester?
you think: I don't have to answer that - in fact, if I don't answer her question, that itself is a put-down. She's paranoid about her own GPA. Probably not too good. I'm glad I looked up her GPA already or I talked to my coworkers to get an idea of her GPA. So now I can hit back and exaggerate just like she does to me.
you say: Well, what's your GPA this semester? [whether or not it's true:] It's down, isn't it? What will you do if you flunk out? [You're asking a question that suggests she'll flunk out - you are not lying by saying she'll flunk out. It's a question, but it'll piss her off cuz that's what she's fearing in her head, rationally or not.]
These comebacks will really anger her. That's the idea. She's a bully, and just like a playground bully, you don't have to win the fight, you just have to make sure that she hurts. Currently, you have been receiving her punches like a playground wimp, and not punching back.
Make sure that often, when she talks to you like this, she gets punished by some cutting comeback - it'll take practice, but the skill will serve you well as you run into more creeps like her in your career. The most cutting comebacks are often the ones that are tragically true. So study up on her: google her, look her up in your university or department, check out her Facebook page or wherever. And use her insults to figure out what's scaring her in the moment - whatever she cuts you down about, chances are it's a problem for her, and you can turn the blade around 180 degrees.
Yes she will get angry at you - she was angry at you before, so nothing's lost. Eventually she'll stop bullying you and trash someone else instead. People won't hate you because you're being mean to her - in fact, people will consider you a hero cuz you're finally fighting back. So don't be afraid to be mean.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_7: A woman in my entering class of grad school sounds just like what you're describing -- callous put-downs, insensitive and uber-competitive remarks about grades and research status, etc. Several of us started off trying really hard to make her a happier human being (she also constantly complained about how lonely she was -- go figure), but it pretty quickly became clear that she was an emotional black hole, sucking in positive energy and emitting none back.
Research requires collaboration, and NO ONE wants to collaborate with someone like that. While still in grad school, she started a promising summer fellowship that she'd been bragging to everyone about having obtained and *they fired her shortly after she began* because she was so difficult to work with. Now, several years after both of us earned our Ph.D.s and moved on, almost no one currently or previously affiliated with our department even knows what she's doing.
She clearly failed to make the mark on the field she seemed to think she was destined to, and I suspect the person you're describing will either change her act or wind up the same way.
My advice: Do everything you can to avoid and ignore her, and when that's not possible, call her on her bad behavior.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: This person is, roughly speaking, a sociopath. The first step is to identify such a person. Realize that about 1% of the overall population fits that diagnosis, but there is a larger proportion, like 3-4%, for higher-powered positions such as business and government ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy#In_the_workplace)). So you will tend to run into these people from time to time; possibly expect 1 per class of 30 students in higher education.
And unfortunately, there's also a trend for high-powered women in particular to bully lower-powered women in the workplace; this has been called "queen bee syndrome" among psychologists ([Wall Street Journal](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323884304578328271526080496)). So while stressful, be aware that you're certainly not alone in going through this situation.
>
> In 2010, the Workplace Bullying Institute, a national education and
> advocacy group, reported that female bullies directed their
> hostilities toward other women 80% of the time—up 9% since 2007. Male
> bullies, by contrast, were generally equal-opportunity tormentors.
>
>
> A 2011 survey of 1,000 working women by the American Management
> Association found that 95% of them believed they were undermined by
> another woman at some point in their careers. According to a 2008
> University of Toronto study of nearly 1,800 U.S. employees, women
> working under female supervisors reported more symptoms of physical
> and psychological stress than did those working under male
> supervisors.
>
>
>
In my experience, the most important thing once a sociopath is identified is to cut off the flow of information as much as possible. Don't engage or give out any more data than needed; every tidbit of personal information is just more ammunition or another attack-vector for the sociopath. (For example, I totally disagree with other respondents who suggest getting to know the person better, or responding to particular jabs with sarcasm or like responses; the sociopath does not respond like a normal person in this regard.) "Don't feed the troll" is a more concise way of saying this.
(The only other thing that's worked for me, a little bit, is to possibly use the strategy of "dropping the hammer" as it's called in poker ([Urban Dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drop%20the%20hammer&defid=1115486)). That is to say, let the little needly putdowns generally go without response, but at a later date when you have some justification for real heavy-duty consequences/punishment, apply it swiftly, completely, and mercilessly. For example: A sociopathic student might have rules on absences enforced with complete strictness; an abusive committee member might be called out on behavior against the rules of the organization to the chair; or saboteur employees may simply need to be fired [see Wall Street Journal link above for the latter]. This is certainly a bridge-burning move, and would of course be undesirable in all but the most extreme circumstances; the one or two times in my life that I've applied this the person became uncontrollably irate, but they didn't bother me after that.)
In your case it's likely best to just avoid and wait out the bully's tenure at your institution, which should be two years or less, and know that "it does get better".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: I'm a fan of answering people who are obviously trying to deliver a putdown with a backhanded compliment that borders on offensive but is worded in a nice way. This is done a LOT in the South, where I grew up. Southern women can cut each other dead with verbiage that to an outsider sounds quite nice.
Delivered in a "I'm not really interested but I'm being polite" tone, as though talking to a child:
"Well, aren't you precious?"
"Oh sweetie, I bet you feel better for telling me that."
"That's adorable, you're trying to 'neg' me aren't you? It won't work, I'm not going to date you."
"Is that right, dear? Fancy you knowing something like that."
Nothing stings a bully more than being dismissed as a non-entity. That's why they bully in the first place.
Oh, and if a woman from the South says that someone is "perfectly nice", it means she thinks that person is anything but. As in "Well, I don't have much to do with her, but she's perfectly nice." When someone is well liked she is described as "lovely".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: To add a legal perspective (as a department chair, I received training regarding such matters), some of the behaviors you described will in my opinion very probably qualify as a form of workplace harassment in the United States, assuming that you can be considered an employee (which is not certain and would depend on the particulars of your status in the graduate program). The occurrence of such harassment could be argued to constitute a [hostile work environment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_work_environment). If you complain to your advisor/PI/department chair, it will be their legal responsibility to take action to prevent the harassment. As the Wikipedia article I linked to above explains:
>
> An employer can be held liable for failing to prevent these workplace
> conditions, unless it can prove that it attempted to prevent the
> harassment and that the employee failed to take advantage of existing
> harassment counter-measures or tools provided by the employer.
>
>
>
Even if you are not considered an employee, there may be other laws that apply to the situation, and regardless, common sense would dictate that your advisor and department are in a good position, and have good incentives, to address the problem should you choose to complain to them.
To conclude, I'm not saying that you necessarily should complain, but this is one option you should be aware of. Disclaimer: as I said I received some training on workplace harassment, but I am not a lawyer and would recommend that you seek more authoritative information on any legal-related issues before making any sensitive decisions.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_11: *Am I being too sensitive?*
**Yes.**
*What should I do?*
>
> **You listen and answer to your adviser and no one else.**
>
>
>
Of course the administration and *some relevant others* need to be taken care of without the help of your adviser, but when it comes to your academic progress evaluation and the *amount* of publications during your PhD, IMO its better not to listen to *others*. Let her do her *thing*, all you need to care is your work in hand. You are not responsible for what she thinks (problems of the world in a broader sense).
You are the part of an institution and your adviser is the team leader. If you find someone deliberately trying to *put you down,* which in turn is interfering with your work, go talk with your adviser and let him/her take care of it.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_12: You can just let her win the silly game she is playing.
"For example, she will come up and say I know so and so who is in the same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't."
Your answer: "It's even worse, I had two papers rejected and as a result I need to start over with some core elements of the research that went into it."
"Or I know this other person who did really well in a class and even got the professors recommendation while you are only an average student."
Your answer: "I wish! Unfortunately, I'm doing a lot worse than the average grad student here."
"She will non-stop ask me for my GPA as an undergrad, and how I am doing in my courses. I thought she cared about me at the beginning but I am realizing that she is only exploiting my weaknesses."
You should tell lies about how bad your GPA scores were.
"She will also ask me about my research focus and tell me whatever I am trying to do has no value or too small scale. She will openly laugh about my research plans in front of other people and say that it has no value."
Just tell her with a straight face that her judgment is correct, its quite worthless what you are doing, but due to circumstances you have little choice to pursue what you are doing. You can tell her that given how bad you were as an undergraduate, you are just glad that you have the opportunity to do any research at all, however insignificant.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_13: Maybe just block her and cut all communications possible
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_14: I am a bit dismayed that the majority of answers here seem to take as a given that the OP is in some contest of wills with her fellow grad student and give advice for "winning the battle," "putting the other student in her place," "effecting her demise" and so forth. (Not all: there are some excellent answers and indeed some which are very close to what I am about to say: just too few of them in the total chorus.) This is fundamentally wrong-headed: graduate school is not a battle of wills with other graduate students. It does (unfortunately) have a competitive aspect, but the competition is not for top spots in the social/professional hierarchy of graduate students: it is for academic excellence and the opportunity to continue one's academic career.
How are these *true* goals of graduate school furthered by this verbal jousting with a fellow grad student? The answer is clear: **they're not**. Being the victor in a verbal joust feels better than being the loser, but the victory is completely pyrrhic. [**The only real victory is to stop playing this game.**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DGNZnfKYnU)
The OP can do that as follows: she should think carefully about the range of interactions she has with her fellow student and make a clear, mental divide between activities which are necessary (they may have to work together, after all) and potentially productive and activities which are part of the no-winners game described above. Then, in all future interactions with this other student, she should simply refuse to engage with all overtures that she knows or strongly suspects will be unproductive. She should respond positively to interactions that are clearly productive/professional, and she should firmly move borderline interactions towards the productive/professional direction. All these things she should do completely openly and unsubtly. That there are other people around *is a good thing* for this strategy: the OP is saying "come to me with professional things and professional things only." To refuse to do that when other people are around makes the other person clearly in the wrong.
Sample response:
>
> "I'm sorry, I've answered questions like that from you before, so I know it won't lead anywhere productive. Do you have anything constructive / relevant / about project X to ask me?"
>
>
>
The lack of subtlety of this strategy should make it straightforward to implement as long as the OP is committed to it. The worst possible outcome I see is that the OP is already so bent out of shape / her fellow student is evil enough that interactions that look innocent to other observers will be handled coldly and professionally by the OP. But that is an acceptable outcome. Professionals are allowed to be cold as long as they make it clear that this coldness is in the service of doing their job. Moreover after a few awkward exchanges like this, all but the most evil/deranged people will learn to stop pushing the button that is not getting the desired response.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_15: I generally try to be honest and upfront with this kind of person initially to see how they respond. For example, I would say something like: "What you just said hurt my feelings and is untrue, I would appreciate it if you would stop doing that."
If that does not work, I move on to confronting them with more drastic measures: "I'm sorry that your lack of self-esteem causes you to put down other people to make you feel better about yourself. Unfortunately all it does is make you look bad to everyone around you when you do it."
After that I would take it up with whomever it would be appropriate to do so, outline their actions and what you have done to attempt to mitigate it. This shows that you have made an effort and stood up for yourself in a respectful and calm manner.
Either way, good luck with this situation, I know they're difficult, I worked with someone I absolutely couldn't stand for two years so I totally understand.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_16: I will first start off by a quote by <NAME>:
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- <NAME>
Hence, the first step I would say is to "keep away" from her. Also, keep in mind that she is definitely considered a "small person". She may have some knowledge, but certainly no wisdom.
Given the extent of her bad behavior as described, you may be dealing with a sociopath here, which can be hard to deal with. No point trying to reason or negotiate with her as sociopaths do not have empathy. One approach you might take is to stick with a few close friends, to have strength in numbers. It is harder for her to criticize you openly when you have friends defending you.
"Pride comes before a fall." I believe this saying has some truth. If you have a religion, you can take comfort in that God does not like such prideful people, though they may be outwardly successful. If you and your friends detect any criminal behavior in her, e.g. faking research results, report her immediately as necessary.
All the best!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_17: I second the answers who recommend "downgrading" the questions' importance and not letting yourself be goaded in this manner.
I do want to add one kind of reply that is not, I admit, quite in that line:
>
> For example, she will come up and say I know so and so who is in the same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't.
>
The response that came to mind immediately was "I have a cousin who is your age. She's really nice."
Now that's probably a bit subtle. Whether or not you want to actually play that card, the point is that your colleague apparently cannot help applying some metric that she built her self-esteem with obsessive-compulsively to you. It's a metric she clings to and advertises since she does not trust other metrics to make her look favorable, and apparently she does not trust this particular metric all that much either or she would not need to boost it that much. Don't play her game. Unfortunately, I don't see that you have much chance to make her *stop* hers since she does not seem to think she has a lot to fall back on otherwise.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_18: The colleague you're talking about is *most likely* a psychopath.
