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2016/11/24
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently, I received to review two manuscripts dealing with similar topics. According to the JCR quality measures, the first one was from top tier journal and the second one from the last quartile (Q4). Do I have to take into account the quality of the journal when reviewing the articles?<issue_comment>username_1: I suspect you'll get a variety of answers to this, ranging from idealistic to pragmatic. My own take leans more towards the idealistic end of things. A few thoughts:
* An article exists as an entity in its own right, and has a particular level of quality. (There may be some correlation between the quality of the article and the quality of the journal to which it gets submitted, but that just gives you a somewhat unreliable prior for the article's quality, it doesn't change the quality per se.)
* As a community, we have a vested interest in seeing correct articles of sufficient significance accepted, and incorrect/insignificant articles sent back for revision until they meet the appropriate threshold (or rejected, but only if the authors absolutely refuse to play ball).
* Inevitably, since there is a limit to the number of articles that journals (and conferences) can take per unit time, there will be a need to prioritise the publication of some correct, significant articles over others; indeed, some such articles are more important/better than others. However, this prioritisation process should be handled by the associate editor (or area chair, for conferences), based on the recommendations received from the reviewers. The reviewers are there to provide a venue-independent assessment of the quality of the manuscript, not to usurp the role of the associate editor/area chair. This is partly because they often won't know the constraints of the journal/conference as well as those individuals.
* There is a reasonable argument that on top of this, some mechanism should be put in place to make sure that articles that meet the threshold get published somehow, even if there isn't space for them in the venue because they are beaten to the punch by better articles. For example, the authors could be given the option of automatically resubmitting to another venue, forwarding the positive reviews from the first venue and perhaps avoiding the need for another review round. The community as a whole isn't served well if we outright reject articles that are good enough simply due to lack of space.
In addition to the above thoughts, one thing I would add is that I do tend to take the journal's author guidelines into account when reviewing papers - primarily because that allows me to make comments to the associate editor that are tailored to what the journal declares itself to be looking for (e.g. if it says that an extension paper must not include large chunks that have been copied verbatim from the conference version, then I might quote that in my review). However, I try to draw a distinction when reviewing papers between comments on the quality of a paper and comments on the extent to which it complies with such guidelines (e.g. "it's a well-written paper: just like the conference version from which the authors appear to have copied large chunks of text, in contravention of the journal guidelines").
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: When an article is technically wrong, describes things that have been done dozens of times elsewhere or is just awfully written, then I recommend rejection, no matter the journal. After that, journal guidelines (not the perceived or actual journal "quality") come into play:
* Match with the journal's scope
* Journal requirements on novelty of ideas (several journals are ok with articles that fill some gap in an otherwise well-understood field, but some very high-profile journals would like to see papers with significant novelty)
* Methodological requirements (e.g. some journals require that simulation results are validated against analytic results or measurement results)
So, there is some baseline, but afterwards it depends on the journal scope.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Although this may not be the answer you are looking for, it is important to realise that the editor finally decides whether to publish the article or not.
Although as a reviewer you are probably required to tick a box to reccommend an action [accept/revise/reject], you usually can discuss the quality, novelty, and other positive or negative aspects of the paper openly in your letter to the editor and leave it to him/her to decide whether the paper is suitable or not.
My advise (for what it's worth): In case of doubt, tick revise and discuss your reason for doing so in the letter to the editor.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/11/24
| 347
| 1,214
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<issue_start>username_0: I was given feedback by a reviewer that the article I had submitted shouldn't contain *we*-type sentences, as they made the article sound less scholarly (yes; I know; it’s a peculiarity of my field).
I want your advice on how to rewrite the following phrases to be more “scholarly” sounding:
1. >
> From Table 1 we can infer that …
>
>
>
2. >
> In Table 1 we can see that …
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: A few examples:
1. "From Table 1, it can be inferred that"; "From Table 1, one can infer that"; "As can be inferred from Table 1".
2. "In Table 1, rows X and Y show that"; "In Table 1, it can be observed that".
Do they better convey the meaning with respect to your choices? Not in the slightest. But maybe they will make the reviewer happier.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I had the same struggles. The general solution would be to start using the **passive**.
1. It can be inferred ...
2. It is Apparent from Fig/Table ...
3. The results depicted in X would be always true ...
I actually dislike this style (since it is more boring; even though it is assumed the correct style to write academic reports, paper, thesis, dissertations etc. in Germany)
Upvotes: 3
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2016/11/24
| 1,185
| 4,939
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<issue_start>username_0: What are some reasons that lead to a university course being no longer offered?
I am thinking in particular about the course "Computational sustainability" or CPSC 530M offered in University of British Columbia.
I am guessing the following could be the reasons, but I'm not sure:
* Not enough students are interested in the course
* The course spends too much money and earns too little
* The subject matter is obsolete (e.g. Eugenics theory)<issue_comment>username_1: The answers vary. Sometimes there's not demand, not enough registered people for the course, or no professor that can teach it. Courses may stay in the books (the catalog) but don't get offered. Perfect example, my department offers courses in applied probability and stochastic differential equations in the catalog, but it doesn't get taught.
As for your particular course, I'm not sure.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Some reasons we've eliminated courses in my department:
* The professor who created the course is no longer at the college or is no longer interested in the material.
* College-wide requirements have changed, and the course was created to meet a requirement (such as for interdisciplinary work).
* As new courses are added, other courses have to be removed, unless the size of the faculty grows.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: In one of the University's that I attended, the Geological Engineering courses were scrapped (and consequently, the entire degree), despite their uniqueness. Having said that, the reasons were valid, which included:
* Drop in enrolments/interest - it already had a smallish enrolment base.
* The expertise the professors had was quite unique for the courses offered, when one left for a more lucrative job and another passed away, they could not be replaced.
* The job market - at the time, there was a drop in employment opportunities coming from this course.
* Reputation - this is an interesting one, the course had many field trips, but the behaviour of many of the students were becoming less tolerated.
All these combined to inspire the powers that be to cancel the courses, and thus the degree in its entirety.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Just to add one more possible reason:
At our department when one professor takes a Sabbatical his courses are usually not offered by the remaining professors.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: They also can vanish because of restructuring, either of its content, or because of the greater degree changes.
This happened a huge amount over my undergraduate degree,
as my university did a near complete overhaul, changing many 4 year bachelors degree's into 3 year bachelors + 2 year masters, and adding significant extra cross disciplinary requirements.
2 units may have there content reorganized into 1, or 3 units into 2 etc.
or unit might be appear to be cancelled, but is actually being deffered as it's position in the course structure has changed.
For example, something might vanish for a few years, if it was originally a 2nd or 3rd year undergrad elective, but became a 5th year post-grad elective.
Which may result from its pre-requisites moving around.
In one of the cases where this happened to me, even the faculty concerned thought the unit was being cancelled for good -- possibly because of the huge mess communicating is, or possibly because it was infact cancelled, only to be brought back as a separate decision, after seeing how it would fit into the new structure.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: It really depends on the country. In Brazil, where everything comes down to bureaucracy and authority, a professor is hired through a nation-wide exam/contest that has three or four phases and takes several days, to be responsible for a single course. Of course he/she will teach other courses, but that mandatory course is really the reason of his/her existence as faculty member. **All other courses come and go**, but those that are mandatory for all students to graduate and tied to that professor's career will always stay -- unless the faculty comes together and decide not to. If that happens, it usually means a bad thing for the professor who was in charge of the course: what would you do if the reason for your existence as a faculty member just vanished?
Optional courses depend on the goodwill of the department's director or of the faculty. That means if a professor wants to teach a course within the same department (say, Physics) which is not that course she was hired for (say, Quantum Physics), she has to ask for *permission* either from the head of the department or her other colleagues. On the other hand, if the department *needs* her to teach a course she wasn't hired for and maybe isn't comfortable teaching (say, Fluid Mechanics), it means she will teach it anyway.
Well, to sum it up: a course disappears because (most of) the faculty want it to.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/11/25
| 589
| 2,491
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<issue_start>username_0: Let say you a professor and there are lots of students, say 100 in your course. After the exam, a student whose final mark is, say 85/100, sends you an email to ask you for a recommendation letter. Assuming that you don't know him, or just remember that he went to your lecture some times (of course you can check his mark). Will you write a recommendation letter for him?<issue_comment>username_1: As ff524 said, if the professor has only the grade to go on, there is little to write an recommendation letter about. The only situation I an think of where this would be very relevant is:
1. if the course is an essential test for further studies. Doing an American undergraduate with a mathematics major might only have a few courses that are really challenging your abstract thinking skills. Doing well in those courses might be a good predictor of doing well in further studies.
2. there were other students that got similar scores in that course and went on to do well in further studies. Best case scenario: last year the same university accepted a student who got an 80-84 in this course.
So both the course needs to be very relevant for the further studies you are considering and the grade itself should be high enough as to clearly predict success in those further studies. If either is not the case (the course is one of many, or your grade is just not exceptional), the professor simply can't write a good recommendation letter, regardless of how willing (s)he would be.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I can identify three scenarios.
The first is that the student's 85 is in the "middle" of the class, and there was nothing else memorable about the student's performance. There is no reason for the professor to "know" this student or write a recommendation.
The second is that the student got a 95 (or better) and was the top student in the class. Here, the professor is likely to know him or her, and could write a good recommendation. (I once got a 98 in a class, knew things that others didn't know, and was pleased to have the professor remember me 25 years later.)
The third situation is where the student got an 85, an "average" grade, with extenuating circumstances such as impaired vision or some other physical handicap, or temporary but severe psychological problems. Here, the professor is in a position to vouch for "extenuating circumstances" and the fact that the student is probably better than the 85 grade implies.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/11/25
| 529
| 2,276
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<issue_start>username_0: I am working in an experimental-physics group. They are going to publish a paper soon. So far, I see five authors on first draft (PhD student, postdoc, collaborator, collaborator, PI).
I am not sure whether I should ask my PI to consider putting my name on the paper or not. I was working on the project for only a month and then the PI gave me another project right after I finished it. I was not involved in any analysis of the paper, but I was working on finding a good parameter for the experiment.
Initially, when I was working on the project, I thought I would be one the authors, however, one year and half later, the first and second author of this project did too much work, so it seems like that I did nothing on this experiment compared to them.
Is it worth it to ask my PI to consider me in the paper?<issue_comment>username_1: Don't ask. If they think, your name will be mentioned in acknowledgement section. They must have thought about it. But, your work might not be substantial to incorporate you as an author.
Unnecessarily, if you ask, your own image in view of your professor would go slightly down.
However, you may politely ask about progress of that work like: *sir, how is that work-x is going?*
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Whether or not you should be an author on the paper is not about whether you did *something*, but whether you *contributed intellectually*. For example, a lab technician who washed the petri dishes and while everyone was working on the experiment in the background turned the dial of the radio to the station that everyone wanted to listened to (i.e., determined one parameter that was crucial to the experiment), did contribute to the experiment. But it was not an intellectual contribution, and so authorship is probably not warranted.
Without more details in your question, it is hard to tell whether you should or should not be an author on the paper. But, this is worth a conversation with your adviser. It's likely going to be a slightly awkward conversation, but it is one in which you can talk about the norms in your field, what qualifies as an "intellectual contribution" and why or why not everyone on the paper should or should not be an author.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2016/11/25
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| 769
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<issue_start>username_0: My thesis was submitted, but not published by the library or online yet.
I would like to put its title on my CV. Is this OK? Or is it kind of risky?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, just ask your supervisor. The risk is to your university if it turns out totally bogus.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: There is no obvious reason why including the title of your thesis in your CV might be risky. Just make sure that all information is presented accurately. If your thesis has been submitted, but not accepted, then say "(submitted)".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: You wrote the paper, and know the material, so yes, you can cite your paper. Just make sure that its (submitted/unpublished) status is disclosed correctly.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/11/25
| 682
| 2,845
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<issue_start>username_0: My question may be a duplicate of: [Sound reasons for excluding a reviewer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/27160/sound-reasons-for-excluding-a-reviewer), but it is motivated by [What do you do when you are asked to perform an official review for a journal of a manuscript written by your supervisor?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/80287/what-do-you-do-when-you-are-asked-to-perform-an-official-review-for-a-journal-of). Because there is an obvious conflict of interest between a supervisor and supervisee [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/80290/929) claims the manuscript never should have been sent to the current student. The issue I see is how is the editor supposed to know if the potential reviewer has a conflict if they are not listed as a reviewer to exclude.
I essentially never list anyone in the excluded reviewer box. I would likely alert the editor if I was asked to review a manuscript from current and past collaborators, supervisors and advisees as well as colleagues in my current and past departments. This becomes a long list of people to include in the excluded reviewer box and it is not clear to me that it is helpful to the editor. Are there standard people that go in the excluded reviewer box?<issue_comment>username_1: You don't have to do the job of the editor and list every possible collaborator with whom you'd have a conflict of interest. If these people are asked to do the review, they should be the one to warn the editor. You can list people that you think wouldn't be obvious, but again you are under no obligation to do this.
As the first question you link to alludes, excluding reviewers is mostly because you think they'd be unfairly biased against your work.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I always understood that you propose the reviewers according to the instructions and when there is no conflict of interest, e.g. avoiding friends, current or very recent collaborators, your supervisor, etc. You propose who you think would be a good reviewer and unbiased towards your work, like a researcher more or less well-known in his field.
Then you propose to exclude reviewers that you think would be exceptionally biased against you, e.g. people you are in bad terms with, competitors etc.
I believe it is the job of the editor to make sure that there is no conflict with the reviewers proposed (or the reviewers he can find in his list from the journal) and of the reviewer to notify the editor that there is a conflict of interest and thus he/she is unable to do the review.
Meaning that the exclude list is not (to my understanding) a list of potential reviewers that they might be positively biased towards you, but a list of potential reviewers who (you think) would be biased against you.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/11/25
| 766
| 3,281
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<issue_start>username_0: It's generally forbidden to submit the same paper at two different venues at the same time. In addition, many computer science conferences have two different submission deadlines: a deadline for the submission of abstracts, followed by another deadline (1-2 weeks later) for the submission of full papers. A complete submission consists of an abstract and the accompanying paper.
Let's say we have a situation that involves two conferences, A and B:
* Conference A had its abstract and paper submission deadlines some time in
October. A's website says that acceptance notifications will be sent
to the authors on December 7.
* Conference B has its abstract submission deadline on
December 1 and its paper submission deadline on December 8.
Is it OK to submit a paper to A and an abstract to B simultaneously, cancelling the submission to B in case the paper is accepted at A?
(It surely seems advisable to ask the conference chair of B, but since I know the chair of B personally, I don't feel comfortable asking, since this might come off as a request for favouritism.)<issue_comment>username_1: To answer this question, let's recall **why** many journals and conferences do not allow multiple submissions. So,
>
> Is it OK to submit a paper to A and an abstract to B simultaneously, cancelling the submission to B in case the paper is accepted at A?
>
>
>
* Multiple submissions are beneficial for authors, since they generally increase the chances for a paper/talk to be accepted and/or reduce the time until acceptance.
* However, this strategy is not beneficial for journals/conferences, since each venue will spend time and resources on processing the submission (register and peer-review it), and only one journal/conference will eventually publish it. The efforts spent by reviewers of another journal/conference will be wasted.
* This strategy is also damaging for the community of researchers. Firstly, peer-reviewers and editors are also academics, and they do not have much time to spare, so it is best not to waste it with pointless review process. Secondly, and more importantly, readers generally benefit from well-written and well-edited papers, and this relies on careful and time-demanding peer-review process. Faster acceptance may indicate better organised peer-review process, but it can also mean that the process is superficial (like it is in predator journals and such). By preferring a faster route, one can waste time of highly professional reviewers and also rob himself of a chance to get their valuable advice and improve their paper/talk accordingly.
So the answer is no - it is **not OK**.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are particular conferences where the "no simultaneous submission" rule is refined so that it explicitely does not apply to abstracts. For instance, the [European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software (ETAPS)](http://www.etaps.org/2017/call-for-papers) have the following policy:
>
> Submitted papers must be in English presenting original research. They must be unpublished and not submitted for publication elsewhere (this does not apply to abstracts).
>
>
>
Unfortunately, for the conference B that motivated this question, this is not the case.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/11/26
| 872
| 3,666
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<issue_start>username_0: I need to write to several academics with a very similar request. Would it be disrespectful if I just copy-paste most of the body of the email, and change just the person-specific details?
On one hand, nobody likes mass-produced emails. It could be irritating for them and embarassing for me if one of them forwards the email to another, and the similarities become clear. On the other hand, what I need to say in each case is very similar, so once I write one "optimal" version of the message, it's hard to see how and why to produce another version.
For context: I have been working at a problem which is somewhat outside of expertise of me and of my supervisor (I'm a PhD student). I think I have a solution, but I am not sure how original it is and how interesting it is. It could well be that it's been known for decades, but I can't find it because of differences in terminology. Hence, I would like to write to some people who have more expertise in the field. The email explains roughly what the problem is, how I came to consider it in the first place, how the solution works, and what what specific pieces of the work of people I write to make me think they might be interested in problems like that (this is the person-specific part). If relevant, the field is pure mathematics<issue_comment>username_1: The person-specific part is crucial to how your e-mail will be perceived. I think there are two important thoughts here. First, put the person-specific part to the beginning of the e-mail, so the person will feel addressed personally. Second, make sure that your description of the person's work is specific enough to signal a non-superficial understanding of their work.
Since some people are scared by long e-mails, it might make sense to defer the discussion of details to a second e-mail, in case they reply to the first one with interest (or at least send them in an attached PDF file).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: It is not disrespectuful *per se* to send bulk e-mails. Academics get them all the time: conference announcements, field-specific mailing lists, automated e-mails from submission systems. If it is appropriate for what you have to do, there's nothing wrong with it.
However, I consider disrespectful the way you want to use them. If you just want to know if something is already well-known in the field, start by contacting **one** researcher. Writing to 100 of them means unnecessarily wasting their time.
Also, it seems like you want to put the introduction of your paper in an e-mail. Don't do that. Keep it short. Your paper should already contain an introduction with motivation and previous research (to the best of your knowledge).
Similarly, for the same reason of not wasting people's time, you want to make sure that your paper is readable to people working in that research area. Make sure that you know the basics of the field and use accepted notation. If your paper looks like it's written by a crank, most recipients will file it directly into the recycle bin.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: There are two situations. One of them is a brief, "announcement" email. Something like, my PhD defense will be on such and such a date, at such and such a place. That is fine for mass, "similar" emails.
That is not your case. Here, you are writing a fairly detailed email (about your problem) that requires a detailed response. As another poster wrote, in such a situation, you should be sending out such emails one or two at a time, not 100 at a time. Then it follows that your solicitation emails should also be more personalized/individualized.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/11/26
| 3,492
| 14,447
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<issue_start>username_0: Can someone give me a legitimate, convincing argument as to why scientific papers should be locked behind subscriptions and paywalls? That unless you happen to be on a campus, you can't get view a manuscript without paying an often extortionate amount?<issue_comment>username_1: What @scaaahu said is essentially true unless a journal were to be set up with such a low budget that all of the publications would have to be like [arXiv](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArXiv). Suppose you want your repository of scientific papers to have *some* authoritative gatekeeper to put a limit on crackpot and commercial dreck.
The way it is, is that most journals have unpaid academic associates that review the submissions, but there need to be an editor and staff to receive submissions and dispatch them to reviewers and make decisions about whether and where to publish each submission.
Each of our disciplines has professional societies that are recognized as authoritative and have a journal telling each other and the world what the state of their art currently is. I know my society (the Audio Engineering Society) is just now beginning to do some manner of fair use thing for **convention** preprints that are not yet Journal papers (and may never be deemed worthy of the Journal). And the Journal papers can be accessed by any of us with membership, but someone on the outside would have to pay something like $20 to get it. (don't like that? become a member.) But for convention papers that are not published (and are preliminary for the authors) they need the ability to disseminate their work, if it is not disseminated in the Journal, without running afoul of copyright law. So fair use is granted.
Usually, if you can contact an author, they are happy to send you a .pdf copy of their papers, whether or not any Journal claims to hold exclusive rights to the submitted and accepted paper.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Once upon a time, before the internet existed, the only way to distribute scientific content to a worldwide audience was through print. There are obvious costs related to printed publications such as paper, ink, printing, distribution, etc. Commercial publishing houses were established, which took care of this task, as well as the editing, the type-setting, organizing the review process (mind that the reviewers are typically not paid, but they still have to be found, contacted, etc, and all of that also costs money in a pre-internet era).
Many of these commercial scientific journals gained a certain reputation over time, and it became attractive for scientists to try to publish in the highest valued journals. For the publishers it was (and is) attractive to maintain the journal's reputation (e.g. expressed in its impact factor, etc), in order to attract an abundance of high quality manuscripts, select the best ones, and keep a large audience.
This was (and to a large extent still is) the status quo when the internet arose. This is also basically the answer to your question.
Now with the internet, it is perfectly possible to reach a large worldwide audience without the costs of printed journals (e.g. ArXiv). Also, peer review could be organized in an alternative manner. However, the commercial publishers have a lot of interest in keeping the old business model alive, as it is the source of their revenue.
So why are things largely as they were 50 years ago? There are a couple of reasons for this. For one, there is the absence of a platform that fully replaces the ring of scientific journals, including a reliable peer review process (or accepted alternative). Furthermore, people tend to do what they are used to doing in the past, and senior researchers (the ones who take the decisions) are used to publish in the traditional venues, and teach the juniors to do the same. Lastly, many researchers are (at least partially) evaluated with respect to the reputation of the venues they publish in, which keeps the old and established journals alive.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Publishing is a service that comes with a cost. That was true before the internet, and it is still true today. You can fund this service in many different ways, one being to charge readers with either a subscription or a single article charge. Contrary to what is often said (on the internet), publishers only charge for the publishing process, not for the work that resulted in the content (research, writing, reviewing, etc.). Nothing prevents the authors from giving you the content for free if you ask politely.
This has the advantage of taking the burden of finding funds, and taking care of the practicalities of publishing away from researchers. In that way, they can use their time and resources for actual research.
Subscription also has the interesting effect of placing the monetary incentive on pleasing *readers* (the customers), thus encouraging quality and relevance curation. As opposed to, say, author-pay open access where authors are the ones whose needs are being catered for. The scientific community as a whole benefits much more from journals where the redundant or bad content is being rejected. Authors, on the other hand, just want their stuff published.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The answer by username_2 already says a lot and mine will have some intersection with his or hers, but there is at least one forgotten crucial element. For simplicity I will consider mainly the classical, still dominant mode of publication, by subscription.
---
**[Added in edit]** Short summary:
1. publishers charge for access because that is how they make money,
2. they are able to do that because authors sign copyright agreement giving them exclusive rights to do so, see e.g. username_2' answer which explains why authors need to publish in specific journals,
3. these specific, prestigious journals won't leave publishers asking such fees because of inertia, which is in great part explained by the fact that publishers own the titles.
---
From the print era to the Internet era, scientific publishers shifted from a business whose main job was to distribute scientific works (which entailed composing, printing, shipping) to businesses whose main job is to prevent those who do not subscribe to read the articles they processed. When I say "main job", I don't say "only job", and I don't necessarily say its what they spend the most time at. I mean that it is the central part of their business model, in the sense that every other part could be made more or less poorly, but that part must be done right if they want to obtain any money.
Certainly, a job done warrants a payment, and publisher do many jobs we need (and many we don't, but that is not the point here). But as has been mentioned, payment could be organized differently, directly by the government for examples. After all, We need road builders to be paid, and yet we don't put tolls on every road, do we?
So, needing of payment cannot be the one answer to the question. Inertia, as mentioned by username_2, is a large component of the answer. But one element that explains the level of this inertia is the following:
**Most publishers own the copyright on the articles they processed, and possess the titles of the journals they run.**
The first item means that a given article cannot be distributed by anyone else without explicit agreement from the publisher, and the second item means that even the editorial board of a journal cannot decide to move the journal to another publisher for any reason.
The few defections that occurred implied founding a new journal and hoping to make clear that the editorial board carried his editorial policy and prestige to the new journal. A recent example is given by [Glossa](http://www.glossa-journal.org/), which was founded by the former editorial board of Lingua after they resigned (see e.g. [here](http://kaivonfintel.org/2015/11/02/lingua-glossa/) and [there](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/11/02/editors-and-editorial-board-quit-top-linguistics-journal-protest-subscription-fees)), after Elsevier refused to run Lingua according to the principles of "fair OA".
There are (and have been) many attempts at moving things toward open access, in various guises and business models, and the story is not over. But inertia is tremendous.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> Can someone give me a legitimate, convincing argument as to why scientific papers should be locked behind subscriptions and paywalls?
>
>
>
See [Why do tenured professors still publish in pay-walled venues?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/51730/452) (short summary: pay-walled venues tend to have more prestige, and many professors favor prestige over open access.)
Also related: [If an author does not intend to make much revenue from a book, why not make it open-access?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/63951/452)
Notice the amount of snarky comments these two questions have received, which tend to indicate how interested academics are in this topic.
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> That unless you happen to be on a campus, you can't get view a manuscript without paying an often extortionate amount?
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I work in a university that [pays millions of dollars every year for journal subscriptions](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/29923/452), and yet I do not have access to many pay-walled research papers, which prevents me from doing research efficiently.
Some statistics: [Percentage of total scholarly literature available in open access repositories by year of publication broken down by discipline](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/75685/452)
Other related question:
* [Why don't major research institutions systematically publish their subscription fees to scientific journals?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/80339/452)
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> (Comment from <NAME>): This doesn't answer the question. Why do journals charge for access?
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@DavidRicherby It does answer the question: I focused on researchers, not journals. If many researchers are okay to submit to journals that charge for access, then such journals would be crazy not to charge for access, regardless of their budget. If you want to focus on the rational behind journal subscription prices, it has already been asked: [Why are journal subscriptions so expensive?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/31605/452)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Additional info about the quality criterion for selecting a journal to publish in:
The universe of open journals is being polluted by the many vanity presses, to the point that the term "open journal" is starting to become disreputable. I get ads for open journals that promise to review a submission in 2 weeks!
Other factoids:
Some commercial publishers allow the authors to pay to make their papers open.
The US government is pressuring researchers to make their papers open, regardless of publishing venue.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> Why are most scientific articles locked behind a paywall?
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Scientific articles can be found behind a paywall, but **they are not locked there.**
First, a lot of preprints, technical reports, extended versions are already available. Instead of only searching via Google, you can check the author's page (often containing preprints, codes), and a lot of archives and similar services: [arxiv](https://arxiv.org/), [biorxiv](http://biorxiv.org/), [hal](https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/), [researchgate](https://www.researchgate.net/), [academia](http://www.academia.edu/) and many others. Some older papers are quite often made available freely.
Second: most authors nicely share their preprint, version, etc. Just ask them (email for instance).
Third: in dire situations, there exist less open and legal options. Check for instance: [How does LibGen/SciHub affect researchers' research and publishing process?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/68236/how-does-libgen-scihub-affect-researchers-research-and-publishing-process)
Last: if one is not 100% online, one can go to libraries, and xerox papers in written journals.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: Journals have an asset -- their reputation as repositories of high quality papers.
Academics are rewarded if their papers are viewed as high quality. Academics want to read high quality papers.
So Academics want access to Journals with a good reputation. Academics also want to publish their papers in Journals with a good reputation, so others will read it, and others give their paper the doubt as to its quality.
Journals exploit these two facts. They get Academics to give them high quality papers and assign copyright over to the Journal for no money at all.
They then sell the right to look at the Journal to other Academics for large amount of money.
They have an asset, and are self interested in exploiting it.
The next question is, where do the Academics get the money? Well, they get it from the university. Universities want high quality Academics because it makes them look better, and high quality Academics want Journal subscriptions.
Universities want to look better because it helps with fund raising. It both means some students will pay lots of money to go there (other students are accepted at lower rates based on "quality", which also helps reputation), and alumni are more willing to donate money and get some of that "reflected glory" from being a sponsor of their institution. High reputation institutions can also use their political capital to influence government funding or other rules that make it easier for them to operate.
Or, in short, most Journals operate in a way to draw money out of the "gift" economy of Academia, where Academics give their research to the commons and gather reputation back. Universities pay into this "gift" economy in order to capture the reputational value of their Academics and use it to gather funds from other sources.
The "vanity presses" do so in a way that actually doesn't help the Academic trying to succeed in their gift reputational game.
Capitalism encourages people to find monopolies and raise prices to capture the surplus economic value produced by a system. The exclusive right to the name of the Journal and its repository of past papers is a weak monopoly; the paywall is part of exploiting that monopoly to generate profits.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: In creating a final exam for my course, I would like to use problems from a textbook that I did not assign to the course. Do I need to reference the source on the final exam paper or is it not necessary?<issue_comment>username_1: *tl;dr*: it's **not OK**
*Long answer*: I see two aspects here.
1. To use someone else's work without referencing it.
Ask yourself, would you like your students to do the same?
Academics generally agree that plagiarism is not acceptable and constitutes a significant academic misconduct. As a professor, you are seen as a model example by your students. Show them a good example by always referencing your sources (in lectures, exercises, and of course your research papers).
2. To use previously published problems in the final exam.
Policies may vary from School to School, but in many places it is expected that the final exam (and any assessment in fact) consists of problems, which are new to students. If problems are copied from a textbook, how do you know that students did not have access to these problems, and to their solutions before the exam? There is no control over it, which puts some (lucky) students in more favourite position, not because they learned the material better, but because they ran across the same textbook you are using.
For both reasons, it is **not OK** to use textbook problems in the exam, and it is **not OK** to use textbook problems without the reference.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I generally agree with [username_1's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/80507/20058), but I would like to put it in another perspective:
*Can you propose any (really) good reason for not citing the reference?*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I have never seen a university exam in which problems are cited to sources. The vast majority of exams I've seen are *intellectually derivative* on other sources: for many courses, an exam which is not intellectually derivative would be difficult to write and very painful for students to take.
In my opinion, in current academic culture course exams are not viewed as **academic works** which are subject to the standards of plagiarism: there is no pretense of originality. However, copying exams from standard sources has issues other than intellectual priority: as already mentioned, it may give an advantage to students who are consulting those sources. In my opinion, it is a good practice when writing an exam to never copy a problem **wholly and directly** from a standard source. A question can always be reworded. For a large array of problems in STEM fields, parameters can be adjusted or other incidental features changed, creating a problem that to a sufficiently expert eye looks *isomorphic* to the textbook problem, but is different enough so that someone who would feel that way has mastered the material.
When I write undergraduate exams, I usually do so with my own study materials and exams given in past iterations of the course in view (and I also give these to the students, in most cases). With this in view, I try to create an exam which has the right amount of similarity to past exams and review materials: neither too much nor too little. For intermediate undergraduate level math courses, I have found that having one problem or part of a problem be basically identical (though somewhat reworded) to something in the study materials has a positive effect on the course: as the students run through several midterms and the final exam, they learn that the study materials are actually to be carefully studied and mastered, which increases their learning. In general I find that changes that I regard as relatively modest -- e.g. swapping out one problem for a "cognate problem" -- are often regarded as "completely different" by students.
In short: you can and probably should use other sources for inspiration and calibration purposes when writing an exam, and I have never seen anyone document their sources as if an exam were an academic paper. (In most cases one would not be documenting the "true author" of the work but simply identifying the previous person in the borrowing chain.) However, you should not blindly copy problems from other sources, and you should watch carefully to ensure that your students regard your exams as having a sufficient amount of novelty. To do otherwise is to shirk one of the most basic duties of the course instructor.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: The examiners of a friend's PhD thesis required revisions which they needed to approve before they would accept the thesis. The requirements were fairly demanding but overall reasonable and helpfully explained, and my friend wishes to acknowledge the examiners' contribution in the final submission, in anticipation of their approval.
However, it seems to me that examiners are not supposed to be friends; and any implication that they are seems to suggest that the examination process was too cosy, or that the examiners were perhaps rather a push-over or even somewhat corrupt. Are such concerns well founded, or am I worrying unduly?<issue_comment>username_1: Peer-reviewers of academic research papers are not supposed to be authors' friends, and on many occasions are direct opposite. However, it is not uncommon to thank them in the final version of the paper, because their contribution often helps to improve the paper considerably.
In the same way, I think that it is **OK** to thank the examiners for their suggestions, which helped you to improve the presentation of your thesis.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The acknowledgement is for the people that helps you to provide such a work like this.
I think the examiner is only the person give you some feedback, but he was not during your Ph.D process.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: The acknowledgment section of your thesis is to give thanks to anyone or anything that you want to give thanks to. This should include anyone who provided substantial intellectual support towards the contents of the thesis (your advisor and any other collabators who helped with the content). After that, you are free to thank (or not thank) whomeverelse you want. Thesis examiners are appropriate if you are grateful for anything they did. We've even had questions on academic stack exchange about thanking god or your pet. All of which is fine. Some people may find who you include strange. However, ultimately its silly for anyone to pass judgment on people for giving thanks, since whom you feel grateful for supporting you while you completed a thesis (a huge accomplishment) is truly personal.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: An acknowledgment is a statement of thanks for a contribution, not a declaration of friendship. Of course it's appropriate to acknowledge one's examiners.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: We're considering incentivising students to submit questions for the final exam in a large grad class (> 200 students) as we feel like the process of designing a problem and a grading rubric encourages students to study the material to more depth.
Is this commonly done? What are the pros/cons in the literature, or that you can think of with implementing an exam where a few questions are generated by the class? What precautions should we be taking? What should we incentivise?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Is this commonly done?
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I have no sources to answer this, but in my experience, no, it's not commonly done.
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> What are the pros/cons [...] that you can think of with implementing an exam where a few questions are generated by the class?
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I can see two main issues:
1. It's not clear to me how you want to handle the communication of the questions and how you plan to use them, but some or, possibly, many students will know the questions in advance before the final exam.
2. As pointed out by @trikeprof in a [comment](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/80521/is-there-any-reason-not-to-crowdsource-a-subset-of-exam-questions#comment198631_80521), students might perceive this as a lazy strategy. Furthermore, they might not like the idea of being assessed on the basis of questions formulated by their peers.
I think that the idea of having students designing questions is good, but those questions shouldn't be directly used in the final exam.
An alternative proposal could be that of assigning the design of a question as homework, with the additional agreement that good questions will be collected in a booklet of questions/exercises, with recognition of the authors.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: One obvious reason is that students become more likely to cheat the easier it is to do so. Most imaginable to me is students will form study groups and just one student will submit a question. I don't even know how you would prohibit this if you tried. Then there is a manageable number of possible exam questions, with solutions, floating out.
One obvious problem is this just isn't really the student's job. Designing an exam question is partly about knowing the material very well. It's also based on technical knowledge of what a well-designed, exam-appropriate question looks like. And naturally we have had professors who are terrible at this and it is not an enjoyable experience for any party.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There is the germ of a great idea in your question. Let's take the basic idea and modify it a bit.
Have your students create an exam question, but not necessarily to include in an actual exam, but as a way of measuring mastery of the material.
You could, for example, offer several choices of specific topics that were studied in your course, and ask your students to choose one and design an exam question around that.
Since this is not something students are used to doing, it might be better to do this as a homework assignment than as part of an exam.
(If there are some real humdingers submitted, you could ask the individual students for permission to use their questions in future exams.)
I did not think this up by myself. I heard it on an NPR special program about alternative education.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I generally don't have a lot of business in my dedicated office hours, but then sometimes I get a needy student who wants to use *all* of them -- every minute, of every day, in which I hold them. It gets physically tiring for me, and emotionally draining that they apparently have no capacity or confidence to follow along in class, read the book, or make connections on their own.
Granted that we have, say, 3 hours of office time per week (required at my institution), is it acceptable to set per-student limits on usage of that time, such as: 20 minutes per student per day?
Additionally, is it advisable to be forthright and tell the student that their behavior is unusual/a bad sign/an abuse of the office hours; that is, that they should be mostly responsible for the material on their own? (Often this same type of student will praise themselves aloud for being so proactive/smart with the office hours when others aren't using them.)
This is in the U.S., and I'm at a large urban community college. Assume that most of the time no other students are showing up to the office hour.
(This was mentioned in [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/77540/how-to-deal-with-a-very-weak-student) and comments therein; I'd like to see a canonical answer on just this aspect of the situation.)<issue_comment>username_1: I will argue that setting limits for a particular student is acceptable and in some cases necessary. It really is an abuse of office hours if one student is taking up *all* of them, every day. Let's say that proper usage is around 10-15 min for a particular question or issue. For a particularly weak student like this I may assert, "Let's say we have 20 minutes for this." Require that she ask about a particular homework exercise that she can show prior work for. Do not just regurgitate the lecture wholesale.
By default, students should be able to master the material via lectures, study, and homework, without constant additional hand-holding by the instructor. Part of the unfairness here arises from the fact that the student is effectively getting double face-time with the instructor, relative to other students; so the one student's success does not really represent the same level of proficiency as shown by other students. Some other students may possibly take note of this, and either avoid office-hours interactions (which would be more fruitful) because of the always-present student, or silently resent the double-attention.
If the instructor (like me) is becoming physically and emotionally drained by these constant interactions, then we should learn to be sensitive to that, and take that as a signal that some change or boundary needs to get set, lest we become burned out. There is, in addition, a possibility that the student thinks they are socially flattering or flirting with the professor for a better grade. It's probably a good idea to document these interactions, in case the needy student (or anyone else) is prone to complain later about their grade or some other matter.
Under the "honesty is the best policy" principle, it's probably good in theory to have a frank discussion of expectations for the course with the student around the second or third time this happens. (But: I don't think I've successfully executed that to date.)
The real tough case for me is a student who officially meets all the prerequisites to the course and points to the first day's lecture notes and says something like, "I have no idea what any of these words mean." Perhaps they got through all their prior courses in a state of acclimation to exactly this level of double-hand-holding.
(This answer largely restates my answer and comments on that issue from [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/77540/how-to-deal-with-a-very-weak-student). Thanks to the commentators there for refining my thinking on the issue, and thanks to @scaaahu for suggesting I write them up as an answer here.)
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The issue here is not what proportion of the published office hours are being used by one individual, it's that "they apparently have no capacity or confidence to follow along in class, read the book, or make connections on their own."
You are this student's teacher. That gives you a special responsibility, not only to help the student master the material in your course, but also to assist in, and insist on, an improvement of his or her study skills. You are not obligated, however, to be his or her personal homework tutor.
Do not hesitate to make your expectations for independent work clear; of course, you should also be realistic, and start wherever the student currently is, in terms of study skills and ability to work independently.
Example:
>
> Mr./Ms. X, I'm going to circle three things from the notes I made during our study session today, that I want you to follow up on, on your own. Let's review those now to make sure they're clear to you. Explain the three things to me now. (E.g. look up Topic A in the index, take notes on what the text has to say on that topic; go over the section of the textbook that was assigned in class this morning, and write an outline of that material, and highlight the parts that you were already familiar with, if any; in advance of our next class section, write down three things you want to get out of the lecture, and then highlight any parts of your class notes that address any of those three things. *I just made this up, your assignment could be completely different, of course.*)
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You may at this point politely and cheerfully show your student the door, even if it's only been a five-minute conversation. Example:
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> Okay, that should get you unstuck. I look forward to seeing your progress with this assignment! I am going down the hall to do some xeroxing. May I give you a hand with your bookbag?
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It is your job to make sure that you are bringing your student up, and that your student is not bringing you down.
Additional note: find out what homework help labs exist and make sure your student knows about them.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Granted that we have, say, 3 hours of office time per week (required at my institution), is it acceptable to set per-student limits on usage of that time, such as: 20 minutes per student per day?
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In order to evaluate this situation, I think it is worth starting with the "Devil's advocate" argument for why it *might* be okay for one student to take up all the time. One could reasonably make the argument that, so long as there are no other students waiting, the allocated consultation hours might as well be available to the one student who wants to use them. (Obviously if other students are being crowded out then an equity issue arises, and in this case it is reasonable to limit student time so that everyone gets some consultation time.) If the university requires a given number of hours to be made available for consultation then it is an institutional requirement for these to be available to students. While this may be tiring for the lecturer, if that is a job requirement, it is arguably a situation where the tiredness of the lecturer is irrelevant. Refusing to allow consultation in those hours to the only student who wants to be there is arguably a breach of the university's requirements for consultation time. Finally, the argument that there is an "equity" issue involved when only one student seeks to make use of an offered resource is weak --- if no-one else wants to use that resource then there is no inequity in him using the whole thing.
I think the above is roughly what would be a good argument in favour of the student here. But notice that even under this view, this does not mean that the student should have *carte blanche* to have the lecturer give them anything they want within the consultation hours. Consultation hours certainly should not be used to redeliver lectures and tutorials for a student who has not absorbed those sessions. It is reasonable to impose some structure on the consultation sessions and some requirements on student effort *in order to ensure that those sessions actually advance the goal of student learning* (as opposed to creating a perverse incentive for lack of effort in lectures and tutorials). The suggestion to confine consultation to help with problems on which the student can show a preliminary attempt/effort is perfectly reasonable, and it ensures that there is some focus to the session. It is also reasonable if the lecturer responds to these cases by giving further hints or suggestions for the student to go away and re-attempt the problem, rather than giving a long and detailed solution. (The latter may be required after several attempts, but it need not be a first response.) For more general inquiries about concepts, etc., one could again require preliminary student effort by having the student gread the relevant material and give their own explanation of the concept in order to get your feedback; you can then point out flaws in their reasoning and have them re-read the relevant material and come back to get more feedback later.
Even if one accepts the above argument that a student may legitimately use all the consultation hours, one can easily turn this stamina-competition around on the student --- this merely requires that the structure of the consultation assistance *requires preliminary student work* and the feedback on the work is quicker than the preliminary work required to gain that feedback. For example, if each preliminary attempt at a homework problem takes 10 minutes, and the lecturer feedback giving hints/suggestions on the problem then takes 2 minutes, then the student will need to spend five times as much time working as the lecturer. In this case the *student* will be the one who has to spend large amounts of time working and getting physically tired, and this is likely to yield a natural limitation to the monopolisation of consultation time.
>
> Additionally, is it advisable to be forthright and tell the student that their behavior is unusual/a bad sign/an abuse of the office hours; that is, that they should be mostly responsible for the material on their own?
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Monopolisation of consultation time is arguably not an abuse at all, so I wouldn't suggest taking this line. Similarly, telling the student they are mostly responsible for learning on their own ---when you are actually supposed to be offering consulation in this time--- is arguably contradicatory to the university's consultation requirements. However, use of excessive consultation time is often a warning sign of failure to learn the material properly in lectures and tutorials, and it is perfectly reasonable to be forthright about this.
If the student has no capacity to follow along in class, read the book, or make connections on their own (as you describe) then this is the core issue. If this is the case then it is reasonable to give the student feedback pointing out these deficiencies. In some cases it might be that a student lacks sufficient preliminary knowledge/skills for the course, in which case you could direct them to bridging courses and resources (e.g., study-skills center at the university, etc.). Alternatively, if they are close enough that the problem is fixable in the present session, then it might be worth "stepping back" to look at the meta-problem --- if they are not able to follow along without one-on-one consultation then perhaps the best use of consultation time is to try to assist them to develop this capacity, rather than spoon-feeding them with help on particular course problems.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student in mathematics. I felt quite lucky that I got into this program. My research is also going ok, and I got some confirmation from my advisor that I should be able to graduate in a year or two if I keep up with my work. So things were mostly good. But a recent conversation with my advisor completely changed my view about my situation.
We just finished one of our projects and naturally got to the question of when I should graduate. Then We start to discuss my plans after graduation. He asked me whether I want to find a job in industry or stay in academia. I said I want to remain in academia, find a postdoc, then a tenure-track position, etc. He then told me that there are very few places that have postdocs in my area, and indicated maybe I should look for schools that majorly focus on teaching.
I was very shocked. I always wanted to stay in academia and thought about going to good research schools. In fact we talked about this when I first asked to be his student. But for some reason, he kept asking me the same question every once in a while.
I went home and start search on mathjobs.org for positions in my area, which I probably should have done three years ago. There were almost nothing. There are two postdoc positions, both are from not very well-known schools, I don't quite have interests in applying to either one of them.
I am quite lost. On one hand, I wish I knew this much earlier on. I wish my advisor would have told me before he helped me pick this area. I also should've done some research on that myself. Now I just have so much regrets in my heart.
On the other hand, I think it's time to be realistic and rethink my plans. I wonder if it is still be possible for me to get a postdoc (possibly in one of the two places) and later go to a top-ranking school for tenure-track positions? If a school don't have anyone in your area, would they hire you as a tenure-track AP? I am not quite fond of teaching, I can bear it if it's part of my job being a researcher, but I would not want to do this as my sole job.
If that is not possible, what kind of job can a math PhD get? I had some experience in industry before as well, but I don't quite like that job. Are there research-type positions in companies that would appreciate a math major? If so, what kind of knowledge/skills should I pick up now?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I wonder if it is still be possible for me to get a postdoc (possibly in one of the two places) and later go to a top-ranking school for tenure-track positions?
>
>
>
Yes, this is *possible*. *But*, unless you are making definitive progress on famous open problems which are well-known to everyone in your field.... then it is very unlikely and you should not count on it. (And perhaps even if you are.)
Most academic jobs involve both research and teaching. For example, I work at a research university with a Ph.D. program and a 2-2 teaching load. I definitely have time for research, but teaching is a big component of the job, and if I didn't enjoy teaching I would not want to do this job. (Moreover, if I wasn't good at teaching, then the hiring committee probably would have picked up on this and not offered me the job in the first place. Most people who are good at teaching, enjoy it.)
I think you are wise to investigate your other options. I've known people who decided not to pursue (or continue with) academic careers, and for the most part they were able to find good jobs. Software companies like to hire mathematicians, and you might learn programming if you don't know it already. Some mathematicians successfully go into finance (and make boatloads of money doing it.) Actuarial work is another possibility. In any case, these sorts of jobs don't generally just "happen"; you have to proactively think about what you do like and look for opportunities.
Good luck to you!
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Although it didn't strictly answer the question, this answer offer an overview on the possibilities offered by the industry. There exists some positions in industry which are related strictly to mathematics. To be honest, anyone can learn a programming language in a couple of weeks(Java, C, C++, Php, C#,...). Mathematics, on the other hand requires years of work, which not always get into top publications. Nowadays, from my experience there are few positions in industry which requires mathematics, and someone which has a background in mathematics and also is very good at programming is hunted by the companies in industry - mostly, the companies which are performing business in aeronautics and space. I give a few examples: [GMV](https://www.gmv.com) Innovating Solutions, [Thales](https://www.thalesgroup.com/en), [Deimos](http://www.elecnor-deimos.com), [Assystem](http://www.assystem.com/en/home.html). I know of these because I was offered a position into some of these companies, which I refused. The basic programming language required is Matlab and/or Mathematica.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: **TL;DR**: Stop worrying and keep trying.
There is a saying "*don't worry about things you can't change or have no control over*", which I think can be applied to your case very well. You will graduate in a year or two, you already commit to the current research area, and can't change it. So worrying about it will not help you anything. Instead you should focus on producing the best PhD thesis possible, as ask for the best LoR from your advisor.
People do not always do postdoc in the same field as PhD. Actually, I heard some advices that you need to do postdoc in an area different from the one in PhD. So you may not need to worry about the current research area.
Being a teaching professor might not be as bad as you think. Next to my office is the lab of an *associate teaching professor*. I don't know what she teaches, and how many hours does she need to teach. But she has more than 10 PhD students in that lab to do research, she also has more than 100 papers with nearly 6000 citations. She currently has more than 1 million $ of research grant. This is much better than many (research?) professors.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: First of all, you are way ahead of the most. Don't despair. PhD journey sucks you into a narrow tunnel and you spend years chasing that narrow goal without looking around too much. Now it's about over and you started looking around. You got much smarter. The world seems more complex and different. You look five years older, have less hair, etc... shock! Look around more, gather info, check out different career paths from your new point of view. Stay open minded. A lot of things you were so sure of will clearly seem wrong now. That's perfectly normal. That's why you spent all that time studying.
Second, develop economic intuition about the work you can do now. Will those few publications you produce as a math researcher in academia create a value for society of ~$100,000 per year? Can you create more value teaching larger classes in a less prestigious school and having more research freedom? Can you spend a few month transitioning into an adjacent field where there is a great demand for mathematicians?
And finally, if you don't like teaching, as you mentioned, don't go into teaching! Your dislike towards it will snowball into a boulder of misery over time. Even if you manage to put up with it, is it really worth it? There are probably hundreds of career paths available to you where you will get to do what you want and enjoy life.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Basically, as you are no doubt realizing, you cannot simply pick a "good research school" where you would like to work - you need to make them want to pick you (and they need to have an open position). This pretty much requires an outstanding publication record. And demonstrated ability to raise money. It is frequently sweetened if you can show credible teaching skills. Very few recent graduates fit this description: as with any career it requires long hours and years of work to get to the top.
That said, here are a few thoughts about an academic career:
1) If you are good, it does not matter what academic institution you are at.
2) There is a whole subculture of itinerant research professors who begin at a lesser-known school (say Podunk Teaching University) as their first job, then eventually attempt to leverage this into a position at a better school. Some are successful at this. Of course, this strategy also requires that you be good, which you will need to demonstrate by publishing regularly.
3) If you *are* lucky enough to be offered a position at Podunk, it is very likely that you will meet a large number of the faculty there who themselves are quite good, despite its lack of reputation. People on the same career trajectory as you, for instance.
All in all, no matter whether you choose industry or academia, you will need to put in the hours if you want to make a name for yourself. There really is no shortcut to the top for most of us - just hard work and stubbornness. And citation counts.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: How do you feel about applied mathematics? Possibly you could thrive in a research institute, such as Scripps, Woods Hole, the many physics institutes, medical research centers?
I suggest you repost a question, giving specifics about your area of math specialization.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: Both choices (stay on target for a tenure-track position, or move on to an industry position) will require significant research on your part.
Find 3 people at schools you respect that have recently gotten a tenure-track position. Ask them their story. Look for how long, what they needed, how they went about it. This is much better indicator of how likely it is that you can get this position than looking for current job openings.
For an industry job - What about math excites you? Could you continue your math in the evenings/weekends? Great if you can do it. Is there a job that would excite you? See if can find people to talk with that have been doing it for some years.
If do not have anything that triggers your passion, talk with math alumni that went into industry about 5 years ago. Their stories may showcase possibilities for you.
