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2017/11/25	9,138	38,025	<issue_start>username_0: I am the course leader for an undergraduate course. We have two quizzes each semester: one around the middle of the semester, and one at the end. For the first quiz, students were allowed to bring a one-page "cheat sheet" which could be either handwritten or printed. Our original intention for the "cheat sheet" was to encourage students to process the course material and to summarize it for their own learning. Unfortunately, I noticed that some of the students had instead merely printed the lecture slides in really small font. Instead of actively working through the material, trying to understand it, select what was important, and write it down, these students took the easy way out by copy-and-pasting everything onto their "cheat sheet". As I began planning for the second quiz, I decided that students would gain more from the process of preparing their "cheat sheets" if they were forced to handwrite their "cheat sheet". There seems to be some research that backs this up, for example, this [article](https://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-put-your-laptops-away) says: > > In [the study published in Psychological Science](http://pss.sagepub.com/content/25/6/1159.full?keytype=ref&siteid=sppss&ijkey=CjRAwmrlURGNw), <NAME> of Princeton University and <NAME> of the University of California, Los Angeles sought to test how note-taking by hand or by computer affects learning. > > > "When people type their notes, they have this tendency to try to take verbatim notes and write down as much of the lecture as they can," Mueller tells NPR's Rachel Martin. "The students who were taking longhand notes in our studies were forced to be more selective — because you can't write as fast as you can type. And that extra processing of the material that they were doing benefited them." > > > Today, 10 days before the date of the quiz, I made an announcement in class that for the second quiz, only handwritten "cheat sheets" are allowed. One of the students was extremely upset about this policy change. He felt that: 1. Making such a change 10 days before the quiz/exam is unfair and unprofessional 2. He had already spent hours preparing his digital "cheat sheet", so changing the policy penalizes students like him who prepared for their quizzes early. The student was so annoyed that he sent an e-mail to the department general office to complain about this policy change. I was quite surprised that the student feels so upset, and I feel that the student is making a mountain out of a molehill. However, this is my perspective as a course leader, so I wanted to ask for an impartial and unbiased opinion. Questions: 1. Am I being unreasonable/unprofessional by changing the requirements for the quiz "cheat sheet" 10 days in advance? 2. Is the student overreacting? 3. Or are both of us in the wrong? ### Response to comments > > To be brutally honest, if an "open book" exam is made substantively easier by having reference to all the course/lecture material simply presented verbatim, then it's not a very good open book exam... > > > On the other hand, if the challenge posed by your exam wasn't really affected just because students brought in all the lecture materials, then what's the issue? > > > You raise a very good point that I hadn't considered earlier. Personally, I don't think that bringing in all the lecture materials would help a student significantly, because our quizzes do test understanding and analysis rather than rote memorization. The reason why I would still nevertheless prefer to require a handwritten cheat sheet is because I feel that a significant proportion of students are lazy, and without being prodded (by having to handwrite a "cheat sheet"), they would just copy the lecture slides wholesale and hope for the best. > > If the exam was in the middle of the semester, > why didn't you bring up the change earlier? > > > This is a fair question. The reason why I didn't think about this earlier is because I was busy with research, and I only work on what I need to do for the course in the next 1-2 weeks. This incident has shown me that there are teaching-related problems that I could avoid in the future if I were to plan ahead work with a longer time horizon. However, because I am an assistant professor who is not yet tenured, to be brutally honest, teaching is not my highest priority. Although it would be ideal to announce the "cheat sheet" policy 6 weeks in advance, I feel that announcing the policy 10 days in advance gives the students enough time to prepare. I do feel that if I only gave the students 1-2 days of notice, that would be unfair because I am giving them very short notice. ### What I decided to do in the end I posted what I decided to do in the end, and what I learned from the community, in [my answer below](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/99500/8802). Editor's note: additional information provided in a comment: There are about 600 students in the course. It just so happens that I am the "academic advisor" to 6 students, 4 of whom are taking the course. We have a WhatsApp group, where we can communicate casually about school-related stuff. (WhatsApp is an instant messaging app.) I've found that the fastest way to get feedback from students is not using e-mail but using WhatsApp. So I'm taking Solar Mike's advice to ask a select few students how they feel about this handwritten-only policy, to get an idea of what the broader student population thinks.<issue_comment>username_1: But realistically speaking, take the time to address the student's complaints in class. There may be more who share the same sentiment but aren't vocal about it. State your intent behind the policy (to have students review their notes and condense it) and how it did not turn out correctly (people were just minimizing slides verbatim), although it is poorly timed (versus right after the first quiz) 10 days is more than enough time for a student to properly create a written cheat sheet. If they have additional complaints, state that you would be happy to discuss the matter with them one-on-one and that if they continued to disagree, they can bring the matter up the food chain. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As for "not fair" 10 days notice is ample - generous in fact. You can change the conditions : removing the cheat sheets totally with 10 days notice is fine as well... You could get a sample of students whose opinion you respect (ie ones who give you honest feedback, not just what you want to hear...) and have a discussion with them... Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Students preparing for finals are under a lot of stress. One way of coping with that stress is planning and visualization. A student may be boosting their confidence by thinking they have a really good cheat sheet already prepared for your test, and then you change the rules. The notice seems unnecessarily short. Since the changed rule was a reaction to the mid-term, why not announce it immediately after the mid-term? Handwriting-only is also an inherently unfortunate requirement for some students. I find it much easier to quickly locate information in a typeset printout than in anything handwritten. The more thought a student puts into organizing their cheat-sheet, the more they will lose by having to copy it out. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: 1. Yes 2. No 3. No or yes, slightly too late, sorry! unless you wanna break the students trust. In the latter case: do whatever is legal in your department/country. If the exam was midterm, you easily could have pointed that out then. That would not have been a problem for anyone. But now it is too late: To address the debate whether 10 days are enough or not: It depends a lot on the course! But given the time-frame of half a semester, so months, 10 days is relatively short. Or "too short not to be clearly long enough" Students are humans too, they have a lot of plans and preparation. They have to stick to strict rules (passing exams or byebye). Those rules are set like laws and, in general, cannot be changed in between (imagine a football play where the rules randomly change in between?!). If you slightly modify them early enough so that no one can really bring up a reason why this is to it's disadvantage, than you can change the rules. The student on the other hand brought up a very good reason why this close call is to is disadvantage. (reason for 1 & 2) And to 3: No, he is doing absolutely the right thing. Students are in a hierarchical way below you. But you cannot do whatever you want! You tried to, the student noticed, reached you, you didn't agree, so he escalated to a higher institution. Perfectly, as taken from a textbook of "how to properly deal with hierarchies". My advide: ASAP (!) tell them that everything can be used and learn from it (1. say it earlier and 2. restrict the cheat sheets to handwritten ones). Even better, change the exam. If the students who have printed the whole course really have an advantage, than the exam isn't very good. Ask more questions where you have to know the general ideas, know how things are related. Ask enough questions in the time allowing the prepared students to answer a lot and not allowing to read through the whole course again. Sidenote: yes, probably you can legally do that. It depends a lot on your country. But it is something I would avoid as much as possible. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Usually, it is a bad practice to alter the rules of anything discussed beforehand. If students are aware of cheat sheet from the beginning of the semester, might might be prepared as they see fit, throughout the semester. I think the number of days does not matter, but the ratio of days do. For instance, if they knew that they could use cheat sheet 11 days ago, changing the policy in a day is not a big deal. However, if the students prepared their cheat sheets daily, for 60 days, then giving them 1/6th of the time to re-write them does not seem fair. After all, students read the syllabus and then enroll the course. I find it like an agreement among three parties: the student, the professor, and the university. If it is written in the syllabus that students can use cheat sheet of their choice, better not to change anything. If a student who does not fulfill the attendance requirements must fail the class without exceptions, then the same thing goes for exams, quizzes, in terms of their dates, types and allowed materials. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Certainly if it was on the course syllabus, that printed or written 'cheat sheets' were allowed, you should stick to that. If it was not on the syllabus, but you said at some point in class that the rules for quizzes would include that students could have printed or written 'cheat sheets', then you should stick with that. If your rules for the first quiz were stated about a week or two before the first quiz (with no statement or implication that you would have the same rules for the second quiz), then I think it's fine to have different rules for the second quiz. You said that the student complained to the department. You may want to go to the department chair for guidance if you have not gotten any response from that person. To be honest, for one course, I wouldn't necessarily worry about it too much either way. Going forward, I would try to have relevant policies in the syllabus (even if they are: "Rules for each quiz/exam will be announced at least one week in advance of the quiz/exam. The same rules may not apply to each quiz/exam.") Finally, I put cheat sheet in quotes in my reply because if they are allowed, they are not cheating. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: I am that kind of student, so here's my perspective: For one, I expect the rules to be clear when I sign up for a course. If you decide to change the rules after the start of the semester, it is not allowed to do so at the university I am attending unless you make sure that the change is better for the students. But even if a lecturer decides to add something like "You can hand in your exercises for bonus points" or "There will be a midterm for bonus points", it gets me on the wrong side - mostly because those "bonus" points are just as important as the non-bonus points and thus no different. Similarly, you think that you are helping the students by forcing them to learn the material, but no matter how you try to force them, it just will not be helpful for every and all students in your class. For people like me, a huge amount of the motivation comes from the freedom of how to study: If I feel like a computer-written cheat-sheet helps me more, but I am forced to use a hand-written one, I will definitely come to you to complain. Why? * I like to do everything on the laptop, having every note always available, and if I have to do something by hand, I tend to scan it later. So handwritten just means more effort for me. * I will never have such a good layout on my handwritten notes as on my digital notes. One reason being that I can change the content easily when I decide to move, remove, or reformulate something * Typing is faster. If I already understand what I'm writing this is preferable. If I don't, I'd rather spend time on understanding first, and then write the notes - not thinking while writing and doing both only half as good. What I would recommend you is to explain why you recommend handwritten notes, but still allow the students to decide. If you feel like it, you could state that their cheat-sheets need to be self-written - but neither this nor the handwriting is something that can easily be actually enforced. You won't be looking at every student's notes to check if they have one page too much, or if they plagiarized your slides and wikipedia for it, right? So why not just allow them to do it how they prefer - it's them who fail if they did it the wrong way. And they won't remember everything they have written by themselves either when they need to apply the knowledge in 3 years or so, so knowing where to look those informations up is also important. To answer your questions: > > Am I being unreasonable/unprofessional by changing the requirements > for the quiz "cheat sheet" 10 days in advance? > > > I would say yes. Especially if the students have other midterms around the same time, preparing won't be done in just one week. > > Is the student overreacting? > > > Possibly. Just by what you're saying, I would say not. But then again, I myself tend to overreact in such scenarios as well :) > > Or are both of us in the wrong? > > > This student probably only considers his viewpoint, just like I only stated mine. Meanwhile, you only consider the students who need enforcements like self-written notes and who will never start with their cheat-sheets until a week before the midterm. I guess both are in the wrong, but it's probably a question of principle: Do you want to put the self-disciplined students at a disadvantage because you want as many students as you manage to actually pass, or do you hand the responsibility for studying to the students? Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_8: > > Am I being unreasonable/unprofessional by changing the requirements for the quiz "cheat sheet" 10 days in advance? > > > That is debatable. You raise good arguments for your change. I think your students might benefit from your change. Others might think otherwise. But keeping the quiz as it was would have been as well acceptable, it was not a "must do" change. Students won't have confidence in getting a stable teaching/quizzing environment from you after this. Doing this change in the next course would have been better in my opinion. > > Is the student overreacting? > > > Students should be allowed to voice their opinions freely. He did raise his concerns to you first and wrote the e-mail to the department later (or so I infer from your question). Had he e-mailed the department without going through you first then he would have been overreacting and unpolite. > > Or are both of us in the wrong? > > > You(plural) are in disagreement. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: I'd be inclined to think that cheat sheets are a privilege, not a right, so anything relating to these should be at the discretion of the instructor. Having said that: > > However, because I am an assistant professor who is not yet tenured, to be brutally honest, teaching is not my highest priority. > > > If teaching isn't your highest priority, and your exams are challenging enough such that lecture notes being put onto cheat sheets isn't a problem, then I'd say you goofed -- you have found yourself in a bizarro world where you have other more important obligations but decided to rock the boat with a cheat sheet policy change. And now, paradoxically, you are having to devote even more time to something that is not a high priority ... Here is Lesson #1001 that I've learned since starting a tenure-track position: Gotta think things through a bit more before acting on them, even if the thing isn't a high priority (!). Going forward, just set cheat sheet policies and the like in stone at the beginning of the course, and don't take action on something unless it really matters. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: I don't think you are in the wrong, but requiring handwriting will create additional problems for students with certain learning challenges. Difficulty with handwriting can come from an injury, from a developmental issue that affects fine motor control, and from ADD. I understand the desire to not have the open-notes reference sheets consist merely of small-font copied slides. I also understand the benefit when students sort through and redact all the content you've presented, including the in-class verbal presentation, and develop their own condensation of salient information. One practice allows digitally prepared notes but insists that they not be simply copies of slides, textbook, or handouts. The professor spot checks the sheets before the exam and complements students for well-organized preparation. In the larger view, this class comes around every year. Only the students change. Your mission is not only to educate this group but also to constantly improve the course and pedagogy to help the next group learn better. Next year, you could put your new requirement for open notes in the syllabus. For maximum inclusion, you could discuss your requirements with the special services department at the university to see what they would recommend -- or at least prepare them for your standards. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: I had always meet this type of cheatsheet only to be handwritten. Otherwise, students will exploit it. Even now, as lecturer, we are accepting only handwritten protocols preparation. Its absolutely fair and the purpose of the cheatsheet is to make student prioritize what will be written down. Well, stand up for your decision, and face complaints. Its a good decision. They exploited the original purpose and made you change your mind. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_12: Contrary opinion: you should (and at many universities, must) stick to whatever you wrote in the course syllabus. Everything else is up to you. You're the expert on how to make your course as pedagogically rewarding as possible, not your students. (Of course, prepare to accept any consequences to your teaching evaluation scores.) You've decided to make the course more valuable overall to your students, while slightly(\) penalizing good time management (a desirable trait) and slightly rewarding flexibility and adaptability (also desirable traits). Every decision you make in your class will have winners and losers; even by deciding to give an exam, you've rewarded students who test well, and penalized those who would have preferred assessment via a term paper or project. You must avoid discrimination and favoritism, and strive to be just, but rigorous, objective "fairness" is neither achievable nor desirable. (\): Slightly. I have to say that 10 days seems more than ample for the task of transferring notes from typed to handwritten form. The real world will rarely show the students even this much structure and consideration. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: It might be different if you were changing the rules at the last minute, e.g., the day before the exam, or if your actions were arbitrary or unreasonable. That is not the case. As an instructor at most universities, you have a lot of academic freedom to conduct your course in whatever way you like. It is not unreasonable to explain that you had intended that cheat sheets should be handwritten and that for the next exam, that is what you will require. I think that's what most of us require of cheat sheets anyway if we even allow them. (Personally, I don't allow them at all unless I'm teaching just one section of a course where they're allowed in the other sections.) Some students may complain and my answer would be that when they become faculty they can run their course however they like. For the moment, you're the instructor, you make the rules and you reserve the right to change them if you find they're not working. If they're dissatisfied, they can report that on the student evals (and you'll deal with the fallout.) That said, to prevent future misunderstandings, it's helpful to remind students in your syllabus and in your first lecture that you reserve the right to make such changes to the course content, the assignments, the exams or the grading when appropriate. Students who don't like that can choose a different course or a different instructor. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: I allow cheat sheets in an unrestricted format. However, I compose the exams/quizzes in such a way that if one tries just to look at the textbook/notes only when coming to the test instead of studying the material in advance, he will just have no time to both absorb the ideas from the notes and to apply them in the context of the problem he has to solve. So there is no need to change any policies. Just make sure that the "fool's way" to make a cheat sheet is inefficient and the students will figure it out after the first attempt themselves. Of course, this requires some thinking when composing the questions but in any subject that requires understanding rather than memorization (I'm teaching math) it is not too hard to make a question that distinguishes between the two. And if somebody still manages to both comprehend the text on the bad cheat sheet and to use it appropriately within 15 minutes, I just applaud him or her. I used to even allow open book/notes but found out that the results were on average lower this way and discontinued that practice. Of course, I tell the students on day one that there is a big difference between "a fool's cheat sheet" and "a smart person's cheat sheet" and emphasize that one needs to spend some time to make the cheat sheet an efficient tool, but what they write on that page and in what font is none of my business. The main reason for that is that no matter what formal restrictions you impose, they are smart enough to find a way around them, so I prefer to play the game with almost no rules exactly the way it is played in real life: you are given a problem and you are to solve it with whatever you have on your hands. If you can do it, fine. If not, I'm sorry for you. The only restriction is that you cannot communicate to other people, but that rule of the game has never been questioned, as far as I know. So, if you still have those ten days, my advice is not to try to fight with the complaining students but to put a Machiavellian smile on your face and to say "OK, no rule changes. Just make sure that you understand the material well by the time you come to the test" and to think of how to compose the questions instead (I hope you haven't promised them anything like "your test questions will be exactly the same as your homework questions just with numbers changed". If you have, all I can say is that I'm sorry that you cornered yourself so thoroughly, but otherwise you have a huge space to outplay them without getting unfair, or giving a killer exam, or anything else that would be a pure revenge on your side). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_15: Those students that simply photocopied lecture notes or textbook pages will do worse on the test in average, because they are very likely not well prepared. Not your fault, let them have their bad grades. You can still change the rules next semester. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_16: I think the discussion about rules and timing for rule changes is good and important but missing a key aspect: Consider that the student may have spent a day's work or possibly more refining and perfecting his electronic cheat sheet. In his point of view, his work is tied to the sheet itself - he may not fully realize the additional value of the knowledge he gained during the preparation. > > I was quite surprised that the student feels so upset > > > He is upset because from his point of view you destroyed hours of his work. For that it does not matter whether he could transcribe his digital sheet. It does not matter that he would be fine anyway given he is already well prepared. You might as well take a handwritten cheat sheet and literally rip that apart. So to answer the question yes it is unreasonable to change the rules on short time, particularly with the given reason. And no I do not think the student is overreacting. I don't like your reason, because I believe students should be given some flexibility to figure out how to learn effectively on their own - and that works differently for every student. Edit: It seems to need clarification as it is not obvious to everyone. Creating a high quality original cheat sheet is a very time consuming process. Not only do you revisit in detail the entire course topic - which is why it is encouraged in the first place. It can also be very challenging to design the cheat sheet, e.g. compress the information and format it for easy retrieval - especially for a perfectionist. This is something different than a copy-pasted cheat sheet. From the description it is almost certain, that the student in question did not just copy-paste his cheat sheet. Do not assume others use your own workflow and spend the same amount of time on preparation. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_17: These days, there are people who hardly ever write anything by hand, but use computers to do everything. Requiring a handwritten cheat sheet would seem to put an undue burden on these students. A better way of preventing the kind of cheating you describe is to require a minimum font size for printed cheat sheets. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_18: I would not force them, I would just say "FYI: Statistically students who take handwritten notes do 20% better." (or whatever %) If they choose not to take your advice that isn't your problem. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_19: Honestly, this is a pretty simple question and not really academia-specific. If you made a (legal, etc.) promise, you need to stick by it as long as you reasonably can. The answer is the same regardless of whether you promised lollipops, cheat sheets, or Ferraris. If, on the other hand, you did not make the promise (e.g. if you made it clear that the policy might change closer to the exam), then you can change the policy and the student is overreacting. In this case, though, note that this disclaimer needs to be made clear at every mention of the policy, not merely once at the beginning of the semester. The question of whether the student is overreacting is, honestly, orthogonal to this. It is very possible for someone to overreact to something and still be in the right about it. I could see this being an overreaction depending on how much work the student put into it, but it doesn't really affect your response. If the question was whether this is a good policy, that'd be a different story, but it's not. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_20: As requested by the asker, I am making this an answer. I have collated and summarised my points in the comments and added an opinion that I feel more constructively answers the question posed. First of all, I feel that if an "open book" exam is made substantively easier by having reference to all the course/lecture material simply presented verbatim, then it's not a very good open book exam. The point of allowing references into an open book exam is to de-emphasise the role of rote memorisation. But the counter-balance should be to emphasise the role of deep analysis and application. If the exam is made too easy because the students have access to the full set of lecture slides, one probably hasn't set an exam that's analytical enough. If an exam is really testing "understanding and analysis" then its marking scheme will be penalising regurgitators. In fact, they'll be doubly penalised because if they've just copy-pasted the lecture materials without adequately digesting them, they'll be wasting time reading them all over again during the exam instead of thinking up a good answer. So, with a robustly set and marked exam, one shouldn't have concerns about students with "wholesale" cheat sheets getting away with anything. I am not arguing that references should have no value at all (then what would be their point?). I'm merely advising that an open book exam has to be set differently (and often much more thoughtfully) than a closed book exam. With that preamble out of the way, let's address the actual question posed. I agree with those who've said that springing this change in expectations this close to the exam is likely to be unfairly penalising those students who've started work earlier on their reference materials. This group of students would likely be the more industrious, conscientious and organised group. Even though only one student vocally protested, it is likely there are others who are adversely affected whom the asker is not aware of. The asker wants the students to put more thought and work into digesting their material before preparing their reference sheets. Ironically, by demanding a format change (handwritten sheet) so close to the exam, the penalty is likely to be