No, that doesn't mean "serial killer". But it does mean someone who was born with a genetic and hereditary personality disorder. Her brain's structure is different from ours, and that makes her *physically incapable* of feeling guilt or remorse.
She's making you feel bad because *she enjoys it!* That's how different they are from you and me. They actually enjoy hurting people, it's like a sport for them.
This bitch sounds like she's not even stealthy about it. Some of them do it for *decades* without the victim noticing.
Anyhow. This is one of those cases where the only winning move is not to play. Don't associate with her anymore, and your problem will be solved.
Don't try to reason with her, or get her to see the error of her ways - she doesn't see it that way. She simply doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone except herself, and she sees nothing wrong with the way she is or what she's doing. She simply could not care less.
She may **act** otherwise, but though they can be extremely convincing - they kind of have to, to pass off as human - you can rest assured that she's just faking it to be able to abuse you some more.
Obviously I'm speaking from personal experience here. Otherwise I wouldn't know so much about these freaks.. Feel free to do some research into "psychopathy", "sociopathy", "narcissism", "borderline personality disorder", "ASPD" etc, they're all essentially the same thing, but with different labels to distract us.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_19: She does it for one of three reasons:
1) She feels bad about herself. By assuming certain facts and commenting on her assumptions in a place where others can hear, she tries to assert a form of dominance over other people to make herself feel superior - thereby stopping from feeling inferior for a brief moment.
2) She wants to make you an enemy. She may feel most *driven* and perform *her very best work* when she feels like she is competing with someone. Though this is clearly not the healthiest way to go about it. In a way, this possibly seems like "working together" to her - trying to outdo one another or, maybe even hoping to get together to outdo that other person she is talking about.
3) She may worry about your progress and *actually be attempting to help*. Like #2, she probably would come off as a very competitive person - and if someone told *her* the things *she* didn't do as well as *that other person*, well, she'd *try harder* and catch up! Too bad she doesn't have much experience with other personalities *and* is wrongly assuming a lot of things about your accomplishments.
---
So, how should you handle her? Well, the response is going to depend on how you prefer to handle these situations, but this is what I would do:
* Ask her why this information is important. Why you should care. Why she bothers to tell you this. This will provide more insight into why she does it, while possibly allowing for opportunities to correct assumptions (*even if you don't tell her the correct information, you can state which assumptions are false and tell her the concern isn't necessary*).
* Relay the appropriate message of how you expect to be treated. Points correspond to the numbered reasons above - but regardless of your suspected reason, express your desire that you wish you could work together since you are on the same research team, but that the way she is acting is unacceptable to you.
1. or
2. You don't put up with bullying. Either she needs to stay away, or she needs to stop bringing up these (*untrue, btw*) points, you don't really care how she or someone else is doing - because you are doing fine.
3. Thanks for the concern, but you are doing fine - possibly now you two can go on to have a decent working relationship.
From here, your working relationship may get better, even if slightly, and become more tolerable, or it may not. Possible follow-ups which other answers go into more detail (*in no particular order*) may include:
* [You have to deal with her, make it fun for yourself and watch her squirm](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61750/23421)
* [Avoid her](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61752/23421)
* [Contact someone with more authority](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61773/23421)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_20: As far as I have understood, your main problem is that she is someone who you must work with. I have been in similar situations, and I feel you very well.
I have developed several defense mechanisms.
1. Talk to her!
---------------
In the simplest possible way, tell her that her behaviors cause you to have hard feelings. Maybe she is not bad at all and will sympathize with you. Maybe something that you have done has caused her to behave like this. Maybe she envies your work. Just drink a couple of coffees with her and tell her your feelings. Try to be friends. It is harder to hurt a friend than hurting a colleague.
**She understands you**
She hears what you say and tries not to put you down. That way, problem is solved.
**She acts like she has understood you**
She listens to you, acts like she understands you, but continues her behavior. In this case, you should remind her that you two talked, and these behaviors put you down. Ask her not to repeat that again.
If she repeats again, decrease your interaction with her. Show that you dislike her behavior by your mimics and your own behavior. By showing, I don't mean just sour and wait for her to understand. Say a sharp word like "mind your own business" or "I don't care what you think".
**She ignores**
She listens to you, but does not care. Then, you should talk to your advisor. Tell him/her the situation and ask him/her to find a solution for this problem. Before doing this, you should tell your colleague that you will talk to the *boss* and explain everything.
Her being ignorant about one of her colleague's feelings means she is indeed a bad person and deserves to be told on.
2. Ignore her; don't feed the troll!
------------------------------------
Remember that there are a lot of people out there that feeds from others' sadenesses. She might be one of them. Then you being sad about this situation only makes her happier. There is nothing wrong making a person happy, but that would not cost your own happiness. Whenever she says something bad, just smile and nod. Even though it causes you to have hard feelings, pretend that you don't.
3. Tell the situation to an authority
-------------------------------------
If you are 100% sure that you can't cope up with her behaving bad, just go and explain the situation to your advisor (or who is responsible from the research team). Try not to be so aggressive while explaining, and try to somehow notice her that you will take precautions about this situation.
4. Show her!
------------
That does not mean "snap at her", but rather, "show her that she is wrong". Concentrate on your part of the research and maybe more. Remember that what she said is imperceptible compared to what you actually have done.
What I think is; both you and her having problems about self-reliance. Looking from your point of view, you think having low GPA or less to none publications are something to be ashamed of. She is aware of that as well. Do not let her understand this fact. Even though you know that you could have done a lot better, remember:
>
> "Anger, resentment and jealousy doesn't change the heart of others--
> it only changes yours."
>
>
> <NAME>
>
>
>
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/15
| 3,263
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student in mathematics going into graph theory. I hope to either do a post-doc or (hopefully!) get a tenure-track position at a research-oriented university after graduation. I don't have a super high Math SE reputation, but it has been steadily increasing from answering questions. (I have only asked a few, but I answer a lot.)
While I don't think it would be a good idea to put my Math SE reputation on a CV (or am I wrong?) I could potentially see myself mentioning SE at an interview. While I know answering questions on Math SE isn't anything like publishing original research, I think it shows a dedication to mathematics and teaching.
What I want to know (hopefully from people who do interviews, but all answers are welcome) is if something like that would ever make a difference. (Especially if it would be frowned upon similar to having trivial papers on your CV.)
Note: answering questions on Math SE is something I do in my leisure time or times when I cannot work on my course work/research such as while I am on my daily bus ride to campus, so I don't need to see answers that say "spending the time studying/researching would be a better use of your time".
My main concern is in an interview setting. Only if you have reason to believe that it would be good to put on a CV am I interested in that as I already had a feeling that it would not be well suited for a CV.<issue_comment>username_1: This isn't something that you'd normally put on a CV and if you did, I don't think it would help your chances and might hurt them with some search committee members.
Having reviewed hundreds of CV's for math faculty searches in recent years, I can tell you that I've never seen one that mentioned the applicant's stack exchange reputation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I have never seen a stackexchange rep on a CV, and would find it off-putting. But, I would highly recommend mentioning your involvement in SE on your professional website (you have one, right?)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As a committee member/voting faculty member (at R1 place) on relevant things, etc., I'd say that mention of "high reputation" would seem childish, but as "outreach", *activity* on such sites is a plus. It is "outreach", which is good, if not super-glam. In the future, it may be more than "outreach" (which is not exactly the right descriptor, anyway), but for the moment, this is a reasonably modest description... and does resonate with current "allowable" categories of "good things" on CVs and such. So, no, don't tell what "hats" you got around Xmas, nor "medals" or whatever they are, but perhaps mention \_outreach\_activity\_. (Five or ten years from now, I imagine the descriptors and the ground-rules will be different...)
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: I looked at your network profile, and knowing your MSE rep would not make a difference for a job interview at a research school. (I'm not belittling--my MSE rep is about the same as yours! (currently in the 800s)) For a liberal arts/teaching school, knowing you are active on MSE may help a little. So sure you can mention it as supporting evidence of enjoying to answer students math questions, and you could even mention in a teaching statement if it supports your claims. However, I would definitely not mention rep anywhere.
I vaguelly recall a similar question on MO or MSE (there have been many on other SE sites), where someone said just to mention it on your CV if you're a moderator, however I can't find such a post, so I may be imagining things. (I personally wouldn't find it offputting to see something like "MathStackExchange, active contributor" on a CV *if* your profile used your real name and you are pretty active. Note: I don't consider myself as active on MSE.)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> Would a high stack exchange rep make a difference in a job interview?
>
>
>
It could.
From an MBA's perspective (my graduate degree), to be successful in a crowded marketplace, a field of strong competition, you need to differentiate yourself.
To get the job you are aiming for, naturally, you'll need to demonstrate that you have the qualifications that are required for the job, which is necesssary, and perhaps sufficient.
However, a strong reputation on a stack exchange site also demonstrates that additionally:
* You're a strong communicator.
* You have earned the trust of a community (in addition to the institution awarding your degree).
By inspecting the content that you have provided, a potential employer may additionally find evidence that you are an expert in the subject matter of the site. In fact, they may infer it without inspection, but I would consider it part of necessary due diligence if I were considering a user's account in this context.
So you would also want to make sure your content reflects well on you (so consider curating your most prominent work).
If you can demonstrate all of these things, they could easily make the difference between an offer and being the second choice. So I think you've found a wise hobby to take up.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: I have seen Math.SE and MathOverflow activities mentioned by both grad students and faculty in connection with various applications and promotion-related materials. I don't see this as anything to scoff at; personally I find it intriguing and consider looking up someone's SE profile(s) a great way to get some insight into their mathematical personality (note that there *can* be a potential downside if said personality turns out to be uninteresting or unimpressive). With that said, I think this is only worth mentioning on your CV if it represents a major activity, say if you have been active for at least 1-2 years and have dozens of answers including a good number of highly voted ones. I wouldn't specify the reputation points as that seems like a silly thing to (admit to :-) ) be concerned about. And there can be a better place to mention it, e.g., in a research/teaching/personal statement.
As for mentioning this in an interview, like many other things this can be a good idea if done tactfully (in a no-big-deal, casual sort of way that shows a sense of proportion), or a horrible idea if done untactfully (saying it and expecting fireworks or a round of applause).
Finally, I wanted to mention that I noticed from questions such as this one that there is a common belief in the Grand Principle that for academic (and specifically math) jobs one should hide any information about oneself that attests to one being interested in anything other than doing math research all day, every day, and that any decision about what to put on one's CV or what to mention in an interview/personal statement should be considered in the light of this Grand Principle. I can't say if this is true or false as a general rule, but **it's categorically false for me**: personally I'm delighted if a job candidate tells me they are interested in archery, or chess, or surfing, or playing piano, or whiling away their time answering elementary questions on Mathematics StackExchange. Think about it this way: given that I already know the level of research they do (which presumably must be pretty good if I'm interviewing them), any evidence that they have other unusual skills or abilities outside of math research can only raise them in my estimation. Besides, when you hire someone you get a complete package, mathematician/academic+human being, and personally I rather like being surrounded by interesting human beings and not just paper-writing robots. But maybe I'm weird and it's just me who thinks this way, so handle this advice with proper caution.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_7: I don't see it as helpful. In evaluating candidates for research oriented positions, the key factors are going to be: strength and number of publications, outlook for the research area, and letters of recommendation. People want to see that you have a lot of potential to produce high quality research. I don't see how participation in the stack exchange contributes to that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I have been consistently in the [top 1% at CrossValidated aka Stats.SE](https://stats.stackexchange.com/users?tab=Reputation&filter=all) for the past two or three years, and frankly of other top users, there are only two or three people with real names whom I could locate in "proper" academia in stats departments. When one of these stats profs posted a job ad on a mailing list (unrelated to SE system), I asked him whether the CV reputation could matter (not that I was interested in the job, but just curious). His response was along that in his opinion, it should, but in reality, most of the interview panel would not have heard about it.
Small print: (1) if a person does not want to put their real name in the profile, I take it they probably don't want to have their professional identity (name on papers, etc.) mix up with their SE outreach -- my username is a part of real name, and together with a non-English origin and a picture, there is little difficulty in figuring out who I am in RL; (2) there are also probabilists and sociologists and representatives of other disciplines among the top Stats.SE users with real names, as far as a I can tell. (Parenthetically, for a statistical world with about 17K members in the American Statistical Association alone, presence of "proper" statisticians at Stats.SE can be characterized as dismal. As a junior elected officer of the Association, I keep grinding my teeth about it... but I can't realistically change the rules of the academic game to make sure tenure is only awarded if you have reputation of 1K+/year on your discipline's SE site.)