While having the intense math focus is great, you will need to start working on other skill sets while finishing your degree. Public speaking and problem solving are two prime candidates. Familiarity with email as used in business is almost mandatory for an industry position. Making a realistic five year plan is huge.
Last one, if you can do it, find a good mentor. There is a huge difference between an advisor and a mentor.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: You don’t like teaching, and you don’t like working in industry. You just want to write math research papers. Perhaps you should ask yourself a few hard questions like:
(1) What value would my papers provide to the world at large?
(2) What would motivate someone to pay me to write papers?
Generally, you’ll have to do something that’s potentially useful to society in order for society to pay you. That seems fair, to me. It might be worth funding a few exceptionally talented individuals to do whatever they want, but the numbers will be small. Are you one of that small group of exceptionally talented people?
People say that abstract pure mathematics sometimes finds uses decades after it was first developed. This is true, but the odds are extremely small, and they’re getting smaller every year as pure mathematics becomes ever more abstract and further removed from reality.
You might say that you don’t care whether or not your work is useful. You could argue that mathematics is beautiful, and you enjoy it. I’d agree with that view. But this is a reason for doing mathematics, not a reason for funding it.
Unless you’re independently wealthy, you may have to do some work that you don’t particularly like in order to pay the bills. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I think it’s reality.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: In testing sessions that I proctor now, there are frequently one or more students who are not actually working on the test for extended periods of time. Perhaps they are just staring into space, or out the window, for most of the period. Or they may be holding the test paper up in the air and apparently scrutinizing it for a long period of time. Or a student may lean back in their chair and go soundly to sleep.
Excepting this last case, the student likely only has to adjust their eyes a few degrees to be looking at another student's paper. **It gives all appearances that they are watching for me to turn away so that they can cheat. I feel compelled to watch them constantly for the entire period, which is tiring and stressful, and doesn't let me watch other students or answer questions.** Frequently, the paper I get back is mostly blank after this hour-long staring match, but I can't know that in advance.
What is the best way to deal with inactive students in the testing session? Is it appropriate to demand that they leave the testing area if they're not actively working? (Students are already told in advance that they can turn in their paper and leave as soon as they're done with it.)
I'm teaching mostly lower-level mathematics at a large urban community college in the U.S.
Added: This is in a moderate-sized course with around 25 students in the classroom, taking the exam. The students are known to me and registered for the course which I am teaching. I made the exam and distributed a practice version, with identical directions for each question, in advance of the exam.<issue_comment>username_1: In your shoes, I would take their names, and sort it out later.
That is, if they are included in your roster of enrolled students, they are "clueless."
If they aren't, they are "sitting in" to try to get the test questions, and then memorizing them for future use by themselves or others.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: A student who is not able to do any meaningful work on the exam is probably feeling embarrassed and somewhat paralyzed.
It's not your fault.
I would suggest adding something like the following to your course syllabus:
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> During exams, if you are not making any progess on your exam, then a proctor will politely ask you to put your name on the exam and turn it in. You will be offered a short, optional alternative assignment. After five minutes, you may ask for the exam back if you feel ready to make some meaningful progress on it.
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Here is one possible alternative assignment:
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> Please write a couple of paragraphs that will help me get to know you better as a student. For example, you could write about your academic and career goals, what your favorite course in high school was and why, and what special challenges, if any, are you currently facing as a student at XX username_5 College. Is there anything I can do, as your instructor, to make the material in my course more accessible for you?
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Follow that up with some placement-type math problems. I suppose the students have all been through the placement process, but clearly, something's wrong -- so let's try to find out what.
If a student is sleeping, you may put a hand on a shoulder, offer a bottle of water, and ask if s/he would like to work on the exam or turn it in. (This is a gentle discouragement to continued sleeping in the exam room, and an opportunity to wake up and start working on it.)
Additional note: If you're on edge, that tells me you need one or two additional proctors, and/or a larger room.
**Edit**:
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> (from comment) "At my institution, the facilities are fairly cramped (no way to minimize sight lines) and added proctoring personnel are not available."
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Thank you for explaining this. You can buy or make cardboard carrels, also called privacy shields. You need a full set of these to use on exam days. Not only do they make proctoring easier and more effective, they can also reduce exam anxiety. Each student feels more in his or her own world, with less comparing of self to others.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: It seems to me that students are permitted to spend exam time "as inactively as they choose," and that barring some truly exceptional edge cases it is neither fair to them nor the best use of your own time to try to deal with inactive students during the exam itself.
I'm sorry the behavior is stressful for you, but I don't have a good understanding of why. Not working or writing on the exam is not an effective cheating technique; falling asleep or staring out the window less so. If you see students with wandering eyes in a way that actually makes you concerned: okay, tell them not to do that when you catch them doing it. But that's a problem of unwanted activity, not inactivity. Moreover, you write
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> Frequently the paper I get back is mostly blank after an hour of inactivity like this.
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I find it kind of strange that you think that a student (whom you know is registered for your class; no funny business there) who turns in a mostly blank exam is somehow cheating. Cheating means trying to succeed through illegal means; if they are pathologically avoiding trying to succeed, I somehow doubt that cheating is the explanation.
You write
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> It puts me on edge because it's so inexplicable,
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Okay, I get you there: it certainly must be distressing as an instructor to witness students walking into an exam -- i.e., a situation which is a pressure-packed performance opportunity to most students -- and respond to the high pressure situation by basically doing nothing. I agree that there's something going wrong here. However, I don't think that you should fix the problem by proctoring the exam differently: rather, during the exam you should take note of which students are behaving in this way, and then make a point of talking to them about it *after the exam* (presumably after it's been graded rather than immediately at the end of the exam). In my experience, if a student is otherwise even moderately engaged with the course (coming to class, turning in homework) then they are very likely to be responsive to such questions on the part of the instructor. Maybe once in a blue moon you get a student who really doesn't want to work much on their exams and really doesn't want to talk to you about it. OK: you tried, they didn't, they'll fail. But they have the right to play it that way, it seems to me.
Let me end by commenting on another answer which suggests running future courses with a policy that says students' exams can be taken away from them if they are not working on them. While clearly well-intentioned, I think that's a bad idea. You simply do not have access to students' interior processes and you shouldn't pretend to do so: maybe a student who is staring out the window for half an hour is nevertheless working on the one problem that they don't know how to do and is going to write out solutions to all the problems in the last ten minutes. (I mean, probably not, but maybe.) It's just not defensible enough to respond to inactivity on an exam *by taking the exam away from the student* (and especially, with a policy to return it later on if they show suitable penitence). A student who has an exam taken away can go to the department chair or the dean saying "My exam got taken away from me just because I was thinking rather than writing." If I were the chair or the dean...c'mon: the student has a very strong case.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> Frequently the paper I get back is mostly blank after an hour of inactivity like this. It puts me on edge because it's so inexplicable
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Have you tried finding an explanation by asking them? Don't try to appear like during an interrogation, make sure they understand you would truly like to know.
If the reason is indeed cheating in the exam, you might get a bogus answer, but chances are they are rather "cheating" (if you could at all call it that) the system in a bureaucratical sense. [Massimo suggested](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/80544#comment198727_80544) one possible explanation along that vein, another one that had come to my mind is as follows: At a university where I worked, students were allowed to take an exam a second time if they failed during their first try. So, once a student realizes they won't score a good mark during the first try, they might rather choose to fail than pass miserably and try to get a better mark during the second attempt.
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> What is the best way to deal with inactive students in the testing session? Is it appropriate to demand that they leave the testing area if they're not actively working? (Students are already told in advance that they can turn in their paper and leave as soon as they're done with it.)
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Based upon what you have described, no. Holding the exam sheet up in the air may be bordering on being inappropriately disturbing to others (who will, despite being focused, pick up unusual movements from the corner of the eye), but the other behaviours are simply remaining silent with a minimum of interference to other exam takers, as is appropriate while sitting in an exam room.
As a basis for your decision on how to react, try to weigh the possible advantages and disadvantages of taking action. While you may overcome your anxiety about "unnecessarily" having some more people to watch over (in particular if you can get a better idea of why that behaviour occurs), the two conceivable benefits that I see would be:
* You *might* be preventing an act of cheating. (Unlikely, as based upon your description and pointed out by others, it is not clear how a cheating technique would work in the situation described.)
* You *might* help other students who are distracted by the people in question. (Again, unlikely, given that they are virtually as silent/non-disruptive as they can be.)
The definitive disadvantage you are creating, on the other hand, is that anyone leaving the room in between - in particular when it's preceded by any form of communication when proctors ask them to leave - creates some commotion that will disturb most other students in the room.
As a final note, your question makes it sound as if some of these inactive students falling asleep were the culmination of inappropriate behaviour. Again, I'd like to ask you to check whether their sleeping actually disturbs any other exam takers. If they start snoring, sure - but otherwise, sleeping is actually a worthwhile way to spend the time while a student cannot do anything else, and at my university, we have actively recommended that activity to students in the past when for some reason they had to stay in the exam room without anything to do.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: As long as the student is not disturbing anyone else, I don't see any reason to boot them out of the exam. I honestly think that kicking a student out of the exam would distract the other students more than someone sleeping or playing with their exam sheet. As username_3 explains, if a student were trying to cheat but in the end turned in a blank page, then that student is quite a poor cheater; and I would be rather amazed if a student managed to send another student signals just by sleeping and looking at the ceiling / out of the window.
You seem to mostly be distressed because you can't find any explanation for this behavior. username_4 already offered a potential one, here is another possible one, that may or may not apply to your exact situation (I know for sure that it applies in some places).
Some students have a scholarship that pays for their tuition and perhaps even student housing, subsidizes their meals and whatnot. Often the scholarship will have a few conditions attached, and a very common one is that the student must attend every exam (why pay for someone's education if they aren't even going to try).
This leads to some students taking advantage of the system ("cheating" if you will), never going to class/exercise sessions (or sleeping through every single one if their scholarship requires them to attend class too), but still going to the midterms and the final exams of the first semester so that their scholarship isn't cut off at the beginning of the second semester. Of course they're SOL for their second year because another very common condition of the scholarship is that they must successfully complete one year to get the rest of the scholarship for the next year.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: In short: I find this behavior of theirs normal and suggest you consider the larger scope of dealing with possible cheating.
A couple of anecdotal examples from a student's POV:
* During some of the school exams, I would finish the assignment way early and have nothing to do; requesting me to quit the room to not distract others by idling is reasonable and was occasionally done but was not always logistically feasible as it would leave me stranded while someone was arranged to pick me up at a later time. Other times, we would have arranged to hang out with fellow students after the exam. To a student, it is not obvious if you are causing a disruption that way, and the classroom may in fact be the most comfortable place to idle at. To the same tune, many students are taught to make the most of their time during exam, check their results multiple times if they have nothing else to do and only leave as the exam ends: I know of many cases, not just myself, where parents would scold their kids for being done with the exam early even if they aced it. Sometimes, being bored in the classroom is the path of the least effort when the alternatives are entering a conflict with one's parents or lying to them, and this is oddly common for people normally considered functioning adults.
* There was a case when I was given an assignment far beyond my capabilities at the time, and a few cases where I would complete most of the assignment quickly and then get stuck on the topic I did not understand well enough. This is closer to what you describe. But most exams do not have IMO/IPhO-style problems and are not tuned to the model student who puts their pen to paper the moment the exam starts and barely finishes it by the end of it. Ergo, some students (myself included) would just stare into nothingness until they get the insight required to solve the problem. In fact, even for something routine-heavy like trigonometry or integration, I would normally prefer doing calculations in my head instead of writing everything down - which is a lot of staring into windows, at ceilings, at the assignment paper *while actually doing the work*. I am sorry if it made proctors uncomfortable in the past, but that is often the best way for me to work on problems, no malice intended.
* Finally, we had exams with no proctoring whatsoever and students still failing, not because of an honor system but because of topics being advanced enough it is essentially impossible to cheat in a way that is not blatantly clear to an examiner.
I am a firm believer in that in good assignments, cheating is very obvious and/or not at all helpful. It is a lot harder to do for lower-level courses, but if the entire grading system hinges on preventing a student from glancing over to a neighbor's assignment, that is not great. So, then, is it that crucial that you watch them like a hawk and under no circumstances must they be able to copy some parts of other student's assignments (=cheat)? I think that if you decide to let it go, you might see their (statistically) previously blank papers now filled with a bunch of mostly incorrect answers, which should, ideally, still not be enough to earn them a passing grade. Given your previous experience of teaching that class, if I were in your shoes, I would try to adopt a more relaxed attitude during, say, midterms and see what happens and if that results in a perceivable grade inflation.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: Some of my students get extended deadlines on assignments due to a disability. They are not required to tell me the nature of their disability (which may be physical, intellectual, or psychological), but some choose to do so. (United States faculty are legally required to grant accommodations to such students, who are certified by a college office that knows the details of their situation.)
My question is what to say when a student asks for a recommendation for an industry position (typically as a software engineer). I legally cannot reveal that they have a disability, but their ability to complete assignments correctly and on time is relevant to their qualifications for a job.
**Update**
To clarify, I don't consider it relevant to an employer if a student uses assistive technology or if the student takes extra time on exams, since the latter is an artificial situation irrelevant outside of school. (All of the exams I give are untimed anyway.) My concern is about students who are unable to complete assignments in the normal amount of time, which is always at least a week, even given any needed accommodations. The ability to complete work at the normal rate seems like it might be a [bona fide occupational qualification](http://definitions.uslegal.com/b/bona-fide-occupational-qualification/). Of course, it is not the employer's business whether the need for extra time is due to a disability.<issue_comment>username_1: You were already required to evaluate this student's work under the assumption that they performed under the same circumstances as everyone else, so why suddenly stop doing so at a recommendation letter?
That said, this quickly becomes a legal matter, and we have few true legal experts (for any jurisdiction) on this site. I'm certainly not one of them, but here's my opinion and understanding...
The companies are not allowed to discriminate based on disabilities, and are required to make "reasonable accommodations" for them. As such you can reasonably assume that whatever job is being applied for will already have this in effect, and that the disability is therefore irrelevant.
If, for some reason, the student is hiding their disability from potential employers—or, worse, had been faking it with the University—, then that is their responsibility, and the responsibilities of whatever (medical) professionals were involved in the evaluation, not yours.
If you remain in doubt—it would not be unreasonable to be confused on whether certain things you know about the student fall under "protected disability concerns" versus "legitimate, non-protected concerns"—, contact the very office that handles these disability arrangements, and possibly arrange to have a meeting where you can discuss these matters at length. They should be able to provide you with guidance on how to faithfully execute your duties vis a vis recommendations while remaining in compliance. You can even contact a lawyer for yourself, though you will likely have to pay for this. The disabilities office will be inclined to advise you to act in whatever is most convenient for them and the university, which may be more strict than is legally required and enforceable, but in a case like this I would suggest you follow that because of:
The golden rule of writing a recommendation letter is: if you feel you cannot write a good recommendation letter for the student then reject their request to write one, and if you feel you cannot write a *strong* one then tell them so, so that they can decide if that is acceptable or not.
If you feel that these will automatically apply to you with respect to students with disabilities, you may want to (preemptively) arrange to speak with someone in the disabilities office, or a personal lawyer (this may be more strongly advisable in this situation), about writing letters for students with disabilities. This would be to head off any potential concerns about you acting discriminatingly towards such students.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **Extra time used by virtue of a 504 plan is not relevant to, and should not be mentioned, in a letter of recommendation.**
I checked <http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html> and found a couple of relevant bits:
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> Equal access: equal opportunity of a qualified person with a disability to participate in or benefit from educational aid, benefits, or services.
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> Reasonable accommodation: a term used in the employment context to refer to modifications or adjustments employers make to a job application process, the work environment, the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, or that enable a covered entity's employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.
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If you're still not sure, you could contact your OCR regional office (<http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/addresses.html>, or email <EMAIL>) or your university's office for students with disabilities.
Side note:
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> "Of course I decline to write letters that would be negative, although most honest letters (or informal recommendations) are a mix of positives and negatives."
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This concerns me. I believe that if you have accepted the request to write a recommendation, it is up to you to use *omissions* to convey any weaknesses the student might have. The letter of recommendation is not the place to point out what is often euphemistically called "areas of growth."
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I was invited to a campus interview for a tenure track faculty job. The chair just told me that the dean might not be on campus on the date I chose and he/she would talk with me on the phone. I am wondering how important is the meeting with the dean? Should I reschedule the visit so that I can meet the dean in person?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Should I reschedule the visit so that I can meet the dean in person?
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I don't see a need to do this, unless your contact person suggests as much. However, you can optionally ask whether it would be better to reschedule.
If the department feels a phone interview is workable, then it should be fine.
An exception would be, if English is not your first language, or you have a hearing impairment, that might make it more difficult for you to understand what's being said, or asked, in a phone interview.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This depends very strongly on the institution. At many larger US institutions, meeting the dean is little more than a formality since the decision is essentially made by the faculty in the department that would hire you, and the dean generally signs off on whatever they determine. But in other universities the Dean may play a key role in the decision process; this is the case, for instance, at my current institution. In that situation, it is preferable to meet the dean in person in order to make a stronger impression.
Ideally, you would have a colleague in the department you're applying to who could give you an inside view on how essential dean is to the decision process.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In US institutions I'm familiar with, the meeting with the dean serves the following purposes:
1. It is a way for the dean to exert oversight over the hiring process. While the dean is usually not able to tell if the candidate is really as amazing as the department will claim he/she is when they later ask to hire him/her, the dean can at least provide a basic sanity check, filter out obviously unqualified candidates, or detect various red flags indicating that there may be something seriously wrong with the department's candidate selection mechanism.
2. It is a way for the dean to signal to the department that he/she takes hiring seriously and is involved in the process. This may lead the department faculty to also take it more seriously and approach hiring with more respect and integrity.
3. It is a way for the department and dean to signal to the candidate that they take him/her seriously, to the extent that the dean is making his/her precious time available for the purpose of having the meeting. If the candidate is a hot commodity being sought after by several schools, this can be important.
4. It is an opportunity for the candidate to impress the dean with his/her brilliance. Usually the dean will not be so involved with decision making that this will make much of a difference, but nonetheless, there are subtle ways that the dean being particularly impressed with a candidate (or conversely, particularly unimpressed) can be communicated down the hiring chain, and in cases of extreme brilliance/lack thereof this could end up making a difference.
5. It is an opportunity for the dean to impress the candidate with his/her own brilliance. The interview is a two-sided event in which both parties are evaluating each other, so this is part of the package of the university trying to sell itself to an attractive candidate. Again, usually candidates won't care so much about the personality of the dean where they are interviewing, but in extreme cases a super-amazing dean can make the school seem materially more attractive, and a super-horrible dean can make the candidate run for their life.
Usually none of these effects are very significant, and not meeting the dean almost certainly won't make any difference one way or another on the outcome of the interview. The final use for the meeting that I can think of is the only one that actually matters somewhat (though still not very much), which is:
6. In the event that the candidate met with the dean and was later hired, they arrive at a campus where they already met the dean. This contributes to their sense of familiarity with the place (and presumably confidence that it is well run) and gives them a feeling that if there is any trouble at the department they know who to go to. A small thing perhaps, but still worth something in my opinion...
Bottom line: in your situation, don't worry about it. If you end up being hired you will meet the dean sooner or later.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2016/11/28
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<issue_start>username_0: Suppose that you noticed a student saying a sexist remark to you, and the student is completely unaware of it. In the spirit of fighting sexism, I feel that I should maybe say something. But on the other hand, as a person on the higher end of the power spectrum, I feel that I would be bullying the student if I were calling him out on his sexist remarks (which he is probably not aware of).
If I witness a student engaging in a sexist behavior, should I call him/her out? How can I do this without making the student feel intimidated? What would be the professional way to deal with such a situation?
My question is:
If a student commits a clear sexist behavior in front of you, will you call him/her out? If so, how will you approach it so that you don't appear patronizing/bullying?
(I made a major edit, because many answers addressed my "background" story rather than my actual question. I do not see any satisfactory answer that fully addresses my question.)<issue_comment>username_1: I would not confront the student directly.
In the U.S., bias incidents should be reported to your university's Title IX coordinator. If you have any doubts as to whether the incident is clear enough to report, you can talk it over with the Title IX coordinator first.
Your university probably has some online documents about building a culture of respect, and a campus code of conduct. Looking these over might help you clarify the issues.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: This is similar to the person of color getting stopped by the police. Is it just a random stop, or is it racism? Very hard to tell without statistics on large sample sizes, or direct evidence of racism. Would the student have made the same accusations if you were male? Possibly, but very hard to tell without direct evidence of sexism.
The student could be complaining just because he got a bad grade. The backing off after you told him the syllabus was from another professor could be because that professor was male. But it could also be because that professor was as you said, very senior. Or because you showed him that indeed more people used that same syllabus.
My advice in general would be to fight sexism when you have clear evidence that gender played a role. In other cases: address accusations like this on their merits or lack thereof. If people find that their accusations towards women are unfounded, that also combats sexist views.
Hopefully this post helped a bit.
Regarding your edit and how to deal with explicit sexism: I would call them out on it. However exactly how to deal with it and whether appearing as a bully is a concern is difficult to say without an explicit case. Is falls in the general case of students making inappropriate/unacceptable comments or actions. Maybe a guideline could be: is it severe enough to contact other people in the university? If not, you might admonish it more lightly if concerns about being a bully are top of your mind. If it is severe enough to contact the administration or the person at your institution to contact out of line students, let it be their decision. You can never be accused of being a bully if the punishment came for an independent third party. Especially if you presented the case to that third party plain and factually, with the question being: what should we do now?
Again it is hard to talk in general about these things. That is why I focused on the more specific case, because I could be more specific about it.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: I think there's a way to address this sort of thing, while taking your concerns into account. The root of it is remembering that you're in the role of teacher, and they student.
**First, avoid accusations,** even veiled ones such as "you know, women get this a lot." Why? Because accusations will likely put them on the defensive and cause them to shut out what you're trying to teach. It also needlessly prescribes a motivation to the student, when you don't actually know why they said this. In your case, maybe they're a terribly nervous test taker and chose a bad way to bring it up with you.
**Second, approach it by asking questions.** Instead of defending your use of certain elements of the syllabus, ask him why he believes your syllabus needs to be like other syllabi, or why that way is better. Who knows, maybe he'll even have decent input. But if not, it provides an opportunity for him to think about what he's doing without any accusation from you. You don't need to defend your syllabus to students, but engaging with their input is an entirely different matter.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: "If I witness a student engaging in a sexist behavior, should I call him/her out?"
My two cents: Short answer is no. Redirect the conversation to something that is related to the course itself.
If the behavior continues, contact the students advisor/counselor, or whichever department is assigned to handle these situations involving misbehavior or violations of student conduct at your institution.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: \*\*\*\*READ THE EDITS WHERE THE OP CLEARLY STATES ORIGINALLY THAT THERE WAS NO CLEAR SEXISM TAKING PLACE.\*\*\*\*
---
Actually if what you said is true and it is the whole truth (we are not missing info), if you call the student out you are the one committing the sexist offense.
And if I were a male student that talked to you about your teaching methods, syllabus, whatever, and you told me that I was sexist or even hinted at it I would be including your boss and maybe their boss into the conversation very very soon.
I asked a similar question on here a while back - [My professor gave me a bad grade and wouldn't discuss it further, I think some prejudice may be involved. How should a student proceed?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24028/my-professor-gave-me-a-bad-grade-and-wouldnt-discuss-it-further-i-think-some-p)
This turned out so-so for me and very bad for the professor (she was let go after that semester - not sure if I was cause or the last straw or possibly I had no bearing).
The fact is you are relegating this to an issue of male vs female and taking an antagonistic approach with a student. You tried the student in the court of your head and he was found guilty of sexism - that is why you wrote this question. 95%+ would not find this person guilty with the information that you gave. Now if you act on this you are not only a person who falsely accuses someone (defamation if you talk about this with others), but you are also a person with very low awareness, you are a person that is a high risk to your institution, and you have given this whiny student a free pass through your course (deserved).
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_6: If something is clearly sexist, yes, everyone has a duty to engage this particular scourge of our psyches. It isn't going to go away on its own.
Of course it need not be confrontational nor be done in front of a group of peers but also not just one on one if there is an unbalanced power situation. If so, I would include a witness or record the conversation (if legal).
I would approach it as an unconscious bias the individual is unaware of. For example, "just to let you know, your (comments or actions) could be mistaken for (sexism)." Let them know that many people have unconscious biases that can come out without their intending it that way.
If there is a question about if it is sexist, the better way to start the conversation is to ask why they acted or spoke the way they did. This can help determine intent and then the conversation can proceed appropriately.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: To answer your actual question, yes. Those in positions of authority (such as college professors) should absolutely fight sexism.
However, a professor should not conclude that a student is making "sexist remarks" when a student complains that the syllabus did not place enough emphasis on homework, then backs off on hearing that another professor who is male does it the same way.
As username_2 noted, "fight sexism when you have clear evidence that gender played a role". Otherwise, it reinforces the stereotype that women are incapable of accepting criticism. "Crying wolf" in situations where there is no evidence of sexism, may also be validating the beliefs of those who deny that sexism exists.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> What would be the professional way to deal with such a situation
>
>
>
The professional way to deal with a first offence is almost **always** a private conversation.
In the private conversation:
1) Assume good will. Even if this isn't possible, try really hard to act like it. It goes a really long way to helping someone change personal behavior for the better.
2) Try to [start and end the conversation with something positive](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shit+Sandwich&defid=4874590). Aim for something relevant, but unrelated is better than nothing. This helps reduce defensiveness, shows that you can see value in the person, and makes your feedback easier to accept. If you really can't do this, it is better to skip it than to do it without sincerity. But trying is well worth your effort.
3) Teach how to have these difficult conversations. Be a good example of how to give difficult feedback. If you can teach this skill, you will be remembered as one of the best professors ever.
4) Focus on helping the student become a better person and live a more fulfilled life. This isn't about stopping a 5-year-old from eating too many cookies. This is about influencing internal motivations. Do this for the sake of the student, not because it is your pet peeve.
5) Be prepared to be wrong. You probably misinterpreted the statement in at least some small way. Have an open mind. Consider that the student may come from a background very different from your own. Be ready to learn something.
If the problem persists, and you have good reason to believe that the bad behavior is spreading to other people, then it may be time for public criticism. But at this point, you may have lost your chance to positively influence this person. Making a student stay quiet in class is a lot easier than changing hearts and minds.
Of course, you should ask advice from a person whom you trust. Find someone with whom you can share the specifics of the situation, and ask for advice.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_9: My suggested course of action is this. **Your goal is to produce a specific dissonance in the student**: that he is facing a capable woman instructor, who taught the course very well, through her own volition and ability, and he struggled in it, and this all happened and is just the way the world works sometimes.
Your goal is *not* to make any of these conclusions for the student. No "gotcha" moments where you expose his sexism. No schaudenfreude or vindictiveness. The anger and tension between the two of you should not be escalated, which is professional advice for any woman or any person, and especially relevant when you are the authority figure in the relationship.
**Do not devalue your own capability in any way.** Do not laugh off your ability, apologize for the facts of what happened, or any of that. If you mention anyone who abetted you make it clear that *you* are the driver, the agent, the decider, the executor, and the talent.
I would describe the student's attitude as a microaggression, which would, precisely, imply that the student's sexism was, probably, just real enough to be felt and noticed but too faint to be admonished or acted upon. It may even be a false positive but I just don't think that's the point. I felt it was perfectly possible to write a constructive answer from that premise alone and that criticizing the OP's credibility for what *really* happened was just not necessary.
My own opinion is that this is a teachable moment for the student and a reasonably safe avenue for the student to make a mistake like this. **I gave the best method I am aware for the OP to "lean in" and push back against the presence of sexism that was exhibited to her, *while acting professionally regardless of others' perception of sexism.*** It can be challenging to manage that expectation but here I feel it is possible.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: Many of these answers focus on your particular context, which you've since edited out, so I'm going to take a swing at answering it in the more general sense you've asked for.
>
> If I witness a student engaging in a sexist behavior, should I call him/her out? How can I do this without making the student feel intimidated? What would be the professional way to deal with such a situation.
>
>
>
Yes.
Of course, that "Yes" has nuance. There are cases that are blatant enough that they probably justify halting class to address something - especially if the sexist behavior was targeted at the women in the room. For less blatant cases, I believe it may still be useful to reach out to the student, because there's two possible scenarios:
1. They actually are being sexist. Being told that's not appropriate and it needs to stop is important.
2. They're *not* intending to be sexist, and aren't realizing they're being read that way.
For most cases, I would give the student the benefit of the doubt and assume the second, and couch things mostly in terms of professional conduct. That "Ms." or "Miss" isn't the appropriate title for a female professor. That there are more constructive ways to approach the criticism of a class, etc.
As an example, at one point in my youth, I was overly casual with a female professor - I was doing it because I knew her well at that point, but it was in a professional context and this conspicuously happens to female professors *a lot*. So I called out her name, "Amanda", to ask a question, and she swiftly, but not unkindly replied "Dr. username_11s" to correct me. I apologized and the world kept turning.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: If you accuse someone of being sexist, under circumstances where most people don't see actual sexism, people might think you are the one being sexist. If you do so repeatedly, **you will damage your reputation**.
Let's simplify and say there are only 3 kinds of sexism (which is not entirely true):
1. Unclear sexism, where degrading remarks could or could not be due to the gender of a person. Calling this out as sexism is raising an accusation without proof, which is generally considered bad form.
2. Sexist jokes. You can certainly call them out on the inappropriate behavior, but I suggest strongly against any form of punishment unless this happens repeatedly.
3. Blatant sexism. Call them out on it and consider social punishment (e.g. asking for an apology, or demand they leave the room).
You want to react to sexism, which is good, but keep in mind that overreacting will neither serve you nor the fight against sexism - something you can easily observe in many of the answers to your question. Keep in mind "the boy who cried wolf".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: If it was the first unintentionally [sexist, racist, whateverist] comment, leave it alone.
If it happened second time, comment it as "Hmm, funny", or any other sarcastic praise.
If it happens again ask the commentator to watch their tongue immediately. You can explain it after the course.
If it happens again, ask them to leave and discuss it with your faculty oficials.
If the comment is mocking you, do not waste time waiting and ask them to think first and speak later. It is not a bully; it is self-defence.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_13: It looks like this question has been through some edits, so to be clear, I am answering this version of the question, and for the purposes of the answer I will presume for the sake of argument that the perception of the OP of a sexist remark is a reasonable perception:
>
> Suppose that you noticed a student saying a sexist remark to you, and
> the student is completely unaware of it. In the spirit of fighting
> sexism, I feel that I should maybe say something. But on the other
> hand, as a person on the higher end of the power spectrum, I feel that
> I would be bullying the student if I were calling him out on his
> sexist remarks (which he is probably not aware of). If I witness a
> student engaging in a sexist behavior, should I call him/her out? How
> can I do this without making the student feel intimidated? What would
> be the professional way to deal with such a situation? My question is:
> If a student commits a clear sexist behavior in front of you, will you
> call him/her out? If so, how will you approach it so that you don't
> appear patronizing/bullying? (I made a major edit, because many
> answers addressed my "background" story rather than my actual
> question. I do not see any satisfactory answer that fully addresses my
> question.)
>
>
>
---
This is one of the things I absolutely hate about “call-out culture”. There is a whole world of possible teaching that can occur in the massive gulf between “calling him out” and “doing nothing”. Many of the students we teach in university are barely out of adolescence, particularly if they are in the early years of their undergraduate degree. You are the mature adult in the room, so it is probably not a great idea to use that authority and power to belittle this young man, or “call him out” during class in a manner that belittles him. However, your instinct to do something is correct; we all want to *teach* young people to do better. It would be perfectly appropriate to pull this young man aside after class and politely give him your views on his remark, and invite him to have a think about whether that is an appropriate remark. Don't treat this as *fighting sexism* (fist in the air); treat it as *teaching an immature young man* and helping him to grow up. My experience is that young men --many only a few years out of adolescence-- are hungry for knowledge, including knowledge on appropriate professional standards of behaviour from older adults.
I have encountered a similar experience to this in my own teaching. In one of my tutorial classes on mathematics, I observed that two male students were drawing pornographic pictures and showing them to a female student they were friends with, and chuckling about it. Although the three of them were friends, she appeared to be uncomfortable with it, and was not a participant in the joke. During class I told the boys to settle down and get back to their work, in a way that stopped the behaviour but did not intimidate or belittle them. (My favourite line in these cases is: “Come on now; you’re not at the pub”.) Then after class I asked to speak to them and had a more serious chat with them in private. This was a stern but sympathetic conversation, trying to give guidance to young men that were not mature enough to see that their behaviour was making someone uncomfortable. Based on their mortified responses, and their concern for their female friend, I expect that they probably learned the lesson, and I did not see any behaviour like this from them again. To me, this gives the best outcome – raise the matter *as a teaching opportunity*, but save any stern remarks for a private chat.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: **Ask for clarification**
"Student X, what did you mean by saying Y?" 20 something men can be *dense.* In their head, they may not intend the remark to be sexist, but they have no context from which to know. Asking them to re-phrase the same thing gives you a better idea as to whether the sexism was purposeful. If the re-phrased remark is harmless, then simply telling the student "That was a much better way to phrase that," gets the point across.
Another strategy is to say, "Student X, it sounded like you said (sexist comment here) is that what you meant?" This is usually enough to get the student back pedaling fast. It's important not to be aggressive with this sentence, you don't want to verbally cue the back pedaling, you do want them to double down if the sexist remark is indeed what they meant, so you can tell them it's inappropriate for reasons X Y or Z.
Gleaning from previous answers, in your specific case you could ask the student "Student X, why did you decide to drop the issue once you saw the other syllabus?" They (probably) won't straight up tell you "because he's a man" but if that was the reasoning, the response will trigger your lie detector.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_15: The role of a professor, as well as other professional in fact, is not to fight social wars that they deem are justified. Therefore, I disagree that it is your goal to fight "sexism", "racism", "(post-) colonialism", "orientalism" or whatever "ism" you fancy to fight for that matter.
The goal of a professor is to do research, extend human knowledge and convey knowledge to students. If you find a remark *personally* offensive I would indeed think how to react. Since you have claimed explicitly that it is not meant to be an offense by the student, then I conclude that you are not really offended (though sub-consciously you may be).
Therefore, I would suggest not to do anything as it is not the role of a professional to "educate" people to behave according to the desired social ideology that the state, or society, or intellectual circles hold to be "the correct one".
That said, if you find that the student has broken an explicit law, or an explicit regulations set by your university, then you should report him or her to the relevant person or police.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: We submitted an article to a SCI journal 2 months ago. Since day 1 the status of article is "Editor Assignment Pending". In the journal introduction they have mentioned that on average 1st review response takes 70 days.
As the start of review process usually takes 5-15 days in my area of research; therefore, we sent an email after 30 days and 2nd email after 45 days but there is no response from editor. In second email we requested to withdrawal of article so we may submit it to another journal.
Can we submit the article to another journal before hearing the response from editor?
Usually in my area of research the articles goes into review process within 5-15 days and it takes 2.5-4 months to get 1st review response.<issue_comment>username_1: Today it is very difficult to find reviewers, especially good and timely ones, unless the journal is very prestigious or rewards them highly (eg with editorials).
Having said that, this journal seems to be handled poorly. Thus, I would suggest you to pursue another scholarly venue.
If your email was clear in stating that you were definitely withdrawing the manuscript, then you can submit it wherever you want already.
Be prepared though that they may try to dissuade you stating that the revision process is already quite ahead (which could be true but not necessarily).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The delay in review can vary widely between journals and it does depend upon many factors such as availability, field of specialization, and the procedural overhead of the publisher. However, the delay in response is something that cannot be overlooked, especially if it is as long as 45+ days.
As you have already sent the manuscript withdrawal note to the journal, then it would be ethically acceptable to send the manuscript to a different publisher altogether.
---
A real life experience from my colleague in multimedia: the paper was submitted to a very reputable publisher. Alas, the number of reviewers for that field is minimal. Adding on to this is the editor's negligence. After two agonising years, the result was given: *out of scope*.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: As a postdoc I joined an existing project of a PhD student. I made significant contributions to his code and developed an entire framework X in the code necessary for my research. Developing framework X took at least four months. After I finished the project and was put on a new project, he initiated collaborations with people from other labs using framework X (not including me). Without framework X this research would not have been possible (unless he would have implemented it himself).
Now I noticed that they are writing up an article about their collaboration. So far I have not been contacted as a co-author. My question is: should I claim co-authorship based on the fact that I developed framework X, which formed an important and necessary part of the code to obtain their results.<issue_comment>username_1: Disclaimer: This is somewhat field-dependent. I'm answering based on what I believe to be the current situation in computer science / related fields.
1) Can you claim authorship given the way things have evolved? **Probably not.**
2) Would it have been a good idea for him to find a way to include you in the research collaboration so that you could get something out of your work? **Yes.**
The area of academia in which I work (\*) is structured so as to value ideas over implementation. In practice, that means that it's not uncommon for people who write large amounts of code for a project to get little credit for it, which seems inherently unjust.
The way sensible people usually handle this is to make sure that people who do a lot of implementation work are given an opportunity to contribute scientifically over and above that - that allows them to justify their authorship in scientific terms, regardless of the fact that they also made significant non-scientific contributions to the overall project.
It's certainly possible to take advantage of implementers by not doing this, but people who do that tend to find themselves doing the implementation work themselves.
**Bottom line**: He should have had the common sense to include you in the scientific collaboration, and if he didn't have that common sense then his supervisor should have suggested it.
As an aside, I would view the situation somewhat differently if you already had a publication as a result of your work. In that case, you've already got the credit for working on the framework, and there's less of a moral obligation to include you in the new collaboration: instead, they can simply cite you. I'm certainly not of the view that writing a framework entitles you to be involved in every paper that is ever built on top of that framework - indeed, I've written frameworks that other people have continued to use for later research, and I wouldn't expect to be involved with the papers in question.
(\*) As pointed out in the comments, this may not be the case in other fields.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: <NAME> is famous for saying:
>
> If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
>
>
>
and hopefully that's what the Ph.D. candidate has done.
The most important advice I would give you is **talk to them**, be forthright but not aggressive or accusative (certainly not to begin with). Use non-definitive language, i.e. explain how *you see* what has transpired, say that it *seems* to you that your contribution in writing the code *may* merit authorship - yes, don't be shy about that - and that you would like for them to let you know how the paper is going to look like for you to be able to understand whether or not that is the case. Don't claim they have done something wrong and don't talk about their motives. Make it seem like they would merely be putting your mind at ease.
About the actual question of whether you should be credited as an author or not:
* If the paper doesn't claim (explicitly or implicitly) that they wrote the "framework", or the significant part of the code that you wrote; and if it doesn't present that code/framework as its novelty - then **No**, you can't and shouldn't claim authorship.
* If those conditions are not met then **Maybe**, depends on the specifics. This is why my suggestion is to try to get more information; it might be the case that you can't expect more than a thank you note, it might be that you should be an author of that paper, and it might just be that they just refer to the framework as an interesting endeavor in itself which should be described perhaps in another paper than the one they're writing.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Authorship is much like right-of-way on the roads, in that it can be given but not taken. The answer to any question that begins with "Can I claim authorship" is no; instead one should ask "Should I receive authorship". Of course, both drivers and authors sometimes make mistakes (and can be criticized or punished for those mistakes), and sometimes people get hurt.
Such difficulties can be avoided by simply discussing, at the beginning of any research collaboration, what the possible authorship outcomes might be from the results. With an agreement in place, a potential he-said-she-said situation disappears, and a withheld coauthorship becomes a clear offense.
As the other answers and comments indicate, the specifics of the OP's situation is highly contextually dependent. OP should discuss how to proceed with senior members of his or her department, who will have more useful advice than strangers on the internet.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Approaching this question from a psychological rather than legalistic perspective, I would argue similarly to username_3 that the question you should ask is not "should I claim co-authorship?" When you feel a need to "claim" anything, you are putting yourself in an adversarial position relative to the student and other collaborators. This is likely to antagonize them and put them on the defensive with the perception that you are coming to stake a claim to a piece of property they have ownership of. Given the marginal nature of your claim, this zero-sum type of logic would mean that your chances of success would be very slim and you would run a substantial risk of hurting your reputation and/or souring your working relationship with the paper's authors and other colleagues.
On the other hand, it's important to keep in mind that this is not in fact a zero-sum situation. While I don't think you should be talking about "claiming" authorship, there is nothing to stop you from *suggesting* that you may become an author to the work by participating in its writing and including the framework you wrote as one of the topics discussed in the paper. The key is to do this in a diplomatic, sensitive way that appeals to the authors' self-interest and points out various ways in which it might very well be to their benefit to add you as a coauthor. It's also important that your offer makes it clear that you don't intend to force the issue and consider a decision not to include you as a coauthor to be a reasonable and legitimate one. Above all, avoid any use of accusatory, entitled-sounding or negatively charged words (such as "claim" or "deserve").
Here's an example (perhaps slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect) of how an email to the student bringing up the issue might work:\*
\**credit to @ff524 for the fictional - I assume - basket weaving research theme ;-)*
>
> Dear Joe,
>
>
> I heard that you and [insert name of group/collaborators] are working on a paper on your new results about basket weaving. Congratulations, I'm glad something came out of that project. I hope you manage to publish it somewhere good.
>
>
> I thought I'd run something by you in connection with that. As you know, I spent several months working quite hard on the Basketweaving Framework that you used in that analysis. While I don't necessarily think that that should entitle me to coauthorship in your paper (and if you don't want to offer me coauthorship, I understand and think that's completely reasonable), it did occur to me that if you were to offer to let me take part in writing the paper and become a coauthor you could get several benefits that might not have occurred to you:
>
>
> First, we could add a section about the basket weaving framework itself, which I created. I don't know if you wanted to mention it, but the new content could improve the paper and make it appeal to a wider audience, and possibly be accepted to a more prestigious conference, etc.
>
>
> Second, another way that I could help is that I am a really good writer and put a lot of work into each paper I write - you can look at my existing papers and see how polished they are, with great figures etc. - and I can assure you that I am willing to work very hard to ensure that this paper has the same level of polish that would help the quality of the work shine through. Did I mention that my most recent paper was accepted to the International Congress Of Basketweavers? ;-)
>
>
> Third, I've found in my career so far that while having coauthors does dilute a bit the credit you get for papers you write, it does so much less than you might think, and this effect is usually greatly outweighed by the fact that a coauthor is essentially a free spokesperson working for you, who goes around giving talks about your joint work at various places, and who can often say nice things about you in those talks that you couldn't easily get away with saying about yourself. Maybe it's cynical of me to be thinking in this way, but that's just one of the quirks of academia and how it operates and it's just as well to be aware of it.
>
>
> As I said I'm happy with whatever decision you and the group end up making, just thought you might want to think about this.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Even if he uses your framework, **he wrote the code** that uses it. So he is not required to let you claim authorship of it. However, you may be able to *politely* ask him to credit you (or similar).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: I completely agree with the accepted answer, assuming the contribution of the paper requires a reference to the output of the software.
In Computer Science (and in connected applied fields, such as Bioinformatics), the general tendency is to consider software as a "bona fide" scientific contribution, analogous in term of technicality and required rigor to a mathematical proof (the writer of which would certainly not be denied authorship in a Maths paper). So I would say the sole contribution of an unpublished critical component of the research in itself qualifies the OP for co-authorship of that specific study. Field-specific conventions (first/last author, stars and daggers, dedicated section...) may be able to clarify the contribution of each author.
Moreover, in computational fields (as in "Using computers to analyze genomic/astronomic/ecological... data"), a reference/url to the software used for the experiments would typically be required by journals for the sake of reproducibility. Since you did not publish the implementation, then the reviewer may not be able to reproduce the claimed result. So, unless you plan to publish your implementation at a later time, the easiest option would be for the authors of the study to include you and mention this novel piece of software.
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<issue_start>username_0: I have just completed a Ph.D. in May and have some papers I wrote for classwork that I would like to use to write articles for submission to publications.
Would this be self-plagiarism? How do I handle this?<issue_comment>username_1: The problem with typical self-plagiarism is that a scientific work or part of it is published twice in a peer-reviewed venue. This inflates the scientific credit obtained for this work and wastes the times of everybody involved in the publication process.
Assuming that your classwork is not scientifically published (if it is, you should know), you should not commit self-plagiarism. To be on the safe side, I suggest to clearly reveal the history of your paper when submitting. This way, the publisher cannot claim that you hid something from them and they can decide themselves whether they have any problems with it.
Some further remarks:
* If your work was published non-scientifically (e.g., hosted on the course’s website), this may conflict with the exclusive copyright wanted by some publishers. However, for most publishers, this should not pose a problem. Be sure to read the copyright-transfer agreement or similar thoroughly in this respect.
* Your university may impose some restrictions on publishing coursework. You’ll have to check.
* Be aware that whoever supervised your classwork (if anybody) may have contributed to it to such an extent that they deserve authorship. Again, this is something you have to check.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Would this be self-plagiarism? How do I handle this?
>
>
>
The answer here is simple: **no, this would not be self-plagiarism.** You would best handle this by not worrying about it.
More precisely, the entire concept of self-plagiarism simply doesn't apply in this situation, since the purpose of submitting work for publication is fundamentally different than submitting work as classwork for a course - in one case you are trying to prove that you have mastered some body of knowledge that's already known, and in another case you are trying to publicize (presumably) new things you've discovered.
It follows that the credit you would be getting for each of those two types of submissions is also of a fundamentally different nature from the other. The bottom line is that I don't see how anyone could reasonably accuse you of trying to get credit twice for the same work in a dishonest way (which is the essence of self-plagiarism), regardless of whether or not you mention in the papers you write that the work originated as classwork. You may still want to mention the origin of the work in your paper for its curiosity value or because you find it amusing, but it is essentially irrelevant from the reader's point of view.
With that being said, I find the fact that you ostensibly came up with original research as part of a class assignment highly unusual and even somewhat suspect. I would encourage you to consult an experienced researcher (preferably the instructor of the course you did the work for) about whether you assessment of the publishability of these results is accurate.
Finally, while you don't need to worry about self-plagiarism in this case, as username_1 and <NAME> suggested you do need to give credit to others for any contributions they made to the work, so indeed a "problem posed by [...]" or similar type of acknowledgement may be necessary. (The other concerns expressed in username_1's answer seem like total non-issues to me.)
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<issue_start>username_0: I did some research with some collaborators, and we have been writing an article ("paper A") describing the work.
A few days ago I received a request to review an article ("paper B") that covers most of our work. The authors of paper B have clearly worked independently on the same topic and beaten us to submission. (And fair play to them.)
This leads me to a number of related dilemmas:
The first, and I think easiest to resolve, is whether I have a conflict of interest in reviewing paper B. I think I can write a fair review, but I intend to tell the editor and allow them to decide whether I should proceed.
The other dilemmas arise mainly because I am bound by peer-review confidentiality. I should note that paper B is *not* available as a preprint.
Can tell my co-authors about paper B? I am convinced that confidentiality forbids me from *showing* paper B to them, but can I tell them that it exists and what it covers? My feeling is that the answer is 'no'.
But then, if I cannot tell my co-authors about paper B, then it seems I have to allow our paper A to proceed to submission even although I know of the overlap with paper B.
I am extremely uncomfortable with this, although one can take the view that since our work was independent, our paper A could still be published.
Furthermore, my first impression is that paper B is not suitable for the general journal to which it was submitted, but that I would recommend acceptance to a high-quality specialist journal, such as the one to which we intended to submit our paper A. This raises an unpleasant prospect: if our paper A proceeds to submission and publication, the authors of paper B might believe that I had rejected their paper and plagarized their work (a situation discussed in [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3124/what-to-do-if-a-referee-plagiarises-the-result-after-rejecting-a-paper)). This situation could arise even if I turn down the review request. Naturally, I want to avoid this.
How should I proceed? Could I ask the editor for permission to inform my co-authors about paper B?<issue_comment>username_1: Your question raises several quite serious ethical questions - thank you for posting it!
From the last part of your question it looks to me that you actually **do** have a conflict of interest, since you are afraid that what you write in your review may impact your future relations with this research group. I think it is best for you to withdraw from reviewing this manuscript, and fully explain your decision to the editors. I would even consider sending them a draft of your manuscript, if this does not violate your arrangements with other authors.
I am not sure your own paper can not be published. In my area it is not uncommon for two groups to produce similar results almost simultaneously (the second paper is submitted before the first is printed). This does bring some hard discussions sometimes, especially if the ideas are published on arXiv or presented at conferences. However, this does not stop papers from being published. Of course, you should not use anything from paper B to improve your paper A.
To summarise: In my opinion, it's best for you not to study paper B in too much details, withdraw from reviewing it, explain this decision to Editors, and continue working on your paper A.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: From the standpoint of **advancement of scientific knowledge**, it seems to me that you are likely better qualified to give actual intellectual commentary on the content of this paper than anybody else, save your co-authors.
If peer review only includes *reading* a scientific paper, then checks for accuracy are far more limited than the possibilities for someone who has actually *duplicated* the reported results in their own independent research and testing.
By definition, scientific results should be susceptible to reproduction. Who better to comment on the accuracy of conclusions made in a field than someone who *has* actually performed similar experiments? And who better to call a "peer" than someone interested and involved in exactly the same line of research, but independently?
---
Undoubtedly I am betraying a "misunderstanding" of the peer review process. I expect such interchange as I describe above is expected to take place *after* publication.
However, the peer review system as currently established has **not,** in my observation, had an excellent track record for scientific advancement. And at least one intellectual giant (who has worked through the system to the status of fully tenured Professor) **[agrees with me](http://markburgess.org/blog_peer.html).**
Thus **my answer is written with no interest in mind beyond what is optimal for the advancement of human knowledge.**
Very likely the easier action for you to take would be to operate in accordance with the current peer review process framework, as ably conveyed in [Dmitry's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/80597/46356). However, I feel it is important to bring up this side note, at least so you can consider it during the actions you take.
The purpose of peer review *should be* to aid and advance the state of scientific knowledge across the world.
---
<NAME>'s blog post, [Why I stopped caring about peer review, and learned to love the work](http://markburgess.org/blog_peer.html), is so pertinent I have to restrain myself from quoting it in its entirety. And I don't want to quote his potentially controversial comments out of context of the conceptual structure he built. But here is one excerpt from near the end of the article:
>
> Science rarely waits for publications to appear anymore. The process is so painfully slow that when a publication appears, either everyone has already read it, or no one is going to. So much nonsense gets into print that it is scarcely a real accolade to be in print.
