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<issue_start>username_0: It's already been discussed on here [how to find internships/temporary research opportunities at *universities*](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/20260/50609) and also [*when* exactly to do an an internship at a company during one's PhD](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/759/50609), but there doesn't seem to be much information on how someone goes about finding internship/temporary research opportunities at *companies*.
There are a few companies which do stuff which is very similar to what I'm researching, and a couple of those are even posting full-time jobs for work nearly identical to my own albeit looking for people who are more experienced in the field than I currently am. **How can I approach said companies which are actively working on my own research topic (more or less) with a proposal to spend a period of time working with them?**<issue_comment>username_1: From [Nature Neurology Reviews](http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/info/about_aop.html) (bold is my emphasis):
>
> What is the 'official' publication date?
>
>
> Many journals, and most abstracting and indexing services (including Medline and Institute for Scientific Information) **still cite the print date as the publication date**. This is an evolving standard, however, **and the trend now is for publishers to state both the 'Online Publication Date' and the 'Print Publication Date'**. Nature Publishing Group currently publishes both dates for its own papers, and we hope that the scientific communities and abstracting and indexing services will recognize these dates.
>
>
> For the time being, the reference lists in our papers will continue to follow the standard convention of citing by print publication details if they are available. We expect, however, to review this policy regularly as community standards evolve.
>
>
> For legal purposes (e.g. establishing intellectual property rights), it is our assumption that online publication will constitute public disclosure. This status is, however, for the courts to decide; our role as a publisher is to provide clear documentation of the publication history, online and in print.
>
>
>
In summary, it seems like the print publication date was originally the standard, but now it is becoming more common to treat the online publication date as a form of official publication as well, as online publication becomes the norm. It's probably up to the journal how they exactly define official publication for purposes of repository deposits, however, and you will have to check with the journal for clarification if it is not already clear.
The US National Institutes of Health requires that NIH-funded research must be archived in their PubMedCentral database 12 months after "official publication." Their [FAQ on the matter](https://publicaccess.nih.gov/faq.htm#4060) defines this as follows:
>
> NIH determines the official date of publication for the public access policy based on information received from the publisher and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The official date of publication is listed in the PubMed citation display for a paper immediately after the journal title abbreviation.
>
>
> NIH uses the official date of publication for determining the public access compliance status of a paper and calculating when a paper should be made public on PubMed Central. An "epub ahead of print" date for a citation in PubMed is not considered the official date of publication, and these papers are still considered in press.
>
>
> Note that when only partial publication dates are available (e.g. Month and Year, Season and Year), NLM calculates the date as the first date of that time period (e.g. March 2013=March 1, 2013). See <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/licensee/elements_article_source.html> for additional information about NLM dates.
>
>
>
Based on these guidelines, it would suggest that it is the print publication date that is important, but it also seems like they leave it up to the publisher to some extent.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to Bryan's answer, I have received a clarification from Springer:
>
> The term "official publication" refers to the First Online date of an
> article.
>
>
>
This *may* be specific to the journal ("Signal, Image and Video Processing"), because, prior to responding, the customer service requested the DOI of my article. But, personally, I think it's likely a publisher-wide policy.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have developed a framework for describing a phenomenon in organizations and would like to illustrate its use by referring to a case study published by another author. In other words, I would be fitting another study's descriptions to my own framework.
The paper will be published in conference proceedings.
So, is it fair game to use another person's study to illustrate my framework?
I have my own field work that I would like to use alongside the other study, so the other author's case study is complementary and... illustrative.<issue_comment>username_1: It is unethical as well as illegal in the following circumstances:
* The contents (texts, figures, results) are copied verbatim from the other source.
* Even though the texts are written after self interpretation, citation is missing.
* If the figures are being used, the permission has not been taken. One should be extremely careful with this, as sometimes, authors are unaware of their own copyright after publication. In such a case, taking permission from only the authors would not suffice. The publisher must be asked for the same.
However, to answer your question, the case study may be presented indirectly by properly citing the original source. For e.g.
>
> ... We demonstrate the method of how to use case study which closely follows the case study presented in [reference]. ...
>
>
>
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: The entire point of publication is to get your work out there for other people to use as a basis for further work. (The whole "standing on the shoulders of giants" thing.)
If a researcher is going to be upset about someone else taking their work and using it as a basis of further work, then they shouldn't be publishing it in the first place. (*E.g.* many companies keep research results "trade secret", which they use internally and never publish.)
In the fields I'm familiar with, it's perfectly acceptable to take published results and re-analyze them or use them as a basis for further work.
That said, there are some caveats. Among these (but not a comprehensive list): Be sure to give appropriate citations and credit as to the origin of the work at every reasonable opportunity - avoid implying that this is your data, even by omission. Be careful about copyright - verbatim copying of text and figures without explicit permission is usually proscribed, but using the underlying data (facts, numbers, general ideas) is normally not. Be sure to conform to the particular norms in your field, if any, about re-use of datasets - in some fields there's norms about data re-use, as data collection may be laborious and researchers who spend a lot of effort making datasets don't want to be "scooped" on follow-up work by people who swoop in with a quick re-analysis.
But generally speaking, if the data are available from a published source, you're not breaking copyright, and you're not doing anything that's going to prevent the original authors from publishing additional work, you should be able to use the published data in your paper. (With appropriate citation, of course.)
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2017/06/28
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently working towards a master’s degree in computer science, after which I’d like to pursue a PhD in mathematics. Talking to some professors, it sounds like: If I can get some things published, I’ll have a better shot at getting funding for my PhD.
I’m currently working on a research project that I plan to use for my thesis with one professor (Professor L), but I've recently received an e-mail from another professor (Professor K) with a research project in mind that sounds more publishable.
My question is: Would I be acting out of line asking Professor K to conduct this research with me with hopes of publishing a paper even though he won’t be my adviser and graduate me from my master’s program?
Are there any benefits for him from working with me, or am I just being selfish by wanting to do both projects? Note that he’s not yet tenured (will this help on his track?).<issue_comment>username_1: If you intend to do a PhD, you have to think long term, and forget about a short-term goal such as getting a single publication.
As a general rule, research groups work a bit like the mob: (1) everything is based on trust and you have to build a career within the group so the earlier you start the better, and (2) more often than not, there are shady stories between professors/research groups that you are not remotely aware of as a student (like that Professor X got a certain position over Professor Y in a really dirty way, Professor Z stole the idea of professor X, submitted a grant and got some funding, etc...).
Therefore, you can never be sure if choosing Professor X will prevent you from working with Professor Y later. As an extreme case, I have a friend whose PhD supervisor died and she could never finish the thesis in that University because no one else would continue supervising her just for having worked for him. Just saying.
So, to make the long story short, think long term. If you plan to do the PhD with Professor L, I suggest you accept the project of Professor L; same for Professor K. If you are not sure or you are gonna do your PhD in another institution, choose the one you prefer.
Working with the same supervisor from beginning to end will certainly work in you own benefit. Working with different ones is an ultra-high risk endeavour.
I wish things were different, but this personal opinion/advice is based on what I have seen after having worked in 5 research institutions in 4 different countries.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Would I be acting out of line asking Professor K to conduct this research with me with hopes of publishing a paper even though he won’t be my adviser and graduate me from my master’s program?
>
>
>
You wouldn't be out of line, but you should check that Professor L is OK with you working with K, too. L's biggest concern is most likely to be whether or not you have time to work on both projects as well as going to classes and doing whatever else is required of you as part of your studies.
If you're not already exceeding expectations on your first project, it's unlikely that you'll be able to make good contributions to two projects simultaneously. Also, bear in mind that, as a master's student, you almost certainly haven't yet developed an accurate judgement of what would or would not be publishable.
>
> Are there any benefits for him from working with me, or am I just being selfish by wanting to do both projects? Note that he’s not yet tenured (will this help on his track?).
>
>
>
Yes, there are benefits to everybody. Academics are primarily judged in terms of things like their research output, their ability to attract funding (which, in turn, depends on their research output), and their work with graduate students. Working with you directly helps him on two of those and indirectly on the third, so you're not being selfish at all.
And working with smart, enthusiastic, hard-working people is fun.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. student, about to finish my thesis draft. My case is a bit special as I didn't receive any guidance from my supervisors. It is very unlikely that they know details about my work, results or even what I propose in my research.
I have submitted three journal papers but I will receive reviews, not before my thesis submission. As, I don't have the official approval of my results, so I have second thoughts about my work. Although, I have worked hard enough and was honest in my research.
I request the suggestions about how can I proceed? Is it ok to submit my thesis to reviewers/reporters without my supervisor's reviews?
Thank you a million in advance<issue_comment>username_1: If you intend to do a PhD, you have to think long term, and forget about a short-term goal such as getting a single publication.
As a general rule, research groups work a bit like the mob: (1) everything is based on trust and you have to build a career within the group so the earlier you start the better, and (2) more often than not, there are shady stories between professors/research groups that you are not remotely aware of as a student (like that Professor X got a certain position over Professor Y in a really dirty way, Professor Z stole the idea of professor X, submitted a grant and got some funding, etc...).
Therefore, you can never be sure if choosing Professor X will prevent you from working with Professor Y later. As an extreme case, I have a friend whose PhD supervisor died and she could never finish the thesis in that University because no one else would continue supervising her just for having worked for him. Just saying.
So, to make the long story short, think long term. If you plan to do the PhD with Professor L, I suggest you accept the project of Professor L; same for Professor K. If you are not sure or you are gonna do your PhD in another institution, choose the one you prefer.
Working with the same supervisor from beginning to end will certainly work in you own benefit. Working with different ones is an ultra-high risk endeavour.
I wish things were different, but this personal opinion/advice is based on what I have seen after having worked in 5 research institutions in 4 different countries.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Would I be acting out of line asking Professor K to conduct this research with me with hopes of publishing a paper even though he won’t be my adviser and graduate me from my master’s program?
>
>
>
You wouldn't be out of line, but you should check that Professor L is OK with you working with K, too. L's biggest concern is most likely to be whether or not you have time to work on both projects as well as going to classes and doing whatever else is required of you as part of your studies.
If you're not already exceeding expectations on your first project, it's unlikely that you'll be able to make good contributions to two projects simultaneously. Also, bear in mind that, as a master's student, you almost certainly haven't yet developed an accurate judgement of what would or would not be publishable.
>
> Are there any benefits for him from working with me, or am I just being selfish by wanting to do both projects? Note that he’s not yet tenured (will this help on his track?).
>
>
>
Yes, there are benefits to everybody. Academics are primarily judged in terms of things like their research output, their ability to attract funding (which, in turn, depends on their research output), and their work with graduate students. Working with you directly helps him on two of those and indirectly on the third, so you're not being selfish at all.
And working with smart, enthusiastic, hard-working people is fun.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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2017/06/29
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate in CS and engineering. Approximately a week ago, I sent an email to a professor whose research really interests me. I sent him couple of my questions and confusions rooted from reading his recent papers, but I did not get any response. Consequently, I sent a short followup email to him indicating that email was sent a week ago, but he sent a short reply saying that "Sorry, I do not have time to respond."
Does it mean that he wants me to go away and never bother him again? Does he not like me (we had some previous but positive communications) or not want to be bothered by undergraduates? Should I perhaps send a followup email a month later?<issue_comment>username_1: Keep in mind a very simple rule: **Professors are human beings**
Many of the questions on this site seem to assume from the outset that faculty are strange, mysterious and mercurial creatures, whose motives are entirely opaque and whose every word must be subjected to an intense amount of kremlinology.
"Sorry, I do not have time to respond." means that he doesn't have time to respond.
There could be many reasons for this. He might be particularly busy at the moment - lots of conferences take place in the summer, and many academics also use it to catch up on work not done during the academic year. If he is, as you say, approaching emeritus status he may be occupied with wrapping up things he's intending to walk away from. He might be dealing with other things in his life.
You should take that message at face value, and try not to impute any sort of hidden motive onto it - you simply don't know enough to know. Try following up in a month or two with a simple question as to whether or not his schedule has freed up and he might have some time. If the answer is still no, let it go.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I really wanted to build network with him too, but I guess it is too late at this point.
>
>
>
Or it might be too *early*. This will certainly vary by university culture, but e.g. in my place, starting to network based upon research topics as an undergrad (assuming you mean something like pre-Bachelor) would be extremely early. Most students at that stage have just started to learn about the operational basics of their subject area.
There can of course be valuable ideas for actual research topics, but it can be hard for undergrad students to already correctly assess how interesting something is research-wise. For instance, even at the very beginning of my (CS) PhD, the ideas that I thought might be interesting were either way too technical (looking back, I now realize most were still mostly about coding something tricky rather than about any *conceptual problem*) or too superficial (because I didn't realize the sheer amount of existing work and the depth of analysis provided in existing solutions).
I quickly learned to get a feeling for what could be interesting in research, and always tried to convey this also to my students in seminars or BSc/MSc theses. Again, I do not know whether or not you already have a sufficient overview of what is going on in research, but your professor's response *might* be a sign that from your questions to them, it becomes apparent you do not.
**Conclusion:** Try to get in touch with someone else (less busy) working on related topics (e.g. a TA offering a related seminar or so) and/or take part in related seminars and lectures. If you see your perspective widen indeed, contact the professor again at a later point when you also have "more to offer" than just requests for clarification out of what could be just a passing interest.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Isn't "I don't have time to respond" an oxymoron?
I have read in an answer that professors are also human beings. Exactly, and decent human beings don't leave others so anxious and lost with a response to the point that they have to go ask in a public forum. Also, talking about human beings, the professor would never give this answer to a peer or someone ranked higher than him.
I don't find that response appropriate or excusable. It would have taken literally 30 seconds to add to that response what the next step is. For example "I will get back to you in 2 months", "I am sorry but currently I am not accepting more students", or "meet me in my office in 2 weeks".
So, no one really knows what your professor means, but if I had to bet, I would bet he is not interested in you at the moment but he does not want to appear impolite or inconsiderate, so he thinks this is a better answer than answering honestly. And this is like in relationships. Please, don't insist and beg, or he will smell your desperation and will either feel annoyed/stalked or get you and exploit you. If he is interested he'll get back to you. In the meantime, look for someone else who can spend 10 seconds writing a proper answer.
Regarding being busy and what "I don't have time" means, I recommend you read this article, because it's answered there: <http://scottberkun.com/2010/the-cult-of-busy/>
I will quote directly here, for those busy people who don't have time but are reading Academia StackExchange anyway :)
>
> The phrase “I don’t have time for” should never be said. We all get the same amount of time every day. If you can’t do something it’s not about the quantity of time. It’s really about how important the task is to you. I’m sure if you were having a heart attack, you’d magically find time to go to the hospital. That time would come from something else you’d planned to do, but now seems less important. This is how time works all the time. What people really mean when they say “I don’t have time” is this thing is not important enough to earn my time. It’s a polite way to tell people they’re not worth your time.
>
>
>
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: In addition to username_1's answer I want to provide the interpretation that **brevity is a sign of your good relationship with this professor**.
You are mentioning that you already communicated with him with a positive outcome. Therefore he probably feels that he already "knows you" in a way. He is **comfortable enough to dispense with formalities** and is assuming that you are, too. He trusts you to understand that it is not meant as a sign of disrespect because he did answer you before, after all.
Imagine you have had a friend for ten years and went together through thick and thin. You call him one day and he tells you: "Sorry man, can't speak right now." and hangs up. You probably would not immediately assume that he is ending the friendship but that he is actually busy with something very important and because of your close relationship is comfortable enough to not provide you with a few minutes of excuses before hanging up.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: It is important to note that your questions to your professor did not relate to their role as your lecturer. They were therefore not responding to you as their student on a matter that relates to your studies, but as to somebody without qualification asking them about their research.
As mentioned in another answer, it appears doubtful from your question that you really have the expertise required to understand these research papers. If this is so, your professor will know that (and can presumably tell from the questions you asked them) and will want to avoid engaging with you in a discussion about these papers.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I suppose it means "[he does] not have time to respond" to your email. Why he does not have time is anyone's guess.
I don't think he wants you "to go away and never bother him again". I can speculate on the reason and say that, has an undergraduate, maybe you are on the lower third of his priority queue and not worth the investment (of his time) at this stage of your studies.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: Sometimes Professors tend to have so much to handle but that doesn't necessarily justify the Professor's act of failing to respond to your emails. My advice would be that you try to frame the email in a precise and direct to the point way and probably book an appointment and see him one on one. In short, insist and eventually your efforts will bear fruits I believe. All the best.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> I sent him couple of my questions and confusions rooted from reading his recent papers, but I did not get any response
>
>
>
How long was this email and how detailed were the questions? It is easy as a student to write a long email, and perhaps the professor did not have time to read and respond to the email.
It could be that a better way to achieve what you want -- discuss with the professor about research -- could simply be to email them with a *short* email and say that you are interested in their research, and ask if they would they have time to have a 30 minute - 1 hour conversation at some point. Then if you make an appointment, you can ask your questions.
(I realize this is way too late to be helpful for the OP, but maybe someone else will read this question in the same situation.)
Upvotes: 0
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2017/06/29
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<issue_start>username_0: My advisor has bred a very competitive lab culture where students frequently compete for power and attention. I am not naive to think this is uncommon, and I suspect many PhD students are by nature very competitive.
My overall question is this: How does one thrive and remain at the top of the pack in such an environment? How do I cultivate influence and power within such a group?
These scenarios have occurred frequently for many people in the group.
* During presentations, when my advisor doesn't know what the presenter is saying, students from the audience frequently interject the presenter and try to explain concepts from the presentation. To me this seems very rude as this doesn't respect the fact that the presenter normally knows more than the others students in the room. Students frequently stand up in the middle of a presentation and start having side discussions on nearby white boards. This has happened to many student presenters in my group.
* During paper discussions, students tend to filibuster and interrupt each other and try to talk for as long as possible.
* During group meeting, my advisor may ask one student to complete a task, but other students will also try to complete the same task with the belief that they would be able to one up the other student and do a better job.
The most successful students in the group also happen to engage most frequently in these demonstrations of power.
My advisor does not actively encourage such behaviors, but by inaction condones them.<issue_comment>username_1: From what you are telling, your advisor has not bred a competitive lab but rather a horde of children. The behavior you are describing is unacceptable and shows no respect for each other at all. It normally is the professors job to make clear how the lab is working, to make sure the speaker in a talk is listened to and discussions are postponed to a break or after the talk, etc.
Furthermore, if everyone in the group is competing over a task, this shows that they don't have enough tasks of their own and go for everything that is available. Once again, it is the professors job to have regular discussions (in private!) with lab members about their current projects, to make sure that they go along well and that such a case as you described in the last point, i.e. everyone has nothing to do, does not happen.
All in all, it looks like this lab you are describing has no real leader, no one capable or willing to set ground rules and advice and guide everyone. I think and hope this is not the common case in labs and would advice you to avoid such a place if possible; maybe you are able to find a new advisor?
Side note: Of course competition will always be a thing and a healthy competition is good. But what you described is not healthy at all and in all the labs and research groups I visited so far (math, CS and engineering mostly), there was a decent amount of respect for each other.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Your adviser has not created a competitive culture, but as pointed out by other responses, a toxic one. Unfortunately, this case you describe is not rare at all, so don't despair. Basically, the circumstances you are facing are not an exception. They do occur.
Why does this happen? Because your adviser has taken the easiest route: inaction and lack of confrontation. Inaction leads to self-management of the group and situations like the one you described, where bullies thrive and reasonable hard working "nice" people get resentful.
Advice? I would suggest you find a new group, because this is an unsolvable problem: it's the adviser who creates and maintains a culture, either by action or inaction. Furthermore, changing to another research group is usually hard and you have no guarantee that the next one will be better.
As difficult as it is, think that the person that should be happy with yourself is you, not your supervisor. Do you want to look like a smart-ass or become a bully to get his attention and approval?
Also, learn to defend your territory. Don't let anyone bully you, and tell them off if you need to. If you need to say "do you mind withholding the questions until the end of my talk?", just say so.
Regarding the "success or influence" you talk about, how do you define "success" exactly? Success is defined by your expertise, skills, knowledge and publications, which are independent of what your adviser thinks of you.
My condolences, and good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In competitive lab members challenge each other.
In healthy competitive lab each member has their time to present and defend their work. Competitors show respect to each other.
In unheathy competitve lab each member intrigue againts their colleagues to grab attention.
In your case, even worse, members do not show enough respect to each other to listen their presentation!
Run. Actually, you should have your things packed yesterday and be knocking on different lab's doors.
Upvotes: 4
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2017/06/29
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<issue_start>username_0: I had been an active researcher until two years ago and published several papers and reviewed several papers as expected. Two years ago I took a teaching position. I teach 3 classes/semester but most classes meet 4 or 5 times a week, so it actually feels like 4 classes. I also do extensive work with undergraduates. I do some research, but it is very minimal (corresponding to the high teaching load).
Due to my previous research past I am constantly getting requests to review papers (3/month). Due to my change in work duties, I have to decline many of them (but I do review some papers).
My question is:
**Should I explain that I am declining due to my change in work duties? What about if it is the same editor or journal that keeps sending me papers to review? How do I best/ethically proceed without hurting my chances to publish the few papers I plan to submit?**
**Additional information to clarify:** I am not too worried about my chances to publish (my current position requires very minimal research). I am mostly worried that I will get known as a bad professional. By the way, my current institution is officially a top tier research university (and they advertise themselves as such), but my department is not (we barely have a masters program). It is very easy for colleagues to think that I am active in research unless I explicitly tell them about my current duties. It gets even more confusing since some papers take a long time to get published (after acceptance).<issue_comment>username_1: There are (at least) three issues here:
1. **Your time**. If you're unable to spend time due to teaching, than that's a perfectly acceptable reason to decline.
2. **Your duty**. If you're no longer publishing research, then arguably you're no longer obliged to provide the service of review to those who do. So, don't feel obliged, but you may still enjoy this.
3. **Your expertise** may no longer be up to scratch. In particular, you may lack access to some relevant publications and/or may no longer follow recent research to be on top of the field. In this case, you cannot provide an adequate review (w/o an unreasonable effort) and should decline.
In any case, you don't have to feel apologetic when declining a review request, though it does not harm to *briefly* state a reason.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As an associate editor of several journals and a past EIC of a magazine, I've had a *lot* of experience being turned down by people. When people decline multiple times and without any separate message commenting on why they can't do it, I try to remember not to ask them in the future. Usually, if they know me at least (and sometimes if they don't), they'll explain they're too busy, or going on vacation, or whatever. Often they'll recommend an alternative reviewer I can contact.
So I have to disagree with @username_1's comment in response to his answer, saying "no need to give any reasons" -- you don't *need* to but the OP is right in thinking it can be useful!
I think the question here is different though, and one the other answer so far isn't (IMHO) especially addressing. The OP isn't saying he is no longer publishing -- if that were true it would be easy to decline reviews and not worry about this. He's saying he's publishing less, and has less time for reviewing, and worries that if he always declines requests it will hurt the chance to publish.
By and large, I'd say the two are decoupled, within reason. I know someone who had published at a particular conference something like 8 times but declined my request to serve on the program committee for that conference when I chaired it. Did this hurt his chances of publishing in the future? Probably not. Did I think he was being really unfair by not carrying his weight on the other end of the publication process, as a reviewer? Absolutely! If it's a specific journal that keeps asking OP to review, and the OP declines without comment and then submits there, I think there is a nontrivial chance that it biases the editor, at least a bit. Probably not in the "automatic rejection" category by any means, but a finger on the scale, potentially.
That's why I think declining with a comment (separate email if the system doesn't allow it when declining) is a **good** idea. So is reviewing at least occasionally, both to keep on top of the topic and to give back -- as long as OP plans to still publish sometimes as well.
Fair is fair.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/06/29
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<issue_start>username_0: Competitive programming is a craze among many computer science and engineering students. Is competitive programming important to be a good computer scientist? Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: All types of practice are valuable, and if competition pleases you, go for it. However, programming quickly and under pressure is more akin to industry than to academia, and may leave little time for theory. Therefore I'd not call competition "important" for formation in CS, rather it's one of a number of forms of structured programming practice.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I'd say it's a fallacy of converse logic. The winner of a hackthon is surely a good programmer, but the converse is not necessarily true that all the best programmers are good at hackthons and competitions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Competitive programming is not particularly important for a computer scientist, but it can teach you useful skills. It's a form of competitive sports closely related to your work as a computer scientist. Like all competitive sports, competitive programming teaches you self-control: how to stop procrastinating and get things done. Being able to implement prototypes of new ideas quickly is a rather useful skill in most subfields of computer science.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It depends on what type of competitive programming you are talking about.
If you are talking about ACM-style competitions that have algorithmic questions it can be useful to participate in them. Practicing for ACM-style competitions forces you to become more familiar with algorithms and recognizing what types of problems can be solved with which type of algorithms. If you are interested in algorithms or algorithm design, I would definitely recommend participating in this type of competition.
If you are talking about hackathon-style competitions which are more about producing a prototype product, it would be more useful for learning software engineering than fundamental computer science. Hackathons can give you experience in quickly building an application, service, or device from the group up. If you are interested in software engineering I would definitely recommend participating in hackathons.
Overall, competitive programming is not needed to be a good computer scientist or software engineer, but it definitely can help. It all depends on what you want to learn and what other choices you have for learning and improving your skills.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Their are **three** things to my knowledge commonly referred to as competitive programming.
All are mildly beneficial, none are crucial, and winning never matters.
[Code Golf and Programming Puzzles](http://codegolf.stackexchange.com/)
=======================================================================
This is the least useful perhaps.
If it is being done in the langauge you work in (rather than in a golfing langauge)
it can arguably keep you familar.
Really though it is a form of mental exercise.
Keeping your brain fit.
[ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACM_International_Collegiate_Programming_Contest) etc
======================================================================================================================================
These tend to be restricted to undergrads or even highschoolers.
These involve becoming very familiar with a lot of algorithms.
Eg Dijkstra's algorithm, bellman-ford's algorithm.
And with important techniques like [dynamic programming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_programming)
Becoming so very practiced at these algorithms and techniques can certainly help one recognize when they are applicable to a research problem encountered down the line.
I know someone who became a very proficient at restructuring problems into things they could solve with dynamic programming during such competitions as an undergrad.
They have spent their PhD not only using it to solve their problem in some genome sequencing related area,
but then meeting other biological researchers (without the strong algorithm design background), and being able to solve the problems they have been fighting with for months in days -- which is a rad way to get a pile of collaborative works.
One word of warning is to not let them blind you.
They use a restricted set of tools -- often just a few programming languages with their core library -- and the problem needs to be solve entirely in them to the end.
But outside of those rules, there are more options that may be not notices.
E.g. if you can transform your problem into a mixed integer programming problem, you are probably done.
It probably can't be made into a simpler problem (that is not NP-Hard), because that tends to be fairly obvious (citation needed).
And once it is in that state you don't need to write a solver for it, you can just use one "off-the-shelf".
[Hackathons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackathon)
=====================================================
These have nothing to do with coding.
Hackathons are about building contacts.
Yes, you write code, but you are probably not writing code that is academically interesting.
(the coding may or may not be interesting to regular programmers, but regular programmers are not what this SE is for)
But they are a good place to meet people.
Sometimes the tools wanted to be made are for researchers in non-computing areas, and they need soemthing to gather-data, or something that lets them "productize" their research.
Sometimes that lets you put your face out their for industry people, who know know X is doing a PhD on topic Y. Then 6 months later: "Wow we really need this problem related to Y solved. We should get in touch with X".
And then maybe you get to do some research on their dime.
However some hackathons are exploitative, eg requiring you to pay to prototype something for a commercial company.
Rules for hackathons:
* Never pay to attend. One does not pay to work.
* If they do not have mentors/clients/competing teams who are going to make good contacts done attend.
* Don't do 24 hour or 48 hours of continuous work. It is unhealthy.
Their are enough hackathons around that you can be picky.
Upvotes: 3
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2017/06/29
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<issue_start>username_0: I was reading a [paper](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1509.05363.pdf) online, and in a footnote, it read:
>
> The author is supported by NSF grant DMS-0649473 and by a Simons Investigator Award.
>
>
>
Then it hit me, this information is completely useless to me as a reader. Why would I care what kind of funding the author have? The author for this instance has had every single kind of funding you can imagine, and at no time in my life was I ever interested in knowing any of it. This must be useful information for someone else.
But this is not the only place I see funding information being mentioned. In research posters, you tend to see a list of funding sources being mentioned at the top or the bottom of the poster, like brand names with their own little logos and everything. Again, they are completely meaningless to me. Sometimes I would recognise one of the sources of funding, but there usually isn’t a clear-cut relationship between the fund and the project, especially since a lot of them are government grants.
**Can someone explain to me what would motivate one to mention his or her source of funding (or going even further by thanking the fund, award or grant)?**<issue_comment>username_1: Several reasons.
* Conflicts of Interest. If you're doing climate change research that's funded by The Society of People Who Think Global Warming is Poppycock, you need to mention this. Organizations with a clear interest in a specific outcome are much more likely to produce research that affirms their desired outcome than they do those that refute it, regardless of the actual truth of the matter. Researchers may perform ethically compromised science to satisfy the funding agency. Since organizational bias (and pressures they exert on their researchers) may not be known until after the fact, this information should always be mentioned so that we can always make the best judgment of the results in light of current knowledge.
* Part of the point of funding you is so that the organization's name is out there and associated with (hopefully good) research. If McDonald's funds your race car, you're expected to put a sticker or something on it with their name on it. Grants often include specific language requiring you to mention the grant in any work that directly utilizes it.
* So the grant agency can track work done with their money. These agencies want to know that their money is being used appropriately and for good projects. They don't want to just throw large sums of cash out there willy-nilly. Money isn't meaningless; it's worth something. This may even be required by law: if they are funded by a government, the government is going to want to know how the money is being used. Without such tracking, funds can be misappropriated or embezzled, or wantonly wasted on clearly sub-standard proposals.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In a nutshell: because if you don't, then you won't have funding for your next paper.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: They might be completely meaningless to *you*, but they may be meaningful to someone, and if you don't have it as a standard policy, you won't catch those edge cases.
In my experience, there are two major reasons, both of which are important:
**"Credit Tracking"** - What grant funded what is essential both for claiming projects on grant reports (many funding agencies won't let you claim a piece of work comes from a particular project unless it's in the funding line) and for the public perception of the program. To use two examples from my own work:
>
> This project was supported in part by a research grant
> from the Investigator-Initiated Studies Program of <NAME> & Dohme.
>
>
>
In this particular case, Merck is actively proud of their investigator-initiated program, considers research publications to be the primary output, and wants people to know that.
>
> This work was funded by NIH MIDAS Grant XXXXXXXX...
>
>
>
In this case, the NIH has a specific funding mechanism set up for a specific purpose involving a network of researchers. This is, essentially, marketing. "Remember that program we set up? This is part of that."
**"Disclosure"** - Knowing how a paper was funded can provide useful context. There was once a paper that made *very* little sense in terms of what they were doing until I realized that they were funded by a particular company, and essentially talking about that company's product without saying it's name. Then, suddenly, the specificity of what they were looking at made perfect sense.
It's also useful context - a study of the efficacy of an alcohol-based hand rub will be read in a different light if its funded by the NIH, a soap manufacturer, or the maker of the hand rub. Even if it's good science it's useful information, and disclosing it for everyone and ignoring it most of the time is better practice than hoping sometimes if it's relevant we find out about it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: There is also a technical reason: to prevent a certain form of a fraud.
Imagine you have grants from agencies A, B, C, and D. For all of these you will need to submit final reports that detail how you used the funding and what you achieved with it.
If the papers didn't contain any information about the source of funding, a dishonest academic could just take the list of all papers produced in their group, and submit a report to agency A claiming all of them were solely funded by the grant from A, and a similar report to agency B, etc. Each agency would think that you have produced a good number of papers in comparison with the volume of funding they are aware of, and they would be happy.
To prevent this, the agencies require that you can only list papers that explicitly acknowledge the source of funding. This way the above type of fraud is not possible. In essence, to submit convincing final reports you will have to have a research output that is somewhat proportional to the total amount of funding, even if you have multiple independent sources of funding.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The main concern for the reader will be conflicts of interest. Acknowledging government or charity funds are an appropriate way for an an academic author to show their finding is impartial. If they have commercial funding, it is even more more important to disclose it. It may also be informative of the standard of the work or career stage of the researcher, just as authorship order or journals are indicative in many fields.
It is also polite to acknowledge those who contributed to the work. This includes advisor, employees, students, and finding bodies. It is especially important for funding bodies as they need to show that their finding had supported publishable results and the author needs to show these to get grants renewed. Including the funds in the work makes it easy for them to verify and search digital archives.
In short. This is common practice and recommended academic conduct. You are not the only reader of the work and others will look for this.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/06/29
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<issue_start>username_0: [This question](https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/93696/is-it-unethical-for-me-to-not-tell-my-employer-i-ve-automated-my-job?rq=1) made me think about my situation.
After different academic jobs, I took a tenure-track position that I can typically do in 10 hours/week. With the extra time I do hobbies or am with my family. It is not that the job is easy, it is more that the job exactly matches my skills, and that my weaknesses do not affect my performance. My colleagues, as most faculty, work at least 40hrs/week (many work more as explained [here](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/09/research-shows-professors-work-long-hours-and-spend-much-day-meetings)). I am doing great and received many awards, so I am not worried at all about promotion. I also like the job.
**Should I inform my bosses how long it takes me to finish the job (10hrs/week)?** Please read the [question](https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/93696/is-it-unethical-for-me-to-not-tell-my-employer-i-ve-automated-my-job?rq=1) I mentioned before answering. In that question, many people were very critical about finding ways of doing the job faster while not informing the boss.
**More information** (could add more if needed): I teach 3 classes per semester (about 7.5 hours total). For some reason it is very easy for me to just use the textbook, so I do not need to prepare my lectures (still receive good student evaluations). I have nearly 2.5 office hours per week, but virtually no student shows up, so I do research during that time. 2 hours/week have been enough to publish enough (research expectations are very low) and I am lucky enough that I have never had "writer's block" or anything like that. So far I have no service expectations. Compared to my colleagues I am publishing more, and in good journals (for a teaching institution). In the summer, I spend some time automatizing what I can. For example, I use software to automatically generate exams and the answers. I have graders, so I am equaling the "few" grading that I actually have to do to 10/hrs per week during the summer. At the end, it feels like working 10hrs/week year long (or a little more during regular semesters if you wish). Definitely far less than 40hrs/week.
I know that my service expectations will increase later, but it feels they would never reach 40hrs/week.<issue_comment>username_1: It all depends on your contract and your professionalism. If you are hired to work the regular 40 hours/week, then you are obviously cheating really badly.
If you really have no working hours but work based on getting a few tasks done, it's really up to you and your professionalism. If you consider "your job done" by giving the students a textbook and using automated software for the exam and publishing the absolutely bare minimum required... and you spend the other 30 doing your things, well... it's up to your ethics and professionalism to know if your salary and position are justified or that job is, no offence, a joke.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It's both a strength and a weakness of academia that it runs on people doing a lot of things they aren't strictly required to do. It means that we have a lot of leeway to carve out our own things we want to do, but it also means we all know some people who are scraping by doing the bare minimum.
I don't see what the point of telling anyone that you feel like you can complete your responsibilities in a very short period of time; I don't see what you would expect to come out of such a conversation.
I would think a bit about whether there are other things that are important to you that you could put your time toward. Are there students at your school looking for research projects? Are there other mentoring opportunities you could provide outside the college? Are you completely happy with the way everything runs in your department or university? Is there a class you could develop that your students might need? Do you not have any research projects interesting enough to spend a few more hours on a week? Is there no conference on any subject you would like to see happen?
I suspect if you look around you will see productive things out there that need doing; perhaps you should do some of them.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/06/30
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<issue_start>username_0: Three students and I were assigned a small (~14 hours of work) group project. Because there was no effort on their side to meet and work, my e-mails regarding their progress remained unanswered and from previous experience I know that their quality of work is much lower than mine, I decided to do it myself and already spend around 10 hours doing ~2/3 of the work. The reaction of the others was something along the lines of "Wow, thanks man. This looks great. You're the man!"
Later I asked them to help me out with the rest because I had another assignment due and thus my time was limited but the contributed work was much less in quantity than what I asked for and also of very low quality, hinting that they did not bother reading the assignment thoroughly or did not really spend time actually thinking of something substantial to contribute. As it stands now I will have to do the remaining 1/3 by myself as well.
Because I had a question for the lecturer I was writing him an e-mail and one of the sentences was
>
> **I** already did most of the work but we need to...
>
>
>
then I thought whether it would be better to write
>
> **We** already did most of the work but we need to...
>
>
>
The reason I even mention it, is that it is very close to the submission deadline and I do not want him to think that I/we only started now. My intent was **not** to slip by this information and blame the others.
**Is there any reason to be "diplomatic" and actively hide the fact that I did everything myself?**
**I am mostly interested in the impression I will leave on the lecturer.** On the one hand I do not feel like I owe the others anything, on the other hand I also want to avoid the lecturer seeing my behavior as tactless or arrogant.<issue_comment>username_1: Personally I would dodge the issue using
>
> Most of the work is done, but we need to...
>
>
>
I don't think it will really matter which option you go with, but that way you don't have to worry about it.
Anyone setting a group project knows that it is fairly likely someone will end up doing all the work. If they don't take any action to avoid that (and it sound's like they haven't in this case), then presumably they don't really care.
I understand that you want to get the credit for doing the work. But I agree it might come across as tactless to point out the situation in your email. It *might* be more productive to separately have a conversation with the lecturer about why they haven't taken steps to avoid the situation occurring.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: **You specifically ask what the lecturer will think, so I'll address that first -
though I think that's actually a red herring here.**
I have not lectured myself but I have managed people in a business environment, and analogous situations come up: I think the response will depend on the way you raise the issue, and on the lecturer's busyness at the time of receiving your email. It may just appear to them as a dispute between students, and one they don't desperately want to get involved in (this kind of work creates these kind of disputes, and most groups will resolve the problems themselves). So the lecturer may think (justly or not) that you are a bit of a nuisance. Equally they may think you have a just complaint and have sympathy with you.
I think the lecturer's response in this situation will depend heavily on how you have tried to resolve this issue yourself before bringing it to them. If you bring the issue to them without having first discussed it with your group you may (justly or not) look immature and lacking in social skills. Also I think the response you get will depend on how openly you broach it - subtle hints like the one you indicate may just look petty if they are noticed at all: they will probably be ignored: lecturers have heavy workloads and don't tend to seek out issues where they don't need to. An honest and straightforward complaint, backed up by your having made a reasonable attempt to resolve this with the group will get a better reaction.
**I don't think the lecturer's response should be your biggest focus here though.**
We had a similar situation in a course I recently completed: two out of four of us literally did all the work for a substantial project. My perspective is: don't get hung up on credit, the credit is a tiny portion of the value of doing these things. By engaging you pick up more knowledge and experience, and you will get the benefits of that all the way down your career.
And if the injustice still really bothers you (and honestly it's hard to avoid feeling that way) bear in mind that this is a small portion of the credit required for your course. The knowledge you gained by actually engaging with this assignment will benefit you in other assessed parts of the course where you will work alone. If they get the credit now, they'll almost certainly lose it later.
The ideal thing to do is to be open about your feelings about work sharing with the group, as early as possible. Some social groups make this easier than others though. And in some cases (as in mine) you can have that conversation (and you can have it as strongly as is possible without falling out with them), and still end up doing all the work. Different people want different things out of a course and are willing to put in different levels of effort. Sometimes social pressure overrides that, sometimes it doesn't. That's all you can take away from this really. And you need to honestly judge your ability to have that discussion with them without souring things before you try to have it.
But you will have to work with these people again, and see them again, and you may be in a situation in the future where you could interview for a job at a company where one of them works. Better they remember you as the hard working person than the person who made them feel bad, or "ratted them out" (as they will see it).
So in short - be tactful, there's nothing to be won by doing anything else, and if you need to feel there's some justice in the situation remember that they lose out by not really engaging. That isn't a platitude: 2 years into your career university module credit counts for nothing, knowledge and the ability to work carries you. These people are not accumulating knowledge or learning to work.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: More often than not the purpose of group assignments is as much to prove that you're capable of working in a team as it is to show you can handle the subject. Or at least, that's the case over here.
Keeping that in mind, you have a moral choice to make:
**1)**
**Claim the glory and admit that you did all the work.**
The "justice" part is that they'll get told off for slacking, the downside is that any good grade you might have gotten for this assignment could be scaled down because you failed to work as a team.
It would be far from the first time a lecturer punishes the person who carried the group for not being enough of a team leader to delegate their responsibilities.
**2)**
**Stay quiet.** Your grade will be decided on the quality of the product, but your slacking teammates will get the same grade and most likely do the same thing next assignment, because hey, it paid of.
So the question is, what's more valuable to you? Teaching the slackers a lesson or getting a good grade?
(Note: This is under the assumption that the work is graded in one form or another)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I could be completely off base with all of this, but some of your statements are concerning. From your question:
>
> from previous experience I know that their quality of work is much
> lower than mine, I decided to do it myself
>
>
>
And one of your comments:
>
> In order for my group members to produce the same quality I expect
> from me I would have to spend hours teaching them and also would need
> to motivate them immensely to keep working.
>
>
>
Have you considered that maybe you're the problem? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. You believe your teammates to be incompetent, therefore they are. It's not easy, but you *have* to learn to trust people to do their work.
Back to the first quote: "*I decided to do it myself.*"
It sounds like you took it upon yourself to start the work and do it all, and now you're upset that they didn't contribute. That's not fair. You never even gave them the chance.
So should you tell your lecturer all this? From this point of view, no. Your team didn't pull their weight, but it sounds like you didn't give them the chance. You have no right to be upset about it.
Take this one on the chin, and for the next project schedule a mandatory team meeting. In that meeting, figure out the project requirements, break them down into pieces each team member can do, then assign everyone work *with a deadline before the project due date.* If they don't pull their weight here, then you'll have a legitimate complaint.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: From previous experience I've found that telling the lecturer is worth it. I was in multiple situations at uni where this happened.
By telling the lecturer they were able to subtract some of the score from each of the slacking members and split that across those that did do the work.
As a result of this I've gotten 60% plus in assignments where others in the same group got <50%.
I know this isn't much, but at uni level 60%+ is the second highest mark (2:1).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: I would hide it. Makes everything simpler and people will figure out who did what.
<NAME> wrote and recorded "Yesterday" without the help of any of the other Beatles. Yet it was released as a Beatles song written by Lennon-McCartney.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: **Talk to your team first.**
Consider that you may have the wrong impression of your teammates. Low quality of work in an academic setting may indicate that they do not fully understand the material rather than simply not putting forth the effort.
Remember that your impressions of each other work both ways. I once was part of a project team with a "star performer" who took the entire project on himself before we met to split up the work. He no doubt thought the rest of us were slackers, but did not give us the opportunity to prove otherwise. While you seem to be better at communicating your intentions, your teammates might still feel overwhelmed by your drive to succeed. Imagine you are struggling in a course and, after much labor, come up with something that mostly meets the requirements of the assignment. Then your teammate swoops in and rewrites all of your work because he wasn't happy with it. You would probably feel slighted and resign yourself to letting your teammate finish because any work you do, he's probably going to redo himself anyway.
To fix this problem, you should have a talk with your team about what still needs to be done. For a larger project, you would want to lay out in writing who is going to be responsible for what part of the project. Only encroach on these responsibilities as a last resort, if the project is for some reason only graded on functionality. If possible, have group project sessions where you can help each other out when someone is struggling with their assigned part. Since your particular project is small in scale, consider completing the remaining work only in group meetings. This will improve yourself in the eyes of both your teammates and your professor, as you will be seen as a helping hand rather than a self-made victim.
**Be honest with your messages.** Don't feel you need to shield your teammates from their lack of work, but also don't flaunt your own achievements. If you did your work, you can take credit for it. If your teammate skips your work meeting, call them out on it. You want to show your professor that you tried to facilitate a team effort, but it fell through due to the lack of commitment on your teammates' part.
If you are concerned with the grading, talk to the professor about how they will be grading the assignment. Most professors will grade individually to some degree, so bring along the "contract" to show your professor what part you are accountable for.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I have been in this situation a lot, particularly in my last master year, where group projects were literally piling up.