My bet is that the best use of your reputation is to try to find somebody at the school you are looking at through MO/MSE, and introduce yourself via email, saying something to the effect of "I connected the dots between your department faculty list and MSE user list, and found you there on the MSE. I am applying for a job at your department. As you are obviously aware of what MSE is, you might be interested in looking at my profile and activity on the site to better see how I think as a mathematician". If nobody at that department knows what MSE is, then mentioning it is counterproductive, as the big busy people reviewing your application would just think you waste your precious time instead of doing research.
Applications to industry would be an entire matter whatsoever. Your ability to explain things well, as evidenced by your SE rep, is a great asset for industry where most of the work is done in teams, and you may be the most technical person on the team who has to explain why branch-and-bound is the only freaking way to solve this particular problem to other team members and to the clients.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: While I'm not an academic, I've always maintained a "Participating in the Community" or "Giving Back to the Community" section of my resume. That's where I list things like long-term participation in relevant fora, any special roles I may have held (e.g. moderator, editor, front-page writer), and any special recognition I may have received (e.g. "only X% of participants earn "Mentor" level recognition"). I also include my contributions to open-source and open-documentation projects, as well as any work I've done with local user groups and conferences (e.g. content selection committee, speaker/presenter).
Whether I include that section when sending my resume to a potential employer depends largely upon that employer's public presence; if they sponsor conferences or host discussion boards/fora, or if they actively encourage their employees to participate in such things, I want them to see (up front) my experiernce in that area. If they don't have a strong public presence, I save that information for the interview (but make sure to mention it there).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: I can't speak for other departments, but at every academic institution I've been part of, the faculty who sit on search committees--especially if they are senior faculty--are very, very busy. In addition to their careers, which include research, teaching, grant-writing, travel, and managing postdocs and graduate students, they often have families. A faculty search and reviewing the hundreds of CV's that come in, then interviewing, taking the candidates to lunch, etc. is a *huge* time suck. I am guessing that most such faculty do not participate much in sites like SE. In fact in my experience, mostly these committees consist of older professors who are not necessarily that Internet-savvy and probably have never heard of SE.
So I don't necessarily think SE would be helpful to mention at an R1, and in fact (like blogging) it could be a risk. I have seen R1 professors' entire careers implode due to blogs, plus there's a school of thought that says that if you are blogging then you aren't spending time on research. The search committee cares, bottom line, how much positive attention and grant money you can bring to the department. To judge this they look at how many highly visible publications you have, and also at who is recommending you.
At a liberal arts college, it may be very helpful--but again the faculty are very busy at these schools--comparably to the R1's, though their primary energy is going into teaching and course prep with high course loads, grading, service--and on the treadmills of their own jobs, so don't expect them to have heard of SE.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/16
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<issue_start>username_0: I was given an assignment for a graduate course a few days ago, and I had to do some background reading in order to understand what one question was asking. In the process of doing this reading, I discovered a paper that contained the exact question I was working on, but phrased as a statement. A proof of this statement was also included, meaning the solution was now laid out in front of me.
I'm not sure how to approach this situation. I can't simply reference this paper, since telling the instructor "the solution may be found here" misses the point of the exercise. On the other hand, I can't write my solution without providing a citation, since that would be academic dishonesty. What should I do in this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: I suggest a variation of username_2's suggestion, namely to write the solution (in your own words) and hand it in, including an explanation of where and how you found the reference that contained the solution, and including a note stating that because you hadn't arrived at the solution by yourself, you would be happy to accept an alternative assignment. However, I doubt that that would be necessary. The instructor likely cares to know mainly that you reached a good level of understanding of the material covered by the question, and would not care as much how you arrived at that understanding.
I should also note that it's not clear to me that not including a citation would represent academic dishonesty. It certainly would if you were specifically instructed not to use the internet as an aid to solving the homework, or if you copied the solution verbatim rather than read it, understand it and write it in your own words, but otherwise, whether this was seen or dishonest or not would depend on whether there was an (implicit or explicit) assumption that students are allowed to use any sources they wish to in order to arrive at a solution, as long as the solution they hand in is written by them, in their own words, and represents genuine understanding that they have attained. With that said, it's best to be as honest as possible, not least because you haven't done anything wrong by stumbling on the solution accidentally, so I would greatly favor the honest approach advocated above or the similar one suggested by username_2.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Literature research is a legitimate process in science, they can't blame you for that. Clearly, however, you did not "rediscover" the result. One option would be to tell the tutor that you found a solution in the literature and if s/he could give you an alternative assignment instead.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: *I discovered a paper that contained the exact question I was working on*
Common research practice, before working on a problem that you think is relevant for your work of publication quality, it is advisable to do a background search on the same to see if someone had worked out the problem already. It saves a good deal of time and energy when you find your brilliant idea already published else where before actually investing time on it.
**Now**, from the spirit of what you described, the aim is not to *discover* a publishable result rather than understanding how to reach the solution. If you understood the solution and submit it in writing, there is absolutely no problem if you ***cite the source*** even though you will miss the joy of independent work. It is also possible that you may find a related problem solved elsewhere, which may or may not be a publication in the usual sense, but the same logic applies there too. In my opinion,
>
> it is appropriate to cite the source unless you reach the solution by
> independent work.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/16
| 498
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<issue_start>username_0: The journal that I have chosen for submitting my paper doesn't use double-blind review
(double blind review means that both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process).
Can I ask editors via email, or make a request for one? Is it difficult for them to organise the editing of the paper afterwards if it is approved or it is appropriate to do that?<issue_comment>username_1: To make unnecessary associations with the manuscript, you can ask for this possibility separately, before submitting the paper itself. You can also do this even anonymously (say making the phone call). They will answer. If no, then no.
I think it would be unethical and unprofessional for the editor to judge about your work negatively in advance just because of asking a quite, polite question about the possible reviewing processes.
Journals that used the double blinded review simply required an additional manuscript version from me, without the author and institution headers.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: With the submission management systems of most journals, it will be an incredibly obnoxious hassle for the editors to support a double-blind review if the journal's policy is normally single-blind review.
The reason is that, even if you remove names from the manuscript, most review systems present the reviewers with all of the key meta-data about the paper, including the author identities. This information is tied to author accounts in the system, the paper production and publication process for accepted papers, and possibly also external systems such as [ORCID](http://orcid.org/). This is configured right into the software, so the only method most editors would have for supporting double-blind would be to have the authors create pseudonymous accounts and then later work with the production staff to manually intervene and change all of the metadata (likely screwing up their records as well) before the paper actually appeared. Thus, given the degree of hassle and problems involved, I would expect most editors to refuse without some sort of exceedingly unusual extenuating circumstance.
You can always ask politely, of course, but you should expect the answer to be no.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/16
| 350
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<issue_start>username_0: In my passport, my name is "<NAME>" because there was no option to write in smaller letters.
I registered on the GRE with my name as "<NAME>", and I am also writing it this way on the online graduate application form.
Will the difference create any problem?<issue_comment>username_1: This should not cause any problems. People working on graduate admissions typically quite well understand that different systems mess with names in different ways. Certain types of permutation might cause difficulty, but ALL CAPITALS versus Standard Capitalization is so routine as to likely go entirely unnoticed.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There is absolutely no issue here. Although we traditionally use capital letters for only the initial letters of names\* and school teachers will tell you it's wrong to do otherwise, the capitalization isn't considered to be part of the spelling. Rather, it's part of the [orthography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthography) of the langauge, which is the set of conventions we use when writing it down. Thus, "<NAME>", "S<NAME>" and "SaBbIr HaSaN" are all considered to be the same name. The choice of capitalization is more similar to the choice of a font than a choice of spelling.
\* This is a simplification, as <NAME>, <NAME> and e e cummings will explain.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/16
| 735
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an EE & CS graduate student and [IEEE](https://www.ieee.org/index.html) is a typical and well-known associations.
I am getting papers published in Transactions, Journals Magazines, etc... via RSS feed. For example, [IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=7755) has a [feed](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/rss/TOC7755.XML) published once a month.
So far, however, I couldn't find a way to get a list of conference proceeding papers when they are published. As a conference proceeding is not a periodical publication, generally, there is no such *feed* things. Therefore, I have to wait and check everyday until it is published. (Some conference provides papers when conference is being held. But in general, it takes two or three months from the conference to be published.)
Furthermore, [USENIX](https://www.usenix.org/) has a [feed](https://www.usenix.org/blog/rss.xml), but it is not a feed about published papers. USENIX does not provide any feed even for the periodical.
In such situation, how do you keep up with the recent publications?
1. I don't care about the recent publication. I search them on demand.
2. I keep up them manually. (You are a very diligent person. :-> )
3. My organization (university, company) has a sort of curation, curator.
4. None of them. Other ways.<issue_comment>username_1: I am not sure about EE, but for Computer Science, most of the venues you would usually want to track are listed in [DBLP](http://dblp.uni-trier.de). DBLP itself does, as far as I know, not offer a subscription service, but (behold the beauty of open data) somebody else has built [RSS feeds for DBLP](http://services.ceon.pl/dblpfeeds/).
This would allow you to use your favorite newsreader to keep up with conference publications the same way you are already tracking journals.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It's a non-answer, but, assuming you have a personal account (free to create), IEEEXplore (which costs a small fortune to any university) has a [very limited interface to receive alerts for **all conferences**](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conf_tocalerts.jsp) as a content alert on a weekly basis. I truly wonder who subscribes to this, as it must be information overload!
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cOVi4.png)
It's a shame, because the periodical interface to receive content alerts is not bad:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/P1V82.png)
Upvotes: 0
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2016/01/17
| 615
| 2,701
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<issue_start>username_0: The web page of my article in the AMS editorial system for some three months says "Article status: Reviewing" and in the next line "Your paper is being handled by an editor". I find this confusing as the "reviewing" status appears to suggest that the article is with the referee(s) rather than with the editor but this in turn seems to contradict the line "Your paper is being handled by an editor".
>
> Could someone with enough experience with AMS journals please explain how should one interpret the combination of "Article status: Reviewing" and the line "Your paper is being handled by an editor" at the article page?
>
>
> More broadly, which are the possible article statuses in the AMS editorial system?
>
>
>
Many thanks in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: You should note that the word "editor" is used in many ways for quite different things. Most people understand it to mean "someone who makes changes/edits to the text". But that isn't how it is necessarily used. While the publishing industry does, in fact, employ people who do that, working with an author to improve the text, it usually means someone with some management responsibility.
In the case of your paper, I suspect that a "managing editor" (a manager) has assigned your paper to a lower level "subject editor" (or some similar term) whose main responsibility is to track the progress of the paper through the system. He or she will find reviewers, track their progress, and collect reviews. When all reviews are in, that "editor" will make a recommendation to some higher level "editor" about whether to accept or not. If the overall decision is to accept, then your subject editor may assign someone to work with the author on improving the text - a traditional editor.
I used the term "subject editor", not because it is a term of use, but because it describes someone who actually knows a bit about the subject of the paper and which reviewers would be good for getting advice. This is most likely the "editor" that the system is referring to. It means, roughly, "we are handling it and progress is being made".
See the Scholarly Books... section of this [wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editing) for the typical usages. "Project editor" = "subject editor".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: An associate editor is handling your paper. Part of how the editor handles it is to solicit reports from referees. While the referees review the paper, it is still considered as being handled by the editor. Indeed, the editor handles it until either it is rejected or it is accepted and handed over to the staff who handle final proofing and typesetting.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/01/17
| 1,918
| 8,380
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<issue_start>username_0: I am finding the following moral problem, and possibly people with more experience could help me.
One of my Master students (who recently finished his master studies) is applying for PhD positions. Despite my good scientific opinion about him (and his master thesis research), my personal opinion is starting to change. He is a good student, but not an exceptional student. This means that he can of course prepare a good PhD. The problem comes when I start suggesting places he could apply (and you know, getting PhD funding is not straightforward), he has many obstructions: things like 'I do not like this country', 'in this country phd's are of 3 years and with teaching', 'The subject of this phd is the same area of my master, but not directly related', and things like these.
I am happy to help, but this is becoming tiring. As a master thesis advisor I am the one who is expected to write the recommendation letter. After having these encounters I do not feel I should write a very positive letter.