>
>
> It takes months or years for a paper to reach print, and who can afford academic journals anyway? So, why would we not think: what if I just self-published my idea in a blog or a website? I could simply ask a smaller circle of people to comment honestly. And it would be searchable by anyone who might stumble across it with the help of modern search engines. Use the archives and the new social sharing sites. Technology can take prejudice out of the equation.
>
>
> It is up to each of us to exercise best-effort, to listen and improve -- to not waste others' time. So why not wait until we have real ideas, questions, conjectures that inspire others, then write them carefully and put them out there to stimulate a research community, instead of trying to shut down others as competitors (or less important institutions). That is what is now possible, without an old guard to get in the way.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: A very good question indeed: a lot of us can face a similar dilemma.
I believe **peer review is almost always about conflict of interest**. [EDIT] As discussed in comments below, this assertion seems exaggerated. However, pure open research might be rare. There are many fields where universal principles cannot be found, and discussed only at the level of truth. Incremental improvements are common. Grant funded research is competitive, and its evaluation leads to biases. To summarize it in a saying that exists in different forms:
>
> to steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is
> research
>
>
>
Who is the original author? <NAME>? <NAME>? <NAME>? <NAME>? Is this quote a cut-and-paste from many? Sources are discussed in [Quote investigator: If You Steal From One Author, It’s Plagiarism; If You Steal From Many, It’s Research](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/09/20/plagiarism/)
Because to be asked for a review of a paper, you need to share a similar interest (unless the system is flawed: how many have been asked for reviews outside their area of expertise?). And in the academic world, working on a similar topic cannot often be done without biases. And some apparently act unethically. I learned about Paper A submitted in a conference in Country C, rejected, and a year later same conference ([ICIP 2003, Barcelona](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=1247165)) at the, people for country C (in fact, one was in the technical committee of the conference) presented a quite similar Paper B, just aside to the guy presenting the resubmitted and now accepted Paper A. No proof.
In 1991, two groups, independently, published a paper on a very similar topic ([chirplets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirplet_transform#Definitions)). Paper A was published first, but Paper B was submitted first. Endless discussions followed.
If you **withdraw your expertise**, **a clean and honest move**, Paper B will follow its path to the reviewing system, independently of you. And quite fairly. Then, you can invite your coauthors to hurry, because you have heard that "a similar paper" was submitted. Or say them you have been asked to review it, and refused. And submit it to another journal. Hoping yours will make its way faster that the other, because better written, because of a fast editor, of a lucky hand of gentle reviewers. Perhaps, you can bet on a different field of application.
And as suggested by @Ian in a comment, why not openarchive ([arxiv](https://arxiv.org/)) your preprint, to set a date?
Whatever your choice, it would be difficult to act now as if you never received this paper to review.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I will address the part of your question concerning whether it is okay to tell your collaborators about paper B, which was not discussed in username_1's otherwise excellent answer (with whose content I agree 100%).
Let me start with a general remark: from an ethical point of view, when one agrees to keep some information confidential before seeing that information, it seems to me that such agreement is inherently limited in its scope rather than absolute. As a (rather extreme) example, say a friend is offering to tell you a secret but asks you to promise to keep it in confidence. You agree, and he then tells you that he murdered 10 people in cold blood. Obviously the usual assumption that it is your ethical duty to keep your promise is no longer valid at that point (except perhaps if you are his lawyer or priest, and even then maybe not).
The point of the above extreme example is that the context of the confidentiality promise, of the information you have promised (based on only partial knowledge of the nature of that information) to keep secret and of how that information interacts with your own work and other ethical duties to other parties, matters. In the current situation, I would argue that the situation is unusual enough that it is not covered by the usual default rules about the confidentiality promise being a very strong and essentially inviolable one. You are in possession of information that is highly significant to your coauthors, to whom you have some ethical responsibilities, but also a duty to respect the confidentiality of the author of paper B to the extent possible. How to resolve that tension?
My answer would be that it is okay to tell your coauthors about paper B. Don't go into any details, and in fact as Dmitry suggested, don't even study paper B in detail yourself to avoid implicating yourself in a very clear conflict of interest and possible conflict with your own conscience. But it is not unreasonable to caution your coauthors about the situation and discuss with them how your joint project should proceed in a way that does not needlessly cause a large waste of your combined efforts. At least, if you proceed in such a way then I think a reasonable person would not judge you harshly for what is in my view a small (and make sure to keep it as absolutely small as possible) violation of the confidentiality principle that is done in order to serve a greater good and satisfy your ethical obligations to other parties affected by the information.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: I personally think you should consider this: you are not the first to submit this work to a journal. Which is unfortunate, but verifiably true. So admit defeat, review the paper as best you can, and work on revising and extending your own results so that you can still publish something later.
By the way, this assumes that the work is in fact an exact duplicate. Given that you have done some work along the same lines, at first glance it may seem to be more similar than it actually is (this has happened to me more than once). So a very careful reading is in order.
As a side note, from what I have seen, the confidentiality strictures are frequently treated more as guidelines than real, when it comes to sharing with one's co-authors. Along these lines, I don't think there is anything preventing you from contacting the other group - maybe one resolution could be joint publication, depending on your field of work.
Finally a story about something that actually happened to a colleague of mine: He submitted a paper which was given to a reviewer working on a similar project, but months behind. The reviewer kept the paper in the review process until he could get his own work completed, and written up. He did this by raising objections to the content, to which my colleague responded in detail, then raising more objections, etc., all of which took months to resolve. My colleague's paper was only allowed to proceed after the reviewer's work was published.
This clearly unethical behavior probably happens more often than one would like, particularly when institutional pressure is brought to bear on the reviewer. But I think this is not too dissimilar to your situation, although maybe yours is a less extreme case. But frequently looking at the extremes can point the way to an answer.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: IMO you have a conflict of interest and should not review the paper. Even if you are able to review the paper impartially, this is not good enough. Conflict of interest is also about maintaining trust in the system and this depends greatly on perception. If, from the purest of motives, you reject this paper and then. later, publish your own very similar work how do you think others will view it, especially the authors?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: This is a crucial issue with peer review. These are some suggestions, which are much pertinent in an era of open peer review and ongoing accountability.
First, DO NOT REVIEW the manuscript. Whatever your final decision would be, you could be strongly criticized for your revision as you cannot provide an independent review. In addition, your ongoing research project would be tarnished irremediably.
Second, proceed with submitting your work as it stands or doing whatever you now deem appropriate to improve it, but remember that you will always be liable to criticism by the authors of the manuscript (in the ideal scenario you should have turned down the invitation without even reading the abstract).
Third, do not tell any of your colleagues. I know this is largely unrealistic, but this is what the authors of the other manuscript would feel appropriate and demand.
You were indeed unlucky, but eventually the scholarly literature will reward the best paper. My more personal suggestion is though to aim for a mid-tier journal, in order to make sure your paper is considered and published well before the other has reached the scholarly literature.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: You need to recuse yourself, citing a conflict of interest and explaining the situation. It is in fact accepted practice to discuss papers you are reviewing with collaborators and to share the MS to obtain a second opinion, as it were; and when they make substantial comments that you incorporate in your review, it is normal to acknowledge such a contribution. However, if you have a collaborator whom you suspect or fear might do something naughty after you tell them that group X has beaten your group to the punch, you may want to exercise a bit more discretion.
Another not uncommon solution that often satisfies all parties involved: if the paper by your group is ready to be submitted, discuss the situation frankly with the editor and ask for a side-by-side (well, one after the other) publication in the same issue of the journal.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: There is a relatively new website: <http://professorwatchlist.org/> whose [mission](http://professorwatchlist.org/index.php/about-us):
>
> is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.
>
>
> Help us identify, and expose more professors who have demonstrated liberal bias in the classroom.
>
>
>
What are the likely consequences for a US academic that is *exposed* as having a liberal bias in the classroom?<issue_comment>username_1: If that website is really about what it says it's about, then I don't think there's anything to worry about. Academics should be open to criticism, especially if they are vocal about their political opinions. Academic freedom means the government should not interfere with what professors teach, not that they should be shielded from criticism. There certainly is political bias among university professors and it's not unhealthy *per se* to question that via independent media.
Off course, this website is very partial and lumps together extremists, people under FBI scrutiny or who were convicted with people with simply non-conservative opinions, and people whose research actually contradicts some of the American conservative positions. That last bit is probably the only worrisome aspect.
I suspect readers of that website are really looking for a confirmation of opinions they already have. I don't think it's going to have a lot of traffic from random people (apart from the one you're generating with that link). That is also true of blogs and website from the other side of the political spectrum.
If such websites challenge facts because they conflict with their political opinions, then there is a threat and it's our job to fight it with science, not with political activism.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I very much doubt we need to be concerned with it *at this point*.
Collections like this have existed for a long time. When I was an undergrad, a minor incident on campus got spun up into Clear Evidence of Oppression (tm) and gets trotted out now, more than a decade and a half later. The site is, at the moment, pretty poorly designed, primarily a collection of innuendo and "X professor was mean to me", and like many user-submission dependent sites, is currently somewhat inundated with obviously fake examples.
Beyond that, the very pretense of the site, that there's a clear bias in favor of professors pushing liberal ideas that pervades and dominates academia also implies that exposure of a professor doing just that...won't do much, because an academics career is primarily dictated by other academics.
The list is only a threat given moves to shift the evaluation of academics into the political sphere. But those are separate actions, that should (or should not) be opposed on their own merit, because they have implications far beyond a random PAC's website.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think this is obviously backlash from the University professors who have been publicly named-and-shamed over the past 4 months for holding conservative views. <NAME> and <NAME> are the first that spring to mind, however there have been others.
Frankly, I don't think it will have the same effect and there's nothing to worry about. In all the examples of conservatives losing their jobs for speaking out against liberal views publicly (or privately and getting dox'd), the Dean of the institution or some other power figure within the university was the one to make it official and actually punish the conservative professor. Get them fired, academic leave, open letters, etc. The reverse just doesn't seem anywhere near as likely - an overtly conservative dean punishing a liberal professor? You'd have more chance of finding a unicorn. What i'm getting at is that liberal privilege exists within universities, and conservatives, ironically, don't have much sway over things. Liberal professors really don't need to be worried - but i'd still say that for the next 1 or 2 years i'd try and check as much of your own political baggage, whatever it may be, at the classroom door.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I create a software in order to solve a step of an specific problem. The results obtained (aided by the software) are going to be published in some journal. The focus of the publication is far away from that step.
The software may be very useful for other people because that step is involved in many common problems. It is not a huge code, but neither me or my collaborators known about other similar software for the matter. We know many researchers that solve it manually in long time.
I want to make the software available online. I wish to do it in some way that it can be cited (and the cites counted).
I can include the code in the supporting information, but I think that it has some downsides:
* Hard to find compared to a site like github.
* Impossible to polish and improve it.
If I don't attach it to a paper, then I don't know how it can be cited.
In short I want to: Make the code widely avaliable in some way that let me collect cites, and make me free to modify/improove the code after publication.
Is there any way? Which are my best options?<issue_comment>username_1: What do you mean by "and the cites counted"? Do you mean something like Google Scholar will index it?
If so, then the common route in CS is to publish *something* that introduces the program (although the code often lives on github). Then people will often cite that paper and or the repo whenever they use your program.
That isn't necessarily a ton of work either. Many conferences have workshops or industry tracks (in case you are an engineer and not a researcher). Also, see dgraziotin's [answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/14041/746) on publishing a paper in an open access journal so that others could cite his work.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You're already publishing something, and this would be the ideal object to cite for people that will use your software in the future.
I would suggest putting the software on a repository, or even on your own website. Then just ask that people cite your paper if they use your software for a publication.
Some examples from my field:
* <http://www.gromacs.org/Gromacs_papers>
* <http://autodock.scripps.edu/resources/references>
* <https://swissmodel.expasy.org/docs/references>
Many of the articles listed there got 100s or 1000s of citations.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: One option is to put it onto Github, which allows you to mint a DOI so that it can be easily cited by others, which in turn allows you to quantify its impact.
If you are a member of an academic institution you should check with your library services. Increasingly they regard themselves as custodians of data, and so may have a standard process for archiving and sharing code and datasets. Often this takes the form of a landing page with a stable URL and including a description of the code, with links to the source (perhaps tagged versions mapping to what you used in your publications) and compiled executables, if appropriate.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: This semester I've been teaching a few hours for another professor (I'm a Postdoc). The idea is that I get some teaching experience while he gets a few precious extra hours for his research.
His slides didn't come with any notes, and he hasn't been very responsive in answering my questions about exactly what he said when he delivered the content. I revised the material and edited the slides in preparation. But, after the first hour of class, I've covered about half the material, which was supposed to last three hours. So, I guess either I've missed something implicit (not on the slides) or I've just not paced the material well.
Short of practising in full, how does one take, adapt and own somebody else's lecture materials?<issue_comment>username_1: What do you mean by "and the cites counted"? Do you mean something like Google Scholar will index it?
If so, then the common route in CS is to publish *something* that introduces the program (although the code often lives on github). Then people will often cite that paper and or the repo whenever they use your program.
That isn't necessarily a ton of work either. Many conferences have workshops or industry tracks (in case you are an engineer and not a researcher). Also, see dgraziotin's [answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/14041/746) on publishing a paper in an open access journal so that others could cite his work.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You're already publishing something, and this would be the ideal object to cite for people that will use your software in the future.
I would suggest putting the software on a repository, or even on your own website. Then just ask that people cite your paper if they use your software for a publication.
Some examples from my field:
* <http://www.gromacs.org/Gromacs_papers>
* <http://autodock.scripps.edu/resources/references>
* <https://swissmodel.expasy.org/docs/references>
Many of the articles listed there got 100s or 1000s of citations.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: One option is to put it onto Github, which allows you to mint a DOI so that it can be easily cited by others, which in turn allows you to quantify its impact.
If you are a member of an academic institution you should check with your library services. Increasingly they regard themselves as custodians of data, and so may have a standard process for archiving and sharing code and datasets. Often this takes the form of a landing page with a stable URL and including a description of the code, with links to the source (perhaps tagged versions mapping to what you used in your publications) and compiled executables, if appropriate.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: She is sweet and helpful whenever I go to her office to ask questions about the problem sets or discuss my exam results. I have always felt like she is very picky when grading the worksheets or exams, at least in my case. For example, she would penalize a large portion of the points for a small mistake in a problem, and it really frustrated me. However, this morning, I talked to a classmate about a problem where we made similar mistakes. I lost four points out of five, and he lost half a point out of five. When I emailed to the professor about it, she told me that I am kind of “wronger” than him and that I could go and talk to her more, but that she was willing to give me one more point. I talked to her mainly because I thought it was unfair, not because I wanted that freaking point. In that problem, we had to draw a free energy diagram, and I made the energy curve between two conformations higher than both products A and B, but it should be smaller. But all the other parts of the graph are correct. For my friend, his conformation energy is higher than product B but lower than product A.
I am frustrated about it because I still think that it is unfair. I mean, if you assign a certain portion of grade to that part of the problem, only that should be taken off. For example, if you assign half a point for that portion of the graph, then only half a point should be taken off no matter how wrong that part is. However, in my case, 4 out of 5 possible points were taken off.<issue_comment>username_1: When lecturers mark the worksheets / assignments, they try to assess student's knowledge and understanding of the subject. Of course, they can not look inside the student's head, so they have to make judgement based on what they see. Mark schemes and rubrics are introduced for the sake of objectivity and consistency, particularly when several lecturers share the marking. However, we have to accept that no mark scheme and rubric can cover absolutely everything. There are always some distinctions between students' works which are not accounted for in the mark scheme, but still (by a lecturer's judgement) should be accounted in the grade. That's what she probably tried to explain to you when you asked.
It is impossible to tell from the fragments you show if your work is really of the same quality as you peer's or not. We can't tell by just looking on your graphs --- something essential may be written in the comments above and below. To me it looks like these two papers are both wrong in some aspect, but I am not sure these errors are "equivalent".
You professor backed up a little by offering you an extra mark. It is hard to tell, if you really convinced you that she's been unfair, or she just don't want to spend her life arguing about it. It may well be that she deviated from the rigid set of criteria prescribed by the mark scheme, but I would not blame this on her personally. The mark scheme is not the law, in a sense that it is probably not more important than your professor's expert academic judgement. I can see a point in your frustration, but it really looks to me just as a manifestation of the complex nature of academic assessments in general, not as her bias against you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't know whether this professor is grading fairly. I'm not comfortable with the subject matter. But if you are concerned that the grading may not be consistent, it is entirely appropriate to raise the question.
When it's a teaching assistant doing the grading, the concern should be brought up with the professor in charge of the course. In this case, it sounds as though the professor is doing all the grading without a TA. So you could raise the concern with the dean of undergraduate or graduate studies.
When you do, stay nice and calm in the way you talk about the situation. For example, leave out emotionally loaded adjectives: *"I talked to her mainly because I thought it was unfair, not because I wanted another point."*
If there is inconsistent grading going on, the department will guide the professor to be more consistent.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying for a Master's program and I would like to indicate that my GPA in the last two years of college has improved greatly and that my major GPA is high. However, my official transcript does not report major GPA or the GPA in my last two years. I want to manually calculate these two GPAs using the scale and key provided by my university and I will make a note saying that these numbers are not on my official transcript. Is that acceptable? I don't want the admissions committees to think that I'm trying to mislead intentionally, neither do I want to be viewed negatively for providing information that is not verifiable. Of course, I will include the GPA on my official transcript.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you can manually calculate your GPA. Additionally, mention the method or the formula you used to calculate your GPA so that the application reviewers can evaluate your application better. However, there are various third-party grade conversion/calculation tools available for free of cost, which you can use to get a better idea.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I think the most important thing is to list the specific courses that are most relevant to the master's program you are applying for. You could show a table listing the name of the course, a brief description if the course title isn't self-explanatory, and the grade received. If the grades in this table are all (or almost all) very strong, that will make more of an impact than some hand-calculated average.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying to Master's program in Computer Science. In my Statement of Purpose, I mentioned the names of a few Professors with whom I would like to work. However, accidently, I failed to address those Professors with a respectful title (I mentioned A and B, instead of Profs A and B). Now that I submitted my application to that graduate school, I am unable to change the uploaded SOP document. I realized this mistake within a few minutes after submission of my application.
Therefore, how can I rectify this blunder? Is it advisable to send an email those Professors regarding my mistake? Or is it wise to email my concern with a modified SOP to the graduate department?
Finally, will this error can hurt my graduate school application?<issue_comment>username_1: The culture regarding the academic titles is quite country-specific. In some countries (e.g. Germany) academics are more often referred to by title and surname, <NAME>, even in a classroom. In some countries (e.g. UK) students will address their lecturers by their first name, but refer to them by their title and surname in official writing.
However, these traditions rapidly change now because of the cultural mix in academia. With the growing numbers of professors with unusual names for European cultures, it is a more common practice now to include both name and surname after the title, e.g. Dr. <NAME>. It is impossible to maintain the same standard, and I don't think that academics generally care too much. It is still considered a good tone to keep the titles in official academic writing, but I don't think we expect all MSc candidates to know this.
Overall, my advice is: don't worry to much, don't write to correct it, just make sure you do it properly next time.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There is, of course, no guarantee something won't hurt your application. There are some people who care deeply about being addressed by their title, some for good reasons, some out of culture, and some just because.
But honestly, I very much doubt most of the people reading your application will care. An SOP is not a driver of admissions in most programs, often being used instead as a way to gauge whether or not you have any idea what you're actually signing up for, etc. A minor error like that likely won't matter. I would relax and let it go. Emailing the professors in question just draws attention to it, for little gain.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> I failed to address those Professors with a respectful title (I mentioned A and B, instead of Profs A and B).
>
>
>
You are confusing *addressing* with *mentioning* (or *referring to*). When you refer to a researcher, the name is sufficient. If I understood you correctly, that is what you did. That’s fine.
It’s when you **address** a researcher or professor that using a polite title is appropriate, such as “Dear Professor [Surname]” or “ "Sehr geehrte Frau Professor Doktor [Nachname]."
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: I had a chance to visit as an audience to an international conference in computer science. As usual, there were few keynotes before the scheduled paper presentation is carried out for the day.
During the presentation of one keynote speech, where the speaker (quite renowned in the field) made a very strong argument that the equation/method that he is using will solve a lot of problems. However, I could point that there was a mistake in the method (rather the equation) itself. The method did not obey the basic laws to solve any possible problems.
The discussion with the Professor continued for a while and he never agreed to what I was saying and I also never accepted those not-so-possible facts. This whole thing converted into an argument.
I understand that it happens during such process because of adrenaline rush. Now, after few days of wondering about it, I am thinking that I made a mistake. I am feeling bad. *Could it hamper my future/present career prospectives?* I am presently in my PhD research. I want to mail to the professor and say sorry for the incident. Not sure.<issue_comment>username_1: Unless you have convinced yourself that you were wrong or rude, there is not much point for an apology; in the first case, for insisting on a wrong point, in the second, for losing your temper, respectively.
If you are right, you should not apologise for making a point (again, unless you were rude, and then you should apologise for your manners, not for your statement).
In any case, writing an email will remind the prof of who you are, including name and affiliation.
Decide whether this is what you want.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Academia is one of a few areas where it is still OK to have a discussion and even an argument. In fact, some research groups are involved in long-standing discussion / heated competition / argument. Academic discussion is considered a way to improve our joint understanding of the world and to further the scientific progress and knowledge.
However, as in any game, there are some rules to understand and follow.
* It is OK to disagree with someone's argument, but you should listen and do your best to understand it first. If you don't understand something, ask politely. If you still don't understand, ask someone for a third opinion. If necessary, allow yourself time to think before you continue the discussion.
* It is very important to be polite and not to become personal.
* Seniority *per se* does not matter so much: professors do make mistakes sometimes, and they know it. However, it is important to remember that most of professors are called professors for a good reason, and they are indeed experts in their field. Their words are not always infallible, but usually quite well thought through. It is OK to ask a professor to explain his/her statement, but it is good to show that you generally respect and trust them as colleagues and experts.
As long as you followed these rules, I think you are fine and there should be no hard feelings. Otherwise, it could be a good idea to write back with a sort of apology. Professors are people first, and as all people, they have feelings, which should be respected. So if you fill you hurt their personal feelings, an apology would be nice.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: I graduated on time and on the top back then, but after that I had some problem with major depression and anxiety, hence I have some gap on my CV and for a while, I either couldn't work or worked below my qualification. My world literally fell apart but now I am trying to get back to my old dream. Next year, if everything goes well, I want to go get a master degree.
How should I explain myself? Do I need to mention my history with depression? I am from a country where mental health is still really badly stigmatised, but I'd like to apply abroad. I am not sure what's appropriate to say and what's not.
Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: In general, there is nothing wrong with mentioning a health problem when it is relevant, and that includes mental health. However, in this case, I don't see a particular reason to mention it.
People step off the hamster wheel all the time, for a variety of reasons, including their own health/mental health issues, having a baby, caregiving for a relative, being a trailing spouse and not finding the right position in the spouse's location, etc., etc. Sometimes a person is just plain tired after completing a degree.
Regarding the comment from @NatalieHogg, please note that after you are admitted to a program, you can still bring any disability you may have to the attention of the students with disabilities office.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am responding to this question as a senior academic from Australia, where discrimination on the grounds of a disability (<https://www.humanrights.gov.au/employers/good-practice-good-business-factsheets/quick-guide-australian-discrimination-laws>) is illegal. Other countries will have different rules and protections.
I see no reason for you to list this in your CV. If a gap is uncovered by an assessor or interviewer, then they will put this to you and seek clarification. It is reasonable for them to ask and it is equally reasonable for you to simply state that the gap was due to personal reasons not material to the decision. Where I work, this would be an acceptable response and no more need be said about it. If they press (and I wouldn't), you may state that the gap was due to personal health issues.
If they find out -- say, one of your referees inadvertently mentions it -- then the knowledge of your disability cannot be used as grounds for any decision that they will make.
If you get a spot as a Master's student, then part of the orientation program is a discussion of opportunities for people with disabilities. This is usually handled by another office independent of the academic department of which you are a student. In Australia, the nature of your disability and its management is protected by privacy legislation.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for a Master's in Computer Science for the program of artificial intelligence. I already took a class in A.I. but I got a "W" on it. I wasn't doing very well and wanted to drop the class, I was also taking 20 credits at the time and didn't had the time to put the extra effort.
**How will this be evaluated during my application for a Masters? Should I mention it or defend it anywhere in my application?**
**Some more background:**
I am not really into excuses, but if it helps to better understand why I dropped it. About half the class, dropped the class because the professor was not very good. His grading was unfair, and also for me it felt he had a personal nemesis, because he was also my academic advisor and very often I would disagree in a respectful manner as to what I want to pursue in my degree. I didn't want my GPA to be affected by a C or even F. Also he was not a very effective teacher, but he seems to be very respected in the academia (he has some of his research cited 800+ times). Which I am sure he deserves.
**EDIT:** I already graduated and recently been working and had to use AI.<issue_comment>username_1: **A withdrawal on a course that appears key to your masters' studies is probably a big deal.** It would be one thing if your W was in something more tangential to your onward studies. But if you have withdrawn from a class in the exact same topic that you now want to study for your masters' degree, you really do need an explanation for it. And it may hurt your chances.
**Unfortunately, you don't have a great story to tell.** It may well be true that the professor was a poor teacher, unfair, and even biased against you. But you don't really have any way to provide evidence of that. The admissions committee will just be going on your word. And unfortunately for you, those are the exact sort of things that poor students tend to say as excuses. Saying such things is likely to reflect poorly on you rather than justify your W (especially if the professor is respected in the field). I would avoid saying these things. If you get asked about it, focus on the fact that you were taking too many credits at the time and needed to cut back.
So, what are your options?
* **You could always just go for it.** This might be a negative on your record, but still you may get accepted into programs anyway--especially if the rest of your track record is excellent. It would be less worrisome if you have other classes or projects that demonstrate your ability/interest in AI.
* **Try to fill the gap somehow.** Either by retaking the course, or doing some other research/work in the area to prepare for grad school.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Apparently you are not currently enrolled in AI in fall semester. Bummer.
The options I see for you are:
1) Hold off with submitting your applications until after you have some documentation of spring enrollment or pre-enrollment in AI. Supplement your application by later (one or two months into the spring semester) submitting a letter from your AI professor to support your performance to date. Visit office hours so your professor can get to know you quicker.
2) Diversify. In your application(s), indicate a strong interest in some other branch of computer science as your primary subfield in your essay. You may speak of your interest in AI as well. Once you are admitted and enrolled, it should not be difficult to switch streams.
A letter explaining the W should not be necessary and would just come across as defensive.
I personally would lean toward option (2).
**Edit**:
>
> *"I already graduated and recently been working and had to use AI."*
>
>
>
If this work experience with AI is strong enough, and you can get this well documented through a strong letter of recommendation from a work supervisor, then you may just go ahead and apply. No explanation of the W would be needed in this case.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I would not worry about the 'W' if you have a strong transcript. Admission committees understand a 'W', even in a field of interest if your overall transcript shows you as a strong student.
**Be sure to explain why you are interested in AI in your essay.**
If someone brings it up, I would just say
>
> I had too many credit hours, and dropping that class caused the fewest problems with my graduation plan.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm teaching a course where coursework is submitted online.
Recently, an important group project assignment was due.
The students are required to submit a project report,
which contains a link to a video produced by the students,
usually uploaded onto a site such as YouTube, Google Drive or Dropbox.
We had announced that for every day that an assignment is late,
students will lose 10% of their score for that assignment.
As you might have predicted,
there were several student groups who submitted their assignments late.
The problem is that some of these students
have sent me e-mails begging me
not to impose the penalty for late submission.
They gave reasons such as:
* The original PDF file which we submitted was corrupted,
so after the deadline, we had to submit the PDF again
* There were some technical problems with the original video link,
such that it is not possible for the video to be viewed at that link,
so we had to upload a new video and are now sending you the new link
* The project was due at 9 PM, and we submitted it at 9 PM
(see our screenshot!) but the system marked it as late
Initially, I told them that
they will be penalized as specified in the policy,
in order to be fair to the students who did submit their work on time.
However, the students continued to say that
I should be more considerate or fair.
In my mind, I want to say to these students,
"Stop wasting my time arguing for marks!"
But this doesn't seem to be
the right way for me to respond to the students.
**How should I respond to these students
who keep on asking me not to penalize them
when the penalty is deserved?**<issue_comment>username_1: Adhere to the guidelines and syllabus you posted. If students can get around consequences of late submission by arguing, you have set a precedent, and they (and future generations of students) will argue again the next time. Don't go there. Consciously cultivate a reputation that pointless arguments don't work with you.
Next time, make it clear that "normal" IT problems like corrupted files or network lag is not your responsibility, and encourage students to upload their work sufficiently early so they won't run afoul of such problems. If possible, allow students to change their submissions, so they can upload whatever they have a week before the deadline, and keep on uploading polished versions, with the last successful submission before the deadline counting for the grade. This is the way most MOOC sites do it.
(Of course, if the university servers went down, you should take this into account.)
This earlier question seems to be similar: [How to deal with failing a student?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/46250/4140) (And I gave the same recommendation there.)
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have tried many methods, to varying degrees of success. Here are some that work.
1. Check the wording in the syllabus to make sure it's impeccable. For example, "due by 9pm" can be revised to more specific as "due by 9pm, based on the indicated time of submission on [whatever online platform]."
2. Allow for 15 minutes technical mayhem leniency. If it's due by 9pm and there is a technical issue, and the students failed to notify the instructor about the technical issue by 9:15pm through e-mail, it's considered as late. You may consider adding this term to the syllabus.
3. Consider a low-risk mock submission. For instance, insert a few smaller assignments or projects into the course so that the students can get to make a pdf, create a video link, and try the submission platform. This would help reducing their anxiety and also provide them a chance to identify possible technical issues.
4. ***Slightly evil approach:*** If you're indeed correct that they were late. And they just want "no late penalty." That's fine. Remember you still have control over bonus. So don't take any penalty, give them what they deserve. It's 10% penalty, which means their score should have been multiplied by 0.9. Now go and divide all other on-time assignment scores by 0.9 to grant other people's an on-time bonus, about 11%. I usually tell them "Now this is technically and validly late. I understand you don't want a late penalty and I am happy to retract that. Do know that I will apply a bonus to other students for being on time." I have also used this at students asking for bonus points or extra credits. I used the same method to them. Thus far, out of about 5 incidences in the last 6 years, no one went for what I proposed. (And it's funny that none of them took it even I switched to absolute grading from relative grading; somehow people cannot accept a scheme that benefit more than just themselves.)
I will not recommend allowing the on-time students another chance to revise for a higher grade. They have done their due diligence to plan their academic life and now would be coerced to spend more time on it. I don't think that's fair.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> **How should I respond to these students who keep on asking me not to penalize them when the penalty is deserved?**
>
>
>
I would say that your **"Stop wasting my time arguing for marks!"** just needs a slightly different phrasing. So if students keep bugging you with basically the same unfounded reason to grant some exception, I would finally write something like
"I did consider your inquiry and your arguments throughly. Based on the announced rules, the present facts and the points you raised, I formed the decision that the deduction of 10% does apply in this case. My decision will not be altered after further inquiries."
I feel that it often helps to acknowledge the inquiry and state that you considered the points.
In case you are discussing with the students in person, I would go for "inquiries on grade changes have to made in written form" (paper better than email), see my answer [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9014/what-to-do-about-grade-grubbers/9029#9029).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: My advice on the specific case is similar to the other answers, but I want to add a general point on such penalties. I have found time-dependent penalties useful -- immediately after the deadline, the submitter starts losing marks based on how late they are, up to a maximum (which could be the entire assignment if you're evil).
This penalty model has the advantage that submissions that are only a few seconds or minutes late will be penalized by only a small amount, and students won't feel treated unfairly for network lag and bother you. People submitting really late however will be penalized more harshly.
You can have non-linear penalties to teach them about exponential growth at the same time. A penalty of 1% after 30 minutes is not much and allows for network lag, computer problems, corrupted files, etc. But 50% after an hour should encourage submissions that are roughly within the deadline!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I found this useful to prevent students begging: Explicitly state that your decision is final and it will not be changed no matter what they claim. You could also follow with telling them they are wasting *their* time by arguing with you.
Edit: As explained in other answers, you should not budge from your decision. If you give an inch, next time a yard will be in question.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think instead of writing bulletproof rules for submissions, what you really need is to put a reminder above the deadline rules:
>
> It is recommended that students account for possible technical issues on their and their network's side by submitting **early enough** so they can check their results!
>
>
>
After all, all the problems you have mentioned were on their side:
* They submitted broken PDF. It's not exactly their fault, but it's fault of the software they're using.
* They did not check the video link.1
* They obviously did not account for network lag.
I think all this should be obvious to average person, but well, a friendly reminder won't hurt anybody.
Remember however, that if your evaluation script is broken, that's not a problem on student's side. Your system should first record time of submission, then handle the homework data.
**1** I see one exception here: If they submitted the homework on time, **then** the link went down, it's really not their fault and you should accept that. It's not clear from your post if it's the case.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: ### Combination of bullet-proof written penalty text, and very lax actual timing:
Official text: The submission system guarantees acceptance until 31. Nov 1pm. The submission system will close after the deadline and late submissions will not be eligible to any points.
Then configure the system to close down 24 hours later. Anyone who has not submitted by then will be more than 24 hours late and have no grounds to argue. - Anyone a few hours late will thank god for his luck that submissions were still accepted. You don't have any hassle.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: * Use services that backs up all changes and logs events.
* Set deadline for upload and deadline to verify succesful upload. (say one hour)
* If students encounter any problem, they shall inform you. (Server is down, what should I do?)
* Set the rule, that after deadline student will lose 10% per day.
* Count it as `-0.007*[minutes]`.
* Add false-complaint penalty of another [significant ammount].
Cancel the penalty only if the student **proves** that the hour-long delay was caused by university servers malfunction (brakedowns shall be logged) and that the work was done before the deadline (timestamp).
If they cannot prove their statements then apply both delay and false-complaint penalties.
You can make submission more bulletproof when using multiple services and the work must be uploaded to all services on time. Probability of all services corrupted is much lower than probability of one service corrupted.
---
Or you can reject their complaints saying:
>
> You were expected to upload your work and verify its validity **before** the deadline and proper plannig was part of the task. Your complains were raised late and will be ignored. Take it as a lesson for your further work.
>
>
>
In real life, companies are losing fortune per day if the work is delayed, no matter the circumstances. Students are about to lose couple of points. Take it to acount as well. :)
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: ### Stick to your guns.
If the submissions are late, then they are late, and the deduction applies. This is a crucial learning opportunity to gear up students for life in both academia and the 'real' world: deadlines matter. Make a point to emphasize this to the students, in class, along the lines of
>
> a post-deadline bid on a contract, or a late submission of a grant application, will most often result in the application not being considered.
>
>
>
Enforcing strict submissions deadlines is simply a reasonable model of life, and if students are playing brinksmanship by seeing how close to the deadline they can submit then that will also get them in trouble later on.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Since the issue here seems to be that you want to be slightly lenient without giving in to frivolous requests, here is another simple solution. Apply all deadlines strictly but give graded work that has total credit more than 100%. For instance you could easily have graded work that totals to 120%. It is especially useful if the extra 20% is more difficult, and you may even wish to label them as optional assignments or for bonus credit. People who are on time will have no need to do the extra work, but people who are late will have to earn the extra credit to cover their lateness.
The benefits of such schemes are obvious:
1. Students have an avenue to make amendments for their lateness.
2. Leniency with respect to lateness is not free and must be earned.
3. Not just the good students are encouraged to learn more.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_11: I would like to introduce randomness into the late submission penalty process, mimicking the situation in later life that you often do not know what the outcome of not finishing something by a deadline will be.
It would probably work better in the old days of having to physically hand in work, but I imagine a process where if you submit the work in late, for any reason whatsoever, I pull out a 20-sided die, and invite you to roll. Roll a 1, you get 0 for the work. Roll a 20, no penalty. 2-10, 10% per day pro-rated to the minute, 11-19, 10% per day, not pro-rated. After the first day, 20 also becomes a 0 zero mark, i.e. 10% chance of getting 0 marks, which should be somewhat motivating to not submit late. Obviously, there is no negotiation with a d20.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_12: After having a number of problems with group projects not being submitted on time and repeatedly hearing something like "*It was Jack's job to upload the file.*" I came up with the following strategy that helps prevent excuses like "corrupted file" and finger pointing...
>
> Students will work in assigned teams which will create a Powerpoint file as described below. This file must be uploaded to the class DropBox no later than 09:00 a.m. on \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. EACH STUDENT will be responsible for INDIVIDUALLY uploading a separate copy of their project file with the filename is to be your team name and your student email name and the Powerpoint extension (example: *superwinners\_jsmith32.pptx*). The Powerpoint project is a team effort and all members of the same team must upload the same file contents. **The project will be graded on the team's results HOWEVER individuals will have points deducted for uploading their individual copy of the work late.** On the other hand, if ALL team members submit their copy of the project file at least 6 hours before the deadline the whole team will earn extra points on the project submitted.
>
>
>
This approach is carrot & stick, with bonus points awarded for improved teamwork. Additionally it seems to help decrease the "let one guy do all the work" attitude that sometimes plagues group projects, since everyone wants the file on time for their own sake. The final deadline is hard, but the early deadline is a bit softer since I am trying to reward the effort to work together and to submit early.
Point out *verbally* that it is in everyone's best interest to work together on the project and help each other get the file uploaded early.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_13: **Require a proof of the assignment existence at the given date**
We all know that we should take upload time into account, but it is very easy to face unexpected delays when submitting near to the deadline: from the not accepting the , the generated pdf file being quite big (all those photographs looked very nice when preparing the document), the university server giving a timeout for the large assignment file, the teaching platform being slow when many files are being submitted at once, or simply the upload link being quite slower than expected.
However, an email simply saying "We are having issues sending the assignment foo of sha256 cb2730cb4d47b879f6f1a5627e0e94d8261065052375b5dd76abb44e1838008e" won't hit any size limit. They can even hand it out physically the next day in a DVD/USB.
By giving the cryptographic hash, they are committing to the exact file they will be handing out, thus you can verify there were no changes after the deadline. Explain to the students how to generate them on the first day, after the usual talk on "take into account upload time". You may even encourage them to email that (or post it into the forum for your lecture) on normal submissions (no screenshots showing the upload).
Having an official procedure will (a) make students more confident about what to do when genuinely getting computer issues handing out a work they performed on time and (b) give you an argument to disregard claims for students that did not follow the given procedure in case of upload problems.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_14: In addition to agreeing with the general don't negotiate view of other responders, I always make it a point to remind students that my university has an appeals process that allows them to lodge an academic appeal if they believe that they have been unfairly treated or discriminated against. Some of my colleagues don't like me mentioning appeals but my own view is that it is simply part of my adherence to formal processes. Some students are already aware of the availability of an appeals process and it strikes me as being, in some ways, discriminatory not to mention the (often foreign) students who are not familiar with the idea. One of the things positive things I have noticed, however, is that a student will rarely persist with their attempts at negotiating/bullying ... and only *very very* rarely will one appeal.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for masters in computer science. Is a Master's at CyberSecurity possible?
Can I pursue a Master's in a field like CyberSecurity if I am not a US Citizen? Most research is sponsored by DARPA or the government(I suppose requires security clearance). It would make it difficult for me to be involved with anything even after been admitted and maybe it will steer the admissions from rejecting my application.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Most research is sponsored by DARPA or the government (I suppose requires security clearance)
>
>
>
Some specific research projects in cybersecurity may require security clearance, or are restricted to US citizens. The *vast* majority are not restricted in this way. You can see this for yourself by looking at the author lists of papers published in conferences like [S&P](http://www.ieee-security.org/TC/SP2016/). Specifically look at those papers coming from US institutions and note the many papers with at least one author who is an international student.
US graduate programs in cybersecurity routinely admit large numbers of international students, who for the most part have access to the same research opportunities as students that are US citizens. If you want to be sure that the program you are applying to conducts research in which non-citizens may participate, check the authors of publications coming out of that lab - look up the authors online, and see if there are many international students among them. Some labs might also have a web page where they list current graduate students involved in their research.
(You obviously can't determine citizenship of an author accurately with a Google search, but if there are a large number of international students involved, it's almost certain that there are also non-citizens involved.)
One difference is that you will not be eligible for certain federal fellowships specifically for US citizen students involved in cybersecurity research, such as the [Scholarship for Service](https://www.sfs.opm.gov/) program.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You will not be able to obtain a US security clearance, this is reserved for US citizens only. You will have to find a program that does not require a security clearance, or the ability to obtain a security clearance, as one of the requirements.
As for the research side, this will definitely depend on where the money is coming from and you would have to check with the PI. Without the clearance, you will definitely have limited access to resources.
If you want to work in *industry* in the US, you will definitely need to become a citizen.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: One of my colleagues at my institution, <NAME>, is the editor of a journal, Journal X, (and I am not involved in the journal in any way). I received an email by a professor, <NAME>, who had submitted two articles to Journal X and accuses Prof. A. of intentionally delaying the publication of these articles by not handling them properly. Prof. B claims that Prof. A did not answer his queries per email and that another editor of Journal X also did not answer his emails. The email I got from Prof. B was openly targeted to several other colleagues at my institution and also to a number of other people I do not know and also to Prof A. At the end of his email, Prof. B asks me (and the others - more or less verbatim) "Is this attitude of Prof. A normal or are there any unethical elements [...]?" and to "join in this story".
I found it disturbing that Prof. B wrote such an email to such an audience and I would say that his way of addressing the situation was not ok. However, I wonder what my reaction should be. Normally, I would just stop by at Prof. A's office, but I am on sabbatical leave so this is not an option. I do not know more details about the issue of the publication, but I think that these do not really matter in this case, as I only want to ask about what I should do:
* Should I answer Prof. B that this way of addressing the issue was not ok?
* Should I inform Prof. A that I found this email inappropriate?
* Should I just act as if I haven't read this email?
I would especially appreciate answers from people with experience on an editorial board, but other guiding comments are also helpful.<issue_comment>username_1: Delete the email (or move it to one of your folders where you keep old ones).
From what you describe, you have no business joining the complaint since you *have* no complaint again colleague A. It is, in other words, not something that actually affects you: someone has beef with colleague A, and that is their business, nor yours. Worse, if you did get involved -- even if just by writing back to B --, there is nothing for you to gain, just collegiality to lose. It's neither worth your time nor your reputation to act any further than reading, then ignoring the email.
If anyone ever asks you whether you got the email, just tersely say "Yes, I got it; it was none of my business, so I ignored it."
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Should I answer Prof. B that this way to address the issue was not ok?
>
>
>
You *can*, if you feel strongly about it. But I think it is perfectly okay not to respond. First of all, you are one of a long list of recipients, so it would be quite unreasonable for Prof. B to expect each and every recipient of the email to set aside their work and life to dedicate themselves to studying in detail the situation he is describing and then write an equally detailed reply. Basically, to put it bluntly, Prof. B's email can be reasonably classified as spam and there is certainly no obligation to reply to it in any way.
Second of all, you are on sabbatical, which is a sacred time you should devote to nurturing your own interests and passions and ignoring the daily trivia and tedium of academic life. The case for not responding is therefore even stronger (to the extent it needed any strengthening).
>
> Should I inform Prof. A that I found this email inappropriate?
>
>
>
Again, you have been implicated in this business completely through the actions of others and have no duty to take any action. If you feel strongly enough about the inappropriate email that you feel compelled to write to Prof. A, go ahead. But there is absolutely no need to do so.
>
> Should I just do as if I haven't read this email?
>
>
>
I wouldn't falsely pretend that I haven't read the email, if that's what you mean - that would be dishonest and unprofessional (and besides, you have now documented publicly your knowledge of the email ;-)). Nor would I plan on saying (as username_1 suggests in his answer) that I deleted it since it was "none of my business" (I don't think that unethical behavior by others is none of my business - it would be perfectly appropriate to consider it my business if I were so inclined). But as I said it would be completely appropriate to file the email away (or delete it, as you prefer) and take no further action. Whether you *should* do that depends on whether you are interested in getting involved in the story.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: If you have knowledge, independently of B's accusation, that A is behaving badly, it's up to you to join B or not, depending on how much you care. If you don't have any such knowledge then you shouldn't.
If you have knowledge that B's accusations are wrong then you should inform B if you think B is mistaken, and you should inform A if you think B is intentionally spreading false accusations. If you have no knowledge that B's accusations are wrong then you may contact A about it or not, depending on how much you care.
Consider that getting involved in any way may cause you inconvenience, and not getting involved when someone is wronged may cause you a bad conscience (or worse).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This sort of complaints shall be solved with
1. prof. A himself;
2. prof. A's superiors (dean,...)
If you are not entitled to command prof. A this e-mail is probably a campaign to dishonest prof. A. Of course, prof. B might be that desperate, but it think it is implausible scenario.
I would forward the e-mail as it is to prof. A with full list of recipients with comment:
>
> Dear prof. A
>
> I have recieved following e-mail recently and I think you should be informed about the campaign against you.
>
>
>
Or you can mark it as SPAM and forget about it.
Upvotes: 1
|
2016/11/29
| 443
| 1,725
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have a paper that I uploaded to arXiv and google scholar listed it as a publication.
Since then the paper has been published in a nature journal several months ago.
The nature publication still hasn't showed up on my scholar profile, which still lists the arXiv version.
Is there any way to resolve this conflict?<issue_comment>username_1: Do you have a google scholar account? If so, you can manage these on your profile page (look for yourself in scholar and click on your name).
One way is to add a manual entry by going to your profile(click "Add" => usually it's listed there, if it isn't, click "Add Manual Entry"). In the interest of keeping your citation, you can also merge both articles (on the profile page tick the boxes next to both entries and select "Merge").
Alternatively, you can also edit the publication by clicking on the title of the publication, edit the information there to reference Nature as opposed to arXiv.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In a [blog post](http://serialmentor.com/blog/2015/10/8/Google-Scholar-bug-redux), <NAME> describes a bug with Google Scholar where it does not update pre-prints once the article has been publsheed. He notes that:
>
> 1. The bug exists
> 2. The Scholar team is aware of it
> 3. They don’t know how to fix it
> 4. They don’t think it’s a particularly pressing problem
> 5. For any given paper, the problem will go away eventually, after several months or more
>
>
>
The other answer by cirne recommends that you upload your own citation. This will update your Scholar Profile but not Google Scholar. Thus, your profile will be correct, but others cannot search Google Scholar to find your papers.
Upvotes: 4
|
2016/11/29
| 761
| 3,417
|
<issue_start>username_0: Our paper was rejected multiple times; several months later, another group published similar results in Nature. Though some details were different, the main logic and key points of the research were the same.
A reviewer of our paper said our work lacked "broad readership" - this critique does not make sense to me. Is this because there are no "big guys" in our paper? Or our figures were not enough to impress the editors? Or because our university is not famous enough?<issue_comment>username_1: Though I haven't seen this language used, if it was the editor saying "broad leadership" rather than a reviewer, I suspect what they mean is that they did not feel your paper was sufficiently revolutionary for their tier of journal. The editor would likely base this decision on lukewarm reviews, even if those reviews are not fully negative.
Your options in this situation would be to
A) publish in a lower-tier journal, to make sure your work takes precedence in the field even if it lacks some exposure, or
B) better emphasize the novel aspects of your work in a future submission.
I also like the suggestion by @Ian\_Fin that "leadership" may have been a typo from "readership" which I think would make much more sense, but my conclusions and interpretation are the same: this is the editor saying your work is not sufficiently groundbreaking for the tier of journal and either belongs in a more specialty journal or you would have needed to improve the writing to clarify the significance to the broader community.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In my experience, it means that there aren't big guys/labs/university in your list of authors/institutions. I have seen this many times, where a study on a species X from a Developing country from a big lab in a developed country gets published, and when another study on a species X from a developing country performed by scientists from the same country is not even sent to review because it is not considered interesting for the journal's readership. I am not talking here about methodological mistakes or major flaws, as sometimes those papers are not even sent for review.
At the same time, I have seen papers considered uninteresting by professional editors of journals like Nature, but considered major contributions and landmark papers for journals with scientific editors (and that have open review processes). Which suggests that professional editors rely more on percieved prestige of research groups and institutions to make decissions when they do not know enough about a given subject. That is obviously bad for science.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't think we can judge the exact circumstances to treat this as a general question. Could be an issue of prestige, could just be statistical variance, could be that that other paper really was better.
I would give you (or others in same situation) practical pieces of advice:
1. Aim more for decent journals (e.g. ACS subspecialty) versus the biggest prize journals if you are worried about this sort of outcome.
2. Write very clearly. Follow all the Notice to Authors instructions and use good English. Have strong native speakers brush the paper up if you are not a good English prose writer.
3. Push it through fast so you don't get scooped (1 and 2 help here, but there are other things you can do along the way).
Upvotes: 1
|
2016/11/29
| 1,192
| 5,210
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm a postdoc having a difficult relationship with my adviser. Rather unexpectedly, he started literally bombarding me with all sorts of mostly unjustified accusations, including that I'm not productive enough and all sorts of personality-related complaints. I'm in the process of applying to a new postdoc. Will have the first interview in 1.5 days. Given the present situation, I don't expect a good recommendation letter from my adviser. However, I have already listed him among my recommendations.
**What should I do?**
* A. Not say anything about the relationship with my present adviser during the interview.
* B. Be upfront and mention that I have a poor relationship with my adviser and can provide more details if needed.
I'm quite confident I'm treated unfairly and can explain the situation to my advantage.
I talked to two professors whom I trust, and both of them suggested I should not say anything about this in the first interview. One of them thinks that I might get a good LOR after all; this is his justification. I would prefer not to rely on this. Thus, I don't know what is the best option. I will get another, strong recommendation letter from a very reputable professor who helped me in the past.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is a follow-up to my [previous question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/80370/23352).<issue_comment>username_1: An interview is never the place to bring negativity into the discussion. Always, have nothing but positive things to say about all your committee members. Even if you were treated unfairly by this person, anything negative you say only makes you look bad. Include him in the references...he is/was your advisor. If he gives a negative response to those who inquire about you from him, then that reflects on him, not you. By all means, take the high road, it will show your personality and professionalism in a positive light.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: A bad review from your present advisor will probably hurt you significantly. However, I think you will do more damage if you try to discredit your advisor's reference ahead of time: you risk sounding like a poor employee, particularly if your advisor is respected in your field.