One thing you need to understand is that, **in any group work** (at school or at work), **there will always be people working more than others**, and everyone will get the reward. Why? Because **in a project, what matters is the completion of the project**, not of your part.
I suspect my own professors tried to teach us this lesson, because I know other students who reported the kind of issue you report, and noone did anything, in fact the projects that were unfinished were still blamed: if a project fails, no matter why, it's the whole group's fault, you included even if you did your part of the work.
Indeed: why assign a group project when you can have individual assignments? This might serve to enforce training in group work. And group work's goal is to not only do your part of the job, but working together to complete the whole work. Managing dissensions and colleagues not working enough is unfortunately part of any group work, so you have to know how to handle it.
Concretely, I think two ways to approach this, depending on your objectives:
* **Report it to those in charge**: this might (but not necessarily) get you sole credit for the project and punish your colleagues. Ideally, this is only fair to do that. Downside is that if the professors wanted to get you to train in group work, you will clearly show you failed, and also probably you won't get a good mark if the group work is unfinished (even if you completed your part: what matters is the project, not what you did).
* **Let it slide and do all the work yourself**: if you are interested in having good marks, this is the best way to go. Downside is that you might have a LOT of work to do, but the bright side is that you can ensure the work is done well, and you can shine during project presentation (if you have one scheduled), knowing your project better than anyone else. So even if you let it slide, you can **show** you did most of the work **without telling** it directly, which is way more appreciated by everyone (both your colleagues, professors and superiors in a professional setting). Another advantage is that you will get a lot of skills in a short period of time (at the expense of sleep...).
Also, there is a 3rd way: **balancing the work**. Often, students have different skills and they do not necessarily excel for all kinds of projects. If you have several projects, what you can do is that you can arrange with your colleagues to form the same team in different projects, and share the work depending on each member's skills and affinities: you might end up doing most of the work for project A, but one of your colleague will do most of project B since he is more skilled with working on B field, etc.
The only requirement for this 3rd way is that you choose colleagues that are able, and that you **upfront discuss** and concur on this solution (if you discuss later on in the project, it might not end well as you experienced...). If you have lots of projects, this might actually help you speed up the completion, by assigning adequately to the most pertinent member the work to be done. And bonus, this is what a good manager should do, so that's also a good training if you want to lead projects later on :-)
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_9: I have been on both sides of the fence.
**As a student**, I was once part of a trio where the two other members were useless. Not "self-fulfilling prophecy"-useless but "dumb as a rock"-useless.
I did all the work and stated clearly to the TA that it is 100% my work and that they are idiots. I specifically said that I am not looking for special treatment but want to highlight the ownership of the work.
This later (in academic life) translates as "do not add to your paper co-authors who did not do anything, just because you are under the pressure to do so". Surprisingly, the latter is met with nods of approval, while pointing out student leeches is not.
**As a teacher**, I had twice the case where someone came to me saying that they are the sole author of a two and three-members team. I asked them to highlight how they can persuade me that this is the case. I did not have a difficult situation, in both cases the "real author" knew everything, while the others were clueless. He got the right mark for the exercise (both were good) and the others got zero. I made sure to document the whole story though.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: In such cases I usually separated from the group and submitted the project myself. You did not act like this, so it is better to write a "we", because the lecturer can not evaluate inner group problems.
He just faces the fact that you and the other team members will tell him different stories related to the fact why something was not working out as expected. In such a case it is maleficial for you to give your mates a possibility to move resp. to you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: I believe it is morally imperative for you to
**Hide the fact you did everything, use "we" when discussing the work.**
You are part of a group. Whether your group mates were lazy or incompetent or not, whether you're the problem here like some people suggest - those are interesting philosophical/interpersonal questions to ponder after the grades are set, either on your own or with your group-mates. Once you joined the group you undertook collective responsibility and you should act accordingly and not break up the group front.
Upvotes: 0
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2017/06/30
| 295
| 1,348
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<issue_start>username_0: My paper has been accepted after several rounds of revisions. The editor him-/herself gave quite detailed comments some of which were quite important. Should I thank him/her personally for the acceptance of the paper and/or his effort(s) (the latter I have done before in my replies to reviews).<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see anyone reason why you shouldn't. Although, don't thank them for accepting the paper. A good editor will accept an article by someone they dislike or they wholeheartedly disagree with but which makes a good argument. It's their job. It's not a favor to you personally.
In addition, you can mention it where you acknowledge everybody else who contributed with their comments. It's not uncommon to see papers whose authors thank editors or (anonymous) reviewers for their comments if they went beyond what is ordinarily expected of them. This seems to be the case here.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is proper etiquette, and accepted code of conduct in mathematical circles, to thank anyone who had contributed to your paper in a non-trivial manner. Hence, if the editor has made useful comments that improve your paper in some way, you could add a thank-you note to this effect in the final version. Something like "I thank the editor for useful suggestions/comments"
Upvotes: 1
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2017/06/30
| 575
| 2,545
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<issue_start>username_0: In general, when submitting to first tier conferences there is a smaller chance of acceptance but also a better reward.
At one extreme, one may only submit his work to third tier conferences and get nearly all of them accepted at the first shot. Alas, especially for younger researchers, the visibility of these will be very limited and the author might not get recognition for the work at all.
On the other hand, submitting only to first-tier conferences bares a higher risk, especially for PhD candidate looking for a post-doc/position, as it may take several iterations till the paper is accepted and published.
So where should one aim to be in general? Obviously, better papers belong in higher tier conferences, but there may be a goal rate in which your papers should get accepted. If the average number of submissions before accepted is 2/paper (but not all of them are first-tier venues), should one aim higher? If it takes 3-4 submissions but papers end up in first tier venues, should we attempt less competitive venues and publish quicker?
---
Context: I'm a CS PhD student. My supervisor usually insist on sticking to top-tier conferences even if a paper was rejected 2-3 times. I wonder if it is better to lower the bar after a rejection or two to get my results published faster. From another student here I've heard that they usually get papers accepted in the first attempt, but most of her publications are not in a top ranked conference. What is the right balance here?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see anyone reason why you shouldn't. Although, don't thank them for accepting the paper. A good editor will accept an article by someone they dislike or they wholeheartedly disagree with but which makes a good argument. It's their job. It's not a favor to you personally.
In addition, you can mention it where you acknowledge everybody else who contributed with their comments. It's not uncommon to see papers whose authors thank editors or (anonymous) reviewers for their comments if they went beyond what is ordinarily expected of them. This seems to be the case here.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is proper etiquette, and accepted code of conduct in mathematical circles, to thank anyone who had contributed to your paper in a non-trivial manner. Hence, if the editor has made useful comments that improve your paper in some way, you could add a thank-you note to this effect in the final version. Something like "I thank the editor for useful suggestions/comments"
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/06/30
| 737
| 3,221
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently faced a problem that is, I took a course at my university last year and got some grade for it, so for further improving it I gave the course this year again.
The course is purely evaluated based on oral exams on the take-home assignments that are handed out.
Coming back to the problem, I registered for the same course this year at my university, and apparently, the set of take-home exams are the same as the last year. Since, I know most of the correct answers, I just corrected the ones I made mistake on last year and submitted the improved set of the report this year.
However, it seems that the course instructor is not so happy about it (and does not want to evaluate me) as I just re-did the same assignments by improving the previous one.
Having said these, what I see as the problem is that in the course information they have not said anything that whoever is repeating the course should inform the teacher to get new sets. Also, I registered for the course with a new registration and not a mere re-sit. Since they have given the assignments the same, I don't agree with them saying that they are not happy with the report that I handed in.
So for avoiding the conflict of interest, however, I withdrew from the exams, also, I know that in an ethical background that is the right thing to do (technically I did not do anything wrong).
Could you advise me who is right and wrong here and also please do advise me on the technical base, who is on the wrong side and what could I have done (I know that ethically this is wrong).<issue_comment>username_1: If a student is allowed to register for a class as a "new registration" as opposed to a resit and the student attends the class and does the work, the student deserves to be given a fair evaluation. While reusing assignments and examination materials is not optimal, it happens. Not wanting to (re-)evaluate a student on reused assignments seems reasonable. I would expect the instructor and department chair (or teaching chair) to work with you to resolve the issue. making you withdraw from the class seems to be an unreasonable solution.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It seems to me that this depends a lot on the type of course and the type of exams. If it's something like mathematics, there are right and wrong answers and it is up to the university to change the questions. If it's an essay where you have a great deal of freedom in picking the essay question, then I would expect you to pick a completely different question rather than submit the same essay with improvements based on the previous year's comments.
I'm not really sure what you mean by an oral exam on a take home assignment. If the assessment is genuinely an oral exam, then presumably you are showing greater understanding than you did previously and that will come out in the actual discussion.
Think about it this way - how would you feel if you were in a competitive situation (perhaps applying for a scholarship) rather than one attracting marks that could potentially all be the same, and your competitor had access to the same level of previous information as you had access to for the exam?
Upvotes: 0
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2017/06/30
| 880
| 3,541
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<issue_start>username_0: I did an MSc in an extremely prestigious university, in mathematics and theoretical computer science. I got an offer to stay there for a PhD, but turned it down. Instead, I enrolled on an MRes + PhD programme at a good but far less prestigious university, in a subject I thought I was far more interested in. I will soon have finished the MRes year.
As much as I am enjoying it, I've realised I don't want to stay in academia. What I'd like to go into is probably quantitative finance. What I'm studying at the moment involves a lot of stochastic processes - which would certainly help with quantitative finance. My thinking is that it would be best to finish the PhD, get really good with stochastic processes, and then apply for the kind of job I want. My issue is that, after having read the answers to [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/47535/does-doing-a-phd-in-a-small-simple-university-make-sense-after-getting-a-master), the less prestigious university might actually *harm* my career prospects and overshadow the prestige of the university where I got my Master's.
To that extent, I'm wondering: is a MSc from a very prestigious uni + a PhD from a good but less prestigious uni *worse* than just an MSc from a very prestigious uni (and no PhD)? The jobs I've looked at don't strictly require PhDs.
I'm in the UK (just in case this makes any difference).
---
*Edit*: I ended up writing to a place I would've been very interested in working at. They replied saying that they were more interested in my ability to produce great research than in any league table, and that my MSc at a world-reknowned univeristy already proves my ability in the subject. As such, I will continue with my current programme, seeing as I am enjoying it very much and seeing as I find my supervisor to be extremely supportive.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think anyone will care, especially in industry, unless they are graduates of that more prestigious university and feel a superior attitude about it and let that overwhelm their interest for qualified candidates who can do the job they are hiring for (in which case you probably don't want to work for them anyways).
This all assumes that the lesser university is still a good research and learning environment and still lets you pursue your research goals. In the question you linked, that wasn't clear.
What might be important is that you have an answer to "why did you choose to get a PhD at this university?" which may or may not carry an additional implication of "...and why not at more fancy school?" You have an answer already (emphasis mine):
>
> Instead, I enrolled on an MRes + PhD programme ... **in a subject I thought I was far more interested in.**
>
>
>
That said, the networking potential of a particularly well-known school can't be understated. Still, it seems you already made up your mind. I wouldn't worry too much about that decision now that you've made it. You may be able to tap into your old networks from the previous institution when needed for a job, assuming people from that institution also move toward the industry you are interested in.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you enjoy what you do, and you are good at what you do, then where you got this degree or that training is basically meaningless. The only way you can "harm" yourself is to follow down a path for all the wrong reasons. Have faith in yourself and don't make it about what other people think.
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/01
| 573
| 2,550
|
<issue_start>username_0: I’m looking at some friends’ works, at good labs, in good schools, but some of their publications have 10 co-authors – I even found one with 15 co-authors.
I’m sure the lab and its PI(s) are doing well from such collaborative efforts, but at the individual level, are the PhD students being harmed, because the authorship is spread among so many people? I wonder if this kills their chances of securing post-docs later on, because they published with a big team of people, and I wonder if this signals that they have not done enough ‘independent’ work.
FWIW, those papers are in medical machine learning.<issue_comment>username_1: As mentioned in comments, the normal number of authors on a paper depends heavily on the field.
The issue with getting a postdoc is that you need to demonstrate your ability to do research. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to be the PI, as in some fields as a postdoc you would still be working on projects driven by someone else.
Having one or more individual papers would be one method of doing that. Being lead author on a paper in a field where order denotes role would be another. But for a PhD student applying for postdoc positions, their references will still play a big part in whether they are hired. Their supervisor should be able to include in the reference what part the student contributed to the paper.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Apart from the fields, in your CV you need evidence of being able to do your own research, and to collaborate successfully. Papers with a high number of authors, especially if interdisciplinary, are evidence of the latter.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: As others have said, this is highly field dependent. In my subfield of computer science (called human computer interaction), having multiple authors could actually be helpful. It gives more exposure to your work; for example, the paper would appear on each of the authors' web pages resulting in more researchers seeing your work. The Co-authors are likely to advertise for the paper to give it even more exposure. More exposure means that more people will build over your work and hence this contributes positively to the field in general.
What you should care about is your position in the authors list. This is also field dependent, but in most areas the first author gets the highest credit, the last one or two are seen as the supervisors, and the ones in between are seen as contributors (with contributions of different sizes).
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/01
| 1,515
| 6,590
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<issue_start>username_0: I received an invitation to review for the [International Journal of Adaptive Control and Signal Processing](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1115). I started to analyze the manuscript by reading the title, abstract, introduction, results and discussion and conclusions before assessing the proposed methodology.
I detected that the authors copied approximately 7 pages from another article without a considerable change so that it looks like his own ideas (plagiarism). should I stop analyzing the paper (assessing the methodology), or continue? because from my experience I think that the editor will reject the paper even though there is a novel contribution.<issue_comment>username_1: Don't bother with more analysis, there is no point, since the paper should be withdrawn or rejected because of the plagiarism (if it isn't decline further review for this journal). Write a brief report along the lines
*The manuscript contains 7 pages which are almost verbatim copied from < plagiarized paper >. In view of this I refrain from any further analysis as I expect you to reject the manuscript.*
You should also check, whether the paper has already been published as a preprint (e.g. on arXiv) and if so inform the editor and suggest him to require the authors to withdraw from there too (I know of a case where this happened) but you may also contact arXiv directly (to protect your anynomity don't contact the authors or make your knowledge public).
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: I had this exact situation happen to me before with a medical paper. I immediately sent a response to the editor (hidden from the authors), highlighting my concern about likely plagiarism and giving the reference of the uncited source work.
When I do reviews, I usually start by searching for "likely" phrases and even paragraphs in the usual repositories. You'd be surprised how many mediocre quality submissions contain even large sections that appear to be plagiarized wholesale from prior work.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As with any other **serious** issue, you don't need to waste your time with the paper that is obviously not publishable. Please note that 7 pages is a **extreme** case of plagiarism, and there is absolutely no way that such paper could be accepted in any serious journal.
Reviewer's time is precious and I am sure editors know that.
As with papers that are **unreadable** (this is another case of serious issue, at least in my book), for example because of poor English that does not allow reviewers to actually get enough information from the paper to judge its merits, there is problem, **what to review**? Even if by any chance the authors get the opportunity to make a revision, which would remove the plagiarism, that would still left 7 pages which had to be written anew.
(And in my personal opinion, the author responsible for plagiarism should never get that chance, they should be tarred and feathered and barred from publishing for a year or two. But as said, this is only my personal opinion).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: No. stop reviewing it and return it to the editor with your findings, and wait for his advice. The editor needs to figure out if the authors have the permission to reuse the material (if it only is explanatory).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Check:
* Is the submission an **extended version** of a prior, shorter conference/workshop paper?
* Is extending such a prior publication with additional material allowed by the **guidelines** of the journal? (E.g., some journals allow longer, full versions of prior short summaries. For example, one legit goal of journal papers in mathematics is to provide long proofs which have no space in a summary, while the statements of the theorems are present in both journal and conference versions. Related work, intro and conclusion may also be present in both in more-or-less the same form.)
* If the authors are really different (not new pseudonyms of the old authors), **is extending a summary written by someone else acceptable** according to the guidelines? (Note: extensions of summaries of others are rare and should be always scrutinized carefully for plagiarism.)
* Does the submitted material (paper and accompanying comments) **observe the guidelines** by, e.g., properly advertising the relationship to the prior submission?
If the answer to all the questions is "yes", continue reviewing. Otherwise, justify in which way the submission violates the guidelines of the journal and stop reviewing.
Also notice that papers in certain fields, such as mathematics, might require a prior build-up of notation and stating earlier or standard results in that notation before starting with actual contributions. There is little excuse to omit this standard stuff from journal papers where space is typically not an issue. Also, for estimating novelty, 7 pages is a lot in two-column 9pt style with Times fonts, but little in double-spacing narrow--single-column 12pt style with Computer Modern fonts (according to the guidelines of some journals): the absolute amount of copied material (say, measured in the number of words) may be smaller than it seems.
Summarizing, before blindly rejecting, take a careful look at whether your rejection is properly justified.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: It is essential to report this to the editor. Your judgment as a referee is clearly already made, so subit a report as soon as possible wherein you declare the submission, in your opinion, is not appropriate for the journal.
1. If this is allowed by the journal they will not contact you again, and you are ahead since you will not have to referee for a journal which an editorial policy you disapprove (although keep in mind the excellent points raised by @LeonMeir),
2. If it is not allowed the editor will be grateful and you save some work.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I'll differ the tiniest bit from the existing answers. It can be helpful to look at the paper enough to help the editor triage.
Is there anything worthwhile in the paper? If not, you should point that out. If yes, as you noted in your recent experience, then provide this information, so the editor will be fully aware of the extent of the conundrum. You are the editor's fact finder -- let him/her benefit from your expertise.
But you don't need to look at the paper with as fine a view as if you were going to proceed with a normal review.
So, taste it enough to identify the poison before you spit it out.
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/07/01
| 799
| 3,596
|
<issue_start>username_0: I take a course of which the remarking policy requires students to point out why their marks of exam or assignments are wrong, or they cannot request for a remarking. The professor said it can stop students to ask for more marks for no reason. It is like the markers don't need to tell you why you are wrong, but students should tell why they are correct. Is this appropriate for remarking?<issue_comment>username_1: Your question is a bit difficult to understand. I believe you are saying that your course's policy on remarking (which other users, like me, may know as "grade appeal") requires students to explain why they believe the initial marking was incorrect, so that students don't appeal every mark that they are unhappy with. The professors, however, don't tell you why you received the initial mark, and you wonder if this is an appropriate policy, given the apparent double standard.
Assuming this understanding of your question, I say that **yes, it is appropriate, but not optimal** (on the professor's side). When students do not get a perfect grade on an assignment, professors should, ideally, tell students what they did wrong and what got them penalized. However, professors (or whoever is grading the assignments) are often very busy and may have too much work to spend time giving personalized feedback on what students did wrong. So while it's not ideal, sometimes professors just can't give reasons for the grades they give due to time or work pressures. Students, on the other hand, usually don't have the same workload as professors, even if their days are also busy. Therefore, they can spend more time giving a good explanation for why they do not believe this grade is appropriate.
There's also a second reason, which may actually be stronger than my first one. Every assignment that a student submits for credit in a class must be graded, whether by the professor or another person. That's a routine task. A remarking or grade appeal is not. Students should not have to appeal every grade. It should be an uncommon occurrence, because professors should take enough care with grades so that they are fair and accurate. So since an appeal is not a routine task, the student should have to justify their request for one - as your professor said, this prevents anyone from submitting an appeal without a good reason.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Before I devote time and effort to re-marking a paper, I would want to have some reason for thinking that the original marking was incorrect. Usually, that reason would be that the student tells me what (s)he thinks is wrong with the original marking. Other reasons are imaginable, for example I might find out that an assistant who did the grading was confused about what answers are correct, or I might find out that the assistant was angry with a particular student and allowed that to influence the marking. But these other reasons occur very rarely. In the vast majority of cases, a student who wants a paper to be re-marked must point out an error in the original marking. (Of course, a student can also simply ask me to explain the original marking, not asking for a better grade but trying to understand what (s)he did wrong.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Just as there can't be a presumption in an exam that a student has answered all questions correctly, there can neither be a presumption that any request for regrading is well-founded. The onus in both cases is on the student to show that she deserves a good grade. This is simply a matter of consistency.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/01
| 1,083
| 4,626
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<issue_start>username_0: In a nutshell, I'm drawing circles on images for most of my day (more precisely, ROIs around cellular components in fluorescence imaging). I volunteer to do this on weekdays from 10am to 7pm, and I stay late until 9pm once or twice a week to finish the day's set of images when it's considerably large.
I'm spending at least 45 hours per week drawing circles. I'm working efficiently (it takes me on average of 15 minutes per page of stitched images), I try not to take breaks to maintain momentum unless I'm noticeably slowing down (and limit them to 10 minutes), and I try not to take more than 30 minutes for lunch.
I understand that monotonous tasks are a key part of research, and it's suitable work for me as an undergraduate ([as they're low-risk and require little experience](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/66805/40887)). I'm also lucky to do research so early in my career. But in the evenings, I begin to think of all the other undergraduates out there getting ahead doing amazing work (like [<NAME>](http://news.mit.edu/2016/chemical-mystery-enzyme-cannibalizes-0808), who already produced publishable, original work in his first year), and I feel discouraged and expendable.
And it's entirely my fault, too. If I spent my time in high school more effectively by learning Python coding for automation, statistics, and understanding more of the relevant literature, I could be so much more useful to my supervisor doing more stimulating complex tasks.
It's been a month since I've started, and the long hours of this repetitive task are wearing me down. But I don't want to let my supervisor down, so I intend to keep getting the daily image set done each day. She hasn't required me to set these hours or get the image set done each day, but I've been doing this for so long that it's expected (though she's always very appreciative each time I submit, and she works longer hours than me).
I plan to continue until the project is complete when my supervisor graduates in December (lessening hours to the evenings when classes resume). Until then and for future research opportunities, **how can I keep myself motivated with monotonous tasks and avoid burning out**?<issue_comment>username_1: You need to first be clear with yourself about your expectations of your volunteer activity and then communicate it with your supervisor or maybe the lab investigator. She may suggest you to work on a more intellectually demanding project after you finished your current task (hopefully soon). If not, you can ask her to design a better plan for your research activity in the lab that satisfies your exceptions in addition to the lab's. At the end of the day, you may decide to stop your activity for now and focus on your studies for some years. Doing high impact research needs a solid foundation of the research area which can be obtained through taking different courses in your major. after a while, you would have more knowledge to be able to work on a real project with more challenging tasks and with a more distant supervision. In my experience, Having a full focus on your courses for now can guarantee a more productive research experience in future for you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: First of all, I think you're taking the wrong approach here. Drawing circles isn't helping you at all in any way. You can't put on your resume that you know how to draw circles. You aren't getting paid. You aren't learning anything. You're burning yourself out by working 45 hours a week and you haven't even started university yet.
In my opinion this is a perfect opportunity to learn programming and image processing. I have worked with many undergraduate and even high school students (I was one myself) in different labs, and I can tell you that you're perfectly capable of learning basic programming skills over the next two months if you work at it. With these skills you can attempt to make software that recognizes these ROIs in your images automatically.
From the sound of it your supervisor is a graduate student and not a professor, and since you're volunteering, they should have no problem with you taking a different approach to solve the problem of identifying ROIs. If they want people to do simple repetitive work, they can use a service like Amazon Mechanical Turk.
So to answer your question, academia is all about coming up with new approaches to solve problems or learn new things. If you want to stay motivated, use this time to learn something new that will help you in the future, and also help your supervisor.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2017/07/01
| 611
| 2,317
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<issue_start>username_0: I need to read an article that is in Russian.
The article is located [here](https://www.impan.pl/pl/wydawnictwa/czasopisma-i-serie-wydawnicze/fundamenta-mathematicae/all/57/2/79427/dopolnenie-samonakruchivajuschejsja-ploskoj-krivoj), and the [PDF](http://matwbn.icm.edu.pl/ksiazki/fm/fm57/fm57110.pdf) is freely downloadable. The journal is very well known in my area of research (Topology) and publishes almost everything in English, just not that paper apparently.
What is the best way to translate it? That particular PDF will not allow me to select the text, so I can't even copy and paste into Google translate (even then, it is an arduous process and requires an additional interpretive translation on my part).
How would you do it? Are there any services I can pay to translate it?
EDIT: I checked some translating services, and it looks like it will be too costly (in the hundreds of dollars). So I need tools to do it myself...<issue_comment>username_1: Find a student who is fluent in russian and pay them? I've translated (relevant parts of) german arcticles for my US colleagues before, in that case actually for free but I'm pretty sure students are happy to help and will help in this case for small compensation.
It would also be easier, since you can sit down together and go through the text, since there might be difficulties with translating correctly without fully understanding the topic.
In addition, Adobe Acrobat Pro is able to extract the text of this pdf quite well since it's in very nice quality.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: **If you value cost over quality**
Run the PDF through OCR (optical character recognition) software, then paste it to Google translate.
**If you value quality over cost**
Hire a freelance translator on any popular freelancer site. A fee of $100 -- $200 is reasonable for the article you link. Try to find freelancers who are math students: they have a good command of the terminology, and the cost could be somewhat lower.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I think google translate is not a good idea because you need the meaning of your text but the program can't translate it.
I suggest using deepl program and you change the meaning of each sentence and you must fellowing the purpose of your paper.
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/07/02
| 462
| 1,390
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<issue_start>username_0: There is an image in a paper that I want to use in my master’s thesis. I have the PDF file of this paper and I cant save the image from the file. So I have to take a screen shot. How should I cite the image?<issue_comment>username_1: You don't cite the screenshot, you cite the paper. If your readers want to look up the source, they don't care how you technically copied the image into your word processor. They want to know where they can find the paper you copied the image from.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It is very much possible and easy to extract the image from the PDF document.
Please use: <http://www.pdfaid.com/ExtractImages.aspx>
or: <https://www.pdf-online.com/osa/extract.aspx>
or any other tool you can find online by searching for: 'extract images from pdf'.
Please cite the extracted image in APA style (or other applicable style) as follows:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/61uCz.png)
Figure 2. Male holotye of Hypsiboas gladiator (Kholer et al., 2010, p. 584).
Reference
<NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2010). Systematics of Andean gladiator frogs of the Hypsiboas pulchellus species groug (Annuar, Hylidae). Zoologica Scripta, 39(6), 572-590. doi:10.111/j.1463-6409.2010.00448.x
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/02
| 858
| 3,621
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a phd student in computer science, starting in september my last year.
The next week I will join a conference not far from my home university, where I am not presenting any paper. The main area of the conference is pretty close to my phd topic, and there will be there most of the top professors of the area.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk with them, present them my work and share a couples of ideas, but I have some doubts on how to engage them and on what to share with them, in particular:
* Even if I have read some of their papers, I have no specific questions on them, and I don't know if it makes sense to read a bunch of paper in this days just to find a viable reason to talk with them.
* A possibility would be to write them saying that they are important for my phd and I would like to share with them my research, but I don't know if this is going to interest them.
* Last I have some unpublished ideas that I am planning to work on the next year. Is it risky to share these ideas with them?
Needless to say, the main purpose to meet them for me are:
* Find possible coauthors
* Find possible post-doc locations<issue_comment>username_1: I would say there is honestly very little to gain by seeking out the very top researchers in your area and manufacturing a reason to talk to them. Why aren't you presenting a paper? That would have been your best way to present your work. Your second best way is to ask them questions about their work; meaningful ones, that show you are familiar with their work, understand it, and are interested in similar problems.
(Be very careful sharing your unpublished ideas with anyone who you don't already have explicit plans to collaborate with. For example, if you have them in written form as part of a postdoc application, that's okay. But I wouldn't explain any details to other researchers unsolicited.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would suggest the following for an early-career scholar:
1) Figure out who from your current university is going to be there and identify any other attendees you already know. Let them know you will be attending and hope you run into them.
2) Make sure you go make yourself available right from the beginning. Spend very little time in your room. Arrive early, hang out in the lobby near the conference registration area or wherever the coffee is. Go to all the breakfasts, lunches, etc.
3) When you see someone you know, go up to them, say hi. Mention that this is one of your first conferences and you are really interested in meeting people. Ask if there is anyone that they would recommend you meet. Then ask them to introduce you. This especially works if you are at the opening reception or something like that.
4) Repeat! If a chat is going well, eventually ask the new contact if there are others at the conference who are interested in your topics that they think you should meet.
5) Also, of course, go to talks. After the talk, make an effort to talk to the speakers with follow-up questions, etc. You can also follow-up with speakers if you see them in the hall later, etc. If these chats go well, you can even ask those people to introduce you to others they think you should meet.
6) After the conference, follow up by email.
The result of this strategy should be that most of your introductions will be peer-to-peer "warm" introductions, not out-of-the-blue "cold" introductions. This should make people a bit more willing to chat with you and make you appear to be more of a junior colleague and less of a grad student.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2017/07/03
| 945
| 4,310
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am an Australian interested in applying for a PhD (specifically in mathematics) at several universities in Canada. I have already got a Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences and a Master of Philosophy in pure mathematics.
I have put a bit of time into trying to verse myself in the various scholarship opportunities, PhD programmes and potential supervisors, but I am starting to think I don't fully understand the correct order to do these things in.
Is there a standard etiquette or order for applying to a PhD? For example, would you first apply to the institution, then apply for scholarships once you have an offer, then look for a supervisor? Perhaps all three should be done in unison?
In Australia (it is my understanding that) it is customary to get a supervisor willing to commence a project with you first, then apply for a scholarship.
Any advice on the correct pathway would be greatly appreciated!<issue_comment>username_1: You should visit website of universities that you are interested in. Most universities provide detailed information about their application process and scholarships in their website. The application procedure may be different for different universities or even for different departments within a university. For example, as I know and at the moment, Department of Computer Science in Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto and University of Western Ontario offer entry-level scholarships for applicants that receive an offer of admission. On the other hand, as a part of the application process, Carleton University asks applicants if they are willing to finance their own studies or like to be considered to scholarship knowing that the university will not offer admission if it cannot offer/afford funds. Many professors encourage applicants to contact them before applying but I have seen CS professors at University of Toronto that encourage applicants to apply without contacting them before applying.
So the advice that I can give is to visit the website of the universities of your interest. I know that this is a very general advice and that it can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process but in my experience, it is the most accurate one.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: From what I have seen (in UK at least) many research groups advertise PhD positions there or ask for you to email them if you are interesting in working with them. Should the interview be successful, they ask for you to apply through the university website with that supervisor name and all should be fine.
I would look for supervisors you are interested in first.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I applied to several Canadian universities for a PhD in mathematics. I am attending one of them as an international student.
At the universities I am familiar with, one applies to the department as a whole. Funding for a PhD at the universities I considered was guaranteed at a certain level - generally enough for tuition and basic living expenses. There may be additional university funding that requires an additional application.
I did not reach out to any perspective supervisors, and do not remember the university websites saying I should. However I did mention specific advisors on my application. It was clear from two offer letters at different Canadian universities that I was ultimately accepted by the particular advisor and not the school as a whole, as would be the case in the US.
At one school I know that someone on the admissions committee gave my application a preliminary review. Once I passed this screening my application was sent to the advisors I had mentioned on my application and other advisors the committee knew were looking for students in a similar subject area. The funding I was offered appeared to be partially from the particular advisors' grants. At the other school I was told that I needed to decide on an advisor before the semester began, and the offer email also mentioned which faculty were interested in working with me.
In conclusion it appears the process is somewhere in between the UK and US processes. I would recommend contacting advisors ahead of time, although I would expect most funding to come from the department, and the application to go through the department first.
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/07/03
| 1,828
| 7,967
|
<issue_start>username_0: I recently read [this FAQ](http://mdanderson.libanswers.com/faq/26159) that explains a bit about impact factors. After reading, I was curious... what would be some reasons why researchers would use papers from a low-impact factor journal, say, a journal with IF = 1?
Wouldn't all researchers concentrate their efforts on starting their literature search from the highest impact factor journals, and then develop their new work on this basis? That seems logical to me and also most beneficial to a researcher's career in academia.<issue_comment>username_1: This question is very open and will probably generate a lot of answers. Here's two important reasons I see:
* The impact factor of a journal does not indicate the quality of an individual article. I have seen awesome articles in poorly-known journals. As well as articles with serious flaws in high-impact journals.
* Impact factors varies with field: some smaller fields have lower publication rates, thus lower impact factors when compared to other fields In ecology, for example, an impact factor of 2 is fine (at least from my experience). Above 3, you have a very good journal. I'm pretty sure this would be considered low for a [medicine journal](http://www.healthwriterhub.com/top-medical-journals/)...
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I understand that you meant "Why would a researcher *read* papers from low-impact journals?"
In many research areas, articles are communicated (and read) well before they are published, for example by means of preprint servers such as [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/). In this case, the reputation of the journal to which a certain article has been submitted/accepted can be used as some simple indicator for the quality of the research.
Since impact factor is essentially an attempt to measure journal reputation, this implies that articles submitted/accepted for low-impact-factor journals tend to be regarded less.
However, IMHO few researchers explicitly use impact factor to select their reading list, rather they judge from several factors, journal reputation being only one (others are the reputation of the authors, as well as the interest generated from reading the title and abstract).
Note also that, in particular for interdisciplinary journals such as Nature and Science, impact factor may not correlate with good quality articles. This is because these journals tend to select not on quality alone, but also on potential impact. Now, unfortunately, a wrong/marginal result can have a huge impact, since *if* it were true that would have dramatic consequences (IMHO, a substantial fraction of articles in aforementioned journals fall into this category).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> What would be some reasons why researchers would use papers from a low-impact factor journal, say, a journal with IF = 1?
>
>
>
Researchers use papers that are relevant to their research, regardless of where they've been published. Being published in a less prestigious journal doesn't mean the result is less true - it usually means the paper is seen as less significant, usually because the authors/referees/editors think fewer people will be interested in the result.
But sometimes those people are wrong, and a paper is more significant than it appeared, and sometimes the paper may be obscure but it has exactly the thing you need for the work you're doing.
(Also, IF values vary dramatically by field. The top journals in my subfield have impact factors between 0.6 and 0.7, so an impact factor of 1 doesn't sound low-impact to me at all.)
>
> Wouldn't all researchers concentrate their efforts on starting their literature search from the highest impact factor journals, and then develop their new work on this basis? That seems logical to me and also most beneficial to a researcher's career in academia.
>
>
>
No, they wouldn't. Indeed, if everyone else *were* doing that, a researcher could get a big advantage by being the only person mining paper published in low impact-factor journals for ideas that other people were overlooking. In my experiences, researchers skim pretty broadly, looking for papers that might suggest new ideas or ways to advance their work, and I've never heard of anyone restricting their reading to the journals with higher impact factors.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: In addition to the excellent points made in the prior answers, consider the issue of originality as a requirement for article acceptance.
A professor who selects based on relevance etc. will know if a line of research has already been covered by articles in low impact journals, and avoid duplicating what has already been published. A professor who only reads articles in high impact journals could waste a lot of time duplicating prior research, and getting articles rejected for lack of originality.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: The question is unclear, but let me try to answer anyway.
You assume that for **any given field of science**, there exist journals with high impact factors. This ignores the specifics of individual fields. In very basic sciences, impact factors are usually high, because many researchers from other fields will use the findings in their own for. For example a researcher from the field of neurology will be cited from the people from neurology, psychology, psychiatric medicine, artificial intelligence, computer science.
On the other hand, *more niche the field becomes, smaller is the pool of the scientists that could use the results*. While a computer scientist may cite the paper from neurology to reference certain brain structure that inspired his algorithm or massive processing cluster architecture, there is basically no way that the neurology scientist would cite the aforementioned computer scientist.
That's why there are huge differences among fields regarding the impact factor of the top journals in the category.
Does this mean that the paper on some novel computing architecture is less valuable? Certainly not. While very few computer engineers working in R&D of new commercial computer systems will be interested in neurology, quite a few of them will read the paper on novel, more efficient architecture of massive computer clustering.
*However, since they are end-users, their reads will not transform in citations*, while significant proportion people that read advanced neurology paper will publish papers on their own and perhaps eventually cite it somewhere (because they are scientists, in that essence, not end users).
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_6: >
> Wouldn't all researchers concentrate their efforts on starting their literature search from the highest impact factor journals, and then develop their new work on this basis?
>
>
>
No. My literature searches start at DuckDuckGo, Google, Google Scholar and maybe my institution's library search. I don't even know the impact factors of the venues of the papers I end up reading.
If the papers (or books, or blog posts, or Stack Exchange Q&A) I find are relevant, I will read them, regardless of impact factor.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: Because if they didn't, nobody would've heard of the Krebs cycle yet, one of the most important discoveries in biochemistry. It was famously rejected from Nature, and instead published in an obscure little Dutch journal called Enzymologia. Luckily, the Nobel Prize committee didn't care about impact factor ;-)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: What you are proposing here is a circular self-sustaining system where the impact factor of a journal could never increase because no one would cite it. This, coupled with the occasional digging for hidden and/or forgotten gems of research means that there is good reason to use those resources too.
And let us not forget: Impact factor says very little about both validity and value of the contained work. Not directly, anyway.
Upvotes: 3
|
2017/07/03
| 312
| 1,294
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have received an Image from a source I am not sure about, I have edited it to suit my own project, now do I have to cite the main source?<issue_comment>username_1: Of course, should you cite the original sources (just use the golden rule: think how you would like to be treated if you were the author of the original source). You may say something like
```
adapted from < Figure X of original source >
```
However, as indicated in the comments, you should make sure that you have the right to do so. Note that sometimes it is possible to "read" the data values from an image and create your own image from those (but you still need to quote the source of the data).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I tend to use (author as derived from\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_)
Your best bet is to use open sources. For example, when I manipulate maps I use openstreetmaps.com. Their policy explicitly allows for editing.
Otherwise, if the license is unknown, i.e. the author does not specify in any way, then you should contact the author and receive formal permission (this might need to be done with a form), if it is for formal publication.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I wouldn't use the source if you are not sure about it, and just use a new image.
Upvotes: -1
|
2017/07/03
| 537
| 2,189
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am originally from one country but study at university in a different country. Now, my native country asked me to prove that I study at this university and I want to ask my university to bring me document for that. What is this document used to be called?
Can I call this document "study confirmation letter" or "confirmation of studies"?
I found ([here](http://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/graduate-study/your-student-status/confirmation-study-verification-letters)) the phrase "proof of study" ans also "Certificate of Enrolment" ([here](https://www.stir.ac.uk/registry/studentinformation/confirmationdocuments/)), "proof of enrolment" ([here](http://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices/letter-requests/confirmation-of-study.page)) but "proof of study" as well as "confirmation for studies" both seems to be for those who are graduated already while I'm still student there. I would like to take you advice for the conventional way (that everybody at the university office can understand) to call what I need.<issue_comment>username_1: Of course, should you cite the original sources (just use the golden rule: think how you would like to be treated if you were the author of the original source). You may say something like
```
adapted from < Figure X of original source >
```
However, as indicated in the comments, you should make sure that you have the right to do so. Note that sometimes it is possible to "read" the data values from an image and create your own image from those (but you still need to quote the source of the data).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I tend to use (author as derived from\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_)
Your best bet is to use open sources. For example, when I manipulate maps I use openstreetmaps.com. Their policy explicitly allows for editing.
Otherwise, if the license is unknown, i.e. the author does not specify in any way, then you should contact the author and receive formal permission (this might need to be done with a form), if it is for formal publication.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I wouldn't use the source if you are not sure about it, and just use a new image.
Upvotes: -1
|
2017/07/04
| 928
| 4,081
|
<issue_start>username_0: I currently am writing a paper which uses regressions (from statistics) heavily. The objective is to show (as far as possible) that A causes B.
The main analysis of my paper uses regressions to show that A is correlated with B.
After showing this correlation, I wish to show that A occurs before B occurs so as to give further evidence of a causal relationship. This requires another set of regressions. (The set of explanatory variables changes significantly, so I need to specify the new regression equation.)
Furthermore, I need to show that factors C, D, E mediate the relationship between A and B. (Again, I am much better off specifying the new regression equation. Even if you doubt this, just believe me on this)
How should I go about this?
Option 1: Explain all methods (correlation, temporal precedence, mediation) in the Methods section. Then give all results in the Results section.
Option 2: Explain the methodology for detecting correlation, then give the results. Then explain the methodology for temporal precedence, give the results. Then explain the methodology for mediation, and give the results.
The problem is, no matter which way I do this, I get criticism that the structure is confusing, along with suggestions that I should do the alternative approach. For example, if I try option 1, people say that temporal precedence and mediation only make sense if I detect a correlation, so these analyses should be shifted to the back. On the other hand, if I try option 2, people say that my methodology should all be neatly encompassed in a single Methods section.
I'm curious as to what most people do when they are in a similar situation?<issue_comment>username_1: Begin telling the reader what you intend to do at a high level before diving into the details. This gives the reader a framework for how to think about your paper.
Then I would go with option 1. Describe all your methods first. Then describe all your results. IMO interleaving your methods and results makes things confusing.
For example, readers seeking to understand your work may not care about your results, and only care about your methods.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In my area the standard is always to have a single methods section; journals would not accept an alternative format. That might not always be the ideal arrangement for every paper, but it's simply the norm.
So what to do when the methodology is somewhat convoluted, or very key to particular elements of the results? Add some "reminder" description of the methods in the results. Keep the fine details only in the methods, but address what you are up to to keep a good story in the results. Minor repetition isn't a problem and helps your paper flow.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Option 1 is probably a safer bet, because that's the logical structure of an article and it's there for a reason (to ease reading).
When faced with the same problem, I made a **schematic representation of the analyses**. I confronted this schema (and its improved versions) with colleagues that did not know the details of my analyses. This solution might not apply to you, but at least try. The old saying (an image is worth a thousand words) is applicable to scientific articles.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: When writing a scientific paper, be it an undergraduate dissertation or a peer reviewed journal article, the most important thing to remember is your reader is busy and doesn't want to waste time trying to figure out what you're talking about. The answer to this is to heavily signpost everything you do so there can be no ambiguity.
For your particular situation, my approach would be to cover the entire methodology upfront in a methodology section and then when I reach the results section, I would refer the reader to equations 2.1-2.4 for example, for a full understanding of what you did. As long as you are holding your reader's hand the whole way then they'll take the time to actually read and understand what you're doing.
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/07/04
| 1,625
| 7,345
|
<issue_start>username_0: I work for a technical company at the interface between engineering practice and research. Since we have to deal with academia on a daily basis, I have seen many calls for "Abstract submission". Generally these calls are associated with some sort of academic conference that is focused on a particular topic. It is also subject to deadlines and regulations. Several universities, research institutions and even private/public entities might be participating at these conferences.
My question is this: What can you actually *get* from submitting an abstract? Why do these conferences even request abstract submission? What do *they* get from it? Why are abstract submissions important and why do people do them?<issue_comment>username_1: You submit an abstract to a conference if you would like to give a talk there. The abstract is then used to determine whether or not you get that chance (based on how interesting/relevant/sound the abstract is judged for that particular conference). So for the conference, this lets them filter (a bit) the talks that get presented there, for the author, this is the prerequisite for being allowed to give a talk.
Giving a talk at a conference is a means for a researcher to disseminate their research ideas and to advertise themselves. Discussions following a talk can lead to future collaborations, and giving the right talk at the right time can lead to eg a postdoc position.
"Talks given" is also a typical category on a CV, so even beyond the immediate talk, the fact that you gave the talk can be beneficial in competing for jobs.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Following up the comment - giving a talk is not just a CV line. For most academic researchers, access to funding to attend a conference depends on being a presenter at that conference. So giving a talk is essentially the ticket to hearing what other people are working on, identifying potential collaborators, and keeping up to date.
Journal papers are not really sufficient, publication tends to be slow (though in some disciplines, initiatives like ArXiv is correcting that) and talking with someone is often better than reading a report to understand what they have done. Personally, I always find at least a few talks at conferences that are interesting and give me new ideas but I probably wouldn't have read the paper because it wouldn't have appeared in any of my searches.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: It really depends on the conference. Contact the chair and speak to your colleagues to ask what benefit you might gain from attending the conference.