How should I manage this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: The general answer is yes, a reference letter should always be positive. If one cannot write a positive letter for a student, one should decline to write a reference.
In this case, the student is having difficulty, perhaps even internal conflict, in choosing programs to which to apply. Captain Emacs has it right in the comments; that's not relevant to his ability to complete a Ph.D. program. If repeated requests to suggest programs are becoming tiring for you, say, "Repeated requests to suggest programs are becoming tiring for me. You are an adult. Find and select the program that you believe will suit you best. I've already suggested those I believe will best suit you."
While you are having that discussion, set a limit, perhaps three to five, on the number of recommendation letters you will write. Applications are usually kept to a reasonable number by the fact of application fees, but sometimes students get carried away anyway.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Your recommendation letter is supposed to be about how good you think he'd be at studying for a PhD, not how good you think he was(n't) at selecting a programme. Unless you think his uncertainty/awkwardness about where he wants to study will affect his actual study once he gets wherever he goes, it really isn't relevant to his letter of recommendation.
I appreciate that giving advice to this student about where to apply has become tedious but punishing them by writing a bad letter of recommendation isn't an appropriate way to deal with that. Rather, you should deal with it by better managing the amount of time you spend giving this advice, which may well boil down to saying that you've already made lots of suggestion and you don't have any more advice to give.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: It sounds like your objections are less about the content of the letters, but in wasting your time *writing the letters* for programs that you think are a poor fit, or aren't the places where you think your student should be applying.
You should have a frank and honest conversation with your student about that - it's reasonable for you to ask for such a conversation given your role. If they continue to persist, you need to decide whether or not you'll continue to write letters for them given they're headed down a path you don't necessarily support.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This answer is really more a comment, but way too long for one. I still think it speaks to the spirit of your question, which, through the lines and in several comments you later added, appears to also include: Should I write a letter if my colleagues don't agree that my student should pursue a Ph.D.? Should a letter only address academic merit? What is a reasonable limit to the number of letters I am expected to write, including those that end up not being used? Can I take back that I will write letters? Here are some thoughts about the above, and your question proper.
1. Other answers have addressed if a letter should be positive. I agree that, by and large, it should be. I know of a professor who, when he felt he couldn't write a good letter, wrote a few informal lines of what he felt he could write (which wasn't good), and showed them to the asking student. It's unconventional, but maybe one way of convincing a student to go elsewhere (this doesn't address your special responsibility as a Masters supervisor)
2. Your colleagues' opinion. Your two comments present the situation a bit differently - one saying that they seem to have given excuses (too busy and such), the other that they feel your student shouldn't do a Ph.D. (no reason shared here). A letter addresses almost exclusively if you feel someone is academically qualified to do a Ph.D., and to a lesser extent obviously also a student's personality as it influences likely success in their studies. For both, and as long as your colleagues don't share facts that could change your academically very positive opinion, what they say and do should not matter. It sounds as if this is one of your first times to write letters. One of the amazing side-effects of being an (assistant) professor is a large degree of independence, and I think you should cherish it. It's understandable that your colleagues' reaction makes you question your own judgement; but in that case I suggest being more upfront and inquisitive: ask them directly, off the record, "Are you really only too busy, or am I missing something? If you have reasons that escaped my attention, I would value your feedback." And when you have all the facts, make your *own* decision
3. Should a letter address only address academic merit? Are non-academic factors legitimate reasons for a student to consider? Relevant non-academic reasons can certainly influence your decision to write a letter (e.g., lack of maturity or persistence, poor team-worker); and if you write a letter, you are free to allude to them (which I would tell the student though). However, in this case, allow me to say that as a mentor, *you* should have ensured that what happened, wouldn't have happened. When you discuss letters in the future, bring up what else matters to the student - before writing any letters. I find it quite understandable that a student prefers not to study in country X, or, in a short program of only 3 years, to be on a fellowship as opposed to having to also teach. If you disagree, present your reasons in this initial discussion, and see if you can convince the student; and if you can't, such universities should not be in the application pool. When I applied, one of my letter-writers tried hard to convince me to remove Princeton from my pool (he had taught there, and found the location dreadful), while making other universities in far-off places (Twin Cities, say) palatable underlining he loved the people there (among others). He failed in the first, and succeeded in the second; so both ended up in my pool. Don't take this (too) personal: it's your student's life
4. Number of letters. As others have said, on the order of 10 seems certainly normal. I had 15-ish, 20 years back, as I lacked a sense of the strength of my background, and we discussed this too - I was told it was excessive, but people still helped me at this large number when I asked them to please agree. So discuss a number of letters *you* are willing to write in advance as well. This number will vary (how busy are you? How strongly do you believe in the candidate?), but don't later adjust it down except for very good reasons. Withdrawing an application at a good school is unfortunate and disappointing, but see (3), and it happened for a reason at least some understand. Don't take it personal; just deduct one from the agreed-upon number
5. Can you take back writing letters? Only for better reasons than i see here, if I understood what happened correctly. Factual information by your colleagues (which shouldn't usually include performance in *their* classes, but, say, aspects of the student's personality that didn't manifest with you) could lead to legitimate reasons to renege, but they should be very convincing
These were just some thoughts, which I hope weren't too off-base, and I also hope you maybe find of some use.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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2016/01/17
| 1,831
| 7,512
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<issue_start>username_0: If one aspired to a traditional, research-based academic career in a major university, would teaching for a few years at a community college (say, after the Master's) be damaging to one's CV? I'm worried that it would create a record of affiliation with a low-ranked university that would make people see you as "from" that university, and thus be biased against hiring you. Is there any truth to this?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I'm worried that it would create a record of affiliation with a low-ranked university that would make people see you as "from" that university, and thus be biased against hiring you. Is there any truth to this?
>
>
>
I think it depends when you do it. If it is in between your master's and PhD, as you somewhat tentatively suggest: well, I know many people in my academic field (mathematics) who paused in between degrees to teach at the high school level, most commonly for two years. I have seen absolutely no stigma attached to this. On the contrary, when people have to make lightly educated guesses as to whether a certain candidate will be a good (read: not problematically bad) teacher, then holding a teaching job for more than one year pushes that guess in a positive direction. Teaching at a community college is generally viewed as a "higher level job" than teaching at a high school, so I think this should carry over. As a specific example, within fairly recent memory we took a PhD student who had been teaching at a community college. She got her PhD and now has a tenure-track job at a university. So: no stigma here.
(The above answer assumes that you have made it into a PhD program and have kept up your "higher academic skills" as much as other candidates. Whether that is the case is up to you.)
The part of your CV *after* you get a PhD will be viewed with much more scrutiny, both in terms of chronology and specific jobs held. If you want to get a tenure-track job at a research university, any post-PhD academic employment other than a postdoc or tenure track job at a research university will count against you. (Sorry. I don't make the rules -- I'm just reporting the situation as I see it.) Even taking an industrial job might not count against you as much as teaching at a community college: in my neck of the academic woods an "industrial job" is an enigma of blankness eliciting neither delight nor scorn -- our eyes just slide right off of it.
Let me say though, that while teaching at a community college between degrees is a possible trajectory to an academic career, it does not necessarily make sense to me for someone to plan on that in advance. That is to say: why are you contemplating taking a break of several years from your graduate studies? If the answer is because you feel a bit burned out or that you want the chance to figure out whether an academic career is for you, I think you need to know that the post-PhD academic job market is one step shy of **airtight** at the moment. It is not for the faint of heart or the uncertain of commitment. I suggest you think carefully about your long term goals and whether a PhD is really a necessary part of them.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: (Speaking from the perspective of mathematics in the U.S., ...) I'd second @PeteL.Clark's comments... Specifically, it makes an enormous difference in the current academic job market whether "teaching a few years at a community college" occurs before or after a Ph.D. If *before*, then I'd estimate that people would imagine you're more focused and know what you want, so it might enhance a PhD application to all but the most elite places. If *after* your PhD, it would almost surely create difficulty "returning" to the "research track". It's not that the affiliation itself would harm you (and community colleges are not "universities", so are "not even" lower-tier universities), but that you would have most likely doing something other than what is expected for post-docs and tenure-track people, unless you manage to get lots of good papers written while doing that community college teaching. That's the bottom line. A secondary but still still very significant problem would be finding letter writers for your *next* job, back in the research-university world. In contrast, in a post-doc, hopefully there are senior faculty who interact with you and can write very helpful letters. Glowing letters from community college people will not have the same impact.
And, yes, the "affiliation" issue will impede you in some cases, if/when people filter post-doc or tenure-track applicants by most-recent-job. They might (reasonably or not) figure you've been out of the loop for a few years, and might not even look to see whether you've been publishing papers.
That is, in other words, in the U.S., a sort of "clock" starts upon getting your PhD, and one is in competition with other people who got their PhD at the same time. (In some cases, maternity/paternity leave is possible, but it is naive to believe that everyone respects this...) Taking oneself out of the game for a few years may in fact be a reasonable thing in several regards, but I don't think it is currently viewed as such.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is a rock and a hard place situation for most PhD and MFA grads. If your ultimate goal is a prestigious teaching job but right now you need to feed your children (or just yourself) and have exhausted fellowship and other post-grad competitions and grants, for heaven's sake, do what you must do. Just know that it will take all you've got to do research while teaching so many sections. You must be self-motivating and super protective of any hours left in your day for continuing your research. But this is happening at universities, too.
I have a colleague with a PhD who is teaching 5 courses per semester at The New School, and she has written books and excellent student evals. It's shocking, given the history of that school, that they now have an all-business person running the place who thinks faculty are disposable. But it is a buyers market. The glory days of teaching a 2-2 load plus service, committees, etc. are mostly over in America. You are lucky to get a real office in some places!
A good friend who never completed her dissertation (her department was inflexible when she had a premature baby), moved back to rural Wisconsin to be near helpful parents and start a business with her husband. Business is good and she teaches at a community college. Even though she has not been affiliated with a university for 12 years she is still brilliant and the presents papers at international conferences every few years. She is an independent scholar. A lot of us are.
If you can get on as a reviewer at a journal, join with a former grad school colleague or professor to start a new online journal or non-profit institute focusing on a subject or distinguished scholar not yet receiving adequate attention, and/or continue to stay active enough and connected to the literature to submit abstracts to conferences (you as moderator and other scholars from a variety of stances, geographic areas and demographics to serve on the panel), then your chances of moving on to a prestigious position improve.
It's not a "mission" career move like teaching maths to kids in Appalachia or joining the Peace Corp, but you are preparing students for university life and that is important work.
Good luck with the job search!
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/17
| 1,550
| 6,470
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been offered a postdoc position at Cambridge University. That's great, because two years ago I wanted to go back to academia and went to see my PhD supervisor (I finished my PhD in engineering in 2007) to ask if he might have or know of a postdoc position I'd be suitable for. The answer was no, so a few months later I got a job as a structural engineer in Tokyo and wrote the whole thing off.
Last year I quit the Tokyo gig and moved back to Europe, because I couldn't keep up with the working hours in Japan anymore. I was looking for a job again, when out of the blue, my PhD supervisor contacted me, saying that he now had a postdoc position. I applied, and I got an offer, although I don't know yet how much I will be paid.
Of course, as things always seem to go, I also got an offer to work as a programmer for an airline company, right here where I live. The pay is similar, and the training will be very good.
In my heart of hearts I would like to take the Postdoc, but I am very worried about what will happen after the three years are over.
I am 35, nearly 36 now, have worked as a structural engineer and programmer in the past. I have a family (two small kids) and need to be able to look after them all. Fortunately I have enough savings to be able to take a (small) hit on the salary whilst doing my postdoc, but... what I don't want is ending up doing the postdoc, and then being stuck.
The plan was to do the postdoc, then get a lecturing position. But I have read many articles lamenting how difficult it is for the majority of postdocs to find a long-term position. I could have done that in my twenties, maybe, but approaching forty that is pretty scary.
From a material point of view, I am already significantly behind my peers who went to work straight after they finished their masters degree and don't really want to fall so far behind that I'll never catch up.
My question is, how true are the reports of PostDocs being forced to move from PostDoc to PostDoc (especially in the UK)? Does anybody know of somebody who did something similar to what I am planning to do (and did it successfully)?<issue_comment>username_1: I am currently a postdoc in the UK. My situation is similar to yours: in my thirties, have a family and little children. This is my first postdoc, which I took in my thirties. I also wish to pursue a career in academia. But unlike yours, I have no industrial experience and I am not from the EU. Cost wise, if you and your family are non-EU nationals, you will need to pay a lot more so that your family can stay in the UK with you. Still, regardless of your nationality, it can be a bit hard to support the family if you are the sole breadwinner, but it is not impossible.