Instead, I would prepare evidence to counter a possible negative recommendation. If you expect your advisor may critique your productivity, emphasize work you have completed in your interview. Unfortunately, if you have failed to publish your work in your current position, that may be difficult to prove, and the responsibility for that is not only on your advisor but on you as well.
If you anticipate critiques of your work ethic, how well you play with others, etc, and your other reference has not yet submitted a letter, you could ask them to specifically highlight those qualities. If they already submitted a letter, hopefully they already addressed these issues.
I would be careful about how you describe your relationship with your current advisor in the interview: keep the high ground, and don't make judgments of value. If you produced one good publication where your current advisor expected two, don't say "Bob had ridiculous expectations for my productivity" - instead, try something closer to "I worked on two projects with Bob - we were able to publish project 1 after \_\_\_ months but ran into setbacks on project 2."
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would ask your current supervisor if you can expect a good reference letter or if you should look for another reference in the future. Perhaps it would give you the opportunity to talk about his negativity towards you and to find an amiable way to continue to collaborate. And it would let you justify to him or discuss frankly his expectations and yours and try to come to an understanding.
If he is going to give you a negative reference, which he probably won't do because, in that case, he should've said he would not write a reference for you, then you can prepare your game plan.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Under the perspective of an interviewer: the value you hold of your advisor is the value that you might be inclined to hold of your prospective boss.
Hence under all circumstances talk positively of your supervisor. State that his guidance was indeed helpful and that his feedbacks were constructive and indispensable. If your advisor's LoR were positive after all, your qualities would be attributed. It will still support you even in the case of a negative LoR.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Negative LORs have to be fully backed up with actual evidence. These are professional working documents and have consequences on career advancement.
Any form of negative reference can be considered libel (written) or slander (verbal) without supporting proof and should be reported immediately to the departmental administration. This is why they get the big bucks - to prevent expensive escalations.
Junior advisers are more likely to err on a LOR. Take quick and firm action if this occurs. Admin can yank an adviser's leash quite effectively. Everyone can benefit from a little adult supervision now and then.
Upvotes: 0
|
2016/11/29
| 639
| 2,900
|
<issue_start>username_0: After one round of minor revision, my submission has now reached the "Awaiting EIC decision" stage. In the meantime I just wanted to get some insight on what this entails. Do editor-in-chiefs usually follow the recommendations of the associate editor below them who managed the review process?<issue_comment>username_1: For a journal large enough to have multiple layers of editors, the EIC is unlikely to be directly involved in the processing of most articles. Depending on the journal policy, the EIC may be formally required to approve all publications, but this would be a pro forma step in ordinary circumstances. For some large journals, the an article may never cross the EIC's desk at all if there are no problems during the review process.
When the EIC would become involved is if there is a problem. I think this would normally occur when an author protests against a rejection. However, it is conceivable that an associate editor might escalate a problem that occurred internally, if there was some peculiar problem with the submission or the reviews.
In your case, if you are not aware of any unusual circumstances surrounding your submission, I would assume that the EIC will follow the judgement of the associate editor.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: TLDR: journals have their own procedures and understanding what is happening in your case will depend on the journal's processes.
Allow me to detail two opposing processes, each involving two different journals I continue to advise. Both are non-open access journals that have been in operation for decades.
In the first journal, published fortnightly, deputy editors gather twice a week to discuss the manuscripts under preparation. During these meetings, the Editor-in-Chief is almost always present. Each of the deputy editors presents each manuscript under his or her care, with a recommendation to the group. There is brief discussion and consensus is reached. The Editor-in-Chief generally accepts the decision of the group, but there are times when he has overridden the consensus. The deputy editors always inform the authors that the decision has been reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and all deputy editors.
In the second journal, published six times a year, deputy editors work with more independence and only call on the Editor-in-Chief when red flags arise.
In the end, there are more processes than there are journals (mainly because workflows change all the time even in the same journal). Trying to read into a statement in the email is like divining from tea leaves.
It is generally the case that deputy editors are happy to describe the editorial process to authors. I suggest that you might wish to contact the journal directly and seek clarification about what to expect. Make sure you read the journal website, though, because it might be explained.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/11/30
| 551
| 2,374
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently cowrote a paper which came out somewhat long: 40+ pages. We uploaded it to arXiv in this form, but afterwards decided that it would be preferable to publish it as a series of two papers. (It was a natural decision given the length and the fact that it naturally splits into two weakly interacting parts. On the other hand, there is arguably some added value in having a combined version of the paper available somewhere.) At this moment, one of these parts has been submitted to a journal, the other one is still work in progress (the introductory sections need to be written almost from scratch).
What is the best way to record this on a CV/publication list at this point? Of course, it goes without saying that arXiv preprints are not nearly as important as published papers, but it seems it would be honest to own up to all of my writings in some form.
Options I see:
a) Just reference the preprint on arXiv, and worry about the rest when the other papers are accepted,
b) Mention both the preprint and the submitted paper with an awkward note explaining what is going on (perhaps this should also involve uploading the half-paper to arXiv).
(If relevant, my field is pure mathematics, I'm a PhD student about to graduate. I do need an up-to-date CV.)<issue_comment>username_1: Option (a) does seem to be a better choice at this point in time. Later, when one of the parts are published, it would be better to list only the published article instead of the preprint. If you are concerned about the visibility of the other part of the work, you may upload a preprent of just the other part to make sure there are no overlaps in your publications list.
Once both papers are published it would make sense to only include those articles without the preprint entirely.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This answer is under the assumption that the second paper will be publicly available within a few weeks - before job applications you have submitted are likely to make their last round of decisions (which takes longer than you might think):
I would list the two papers you will submit on your CV, with a note about their relationship to the ArXiv preprint, so:
Paper 1, submitted, longer version available as ArXiv.blahblahblah
Paper 2, in preparation, to contain material from ArXiv.blahblahblah not in Paper 1.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/11/30
| 926
| 4,011
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<issue_start>username_0: Ten months ago, we submitted an article to a journal, which is still under review. In the meantime, we have made a few extensions/improvements to the submitted article.
Can we submit the extended version to another journal? How can we cite the work presented in the article under review?
Do we need to inform the editors of both journals regarding the submission of the extended version?<issue_comment>username_1: The main issue here is whether the so-called extensions or improvements are substantial enough to classify the revised version as a separate paper. In general, I think not. In addition, that you've "improved" a paper means that the older version is "deficient" in some way (or else, why "improve" it?). If so, then you are doing the original journal a disservice by having them review a deficient paper.
I am part of the editorial team of a number of journals. In none of them would we appreciate you submitting essentially the same paper to another journal. In fact, if we found out, then we would contact the new journal and discuss the case in tandem. In addition, if we received a submission, we expect you to assert that the manuscript was not being reviewed elsewhere. It i likely that you would not be able to make this assertion to us, knowing that an earlier version of the paper was being reviewed elsewhere.
Perhaps you're thinking, "why not submit the revised paper to the same journal because it has improved on the original manuscript?" Even this is pretty frustrating from an editor's point of view. It is likely that, as editor, I'm waiting for reviews of your original paper to arrive. If you were to submit a revision to me during this process, it would be rather disruptive and I would ask why you submitted a half-baked manuscript to us in the first place.
What can I advise you? I suggest that you contact the Journal and ask for the deputy editor who's handling your manuscript. I would discuss your situation citing these two significant issues: (1) 10 months is a long time to wait and (2) during that time, we've made improvements to the manuscript. Then I would ask them what to do.
Deputy editors are human, too. If they understand your situation, then they can advise you accordingly.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In my research area, journals have clearly defined rules that are relevant for this situation. For instance, one particular journal, *[Software and Systems Modeling](http://www.sosym.org/submission/)* (SoSyM), has the following rules:
>
> **SoSyM Policy Statement on Plagiarism**: Papers submitted to SoSyM must not be simultaneously submitted as is, in an extended form, or in a shortened form to other journals or conferences. Authors can submit extended forms of papers that have previously appeared in conference proceedings. Such submissions must clearly state that the paper has been published elsewhere, must reference the paper in the submission, and must clearly state how the paper significantly extends the published version.
>
>
> [...]
>
>
> **No Self-Plagiarism**. Manuscripts in which at least 75% of the content appears in a non-journal publication or in which at least 40% appears in a journal publication will not be published.
>
>
>
You should check the submission policies of your target journals carefully for such rules.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_1: As noted by others, there may be a problem if the extended paper isn't original enough to be a separate publication.
Another problem is: **what about potential requests for revision when you get feedback from reviewers on the original paper?**. They might ask for some of the very improvements you have already made. Or they might ask for changes that put this paper out of line with the "extended" version. In either case, you have a bit of a mess if the extended paper was already submitted elsewhere.
In any case, I think you need to wait until you have a decision on the first paper to proceed.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/11/30
| 2,950
| 12,143
|
<issue_start>username_0: Today I had a fellow student (who is working on a master's degree) come to me and inform me that our mutual advisor (call her Professor WW) had just dropped her as a student for "personal reasons." I am a more advanced doctoral student and have some niche expertise that my advisor does not have, so I do not feel like I am in personal danger of being axed as well, but I want some advice on how to proceed with this situation.
My colleague (call her QQ) is entering her final semester of a master's degree, so naturally having her advisor drop her is rather troubling. QQ is a high quality student and is an excellent worker. She is the type of person I am privileged to have as a colleague. I was very surprised to hear that WW had curtly told her to find a new advisor.
QQ was funded via an NSF grant that WW had. As such, QQ had turned down other funding offers. With the abrupt dropping, Prof. WW obviously also cut QQ's funding. This has left QQ scrambling for funding for next semester with about two weeks before school goes on holiday.
To make matters even weirder, Prof. WW told QQ to not mention this to anyone and that she (WW) would arrange a new advisor for QQ privately, a complete circumvention of the department administration. The advisor that WW has chosen to pursue for QQ is on sabbatical until April 2017. (So,...not a great option).
While QQ has done some of her thesis, she is still at a stage where having an advisor is critical. The only professors who have enough expertise in our area of research are either on sabbatical or are the brand new department chair (and hence is "too busy for grad students").
Professor WW is up for tenure soon, and I think she is fearful that this antic will reflect poorly on her (since, well, it does). As I mentioned, WW has a large NSF grant. She produces a lot of papers (mostly on the backs of her grad students honestly) and brings in lots of money. She probably will get tenure.
Should I do anything here? Professor WW does somewhat control my destiny, but I already have a strong dissertation topic I feel, and I am not so far along that I could not just switch advisors if it came to it due to politics.
Am I ethically obligated to mention behavior like this to the administration, especially with the tenure considerations? I want to advocate for my colleague QQ, but I also do not want to be blacklisted in my department for stepping out of line.
---
**Additional Information**
Some of the comments or answers have suggested that QQ was caught cheating/plagiarizing in some way. I am going to take this into consideration. It is a reasonable thought, not so much because I feel that QQ might actually be a cheater, but just because there is a (albeit very tiny) probability that QQ plagiarized.
Still, the last we spoke, QQ has been in contact with someone at the university level to guide her through the process of switching advisors. Unless QQ is much less intelligent than I thought, she probably will not be going down on the official record of filing a grievance if she had been caught doing something nefarious that WW had any semblance of proof of.
As for the thoughts on some sort of romance that developed between WW and QQ.....even less likely than QQ being a cheater in school. Let's just leave it at that.<issue_comment>username_1: **Advise your colleague to take this up with whatever graduate student support is available at your institution.**
As a fellow student, there probably isn't a productive way for you to intervene directly. You don't have any official role or reason for involvement, and any action you can take could be taken more effectively by the student herself.
The situation you describe is quite troubling. If this is the whole story, then action ought to be taken (and hopefully the university will support the student). But she really needs to be her own advocate here.
However, keep in mind that you only know one side of the story. Even though you think quite highly of this student, you need to be cautious in jumping to conclusions. Sometimes (though not always) when something seems inexplicable, it's because there is more to it than meets the eye. So I would be careful not to take any rash actions. Don't let this unduly affect your professional relationship with your adviser.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A **demand for secrecy** from a person in power usually means **real trouble**. Some kind of shenanigans are afoot. Sex? Drugs? Rock'n'roll? Research fraud? Plagiarism? Seriously, something is wrong. And, it's not clear who is responsible for starting and continuing these shenanigans. It could be WW or QQ or other people.
So, be careful. If I were you, I'd refrain from personally intervening in this situation except to offer support and advice to your colleague.
If I were your colleague, I'd let the Professor WW know that the demand for secrecy is unreasonable, and even unconscionable. Your colleague is spending her time and energy, and the money she's getting either from a fellowship or her own funds, to get an education. She's a customer in that sense.
Your department and your institution owe QQ that education. The institution's plan A to educate her is to assign her to Professor WW. If plan A isn't going to work, it is the **institution's** obligation to to come up with plan B, and see that it's carried out. Professor WW can help coming up with plan B. But the department owns the plan, not WW.
If QQ has violated an academic or personal standard, it is the department's and institution's responsibility to handle that violation. Professor WW cannot just sweep it under the rug, especially by offering secrecy.
WW doesn't have the right to conceal this situation from the department. Your colleague should refuse to let her do that.
Graduate students aren't handwringing supplicants begging for scraps that fall from the banquet table of academe. You are adult learners with life plans. This is especially true of MS students. Graduate degree programs exist to serve these adult learners. I hope QQ can claim her rightful place.
It's not clear who started and continued these shenanigans, but it is clear that ending them is going to be difficult unless everybody cooperates. To cooperate, they have to stop keeping secrets.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Let's hope Dr. New-Department-Leader takes QQ on for the remaining semester.
What can QQ do? Meet with the department head or the dean of graduate studies, and ask him/her to discreetly look into the problem. Prof. WW has no right to ask QQ to keep these types of secrets, and QQ may safely speak openly to one department administrator about what happened.
What can you do? You can offer to QQ your willingness to go along to that meeting for moral support. If you do, you should explicitly request that your presence in the meeting not be revealed to your advisor.
I cannot imagine this resulting in your being blacklisted or harmed in any way, if this is in the U.S.
If I were in QQ's shoes, your presence in that meeting, and your taking the initiative to offer that support, would mean a lot to me.
It is not for me to say what you *should* do. That is a very personal decision.
In addition, you can make yourself available to QQ as a supportive fellow student and friend.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: **Consider the fact that your colleague may be at fault and deceiving you about it to keep you on her side.**
As I mentioned in my comments, I hate to even bring up this possibility. But even if it's not the reason for *this particular* situation, it needs to be said, in case someone else looking at this question in the future does face the situation I'm describing.
If the colleague was, say, caught plagiarizing by the advisor, the advisor might follow this course of action:
>
> Bring up the plagiarism to the colleague. Inform the colleague that
> advisor will no longer work with her, but does not want this incident
> to destroy colleague's career if colleague is willing to reform.
> Advisor will help colleague find a new advisor (perhaps someone with
> tenure that can more safely deal with a
> hopefully-but-how-can-we-be-sure reformed plagiarizer). Advisor
> agrees to keep the reason for the switch private in order to not
> torpedo colleague's career.
>
>
>
Keep in mind that this (entirely hypothetical) version of events is completely consistent with everything described in your question. It's an awful thing to have to consider the possibility that your colleague is being dishonest with you, but before you risk damaging your relationship with your advisor (and possibly the university and your career), **you need to be realistic about the fact that the situation is not fully known to you**.
Even if you think you know your colleague well enough to know that plagiarism is unlikely, there are other possible scenarios. The colleague may have developed a romantic interest in the advisor and acted on that in such a way that the advisor considers this the best course of action. Or the colleague may have initiated a relationship with the advisor's significant other. Again--I realize that you may feel awful considering all of these negative possibilities about someone you respect and just want to help. But you really should proceed with caution, and this is just one of the unfortunate aspects of what being cautious means in this specific situation.
dan1111's answer brings this possibility up, but I felt that it was important enough to get a separate, fully fleshed out hearing in case this is what is happening in either your case or, as I mentioned above, some other, future case. It can be very tempting to come charging in as the white knight without actually knowing who is the dragon and who is in need of rescue.
Sadly, I speak from personal experience, having gone to great lengths to help people that I later found out were deceiving me.
My advice then, is as follows. Even if you don't want to believe anything bad about your colleague, **make sure that every action you take would be a safe action to take should the colleague turn out to be at fault**.
I feel that you should do whatever is ethical but with a realistic view about what is *practically* within your power. You are not in the practical position to launch an investigation, as you have no authority to do so.
There are many things that you can do, but most of them, due to practical considerations, end up being in the "advice and support" category.
* advise your colleague to seek counsel from an on-campus student advocate if such thing exists
Subject to the advice of said counsel, consider these possibilities as well:
* advise your colleague to communicate with the advisor about this via email so that there is a record of the conversation
* advise your colleague to make an accusation-free, factual case about how this is negatively affecting the colleague, particularly with respect to the funding that the colleague turned down and the additional expense that could be incurred due to needing to extend for another semester, in an email, so that there is a record of this having been brought up
As a third party with some objectivity, you can help by offering to preview such communication and keep it from sounding accusatory or containing implied threats of retribution. If your colleague is being dealt with unfairly by the advisor, it could turn out in the future to be very important to have a record of these dealings and for that record to make it clear that your colleague's actions were non-accusatory and non-threatening, simply addressing the facts of the situation as they were.
One more thing, not necessarily related to the question of your colleague's honesty, just a bit of advice pertaining to the current situation:
* Your colleague has brought you into her confidence by telling you something that she has been told not to tell anyone. Do not take it upon yourself to take any action that may indirectly reveal that fact without your colleague's express permission.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/11/30
| 1,818
| 7,518
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a first year PhD student in math. I have a course right now that is pretty challenging as expected. I get high grades on all the homework. On our midterm the highest grade was a 35 percent. I was told this is how nearly all of the exams this professor gives turn out. Is this a common thing to happen? I suddenly feel inadequate to be a PhD student in math.<issue_comment>username_1: This depends very much on your university and your professor. There is a whole range of opportunities spanning a wide range of difficulties. This issue alone shouldn't be the reason to drop the idea of the PhD degree itself.
If you are really interested in the field and are willing to work for it, then by all means, continue; don't let a little test put you off. PhD is not about exam scores, it is about research quality and how much you could contribute to your field. If you are able to hold your ground on that, stay strong and move on.
My best wishes!
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Since you get high homework grades, I guess that there is little reason to believe that you are entirely unfit for a PhD in math. To the contrary, doing a PhD is about learning to do research, and research is a process that takes place on time-scales of the order of weeks to years. So, getting low grades in an exam situation, where you are pressured into producing certain answers in a very short time span and unnatural setting, is hardly a tool that reliably assesses your ability to do research. Performance on homework, where you have more time, acccess to resources, and freedom to let your mind do its thing, is a much better metric.
The above is, I would claim, in almost all cases true. Given that the best student (and I assume there is more than just a couple) has achieved only 35 percent on the exam, I would worry even less about your performance on the exam. And given that it is said that this is a common occurrence with this professor, there is *even less* reason for you to worry. Some professors just give bad exams, i.e. ones that are not adapted to the course, reasonable expectations of ability of students, and the circumstances the exam is given in, time being an important example.
By the looks of it, this might well be one those professors. And since, I assume, he doesn't fail almost entire classes year after year, I would not worry that you would fail if you keep up your good work, and not worry about you being unable to pursue your PhD.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I guess that every PhD student goes to the phase of "am I good enough?". I do a PhD in mathematics too and this troubles me often but I am a scientist and there is a way to find out for sure: by doing my best possible and trying to make everything work out. I would rather fail because I am really not that good than to fail because I was afraid of failing. Don't you feel the same?
As about the exam: it may be that the professor generally overestimates students ability to solve the problems or that it is **intended** to be that way. The reason might be for example that you are expected to select the problems you solve out of several possibilities.
In Quantum mechanics 101 I took years ago we were given the best possible grade A just for scoring over 70% of the total amount of points. Normally this bound is set for 90% to get A but this professor just had a different idea, he wanted to make the homework/exams a bit harder but more forgiving so it would not be too easy for the best but others can still get a good grade as well.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> On our midterm the highest grade was a 35 percent. I was told this is how nearly all of the exams this professor gives turn out. Is this a common thing to happen? I suddenly feel inadequate to be a phd student in math.
>
>
>
Why?
As others have pointed out, most PhD students spend some of their time while doing a PhD worrying about whether they belong. (And this is not a feeling that vanishes upon getting a PhD.) There's nothing wrong or worrying about feeling that way.
But, to the extent that feelings are amenable to rational inquiry, this doesn't seem like a good reason to feel that way. Raw percentages on exams are fundamentally arbitrary: they can be arbitrarily altered, independently of how much the students know, simply be asking easier or harder questions, or more or fewer questions. The raw information "I got X% on the exam" tells you exactly nothing.
Undergrad classes tend to follow some conventions, in part because students react negatively to low percentages anyway. This involves writing exams with some fluff that almost everyone gets, which brings the average up. Grad classes do less of this, in part because there's a higher expectation that the students will be able to interpret the score with more maturity (though it sounds like your professor has taken this to an unusual extreme).
So, if you're worried about what the score means, by all means investigate what it means. But the question you should be asking (possibly of your professor) is "what scores are promising/acceptable/worrying?" And, even then, don't overreact to one score in one class, especially when you have other scores from the same class.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: It's possible that this professor designs all of his exam questions to be at the level of qualifying exams. Eventually you will probably have to take several of these to become a "real" Ph.D. student and begin actual research in earnest. They usually require studying above and beyond the course requirements—not only do you need more depth of mastery, but you will likely need to know things the class may not have gotten to. Some professors prefer to throw you into the pool head first and see if you sink or swim.
Others just want you to know that there's a big difference between being good at undergraduate math and being good at graduate math. I had a (non-math) professor that felt this way, and everyone in his freshman honors class got C's or worse (most got D's) on their first writing assignment. We learned our lesson pretty quickly and started pursuing a higher standard, eventually earning the A's and B's we were accustomed to by the end of the course.
Consider that 35% as less of a "wow, we're all terrible" and more of a "wow, look how much more we're going to achieve in the next few months and years" and work towards that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think your question is, *How do I maintain my belief in myself as a math grad student in these circumstances?*
Here is a trick to reduce anxiety:
Do your best on an exam, but think of yourself as a guinea pig who is there to validate the exam and the quality of instruction. Looked at this way, student performance on the exam does not necessarily reflect on what you have learned, or what you are capable of, but rather a way of evaluating the exam and the effectiveness of the teaching.
Try to find other ways of judging whether you are cutting the mustard, and of bolstering your self-esteem. For example:
* form a small study group; challenge each other in these sessions
* select some professors that challenge you in a supportive way and visit their office hours
* attend a student seminar (or found one if one doesn't exist yet) where you take turns presenting a paper you have read and studied
And don't forget to keep up with one or two hobbies that have a good effect on your self-esteem.
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently finished my masters degree and I'm currently interning at the same university doing a research project. I'm planning to submit applications for PhD programs at other institutions and I've just finished my first application. The application includes a cover letter of 1000-1500 words. I've sent the cover letter to family members for feedback before I send it off who have given me great feedback regarding the style and language. Unfortunately, no one in my family is in academia and I would really like the thoughts of an academic since they're the target audience and they will understand the technical content of my cover letter. I was thinking of asking my current supervisor or perhaps my old supervisor from my masters program to give me feedback on the cover letter however I'm unsure if this is unprofessional or if I'm asking too much.
My question is whether this is an unreasonable request?<issue_comment>username_1: It is, of course, a reasonable request (unless you believe your supervisor is unreasonable).
Furthermore, the supervisor of your master's degree ought to be among the first to write your LoR. There is nothing wrong with requesting him/her to review your cover letter.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This may be dependent on the academic field or geographic area, among other things, but in my community, being a supervisor is not merely about the research at hand, but also about guidance in questions regarding the (academic) career and well-being. This includes efforts to get the student's work the recognition it deserves (e.g. sending the students to conferences to present results, publishing papers), but also things like networking and help with applications.
So, I think that, at least in my community, you asking your (former) supervisor for advice on your cover letter is entirely appropriate. Just make sure you make it clear that you know it's still a favor you're asking, and give the supervisor a chance to politely decline your request.
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<issue_start>username_0: I've been assigned the position of Teaching Assistant for the programming part of my university courses in Bayesian Inference, at the MS level. I previously taught a course, a few months ago, in Computational statistics. My experience doing this, with no previous teaching experience, has been not so great because of generally poor student's performance, probably due to a lack of familiarity with the programming language used (R).
I am preparing slides lecture by lecture, with embedded code that I run and comment upon on-the-go. Occasionally I propose exercises but execution is often sketchy and I find many people cannot use the basic constructs of the language with enough fluency to create code that runs "on the spot". Given that I have a program to cover and I would not know what else to propose to the students other than exercising more and studying the syntax of the language -- I am, myself, in most regards self-taught about this, meaning that my programming abilities have little to do with the coursework I did during my studies -- do you have any advice on how to make my lectures more effective and stimulating?<issue_comment>username_1: I've been in a similar boat, TAing for economics courses where a piece of software was used throughout that most students didn't know to begin with. I found a few things worked well:
* Does your school have a technology lab? Mine had one, and they offered regular seminars and individual help on using common pieces of software. They were often happy to coordinate with professors for specific classes. Look for that, and if it exists talk to them.
* Following on, dedicate maybe one entire class at the beginning to going over the software. As an alternate or supplement, offer an extra non-class session on it. This may not be practical given you work full time off campus, but if you have a technology lab there might be someone else who can do it. Particularly since you don't offer office hours, however, this might be appropriate for you to make time for.
* Stress right from the start that learning this piece of software is crucial to passing, and that they will not be able to learn it just by watching you do it in class.
* Along those lines, email the students before class begins so that they're fully aware they need to know the program to follow the course, and you'll only be dedicating minimal time to teaching it to them.
* In the case of R, there are a myriad of other sources out there for learning to get started. There's no need to reinvent the wheel! Vet a few of them for quality, then recommend them to the students. This may not work as well with more obscure pieces of software, obviously.
* Minimize the code you show on slides. Parsing another person's code is difficult in the best of circumstances, and an unfamiliar language in a slide show is far from that.
The bottom line, really, is that it's impossible to learn a programming language by sitting in class. The students will *have* to dedicate out-of-class time to practicing it. You can point them in the right direction and show them resources, but you can't hold their hand the entire way; at some point you just have to expect they can follow what the course requires.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Re: The desire for in-class exercises (code "on the spot") -- One thing I've discovered this semester (teaching introductory C++ out of the Gaddis textbook) is the idea of laboratory exercises with mostly filled-in programs, where the students only need to add a few lines involving the new language structures that you just lectured about. Compared to "write a whole program right now" exercises that I'd used in the past, this goes down remarkably well; fits in the right time slot for everyone, gets their hands/eyes to have typed that structure at least once, raises up the salient points/difficulties of exactly that one topic, etc.
The fill-in lab exercises I'm doing come directly from the Gaddis instructor materials, so that eases my workload a lot. Frankly, I wouldn't have expected them to work as well as they do, but every day there's an important teachable moment that emerges organically. Not a silver bullet for everyone, but it's kind of been a revelation this semester.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Live coding (in particular as done in [Software Carpentry](http://software-carpentry.org/blog/2016/04/tips-tricks-live-coding.html) workshops) is great at getting the programming across. I've used it in standard university lectures for three years and it's very popular with students. Key advantages are
1. It slows you down, so you move at a pace closer to the students' level;
2. *When* you make mistakes - and you will, and should - you show the students that this isn't a problem, and also show them how to fix them on the fly.
These advantages have their disadvantages built in: it eats more time in a busy lecture, and you need practice to be able to prepare without over-preparing. You also need to make the code available along with the slides for later perusal - combining lecture capture with live coding works, but having the files available is better.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have data from an ordinary scientific experiment. Now, in order to analyse the data, the most convenient way for me is to use some proprietary, closed-source software.
Is it ethical to use such kind of software in research?
If do use it then this part will be a big black-box in my research. So if someone cannot reproduce my data analysis with the same or with some other software, then it depends on the mercy of the software company if we can find out what went wrong. If the software company does not want to cooperate, then what went wrong might never be found out. I have the feeling that this opposes the principles of science.<issue_comment>username_1: Law is concerned with what you do; ethics is more about what is a better choice and why it is better. The answer to your question depends on **why** you use the proprietary software.
* If this is the only way of achieving the result, then of course you can and should use it. It does not matter if the code is proprietary — if this is the only way to solve the problem, then everyone is possible either using it, or looking to use it. However, I am not sure such a software exists, so maybe this is a model example.
* If you can choose between a proprietary software W, and free open-source software L, then the choice is yours to make. If your methods are well documented, your peers can either reproduce them in W (if they have it), or re-create an algorithm in software L (this happens a lot). There are some benefits of using W and some of using L. For academics as a large community it would be better if everyone uses the same open-source software and contributes to its development. However, your personal goals may be different, and it is not unethical to put them first. You can choose W because it is a better written software, it runs faster, it looks better, and you are more productive with it. This is fine.
* However, if you chose W because you are paid by a company M which produces it, and you don't tell this, but instead advertise W in your papers and encourages everyone to buy it, then yes — this is unethical.
* If you choose W because you know that your competitors, who are likely to review your paper, are from a third-world country with no access to W, and you don't particularly like W but use it to hide some dirty statistical voodoo in the code no-one can reproduce — yes, this is unethical.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I do not think that this is an ethical question in the first place. Reproducibility is not harmed by the requirement that money needs to be spent on buying software or setting up an experiment (or are there open-source particle accelerators?).
While open source solutions are preferable for many reasons, there are clearly cases where using some proprietary software P is appropriate:
* When it is known (and has been verified) that P's implementation of method M is correct while the known open-source implementations of M have not (yet) been established as reliable. Conversely, when open-source implementation O is known to give correct results whereas for P this has not been established, then clearly O should be used when there is a choice.
* When one can reasonably expect that P is widely available in research institutions (and thus to researchers), like for example certain mathematical / computational packages.
* When P allows for a much more (time-/resource-)efficient execution of experiments.
* When P is a software package needed anyway to extract / process data from a big-ticket instrument.
Note that I am assuming that P *can* actually be bought by anyone. If P is not commercially available but rather a closed-source in-house solution then an open-source package is preferable.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't think this is an issue. Many research biologists use Photoshop to process their images, for example. I suppose open-source software is preferred by many since it is more in line with the principles of open research, but making sure your methodology is sound and reproducible is far more important in almost all situations.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: This question has become an important one as the push for greater reproducibility in computational research grows. Use of closed-source software is an acceptable part of research in most fields.
Nevertheless, the following viewpoint enunciated by [<NAME>](http://biostatistics.oxfordjournals.org/content/11/3/385.full) is becoming more widespread:
>
> An article about a computational result is advertising, not scholarship. The actual scholarship is the full software environment, code and data, that produced the result.
>
>
>
From this point of view, if you rely on closed-source code, you can't completely publish your research.
Issues with closed source software in science
---------------------------------------------
There are multiple concerns:
* As you mention, if someone else tries to reproduce your result and gets a **different answer**, it may be impossible to resolve the discrepancy.
* The software implementation may have **bugs**. Indeed, all software has bugs and any open source software you use will be susceptible to this too. But with closed source software you do not have the right to inspect the code to find bugs yourself, nor can you fix them yourself if you discover them.
Both of these are matters of principle; in practice, **resolving discrepancies and finding/fixing relevant bugs is also a major challenge with open source software** (but is at least something you can conceivably do).
Suggestions for mitigating the impact of closed-source code on reproducibility
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. **Publish all of your own code**. You probably have some scripts that call the proprietary software, or at least some input files that set up the problem for it to solve. Usually, these scripts contain most of what is new in your research, so what is in them is often more important to other researchers than what is in the proprietary source.
2. **Use multiple independent approaches to confirm your findings**. This reduces the likelihood of a bug affecting your results. In my own research, this extra work has at times paid off by uncovering bugs (that led to erroneous results) in proprietary software.
3. **Understand the algorithms encoded in the software, and their weaknesses**. Even if you can't see the source, you usually can learn what computational methods they contain. Once you know the circumstances under which those methods are (or are not) reliable, you can check whether they are likely to give trustworthy results for your problem (e.g., by checking the condition number of a matrix that you feed into some linear algebra software).
4. **Be aware that some commercial software is just a pretty interface to open-source code**. For instance, MATLAB's `eigs` function for computing eigenvalues of sparse matrices is just a thin wrapper around the open source package [ARPACK](http://www.caam.rice.edu/software/ARPACK/). If you use that, you're not actually relying on much (if any) closed-source code.
Of course, you should also follow best practices outlined in the literature (e.g., in [this article](http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003285&type=printable), or the many references linked [here](http://reproducibleresearch.net/links/)) on reproducible computational science.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: If you write "results were processed with the software X v X.X using the following settings and the printed output was", this stops being science and becomes more like a magic. The algorithms must be fully documented somewhere and understandable for the research to be the science.
It is fully possible to satisfy this requirement for the proprietary software, if the algorithms are properly described in the user documentation, or the proprietary software just makes the platform of execution and algorithms themselves are coded on the top of it (Matlab, proprietary C compiler, etc). Ideally, also proprietary code should be available for review under restrictive license.
Unfortunately very often the proprietary tools tend to hide the exact algorithm details, keep the important parts of the code secret, and due that are disliked by the scientific community. Nobody wants to publish an article just to discover later results are only reproducible by the single version of the single proprietary tool, most likely due trivial bug.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Decide for yourself:
I can argue from my own experience that using closed-source software leads to shutting a considerable number of potential researchers out (or forcing them into getting illegal copies on a grey market). I worked for a number of years in an area where Matlab is a standard tool (still is, after 20 years :-(), and then I accepted a postdoc at a place which did not have Matlab licences (not all CS Departments have it even in good universities in Germany, as they might not have a campus-wide licence, and while at Engineering they surely have Matlab, it's quite questionable at CS).
I basically had to put on hold every ongoing Matlab-related project (as buying a sufficiently complete Matlab license on a postdoc salary was not an option...)
(And I have once basically stolen a Mathematica license at a department I was visiting, for the same reason. :-))
Another, even harder, case, is Magma (less well-known than Matlab, but still almost standard in areas related to algebraic number theory and group theory, and more), which makes it extremely hard to get a license for anyone outside an established circle of select universities, unless you are in the USA (which perhaps has to do with their biggest customer being NSA :-)).
EDIT: I am told that I am arguing for double standard (mentioning expensive tools for experiments), but I am not. Science software is often much close to scientific publications than it is to scientific tools. In case of a free alternative to an expensive tool, not choosing a free alternative is akin to choosing an expensive and exclusive publisher for your work, rather than publishing on the web.
EDIT2: Also, issues of reliability of closed-source research software are well-documented in the literature; perhaps the most well-known at the moment is the [story](http://www.ams.org/notices/201410/rnoti-p1249.pdf) of a bug in a determinant computation in Mathematica.
It took the publication in such a high-profile source like [Notices of the AMS](http://www.ams.org/journals/notices/) for Wolfram Ic to fix it. With open-source normally fixing of such a bug happens much faster, or at least it would be publicly visible on a bug tracker.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Note that "Proprietary" and "Closed Source" are not the same thing. For example, MATLAB (a proprietary commercial software) actually ships with readable code for most functions it implements. You're not allowed to reuse this code (hence "Closed Source"), but you can inspect it if you have calculation discrepancies that have to be explained.
Even when the source code is not available, it is usually documented which algorithm is implemented by a given closed-source function. So if somebody cannot reproduce your results using closed-source software, he can find open-source implementations of the algorithm he suspects are incorrect in the software you have used and compare results using those implementations. Sure, it's time consuming, but don't expect that using open source software will somehow make your results 100% reproducible with no effort at all. Your colleagues will still need to run the exact software version on the exact computer environment to be sure they will get exactly the same results, and those versions and environments will likely be unavailable in 10-20 years. After that, the same time consuming process will apply to open source software as well.
I'm assuming here that you don't use software packages which keep secret the algorithms used to implement it. You'll certainly want to avoid using those, not only for the sake of reproducible results, but because results obtained by unknown means don't have any scientific value.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: I'll add one additional perspective here - if you manage to get a stunning result based on analysis done in a closed source package for which there is either no open-source implementation available, or for which the same is poorly developed, then you immediately provide a strong incentive for developers in the scientific community *without* access to that package, but *with* a desire to reproduce the results, to go out and start working on improving open-source alternatives to said commercial software.
This is a two-fold benefit. In the first case, you are helping to encourage development of new open-source tools and, secondly, the parallel development of such tools help to provide mutual checks for both. I'd say use what works, what is most appropriate, and whatever helps you get the job done best within your budget. If you're not in a position to contribute better open-source tools to the community then let others take up that torch. Producing useful, unique, and interesting scientific results is exactly the sort of thing that stimulates that type of development in the first place.
In a way, using a closed source package can actually be a catalyst for open source development - so you're still helping in an indirect way. If there are, however, open source alternatives to the closed source package you have used then it should be trivial for others to reproduce your results with their own implementations with free tools and there is, therefore, no ethical problem at all. If anything, it provides an opportunity to test the same result with two different tools and this is always better, in science, than reproducing the result using the same tool. You get to check both the tools (against each other) and the science at the same time. Bonus.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: I think we need to go to the foundation of the question; the answer to ethical questions begins with morals (the science of right and wrong).
Specifically, we should ask ourselves...
\* are we committing any deception of anyone involved? (e.g. have we disclosed everything related to the research, including all potential conflicts of interest?) Put yourself in the position of others: what would I want someone else to do if faced with my situation, and I had a stake in the research?
\* are we appropriating anything which does not belong to us?
If we can't identify a specific *moral* objection, we proceed to the field-specific ethics, namely:
\* is there a field-specific code of ethics one has committed to, and would be violating? (E.g. the Hippocratic oath, in medicine, lawyer-client privilege, etc.) Have you signed an agreement with your employer?
Finally, we should proceed to "value free" analyses: cost/benefit, relative practicality and availability of alternatives, reasonably expected outcomes.
Note that to place this last category in the highest position is to ignore ethics altogether, and run the risk of justifying questionable means with good ends--always a danger sign.
I hope this helps!
12/08/16 EDIT: I should add that according to the criteria above, and the information and opinions I have seen so far (including this thread), the answer is no, it is not unethical, per se (i.e., in itself).
There are circumstances in which it might become unethical, but that is different. For example, if you chose the closed source software because that choice was to your personal financial advantage, that would clearly be unethical. Or if you knew you could exploit a feature or bug in that software to disadvantage a scientific competitor, or obtain a more favorable result . In other words, motives count heavily.
As an example, someone above mentioned a "marketing" motivation. That would clearly diminish people's acceptance/trust in your results if that were disclosed.
As in politics, sunshine is the best disinfectant. That is, disclose everything that you can reasonably expect would affect the acceptance of your results by non-trusting auditors.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Yes, it is unethical\*.
-----------------------
There are four aspects of the software you mention which raise ethical problems: Being *closed-source*, being *proprietary* and two aspects which you didn't mention but are characteristic of closed-source proprietary software - requiring *(non-neglibile) payment* and requiring *agreeing to a restrictive license* in order to use.
### Issues with *closed-source* software:
* Its use hampers reproducibility (see [@DaveKetcheson's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/80819/7319))
* Its use [hampers resolution of contradicting research findings/claims](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/80819/7319)).
* Use of closed-source software hampers the development of software - the specific kind of application you're using, and in general. IMHO.
* It puts software vendors in a position of power over ourselves, and thus indrectly over our research and over the community interested in our research. Famous examples include government espionage, inter-state sabotage and hardware tie-in.
### Issues with *proprietary* software (and its typical licenses):
* It creates artificial restrictions on our [freedoms](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) as researchers and users:
+ To run the software any way and any where that's beneficial to our research;
+ To apply lessons learned from studying the program in our own research work, and to possibly modify it to better fit our research (it might be technically possible with source access but legally forbidden);
+ To distribute copies for reproduction and further work to researchers within our group/institution and to others;
+ To distribute copies of our modifications and adaptations within our research groups and to others;
* It often effects similar power-relations between vendor and users even without the source being closed. For example, a vendor affect hardware tie-in by forbidding legal installation on unauthorized hardware.
### Issues with software requiring *payment* for use:
* It creates an undue burden on other researchers who wish to (1) evaluate/review (2) illustrate limitations/flaws or (3) extend and improve your results.
* If increases the pressure on other researchers to buy similar software in order to keep up - and this is an indirect effect on all researchers in your field.
* If decreases the impetus and availability of funding for developing free ( = gratis, libre) software for doing the same.
(\*) ... but with all that being said - these unethical aspects weigh against potential public benefit in obtaining and publishing research results. Make sure you fairly stack both sides of the scale when making your decision - and that you think about others as well as yourself.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: It should not matter. Most but not all scientific calculators calculate sines the same way. Do you know how your calculator calculates sines?
Some free software is simply inferior. A specific example is OpenOffice. As wonderful as it is it fails at some tasks that Microsoft Office handles with aplomb and doesn't even attempt others.
What if I use a Hewlett-Packard gas chromotograph because it's the only one I've ever used and someone else gets different results using another brand? Am I responsible?
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_12: "Free" does not always mean "free" when considering time and effort. Research can be expensive. If someone can buy a package, and that package comes with good support and superb documentation that might save me time in a research project, it would be difficult to believe that it would be cheaper to use open source if it would take more time. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if I didn't spend $2K to speed up my work, leaving my funding agency paying the same amount for less output, that's more ethically questionable than using the proprietary package. (Assuming, of course, that the open source is less convenient, and that the closed source is available to all who can pay -- and yes, I know that those aren't the only situations out there, so please don't bother pointing out exceptions where that's not true).
I run Matlab, and I run Octave. They are similar, but I have a more trouble-free experience running Matlab, so that's what I tend to double click on.
... and yes, I use PLENTY of open source software, where it makes my life easier. I also ONLY recommend open source to students (... except Matlab, which has generous student license), because every time I mention an expensive package to a student, they show up with a pirated version the next day, and I don't want to contribute to or encourage intellectual property theft.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Was it ever possible for anyone to finish writing a master thesis in 10 days? I've been struggling for a long time now to focus on my writing due to several personal problems and I'm running close to my deadline so I'm starting to freak out. I welcome any suggestions at this point.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes. You can write it in 10 days though the result won't be good. Make sure you write 1000 to 1500 words a day. So, rather than starting to freak out, you can start writing now
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It can be done, but I would be dubious of the quality. That said, I can't recall a Master's thesis that set the world on fire, so I suppose quality is a poor metric.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Make sure you've got all the material you need to write because that's what you need to do -- write. Find a nest and keep all the distractions out.
2. Set minimum targets for your writing. Then, meet and exceed it. I suggest setting targets that allow you to finish writing in eight days, not 10. This gives you some padding in case life gets in the way. To be clear, there are 192 hours in eight days. Allowing for a 12-hour work day, then you need to write 15,000 words in 96 hours or about 156 words an hour. Set a target of 400 words an hour.
3. Make sure you have time to edit your work.
Good luck to you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If by "writing" you mean to do the research/experiments/studying and then write the thesis then **no**.
If by "writing" you mean transforming your well organized notes into one document, then **yes**, maybe if you have great discipline.
If by "writing" you mean to start to write-up from not-so well organized notes, then **most probably not**.
If you want to try to make it, stop hanging around on the internet and start working.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: If it's an MFA thesis (average length: 2-3 pages) yes. If it's a science one where you're reporting on results and my impression is that the length isn't too terribly long, maybe. If it's a humanities one that's in the 100-150 page range, it's unlikely (I've written 10-15 pages in a day before, but I doubt I can keep that pace up for ten pages).
You should look into extending into next semester, even if it's just shooting off a quick email while continuing to work. If you have had a large number of personal problems that have negatively affected your ability to complete your school work (and are in the US, not sure how it would apply elsewhere), you should (a) speak with the counseling center on campus and (b) consider a withdrawal under extenuating circumstances (typically called a medical withdrawal, but at least at my school they are allowed for other reasons). If there's no penalty at all for extending into next semester, (b) might not even be necessary — it's super common for both master's and PhD students to miss their expected graduation date by a semester or two because of the thesis/dissertation.
But if you're running up against a hard time limit, the withdrawal would gain you an extra semester. If withdrawal isn't an option, at many schools you can also (c) petition the university to waive the time limit given your circumstances. I don't think I've ever really heard of those petitions being denied if the reason is even halfway reasonable.
Upvotes: 0
|
2016/11/30
| 962
| 3,766
|
<issue_start>username_0: I graduated with a 2.98gpa in computer science with a minor in math. I am currently employed as a software engineer and I am wanting to go back to school for a masters degree. I would really like to Perdue a professional engineering masters and take the PE(professional engineering exam) after I graduate.
Is it even possible to go from a computer science bachelors degree to a masters program in systems engineering or computer engineering? I am currently looking at the university of Alabama in Huntsville. I want a masters degree, but I don't specifically care to stick with computer science. I am wanting to broaden my horizons and prepare myself for a role in management in the future.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes. You can write it in 10 days though the result won't be good. Make sure you write 1000 to 1500 words a day. So, rather than starting to freak out, you can start writing now
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It can be done, but I would be dubious of the quality. That said, I can't recall a Master's thesis that set the world on fire, so I suppose quality is a poor metric.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Make sure you've got all the material you need to write because that's what you need to do -- write. Find a nest and keep all the distractions out.
2. Set minimum targets for your writing. Then, meet and exceed it. I suggest setting targets that allow you to finish writing in eight days, not 10. This gives you some padding in case life gets in the way. To be clear, there are 192 hours in eight days. Allowing for a 12-hour work day, then you need to write 15,000 words in 96 hours or about 156 words an hour. Set a target of 400 words an hour.
3. Make sure you have time to edit your work.
Good luck to you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If by "writing" you mean to do the research/experiments/studying and then write the thesis then **no**.
If by "writing" you mean transforming your well organized notes into one document, then **yes**, maybe if you have great discipline.
If by "writing" you mean to start to write-up from not-so well organized notes, then **most probably not**.
If you want to try to make it, stop hanging around on the internet and start working.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: If it's an MFA thesis (average length: 2-3 pages) yes. If it's a science one where you're reporting on results and my impression is that the length isn't too terribly long, maybe. If it's a humanities one that's in the 100-150 page range, it's unlikely (I've written 10-15 pages in a day before, but I doubt I can keep that pace up for ten pages).
You should look into extending into next semester, even if it's just shooting off a quick email while continuing to work. If you have had a large number of personal problems that have negatively affected your ability to complete your school work (and are in the US, not sure how it would apply elsewhere), you should (a) speak with the counseling center on campus and (b) consider a withdrawal under extenuating circumstances (typically called a medical withdrawal, but at least at my school they are allowed for other reasons). If there's no penalty at all for extending into next semester, (b) might not even be necessary — it's super common for both master's and PhD students to miss their expected graduation date by a semester or two because of the thesis/dissertation.
But if you're running up against a hard time limit, the withdrawal would gain you an extra semester. If withdrawal isn't an option, at many schools you can also (c) petition the university to waive the time limit given your circumstances. I don't think I've ever really heard of those petitions being denied if the reason is even halfway reasonable.
Upvotes: 0
|
2016/12/01
| 1,172
| 5,039
|
<issue_start>username_0: Current scenario (A):
1. Submit a paper for free. No matter the quality of the paper, submit anyway. What have you to lose?
2. If your work is accepted, pay to actually confirm the acceptance of your work, and present it to the world.
Proposed scenario (B):
1. Submission fees: Anyone who wants to submit to a conference pays a certain amount. $200, say. Hefty enough to discourage 'spam' submissions.
2. If your work is accepted, you present without having to pay any extra registration fees.
I don't understand why (B) isn't obvious, from a quality control point of view, as well as a more obvious way of funding conferences. Only work that an author knows (thinks, really) is worthy of acceptance need submit, please.<issue_comment>username_1: There is already a strong incentive not to submit a paper that you know has very little chance of acceptance. While a paper is under review for one conference, it may not be submitted to another (according to the standard policies in fields where conference papers are "real" publications). If you submit a paper that is nowhere near ready, you hurt yourself: you block yourself from submitting a more complete version of it, that has a good chance of getting accepted somewhere else, for the entire review period.
Furthermore, many conferences end up rejecting lots of very good papers, due to limited space. What is the rationale for collecting fees from those authors? Authors would absolutely take their papers elsewhere, rather than risk paying hundreds of dollars to get a reasonably good paper rejected.
Finally: authors from less wealthy countries are already "priced out" of conferences to some degree (and have to publish mainly in journals), because of the cost of conference attendance (travel, registration fees). This would certainly make the disparity worse.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: One reason is fairness. Some papers are rejected because they just aren't good enough, but others could plausibly have been accepted if the deliberations had by chance gone a little differently. When a reasonable submission is rejected due to bad luck, it feels like adding insult to injury if the author then has the subsidize the registration fees for the accepted papers. (It might be reasonable to expect authors to cover the cost of reviewing the submissions, but that's far less than typical registration fees.)
Another reason is to minimize bureaucratic overhead. Whenever you collect fees, you have to negotiate with authors over who deserves a fee waiver, and you have to deal with unusual situations (authors who can't or won't pay online, chargebacks from disputed transactions, etc.). The pain scales with the number of people involved, and it tends to be extra high if you try anything nonstandard, so there's an incentive not to experiment, especially in ways that increase the number of transactions.
Another consideration is keeping authors happy. In any review process, some authors are going to end up disgruntled. Maybe they actually received low-quality reviews, or maybe it just feels that way to them, but either way they may complain. I'd bet that complaints would increase tenfold if the disgruntled authors had been charged $200 and felt entitled to a corresponding level of service. I certainly wouldn't want to be in charge of dealing with the complaints.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The premise of he question is wrong. There are submission fees for conferences.
>
> Abstracts are only processed and available for the session
> organization by conveners after the payment is completed. Please note
> that this is a processing charge and not a publishing fee. APCs are
> not refundable in case of an abstract withdrawal, rejection or double
> submission. The charges collected cover the cost to process the
> abstracts whether or not one attends the meeting.
>
>
>
<http://www.egu2016.eu/abstract_management/how_to_submit_an_abstract.html>
Not many abstracts are rejected at this (or other Copernicus organized) conference, but it can happen.
If they are not charged at your conference it means that the organizers don't want to discourage people from submitting an abstract, but if they know they will get enough applications anyways they can charge a fee.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: You seem to be under the misapprehension that being willing to "put one's money where one's mouth is" is a measure of the quality of somebody's work. It isn't. There are plenty of rich mediocre people in the world, and plenty of poor smart people.