unduly placed on the shoulders of exactly those who've fulfilled the spirit of the examiner's expectation, by starting work early and painstakingly digesting and summarising the material. I think it's unlikely that the "lazy" students who've just copy-pasted the material wholesale would be too perturbed since they haven't really invested very much time and effort into the process. Neither would the "last-minute chaps" who wouldn't have been caught out by the late announcement. This sudden change in expectation is likely to affect those whose study behaviour the examiner is more likely to think of as exemplary, and that's the sad part. How to address the situation? Apart from reviewing the format/difficulty of the exam (to make wholesale cheat sheets not only useless, but a time-wasting disadvantage, as I mentioned), one way would be to review what exactly the complainant has incorporated in his cheat sheet. If the student has just copy-pasted wholesale, then you can feel less bad about the whole thing as he's likely to "just a whinger". On the other hand, if he's actually taken pains and effort to collate, reorganise and summarise your material into his cheat sheet, then you seriously have to reconsider your demands as you could be affecting more than this one student. On balance, I would say that you should let this requirement slide this time. If your expectations are going to be highly prescriptive, you should make them clear much earlier next time (then no one really has a serious basis for complaint). There are still things you can do. You can ask for the (identified) cheat sheets to be handed in with the exam; this allows you to gauge exactly which route students are taking with preparing their cheat sheets (printed vs handwritten, wholesale vs summarised). Make it clear that this time the students won't be judged by their cheat sheets, it's merely for your own analysis to set future policy. To keep yourself honest, mark their exams first, finalise those marks and then do the cheat sheet review. That way, you'll have an unbiased opinion and any correlation you draw between how a particular student has done vs the quality of their cheat sheet will be more meaningful. For future exams, announce your expectations early (months in advance would be best). You can even go so far as to require students to submit their finalised individual cheat sheets a week or so before the exam. This will ensure they've all worked early enough and also permit you to check that they've met your demands with regard to format and content. Inform that they will be allowed no other materials during the exam but for their pre-made cheat sheets, which will be distributed by the proctor prior to the start of the exam. There are complications with my suggestion in the last paragraph - what if a subset of students have prepared sub-par cheat sheets? Should you let that count against them in the final grading? Should you let them revise their cheat sheets and do a final review (and is there enough time all around for this)? Remember that my suggestion is meant to accommodate your seeming desire to be highly prescriptive about what to allow in your cheat sheets, so this is one way to control their quality. It's up to you to navigate any potential complications. But personally, I would just say allow any non-electronic reference into the examination, and make sure it's set in such a way that it still remains meaningful as a test of understanding. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_21: 1. It is unreasonable to change the established conditions of the course, if this disadvantages any student. Obviously this change falls under this description. Apart from time spent in preparing the typed "cheat sheet", students have planned their time (including study time for this course) already, perhaps including a work schedule etc. Forcing them to devote additional study time, compared to previous norms, is a significant disadvantage, and they are right to complain. The right time to make this change is before the next time the course is taught. 2. All the above notwithstanding, it is still possible to make the desired change, by leaning in (rather than running away) from the undesired behavior. Get a copy of the typed, miniaturized, "cheat sheet", of all the course slides. Include a copy with every exam yourself! Allow students a second "cheat sheet", but handwritten only. Surely there are materials not in the slides that is worth knowing -- from homework, other distributed materials, etc. Then write the exams in a manner that is not trivialized by the tiny writing. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_22: I am grateful for the input from the community. In the end, I decided that it was not fair to the students to change the “cheat sheet” policy with only a one-week notice. Here is a summary of what I learned from the answers and comments written by the community. * Timing is important If I had wanted to change the rules of the exam, I should have done so as early as possible. In this case, the most appropriate time would have been immediately following the first quiz. * Is this battle worth fighting? Although I think that requiring handwritten “cheat sheets” only would be beneficial to most students, it is not a “must do” change right now, one-week before the quiz. Therefore, although I could use my "dictatorial" powers as a course leader to arbitrarily change the rules, I would face opposition from some students, and it is not wise to fight this battle. The right time to make this change is the next time that I teach the course. * Should I create additional stress in students’ lives? Many students feel stressed around the end of the semester, when they are finishing assignments/projects and preparing for finals. Initially, I had thought that the handwritten only “cheat sheet” rule was a minor change, because I thought that it would take only one hour to copy your notes from a digital “cheat sheet” to a handwritten one. However, it was pointed out to me that to change the rules of the exam on short notice would create additional stress and frustration at an already difficult time. * Is it fair to penalize students who work early? To change the rules 1-2 weeks before the exam would penalize the hard-working students who prepared early, while the student who work at the last minute would not be affected. Many of the students who prepared early will (rightfully) perceive this as being unfair towards them. They would feel as if the teacher were destroying the product of their hours of work. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_23: The purpose is not to disallow printed cheat sheets, but cheat sheets that are nothing more than copies of generally available materials. The idea is that creating a cheat sheet should force a student to study the material again and put it into a form they can write down; with my learning style writing the cheat sheet would be very valuable, but it wouldn't matter if I left it at home before the exam. I suggest you disallow cheat sheets that are just copies of available materials and that the student's mum could create by going on the internet, collect materials, put them into a document and print in a really small font. And you allow anything that the student actually spent work on creating. Handwriting is quite pointless. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/25	523	2,216	<issue_start>username_0: I have been teaching economics in a university for the past 5 years and, before that, working in the area of economics for the past 15 or so years. 