Do you intend to continue living in the UK, or are you open to moving to another country at the end of your postdoc? Your experience of living in different countries plus your industrial experience are an advantage should you find that there are no suitable academic opportunities in the UK after your postdoc.
What I would think is more important is to have an understanding and support from your wife. As a postdoc, you might have more freedom and flexibility over how you manage your time at work, but the pressure to publish may be high. It is important to know your limitations now that you have a family. It is likewise important for your wife to know what to expect. Having said this, considering you experienced Japanese working culture, what I have just said might not be a problem for you.
All in all, it looks to me that there is nothing for you to worry about going back to do a postdoc in the UK at 35, at least not from the technical aspects above. The deciding factors could be something more practical or personal, but it could be that I have said this from my own limited perspective.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For guys with PhD who pursuing academic career the age they should worry about is **their 'PhD' age (number of years since PhD graduation)**, not their biological age. So, in your particular case the real problem is not starting first *(it would be first, right?)* postdoc at 35 but starting the first postdoc when you are already 10 years PhD old. To put simply, the concern (that many of your potential academic peers would have when evaluating your job applications, funding proposals, etc.) is as follows: why did this guy move back to academia in 10 years after obtaining his PhD? In essence (as I see it), if you know the legit answer to that in your mind and heart (and, you hope, that this answer has at least some sense to the others in academia :) then go for postdoc.
Speaking more practically, while considering a postdoc option it is a good idea to do the following:
* Talk with your PhD supervisor (and expected postdoc boss; *btw, while it depends doing postdoc at the same place where you did PhD is not great career-wise*) about your career in academia. I.e. in his/her opinion, what are your perspectives after finishing a postdoc period with him? Ideally, there should be some 'career development' plan for your postdoc period prepared before your start date: i.e., participate in these projects, publish that many publications, apply at this number of funding opportunities, contribute to that many ongoing/expected research proposals, apply to that many UK lecturer (or elsewhere) long-term positions, etc.
* You are PhD with a significant industrial experience. Typically, academia-wise, it is not that interesting since academia is all about publications and, much more importantly, funding. However, in your particular case (and in your particular area and within your research directions) it might be somewhat different. E.g. will you have good chances to bring more funding to your/your research group because of your industry understanding and experience, contacts, etc? Will you be able to come up with feasible collaborative projects, etc? The point here is that just another postdoc (doing research, publishing papers, ...) is not that interesting to anyone as there are plenty of those and most of them are expectedly 'better' than you (younger, with no interruptions and hence more on the research edge, etc). At the same time, a postdoc who can bring value (in terms of collaborations, funding from companies, etc.) based on his industrial experience is much more interesting (and, in fact, rather rare).
Upvotes: 2
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2016/01/18
| 1,174
| 4,679
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<issue_start>username_0: I have completed a 4 year bachelor of Mathematics at a decent university, and a comment was made by [<NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938/pete-l-clark), on this website, [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61827): "post-PhD academic job market is one step shy of airtight at the moment."
I was intending to study a PhD in america, and am wondering if his statement rings true in the most part. Is it truly difficult to find a post-PhD academic job, specifically in Mathematics, and if so, are there relevant statistics backing this up?<issue_comment>username_1: This varies wildly depending on many factors, from what type of job you want, where you get your PhD, number of publications you obtain, quality of PhD, who your advisor is, and what field you're working in. Any or all of these can and will drastically change the answer to this question and decide if the job market is airtight or swung right open for you.
The academic job market is very difficult, but not impossible. You end up at the end applying to a number of jobs somewhere in the triple digits and you can end up with something from a >10% rate in getting shortlists to none at all. A good way to view this is to ask at the beginning of your PhD for the placement records for their recently graduated PhD students. The graduate secretary should have a list and be able to tell you how students have done in the past. This can be a guideline and tell you how well you need to perform to get the type of job you want. It's also important to note who their advisor is and what field they studied. Look at the placement of the students who graduated with who you may want to work with, in the case that you know that.
One thing to be clear about is that post PhD, even if you do not get an academic job, there is a ton of industry options out there. I applied for three industry jobs when I graduated and got one campus interview that I cancelled when I got an academic offer. There is headhunting for math PhDs to join industry (from both the finance and tech industry). Even if you get unlucky with the market or in grad school, then there are plenty of other options.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The American Mathematical Society publishes [detailed data](http://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/annual-survey) about mathematics employment in the United States. In particular, the [Report on New Doctoral Recipients](http://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/docsgrtd) has
>
> "... information about the fall employment plans of doctoral recipients, a demographic profile summarizing characteristics of citizenship status, gender, and racial/ethnic group, the starting salaries, and other employment information about new doctoral recipients"
>
>
>
The data is always delayed by a year because of response and processing time. The most recent report as I write this is [2013-2014](http://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/2014Survey-NewDoctorates-Report.pdf). My own take is as follows.
First, the statistics show that the overall unemployment rate is low: a new math PhD recipient is likely to be able to find a job of some sort immediately after graduation. In 2013-14, 85% of math PhD recipients were known to be employed immediately after graduation, and only 5% were known to still be looking (9% were unknown). This is partially due to the ability of mathematics PhDs to look for jobs in business, industry, and government, although the majority work in academia.
Second, based on my personal opinion and experience, the job market for postdocs and research-intensive tenure track positions is very competitive (this is true both in the U.S. and Europe, as well as some other countries and regions). You will need to be one of the very strongest candidates in your area to have a reasonable chance at such jobs.
Third, the market for tenure-track positions at non-research-intensive colleges is also competitive, but in a different way. For these, you want to have a strong vita showing teaching skill and research ability in line with the institution where you are applying. Simply having a PhD and teaching a handful of classes as an graduate student is unlikely to make you stand out from the other applicants.
Overall, because the job market is competitive, if you do enter a PhD program, you need to plan early for the career path you wish to follow. Simply "getting a PhD", and only worrying about the job market in your last semester, is not a good strategy. You want to begin shaping your vita early in your graduate program so that you are in a good position when you graduate.
Upvotes: 4
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2016/01/18
| 596
| 2,506
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<issue_start>username_0: How do you go about dealing with an editor that pretends to be ALL the reviewers and reject a paper based on his/her 'made-up' reviews? Should I complain to the editor-in-chief or simply let it slide? The editor is a big name in my field.<issue_comment>username_1: I am highly suspicious that a big name in a field would make up a bunch of one line reviews for a submission. You should have definite proof and should think long and hard about how irrefutable your proof is before proceeding further. Bringing this up will reflect extremely poorly upon you and your co-authors if you turn out to be wrong.
That being said, if you believe that you have proof of foul play, you should raise the issue with the editor-in-chief or whoever is higher up the totem pole. If you turn out to be correct, someone should inform the editor's school or place of employment about the academic misconduct.
If you'd like to take a more cautious path, you can email the editor-in-chief and ask if there was a reason all of your reviews were so short and if they had any suggestions for avoiding this in the future. You'll side-step the direct accusation while bringing the reviews to their attention.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: While nothing is impossible, it is extremely, extremely unlikely that the editor risked his or her career -- because that's what faking peer review would be -- in order to sink your paper. Even if the editor cared that much, he or she could simply desk-reject the paper. This does not require, as you seem to think, that the paper be outside of the journal's scope. I desk reject more than a dozen papers annually, most of them for quality reasons, not scope reasons.
If the journal has some strange system where desk rejection is not allowed (as does e.g. Frontiers) it is still likely that your paper was seen by two referees. If the repeated text is unusual, it could be that the editor sent a leading request to the referees, along the lines of "I think this paper misuses methodology x in order to do y -- what do you think?" Then if both reviews say "This paper misuses methodology x to do y", this is not because the editor cheated and wrote the reviews him or herself, it is because he or she lead the referees with the review solicitation.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Unless you have extremely strong evidence that the editor behaved as you claimed, you need to consider other more parsimonious explanations.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: We have several opening in our group working in the field of computer science and electrical engineering (more specifically digital system design). We put an advertisement in our webpage and also another in the university portal. But we don't have applicants yet. I was looking for some websites to advertise the positions. I found that most of these websites (e.g. researchgate) ask for money. Do you know any website for advertising phd positions for free?<issue_comment>username_1: [Euraxess](http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/index.cfm/jobs/index) may be an option. Its openings are quite heterogeneous (sciences and humanities). Despite the name, it is not restricted to European countries.
There are other free scholarship aggregators like [scholarship-positions.com](http://scholarship-positions.com/post-job-free-scholarship/). If you search academia.stackexchange you may be able to find [others](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7579/monitoring-phd-positions-in-cs).
Also, you may be able to find [reddit](https://www.reddit.com) channels associated to your area. At least in computer science it is not uncommon to see such openings posted there.
Another option is trying to locate a [google group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!overview) where other labs in your field post their openings.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: @ncasas has given a good answer. Two additional options are
1. Mailing lists - some disciplines/areas of expertise use these to advertise. For instance, I have frequently seen PhD and research positions advertised on the AIS mailing list, a mailing list used amongst information systems research, and on the an SEM mailing list, a mailing list used by researcher who use structural equation modelling in their research. If you can find either type of mailing list (i.e., related to your discipline, or your areas of expertise) then those would be good places to advertise.
2. Internal mailing lists. I occasionally hear about positions from my supervisor or others in the school who receive emails from others who ask them to advertise positions within the school. If you have contacts in good universities who may have graduating students who might be interested in your positions, then you could probably pursue this option.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: You could also use:
1. Social media - like twitter or specific groups on facebook
2. Blogs - if there are some scientific blogs about your discipline/area you could write an email to an author and ask him/her if he/she could post this advertisement
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: When something is peer reviewed, how much trust are the reviewers saying you should give it?
I'm not talking about whether peer review works, I'm asking what peer review *means* ideally.
For example, I know you should trust a peer reviewed article more than, say, a blog post. At the same time, if an article passes peer-review, that doesn't mean the reviewers are saying that the article should be accepted as eternal truth and never questioned further.
So how much trust does peer review give?
* Should one trust that citations are claiming what is in the articles they cite?
* If there isn't anyone who has disagreed yet, should I assume it's true for the purpose of discussions, without further examination?
* Should public policy be based on it, without further examination?
* Should I trust data to have been collected correctly?
* Should I trust data to have been processed correctly?
This probably varies by field (for example, I imagine pure mathematics and related fields, which already have high standards for rigour, are endowed with a ton of trust once peer reviewed).<issue_comment>username_1: * *Should one trust that citations are claiming what is in the articles they cite?*
No. [Too many people don't read their sources carefully enough (or even at all).](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/45295/4140)
* *If there isn't anyone who has disagreed yet, should I assume it's true for the purpose of discussions, without further examination?*
There is a wide range of possible levels of trust between something I read in a blog post and something on the level that "the square root of 2 is irrational". I'd put a random peer-reviewed article somewhere between the two extremes, depending on the discipline, the journal, the state of the art and so forth.
"Without further examination" should not be part of a scientist's vocabulary. Except maybe for the square root of 2.
* *Should public policy be based on it, without further examination?*
No. In particularly not if the article reports on experimental findings in psychology, economics, sociology, medicine and so forth. [Most published research findings are false.](http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124) These disciplines *always* need replications and meta analyses, because they cannot perform experiments as tightly controlled as, say, in physics.
* *Should I trust data to have been collected correctly?*
I do my best, but I wouldn't trust *myself* 100% to have collected my data correctly for published work. Stuff always happens.
In addition, peer review doesn't really enter into this question. Peer reviewers cannot easily assess your data collection - only your description of it. You could have made horrendous errors in good faith, and the reviewer wouldn't know.
* *Should I trust data to have been processed correctly?*
See above. Would you trust software to be bug-free? You shouldn't. And again, reviewers don't review your data analysis as such - usually, your analysis scripts are not part of the bundle you submit.
---
Bottom line: peer review will increase my level of trust in an article, but not infinitely.
In addition, like a good Bayesian, I trust more surprising (which have a better chance of appearing in the more prestigious journals) findings *less*. Therefore, I usually expect articles in *Nature* and *Science* to be less easily replicable than less "sexy" findings published in other venues.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: * *Should one trust that citations are claiming what is in the articles they cite?* Yes. A competent reviewer knows all major works in the area and would not allow to replace expected references by something little known and questionable.
* *If there isn't anyone who has disagreed yet, should I assume it's true for the purpose of discussions, without further examination?* This would not be scientific. Even if there is an experimental work proving something, these experiments are later repeated in other laboratories.