Also, conferences charging submission fees is an unstable equilibrium. Every conference could attract good papers away from its rivals by charging a lower fee than them, initiating a race back to free submission. This doesn't work for attendance fees, because those pay for actual costs incurred by the organizers, so can't be reduced arbitrarily. Also, one is more committed to attending by the time that attendance fees have to be paid.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/12/01
| 1,212
| 5,327
|
<issue_start>username_0: It has been approximately 2 years that we are trying to a push a paper(CS) to get it published. We think, the work is/was a novel that focused on the development of a new dynamic system that works under uncertainty constraints. However, it gets rejected every time and the most frustrating thing is that the reviews we get are completely absurd. Please see the following reasons of *rejection* in brief (Duration of review is written in bracket). *Submission to subsequent journals also included after incorporating review comments of the previous journal.*
---
**Journal 1:** The abstract should not contain citation. [**14 months**]
**Journal 2:** The paper is out of scope.[**2.5 months**] -- The paper was actually coming in the scope of the journal. But, after request also, the EIC didn't take it.
**Journal 3:** This journal have stopped publishing papers related to ... [**1 month**]
**Journal 4:** Similar type of work was done in [some old papers published by journals in Beall's list]. Hence, it does not offer any novelty. [**7 months**] -- *We are sure that the reviewer didn't read the paper. Probably, (she)he did some google search over the title. Got something and commented.*
---
After lots of improvement and getting the paper reviewed by few fellow researchers in our lab, we are not getting anything substantial about such random rejection.
* What could be some possible problem?
* Should we put the paper in the garbage and move on with other works?
* Are these *predatory* publishers (published articles) the rejection for our paper?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think there is only one reason for all the rejections you got. The first journal seemed to reject you because of a formality, which could have been prevented (abstracts usually never have citations). Maybe they think if you can't follow the submission guidelines to every last bit you don't deserve to be published (which can be unreasonable).
After that your research was already 14 months old. Did you do a new literature research? The novelty could have faded during that time. Journal 2's and 3's rejections seem legit and happened in a relatively reasonable time frame.
I guess journal 4's answer does look like the editor/referee didn't read it in detail. But before accusing them of lack of interest or ethics, you should ask yourself if your research has the quality and novelty to be published.
You also need to overthink your choice of journals. High-impact journals are often not the best choice for your research due to their high standards. They also tend to not publish very specialized articles.
My concrete advice: Review your article and try to improve it. Get criticism from colleagues and take it seriously. Compare your article to similar articles from your field and apply those same standards. Then choose a journal that is common in your field and that published articles related to your work and try there. Good luck!
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In my opinion, journals #2, #3, and #4 tend to reinforce the same underlying problem with your paper. It appears that the main theme of your paper is now obsolete and of not much interest to the community. The journals are NOT interested because they think their readership is no longer interested in that topic.
Secondly, either your paper does not offer any significant improvement to existing techniques (just minor/cosmetic changes, or no motivation behind your variations) or you haven't done a good job in highlighting them.
As suggested above, get some help from outside (your lab) including, if possible, from outside India. At the very least, however, get advice from a respected researcher (e.g. someone with a few papers in that or similarly reputed journal). Perhaps you're over-estimating the quality or relevance or layout or contribution of your work.
Best of luck.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I have a different theory. When a reviewer meets with a paper that is unsound but cannot prove that it is unsound, they generally side step and find other mistakes to reject the paper. It takes a lot of work (at least several days) to find a solid proof that the method cannot provide the results demonstrated. Not many people have the time or will to do that. I have witnessed a paper rejected with proof to be accepted by another journal, for that, I cannot blame the reviewers.
To solve the issue, try to show many consistent results to convince reviewers that your results are not made up. A similar situation happened to me at the start of my PhD, the reviewers were a little more direct and helped me out to figure the issue. A two full-page of results taken from multiple images and a detailed verbal explanation of how the method works convinced them. Try the same.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In addition, consider having it edited by an external party before you submit the paper. (It's something I happen to do, among other things, which I mention for the sake of full disclosure.) Why? It is possible that your writing contains many gaps that you and your colleagues fill in automatically but that make the paper hard to read for others. An external party is much more likely to spot those gaps and he or she may also be a much better writer.
Upvotes: 0
|
2016/12/01
| 1,659
| 7,039
|
<issue_start>username_0: I recently started a postdoc in France. I am not French, do not speak any French yet, and I am new to the culture.
It turns out that all national research institutes in France have a rule against using any foreign online service. All research data and communication must always stay on secure government networks and on French territory. In practice, this means that services like Skype, Dropbox, Gmail, etc. are banned, and we are sometimes reminded of this through the institute's mailing lists (in French only). An article mentioning Skype: <https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/France_banning_Skype_from_universities>
I find that not being able to use such services seriously hinders my work. I cannot talk to collaborators while at work because they all use Skype, and talking from home is not always convenient (time zones, etc.) I cannot have a shared Dropbox folder with them. I cannot use my online backup service (Backblaze). I cannot forward my emails to a central mailbox (Gmail or other) that I will have access to even after I leave this institute. The institute does not provide easy to use replacements for most of these services. The ones that it does provide don't work well, are limited, inconvenient and unreliable.
The attitude of my colleagues spans a broad spectrum, from "I don't give a damn" to scolding me for wanting to use these services. The attitude of our PI is ambiguous (they aren't really a computer person).
Our work does not require stricter security than usual (i.e. we don't collect personal information, medical data, etc.)
How would you deal with this situation? Complying with the rules would be a hindrance for my work, and would waste time. Not complying may be a risk for me. I am looking for advice from other people who also work in France. I would like to have opinions form people who work in other labs, and also some "cultural advice", as "rule" doesn't mean the same thing in all countries. Since this seems to be a national rule, others must have encountered the same problem.<issue_comment>username_1: I can't answer on all the issues, but here are my thoughts on your issues and also to some of the comments.
(I'm actually working in France and as coming from abroad I was surprised at the beginning - but it gets better as you get used to it)
So, indeed, in France there is a formal line on what software is safe to be used. So, instead of Skype, for our group meetings we use another system called Visio, which comes with its own hardware (it's a whole TV set with camera and so).
In the same line, we don't have dropbox and I haven't tried forwarding my emails. I can't comment also on scolding, but I suppose that if someone's not used on working with these softwares, i.e. their work does not depend so much on these things, they haven't actually even thought about having them.
However, there are a few work-arounds and some are more or less practical.
Using your personal computer is always a solution, although you might not get it easily connected to the network. If you can get eduroam access, you can most probably connect your laptop. You might face some resistance in getting connected to the wired network though. (In my case it was solved with eduroam and then i realised that just plugging my laptop to the modem did the trick).
If you don't have a laptop or you don't want to bring it or you can't connect it, for Skype there is <http://web.skype.com> which is in beta at the moment. I haven't used it for calls (although it seems to be working if my desktop had a mic) but it's generally reliable for messages. I know the university is trying to setup a business Skype, but I don't know when and how this will be available.
As a workaround for the files I want to work from home, I was dropping everything in my google drive (from the web page) which was then synchronising with my computer at home. Later the university started having it's own cloud box system, which made everything easier as there was no problem installing it (it is a university app after all). Searching into your institute account might help find out which options are actually offered.
Finally, for the e-mail issue, I have setup the account also at my home computer and I sync all the email with that. I never had a particular problem with that, as all my emails are now located also on my home computer.
Finally, I don't think the PI can really do anything, as these are state guidelines, so it's beyond their power. However, our lab has a couple common laptops which are used whenever a Skype call is the only way (e.g. when talking with partners abroad).
If I think anything else, I will update my thread. Just to say that it's mostly a matter of habit and you will adapt with a few workarounds.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: First and foremost: **their lab, their rules.**
As long as they is not illegal, immoral, or unethical, the lab or their funders (i.e., the government) can set standards and requirements that you must follow. If you don't like the rules, you can quit. If they catch you willfully breaking their rules, they can easily fire you for cause So I would be hesitant about circumventing their regulations if you like your job.
Second, their rules might have a rationale. **Their country, their courts, their laws.** European data privacy regulations are notably very strict. American companies not only operate under a looser regime -- but the companies themselves often have fictitious headquarters or locate their servers in regimes that are even looser about data privacy. Dropbox and Google have cooperated with US courts and law enforcement to give up client data. Skype used to use clients as p2p supernodes, potentially opening up backdoors (or at minimum, using resources without permission) - this caused many agencies to forbid its use. Even leaving aside court orders and malware, EU privacy laws are such that having something even as trivial as putting the lab's telephone directory (with personal phone numbers and addresses) on a Dropbox might mean that the data might leave the EU -- and thus violate EU data privacy restrictions. As long as the data stays in France, it's protected by French courts and French laws.
Third, the rules might be designed to support local industry. Just as I am only permitted to "Fly America" when using USA-government funds, it is perfectly reasonable for the French government to encourage the use of their own national technologies. If enough national lab scientists are pissed off enough about not being able to use an American software tool, they might very well come up with a superior French tool. Or so they hope.
Fourth, see rule #1: **their lab, their rules**. You are new to the country and to the lab. Ask your other lab members what they do. Try to not be the "ugly American" who assumes that their way is always the best way. See which rules are to be strictly obeyed and which everyone largely ignores. Learn the culture and language.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/12/01
| 685
| 2,871
|
<issue_start>username_0: Currently I am searching for a regular postdoc position. I visited a potential advisor some time ago. I had a good impression of the advisor except for one thing: he introduced one of his current postdoc to me and half-jokingly threatened to fire the current postdoc (said in my face and to the face of that postdoc) if the said postdoc couldn't improve his productivity.
Later the said advisor encountered funding problem and cannot hire me. Recently I asked him about the current status of his funding, he replied he was considering firing that postdoc so that he would have one open position.
I understand that, compared to PhD, postdoc positions emphasize performance much more. But telling a potential postdoc candidate about firing a current postdoc? I'm a bit scared. It sounds like a warning to me as well: if I get hired as a postdoc to replace the fired postdoc, I will get the same treatment. If the current postdoc survives and I get hired as well, this could create tension between the current postdoc and me. Is this something an advisor should tell his potential postdoc candidate? What does this tell about the advisor's personality?<issue_comment>username_1: This seems it says quite a bit about the adviser's personality. Now he may have just had a conversation with this other postdoc, but even so it's a bit unprofessional to mention to you that he's thinking of firing him. Some academics like things the way they like them and there's no getting around it. I think you have to weigh the merits of the position against working for someone like this. You might also want to try to factor in whether or not you'll be the next threatened postdoc. If those latter two things do not appeal to you, do not apply for the position. If instead you see them as a challenge that you want to take on then go for it!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: * **Can a PI fire a postdoc?**
Surely they can, and sometimes they really have to do so in order to save research money and do the best for the group.
* **Can PI signal to the postdoc that their performance is under review?**
Yes. This is an honest thing to do. It gives postdoc a chance to improve their performance and fix things, before guns will fire.
* **Is it a good idea to tell this as a joke?**
Absolutely not. The job contract is a serious personal matter. The discussion should be private and professional, not public and semi-serious.
* **What can we tell about PI's personality?**
He cares about the performance of the group and he tries to manage it. He doesn't know/feel what is a professional way of doing it. Perhaps, he struggles to maintain a distance and tends to become a bit too friendly with people in his group. As a result, it is hard for him to communicate difficult decisions and unpleasant messages and he tries to disguise them as a joke.
Upvotes: 4
|
2016/12/01
| 464
| 1,673
|
<issue_start>username_0: In a paper, I should refer to an existing algorithm in different parts of the paper. There is no name for this algorithm. For the firs time I wrote "*the Algorithm proposed by (Xia, et al. 2008) .....*", but I don't think it is a good way to use this method any time I want to refer to it. I may name it Algirhtm A, or Algorithm 1 or Algorithm Xia, Algorithm base ...
What do you suggest for referring to this algorithm for several times?<issue_comment>username_1: When you first refer to it say something like "*the Algorithm proposed by (Xia, et al. 2008) which we refer to as XAB*" where you replace XAB with the first letters of the authors' last names in the order that they appear in the bibliography. So if the authors are *Xia, Alpha, Beta*, you would use *XAB*. If the authors are *<NAME>*, you would use XYP. I wouldn't use more than about the first 3 or 4 author's last names, however.
This way if you are referring to multiple algorithms, you can give a clear reference to each. If it turns out that multiple algorithms you are referencing would have the same name given this scheme, you can also throw in the last two digits of the year. So you would have *XAB08* and *XAB09*.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you're going to be referencing a single critical algorithm in your paper, I recommend that you simply restate it with a citation, and then reference it by number as you would any other algorithm:
>
> ...the algorithm devised by <NAME> Joe [ref]:
>
>
> a^2 + b^2 = c^2 (1)
>
>
> Now, if we assume a^2 is a cat, then (1) can be extended as follows...
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/12/01
| 676
| 2,962
|
<issue_start>username_0: * Can one submit a rejected manuscript from one Elsevier journal to another relevant/similar Elsevier journal after apply the given feedback from the reviewers?
* Is there any minimum wait time?
* Is it recommended to do so?
* Would the other Elsevier journal know the status about the previous submission to the first journal? Will this have any impact on the decision of the second Elsevier journal?<issue_comment>username_1: In general, when a paper is rejected, you can resubmit it to another journal as soon as you feel you are ready. There is no minimum waiting time, and it doesn't matter whether both journals have the same publisher or not.
As far as I know, publishers don't generally share information about submissions between journals. (However, it could happen that the second journal would require you to tell them about any previous places the paper has been submitted.)
In theory some publishers might have special rules, but I've never heard of this.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: [EDIT: I just submitted a review, and there was a little box ticked, saying]
>
> In the event that this manuscript is rejected by this journal and
> transferred to another E\*\*\*\*\*\*\* journal I agree that this reviewer
> report, my name and email address may be transferred alongside it.
>
>
>
[This corresponds to the second point below]
So, unless you are banned by a society and forbidden to publish in their journals for some reason (e.g. plagiarism), there are fences between two different journal submission systems. And no rule known to me.
However, two aspects require caution:
* close journals, especially with the same publisher, may have the same editors, area editors, etc. It is interesting to check the editor list and check for an overlap
* since reviewers are hard to find, I suspect that a publisher may have a database of all its parts reviewers (whatever the journal). So with a similar paper, the same keywords, you might as well end up with the same reviewer. Who might have mixed feelings about reviewing "the same paper" twice.
From what I understand from your question, your paper might have been mildly reviewed, possibility checked by an editor, who made the decision himself. So the second point might be as less concern.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It depends upon the reason for the rejection.
If your science is fundamentally flawed and the paper in written particularly poorly, then I imagine that resubmission is not advised (to any journal).
Alternatively, if the paper is high quality but is rejected for addressing the practical aspects of a topic (whereas the journal in question deals only with theoretical aspects) then it may be perfectly reasonable to resubmit to a more appropriate location without modification.
I cannot answer your further questions about data sharing, though I believe the other answers begin to address this.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/12/02
| 449
| 1,979
|
<issue_start>username_0: I will try to keep the situation short, but I am currently not on the best of terms with a graduate school professor.
The term is over now and I have been on good terms with her until today. As part of this course, students must attend an extra set of lectures outside of class and write a very brief report (mainly as proof we had actually attended and analyzed the topic). There was one lecture I was unable to attend due to a conflict with a class and thus informed my professor (in person) on two occasions. She had told me that she would upload the transcript for the presentation online. Yesterday, I had read the transcript and submitted my brief report.
However, she soon contacted me via email and requested I call her. During the phone conversation, she had accused my of deceiving her by pretending I had attended the lecture. I had explained to her that I had read what she posted online as I was unable to attend it. She said that, since I had not explained this in my email, she does not believe me. I do not think our phone conversation ended very well.
This is a very "subjective" course in that her opinion determines our grades. I am wondering if it would be wise to send her an apology email clarifying that it was simply miscommunication on my part?<issue_comment>username_1: Whether you can meet with her or not -- and I suggest you try, even if it were via Skype -- I would recommend sending her an email laying out your side. If you do receive a poor grade and you need to seek redress through some formal process, email is evidence that you attempted some explanation. The merit in your explanation is, of course, quite another matter.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Since the term is over now, you can indicate the issue as a concern through the department. You can tell them about your situation which makes you uncomfortable, and recommend them to avoid issues to other students in the future.
Upvotes: 0
|
2016/12/02
| 960
| 4,109
|
<issue_start>username_0: On the meetings of the American Mathematical Society there are many parallel sessions subjects of some of them overlap sometimes.
My question is whether it is OK to present the same talk on two parallel sessions if I believe that the subject of my talk is close to both of them.
I was independently invited to two different sessions by the organizers. Should I choose only one session? Or it is OK to accept both invitations?<issue_comment>username_1: The American Mathematical Society may or may not have a rule against it, but even if they don't I think this is a prohibitively bad idea.
At a conference, especially a big one like an AMS or AMS/MAA conference, time is the most valuable commodity: there are so many people there who would like to interact with each other and hear about each other's work, but so little time that many of the events take place on top of each other and the time given to each is very little. Notice that the standard length of the talks is 20 minutes. Virtually everyone who gives a 20 minute talk would rather give a longer talk (in particular, has much more to say). Most of the talks are kept
that short so as to involve the largest number of people in the very limited time available.
With this in mind, taking up two slots for **the same talk** may be viewed as remarkably selfish behavior. Many if not most people at these conferences are interested in more of the talks than they are able to attend: sometimes tough choices have to be made to see one talk versus another (some of us who attend these meetings remember "who we went up against" and marvel that anyone made it to our talk). To give the same talk twice really looks unfair and ungracious to the other participants. It would be hard for any session organizer to justify a "repeat performance" as a better intellectual outcome than a new talk.
I should say that at the JMM sometimes people give multiple talks. At a meeting a few years ago, I noticed that a certain hot job market candidate was giving three talks (of different kinds; maybe not more than one in a special session). If you're planning to give more than one talk in a special session I would definitely mention this to both session organizers: to have someone turned away while someone else speaks twice looks harsh and should be avoided most of the time, I think. This is a different thing though than giving the same talk twice: in fact, since giving two different talks is not unheard of in these meetings, giving the same talk twice looks perhaps even weirder: in particular, it may look like you very much want to talk but don't have very much to say.
---
**Added**: My colleague <NAME> is the Associate Secretary for the Southeastern Section of the AMS. I consulted him, and he replied with the following information:
1. An individual may not give two talks on the same paper. (At JMM, this implies: not even in an AMS special session and an MAA invited paper session, for example).
2. An individual may not give more than one (10-minute) contributed paper talk.
3. An individual is allowed to speak in multiple special sessions (and up to one contributed paper session), as long as the talks are on different topics.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with <NAME>'s answer, and will put a somewhat different spin on it. If you have two different talks to give, then it looks very good if you give both of them. This is especially true if any prospective employers might be watching your talk, and it's a great opportunity to showcase the diversity of your research interests.
I agree with Pete that it's polite to check with the organizers. In my estimation, they will probably not mind. Indeed, I am actually organizing a session at this year's JMM, and some of our speakers are also speaking in a different session. This is totally fine with me, and I am looking forward to their talks in the other session too.
In short, I would look at two invitations as a fantastic opportunity to give *two different* talks. If you have multiple papers you can speak on, seize it!
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I wonder if the following bibliometric index exists.
If a paper cites *n* other papers, then give a weight of *1/n* to each.
Then one can sum up these weights for each paper/person to get an index.
This would balances things in the sense that in some fields papers cite 5 other papers, while in other fields 100 - so scientists of the two fields can be better compared. It would be especially useful when someone works in two different fields, like (you would never guess!) myself - among mathematicians, my citations overrate me, but among theoretical computer scientists I'm nowhere.<issue_comment>username_1: Currently, there is no standard bibliometric that fits your definition. This could be mainly due to the complexity (and biases) involved.
Your bibliometric proposal looks analogous to the PageRank algorithm. Only that you cannot directly apply it since citation graphs are DAGs by nature. There is a paper that shows [how to apply weighted PageRank to author citation networks](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1102.1760.pdf) that you might want to read.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: As far as I know, no such bibliometric is in use. However, I think your question is predicated on a couple of misconceptions, which I will try to clear up.
* First, your citation count doesn't "rate" you as a researcher. Yes, it's something that people often look at *in context with other things* to get an idea of how much an impact your research has, but any bibliometric only captures a small aspect of this (if you want, you can think of this as a random variable which measures "impact" or "influence, but with extremely large variance). And people know average citation counts vary a lot by fields and subfields. Serious researchers in your field will evaluate you based on your work and the opinion of experts in the field.
I don't think your idea is a bad one, but there are also various issues with the bibliometric you propose, which you may or may not have thought about:
* One obvious drawback is that this number no longer measures "scope of impact." One person who writes a paper with a single citation, which is only a self-cite (e.g., this may happen in a corrigendum) gets a 1 for this bibliometric, which is the same value as someone who in 20 different papers with 20 references each.
* The number of references a paper has is largely a function of the authors' style and type of paper being written.
* When authors add gratuitous self-cites or pressure others to cite their works, that unfairly lowers this bibliometric for the other references.
* Also, you might philsophically be thinking of the weight in your proposed bibliometric as a measure of how much a cited paper influenced the current one, but the reality is far different. Some cited papers will be a lot more influential than other ones for a given work, and there is no simple bibliometric way to determine (cf. <https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/62917/19607>).
* Not a drawback so much as pushback: this will give everyone a smaller citation number than they currently have, so I can imagine many people would be against it.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: If I understand you correctly, you are referring to a concept called **citing-side normalization** (see e.g. [<NAME> 2013](https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1301/1301.4941.pdf)), where the number of references of citing papers are used as weighting factors to account for the different lenghts of reference lists in different fields (citation density). This type of normalization is relatively common within bibliometrics, so I think that the other answers are incorrect in saying that they don't exist. One well-known example of such an index is the SNIP-indicator (see [Waltman et al., 2013](https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1209/1209.0785.pdf) and [Leydesdorff & Opthof, 2010](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.21371/full)), which is a journal-level indicator. Another example is the recently proposed article-level CSNCR-index (citation score normalized by cited references, see [<NAME>, 2016](https://arxiv.org/abs/1607.00890)), but this uses the mean number of cited references in a field to normalize citations (so not references list length in individual papers).
If you look for references to "citing-side normalization" you will find other examples of similar approaches, at journal or article levels. I'm not sure if I've seen author-level indices based on this though (but averages of article-level indicies can of course be used). In general, there are a number of bibliometric indices that control for the different citations densities in different fields (not only using citing-side normalization). These are all based on some sort of field normalization, which can be done for field classes (in e.g. Scopus or Web of Science) or other article groupings (see e.g. the [cluster-based normalization](http://www.leidenranking.com/information/fields#micro-level-fields) used at CWTS in Leiden).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: From my experience (in Europe), I have often seen that professors give their research highest priority and see teaching only as a necessity that gets a low priority. I feel that this is due to the fact that having many strong publications has a direct benefit for the professor:
* increased chance of getting called to a better university
* better access to research grants and corporate funding
* increased public visibility
Teaching, on the other hand, does not seem to have such direct benefit for the professor.
I am wondering if this is just a subjective feeling or if there exists any research that can support this?
Question: Are there any scientific publications that support my analysis? Does the current academic system favor research over teaching quality?
**Update:** Based on the comments and answers I see that my statement might not necessary hold in the general case. My experience is largely based on European universities where a professor is usually employed for life. Maybe there exists research specifically for European universities?<issue_comment>username_1: The elephant in the room of your question is the issue of getting tenure.
My impression is that each institution has its own protocol for establishing tenure, with different weights for things like:
* student evaluations
* publications
* number and quality of grad students
* service to department
* outreach
* commitment to diversity
In the U.S. there is a clear divide between the "small liberal arts college" and the large university. The former tends to pride itself on its greater emphasis on high quality teaching and less emphasis on "publish or perish." I personally am not yet convinced that the teaching is necessarily consistently better at the "small liberal arts college."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I used to work in a university, one of the largest and most research intensive, where they recognised that academics had different drivers. They created three designations:
* teaching-focused academics had targets based on teaching outputs
* research-focused academics had targets based on research outputs
* balanced academics had targets that were a mixture of both
Performance reviews and tenure decisions were tied to these targets.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I am taking an abstract algebra course and I am really interested about the topic. So much so that I spend most of my time reading supplementary materials. I consequently know a lot more theorems than the ones covered in class.
In a recent quiz, I used a theorem in one of my proofs that was not mentioned in the lecture since. My professor gave me partial marks for my answer for the reason that we didn't cover this theorem in class even though the proof was completely valid! I can't really see where he is coming from. How would someone be able to use a theorem correctly if he doesn't know its proof? I was quite baffled by his comment.
Do you agree with this?
EDIT: The professor just Emailed me and said that after thinking for a while, he decided to award me the full mark for the question. He also mentioned that he didn't want discourage me from studying the subject (since he saw most of my previous quiz grades were full marks) and I was passionate about it, but kindly requested that I include any proof for a theorem that I cite from now on in his exams. He also sent a broadcast message to the whole class indicating this.<issue_comment>username_1: This depends on what is announced in the syllabus and on the kind of test.
If the syllabus explicitly says that tests should be solved using the course material only, then, yes, any answer using anything else than course material is not totally correct and should get deductions. If the syllabus does not say so, the answer is not so clear anymore.
If the test is kind of a final exam on the whole course where the students are tested on the whole subject, than I (and this is a personal opinion) would not deduct anything if the proof is technically correct, whatever tools have been used (unless the problem says "solve this with this method"). However, in an intermediate test it may well be that the instructor wants the students to show that a certain technique can be applied or a certain concept can be used. Going beyond the course material spoils this idea and (again, personal opinion) one may deduct points, although it would be much better if these policy has been stated beforehand.
The above should answer the question "Why could points be deducted?" but not the "Should points be deducted?". I think the answer to the latter question is really opinion based (and may be a question for [matheducators.stackexchange.com](http://matheducators.stackexchange.com)).
As a side remark on "How would someone be able to use a theorem correctly if he doesn't know its proof?" I (and I guess most other working mathematicians) do that all the time. I would not get anywhere without using theorems of which I haven't even dare to read to proof. Some examples from outside my field: People use Fermat's last theorem, the "Kepler conjecture" (also a theorem now), the four-color theorem, the "10,000 pages theorem" on the classification of finite simple groups, the Poincare conjecture (proven as special case of the geometrization theorem)…
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I think that this is expected behavior, and that most professors would score it the same way.
A first point is this: As Landric says in a comment, the point of an exam is to assess mastery of basic knowledge covered in the course. If one uses a more powerful outside theorem, then the steps that they've skipped likely contained important concepts or techniques, that there is now no proof that the student has mastered. So the professor needs to ping the student to demonstrate those basic techniques before progressing.
A second point would be: Consider this to be modeling working within a particular tradition or development. Many mathematical textbooks and papers may be using competing (even contradictory) definitions, axioms, assumptions, etc. It's important to use only those results which are developed directly from that chain of reasoning. So in a sense this grading protocol tests the "focus" of the student, if they are aware of exactly what results are supported/in effect in the "field" represented by the course.
A third point (related to the preceding) is this: This tests your ability as an explainer/writer/teacher of future students. At any time, it's important that we detect and "dial in" in our explanations to the level of abstraction/knowledge possessed by the other human(s) in the transaction. If we cite some result or theorem completely outside and beyond the awareness of the other person, then it fails to serve as an illuminating explanation. We have an obligation to be aware of what the other person has developed, and keep our explanations in that context, so that they have a chance to truly understand. Write assignments as though the intended audience was another student in the same course.
Here's a programming anecdote that serves as an analogy, from a friend a few weeks ago: Professor gives an assignment to code a hashing function, or a basic search algorithm. Students routinely turn in work that's a single line long, calling the equivalent pre-existing library function that does that job. Obviously that's not what's expected, fails to show the low-level understanding desired, and is pretty comical if you think about it.
Maybe your case doesn't seem so egregious, because you saved just a few steps. But if the professor doesn't score in this way, that would always be the end result; one-line proofs citing some outside source, and failing to show mastery of the basic techniques.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends. Consider these examples.
Suppose during an elementary calculus exam you a question asking you to prove that a given real polynomial of degree three has a root. A standard solution would be to use the intermediate value property. You could also use the fact that any real polynomial of odd degree has a root, and technically that would be a proof, but that would clearly not be a good solution -- the proof of that general fact is just a more abstract instance of the proof for a given polynomial of degree three. In fact, you could even use the general fact that every polynomial of degree three has a root. I hope you can see how that would be very far from being a solution.
For another example, suppose you had a class in elementary number theory, and you were asked to show that some diophantine equation has no solutions, but somehow you could reduce the equation to an instance of the Fermat's Last Theorem. Technically, you could just do the reduction and apply the theorem, but would that really be a good solution?
You could even think of a more extreme example: suppose you were asked to prove a given theorem during an exam (regardless of whether or not it was taught during the class in question). Would simply invoking the theorem and saying that the proof is completed be a good solution?
For a more subtle example, suppose you were to find the limit of sine of x over x at zero. You could try applying L'Hospital rule. This is not such an advanced theorem, but using it would still be wrong (as you need to know the derivative of sine to apply it, making the reasoning entirely circular).
The point is, at least during the introductory courses, you are mainly supposed to show how well you understand and apply basic concepts. Frequently, there may be an advanced theorem which would allow you to largely or completely avoid really using these elementary concepts, and you don't show that you understand them well. Moreover, this can allow you to do (possibly veiled) circular arguments.
On the other hand, if you use some more advanced concepts to circumvent a technical problem (or just to make a more beautiful proof), while still showing that you understand the underlying elementary ideas very well, you should not (in my opinion) be penalized. Similarly, if you use advanced ideas, but *prove every step* "from the ground up", I would say that penalizing you would be very wrong.
During more advanced courses as well as final exams, you are expected to have more broad knowledge and are much less likely to be penalized for using even somewhat advanced concepts. However, the same basic rules apply -- using the Fermat's Last Theorem would not be OK in my opinion, not even during an intermediate graduate number theory exam (unless explicitly allowed). It's mostly a matter of common sense.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: A point that is frequently missed by students is that, in a course, in addition to the syllabus, there are frequently a number of implicit assumptions. Whether these implicit assumptions are significant or not, depends on the professor.
These assumptions are related, for example, to the methods that are to be employed to solve certain exercises, to which theorems the student is allowed to use, to what should be assumed in case of missing data, to which models should be employed for certain devices, etc.
Usually, students unconsciously learn these assumptions from the lectures and the exercise sessions.
Failing to comply with these implicit assumptions might result in a lower grade.
For instance, when I was a student of electronic engineering, one of the main courses during the first year was that of circuit theory. When I took the exam, one of the exercises was about the transient response of a first-order circuit. There is a standard method to solve these kind of circuits, but I decided to use the Laplace transform.
When the exam committee hand us back the papers, I found that they awarded me half marks on that problem, and there was the following comment: "The student doesn't know how to solve first-order circuits".
Of course I knew it! I simply decided to use another, correct, method, because I judged that in *that particular case*, for me, using Laplace transform was quicker. Thus, I complained with the committee: "This statement is false!". They looked at the paper and said: "You shoot a bird with a cannon, you deserve half marks". That's it, the implicit assumptions was: "you shouldn't use a method other than the standard one".
Given your last edit, it's nice that your professor decided to award you full marks, but for the next time, beware the implicit assumptions.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: There is mention on this page of "implicit assumptions" that only material taught in a course should be used in the examinations for that course. But there are enough counter-opinions on this page to show that standard is not universally agreed upon. There are equal reasons to assume that any mathematically valid methods are fair game. Perhaps the student had experiences in the past where he or she was rewarded for thinking outside of the box or for studying more than they had to. Is that really an outlandish possibility? Is that really such a bad thing? How would they know what this particular professor finds acceptable?
Think about the classic story of Gauss adding the numbers 1 through 100. Has that story EVER been recounted in a way that suggested he should have been penalized for not using the laborious method expected of him?
If a professor wants a student to use a particular method for a proof, then that needs to be made explicit. Students can't be mind readers. (And even if they were, they couldn't use that information anyway unless mind reading was explicitly taught in the course.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: An important point to keep in mind here is that mathematical knowledge is largely *contextual* rather than being a collection of isolated facts that one learns in some arbitrary order. Consequently, when an exam question says "Prove assertion A", it is generally implicit that what this really means is "Prove assertion A *in the context of the material discussed so far in the course*" rather than "Prove assertion A, *and you may use any result that ever appeared in the mathematical literature*".
Note that in the former interpretation the question makes sense from the point of view of testing whether the student has learned not just why assertion A is true in some formal sense, but how this is relevant to the topic of the course and how it's related to the context in which assertion A is being discussed.
By contrast, the latter interpretation is highly problematic, since assertion A itself in all likelihood also appears in the mathematical literature, and it is obviously nonsensical to allow a proof that appeals to the result one is trying to prove. And if one does not allow that, should one allow a mild generalization of it? Should one allow a super-powerful theorem that implies it but that encapsulates thousands of pages of mathematical reasoning the student couldn't possibly have studied? And so on. So, in my mind, a student who assumes this interpretation will have demonstrated that they fail to grasp this important issue of context and/or are trying to get away with their ignorance of the specific ideas and techniques discussed in the course by appealing to some external knowledge they happen to possess. The fact that they possess such knowledge may be impressive and worth rewarding, or it may not be - that depends on the specifics of the case, so depending on those specifics I can see it being reasonable to deduct points in some cases, or being more sensible to award the full points for the question in other cases.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Penalized? No. But it's reasonable that you be required to prove or solve problems using the material you've studied rather than a "5 kg hammer" that you found lying around in some book.
Remember the professor wants to help you familiarize yourself with the subject of that course; the exam is just a means to that end - it's not supposed to be a test of how good/intelligent/knowledgeable you are *in general*.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: No. You shouldn't be penalized. The professor should applaud your understanding of the subject. That said, in school you should make a habit of answering questions the way a teacher wants them to be answered. Otherwise you'll have to deal with issues like this.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a physical science PhD student and after completed my PhD I would like to work as a postdoc in a second, specific, university's research group.
Therefore, I would like to start making some networking with this new group, e.g. by contacting the director OR any academic with same research interests as me, explaining my PhD project and eventually involve he/she in a possible research which will lead to a paper together. This would mean visiting that particular university, meet the staff, spend some time working with them, etc..
The point is that my actual PhD supervisor seems not so keen to these kind of connections for whatever reason (possibly because he imagines my final aim?) and therefore I feel worry to talk with him about this subject because I already know his answer, i.e. No.
I believe that starting early (i.e. during a PhD) making connections with this (or any other) research group would be better for me, instead of contacting them after e.g. my PhD thesis submission or Viva, but I don't want to ruin the relation with my PhD supervisor.
In your opinion, what should I do?
1) Should I impose to him my choice to contact and hopefully work with this particular group, because it is my PhD project but possibly ruining the relation
or
2) Wait until the end of my PhD (I am a 1st year) and tell him to write for me a letter of recommendation for a postdoc job in that group
or
other options?
In any case he will know my decision.
Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: If your advisor doesn't think it is a good idea then you should trust him (this is part of his job, to advise you, after all).
You're just starting out so get your own projects going before trying to connect with another group. In a year or so if you're still interested you could bring this up to your advisor again. You could always attempt to meet people from the other group casually at a conference or something.
Short answer: Listen to your advisor, especially so early in your career.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you are a first year student, then you are putting the cart before the horse.
You have a very nice dream. Savor it as a dream for now.
A couple of years from now, attend a conference your target post-doc group is likely to attend, go to their talks and poster presentations, and introduce yourself.
Take things one step at a time.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: This question is not really about *who can be considered a coauthor* of a given journal paper —or maybe it is, after all— but rather about *how to specify the different roles, levels of implication or contributions of each of the coauthors,* in case this would mean to be done.
My question is: **Is there any standard about how to specify the different roles or contributions of the coauthors of a given journal paper?** I do not mean the importance of coauthors that can maybe deduced from their order in the author list (see [What does first authorship really mean?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2467/what-does-first-authorship-really-mean), [Authorship allocation - is it common to grant equal credit to two last authors?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7775/authorship-allocation-is-it-common-to-grant-equal-credit-to-two-last-authors), for instance), but a way to explicitly specify the implication of each of the coauthors, in a sort of *standard* way.
I remember someone saying this could be added at the end of each article, as a way to make the contribution of each coauthor clearer.
Actually, my question is highly related to this previous one: [Revamping Paper Authorship, \*or\* Should Papers Roll Credits](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23811/revamping-paper-authorship-or-should-papers-roll-credits), which has only received one answer and is still open at the moment of writing.
I have found some interesting webpages and articles dealing with this subject:
* [Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)](http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html)
* [The ICMJE's definition of authorship is illogical and unethical (<NAME>)](http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/58265/1/58265.pdf)
* [Is it time for a new approach to authorship? (Leash E.)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9109819)
* [A New Standard for Authorship (<NAME>)](https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/resource-library/editorial-policies/cse-policies/retreat-and-task-force-papers/authorship-task-force/a-new-standard-for-authorship/)
So, maybe my question is actually about the state of the art of this subject: **how to credit authorship in a standard way** or **standard authorship crediting.**
---
Other related questions in this site:
* [What are the minimum contributions required for co-authorship](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12030/what-are-the-minimum-contributions-required-for-co-authorship)
* [Is it ethical for advisors to automatically coauthor papers?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19362/is-it-ethical-for-advisors-to-automatically-coauthor-papers/)
* [If you make a substantial contribution should you be given the opportunity to satisfy the other requirements for authorship?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42177/if-you-make-a-substantial-contribution-should-you-be-given-the-opportunity-to-sa)
* [Should undergraduate students be included on papers containing data they collected?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1014/should-undergraduate-students-be-included-on-papers-containing-data-they-collect)
* [Indicating co-PI status on a paper](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23469/indicating-co-pi-status-on-a-paper)
* [Can I claim authorship on work I wasn't personally involved in, that uses a framework I developed for my research?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/80580/can-i-claim-authorship-on-work-i-wasnt-personally-involved-in-that-uses-a-fram)<issue_comment>username_1: There is no standard way, not even in the same field or sometimes even the same journal.
But when people put contributions at the end, it typically looks something like this:
>
> **Author Contributions**
>
> AB conceived the project. CD and EF designed the experiments. AB and GH performed the experiments. CD and EF analyzed the data. AB wrote the article with input from all the other authors.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There is now a (reasonably) standard way of specifying author contributions, at least in some fields: a **CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) statement**, see <http://credit.niso.org/>. It was first introduced by [Brand et al. (2015)](https://doi.org/10.1087/20150211), and there are quite a few follow-up publications about it. E.g., [Cell Press](https://www.cell.com/pb/assets/raw/shared/guidelines/CRediT-taxonomy.pdf), [Wiley](https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/open-access/credit.html) and [Elsevier](https://www.elsevier.com/authors/policies-and-guidelines/credit-author-statement) do not seem to require it for all journals but at least endorse it. It uses a precisely defined taxonomy of 14 different contributions an author could have made. The roles are the following (screenshot from the above link):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1QnkH.png)
Detailed descriptions of the different roles can also be found under the above link.
A typical statement might look like this (screenshot from the Elsevier page linked above):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/O3iGN.png)
Notice that it is perfectly fine to list contributions by people who are not authors of the paper.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm from Venezuela, and of course I got all my education in that country. I need help with converting degree titles into their US/UK equivalents.
For example, in the US/UK you have the B.Sc. grade, and I understand it goes after high school (if I'm correct). Here, Bachelor means graduated from high school.
When you go to university, here we can become technicians (3 years post school), or get a "long scholarship title" (up to 7 years) like engineer, lawyer or surgeon.
After that you can get up to 3 different grades: Specialist (???), Magister (Master) and Doctor (PhD) (2 years each, and all require to do a thesis) or just get a Diploma (a short (1 year or less) course, without thesis).
**What is the equivalent of the Specialist title in the US/UK?**
I did specialization; I'm more than an engineer, but not a Master. What title should I add if I translate it into English nomenclature?
Thanks in advance for your answers :)
PS: I did the post-degree on informatic<issue_comment>username_1: There is an actual specialist degree in the US called [Specialist degree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialist_degree)
however you may also refere it as a postgraduate study in a particular area
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The US is not a particularly heavy user of formal titles, especially compared to, for example, Germany. Broadly speaking, education goes like this:
* High school diploma (year 12, or about age 18)
* Technical school, trade school, associates degree (HS +2 years)
* Bachelor of Arts/Science (HS +4 years, a typical undergraduate degree)
* Master of Arts/Science (BA/BS +2 years)
* Juris Doctorate (BA/BS +3 years, law school)
* PhD (BA/BS +4-8 years, depending on field)
* MD (BA/BS +4 years, medical school, not including residency)
There are more, but these are some common ones. However, very few of these translate into an actual title that someone would put before (or after) their name. Generally just medical school and PhD, I think. Although for specific use within your field, for example on a business card, you can get into all sorts of initials for niche things, like certifications.
Engineer is a big one that gets confusing, having spent some time in central Europe where "engineer" is a designation for anyone who has studied a technical subject beyond undergrad. In the US, an engineer is someone who studied engineering, and nothing more. Americans who don't have contact with foreign institutions and individuals would be quite confused at someone calling themselves a "Specialist" or "Magister", as well, since we have no commonly-used equivalent.
A lot of how you handle this will depend on your audience. Just because "most" Americans won't be familiar with the myriad of possible titles/levels of education doesn't mean the one you want to communicate with isn't. But very broadly speaking, anything after your undergraduate studies that isn't a PhD, MD or JD, should probably just be referred to as graduate school or a masters.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/02
| 353
| 1,525
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<issue_start>username_0: I have the option of graduating from my university (U.S.) a semester early, and if I do so, I would receive the lowest honors designation of cum laude. However, if I do not graduate early, I will be able to receive the highest honors designation of summa cum laude. How important is this designation for graduate school admissions, and is there a major difference between these two? My GPA would remain unchanged, the only difference is completion of other honors program requirements.<issue_comment>username_1: The honor designations carry essentially no weight. The additional honor program requirements, however, could carry substantial weight. If for example, one of the extra requirements was an independent research project, this would be very valuable for graduate school admissions. If the requirement was the completion of a university breadth requirement (e.g., basket weaving), then it has no extra value for admissions.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In mathematics, in the U.S., the honors degree per se doesn't matter much, but the fuller coursework (which does mostly reflect what people have learned...) is a big plus. That is, graduating early, if it means "stopping studying mathematics", is not at all a plus, but represents a misunderstanding of the enterprise. Of course, graduating early but/and continuing to study, perhaps even more energetically/aggressively, is positive... if one does not mistakenly disengage from faculty who can be good letter-writers.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/03
| 2,794
| 12,315
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a postdoc in mathematics (US) in the process of applying for tenure-track positions. The job market was very competitive and I only ended up with one interview so far. But I found out that for the position that I am being interviewed for, there are several other interviewees, and one of them is a tenured professor.
To me, the competition seems unfair because obviously the university wants the best candidate, and since the tenured professor received her PhD 10+ years before me, she has a lot more publications than me. And there is only one position for the university.
The situation looks hopeless to me. Is there anything that I can do or say during or before the interview that will make the hiring committee take me seriously? I have of course read several posts on here before asking this question. The answers seem to say that the "promise" is also taken into account. But will it actually be taken into account when the tenured professor has fifteen more papers than me? Since she also has more experience speaking in conferences and knows what to say or do during interviews (since presumably she has also served on hiring committees), I think her job talk will be better than mine, too. I just don't see how I could even be called a serious candidate when she is interviewing for this position.<issue_comment>username_1: During the interview, everyone has a specific role. Members of the selection panel are going to hear all candidates and make their choice. Candidates should present themselves and explain how they fit to this Department.
Your interview is about you and the position you want to be in. It is not about you and other candidates. I understand it is hard, but try to forget about their existence and focus on the best way to present your skills to the panel. It does not matter if other candidate is a tenured professor or a white rabbit with a pocket watch. It absolutely has nothing to do with what your strong sides are and how you can fit this place.
Comparing yourself with others is never too helpful, and it is particularly so for interviews. From what I see, you are concerned of not getting this post already, and you believe you will not get it before you even enter the interview room. But so many things can happen between now and then.
* What if this candidate will not show up during the day? (Maybe she has got another offer elsewhere? Maybe her plans changed?)
* And if she is there, why do you think she will be the first candidate? (Maybe her research is not so brilliant, as it looks to you? Maybe it is, but they are really looking for someone to do the teaching? Maybe they would need a specific expertise to start a new course, and she does not have it?)
* And if she is offered a post, why do you think she will take it? (Maybe they disagree on salary? Maybe she has a two-body problem that she can't solve? Maybe she does not like the University building and hates the idea of working there?)
There are so many variables involved, on which you have zero control, that the best thing to do is to focus on the thing you can control - **work on your presentation**.
And good luck with the interview!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As sometimes happens, this is a question where the literal question and subtext are a little different. To address the subtext: Relax. You don't really know what the situation is, and you're not going to benefit from trying to guess about it. They wouldn't interview you if they didn't think you were competitive. Of course, the downside of that is all the other people they'll interview are competitive as well. The start of December is still pretty early for interview invitations, so just because you only have one invitation now doesn't mean you won't get more later.
To address the explicit question: I know from the applicant side it must feel like the market is such that schools can hire whoever they want, but it doesn't feel like from the hiring side. The best people are highly sought after, and even if this tenured person is their top choice, they might be someone else's top choice as well. Even the very top places, but especially everyone else, is very concerned about whether candidates will really come.
Specifically with the question of hiring junior vs. senior people. There's a reason that schools hire the former far more often. Senior people are more expensive in a literal sense (generally, they get a pay bump from wherever they were before) and require more work on the part of the hiring department since they need to push through the tenure case on an expedited basis. Often even if a department wants to make such a hire, it will be forbidden by the higher administration (for example, we don't have permission to make such hires this year). There is also a cost along many dimensions to making job offers that aren't accepted, and senior candidates are less likely to accept (since quite often, their offer will be matched by their present institution, and most people would prefer not to move, all things being equal). There's also a psychological bias toward optimism about how a candidate will develop over the years. The senior person may have 15 papers, but they know that's all the papers she will write over that portion of her career (often the most creative); with you, they can instead imagine the great papers you will write at a comparable stage. And they know that you'll still need to get tenure, whereas a senior person will be permanent immediately without any chance to see how they will work out in the department.
As for what you can do during the interview: the cake is mostly baked on that score, but you can concentrate on giving a good and accessible talk. Practice it in front of a more experienced person and get their feedback. Also, do what you can to learn about the department and school and have intelligent questions. It's a minor thing, but giving the sense that you are taking the interview seriously, and are really thinking about what life will be like there will give a positive impression. It's also minor but I worry a little about your defeatist attitude showing, even if you don't intend it to. People can sense confidence or lack thereof, so going into the interview thinking you're the right person for the job can also make a difference around the edges.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: You are a serious candidate
---------------------------
You are. That is why the university is interviewing you. It would be a complete waste of time and resources otherwise. They liked your application materials and want to know more.
Candidates must have good potential
-----------------------------------
Generally, academic hires are made not on the basis of what you **have done** but on what you have the potential **to do**. This is why the job doesn't automatically go to the person with the most publications.
Search committee members know how academia works
------------------------------------------------
Of course the tenured professor has more publications than you! Of course they have more teaching and advising experience, and of course they have more contacts and a wider network within the field. The search committee knows this, and they don't expect postdocs to have all of these things. But perhaps the postdoc looks like they have the potential to blossom into a better scholar than the tenured professor. Perhaps the tenured professor will just stagnate. Which brings me to my final point...
You have seriously incomplete information
-----------------------------------------
You have basically no knowledge which could help you figure out your odds. Here are some possible scenarios:
1. The tenured professor (who I'll call P for brevity) is not actually serious about this job, but just wants an offer so that she can have a counteroffer from her current institution to get a nice raise.
2. P is fleeing from a toxic department; she is on bad terms with her current department chair.
3. P is leaving her current department because she is effectively being pushed out due to a scandal involving an affair with a student and misappropriation of research funds. This is hot gossip among the more senior members of your field but no one knows the full details.
4. P is applying for the position to live close to her ageing parents. She thinks that she will easily get the job because she is from a prestigious university and this job is at a mid tier school, however her arrogance poisons the interview and no one likes her.
5. P is the best candidate on paper, but just doesn't "click" week with the current faculty, so they vote to hire someone else.
We can go on like this for all the candidates, including you. Then we can invent scenarios of what the search committee is looking for, pet peeves of individual members, and so on. But the fact is we just don't know, and even if we did know then there's nothing you can do about it.
Get back to work
----------------
Quit worrying. Use that nervous energy to polish your talk, to practice answering questions, and to do research about the school. The job goes to the best candidate, and that could be you.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: The essence of the answer to your question is very simple, and it is that **your entire conception of what it means to be the "best" candidate is misguided**. You seem to have taken it upon yourself to decide in advance which of the candidates being interviewed is most deserving of the position, and decided (based on very partial and superficial information) that it's someone else, not you. Hence your strong self-doubt, sense of hopelessness, and low level of confidence (all of which are bad states of mind to be in when going into an interview due to their self-fulfilling nature).
The truth is that departments take many factors into account in their analysis of who is the "best". Some of those factors were listed in the other answers, but in fact there are many others, and I feel like it is not worth the effort trying to list them all since their precise nature is mostly irrelevant. The point is that it is your job to go into the interview and do your best, and it is the department's job to evaluate you and the other candidates and decide who is best. It is unproductive and self-defeating for you to be assuming that role yourself and to make any assumptions that you are either worse or better than any of the other candidates, no matter the reason. The only sensible assumption you should be making is that you are just as serious of a candidate as any of the other ones, since the department has gone to the significant trouble and expense of inviting you for an interview.
To drive home the point, consider the metaphor of a romantic courtship. You (assuming you are male and heterosexual, otherwise make the obvious changes to this story) are courting a beautiful woman, and she has agreed to go for a walk in the park with you on Sunday. You know that on Tuesday she is meeting another of her suitors, who is an older, more experienced, and perhaps slightly more charismatic man. Should you just give up and assume that there is no way for you to be seen as a serious romantic contender? Of course not - the fact that she has agreed to the date is precisely what makes you a serious contender. Just go and do your best. Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm on a search committee this year. We very much do handicap or adjust for seniority. We are not legally allowed to (and don't) discriminate on the basis of biological age, but it is routine to use academic age as a factor in hiring. Applicants with more recent Ph.Ds have a better chance of having their best work in front of them as opposed to behind them. In addition, applicants with more recent Ph.Ds will be further away from retirement. A faculty hire is a long-term investment, and it costs exactly the same amount to search for a new researcher as it does to search for an experienced researcher, so purely in terms of cost per unit year of eventual employment it makes a lot of sense to hire more recent graduates.