Some conferences, though in my experience in the humanities and social sciences, just ask for an abstract (a few hundred words) outlining the contribution of the intended talk. In those conferences, they pick which talks to have based on the abstracts. Then, after the conference, they invite a number of the best talks to write up their work as an article to be published in a journal.
In my field, computer science, most conferences require you to write a whole paper (usually 4-10 pages, depending on the conference and the size of your research contribution) to be able to give a talk at the conference. As @username_2 says, most academic institutions will only pay for their research staff to go to a conference if they have published a paper there.
Now, some of the conferences that require a whole paper, will require an abstract to be submitted a week or two before the paper deadline. This is normally for logistical reasons, so they can pre-allocate which reviewers will review each paper.
* *Why might one want to go to a conference?* To learn about the state of the art in this research field, and to network with the other researchers in the field, to maybe form collaborations.
* *Why might a researcher want to publish and present at a conference?* To disseminate their work, get feedback from their peers, to promote their institution, and also for the reasons above.
* *Why might a employee of a company want to present at a conference?* (I've not been in this situation, so take with a pinch of salt!) To disseminate their work (as much as their company allows), to promote their company, and also for the reasons above.
* *Why might an academic conference want industry attendees and presenters?* To help cross-pollinate the work of academia and industry, so they can both learn from each other. To enable networking and industrial collaborations. To facilitate partnerships that might bring industrial money into academic research projects, or gain access to research council funding that requires industrial collaboration.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Writing an abstract to a conference by itself will only give you the chance to speak at that conference. As others noted, you can put the conference talk on a CV and access funding to go to the conference because your talk is accepted. Some institutions and even grant agencies would count the number of your talks and conference papers -- each for its own abhorrent reasons.
But, there are many other benefits one can get from giving the talk.
* early career scientists (PhD students and young postdocs) get a chance to present their own research and practice for thesis defenses, future job interviews, etc. One gains a lot of confidence from giving a good (or even decent) talk.
* one learns to present their research subject to different types of audiences, depending on the conference. I've often seen great work flying past the ears of the audience because the speaker was too technical, but I've also seen technical people labeling research as "easy" because the speaker avoided technical details.
* a good talk can be heard by a future employer (especially in academia) and they would sometimes offer the speaker a job in their lab, especially if the speaker mentions that he's looking for a position;
* a talk at a conference can also mean a chance to disseminate good quality research that would otherwise be buried in the pages of journal (even a good one);
* in places where scientists are quite isolated from the international community, conference attendance and talks help break that isolation, and even start collaborations with other researchers;
* I personally like giving talks only to give a chance to researchers I won't otherwise meet to comment on my work and even give some helpful suggestions. It is often that the discussion continues after the session ended or at the dinner table.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: All of the other answers are correct, but may also be missing the fundamental misunderstanding here. Academic conferences are not like (some) commercial conferences, in that there is not an existing programme - perhaps of invited industry figures - that these talks add to. The talks that come from these abstracts are the *only*, or at least the main, content of the conference.
Perhaps more significantly, wheras at many commercial conferences the goal is networking, and the programme of presentations is of minor importance (a cynic might day that it is mostly there to provide an excuse to attend that will satisfy the accountants), at academic conferences people are actually there for the talks - although of course networking can be an important component too.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/04
| 648
| 2,858
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am considering moving institutions (from a one UK University to another), but I am concerned about what Intellectual Property (IP) rights my current institution may retain. Some of my PhD students, one of whom has been funded by my university directly, would move with me, or at least I would like them to. I am also unclear about the rights they/I would have to the research they have already done. Their projects would naturally remain similar, but I see no obvious commercial potential, and have no intention of trying to find some.
My questions are:
1. The University's policy is clear that they own all Intellectual Property I produce during my employment. I assume this can't apply to projects that have not got to the point of being protectable/tradeable but where one project begins and another ends is not always clear. Many of these projects naturally build on work I have published, or is in the process of being published. **How can I tell/establish what exactly they have rights to?**
2. How do I 'leave' them with what they own so that I can make a clean break.<issue_comment>username_1: In general you should be fine:
* Your research is published, so everyone (including you) can build upon it.
* You do not have any patents (which would remain at the university)
The only thing might be software written at your institution or hardware built during your work. Those remain at the university as long as you do not agree on otherwise. But usually, one becomes smarter over time so this might be a good point in time to re-implement some stuff...
On the other hand, your work might be worthless for your university when you are not there - e.g. no one will digg into foreign research code... So you should have a good position for negotiations.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think regarding publications, as soon as you include the affiliation of the old uni on publications whose work has started during your employment there it should be fine.
If there are patents involved things might get more complicated.
What other issues where you thinking about?
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Read the contracts and policies. If the existing contracts and policies are not answering your questions, then this is something you cannot resolve. It is up to the universities to work out between them how to divide intellectual property.
If the intellectual property is very valuable, the lawyers of the two universities will negotiate a deal. Nobody will want to license something if the owner of the rights is uncertain. As a result, the universities will be motivated to cooperate. Arranging this is not the author/inventor's responsibility.
If the intellectual property is not valuable, then so long as you are honest and open about what is going on I doubt you will have any problems.
Upvotes: 0
|
2017/07/05
| 665
| 2,713
|
<issue_start>username_0: I need some advice on my career. I study in Brazil and I'm one year away from obtaining my bachelor in Mathematics. Here the duration is 4 years.
In 2016 I had to start working two jobs (unrelated to Math) to help my family and that made my 4-year journey into a 5 and a half years journey in which during the process I've failed a couple of classes due to attendance. I was able to quit the job this month and from now on I'll be able to focus only on my studies.
My question: is there still a chance for me to work on my Master's, Doctorate and so on? And also how much does the fact that it took me 5 and a half years counts? Despite not being able to attend the classes, I consider myself a good student and I know for sure I'm dedicated.<issue_comment>username_1: As a rule of thumb, the time you took wont matter, but the failing grade will.
However, if your goal is to get into a masters course in Brazil, many of them won't look at your undergraduate marks (I've served on graduate committees on two top brazilian math departments).
In these cases, you can be admitted by doing well on an admitting summer course, or on an admission exam (many of them nowadays use the [Extramuros examination](http://www.extramuros.com.br), or a local exam).
Even for institutions that will judge your undergraduate marks, it's not uncommon that a student with a failing mark get accepted. Usually they would indicate in their statement why they failed and how they did well on this course on the next time. The fact that you had to work is enough justification, if that's a localized problem and you have strong marks otherwise.
After doing well in your masters, your undergraduate marks will have a negligible impact on your PhD admission.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In principle how long you took to graduate as a bachelor should not weigh on your credentials while searching for a post-graduation position, either in Latin America or elsewhere. Most advisors will not look into these dates too carefully, as there are several reasons for which one would have graduated 1-2 years later than usual.
However you might be enquired about that by advisors worried whether you are able to finish your thesis in time. Departments are often strongly pressed to "produce" PhDs and MScs within the expected period, especially where they have student quotas and limited scholarships. This can be highly competitive in Argentina or Brazil, where completing a PhD *ahead* of time is a sure way of pleasing your department.
Therefore don't worry about that issue now, but make sure you convince your peers that you will meet your postgraduation demands before the deadlines.
Upvotes: 0
|
2017/07/05
| 355
| 1,406
|
<issue_start>username_0: * Mathematics.
* Not novel research ~ merely an analysis / reformulation of an existing, proved theorem
* Not a thesis, but was a major (50%) component of a senior course.
* Never published.
* The math isn't even advanced - it's actually quite basic - but it's fun!
(a) *Should* I even mention this on a CV?
(b) If I should, how would I go about doing so? How to site it? Host and provide link?<issue_comment>username_1: The paper alone isn't worthy of your CV. It's not a peer-reviewed publication, which is about the closest place it would fit. You could list the senior project under your education section to provide an idea of your area of focus, but the paper alone doesn't carry any weight. I had a senior capstone project in my undergraduate curriculum, and I have listed the project as sort of my undergraduate "thesis", but not referring to any text.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As already mentioned the paper alone is not really worth mentioning if it is not published, except to show your field of interest.
Therefore I would suggest to get in published. There are (even reviewed) student [journals/conferences](http://www.cur.org/resources/students/undergraduate_journals/) which would be a good fit for that. Maybe some extra work is required to get it accepted but I think it would definitely be worth it if you are in an early career stage.
Upvotes: 0
|
2017/07/05
| 1,453
| 6,332
|
<issue_start>username_0: When refereeing a paper, I often have objections to the work that do not rise to the level of using the coercive powers of a referee to delay or reject the work. For instance, I find myself wanting to write: "If I were you, I would be embarrassed to publish a paper with [such unclear writing/such a silly comparison to experiment/so few parameters studied/incredibly ugly figures]."\*
If the paper is not *wrong* or incoherent, just lazy or badly written, I don't feel justified in rejecting the paper or requiring a revision. I also don't want to invest hours of time acting as a language editor or graphic designer for figures.
Is there a politer way to express this sentiment and encourage the authors to improve their own work? Or should I simply take on good faith that the authors have done the work to the standards they are willing to publish, and that these may differ from my own?
\*note: this is distinct from the case where the paper is so unclear that you can't tell whether their work is correct or not - where I think rejection is appropriate. I'm also assuming that this is not a terribly selective journal - in fact, it could be a journal like PLOS ONE, which explicitly says that importance to the field is not a relevant criterion.
*Note: I've edited this to address a couple of points made by answers, and to focus away from the writing part, which has been answered in the past. Bad writing is one aspect of this question, but general author laziness is the larger one.*<issue_comment>username_1: I think there are two important factors here:
1. Reviewers are typically the closest subject experts a journal can locate.
2. Most journals have (or want) a target audience that is considerably broader than the expert reviewers they enlist. Think of the industrial practitioners, novice grad students, and other interested non-experts.
If it takes you a lot of effort to parse and understand a paper as the related expert, it seems entirely plausible that a non-expert would not follow the paper at all. Particularly if the poor exposition is so bad that you can only follow the train of thought because you as an expert can fix errors in your head or make logical leaps, then it's definitely beyond the scope of the general reader.
Both are valid complaints that could lead to a rejection of a paper, depending on the particulars of the work and the venue.
There are other avenues to address these problems than simply rejecting the paper. If the work otherwise is adequate, you might say so but tell the editor that the work does not meet the language standard for this journal and let them handle it. Some journals have a notion of "conditional acceptance" or "shepherding" where an agreement is worked out between the authors and editors that certain items must be addressed or revised prior to publication (however, they need someone to oversee such papers, so you might be volunteering for the role if you suggest it!).
Nobody wants a rejection, but most authors do want their work to be read and appreciated by others. Addressing these issues is a short term frustration for authors but a long-term win in terms of the visibility and impact of their work.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: You seem to be assuming the premise that a paper ought to be rejected solely for being wrong or for being so poorly written that its correctness cannot be verified. I reject this premise - it is decidedly wrong in my discipline (pure math) and I'm pretty sure it's wrong in most other disciplines, certainly in the case of prestigious journals (Nature, Science, PNAS, etc.) that have to be selective and reject the large majority of papers they receive, many of which are not only correct but also quite well-written and significant and still end up being rejected.
The bottom line is that you as the referee are being asked to evaluate the paper for its overall contribution to your area of research. That includes not only correctness but also significance, originality, and the ability of the paper to effectively communicate its findings to the research community. You are being asked to apply *your* standards (possibly calibrated based on any guidelines you receive from the journal), not the authors' or anyone else's, and **you can and should reject the paper for any flaw(s) that significantly diminish its impact and contribution**. In my opinion that can also include poor writing, except possibly if the results are so groundbreaking (e.g., a poorly written but still verifiable proof of the Riemann Hypothesis) as to overshadow all other considerations.
**Edit:** following your clarification and citing PLOS ONE as an example of a journal whose standards you have in mind, I checked out their [publication criteria](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/criteria-for-publication). They include the following criterion:
>
> **The article is presented in an intelligible fashion and is written in standard English.**
>
>
> PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. We may reject papers that do not meet these standards.
>
>
> If the language of a paper is difficult to understand or includes many errors, we may recommend that authors seek independent editorial help before submitting a revision. These services can be found on the web using search terms like “scientific editing service” or “manuscript editing service.”
>
>
>
So, as you can see, my answer above clearly applies to PLOS ONE, and, I'm pretty confident, to many other journals of lesser stature than Nature and Science.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The role of peer review is not just to check that the manuscript is original, correct, and significant, but also whether its clear, concise, and well presented. In fact, from my own experience as author, reviewer, and editor, as well as from anecdotal evidence from other editors (also in other fields), owing to reviewing process, almost every revised manuscript is greatly improved over the original submission.
The authors of a manuscript that suffers in the way you have described will greatly benefit from improving their style, because more people will read, understand, and cite it. Hence they should appreciate your comments.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/06
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<issue_start>username_0: My wife just started a postdoc at an [R1 university](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_universities_in_the_United_States#Universities_classified_as_.22R1:_Doctoral_Universities_.E2.80.93_Highest_Research_Activity.22) and needs business cards for a conference and her future job hunt. She asked me to design them for her.
Normally, I'd put her current (postdoc) institution, but because the temporary nature of the postdoc position (1 year), and because she'll be presenting her dissertation work at the upcoming conference, it seems like the cards should perhaps brand her individually rather than as part of her institution.
If possible, I'd *like* to avoid creating some business cards now and then creating new ones again in a year or so. This would mean I would want a more general business card — one less tied to her current institution -- but I want even more for her business cards to be professional (following current best practices), and to not cause any confusion.
I see these options:
* Include both her grad school and postdoc institutions.
* Include only her postdoc institution.
* Include no institution, but instead use the card to describe her and her research. Use these business cards for a longer while.
Is there a common practice for postdocs?<issue_comment>username_1: The cards should list the employee's current place of employment, just like business cards for any other job. The only thing that should be different for a postdoc is that you should make sure the image file for the cards is easy to update when she gets a new job.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Business cards themselves are not a terribly common practice for postdocs in my field (some combination of biology, physics, others). I think I've been handed one at a conference maybe once or twice.
I don't have a simple answer, but here are the factors I'd think about:
1. Don't put her institutional email on it, because it will expire quickly once she leaves - it's better to use a [professional-sounding] external one. (Similar factors can apply to university websites, but they've been better in my experience.)
2. Consider how likely it is that she'll use the entire run of 100 or so cards in the next year, before having to change the affiliation.
3. I would probably not list an affiliation that isn't current on a business card. She may, however, list that affiliation in the conference program if she's talking about her dissertation work - or it may be obvious from her coauthors.
4. Will having no visible affiliation make her look like a crackpot? This depends on the culture of the field. Probably there are no strange unaffiliated people presenting their Unified Theory of Russian Literature at the MLA Convention, but in physics, it's an issue.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: If this is your private business card then you can pretty much put on it what you want. username_2's comment on using a long-lasting email is a very good one. I would perhaps also add the information that she is a post-doctoral researcher but leave away the affiliation -- adding that to a "private" business card suggests to any receiver that in this moment she represents the university, when she does not. Also, the university would likely want to see its own design guidelines followed when its name is mentioned.
If this is a university-issued card or the university has asked her to create a card then it should follow any design guidelines of the university and get some sort of approval.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: First, is the University sending her to this conference? (i.e. paying for her attendance, flight, hotel, etc...) If so, I would consider her a representative of the University and her business card should reflect it, email address and name of the institution. If the work presented was performed at a different University, then this should be evident in her presentation.
Second, When I was at an R1 University and wanted business cards for a conference, they had a few approved templates that I could choose from and then they printed them for me. Their might be rules about using a "non-approved" design. Check with her University.
Lastly, keep in mind that the quality of her research and presentation is much more important than the branding on her business card.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Here's a format I saw recently.
Two-sided card.
Front had:
* A photo, name and current email\*
* Summary line (a la LinkedIn 'tagline')
* Current Employment info (Postdoctoral Fellow, Univ of ABC)
* Academic Highlights (PhD 2013, R1 Univ., M.S. 2010 XYZ College)
* Shortened link to profile page (linked in)\*
On the back:
* PhD research: One line summary
* M.S. Work: One line summary
* One line Skills list
* Github link
\*
1. An email account that is unlikely to expire: most academic accounts can be kept alive or at least auto-forwarded.
2. LinkedIn or other 'permanent' and up-to-date profile page. About.me or even just google sites works. Investing in a domain name is also advisable.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I favour the following approach to create a lifelong point of contact.
```
Dr FirstName Initial(s) LastName
Biologist/Chemist/Physicist/Whatever
<EMAIL>
http://LastName.com
```
This will require buying LastName.com. (Given that it probably won't be available, you might need to compromise a little.)
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/06
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. third year student. In our college for most of the work we have to depend on our seniors as our advisor rarely takes interest in our research. My senior is always rude to me, and never supports me in anything. Sometimes she doesn't talk to me for a whole day, and even sometimes she misguides me. I feel so low. It becomes so difficult to be in a lab where only two people are working and not even talking to each other properly. How can I deal with this?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> In our college for most of the work we have to depend on our seniors
> as our advisor rarely takes interest in our research.
>
>
>
Have you tried to schedule a meeting with your advisor? Perhaps every two weeks? The advisor may be interested in more interaction as the lab is small with few seniors.
>
> My senior is always rude to me, and never supports me in anything.
> Sometimes she doesn't talk to me for a whole day, and even sometimes
> she misguides me.
>
>
>
This is really difficult to interpret. It may be that your expectations are unreasonable. If you feel that not talking very much is rude, I would not agree. In some cultures the work environment is very quiet. If you want more social interaction, make friends with people from other groups. In the summer, my workplace is very isolating, so I schedule brown bag lunches with others outside of my office.
In terms of "never supporting" and "misguiding", I think you need to be very clear about the types of support you want/need. She may be misguiding you because she doesn't know the answer and is giving her best guess. You must have realistic expectations for what you need to figure out yourself and what you can rely on her for.
You should try to come to an agreement with her on how she prefers to get questions. Once per day? A set meeting time? You might also consider a more *quid pro quo* arrangement. If you know she is helping you a lot one week, consider trying to do some of her busy work for her. Offer to do some of the grunt work or to pick up lunch for both of you. Make sure you are also supporting her! Finally, can you get support from people other than her? What about other groups doing similar things?
>
> I feel so low. It becomes so difficult to be in a lab where only two
> people are working and not even talking to each other properly.
>
>
>
I feel sorry for you because you want her to be your friend as well as your work colleague and she does not want that kind of relationship. You should try to make friends with people outside of your lab. Externalize your focus and you won't feel so low. If you continue to feel badly, consider that it may be something unrelated to the lab situation and seek a therapist.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A friend was in a similar situation during her PhD.
>
> I am a Ph.D. third year student. In our college for most of the work
> we have to depend on our seniors as our advisor rarely takes interest
> in our research.
>
>
>
There is really only one bright side to this situation: you will have to become a self-motivated and independent researcher quickly. Even if your advisor does not 'take interest' in your research make sure to meet with them regularly to discuss what you have done and what you are planning to do. This keeps them in the loop and aware of your efforts. To get additional input, you can contact other faculty in and outside your institute to get ideas or feedback on what you are doing. Former students from the same lab are also a good resource.
>
> My senior is always rude to me, and never supports me
> in anything. Sometimes she doesn't talk to me for a whole day, and
>
>
>
As @username_1 pointed out, your senior clearly does not want to be friends. The best you can do is be cordial in person, and keep all important communication over email.
>
> even sometimes she misguides me.
>
>
>
Attributing this to ignorance, rather than malice, is the most productive solution here. You can take her suggestions/answers/advice but make sure to use your own judgement to verify this - whether from other students/researchers, literature, simulation, etc. This will also help you become a better researcher.
>
> I feel so low. It becomes so
> difficult to be in a lab where only two people are working and not
> even talking to each other properly. How can I deal with this?
>
>
>
Treat the lab as your workplace. I have seen labs/groups that feel like family, and others that are unbelievably toxic. Focus on finishing your degree and moving on. Ensure that you maintain a social life with family/friends outside your lab, and get lots of fresh air and exercise.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: To many of you this might sound extremely ambitious, but I am already doing a lot of innovative things in my area of expertise. I think the results from this research could benefit the general public. It would be nice for me to be able to write my results in a formal paper and publish it. However I am not affiliated with any university and I know how much scrutiny there is in publishing.
**So assuming I have a paper written what are my next steps to publish it?**<issue_comment>username_1: Find a suitable journal and submit the paper.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with the existing "Find a suitable journal and submit the paper." answer, but a bit more detail may be helpful.
An experienced professor as academic advisor can be especially helpful to a new researcher in two areas, knowing what is innovative and selecting a venue.
To know that a particular idea is new requires broad knowledge of related research. Similarly, selecting an appropriate venue requires experience with the various journals and conferences. Objectively judging the standard and degree of interest of your own paper relative to the papers typically published in a journal can be especially difficult.
To do those things yourself requires a lot of reading of papers in your field, and often related fields. Read to select papers that should be referenced in your paper. Read to know the style and structure of papers in your field. Read to know what sorts of papers are published where.
Select a journal where, based on its stated scope and other papers it has published, you believe your paper would best fit. Go to that journal's web site. Look for "information for authors" or similar. If you cannot find that, use the "contact us" information to ask.
Follow the journal's process for submitting a paper. Be careful to follow all formatting guidelines. Await results. There are many questions and answers here on what results you might get and what to do about them. Broadly, the paper may be accepted or rejected outright, but often there will be questions and requests for revision. The process should improve the paper. If the final decision is rejection, consider submitting to a lower prestige journal, one that publishes less important papers than your first choice. However, avoid publishing in a [predatory journal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_open_access_publishing).
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: In my final year project, and since it will be my last postgraduate year, I want to add a taste of truth in my Acknowledgment, where I think it's the personal part of the project, where you are allowed to express yourself.
After thanking my professors, supervisors, parents in a very formal and professional way, I am eager to add this paragraph at the end.
I had a period where I was the underdog in the high school, I was treated badly, and I lost motivation to study because I wasn't encouraged, all my work and even good results in exams were not even appreciated. I was called the stupid dude, the person who thinks he knows but knows nothing, and ... and all of the this was by my math teacher, not my colleagues.
After that I was accepted in one of the top universities in Lebanon, in one of the hardest entrance exams, with an acceptance rate of not more than 15%. And after entering the university I was a top student.
For that I have written in the last paragraph of my acknowledgment:
>
> Since it’s the end of the years I spent in the Lebanese
> University-Faculty of Engineering, I’m glad to thank the math teacher
> who once told me: "you will never pass the entrance exam of the
> Lebanese University-Faculty of engineering, my nephew failed surely
> you will fail ". Thank you dude, you were my motive, and proving you
> wrong was one of my goals.
>
>
>
Would this be unprofessional?<issue_comment>username_1: I certainly think it could be worded in a more positive and professional way. It comes off a bit salty and as if all your research work was to prove one man wrong.
If I were to read your work, I would certainly get a bad initial impression.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I would refrain from adding this to the written/electronic version of the project report. It's very personal and uses colloquial language that should be avoided in a formal report, even in the acknowledgement section.
Having said that, you may still give to that particular teacher a copy with your personal hand-written dedication.
Btw, great example of negative motivation (or what it's called): a negative comment with positive result.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: That's the sort of paragraph that people who already like you will find funny. Some people who don't know you are going to find this negative. They might wonder why this teacher would say this to you.
I would use the space to thank the people who helped you. And if by some chance the teacher who said that to you reads your acknowledgements, he should have some idea why he's not mentioned. I think that when positive people have nothing to say about someone it has almost the same effect as when negative people have bad things to say about someone. (I'm not saying you're either.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: **Don't even spend a second of your valuable time** on writing to or about these lousy (peep). Send them to (peep) when you see them in person. Or tell them to see Figure 1. Meet them after work outside the building and let them know how good you are such that they avoid you in the future. But **don't leave any written trail of your attitude**. It's better to remove them from the Acknowledgements altogether.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I originally wrote this as a comment, but as I am seeing different opinions in several answers here I feel like I need to write a full answer:
Although it could feel cathartic to "stick it" to this teacher (who was clearly quite rude), it probably isn't worth it, and *definitely is not worth showing it to this particular teacher*.
**Don't do this.** No, it is not professional, it won't gain you anything.
People who know your situation might think it's funny - these are the people you should share this with, in another context, or anonymously somewhere if you are looking for some validation. Post it on Reddit under a throwaway, let people comment on it here.
People who *don't know your situation well*, or who have a *positive predisposition* toward the person you are referring to, or just don't know *you* are likely to have a different opinion. They might see this as petty, vindictive, or just disrespectful. It just isn't worth your trouble.
If this teacher was that rude to you, unless you think it was *intended* as motivation, they've shown they aren't worth your time at all anymore. You achieved what you wanted to achieve - move on and be your own person.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: A bit immature and passively aggressive. :)
I too would advise against adding the passage as is. Yet, I'd suggest you replace it with something targeting at people who may be reading it, focus on perhaps how to stay true to one's dream and don't give up even faced with adversity or discouragement.
Second, would you like to reconcile with the teacher? It's clear that you're not over him (since you use "dude" I assume it's a male) and would go so far to dedicate a paragraph to his comment. Why not pay him a visit and tell him the good news? He could be upset about his nephew's failing at that moment. I do think after these many years, you both may have a different feeling. Give it a thought!
Let the negative nagging feeling go and enjoy your career.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Unfortunately, yes, it's unprofessional.
You could perhaps say something like this instead: "I'm glad to give special thanks to the math teacher who motivated me with his words about the Lebanese University-Faculty of engineering's entrance exam."
Only you will know what you really mean by that.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: You're a student, not a professional, so "professionalism" is a category error.
However, I find your proposed paragraph rather crass and it suggests that you've spent years and years harbouring a grudge against this person. You might consider something along the lines of the following, which still tells the funny story but does it without (IMO) making you look bitter and obsessed.
>
> Since this the end of my time at the Lebanese University-Faculty of Engineering, I’m glad to thank the math teacher who motivated by telling me: "you will never pass the entrance exam of the Lebanese University-Faculty of engineering, my nephew failed surely you will fail."
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Don't. It seems immature and passive aggressive. And it belittles yourself and your work if you indicate that you spent years doing what you did not out of interest in the subject or because of job prospects or whatever, but to spite this one person (and it gives undue power to that person).
If it is important for you to mention the episode, then do so; but do it in a straightforward and honest way instead of ironically, and try to formulate it "positively", such as:
>
> My high school math teacher once told me I would never pass the university
> entrance exam, but my parents (? or whoever..) never stopped supporting and
> believing in me, for which I am eternally grateful.
>
>
>
Or:
>
> My high school math teacher once told me I would never pass the university
> entrance exam, which was hurtful and disheartening; but in the end I succeeded. If you are a teacher: Please refrain from belittling your students; if you are a student: please do not let yourself be discouraged by disparaging remarks.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: I had seriously been considering dividing my Ph.D. dissertation's "acknowledgments" section into expressions of gratitude and a few paragraphs with *condemnations* - of university management for oppressing the junior academic staff and for some things they had done to me which, well, are beyond the scope of this answer, but are quite terrible and sometimes illegal (I took them to court, too - and won twice). I actually couldn't wait to have the university library admit a copy of that into the archives for posterity.
But then some time passed; and I gave it more thought; and I realized that other than a brief (though sweet) sense of vindication, it would better to take the high road and keep the admonishments and denunciations out my dissertation. Looking back at it years later, I know I'll feel I did the right thing.
Still, you know what you *really* should do?
Go visit your old school, and ask the headmaster for permission to speak to the senior class. If they let you do it, you could use that opportunity - not to make a personal attack against that Math teacher, but to give your story as an example of why they should not be discouraged by nay-sayers, even if they are the supposedly all-knowing teachers.
And - you can always write an article or opinion piece and try to get it published in a newspaper. I can guarantee you it'll have more readers than your thesis :-P
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: There is nothing wrong to tell the truth.
What is the purpose of an acknowledgement? To show others how you make it in the end after so much hardship. An acknowledgement is also the integral part of your paper, so when you become a Nobel prize winner in future, it will be very interesting for us to read this part. As to the teacher who is not friendly or who should not be called an educator at all, why do you bother to consider how to keep his or her face because he never did so for you.
Go ahead with your writing.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_12: Answer this: Do you think this would be a sign or moral superiority or do you think a comment like this would come from exactly that kind of people who told you you're not going to make it in the first place?
I think it depends on the person *you* want to be here - besides the fact that such a statement in a formal report is kind of inappropriate. Do you want to stay above this? You showed them anyway. Don't you think *not* letting them know what you think is a much bigger punishment? If you write something like this, all they're going to do is say: "Yeah, he made it. But come on. Look at this poor comment he wrote into this document here."
Think about it.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_13: How about:
>
> For all the wonderful time I have spent in the Lebanese University-Faculty of Engineering, I am glad to thank all those who have supported me or made me very motivated to do my best against all odds, including the university entrance exam.
>
>
>
Very accurate, and if you send your paper to your former math teacher, he/she would certainly know what you're referring to, yet nothing in it is accusatory.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_14: Personally, I would include the comment, or something like it. I think it needs some re-wording (the word "dude"seems inappropriate, to me, for example), but the basic sentiment is OK, in my opinion. Clearly these thoughts are important to you, and they deserve to be expressed.
But note that I said "personally". In other words, this is just my own approach to things, and it may or may not work for you. I'm often considered direct (abrupt?), outspoken (harsh?), innovative (undisciplined?), and undiplomatic. I'm sometimes accused of being "unprofessional", and I actually regard that as a compliment, because, to me, "professional" typically implies stuffy, formal, and humorless.
So, short answer ... some people certainly **will** regard your comments as "unprofessional". That label doesn't bother me at all, but the key question is whether or not it bothers you.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I know that the term "camera-ready manuscript" is usually used to indicate a final version of the manuscript that will go to press. But what does the term actually mean and why is it used instead of some other more descriptive term?
Specifically, the term seems strange because in my opinion publishing has no connection to photography, at least in the modern age of digital publishing. Where does the term "camera-ready" come from?<issue_comment>username_1: From [the Wikipedia article entitled "Camera-ready"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera-ready):
>
> The term camera-ready was first used in the photo offset printing
> process, where the final layout of a document was attached to a
> "mechanical" or "paste up". Then, a stat camera was used to photograph
> the mechanical, and the final offset printing plates were created from
> the camera's negative.
>
>
> In this system, a final paste-up that needed no further changes or
> additions was ready to be photographed by the process camera and
> subsequently printed. This final document was camera-ready.
>
>
> In recent years, the use of paste-ups has been steadily replaced by
> desktop publishing software, which allows users to create entire
> document layouts on the computer. In the meantime, many printers now
> use technology to take these digital files and create printing plates
> from them without use of a camera and negative. Despite this, the term
> camera-ready continues to be used to signify that a document is ready
> to be made into a printing plate.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Technology academics in particular tend to use it to refer to the 'post-print' version of the article (i.e. the accepted manuscript after peer review changes). But frankly, that is a misnomer; because in terms of the publication process, the term 'camera ready' doesn't relate to the peer review process. It is a technical term meaning 'ready-to-print', rather than a publishing term.
Having said that, in practice, the term 'camera ready' refers to a process of getting ready to print the publisher's proofs - which is a post-peer review stage (in between the post-print and the version of record). So in other words, if the academic has identified the document as 'camera ready' rather than 'post-print', then so long as the document doesn't have publisher's copyright on it then it can be treated as the post-print (if they haven't identified it as such).
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/06
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<issue_start>username_0: What is the standard practice if I can no longer find students that contributed to a paper that we would like to publish now? The students contributed data, but obviously had nothing to do with writing the paper. Still, I feel that they deserve authorship. I can no longer find a current email address for them. Should I put them only in the acknowledgements section?<issue_comment>username_1: This is a tricky one! Since some venues may require each author to sign over copyright, it complicates matters above and beyond the ethical question of what is right.
If you feel they deserve authorship, you should IMHO make a good faith effort to find them (web search, ask the university for contact info, etc). But in the end, if you can't find someone and they contributed data but not writing the paper, I see no way you can include them as an author. An acknowledgment would be appropriate.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: The next answer assumes that the policy of the venue is silent about such situations (otherwise you simply follow the written guidelines). Moreover, let's assume that you failed to find the students or their representatives in reasonable time (otherwise contact these people and proceed from there). To find the people, you might consider asking the officials (administration, government, police, ...), though it might take more time and money than you originally expected. System administrators and secretaries may know more than they are allowed to say in public. Assuming all that fails:
**If the students deserve the authorship, put them as authors, otherwise don't.**
Of course, "deserve" is vague and open to interpretation, but this is a somewhat separate question. Naturally, most coauthors also co-write the paper. Still, a proof of a mathematical conjecture on a sheet of paper during lunchtime may be a substantial contribution deserving the (co)authorship, even if the coauthor does no paper writing. Similarly, the data your students contributed may be of great value or not. The value in the context counts, and there cannot be a general reply on that.
Next, you have to satisfy the formal requirements of a submission system. Inform the program chair (for conferences) or the main editor (for journals) of the situation and of your best efforts to contact the students. If you don't get an answer by the submission deadline but still have to enter the lost-coauthors' e-mail addresses into some form, use their old e-mails or, if that is not possible, reuse your own e-mail address or (at worst) create dummy e-mail boxes for the purpose of submission. State that you submit on the behalf of the coauthors and inform the chair/editor why you are doing so.
(Once, I even had to temporarily add and then remove a new, dummy coauthor like <NAME> to one of my papers because of certain technical limitations [which are unrelated here]. Upon informing the PC chair, it was not an issue.)
Note: regardless of whether you make the students the coauthors or not, the act of submission might involve risks. (See the comments.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is a difficult one, but I think in the end you have no choice but to put them in the acknowledgements if you cannot contact them, with an appropriate note regarding the level of their contributions. **You should do your best to find them** (social media? Contact other past students? Google?), but sometimes this might not be possible.
**It is assumed that any author on a paper has given their consent to have their name attached to that particular piece of work.** In your situation, the student(s) have not had this opportunity. I would be (rightly) upset if I found that someone had given me authorship on a paper without my consent. It would probably stop me doing any work with this person in future, and if I didn't like the published manuscript it would also involve a letter to the journal editor explaining the situation.
Even worse (I'm not suggesting this is the situation in your case), if the paper is of dubious quality, it may even hurt the student(s) in their future academic life to have their name attached to that paper.
Finally, I think most journals will have you sign off that each author has given their approval to the final manuscript. **Are you happy lying about this? If this is discovered, prepare to face retraction of the paper.**
I think it's a sign of a good supervisor that you value their contribution enough to want to give them authorship, even though you cannot contact them about it. It's just a shame that the rules of authorship preclude this.
Good luck with the paper!
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/06
| 1,099
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<issue_start>username_0: I worked in an academic laboratory for several months for an undergraduate research experience. The results of my project were not novel enough to be published in a journal. However, I wrote a 50-page report that detailed my project (technical details of the experimental apparatus, design considerations, important calculations, etc).
The report is meant to be a reference for future members of the lab.
1. Does this count as a "publication" that I could put on my graduate school applications? It is not peer-reviewed except for having been read over by the lab PI and other lab members.
2. Is this type of document commonly considered a 'technical report', 'internal report', 'scientific report', or by some other name?
3. I authored the report by myself but other members of the lab helped extensively with the project. If I list it under "publications", should I put only my name or the names of all those who contributed to the project?
I am planning to upload the report to my public web page, but it is not otherwise hosted online.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Does this count as a "publication" that I could put on my graduate school applications? It is not peer-reviewed except for having been read over by the lab PI and other lab members.
>
>
>
Normally CVs have areas for journal articles, conferences, and "unrefereed publications". I would think the same would be true of an application. Certainly worth listing.
>
> Is this type of document commonly considered a 'technical report', 'internal report', 'scientific report', or by some other name?
>
>
>
Usually this depends on the institution. If you called it a technical report, it's a technical report. If you didn't call it anything, I'd say "internal report, XYZ lab" sounds about right.
>
> I authored the report by myself but other members of the lab helped extensively with the project. If I list it under "publications", should I put only my name or the names of all those who contributed to the project?
>
>
>
If you were the sole author listed in the report, you should list yourself as the sole author when putting it on the CV/application. Perhaps you should have included coauthors; if so, if it's not too late, maybe you can amend & reissue it appropriately.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: That certainly sounds like a substantial project, but I would not consider it a publication, even an un-refereed one, especially because you are not clear about the appropriate authorship (which suggests it is not in the polished state that even a non-peer-reviewed publication would be in).
I would instead suggest listing it as one of the deliverables when you note your research/work experience on your application. Although you want to highlight this experience, I fear that including it as some sort of publication may make it seem like you are trying to pad your resume and you would have to be careful to present it clearly as not an academic publication. Doing so is even more difficult if you don't have another publication that *is* an academic work.
As an undergraduate, it isn't necessarily expected that you will produce an academic publication. Research experience by itself can be an asset.
Also, only do this:
>
> I am planning to upload the report to my public web page, but it is not otherwise hosted online.
>
>
>
..if you have permission to do so from your PI.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Seconding @username_1' answer (which I tried to do in a comment, but it mysteriously evaporated... not the first time): you should exactly tell what you have done. That is, tell the truth, as opposed to worrying about fitting the truth into some artifactual conventional categories. That is, tell the work you have done. Obviously. It may not be earth-shattering, or anything that would be status-enhancing when you're 50 years old, but that's not the point. The point is that you have done work. (And, on this site, I wonder what it is that is happening that what I imagine to be meaningful comments disappear without a trace... )
(In brief, this will not "count" as a "publication" in the ultra-commodified sense, since by those standards it simply isn't. But it is work that you have done, and if you are not embarrassed to present it to the world then you should... present it to the world. The conventional rules about what is status-enhancing or not are vestiges of old things... but, true, even then, people were subliminally oh-so-much aware of status. Surely this is not like other human endeavors, eh! :)
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/06
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<issue_start>username_0: How I can find out the tier of a university? Is it available in any website or report? If yes, what is the link?
I tried to find out the list and I got some pages which says how the universities are evaluated. I was more interested in current list.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't have a quick and easy answer for you, but I'd like to point something out that *might* help-
There are general tiers, and then tiers for a specific field. For example, you can google a list of the top 50 schools for Computer Science.
Some also happen to be top universities like Stanford, MIT, etc. But not all.
So if you do have an area of study in mind, I'd try searching google for that.
I hope this helps a bit!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Typically, when people talk about tiers in context of universities, the assumption is that they refer to levels of teaching and/or research activity within some *standardized framework*. As far as I know, the most well-known framework of this kind is [Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education](http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu). Based on this question, I further assume that it implies an interest in university research tiers (which matches the traditional *Carnegie Classification* framework - the *Basic* criterion).
Thus, in order to find a research tier of a university, click **LOOKUP** link in the main menu of the above-mentioned website and enter your search criteria on the *Institutional Lookup* page. The request will generate a list of results or a single result, depending on your criteria. Click on the linked title of the relevant institution and browse the resulting webpage. On that page, find *Basic* classification row, which contains the target value. For example, performing the search for my current institution (employer), Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech), we find that it belongs to the category of **Doctoral Universities: Highest Research Activity**. This is what usually refers to as (the highest) **R1** tier (for more details about the shorthand labels, see [this page](http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/classification_descriptions/basic.php)).
Note that, while level of research activity is the most popular classification criterion, there are other criteria (see Listings -> Standard Listings). Also note that Carnegie Classification is focused on the academic ecosystem in the United States. I am not familiar with similar national or international frameworks (but have no doubt that some exist).
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I don't know if it includes a "tier" designation anywhere, but the [Times Higher Education](https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/scores_research/sort_order/asc/cols/scores) website has published rankings and there is a very handy search tool where you can sort universities based on the calibre of research they were evaluated to have. Another page discusses the [methodology](https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/methodology-world-university-rankings-2016-2017) used to arrive at these rankings, and Wikipedia also lists criteria used.
This isn't a perfect list of Tiers, but it should be a good place to start when searching for universities conducting quality research.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: For world university ranking, I can suggest [Academic Ranking of World Universities, it is based on scientific method](http://www.shanghairanking.com/).
Another one that uses my university is [enter link description here](https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings)QS ranking
and as mention above Times Higher Education website and Wikipedia pages on the Quality rank of university.
Also, this may be unpopular opinion since members of this website tend to attack RG, but I would also take a look at ranking and points of universities, departments, faculties and research groups that are available via ReserchGate website.
Why I think RG is helpful metric because it can visualise collaboration and impact of publication and research teams.
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/06
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<issue_start>username_0: I've seen poems squeezed in-between chapters in books, but I don't want to write a book for each poem :-) . Hence my question:
Is there a journal or 'place' to publish poems written by and for other researcher in the same field?
What I have in mind is for example a poem written for physicists.<issue_comment>username_1: Poetry is for everyone!
If you're in a university, get in touch with your arts and humanities faculty for advice or even potential collaboration. I am sure there would be interest.
Of course, you could also publish your own book in print or share online via a blog.
But if you're interested in reaching a particular audience in your field, you can always informally contact the editors of a journal you know to see if they would want to share your poetry in spare pages of an issue. I've not seem in it in the hard sciences, but occasionally see this sort of thing in arts, humanities and social sciences journals.
On the topic of poetry and physics, many winters ago I was taught by <NAME>, the author of a poetry anthology that used imagery from nuclear physics as a motif to articulate the tragedy of Chernobyl:
[Petrucci, M. (2004) Heavy Water](https://enitharmon.co.uk/product/heavy-water-poem-chernobyl/)
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: In mathematics, the Mathematical Association of America has several journals aimed at undergraduate students (which many researchers also read): the *American Mathematical Monthly*, *College Mathematics Journal*, and *Mathematics Magazine*. All of them regularly publish short poems related to math. (Often they appear in the otherwise empty space on the last page of a regular article).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Some scientific journals publish letters to the editor that may include jokes, anecdotes, and even poetry. *The New England Journal of Medicine* has traditionally been notable for the humor and literary quality of its letters column.
In physics, the *American Journal of Physics* used to publish short humorous letters of this type. (I recall one letter from <NAME> setting out the absurd theory that Newton's use of "p" for momentum was an abbreviation for "pimento.") However, it seems that they may not publish such items any longer.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: The *Journal of Humanistic Mathematics* has sections called *Poetry Folder* and *Poetry*.
From [their website](http://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/about.html) (emphasis mine):
>
> We publish articles that focus mainly on the doing of mathematics, the teaching of mathematics, and the living of mathematics. We also welcome contributions about the state of the mathematical profession (both in research and in education), underrepresentation issues within the world of mathematics, mathematics across national and cultural boundaries, *mathematical fiction and poetry*, personal reflections that provide insight to the inner workings of the mathematical mind, and other types of writing which may stimulate discussion among our readers. Overall we are a free platform where many different conversations about mathematics are welcome and encouraged.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/07
| 462
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm in the Physics community. I've already published an article on a journal where I've described a solution scheme that serves to solve a certain problem. Now, I've discovered that the same approach can be used to solve a different model. Of course the model, the comments the results, the plots, etc are different, but the technique is the same. So, is it ok to copy the section of my previous article where I describe the solution technique and paste it into the new one? Notice that the old and the new article feature the same identical authors and that the previous article would be, of course, properly cited.<issue_comment>username_1: Technically this is self-plagiarism and not OK. We had problems before where we published the 6th paper on a very similar topic and one sentence in our introduction was the same as in another of our papers (there are only so many ways to describe one thing) and it got flagged and we had to rewrite it, which in my personal opinion is just stupid.
However, if it's part of a methods section it is usually tolerated, since it doesn't make sense to rewrite technical statements all the time. For example in synthetic chemistry you would write something like
>
> All chemicals were purchased from Sigma Aldrich and used without further purification.
>
>
>
Which is fine to just copy/paste.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I never do this, and I would not recommend doing this to anyone. You can keep the same meaning, but change the wording, add a couple of new sentences, etc. It's pretty simple.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If you explicitly state that "*the following section describes the method and is identical to §2.2 of our previous work [4]"*, then this is IMHO okay. However, you should definitely check with the journal editor before submission.
But, do you really need to do this? Surely, you can improve the text and/or adapt it to the particular application.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/07
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<issue_start>username_0: I have just started my master degree. so literature review is completely new to me. I want to search for papers published in high-rank conferences and journal with high impact number. Apart from Google Scholar what are the other websites?