* *Should public policy be based on it, without further examination?* A public policy should be based on consensus between multiple peer reviewed articles, taking into consideration where they disagree.
* *Should I trust data to have been collected correctly? Should I trust data to have been processed correctly?* No, you need to wait till the experiments will be repeated in multiple independent laboratories.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I see peer reviewed articles as a discussion. A discussion with some rules to discourage people from advancing untested or ridiculous arguments, rules that require one to acknowledge previous papers and present evidence about the new idea, but not much more than that. Published letters are rarely a summary of the community's shared conclusion about something. They are simply a fresh argument or an interesting interpretation of some new idea/data/evidence.
(The longer review articles are often an attempt to form such a shared conclusion, but even they may have some political slant to them.)
>
> Should one trust that citations are claiming what is in the articles
> they cite?
>
>
>
Usually but not absolutely. I have seen a very believable citation in a front page Nature publication that turned out not to mean what the authors asserted it did. Naturally I only noticed this when I required the information for my own work.
>
> If there isn't anyone who has disagreed yet, should I assume it's true for the purpose of discussions, without further examination?
>
>
> Should public policy be based on it, without further examination?
>
>
>
In both cases, never.
>
> Should I trust data to have been collected correctly?
>
>
> Should I trust data to have been processed correctly?
>
>
>
It depends for what you require those data. Data processing and collecting are often done by the least trained and most stressed people in the laboratory, who are sometimes under pressure to cut corners to get something their boss or advisor likes. There is often a great deal of cherry picking in the hard science disciplines to show the data in an exciting way, so to justify a top tier publication.
If the data are going to be supporting your safety case for the airworthiness of a new passenger aircraft, you probably should get the data again and talk to the original authors (in person) about the experiment. If the data are merely supporting a limb of your hypothesis in a new paper, and are widely in agreement with other data published independently, then it is probably sufficient to accept them as they are.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> Should one trust that citations are claiming what is in the articles they cite?
>
>
>
Simkin and Roychowdhury (2003) estimated that authors read only 20% of the works they cite. You cannot even assume that the cited articles exist:
The Most Influential Paper <NAME> Never Wrote
<https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/1697>
>
> Should public policy be based on it, without further examination?
>
>
>
No.
Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
<http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124>
>
> Should I trust data to have been collected/processed correctly?
>
>
>
Hauser was a leading scientist in his field and he was making up the data:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Hauser#Scientific_misconduct>
God help you if Excel was used:
<http://lemire.me/blog/2013/04/24/you-probably-shouldnt-use-a-spreadsheet-for-important-work/>
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: In a normal magazines, page numbers restart counting from 1 at every issue.
Most academic journals, however, count continuously, perhaps per year or per quarter, leading to articles covering pages 13199–13255 or similar folly.
Why is this so? When citing year and issue, there is no ambiguity when starting to count at 1 at every issue. So why not paginate by issue like everybody else?<issue_comment>username_1: One of the reasons, if not the only one, is that each year journal issues are typically collected by libraries in bound volumes, which, in this way, have a continuous numbering. At the end of the year, journals would also publish indexes for relatively quick reference.
Or, at least, that is what is used to be.
Below, there is an example of bound volumes ([picture source](https://www.york.ac.uk/library/collections/journals/)).
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ee2U8.jpg)
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Many reasons. It makes the page and volume together a unique identifier for a paper, without having to track the issue. This is very convenient. For example, many journals (used to) publish a master table of contents at the end of the volume, and the unique page numbering made these efforts less confusing.
Sometimes, the issue can just be left out of the reference in a paper. It's less likely to happen these days, but before readily accessible databases and DOI numbers, such things were not uncommon. Unique page numbering made the papers easy to find when you were down in the deep, dark, stacks, making a pile of journals for your trip to the photocopier.
Also, what with similar journal names, special issues, supplements, etc., there was something to be said for the ability to notice that the book you were holding, the one that you were willing to put money on that it held the paper you were interested in, did not include the page number that the paper was supposed to be in. Can't tell you why, but this was a problem that came up with some regularity. I think this saved me plenty of time.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: At one time I tried to be able to remember obscure journal abbreviations and the like, but recently I started favouring more bulky bibliography entries.
So I started wondering if it might be useful to include series and volume number of a book, e.g. Graduate Texts in Mathematics (GTM). Sometimes library shelves, book stores, publisher's sites, etc. are ordered by book series and often it helps to know the series and number to track down a book. Traditionally, the bibliography information for a book would be
>
> <NAME>. & <NAME>., *Introduction to Axiomatic Set Theory*, Berlin: Springer, 1981.
>
>
>
with the title of the book in italics. But then journal names are also in italics, which could mean that book series should be as well (after all, some book series even have ISSN numbers, so how different are they really?). But then there is not really enough contrast between the book title and the series...
>
> <NAME>. & <NAME>., *Introduction to Axiomatic Set Theory*, *Graduate Texts in Mathematics*, **1**, Berlin: Springer, 1981.
>
>
>
My questions are
1. Would it be good to include book series in a bibliography? If yes:
2. How should I style the book *title* and the book *series*?
(As apparent from the example book, my field is mathematics.)<issue_comment>username_1: Honestly, I'm just going to go ahead and say it doesn't really matter. Anyone who's interested will just Google it and find the result immediately anyway. The same is true for anyone searching for it in an actual library. I'd say to just use a reference manager like Mendeley, EndNote, Zotero, etc, and pick a formatting style that you like. Then you don't have to worry about correct formatting of the book title, etc, if you wish to include it.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: It is generally quite difficult to provide too *much* bibliographic information, and this is no exception: while few will notice or care about the additional information, it will certainly do no harm.
As for how to format it: that depends on the publication venue. Every publication style, however, has a standardized form for books that are part of a series (intended for those books where the series is important bibliographic information) and you simply need to comply with that standard.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: As the title says, how common is it for mathematics departments (in the US) to notify postdoc applicants when they're shortlisted?
As I'm currently waiting for postdoc offers and haven't got any shortlist notification yet, I want to know if I should start to panic.<issue_comment>username_1: It's not common to officially notify applicants that they are on a short list. If you find out, it will probably be via backchannel communications through your advisor. That's the best way to gather information, since your advisor's contacts may be more open with him/her than they would be with you, and your advisor can put in a good word for you at the same time.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: My experience on the postdoc market this year suggests that, contrary to the answer above, shortlist notifications are in fact pretty common. I received several official notifications in the last 10 days or so, informing me that I was on the shortlist for postdocs at major universities. My advisor was not involved at all. In a few of these cases, offers came shortly after I indicated I was still interested. So I think the phenomenon is real, and my guess would be that it is largely done so that the universities can gauge the applicant's interest. My semi-educated guess would be that only people towards the top of the shortlist are notified, and that the phrase "you are on our shortlist" is a euphemism for "an offer may well be coming soon".
You should absolutely not panic though! For one thing, I think many people are sitting on several offers and mulling their options (e.g. I was for a week until I accepted an offer recently). Many of these will be released again soon when the applicants with offers make their decision. Secondly, I think that the NSF postdocs will be finalized on Friday (the 22nd), and I gather that many universities are waiting until this date to release offers. Further, even if you hear nothing next week, do not worry. A friend of mine heard absolutely nothing until Feb when he was a postdoc a few years ago. He ended up getting (and accepting) an offer at a top 10 school.
This is all just my anecdotal experience, so take it with a grain of salt.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I propose a resolution of the two answers given so far. I think top institutions which make postdoc offers in a timely manner generally have little reason to contact people on the shortlist, as they'll have a relatively high chance of acceptance.
Other schools that make postdoc offers later, particularly in the case of candidates who are also on the tenure-track market (where the timeline is earlier), might send out feelers to candidates at the top of their short list to see if they are still available and perhaps gauge how interested they are. This often helps make the ordering of the short list easier, once some candidates can be omitted or deemed unlikely to accept. It also speeds up the process as once you make an offer you may need to wait a couple of weeks, get rejected, and need to start over, by which point other candidates you like may be off the table.
Our department does this at least some of the time, and occasionally I will personally contact a candidate I'm interested in (even when I'm not on the search committee) to see if they're still interested. If I know they are likely to accept, it makes it easier for me to push for this candidate, especially when we have to make late offers.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I heard that in astronomy most people do only one or two postdocs. If they haven't found a permanent position after this, they quit astronomy and find a job in a different field like physics, economics, or information technology. And the vast majority of people who get a PhD in astronomy will end up quitting astronomy because the astronomy is one of the hardest field to get into.
But suppose that your parents were rich and provided you with more than enough money to live for as long as you wanted, which means that you have no pressure to quit your postdocs to get a job in a different field than astronomy in order to earn more money.
Would it be possible to continue doing postdocs after postdocs for up to 15 years (so up to 6 postdocs) to increase your chance of getting a permanent position compared to those who only do one or two postdocs?
Or would doing more than 2 postdocs not increase your chance of getting a permanent position anymore? Maybe all employers reject people who do more than 2 postdocs because they all see them as failures, no-good, incompetent and unskillful?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm not in astronomy, but as far as I know, it's true across all of academia that your body of work is weighed against the amount of time you've had a PhD. If you don't get a permanent job after your second postdoc (say), you can't simply do more work at the same rate as before. The expectations will be higher, in terms of quantity and quality, if you apply for jobs again 2-3 years later.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The answer may, to an extent, depend on the country. I believe there was a short period of time where Germany limited the number of years that one could be a postdoc. Assuming that you can legally move into a tenure track/permanent position in the country of your choosing, then there are two types of long term post docs.
The first type is an individual who stays in the same "postdoc" position for a long period of time. These individuals can demostate that during the prolonged postdoc that they grew from a junior researcher into an independent researcher through sole author and/or senior author papers and being PI/CI on grants sufficent to cover their salary, the salary of their team, and research costs. These are the type of people who could at any point get a tenure track position someplace, but for whatever reason (e.g., family or an aversion to teaching) chose to work where they are.
The second type is the individual who bounces between 1-3 year postdocs (or potentialy stays in the same group for a long time) and never demonstrates independence. Their funding comes predominately through grants to their supervisor and they rarely are sole or senior author on papers. These people stand little chance of getting a TT/permanent position. Hiring committees are looking for someone who when the tenure clock runs out is going to be an established independent investigator. If you have not done it during a 15 year postdoctoral period, it is unlikely you will convince a hiring committee that you will during the pre-tenure period.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: This question to some extent revolves around a purely semantic issue, namely *what is a postdoc?* Many areas in academia have a small number of "[soft money](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/30621/what-is-a-soft-money-research-position)" research positions that a researcher can hold, sometimes for many years. When a researcher has an independent source of funds and doesn't need to be paid, I imagine that can only improve his/her ability to obtain such positions. The questions that need to be discussed in connection to your question are therefore:
(a) Do such positions qualify as "postdocs"?
(b) Is there a chance for a researcher holding such a position for up to 15 years to eventually transfer to a tenure track position?
I'm not in astronomy, but from a general STEM perspective I would argue that **the answer to (a) is *no***, and **the answer to (b) is *yes***.
Specifically, with regards to (a), the point is that "postdoc" is not a technical term (at least not one whose definition is universally agreed upon), but an informal label we apply to an interim position a researcher holds for a few years after finishing their PhD and before finding a permanent/tenure-track position. Talking about someone being a postdoc for 15 years is an oxymoron, as it stretches the term way past its conventionally understood meaning. Linguistically it would be like talking about a "50 year old child."
With regards to (b), I think it is indeed very possible for a researcher to transition to a faculty position from any other type of position, **provided they have been doing high quality work**. An extreme case (but not necessarily the only case) would be a researcher who makes a single very important scientific discovery that propels them to scientific stardom. I would imagine that it is absolutely possible for this to happen to a non-faculty researcher in astronomy. Whether it's *likely* to happen is a completely different story of course, but given that the premise of OP's question is that landing a faculty position in astronomy is already highly unlikely even in the normal way, I don't see why this approach is any *less* likely to work than the more conventional one.
To summarize, my (non-astronomy-specific, as I said) opinion is that although a soft money researcher may suffer from a certain minor stigma when it comes to applying for faculty positions, this by itself will almost certainly not be a deal-breaker, and when it comes to being evaluated for such positions, to a good degree of approximation **everything would depend on the work they have published**.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_1: There is no restriction per se1 and some professors are happy to have long-term postdocs, but such people rarely transition to better positions in the field.