You are not required to compete with senior applicants on equal terms. The search committee will handicap all applicants appropriately. Just do your best!
Upvotes: 2
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2016/12/03
| 4,046
| 16,774
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<issue_start>username_0: I am teaching part time at a community college (in the US) and I have one student who is about 16, I think he is a senior in high school (at least he is about to graduate HS in the spring). He is currently applying to MIT, Harvard, etc... and he is taking my differential equations course. But he wants an extension on his take-home exam.
I gave my students an in-person exam last Monday. It was too hard... if anyone is interested in what "too hard" means, I can post it, but trust me, it was difficult... anyway, so I give them their exams back this past Monday (after our Thanksgiving break) and I tell them "give thanks, the exam is take-home now and due Wednesday". He didn't show up for class that day (which when I was in HS was called being delinquent) and I told the class I would also make the announcement on our "online blackboard" so that anyone who missed would get the announcement. I forgot to do this, and Wednesday I made the announcement that I forgot to post it Monday and so I said it was due Friday (this time I didn't forget to post it online). I did keep my supervisor in the loop and they thought this was reasonable.
In any case, the student in question (and only one other student) weren't there on Monday but did show up on Wednesday. He asked for me to make it due this coming Monday. I told him that was not reasonable because the final is next Wednesday and I need to get the grading done in time plus I want to post solutions to the exam so they can study it to help them for their final (but I obviously can't do that if he hasn't submitted). So their submissions are due in just about 1.5 hours and he is the only person who has yet to submit his exam. This past Wednesday after class he said he wishes I would "work with him" because he has 7 other classes he's in (I think I'm remembering that correctly.... that's insane) and he has some winter concert he has to perform in for his school band and... he's never had a B ever... but in my class he has a C, many of my students by the way have A's. I think he lacks maturity and I told him if he wants to go to MIT then he should act like an MIT student and quit complaining and get his work done.
Main Points:
* I have a young student applying to MIT who is a dual credit student in my differential equations course.
* He is complaining because he has a C in the class, but I feel he isn't putting in the appropriate work.
* He claims there is a lot of work to do in high school and wants an extension on a take-home exam.
* I disagree with his request for an extension, and I wonder if his request is reasonable and if I'm the person being unreasonable here.<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, I think the most relevant point is the fact that he hasn't submitted his exam and it is due in about 1.5 hours. I would email the student now and warn him that you plan to post the solutions at a certain time, and unless he submits by then, he gets a zero on the exam. Documenting never hurts.
Secondly, did anyone else miss the class besides him when you made the announcement? You are partially at fault for not making the announcement, and if it affected just this one student, then maybe some adjustments could be made (however, giving him extra time over the weekend is unfair, since the students got Monday-Friday, but he would not only get the entire weekend to work on it, he would also get an extra day).
But in general, I would caution against making major changes to your syllabus, because if the student really decides to go after you, he does have some grounds to stand on. The exams are probably worth the majority of their grades, and doing things like this unannounced is not good form, in any case, although it was done with good intentions. I would have opted to just take the original grade, then curve it.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: We don't know why your student missed class on Monday. He may have been delayed in his travels after the Thanksgiving break, he may have been under the weather, he may have had an extra rehearsal, etc. What we do know is that you suddenly changed the ground rules about the exam, but neglected to inform students who were absent from class on Monday via the online blackboard.
A student who learned of the take-home exam two days behind the others, through your slip-up, should be given two extra days to work on it.
That may not change your dual enrollment student's grade, but it is fair.
On Friday, you can post a study guide instead of an exam solution, to help students prepare for the final. Post the exam solution two days later. You may need to stay up late to prepare the review study guide.
Once the stress of the semester is behind you, do some thinking about test design. For example, you could take a look at ["Preparing tests and exams"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210413212800/https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-assignments/exams/exam-preparation) from the University of Waterloo. You can verify an exam by asking a colleague to take it before you give it to your students.
We are all only human. But when we make a mistake, we need to make a reasonable effort to clean up after ourselves.
*Note: Seven classes is normal for high school.*
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You give a lot more information about the student than seems relevant to the question. That the student is applying to MIT for instance is neither here nor there.
That your student is in high school may be slightly relevant. It feels awkward to have a high school student in a college/university course when they are not doing well, because usually students (especially in mathematics) take such courses because they are too advanced or gifted for their high school programs, but that does not automatically make them prepared for college/university standards. If you are an inexperienced instructor (and I think you are: more on that later) then it is a good idea to talk to colleagues to get some perspective on how high school students are typically dealt with. This may well be different at a community college than at a research university, by the way. I will say that my attitude in dealing with high school students in (research) university math courses is: if there are any special rules or dispensations that apply to them, these should be made clear at the time of their enrollment in the course. In the absence of such rules, I try to treat high school students identically to all other students (keeping in mind that "all other students" is a large and inhomogeneous group). I would certainly avoid talking to them in a way that would not be appropriate or respectful for an adult university student. E.g. you write
>
> I think he lacks maturity and I told him if he wants to go to MIT that he should act like an MIT student and quit complaining and get his work done.
>
>
>
This sounds rather condescending to me. As I said above, that the student wants to go to MIT is really not relevant to your course, and dragging that into the conversation is unhelpful. By the way: telling someone to "act like an MIT student" presumes some involvement / affiliation with MIT on your part. If you don't have that, what you say can come off as obnoxious. I have taken classes at MIT (as a Harvard PhD student) and have some colleagues on the faculty there (for instance, I spoke there last month). But I would not tell anyone to "act like an MIT student": while MIT students are in the aggregate very impressive, they are people, not stereotypes, and in my experience evince a wide range of behavior, including complaining.
Coming back to the matter at hand: honestly, what strikes me most is the way you are teaching your course. Giving an exam which is too hard -- even much too hard -- is something that instructors do often, and it is not necessarily a problem but needs to be dealt with very carefully. Turning an in-class exam into a take-home exam after it has been taken in class seems like a prohibitively poor idea to me. If you are not sure about why, you may want to ask that as a separate question, since it would be helpful to get a range of responses about this. By the way, I also find
>
> "give thanks, the exam is take-home now and due Wednesday".
>
>
>
to be a bit obnoxious. A week after an exam was given, a student is expecting to receive their graded exam back again. Coming into class on a Monday and learning that they are getting a "pop take-home exam" is something that a wide range of college/university students would not be thankful for. Most students are very busy with a range of activities (academic, extracurricular, work, health, family...), and very busy people plan their schedules in advance. Giving the exam back without a grade, asking the students to do it by the next class, and then forgetting to communicate that to students who missed that one class, is not great behavior on your part: honestly, it looks a bit lazy to me.
You say that you want to post the solutions in time to have the students study for the final. That's good. However, remember that you were the one who created the time crunch in the first place by making an exam you were so unhappy with so as to mess with it later.
Okay, what do I recommend?
1. You won't want to hear this, but: giving a take-home exam in an undergraduate math class in 2016 is probably a bad idea full-stop. As a participant on math.stackexchange, you know well that your students can get solutions to even a way-too-difficult undergraduate differential equations class rapidly without leaving home. I have colleagues at SLACs who feel confident that the majority of the students take the honor code seriously enough not to do this and feel that the cheating by a small minority of students is more than offset by the gain in learning from students who work through a carefully crafted take home exam. When I was a postdoc, I had the experience of students cheating on a take-home exam (at a research university) and saw the poisonous effect their higher grades had on the morale of the other students, so for me even a small minority of cheaters is a high price to pay. But this is not a carefully crafted take home exam: it's a too-hard in class exam. And moreover it's a take home exam **that was already given as an in-class exam**. Don't you think that many of the students spoke to each other about the exam afterwards? And that a few of the students may have been interested enough to look up the answers online and/or talk to outsiders (e.g. more advanced students, tutors, instructors) about it? I see no way to guarantee academic integrity in this situation.
2. You could make a different exam for your student and all other students who want to take it / can't solve the take home according to the deadline(s) that you rather precipitously announced. Alternately, you could admit that the assessment coming from this midterm is not the greatest and just offer to drop everyone's lowest midterm grade. In fact I usually drop the lowest midterm grade in my undergraduate classes conditionally on satisfactory performance on the final. (And in fact I often don't announce it until near the end of the course, because I want all the students to take all the midterms.) I find that students are very happy with this, and since I too often give exams that are a bit more difficult than I had wanted, this ends up with course grades in the range that I want.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> I think he lacks maturity and I told him if he wants to go to MIT that he should act like an MIT student and quit complaining and get his work done.
>
>
>
The issue here is that you unpredictably added a large amount of extra work into the student's schedule that had to be done in a short time. What I would expect of a mature student taking eight courses is some careful budgeting of time to make sure there was enough time to do everything. Suddenly learning on Wednesday of a new, high stakes, difficult assignment due on Friday would throw that into disarray.
I don't see anything immature in a student complaining about a last minute syllabus change which makes things substantially worse for them.
Sometimes mistakes happen, and I have to make changes to the course structure in the middle of it. I think it's my obligation in that case to make sure that *every single student* is at least as well off as before the change; that usually means a lot of extra work on my part, and making some individual accommodations or having several options, because different versions will be good for different students.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_5: The other answer are nice and true, but somehow nobody seemed to address the failure (and not meanness!) of the OP.
Summary (without offence! but with honesty):
**You created a bad exam**, it was too hard for the class. You did not do a good job in the first place but creating exams can be hard so this can happen. It still is your responsibility to create fair exams and it is *you* who did not achieve this. Anyway, this was an exam, you have to give marks and may think of ways for the students to compensate that mark. Period.
Then you handed out the exam for home-work. A homework exam **without announcing it** is just **not possible at all**. What if a student is working in the evening, is somewhere else, has other plans... imagine, you would come to class and get told like: Here is your ticket, you have to go on a two-day trip. Now! Or you will have a very bad mark. That is a complete NO-GO.
**You told to upload the information** on the webpage as announced before. I would actually even write an e-mail to be sure. You did not do either of this (or too late). For a student missing the Monday class, being sick or whatever, he could rely on the fact that you will announce it online. Which you then did not. You screwed up again and giving that student more time (to compensate **your** mistake of too late announcing it) is the least you could do. If he, on the other hand, knows about this from his fellow students already, he has an unfair advantage. But you don't know about this. Anyway, this is way beyond any legal or fair grading and by uploading the information too late, you crashed **any possibility** of making this exam count.
**So what to do**: Mark the exam written during the announced time. Marks will probably be bad, announce a second exam. Forget about the take-home exam, people **will** cheat! Mostly those which are bad at class and therefore they would get better marks than the good ones who did not cheat. What a motivation!
You're not mean. But you screwed up. Don't blame a single student for this.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_6: My opinion is if he doesn’t make the deadline for the exam, make up another exam and give it to him. You can make it available as extra credit for other students too. Admittedly, this student may be stretching himself thin (something the establishment is encouraging him to do, depending on who is around him), taking up a massive workload, and yes, he’s floundering. But you grow through struggle, it’s easy to bite off more than you can chew, and it’s hard to grow if failure means you totally screw up your chances permanently.
Am I being unreasonable? A physics professor of mine would give the option of redo exams several times a semester. He said to me, "If you really want to study this material more, learn it better, and you want to do extra work for this grade, then i should help you do that. Sometimes you have something going on in life---who knows? Anyway, real learning doesn’t work on a deadline, and my job is to help you learn. The class, and every other class, has enough deadlines that I don’t mind doing this."
A chemistry professor of mine told me of a professor at Berkeley didn’t believe in failing students; he only gave incompletes. Students could do extra work after semester to bump up and get their grade. If students didn’t take care of it, it would bottleneck their class progression, so most students ended up finishing their work. The result? More students ended up not only passing, but did better overall and learned the material better. My professor said this man was only allowed to get away with these shenanigans because he was tenured. What a pity.
You may say people need to learn discipline and to adhere to deadlines. Remember who you’re talking about: students in differential equations who have plenty of experience, and will constantly be, working under deadlines their whole life. This is not a lesson that needs to be hammered in at every opportunity to the detriment of people’s futures.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/12/03
| 2,087
| 9,326
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<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a review article and have come across a number of references which were published verbatim in their entirety in more than one place (same author(s) and the same content; [Duplicate Publications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplicate_publication)). All of the publications in question are before 1970 and may be divided into two classes: those that have an instance with a statement that the content has been published or presented elsewhere (which references the duplicate) and those lacking such a statement.
For those with a statement, I am inclined to cite the earliest instance and omit the later. However, the approach is unclear for those where precedence is not apparent.
**I am looking for any recommendations (best practices, examples) on how citing duplicate publications should be handled in general.** I have not come across an example in my literature review and have been unable to find any guidance (most search results are related to *preventing* duplicate publications rather than coping with their aftermath decades later).
Options I see at the moment (some of which are more palatable than others):
1. Don't explicitly acknowledge the duplication, but cite both variants in the text and bibliography (i.e., a parenthetical or textual citation with *both* instances each and every time I want to reference its/their content).
2. Pick one (randomly if precedence cannot be determined) and ignore the other.
3. Pick one (randomly if precedence cannot be determined) and include a footnote at the first use indicating that another instance exists (the alternative instance would be cited there with the full citation included in the cited references section).
4. Pick one (randomly if precedence cannot be determined) and modify the full citation in the cited references section to indicate that another instance exists and provide the full citation of the alternative.
Some additional, possibly relevant information:
* Subsequent publications are inconsistent in which instance is cited (i.e., both are cited and precedence is often ignored).
* The field is environmental biotechnology.
**Edit:** To clarify in response to [BioGeo's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/81106/65766), I cannot determine *absolute* precedence for instances lacking a statement because the submission dates are not included (apparently the practice was not yet common, at least in this field). Unless there is a "standard approach" of which I am unaware, the published date cannot be relied on as a general solution either, given the differing precision in reported dates. For example, consider a duplicate publication where one instance is a book chapter published in 1943 and another instance is an article in the June issue of a journal published the same year. Which came first?<issue_comment>username_1: The purpose of references is for readers to look up the sources of the information you present in your article. If these publications are exactly the same, word for word, then I would not worry too much about it and I would cite the **most easily accessible source or the one with a DOI** and only cite it once, so that it will be easier for readers to find the source without having to access some articles that are published in less accessible journals.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: As a review article should not also give a broad overview of developments in a certain research field, but also ease the task to anyone who wants to get acquainted with the history of research on a certain topic, you should provide all the information that may help your reader. If a certain seminal piece of research was published twice under different names I as a reader would profit from the knowledge that these are essentially the same text, which would save me from having to figure it out myself. So I would recommend citing both versions and explicitly stating that the works are identical.
This also applies to cases when a work originally published as a journal article was later included in a book as a chapter.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As a first comment, since all the references you are talking about are before 1970, there is a (high) chance that they will not be available (easily), so accessibility is probably a problem that you will encounter yourself (let alone your readers).
On the other hand, I would say that a reference is supposed to show the progress in a specific field. So (and if I didn't misunderstand something in your question), I would rather have the article that describes the finding you are referring to (e.g. the first application of a method, the discovery of an enzyme or the first description of a microorganism) rather than a later article citing that first one.
Of course, if the later article reports a development in the method that is interesting for your narrative, you could also add that to show the progress.
I don't understand completely why in some cases you cannot determine precedence - maybe I miss something. But in general, for reviews or original research articles, I try to find a reference that is the first occurence, rather than someone else using that method. I remember once trying to find the first describing a microorganism and I went back to 1957, which was citing an even older article which I couldn't find it. I reported it as the first accessible report on this microorganism and used the article from 1957.
So, in summary, I think you should go as back as you can get relatively easily access to old papers, and as close as possible to the article whose results are depicted in the text you cite.
If a part of the text is described without proper citation and you evaluate it as an opinion, rather than a finding, I think I would try to describe it in the review as such and/or cite those that actually proved it (probably later).
I hope I didn't misunderstand the question and you wanted something else...
**In response to the edit**: That seems like a quite different story from what I initially thought. I also now assume that the authors are the same (or overlapping), since you mention the text being copied verbatim (a bad practise if you ask me when writing a book chapter based on an article - but that was not the internet era). So there it is... I accidentally answered part of the question. I think it would be more common to have an article out first before writing a book chapter (assuming the editor sees the article first and then invites the authors to write a book chapter). But nevertheless, considering the intellectual property belongs to the same authors, and also the maturity (of age) of these works, I could choose to cite the one that is available more easily, i.e. available online or in a newer edition of the book.
There is no use for double citations on a finding that is proven once experimentally but described twice by the same authors. But if none of the authors is the same in the two sources, and it's still verbatim, then it seems like a case of plagiarism. I would still assume the article --> book direction, but I don't think the other way around could not work either.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I would cite the one which has got maximum citations. This would improve the probability of the reviewer having read it already. Also it would mean that this one is more easily accessible or available. If you are not sure, it is probably because there is something important in each paper. Then cite both!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I have reviewed recently reviewed a paper that had this passage:
>
> In this paper, we show the algorithm to compute X. Very similar
> algorithms were simultaneously published by Alice, Bob and Charlie
> [5,6,7]. The same result being published by various important researchers,
> in our opinion, strengthens the significance of this result. However, our work differs from them ...
>
>
>
I think this is perfectly fine. Actually, I am convinced that the authors did a perfectly fine literature review -- even enough to know the brand new publications, and have no purpose to "sneak their manuscript into the conference."
That being said, I think it is perfectly fine (and most proper way) to write a sentence like following.
>
> This result was simultaneously published by a number of scientists
> [2,3,4,5,6]. In this paper, we improve the mentioned result and ...
>
>
>
Actually, in my opinion, it would not be proper to refer only one or two since the reviewer might be **very** familiar with one of them and question the paper's sufficiency in terms of literature review.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: I work in mathematics, where literature references are usually given in detail only in the bibliography at the end; in the main text of the paper, there would be just short pointers (like "Einstein [3]" or "[Ein1905]") to the bibliography. In your situation, with identical text published in several places, I'd list all those places in a single bibliography entry. I'd start with the first (as far as I can determine) publication and then continue with "reprinted in ..." for each of the republications. In the main text, I'd just have a pointer to that bibliography entry; there's no need to mention the multiple publications in the text.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/12/03
| 1,946
| 8,230
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<issue_start>username_0: By chance, I am reviewing now the paper which I recognised as a paper of my colleague. We are from the same institution and I am surprised that I got this paper to review, but, on the other hand, I am lucky to see it before it's published. My colleague mentions in this paper the methodology like it was his idea but actually, I am the one that developed it, made it work and applied it, together with the help of my supervisor. In short, he wants to be the author of the idea and the methodology. This is, in fact, what comes out from the paper.
I am now preparing my own paper about this methodology and my work, and I don’t have any publication on it, so far, just a poster from when I participated at a conference six months ago.
I talked to him about it but he doesn’t feel that it is wrong or ethically incorrect.
On top of that, we have the same supervisor. I talked with him as well, and he was threatening me, in a political correct way. He claims that it is okay, and in my paper, I will have just to cite their work in the introduction. He also stated that my work has a different approach in a small detail, so I will criticise their method and put mine as the better one. However, it isn’t true, because my approach is based on the methodology mentioned in the paper which I am reviewing now.
I really don’t know what to do. I was thinking to not review the paper, but it doesn’t solve the problem. If I reject it, I will have to write the reason why I am doing that, and it may turn my supervisor against me.
I would like to act in the most appropriate and ethically correct way. Just don’t know how. I would be grateful for all insights.<issue_comment>username_1: You shouldn't even think about it, do not review that paper, it's a clear conflict of interest, even more because the author is your direct colleague. And the only solution is to sit all together and explain to them that your contribution to said article is significant and you would like to be a co-author. If they have problems with you being a co-author and you have done substantial work then I would seriously consider if you want to be in this research group.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: There are two different questions here. One is easy, one is hard.
The easy question is: "Should I review the paper?". No. Definitely not. It goes against the ethical standards of every respectable journal I can think of, and you should contact the editor immediately.
The hard question is: "What should I do about the authors not recognizing my contribution?". It sounds like you have already approached them regarding this. You should try this again, bring a copy of your old poster, and clearly state that your goal is to be a co-author of the paper.
If you are unsuccessful, you can try to approach a department head or similar, but that will most likely not give you anything but grief. If you think it would be possible to actually publish a similar paper yourself, you can of course do that. In my field it would not be possible to do that, but I guess it varies. At least you will have learned the valuable lesson to write up and publish your stuff if you want to be recognized for it.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I see two possibilities here.
### 1. The poster doesn't prove decisively you must be credited for the developing the method
In this case, you are in quite a bind. You see, nothing you've told us can be established as fact, as it lacks corroborating witnesses; it will be your word against your colleague (and perhaps even the word of your advisor), since nobody is ever going to examine the details (like source commit logs) to determine who's right. The situation is indistinguishable from the outside, without much effort, from you just trying to claim credit that you are not due.
I would suggest, in this case, to write the PC chair, inform him/her that you are certain this is a paper by your colleague, and that you can't review the paper since you're biased - without saying a single word about the ethical issue, or why and how you're biased. Then go tell your colleague that you've done so - but show him a printed copy of the email, don't send it beforehand, so that s/he doesn't misconstrue anything and try to use it against you somehow. When you talk to him/her, try to make use of the fact that you did not take the opportunity to claim right-of-authorship vis-a-vis the PC, as psychological leverage against him: "I didn't tell them that XYZ because I think the fair thing is that we resolve this issue between us, but how could you submit a paper behind my back like this? etc. etc." You might even go as far as threatening to claim his paper is taking credit of your own work, as a way of pressure him/her: Even though you won't do it, it's still the danger for him/her of a lot of hassle and a question mark on his/her reputation. You could also threaten going to the faculty management, or whoever is in charge of graduate studies (i.e. not through your advisor), or taking it up with the graduate researchers' union for an internal resolution dispute (I hope you have such a union) etc.
Note: I'm suggesting this somewhat aggressive behavior since your advisor won't back you. If he had been at least neutral I might have suggested something different involving him/her.
### 2. The poster proves you must be credited for developing the method
This next piece of advice is, again, due to the fact that your advisor has threatened you and has acted in a generally underhanded way; had that not been the case I'd make another suggestion that would be more forthcoming and open.
Anyway, in this case, write the PC chair. Inform him/her that you are certain this is a paper by your colleague; and explain how you can't review the paper since you're biased. But write the explanation so that it is clear that you did a lot/most of the work - without suggesting you should be listed as an author, but in a way in which any reasonable academic would think that you should. Most importantly - refer the PC quite early on to the poster and relate your explanation to what appears on it, to lend your description more credibility. If there's some publicly-available source code which has not been covered by the poster, of which you are the author - refer to that as well.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: 1. I don't know what the ethical culture of your department is. (I realize that his can in turn depend on the ethical culture of your country.) If you judge that the climate where you are would make it difficult to work this problem out successfully, then you may be best off keeping your head down, graduating as soon as you can, and looking forward to working elsewhere on future projects and future papers.
2. Otherwise: Schedule a meeting with your supervisor. It might be best to meet at a neutral location such as a seminar room or a quiet coffee shop. At the beginning, state that you have a concern and a proposal. Lay out concisely the basic problem and then lay out your proposal:
>
> The work my fellow student (let's call him Jay) and I are doing is closely intertwined. We have each benefited from the group collaboration. Nowadays, all around the world, the ability to collaborate and work well in groups is highly appreciated. Jay and I can credit the role cooperation in the group has played, by including each other as secondary authors on our respective articles. Each one would be the primary author of one article, and each article would make reference to the other article, since they are both coming out of the same research group.
>
>
>
Ask him to think about your proposal and then make a quick exit. It's best if your supervisor doesn't have an opportunity to say or imply anything nasty in this meeting, and you'll come out the best in the long run if you don't say anything negative either. Resist the temptation to have the last word (and run out saying you are late for an appointment, if that's the only way you can extricate yourself).
It could be helpful to find an ally in your department to speak with your supervisor on the side, so that you are not facing this completely on your own.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/12/03
| 701
| 2,956
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm an senior math major in undergraduate planning on applying to around a dozen schools' PhD programs in math. I think the rest of my application (grades, advanced classes, research experience, letters of recommendation, general GRE scores) is fine, but I am concerned somewhat with my subject test scores. Due to financial and time constraints, I was only able to take the test once, and I got a score in the 31st percentile.
Is this something that's worth mentioning in my letters of intent? Specifically, I was thinking of mentioning that when I took the MFT (major field test) in mathematics as part of the capstone course at my university, I scored in the 96th percentile, so it's not that I'm bad at university mathematics, I just had test anxiety concerning the subject test.
Also, for what it's worth, I thought the MFT was similar in content to the math subject test, but not as difficult.
Another option might be just to mention the high MFT scores on my CV that I send in with my applications, leaving out any mention of that in my letters of intent, and just hoping that helps my case with the admissions committees.<issue_comment>username_1: Not including it on your letter will probably suit you best.
WHY?
You always want to put your best foot forward so only address this if they ask/mention it.
**For Example**
Let's say that you are a doctor and you're trying to apply for a job at a hospital.
Your previous employment includes working at McDonalds (during you undergrad), working as a nurse at your local clinic, and doing your residency at a different hospital.
Obviously, you would put your residency and *maybe* your nursing experience in your resume.
But what about your McDonalds employment time? Would you really add that too?
---
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Unfortunately, whether it's better to address it or ignore it largely depends on who is reading your application materials. Some may want an explanation, others (on the more cynical side, and they do exist) may view any explanation as simply making excuses.
If you can get one of your reference writers to say something about it, it may carry more weight. Of course this may not be possible depending on how well they really know you, but it's something to consider.
There's also the possibility that addressing it may not even matter since the school could have an unadvertised minimum GRE subject test score, where any application with less than that score gets tossed out. Or such an application could go in the "maybe" pile, in which case an explanation could help.
My point with the waffling is it's impossible to say what would be better in general. FWIW it sounds like you have a very strong application otherwise, so I probably wouldn't stress too much over it.
I strongly recommend this as your next step: Seek advice from professors in your department who have served on admissions committees.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/12/03
| 1,815
| 7,827
|
<issue_start>username_0: When I was hired to a math department (in the US) my field was among the favorite directions in the department. Few years later the department decided to put more attention on some other areas of math.
I am wondering what might be the practical consequences of this decision for me. E.g. whether my research will be considered to be less important for the department from some point of view? Will I get more administrative duties? Will it be harder to get grants for my research? Any other consequences?
I have a tenure position.<issue_comment>username_1: I'm afraid I find the question rather vague. You write
>
> When I was hired to a math department (in the US) my field was among the favorite directions in the department.
>
>
>
I have spent my entire professional life in math departments in the US, and I was not aware that they (we?) have "favorite directions." Even the smallest departments I know have at least four different research areas represented, and the general attitude / expectation is that everyone should be collegial and helpful with each other while feeling that their own area is the "favorite" and promoting accordingly.
It is true that often different research groups have different sizes or different profiles. In my department for instance the number theory group has been larger than the analysis group (and had more students, offered more courses, organized more conferences and so forth...) in the time I've been there. But there is no *explicit, systemic way* in which number theory is promoted over analysis in my department: in fact we have hired in both groups in recent years.
>
> Few years later the department decided to put more attention on some other areas of math.
>
>
>
Again, what does that mean? Do you mean in terms of hiring initiatives? If so, maybe you have nothing to worry about: hiring initiatives are very often cyclic: departments target areas where the ranks have shrunk in recent years. I have never in my life heard of a hiring initiative whose express purpose is to deemphasize or somehow lessen in any way the stature of faculty who are already there. Why in the world would a department agree to that? Even if a "lessening" of a current research area was in the best interest of the majority of the current members, faculty have more solidarity and longsighted worries than that: [first they came for the analysts...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...)
>
> E.g. whether my research will be considered to be less important for the department from some point of view? Will I get more administrative duties? Will it be harder to get grants for my research? Any other consequences?
>
>
>
Again, it seems really impossible for us to answer these questions. The first one is excruciatingly vague. Everyone's research may be considered to be less important for the department *from some point of view*: if it's too theoretical then how is it contributing to the world really, and if it's overly applied then it's, you know, not as cool to pure mathematicians. Will you get more administrative duties is certainly a question to ask the other members of your department. I don't really understand why this would affect your ability to get external grants, but then I don't really understand what you're talking about.
In general this is something that as a tenured professor you absolutely need to discuss with your colleagues. Honestly, you sound like you don't understand the whole thing very well. I urge you to get a clue by talking to your colleagues, repeatedly and protractedly if necessary. Being tenured means your colleagues need to listen and address *all* your questions and concerns. It's time for you to use that power.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Others have pointed out the vagueness of the question. I'll set that aside for a second and respond to the questions by making some specific assumptions that I may or may not (be able to) articulate. I warn you that my view is not only glass-half-empty, it's glass-half-empty-with-putrid-slime.
First, in my field, setting or resetting research areas at the department level are common but significant. They take place regularly enough and have variable success. For example, a change in university research strategy will initiate a round of reassessments of department level strategies. The arrival of a new department head may be another cause for a reassessment.
When a reassessment of department research strategy takes place, there is often stakeholder consultation. The breadth, level and quality of this consultation is, as you can imagine, highly variable. It may also be quite meaningless, especially in the case of faux attempts at consultation. It seems to me that you were not satisfied with this consultation. Whether you were consulted at all or whether you chose not to participate is not a point I would wish to consider here.
In my experience, it is quite difficult to alter drastically the course of a vessel as complex as a department due to the extreme levels of inertia. Thus, for this to take place, at least two things must be present: (1) there are or will be major perturbations in the academic field making the present course riskier than changing course and (2) there must be support at the senior levels of the university. The reason, I'm sorry to say, is simple: it's boils down to the metrics against which each department is assessed -- students, research output, grant success, esteem measures and philanthropy. What I'm saying is that someone's made a determination somewhere that change is better than no change. Again, I won't go into the fairness or appropriateness of these here.
In my experience (I repeat, this is **my** experience) of having witnessed first hand the effect of research direction on a number of departments, I can provide these insights:
1. **Change will hurt some, please others and not affect many.** A change in research direction will result in the loss of some academics on non-permanent contracts. It is unlikely that anyone will be fired, simply that their contracts will not be renewed. Nevertheless, the trauma can be significant. On the other hand, the new directions will result in a hiring bonanza for others. Finally, the reason it won't affect many is because the work of the department needs to continue. For a department with an undergraduate teaching program, for example, you still need non-specialists to teach the basic subjects, you'll still need lab technicians, etc.
2. **Permanent personnel will see changes to their workloads.** This will be negotiated through performance review procedures. The form and nature of these changes may be minor or major. Noncompliance will be handled through the university disciplinary system. In some extreme cases, I have observed situations in which entire sections (or labs) have been closed and permanent personnel offered redundancy packages. Area studies in the humanities is a recent example of this.
3. **There will be a period in which departures exceeds arrivals.** In my experience, the period prior to and including the transition phase witnesses the tyranny of mediocrity. The brightest leave for greener pastures and the dimmest are put out to pasture. Those that are left behind are those that can't or won't move. Those who are retained will need to take up the slack of those who've left.
4. **The darling cash cows will be preserved.** A department rarely refuses the receipt of competitive grant funding. Especially in the case of superstar academics, it is likely that such programs will be rolled into the new research strategy.
5. **There will be a period of recovery until the next dimwit comes along and decides it's a great idea to change research direction.**
Good luck to you.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/12/04
| 929
| 3,542
|
<issue_start>username_0: Can people who hosted talks at your university provide some tips on purchasing food and drink for the event?
We have a visitor from another American university and I am tasked with buying "food and drink" for about an audience of 30 - 50 people. We are located relatively close to Starbucks but far away from the nearest supermarket such as Walmart. The talk will last two hours.
From what I have seen, people usually purchase donuts and coffee for these events. I have seen these coffee "crates", "barrels", (I'm not sure what to call them).
Can anyone provide some suggestions as to where you can purchase cheap, and standard meal for these talks? I have asked people around me but they seen to have no idea, our group don't usually host visitors and the graduate students used to purchase for these talks have all graduated.
(Again, in a North America setting)<issue_comment>username_1: Background: as an undergrad, worked with/ran my campus programming board (lots of food purchasing for events). As a graduate student, worked with grad student association to run the odd event. And have organized multiple lab events.
What should you buy:
* Coffee and donuts are a classic -- you can't go wrong, especially if the talk is in the morning.
* For a lunchtime talk, pizza is a cheap/popular option. Alternatively, subs are occasionally a good option (but more expensive and usually a bit messier).
* For evening talks, aim for light hors d'oeuvres (cookies, mini-meatballs, cheese & fruit platter, etc.).
* Alternatively, just stick with donuts and coffee for everything -- again, you really can't go wrong there :)
* Don't forget napkins, plates, cups, plasticware, etc.!
Where you should buy it:
* Starbucks offers what they call [coffee travelers](https://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/brewed-coffee/coffee-traveler). Each has 96 fl. oz. (~2.8 L) of coffee and will keep warm for ~3 hours (in my experience). Be warned: you'll need to call ahead and order these (they prepare them fresh as needed).
* For donuts: pickup 4-5 dozen donuts from a local donut shop (Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme in the U.S.). Alternatively, try contacting the bakery at your local supermarket -- given a couple of day's notice, they can probably prepare several dozen donuts for you to pick up.
* The local supermarket (Kroger, Wegmans, Walmart, etc.) is actually a great place for placing catering orders like this. They can do pretty much anything - subs, baked goods, cheese & fruit platters, you name it. Many will already carry pre-made platters, so you don't even have to order ahead of time.
One last idea: contact your school's dining services. They're usually (a lot) more expensive, but they have some nice services such as:
* All-in-one packages
* Drop-off/cleanup services
* Nicer linens/plates/etc.
* Continous coffee carafes, water carafes, etc.
Last but not least -- get itemized receipts *for everything*. Businesses should have no problem providing these if you ask. Makes reimbursement much easier.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: While cookies, donuts and chocolate are always a safe bet, I have seen that fruits and vegetables are highly appreciated as well. They are really cheap, but require some work, as apples, stem cabbages, peppers ... have to be cut into pieces of finger food size. Cutting and preparing plates for 50 people takes something between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on whether you just want to serve food or have a nice presentation as well.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/12/04
| 4,857
| 20,218
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am a woman currently on the market for tenure-track positions. I will not disclose my department since I think this is not relevant, and I am about to describe a particular department in detail.
I have a couple of interviews for the tenure-track positions, and while all of them are from schools that I would happily be at, one interview is from my dream school (research fit, compatibility with colleagues, location, and familiarity are all important factors in my job search).
While doing my research on this school, I made the unfortunate mistake of reading the hiring policy of the university. The policy says that if there are no applicants of minority status (such as being a woman) on their interview shortlist, the hiring committee must go back to the applicant pool and find the best applicant of minority status and add her to the interview list, or justify in writing to the Dean why they did not find any minority candidates suitable.
Clearly the second option is tedious, and I believe that most hiring committee would rather throw in a minority candidate rather than trying to justify the lack thereof. I am the only minority candidate. Furthermore, this department has never hired any women through the proper channels. The only women they have (the percentage is in the low single digits) were all hired through spousal hires. This makes me strongly suspect that maybe I am the candidate that they begrudgingly added to the interview list to avoid the paperwork.
This knowledge is impacting me severely; even though I am preparing for my interview, I keep thinking that all of this is hopeless, and I wonder if it's already agreed on among the hiring committee that I will never be hired. I feel that I am wasting my time. And although I have never acknowledged that being a woman was a disadvantage, or even that I was subject to sexism up to this point of my career, this time, I know that the other white males who are interviewing are not having these worries, and I am intensely jealous.
How can I talk myself through this, and believe from my heart that I can actually get this position? I read a similar question on this site just now, and it seems that unless I believe that I can get this position, often the defeatist attitude will show during the interview and become self-fulfilling. It really is my dream job and I want this job more than anything else.<issue_comment>username_1: My best translation of this program is, "We feel we might not be giving minority candidates enough of a shot." Apparently, you're a minority candidate who they want to give a shot. That's all you need to know about this program and why you wound up in an interview. If they didn't feel you were worth giving a shot, they would have just rejected you because, really, it's less tedious to reject you in writing to the dean, than to first interview you, then explain in all the *more* detail to everyone why you were not worth hiring.
This is convenient for you, because you estimate yourself to be very qualified for this position. So you should convey this to them in the interview, and they are inviting you to convey this to them.
Everything is working out exactly as intended. You are a minority candidate who deserves to interview; you are interviewing. If you are interviewing because of the program, then the program worked. If you are interviewing regardless, then the program was an unneeded check. It may even be well on its way to obsolescence, thanks to qualified candidates like you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: There are two things worth keeping in mind. First, while it might be the case that the committee is "forced" to interview a female candidate, it might not. You have no actual evidence in either case, and though it's tempting to assume the worst, there's no reason to, and there's *absolutely nothing to gain* by thinking the search committee doesn't want you there. So: spend your mental energy working on your talk, your research plans, etc.
Second, *even if* it is the case that the committee wouldn't be interviewing you if left to itself, the interview is in many respects a "blank slate" -- an opportunity for candidates to impress potential colleagues beyond what's evident on paper, and (of course) for candidates to fall flat and perform terribly. I've been on enough search committees to assure you that several of your fellow interviewees will do terribly, and that conversely it is not uncommon for committee members to say "I wasn't really in favor of bringing X to campus, but now having interacted with him/her, I'm glad we did."
This is all, I suppose, a long-winded way of saying "worry less, and always do your best!"
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: First of all, let me reassure you that it is completely understandable for you to feel this way, even when you know that you are totally qualified for this position. You might already know the term "impostor phenomenon", the existence of which is a testament to the fact that many women (whom you would also recognize as successful and qualified) nevertheless have strong self-doubts about their worthiness.
I think it's also worth explicitly noting that you feeling this way is not your fault! Any of us would be susceptible to similar feelings, if we had been faced with a lifetime of suggestions that we are somehow not welcome in a field simply because of an irrelevant trait such as gender. Even if the worst were true, the fault would lie with the department and its hiring committee, not with you. Bias against women means that people *evaluate* women as less qualified, even when they are equally or more qualified than other applicants; but those evaluations are erroneous, and this department's policy is one attempt to compensate for that bias. (And really, if it were the case that this department can never bring itself to hire women due to the biases of its members—can it really be a dream job? They need to convince you that they live up to your standards of collegiality, after all.)
I know there is no magic solution. But, to suggest an ideal strategy to at least orient toward: remember that other people's choices are out of your control, whether those choices are fair or not. You have been invited to demonstrate your strengths and potential to this department, and you can do that regardless of what they end up deciding. And even though job searches are extremely stressful and personal, remember that no hiring decision is a statement about your worth as a person (or as an academic): you have worked hard, learned, grown, and accomplished so much during your education, and your worth is unconditional.
I hope it's helpful for me to list a few articles that talk about issues like this, and do actually have some tips for people in your situation:
* <NAME>, Unmasking the impostor, Nature 459 (2009), 468–469.
* <NAME>, Three cheers for the token woman, Social Science Research Network, March 5, 2013.
* <NAME> and <NAME>, The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women: dynamics and therapeutic intervention, Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice 15 (1978), no. 3, 241–247.
* <https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/gendered-conference-campaign/>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The simple answer is: who cares? Whether you were invited beause they want to interview you, or because they *had* to invite a , you have your foot in the door AND it is a place you want to work. So get prepared as best you can, because YOU want this!
Do note that women have this annoying tendency to say:
*"Oh dear, I am only 80% qualified for this position, I'd better not apply/not oversell myself/ask for what I want."*
I know; been there, done that. Men, on the other hand, often have this *"Hey, I'm at least 25% qualified for the position, and I'm great, so here I go, you folks need me!"*-attitude.
I understand that you don't want to be the token , but it won't be better until there are at least three s until the diversity factors kick in. So it is your job to give the best interview of your life. Study all the details of the institution, have a good idea of what you plan to research, find out as much as you can, and go into the interview with a smile and "Yes, I can!" on your mind. Good luck!
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: Gender equality in academia (and everywhere else) is built one job interview at a time, one hire at a time, one painful soul-searching Academia Stack Exchange discussion at a time. It is an edifice with millions of little bricks, still very incomplete and growing every day, and I feel that your situation is just one of those bricks.
The best I can offer by way of encouragement is to say that you owe it to future generations of women (who by the way are also in your debt for asking this extremely insightful and relevant question, a link to which I intend to forward to my dean and several other people at my department and campus) to do your best to overcome your doubts, go to that interview and perform at the very top of your abilities. You seem to know intellectually that you are just as qualified for the position as anyone else but are looking for ways to also "believe it from the heart" when a small but critical piece of evidence has planted doubts there. It is truly unfair that you were made to feel this way, but the best and perhaps only solution is to soldier on and interview precisely as if you are interviewing on a level playing field with all the other candidates, which for all we know you may very well be.
Think about it this way: by succeeding you would be taking your new dream employer and all of us in academia one more step on the way to making such hiring policies redundant so that future women candidates don't have to agonize in this way about their next job interview - a small step for a woman and a giant step for womankind (and mankind). Isn't that something worth making an effort for?
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: In addition to the other good answers, let me object to one of your assumptions. My experience is that interviewing a tenure-track appointment is usually expensive and time consuming, and would be far more of an annoyance than simply giving the dean a reason why you might not be qualified. This usually involves paying airfare, driving to and from airports, driving around town, tying up an entire day in the department's life, breakfast lunch and dinner, cajoling people to go to your job talk, etc. Meanwhile, the dean is probably not going to seriously push back on the committee's recommendations.
You can justify not interviewing someone to the dean in just a sentence or so. E.g. "this person didn't have the expected number of publications at this point of their career" or "this person replicates an area of expertise we already have in the department".
Also, take heart that your under-represented status can give you an advantage. I know for certain that my previous department weighed representation as a significant attribute of prospective hires. They wouldn't hire someone they thought couldn't live up to the normal workload expectations, but if there were two otherwise equal candidates the under-represented individual would be the clear choice.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I would say to be cautious. Because even if it is your dream job, you still need to be able to successfully work there and get tenure. With how they have treated women in the past (only spousal hires) it may be challenging to near impossible to 1) get along in the department, 2) get the good classes/research opportunities, and 3) not be stuck with all the service that the rest of the professors don't want on their plate. If this is indeed your dream job AND you have a positive feeling about "getting along" with these colleagues, I would ask lots of questions about course load and service obligations during the on campus. And then if you get an offer to have all of that written in your offer letter.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: If you can't stop thinking that expectations are set too low for you, turn that thought around and focus on the large margin by which you can beat those expectations - probably by a wider margin than other candidates, *if* the expectations really are lower. No matter how objective people try to make their assessments, they usually wind up emotionally remembering the delta between expectations and actual performance (especially when they're evaluating subjectively!).
Then turn that view of an opportunity into motivation to prepare to do your best.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: Lots of great answers here already about why you shouldn't let this worry you. Let me add one more thing that may help address the actual question - how do you stop worrying?
Your worst case scenario is that they won't seriously consider you.
If that is the case, you are still getting the best possible practice for interviews at places that will consider you. I've heard lots of stories of people approaching an interview as practice and getting the job.
So (particularly if you are an impostor syndrome case), I bet you can treat this as practice, but still do incredibly good preparation on your presentation. Focus on getting the best possible practice for other interviews.
---
In all honesty however, in todays academic environment, there are many qualified women applying for jobs. In my experience, as a general rule, any of the top 10% of applicants has a legitimate chance at the job, and the process of choosing one over another is random. Odds are there were around 200 applicants. They probably had a pool of 20 or so people from which some random detail led to one being picked over another. Perhaps the random detail that got you picked was being female. Someone else may have gotten picked because their webpage mentions scuba diving and so someone on the committee read their application a little closer than the others and liked it.
---
So my point for the rational part of you is "you've got as good a shot as anyone else". My point for the impostor syndrome part of you is "at worst, you're practicing for your other interviews."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: I've done a lot of interviews, both as a candidate, and as an interviewer in universities. You are there **only** because they think you can do it. It's just too much effort to drag people in otherwise. At an interview you can sell yourself, in a way that no cv can match.
In my experience we do interviews for two reasons -
1. To see if we can live with you. We've dropped very able well published candidates because we could not imagine working with them.
2. To see if they can think - we often throw candidates hard questions to see if they can think on their feet, and to get some idea of their problem solving style (which matters a lot in my area)
I would say, go for it, and do not undervalue yourself.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: So you read their hiring policies, and suddenly you think you are not qualified for this job? Why would you think that? Their hiring policies have nothing, nothing at all to do with your ability to do the job.
Of course if you think your situation is hopeless then it is hopeless - you are your own worst enemy, and if you go to an interview with the assumption it is hopeless, you don't have a chance.
It's time to adjust your attitude. Take a big sheet of paper. On the left side, you write down all the positives and why you should get the job. The right side, you just leave empty. And every morning after you get up and every evening before you go to bed you take that list, you say loud "This is why I will get the job, and why I deserve it", and then you read the list aloud.
Wish you success for your interview. You can do it. You *will* do it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: Other answers do indeed convey "what people think". And, yes, the question reflects an ugly reality of academic and other contexts where the "looking like a baseball player" fallacy sadly dominates.
In the world that we apparently inhabit, probably not the best of all possible, based on several decades of both observation and attempts to intervene to make things better/fairer, ... I'd recommend a sort of aggressively hyper-Darwinist viewpoint, namely, that if you can get a job you have earned it.
I have to say that (in my STEM field, mathematics) there are many accidental or subliminal misogynists ("she doesn't look like a mathematician"...) but/and some of the worst of them are willing to bend to various "equal-opportunity" laws, if only for funding or avoiding hassles.
Sure, even after tenure, people (of many sorts) will receive endless (believe me...) "micro-aggressions" from central administration, passed on to Deans, passed on to dept chairs, ... not to mention self-aggrandizing types... so the problem does not end.
For a flashy ending to this answer: if "looking like a mathematician" means "looking like a socially awkward, physically clumsy, late-pubescent northwestern-european or north-east-european boy", well, gosh, yeah, I guess that many of us don't "pass". I'd note that the obvious objections to this sort of caricature are ... in principle... justified, but, in practice, are absolutely not.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_1: There is a lot of sexism and racism in academia, but still less than in other types of workplaces. Generally, people will accept you as one of theirs if you can prove to them that you can do the same things just as well. University politics might influence them to interview you, but getting the position will be largely based on their perception of your capabilities as a researcher. You might be nervous during the interview, you might worry about various things like if your dress makes you look fat or the committee was forced to grant you an interview. But the hiring committee might have already interviewed a number of candidates and all they want to know is if they can offer you the position or not.
So, regardless of the reason you are there, the committee will look if you have a vision of what your research is, where is it headed and what is your potential as a researcher to impact your field and bring in grants. They are also interested in what are you ready to teach, if you have experience mentoring students and if you are the kind of person people can collaborate with. If the department you are applying to is a good fit in your opinion, you have won half of the battle.
There is, indeed, the possibility you mention that they just want a minority candidate who happens to be a woman. That is not as strongly related to your academic ability as you imply. When I was a student, my department hired a few assistant professors among which there was one woman. The gossip at the time was that the committee hired her over better applicants because they had to fulfill some gender equality requirement. Ten years later, she runs one of the strongest groups in the department and publishes over 10 papers per year, which, in my field, is quite an achievement.
You may have, as some others suggested, a bit of the imposter's syndrome. Now you may think your current research is not as good as that of your peers, but I think you should wait a little with your self-evaluation. As a young researchers I always thought that my research was trivial for various reasons. Sometimes it took me ages to understand something new, to learn a new technique, sometimes I would get my papers rejected, I would get trashed during my own talks, and all those little things kept adding to my insecurity. But, working with other young researchers who more or less stumble upon the same problems, I realized I wasn't all that bad. It's simply a tough job to do good research and, sometimes, being persistent is all you can do. This applies even more to job interviews. So just keep going at it until you get the position. Also realize that even the best male candidates will feel insecure, each for his own reasons. And there will be a guy half as smart as you who thinks he's a genius. Don't let him get your job.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I've sent an abstract to a prestigious conference in my field, which has been accepted as a poster presentation. How should I ask them to reconsider my poster as a talk?
---
Related questions:
* [Talks vs. poster presentations: Which is better for advertising your research and building research networks?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10902/talks-vs-poster-presentations-which-is-better-for-advertising-your-research-an)
* [How important are poster sessions in conferences?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2628/how-important-are-poster-sessions-in-conferences)
* [Two abstracts accepted for oral and poster presentation, but I prefer they are swapped](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/57099/two-abstracts-accepted-for-oral-and-poster-presentation-but-i-prefer-they-are-s)
---
UPDATE: Based on the comments, I emailed them, but unfortunately they said that they were unable to change it to a talk. My other paper got accepted as a oral presentation elsewhere.<issue_comment>username_1: The choice among different presentations often depends on the program and planning of the congress and is in hands of the organising commitee. I don't consider fair to request this change. Take into account that you will have future opportunities to present your work on different ways. In addition, there are many conventions devoted mainly to poster sessions and these are very fruitful. Finally, the acceptance as a poster could have an other meaning (and I have such experience): "your work has little value, but, please, come in and discuss your paster with us!"
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Regardless of whether the organizers will change the poster to a oral talk or not, asking *why* will help towards improving the quality, presentation and releventness of the work. But to improve your chances, do not ask nor submit abstracts near the deadline.
Anyways, a poster presentation is a valuable experience in itself. Just as @decenzio said,
>
> Finally, the acceptance as a poster could have an other meaning (and I have such experience): "your work has little value, but, please, come in and discuss your poster with us!"
>
>
>
Upvotes: 0
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2016/12/04
| 467
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<issue_start>username_0: Is it okay to cite a TED presentation or a video lecture or something similar? If so, how to cite that video for your paper/thesis?<issue_comment>username_1: A quick google "apa cite video" would give you lots of advice, such as <http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/apa-format/youtube-video/> which notes:
<NAME>. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of video. [Video File]. Retrieved from URL.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The old-times equivalent of that, to give a reference to a "private communication", was often done and as often heavily frowned upon. Put it in a footnote or in the acknowledgements.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: I would recommend citing the talk or video in a footnote, and then you can probably refer to it as 'So-and-so video' throughout your paper. That way readers will know that they can watch the video if they want more information.
I would also recommend linking the talk or video to your bibliography. You can do this by saying 'see So-and-so video' in parenthesis next to the place where you cite it, but that's just my personal preference.
As for citing it in the body of your paper, you can say something like 'So-and-so (video) argues that X.' So you will want to cite the video or talk and then mention in parenthesis that they made this argument. This can be done by saying something like 'According to So-and-so (video), p.' You should then provide a page number where this is discussed.