I should add this to my Question:
Thanks for useful comments. But unfortunately, I don't have access to the library.<issue_comment>username_1: My students never use the online library tools (despite the fact that I always suggest this to them as a first resource), but that would be a good place to look for literature in your field. If you go to the library, the librarian will show you how to use it and most universities will allow you to access all online materials from off-campus.
Also, impact factor is not the best indicator of the quality of research that should be included in a literature review. Impact factor relates to how much work from that journal is cited. There are some journals with a very specific focus and therefore do not get cited often, but the research is very high quality. Also, some researchers decide to publish in journals with lower or no impact factors to get their work published more quickly or to target a specific audience. Their research may still be very high in quality.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to the really good answer of @username_1 you can have a look at the [Wikipedia list of academic databases and search engines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_databases_and_search_engines).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I tend to use what I call a *bootstrapping* method for doing literature reviews. I start with a paper that is relevant to the topic area. I then work backwards and forwards from that paper. I pull all the relevant papers that the paper cites and use a website (doesn't really matter which one) to find all the relevant papers that cite the paper. I then repeat the process for each of those papers. As my literature search is nearing the end, I try and look at the webpages of the key authors in the area to see if they published something obscure.
The reason the website does not really matter is that by going backwards and forwards you are leveraging the literature searches that were done for all the other papers. As you are not searching for key words, but rather by citations, the search engine is not as critical. What matters is if the relevant papers are published in places that the search engine indexes. If something is not indexed in the major academic databases, is not referenced by other authors, and was written by someone peripheral to the field, then, unfortunately, the work will probably get missed.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: The most valuable advice on literature searching I ever received was *to book an appointment with a research librarian*. It is literally their job to know how to find papers in the literature.
I would start there, as the answer to this question will vary wildly by field and geographic location.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/07
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<issue_start>username_0: There are already [works in several academic fields written in Esperanto](http://www.eventoj.hu/steb/). Is it destined to become the new academic language, replacing English?
Esperanto is a constructed language that is easier to learn than English.<issue_comment>username_1: According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto), Esperanto is spoken by:
>
> Native: Around 1,000 families involving around 2,000 children (2004)[1]
> L2 users: estimates range from 100,000 total (1999)[2][not in citation given] to 10 million total (1996)[3]
>
>
>
At best, those seem to be some generous numbers.
Given the language has been around since the late 1800s, unless there is some dramatic shift in rate in which people acquire proficiency in the language, the simple answer is "no."
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Given that German, French and Russian are becoming extinct as academic languages except for niche disciplines, given that the Chinese have significant incentives to publish in English, the trend is clear: there is (regrettably?) little to no incentive for most academic to publish in languages other than English if they want their work to be recognized.
Upvotes: 3
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2017/07/08
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently, I became aware of a Java programming textbook
[Introduction to Programming Using Java, Seventh Edition](http://math.hws.edu/javanotes/)
which is to my surprise, free as in:
>
> The most recent version of this book is always available, at no charge, for downloading and for on-line use.
>
>
>
**Question:** Why would the author (<NAME>) make this textbook free?
I have found that almost always,
authors of academic textbooks prefer to make money
from sales of their textbooks,
rather than writing a textbook which is available freely without cost.
(I don't have any statistics to back up this assertion.
However, throughout my undergrad and my PhD studies,
in about 95% of the courses which I took,
the prescribed textbook was published by an academic publisher such as
McGraw-Hill, Pearson or Springer.)
**Closely related question:**
[<NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058/massimo-ortolano)
claims [in this comment](https://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/38705695#38705695) that most authors would not be able to make much money
from sales of academic textbooks they have written.
Can someone give me an estimated amount of earnings per textbook sold?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't know why Eck made his book freely available, but I can tell you [why I make my course materials freely available](http://algorithms.wtf), and will continue to do so even if I ever take the final step of turning them into a book.
**Because I want as many people as possible to *use* what I've written.**
As others have pointed out, the expected profit from publishing a textbook is minuscule, especially a textbook in a well-worn topic like Java programming or algorithms. By making my notes freely available instead of selling them, I potentially lose a small amount of money, but I gain a *significantly* wider audience. And that wider audience justifies, in my mind, the thousands of hours that I have put into writing, polishing, illustrating, rewriting, and maintaniing them, far more than any monetary compensation would.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: Because in many situations it is part of their job, or at least should be part of their job. In addition, it rarely costs them anything to write the book.
If <NAME> does not write a book, he does not have an income. In most cases, Prof. X does not write a book, he/she still has sufficient income. Academics are *already paid* to advance and spread knowledge by teaching courses and doing research, so they are expected to produce and prepare for their classes relevant and current material. Promotion and tenure is helped by publishing, and is certainly helped by publishing books.
Of course, this is not a mainstream opinion and there are deep cultural differences between disciplines: people will argue (not incorrectly) that if Prof. X might be paid by University Y, but he/she is not paid by University Z so why should students of University Z get free access to the expertise of Prof. X, and that if Prof. X chose not to write book everybody would be intellectually "poorer". Also, academic textbook and journal publishing is an industry with hefty profit margin (see [this recent article](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/27/profitable-business-scientific-publishing-bad-for-science) in The Guardian), so why should parts of the profits not go to those who produce the raw material for this industry?
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Other answers are right but I would add about the selfish economic point. Authors get about 10% of cover price, and most academic books aren't likely to sell more than a few hundreds of issues. Therefore, a single author can't expect to get more than a few hundreds of euros or dollars in the whole lifetime of a book.
In the other hand, academics need citations, since most promotions and grants are directly or indirectly linked to citations. In fact, a large part of academic work is writing papers that aren't paid, mainly to get more citations. Publishing a book and making it widely used by distributing it for free can attract more citations than journals. Furthermore, the prestige boost that a widely known textbook produces may lead to collaborations and citations that promote the author's career, which can lead to larger income than the one lost by giving away the book for free.
Furthermore, self publishing a book in Internet is easy compared to trying to find an editorial wanting to risk their money publishing the same academic book.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Also for the same reason that underlies much of the work of initiatives like open-source software, Wikipedia, Doctors Without Borders, OpenStreetMap, Open Science... and even StackExchange: to give something back/advance the field/help others...
* Someone who is entering a situation where money is no longer a significant priority... perhaps an aging professor who is monetarily comfortable but wants to leave a larger mark on his field as sort of a final legacy... or someone facing new health issues who is suddenly very aware of having limited time.
* A professor who is frustrated that many people (either those in or coming into their field, or even those in the general public) don't have a better understanding of some important principles in their discipline, and who hopes to change that.
* Someone who believes that furthering the field by simplifying information will eventually result in growth or advancements in the field that results in greater opportunity for them (probably most pertinent in relatively small/nascent fields).
* Those passionate about seeing information and opportunities better available to those with less resources, such as inner-city kids or developing nations.
* Those doing so out of some sort of religious conviction to give to/serve others.
* Someone moved by a sense of gratitude from all the benefits they've reaped from their years in the field. You see this a lot in sports... people talking about "giving back to the game". No reason you wouldn't see the same in computing subjects or sciences.
* Someone frustrated by some other reality... perhaps an overall lack of intellectualism in society... or political policies that they see as against their field or education in general... or being pigeonholed into work or research that they don't feel is very useful... or a company/university that blocks wider endeavors (and so they put out such a textbook with their free time).
In the end, many of these alternative motivations seem to boil down to one principle: be the change you want to see in the world. And hooray for that!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Arguably, writing books for profit/ promotion/ prestige is a violation and corruption of the scientific method. Descartes, *Discourse on the Method*, Part 6:
>
> And so I have had to give up the idea of completing physical science
> all by myself; how far I get in the knowledge of nature will from now
> on depend on how many of these crucial experiments I am able to
> conduct. I was going to make this known in the book I had written, and
> to show there how generally beneficial such experiments could be,
> presenting this so openly and plainly that virtuous people would be
> obliged both to report to me the experimental results they had already
> achieved and to help me to work on the experiments that remained to be
> made. I mean *really* virtuous people — ones who desire the general
> good of mankind — not ones who merely claim to be virtuous or are
> merely thought to be so.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> Why would an author distribute his textbook for free?
> Almost always, authors of academic textbooks prefer to make money from sales of their textbooks.
>
>
>
Multiple kinds of "non-economic" incentives would make an author still write and publish for free: enjoying the experience of writing and publishing, generating discussion, leaving a legacy, altruism, etc.
If we restrict ourselves to economic incentives though, it has long been the tradition that a reader would pay for a book and that a part of the money would trickle down to the author. This changed with the internet. It is now really easy and convenient to find any popular data for free, whether it be books, music, movies, or anything of the kind.
<NAME> wrote a great book about the subject *"Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age"*. Long story short, in the current environment, creating new information is similar to being a street performer: anyone can enjoy the show, anyone can choose not to pay. While authors used to enjoy more direct economic rewards, nowadays the rewards are pushed more towards donations and gaining social capital and recognition.
It's no surprise that you mention a programming textbook. Computer people are at the forefront and are more aware of this reality, as exemplified by free softwares and websites such as StackExchange.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: As the author of this particular free textbook, I can say that the previous answers have covered things pretty well. "Introduction to programming using Java" started in 1996 as a set of class notes written in HTML with embedded Java applets -- which all seemed pretty exciting in the heady early days of the Internet. I had published an earlier textbook in the usual way, and made not much money from it, which is true of the large majority of published textbooks. I had recently been promoted to full professor, possibly the most secure job in the world where the only further promotion available to me would move me into (shudder) administration, so it would make little difference to my career if I self-published a book instead of submitting it to a regular publisher.
I lost creative control over my regularly published textbook. The copyright was assigned to the publisher until it goes out of print, which it will probably never do in these days of print-on-demand. There has never been a second edition. My Java textbook, on the other hand, has gone through seven versions and has been updated fairly regularly. I get the ego boost of hearing from people all over the world who have read it (something I can never seem to get most of my own students to do). The web site still gets hundreds of visits every day. It has certainly had more impact on the world than if I were selling it. And if someone doesn't like it, I can politely point out that they can write their own textbook, or even make a modified version of mine.
So, my main motivation was to write a textbook that I could use in my own courses. Selling it would make me very little profit. And since I use free software all the time, it's also a way that I could give back something to the open source / creative commons community.
Upvotes: 10 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_8: I recently started reading a great freely available textbook named ["Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces"](http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/).
<NAME>, who wrote the book together with his wife <NAME> following a shared experience teaching the Operating Systems course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offers a well-written explanation about what led them to create the book in the article [The Case for Free Online Books (FOBs): Experiences with "Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces"](http://from-a-to-remzi.blogspot.ie/2014/01/the-case-for-free-online-books-fobs.html). This article concludes with the following bullet points:
>
> * **Linkability.** Classic textbooks trap their material inside of expensive volumes, making it difficult to link to or learn from unless you are dedicated enough to buy the entire (expensive) thing. FOBs make their content available to all, enabling linking to chapters from other sites; Google searches will find your materials.
> * **Broader Readership.** As related to the previous point, classic textbooks are (usually) bought for class. FOBs can be perused by anybody interested in a topic that the book covers, and thus more likely to be read by more people. This type of casual usage broadens the audience. If your goal is to deliver information to as many people as possible, free and online works better.
> * **Partial Usage.** Classic textbooks almost mandate usage of the entire book; it would be cost prohibitive to require students to buy three different books, much less one. FOBs enable usage of subsets of many books, perhaps pulling together a whole that is better than the sum of the parts. While there are reasons to use just one book (style and tone, for example), there could also be reasons to pull together materials from various different sources.
> * **Frequent Micro-Revisions.** Classic textbooks are revised with great effort, and often for the wrong reasons (e.g., to force students to buy new books instead of used ones). FOBs evolve as they need to, and when they need to. Indeed, we update chapters regularly thanks to feedback and comments from random people on the Internet.
> * **Just Feeling Good.** Making a free book simply makes you feel good, like you are doing the world a (small) service. Every email you get saying "good job!" or "thanks!" makes you smile. We've received hundreds of said emails, and appreciate each and every one.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Just another echo of other answers and comments: I write to communicate. For the moment, at least, there is an amazing low-cost internet, which allows me to offer up whatever I write. Really, in the context of academe from 30-40 years ago, this is unimaginably wonderful. Not so many of us wanted to make money, but we did want to be able to tell other people what we'd thought-of.
Yes, to be able to think in terms of communicating ideas, rather than in terms of some variant of profit, is a luxury.
(There is too much to be said here... It disturbs me that more senior academics so fail to communicate... or that young people so disregard... or... Dangit.)
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: In a few days, I will be giving my first conference talk. I have only spent less than a year in the field, and the talk will be attended by several well-known researches, who are familiar with all of my advisor's work and all of the other literature in the area as well. Of the people in the room, it is probably them who will be listening most intently -- but it is also them who I feel the least well-equipped to answer questions from.
The questions I am most worried about will be about related work. Take it as a given that:
* **I clearly should know the answer to the question,** because the related work is very relevant at a surface-level. Indeed, my advisor is familiar with the work and has told me to try to be prepared for any questions about it.
* **But I don't know the answer,** because I failed to sufficiently prepare. Or, to make some excuses, maybe I am relatively new to the field and have not had a chance to read every paper in full detail. Of course I have tried some to read through this work, and I have gotten from my advisor some idea of how it compares, but I am not nearly so familiar as I should be.
It seems likely that a poor response to such a question will make me come across as incompetent, unfamiliar with related work in the field, and even unfamiliar with the context of our own work. Similarly, this may damage the reputation of our research itself. **How can I best respond to such a question, so as to minimize the damage?**<issue_comment>username_1: It will depend on the research field but there are ways to get out these situations quite well, in most cases. I also don't see any problems in admitting you don't know the answer.
Usually you won't get questions exam like style. No one will ask you:
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> What's the formula for calculating XY?
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>
>
Here some types of questions I've heard a lot before and some simple answers you can give without talking about the subject:
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> Have you tried to use this approach?
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In that case you can answer with
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> No we have not but thank you for your input, we will look into this!
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If the question is:
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> [Name] has used this approach, how does it differ from yours?
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You can, again, simply answer with
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> I am not familiar with this work but I will look into that.
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The following question is tricky:
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> I think there might be a problem with this part of your work, can you comment on this?
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Here of course you somehow have to defend your own work and this is the part you should know. What I would do is ask the person who asked the question if I understood it right (a lot of the time that's a problem) and then if you still don't know the answer you can eitehr go with something like before
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> We haven't investigated this yet, we will have to look into this in detail, thank you for your comment.
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or you shift the whole discussion to a more "private" setting:
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> This is an intersting point, maybe we could discuss this after this session? (in view of the time)
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This is quite common to do and usually there's only time for a few short questions.
The same is true for a question like:
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> Why did you use this method?
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where it's easy to shift the discussion to after the session.
Whatever you do, don't try to hide the fact that you don't know the answer with strange answers. At the last conference I attended a speaker answered every question with:
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> This question is spot on, but the project is still ongoing and there's a patent filed and I don't know if I can reveal that right now.
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>
Which told anyone in the audience: that guy has no clue.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: To add to an already good accepted answer, here's to maybe calm your nerves a little bit: The majority tend to go easy on young researchers giving their first talk. Few people attend conferences to ask gotcha' questions to Ph.D. students, and the few who do, are usually frowned upon by other researchers.
More directed to your question: Not knowing the answer up front is ok. I actually disagree with the answer above stating that no one asks questions exam-style, because the above mentioned few actually tend to do. I vividly remember having been asked such exam-style questions a few times, usually by older, Russian professors. If the situation should arise, know that both the chairperson and the audience will be on your side, if you simply say: 'I do not know the answer by heart, let us take this discussion afterwards.' No one wants to sit and hear a lengthy cross examination, they might have a question which is actually interesting, and there is usually some degree of time pressure.
Good luck with your first talk!
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: We are currently working on a conference paper where we plan to cite and discuss a paper as a related work. It was written by a colleague at the same university who has kindly offered to help us understand its specifics.
After publishing said paper, the colleague has changed name and gender. For example, suppose that the paper is authored by <NAME> and she now uses the name <NAME> (not the real names). The problem is that she insists that her new name/gender is used everywhere, including our citation of her publication. She explicitly asked us to change the citation from G. Smith to M. Smith.
I’m not sure how to handle this. The publisher still lists George as name as do most citation data bases. Our scientific handbook demand that external sources should be cited as precisely as possible and should not be modified. (I asked about this specific case and got back a multi-page document that stresses the importance of respecting gender identity [no problem for me] but the document does not address this issue.) On the other hand, the paper has a distinct title, journal name, volume, number, pages and a DOI so everybody should be able to find it, even if one author is listed as M. Smith instead of G. Smith.
Do you have any advice on how to handle this situation? Would a change from G. Smith to M. Smith be acceptable/reasonable?<issue_comment>username_1: Is it an option to ask <NAME> if she would be ok if the first citation were to read as the following?
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> <NAME>. (published G.) 2014, recent advances in foo, international journal of foo sciences 12:56, 427-865
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>
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This would eliminate the only reason I can think of for misgendering the person, namely that readers might be unsure whether they are looking up the correct source. This would be a weak reason, though, since we have DOIs ([Digital Object Identifiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifier)) now.
Edited on second thought: What is the worst thing that could happen if you use the new name? Someone might find it more difficult to look up the paper; that's a minor inconvenience. Compare this to the frustration, if not anger and distress, that it would cause <NAME> to be referred to in cold print by a name that doesn't reflect her identity and that she is struggling to leave behind.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I advise you strongly to use their new name and gender. Especially in the period right after the change, she's very sensitive about this. It's very upsetting when people remind you of your previous gender and cite you with your previous name. After thirty years, it doesn't matter that much. Today, I wouldn't care any more.
I ask of you to not consult the person about it. She needs all support she can get, citing her by her right name without asking her will make her feel good.
I speak from experience: been there, done that. I wrote papers and publications before and after. People have always handled this in a way I appreciate: by using my after-change gender and first name.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Our scientific handbook demand that external sources should be cited as precise as possible and should not be modified.
>
>
>
So you cite the policy, and then explore violating this?
For me, [DSVA's comment](https://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/38667770#38667770):
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> This problem also occurs if you change your last name (usually because of marriage). The correct way to cite the old papers is using the old name.
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>
>
clearly provides the longstanding approach. People being unable to find information in a database is a real, impacting reason to not pretend like history was something else.
Just because Smith made a decision to change his name is not compellingly professional reason to disregard established data entry standards that provide useful benefit.
I present to you an analogy: If United States President <NAME>, in the final years of that person's life (which happened in 2004), quickly completed the official legal process to have that person's name changed to <NAME>, would you expect historical documents to change? For that matter, would you even expect modern texts to say "<NAME> won the election and she became the next President"?
Doesn't this student's non-fictional request boil down to exactly the same thing as that fictional scenario, which is asking for reference to what historically happened to be referred to different, based on the person's more recent decisions? Re-writing history is not desirable.
>
> Would a change from <NAME> to <NAME> be acceptable/reasonable?
>
>
>
This change would not be acceptable. Academia has a goal to prepare students to enter a workforce that often has long-standing established expectations that workers are demanded to abide by. This goal permeates academia's culture, official policies, and often even coursework grading criteria. Many students struggle with some of the expected formality, and the demands can feel more traditional than what the students prefer to experience. Yet, students are expected to adapt if they want to achieve high marks (or even passing marks). Changing established procedure about name handling, just to accommodate the author's wishes, goes directly against academia pursuing this goal. That is why this change is not acceptable.
Like other professional environments, academia isn't necessarily the most appropriate platform for people to try to push their own desires, even when those desires may reflect goals that are in line with a currently-popular social stance.
>
> Do you have any advice on how to handle this situation?
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>
>
Yes. Resist the author's attempts to get you to overlook the person's name at the time of publication. The proper response for improper requests is resist. Decline the request.
Although such a change would be considered desirable by some people, in some environments, academia includes an amount of formality and demands that students accommodate society's expectations, not the other way around.
As policies should be able to be flexible when needed, the motivation of this request may have a significant impact on deciding whether the request should be agreed to. The motivation for this request appears to be driven from personal interests that are off-topic of most academic subject material. Therefore, granting an exception to general policy does not really seem to be in academia's best interest.
If a person wishes to have this procedure changed throughout academic culture, the desirable way to do this is not to make a request that an academic institution change long-standing institution behavior just to make a single individual student happier. So as to not provide an open door welcoming the next person to come up with a reason why policy should be set aside to fulfill personal desires, this request should be declined.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: One of the primary goals of citing literature is to help others find that literature. Citing a paper differently than it exists in a journal is antithetical to this goal. Unless Smith changes George to Mary on the article you are citing, you should cite it as it exists.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_5: This is really making a mountain out of a mole hill. Do the thing that will make the author happy. Even hyper famous papers have all sorts of oddities and mistakes in them; it is likely that nobody is even going to notice this. On the subject of citations:
[](http://smbc-comics.com/comic/feeling-stupid)
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> Do you have any advice on how to handle this situation?
>
>
>
Name them exactly as in the publication, using the old name for publications before the name change and the new one for publications after the name change. Your scientific handbook requires that, the conference organizers or journal publishers (or the citations style1 they mandate) will probably require it and it is the common convention in scientific writing for practical purposes: References are (primarily) for re-finding the source work itself, not (primarily) for re-finding or identifying its authors.
References are, in many citations styles, highly redundant for a reason: Keeping their function to accurately point to the source work even in the case of accidental errors. Relying on the redundancy to suffice when introducing deliberate changes is counter-productive.
Thus, the only case when you could cite an old work under the new name would be if it has been re-published under the new name and is thus findable under the new name, too. (This sometimes happens when originally pseudonymously published works are published again under the author's canonical name after they claim authorship for their "true" identity. Probably more common with fanfiction than with scientific writing, but not unheard of there either, I assume.)
This means that in this case, *this isn't really your own choice to make*.2 The same rules apply whether someone changed their name due to marriage, due to becoming a monk or nun, due to being elected pope and also when authors didn't *change* their name per-se but just published different works under different names (like the already mentioned pseudonyms). **So ask your colleague to please not take it personally when you disregard her wish *in this case*** and that you are happy to respect her preference when referring to her outside of scientific citations.
>
> Would a change from <NAME> to <NAME> be acceptable/reasonable?
>
>
>
As harsh as that might be on your colleague's feelings: **No, this wouldn't be acceptable**, especially not if rules (like the handbook you mentioned, and probably more rules by the journal publisher etc.) apply, that clearly state that it isn't and it **wouldn't be reasonable** to ignore or willingly violate those rules.
---
1 You didn't say anything about the citations style mandated or used, but for the example of APA Style, [this blog post](http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2017/05/whats-in-a-name-inconsistent-formats-and-name-changes.html) on the official APA Style blog covers name changes, explicitly including changes due to gender changes.
2 Unless of course the different rules that might apply disagree. But even then, as the journal publisher has the final say about whether your paper will be published especially concerning formalities like this, **ask your publisher** which rules take precedent.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_7: Disclaimer: I'm not active in the field of academia itself.
As others have mentioned there is clear precedent and standardization across this field, and for good reason. It's a field based on fact and evidence and incorrect citations could damage the standing of the citing paper, as it could thus be perceived as incorrect or of lesser quality.
As a reader, It's exceedingly frustrating to not know *exactly* if I've looked up the correct source, if its because there's a typo in the name, or a namechange, or because the citing paper is simply incorrect.
Diverging from this, purely for social and highly personal views of the individual, even if said view might be shared by a larger percentage of demographics should imho be avoided.
The whole idea that she considers herself to be a different person now, only makes this case stronger and when one considers identity in "Gender Identity" then it is in fact *he* who wrote the paper, not *her*.
Yes, the views of said colleague should be respected, as in, one should treat her views with respect, but not as in, her desires (or perhaps demands) should thus be met. That is certainly not what respect means.
Especially in fields such as these, *professionalism*, *scientific fact* and *established standards*, do not and should not be set aside or diminished for volatile social norms, as by definition, they can not be considered set in stone. Bending semantics (or reality) so as to fit the current social norm (if it's a widely accepted norm or not is of little consequence), especially when the field is supposed to be unbiased, neutral and factual, has no basis in a field such as this, if anywhere else.
As a pragmatic solution to your (or her) problem: In other fields, e.g. arts/entertainment, a place where names often change (be it in the form of stage names or changing family names), citations and credits are written in the form `Jane Doe (as John Doe)`. I don't know if a similar construct would be applicable or desirable in the field of academics, but it seems like a sane approach that reflects both past and current situation, without doing the author of the cited paper any injustice.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Very similar things have happened previously. The following really happened, but the name has been changed.
A Russian whose papers had been translated under the name *Chaikovskii* suddenly started publishing papers in English under the name *Tchaikovsky*. So his papers in old translated Russian journals all have the name *Chaikovskii*, and his papers after he started publishing in English all have the name *Tchaikovsky*. Would you really want to list half his papers under one name and half under the other? That really would be confusing, especially since the two names are quite far apart alphabetically.
What people sometimes do in this instance is list all his papers under the new name. Sometimes they put something like *(pubished as Chaikovskii)* in the reference and sometimes they don't.
I don't really see why we should treat transgender people worse than Russians.
I would recommend people do the same thing in this case. List all the papers in the bibliography with her new name. Add *(published as <NAME>)* if you feel people will be confused by the change of initials. When your colleague becomes world-famous and has many publications under the name <NAME>, then *<NAME>* will be the confusing citation.
If you really feel that academic honesty requires you to list the paper as *<NAME>* in the bibliography, then depending on the reference style the journal requires, you could use
>
> <NAME> [G. Smith 2016] showed that ...
>
>
>
or
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> <NAME> [6] showed that ...
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> **References**
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> [6] <NAME>, "paper title" ...
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>
>
About the name change causing confusion: a very famous computer scientist insists on listing everybody in his bibliographies with their full names (<NAME>), even if they put just <NAME> on all their publications. This has not caused widespread confusion.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_9: Use the name the author prefers. There is little chance of confusion. In a given citation style, there are at least three and possibly more separate factors pointing toward the correct citation: 1) author's last name, 2) actual page/volume citation, 3) doi, 4) article title, 5) author ORCID id in case of name confusion.
Beyond simple courtesy (search "deadnaming" for how seriously many trans folks take this), the arguments for using the author's preferred name are internal consistency and Google-ability.
1) You are going to be using the author's name in many different contexts. For instance, in the acknowledgments, you will say, "We thank <NAME> for helpful discussion of her paper, Ref. 24" (as Mary has requested you use her current name, and you're presumably not a jerk.) If Ref. 24 is attributed to <NAME>, you have confused readers just as much as if you cited "<NAME>," and they later found <NAME>. You may also want to use her name within the paper body - "Work by <NAME>'s group..." (though here it might be more common to say "Smith et al.").
2) Sometimes, readers (and especially people who hear talks) don't check citations. They just hear you say, "<NAME> at University of X" and google that. The same applies when you repeatedly refer to someone's work by their name within the paper. You want that name to lead to the current online presence - presumably in the author's preferred name.
As a side note, telling trans authors that preferring their current name means they "don't like facts" or that changing a citation to match the current name is ignoring "professionalism, scientific fact and established standards" seems a wildly disproportionate response to a fairly straightforward request. If someone said, "By the way, I know that the original paper spells my name Gorge, but it's really spelled George, we never got around to issuing a correction," what would you do?
*Edited to add: I looked up a trans friend's research in the standard archive/search engine for her field. Because she has gone through a formal name change process, most of her pre-transition papers are listed under her current name. If you searched her deadname, you do not find those papers. Using the author's current name is not just polite, but the only way to not be misleading here.*
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_10: Well, this whole depends on how you do feel. Any discussion about whether the reference is "correct" or "possible to follow" are rubbish, for two reasons:
1. You can list both names, at least in the references. You can actually do this for any person with two names, even in cases of Kucherov/Kutcherov, even in cases of maiden names, whereever you wish. The way how you do it is discussed in the other answers. And once the references contain the correct information, you can divert in the text itself, because either people know what work you cite or they will have to check the references anyway. I also translate titles of cited works into English and provide both, if the reference is not in English.
2. Names are not even a mandatory part of a reference. So while it's confusing to put the wrong name in the references, the reference should be trackable without the name, based solely on journal title, volume and page. Based on this, even the citation services such as ZB, AMS-MR, ISI or Scopus should be able to pick up; if not, a manual correction is always possible.
So in my opinion, it's up to you. I personally prefer to provide as complete and as current authors' names as possible, but this is really just a preference. The only problem could be if the journal insisted on providing the reference "as listed", which sometimes could even be an automated thing. I'm afraid that in that case you'll have to comply with the rules or draw the submission, but even there you can of course try to push, depending on how you feel it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: To answer your question:
>
> Do you have any advice on how to handle this situation? Would a change from <NAME> to <NAME> be acceptable/reasonable?
>
>
>
Yes, it would be perfectly reasonable to do so.
1. Make it someone else's problem.
If anyone at a journal or a conference objects, then they'll let you know. I can't imagine anyone busy editing a journal or organizing a conference wishing to get drawn into a discussion on that topic unless they have an ax to grind.
And this might be useful for the author to know. So do pass it on if anyone objects. It's good for her to know who the bigots in the profession are.
2. Be practical.
The bibliography will contain all the references needed to find the original article. Moreover, it's highly unlikely that any other article with the same title, published in the same year, in the same journal, in the same volume by an author with the same name will be mistaken for the article you're referring to.
3. Be kind.
The original author has asked this of you and you'd not be inconveniencing anyone who's only interested in looking up her publications. You'd help her and not hurt anyone else professionally.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: Depending on how your citations are formatted, you will probably find the initial doesn't matter. For example, a reference listed as:
"<NAME>; <NAME>; <NAME>; <NAME>. *J. <NAME>*, vol 6, p. 200, 2014."
is unlikely to be difficult to find even if a single initial is different and there's no DOI included. A reader will probably assume the different initial is just a typo, if they even notice it at all. The discrepancy is very minor.
If I saw that reference listed on a paper and tried to look it up I'd mostly use the journal details and publication date to find it, then author surnames as a cross-reference to make sure I'd got the right one.
If you really feel the different initial could be confusing, drop it entirely. Her surname hasn't changed, so by using that on its own you won't confuse any readers who find the names don't precisely match, nor will you be misgendering or deadnaming your colleague. Whatever you do, don't use her old name/initial. This would be exceptionally rude considering that not only do you know what her new name is, but she has also explicitly instructed you to not use her old one in this context.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_13: You're weighing up factors against vs. in favour of a particular action, namely using your colleague's new initial.
Points in favour:
* Your colleague feels strongly about it
* Your colleague has explicitly asked you to do it
* It meets social norms regarding trans peoples' names
* When you asked for clarification of the regulations, you received a document stressing the importance of doing it
* It would show respect for your colleague and help your working relationship with her
Points against:
* It's *just about conceivable* that the discrepancy in the initial could cause someone to fail to find the paper, for example if they try to look it up using a system that doesn't return partial matches, and if they then don't follow it up by Googling the paper's title, looking up the journal issue it appears in, etc.
If that last possibility happens, it does hurt your colleague's career a little bit (it's a potential loss of a reference to her work) and you're right to worry about it. However, you should know that it *also* hurts your colleague's career if you cite her under a name that she no longer uses. For example, what if a top professor loves the paper by <NAME> but passes over a job application from <NAME>? That would hurt her career a lot more.
As a general rule of thumb in such situations, you should **trust your colleague** to have weighed these up and made the right decision for herself. After all, she's the one who's made the huge decision to go through a gender change and all that that entails; she has her reasons for this and she knows a lot more about the consequences than you do. She's made a specific request of you, and if your concern is for her career then there's nothing to do other than listen to her and act on it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: **TL;DR**: I have this problem when citing my own papers. I concluded that ***I'm citing a paper, not a person***, and generally cite my old papers as they stand (example below). However, if someone asked me to cite their papers in a certain way, I would do so: it's a minuscule cost, and makes them feel like you value their identity.
I feel the worst option is to cite both names: this "outs" them, and permanently reveals personal and identifying information.
---
Basically, there's ~~four~~ five options, and we'll weight up the pros and cons:
1. *Don't cite the paper.*
This is just a workaround, and is probably not appropriate unless the paper is only tangentially relevant. It might also only be a temporary solution (i.e., the problem might arise in your next paper).
2. *Cite the paper as it's published.*
This is what I do in my papers. For example, in [Partial Latin rectangle graphs ...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012365X1730002X) ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.disc.2017.01.002)), this is how I cite my papers:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vmiv2.png)
After a not-small amount of reflection, I eventually came to the conclusion that *I'm citing a paper, not a person*.
The consequences?
* People who don't already know about the transition, do not realize papers under the old name are my papers. At conferences, people ask if they were published by my brother or husband. They don't equate "that name" with me.
* Realistically, most people are going to cite the paper this way without asking me. They simply don't know about what's happened since then.
* These citations do not stand out as abnormal. It's more private.
3. *Cite the paper under the author's real name.*
If someone asked me to cite their name in a particular way, that's what I would do. If you don't do it, you're acting against their will---it's a violation; you're joining the chorus of people who declare that person has little worth.
* I know personally how painful this can be first hand. E.g. I went a bit crazy at my former supervisor when he had "that initial" on a talk slide. (Sorry Ian.) Things like this have made me seriously reconsider staying in academia.
Early on in a transition, virtually everyone constantly contests your gender, and your identity. Every day, you're required to demonstrate that you are who you say you are. You cannot give people the slightest hint that it's acceptable to deadname you---people will use it as evidence that you're identity is not genuine, and use that as a reason to not treat you with basic human dignity (and encourage others to do likewise).
As transition progresses, and you become more established in your gender, the people who contest your gender become the "fringe". If someone contests my gender nowadays, people will just think they're being an arsehole. The need to defend one's gender decreases over time.
* Also, have you seen how many errors there are in published references? One character is going to go unnoticed. (In only the most contrived circumstances will someone be hindered in finding a paper because of this one character.)
4. *Cite the paper under the author's real name, and mention it was published under a different name.*
I recognize that this is currently [the top answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/92871/8469). I respectfully, but strongly contest this: I consider this *the worst* thing to do. This outs them, permanently.
The norm in academia is not to reveal personal and identifying information; it's considered unethical to do so. That's what this amounts to.
5. *Show them this post.*
At the risk of sounding arrogant, perhaps you can consider showing the person this post. It might change their mind.
If not, I'd go with what they wish.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: Finding the citations of any particular paper is straightforward.
But how do you identify the set of publications that cite two specific papers?
The reason I am asking this is because I am trying to write a review article to resolve an issue in the literature. There are 2 papers that adopt opposite views regarding that issue. To check if any similar study to mine has been attempted before, I am trying to look for any papers that cited those 2 papers together. Any way to do this?
Each paper has hundreds of citations, so looking for common citation is not practical!<issue_comment>username_1: I haven't done this myself, so I can't give specific details, but here's a general algorithm:
* Look up Article A in Google Scholar. Click the link for articles that cite that article. Extract all the results as a list of articles. (This is where I can't give details, since I haven't done it myself.)
* Do the same thing for Article B.
* Compare the two lists to identify common articles.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: For biomedical publications you can use Europe PMC citation network (I work for this database). Here is an example of a search to find a publication that cites two particular papers: <https://europepmc.org/search?query=CITES%3A24240771_med%20AND%20CITES%3A24036476_med>. You can also do that programmatically (<https://europepmc.org/RestfulWebService#cites>)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: My procedure was simple but worked for me. It is similar but different to that suggested by tripartio.
* Look up article A in Google Scholar.
* Click the link for articles that cite that article A.
* Check "Search within citing articles"
* Type the details of article B in the search bar (e.g. authors or title)
* Explore the results
This is not as systematic as would be ideal, but should help to give a first-cut idea.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: One can use the [API of *OpenCitations*](https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1#/citations/%7Bdoi%7D). Here is an example code in *R* based on two DOIs as visible in the form of `https://w3id.org/oc/index/coci/api/v1/citations/[DOI]`:
```
library(jsonlite)
work1 <- jsonlite::fromJSON("https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1/citations/10.1017/s0020818313000337")
work2 <- jsonlite::fromJSON("https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1/citations/10.1177/1354066106067346")
citingworks <- intersect(work1$citing, work2$citing)
```
Then, `citingworks` lists 32 DOIs that have cited both `work1` and `work2`:
```
> citingworks
[1] "10.1017/9781108644082" "10.1017/9781108644082.001"
[3] "10.1017/9781108644082.002" "10.1017/9781108644082.003"
[5] "10.1017/9781108644082.004" "10.1017/9781108644082.005"
[7] "10.1017/9781108644082.006" "10.1017/9781108644082.007"
[9] "10.1017/9781108644082.008" "10.1017/9781108644082.009"
[11] "10.1017/9781108644082.010" "10.1177/1354066119889401"
[13] "10.1093/jogss/ogy021" "10.31338/uw.9788323542988"
[15] "10.1080/13533312.2020.1753513" "10.1080/13569775.2020.1795372"
[17] "10.1007/978-3-030-51521-8_1" "10.1007/978-3-030-51521-8_2"
[19] "10.1080/13600826.2020.1828298" "10.1057/s41268-018-0147-z"
[21] "10.1146/annurev-polisci-040711-135425" "10.1111/pops.12616"
[23] "10.1093/isq/sqz055" "10.1093/isr/viy006"
[25] "10.1093/isr/viz002" "10.1017/s0260210516000176"
[27] "10.1017/s026021051600019x" "10.3384/cu.2000.1525.1572479"
[29] "10.1177/1354066117745365" "10.1163/24056006-12340008"
[31] "10.1177/0010836716653161" "10.1080/09662839.2018.1497985"
```
But note that *OpenCitation*'s data sample is *CrossRef*, which is not the same as *Google Scholar*.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: This can be done with reasonably high accuracy using Scopus and it is much easier than the other methods suggested here. Just do an advanced search for
"title of paper 1" AND "title of paper 2"
The idea is that publications that cite the two papers will have their titles listed in their references sections.
This might not give completely accurate results, because:
* It will fail if a journal does not give the title of the
publication in the references list (I think Nature just gives
journal, volume, and page numbers).
* It will fail if one of the titles is not distinct enough and appears by coincidence in the main text of a publication that does not cite it.
You might be able to get round these problems by including the author names or page numbers and doing a more complicated search. See <https://www.scopus.com/search/form.uri?display=advanced>.
Of course you need access to Scopus and your institution might not have this. But something similar might work with Google Scholar.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: Using OpenCitation's API in Python would look like this:
```
import requests
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
link1 = "https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1/citations/10.1017/s0020818313000337"
work1 = requests.get(link1).json()
df1 = pd.DataFrame.from_dict(work1)
link2 = "https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1/citations/10.1177/1354066106067346"
work2 = requests.get(link2).json()
df2 = pd.DataFrame.from_dict(work2)
print(np.intersect1d(df1['citing'].unique(), df2['citing'].unique()))
```
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: I came across [Inciteful](https://inciteful.xyz/c) recently.
Its ***literature connector*** enables searching link between two papers.
[Extract]
**How are the links made between papers?**
A link is established through citations. Two papers are linked if either one cites the other. So starting from the seed paper we recursively search through all the papers that are cited by the seed paper or that which cite the seed paper.
**How many hops will it search?**
The largest number of hops right now is six ...
Upvotes: 0
|
2017/07/09
| 1,355
| 5,869
|
<issue_start>username_0: I recently wrote a scientific article (let's say, about a methodology for predictive analyzes) I would like to submit. The article is beneficial for my PhD as it has close relationship with another paper I am currently writing.
However, I am concerned about its publication:
* I don't want to put the name of my supervisor since he has (almost) no knowledge about what I wrote about. I barely think he can even provide constructed critics (if he checks the paper), and I am very unsatisfied about his way of not doing research (only participating to conferences) and taking appropriation of others work. I know, this is probably common in academia but I am the type of person working 8-10 hours everyday (week-end included) to get the job done (plus to get recognition).
* To develop the methodology, I needed to learn and implement some mathematical models (and related algorithms) over the last 4 months. However, I have started everything from scratch, which means I am not an expert with 10 years of experience that can accurately see if the work I did requires strong modifications or not.
I am not quite sure about publishing alone since I don't think an editor would be convinced to do it that way. I was thinking about looking for a scientist (in conferences possibly) with whom I can work with so that he could make a proper review about my work (and add his name on it). I am not quite sure about this though, I don't think someone can steal my research (if we consider worse case of doing this).
My supervisor proposed me a post-doc already, I don't really want to envenom our relationship but let's say this is the type of person who (probably) doesn't care about recognition (thus having his name on papers). I may be wrong though.
My question is, do you think I should accept publishing with my supervisor or consider an alternative option?<issue_comment>username_1: On one hand, you seem to have a research advisor who is quite supportive of you; he has already offered you a post-doctoral position when you finish. On the other hand, you are concerned that he tends to attach himself to, and take credit for, work on which he is only peripherally involved. This places you in something of a quandary, since your advisor has not made a meaningful contribution to your paper.
However, I would suggest that you show your advisor the paper to get his feedback. Even if that feedback is not useful in terms of the content of the manuscript, your advisor probably has a good understanding of how papers should be written, and where they should be submitted. Moreover, when other scholars are evaluating work done by graduate students, you are not going to be significantly penalized for having your advisor as a co-author. Having a paper that is co-authored by your advisor, but with you as the first authors, is not going to be perceived as that different from a single-author publication.
Perhaps your advisor will make some useful comments, but he will decline to be an author on the paper. (This happened to me, in my interactions with my advisor, more than once.) You seem to think that your author is not likely to be magnanimous in this way, which is, in the abstract, unfortunate. However, as I stated above, having you advisor as a co-author is unlikely to be counted against you in a significant way, and maintaining a good relationship with your advisor (for whom you man continue working as a post-doc) can be extremely important for a future research career. So I do not think that you have much to lose by showing your paper to your advisor and getting the advantage of your advisor's guidance.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I remember having a problem with this too, however, whilst you are the one doing the actual experimental work, you wouldn't be in a position to even be doing it if it wasn't for your supervisor applying for the grant funding, giving you office space, access to equipment et cetera. His going to conferences is important for his status in the community that you work in, giving him the chance to network, develop research ideas that will become grant proposals and fund PhD students and post-doc positions. His time has been well and truly served in a lab setting, and off the top of my head I can think of very few group leaders who actually spend any real time in the lab.
Furthermore, I don't think it would be wise to try and get your methodology published without your supervisor even getting to see it. He still has presumably many, many years more experience in your field than you do and will probably surprise you with the knowledge he has banked over the years.
To summarise, run it by your supervisor and get his feedback and I would have his name on the paper, as if it wasn't for him then you wouldn't be in a position to write the thing in the first place.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> I am not quite sure about publishing alone since I don't think an
> editor would be convinced to do it that way
>
>
>
In principle what matters for a paper being accepted is the content, not the authors. If your paper is good and is a relevant contribution to the field, there's a good chance an editor will accept it, single author or not.
So if you feel that your paper is good as it is, go ahead and submit, you don't need another author. In the worst case it will be rejected but the reviews will provide you with the expertise that you (may) lack; then you can improve the paper based on the reviewers advice and submit it again later.
As others said, you need to talk to your advisor so that they don't feel sidelined. If your description is accurate, they are very likely to give you the green light.
During my PhD I wrote several papers on my own and published them as single author, since my advisor didn't participate.
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/07/09
| 1,777
| 6,509
|
<issue_start>username_0: Today I received two **suspicious** emails from *Elsevier Editorial System*:
* the first email is a **registration confirmation** to the platform
>
> Dear XX *Name Surname*,
>
>
> You have received this system-generated message because you have been
> registered by an Editor for the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) – the
> online submission and peer review tracking system for Information
> Sciences.
>
>
> The EES account for Information Sciences has been added to your
> existing Elsevier profile.
>
>
> Please note: The username for your Elsevier profile is the E-mail
> Address to which this message was sent.
>
>
> When you log in to EES, you may update your password and other
> personal information by selecting the "change details" option on the
> menu bar at the top of the page. Any updates you make to your contact
> and log-in information will be reflected in any other Elsevier product
> account that is linked to your Elsevier profile.
>
>
> Please visit our FAQs for more Elsevier profile information.