Note hard statistics are going to be difficult to come by. I've been trying to get some sense of postdoc trajectories in astronomy for years, but everywhere I turn it's just self-reported numbers, selective memories, and cagey responses about how people who left the field ultimately wanted to do so. As a result, all I have are my own anecdotal observations from within the astronomy.
One sobering thought to keep in mind is that if you weren't "good enough" to get the permanent job of your dreams after 2 postdocs, there's no reason to think you'll be any better off after 5 postdocs. Remember, each year there is a new batch of PhD graduates entering the job market, with roughly the same distribution of hireability from year to year. Moreover, permanent positions are not rewards for a career well done; they are promises of stable employment in exchange for future research. After a 1st or 2nd postdoc, the potential employer is still making a guess about your future. After the 5th, if you haven't done professor-level work, you're statistically not likely to have a mid-career change of pace. Dwelling for a long time in postdoc limbo really amounts to hoping for statistical fluctuations to help you out one year in the job market.
A number of faculty (especially successful ones who attract good job applicants) do not even want to hire 3rd- or 4th- or 5th-time postdocs. Part of the value of postdocs, as far as the professors are concerned, is in raising successful academics. They want postdocs who will soon become faculty themselves, since then the community can say "yes, all those well-known researchers did indeed work under Prof. Bigshot." Thus your proposed plan might be more difficult to attempt than you thought.
Other professors, though, are all too happy to keep good researchers by their side. Getting someone with a decade of post-PhD experience for the price of a postdoc -- that's a great deal. They'll keep paying you as long as you keep working. At this point, though, it's not clear you don't have a permanent position of sorts. Often such people also obtain different titles, like "researcher" or "technical staff."
Furthermore, the career you have in mind -- many years of solid research under others' direction -- is not that different from astronomy positions outside universities proper. Various NASA centers, national labs, and large telescope facilities have permanent staff scientists working for them. If your goal is a position like this, there's no particular reason to idle around as a postdoc.
If your goal is a tenured faculty position, then yes it is somewhat difficult (but by no means impossible) to switch from a non-university staff scientist to tenure-track (or even tenure in rare cases). However I don't believe it is any more difficult to do this transition than to get such a job with 15 years of postdoc experience. Even if the research is the same, the latter comes off a bit unusual and leaves less room for asserting your scientific independence.
In summary, if you are considering this plan, perhaps you should look into astronomy careers outside universities instead.
---
1This is written from a US perspective, which has the largest fraction of astronomy jobs anyway. In the US, "postdoc" is in no way a regulated term. It's just the least-prestigious post-PhD position in the field, usually filled by wandering journeymen for 2-5 years at a time.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I don't know how it is in astronomy, but generally speaking, the trend of remaining a postdoc for a longer duration has set in, mostly because tenure track faculty positions across universities is reducing while increasingly huge numbers numbers of PhDs are being churned out each year. So researchers are moving from one postdoc position to another, hoping to land a faculty position sometime in the near future. Many move out of academia, but for the ones who love their research and are under no pressure to increase their income flow, this could be a good option.
Being a postdoc for a long duration means being more independent, having a longer list of publications, more sole author papers, more grant proposals: some of the things which hiring committees would look for.
On the other hand, (again, I'm not sure if this is the case in your field), this might give off the impression that you choose to be an eternal postdoc and are not ambitious or enterprising enough.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Some days ago I read this question:
[Feynman describing a scientific error](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/8961/feynman-and-scientific-method)
and I found it quite interesting. Although it seems naïve it could be a typical mistake made by a beginner researcher as me.
My question is that if anyone knows a book or tutorial that explains the typical mistakes or some advices when conducting research (theoretical or experimental). By the way, I am not asking for advices such as the ones described in
[Good research practices](https://cstheory.stackexchange.com/questions/2953/advice-on-good-research-practices)
even though they are also useful they are generic tips and do not describe the common errors done when doing research.
Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: I think that a good place to start would be [What Is This Thing Called Science?](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/What_Is_This_Thing_Called_Science%3F) by <NAME>.
This will give you an overview of the disputed concept of the scientific process. It will explain how researchers have continually evolved their views as to what is acceptable scientific practice, and as part of this, what general scientific practices seem most reasonable to adopt in different circumstances. It will also make you wary of assuming that there are always universally accepted, or applicable, rules for good science.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: <NAME>'s "The structure of scientific revolutions." A fantastic introduction about how advances in science are usually made.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a very dumb :-) question:
Are emoticons (if rarely placed - one or two times) in a PhD thesis considered unorthodox?
I have an introduction where I give an apt example and appended some small footnote where I make fun of the author (that's me) and I was so laughing when writing this I almost liked to put a smiley at the end of the footnote.
The reader of this question should note, that the thesis is already enough serious such that a smiley might be surely a relieve for the reader maybe :-)?
What is the general thought about this?
**Update:**
After all these enlightening, entertaining and thoroughly funny thoughts, I decided to go with a humorous footnote but of course without a smiley. :-P<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, they're considered unorthodox. As they would be in any piece of formal writing in or out of academia. In fact, you may already be on thin ice by "making fun of the author" in a footnote.
You want people to read your thesis and be impressed with the work you did. Your goal is not to make people think you, the author, are funny or cool (if jokes in your thesis would even accomplish that, which they wouldn't).
Edited to add: If you do use humor in academic writing, it's much better to make a relevant point in a funny way than to make humorous asides. The first rule of writing anything is to never waste the reader's time, so anything humorous in a document that is explicitly not meant to amuse people had better *also* accomplish something relevant to the actual purpose of that document.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: A few points:
1. There are ways to deal with it using just text. For instance, I would consider something like this in the acknowledgement acceptable:
>
> And thanks to my significant other, who has been my biggest supporter. And thanks for cooking me ramen every night (smile).
>
>
>
2. Yet, the above technique and the emoticon are very similar to those *Please Applaud* lights in live filming studios or those embedded laughing sound tracks in comedies—very forced on. Good writers can make readers laugh without resorting to using pictures or explicit hints on how readers should feel. That kind of masterful techniques are probably what we should learn, rather than slamming an emoticon there.
3. Making jokes on oneself is fine, but making jokes on another author in an archived document deserves more care. Show your joke or joke-like statement to a few people with different backgrounds (age, seniority in academia, sex, race/ethnicity, etc.) just to test the water. Sometimes jokes that we ourselves consider as funny can appear rude, tasteless or downright insulting. Be careful and if you’re not sure, take the joke part out. You’ll have plenty of writing occasions to demonstrate your talents.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Many writers make very effective use of humor in their writing, and this extends to technical and scientific writing as well. <NAME> is one author I can think of who does this extremely well, which is one of the many things that makes his books memorable and enjoyable to read. So I think there is definitely room for some small self-deprecating remarks in a PhD thesis, if this is done in good taste and in (great) moderation so that it doesn't distract from the main, serious (unless your thesis is about humor or comedy ;-)) content.
With that said, I am going to challenge you to make funny jokes in your thesis **without using emoticons**. If you think about it, the emoticons don't really add anything other than clarifying that you are making a joke, and in that sense they are a kind of humorous crutch. A truly good comic writer would never use one, since it simply won't be needed. So why don't you try to write humor like a pro and show that you take your jokes as seriously as the rest of your thesis? ;-)
(yes, I know I didn't follow my own advice, but I guess I like self-referential humor too much to be able to resist the temptation...)
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: I highly value humor and love to entertain whenever I can. In formal writing, I would encourage you to go ahead and write something that you think would be funny. Then reread it. Then reread it again. Read it aloud. Read it silently. Read it again tomorrow while you edit it. And read it again. And again. And again. Imagine reading it out loud to the people with the least sense of humor you know. Imagine reading it to a person with a furrowed brow, in a bad mood, who is trying to find anything they can to rip apart what you have laid down, to find a reason to cast it aside as useless junk.
Then read it 10 more times, as any good writer must inevitably do. Now imagine reading it again in 10 years (if you are lucky and what you've done turns out to be of use).
Personally, I have found that after the 20+ time I've read something, it isn't even funny to me anymore - and I think I'm hilarious! But even the best jokes I've ever told never landed 100% of time, or to 100% of the audience - and in formal writing I don't even know who the audience is - they might speak my language as a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) language.
Being stubborn, I like to write humor into anything I make. But after the 20th read through I realize it just isn't funny any more, even to me - and if that's how a reader would feel who doesn't get or appreciate the joke, it just isn't worth it any more to me to include it. I'm basically writing a technical instruction manual, and there's a reason those things aren't really funny - you are supposed to read them and refer back to them repeatedly, and jokes get old fast.
If I really like a joke, I'll save it for when I can make it in person, in a talk or in a presentation, when I can personally hear the laughs (or gauge the room and know to skip it entirely). Or I'll be funny on a website like this so I can wallow in a mass of glorious unicorn points.
But in formal writing like a thesis or important research paper? Well, you decide after you've read it for the 30th time if it is still worth inclusion, or if that emoticon makes you smile - or if you want to poke it in its tiny little semi-colon eye.
Upvotes: 9 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_1: I, like the others answering and commenting on this question, would avoid the use of emoticons in a serious piece of scholarship.
The only instance I can imagine the use being appropriate is if the paper's topic relates to emoticons in some way, e.g. if you were analysing sentiment in social media posts, in which case emoticons are useful.
For example, a sentence like this may be appropriate:
>
> Emoticons, such as :-) and :-( are important qualifiers in analysing social media posts
>
>
>
Whereas a sentence like this is inappropriate:
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> I had a blast working on this paper :-)
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>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Unless your dissertation is an examination of the use of emoticons in modern electronic communications, you should not use them at all.
The dissertation is not the place to be cute. . . it should be a serious piece of scholarship. The author's ability to conform to the established norms of scholarly writing is as important as the actual substance of the work.
Bottom line: Don't do it.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: There is a *far* better than 99% chance that nobody outside your committee will ever read your dissertation. It's probably 50-50 that even your advisers read the thing in its entirety at any point (This likely depends on your particular field, of course). So you could probably slip anything you like in there without serious repercussions.
That said, your dissertation is not the place to be cute. My personal rule would be:
You are the author. You are the single greatest authority in the entire world as to what belongs and what does not belong in your work. If you truly feel that what you are suggesting aligns with what you are attempting to accomplish with your work, than by all means include it. If you are not sure/confident that it belongs, it may be wiser to leave it out.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: (From a Comp Sci / Math perspective:)
Considering how it's unlikely you should even be refering to yourself in the first person in your dissertation at all, I don't see how you would get to a situation in which you would want/need to use an emoticon. Even an ellipsis (...) should not be used lightly, I would say.
Of course, my view does not apply:
* In the acknowledgements section, which might well be written in the first person (although I wouldn't use emoticons there either).
* In academic fields where research may be presented through a personal account, a narrative. I understand these exist (?) and those might have other rules than the one I'm used to.
As a one-liner: You're describing, not telling. No emoticons.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: For **objective** purposes, yes; for **subjective** purposes, no.
If your object of study involves it, then obviously it should be used but remains as your object. As an expression of your own subject-position, then no.
That's not because anyone will read the dissertation that carefully though if you go the academic route for tenure review they do look at it again quite often.
But above all, you should not do it for your own sake. After my thesis defense, the chair of the department told me something somewhat uncanny: "Congratulations. This is with you forever. You could ;leave your spouse and be single again but you are forever now a phd". That was admittedly strange but the point is that it is yours in the archives forever. Do you think you would like an emoticon years from now? Very hard to say.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: From a practical point of view is it worth the risk?
At my university there is a style manual to follow so that all theses are equally ugly regardless of department. You have to have the thesis printed on a nonstandard paper size on special weight paper at the campus print shop as if it were ready to be bound. A editor with no knowledge of the field reviews the thesis and accepts or rejects it based on the rules in the style manual. They are checking for spelling, grammar, margins, font, etc... Turnaround time is measured in weeks.
It doesn't really matter if your committee finds it hilarious. If the editor rejects it you may miss a deadline and delay your graduation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: Emoticons provide value. They convey emotion/intent when the text itself is ambiguous. For example, at the beginning of an e-mail:
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> Hey Joe,
>
>
>
and,
>
> Hey Joe :D
>
>
>
The first example is ambiguous (depending on the reader). It might imply urgency, displeasure, frustration, and of course just an informal 'hello'.
The latter, with the emoticon, rules out a lot of those negative connotations and solidifies it as a friendly greeting only.
Since the intent of all text falls somewhere on an ambiguity spectrum, some people like to over-do-it on the emoticons. Personally, in informal text like on IRC, i like to prefix all messages with an emoticon because I dont have the time nor inclination to think about how my text *could* be intepreted by the 1500+ participants. Bam, emoticon, my intentions are clear.