I don't recommend you do this, but if you really wanted to, you could say something like: 'So-and-so argues that X.' and then quote the speaker directly.
That's about it. If you are going to use a lot of TED videos in your paper, I would recommend making a list of them and citing each one accordingly.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/12/04
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<issue_start>username_0: I have less than a week left in my PhD submission - it's due by 9th of December. This is almost the end of my fourth year and I have been able to edit it several times since I completed the first draft.
So I planned out my week to read each chapter a day and finalise everything. But, I am tired sitting in my room watching TV instead of following my plan. It's been two days I haven't looked at it. I have completely lost the will to work on it and have no motivation to work on it whatsoever. In fact I am rather planning what I need to do after submission rather really working through it now till the submission date. My neck is in pain and I just feel drained out.
I can't believe what happened to me suddenly. I worked on it well in the past almost four years.
Has it happened to anyone else here? How I can bounce back to get advantage from this last few days that I have left in my submission? How I can motivate myself again to work on it?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm in a *similar* boat. My Masters thesis is due in three days, and I've completed most of the revisions suggested by my advisor. However, until two days ago, I had lost the motivation to complete the final set of major revisions. I motivated myself by:
1. Telling myself that I've spent the last two years working on this, and although I could spend a lot more time working on what I love, I need to move on to bigger things.
2. Although writing is stressful and a drain of energy, I love how every single revision makes my work better. Years later when I look back on these days, do I want to see a passionate, hungry perfectionist at work, or a big whining crybaby who barely got through?
3. Drink coffee, lots of it. Its not healthy to drink a lot of it, but it gets the job done.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with username_1, but I will add a couple of additional thoughts as that answer did not address all aspects of your question.
1. For your neck pain, I recommend using Tiger Balm (specifically, the patches rather than the goop which can be messy). After writing much of my master's thesis on a laptop while sitting on a couch, I developed "military neck," or a loss of the natural curvature in my neck. The pain made it so hard to sit at the computer b/c that's what aggravated it most. I get chiropractic care for that and have had success there, but for you, you need an immediate solution and, as I said, <NAME>.
2. Remove your TV. Sounds like this is your crutch. It's easy, it's there and when the volume is loud enough you can momentarily ignore the stress you're feeling. Maybe you can simply unplug it to make turning it on a more conscious decision, but I would go so far as to ask a friend to store it at their apartment for the time being. This may sound dramatic, but it's extremely effective.
3. Go for a run, or some sort of vigorous cardiac exercise. Take just 1/10th of the time you've been watching TV and exercise instead (that is, you clearly have the time so that is not an excuse). Not only is this a great way to increase blood flow to your brain and help clear the fog, it will help with your neck pain as well. That was the only other thing that helped mine (besides Tiger Balm and, eventually, getting treatment).
4. Be kind to yourself. So you took a couple days off? Big deal. Do not be mean or self degrading. Move on. Do not think about how much there is to get done, just do the next thing. And then after that, do the next thing. Rinse and repeat. When you start that negative inner dialogue try stopping it quickly. My mantra is something like, "that thought doesn't serve me well, let's move on." When I start thinking of the next 5 things I have to do, I think, "just do the next thing," repeatedly as a way of focusing me on the task at hand. These might seem cheesy, but I find them effective, and you may need them if you follow through on step 3 and no longer have your TV to drown out your inner dialogue.
This answer is based on my own experiences being in your position. I am [terrible procrastinator](http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html) so, sadly, I have lots of experience in this department. Wishing you the best of luck!
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: **Indulge in the feeling, temporarily.**
The anxiety produced by fighting the lack of motivation and feeling like it's wrong to feel that way, is far more detrimental than understanding that it's ok to be a little burned out and take a short break.
Take a day or two, be a bum and put it off, but make sure that when you get done with that day or two that you understand the importance of getting back to the grindstone.
Most importantly, congratulations on your achievement.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Well, first of all, I don't really know whether additional work will result in an improved thesis. Maybe your subconscious just knows when to stop!
**However... IF** there are a few last things to fill in, loose threads to tie up, etc., then you need the following:
1. **A to-do list**. Jot down the tasks that remain, and prioritize them. You might not have the oomph to do all of them.
2. **A change of scenery**. Pack up the things you need and go work somewhere else, such as a quiet library. At this point, you might find it helpful to get off campus and go to a public library frequented by children and non-academics. Perhaps a window with a nice view would be helpful, to try to get *some* work done, despite your feeling of burn-out.
3. **Inspiration**. Re-read some piece of scientific writing whose style gives you a real kick.
4. **Encouragement**. Show or send some favorite bits to a friend, someone who will appreciate them and enthuse. Pre-write some stubborn bit by explaining what you want to write to your friend.
5. **Pain relief for your neck**. Consider: heating pad, hot water bottle, hot bath with epsom salts, ibuprofen, Tylenol, chiropractor, physical therapy, massage.
6. **A really fun reward**. Promise yourself something fun for the end of each day, and then follow through.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: It's pretty common. If you know you're not up to working on it on one particular day, decide to do twice as much work the next day--- *provided* that you're confident you can actually hold yourself to it. It's like trying to fall asleep at night: If you're just not tired, then lying awake in the dark is not helpful; get up, do something productive or at least enjoyable, and try again when you're ready. If you're finishing up a PhD, you have the time-management skills to finish up on time; just be honest about what you can actually finish in a day, and don't push yourself past the point where it becomes counterproductive. If it helps to motivate you, schedule some sort of reward (vacation, dinner at a nice restaurant, etc.) after you're done.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Consider this a completely separate challenge. You are going to hit walls like this in your life. You are clearly burned out on motivating yourself to work on your PhD; so make this into a meta-challenge--**motivate yourself to figure out the answer to this question: "What works for me when I've hit a wall on a big project?"**
This is a psychological self-hack. Get your brain out of the "I must motivate myself to work on my PhD" rut, and work on this new challenge. You will know, going forward, what to do with a wall when you hit it. This gives you something positive to look forward to, namely, having something in your personal toolkit to overcome future challenges.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> So I planed out my week to read each chapter a day and finalise
> everything. But, I am tired... Its been two days I haven't looked at it.
>
>
>
So I gather that you're at the stage where you're doing minor clean-up, and you're finding it nearly impossible to concentrate on reading your thesis. I'm not surprised! You're probably seeing most of the text for the fourth or fifth time. Your eyes may be looking at the page, but what you "see" is what you think you wrote, not what's actually there.
So my trick is to **read the thesis out loud**. It's much easier to concentrate because you're taking a more active role, and you'll catch all sorts of things you would never notice otherwise. Don't try to do it all at once; break it up into short sections or you will strain your voice. And if you do strain your voice, you can get almost as good results by reading silently but **moving your lips while you read**. Yes, you'll look funny, but it will help you to concentrate.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: best of luck! If you havent lost the will to work on it by the end - then you havent had the proper PhD experience.
I am with the guy who tells you to get drunk. Just get drunk, go party (make sure you keep hydrated - dont end up hung over) and then finish it off.
Also - dont try to sit and work on it for too long. 20 minute bursts, 10 minutes off, and set a goal as to what you want to achieve every time you sit down.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: I know this is old, but I am in a similar situation right now with just a few weeks to go and a "preliminary deadline" before the official submission in a weeks time.
What has worked for me in the last days was this:
* **Get a professional relaxation massage** Everything hurt. The massage did not completely cure that, I am just too tense. But it was a difference like day and night that I felt in my ability to focus after that massage. I instantly booked another one for the morning after my "preliminary deadline".
* **Find your personal cheerleader** I did not actively search for one, but my boyfriend has put it upon himself to cheer me on, every evening and occasionally throughout the day. It might sound cheesy, but a short "You're doing awesome!"-type message on the phone can set free the energy you need to do even better.
* **Retreat** Explain to your friends that you are crazy stressed right now and tell them when the deadline is and that you will be back to chat and do outings at that time. I just asked for people to understand that I suffer from being interrupted and that if I feel the need to socialize I would reach out to them. But also that this would be temporary and of course I am always there if it's important.
* **Do not indulge in taking time off** Contrary to what others have said and what I would normally say for a stressful time, when it is this close to the deadline, indulging and taking a day off or so might be a problem, because a day is not enough if it is that bad, but enough time off will make you miss your deadline. So now is the time to power through. Having to pick up yourself from slacking off takes time and strength we do not have right now.
* **Plan** Mak a short list of the days you still have and what you would like to get done (roughly) on each day. At the end of each day, make a more detailed list for the next one. And then go ticking off. Usually, the achievement of ticking something off the list gives me a feeling of accomplishment and a short energy boost, just enough to start on another item. And of course, if you can reach a flow of working you can always do more (and reward yourself with a buffer day of nothing at the end in the best case).
See it that way: There is a dreaded deadline ahead. But ahead of that is the time after the deadline... when you are done.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/12/04
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<issue_start>username_0: I've been reading conflicting advice on SE about the placement of an illustration (figure, table, algorithm). My questions are thus (refer to Section 3.3.1 in the attached figure):
1. I understand that, ideally, an illustration should always be placed *inside* the section where it is first referenced. Should an illustration always be placed in a section *after* it is referenced? Could it be placed in the same section *before* it is referenced?
2. Can an illustration be the last entity in a section (as shown in Section 3.3.1)? Or does there need to be text after it, such as a short line on what is to be discussed in the next section?
Thanks!
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qdyl0.png)<issue_comment>username_1: You have to check your department guidelines for thesis, so the answer is, it depends! I would never place it before, and generally any figure has a short text that goes with it.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: If you use LaTeX for your thesis, then figure placement is handled by LaTeX automatically with some degree of freedom. I.e. you have limited control on where exactly LaTeX puts the figure. As LaTeX is widely used in academia, and it was created to produce well structured scientific texts, the outcome of LaTeX having its way, should be ok with your university.
I am not aware of any guidelines on the very issue you are asking about, so sorry for not answering your question. Official guidelines usally cover the style and placement of the figure caption, e.g. Table 3.3. has to be bold and that caption has to be above the actual table.
Generally, I would say the figure should be near the text passage which discusses the contents of the figure. As this is not always possible/feasible/sensible, I expect no hard rule to exist on this matter.
It is the standard behaviour of LaTeX with some document classes to flush all pending floating objects (figures, tables, etc.) before the next section/chapter. So, what you describe with Table 3.3. being the last item of Section 3.3.1 might be the standard set by the document class, it might also very well be by chance.
As for your first point, you can tell LaTeX to place a floating object not before the first reference to it.
Sorry for being very LaTeX centered, I haven't used Word much for scientific writing. When I used Word, I had non-floating figures, i.e. the placement was specified be me. Then my first rule for placing figures and tables was to make the paper "look nice", something that LaTeX does for you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: 1. Figures always go after the first reference to that figure.
Figures always have a caption. In almost all styles captions go after the figure, but before tables.
2. Having a figure as the last thing in a section looks a bit odd and you might want to stick in an extra sentence just so it doesn't look odd. Having said that- you can avoid this by not dividing the text very finely (that is, no sub-sub-sections).
Upvotes: 2
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2016/12/04
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<issue_start>username_0: I am trying to assess how much public funding private universities in the United States receive.
I found a study that partially answers the question:
[Taxpayer Subsidies for Most Colleges and Universities Average Between $8,000 to More than $100,000 for Each Bachelor’s Degree, New Study Finds](http://www.air.org/news/press-release/taxpayer-subsidies-most-colleges-and-universities-average-between-8000-more) (published in 2011):
>
> Washington, D.C. – Taxpayer subsidies that cover the operating costs
> of most colleges and universities ranges from around $8,000 to more
> than $100,000 for each bachelor’s degree awarded, with most public
> institutions averaging more than $60,000 per degree, according to an
> analysis by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Nexus
> Research and Policy Center (Nexus).
>
>
> **Among elite private universities, like Harvard and Yale, the average
> taxpayer subsidy is $13,000 per student per year**, while the annual
> subsidy at the most selective public universities, like the University
> of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the **University of California, Los
> Angeles is more than $23,000 per student annually.**
>
>
> The financial figures reflect the amount of money colleges and
> universities receive in direct government support and tax breaks. They
> **do not include loans and grants provided by state and federal
> governments to help students meet tuition costs.**
>
>
>
However, this leaves out how much public funding go into loans and grants provided by state and federal governments to help students meet tuition costs in the United States.
I got interested in that question reading [U.S. to Forgive at Least $108 Billion in Student Debt in Coming Years](http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-forgive-at-least-108-billion-in-student-debt-in-coming-years-1480501802) (published on November 30, 2016).<issue_comment>username_1: According to <http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/health/trump-budget-medical-science-huge-cuts/> ([mirror](https://web.archive.org/web/20170316214539/http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/health/trump-budget-medical-science-huge-cuts/)) federal support to academic institutions for basic research in the United States amount to $35 billion annually:
>
> It's unclear what would happen to the National Science Foundation. That agency gives out more than $7 billion annually in research grants, accounting for about 20% of federal support to academic institutions for basic research, but didn't get a mention in the budget.
>
>
>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2017-03-27):
>
> we rely on federal funding for 66% of our campus research support
>
>
>
<http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/03/ivy-league-colleges-collecting-more-than-41-billion-in-taxpayer-money-report-says.html> ([mirror](https://web.archive.org/web/20170405171018/http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/03/ivy-league-colleges-collecting-more-than-41-billion-in-taxpayer-money-report-says.html?cmpid=edpick)):
>
> According to a report compiled by the non-profit group Open the Books, America's Ivy League colleges’ payments and entitlements cost taxpayers more than $41 billion over a six-year period from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2015. This is equivalent to $120,000 per student in government aid or $6.93 billion per year.
>
>
>
More details regarding the [report](http://www.openthebooks.com/ivy_league_inc/) ([mirror](https://web.archive.org/web/20170405171403/http://www.openthebooks.com/ivy_league_inc/)) they cite:
>
> [](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1QIfi.png)
> KEY FINDINGS:
>
>
> 1. Ivy League payments and entitlements cost taxpayers $41.59 billion over a six-year period (FY2010-FY2015). This is equivalent to $120,000
> in government monies, subsidies, & special tax treatment per
> undergraduate student, or $6.93 billion per year.
> 2. The Ivy League was the recipient of $25.73 billion worth of federal payments during this period: contracts ($1.37 billion), grants ($23.9
> billion) and direct payments – student assistance ($460 million).
> 3. In monetary terms, the ‘government contracting’ business of the Ivy League ($25.27 billion – federal contracts and grants) exceeded their
> educational mission ($22 billion in student tuition) FY2010-FY2015.
> 4. The eight colleges of the Ivy League received more money ($4.31 billion) – on average - annually from the federal government than
> sixteen states: see report.
> 5. The Ivy League endowment funds (2015) exceeded $119 billion, which is equivalent to nearly $2 million per undergraduate student.
> 6. As a non-profit, educational institution, the Ivy League pays no tax on investment gains. Between FY2011-FY2015, the Ivy League schools
> received a $9.6 billion tax break on the $27.3 billion growth of their
> endowment funds. In FY2014, the tax-free subsidy on endowment gains
> amounted to $3.4 billion, or nearly $60,000 per student.
> 7. With continued gifts at present rates, the $119 billion endowment fund provides free tuition to the entire student body in perpetuity.
> Without new gifts, the endowment is equivalent to a full-ride
> scholarship for all Ivy League undergraduate students for 51-years, or
> until 2068.
> 8. In FY2014, the balance sheet for all Ivy League colleges showed $194,332,115,120 in accumulated gross assets. This is equivalent to
> $3.35 million per undergraduate student.
> 9. The Ivy League employs 47 administrators who each earn more than $1 million per year. Two executives each earned $20 million between
> 2010-2014. Ivy League employees earned $62 billion in compensation.
> 10. In a five-year period (2010-2014) the Ivy League spent $17.8 million on lobbying, which included issues mostly related to their
> endowment, federal contracting, immigration and student aid.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Estimating indirect subsidies is a much more subtle question than it sounds like. There's no way to answer it without some economic modeling, and even if you do that, you'll get a debatable answer.
For example, consider tax deductions for charitable donations. To what extent should they be counted as a subsidy? (For scale, current-use giving and endowment distributions amounted to 40% of [Harvard's budget last year](http://finance.harvard.edu/annual-report), so how you account for this really matters.)
Imagine a well-off donor, with a marginal tax rate of 33%. If they donate $1000 and deduct this money from their taxable income, then the government loses $330 in tax revenue. Should we count the $330 as a government contribution?
One argument says yes. Imagine that the donor has chosen $1000 because that's how much they feel they can spare. If they had been charged the $330 tax, then they would have been able to spare only $670 if they wanted to end up keeping the same amount. This means the tax-deductible donation is really equivalent to a $670 donation from the donor plus a $330 subsidy from the government. Under this theory, a substantial fraction of charitable giving is really a government subsidy in disguise.
Another argument says no. Many donors, especially small-to-medium donors, don't make carefully optimized financial decisions based on the tax consequences. They probably chose $1000 because it sounded like a reasonable number, and would have made the same donation regardless of the tax situation. In that case, the $330 in reduced taxes ends up as a reward to the donor for being charitable, and it has nothing to do with the university's finances. To the extent a change in tax policy wouldn't change the donation rate, it's unfair to count the tax deduction as a subsidy.
Of course these aren't the only arguments one could make on this topic, but let's focus on these two. Now the question is which argument better describes charitable giving practices. The truth is undoubtedly somewhere in between: donors are in fact influenced by tax deductions, but don't make all their decisions on this basis. To give a principled number for how great the effective subsidy is, you'll have to model this effect, and the answer may even vary between universities based on differences in their donor pools.
What makes this whole issue even more subject to debate is that politics comes into the picture. If you view the $330 as tax money that by default belongs to the government, then the whole $330 should obviously be counted as a subsidy. If you believe the government has no business taxing charities or donations to them, then none of it is a subsidy because the government never had any right to this money in the first place. Many people lie somewhere between these views, but some pile up at the extremes.
The net effect is that if you really want to figure out how much of an indirect governmental subsidy private universities get in the U.S., you'll first have to articulate your political position, and then do some economic modeling if politics hasn't settled everything yet. Whatever you decide, someone will tell you you're doing it all wrong. There is no answer all reasonable people must agree with.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/12/04
| 508
| 2,019
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a B.E Civil Engineering and M.tech Environmental Engineering degree from India. Also I have 2 years of teaching experience in an Engineering college in India. Currently I am residing in US. Is it possible for me to get a teaching job in community colleges? How should I prepare myself to get a teaching job here?
To clarify: I have an H4 visa.<issue_comment>username_1: If you are legally permitted to work in the U.S., this should be possible. Please don't expect a lot, salary-wise. But it can be a rewarding job.
Obviously, your previous teaching experience is a plus. If your English is easy for U.S. students to understand, and you are patient about any communication challenges that might arise, that would be another plus.
If there is no full-time opening in your area at present, you could try teaching one or two classes as an adjunct. This can help you get a foot in the door.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You clarified that you have an H4 visa. As you know, you are not normally permitted to work under an H4 visa. Even unpaid tutoring might be considered a violation of the H4 terms. So you would need to first change your visa status by either:
* Applying for a green card
* Getting your own H1B or other work visa
As far as getting your own H1, unless you are located in a place where there is an absolute dearth of available faculty, I think it highly unlikely that a community college will sponsor a work visa for you. The amount of paperwork that needs to be done is tremendous (the Department of Labor certification itself is an inch thick)-- as well as the filing costs and attorney's fees. They may also have no experience doing this, unlike the international scholar's office at a larger institution. Finally, many CC faculty are part-time so you may not even qualify for a H1B to begin with.
I would ask your spouse to apply for permanent residency for the both of you and then go on the job market once you have employment authorization.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/12/05
| 704
| 3,214
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<issue_start>username_0: Assume that I am an computer science undergraduate, and I am interested in how studying distractions influence exam scores in the long run, i.e. do you gain a tolerance by studying with distractions eventually?
If I had done significant investigation in this area and found that there were no previous research on such a matter, is it possible for me to get this project started, although I have no experience in the related field (in this particular example, cognitive sciences)?
If so, how?<issue_comment>username_1: *TL;DR: This is possible, but there are costs and you need to decide whether this is worth your while in the long run.*
At the undergraduate level, there is some benefit to you learning about research methods. I find that undergraduate students get a better sense of the breadth and messiness of research methods when actually engaged in a research project. In my view, this experience can take place in a number of fields, although I would prefer that this not be the case. The reason is because the experience of research is much more than the method. Beginning students can pick up research habits that are at odds with the way research is conducted in their own field.
Let me give you an example. A medical student wanted to do a systematic review on health promoting hospital design on patient outcomes. She was interested in a particular approach involving an architectural perspective, so she partnered with the academics from the School of Architecture. Now, systematic reviews are performed quite differently in architecture than in medicine. The systematic review was completed and it was a confusing read because the approach was strange. She submitted it to a medical conference with no luck, but it did get accepted in an architecture conference. Good on her. Still, given that her main academic field is medicine, she has admitted to me that she had found it difficult to unlearn some of the habits she picked up in the research project and wished that she had learned within the field.
In another example, I often have quite a number of research tasks requiring completion and regularly issue invitations to undergraduate students to work with me. These tasks involve clinical contexts -- osteomyelitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, obstructive sleep apnoea -- that may not be relevant to student assistants from the Department of Civil Engineering or the Department of English Literature. I don't reject student volunteers because of their degree, but inform them that the techniques that they will learn may be less relevant to their degrees.
Good luck to you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am also an undergraduate and so cannot speak to the long-term benefits or cost, but can share my personal experience with this issue: I previously worked on a research project in a field outside my own, much as you are proposing. I ended up enjoying the project so much that I changed my major and continued doing research in the new field.
In my case, this was a benefit. However, if you end up enjoying your project in a new field even more than you enjoy your own, this could become a cost if changing fields is costly or undesirable.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/12/05
| 1,157
| 4,758
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<issue_start>username_0: I submitted an article around 11 months ago to a SCI journal and another article around 5 months ago in another SCI journal. The second article cited the first article which was under review for 6 months at the time of submission of second article. Recently, we got acceptance letter for 2nd article while 1st article is still under review.
What action should we take? remove the citation in 2nd article and cite the 2nd article in 1st article or we stay with the current situation. but what if our 1st article got rejection?<issue_comment>username_1: If the second article depends in some substantive way in the material from the first, the second should cite the first, according to the journal's policy for material under review. (Different journals tend to handle such matters in different ways.) If there is no real dependence, I would suggest omitting the citation, and having the first paper, when it gets published, cite the second.
Having each paper cite the others might be deemed less than optimal, but that does happen. If you don't have a problem with the circular citation arrangement, I would include a citation to the second, published article in the first, even if the second already cites the first.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If I understand correctly, this is your situation:
* Paper 1 was submitted for review 11 months ago
* Paper 2 was submitted for review six months later.
* Paper 2 was accepted for publication. Paper 1 is still under review.
Presumably, Paper 2 cites Paper 1 as being "submitted". The present version of Paper 1 does not cite Paper 2 because Paper 2 was not in existence when Paper 1 was submitted.
Are these correct? If so, here are some thoughts about your questions:
**Should you continue to cite Paper 1 in Paper 2?**
I would. The fact that Paper 1 is still under review is out of your control. In fact, its final disposition is also up in the air. Nevertheless, Paper 2 uses information derived from Paper 1, hence the need to cite it. That Paper 2 was accepted with the citation to Paper 1 is important evidence that the reviewers and the editors thought that it was appropriate, despite the "submitted" tag.
**Should you remove the citation of Paper 1 in Paper 2?**
I wouldn't do this, unless there was a material change in your manuscript. If the parts of Paper 2 that depend on Paper 1 were lost in revision, then fine. However, it is not a good idea to eliminate references simply because of publication status.
**Should you cite Paper 2 in Paper 1?**
You should only cite papers that support your statements. Frivolously citing one paper of yours just because it was published is a rather trivial reason. However, if you genuinely feel that Paper 2 has substantial contributions to Paper 1, then this should be fine. You would do this in the revision stage. Be aware, though, that alert editorial staff may review this change with skepticism.
**If you retain the citation of Paper 1 in Paper 2 and Paper 1 gets rejected, then what happens?**
Generally, there's nothing you can do about this. Journals still operate as if the manuscripts were static entities. That is to say, once a final version has been approved at the galley stage, no changes can be made. Paper 1 will always be cited in Paper 2 as being "submitted" in perpetuity. There are some publishing models now that account for this fluidity in publication status, although there are not widespread, and rather experimental. Say, for example, that you cited the work of Doorman (2014) and your work was published in 2015. In 2016, Doorman was found to have committed research misconduct and his 2014 publication was retracted because all the data were fabricated. Well, your 2015 publication would still cite Doorman 2014. There are no easy solutions to this issue as yet.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The traditional method to avoid these messes was to refer to any work as ***forthcoming*** until such a time as the work having definitely and definitively entered the literature. So yes, it did happen that certain papers were eternally immortalised as "forthcoming" - and as a reader you could be in for a bit of detective work (this was back when you had to physically schlepp to an actual brick and mortar library). A fun and not infrequent intermediate case arose when a promise was made or a claim was staked for the forthcoming paper, which, once it did come forth, was never made good on! Preprints were always a patchwork solution (as physical copies could be hard to track down), but luckily now we have archiv, BioArchiv and the like. Authors' personal webpages may help, but beware, as different authors may link to different versions of the work.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/12/05
| 1,840
| 8,057
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm specifically talking about Ph.D. programs. One of my letter writers is a well-known professor in the field. I did a 5-month research project with him last year through a fellowship from my university, and he knows my research output well, but is a bit scatterbrained. The project in question was considered "graduate level," and took place in Europe. This professor also traveled a lot that year since he was was nominated for an lecture series that had him traveling around the world to give talks at universities and labs. This unfortunately meant that our meetings were less often than we'd have liked, and were usually strictly research focused.
Last year, he wrote a reference letter for me for another fellowship, and he sent me an outline of things he would write about in the letter, asking me to look it over. He incorrectly wrote that I was a masters student (I was an undergrad at the time, to date only have a bachelors degree) and that I spent those 5 months doing work on my masters thesis (it was just an independent research project funded by my home university). I corrected him right away on that, but as I said...he's quite scatterbrained outside of research matters.
I think this professor's letter would carry a lot of weight in the programs I'm applying to since I know he has good things to say about my research skills and work ethic, and his name is well-known. But hypothetically, what happens if a letter of recommendation contains factual errors like that? From my transcripts and CV, it's quite obvious I've never been a masters student. Would that inaccuracy hurt me? Would the rest of his letter carry less weight? I'm probably being paranoid, but I'm curious about what happens if a situation like this occurs.
For those of you who have been on an admissions committee before, how would this impact my application?
**Edit**: (additional info garnered from comment)
The letter was originally written for my fellowship over a year ago now, and after I corrected the professor on the masters vs bachelors issue, I was told the corrections were made. If he uses that letter as a starting point [for a new letter], I should be ok. He was just keynote speaker for a conference this week so hopefully he's less busy after and more responsive (usually is). He is a European prof and I'm in the US.
(Also adding: the reason I'm slightly concerned and asked this question is because when he wrote the first letter, he had my CV and made that mistake. He's known for being scatterbrained among the entire lab outside of research. He somehow can remember obscure details about my project without needing reminders, though...)<issue_comment>username_1: To be honest, I would consider this to be a major flaw and almost certainly invalidate the letter. It may bring to attention the rest of the application, including the potential that it may be invalidated, too.
In my university, I was faced with a situation in which the reference letter had a discrepancy with pronouns. The applicant was female but the referee was writing using male pronouns (ie., he, him, his). We ran the letter through TurnItIn and found that the letter was cribbed from a source from the Internet. The entire application was rejected.
Admittedly, this is an extreme case. Still, it will raise red flags about your application. Our assessment team is rather experienced in these sorts of issues.
I recommend revising this if possible.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You are in charge of your application, including (at least some of the contents of) the recommendation letter.
You can, and should, make the professor's job easier by providing all the information about yourself in a single file. Include basic information (such as the fact that you are an undergraduate student), gently remind him of the project that you did with him by including a copy of your project, provide your statement of purpose, CV, transcript... everything that you can think of. In addition, provide a short summary (format this so that it is easy to read!)
Insist on getting an email from him when he has submitted, and when you do get such an email, immediately follow up (preferably in person) by checking that the basic information is correct, while the letter is fresh in his brain.
If all of these precautionary steps do not put your mind at ease, then perhaps getting a letter from this professor is not worth the trouble, since this will show that he does not care about your career -- if he thought that you were the next superstar, he would not be this forgetful. Getting a letter from such a person cannot possibly carry that much weight.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I agree with the rest that if the selection committee sees these factual errors, it will put the whole application under thorough check (if not discarded right away).
What I would do in your place is correct the recommendation letter that he sent you and send it back to him. That will allow him to take a quick look you haven't changed anything critical from his perspective (e.g. didn't add "he's the best student I ever had"...), sign it and send it back to you. That's in general easier for professors that have a lot in their mind or they are too busy to check this kind of "details".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: If I have understood correctly, you are concerned that if the professor inaccurately describes you in his letter as a master's student, instead of an undergraduate, in contradiction with your transcript and other application materials, this factual error might make discredit the reference, render it unusable, and call your whole application into question. (Correct me if I did not get that right!)
People make mistakes. If the letter has a red flag that suggests it might be a bad copy-and-paste job, and the text is found to be verbatim identical to something published on the internet, that is one thing. If it has some factual inaccuracies about some chronology of your educational career, that's another thing.
Keep in mind that the people reading the letter are smart people. A careful reader will be able to distinguish between the two scenarios I described.
For the new letter, yes, you may follow up and double-check with the professor
I can understand if this professor's absent-mindedness leaves you a little doubtful that the correction was actually made, even if he provides an assurance that it was.
However, keep in mind that if the committee is in any doubt about the reliability of the reference, they can always contact the professor for clarification and additional information.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I will say that if the professor in question is as well-known as you suggest, a lot of people will understand that someone in his position could easily make a mistake like that in a letter of recommendation for an undergraduate student.
If you were pressed for time (e.g., impending application deadline), I would submit the letter anyways along with a note that you
i) recognize some (small portion) of the recommendation letter contains minor factual errors, and ii) have asked the professor to provide a new letter.
If it gets down to brass tacks, they can always check with the professor himself.
Of course, the ideal is to have the professor provide you with a corrected letter, but as he is important (in his field), busy and scatter-brained, it's very possible you will never get that correction.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: If your relationship with him, and his personality allow it, you could politely mention (remind him of?) the factual errors, and provide him with a corrected complete copy of his original letter that he only needs to sign. Present this as "his time is valuable, and you want to take up as little of it as possible", avoiding any suggestion of "you got this wrong and I need to do it to make certain it's correct". Make it as little effort for him as possible - self addressed, stamped envelope, etc.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/05
| 1,288
| 5,688
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for grad school and a bit confused about taking references. Should I take a reference from my employer where I had worked on an unrelated field for one and half year? Or Should I prefer taking it from academia from a Prof. with whom I have worked on unrelated field again.<issue_comment>username_1: To be honest, I would consider this to be a major flaw and almost certainly invalidate the letter. It may bring to attention the rest of the application, including the potential that it may be invalidated, too.
In my university, I was faced with a situation in which the reference letter had a discrepancy with pronouns. The applicant was female but the referee was writing using male pronouns (ie., he, him, his). We ran the letter through TurnItIn and found that the letter was cribbed from a source from the Internet. The entire application was rejected.
Admittedly, this is an extreme case. Still, it will raise red flags about your application. Our assessment team is rather experienced in these sorts of issues.
I recommend revising this if possible.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You are in charge of your application, including (at least some of the contents of) the recommendation letter.
You can, and should, make the professor's job easier by providing all the information about yourself in a single file. Include basic information (such as the fact that you are an undergraduate student), gently remind him of the project that you did with him by including a copy of your project, provide your statement of purpose, CV, transcript... everything that you can think of. In addition, provide a short summary (format this so that it is easy to read!)
Insist on getting an email from him when he has submitted, and when you do get such an email, immediately follow up (preferably in person) by checking that the basic information is correct, while the letter is fresh in his brain.
If all of these precautionary steps do not put your mind at ease, then perhaps getting a letter from this professor is not worth the trouble, since this will show that he does not care about your career -- if he thought that you were the next superstar, he would not be this forgetful. Getting a letter from such a person cannot possibly carry that much weight.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I agree with the rest that if the selection committee sees these factual errors, it will put the whole application under thorough check (if not discarded right away).
What I would do in your place is correct the recommendation letter that he sent you and send it back to him. That will allow him to take a quick look you haven't changed anything critical from his perspective (e.g. didn't add "he's the best student I ever had"...), sign it and send it back to you. That's in general easier for professors that have a lot in their mind or they are too busy to check this kind of "details".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: If I have understood correctly, you are concerned that if the professor inaccurately describes you in his letter as a master's student, instead of an undergraduate, in contradiction with your transcript and other application materials, this factual error might make discredit the reference, render it unusable, and call your whole application into question. (Correct me if I did not get that right!)
People make mistakes. If the letter has a red flag that suggests it might be a bad copy-and-paste job, and the text is found to be verbatim identical to something published on the internet, that is one thing. If it has some factual inaccuracies about some chronology of your educational career, that's another thing.
Keep in mind that the people reading the letter are smart people. A careful reader will be able to distinguish between the two scenarios I described.
For the new letter, yes, you may follow up and double-check with the professor
I can understand if this professor's absent-mindedness leaves you a little doubtful that the correction was actually made, even if he provides an assurance that it was.
However, keep in mind that if the committee is in any doubt about the reliability of the reference, they can always contact the professor for clarification and additional information.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I will say that if the professor in question is as well-known as you suggest, a lot of people will understand that someone in his position could easily make a mistake like that in a letter of recommendation for an undergraduate student.
If you were pressed for time (e.g., impending application deadline), I would submit the letter anyways along with a note that you
i) recognize some (small portion) of the recommendation letter contains minor factual errors, and ii) have asked the professor to provide a new letter.
If it gets down to brass tacks, they can always check with the professor himself.
Of course, the ideal is to have the professor provide you with a corrected letter, but as he is important (in his field), busy and scatter-brained, it's very possible you will never get that correction.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: If your relationship with him, and his personality allow it, you could politely mention (remind him of?) the factual errors, and provide him with a corrected complete copy of his original letter that he only needs to sign. Present this as "his time is valuable, and you want to take up as little of it as possible", avoiding any suggestion of "you got this wrong and I need to do it to make certain it's correct". Make it as little effort for him as possible - self addressed, stamped envelope, etc.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/05
| 1,675
| 7,326
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<issue_start>username_0: I helped my friend, who never used LaTeX before, to convert her PG Diploma essay from a Word document into this system (for a molecular biology class). I convinced her that, with some learning, she could later produce better essays with LaTeX in shorter time, focusing on the content without *worrying about the layout*.
But she started to worry from the beginning.
She commented on the placement of large figures and tables which didn't fit immediately at the positions and pages where they called out. She was particularly concerned that these floating figures (placed professionally, I think, by LaTeX at the top of the following pages) "appeared in the wrong places in the middle of the next sections".
I explained to her that these automatic placements by LaTeX seemed "perfect" and "optimal" to avoid large white spaces left at the bottom of the pages; and that this approach is what we see in most professorially typeset materials (e.g., journal articles, and my thesis ;)).
However, the professor who later marked the essay commented that these positionings "look odd" and "broke the logical flow", and he seemed to prefer the "inline placement" of figures and tables. My friend now thinks that some points were lost because of this.
--
Should (such) layout and formatting issues in general affect the grading of student essays?
If yes, I assume this professor might not be familiar enough with professional typesetting practices, or he simply didn't like what he saw in the essay. Is he free not to accept the common professional typesetting practices in his course?<issue_comment>username_1: * **Is LaTeX better than Word?** This is a holy-war kind of a question. I personally agree that LaTeX documents often, but not always, allow to produce a better typeset document in less time (as soon as you know enough of it to write the document, and do not spend time googling for "how do I do X in LaTeX").
* **Are LaTeX's floating objects perfect?** Some things are less than perfect even with LaTeX, and handling of floating objects is one of them. You can suggest using `[p]` instead of `[t]`/`[b]`/`[h]` options --- this can still generate under-filled pages, but at least it looks like it is done on purpose.
* **Should you Professor comment on the layout?** The way how the document looks definitely affects how it is perceived by the reader, so if something looks weird / unusual, it is all right for your Professor to comment on it.
* **Should the layout affect the grade?** There is no general answer to that. Some Universities even have a very rigid guidelines on layout for theses submission, which sometimes, sadly, prescribe the use of Word, and sometimes, conveniently, the use of LaTeX (particularly if LaTeX is taught as a part of the Program). In this case, of course, students can be penalised for not following the guidelines. Sometimes points for "presentation" are included in the task specification --- and you can lose them if your Professor decides that bad typography affects the presentation of the document (I don't think LaTeX can be that bad, though). However, Professor should not simply reduce the grade if they *feel* that the layout is *unusual*.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes/no
Student essays are the best time to learn the formatting. You can comment the format, even if it does not affect the grading. Then you need to explicitly say that formatting does not affect the grading, possibly many times. At some point you may want to demand the proper formatting. The grading is a way to enforce that, instead of suggesting.
Academia is different from the industry. In industry the pictures must be in the proper places. In academia it is only a good thing. The professor has the right to decide in the end, what is the focus of the teaching.
Latex will make the overall formatting easier and saves a lot of time. Word is the best for what I call "shotgun reporting" where things are only added to the bottom of the document and once ready it's polished and then published. There is no revision and the document seldom is returned for editing.
I like to think that the students are adults that make the decisions. In few first tasks you may provide them with latex templates to learn latex, and give them the time to learn. But after many years I think that you should just ask for a proper document that will fit the purpose. If it's thesis and they know latex, then by all means they should use it (my opinion), but if it's about reporting the results, then they are free to choose (I still prefer latex, but Word almost just as fine).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: "Should" etc. is a philosophical question. Pragmatically, the questions are: Did this particular professor have specific expectations about the formatting? and In this field particularly, is there a clearly defined standard?
Most professors will provide or point to a style guide if asked. If there is a question about something that LaTeX is doing, then the student whose grade could be affected needs to get the professor's eyes on the questionable formatting before the paper is due (or at the very least, consult a grad student, writing tutor, etc., in the field).
Professors are often weirdly specific in their expectations - treating some style rules as law, and disregarding others that many people observe, often for reasons relating to the goals of that particular class - and so it's as well to ask: what standard are YOU grading on in this class? May I bring my work to you for a brief review beforehand?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I'll skip the software issue, which is irrelevant to the question
>
> Should layout and formatting issues in general affect the grading of student essays?
>
>
>
In short **yes**. Any document which is handed in has to be formatted to make it as easy as possible to follow the train of thought and digest the reasoning. No matter if the document is a pdf, printed out, handwritten or ASCII text. If the document is not structured well it may not get full credits. Also note that one can only structure a document well, if one has well organized thoughts on the matter. As an example, it is usually fairly easy to see if somebody copied a solution for some exercises without thought even if there is not typo but only from the mere look of the result. Spacings are odd, linebreaks are often at the wrong point or the organization on the sheet seems to emphasize the wrong thing.
That said, anything more concrete will be on thin ice. Some people prefer strong structuring elements (e.g. having many lists and subheadings), others are distracted by that (prefer more plain text, less dominant subheadings, e.g. at the beginning of the paragraph rather than in a separate line). Some people prefer figures within the text, some prefer then on the top of the pages, some even like them in the margin or collected at the end of the document. I think one should remark that "common professional typesetting practices" do not really exist - there a lot of practices, man contradict each others and professionals did not agree on standards as is fact a lot of "taste" and "habits" are involved.
Don't ignore rules, also use common sense and intuition but stick to guidelines and requirements.
Upvotes: 3
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2016/12/05
| 1,086
| 3,584
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently working on a Spanish paper in MLA for an undergraduate course and have stumbled on some confusion for my Works Cited for which I can find no definitive answer. MLA says that I should use the header "Works Cited" before my citations, but does this still apply for other languages? Should I put "La bibliografía" or "Las referencias bibliográficas" instead? Thank you!<issue_comment>username_1: In my own Spanish classes, our professors instructed us to title the "Works Cited" page as "Fuentes" (meaning "sources") instead.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I have always used/seen for MLA in Spanish, and instruct my students to use **Obras citadas**. In truth, *Bibliografía* is vastly more common in native-Spanish, non-MLA works, but the same could be said of English *Bibliography*.
Since MLA keeps the references to strictly the works that were, well, cited (as opposed to read during research or useful for further reading), thus making a difference between a bibliography and a list of works cited, it has always seemed logical to me to make the same distinction in Spanish.
And just to give you a specific reference, grabbing a random journal I have here —*Hispania*, which generally uses MLA— references for articles are found in a section entitled *Works Cited* (English) or *Obras citadas* (Spanish/Portuguese).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I am not a native Spanish speaker, but I have quite much experience in reading about MLA in Spanish and have seen much on how the works cited page is required to be entitled by different universities whose primary language is Spanish.
In a vast majority of cases, the recommended Spanish title for Works Cited is **Obras citadas**. Here are some sources to prove this affirmation (words put in bold by me):
[Grafiati – ¿Cómo formatear página con la lista de las fuentes referenciadas en MLA (8ᵃ ed.)?](https://www.grafiati.com/es/info/mla-8/formatting-reference-list/):
>
> ...Título se centra sin usar cursiva y negrita. El título recomendable
> es "**Obras citadas**" ("Works cited").
>
>
>
[Universidad de Los Andes](https://www.uandes.cl/images/biblioteca/2017/Fundamentos%20del%20formato%20MLA%208.pdf):
>
> Al final del trabajo se debe incluir una sección titulada "**Obras**
> **citadas**" con los datos de las obras consultadas.
>
>
>
[<NAME> – El estilo de redacción del manual MLA: la nueva edición (2016) para el usuario hispanohablante](https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rlm/article/download/27716/27931/):
>
> ...los elementos antes mencionados, según se utilicen en (I) la lista
> de “**Obras citadas**”...
>
>
>
Sometimes, you can also stumble upon other recommendations, for example, the one provided in [Purdue Owl – Índice de Obras Citadas de MLA: Formato Básico](https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/owl_en_espanol/estilo_MLA/indice_de_obras_citadas_de_mla_formato_b%C3%A1sico.html):
>
> Titule la página **Índice de Obras Citadas** (no ponga las palabras Índice
> de Obras Citadas en cursiva ni entre comillas), centre el título en la
> parte superior de la página.
>
>
>
Note that all these examples are not any official translations of the MLA recommendations into Spanish. As none actually exists, different guidelines can be offered locally by your university, scientific journal, and so on. In general, I believe that '**Obras citadas**' is the most widespread option and the closest one compared to the original English title. I would stick to it, if no other guidelines are provided by your institution.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/12/06
| 1,171
| 4,772
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<issue_start>username_0: I had submitted my first manuscript to my supervisor in 2013. He checked it after one year and finally submit it to a journal in Jan 2015. After one major revision, it got accepted with a minor revision and due date was 30th June, 2015. I modified and corrected the manuscript. But my supervisor was so busy that he could not make a final check and could not submit it in due time. I reminded and requested many times to check and submit it at the earliest in his free time, but my supervisor always says that "Sorry, I am busy and wait until my check." Editor had also reminded couple of times and finally closed the file. One day my supervisor told me that we need to withdraw this paper, because it is too late. I got shocked. So my supervisor might had felt bad for his delay, so he withdrew it and submitted to another journal in the same day of Mar, 2016 without any check. Fortunately the manuscript got accepted with a minor revision with a due date as 29th July, 2016. I corrected accordingly and sent it to my supervisor. But again seems same situation that yet he has not submitted.
During this period, I was ready with another manuscript. When I requested him to submit that, he advised me to submit by my own to XYZ journal as he is very busy. I felt very happy and submit it to his recommended journal in Mar 2016. This manuscripts came with a major revision after 2 months. So I revised the manuscript and submitted in due time by my own and informed to my supervisor. Fortunately, this manuscript also got accepted with a minor revision and due date was 28th Oct 2016. I modified everything and supposed to submit by my own. But my supervisor told that he will check at least once before final submission. So I could not submit it by my own and still waiting for my supervisor's check.
So I am very much worried what to do in this situation. I have written and reminded many times. But as usual I always get a sorry reply. I am really worried how to write an effective but very gentle reminder email to him to check the Manuscript? I can't complain and be hard to break his faith on me.<issue_comment>username_1: "Dr. X:
Your inattention to this matter is impacting my career. Can we please submit this paper?
Thank you"
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> X
>
>
> I'm wondering if you had the oportunity to read the minor revision I made on the paper I sent you last month.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Y
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I will just write how I approach the matter with very busy supervisors until now. It has worked without issues and our relationships has not been impacted at all.
The best thing is to take responsibility of the submission process (if you haven't done that already). When you have either the manuscript ready to submit or after you have done the corrections on the reviewers' comments, you can send an e-mail to your supervisor telling him/her that you have done all the corrections and answered to the reviewers (if applicable) and you are ready to submit.
**Put a deadline for the submission** (not the journal deadline, but yours) and ask him to send his comments, **if any**, by then. You are planning to submit it on that day, unless you have his comments that require big changes.
Also ask him if **he** needs to change the deadline, then he can propose a new one. But don't leave it without a deadline, as it could go forever.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Sounds like the problem goes much deeper than finding the right wording for a reminder email. Maybe his priorities and time management are a disaster. Maybe he is repelled by your work or presentation style and postponing repeatedly is his way of avoiding an awkward conversation. Maybe you annoyed him in the past so he ignores you now. Maybe you ignored things that he communicated in the past. Maybe he has problems in his private life. Either way, something unprofessional is going on.
Your situation would never occur with a well-organized supervisor who is excited about your topic and presentation style.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Contact your department chair and tell them about your advisor’s behaviour, and ask if they could get him to prioritise his time so that it doesn't negatively impact your career.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Full-on passive/aggressive option:
Ask a specific question, about a specific paragraph. You may already know the answer, but that's not the point. The point is you have a specific call to action that is more obvious than, "Read a boring manuscript", and that more clearly needs a response sooner than later. Nevertheless, reading the boring manuscript is still the only way to answer the question.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/12/06
| 653
| 2,582
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<issue_start>username_0: This is somewhere in my conclusion. I do not want to expand further; just state it without sounding boastful.
>
> My undergraduate result shows that I am diligent, intelligent and
> focused.
>
>
>
Does something like the following make me seem unsure?
>
> I like to believe I am diligent, intelligent and
> focused.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: In my opinion, the first one sounds a bit arrogant especially if not backed up by any evidence.
As all the HRs suggest, when describing your self and your qualities, try to exemplify them with previous achievements.
Instead of saying that you are focused or diligent, try to describe the situations which led you to think so.
If this is somehow described previously then, i believe, there is no point in mark it so explicitly when concluding.
Hope it helps!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The only time I would ever make this statement is if I actually won the *Most Diligent, Intelligent and Focused Undergraduate Student Award*.
You didn't include the rest of your statement, but it's hard for me to believe that an undergraduate outcome has the capacity to demonstrate these three qualities. Course marks or a cGPA are hardly an indicator of diligence or focus, and certainly not a marker of intelligence the way I would define it.
I find that the best statements don't so much state the personal characteristics of the applicant in so direct a way (a la the conclusions of a lab experiment) but relate how these personal characteristics are demonstrated in real life. The reader is not so much TOLD that you are diligent, intelligent and focused as much as he or she UNDERSTANDS that you are these things.
If you really, truly wanted to include this statement, I wouldn't position it in the end. I would start somewhere at the beginning:
>
> My peers have remarked that my most endearing qualities are my diligence, focus and intelligence. During field experiments in my final year, we spent 17 weeks in Borneo tracking a potential new species of shrew. Our equipment broke down by the second week and we were suffering from malarial fever by the third week. I jury-rigged a camera trap made from vines and the bottom of a coke bottle and stayed in a single position for 14 weeks. My perseverance paid off when I captured short (2-second), grainy footage of the animal. By then, my entire team had long since abandoned me. I thought they were weak.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Your references get to sing your praises.
You get to present the facts.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/12/06
| 2,316
| 9,892
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<issue_start>username_0: Last semester I've retaken a course and went through the exam. It was a sit-down exam and all students were present. All students are required put their possessions (phones, cameras, etc.) in their bags and put their bags in front of the room.
The students were not allowed to take the question sheets home.
As I was retaking the course, I feel the need to take a documentation to review my answers and to understand the problems better. So AFTER the exam was finished, I take my bag, grab my camera, and then I asked the supervisor (as the lecturer was not present at the site) whether I was allowed to take a photograph or not while gesturing to show my camera (which I had just taken out of my bag). **It was denied and I complied without complaining**.
Then I told my friend about that incident. He was quite surprised that I complied with that. He told me that he would take the photograph anyway for his advancement in learning, which he said it would be for the greater good but **I can't actually spread / redistribute them as it would break the concept of exam itself**.
The usual practice in my campus is that if the question sheets are allowed to be taken home, some students would scan and put them into a compilation and share them to the younger students to study and ponder upon as they will get different sets of questions.
Other than that, students that absent at the exam can take it at a different appointed time with a different set of questions.
So I'm stumped whether I should have taken the photograph or not. I thought it was unethical to take it if taking the sheet home is prohibited, but then my friends thought made me reconsider. If I took the photograph I would not create an unfair advantage for those who took the exam at a different date (if there are any) anyway.
PS: I'm sorry if I attracted heated discussions. And I think there is a misconception here. I don't intend to question the rule itself or trying to deceive myself. I only want to know how ethics and etiquette work as I was quite an anti-social from my childhood and I want to start learning about social life. I also didn't intend to redistribute the photograph at that moment.
PS2: My campus was located in Indonesia. I hope this will help to consider the problem at hand
PS3:
- The rule was actually enforced by the Department. It would also be enforced to graduate students (and to postgraduate students IF they have any sit-down exams)
.- My friend which I mentioned above was in fact a graduate student.
The guidelines mentioned not to ask "Undergraduate-specific issues that could not apply to graduate or post-graduate academicians". As this question is also applicable to (at least) graduate students, I think this question is quite appropriate for Academia SE. But if it's still deemed as an inappropriate question by many and was closed because of it, then I'll just accept the closure.<issue_comment>username_1: **Taking a photo is effectively equivalent to taking the question sheet home.**
For either of these: it’s not inherently a bad thing, and (as your friend said) it can be good for personal study, and so on. However, it can be used for unethical purposes (passing the questions on to students who haven’t taken the exam yet), so the school have prohibited it. Given this, it *is* unethical, since it’s breaking a rule (and, moreover, a reasonably justified rule).