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> Elsevier Editorial System Information Sciences
>
>
> If you need further assistance, please visit our customer support site
> at *some link* Here
> you can search for solutions on a range of topics, find answers to
> frequently asked questions and learn more about EES via interactive
> tutorials. You will also find our 24/7 support contact details should
> you need any further assistance from one of our customer support
> representatives.
>
>
>
* the second email is a **review invite**
>
> *Re: Some Paper Title*
>
>
> *by Some List of Authors*
>
>
> *Submitted to Some Field*
>
>
> Dear XX *Surname*,
>
>
> As we believe that you are an expert in the field of the above
> referenced submission, we would like to invite you to review it. We
> would very much appreciate it if you could find the time to examine
> this article with regard to its suitability for publication in
> Information Sciences. To view the submission for first inspection,
> please click: *some link*
>
>
> You are allowed 21 days to upload your review report.
>
>
> If you accept the invitation as you are willing to review this
> submission, please click on the link below:
> *some link* Convince
> yourself that any documents you upload are anonymous, so that the
> author cannot retrieve your identity.
>
>
> If you decline the invitation as you are not willing to review this
> submission, please click on the link below:
> *some link* If it is not
> possible for you to referee this article within this period, we would
> appreciate it if you could inform us as soon as possible. We may be
> able to extend the due date for the review. We would appreciate
> suggestions for alternative reviewers in case you decline to review.
>
>
> In case none of the above links seem to function properly, please
> click: *some link* (or copy and paste into your web
> browser) and log-in as a reviewer.
>
>
> Make sure to select the "Reviewer" button.
>
>
> Your username is: *my email*
>
>
> If you need to retrieve password details, please go to:
> *some link*
>
>
> Please save this information in a safe place.
>
>
> We recommend you to change your password to something more memorable
> upon initial connection to Elsevier Editorial System.
>
>
> Please return your review comments within 21 days, which will start
> from the date you on-line accept to review.
>
>
> As a reviewer you are entitled to complimentary access to Scopus and
> ScienceDirect for 30 days. Full instructions and details will be
> provided upon accepting this invitation to review.
>
>
> In addition to accessing our subscriber content, you can also use our
> Open Access content. Read more about Open Access here:
> *some link*
>
>
> PLEASE NOTE: Information Sciences invites authors to submit any
> supplementary computer code, data snippets, algorithms and other
> machine readable structures in re-usable .txt format with their
> article as Inline Supplementary Material. We ask editors and reviewers
> to include Inline Supplementary Material in their review process to
> verify that it is relevant to the paper, appears to function according
> to any descriptions in the main text, and does not have any
> superficial flaws or errors , and importantly that the title, caption
> and description for this material are correct.
>
>
> Thank you in advance for your kind help and we hope to hear from you
> soon.
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> *Name Surname, Titles Titles*
>
>
>
---
I perceive the fact that an account was created for me without my consent, I didn't even know the service existed before receiving the email, as a **red flag** for a possible **scam**. I also find it weird that in the second email I am requested to *click some link/access to the service* both in case I accept or decline the unsolicited review invitation.
I don't know personally whoever signed the email, and from the list of his/her publications it looks like the chances we "met" at some of the conferences I have previously attended in are pretty low.
Since I am somewhat *"new"* to *Academia*, I would like to ask whether this kind of **aggressive review request** is common and normally socially acceptable, or whether this is some kind of *scam* I have never met before.
Is it **safe**, or maybe I should say **sane**, to give a look at the paper and maybe review it? So far I didn't click any of the links in the email, since I didn't setup an appropriate *sandbox environment* for doing this task alone yet.
---
**ETA:** There are a couple of questions on this website that seem related with mine, like [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/85935/invitation-to-review-for-an-unknown-journal?rq=1). However, there also appear to be several questions about the *Elsevier Editorial System* on this board, which somehow seem to corroborate the notion that the aforementioned system is not a *predatory/malicious service*, as it was indeed the case in the linked question.<issue_comment>username_1: This is the usual way reviewer invitation arrives. Go for it.
(Maybe check if the email and the links you received are really from an Elsevier domain).
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is normal, but not a good practice. You might want to ask them how much they pay. Not that they usually pay, but it makes them aware they should.
Upvotes: -1
|
2017/07/09
| 272
| 1,145
|
<issue_start>username_0: As the title says, I'm writting my thesis and I am looking through many reviews, since they easily collect all the useful information that is general and it would take me too much time to find by my own. They also have a nice structure and "storyline", which makes it easier to read (and I doubt I could improve, despite connecting the different fields that are relevant to me).
My question is, if I follow the structure of a review, many of their citations, but I don't copy their sentences (I reformulate most of them when possible, skip some and add some extra from other reviews), is it considered plagiarism? Should I cite the review(s)? And how? Should I forget about all I've done and start from scratch?
Thank you!<issue_comment>username_1: This is the usual way reviewer invitation arrives. Go for it.
(Maybe check if the email and the links you received are really from an Elsevier domain).
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is normal, but not a good practice. You might want to ask them how much they pay. Not that they usually pay, but it makes them aware they should.
Upvotes: -1
|
2017/07/09
| 1,201
| 4,895
|
<issue_start>username_0: Before continuing on working on a specific problem, I do plan on few things which have not been explored in the available literature. However, instead of developing them (in terms of mathematical models), I feel that my ideas are quite simple and not so novel. Sometimes, it also happens to me while I read research papers.
I feel this is one of my weakness which makes me unfocused on a particular problem and makes me switch to various such ideas which are flushed by me.
Is it normal in research? How should I deal with this problem?<issue_comment>username_1: I hear you. I also know the flip-side of this phenomenon: Reading a paper and thinking: "That's a very simple idea they've published in this decent journal here. I could have come up with this on my way to work while riding the bike, would have written it down in a few weeks". But, alas, I didn't; someone else did.
I suggest the following procedure, although I can't claim that I've tested it:
* Write down all silly ideas, especially the simple ones, and store them in a file; shortcut to your desktop.
* Go through the list on a regular basis, every fortnight or so.
+ Move the (still) infeasible ones and the (yet) too silly-sounding into a "discarded idea" file.
+ Pick a quite simple one that you find intriguing and highlight for later use.
* Reserve an hour in the morning to **write down** why the simple idea is so simple. This should force you to think clearly about all the implications that you took for granted when you said "oh, that's trivial". Now, is this still a simple idea? Are there any follow-up puzzles and questions that perhaps aren't so simple? I bet one hour is not enough to write down all the stuff that's implied and needs to be explained in order for the problem to appear simple. There, you're drafting your next paper.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Why do I underestimate my own research ideas?
>
>
>
You nowhere provided sufficient evidence that you do underestimate your own ideas. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Maybe, the people who published on similar ideas as you have were simply lucky. Or they invested a lot of effort in addition to having these ideas. Or there was some publication bias. Or the people could write like <NAME>. Or ... . You don't know.
>
> I feel this is one of my weakness which makes me unfocused on a particular problem and makes me switch to various such ideas which are flushed by me.
>
>
> Is it normal in research?
>
>
>
It happens. The difficulty to concentrate is part of human nature and is not related to particularly research.
>
> How should I deal with this problem?
>
>
>
Consider developing a strategy to concentrate yourself at one problem at a time. Consider not sitting between two chairs. Forget multitasking. This is a general advice, weakly related to research.
Try to take one "simple and not so novel" idea of yours and proceed with it. Speak to the researchers in your field about your idea to find out whether it's really worth being pursued. Invest the remaining 99% of perspiration into it.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Reiterating briefly some other good points, but, especially, first: probably a reasonable person's criterion for understanding *anything* (e.g., their own work) is that it seems so reasonable and inevitable that everyone else already knows it, and it is trivial to understand. I do claim that this is a side-effect of pretty-good assimilation of an idea... otherwise it cannot be sublimated adequately to be used efficiently.
The counterpoint to that is that, yeah, maybe one's ideas are just rediscoveries of old, old things, or are indeed already obvious to experts. Hard to know. All the worse when one oneself gets to the point of feeling that things are obvious... because that may or may not be a signal that they are obvious.
My meta-advice would be to try to not think in those terms. That is, if at every moment one is worrying about the novelty or non-triviality or... of one's reflections, one is squandering mental cycles in an essentially hopeless endeavor. That is, to my mind, the only sane enterprise (e.g., for an academic) is to try to further one's own understanding. (This is not a "problem-solving" approach, no, ...) Obviously, one's own understanding tends to lag behind *collective* understanding, whose advancement is one of the reasons we get paid. But/and, even with computer assists (currently), we cannot pretend to operate with "collective" understanding, but only our own *personal* understanding.
Yet/and now-and-then while innocently trying to understand what other people have said or written, one accidentally understands a thing which was not well understood before. That is "research", I guess. I really do think that that is the most sensible way to perceive our enterprise...
Upvotes: 3
|
2017/07/09
| 1,494
| 6,519
|
<issue_start>username_0: My sister is an undergraduate at a university in England, and emailed its Disability Office (let me abbreviate this to DO) a letter from her physician stating that disability thwarts her from carrying books (like her many heavy textbooks), because a publisher suggested PDF Accessible Formats of books that she must request through her university's DO.
But the Head of DO informed my sister that he doesn't consider her to have 'print disability' or to qualify for PDFs, probably (we are guessing) because he doesn't want to spend time obtaining the PDFs for her. He has offered nothing else useful for her.
We think that he's wrong, but how can she acquire the PDFs?<issue_comment>username_1: Disclaimer: I have some experience with a similar office in my university but this is based on just one university. I'm also not from the UK so i do not know the legal situation and I do not know the policies of your university. This also just my opinion, not legal advice.
However there seem to be three scenarios:
1. The university does not recognize your disability as a disability or does not acknowledge its effects. In this case you should first try to get the university to accept your disability. Without this acceptance getting the university to do anything will be hard. You might ask specific teachers to do this for you or other nice people but in general this will be difficult,except for suing the university which I think is probably not a great solution ( unless it is obvious the university should recognize your disability. ).
2. The university does recognize your disability but does not provide books for any students. In this case it becomes complicated because you usually only get help with services that the university normally provides, That is you do get help (at least in my university) if because of a disability you cannot read your exam because the font is too small (you'll get larger fonts and usually the size of the paper is also bigger). However if you want something the university does not provide it is much harder to get, for example you cannot use the standard calculator because of the exact same reason. However since the calculators are never provided by the university it is hard to get a larger calculator. However you can still try to get it if it is truly unreasonable if you don't get it but your position is much weaker.
3. Finally if the university does recognize your disability and normally does provide the books, then it is likely that they are required to provide it for you. If there is an ombudsman than you should probably try to contact him/her to address this.
In general if the bureaucracy does not cooperate or is very slow, you might just want to contact the teachers directly. Most teachers are quite understanding and if they can do so easily will provide you with what you need. You can also try to buy the books as e-books. or contact the author and ask him for a digital version.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: There are several routes to resolving this:
1. Your sister should contact her lecturers or her tutor, and tell them how unhelpful the disability office has been. They may be able to escalate this issue. Alternatively, they might be able to procure the PDF versions of the textbooks.
2. Your sister should contact her student union. Most student unions have a disability officer who has been elected to represent students with disabilities. They will be able to intervene on your sister's behalf.
3. Your sister can make an complaint about her treatment by the disability office. She would first need to make an internal complaint. Her tutor or disability officer would likely be able to help with this. If this doesn't resolve the issue, she can complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. [Disability Rights UK has further information about making a complaint](https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/making-complaint).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I have an alternative take on the circumstances.
From Wikipedia, a [Print disability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_disability) refers to an impediment that prevents the *reading* of printed material. Presumably, the PDFs the disability office has are intended for students that need to use some other method, for example: 1) a text-to-speech program, which can't operate on the printed books, or 2) a digital display for a student with a disability that prevents them from turning pages.
It sounds like your sister has trouble carrying physically demanding loads, like a heavy textbook, but that doesn't mean she can't read a textbook that is sitting in front of her on a table. If this is correct, indeed your sister may not meet the definition of "print disability" that the DO is using.
Although the publisher sent your sister to the DO to obtain PDFs, they probably want no part in assessing whether the accommodations are necessary, they are punting it to the DO. The DO, on the other hand, might have a specific licensing agreement with the publisher that only allows them to provide digital copies if certain criteria are met under their definition of "print disability." It is possible that difficulty with the weight of a textbook doesn't fall under their terms.
I would suggest meeting again with the DO before escalating this to other offices, explain the nature of the disability, and see what accommodations can be made. Personally, when I was an undergraduate student carrying around heavy textbooks just wasn't a good idea for anybody. They were rarely actually needed in a course, they were used at home. It might be that the DO would rather provide a physical textbook copy in courses where a physical copy is needed in-class on a course-by-course basis, rather than providing PDFs (which they may not have a legal right to distribute).
Alternatively, as others have suggested, your sister could obtain digital copies on her own if possible.
(just to add: I think it's unfortunate, to say the least, that the DO didn't directly suggest other accommodations. You have a right to be frustrated by that, but I would try to be polite in the short term and try to assume that the DO head is simply busy rather than negligent. DO's could very easily be understaffed. Maybe they truly are just a jerk, but if they aren't and you assume they are, it will make the situation more difficult for everyone. Assume the best, try to be proactive, try to be assertive without being demanding, etc.)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2017/07/10
| 1,798
| 7,649
|
<issue_start>username_0: Do some PIs who publish in *Nature*, *Cell* or *Science* collaborate with professional designers?
The thing is that I have never seen it mentioned in their work. Is it a service offered by the journals? Or do the PIs pay for these services and outsource them?<issue_comment>username_1: There are a few reasons not to waste time with web design:
* academic web pages are read mostly by other academics who are looking for information;
* the information a professor needs to put on pages is about group members, papers published and talks, courses, books and none of these seems to require sophisticated web design skills;
* learning proper web design skills is time taken away from research. Most professors don't have that time. But, it can happen that graduate students or postdocs are capable of making nice web pages, so the professor asks them to do that.
The beautiful figures that appear in journals, are most often the work of postdocs and graduate students. Again, most professors won't spend time making them, unless they can't rely on anyone else. It was quite common back in the day to have someone else from within the university or research institute make figures and typeset, but now, there are plenty of great software packages one can use to make figures.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: What is good web design depends on the purpose. I am sure Wells Fargo Bank and Google both have access to expert web page designers, but I find the current versions of news.google.com and the Wells Fargo on-line banking web pages extremely frustrating.
The problem is they both use lots of white space and severely limit the information that is available in one view. I am used to reading textbooks and academic papers. I like information-dense web pages, where I can see a lot of words and numbers in one view. That preference may be commoner among academics, who tend to be very good at reading and processing information, than in the general population.
Some, at least, of the academic web pages that don't conform to current web design fashion are well designed for people like me.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Researchers don't have much interest in and time for design (exception: [Edward Tufte](https://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/)), otherwise they would have become designers. Luckily, they can rely on the work of others for "beautiful figures" - division of labour and all.
The beautiful figures are
* generated by preset LaTeX packages like Tikz/PGF
* generated by preset R libraries like ggplot2
* preset designs created by publishers.
By contrast, many universities only provide some webspace or a CMS in corporate design for researcher's personal websites.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Professors at my University hire undergraduate students (me included) to format their papers as well as other small tasks. Nobody has ever asked me to do the same to their website. My guess is that they really do not care as long as the information on their website is correct and (sometimes) up to date.
I generally use LaTeX because I like the programming feel and you can make the paper and figures look however you want it to.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Successful researchers react to incentives—and there's little incentive for webpages to look beautiful. I doubt a better webpage design even attracts better graduate students, and I'm sure it won't help you get tenure or a grant.
Conversely, there *are* incentives to communicate clearly to reviewers and readers. To whatever extent authors prepare well-designed figures, it's to write clearly to reviewers. Some figures can make or break a paper.
A few journals also employ professional designers/typesetters (like journals you mention apparently, see <https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/92944/8966>), but that's the exception, not the rule.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Researchers at large experiments or laboratories (e.g., CERN or Fermilab) tend to use the same templates, scripts, etc as those who wrote papers before them. Some experiments even have their own guidelines about how any graphics published or presented must look, on top of any requirements from the journal.
As such, the same set of scripts and templates tend to get passed around, to ensure all of those guidelines are met. This also ensures a consistent style is used for all papers from that lab / experiment / group.
Those scripts and templates are developed / passed around largely by grad students and postdocs.
There may be similar templates available for faculty webpages, but they won't be as pretty looking because the need just isn't there. In a journal or conference presentation, you are limited by number of pages or time; therefore, you need to make sure every word is needed, and every figure is conveying as much information as it can while being as clear as it can. You may pay some amount for each figure you put in the paper, so you make sure the ones you have are stellar. There is no such limitation on faculty websites, so there is no incentive to make them look as nice.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: These are different skills: Web-design vs Figure Design.
* Web-design is closely related to layout of whole pages. It needs to do things like margin sizes, and text-widths. How much white-space around a figure. These kinds of problems. In many fields laying out papers is a solved problem - use LaTeX.
* Web-design is actually more difficult than paper layout, since it needs to handle different screen-sizes. And all the other things like menus openning up, and keeping a nav-bar in place (or not) etc. There is a lot of scope to handle and a lot of places to mess up.
* Web-design has very little shared skill with figure design.
* Even assuming one has both the aesthetic sense to know what looks good in both, the ability to actually pull it off does not leverage one skill for another.
* Basic web-design is HTML+CSS, plus maybe some form of templating language. Figure creation normally involves either a plotting tool eg Matlab, ggplot2; or a vector graphics tool, eg Tikz or Inkscape.
* The time spent also varies. I regularly spend 4-8 hours on a single figure. I might spend 4-8 hours every 3 months on the appearance of my whole website.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Figures in a paper communicate information about the results. Graphic design elements don't.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: Professors are well versed with using LaTeX, R in their teachings/ lectures hence their publications viz. Papers, presentations, etc. are so beautiful in terms of figures and presentation.
However it is not the case with their websites because it involves a lot of time to implement various web designing techniques which they are constantly running out of.
Also usually the different Professors follow a template given by University to keep the whole website uniform.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Without disclosing more information. I can say that I know a research group which published a paper in either science or nature and they used the help of a graphic designer for 2 of their figures.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_11: Papers, and where they get accepted are regarded by many (especially the publishing business, lol) to be the measure of success in academia. Therefore it is not strange if more effort is made to try get your papers into good journals. We humans as well as many animals are easily mesmerized by shiny and pretty things, so the papers have higher chance of being accepted into good journals if they are shiny and pretty.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Can professors have romantic relationships with post-docs (in the same department)?
I feel like this point is a bit more subtle than, say, professors hooking up with students, since post-docs and professors are considered peers / colleagues.<issue_comment>username_1: Policy on this may vary from institution to institution, so those would need to be specifically consulted.
However, the whole "when is a romantic relationship taboo?" question hinges most importantly on one thing: does one of the individuals involved exercise some sort of power over the other. It would be odd for a professor to have a relationship with one of his or her own postdocs, where the postdoc will likely need a letter of recommendation or decision on financial promotion from their now-conflicted lover. I think, generally, there is usually not a policy against this but might be frowned upon.
This is why it isn't a good idea for a president to sleep with a white house intern, or a teacher to have a relationship with one of their current students. Even if it were technically legal, and no bias was ever realized, the potential for bias and conflict is too strong.
A professor in one department and a postdoc in another department should present no problem though, if there is no potential employment/financial promotion conflict, e.g. English Dept. vs Physics Dept.
Another question to consider is whether the relationship precedes both individuals being a member of the institution. For example one member of a married couple gets a job at the institution and the other enrolls in school there. But even in this situation, I can see potential for conflict if they are in the same (or closely related) departments.
As long as everyone is open, honest, consenting adults, and clearly discusses potential conflicts with the appropriate personnel then there may be no issue though. Trying to keep it secret, especially if there is potential for a conflict of interest is probably not a good idea.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Can professors have romantic relationships with post-docs (in the same department)?
>
>
>
Yes, they most certainly can (and *should*, if they feel like it - take that, @GEdgar...), provided that one is not the other's supervisor or someone who holds sway over the other's career, e.g. wants/needs to write him/her a letter of recommendation. Although it is hard to prove a negative, I'll stake my reputation - well, my academia.SE reputation at least :-) - on the claim that there isn't a serious university in a developed country where such relationships are forbidden.
>
> I feel like this point is a bit more subtle than, say, professors hooking up with students, since post-docs and professors are considered peers / colleagues.
>
>
>
I disagree, it is not subtle at all. Postdocs and professors are grown-ups and are 100% free to enter consensual relationships with each other (with the exceptions mentioned above) even if they share the same workplace and occupy different positions on the workplace totem pole. It is of course advisable for both parties to enter such relationships with caution and maturity, similarly to any romantic relationship between people sharing a workplace (or any romantic relationship at all for that matter).
Moreover, there are plenty of situations where professors can ethically and legally have romantic relationships with students (not their current students, to be sure). So to the extent that you used "hooking up" as a disparaging term, I think that was uncalled for.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: Often, on exams in particular, *reverse trick questions* are posed. These are questions which look tough, complex, and pompous, but are actually easy and can be solved by applying some basic method. I give an example later.
Why are these used by professors?
I think they are very inappropiate, since they put the smart student at a disadvantage, and the less smart at an advantage. If you ask a question which is designed to seem difficult, the smart student mentally approaches the problem as a difficult problem, and therefore gets ready to use the more complicated tools at their disposal. Thus, one might be working for a considerable time trying to apply a complicated technique on a problem, which could be solved in seconds if one spotted the easy 'hidden' method. This is in particular a problem on exams and tests, where time is an important factor.
Meanwhile, the less smart and stupid students approach the problem as they approach any other: "*well, here's a problem which concerns topic A, I only know that one basic easy method regarding topic A which they taught the first day, so might as well apply it and see where it gets me even though it seems unlikely to work, whoops, it actually did work!*", and they might be done with the problem immediately.
So, what do you think?
---
Here's an example of math. I was once asked to take the integral of a very ugly looking function, it was a fraction, with both numerator and denominator looking like the spawn of the devil.
I spent some time trying to simplify it, so that I might get an idea of what sort of method would work best. I already disregarded integration by parts, since it was obvious that it would lead to many complicated terms that I wouldn't want to bother with. Ultimately, this did not work.
Turns out, the actual solution is to not simplify it, not look for an appropiate method, but just blindly apply integration by parts to the expression in its original form. This method, by design, leads to many complicated terms disappearing and making the integral way easier to solve (something which was impossible to predict). This was of course intentional by the professor.
I think this is a question which smart students will take longer to solve (since they know more methods and are better at creative simplification), while less smart students will solve immediately (since their first and only thought will be to just apply integration by parts).<issue_comment>username_1: The specific question you have in hand (which we don't see...) may indeed have been awkward or clumsy, or misguided, ... However, I can understand that teachers might ask a question whose resolution involves *not* thinking too much about it, but just doing the usual thing. Thus, demonstrating that "the usual thing" is indeed an appropriate approach to many questions, whence its "usualness".
The notion that "smart students will take longer to solve" is plausible, but in the end not supportable, I think, even if the question is clumsy. One hazard of a naive "smartness" is to be drawn into a fantasy world where (supposedly) strange arcane laws hold sway, etc. But, my point would be, even when people *try* to make things arcane, there is (thank heavens) a sort of irresistible underlying mathematical reality which is, to a great degree, immune to tomfoolery. (Not enough to make all grading systems be sane, but that is not mathematics...)
Btw, integration by parts is on my short list... :)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: One reason might be exactly what you are saying:
*I think they are very inappropiate, since they put the smart student at a disadvantage, and the less smart at an advantage.*
Probably professors have enough smart students not to worry about the less smart, and instead try to find those smart enough to realize what questions are easy and which aren't without being given explicit clues in the wording of the questions. That is, very smart students (or students who know the topic very well) will know whether a question is easy or not. And anyone who qualifies for studying in college should qualify as *smart* already.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Often, on exams in particular, reverse trick questions are posed. These are questions which look tough, complex, and pompous, but are actually easy and can be solved by applying some basic method. ... Why are these used by professors?
>
>
>
I think that's a really interesting question, and I recognize the existence of such questions and the phenomenon of stronger students having a harder time solving certain kinds of questions than less strong students. Let me try to offer a sort of explanation.
First of all, the answer to any question of the type "why do professors ask questions [*of some category X*] on exams" would generally be "because they think that such questions are a good way to test students' knowledge and/or think that practicing solving such questions is a good way for their students to develop good skills and habits". Basically professors use exam questions as a way of signaling to their students what the professor considers important, and as a way of imparting subtle pedagogical lessons about the material that are hard to convey effectively in a less hands-on manner. A good question can often be used as a powerful [teachable moment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachable_moment).
So, given the above observation, it makes sense to ask what is it about the sort of "reverse trick questions" (I like that phrase!) you describe that makes (some, not all) professors think such questions offer good teachable lessons. My theory is that such questions offer the lesson that fancy problem-solving tools -- the kind of tools that "smart" students tend to have better mastery of than "non-smart" students -- are not always superior to simpler, more simple-minded tools. Thus, a good "reverse trick question" is a question that illustrates the principle that in problem-solving (in the context of math at least, but also in other STEM areas) one should start applying the techniques one knows starting from the simplest one and in the order of increasing complexity. This can be a counterintuitive lesson to the "smart" students who often get so excited about the fanciest techniques they learn that they are eager to try applying them whenever possible without trying simpler methods first. It is also a valuable lesson that most serious mathematicians eventually learn at some point during their training. (I myself remember seeing this illustrated nicely one time when I was in college, when I solved the classical math puzzle asking at what earliest time after midnight the two dials of a clock point in the same direction by summing an infinite geometric series; the friend who asked me the question thought it was hilarious that I'd used such a sophisticated method rather than the more obvious, much simpler one of solving a linear equation.)
Finally, I should add that I kind of disagree with your characterization of the students who have a hard time with reverse trick question as the "smart" students and with the other ones as being "less smart" or "stupid". In my opinion, part of being "smart" means having an intuitive feel for which techniques to use when attacking a problem, so actually the students who have a good grasp of advanced techniques but have a poor sense of when to try applying them are arguably less "smart" than some other students who know fewer techniques but have a better intuitive feel for effective problem-solving. In other words, being "smart" involves a combination of different skills, and different students are good at each of those different skills to varying extents; **"smartness" is a multi-dimensional quantity and not a linear spectrum**. The TL;DR answer to your question is therefore: **professors try to design exams questions that develop (*all kinds of*) smartness in their students, and "reverse trick questions" may be one way of doing that**.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: One of my colleagues was teaching an introductory programming course this past spring. He discovered several students cheating by taking code from a public GitHub repository, which contained all the answers for this class. This repository already had an issue opened on it by a professor from another large school, who requested that it be taken down because *his* students were using it to cheat. No response.
Fortunately, the student left some identifying information in the comments, which we were able to use to determine that he attends our school, in our department. We attempted to contact him to request that he remove the offending code--unfortunately, emails to both his departmental email and his GitHub email went unanswered.
The department has a student code of conduct which states that students must take "all reasonable precautions" to prevent others from using their work. While this student is clearly in violation of that, we can't exactly fail him out of a course he passed over a year ago, and failing him out of course he's currently taking seems petty.
We've considered escalating this to the department, but we're not sure if the department can actually do anything about this. **Can a department in the US punish a student for helping other students cheat even if the student is not taking the class where the cheating is occurring?** If so, what should be done? If not, might there be anyone at the school that can do anything? This is a large, public state school.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Can a department in the US punish a student for helping other students cheat even if the student is not taking the class where the cheating is occurring?
>
>
>
I don't know what you can do *legally*, but *morally* I think it would be wrong to try to prevent the student from making his/her coursework from past years' courses public. Making the work public could help the student market themselves to prospective employers, and has multiple other benefits for both the student (ego boost, impressing friends, fulfilling an altruistic desire to provide a useful internet resource they worked hard to create, gaining valuable experience using github, and more) and the internet (people from all over the world could download and use the code). Who are you and your colleagues to say that your selfish needs of not having such code available for download online because it facilitates cheating by your colleague's students are more important than the needs of the student and others who can genuinely benefit from the student's work? I think your premise that the student is doing something wrong is simply incorrect.
>
> If so, what should be done? If not, might there be anyone at the school that can do anything?
>
>
>
Yes, something could be done; you and your colleague could free yourselves of the harmful mindset of trying to control what your students are doing with coursework they worked hard to create after they finish taking your classes. As <NAME> suggests in the comments, stop taking the easy way out of giving the same assignments year after year and then blaming others for how easy it is for your students to cheat, and instead put in the work to give original assignments.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Actually, yes, a department *can* sanction a student for posting his or her work online. But a better question is *should* they, and under what circumstances.
For situations such as this, I think the intent of the student is essential to know. But it is difficult to learn the intent. It is possible, of course, to speak with the student about intent, but if it was improper intent you aren't likely to learn much.
As other posters have said here there are a lot of valid reasons for students to post their own work online, so, in general, it is probably a mistake to forbid it, though it is possible to make online posting a general issue in the institution's or the professor's published rules.
However, the best solution is to use assignments for which online searching don't help enough to make the effort worthwhile, as others here have also said.
One possible, even recommended, solution is to allow the student to use any sources that they can find, but to cite the sources precisely, whether it is wikipedia or anything else. This can have several beneficial outcomes, including having students learn about proper citation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If don't see the problem - the students who reused the code were caught for their plagiarism: If you lift code directly from a public repo, you are likely to get caught be a plagiarism scan.
If the students are just using public repos to get a grip on the shape of the solution then they are just doing what thousands of professional programmers do every day. This is why StackExchange was invented. We actively encourage our students from googling stuff, adapting others code is how most programmers learn to code.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: First ... *Can* some form of punishment be carried out? With the statement as phrased in the Student Code of Conduct, perhaps a case might be built. The case would ask whether the action by the student is truly in violation of the guideline/requirement to take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from using his work. At its core, the question is whether the action was done out of ignorance or with intent. As this is a civil case not a criminal one, only the latter has grounds to move the case forward at all. Along with the question of *can* some form of punishment be carried out, the companion question is *what* is suitable punishment. Since you have not asked, I will not venture.
Second ... *Should* such an action be initiated? That is a question to ask of your Provost and your Legal Affairs Office. At a minimum, they should be made aware of the issue and offer you advice on their stand.
Third ... *Will* this happen again? You bet!
Finally, even when assignments are changed to try to get around this problem, resources exist that will tempt students to just "copy and paste" an answer. I therefore also suggest explaining to the class the reasoning behind the Code and bigger policies such as Copyright and Patents. The intent is to teach students so that they do not fear that they cannot look outside for resources or must otherwise hide their actions behind a mantle of secrecy. It is to teach them the right way to do what they want to do anyway.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: This is my first post in this community, please excuse me if this kind of post is inappropriate.
I completed my second year of my Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics (where I study, all Bachelor's Degrees are a 3 year course, unlike in USA).
I have asked one of my Professors to organize a Mathematics Research Internship for which I wouldn't get paid, as I just wanted to get into the world of research and improve my level of math, and hopefully get some experience in research.
As I am working towards the end of it, I am starting to wonder if this Internship will have any credibility or a positive effect on my CV once I apply to a Master's Degree program (I don't think anyone will look at what I am doing now when I apply to a PhD program). What provokes such doubts in me is the fact that I am doing "pseudo-research", basically I am trying to prove some properties that have been proved long ago. Most of the stuff that I proved can be most likely found in graduate Mathematics text books. I think that whoever will be studying my CV will have doubts about my credibility.
So my question, how will my internship's "scientific report" look (basically a presentation of what I have done, all the proofs and all the application I have done)?<issue_comment>username_1: It is not going look bad at all. It sounds like the Professor has given you a project that is achievable in the time frame, and satisfies your goals of improving your math and getting some experience in research. It should have a positive effect both on your CV and on your understanding of the research *process*.
In my PhD experience, much of the beginning was is exploring the topic, reading the literature, and trying to figure out a new direction. This can take many months, and can even change as your understanding improves or new information comes to light.
I don't think people will expect to see original research on new problems until the latter stages of your PhD.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In Finland, many bachelors' theses in pure mathematics are summaries of what is already known. Bachelor's thesis is required to get bachelor's degree. Master's thesis (pro gradu) might or might not contain original research.
From this perspective, it sounds like you are completing your thesis as an unpaid intern. You can presumably add this as work experience in your CV and it should be a positive at the beginning of your career.
If you are proving something with a new method, or writing down a folklore proof (something widely known, which is not in the literature), then your report might also have scientific merit. You should ask if this is the case from your advisor.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: They simply say that it is joint work with somebody.
Is it primarily because one is a better speaker than the other? Like, do some professors publish a lot but choose to stay behind the scenes and let their coauthors present the work?<issue_comment>username_1: An incomplete list:
* Because they're invited to give a talk, and their coauthor(s) aren't.
* Because their coauthor(s) can't afford to travel to every talk they give on that piece of research.
* Because their coauthor(s) are busy with other things.
* Because this way they and their coauthor(s) can disseminate their ideas more widely, by giving more talks for the same overall investment of time.
* Because the work is interdisciplinary, and the conference at which the work is being presented is devoted to some of the disciplines involved but not all of them, so attending would be irrelevant for the coauthor(s).
(Thanks to the commenters who suggested further additions.)
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: The [average immunology paper has 11 authors](http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1911); so does the average molecular biology paper. Genetics papers average 21.6 authors. High energy and nuclear physics papers, 226.8.
In many cases talks will cover multiple papers, so there could easily be 50 co-authors involved. In many cases, these include authors from many different institutions, countries, and continents.
And talks are not a particularly big deal in many fields. In my fields, a moderately well-known scientist might give 5-10 talks a year. A post-doc looking for a faculty position might give far more than that.
Who is going to pay my fifty co-authors to travel to five talks a year? I have a hard enough time getting reimbursed for myself.
I don't even understand what the point would be. Presumably they'd sit in the front row? And ... smile and wave? Or would they run up to the podium when there's a slide they know about and take over for thirty seconds, and then run back to their seat?
The more I think about it, the more baffled I am. I guess the short answer is, There's no point, no one cares.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: In my field, the professor or leader of the research group is the mastermind behind the research going on in their labs. They will have a number of PhD students working on different parts of projects and then they will present the overarching story either in a conference talk or in a paper.
Sometimes, part of the work — significant for the results achieved but pointless by itself — has been performed by collaboration partners. In that case, the part of the talk usually sounds something like:
>
> We sent this compound to the group of Mastermind to find out whether it glows in the dark.
>
>
>
Again, we have the presenting professor with the big picture who brings all loose ends together. It only makes sense that they do the talk.
The final slides are then usually the acknowledgements. Here, I am used to the professors saying exactly which PhD/Postdoc performed which work and which collaborator did what.
---
It’s not that those collaborators who are not on stage prefer sitting in the back or writing papers. Rather, they have different research interests, sometimes even sub-fields. They will go to those conferences that better fit their research, hold talks there and maybe mention the collaboration with the professor we just talked about if it fits into their story.
And it’s not that the PhD students and Postdocs prefer to sit back and write papers. They will either be in the lab working hard or they will be there listening, maybe presenting a poster.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Some responses I don't think I've seen, yet, as well as some backup to former responses...
* Oftenimes, other authors have different roles at the same conference, at the same time, such as presenting a different paper, serving a role at a division committee business or admin meeting, or they may be attending another panel session about work in their same area(s).
* Sometimes it's because they are, for instance, on a different teaching schedule or invited profs at international universities, as opposed to just lacking monetary resources. Larger schedules conflict.
* Monetarily and to my last point, many/most schools don't offer adequate travel expenses to co-authors. Before recently retiring, at the end of June, 2017, I had a budget of $2,500/yr., which, at least in my field, was EXCELLENT, and based on a long-term endowment from the E.W. Scripps Foundation, which most J-schools don't have, even though it could only be used @ $1,250/conference, for up to two conferences per year. While my colleagues would often be rather amazed at that base amount of funding--which could be supplemented by funds from other accounts, such as grants or other projects that rewarded one with monies toward university-based projects--at the same time, there were other restrictions on how that base money could be spent. If I were "SIMPLY" a second or later author on a single paper, I could only get up to 50% of the base funding -- $625. While, at many schools, that can be a good deal of subsidy, it doesn't go far, in covering expenses to major cities, for a few nights. It would barely cover the costs of the flight and maybe conference registration, leaving one with all the hotel and per diem costs.
* As a tip to young scholars "new to the other side," to avoid such problems, it's always good to do some networking and/or to actually "co-present" a paper with a graduate student. Networking, one can usually pick up a side-gig as an officer in a division, let a research chair know--as soon as a paper is accepted--that you're willing to serve as a moderator, discussant, or panelist, in a discussion session (although the last often requires input well before even entering an article into competition). Co-presenting a paper with a graduate student who has worked on an article or is the main author has benefits of helping to "craft" your students and introduce them to others, afterwards, and it can also help them to get funding they might otherwise be unable to receive.
(Never underestimate the good that can come from crafting and polishing a couple/few rough diamonds or straight-up high potential grad students at a time. If well-trained, they can become great students and profs, at times going on to be lifelong colleagues you place in doc schools and/or as profs. With your main expertise as their starting point, they will often do very creative work that branches off slightly from or continues on, in your tradition, and they will often have some great insights, along the way.)
* It may be that such grad students are simply unable to attend, for other reasons, such as moving schools, as they progress, or it may be that they didn't have a great deal of expertise/anything of substance to add to the specific discussion that I/another author didn't already know, *in toto*. In my field of media psychology, there are often 2-4 authors (or maybe 5-7, if a school has a system of "milking" authorships, by having several (usually grad) authors each spread out tiny duties (heheheh) from their projects, so that all, like, 7, could be on all 7 papers, as authors (Michigan State's Mass Comm used to be famous, for that in the '90s and early-mid aughts, until people caught on...)), but, say, two out of four of my students/co-authors simply coordinated my lab and ran our experimental participants, for the time, and then co-wrote the (always essentially banal/straightforward/specific) methodology section, because they had the most direct experience with the process. Such beginner or "helper" authors are rather "insignificant," *in presentation*, and any questions, should the section not have been specific enough for direct replication--or If I didn't specifically remember--can be referred to those authors, by email or whatever (even face-to-face, later at the conference) -- as can any others who may be more "important," if any of the other situations mentioned occurs, wherein a more "essential" author is unavailable at presentation. If seemingly worth it, you might set up to have coffee or a drink with your co-author and the questioner, if it seems worth the effort. It could yield a cite and future interest in your work.
* All-in-all, most presentations--especially given time constraints--don't offer the opportunity for more than, say, two authors, at most -- and that's generally if they're both basically co-equals, bringing together different areas of expertise in a presentation. Otherwise, there's the mentoring grads model I expressed above.
!! Oh, yeah, and there's one last reason about which I just thought: the co-author is retired. My graduating doc student is presenting what is essentially his dissertation, which he defended this spring and which we'd since worked into a much more concise and expert piece--wherein I added a lot of my personal insights into theory and applications--but I'll be damned if I'm going to shell out $1,500+ on my own dime, to go help present that paper, in Chicago, next month (although I'm helping put together the presentation materials) -- especially on retirement money. He's presented several, at this point--including a starter, with me--and he knows my arguments in the article VERY well, having had to answer for them, in his defense (after submitting it to the grad school, finished, I tightened up and made the arguments more precise and forceful). Plus, it's his time to start carrying the torch, on his own, as my latest and perhaps best...
(My apologies for going a bit off topic, at times, but I seemed to read more into the question than was specifically articulated, although I do think fleshing it out, as such, should be very helpful. It sounds like a grad student question (as a matter of experience). This is also my first post on this site. I guess that's what you do, 12 days into retirement, at 4 in the morning. ;) Hope that all helped, in broader and specific senses. I'll get the hang of it...)
Thanks for the Opportunity,
<NAME>
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/11
| 571
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<issue_start>username_0: I have acquired a 4 year BA degree in one of the social sciences. At the moment, I'm considering applying for MSc outside of my country (I'm Non-EU citizen and I will apply for MSc studies in EU country).
The University where I want to apply has 3-year BA programmes and 2-year MA/MSc programmes. However, in my country I finished a 4 year BA programme with a total of 240 credits and MA studies are usually with a duration of 1 year. I really don't want to study 2 full years for something that I believe I could finish in a considerably shorter time (one year). Also, I already have the necessery credits for the first year of the MSc programme.
I would like to know how is this handled? Does the number of the acquired credits I have matters, or is the official length of the MSc programme that counts?<issue_comment>username_1: This sounds like it is probably an institution by institution policy. I know that here in the UK a masters programme lasts one year but that in Germany, they last two- furthermore, I've been told that a 2 year Masters programme garners greater respect than the single year option. This may be because there is a stronger taught element or because you're in the lab for longer gaining more skills.
E-mail the institution you are interested in and ask but I've been at it for 8.5 years so 4 seems like a dream.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not a universal truth, but my experience in researching Master's Programs is that the main difference between a 1year and 2 year Master's program is the research component.
1 year programs tend to be primarily course based, with a shorter project, if any. Very seldom will there be a 2 year program consisting entirely of classes. Instead, there is usually a thesis, project, essay, etc. that can last around a year.
No matter how skilled you are, research takes time. So a 1 year Master's program will necessary mean a more shallow project, whereas a two year program alloes for more depth, and is more likely to result in publishable research.
So when choosing a program, ask yourself what you're trying to get out of it. If your main interest is classes, 1 year is fine. If you want to be a researcher or tackle an ambitious project, 2 year will probably be better.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2017/07/12
| 603
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<issue_start>username_0: In following APA style, I put my tables and figures at the end of the paper, after the references. For example, [here](http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-guide-on-formatting.aspx) they explicitly say to put them at the end.
One of my committee members told me that this was incorrect and that she "didn't even bother looking" at my tables and figures. In retrospect, I didn't include a list of them in the table of contents. But as far as I can tell, the placement is still correct: I've seen people insert tables and figures in-text in theses, but this is seemingly not what you're supposed to do according to the APA manual. I've tried to see if different rules apply somehow to a dissertation and haven't found anything official. There are also no guidelines specific to tables and figures at my university.
Am I wrong here? If so, please refer me to some concrete source I can use for the future! And if not, how am I supposed to submit it without correcting my committee member?<issue_comment>username_1: This sounds like it is probably an institution by institution policy. I know that here in the UK a masters programme lasts one year but that in Germany, they last two- furthermore, I've been told that a 2 year Masters programme garners greater respect than the single year option. This may be because there is a stronger taught element or because you're in the lab for longer gaining more skills.
E-mail the institution you are interested in and ask but I've been at it for 8.5 years so 4 seems like a dream.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not a universal truth, but my experience in researching Master's Programs is that the main difference between a 1year and 2 year Master's program is the research component.
1 year programs tend to be primarily course based, with a shorter project, if any. Very seldom will there be a 2 year program consisting entirely of classes. Instead, there is usually a thesis, project, essay, etc. that can last around a year.
No matter how skilled you are, research takes time. So a 1 year Master's program will necessary mean a more shallow project, whereas a two year program alloes for more depth, and is more likely to result in publishable research.
So when choosing a program, ask yourself what you're trying to get out of it. If your main interest is classes, 1 year is fine. If you want to be a researcher or tackle an ambitious project, 2 year will probably be better.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2017/07/12
| 1,372
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently doing a research project and I have found some mistakes in the paper of the professor whose work I am extending. I feel that it would be best if the professor is willing to co-author my paper. There are several reasons for it. First of all the professor is a PC member of the conference in which I am willing to publish. So, the error which I am referring to can hurt his ego and I am afraid of negative review because of bias. Second of all, if he is willing to co-author, my ongoing work can definitely improve and I will have a higher chance of acceptance. In that case, he wont be reviewing my paper as he is a co-author.
But the professor is from a different university and previously there was no collaboration between their university and ours. I am not a professor but merely a graduate student. What should my best course of action to collaborate with him? (He is a very high profile professor)<issue_comment>username_1: Personal responsibility dictates that if you know enough about their work that you are able to extend it to new applications, then you should work on your own, reference their results where necessary and without making any assumptions about their opinion or insisting that they take time away from what sounds like a fairly busy schedule, proceed on your own. If you have quick questions about specialized knowledge that's probably the best way to correspond.