But let me be clear here - the text itself COULD have been less ambiguous from the start. The e-mail could have been written "Hello Joe", "<NAME>", and just "Joe." The emoticon is only useful because the text was written lazily or in haste.
This is why there is such a split in popular opinion about the use of emoticons. Old school scientists will see them as unnecessary and the mark of a lazy, informal, perhaps childish mind. Others will realise that emoticons aid communication and is likely to become the predominant form of written communication in the future - for better or worse.
Should you use emoticons in your thesis?
Science is generally behind-the-times with modern culture, and emoticons are no exception. While emoticons will probably be present in more and more academic papers going forward - particularly as accessibility to non-scientists becomes the norm - its up to you if you want to be the one "pushing new frontiers in scientific culture" - or as others will certainly see it - the canary in the coal mine marking the end of well-thought-out prose.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I once attended a scientific conference with a few hundred participants. There, the CEO of Frobcorp, Inc.1 gave a keynote speech on what their product is about and how they accomplish certain things.
There is one piece of information that was mentioned during the keynote which is quite important to me. I would like to include it in a paper that I'm writing. (Or in my thesis at a later stage.)
Now, this being a keynote, there were just a few slides with stock photos on them, so I don't have a physical reference to what was said there. I do however know that hundreds of others have heard the same piece of information (unless they were just checking e-mails during the talk).
How should I include this?
Does a sentence like the following make sense, or could it be dismissed for lacking a reference?
>
> As explained by the CEO of Frobcorp, Inc., during a keynote speech at the *...* conference, they do *...* to improve their Frobber™ product.
>
>
>
I of course understand that this may depend on whatever field of science this is going to be published in, what the conference or journal is, and what my supervisor thinks.
1 Yes, this is completely made-up.<issue_comment>username_1: I'd use the form for symposia, adjusted slightly to reflect that it's a keynote speech with only one speaker.
For the APA style, see the second block in [this blog entry](http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/08/how-to-cite-materials-from-meetings-and-symposia.html):
>
> **Symposia**
>
>
> A symposium is a bit like a live-action edited book: Several authors come together under the leadership of the chair to pool their knowledge about a topic.
>
>
> <NAME>., <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2012, August).
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> Are neuropsychiatric symptoms markers of prodromal Alzheimer’s
> disease in adults with
>
> Down syndrome?
> In <NAME> (Chair),
> *Predictors of mild cognitive impairment, dementia,
>
> and mortality in
> adults with Down syndrome.* Symposium conducted at the meeting
> of the
>
> American Psychological Association, Orlando, FL.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: For a potential reader there must be some way to go back and see an authentic source you are referring to. I find no meaning in referring to something that only exists in a few *minds*, possibly with different interpretations for the same thing. **Edit\*** As mentioned by @username_3 in the comments below, it is possible to cite *[interview](http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/cite-interview.aspx)* type communication as personal communication.
One way is to *create* a source, with due permission from the mentioned CEO and then cite it. If possible and everyone attended the meeting agrees; the minutes of the conference may be edited with an addendum stating why it is done so.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Personally, I would contact the company--possibly the CEO directly or more likely press/media relations--and ask about the statement. Is there a published paper about it? Has it been published in a company magazine or newsletter or on a website?
If you can get a written confirmation, even by email, you can then cite it as a personal communication.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: In the future, I will be on the market for a temporary academic position (postdoc or visitor) in the US, in math. Because of my lifestyle and financial situation, I do not need a large salary. Ballpark, let's say I would be willing to work an academic job for about half the typical salary.
Is there any way I can use this to my advantage? I mean: is it possible to use the fact that I am willing to work for cheap to get a job that is better (with respect to some criteria like quantity and caliber of research at the university, strength of students at the university, desirability of teaching duties,...) than I would have been able to get otherwise?<issue_comment>username_1: There is some possibility of this, but it would work only in certain restricted ways and in certain limited contexts. I don't know of any reputable college or university that, when considering applicants for a position that already exists, consider an applicant's willingness to accept less than the standard salary as a point in their favor. If you think this through, probably you can see why it makes everyone look bad.
You might have some luck getting an academic institution to **make** a position with an unusual combination of duties and salary that is tailored to you. Here are some possibilities:
1. At some institutions, faculty couples "share" positions in some fractional way: e.g. the couple together has 1.5 positions and each does 75% of the work of a full-time faculty member. If someone had come to me with this as a new idea I would have rejected it as ridiculous, but nevertheless it actually exists in the real world. I know several examples.
2. Similarly, you may be able to arrange a single position which is "part time" in some specified way: so maybe it is a visiting teaching position with half the normal teaching load and half the normal salary. In the very short term, such positions are common. It is not directly in the spirit of what you are asking about, but the effect could be similar.
3. Finally, if salary is really no object, it is much easier to get a **visiting scholar** position which pays no salary whatsoever. I did this myself once: the summer after getting my PhD (at Harvard), I moved back to my hometown (Philadelphia) and got an apartment in University (of Pennsylvania) City. I noticed that there was a wonderful library and gym a few blocks away from me, and I presented myself "cold" in the UPenn math department with a copy of my CV and my PhD. I walked out as a Visiting Scholar. (Nowadays I think that what I did was a little weird: why not first contact some specific faculty member in the department? Maybe I didn't know who to contact, or maybe I was curious to see if walking in cold and presenting Ivy League credentials would actually work. It did! This "position" still appears on my CV.)
If what you are interested is not covered by the above, then I would say: in general this will be hard to swing, but if you have a more specific arrangement in mind you can ask about that (e.g. here) and maybe it can be worked out.
Let me end by saying something that I suspect you already know: if you aspire to have anything like a conventional academic career in the future, advertising yourself broadly as someone who is willing to work at a discounted rate is a pretty bad idea. If you do seek to pursue this idea of yours, I would do so with much discretion.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I am not involved in Academia, but I think that advertising yourself as cheap is not in your advantage. This is a sign for any employer that you don't value your skills. This raises more red flags, maybe you're evaluating yourself accurately but you're pretty unskilled.
Also, you're missing an opportunity to earn more money. You are losing money, not only now, but also in the future, because if this temporary position turns in a permanent position, it will be a lot harder to catch up and get a normal salary.
I'd use a salary range and if you really want to sell yourself as cheap, I'd use 60%-90% range(YMMV). This way you're still cheap, but you have less chances to raise questions about your skills.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: My friend, please don't shortchange yourself. Having a modest lifestyle does not mean that you should not consider, say, buying an apartment or building a house of your own someday. And to do that you would need to save.
Also, even if you're not concerned with your own expenses and savings, remember that most of the rest of us - academics without a tenure-track position - are struggling to make ends meet with our salaries. We need to support ourselves, and often our family as well. For someone to be willing to work for less, to "undercut us" so to speak - would mean to apply a downward pressure on wages and working conditions as a whole. Now, obviously, an individual's effect on the entire system is small, but this stuff can add up; and the influence on your immediate colleagues, at the university where you will end up working, would be much greater: You would have an effect on the attitude and expectations of your department or university regarding what it offers non-tenured academics.
So, I urge you not work for cheap. If you really feel you don't need that money - consider donating it to a [worthy cause](http://donate.unhcr.org/international/syria) (or whatever you believe is a worthy cause; it might even be donating to some scholarship fund at your alma mater).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Whilst not applicable to your case (as you're only concerned with US universities) I thought I'd add this for colour.
I've worked for 3 UK universities (currently still a visiting lecturer at one of them), and the payroll has always been done using "salary spines"; all staff of a certain level are on a "spine" - they aren't free to negotiate their own salary, so there's no pay rises unless the whole spine level goes up within the school in question, and as such there's always an explicit set salary for whatever position you apply for, with no room for manoeuvre.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: If you decide to take a job for less-than-average salary, at least make sure that it is clearly labelled as part-time. If you ever decide to leave Academia and take a job in a field where salaries are negotiated (e.g. engineering), expect that your new employer will try to find out your previous salary and base his offer on that. In that case, it will be hard for you to negotiate, unless you can explain why you used to earn so little.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Even if you can get a job at this lower salary, you should also wonder whether you want to. Ultimately, when you are in academia, you are likely looking for intellectual challenges, and you are likely looking to work with the people at the top of your field - the kind of people who have their pick of positions.
When you offer yourself as the lowest bidder and get a job that way, even if you are personally happy with your salary, your co-workers likely aren't. And the only reason they are working their is that they wouldn't get hired in the better positions.
As a side note - you don't explicitly say it, but it sounds like you would be coming to the USA as a foreign visitor. Some of the other suggestions involved part-time positions. When you are foreign, the terms of your visa may not allow that. Even if the terms of your visa do allow it, it may later become difficult to switch to full time if you change your mind.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I think the closest situation to your question revolves around your intended job. Instead of applying for a professor position and stating you can work for half the salary, you can apply to a lecturer position, which may very well be half (or less) of the salary. The actual salary of this position will already state your willingness to work for it (since you applied). It could very well lead to an interview where they question your motives as you may be 'over qualified', which could lead to a suggested change of title.
I have known this situation to happen more than once, albeit from a different perspective, where someone applying for a position was borderline of higher qualifications, so negotiations reached a similar salary as the lower position, but higher status.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> ...is it possible to use the fact that I am willing to work for cheap to
> get a job that is better...?
>
>
>
With all due respect, if you were able to do the job better than the university's current faculty members, they would hire you paying full salary.
The reason why most universities set high salaries is precisely to keep the quality of research and education high.
If you really believe you are competitive, then you should signal it to your potential employer. The best way would be with publications. You can also visit the university as a visiting researcher to demonstrate your competence. In any case, dumping the salary is not a good strategy. If salary is indeed irrelevant for you, you can communicate this to your potential employer by stating that you are very passionate about your research/job and you don't care about the salary. There is a whole science behind setting salaries in organizations. Unless this is your field of research, let the university set the salary for you. It is likely to be the same as your colleagues'. Benefits are usually negotiable though.
If you are not that good and don't have enough on your CV to impress your potential employer in the US, go to another country that has lower standards for academia and allows lower salaries.
**Edit:** Every country I've been to had fixed salaries for employees, at least within one institution. So it really comes down to what country you choose to go to and how highly ranked the university is in that country. But it is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be allowed to work for lower salary doing the same amount of work as others.
If you are not convinced, here is a paper by [Akerlof and Yellen (1990)](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=fair+wage+hypothesis) discussing why lower wages for the same amount and quality of work are harmful for organizations. Akerlof is a Nobel laureate and Yellen is the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: Ignoring any philosophical debates about whether it is good to work for less: what you are trying to do will be challenging simply because of the way that ordinary academic hiring is done in the U.S. The typical academic "job search" process in the U.S. has at least two "phases". In the earlier of these, a committee of mostly faculty evaluates applications and performs interviews. If this phase is successful, the committee sends a final list of successful candidates to the administration, which makes the job offer and handles the actual negotiations for the job in the later phase. I am leaving out many details here to emphasize that the people who do the interviews are different from the people who negotiate the salary.
Because of this, it is unusual in my experience for the people in the first group to worry about salary at all. For the plan in the question to work, this group would have to look at your application, go to the administration, ask them about it, see whether the administration was willing to go through with the plan, etc. - which would require a lot of effort on their part for just one application. So I don't think you will increase your odds of getting through the normal process by mentioning that you will work for less. The job search process is not designed to handle such requests.
If you really are willing to work for less, and just want to be at a better school, I think you'd have higher odds if you try to bypass that search process entirely. One possibility, if you do not need health insurance, is to contact several departments directly, and see whether they are planning to hire any part-time lecturers or adjuncts, and whether they are interested in having you.
At some schools, these hires are made directly by the departmental administration, without the same formal "search" process. It is perfectly conceivable that a department chair might be able to find a calculus class or two for you to teach, or something like that. I do not think you would get to half a regular salary in this way, and you would probably not have benefits (retirement, health insurance, etc.). But you would likely be able to get some kind of office (maybe shared) and library access.
I am not sure, however, that this kind of plan will really get you what you are looking for, such as desirability of teaching duties. At best, it might give you more *time* to work on your own projects, or allow you to be in a location you would prefer.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: If you want higher caliber work I recommend asking for more, not less money. The reason is they are looking for a high caliber employee, and high caliber employees tend to ask for high caliber pay. If you ask for less they may not think you are a serious candidate.
Also, don't offer an amount unless asked for salary requirements. Sometimes an application will ask for salary requirements, but typically salary and benefits discussions take place after the interview process when the hiring manager knows you are the one they want.
Upvotes: -1
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