If the rules happen to be written in such a way that they just prohibit “taking the sheets home” and didn’t mention photos, then taking a photo may be allowed by the rule as written, but it is clearly still violating the intention of the rule.
So **yes, the supervisor’s ruling was reasonable, and you were right to comply with it.**
**Edit.** There is, however, no problem with politely emailing the instructor afterwards and asking if you can get a copy of the exam (or parts of it). No need to mention ethics or taking photos in the email; just say that you’d be grateful to have a copy for your own studying, if the instructor is willing to share it. Maybe the instructor will say yes; maybe no; maybe “yes, but not until next week”. But provided you are polite, and ready to accept a possible refusal, then I don’t think there can be any harm in asking.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you would have taken that photograph, you would have broken a rule to gain an advantage: Even if the exam is not repeated exactly, you gain information as on what kind of questions to expect and you state yourself that you want to use the photographs to your advance (even if this involves honest learning). Taken the photograph would thus have been unfair against those students who comply with the rules and do not have this advantage. This would clearly be unethical.
As the exam is not repeated exactly and the same can be achieved with memorising, you may debate over *how* bad taking a photograph would be. Also you can debate whether the examinor’s approach to exams – relying on the contents being kept secret to some extent – is a good and effective one. All of this does not however impeach the ethicality of taking a photograph. If you do not agree with the rules, complain about the rules first; do not just break them.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The contents of the blank exam, including the questions/formatting/instructions/etc., belong to the person who wrote it. This person retains copyright and all associated rights, unless otherwise given away (or unless otherwise claimed by the employer).
It is irrelevant why the exam's author does not want to permit photography of the exam. Perhaps the author intends to create a book (or paper or patent), in part with this material. Or, perhaps, as the OP speculates, the author intends to create a future exam, in part with this material. Relinquishing a copy of the exam questions may make any of these more difficult in the future.
In the OP's question, the student is granted permission to read the exam, and write answers in the designated areas. However, this does not mean that the student is granted additional rights, such as keeping the exam questions, or photographing them. Doing so infringes on the exam author's intellectual property; doing so after being told not to is a flagrant infringement. It would be very difficult to build a persuasive case that doing so is not unethical.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: If a rule was clearly unfair, then you'd have grounds to protest. Like if the rule said that white students are allowed to make copies of the test but black students are not, there'd be pretty obvious grounds for complaint.
But barring that, it is surely fair to expect everyone to comply with the rules, whether they like the rule or not. Whether I was the prof or another student, I'd consider it totally unacceptable for someone to say, "I didn't see a good reason for this rule, so I broke it." It is certainly fair and reasonable to ask the purpose of a rule. But it is not justified to break a rule just because you don't see the purpose. Maybe you're not smart enough to understand, or not creative enough, or haven't thought through all the possible scenarios. Heck, maybe you're not dishonest enough to see how others could take advantage.
And realistically, if breaking the rule does not give you some advantage, then why did you want to break it? If you break the rule and others follow it, then you have an unfair advantage.
One could argue that if the intent is to prevent distribution, the rule is ineffective, because a student could surely remember at least some of the questions and pass this information on. But you could say the same of any rule or security measure. If the tests are kept in a locked file drawer before testing day, someone might break into the office and steal a copy. If students are prohibited from getting help during an exam, someone might have a miniature radio in his ear with his friend giving tips. Etc. The fact that it is possible for others to break the rules does not justify you breaking the rules.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Just a comment too long to be posted as comment.
Even the instructor allowed, I would still suggest you not to do it. If for any reason the questions are leaked (your phone got stolen or hacked, or other people get to see your questions), you'll automatically become a prime suspect. And worse, even the questions were not leaked through you but through other channels, you'll still likely be included in the suspect list.
This can create a lot of troubles, the instructor will have to remake the exam. And in rare case all the students might have to retake due to possible mass cheating... the list can go on and on.
Your friend's argument that "he would take the photograph anyway for his advancement in learning, which he said it would be for the greater good" is flawed. First, knowing how to answer a set of exam questions is really not that much more beneficial than knowing how to answer a set of textbook questions or other published/released quiz questions, etc. Second, the benefit of getting this one extra piece of study material is far outweighed by the aforementioned risks and harms.
If you're concerned about how you performed, you can always try to communicate with the instructor or TA to discuss your approaches after the grade is released.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: These rules often exist to prevent students from making public the exam questions. Unfortunately, there are some Web sites that will publish such exam sheets, and sometimes even pay students to do so.
When I was teaching, that particular school re-used the same exams on all campuses, and for several years. I'm not commenting on whether this is a good idea, but that's the way it was. We did find a few of our exams on such a Web site.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/06
| 1,313
| 5,923
|
<issue_start>username_0: **Within academia, I am wondering how statisticians use the titles/description of "statistician" versus "applied statistician."** Also, what is the difference between an "applied statistician" and an academic researcher whose work focuses on or involves the application of (relatively) advanced stats to questions in their field (I'll call this a Quantitative \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, where the blank can be any field). What types of training and expertise do these different titles/terms imply?
**Context:** I am a PhD biologist and am applying for a lectureship in a stats department and am not sure how my definition of these terms/roles compares to those of actual statisticians. To my peers I refer to myself a "quantitative ecologist." I am wondering if I can call myself an "applied statistician" or if that would be overreach given my training (I have taken a number of applied stats courses but am mostly a self-taught user of stats and programmer).
In my mind
* **Academic statistician**: PhD in stats, math, or biostats and highly trained in fundamental mathematics and theory of stats. Might work on theory, methods development, or directly on applied questions. Key diagnostic: can convey statistical ideas entirely in matrix algebra. **EDIT**:Publishes all their work in statistics journals.
* **Applied statistician**: PhD in any academic field, whose research/work is focused on development and/or application of novel or highly advanced methods to applied problems. Might or might not have high levels of formal training in math and stats but is fluent in mathematics. Key diagnostics: **EDIT**:Publishes most or all of their work in statistics journals.
* **Quantitative \_\_\_\_\_\_\_**: Similar to applied statistician, but whose training in math might be less complete or formal, and/or might focus more on computational aspects of statistical application than mathematical aspects (Such as development of computational algorithms, statistical packages, best practices, etc). Key diagnostics: is fluent in a programming language and/or teaches their department's grad-level applied stats class.**EDIT**:Publishes their work in journals within their field.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you are safest referring to yourself as a quantitative ecologist, or more broadly a quantitative biologist, but not a statistician. You would have to highlight your statistics experience in the rest of the application. Regardless of how you describe yourself, the department might prefer someone who has a more complete formal training (given you will be doing formal teaching; not that one is a necessary requirement for the other, just talking departmental leanings or tendencies) - you won't be able to mask that with a title shift. Alternatively, they may care much more about any teaching experience you have rather than your specific research interests, as long as you have demonstrated some mastery of the material behind the courses you will lecture for.
I think you would have a better argument for defining yourself as an applied statistician (regardless of your formal training) if you had published not only in your field of quantitative ecology, but also published in statistics/math journals or at least published on novel statistical methodology in ecology.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is always interesting to me to see how different people outside of statistics perceive it. (I am a Ph.D. in statistics who had worked in academia, international organizations, and industry.)
In American academia (I am not qualified to speak for other countries), whenever you see somebody with the *title* that has "statistician" in it, it probably means they run SAS PROC POWER for somebody in medical school or in agriculture (grant land universities with outreach programs). This is a lowly job, for the most part, and you rarely if ever publish: more often than not, you are an acknowledgement on a paper, not a co-author. Biostatisticians though can often advance themselves to co-authors and co-PIs when a grant/project requires a statistician to be written in as a senior staff member of the team for quality control purposes.
I would have a somewhat difficult time imagining a stat department in a research school looking at somebody whose degree is not in statistics nor mathematics for a tenure-track position. The teaching positions can be filled with the department's own grad students or recent graduates who could not find an academic job. I heard that in some universities (California state system), hiring somebody to teach statistics courses runs into an odd difficulty: statistics is taught at math departments, but math departments are only allowed to hire graduates with a degree in mathematics.
So your hopes shouldn't be very high, and if you are hired into a stat department, you probably won't be given any courses above the first couple of undergraduate intro courses -- t-statistics, ANOVA, regression. A 3+3 load would also leave no time for any work back in biology for you.
Having said all that, I think it would be fair if you were to call yourself "an applied statistician" in your letter. I had called myself a "quantitative methodologist" when applying to quant psych jobs (to no avail).
Your classification is a bit silly, BTW. There are branches of statistics, Bayesian methods or rank methods for instance, that do not think in terms of matrix algebra at all. And, with few exceptions, econometricians or reliability engineers don't have any reasons to call themselves applied statisticians, as it does not give them any promotions or any additional funding. And even if they did, "proper" statisticians (those with PhDs in statistics) may not agree with this denomination (even though a good econometrician knows asymptotic theory of statistics way better than an average Ph.D. in statistics these days).
Upvotes: 3
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2016/12/06
| 946
| 3,975
|
<issue_start>username_0: I would like to do a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences. I love doing research but I'm not sure that I want to become a professor and stay in academia. I would, however, like to commercialize the research I would do and start a company. I think that a PhD would provide crucial research experience, networking opportunities with smart and talented people and a platform to develop a good product. Although many universities encourage entrepreneurship these days, I'm unsure whether they expect this from graduate students as well. I was wondering whether writing this in my Statement of Purpose would hurt my chances to get into a good PhD program.<issue_comment>username_1: As a PhD applicant myself, **I don't think this will hurt you**, although, as @WetlabWalter says, a PhD may not be the best route for you to take (this is a separate question in itself).
My reasoning for this answer is that in my field (physics) there are simply too many recent or soon-to-be PhDs for the number of post-doctoral research jobs. This has been a well-known problem for the past few years, as a quick Google search of the phrase "how many physics phds stay in academia" shows.
However, I would be careful with the wording of your intentions. Make sure you emphasise the skills your PhD is going to give you (as you have in your question), so that the admissions committee can tell you are not just in it for the perceived prestige, or the hope that it would lend weight to your business ideas.
Finally, I *am* hoping to stay in academia once I have finished my PhD, and am saying so in my personal statements. However, I fully expect to be asked about this at interview, and am prepared to discuss my alternative career plans (industry, civil service etc). If you explain yourself well at this stage too, and stay open to other possibilities, I don't think it will harm your application.
I think academics are well-aware of the post-doc drought and it's unrealistic for them to expect that everyone wants a career in academia.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: One thing you should really consider first, is what are your rights to take the research and start a company: in most universities, whatever discovery is made there legally belongs to them. You might be named on a patent but you may not be the legal owner of any of it, or you may need to license the intellectual property from the university.
Now, in some places, they actually encourage this kind of ventures, but it's framed within the university bound; that means they may even help you start a company, but they'll want royalties or something in return.
In the end, I'd recommend you look at where your career goals will be best received, in your field of choice, rather than apply all over and interview to discover they don't encourage this type of outcome. That'd probably save you some precious time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Academia is s sort of pyramid scheme. The number of people interested in positions at the next level up greatly exceeds the number of vacancies. This is not a secret so an applicant who wants to go into industry should not be disadvantaged.
That said, whether you will be allowed to commercialize the results of your PhD research will depend on the University and group / department policies as well as the source of your funding and any conditions attached to that.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: You simply need to show that you are likely to succeed in getting a PhD in the relevant field.
Universities churn out more graduates than the academic job market can absorb. They understand that many of their graduates are going to work outside academia after graduation.
Many universities actively seek people who have a knack for working on marketable products. I would therefore think that mentioning your entrepreneurial dream would be a plus -- as long as you show the requisite strengths in your field.
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/06
| 1,129
| 5,006
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<issue_start>username_0: On my web page, I ask students who want a letter of recommendation to talk with me about it. I also ask for specific information, such as what classes they took, how they distinguished themselves, etc. The purpose, of course, is to write strong letters for the good students and to encourage others to ask someone else.
Today I received an automated letter of recommendation request (from the institution to which he applied) for a student who graduated years ago from a different institution. I know from my own records how he did in my classes, but I have no other information available. I have no contact information for the student.
I can write a semi-strong letter based on grades alone, I can ask the institution to which he applied for contact information, or I can continue to try to track him down some other way. (I've already tried the usual methods of Google, Facebook, etc.)
Should I write the semi-strong letter, contact the institution to which he applied, or do some third thing?<issue_comment>username_1: I would just be honest. You teach many students and this particular student you taught a long time ago. Their grades were X and that puts them in the top Y percentile of the year, etc etc. No record of academic misconduct. Seems like one of the better students to you.
What I wouldn't do is try to fake all the usual character stuff by having a chat with the student over Facebook. Your intentions are noble, but I don't think the outcome will live up to those intentions.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: That's happened to me in the past, and from a student that I would not have written a letter for. In that case, because I could not endorse the student, I contacted the student and told him that I would not be responding to the request in any form, even just to tell the requester that I would not be providing a letter.
In this case, the student seems average, and had the student complied with your process, you might have agreed, so the situation is different. That said, putting down your name as a recommendation without your consent or even contact (... though you might check your junk mail folders) does not convey a level of maturity that would make me comfortable endorsing the student.
My own action, given that you've already done your due diligence in trying to contact the student, would probably be to take no action, and completely ignore the request -- at least until you've been contacted by the student. If contacted by the student, I'd probably say that I was unable to write a letter.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I would do the "third thing" of *nothing*. You're not under any obligation to write letters of recommendation, and to me, the student's signing you up to do this is similar in principle to your department head signing you up for an extra committee assignment, or someone signing you up to volunteer for a public lecture, without discussing it with you first. I write this as someone who puts considerable time and effort into recommendation letters -- two that I care considerably about in the past 24 hours, for example.
Of course, it may well be the case that the student has no idea that writing a recommendation actually takes work, and it would be nice to contact him/her, but you've already tried the simple routes to this. I would devote my time to other tasks.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Here's one alternative course of action, grounded on the principle of 'assume good faith'. It seems you can no longer contact the student (though as mentioned by Scott it's worth looking at your junk mail folder), but the institution can.
As such, it seems to me that the most constructive starting assumption is that the student attempted to contact you but that a technical glitch of some type occurred. As a response to this, you can then write to the institution explaining that you cannot write a reference, and why, in a way that will prompt them to tell the student to contact you again.
Thus, the ideal there is you write directly to the institution saying something like
>
> I am afraid I cannot provide this reference at present. I normally [link to personal page] ask students to contact me directly before asking for reference letters but it seems that in this case the student's contact may have failed to reach me. (This is unfortunately possible; we had some [white lie] trouble with our email service last month.) As such, I should ask you to ask the student to contact me again.
>
>
>
This leaves you with no obligation to write a letter you don't (and shouldn't) want to, it leaves the institution with a better idea of the situation, it prompts the student to follow the proper channels, and it leaves them with only a small loss of face with the school. (And, frankly, that one is well deserved.)
I'm not completely sure this is the best course of action (as opposed to the ones in the other answers) but it's something to consider.
Upvotes: 2
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2016/12/06
| 699
| 2,875
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an international student who is thinking of applying to a Ph.D program in economics at some top 30 economics departments in the U.S. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in economics. My GRE, both verbal and quant, puts me well above the 90th percentile. My TOEFL is very high. I have three outstanding recommendations, probably placing me at the top of my master's class and comparing me favorably with former coleagues that were accepted to top universities. My master's disertation will make for a very good writing sample (the paper that grew out of it is serious research, publishable in the best theory journals) and I have two years' work experience at a prestigious job at the public sector. My master's transcripts are almost impeccable, even though I completed a LOT more coursework than what was required to graduate. I have plenty of maths coursework under my belt.
The only "small" wrinkle is: I was the archetype of a wayward student as an undergrad. My undergraduate transcripts are a disaster, as in I flunked 12 of the 70 courses that I enrolled in, simply because I had the terrible habit of abandoning classes when there was something more interesting going on. What I want to know is if this problem destroys my chances of acceptance.<issue_comment>username_1: Broadly speaking, your more recent work will matter far more than your past work. You'll see this as a common theme in the many answers already on Academia SE that relate to this subject.
However, as someone who has been through the economics PhD application process, and knows quite a bit about it, I think you need to temper your "top 30" program cutoff. To get into top-30 programs you'll often be competing against students who did as well as you in later work, got perfect scores on the GRE quant, AND didn't have problems in past work.
If your math, at a *bare minimum* covers differential calculus and real analysis, then given the other things you've said I think you might stand a chance at top-30 programs, especially if your private sector job involved any research with your name on it, even if its just an acknowledgment. So yes, it's worth applying, but I wouldn't suggest setting your *expectations* on that range.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Simple answer is: How much does it cost you to apply? Some time to put together an application and some generally-modest application fees. Why not try and see what happens? If you get accepted, celebrate. If not, you gave it your best try.
If your real question is, What are the chances that I will be accepted?, answering that would depend on knowing a lot more detail about what you've done since you "straightened up". (Not saying I could evaluate it if I knew all the details -- I've never been an admissions officer at any college -- but others could.)
Upvotes: 0
|
2016/12/06
| 1,505
| 6,336
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<issue_start>username_0: I am working on a research project that the university and my PI talked me into applying for a research grant through the university, and I got it. I'm happy that they considered my part of the project worth the award, but now I have concerns and want to decline it, mainly because of the presentation requirement.
1. The presentation will take a lot more time and effort than I thought it would.
2. The project involves things that I know nothing about. I know my piece, but it's my understanding that I need to present on the entire project.
3. It will be an all day thing and I can honestly make more money at my job that day than the grant is worth.
I'm thrilled they awarded me the grant, and I want to stay on for the project, but I want to politely decline the money.
*Edit* I didn't really want to apply for the grant, but my PI wanted me to and the stipend I'll get directly offsets a small bill from the university, so I applied. I found out that I get the money after I present my work at the end of next semester, long after I paid the bill. Nowhere in the paperwork did it mention the delay, otherwise I would not have applied and just worked on the project for free.<issue_comment>username_1: I've been in situations in which grants we've awarded in the form of research support or scholarships have been declined by the awardees because of a significant change in personal circumstances. In some cases, we have offered to defer the award. In others, we've accepted that the person is unable to accept the award and have moved on to the next applicant on the ranked list.
We have never had a situation in which an award was refused on the basis that the awardee could make more money elsewhere. I can't speak for other members on the panels I sit, but I (and I believe many others) would take offence at this reason. The details of the award, including the level of funding, are often clearly stated and we would wonder why this consideration was not top of mind prior to submission.
If I was PI on an award that I received and on which you were a part of the team, you refusing to participate on the grant is less of a problem for me. I would write to the awarding body to explain a change in staffing (which happens all the time) and divert the funding to someone else. It's likely that there are many undergraduates wanting to work on the grant anyway and, unless you've got unique skills, I should be able to turn to someone in time. In return, I would ask that you NOT cite this award in your CV because you didn't work on it at all anyway. This last bit may be particularly costly to you more so than the amount of money you could make on your other work (at least within reason). Being part of a team awarded a competitive grant as an undergraduate student is helpful when applying for admission into postgraduate programs.
Finally, and it's your last sentence above that's thrown me, you seem to suggest that you're happy to work on the project, but not receive the money.
>
> I'm thrilled they awarded me the grant, and I want to stay on for the project, but I want to politely decline the money.
>
>
>
I interpret this to mean that the money is so small that you are thinking of declining the money, but are happy to fulfill the responsibilities assigned to you on the original award. If I were your PI, I would be happy with this arrangement, but only after ensuring that you would not be contravening university policies on the abuse of undergraduates who work under me.
Good luck to you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> How do I politely decline a research grant?
>
>
>
Let's be clear here. Based on your account I'm getting the impression that, with a reasonably high level of confidence, **there is no way for you to "politely" decline the grant**. The very action of declining will reflect poorly on you and show you to be an unreliable and difficult to work with person, and is likely to upset your PI and the funding agency who went to the trouble to evaluate your application. So, it's not about the "how". It's the action of declining that is by its nature impolite.
You may feel this is unfair. You may feel that you were given inaccurate information at the time of submitting the grant that led you to make a decision you now regret. You may very well be right on both of those points. In an ideal world you would simply explain what happened and everyone would agree that it makes sense for you to decline the grant. However, in the world we actually live in, I'd say accept it, do the work, use it as a learning experience and move on. And congratulations for getting the grant, it obviously says good things about you and if you do a good job has potential to benefit you in the future in many ways other than the measly stipend.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: I understand your reasoning and can empathize. I've felt reluctant or ambivalent about things I've already committed myself to, including grant-contingent presentations. But addressing those feelings in a mature way will go a long way to developing your character at this early stage of your development.
Getting sufficiently familiar with the project you are on to the level that you can explain it to others is an excellent idea and great training in working on a multifaceted project. Also you'll be honing your presenting skills.
Right now you're sounding like "I only understand my tiny little part of the project, just tell me exactly what to do, don't make me understand the context, don't make me explain anything to anybody"
At this stage in your career it's not as critical for this presentation to be stellar, on point etc. but the better you can make it the more you'll get out of it. Value the opportunity, get it over with and move on.
By the way congrats on getting involved in research as an undergrad, not everyone has the motivation and opportunity to do that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: either you raise this with the PI and ask if someone else can do it, in honesty if its worth less than a days work i wouldn't have applied, or would have applied with someone else taking the credit so they deal with the paperwork.
in your position? id take the day off work to present. its always worth having that extra award on the CV.
Upvotes: 0
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2016/12/06
| 1,147
| 4,956
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<issue_start>username_0: In one of my undergraduate courses, I found that one of the required texts was particularly well-written. It is a textbook about computer architecture, and I found that it explained intricate technical concepts in understandable language, and it managed to exemplify and summarize often difficult concepts quite nicely.
Just so it happens, this textbook was written by someone currently in our Computer Science department (not my professor). **Would it be well-received, or at least appropriate, if I sent an email to the author to compliment his textbook?** I have no ulterior motive; I'm not trying to win his favor or anything like that, I just simply want to express my gratitude for a resource that was useful to my learning.
([A similar question has already been answered](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11847/when-should-i-write-a-thank-you-letter-to-the-author-of-a-scholarly-paper), but I am curious if the answer would still be the same for a textbook.)<issue_comment>username_1: Sure. Writing a book is a huge amount of work, and everyone likes to hear that their work has been useful to someone. If anything, this is probably more true for books than for papers, since books are typically less useful for career advancement, and are often written with more altruistic motives.
Just be sincere; don't fawn or go over the top. If there are specific aspects of the book that were helpful, mention them specifically. If you have suggestions for improvement, it's fine to mention them too.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I would think you don't even need to go into much detail: just the fact that you have found the author's work sufficiently helpful that you want to express thanks... will be enough, I think.
That is, ... perhaps contrary to the fake myth that textbook and course-notes writers have large, expressive fan clubs... mostly one feels that one is speaking to the void, with no response. (Nowadays even to keep track of IP addresses of hits on one's site seems to require an extra load of various things equivalent to "Google Analytics", which slow things down enormously, so are not usabe... I remember the relatively-better-old days when I could see the IP addresses of people who hit my web pages...)
I myself do make a point of communicating to people whose writing is especially good, at all levels, *especially* if it's not "heroic, prize-winning" glamor stuff, but is simply very, very good.
We, collectively, should do more of this, I think.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Where a textbook differs from a paper is that it is by definition a compilation of work (of others) and generally doesn't contain original research. Therefore, you are right to think about approaching this differently from complimenting a paper.
While it doesn't happen often (and really should happen more often) complimenting or thanking anyone for any kind of effort is a positive thing.
You should keep in mind, though, what work actually went into the production of this work. In case of a textbook the majority of the work goes into the selection and parsing of materials to cover which is an entirely separate skillset from research, which you may have corresponded about in the past - and is in fact closer to designing a course on the subject. Therefore, you should slant your praise accordingly.
That said, there are really no 'wrong' ways to do this.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Definitely, I imagine that writing textbooks is a bit of a thankless task and I'm quite sure that a letter of thanks would be greatly appreciated.
It is certainly hard to see how this could be seen as a bad thing and if you can be specific about what you found especially good the chances are that it will be useful feedback.
In terms of more general etiquette it can also be a good thing to give some sort of 'hook' which will help them to write a polite reply without appearing to demand one as responding to compliments can often be quite difficult.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The biggest way to thank someone who writes books is to write positive detailed reviews. They will see the review and feel appreciated. You can always send a link to the author after posting the review.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I did exactly that once. I thought the author of a book for undergraduate analysis made a great job compared to many other books I used to prepare my analysis exam. I wrote him that with a little motivation on what I particularly enjoyed. He replied with a brief email saying he appreciated the comment and wishing me the best. As suggested by others today I'd couple that with a review on some online marketplace. As he's in your department bonus karma if you also do this anonymously (also to avoid that you might be interpreted as trying to win his favor, unlikely but you never know and in the end shouldn't matter to you)
Upvotes: 1
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2016/12/06
| 450
| 1,936
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a published a conference paper (in 2014) that has been used recently by a master student (whom I do not know) to write a paper for a master's class discussing a paper. In his work he cites my work and the title he put on researchgate.net is: *Analysis Report on [my work]*.
Issues:
* In the work itself the title does not contain *Analysis report on*.
* He copied images of my work without referring to the original source.
* The report is written (although it might not be on purpose) as if he did the work.
Since this work is for a master project I do not mind these issues that much, however it is published on ResearchGate and not clear that it is a report explaining a conference paper.
***Should I ignore it our should I contact the student asking to remove the work?***<issue_comment>username_1: Ignore it. There are lots of bad papers out there that will never be noticed and/or cited -- and given the title, everyone who happens to come across it will realize that the original source is your paper.
Spare your worries for the important questions in life, for example on writing the follow-up paper that clearly explains why the original paper you wrote is so important!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: While ignoring might be an option as the impact of this student's report is not so high, not doing anything will educate students that it is okay to plagiarize or follow incorrect citing procedures. As such, which is also as a [recommendation by ResearchGate](https://explore.researchgate.net/display/support/Publications), it is best to contact the author of this report and inform him of the issues.
ResearchGate does not have the policy to intervene, but if such situation occurs with actual published articles, one can contact the editor of the journal to file a plagiarism complaint, after which further action by the editors will be undertaken.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2016/12/06
| 991
| 4,074
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<issue_start>username_0: I am going to be finishing my PhD at a top-10 ranked US institution in the next 6 months in a biosciences related discipline. My advisor (and the lab in general) is extremely well known and well respected. I have been very productive in my current lab (10-15 papers in high-impact journals, many additional manuscripts in preparation, invitations to present at 5-10 conferences, and I am well known in the broader research community).
Upon graduation I may be geographically limited to stay in the same city. If I were not geographically limited I would, largely, be able to postdoc anywhere I wanted. This is not intended to sound arrogant, but I want to paint a picture (I have investigated the possibility with a few best case choices and all have responded favorably).
If I stay in the city, I am considering whether to remain with my current advisor or switch labs.
I have many reasons to stay in my current lab: I believe I will be very productive, the research direction is very appealing to me, I have a great relationship with my advisor, I have a lot of autonomy already and my advisor will help me move into a more independent position, and I have had and will continue to have opportunities to spend time at other labs around the world.
There is no one else in this city with whom I'm as excited about working.
However, I'm concerned that if I stay:
* I would largely be perceived as a *mini*-version of my PI. This would hurt funding options in the short and long term (e.g. F32 awards, K-99 awards). Unclear how badly it would hurt them.
* *My* work might all be perceived as my advisors work (though to be fair he is extremely good at explicitly crediting people)
* I would not experience a new lab environment
* It could be looked on as lazy/unimaginative
* It might (would) hurt my ability to get a faculty position later
Is it possible for me to offset the future career damage associated with staying in the same lab between PhD. and postdoc by massive high-impact productivity? Or would my record still be "damaged" by staying in the same place, even if I was extremely productive there?<issue_comment>username_1: Massive productivity trumps essentially all considerations. If you're at one of the best universities around, then nobody can be mad at you for not wanting to step down on the ladder either. In other words, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
What I would worry about, both if I were in your place and if I were your PhD/postdoc adviser, is to make sure you develop a profile of your own over time, distinct from that of your adviser. That will mean starting to collaborate with others, writing papers with others and without your adviser, and/or applying for funding under your own name. As long as you make sure that it is clearly visible by the end of your postdoc that you're an *independent* researcher with your own ideas and identity, you will be fine.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I believe that @WolfgangBangerth's answer adequately covers this regarding the perceptions of others. But there is another potential damage to your career, which is the lack of broadened horizons that you would get from working with a different person at a different institution. Sticking to just the perspectives and tools that your current advisor can teach you may have even more significant consequences than the external perception-related issues. Maybe there is some great problem that you will go on to solve -- IF you take the leap now of finding a new position where you will acquire the additional tools needed to address that problem.
In short, **a new position almost always means a reduction in productivity for a time, but it often means a more impactful and satisfying career in the long term**. When you get your first faculty position, you may feel obligated to stay in your niche for a few years in order to get tenure. It's often smarter to take advantage of the relative freedom you have now (with no tenure clock ticking) and pick up some new ideas by seeking a new position.
Upvotes: 2
|
2016/12/07
| 1,057
| 4,349
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<issue_start>username_0: On my letters of recommendation, I was asked to rate if a student was
* Top 1-2%
* Top 5%
* Top 10%
* Top 25%
* Top 50%, or
* Not in the top 50%
The student got an A in my class, and scored in the top 25% of students, class-rank-wise. But I am afraid that if I rate them as "top 25%," and they are applying to a top program, it will make them look like a bad student.
Does the admissions committee discard or look negatively upon all recommendations that aren't top 1-2% or top 5%?
(If it matters, I teach at a top 10 university, so someone who is top 25% here will probably be top 1-2% at a more middling university.)<issue_comment>username_1: Great question. It is one of the most ridiculous of all the forms we have to fill out when recommending people. Despite the illusion of being a quantitative measure, in reality it is qualitative and subjective. I imagine most people (certainly in my case) do not do what you have done and actually calculated where the student fell in terms of actual percentage. So if you do the honest thing, and say 25%, you may indeed be putting your student at a disadvantage. I have heard some professors say "oh, anything not top 5% or 10% is code for mediocre student." I'm not defending that view, but it definitely exists and is another symptom of how ridiculous the form is. As the comment by <NAME> states, people tend to rate higher, so your student will gain little from your honesty. Top 25% might even be perceived as a red flag. I also agree that admissions committees look at other measures (including the text of the letter) for a better indication of the student's promise.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: These questions are typically not asking for percentiles among students in any particular course. Rather they are asking for comparisons among all students you have interacted with. Of course this is also vague and contingent -- in theory, someone who has only interacted with students at absolutely top programs should give lower ratings than someone who had interacted with those same students and also a wider range of students.
Thus I agree that the numerical rating system is too flawed to be taken very seriously. I think it just gets the idea across that recommenders should be thinking about how the recommended student compares to other students at a similar point of their careers and including comparative information.
Giving a student who got an A in your course a "top 25% rating" because their numerical performance is in the top 25% of your course seems to be both an overly literal interpretation of the percentiles and also thinking too narrowly to be helpful. Again, you are not being asked to report on the student's performance in just one course, and if you really know nothing about the student other than the one course they took with you than you are not an especially good person to write a letter for them. How did the student do in other courses at your university? More importantly, *how good* is a student who gets an A in your course but is not at the very top of the course? Was this student's mastery of the material not as strong as the top students in the course in a way that you think is meaningful in the context of graduate work, or is the situation that you have many excellent students and someone has to come out on top percentage-wise? You also mention that you teach at a top 10 university "if it matters." Yes, it matters! Much as you suggest, it is probably the case that an A student at a top 10 university who is not at the very top of the course compares well with all but the most outstanding students at a lesser university. But it is your job to figure out to what extent that is true and argue for it in the letter.
If you are asking what is usually done on these numerical rankings: most of the letters I receive at my top 50 US math PhD program rank students in the top 10% in most of the categories. Ranking a student in the top 25% across the board will come off as unsupportive unless you explain yourself very carefully in the letter. I think you and the student you recommend will have an easier, better time if you choose among the first three categories in the numerical ratings (the way it works at my program is that students are rated separately on a handful of categories).
Upvotes: 3
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2016/12/07
| 1,140
| 4,936
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<issue_start>username_0: There's a popular math textbook I enjoyed a lot when I was a grad student. Recently I noticed an extension to one of the many interesting exercises provided by the textbook. I'd like to communicate this idea with the textbook author (single author).
The exercise is to calculate and show an amazing coincidence, and the way it is phrased in the textbook suggests that the author didn't think there could be an explanation. I think I found an interpretation, and I think it might make this exercise richer if the author adds a couple of subquestions guiding readers to discover this viewpoint for on this coincidence.
***My Question Is This:***
>
> Is it considered inappropriate to email the author and suggest this as a possible improvement?
> The interpretation to that exercise is somewhat technically intensive and hard to explain in a few words. Should I try to make it brief or should I make it solid that undoubtedly my interpretation is correct?
>
>
>
**I'm worried that my suggestion might appear either rude (as if the author doesn't know this already) or annoying (just too lengthy), or it might seem like a clumsy attempt to advertise myself (like a lot of layman claiming to have made a breakthrough).**
I think it's 50/50 whether or not the author might have known this interpretation all along but simply didn't include it in the exercise for various reasons. Even under this circumstances, this coincidence is so intriguing that I still think a few words from the author encouraging readers to explore it would completely change the tone of this exercise.
Any thoughts would be appreciated, thank you. This question might be mostly opinion based thus not suited for this site, and I'll be fine with that.
P.S.
I'm on a 6-year-long hiatus from the academia, going on to the 7th year, I currently don't affiliate to any institution. I've been keeping a certain level of capability to do this subfield in math, and I'm about 95% confident that my result is correct. Currently I have no plans to return to the academia within the next 2 to 3 years, but things might change.<issue_comment>username_1: From my experience, it's a perfectly valid reason to contact the author, and I'd recommend it actually.
Of course, what happens then is hard to predict. Maybe the author won't reply (this tends to happen when the book is more than a dozen years old). Maybe the author will tell you that they are aware of the explanation but haven't included it for pedagogical reasons. Maybe they'll tell you it's wrong. Maybe they will add your explanation to the next edition. The chances that they will feel slighted or insulted are close to nil (unless you are actually being rude in your mail); I have suggested corrections and addenda to something like 50 authors in my lifetime, and only 1 of the correspondences degenerated into something resembling a conflict.
As for making it brief or making it solid, I'd go with the latter (although I'd first give a sketch, then the details).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is it considered inappropriate to email the author and suggest this as a possible improvement?
>
>
>
It is very appropriate and would probably be very welcome. As the author of a textbook myself, I am always happy to receive any sort of feedback about my book (if nothing else, it proves to me that someone is reading it ;-)), and have received several emails of the exact kind you describe, and other suggestions for improvement, several of which I ended up using. Just be mindful that the author may not think your contribution is as important or worthwhile as you find it, or may be too busy to think about it, so set your expectations low and be respectful of the author's ultimate authority about what to do with your suggestion, including possibly ignoring it.
More generally, I would say it is appropriate to contact anyone who makes their email publicly available, regarding any issue that has a reasonable chance of being of interest to the recipient and is not driven by spammy or nefarious intent. Your example very clearly falls within this range.
>
> The interpretation to that exercise is somewhat technically intensive and hard to explain in a few words. Should I try to make it brief or should I make it solid that undoubtedly my interpretation is correct?
>
>
>
A detailed and well-exposed technical description of your idea would be most helpful, but I would attach it as a PDF write-up and make the email itself short with only a general description of the idea and referring to the attachment for more details. This minimizes the burden and possibility of annoyance to the author. It would also be a good idea to offer to send the author the LaTeX source in case that might be helpful (but better not include it in the initial email), and may increase the chances that the author will incorporate your idea into the book.
Upvotes: 3
|
2016/12/07
| 1,572
| 6,436
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<issue_start>username_0: There is an opening for an assistant professor position at a US university, that I really want to apply to. However, it is a Catholic university and the application requires a "Statement of Contribution to Mission." I have read the university's mission statement which, besides the usual academic missions, includes quite a few religious missions. I am not Christian; in fact, I am an atheist. From the answers to this related [question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8639/are-employments-in-universities-affiliated-or-named-with-a-specific-religion-r/8651#8651), and that the job posting states clearly *Equal Opportunity*, I understand that I can still apply to this position. But I have no idea how I should write such a statement. Of course I won't lie in the statement to pretend that I'm Christian. But having no clue and personal connection to those religious values, tradition, and missions, I find it impossible to write even one word.
Is there any suggestion for writing such a statement? Or should I not apply?<issue_comment>username_1: I think you should certainly apply, as long as you have no personal opposition to Catholic education writ large; the previous question you link is a great source if you are uncertain.
As to your question, for an example, I pulled the mission statement for [Marquette University](http://www.marquette.edu/about/mission.php) in Milwaukee, WI.
>
> Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university dedicated to serving God by serving our students and contributing to the advancement of knowledge. Our mission, therefore, is the search for truth, the discovery and sharing of knowledge, the fostering of personal and professional excellence, the promotion of a life of faith, and the development of leadership expressed in service to others. All this we pursue for the greater glory of God and the common benefit of the human community.
>
>
>
Following this broad statement, they have four subsections on Excellence, Faith, Leadership, and Service. Of course the mission of your university may differ but I presume it will paint similar broad strokes.
I would write a statement that addresses the primarily non-Faith elements of the mission. Quoting again from Marquette, on Excellence they state:
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> education must encompass the whole person: spiritual and moral as well as intellectual, the heart as well as the mind
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Without aligning with their religious beliefs, you could certainly contribute to education encompassing the whole person, particularly in intellectual pursuits.
Most U.S. Catholic universities that I am familiar with belong to either the Jesuit or Franciscan orders, though there are others as well - it might be worth spending a bit of time researching the order of the university you are applying to. Painting in a very broad brush, Jesuits tend to value intellectual pursuits as valuable contributions to society, and lean quite a bit more liberal than official Church policy on social issues. Franciscans are particularly concerned with service to the poor, and as such their universities try hard to accommodate students with financial difficulties. Even if you disagree on the religious aspects, you can probably find something in the general mission of these orders you also support.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This answer is too late for the OP but may be of use to those reading this thread.
1. Clearly, religiously affiliated colleges have to allow fair employment procedures not only in regard to applications but also in regard to decisions for both student intake and faculty appointments.
2. There are questions of the demographic viability of a traditional spiritual/professional education in the modern age: the ~ 200 catholic colleges across the USA simply will not be able to recruit teachers/researchers up to an adequate standard from within their denomination alone. I know plenty of Christian-affiliated liberal arts colleges in USA and EU with Muslim and Jewish staff - all excellent lecturers and researchers.
3. Lastly - and firstly too - [the essence of a Jesuit education](https://www.xavier.edu/jesuit-education/index) is largely overlapped by the values of a good secular education. The student must always find his/her own way to God and Truth.
So in your situation I would see this Statement Of Contribution To Mission as simply an elaborated version of the Personal Statement that you would attach to your résumé with any other job application; the only extra item is of course the fact that your are not a Christian but an atheist.
So elaborate clearly on your professional (or *vocational*, if that's how you see your job) values in this same Statement as the "mission" is in major part one of professional preparation of young people for work and society.
Naturally, any interests/skills you may have in relation to extra-mural activities and willingness to contribute there would be to your advantage in a Jesuit college as much as anywhere else.
In fairness to yourself, you must obtain tolerance of your own beliefs or lack of them from your employer's human environment. So you might add a closing sentence of aspiring to "contribute to an educational environment that is wholistic, tolerant and compassionate".
That is all you can do. Some religiously-affiliated colleges will make a sane decision, others not so. Take all this philosophically, not personally - it's just the vagaries of the academic job market after all.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Bigger question- why would you apply to a college or university that is based in a belief system that is fundamentally opposed to your view of the world? The Catholic Intellectual tradition is based foremost in a belief in God. You do not believe in God. How can you teach from a prospective you do to believe in or understand? Is that fair to the students who are going to that university to learn from that prospective? Is it fair to the administrators and religious of that school who build programs and collaborations based in the prospective? Is it fair to others who may want the job who do hold the same beliefs?
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: I know this question is old, but there is one glaringly obvious answer that does not appear.
If you know nothing about a topic, read a book about it.
For example, Mere Christianity by <NAME>.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an English major and planning to apply to graduate schools. My freshman year I originally planned to be a bio major due to pressures from my family. I had to take chemistry and biology, which soon enough turned into a disaster. I dropped chem, but since I needed enough credits to be considered full time, I was forced to keep with bio. I ended up with a D- in the course. If it wasn't my freshman year, I honestly would have probably done better, but I was having a rough time settling into college with homesickness and depression. Aside from that one hiccup, however, the rest of my grades are As with a couple B+. So what I'm wondering is would that badly affect my application or even receiving scholarships?<issue_comment>username_1: It is extremely unlikely that a graduate admissions committee/potential supervisor would look at your first year courses in any amount of detail. They are going to focus on the higher-level courses you take in later years, whether or not you do an honours degree/undergrad thesis, etc.
The only way I can see this affecting you is by lowering the overall average grade for your degree (measured in many places as a GPA). Many departments have a minimum GPA/grade requirement to be considered for admission to grad school. However, as long as you get consistently good grades for the rest of your degree, this little slip-up isn't going to matter much.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: No, nothing to worry. Graduate committees understand that students have rough patches, and the first year of undergraduate is certainly a rough one for everyone. Rest assured that the majority of students have had a semester with problems in their lives. What matters is that you are on the right *trajectory*, as you apparently are. It makes it matter even less because it's not even in your major.
In my 4 or so years on the graduate committee, a single slip-up (or even a single bad semester) has never been an issue.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: This might seem like a small problem, but one I've been thinking about lately, and was hoping for some insights. I joined a new lab around a year ago, and while things have mostly been going great, my lab colleagues are really not the brightest group. They are wonderful people to work with (and friends in a non-work sense), but just not *engaging* when it comes to the science. They basically fall into two categories: 1) average students. Average at everything basically. Not bad in any way, but just... not great either. Cannot have an intellectual conversation with them. 2) Very smart, but not hard-working. Takes short-cuts etc. Essentially someone who is very good at talking the talk, but not really walking the walk. Again, very smart people, but overtime I'm just losing respect for them as scientists.
I guess I was just used to (and took for granted) working with great people who are engaging, and who you can have a real "science" conversation with. People I respect and have learnt so much from. To be honest I've been a little down lately because I just miss being surrounded by great colleagues. I know it's a downside to joining a new lab, and that it'll likely get better as our lab grows, but I'm still regretting the growth opportunities I'm missing out on. My advisor is basically the only person in our group I can have a real conversation with. Even our lab manager is just a few years older than me, and I can tell she sees this as nothing more than a job that pays the bills. All of our conversations I walk away from feeling indifferent and having gained nothing. This probably seems like a silly problem, but I was just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences or have advice.<issue_comment>username_1: I think basically everyone (other than the luckiest among us) who has ever had a job has at one time or another felt that their team wasn't professional and/or pulling their weight. To address your thoughts:
You described your colleagues as falling into two different categories:
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> 1) average students. Average at everything basically. Not bad in any way, but just... not great either. Cannot have an intellectual conversation with them.
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By this, I assume you mean that *your colleagues lack the expertise necessary in order to be effective collaborative partners* -- If this is the case, then it sounds like you should find a new research lab. The whole point of working in a lab is that you're on a team of people with specialized expertise in a research area. If you have a question in your research, ideally there is someone in your research group who has experience in that area and can give you valuable insights. If nobody in your research group can provide this to you, there is very little value in being there other than receiving a paycheck.
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> 2) Very smart, but not hard-working. Takes short-cuts etc. Essentially someone who is very good at talking the talk, but not really walking the walk.
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I am assuming that what you're saying here is, *my colleagues are capable of contributing valuable intellectual horsepower to our research projects, but they don't perform their day-to-day duties* --If this is the case, then it's really no different than someone not doing their jobs in a normal workplace. Even though you see your lab manager as someone who "sees this as nothing more than a job that pays the bills", you should bring it up with her as you would any manager.
I do want to point out something else. It sounds like some of the issue here lies with **your** attitude about your team and the workplace culture of your lab. I think you're being a bit unfair to your teammates. Keep in mind that doing research in a lab is very different than doing research as part of a graduate degree. You're now working in an office setting, so the attitude of the lab is almost always going to be more "business" oriented and less "hungry" than research you did as part of your graduate degree. In that same vain, good workplace habits apply in a research lab just as they would at any other place of employment. So, if you're saying that your research lab is full of people who, "are really not the brightest group", that tells me that you don't really have a great attitude about teamwork in general. Keep in mind that these people have normal lives. Most of them are probably not really interested in making a huge discovery or working 80 hours / week to publish something unbelievably cutting edge like they were in graduate school. To me, that is actually a sign of *maturity* as a researcher rather than a negative.
Basically, my suggestion is to take a step back, and reflect on how you can improve your lab rather than focusing on why the experience not being perfect is because your labmates are intellectually inferior. If it really is the case that your labmates *don't possess the expertise necessary to be effective collaborative partners*, then leaving the lab is a perfectly reasonable choice. Also, every lab has a different work culture. If you would prefer to work at a more intensive lab, that's always an option. Otherwise, it sounds like you may need to calibrate your expectations a bit, and ask yourself what you can do to make it a better experience.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: From your question, I get that you feel like the big fish in the small pond. It does happen, but you might be able improve your situation and your environment. Here's a few ideas:
1. If your lab doesn't do it, propose weekly lab meetings or a journal club where science is discussed. Yes, it means more work for you, especially if no one else is interested in leading some of those meetings. But it will bring some science discussion to the group, and might excite their curiosity.
2. Seek scientific fulfillment in other groups: open the journal club to other related labs at your university, or join a professional organization linked to your discipline. There's plenty of opportunity for grad students to get involved.
3. Twitter is full of grad students like you. You will find that you can engage in science conversations and get support from fellow graduate students.
In any case, you have a great opportunity to act as a leader in your group. In the best case scenario, your example will motivate the other students and you will create a better environment. If not, your involvement will be noticed and it will be good for your own career.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently got a paper rejected. I do not plan on appealing, I definitely see that some elements of the paper need improvements.
Nevertheless, some of the comments from one reviewer are factually inaccurate.
For example, I cite Paper A, where claim X is made. This reviewer says (repeatedly, in three different comments) that
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> The author [me] claims X without proof and does not cite a reference
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There are also other inaccuracies from the same reviewer.
Would it be appropriate to write to the editor to answer this kind of factually inaccurate statement?<issue_comment>username_1: Given that you are not expecting any change in the resulting rejection, and that this kind of inaccuracy happens all the time, it would seem inappropriate to contact the editor about this. Even though slightly annoying, it is very normal (at least in some subfields of CS) that some reviewers miss a few details (and, yes, sometimes, a single reference is a detail) and have to be more or less directly corrected in a response to reviewers.
*If* you still write any response to the reviewers, a simple statement in the answer to the reviewers such as
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> The claim X is based upon reference #.
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should suffice. Leave it to the reviewers to figure that the reference was there all the time and they just didn't notice it. Or leave it to them to imagine it is one of the improvements you introduced and be happy about it. I would not make any further effort highlighting the reviewer's mistake, given that nothing hinges on your proving your paper right if you are not trying to appeal the rejection.
You *might* want to have a look as to whether you can reword the one sentence with the reference, just in case the respective reviewer could have reasonably interpreted the reference to be something else than the source/proof of claim X. Of course, be careful about this, because it brings the danger of making the sentence misleading to other readers who did not have any trouble interpreting the current version as it was intended to.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: What you are suggesting sounds like a very honorable course of action to me. You are simply offering the editor feedback on the quality of service you (and the journal) received from the referee, which they can decide to pay attention to or ignore, at their discretion. Unless your field has some very strange norms of behavior/etiquette that differ markedly than mine (math), I see this as completely acceptable, and, while not exactly common, certainly not unheard of.
The only other advice I would offer is to take care that your feedback to the editor is offered in a professional manner, namely:
1. Be polite and respectful, and as concise as possible.
2. Make sure to mention that you are not asking for a re-evaluation of the paper at this time, due to the flaws you see in it yourself that are unrelated to your criticism and that you would like to work on correcting.
3. Explain that you are offering the feedback in the hope that it may be useful but are not asking for or expecting any action to be taken. When emailing busy people in such cases, I often include in the subject line the parenthetical phrase "(no action necessary)" or "(no reply necessary)".
4. Finally, make sure that the criticism you are offering is factually sound.
By the way, my answer that rebutting part of the referee's comments is acceptable would not be different if you were in fact interested in having the paper re-evaluated, though of course items 2 and 3 in the list above would then need to be modified accordingly.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I have not read your paper and it's likely that you don't work or publish in my field, so you will need to take this advice as it is given: without conditions or obligations.
I have decades of experience helping edit some of the top journals in my field. If I've learned anything, it's this: as much as academics like to think otherwise, peer-reviewed publications operate in much the same way as [*insert trashy supermarket checkout rag here*]. Journals are human institutions operated by humans with the same human concerns as everyone else. Things would go a lot smoother if they stopped being placed on pedestals.
Despite everyone's best efforts, mistakes happen all the time. From an editorial point of view, it is important to us to receive reports of factual errors so that we can consider the best information to reach the most appropriate decisions.
If you were to write to us about this issue, I promise you that we would consider this seriously. While we value the work our reviewers do, we also need to know when our reviewers are making factual errors such as this. This is actually a red flag for us.
* Why did the reviewer fail to pick up that these statements were referenced in the text?
* What else did the reviewer misinterpret?
* Is this behaviour consistent with other rejoinders or complaints we've received?
* Is it still worth our while keeping this person on our list of reviewers?
It is for this reason that I recommend that you compose and send a letter to the Journal making these corrections. It is unlikely that the issues you outline will overturn the decision and, by your own admission, you're not seeking an appeal. Nevertheless, I believe that this is an important step. There's no need to be uppity about this. Just lay out the issue and sign off.
In addition, you might want to reconsider the manuscript to see whether it could be improved to prevent this issue from being raised when you submit your work elsewhere. For example, you might have wrote
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> We collected and analysed blood using standard techniques. Levels of serum bicarbonate...
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when something like this might be more specific
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> Analysis of serum bicarbonate was conducted using the process outlined by Nikishima et al. [5].
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I'm making this up, but you get the idea. Could your statement be modified slightly so that there is absolutely no way for a reviewer to raise the original concern?
Anyway, good luck to you.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]
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