In all likelihood, unless you have an equally sterling reputation, they'll ignore you; however, their opinion will likely be part of the refereeing process if you want to submit something related to their work to a conference with which they are affiliated. Don't commit the faux pas of trying to chase them down like they owe you something, especially if you think their work has problems. You're responsible for your own career and your own decisions.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I would argue it could be appropriate to contact this professor. In general, it is great when you can work with the original author to make sure that you both understand the points of agreement, and collaborate on a future paper. When authors are willing to do this, it is much more efficient and pleasant than dealing with criticisms at the referee stage. When a new collaboration happens, it can lead to a much better paper! My best-cited paper happened because of something like this when I was a graduate student.
An example of this happening recently in the field of olfaction research:
* The original controversy - <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150707093344.htm>
* The collaborative outcome - <http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/artificial-intelligence-grows-nose>
HOWEVER
You need to perform significant "due diligence" before you hassle a professor about potential errors. You are asking them to devote a lot of time and effort to your criticisms, and take seriously the possibility that you are right and they are wrong. If you list three potential errors, and the first one is something where you show a trivial misunderstanding, they might not devote time to the second and third. Here are some steps you can take:
* Make sure your advisor agrees with your analysis of the mistakes.
* Double-check to see if the other research group has addressed this point - either in a correction to the paper, a note on their website, or in a later paper on the same topic.
* Ensure your email is as clear and polite as possible (again, your advisor should give you feedback on this, to make sure your points are coming across clearly)
* If the errors are simple typos / potential misprints that don't affect the conclusion, don't make that the major point.
*Edited to add: It also helps if your advisor knows something about this high-profile professor. Some people are very hostile to any criticism, or just don't talk with anyone below their "level." In my successful collaboration, my advisor knew the other professor, at least to say hello to.*
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> What should my best course of action to collaborate with him? (He is a very high profile professor)
>
>
>
Your best course of action is to email him, explain the work you've been doing, and politely suggest exploring the possibility of a collaboration. *However*, you need to seriously work on your mindset before writing the email, because right now I feel like the reasons you are interested in the collaboration are not good reasons - you seem to be interested in the reputational benefit of having him as a coauthor and in the fact that if he is a coauthor then he can't be the referee for the paper; in other words, your collaboration offer will not be based on a genuine interest in the intellectual contribution this "high profile" professor can make to the work, and therefore I would say it is not being made in good faith. If I were the professor and got wind of what your motives are (and it may not be so easy for you to hide them, even if you try to phrase the email dishonestly, which in any case I would not recommend doing), I would not only refuse to work with you but would also develop a poor opinion of you that could be long-lasting and would be hard for you to correct.
To summarize, you are putting the cart before the horse here. You should contact the professor if and only if you are genuinely and in good faith interested in an *intellectual* collaboration rather than a mere formal coauthorship. Even then, keep in mind the professor may refuse your offer, because he is busy or for any number of other reasons (or for no reason at all). Your offer should be phrased in a tactful way that leaves your dignity (and any potential interaction you may have with the professor in the future) intact in the event that he is not interested in your offer. Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2017/07/13
| 404
| 1,742
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<issue_start>username_0: Let us imagine that I am uploading the application for a faculty position (e.g. lecturer) in a university in UK today. What to expect next? Should I wait for their reply anyway or only in the case that my application is in a short list? How long might it take to get an email from them (weeks, months etc)?
Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: In my experience English and Welsh[1] universities will notify all applicants shortly after the shortlist has been decided upon, either with a positive or negative response. Moreover, this decision is typically quite fast, around 2weeks - 2months.
[1] I have insufficient experience with North-Irish universities, and have applied to Scottish universities and never received a response at all.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Normally, shortlisting happens a week or two after the application submission deadline. If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to an interview. If you are not invited to an interview within a month after the application deadline, it is safe to assume you are not shortlisted, but the University does not want to let you know until the appointment is made (which may happen a few months later).
The interview can be scheduled from a few weeks to a few months after the shortlisting date. After the interview, the decision is normally made within a week. If you don't hear from them after 2 weeks, it is safe to assume you are not the first candidate, but the University does not want to let you know until the appointment is made.
It is not unusual to never hear back from a University if your application is unsuccessful. Generally speaking, standards for professional communication in the UK academia are surprisingly low.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/13
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a fresh Ph.D. scholar. I have applied for several academic jobs and recently I got acceptance for a Postdoc position in a university (world QS rank 71) and an assistant professorship offer in a university which is not among top 1000 university in the world but known as an average university in my subject area.
Being a fresh Ph.D. scholar what should be my priority?
For both positions, the contract is 2 years. Which job experience, postdoc or AP, will give me better chance to get a better position after 2 years?<issue_comment>username_1: I think you should think about the final result that you plan to achieve at the end of this work. For example, the goal is to publish as many scientific articles in the best journals as possible. Then you must assess your abilities and resources to achieve this goal (based on your experience during PhD). If you think that you have enough strength to generate ideas and publish good articles in good journals, then professorship is for you. If you are not ready for an independend job and needs some supervision, then go for a postdoc.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A good boss (both personally and scientifically) is everything. Try to find out where you will get the best (direct) supervisor/professor because that is where you will most likely be both happier and more productive.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: At the end, both are job. Based on your previous research achievements, e.g., number and venue of publication, you can choose PostDoc or Asst. Professor. It's not only about independent research, many factors are related. Also be aware that this short term Asst Prof. deals with overloaded teaching assignments, in that sense, PostDoc will bring your own research identify.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: If the Assistant Prof. position will eventually lead you to tenure and if you feel confident you can manage it, you should go for it.
A postdoc in a reputable university doesn't mean anything if you don't end up publishing good papers, which of course you can't know in advance.
In the end, the job of a postdoc is to find a stable position, and you have been given the opportunity to reach it through the Assistant Prof. contract.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: University ranking offers almost no information; you need to look at the quality and reputation of the *departments* that are offering you jobs. For the sake of answering the question, let's assume that you have a postdoc offer from a reasonably strong CS department (KU Leuven qualifies) and an assistant professor offer from a mediocre department. I also assume that you eventually want a faculty position in a strong department---neither of your current offers qualifies. Finally, let's assume these are the only two options you are willing to consider.
Take the postdoc.
-----------------
First, moving from a weaker department to a stronger department is *significantly* harder than moving in the other direction. Hiring committees will make snap judgments about you based on the reputation of your current department; all else being equal, applications from stronger departments are more successful. (Of course, all else is never equal. And the fact that people *shouldn't* make snap judgments like this is irrelevant.) Same goes for funding applications and conference/journal publications.
Second, weaker departments (at least in the US) have less (or no) expectation of faculty research, and therefore provide fewer resources for research. Those resources include strong graduate research-active colleagues, and (most importantly) time. Weaker departments tend to have higher faculty teaching loads with weaker (or no) TA support, and you've already been told to expect a large administrative workload.
In short, if you accept a position in a significantly weaker department, you are likely to be less productive, and the research you do publish is likely to be valued less. This discrepancy will offset any benefit from accepting a faculty position earlier.
Upvotes: 3
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2017/07/13
| 397
| 1,696
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm starting out in a new field, and reading papers from top conferences in the field seemed as a natural starting point to understanding active research areas in the field. I realized I have never really searched for papers from a conference before, instead I've searched only by keyword. Any way to go about this?<issue_comment>username_1: I suggest a [three-step **easy**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AntiJokes/comments/2odrr8/what_are_the_three_steps_to_put_an_elephant_into/) solution:
1. Open the Web page of a search engine in your browser, type in the name of the conference you are interested in, and click the search button.
2. Go to the Web site of the conference.
3. Find the name of the publisher on the Web site of the conference, go the Web page of the publisher, and search for the papers from the conference proceedings there.
This solution has an advantage of being **universal** and might require small adjustments on a case-by-case basis.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: 1 - Talk to your supervisors or professors in your department and they will tell you which conference proceedings are more relevant to your specific area.
2 - Check with your university if you have an online-portal area that allows you to search for conference proceedings that you would otherwise have to pay for. Universities, in general I think, provide access to all their enrolled students to various institutions. For example, if you are a Computing Science student, your University might get you access to the digital libraries of ACM and IEEE.
3 - Use tools such as Google Scholar
4 - When you come across an interesting paper, look at the references.
Upvotes: -1
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2017/07/13
| 369
| 1,705
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<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a literature review as part of a master's thesis in mechanical engineering.
I am discussing the approach of one author and I was wondering whether or not it is acceptable to include equations that the author has used?
For example I might say: Smith has used the ideal gas equation (and then write the equation) in order to calculate xyz...
This raises a further question in that should you include an equation if it is obscure, and omit commonly understood equations or not?<issue_comment>username_1: If the equation is important and not trivial knowledge (this can be debatable based on readership, especially in interdisciplinary work) there is nothing wrong with including it in a literature review (properly cited).
When in doubt, cite more than needed in the draft, as cutting down later will be easier than finding the reference again later.
The same goes for important illustrations/figures - for example of a reaction mechanism in chemistry.
Some people actively like to have equations or figures in the review as it provides a visual break in the text which can make reading easier.
Having said that, attitudes will differ based on subject field, country and just whoever reads it.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I'd recommend adding equations in cases where it supports the discussion and comparison of other related work. It opens the possibility of defining a gap in the literature where your own thesis is targeting.
I ask myself how much adding the equation supports the literature review, as a section in the thesis. The strength of the section should be in comparison rather than listing other people's work.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/13
| 934
| 4,078
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<issue_start>username_0: Is poor English grammar and writing style overlooked by peer reviewers and editors in otherwise strong math paper submissions?<issue_comment>username_1: Short answer: no
Longer answer: The purpose of the article is to communicate something. If poor grammar and style gets in the way of that goal, then that is something that needs to be addressed before the article can be published. If the paper is indeed strong, then that will typically mean you will get a "revise and resubmit" rather than an outright "reject".
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Sometimes (as a referee for a submitted paper) I have provided detailed grammar corrections1. Other times I have just said: "The English is unacceptable, get someone more expert in English to correct it for you." I do seem to recall in one case the editor told me that the journal staff will correct the English, so I should not worry about it, instead only worry about the technical content.
1 *éventuel* does not mean *eventually*
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Are you asking about the "should" or the "is"? It depends on the referee and the editors. I have seen papers published in top venues that would have seriously profited from 5 minutes of proofreading (sometimes even from an automated spellcheck). But I have also seen referees point out rather subtle linguistic errors carefully and in detail (and have done so myself a few times). There is probably no shortage of referees who are willing to rubber-stamp a paper written by a celebrity no matter whether any of it makes sense. I also wouldn't be surprised if an editor feels pressured to publish a paper by a VIP even despite the objections of referees.
There is also a huge distinction between the kind of errors that merely reveal the author to be a foreign speaker, and the kind that make reading difficult. On occasion, a language barrier completely prevents the author from readably communicating a proof; while I cannot blame the author for the "mistake" of being born in the wrong country, I don't hesitate to send back such a paper for revision, after giving as many suggestions as I can (and as concrete as I can) for how the writing could be improved and what pieces of syntax they seem to be missing. Things like this should not lead to *rejection* of papers, unless the author fails to clarify their work through several revisions; but the paper should not get *accepted* until this work has been done.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: It may or may not be so with the referee, but it is rarely overlooked *by the readers*.
Few researchers have the luxury of spending time deciphering bad grammar and convoluted sentence structures: battling typos is more than enough. Moreover, if the community is left with the impression that you write poorly, they will shun your work unless it is brilliant.
Too many spend months working on a project but limited time thinking about presenting the results in a reader-friendly manner. Good grammar, the systematic use of a spell-checker, and adequate clarity result in a win for the authors and the readers.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: This question really makes me remember a good editor, who gave me an opportunity to revise my paper even if the paper was really written by very poor English. That was two years ago, when I submitted my first paper, I got rejections almost from everywhere because of the poor paper writing. Finally, the paper was publicized and now I am a second-year PhD student with 6 papers in hand. They are not top journals but they are all in Q1.
All professors grow up from young students. I believe everyone produced bad papers when they were young. It is true that the paper must be publicized in a good format otherwise readers will get confused when reading papers. However, the editor could do more than a rejection. If the paper really has some good things, such as good idea or math, maybe one more opportunity from the editor will give the world one more good professor.
Thanks to the editor.
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/13
| 286
| 1,222
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<issue_start>username_0: I am submitting the camera ready version of a paper for a conference in machine learning. The proceedings will be published by a well known publisher of the area. I have a question:
after the upload of the camera ready version, is the paper edited in some way by the publisher? Assume that I add typos or strange/not existing english words: is the paper going to be published with these errors, or there is someone-not-scientist who corrects the paper?<issue_comment>username_1: I cannot speak for that conference, but for all the conferences I happened to participate in my field (in a couple of cases as a member of the organizing committee) for *camera-ready* submissions, there were no corrections after the submission.
Usually, the editor of the proceedings puts together all the submitted papers and adds page numbers, table of contents, list of participants etc. That's it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Some journals will copy-edit papers post-acceptance for typos, clarity, etc. but in my experience if they're asking for "camera-ready" submissions, they're not planning on doing this.
Regardless, you should never *rely* on the journal doing that sort of editing.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/13
| 987
| 4,319
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<issue_start>username_0: My project is based on data hosted by a different university than the one where I used to work. When I requested the data, I understood that the work (and cost) to extract it from the database increases with the number of items I wanted. I had no research funds at the time and therefore asked for a rather small sample, with an informal agreement with the director of the inistitute that the person extracting the data would be my collaborator and coauthor.
Several months passed before I received the data and then the sample turned out to be too small to be really useful. I did not make another request as the data extraction process appeared so time-consuming. Instead, I moved on to work with other projects for a couple of years.
The data became relevant again when I started as a visiting researcher at this institute. Although I wasn't employed by the institute, I had direct access to the database and could download all of it in a matter of minutes. I expected that the person who extracted the first sample would be willing to collaborate on data classification and other things where he was an expert. Instead, he seemed hostile and would only answer to exactly what I asked, rather than make an attempt to be helpful.
The most recent development is that the institute made most of this database and classification open for anyone to download.
What should I do to get out of the original data use agreement? I feel trapped in a forced collaboration with a person with whom I'm not in speaking terms. I'm not in a position to renegotiate or entitled to any help from the institute, as it is not my employer.
I took this situation more seriously than anyone should, as my depression renewed and I went to psyhotherapy for nine months. That's telling something about the amount of time I have wasted with this dilemma.<issue_comment>username_1: First I'll say that your description of the situation is quite vague. Are there two universities and one institute involved? What were your relevant positions? Why did you need permission to get the data in the first place, if it's not private/secret and can now be downloaded freely? etc.
Still,
>
> What should I do to get out of the original data use agreement?
>
>
>
It's not at all clear any agreement is still binding at this point, since it was made in a specific context and not intended to cover far-future work on other projects. Also, it's not clear what exactly your original agreement was, since it was not only verbal, but informal, and probably not much was spelled out. So it's possible the answer is "nothing". Also, you said the agreement was that:
>
> the person extracting the data would be my collaborator and coauthor.
>
>
>
This time around, you are the person extracting the data, so no harm no foul. However, if you want help from that guy who helped you last time, perhaps he should be listed as a coauthor on whatever you produce now as well, or at least consulted on the issue of credit.
More generally, and regardless of your supposed contractual obligations, I would go talk to the person who helped you the first time. Start by apologizing for having acted offensively, say it wasn't your intent, and politely maneuver him into telling you what it is that he wants/expects.
PS - I just noticed this question is rather old. So this answer is intended mostly for people facing similar situations I guess.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: This isn't a question that can be properly answered here as it may have legal implications that are local to the actual case. Don't make assumptions that your old agreement is null, just because the data became public. No harm no foul might not hold up anywhere, especially if lawyers get involved.
You indicate that the director is a different person than the one who helped you. He/she can give you advice. The legal department of the institution can give you advice that should hold up. If your new work is truly independent of the old, make sure that they understand that. The other person may have no moral hold over you for co-authorship, but only an expert can speak about a legal hold.
The question is likely too old to be of help to the OP, but future visitors may have similar questions, hence this very late answer.
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/13
| 551
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<issue_start>username_0: Say you have an idea and you can't find any paper or book that explicitly states that idea. You don't know for sure if you're right in assuming that you came up first with that idea so you decide to publish it. What are the consequences if you're wrong and the idea has already been published. Do the reviewers point that out for you before the paper gets published? Is your career over because of that?
To be more specific, I have an idea for constructing iterative formulas for solving **systems** of nonlinear equations for **any convergence rate**. I also have an elegant proof for that. The problem is that I have found just one article that explicitly states that idea just for functions of one variable, but doesn't expand on it.( just one paragraph and then continues with something else)<issue_comment>username_1: Ignorance is not plagiarism. If you write that "To the best of my knowledge" the algorithm is new, you imply that you researched the matter duly (I would suggest to consult some experts if you are kind of an outsider to the field) and found no prior publication. If such a publication exists, it will not be plagiarism. It may be embarrassing, but not a career killer by any means (see first comment to your question).
However, if you know that a suggestion exists for the one-dimensional case, you should state that: "This algorithm has been previously suggested for the one-dimensional case by XXXX." You can also qualify this statement to better highlight what your work adds: "...but no proof of convergence was offered." or "Here I generalize the algorithm to n dimensions and provide a proof of convergence."
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is the duty of reviewers (in fact, part of THE main duty is to see if the paper makes a original contribution). If you have made an honest effort to find previous work, talked to your colleagues and/or advisor ( if applicable), your job is done. Plus most good ideas are rediscovered ALL THE TIME, in different subfields, different context etc. However, don't be this guy:
[Rediscovery of calculus in 1994: what should have happened to that paper?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9602/rediscovery-of-calculus-in-1994-what-should-have-happened-to-that-paper)
Upvotes: 3
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2017/07/13
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<issue_start>username_0: My supervisor is the dean of an engineering department at my university. Should I address him as *<NAME>* or *<NAME>?* Personally, *dean* sounds a little clunky for me talking to my faculty supervisor but I’ve been using it so far, and he hasn’t really mentioned anything about it.
**Is it normal to address someone as *dean* or should I start using *professor* instead?**
Also, I don’t know if he’s the type to care about such things.<issue_comment>username_1: If you don't want to ask him directly (the easy solution), you could always ask other students what they do. In general, I would stick to "<NAME>." People don't have be called by their full titles (I would never want or expect to be called "Associate Professor Webster").
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In my experience there is no context at all where you would address or refer to someone as <NAME> because they are a dean. 'Dean' is a job-title (like 'accountant'), whereas 'Professor' is (also) a person-title (like Mr.).
Personally I'd say if you're not yet close enough to your supervisor to call them by their first name, it's time you got to know your supervisor better. After all, <http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1296>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: You use the title that is appropriate for your interaction:
* <NAME> - anything related to his or her role as an educator or researcher
* <NAME> (or Provost Smith, etc) - anything related to his or her role as an administrator
Many times when people become deans, deanlets, or provosts, they stop teaching and actively conducting research - which makes it easy to refer to them in their administrative role only.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: One of your comments on the question is vital:
I'm in [sic] undergrad. **We've never met in person, which is why I'm thinking we're not on first name basis yet.** (Emphasis mine)
I would refer to him as Professor Smith as I agree <NAME> sounds clunky. Once you build a relationship with him, this nay change to a first name basis but you don't appear to be to that stage yet.
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/13
| 633
| 2,567
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<issue_start>username_0: I am starting my PhD in cosmology in October of this year. I have already met some of the older PhD students and postdocs in the department where I will be studying, and I am going to be attending two summer schools before I start the PhD where I will meet more new people, from other institutions.
It seems a natural conversation opener to ask people what their research is about or what they are working on at the moment, and in response I generally get their 1-2 minute elevator pitch summarising their work.
**My question is: what questions are best to ask them to keep the conversation going after they have given this spiel when I am a novice in the field?**
I don't want to squander what could lead to a valuable discussion, but at the moment I can do very little except make some banal comment such as "that sounds interesting..." and let the discussion drift away from the nitty-gritty details of the field, because most of the time the things they tell me about are completely new to me (but presumably old hat to them).
I don't feel that I know my own topic well enough yet to explain it properly in return- so what could I say instead?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> what questions are best to ask them to keep the conversation going after they have given this spiel when I am a novice in the field?
>
>
>
You're overthinking this. Pretend it's a conversation between human beings: do you have a question about what they said? Ask it. Don't you have any question or you find their research topic utterly boring? Change topic of conversation. Exactly as you would do with anyone else.
Summer schools frequently have students with different backgrounds and from different countries; you will be all in the same situation, and for most of you it will be a new place: there will certainly be things around you that can be subject of conversation.
As for your last question:
>
> I don't feel that I know my own topic well enough yet to explain it properly in return- so what could I say instead?
>
>
>
Tell the truth: That you're going to start your PhD on topic X, that you like it for reason Y, but you still don't know much about it because you just started and that you will be super-happy if you can meet someone there working on the same topic.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The "best" response I ever heard was:
>
> I understand. By the way, what do you think about [my great research topic]?"
>
>
>
Substitute [my great research topic] with you subfield of cosmology.
Upvotes: 3
|
2017/07/14
| 668
| 2,975
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<issue_start>username_0: Suppose a review of algorithms used to solve a particular problem is to be written. Is it considered plagiarism or malpractice if the algorithms to be reviewed are copied verbatim?
Do the algorithms have to be 'paraphrased' before reviewing?<issue_comment>username_1: *Any* verbatim copying of a long block of text, including if that block of text is an algorithm, would be plagiarism if it is not attributed. However, you can avoid plagiarism by stating explicitly that your description of the algorithm is copied verbatim from another source, and citing the source. Then you cannot be accused of plagiarism, although it may still be considered poor or lazy writing if a substantial amount of your review is copied from other sources.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are at least three distinct, though inter-related, issues here:
* **Plagiarism:** As long as you properly cite your sources and you make it clear that you are reproducing the algorithms verbatim, there is no issue or concern about plagiarism. Plagiarism only applies if you are pretending that what you are presenting is your own original work.
* **Length in your own article:** If the algorithms are lengthy, it might be excessively lengthy to copy them in your review. However, if it is essential that your readers see the full algorithms within your review (which is usually not necessary for merely commenting on them), then you might consider reproducing the full algorithms in an appendix rather than in the main body of the text.
* **Copyright violation:** This is a sticky issue, but in general, if you copy too much from a copyrighted article (unless it is distributed as open access), then there might be a concern about copyright violation if you copy too much from any source. What "too much" means is legally murky (and it varies across legal jurisdiction), but as a very general rule of thumb, you should not copy so much that the reader decides that since you have given them the algorithm, there is no need for them to consult the original source. (I'm not a lawyer, though, so that's not legal advice.)
Based on these three issues, I suggest:
* Be sure to properly cite all sources and make it explicitly clear whenever you copy anything verbatim.
* Don't copy entire algorithms unless absolutely necessary. It usually isn't necessary to copy the whole thing to make your point; copy only the partial pieces necessary.
* If you feel you have to copy an entire algorithm, make sure that you don't make your review a substitute for reading the original article (e.g., the algorithm is the only important part of the original article). If you are replacing the original, then don't copy it at all; rather refer readers to the original source, especially if it is not open access.
* If you have to copy an entire algorithm and you feel you are justified to do so, then place it in an appendix, not in your main article text.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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2017/07/14
| 330
| 1,470
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<issue_start>username_0: There seems no recognized or fixed rule for citation sources, as far as I know, the citation taken from publications or other open sources that can prove they are not something groundless is acceptable because at least the citation to be used as support for your argument in the paper has been used or established by other authors and the quality is guaranteed by the publishing houses or agencies like that.
Now with more and more information and materials in social media outlets and self-media available, the authenticity of the information cannot be ensured(but sometimes you have to admit there are so many anonymous genius online who are much superior to the counterparts in real life),and will it be OK to select such to be citation?<issue_comment>username_1: Whatever you use, **cite it**. If it is only a Tweet by a ten-year-old, cite it. If it is a hallway conversation with your colleague, still cite it.
But do not expect your readers to believe it is reliable, or that it is from a peer-reviewed paper.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **Always cite a source**, but also always make an effort to **cite a credible source**. So if you learned something through a tweet, still try to track down a (scientific, peer reviewed) publication and then cite this. Only in the case where you are sure (read: did your best) that there is no publication that contains the claim/fact/result you are using, cite something else.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/14
| 630
| 2,429
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm sure that this must come up a lot when writing papers.
Reference A1 gives a lit review of a field. A passage talks about paper B1, and I summerise B1 also. How do you make it clear in your writing that reference B1 was found through reference A1 (after all does A1 not deserve credit for bringing this to your attention??)
And furthermore that if you are paraphrasing A1, who has made reference to B1, you ensure that the paraphrasing is made crystal clear. (For the record lets assume that one has read reference B1 as every good academic should! And that you agree with A1's summary of the work.)<issue_comment>username_1: >
> does A1 not deserve credit for bringing this to your attention??
>
>
>
Not really, however it is often beneficial to the reader to include a reference to a review paper, as it may be a good aid to their own understanding, as presumably it was for you.
e.g. "A good overview of the field can be found in A1".
>
> ensure that the paraphrasing is made crystal clear.
>
>
>
State it explicitly.
e.g. Author A1 (2017) gives a good review of recent research into ...., they note that in B1 ....
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think the best guide to what to cite or not is the truth: if you became aware of X due to reading Y, mention Y (and X, of course). To do otherwise misleads your readers about what you actually did.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I employed a strategy similar to this when writing my thesis and dissertation:
Author, A (2000) provides a nice explanation of theory B1 originally presented by Researcher, B (1990). Author, A clearly identified and succinctly summarized the main finding which was the chicken crossed the road to get to the other side. Interestingly, this summarization left out the one point in the seminal work by Researcher, B. It was suggested that the egg came before the chicken. It is possible that Author, A was not interested in that finding but current research interests warrant further investigation.
The following is a summary based largely on findings presented by Author, A (2000). Blah blah blah
To further comprehend the current issues being addressed we should take one step further and present our interpretation of the data presented by Researcher, B (1990). Blah blah blah
Hope this gives you some sort of idea or at least another plausible way to solve your issue.
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/14
| 1,984
| 8,384
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<issue_start>username_0: I am stuck and I need your experience, ideas, and help.
Background story. I have a supervisor who is giving me critics and always lowers my confidence. For example, when last year I wrote a paper for a workshop by myself, he told me I suggest you not to submit because you will burn your name and this is horrible works, etc. He then said if you insist on sending it don't put my name!!! He also didn't allow me to apply for a doctoral symposium (the most prestigious one, he said you won't benefit).
After a year, I was really disappointed in my own work, he was on holiday, and I thought my work is valueless. He also criticizes me for not publishing anything.
My issue:
He was on sick leave, there was a conference, and I had some work that if not for this conference, it would be useless for anywhere else. The conference is a C level(computer science) but the only conference in this area of work and all important people in the community are there. I wrote a paper, and because I was really disappointed I submitted it to get some feedbacks. I mentioned my intention of sending the paper to him in an email, probably he didn't see anyway. As a result, he wasn't there and I submitted the paper, now it got a conditional acceptance. This is my first time writing a paper and I was new to the submission. The conference was double blind, and that was why I submitted it anyway. I didn't know where I should put his name or how to submit, I did it anyway.
Problem:
Now I am scared to tell him about the conditional acceptance. Should I tell him or just refuse from doing the revisions and acceptance? How can I include his name(I thought initially it would be in the camera ready version, but the email says it is just me as the author)? What should I do?
Instead of being happy for my first paper, I am worried and close to nervous breakdown. What should I do? Please help me.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you really only have two options.
The first one is to leave away the name of your supervisor from the paper, pay for all the travel expenses (flight / transport, accommodation, conference fee) yourself, and make sure that the travel and preparation does not interfere with any other commitment at the University you might possibly have (e.g. tutoring). Be prepared though for your supervisor to be irritated (or worse) when he/she hears about this and for your relationship to hit a low. And if the conference is really shady then you will also have the repetitional damage (Santa Claus is right about stressing the importance of reputation).
The second one (my recommendation): **talk to your supervisor and listen to him/her**, even if that means that you withdraw the paper! Unless your relationship is already damaged beyond repair, you can normally assume that it is not your supervisors primary intention to put you down, but to help and support you -- after all he/she also has an own interest in making your PhD successful. Maybe your supervisor is right that your work is not yet mature enough to withstand scrutiny at a good conference, and has chosen to not sugarcoat this. Your conversation should not be about this paper, but generally about publication / work planning and perhaps also about mutual expectations around both your scientific work and the way you want to interact.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Let's go through it one by one:
>
> How can I include his name?
>
>
>
I think he has already made his viewpoint quite clear, when you quote "*I suggest you not to submit because you will burn your name and this is horrible works, etc. He then said if you insist on sending it don't put my name*"
So, please don't do it. Any academician would be horribly pissed off if he saw his name appear on a scientific article which he himself deems "*horrible*", or in more polite language, unworthy of having his name on the author list. You are assuming some malicious intentions on his part, but please try to understand that he may have some very valid reasons for saying what he said.
You are only starting out, and are yet to make a name for yourself, but presumably he already has made one. It is a well known fact in academia that respected researchers would prefer *not publishing* to *publishing a mediocre work*. That's because, ultimately in academia, a person is only as good as his work. An average work would be taken to mean that the person doing it also has average abilities.
The last thing he would want is to have his reputation being smothered by an overzealous student, who went ahead and presented something prematurely, and puts it across as *done by me under Professor ABC*. Because then, it won't be about you and you work, it would be about Prof. ABC deeming a premature work as publication-worthy, which he never agreed to!
Thus, in all seriousness, since you are actually going ahead with the publication, you should do that without your supervisor's name.
>
> Now I am scared to tell him about the conditional acceptance. Should I tell him?
>
>
>
While you are not obligated to inform him, it is generally very bad etiquette to hold your supervisor in the dark about these things. Of course, revealing this will enrage him, of course you will draw flak. But that's still a better option than him discovering about this independently, or through other sources (he *eventually* will find out, one way or the other). And in that case, bridges will be burned completely. So, my advise would be, if you were courageous enough to actually go ahead and submit despite your supervisor telling you not to do so, you would burn lesser bridges by owning up the repercussions, rather than running away from it.
Having said that, be prepared to hear a response to the tune of *I'm not going to participate in amending the manuscript now, please do it on your own*. Which is completely reasonable. If it is helpful to think of it this way, you will also benefit from the confidence you will gain from making the changes yourself, and getting it published. So, better do it yourself.
Finally,
>
> (Should I) just refuse from doing the revisions and acceptance?
>
>
>
That would be extremely unprofessional behavior and will decimate your reputation. While manuscripts can be withdrawn, what exactly will you say is your withdrawl reason?
* "The results are erroneous", then they shouldn't have been submitted in the first place.
* "We realized the flaws later", that will present you as a person who saw an opportunity to publish and jumped the gun, particularly true if you do it as a single author.
* "I have some other commitments", that's again silly for a PhD student with the little commitments they have besides their work; you should have foreseen whether or not you would be able to attend the conference, and only then gone ahead with the submission.
* "Emergency situation excuse", well I have no words how to respond to that, and most likely the conference people would also not have any.
* "No excuse", that's extremely unprofessional.
So, my advice would be, own up the publication, and please do not even contemplate this option.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Thank you all for your answers . Here is what happened. I wrote to my supervisor about it and he called me in and he was in a great mood overall. But he also said he doesn't want his name in. Not angry at all! However, after he read the reviews, he said I can put his name and helped editing the final version.
The conference was a very focused one and a very good experience. I went to the conference and presented my paper. I received amazing reviews and comments for the paper and my work.
And about his name, I wrote and explained to the organizers and it was OK considering my supervisor's contributions especially in the final version.
Finally, after the paper, he is becoming more supportive in term of letting me work and noticing that the research idea seems to have some fans in the community.
So sometimes you get lucky and it ends up well AND not as a disaster. I learned a lot from your points and I agree that it was a mistake from my side. I just was very lucky this time and the paper has been invited for an extended version for a journal but I could have ruined my relationship with my supervisor forever. I am just happy it ended considerably well.
Upvotes: 3
|
2017/07/15
| 1,359
| 5,901
|
<issue_start>username_0: My university have a very strict attendance policy, attendance affect the students marks a lot and if attendance is lower than 75% at the end of the semester, students are not allowed to sit in finals. Not only in the end of the year, if attendance get lower than 75% at any point of the semester Internal marks are lowered a lot.
Not only this, University administration keeps trying to make it harder for students to maintain students by adding more and more classes, sometimes by cutting the holidays or by adding more classes in already busy schedule of students.
I reached out to students, and almost all the students are finding it hard to give time to self study and for other stuff.
What are good arguments against this to be presented in front of higher authorities of the university.
thanks in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: University is supposed to be about reaching a certain standard. Unlike school, university is where students are supposed to be treated like adults. So if you do not turn up to enough lectures, you have a greater risk of failing. It is up to you. If the student passes the Exam then they have reached the standard. How many lectures they attended is up to them. The punishment for not attending could be failure because there is let's say 60% of Exam questions that are based on the lecturers course notes. If the pass mark is 50% then, if you are good and go to all the classes but are no Einstien, you will pass with a C. If you are brainy but a bit lazy and attend some lecturers and can think outside the box you will probably get a C Clever people that work hard with full attendance should get an A. So Attendance regulates itself. There is no need for extra punishment. For lab courses you mark the lab write up at the end of the lab so if the student is not present there is no write up and no marks which would mean that if you made a habit of skipping labs you would end up repeating labs. Boiling all this down it means that low attendance causes you to repeat courses which speaking from experience is punishment enough.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: A hard part of this is that it is not as easy as said. The vast majority of students are (while legally adult) not sufficiently mature, and particularly susceptible to peer pressure. Mandatory attendance (which our university doesn't have) attempts to address this. Fact is that students tend to be poor judges of the benefits of attendance (or prioritising the wrong parts - lectures over seminars or labs). With the right pressure many students can be taught more than if they are left to their own devices and from a student recruitment perspective it is seductive to put the protective measures into place so that the students will gain the relevant subject knowledge, understanding and skills (which are much more prominently assessed, and easier to assess than vague things like study attitude and independence).
Another problem is that when few students attend it is easier for other students to not attend. When students believe that they can pass the exam (that is due in 6/7 months) doing memorization a few days before the date you are fighting against a well established belief that has been reinforced through years of regurgitation exams in secondary (and primary) school. Anything helps.
At the same time, overworking students is also overkill, but in case that selection on entry is not feasible it may be a good way to quickly separate the wheat from the chaff. In many systems, withdrawals only count against the university after some months of study, so getting students who will quit (or are really not up to it) to quit early is quite important.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The best argument against any rule you find unjustified is just not to enforce it in class or to enforce it selectively.
The attendance issue is a difficult one. IMHO, your university policy is quite justified for poorly performing students and totally ridiculous for well-performing ones. The main argument I would put forward is that the main objective of the teaching is to pass the knowledge and that having free time is an indispensable condition of learning at the top level. So, if somebody appears in the class now and then but has consistent top grades on all exams and quizzes, I would let it slip. However, if his performance drops even a bit, the attendance rule goes into full effect for him again.
Whatever way you argue, keep in mind that your administration is not doing something "totally wrong" when requiring mandatory attendance. It just a) aims its policies at the bottom level with the usual idea that "the law should be the same for everyone" (the idea I strongly oppose in most settings except the completely trivial ones, but this opposition is a hard sell in the modern democratic society) and b) tries to solve the problem by using brute force instead of being a bit inventive about it (a much more efficient thing to do would be, for instance, to require a mandatory tutoring for anybody whose current performance is <60%, say, and to have a free tutoring service offered to students).
This was (my humble opinion) about the attendance issues. As to "adding more and more classes", I suspect they are just trying to pump the tuition money at the highest rate they can. If so, there is no argument against a person who just found a way to get 11 dollars per hour instead of usual 10. That is, no doubt, detrimental to the education process, but in every fight of greed against a lofty goal, the greed prevails. See if there are some regulations that explicitly bound the number of credit hours and the student workload in general (you may be (often pleasantly) surprised with what you can find in the university regulation books if you ever bother to read them). That's technically your only chance (again, IMHO).
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/15
| 753
| 3,249
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<issue_start>username_0: Context: I want to do my PhD in Hong Kong. Only one University there (University of Hong Kong) explicitly states you need to contact a supervisor and discuss a research proposal before you apply. The others, at least in my field, do not even require a research proposal for your application.
Regardless, I obviously am trying to get faculty members to agree to supervise me and discuss PhD topics to strengthen my application and ensure that a suitable supervisor is available.
The trouble I am facing is that only a few of those I have emailed have replied, and the ones that did reply said they already had too many PhD students or weren't taking students on at the moment. Looking at current PhD students, >95% of them are Chinese so I suspect part of this might be unwillingness to take on a foreign student (or just preference for Chinese students) despite Hong Kong being a very multicultural city.
I would like to live and work in Hong Kong after my studies, which is why I am set on doing my PhD there.
My question is this: How much does it hurt your chances of admission to not have a supervisor pre-arranged before you apply? I feel that my grades, references, experience are very competitive, but I am worried about this roadblock.<issue_comment>username_1: I know your feeling, I was in your situation once.
Thing with Asians universities (far east and south east)
They will not reply to your email unless they know you, or even if they are corresponding authors and you ask them something, they will never reply. That is my experience and in general, I think you should meet them through conference attendance and research work.
The University of HK is regarded top tier in the world, I don't know much what is your field, but I assume they get tons of emails.
Generally, for China, if you are self-funded student, they will allow you to apply without supervisor consent, but if you need scholarship, Acceptance letter is MUST have, this is same with MC, Taiwan, Japan, Singapour and others
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am username_2 from Uganda and I applied to the University of Melbourne to pursue my PhD. I was experiencing the same problem, hustling to find a supervisor prior to getting accepted into the program. My luck came when I decided to write to an academic from another faculty within the same university and she was willing to co-supervise my work. This became a big stepping stone for my prospective principal supervisor to accept me because they assume that their workload is reduced if there is another person to rely on.
On the one hand, my advice is to look at the research interests of other academics in other departments at the same university and see who could support your proposed research project. You may find a faculty member in another department may be willing to take on students from the faculty or department you are interested in.
On the other hand, you can still submit your application as you search for a potential supervisor. You can also request them to collaborate with you in your research project as co-supervisors if they are not willing to take on the full responsibility as principal advisors. This way, you get closer to admission.
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/15
| 675
| 2,990
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<issue_start>username_0: I and one of my peers prepared a journal paper out of his master thesis. We submitted it first to one of the well-known conferences of the field and it got accepted and we let the other coauthors know (including his professor, who is a prominent researcher in his field). They seemed to be very satisfied.
Later we decided to extend the paper and I submitted it to a journal. I was not aware that he had not told the others about the submission. The paper was accepted by the journal. This time my peer refuses to make his professor aware.
Now I wonder about proceeding with the publication? Is it ethical? What are the consequences if I finalize the publication, for me?<issue_comment>username_1: One **must not** submit a paper for publication without the consent of all coauthors. In my experience, most submission systems will point this out explicitly, but it remains true regardless of such notice.
It seems that for the first submission to a conference, your coauthors retroactively consented (maybe grudgingly, maybe happily). Nevertheless, you should have asked before -- not just informed, by the way.
You then committed the same infraction again, and submitted to a journal without everyones prior consent. Going ahead with the publication without your coauthors consent would be even worse (drastically so!) than the mere submission, so this is not an option. Your professor coauthor would almost certainly find out.
The appropriate step for damage control is to contact all coauthors immediately, apologize profoundly for your mistake, and ask them whether they want to go ahead with the publication. If everyone agrees, go ahead (and never do this again). If someone disagrees, you need to withdraw your submission and apologize to the editor (and indirectly referees) for wasting their time.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Arno is right 100%
Violation of journal's rule can lead ultimately to retraction of the already published paper. For example, if one of co-authors later complain.
You can check various stories behind the retractions: <http://retractionwatch.com/>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In theory, all authors should contribute to a paper being written. If you intend to write one, the best is to warn potential contributors beforehand, and ask them before about agreement and contribution. In continuing work, preparing the paper with a few workers can be understood, as long as the others are warned about the future submission.
Otherwise, adding co-authors without prior information is unethical, as they have no option to withdraw or participate. Only acknowledgement and citation do require prior consent.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: As mentioned before by others, all authors must agree when submitting. And if it's a renown journal like you said, they will most likely send an email to each author to confirm they agree with the publication before it goes under press.
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/15
| 1,512
| 6,635
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<issue_start>username_0: In my academic area I constantly use free software/products such as Linux, Python, SageMath, Octave, Wikipedia, etc.
I know that one can include software costs such as Matlab, Mathematica, Maple, Adobe stuff, Mac software, etc. But for free software/products I have not heard of anyone doing that. It feels wrong that if I use Matlab/Mathematica/Macs in my research, I can get public funding to pay MathWorks/wolfram/Apple thousands of dollars, but if I use Octave/SageMath/Linux they do not receive anything.
In other academic areas something similar can happen. I assume the same happens with "open" databases that operate with donations vs private databases that mostly operate as for-profit. Other examples could be Wikipedia, OEIS, LibreOffice, Gimp, etc.
I think that since a lot of research depends on that free software/product, they should receive funding (at least if you heavily use it). I know they receive funding elsewhere, but it is minimal compared to the money proprietary-software companies get (a lot from grants, by the way).
**Do you know of cases where donations costs were included in grants?**
**Do you think it is the ethical thing to do?**<issue_comment>username_1: I have not heard of anyone contributing grant money to an open source project. In the broad scheme of things, it's very ethical to donate money to support a product that you get value from. You're also helping to ensure that the product has a future, which is beneficial to your use as well.
I would not donate grant money to open source software without asking first, mainly because although it's a highly ethical thing to do, most people have become accustomed to using free software/resources without donating, and take it for granted a little bit. However, I would highly encourage you to ask whoever is giving you the grant if you could make reasonable donations to these foundations with the grant money. You could easily make a case to present not just based on the ethical value of support, but also on the research value of support—by donating money to open source foundations, you're supporting the future of a resource that is integral to the work you're doing. As an added plus, most foundations ask for much lower donation amounts than for-profit corporations charge for proprietary software.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: It is ethical to pay the price you are asked to pay; I'm not sure if it's ethical to get a funding agency to pay more than the advertised price, and your example could be understood as suggesting precisely that, even if the cause is good. I've never heard of an agency allocating funds for donations (imagine the potential for corruption!)
I personally feel there is nothing unethical about using a free product. Academics have many occasions to give back to the community without formal compensation: refereeing papers, editing a journal, reading theses, sitting on grant selection committee, organizing or participating in outreach activities etc. It's all part of the broader duties that come with job, and for those who care to keep score I found in the longer term that service roughly evens out: you contribute for free roughly the same you get back for free.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The grants I'm familiar with (mostly US NSF grants) are designed to support a specific set of proposed activities. I'm pretty confident that making a string-free donation of money from a grant to a free software/open source software (FLOSS) project would simply not be possible for these types of grants. The problem is not that it's wrong to support FLOSS projects but that it's wrong to give money directed for a specific task away in a string-free fashion.
With the grants I've applied for and received, there's an important distinction between what are described as *direct* and *indirect* costs. What you budget for in your grant are the *direct costs* of the research proposed. This includes tons of stuff like salary for people working on the grant, equipment used for the grant, supplies, etc. but these need to be justified in terms of the way that they directly support the research. Although they don't typically do it, the NSF can even take-back equipment after the work on the grant is over!
Of course, there are many *indirect* costs of doing grant funded research. Things like an office space, an office phone, heating of the building, Internet, etc, are costs that universities bear to support the research but that don't support the grant in any direct way. Indirect costs are typically covered through a fixed fee like a "Facilities and Administration" (F&A) fee. At my university, this is currently 55.5% of whatever my direct costs are. They are tacked onto the grant kind of like a tax and I don't ever see those funds.
Donating to support open source software that benefits all your projects and everything else seems like a classic example of an indirect cost. Unfortunately, it can be difficult, or even impossible, to budget for indirect costs beyond what a university charges as part of their F&A fee.
But this doesn't mean that you can't support FLOSS projects with your grants! I can see two approaches that you might try:
1. **Have the university donate out of the indirect costs they collect from your grant.** Work with your administration to convince them to support the projects you rely on. The indirect costs that your university collects are largely unrestricted. If you work with your university IT group or libraries—ideally before you even apply—you might be able to talk them into donating some portion of the indirect costs to the non-profits supporting your software. At my university, some discretionary portion of grants is returned to departments so you might even be able to convince your department chair to do so! This might be difficult but it's impossible. I know that many university libraries effectively donate to support the open-to-the-world [arxiv.org](http://arXiv.org).
2. **Support the FLOSS projects you use directly as part of your research.** If there are things that features that the software your using is missing or things it doesn't do that would be helpful to your grant, budget money to support the software developers as subcontractors for the grant. For example, you might budget for 3-4 months of Octave developer time. This way, the developers get money to support their projects, you get the stuff out of the tools that you need to help your research succeed, and you get to describe improvements on the software as outcomes or deliverables for the grant! Everybody wins!
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/15
| 2,177
| 8,579
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<issue_start>username_0: I’ve been considering a career in academia ever since I was an undergrad. I’m turning 30 this year. I think I should either get to it (PhD and beyond) or give it up once and for all.
The key source of anxiety for me is the hyper-productive nature of contemporary academia (cultural anthropology in my case). Everything I learned over the years from books, blogs, mentors, and peers leads me to believe that academia is a place where only the most efficient knowledge workers can hope to thrive.
**My issue:** while I love anthropology, I am a SLOW knowledge worker. I read slowly, I take reading notes slowly, and I write unusually slowly. Then there is memory; everything I want to commit to long-term memory takes a conscious effort and planning (which again, is rather time consuming).
As a HS/university student I often got on simply by throwing in as many hours as it took. However, during the MA (and especially BA/MA dissertation writing) my slow pace became a severe hindrance. I finished the BA with a 3.7 GPA (4.0 within major) from a decent R1 university. However, I was leading an increasingly unhealthy life, definitely not sustainable in the long term.
My understanding is that serious PhD candidates and junior faculty in my field are estimated to work 65h/week, and are expected to be high performers in terms of their output/teaching/service. This leads me to believe that at this level I can’t expect to succeed by throwing in some extra hours. I’d run out of hours to “throw” fairly quickly.
When I feel optimistic I think that perhaps I can relearn how I work – how I read, take notes, memorize and most importantly, how I write. I can learn to work faster/smarter/better. I assure myself, PhD programs are also about figuring THAT part out. They are also about learning how to cope with the workload.
At my lowest, I recollect late paper submissions, or the debilitating anxiety associated with being months behind schedule on dissertation work. Then I think: someone who wants to do this for a living should have breezed through BA/MA. If I haven’t figured out how to handle it better back then, perhaps it’s delusional to think that it will all magically come together now.
A part of me is afraid of investing many years only to discover that I can’t handle this type of work. To learn at 35 or 40 that I can’t do this job well. Please tell me what you think. For those who might have dealt with a similar problem, how did you overcome your SLOWNESS and become more effective?
**TL;DR** ---- I want to be a professor. Love the field. Had good GPA/feedback on past work. But I’m a hopelessly SLOW reader/writer. Is there hope?
**EDIT:** Regarding the question "How should I deal with discouragement as a graduate student?" This recommended thread is similar, but does not focus on the main issue important to me: the question of efficiency.<issue_comment>username_1: It is not possible to give you a satisfying answer. The best I can offer is two anecdotes a friend of mine told me today (and they are first hand and 100% legit).
First, he goes to the supervisor, for the second time, with a bunch of paper, asking whether he should study them. The supervisor takes the papers, throws them to the ground and walks over them. Then says: "Studying is useless."
Second, the supervisors asks him to do a computation by the next day. Friend comes back and shows the calculation. The advisor writes a line of code on the computer and presses enter. The computer shows the same answer of the computation which took several hours.
Bottom line: there is ample room for improvement in terms of speed. Achieving it might require, surprisingly, to understand less and to study less and to give up on many preconceived notions about the subject and about how research work as well as about how yourself.
If you feel like the subject is important and close to your heart, give it a try. Many people start a PhD in their 30ies. But don't be silly, do:
1. Ask for advice before making choices.
2. Think carefully when picking your advisor.
3. Lay out many plans B and be ready to execute them.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A point that I always keep in mind:
>
> *If you are not good at something you wish to achieve, work 100 times harder at it*
>
>
>
Though this cannot always be theoretically true, it really is a mental boost to think nothing is impossible with hard work. It goes without saying but practice makes perfect.
I too was a slow reader and (still am) a slow writer and personally don't like reading much either. That didn't stop me from going over 400 papers for literature survey. With enough practice, I was able to pick up speed at reading papers, recognizing good papers from bad ones and so on. I strongly believe my writing speed would improve as well.
Most of my colleagues who are doing PhD are 30+ and some in their 40s. The final point is that if you are really passionate about academia, go for it. Do not be hurdled by your weaknesses, overcome them. Also bear in mind the last three points of @ThreeDiag's answer; getting the 'right' advisor is crucial for your career.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> "Is there hope?"
>
>
>
The simple answer is yes, there is *always* hope.
The reality, of course, is not so simple. The physical volume of work is only one component of a PhD; other factors to consider are how well you work independently, how creative are you when problem solving, how determined are you to persevere and find solutions? (The list goes on...)
In your question and comments you mention you have a lot of anxiety, and speak of being afraid of the work and in particular your ability to complete it, especially before deadlines. You say
>
> "Then I think: someone who wants to do this for a living should have breezed through BA/MA."
>
>
>
**Do not listen to the imposter syndrome.**
I strongly recommend that you seek professional help for the anxiety (either through medication, counselling or both), especially if it is preventing you from working to your full potential. It sounds like you've struggled in this way for a long time, and while yes, academia is a demanding environment to work in, **it should not be making you ill**.
Your main concern seems to be the speed of your work, in particular reading and writing. While I am not well positioned to give advice about specific techniques, I will say that I don't think *any* beginning PhD student is expected to be as quick at reading and writing as a fully-fledged professor.
A PhD is essentially training you to become an academic, and part of that is developing your academic reading and writing skills. As with any skill, the key is to practice as much as possible, so you could start now by finding some short papers in the field you're most interested in, to get a feel for the writing style. This will also help you to figure out if you really will be able to cope with the work (i.e. reading and writing at that level).
Finally, I want to emphasise something mentioned in the other answers: take your time in finding the right supervisor for you- someone you gel well with and whose working style and expectations match with yours. This will hopefully make your PhD and its difficulties that little bit more manageable.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Something not directly addressed here is that your colleagues are probably not reading every word. You should not, either. Indeed, in fields that tend to publish books (rather than concise, pithy articles or proofs), it is a key skill to learn how to evaluate a book and skim for the content you currently need.
A great resource I recently found was <NAME>wards' advice on [How to Read a Book.](https://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtoread.pdf) Also, finding systematic ways to take notes can really help you. (E.g., [this set of questions](http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/writingtips/notes2.pdf) may or may not fit the kinds of literature you read. You'll need to memorize less, and you'll have to reread less.
Finally, the time and effort you have spent so far demonstrates your commitment, and your slower reading might also be deeper or more effective than others'. There is research that when reading is physically harder to do ("disfluency" based on fonts, for instance), this leads to greater understanding, [apparently through the pathway of disfluency-> lower confidence -> nervousness -> increased attention to material.](https://hbr.org/2012/03/hard-to-read-fonts-promote-better-recall)
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/16
| 6,194
| 26,077
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<issue_start>username_0: Fifth year math grad student as of this Fall. ABD, currently on target for six years in total.
I have very strong feelings about the way courses should be taught, graded, and organized. I have thought extensively about this issue and experiment with my teaching every chance that I get.
I teach my own course, and spend lots of time on teaching it the *right* way (according to me). This includes designing my own course plans from scratch, planning engaging lectures, writing my own problem sets, projects, and homework assignments. I also tend to give too much individual attention to students, like holding extra office hours when students have schedule conflicts.
My teaching philosophy is fundamentally at odds with the majority of the lecturers in the department. It makes me feel like a pariah, and privately makes me feel incensed when I see others teaching in a way that I consider unethical. Though I'm not vocal about my disagreements, I have been consistently passed over for teaching awards, despite constant effort, innovation, and shining student evaluations. I wish I didn't care about this.
I know I'm being paid the same as other apathetic TAs who give every lecture off the cuff, assign whichever book problems are easiest to grade, and contribute as little to the education of their students as their contracts will allow. I'm not being paid to be a lecturer, but I'm giving at least a lecturer's effort to this job.
Most importantly, I know that putting this much time, effort, and emotional energy into teaching is taking away from my research. Sometimes I feel terribly guilty after a big exam or project because I realize I haven't even looked at my research in a couple of weeks. My advisor hasn't said anything negative about my progress, but I know I could be doing better.
Every time I try to pull back and adopt a more traditional model, I get depressed and frustrated, because my students aren't learning anything, I'm as bored as they are, and I wonder what the point of my existence even is if I'm just going to give up and be another trash teacher who goes through the motions all day. Especially when I have the ability to be the change I wish to see in academia. (Which maybe isn't my place, but then again, everybody passes the buck, that's why we have this problem.)
How do I get myself to step back and refocus my efforts onto research?
---
Please note that this differs from [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/75036) in that I am not asking whether or not it is possible to balance teaching and research, but specifically on how, emotionally, to scale back a focus on teaching for one who has begun to let it eclipse his research. I know I am making a mental error due to idealism, and I'm trying to figure out how to break out of it.<issue_comment>username_1: Some parts of your "caring too much" might be harmful -like getting incensed by the way others teach- but most of it is great, although you need to solve the practical problems it poses to you.
For the "bad" part: Don't worry for issues you can't solve. If you thought you could do something to improve your colleague's teaching, you would be faced with the decision of deciding if it is worth trying, but from your question I guess you think you can't do anything about it. Then worrying about it is not going to do any good to anybody, so you can just stop worrying about what others do and focus on the useful things you can do.
The remaining of your "caring too much" about teaching is great. That is what should be expected from any teacher, although your institution doesn't seem to be encouraging it.
Your problem here is not how to stop caring. Your problem is how to be more efficient to get the good work done in less time. My advice would be to reuse more. It's tempting to start from scratch when preparing a course, but it's a lot more time consuming than reusing some material. Of course, there is still a lot of work in selecting different materials, adapting them, binding them together in a meaningful way, and supplement them where needed. As a comparison with industry, to start making the best possible cars, factories don't need to reinvent the wheel from scratch; they just need to select and improve the technology they use.
In addition, if you are going to teach the same course another year all that work will get reduced to just updating your material, that will be a very smaller work, even if done very properly.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I empathize with you,
because when I was a TA,
I also put in a significant amount of extra time and work
into being a good TA.
For example:
* I wrote down extra notes
to give clear and step by step explanations
to the solutions to homework or assignment problems.
* I even made a few videos on YouTube
explaining problem solutions.
I agree with [Toby](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/74139/toby)'s
comment that the root of the problem is that you are a **perfectionist**
with regards to your expectations of yourself as a teacher.
In my opinion,
it is a big problem if your "teaching fantasy"
leads to conflict with other lecturers and TAs.
From what you have written in the question,
it is clear that you feel angry towards other teachers in your department.
You will need to find a healthy way to handle your emotions,
so that you can be a warm and friendly colleague,
even to teachers who are lazy and "unethical".
To address your question:
>
> How do I get myself to step back and refocus my efforts onto research?
>
>
>
As a first step, I recommend that you think over the words of the
[Serenity Prayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer):
>
> God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
>
>
> Courage to change the things I can,
>
>
> And wisdom to know the difference.
>
>
>
I'm assuming that as a TA,
you are responsible to assist a lecturer in teaching a class,
but you are NOT responsible for running the class,
that is the lecturer's responsibility.
If what I assume is correct,
then you are taking upon yourself a responsibility that is not your own.
Naturally, this leads to conflict,
and is a lot of work on your part.
If you recognize what is your responsibility,
to be a helper and not to be the person in charge,
and just **strive to do a reasonable job**,
I think that you will not find yourself to be too busy.
As a second step,
I encourage you to **make it your goal to be
["good enough"](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/the-power-of-good-enough/387388/)**,
rather than trying to be the "best" teacher you could be.
No matter how many hours you put into preparing a lesson/tutorial,
it will never be perfect.
However, it doesn't need to be perfect.
The meals that I cook for myself are not
the best tasting or most organic meals they could be,
but as long as they provide me enough calories
so that I don't starve to death,
that's good enough.
As long as you cover the material that
helps students to be adequately prepared for the exams/homework/projects,
you've done enough.
Third,
I recommend that you direct your motivation for improving your teaching
into **making small changes each year** to what has be done before,
rather than trying to make huge changes
like reworking the class from scratch.
If you can change one or two things from each year to year,
your teaching will be getting incrementally better over time.
Finally, spend a lot of time and emotional energy on your research.
You really do need to do that in order to do your research well,
so that you will be teaching at university for the long haul.
I wish you all the best!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Superficial solution: Control your behavior with a time budget
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sit down and set priorities for your current life. Your research is probably more important in the long run than the joy you get out of teaching. If you agree with this, set a time budget for each area. E.g. assign 70% of your time for your research and 30% for teaching. Plan your teaching preparation accordingly. If according to this budget you can only spare 2 hours a day for the teaching but making custom exercises takes more, use prepared exercises. Also do not offer additional hours if your daily budget does not allow that. You can use a time tracker software. You may also try to do x hours of research related activities first before you "allow" yourself to spend time on teaching.
In-depth solution: You are not responsible for username_6 and nobody will pay you back
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It is admirable that you sacrifice yourself for other students. I also had mixed experiences with other tutors and when I became a tutor myself I wanted to do it better and often stayed one or two hours longer to make sure username_6 understood the material. It felt like I had an effect on the world and could show them that there are people who care about them. It is a great feeling, BUT...
...will these students help you with your research? Will they give part of their earnings to you when they start working as a thank you for what you have gave them? Probably not. There will be no additional compensation for your excessive commitment. Nobody takes care of you, but you. This is sad, I know, but this is the hard cold reality. Few people care about you, unless they get something out of you.
Additionally the apathy of the tutors is the shared responsibility of the faculty, not yours alone. Don't let your ideals guilt you into feeling responsible for it.
You are not a trash teacher if you do less
------------------------------------------
The other teachers might have realized the previous point. Sure some just don't care and are trash teachers but maybe some of them, in their hearts, are just as idealistic as you but realized that spending time on their research or with their families is more important for their life and happiness. They are not ascetic monks that devoted their whole life to the "holy cause of teaching". If you realize that they are not bad teachers but just have created boundaries and a healthy work-life balance you will not be afraid to become one of them because you will not be afraid to be seen as someone who does not care about students but just someone who also has limited his working hours to a healthy pensum.
Make small steps to improve your universities teaching standards
----------------------------------------------------------------
Identify the most hindering problem with the easiest solution. Try to focus on one at a time. I don't know how your department works, but maybe you can mention this in a weekly meeting or talk to the head. Unless you are the head of department you most likely can't change the department on your own, small steps is all you can do.
Think about a teaching career
-----------------------------
Not sure if this already crossed your mind but would you consider a career in teaching? It may suit your passion, although it might be depressing if this becomes your profession and you are stuck in a apathetic institution that does not value your dedication.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: I think this is an important question, in particular because there are many other math grad students in the situation of valuing their teaching more than their research and experiencing dissonance because of that. Let's try to take things in some kind of logical sequence.
1) It sounds like your goal is to be a faculty member at a college or university devoted more to teaching than research. If so, you should do what you need to do to achieve that goal.
As I said above, a lot of math grad students are in this position. It does not appear to be that confluent with the structure of a math PhD program, which emphasizes research more than teaching, but times have changed and are continuing to change: the amount that teaching is valued is on the rise. You certainly don't need to hide your intentions; on the contrary, you should express them to your mentors and professional associates.
One of the things you probably need to reach that goal is a PhD in mathematics: in the current job market, the number of "teaching jobs" you can get without a PhD is declining rapidly. So what impedes you from getting your PhD is not a path towards your goal. You need to remember that.
>
> Most importantly, I know that putting this much time, effort, and emotional energy into teaching is taking away from my research. Sometimes I feel terribly guilty after a big exam or project because I realize I haven't even looked at my research in a couple of weeks.
>
>
>
The guilt is only productive insofar as it alerts you to something that you want to change. Indeed it does not seem likely that you can make sufficient progress on your thesis research if you drop it completely for two weeks at a time...but it is possible. More to the point, you need to have a concrete, realistic plan for division of labor between teaching and research. It is totally fine for you to devote significantly more time towards teaching than the average student as long as you still have a workable plan for your research. In my opinion (as a math professor who has supervised several PhD students) a student could get away with devoting, say, 15 hours per week to their thesis research...provided they used that time very productively and intelligently.
Another answer begins
>
> Superficial solution: Control your behavior with a time budget
>
>
>
I wholeheartedly agree. It goes on to suggest 70% research, 30% teaching, which sounds about right on average, but *for you* might be way too little time on your teaching to make you satisfied. Better to do 30% research, 70% teaching and come up with a corresponding plan. (In case you don't know: there are many, many potential academic workplaces that will not care at all about what you proved in your thesis but will care very much that you wrote one.)
2) An important part of good teaching and good collegial behavior about teaching is flexibility. There are many, many ways to be an effective teacher. You write
>
> I have very strong feelings about the way courses should be taught, graded, and organized.
>
>
>
This is a little worrisome to me: in fact you do not have as much teaching experience as most of your future tenure track colleagues, and it may be too soon to have such strong feelings. Much to learn, you still have.
>
> I have thought extensively about this issue and experiment with my teaching every chance that I get.
>
>
>
And that sounds really great to me. In your interactions with others, I would emphasize your thoughtfulness, your experimentation and your willingness to change practices based on what you learned.
>
> My teaching philosophy is fundamentally at odds with the majority of the lecturers in the department. It makes me feel like a pariah, and privately makes me feel incensed when I see others teaching in a way that I consider unethical.
>
>
>
This really concerns me. I find it unlikely that you are really surrounded by people who are ignorant or uncaring about teaching. I find it *extremely* unlikely that others in your department are teaching in a way that is **unethical**: that is a very strong accusation. You seem to yourself feel that you are putting too much time and energy into your teaching, perhaps almost to the point of burning yourself out a bit. That cannot be the ideal state.
3) You portray yourself as an unusually excellent teacher. That's great...if you have corroborating evidence.
>
> Though I'm not vocal about my disagreements, I have been consistently passed over for teaching awards, despite constant effort, innovation, and shining student evaluations. I wish I didn't care about this.
>
>
>
Well, I think you should care. Why haven't you won any teaching awards? This is a tough question, but a key one for someone in your position to ask. I would bring it up with your teaching mentor -- I hope you have a teaching mentor -- or with some other trusted faculty mentor. Are there faculty members in the department who think that you are the best, or one of the best, graduate student
teachers? You really need to find out. (That your evaluations are "shining" is evidence in that direction, but not definitive.)
Let me say that I have known students who throw themselves into their teaching to the point of getting a bit lost in it and neglecting their research. I had one colleague in grad school for whom I always saw students at her office. I asked her what her office hours were, and she told me that they were M-F 9-5. And she was certainly a good teacher rather than a bad one, but so far as I know she was *not* one of the top teachers in the department, and she may not have won any teaching awards. This brings me to my last point.
4) **Just because you are devoting more time to your students does not guarantee you'll be a better teacher in any sense.** Part of being an effective university teacher is dealing successfully with students in the relatively limited interaction time you have with them.
>
> Every time I try to pull back and adopt a more traditional model, I get depressed and frustrated, because my students aren't learning anything, I'm as bored as they are, and I wonder what the point of my existence even is if I'm just going to give up and be another trash teacher who goes through the motions all day.
>
>
>
This really concerns me. "Traditional" teaching is certainly effective if done well. When I teach freshman calculus I do so in a quite traditional way, and the time I spend with students is rather limited. Still they are learning something, and in general neither they or I are bored. I know very few teachers who are "trash" or just "go through the motions."
I strongly suspect that there is some middle path between burnout and trash. I suggest that you search for it (with help from others) and try to walk it. Good luck.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: As a student who has had really *terrible* professors and *amazing* TAs, I personally benefitted much more from the TAs. They were enthusiastic and very caring about students' learning and understanding; I was inspired to be a teacher and became passionate about academia as a result.
The way that I think about it is that one really good teacher can inspire a generation of innovators and people who will do good for the world. So for me, that reward is worth the additional effort to do a good job. It sounds like it's worth it for you as well.
So my advice is **don't stop caring**! Your actual problem is ***efficiency***. Motivational stuff aside, here's some practical information to help make you a more efficient teacher.
---
Use existing course/lecture materials and adapt them to your needs
------------------------------------------------------------------
I can't emphasize this enough, because this will save you the most time. People have likely been designing course materials around what subject(s) you're teaching for years, and have learned what works and what doesn't. Designing course materials from scratch is admirable and fun (I personally love making unit plans). However, it's a **huge** waste of time in most cases, as you're *reinventing the wheel* (something that you should try to avoid in life in general). Instead, take a solid, existing set of materials, and adapt them to be more interesting, engaging for lectures, etc. Bend the materials to your teaching style, and you will save yourself quite a bit of time.
Moreover, writing your own problem sets is also generally a huge waste of time. What's worse, it's actually *error-prone*! You wouldn't believe how many hours I've wasted answering homework problems, hand-written by my professors, that actually ended up having some small error that made the problem unsolvable or have a non-trivial solution. Please, unless students are asking for *additional* practice, **use existing problem sets**!
Some of your colleagues have probably also taught the same course or a similar one, and may have existing materials you could adapt to your course. They may also have very sound advice on what worked and what didn't when they taught the course. Even if they aren't great teachers, you can use their experience to your advantage. Ask around!
Lastly, you'd be surprised how many good Youtube tutorials/lectures there are on all sorts of topics (especially in mathematics). You could link to a few after giving the lecture yourself. A lot of students are too busy taking notes to *really* let the content sink in and learn it, so providing additional tutorial videos is something that I found very useful. I had one professor make a few Youtube videos on particularly complex aspects of Japanese grammar. It was incredibly helpful because I could rewatch it as many times as I needed to. And, if you're feeling up to having an online presence, you could even make the videos yourself!
Allow students to be self-sufficient - don't baby them
------------------------------------------------------
As much as you want to hand-hold students through their learning, you need to allow students to struggle, to make mistakes, and to find solutions on their own. I know it sounds sort of silly, but students are still growing up. When you spoon-feed them what they need to learn, you make it harder for them to be self-sufficient, not only in academia, but in their life in general.
For this reason, interacting with individual students can really be a time-killer, especially for larger classes. Having extra time for office hours can be great, but if you have large classes you will most likely cause more inconvenience to yourself than convenience for the students. So have a *little* extra time, but don't be the ultra-flexible TA that I get the impression you are, or else you will constantly be swamped with student visits.
Poll students about what they're struggling with, if you sense they need help
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I always loved when my professors asked the class what general topics they were struggling with. For example, at the end of each unit, you can ask the class (via email, Google Form, SurveyMonkey, whatever is most convenient) what **two** things they had a hard time with. Then, based on popular vote, you can revisit the top two topics quickly or give supplemental material (you can make this from scratch if you want).
When professors did this, it was **so** helpful. In this fashion, you don't hand-hold the students that understand the concepts, while simultaneously providing additional support for those that *don't*. You also save time preparing materials that half the students won't use.
Use an online forum to allow students to ask questions - to you and their classmates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a computer science course I took at university, our professor used [Piazza](https://piazza.com). It's gaining quite a bit of popularity, and it's incredibly useful.
Basically, students who are enrolled in the course will have access to a private Q/A; they can ask questions, and other students and you can answer them. You can wait for other students to respond to questions before you do - that will allow students to strengthen their knowledge of the topic by explaining it to someone else, as well as save you time answering every single student question.
While it may take away from the Personal Touch™, you will have far fewer students visiting your office hours, enabling you to work on your research.
---
I hope that you find this advice useful. This comes from my experience as a student for what helped me the most, as well as some experience teaching students and designing curricula.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Get a Hobby
===========
To add a somewhat different answer and opinion. If you want to care less about your students and teaching, or even simply be able to step back a little, I found that the best way is to care about something else.
It's perfectly acceptable for anybody and everybody to spend time and effort on something else than your job. At the end of the day, no matter how passionate you are about it, being a teacher is just your job.
You should try to find something other than math that you can care, be it a sport, a game or even spending more time with your family and friends and caring more about their lives.
You will probably stay very passionate about maths and teaching because that just seems to be the kind of person you are. However every time you start feeling "depressed and frustrated", don't hesitate to take a break from it all and do something totally unrelated.
On a side note I would like to mention that you may teach and get closer to some students or teachers through hobbies. I've had great interactions with some teachers through our mutual passion in chess.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I agree with your issues with academia. Hate the US college system with all emphasis on fluff and prestige and research rather than on TRAINING students. I think things are much better in the military, sports, or business. When you are teaching someone carrier landings, it matters that they learn.
But all that said, you are NOT a teacher. You are a student. You need to accomplish the primary mission. Your research.
And in addition to caring about the students too much, you are not caring about your research enough. With teaching you get immediate rewards and have immediate tasks. With research it is much easier to spin your wheels for weeks and do nothing and no one can tell immediately. But you need to take control and get it done. Remember the Ph.D. is a pass/fail grade! Just get the sucker done. You are at five years. Write up your results and graduate.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/16
| 545
| 2,396
|
<issue_start>username_0: My professor doesn’t want to publish and he keeps delaying it. I had an intense argument with him and I feel that if he will publish, he will not include me. He is quite rude to me recently, although I worked so hard on two projects under his supervision. It has been about two years and he didn't publish my work.
Do Journals contact the corresponding authors when a research paper is submitted? What happened if (for example) I published an article without notifying a corresponding author and he found out? What could happen?<issue_comment>username_1: No, you absolutely may not do this. Every author must consent to the publication of an article.
If he finds out, he could have the journal withdraw the article. They would typically publish a notice about this, which would effectively inform the whole world that you had done something unethical. That is a potential career killer. Additionally, a serious breach of academic ethics like this could cause you to be expelled from the university where you study.
Many journals do directly contact every listed author, to prevent this sort of situation. (For instance, in many cases every author has to sign a copyright form.) Others will ask the submitting author to certify that they have the consent of all other authors.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: If s/he had any substantial input on the work, s/he should be on the paper.
You say that s/he is the corresponding author but there is no reason that a student cannot be a corresponding author, and no reason why a supervisor would be happy not to be on it (for their own reasons) while simultaneously happy for you to proceed. But you cannot submit a paper while stating them as being the corresponding author. Apart from the academic fallout, this would actually constitute forgery.
You had a fight about it and I have a feeling that the intellectual input from your supervisor is not at issue: you do feel they *should* be on it.
You also say "He is quite rude to me recently" - so English is not your native tongue and your command of English is poor. This further reduces your chances of navigating this issue all by yourself.
However, I do know of a student (not one of mine!) who submitted to PNAS without the senior author's consent. The latter was quite upset about this, until the acceptance email arrived. Then all was forgiven.
Upvotes: 1
|
2017/07/16
| 550
| 2,387
|
<issue_start>username_0: The problem with me is that I applied to 4 programs and I didn't get in in any of them. The last program which was almost guaranteed admission (because I already found a researcher willing to accept me); I emailed my undergrad thesis supervisor for, what I called at the time of the email "my last reference letter request ever to make". Unfortunately, I wasn't accepted to the program and now I'm applying again to a different school.
The problem is I feel so weird about emailing him again for another reference letter. Other than the generic email, how can I go about emailing him? I am sure he remembers me , but I don't know how to justify the amount of requests that I've sent him so far !
Any idea on how I should approach the issue?<issue_comment>username_1: You haven't asked for too many. Write to your supervisor, *tell him what happened,* and ask whether he will write "a few" more reference letters. People will generally be willing to help you if they understand the reasons for your requests. (Do not ask for "one more" or you could find yourself in the same situation again.)
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: When my students ask me to write letters of reference to graduate programs, I ask them to provide me with a list of all the programs they intend to apply to, with deadlines. I do tell them "it's OK if one or two gets added or dropped off as time goes on; I just need to know when these letters will need to be submitted." It helps that in my field, most of the application deadlines are spread out over a relatively narrow time frame (about 2 months, from December–February) and so my students are unlikely to add extra programs later in the "application season." I definitely don't want an individual e-mail from a student for each program they apply to, if they can avoid it.
As to "how many is too many": In my field, this list is typically in the range of 8–12 programs. I once had a student who sent me a list of 20 programs spread across three or four different fields. I will confess that I got a little annoyed by the number of letters I had to write in that case (especially because I had to change my letter around for each of the different field that the student was interested in.) But I understood that it was part of my job, and I didn't let this annoyance affect the letter I wrote.
Upvotes: 0
|
2017/07/17
| 393
| 1,584
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently working in a project that is funded by me and the supervisor doesn't contribute much to my work (he is just directing me slightly if I asked him) and he told me that he doesn't need to publish and I can publish as a sole author if I want. I only have a Master degree, can I publish as a sole author? can some journals accept that? Should I contact a journal to ask? if the journal agrees, so this is will be fine? (By the way my field is Biochemistry)<issue_comment>username_1: Everyone can submit articles to journals, there is no degree requirement.
There is nothing negative about single author manuscripts.
Manuscripts should (ideally) be evaluated by its content not by its author list.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I am a PhD student in Aerospace engineering and my research is computational mechanics. The first 4 papers of mine are publicized all by myself (IF: 1.9-2.8). It's simply because the work is done only by me and I am a self-motivated researcher. Now, I also have papers with my advisor. You need to talk with your advisor and ask his opinion. My advisor just told me that since he did not contribute to the work, he did need to list his name on my paper. I believe this is the answer for most professors.
However, I have to admit that most grad students' first paper is publicized with their advisors. That is the main reason that you have this question. But journals never care about it. When I publicized my first paper, the journal editor called me prof. Li. At that time, I was just a MS student.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/17
| 642
| 2,588
|
<issue_start>username_0: I read many articles about specific area and I feel like I can write a review article. So, is that ok if I only have a Master degree? can some journals accept that? (I will be the sole author)<issue_comment>username_1: [This](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3628/at-what-stage-of-research-career-one-can-write-a-review-article?rq=1) discussion might be useful. (The link should also appear to your right in the section 'Related'.)
Apparently, there are different opinions regarding who should be eligible for writing reviews probably varying between fields.
To provide my own experience: I am a PhD student in a department where it is very common that PhD students ('only' having an MSc degree) write review articles with input from supervisors.
In my opinion, a review that discusses different techniques is mostly dependent on the author's analytical skill. A new researcher might be very skilled and thus be able to write such a review. However, one would expect that this skill also increases with time spent in that field. So, it doesn't hurt to have an experienced co-author but it is not necessary (in my opinion).
If the intention is to draw 'general' conclusions (e.g., the importance of the reviewed work on the field as a whole, outlooks into the future), analytical skill is probably less relevant than experience. This section of a review is probably better written in close collaboration with a senior researcher.
Overall, as also suggested in the comments, it is advisable to get a senior researcher on board.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> So, is that ok if I only have a Master degree?
>
>
>
Yes.
>
> can some journals accept that?
>
>
>
Yes, but...
... the journals that would accept it might not be exactly the reputable ones. Reason: an MSc student is typically not educated enough to be able to write a good review paper unless there are other outweighing circumstances, for example vast industrial experience, a senior supervisor closely looking at the paper, etc.
Keep in mind that some journals ask for a cover letter in which you may have to justify why the main editor should bother caring about the paper at all rather than moving it into the (electronic) trash bin.
Still, if you have several weeks of time for writing, why not trying and sending it to a small, initial-stage journal? You might be disappointed by the reviews you get, but it would be an experience for you. Please keep in mind that you might get requests from the editor(s) of that journal to review other papers.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/17
| 1,437
| 5,785
|
<issue_start>username_0: I’m three years into a Ph.D. program in scientific computing and I’ve just received my M.S. I’m thinking about leaving school to go to a programming bootcamp and become a software developer. I’ve done pretty well with my coursework, I enjoy learning (at my own pace), and I’m good at teaching, but I have doubts about my ability to do solid research. I’m working in an interdisciplinary area and I don’t really have a deep understanding of any of the fields involved, so I am pretty dependent on my advisor for direction and ideas. I’ve put in a lot of (mostly coding) work on a project, but haven’t published yet. I always tell myself that if I stay, I will dig into papers and textbooks and learn as much as I can, but it feels like a pretty big mountain to climb at this point. I’m already in my thirties, having been a teacher for many years, and the lack of money is starting to get to me. I also have a serious hobby I’d like to pursue, but I’m not sure how realistic that is.
So why would I stay? Partly a desire to finish the project I’ve started. Partly a conviction that this research is at least tangentially related to some very important problems (climate change). Partly a fear that my domain-specific (mostly mathematical) knowledge will go to waste. Partly a bias for academic over business pursuits (my parents and my sister are all scientists). And partly a longstanding habituation to an unstructured schedule, with freedom to study what I want when I want. Are any of these good enough reasons?<issue_comment>username_1: Your decision should factor:
* your job prospects with PhD (i.e. the job market for your degree)
* the job market for software developers,
* how much you enjoy to code, or do research in your field,
* personal (family) situation,
* how much money you need for your other plans.
I believe that switching to a developer job could bring you happiness. But, it really depends on how good is the software developer market where you live. If it's a good market, you'll make good money with reasonable amount of work and your job will be safe. There are exciting things happening in IT right now, so you will still be challenged. It still depends on the level at which you would want to be challenged, so your mathematical knowledge might not go to waste. I had a colleague exactly in your situation, and she was happy at her new company.
Giving up on research at some point is normal for people who have trouble making the transition from student to independent researcher. I must point out that your particular kind of trouble is quite common and you could have your PhD and still not be independent. A lot is asked of you during a PhD and most of those have steep learning curves. To become independent researcher, you need to master the tools used in your field, be up to date with the state of the art, plus you need to be able to present your research and come up with ideas. If you are missing one of these, you'll feel insecure, and dependent of your supervisor. Even if you are already independent, you will still feel insecure simply because of the lack of experience.
If you want to continue with research, you should be starting with addressing your insecurities. Start with the things that you aren't comfortable doing in the ascending order of their difficulty. For example, if you feel you don't have ideas of your own, start doing a literature review in your field, and write down the main research direction, and what is important and why. Just by doing that you will have a sense of what may be interesting as future research. Also, go to summer schools and conferences and discuss what you do and read with your colleagues and supervisor(s).
There are a lot of answers on this site on how to deal with the transition from student to independent researcher. Some deal with the impostor syndrome -- see [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2219/how-should-i-deal-with-discouragement-as-a-graduate-student) or [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/88699/if-you-know-a-family-member-who-is-much-more-qualified-and-capable-in-mathematic/88703#88703). Some deal with the transition to being independent researcher such as [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/89032/how-to-stop-hopping-the-learning-chain-and-actually-begin-somewhere).
If you are just burnt out, I'd suggest taking a work and stress free vacation, and think about all these afterwards.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Only a partial answer but a fair warning, if you have not been keeping up with the news with respect to coding bootcamps: avoid it at all costs, seriously. Learn to code by yourself through books - you have the "smarts" for this judging by your PhD in Sci Comp candidacy - or take CS courses at your school to pick up enough depth and breadth, which is what bootcamps severely lack (but make grandiose claims about). I urge you to Google search some articles about this disastrous outcome that many bootcamp candidates are facing, e.g. stigma that they are unqualified coders. E.g. Google, I think, now automatically desk-rejects applicants with bootcamps on their resumes, after hiring one too many failures. Good luck.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I did that last year, dropped my PhD for a full time permanent job. My program was 6 years ahead and I couldn't afford it anymore. Before dropping consider that if you have less than 2 years to finish your PhD, it does NOT worth it to drop, you better finish it and enjoy your degree. If you have more than 2 years before graduating.. I would say go for a full time job, there are too many PhDs out there anyway.
Whatever you decide, only hard work will get you wherever you want to go. Good luck.
Upvotes: 0
|
2017/07/17
| 459
| 1,976
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm planning to start a YouTube channel to help non-Italian speakers learn how to speak Italian. I was wondering if it may be illegal to do so, given I'm not a qualified teacher. Can anybody help? :)<issue_comment>username_1: *Standard disclaimer: That might depend on where you're located, but I don't know of a place where the below answer would not apply:*
Do you claim at any point that you are a qualified teacher? If not, then you are simply making tutorial videos and that is totally ok.
If in doubt, put a comment in your channel or under your video stating that you are an Italian yourself/someone who learned Italian for many years and loves the language/..., and not a teacher, then you should have no problems at all.
If you are using any material, textbook, etc. (even if not showing it to the viewers but just reading from it), be aware of potential copyright issues.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Youtube is not a teaching platform, although it is used for such a purpose. People are uploading everything on youtube and they are allowed to do so as long as the content of their videos is legal.
What I mean by legal here, is that the video should fulfil the conditions set by youtube, namely, copyright and Rules of the community.
Otherwise, the content is evaluated by youtube users, whatever its nature. Overall, I would say `YES`, anyone is allowed to upload his own video to youtube from the legal point of view. However, he should care about giving correct information (especially if it is considered as a teaching video) from the ethical point of view.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: There are videos on youtube, where people are claiming Earth is flat, spaceflight is hoax and vaccines are harming children. Do you really think that anyone cares if you are accredited teacher? As long as you are honestly trying to relay truthful information, you are not doing anything wrong, let alone illegal.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/17
| 1,423
| 5,200
|
<issue_start>username_0: Have many teaching positions at traditional colleges been eliminated due to MOOCs ([massive open online courses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course))? Is it as bad as industry jobs (for college-educated people) being offshored or automated?
I’m asking specifically about U.S. universities.<issue_comment>username_1: No. From [The Kernel](http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/headline-story/14046/mooc-revolution-uber-for-education/), 2015:
>
> Just a few short years after promising higher education for anyone
> with an Internet connection, MOOCs have scaled back their ambitions,
> content to become job training for the tech sector and for students
> who already have college degrees.
>
>
> At what was arguably the peak of the hype about massive open online
> courses, the New York Times crowned 2012 as “The Year of the MOOC.”
> That was the year computer science professor <NAME> announced
> that, after an experiment teaching an online course that attracted
> 100,000 enrollees, he could no longer teach at Stanford; he was
> founding an online education startup, Udacity. That same year, his
> colleagues in the department, <NAME> and <NAME>, founded a
> competing MOOC startup, Coursera. Harvard and MIT also launched their
> own (nonprofit) MOOC initiative, edX. And universities around the
> world scrambled to partner with one or more of these organizations,
> amidst claims from investors, entrepreneurs, and pundits that MOOCs
> were poised to bring about the end of the university as we know it.
>
>
> “In 50 years,” Thrun told Wired, “there will be only 10 institutions
> in the world delivering higher education and Udacity has a shot at
> being one of them.”...
>
>
> Yet despite these well-rehearsed and triumphant stories of MOOCs’
> global outreach, the notion that MOOCs could provide higher education
> to everyone quickly proved flawed. The success stories were the
> exception, rather than the rule. MOOCs were lambasted for having a
> high dropout rate; the average completion rate still hovers around 15
> percent, a level that would be unacceptable for a traditional
> face-to-face college class. And when the demographics of “successful”
> MOOC students were scrutinized in one University of Pennsylvania
> study, it was discovered that 80 percent already had college degrees.
> Rather than providing opportunities for the educational “have-nots,”
> MOOCs seem just as likely to further the opportunities of the
> educational “have-alreadys.”...
>
>
> Thrun has abandoned his prediction that there will only be 10
> universities in the future. What he’s retained is a story in which the
> only reason for post-secondary education is to fulfill the needs of
> employers—something colleges, he claims, do not do well.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As someone who is on a team running an MOOC, I would say that it depends on the context.
The main advantage of an MOOC is that it reduces the cost of access to standard content. If you are a teaching professor who teaches fundamentally the same course over and over, and there isn't a great deal of teacher-student interaction required, then it may be an issue for you specifically. However, an MOOC is not able to provide a great deal of interactivity with the teacher (largely, these types of courses are record, submit, and market), and an MOOC cannot replicate the experience of being in a lab or on a research team with peers who are all working on similar topics.
The main effect I have seen is a positive impact on smaller, less-resourced universities. For example, if a small university doesn't have the financial resources to hire enough faculty who are published experts on a topic, but published experts have created a course on an MOOC, then the university in some situations can have a professor "teach" a course in which 90% of the content comes from web-based sources. Larger, better-funded universities can still differentiate themselves by saying "we have the guy who made the course/wrote the book/etc.," and for the professor, this would be a new revenue stream because he can now reach the whole world with his course, as opposed to one university.
The changes brought by these new systems aren't going to be "bad," but MOOCs among other new systems are going to change the educational landscape, and it is good to think in terms of how you can make these changes work to your advantage.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: According to the [Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Education-Training-and-Library/Postsecondary-teachers.htm):
>
> Employment of postsecondary teachers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected as enrollments at postsecondary institutions continue to rise, although it will be at a slower rate than it has been in the past. Many jobs are expected to be for part time faculty.
>
>
>
So the answer is NO. If MOOCs would put postsecondary teachers out of job on a large scale, their number would not be predicted to grow.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/17
| 1,391
| 5,107
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am studying CS but I am passionate about electronics and hardware. However, I can't study CS and EE at the same time. So if I study electronics by myself with online courses, can I work in that field after graduation?<issue_comment>username_1: No. From [The Kernel](http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/headline-story/14046/mooc-revolution-uber-for-education/), 2015:
>
> Just a few short years after promising higher education for anyone
> with an Internet connection, MOOCs have scaled back their ambitions,
> content to become job training for the tech sector and for students
> who already have college degrees.
>
>
> At what was arguably the peak of the hype about massive open online
> courses, the New York Times crowned 2012 as “The Year of the MOOC.”
> That was the year computer science professor <NAME> announced
> that, after an experiment teaching an online course that attracted
> 100,000 enrollees, he could no longer teach at Stanford; he was
> founding an online education startup, Udacity. That same year, his
> colleagues in the department, <NAME> and <NAME>, founded a
> competing MOOC startup, Coursera. Harvard and MIT also launched their
> own (nonprofit) MOOC initiative, edX. And universities around the
> world scrambled to partner with one or more of these organizations,
> amidst claims from investors, entrepreneurs, and pundits that MOOCs
> were poised to bring about the end of the university as we know it.
>
>
> “In 50 years,” Thrun told Wired, “there will be only 10 institutions
> in the world delivering higher education and Udacity has a shot at
> being one of them.”...
>
>
> Yet despite these well-rehearsed and triumphant stories of MOOCs’
> global outreach, the notion that MOOCs could provide higher education
> to everyone quickly proved flawed. The success stories were the
> exception, rather than the rule. MOOCs were lambasted for having a
> high dropout rate; the average completion rate still hovers around 15
> percent, a level that would be unacceptable for a traditional
> face-to-face college class. And when the demographics of “successful”
> MOOC students were scrutinized in one University of Pennsylvania
> study, it was discovered that 80 percent already had college degrees.
> Rather than providing opportunities for the educational “have-nots,”
> MOOCs seem just as likely to further the opportunities of the
> educational “have-alreadys.”...
>
>
> Thrun has abandoned his prediction that there will only be 10
> universities in the future. What he’s retained is a story in which the
> only reason for post-secondary education is to fulfill the needs of
> employers—something colleges, he claims, do not do well.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As someone who is on a team running an MOOC, I would say that it depends on the context.
The main advantage of an MOOC is that it reduces the cost of access to standard content. If you are a teaching professor who teaches fundamentally the same course over and over, and there isn't a great deal of teacher-student interaction required, then it may be an issue for you specifically. However, an MOOC is not able to provide a great deal of interactivity with the teacher (largely, these types of courses are record, submit, and market), and an MOOC cannot replicate the experience of being in a lab or on a research team with peers who are all working on similar topics.
The main effect I have seen is a positive impact on smaller, less-resourced universities. For example, if a small university doesn't have the financial resources to hire enough faculty who are published experts on a topic, but published experts have created a course on an MOOC, then the university in some situations can have a professor "teach" a course in which 90% of the content comes from web-based sources. Larger, better-funded universities can still differentiate themselves by saying "we have the guy who made the course/wrote the book/etc.," and for the professor, this would be a new revenue stream because he can now reach the whole world with his course, as opposed to one university.
The changes brought by these new systems aren't going to be "bad," but MOOCs among other new systems are going to change the educational landscape, and it is good to think in terms of how you can make these changes work to your advantage.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: According to the [Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Education-Training-and-Library/Postsecondary-teachers.htm):
>
> Employment of postsecondary teachers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected as enrollments at postsecondary institutions continue to rise, although it will be at a slower rate than it has been in the past. Many jobs are expected to be for part time faculty.
>
>
>
So the answer is NO. If MOOCs would put postsecondary teachers out of job on a large scale, their number would not be predicted to grow.
Upvotes: 2
|
2017/07/17
| 1,581
| 5,892
|
<issue_start>username_0: A person I know has been teaching undergraduate students for about ~8 years. She has a master in science and she is ~41 years old. For personal reasons, she quit her job five years ago. She would like to return to academia by enrolling in a Ph.D. program.
In my opinion, the chances of getting a funded Ph.D. position is really low because she got her master ~13 years ago and she could not find such a position after applying several times. My question is that if she has a reasonable chance of a funded Ph.D. position in Europe or north America if she spends some volunteer time in a lab and publishes one paper?
How realistic it is even to get a volunteer research work in a lab?
I should add that I have read several questions with regards to age and starting a Ph.D.. It seems the age is not important, however, in her case she already applied and failed to get even interview. Those people who have started a Ph.D. at a similar age might have paid for their study which is not possible for her.<issue_comment>username_1: No. From [The Kernel](http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/headline-story/14046/mooc-revolution-uber-for-education/), 2015:
>
> Just a few short years after promising higher education for anyone
> with an Internet connection, MOOCs have scaled back their ambitions,
> content to become job training for the tech sector and for students
> who already have college degrees.
>
>
> At what was arguably the peak of the hype about massive open online
> courses, the New York Times crowned 2012 as “The Year of the MOOC.”
> That was the year computer science professor <NAME> announced
> that, after an experiment teaching an online course that attracted
> 100,000 enrollees, he could no longer teach at Stanford; he was
> founding an online education startup, Udacity. That same year, his
> colleagues in the department, <NAME> and Daphne Koller, founded a
> competing MOOC startup, Coursera. Harvard and MIT also launched their
> own (nonprofit) MOOC initiative, edX. And universities around the
> world scrambled to partner with one or more of these organizations,
> amidst claims from investors, entrepreneurs, and pundits that MOOCs
> were poised to bring about the end of the university as we know it.
>
>
> “In 50 years,” Thrun told Wired, “there will be only 10 institutions
> in the world delivering higher education and Udacity has a shot at
> being one of them.”...
>
>
> Yet despite these well-rehearsed and triumphant stories of MOOCs’
> global outreach, the notion that MOOCs could provide higher education
> to everyone quickly proved flawed. The success stories were the
> exception, rather than the rule. MOOCs were lambasted for having a
> high dropout rate; the average completion rate still hovers around 15
> percent, a level that would be unacceptable for a traditional
> face-to-face college class. And when the demographics of “successful”
> MOOC students were scrutinized in one University of Pennsylvania
> study, it was discovered that 80 percent already had college degrees.
> Rather than providing opportunities for the educational “have-nots,”
> MOOCs seem just as likely to further the opportunities of the
> educational “have-alreadys.”...
>
>
> Thrun has abandoned his prediction that there will only be 10
> universities in the future. What he’s retained is a story in which the
> only reason for post-secondary education is to fulfill the needs of
> employers—something colleges, he claims, do not do well.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As someone who is on a team running an MOOC, I would say that it depends on the context.
The main advantage of an MOOC is that it reduces the cost of access to standard content. If you are a teaching professor who teaches fundamentally the same course over and over, and there isn't a great deal of teacher-student interaction required, then it may be an issue for you specifically. However, an MOOC is not able to provide a great deal of interactivity with the teacher (largely, these types of courses are record, submit, and market), and an MOOC cannot replicate the experience of being in a lab or on a research team with peers who are all working on similar topics.
The main effect I have seen is a positive impact on smaller, less-resourced universities. For example, if a small university doesn't have the financial resources to hire enough faculty who are published experts on a topic, but published experts have created a course on an MOOC, then the university in some situations can have a professor "teach" a course in which 90% of the content comes from web-based sources. Larger, better-funded universities can still differentiate themselves by saying "we have the guy who made the course/wrote the book/etc.," and for the professor, this would be a new revenue stream because he can now reach the whole world with his course, as opposed to one university.
The changes brought by these new systems aren't going to be "bad," but MOOCs among other new systems are going to change the educational landscape, and it is good to think in terms of how you can make these changes work to your advantage.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: According to the [Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Education-Training-and-Library/Postsecondary-teachers.htm):
>
> Employment of postsecondary teachers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected as enrollments at postsecondary institutions continue to rise, although it will be at a slower rate than it has been in the past. Many jobs are expected to be for part time faculty.
>
>
>
So the answer is NO. If MOOCs would put postsecondary teachers out of job on a large scale, their number would not be predicted to grow.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: A company approached me for an interview to explain my work, which has been published as part of my PhD. As I understand from their email, they want to understand my work so that they can use it. However, nowhere in the email they mentioned that I am going to be paid or involved in this project. How would you approach this?
I find this email strange because they are asking me to explain my work and give them information on how to implement it so that they can make money out of it without me having any role in their project. Is this normal? Should I ask to be paid?<issue_comment>username_1: It's not normal to work for a company for free, and I'd simply answer something like this:
>
> Dear X,
>
>
> I am glad to know that my PhD work caught your interest. I can
> provide more information under a suitable consultancy contract.
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> L222
>
>
>
**Note:** We don't know the content of the company's email and, as some have remarked, the above response might be a bit too sharp, especially if their attitude is not so exploitative as I assumed. A milder approach, which I like, is that outlined in [username_5's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/93295/20058). Since only you can read the email, I strongly encourage you to consider carefully both approaches, regardless of the accumulated votes.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: I've never worked with a commercial interest directly, but the impression I get from colleagues is that companies will take as much as they can and pay as little as possible. "It's just business" as they say.
Your experience is valuable, so I wouldn't give it away for free. Ask them what kind of consulting fee they're offering and politely decline or counter-offer if you don't like what you hear.
Also- don't under-value your experience. It took you years to get to the level of expertise where you could write that dissertation, so you can help them avoid years of similar work. For example, in my field and location that would equate to a minimum of $120,000 a year for a fresh PhD grad, so a company would stand to save a hundreds of thousands of dollars by getting you to jump-start their project, plus they'd have the benefit of getting to market faster.
Ask a reputable friend or go to your advisor to figure out what a reasonable price for your first consulting gig might be. Specialized consultants (and your dissertation work would certainly be considered specialized) are routinely paid hundreds of dollars to upwards of a thousand dollars per hour. Be realistic, but also realize that you apparently have an in-demand skill set.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: PhD theses as publicly funded and vetted work should be ultimately reproducible for someone well-versed in the field, not secret. The party responsible for ensuring this are the people grading your work.
Any deficiencies in that respect may be reflected in your grades. That's where the buck stops for you.
Any consulting on your work you do for outside companies will not get reflected in your grade. If your work is deficient regarding its applicability and reproducibility, you cannot fix any of the consequences for you in that manner.
So you are basically asked for independent expertise. A reasonable approach is to let all the costs for your talk and an appropriate fee be paid by the company and answer questions regarding how your work could be used for their purposes, basically saving them the time for a thorough evaluation and initial guess as to its usefulness for their purposes. If they are going to actually *use* it for their purposes, they would be foolish not to hire you as the leading expert for doing that work as long as you are fresh on the market and for that reason comparatively affordable while your work is not actively further developed elsewhere.
Make sure you are reasonably paid for your effort and expertise and do them to the best of your ability. That is: if you are actually interested in followup offers. If not, it's basically a tossup. Do what you consider worthwhile, refuse other stuff.
Make sure to set your conditions such that if no followup offer comes, you don't feel cheated.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: There's nothing strange about it, you are doing some research, they want to know more about it. Usually PhD theses are made available by the institution anyway, but you are probably also taking some public funds in which case you kind of have an obligation to share with the public the discoveries you made using their tax money, instead of guarding it as a secret.
But maybe for whatever reason you don't want to say, that's also fine. You're not really obligated to, even if somebody contacts you about reproducing your paper I think you don't have to cooperate (although if you choose not to obviously it doesn't look great, and also is harmful to science as a whole).
As for handling the email, depends on what you want.
1. If you want it to go away, you can ignore it.
2. If you want to refuse nicely, you can write a politely worder letter saying "no".
3. If you want money, reply and say "I'll do it for $X" (I'd make sure this is okay with university policy and such first).
4. If you're worried about seeming greedy, you can innocently ask "I just wanted to clarify, are you offering to compensate me for some kind of consultancy or just asking?"
5. If you just want credit, put a copyright notice on everything, and say top the company "I don't mind explaining it but keep in mind that it is copyrighted so you should attribute it" - although university policy usually regulates intellectual property rights
If you're doing anything except the 1 and 2, you want to check with the legal services or other appropriate office in your university first, because as I said, typically you are not the only one who gets a say in what is done with your work.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Other answers make the case that you should ask for money for your services. I certainly think that is a very fair and reasonable thing to do, but rather than asking for money upfront, I would like to suggest the following strategy to maximize the benefit (in terms of financial gain, experience, and networking opportunities) that you can gain from this situation:
1. Respond to the person who contacted you with a brief and polite email saying you'd be happy to have a short meeting (over the phone or in person at your office or somewhere nearby which doesn't necessitate any travel on your part) with them to give them a brief explanation of your work and/or hear more about the project. Do not ask for money or mention the possibility of paid consulting. I assume this will be followed up with an exchange of emails to set up the time/place for the meeting.
2. When you have the meeting, be open and genuinely willing to explain your work (or at least any details of it that are in your thesis or already published), for free, for a reasonable amount of time - say up to 30 minutes or an hour.
3. If you see that the conversation goes on for long enough that you are about to exceed your predetermined free consultation time, politely -- but assertively -- tell them that you will need to end the conversation soon, and say that you will be open to continuing the discussion at a future date, but that seeing as your time is valuable and you see that they need more of it than seems reasonable to offer for free, you will want this to be done on the basis of a paid consultation. Be ready with a figure for the hourly rate you want to ask in case they end up asking for it, but it's quite possible that this won't come up.
Following step number 3 above, either they will want to hire you to do additional consulting on the project, or they won't. I think the strategy above maximizes the chances that they will. Moreover, I should add that it is quite common for highly paid professionals (lawyers, financial consultants etc) to offer a free consultation before they start asking to be paid. I think the reason they do this is similar to why the above strategy is a good one -- it makes it easy for the client to approach the professional and explore the possibility of working together (by contrast, if you ask to be paid in the initial email this might be a turn-off and cause the people involved to simply give up the idea of talking to you, even if it may be in their interest to do so). The point of this comment is that I don't think you need to worry that you are being exploited by offering a small amount of your time and expertise for free -- even if you don't end up getting hired for a consulting gig you'll still have an interesting experience and sow some useful networking seeds that may be prove useful in the future. Good luck!
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_6: This sounds more like an opportunity than anything else. Don't let your doubts stop you from profiting off this.
No personal experience in your specific matter, but I would suggest before you do anything(as long as this applies), file a provisional utility patent with the USPTO. You obviously have something new on your hands that this company wants.
If this company wants to take your product to market, your best bet is to discuss your involvement in terms of a consultancy position(pay check 1), as well as make them sign a leasing contract in order to monetize your hard work(pay check 2).
Remember, always look at for #1. That's you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: For what it is worth, I have a colleague who, after completing his Phd, applied for a patent on an important breakthrough application of his research in medical diagnostics.
While the patent was still pending, he was approached by a large company to get more details on his inventions and research. He took all the precautions, like a non-circumvention agreement, and non-disclosure agreement. Then in several meetings with the technical staff of the company he described in not too much detail his invention and research. I don't recall if he was paid for these consultations.
He didn't hear again from this company for 3 years. Then he was surprised to learn about new products this company brought to market that were based on his invention and research. By this time he was granted several patents by the US Patent and Trademark office, which were still pending back when he dealt with the company.
Long story short, he sued the company with his attorneys working on a contingency basis as they were confident they had a winnable case. After 9 years of litigation, the company never settled despite the plaintiff offering very attractive settlement and patent licensing terms. The company chose to spend much more money in litigation costs than to settle with and pay the man they stole the invention from. The judge at the first circuit court of appeals, ruled in favor of the defendant. My colleague never got justice.
Lessons Learned:
1. Never talk to anyone until you have a granted patent, not just patent pending.
2. Even then, make sure you are protected by enforceable contracts, non-disclosures, etc. that are drafted by an attorney experienced in these matters and customized for your case.
3. If possible, arrange the meeting with this company at your attorney's office.
4. Don't trust anyone upfront. Trust has to be earned.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> I'm glad you are finding my research useful! I'd be happy to meet and discuss the published paper and what you're trying to accomplish.
>
>
>
At the meeting do not reveal anything that isn't explicitly already said in the paper. Don't worry about signing an NDA at this point, or entering into a contract.
This is important, because you want to establish a relationship and rapport, and further you'd like to find out what application they are using your research in and how it applies. At this point you both need to gain more understanding and determine if this is something you can work together on, and in what way.
If they press for details, indicate that you need an NDA, and a contract, and perhaps discuss the various ways you might be able to offer your services.
Take copious notes during the meeting - who did you meet, what they said, what you said. This may become important later if there's a legal question or problem.
Then work on an arrangement you can both be happy with. If they aren't willing to enter into a contract or pay you for detailed information, you aren't out anything. If they are, then this is the best way to ensure you have a good start to the relationship.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: Accept the invitation as "a chance to discuss mutual interests" Find out from them exactly why they are interested. i.e. to define what their problem is. You are trying to find out if there is a match between what they need and what you have done, but you are not going to reveal anything that is not in your thesis, except for incidental stuff. If it emerges that there is a match, remark on that, with whatever degree of enthusiasm you feel is appropriate, and then ask them, so where do we go from here? They are then left to propose some form of collaboration, consultancy or employment and you negotiate from there. In brief, plan how YOU can be in charge of what happens.
Your university probably has rules about much time you can devote/ money you can accept under various arrangements. Become familiar with these before the meeting
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: My advisor strongly encouraged me to check out two (highly renowned) American universities for my PhD study.
Her collaborators in these two institutions are good people and great mathematicians, so, assuming I can get in, working there would be very pleasant.
However, I'm confused by the structure of these graduate schools. In the first two years I'm supposed to follow courses and do a comprehensive written exam and an oral one which are mostly about topics (complex analysis, basic functional analysis, ODEs) that we do in the first two years of undergraduate study in my current institution.
The exam questions from the past years appear to be quite difficult, but revising those relatively elementary topics and spending a great amount of time solving difficult problems on them seems like taking a step back after a Bachelor's and a Master's degree (which had a quite significant research component).
So my questions are the following:
1. what is the rationale behind this structure of graduate school in the US?
2. why is it effective?
3. should I be concerned about "wasting time" revising basic topics in my area instead of diving directly into a research program after a Master's degree?
---
Added context from comments:
"Students who already know the material can take the exams in the first month of their Ph.D. program" is exactly what my advisor's collaborators told me. However, although the core material is well-known to me, it appears that the exam consists of many problems in a short amount of time and that such problems are mostly about clever ways to sum series, evaluate multiple integrals, do contour integration, solve tricky ODEs, and so on. That is, it is about elementary things but requires lots of exercise. That's why I'm concerned that it could be an unnecessary detour.<issue_comment>username_1: In US programs I know about, e.g. [UC Berkeley](https://math.berkeley.edu/programs/graduate/phd-program), there are preliminary exams (typically taken after the 1st year), on a broad range of topics, and qualifying exams, on the intended area of the PhD.
Unless you went to some very, very good MSc programme, this is meant to prepare you for academic career, and broaden your view of the subject.
I wish I went to one of these, instead of diving headfirst into PhD research.
As to "why is it effective", consider excellent products the system has been producing :-)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Speaking as a long-time graduate program director and adviser in a mid-level US department (at a big public university), I'd emphasize that most of our Ph.D. students in past years have had a less-than-adequate preparation in some basic areas. This is true especially for US students coming from a typical 4-year college math major but is also true for some international students. On the other hand, most of our students aim for a college teaching career, or perhaps a non-academic job, rather than aiming for a research career in some kind of mathematics (or statistics, part of our department). At the most elite departments, it is taken for granted that everybody plans to do research. But my own contemporaries in the 1960s Ph.D program at Yale actually went in many different directions.
Like most other US departments, we have had an evolving procedure involving written (and perhaps oral) qualifying exams. Anyone applying to one of the top few programs should certainly ask questions about how and when such exams are administered, and how they are evaluated. Typically no one wants to hold back a talented student, but sometimes a student overestimates his or her own talent and knowledge (and future job prospects). Even Harvard and MIT Ph.D.'s sometimes end up teaching at small colleges or out-of-the-way universities.
In any case, identifying a potential thesis adviser (or two) is equally important, though obviously it's difficult to predict one's future interests precisely or to predict the future logistics of an active faculty member (sabbaticals and other leaves can upset plans as can personal crises). Good luck navigating the US system, including the evolving immigration rules!
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: 1. The rationale is because graduate programs in the US are generally structured assuming the incoming student does not have a masters, and got a bachelors in the US, which can sometimes involve an embarrassingly small amount of math (and maybe more importantly, there is a very wide variation in what students learn at different universities, due to the flexibility of the US system). So, you're entering the system at a drastically different level of preparation from most people. Of course, it seems off to you. My experience at quite a number of US schools is that almost all incoming students need some sort of preparation of this type, often even ones with credentials suggesting that they shouldn't.
I think some of the logic here is that it's easier to set out somewhat tougher requirements and then make exceptions to let people accelerate than the other way around.
2. I think it's hard to assess whether it really is. But I don't know anyone who seriously suggests we don't need to do something along these lines. If something is covered in the syllabus of these classes, it is because the students don't consistently come into the program knowing it.
3. Maybe I'm being too dismissive here, but I am never sympathetic to these complaints. If you really know the subject, the classes will not take much of your time. No one will stop you from talking to professors about research or doing reading on the side while you're taking the classes, and generally the timetables around exams and classes are flexible. That time will only be wasted if you decide you want to waste it.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Supplementing the other good answers, and echo-ing one of @BenWebster's points: I, too, am unpersuaded (statistically...) by complaints that "prelim exams" are too speed-oriented and/or too low-level/cleverness oriented. True, these are easy accusations to make, and complicated to attempt to refute.
However (without claiming anything about the questioner's situation), almost without exception, the on-the-ground complaints I've heard in this direction were from people who were not nearly as competent or mature as they imagined... *and* easily stood to profit greatly by further attention to basic things.
In particular (although, yes, there certainly can be "bad" instances of various prelim exams), an important meta-point that I (in writing such exams) try to test for is a higher-level understanding, especially which enables examinees to "see the forest for the trees" (or vice-versa), and realize that the given question is "just another" instance of an iconic, cliched, and *useful*/*important* idea... perhaps manifest in a slightly prankish-seeming context.
What I tell my own people is that they "are done" with "algebra, complex, real, ..." or whatever labels these exams are given, when they realize that there are "only eleven (or pick your favorite smallish-number) different issues that will come up". Prior to some point, they cannot see the commonalities (which is not so good), and then after some point, they *do* see the commonalities, and everything is easy.
In the latter context, almost all the complaints I've received are from people in a state *prior* to seeing how simple these basic parts of mathematics are (or *can* be). This is not a moral failing, but it is not a useful professional state (especially as part of a belief system...).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I can offer a more cynical point of view, as someone who has studied for and passed exams three times, at three different U.S. grad programs in mathematics: **I completely agree with you.** If you think preparing for exams is a total waste of time for you, you're probably right.
There might be students who actually learn things in the course of preparing for an exam, but there are also students for whom the whole exam routine actively interferes with meaningful learning. I am solidly in the second category, so I minimize the cognitive resources I allocate to exam preparation because it diverts time and energy from doing something useful. As another reply here points out, the exams at each school are usually recycled variations of the same manageably-sized bag of tricks, so it's probably less time-consuming than it seems at the outset.
From a philosophical/pedagogical point of view, it's unfortunate that programs don't even try to be a little more data-driven about the effectiveness and efficiency of this hidebound process. I could give a very long critique detailing why the coursework-written exam-oral exam gantlet is completely counterproductive, starting with the educational research that high-stakes exams reduce long-term retention. But this is the sort of thing that no one has any interest in hearing because they have no interest in doing anything about it. As you can see from the other replies, most (not all!) professors within this system are under the impression that such exams are a reliable way to determine whether a student "really knows the material," so why fix what (to them) isn't broken?
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently, I applied for two positions at one university. I received a quick reply for a video interview and immediately thereafter the campus visit. Right after my campus visit, I got a call back on the second application. After much deliberation, I recinded the application for the second position interview. Is this appropriate? Is there etiquette for applying to one or two positions at the same institution?<issue_comment>username_1: Nobody would fault you for pursuing any promising job offer, even if two are at the same place. (If they're petty enough to be upset with you for this then you wouldn't want to work there anyway.) If you've already rescinded the application they're not going to be upset with you for that either. These are regular problems faced by departments doing job searches.
Some institutions might have an internal arbitration process that would have to happen if both departments want to make an offer. This is to avoid a situation where you try to use offers from both departments as leverage for better compensation or a startup package.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In academia, it is common for candidates - especially for faculty positions (which you don't mention if these positions are faculty or administrative ones) - to apply for multiple jobs. During a single job market season, some candidates may apply for dozens of positions. Often, they are at different institutions, but there are cases where people apply to multiple positions at the same institution. You already rescinded the other position, so there is not much you can do at this point. However, it is often wise to make sure that you have an offer of employment "in hand" before fully rescinding other applications. If you were a strong candidate for both positions, you could always let the search chair or administrator know that you are being considered for another position. When I was a faculty search chair, candidates were often frank about having other interviews or even offers. It is expected - at least in my field (social and health sciences). Good luck!
Upvotes: 1
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| 1,776
| 7,637
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently received a request from another researcher in my area, who is guest editing a volume of a mid-level physics journal. He wanted me to submit an article for the special issue dealing with our research area. I agreed to submit something by the end of the summer. I told him that I would produce an article about my current research, providing a careful conceptual discussion of some previously published work, as well as some recent (but not particularly exciting) advancements that have not previously been published. The number of researchers in this area is not especially large, and acceptance of my article is a virtual certainty.
At about the same time as I got the invitation, I had a graduate student come to me, wanting to do research. He started working with me on the same topic that I will cover in my (mostly review) article. This student is, as another professor put it, "not as bright as he thinks he is." He is qualified to get a Ph.D., but it is very unlikely that he will have a career in academia. He has been doing calculations for me, but so far, he is only duplicating results that I have already completed myself. (I hope that, by the fall, he will be able to start producing new results.)
My question is: Does it make sense to include him as an author on the paper I am going to submit at the end of September? He should have completed some calculations by then that have not previously been published. However, all those calculations will be duplications of things that I have already done myself. I could write the paper without his input at all, which suggests against making him an author. On the other hand, he is exerting significant effort checking my own calculations, and if I had not done all the calculations before, he would be making a minor but meaningful contribution to the paper. The student knows that he is, thus far, only duplicating my previous work, so I don't think he has any expectation of being included as an author on any publications including it. However, I admit that I feel uneasy setting a student to re-do my own unpublished work, with the intention of publishing it without adding him as a co-author.
This specific publication is unlikely to make a real difference for either of us, professionally. I have more than enough publications in top journals to be promoted to the next level, and, as I said, this student is extremely unlikely to have a long-term career in academia. So, in the absence of any compelling outside pressure one way of the other, I am wondering whether I should include my student as a author on this upcoming publication.<issue_comment>username_1: There does not seem to be much arguments pro or against including him.
**But when in doubt, it's probably better to include the student them not.**
I've been in that situation myself and I've decided to include the student. The arguments I used to convince myself to include him were as follows:
* I could not really find any argument against including him;
* If I include him, he would be much more motivated in future works with me; whereas if I don't, he may get a little frustrated when he realizes that I published a paper exactly on the topic we were discussing without inviting him;
* It looks good to whoever is looking at your interaction with students (graduate committee, department, etc) that you are publishing with them;
* As the student should be learning to write his own papers, it's probably good that he starts doing this on a paper where he is not the main author.
So for me it was a win-win situation.
Of course, by *include him* I mean that you should *invite him* and have him help in writing the paper.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it is easily possible to rationalize either direction, so you'll need some further inputs to decide.
Just to reiterate things you already know: on one hand, the computations are already done, and do not depend on your student's computations. You already knew the answers (though it's nice to get corroboration). I myself often give preliminary projects of a similar sort to my students, in part because I know with near-certainty how they'll turn out, but/and will be educational and technique-improving for the students.
On the other hand, having a student corroborate does add a layer of certainty. This is a good thing, and, if not heroic or glamorous, is definitely legitimate "work" in this business.
So, to my perception, especially if neither of you is on any sort of razor's edge about careers, it is entirely up to you. (Obviously even without the co-authorship you'd thank your student for the substantial effort to corroborate your calculations?...)
This also does remind me of a similar quandry with PhD students: I hesitate to suggest any thesis project that I don't "feel" (in some amorphous way, but with considerably technical bulwarking) will work... because I'm aware of techniques that will get one most of the way there. The main point of such a thesis is getting up to speed on those "standard techniques", at which point the *execution* of them is relatively easy. One might ask "how can this earn a PhD?", and a big part of the answer is that (in my mind) *conception* of a project (by a relative expert) is wildly different from *execution* of that project (whether by a novice or not). That is, to imagine that something is within current human possibilities is very different from actually doing the thing!!! Thus, even if/when I can imagine that a PhD student's project will turn out ok, I do *not* ask or insist on authorship. They did the work!
Another point is that, all other things the same, generosity is probably better than stinginess, especially if one is not "in need" oneself.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I have been a student in this situation so I'll chime in to offer a different perspective than the other posters.
I don't think you should add him as an author unless he adds to the paper in some way, **however** you also should be open to him about this. Tell him straight up that if he can contribute something worth while to the paper you will add him as a coauthor. This should motivate him a lot more.
For my honours project my supervisor showed me a paper he was working on and said if I can add to it significantly I would become a coauthor. This really motivated me and I ended up doing far and above what he expected for an honour's project. It was a great learning experience also in regards to what is actually required for academic research.
If I was in your student's shoes I would just want you to be open about this. Tell him that so far he hasn't done anything new and wont be a coauthor, but that you're more than willing to add him if he does contribute something.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I would go against including him because of the following reasons:
* If he is included now, then he would think that he can earn a paper just by doing some calculation. Perhaps this one is a pessimist version of the the answer by @ShakeBaby.
* Since you are assuming that he is not interested in academia, he might not be willing to be a full time researcher (this includes an assumption and of course the inferred mentality of the student in question), so including him would pull him down.
* Again, he might think that the coauthors' contribution is actually not so substantial and important to be called as 'coauthor', this again would reflect his future visions.
* I would definitely go with a formal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT in my manuscript rather than including him as a coauthor.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: My background:
5 years ago, I did my undergrad from an Indian University and did some random jobs unrelated to my field of study.My undergraduate grade is 2.92/4.0. Now, I got admitted to grad school(in US) for CS and my grades are not well, I scored 2.80/4.0 for the course design and analysis of algorithms. BTW, I am still interested and feel passionate to complete masters.
My questions are:
1. How to survive grad school with bad grades and inadequate background knowledge.
2. How should I work to improve my programming skills? and what are the prerequisite skills in order to be successful in this field?
3. how to access myself if I am the right fit for grad school?
For now, I am trying to solve online coding challenges(project Euler, coder byte etc). Their easy level questions are a bit hard but I am slowing trying to solve by myself. And want to utilize this summer break to fullest.
Please help me in figuring out things like, and what I should or shouldn't be doing both in my break and to survive grad school. Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: You do not sound like the strongest CS student. It appears that with luck, you will just "get by" in CS, and graduate near the bottom of the class. As long as you are resigned to that likelihood, and to just doing what you need to survive, you should continue.
The potential rewards could well make the effort worthwhile. Modern corporate development, particularly management, is about computing. I envision a "management" track for you, rather than a programming track. And if so, your skill level, such as it is, will give you the advantage over many managers. Your "passion" would be a big plus in this environment.
Your "endgame" may well be a degree in management, with CS only as a stepping stone. It might even make sense for you to leave CS, take a degree in management (MBA or Indian equivalent), and return to CS later when you have better idea of how to "manage" yourself in such a program. Some MBA programs even offer CS as a minor, so you could take "a few" more CS courses there without risking a whole degree.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is hard to gauge if anyone is a fit for a particular field from the outside and from grades alone. **A lot of people in CS (and other fields) struggle initially with very mediocre grades or some failed courses but go on to be outstanding later on in their studies** (perhaps concentrating on a narrow sub-field), some get PhDs although they only barely got their Bachelor's.
However, **there are different directions** you can take with CS **that require different basic abilities** which may be relatively easily learnable background knowledge or talents hard to acquire later in live. If you lack those abilities, you either need to work harder than others to make it in the respective field or you need to look for some other field (or some niché sub-field that caters to your abilities).
At many universities, you get thrown a mix of all those facets at you in the beginning. Thus, if you're only good in some areas your average grades will reflect that. Also pre-existing knowledge varies highly among students at the beginning and typically levels out later. One important thing you should do during the time until you get your Bachelor's degree is **figure out which areas fit for you and which don't**, so you can focus on the *right* ones in your Master's or when looking for a job.
One basic distinction is theory and practical applications. If you love math and theoretical logic, but cannot deal with technical problems, you may be bad at the latter and excel at theoretical CS. Similarly, if you love to write a program, but you don't care much about complex theories on how compilers and programming languages work, you are more on the application side. However, in each of these main areas there is a ton of different sub-fields that require different abilities. Are you into finding the right tools for the job and want to know them all or are you into working with data and finding the right algorithm to efficiently process huge chunks of data? Or do love concurrency problems and parellization? Or hardware tinkering? Or do you look more at the endresult, love to discuss variations of how to do a UI and how to do team-cooperation? Or something else entirely?
In essence, **grades are only a rough indicator how you broadly do. You need to figure out what it is you actually love about the field and what abilities you have** - and then go for a direction that brings both somewhat together. I would think about going for something else if you cannot find such a combination rather than if your general grades aren't top-notch, especially at the Bachelor level.
Determination can make a huge difference. **If you love what you do and you can produce at least acceptable results, I'd always say go for it**. You may not become the best in your field (or it may be a hard walk or maybe it turns out easy once you made the hill in front of you), but either way, you can still have a more satisfying life than if you do something you don't enjoy and are not much better at. Just try to get a feeling for what you can and cannot do and be always open about it. Still, sometimes we also have to admit that something isn't the right thing for us. That decision however, no one can make for you, in particular not with the limited rough information on such a forum.
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/18
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<issue_start>username_0: I wasn't sure if this would be off-topic or not.
Basically i have half finished high school here in Slovenia, it's slightly different here, i went to 3+2 program. I have finished 3 years but i don't wish to continue the extra 2 years, especially because they're not teaching me anything, in 5th year they teach about programming stuff i knew when i was a first year. And the extra two years would earn me a diploma for finished high school, not sure how the 3 years are called in English. So instead of wasting 2 years i thought if i could even apply for University in UK? I have a friend who lives in UK which would make it easier to move, but my question is if i can even apply? I've seen undergraduate courses and the requirements, but nothing there can apply to me? Or at least i'm not sure, is there some kind of exam that i can take or something similar?
Thanks in advance!<issue_comment>username_1: I'm sorry but no, you can't. Every respectable university requires a high-school diploma (or equivalent degree) for students to enroll. Exceptions are extremely rare and apply only to highly gifted students in certain subjects.
However, you can self-study in your free time with more advanced textbooks and online courses. If your home-town has a university, you may be able to attend some lectures as a guest, without being formally enrolled.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are a small number of distance learning universities that will take students on without formal qualifications, probably one of the most famous (and prestigious) examples is [The Open University](http://www.open.ac.uk/) in the UK. You will probably have to take prerequisite courses in high school level material before you'll be allowed to do a Bachelors or similar.
"Brick and Mortar" universities, in general, will not accept you though.
Upvotes: 1
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2017/07/18
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<issue_start>username_0: During my undergraduate degree I was involved in a research project under a new, young professor. I was much more involved than a typical undergrad researcher (at least from what I have seen during the past year in a PhD program); I was a major contributor in developing the theory and solution codes, and I was a first author on one paper and a coauthor on another during that time. A long story short, the professor had a really bad attitude and had no problem making enemies. Within two years he was gone (rumors that he was forced out) from his first professorship, which is a top 10 engineering school to a much less prestigious one. I graduated at the same time and started my PhD at another school.
An extremely long story short, we had a falling out not long after because I had had to shift my priorities to my PhD as any reasonable person would; however, I had agreed to keep working with him during my spare time as we were nearing in on one last paper. In short, he sent me some pretty disrespectful emails, and any time I tried to defend myself in any way, he took it as inappropriate. I tried my best to remain professional and respectful, and in my opinion I succeeded with that. I just decided I had my whole future ahead of me under a much more prestigious advisor and one relatively low impact paper was not going to mean much. So I told him that I could no longer contribute to the project.
A few days ago, I see that he published the paper we were working on. Unsurprisingly, I was not included as a coauthor or acknowledged in any way, though he did cite our previous papers. What was really bizarre was that he included as a coauthor another undergrad researcher who was less involved in the project. This guy happens to be my good friend, so I know he hasn't worked on it at all in the last year. To make things even fishier, my friend didn't even know he was going to release a paper nor was he ever notified that he was going to be a coauthor. I was the one that told him about it, and he was completely shocked.
The paper contained nothing new from what I had done, and the results were most definitely produced with the subroutine I wrote. Also, the wording was very very similar (not quite word for word) to what I had written in the past. The figures (containing conceptual designs) had been reproduced directly from my own unpublished ideas.
I am wondering just how unethical this is, if at all. I know typically undergrads might not contribute much, but I genuinely feel that I was the major contributor of this work. I even secured two external fellowships to fund the project. I have developed a lot of close contacts that are in high positions that I am confident would support me in a dispute, not to mention his reputation in the community isn't the greatest. I am just trying to decide if its even worth it and what route to take. Should I just let it go or am I in a position to act? I haven't contacted him yet since he will surely try to sabotage me in some way, which I am not that worried about; I really just don't know if I want to deal with it.
I am just looking for some thoughts, so I can approach this as unbiasedly as possible. Thanks a lot for your time.<issue_comment>username_1: Contact the editor responsible. Talk nicely to him, and ask him how to proceed.
Since a friend of yours is included as coauthor without his knowledge, you have quite some leeway. If one of the authors asks for the paper to be withdrawn because of incorrect attribution, this may very well happen. Such behavior is considered scientific misconduct.
Also many universities will have an office responsible for processing with plagiarism and other scientific misconduct, and may be able to assist you with drafting such emails.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You could write to the editor and demand a retraction. You may get what you want but it may drag on for a long time and be a real drain on your emotional reserves. And all this for a paper that may not garner a lot of attention anyway. I am basing myself on the general statistics here, not disparaging your work! If you think the paper is the rare one that has wings and will be cited hundreds of times and maybe even warrant a prestigious award, then you should invest that time and energy. Otherwise, your best bet is to let it go.
If you have friends in high places, you may mention it to them in case you feel upset or embarrassed about it. Chances are that they already know or suspected as much!
Upvotes: 0
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2017/07/18
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<issue_start>username_0: This conference is organized on every 3 years. It is highly influential in the field of study. Screening and review committee are usually reputable that includes a strong set of researchers and professors.
The article in question is similar to my field of interest. I was happy to read it, but am very dissatisfied with discussion, analysis of data and moreover, there are several theoretical flaws in the paper.
What should I do in this case? How to submit a comment? Or, should I just ignore this?<issue_comment>username_1: **DO NOT IGNORE THIS.**
(*As per the comments by username_2, FredDouglis and John*) It is advisable to email the authors first on the issue. If they are responding, then it is well and good. If they are satisfied with your concepts and unintentional flaws, then they would go for publishing an erratum. If they are not responding in this regard, I will do the following.
I would try to Google out the names of the Program Committee Chair or Members or Organizers and directly send a formal email regarding the same.
For example:
>
> Dear PC Chair/Organizer/Professor
>
>
> It is pleasure following the articles published in the proceedings of the reputable conference that was organized in 20xx at the University of Suggestions, Academia.SE.
>
>
> However, I find a serious theoretical flaw in one of the articled entitled *An article with the significant theoretical flaw in it*, which I have been following currently. The complete explanation on the errors and wrong assumptions along with the possible conceptual evidence from my side have been attached for your referral.
>
>
> I would request you to look after this and kindly consider the article removed or revised (a possible erratum) or re-reviewed.
>
>
> Looking forward to your considerable action in this regard.
>
>
> Sincerely
>
>
> The Guy who found the error
>
>
>
I think one of the people would definitely respond in this regard. If they don't then directly email to the publisher of the conference proceeding.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: When I was in graduate school my group found a major flaw in another group's work, and another group found a flaw in one of our papers. Beware that it's worth it to be sensitive about these issues- academia tends to be a small world, and you don't want to hurt people's egos or make enemies. Everyone makes mistakes, even in published and peer-reviewed papers. Bear in mind that once a peer-reviewed paper is published with a methodological flaw it becomes a failure of the entire community rather than a failure of that author.
I think the most productive way to handle this is to first contact the authors of the paper directly. If you feel as though you've found an error then you should be able to provide specific evidence or (for theoretical work) a counter-example to some proposed theorem. Approach them gently, and remember that you might be the one in error or that the error might be a simple like an unstated assumption. If the authors are responsible academics then you will have a dialogue with them that identifies the error or points out the flaw in your argument. If your claim is substantiated then it may be an opportunity to publish a joint correction or they might opt to retract their paper, depending on the severity of the problem. This is how good peer-reviewed science is supposed to work.
However, if the authors are unwilling to talk then and you feel like you need to push the issue then you'll have to escalate. Get in touch with the editor of the publication, but be sure you can substantiate your claims of an error in a way they'll understand and agree with. If they determine that you are correct then they may unilaterally retract the paper or provide the authors a chance to publish corrections. Depending on the severity and circumstances of the issue it may be appropriate for you to publish your own analysis of the topic.
Done correctly, finding a published flaw can be a great way to start a new relationship or collaboration with other people intensely interested in the same topics as you are. If you allow them to fix the problem with their published work in a way that allows them to save face they will be grateful. If you make a public debate out of the issue or go above their head to the publication editors too quickly you'll engender some bad feelings. If you make a public fuss about something and you end up being wrong then you'll look like a stupid jerk. Remember that academia is a small world and your reputation will follow you, so think about how you'll be perceived.
Above all else just remember that the purpose of the exercise is to correct the scientific record and you should be OK.
**Edit:** I wanted to echo John's comment to another (now deleted) post, which is that the probability that you are wrong or have misunderstood the paper is very high. Let the paper sit for a few days, and then read it again carefully. If you're still convinced there's an error then go to your adviser or a colleague and ask them to review your analysis. If everyone agrees that there is an error then it is time to humbly approach the authors.
Upvotes: 2
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2017/07/18
| 1,570
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<issue_start>username_0: We work on some research problem, obtain some publishable results, then we target an international conference to disseminate the results and methods in, and then there is a 'last' date or deadline.
We submit the complete manuscript to the conference on or before the mentioned deadline of the conference.
Then, suddenly we see the deadlines (both for submission and for the acceptance) continually change over time. For example, in one of the last year's Computer Science conference, the deadlines were changed repeatedly. Please note that the deadlines for submission were getting extended on the very day of the earlier notified deadline, which is another demotivating factor.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qnMdV.jpg)
Why might it be happening?
* Because the targetted number of submissions were not received.
* The reviewers could not meet the deadlines.
* **Can there be any other reasons than the above two?**
I have the following questions:
* If the conference organizers were not so firm about this stuff, why did they even have an important date page?
* It is actually frustrating for the authors who have submitted the paper on the first submission dead line and still waiting for 3 months to get the review. This is ridiculously bad for a conference.
* The papers which are submitted at the last notified deadline will be reviewed in a less productive way. If this is true, then what is the point of having a peer review?
* In such a scenario, **is it advisable to withdraw the paper from the conference?**
* **Does it not hamper the quality of the conference as good researchers would not submit to the same conference again in following years?**
I believe that this question is not a duplicate of [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/46127/multiple-paper-submission-deadline-extension-three-times-in-few-days).<issue_comment>username_1: **DO NOT IGNORE THIS.**
(*As per the comments by username_2, FredDouglis and John*) It is advisable to email the authors first on the issue. If they are responding, then it is well and good. If they are satisfied with your concepts and unintentional flaws, then they would go for publishing an erratum. If they are not responding in this regard, I will do the following.
I would try to Google out the names of the Program Committee Chair or Members or Organizers and directly send a formal email regarding the same.
For example:
>
> Dear PC Chair/Organizer/Professor
>
>
> It is pleasure following the articles published in the proceedings of the reputable conference that was organized in 20xx at the University of Suggestions, Academia.SE.
>
>
> However, I find a serious theoretical flaw in one of the articled entitled *An article with the significant theoretical flaw in it*, which I have been following currently. The complete explanation on the errors and wrong assumptions along with the possible conceptual evidence from my side have been attached for your referral.
>
>
> I would request you to look after this and kindly consider the article removed or revised (a possible erratum) or re-reviewed.
>
>
> Looking forward to your considerable action in this regard.
>
>
> Sincerely
>
>
> The Guy who found the error
>
>
>
I think one of the people would definitely respond in this regard. If they don't then directly email to the publisher of the conference proceeding.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: When I was in graduate school my group found a major flaw in another group's work, and another group found a flaw in one of our papers. Beware that it's worth it to be sensitive about these issues- academia tends to be a small world, and you don't want to hurt people's egos or make enemies. Everyone makes mistakes, even in published and peer-reviewed papers. Bear in mind that once a peer-reviewed paper is published with a methodological flaw it becomes a failure of the entire community rather than a failure of that author.
I think the most productive way to handle this is to first contact the authors of the paper directly. If you feel as though you've found an error then you should be able to provide specific evidence or (for theoretical work) a counter-example to some proposed theorem. Approach them gently, and remember that you might be the one in error or that the error might be a simple like an unstated assumption. If the authors are responsible academics then you will have a dialogue with them that identifies the error or points out the flaw in your argument. If your claim is substantiated then it may be an opportunity to publish a joint correction or they might opt to retract their paper, depending on the severity of the problem. This is how good peer-reviewed science is supposed to work.
However, if the authors are unwilling to talk then and you feel like you need to push the issue then you'll have to escalate. Get in touch with the editor of the publication, but be sure you can substantiate your claims of an error in a way they'll understand and agree with. If they determine that you are correct then they may unilaterally retract the paper or provide the authors a chance to publish corrections. Depending on the severity and circumstances of the issue it may be appropriate for you to publish your own analysis of the topic.
Done correctly, finding a published flaw can be a great way to start a new relationship or collaboration with other people intensely interested in the same topics as you are. If you allow them to fix the problem with their published work in a way that allows them to save face they will be grateful. If you make a public debate out of the issue or go above their head to the publication editors too quickly you'll engender some bad feelings. If you make a public fuss about something and you end up being wrong then you'll look like a stupid jerk. Remember that academia is a small world and your reputation will follow you, so think about how you'll be perceived.
Above all else just remember that the purpose of the exercise is to correct the scientific record and you should be OK.
**Edit:** I wanted to echo John's comment to another (now deleted) post, which is that the probability that you are wrong or have misunderstood the paper is very high. Let the paper sit for a few days, and then read it again carefully. If you're still convinced there's an error then go to your adviser or a colleague and ask them to review your analysis. If everyone agrees that there is an error then it is time to humbly approach the authors.
Upvotes: 2
|