20 years ago, before I studied economics, I studied French literature. Recently, I dug up my master's thesis in literature, updated and polished it, and then submitted. One of the top journals (generally considered top 5) in the subject area accepted it. I am wondering now whether I should include the article on my CV when I apply for economics teaching jobs, or even on my profile page of my current institution. I am worried it might look weird. I have some good economics articles too, so it's not that I am lacking good publications. Any thoughts? Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: It’s your work, and you’ve published it, so on ethical and completeness grounds, you should include this publication on your CV. If you wish to indicate that it’s not an active area of interest, you could always list it separately in your CV as “Other Publications,” “Publications from Master’s Degree Studies,” or something to similar effect. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As an economist who occasionally reads the applications of potential new members of faculty, it is fairly common for me to see job files with papers from other disciplines on the CV. But those other disciplines are usually hang-overs from a previous specialization in another technical subject like math, physics, etc. A paper on French Literature would be indeed a little unusual. But provided you have some good econ publications, I don't think anyone would count the literature piece against you. The main thing is to make sure that it doesn't distract anyone from your 'real' output. For this reason, I think the suggestion to create a separate section for "Miscellaneous other publications" toward the bottom of your CV is a good one. That's if you want to include it at all. I don't think it would be problematic to omit it from your CV altogether when applying for Econ jobs. Recruitment committees will expect to see relevant qualifications for the post on your CV, not a complete list of every irrelevant thing you have done in your lifetime. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/25	6,592	29,237	<issue_start>username_0: Recently my faculty (mathematics and statistics) and I have been dealing with widespread cheating due to calculators that have been modified so as to have more functionality than is permitted. At my university we have a standardized calculator that is to be used for tests. This brand of calculator has limited functionality however recently these calculators have been modified and sold so that students can cheat on tests. We have managed to get a hold of one of them and it appears that the electronics inside have been modified. We have managed to identify the group of individuals responsible for modifying and selling these calculators however we are not sure what to do about it. Here are the options we have considered so far: 1. Check each calculator individually before tests to see if it has been modified. This is impractical as they don't look any different on the exterior and are no different in weight. We would need to open them all up and look inside. 2. Provide our own calculators to the students. This approach, although better than the last, has its drawbacks. It would be expensive for the department to purchase enough calculators initially and then they would over time break and be lost, resulting in more cost so we would prefer not to go this route for that reason. Additionally, students could still quite easily take a modified calculator of their own into exams and swap it out for the provided one. 3. Change the official calculator model. We could move to a new model of calculator however I suspect this would only be a temporary fix as the group responsible for modifying and selling the calculators could easily switch to modifying the new model. 4. Stop having calculators all together. We would prefer not to resort to this as we don't think forcing students to do lengthy arithmetic calculations is the best way to test them. We could try to avoid such things however sometimes it is simply necessary to ask such questions, for example, in an introductory stats class we would like to ask students to find the standard deviation of a set of data points. Asking them to do this without a calculator seems unfair however we can't simply avoid asking such questions if we want to test the students properly. 5. Taking action against the group responsible for making the calculators. Fortunately this group has been identified, however they are not students at my university so we cannot take direct action against them for academic disintegrity. We would like to take legal action against them if possible however my faculty and I are unsure if there is precedent for such a thing. As far as I can tell they are not committing any crimes. If there is something we could do in this regard please let me know. 6. Simply ignore the problem. This is obviously not ideal as using these calculators gives students a clear advantage over those without them. Additionally, students using them often don't need to learn how to perform various calculations and can instead just plug in the various values and have the answer come out. Has anyone has this happen at their institution before? If you have any suggestions as to what we can do in this situation it would be greatly appreciated. --- Here is some clarification on the exact nature of the modifications: To enter into the modified "mode" you type in a sequence of numbers (eg: 1234567) then it enters into the new mode in which you can do many advanced calculations. pressing the reset button on the back causes it to appear to reset without actually resetting. If you type the password in you will still get back to the modified mode. In this mode formulas can be saved for example.<issue_comment>username_1: One option I've sometimes seen used is to give students a small lookup sheet with the calculations they'll need for the exam. So if one of the questions in the exam is "find the mean of 3 and 8", the sheet would include the information that (3+8)/2 = 5.5 along with various red herrings. It will take some work to set up and it's not practical for all situations, but sometimes it's an option. Re. the idea of the department supplying calculators: you can deal with the problem of students sneaking in a second calculator and swapping it out during the exam by marking the department calculators in a visible way. "Today everybody in Row 1 gets the yellow calculators, Row 2 gets green, ..." etc. Then it's pretty obvious when somebody's not using the calculator you supplied. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Two suggestions: (1) Unless the calculators are very sophisticated, ensure that full marks will only be given if all steps of the calculations are shown (though I would need information about the type of questions asked). (2) Make sure that only one type of calculator is allowed in the exam and have the department provide that model for the exam and then require that the student return the calculator after the exam. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Don't use the calculators. The final number you get in a math/stat exam is not that important, is it? Have them write down the standard deviation formula, instead of having them calculate it by pressing two buttons. Find ways around not using the calculator. @Geoffrey suggestion is a good one. Are you interested in the correct number or in them understanding the meaning of variance and how it is calculated? I am against using a calculator in any exam unless you get to very high levels of math or physics, at that point you can have all the hacked calculators you want but you will need to use your brain 100 times more than your intro stats class. In addition, I might tell the students that the calculators have been banned because of the cheating, or tell them they should focus on the process. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: I received my bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1970. I didn't own a calculator. There were some adjustments that helped with no-calculator tests: * Many of my exams had ten points per question. 9 of the points were for clearly showing correct working. One point was for getting the right answer. A student who understood the material but was bad at arithmetic could get 90% without a single correct answer. A student who depended on a fancy calculator could miss more points for not showing all their work. * The exam booklet included, at the back, any trig and similar tables we were going to need. Answers only had to be to the rather low precision supported by those tables. * Questions were designed with easy numbers. For example, fractions would often simplify by just crossing out common factors. * Questions were structured to minimize difficult arithmetic. For example, ask for the variance rather than the standard deviation, but also ask what they would have done differently to get the standard deviation. Given the problem of the modified calculators, you can go in one of two directions. The first is real world. Full Internet access, statistical calculators etc. The other is to go back to the 1960's, and design tests for no calculators. Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_5: Just compose problems in the way that requires understanding rather than mechanical skills and make all calculators totally useless. For example, instead of asking "What is the antiderivative of $x^n$ with respect to $x$?" ask "What power function has an antiderivative equal to its square?". Now I challenge anyone to find a calculator that will help with this form of the question or a student with solid knowledge of algebra and calculus who will find the second question much harder than the first one. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: We haven't experienced cheating as sophisticated as described in the question. But there have been issues, and we have been moving towards a no-calculator policy. Over the last few years I have taught all levels of calculus and linear algebra, all with a no-calculator policy. In linear algebra, in particular, row-reduction often requires doing arithmetic with fractions, and I remember years ago the students frantically punching their calculators (so much that I have indeed check that they were doing some related calculation); still, since the no-calculator policy, no issues have arisen. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: I question the assumption that the department buying calculators is infeasible. * Calculators that can do basic arithmetic are dirt cheap, as little as $2, and probably less when buying in bulk. * If you need a scientific calculator, they can be had for $5-$10, again, probably less in bulk. On the other hand, reworking the material to not require calculators, as suggested by some, would be a huge expenditure of time and effort, probably far outweighing the cost of buying calculators when you consider the value of people's time. Also there is merit to your original premise of giving students an aid for arithmetic. I already gave an answer attempting to stay within the parameters of the question, but it has some downsides, as commenters noted. Departmental calculators is a nice clean solution with no downside other than cost, so perhaps it is worth reconsidering. If cost truly is prohibitive, could you require students to pay for a calculator that you hold for them? Many programs charge things like lab fees. Could you do something similar? Edit: to prevent cheating by bringing in an identical calculator, you could come up with a scheme involving calculators that differ in appearance. Someone suggested assigning different colors of calculator by row (not known in advance), for example. Though I don't see that comment now, so I can't credit who had that idea. Or you could make the calculator too unwieldy to sneak in--for example, by mounting it to a large flat board in some way. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_8: There are a few more options not listed in other answers. They are a lot more devious but may be less successful. * Start modding and selling calculators yourselves. Obviously don't let the students know it is you. Program the forbidden functions to produce incorrect results when specific inputs are present. Then use those inputs only on tests. Don't use them for homework problems and such so the answers in those cases are correct. There might even be money to be made. * Examine some of the modded calculators. See if they were programmed well. If there are glitches with some inputs then craft the tests to trigger those glitches. * Calculations done in software have limitations. There are problems with rounding and loss of precision for example. Design exam questions that will put any calculator into problem areas but wouldn't cause problems for a student not using a calculator. * Start modding and selling calculators yourselves openly. Require that only your modded calculator can be used for some questions. Have the calculator produce encoded results or systematically altered results. Other calculators, modded or not, would not be able to produce those results. One example might be to produce the result and a check value. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_9: You don't have to check all calculators. Make sure to announce that you will be checking a random sample of calculators and that students caught with modified calculators will be expelled (if that's possible, e.g. for serious academical missbehaviour) or otherwise severely punished. That way they will think twice before bringing a modified calculator because the risk is huge. Talk to the legal department to see if you can require a sample of students to hand in their calculators at the end of the exam and have them tested then or exchange them with faculty calculators and have them tested during the exam. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_10: Give them a computer, not a calculator. Most universities have computer labs. Use them for your exam. With some help from the IT department, you can make sure that they cannot communicate on the network, and that they contain exactly the software that you allow them to run. Besides the practical aspects, I think it is a good thing if calculators disappear from the world. They are basically crippled tablets/phones/computers with a poor user interface. If it weren't for exams, they would be a relic from the 90s, like floppy disks and programmable VHS recorders. Giving them a computer is testing them on the same skills that they will need in real life today, not on an artificial crippled setup. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_11: Are you testing your students ability to do 1950s grunt work putting a large amount of numbers into a machine in the correct order in a time trial, or their understanding of math? You do not need to have your students do "lengthy arithmetic calculations". Your tests don't even need to use numbers at all. Or calculators for that matter. if you're going with the first approach, however, modifying the calculator to best fit the requirements of the test should be encouraged rather than punished. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_12: I think you should just ignore it. If you try checking for them, or stopping them, there will always be a workaround eventually. If all they're getting is the right answer then that's not a problem. You should look at the way the tests are graded, because on all of the tests that I've taken, if you don't show work then the problem is wrong regardless of the answer, and this is the way it should be to make sure students actually know what they are doing, not just typing in numbers. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_13: The only feasible way to have secure calculator use is to provide them. I guarantee you that students this resourceful and determined will outsmart any other method. If calculator use is then desired, the only question that remains is how to make it affordable. Treat them like required customized textbooks only available at your store. Require each student to buy a school owned calculator equal to the cost of a calculator. The school maintains custody of this exam calculator. Use this to fund purchases. Provide a calculator at the time of the exam and collect afterwards. At the end of the year, students may take possession of the calculator or sell them back to the school at a discounted rate, just like textbooks. If you make the discounted rate enough, students will keep them and sell them elsewhere if you so desire. The important part is that no student ever has custody of a calculator used for an exam. The school always does. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_14: We have more computers than some, apparently. <https://www.respondus.com/> Our university uses a product called LockDownBrowser. Once the student begins the test the application full-screens itself, and prevents them from navigating away from the test. A virtual calculator is could be displayed when necessary to do the math. I don't know the exact details, but many instructors use it. The students put all permitted materials on top of the desk, and the rest stays either below the desk or somewhere else out of reach. Some have the students leave there other materials in their lockers on test day. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_15: If you don't want to change you tests or testing habits, here's a less impractical way of checking calculators, especially if you combine it with [username_9](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/67137/donquikong)'s suggestion of taking a random subset: check calculators after the exam. Just make a couple of students write their name on their calculators and hand them in with the exams. That way you have as much time as you want to test them, find the password to activate it, or even just unscrew the back to look if the electronics are standard. That, with fair warning of an exemplary punishment such as automatically failing the class (or being expelled as suggested elsewhere), should be a good dissuasive measure. If this is during a testing period and students need calculators immediately afterwards, arrange to lend them school-issued calculators as a temporary replacement, otherwise just arrange with them to pick the calculators up the next day or something like that. --- For other considerations such as swapping modded for normal calculators, I remember when I used to take tests we had to leave our bags with phones and all at the entrance of the class on test days. Make them bring to their tables only what's strictly necessary: pen, paper, calculator, snack, etc. but nothing in which they could hide a second calculator. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_16: As <NAME> suggests, just don't give credit where you can't see the work. Liberal use of the phrase "Show all work" should solve some of your issues. If somebody is using a contraband calculator to skip steps on a problem, they get very little credit for the solution. The issue you're not addressing, though, is cheating. Using an unauthorized calculator is cheating -- no ifs, ands, or buts. Protecting academic integrity should be an important part of what you strive to do, and if honest students feel disadvantaged because many students around them are cheating, that is a very poor outcome. I suggest a) reminding the students beforehand that unauthorized help of any form, including improper calculators, on an exam is an academic honesty issue, and will be treated as such, b) exams will be designed so as to minimize the amount of help that such a calculator can provide (and then try to do that!!), c) calculators might be spot checked during exams, and d) getting caught with such a device during exams will be treated as per university policies on violations of academic honesty. While less than ideal, I suggest that spot-checking calculators of students who lose credit on a previous exam for not showing work might be an effective strategy. I suggest that if one or two students get caught every now and again, the practice will eventually stop -- especially at US universities, where repeated violations will result in separation. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_17: My Cal II professor got it right - he had two versions of the test: Calculator-free (default) ========================= This version had small numbers - typically 1-3, maybe 4 tops. The arithmetic was really simple, and he would give you points for showing your work (though you could get full marks if you got the answer correct without the work. But without the work and an incorrect answer then you'd get zero, so you may as well just show your work - you could get 70-90% of the points by showing correct work with wrong numbers). Calculator-aided ================ I never took one of these tests, so I don't even know what was on there, but he warned us that if you had a calculator it was because you needed it, or you wouldn't be able to actually finish the test. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_18: Firstly let me welcome you to the 21st Century. :-) "Calculators" went out with the dinosaur, people use smartphones now. So you're involved in the classic institutional mindset where you're trying to operate without reference to the real world and falling way behind it in the process. The students do have calculators, smartphones and tablets. Your tests should ideally not contain elements that test their ability to operate their electronic aids. But on the other hand they will have access to these aids in the real world - who actually doesn't use these things in the real world ? So I'd suggest the correct policy is to : * *Structure exams to provide all* the required information.** Memorizing formulas is pointless so testing they can is pointless. All it does is bias tests in favor of people with good memories regardless of ability to apply their knowledge, so ... * Test ability to apply knowledge, not ability to memorize things. We almost all nowadays carry about with us a tiny device capable of accessing almost any information we want. Could we please stop testing pupils on their ability to memorize stuff and rather on the ability to use what they can know. * Exams may be the problem rather than the solution. We should really be moving away from exams (two hours of panic should really evaluate four or five years of work ??) and move to assessment based evaluation. The later gives a more consistent picture than some two hour exams that can be failed simply due to stress (which is huge). Shift your courses to assessment and away from the antiquated formal exam. * Numeric calculations should deliver minimal points in an exam. It doesn't matter one iota whether they can get the calculation right or wrong in a high-stress two hour exam. It proves almost nothing. Fine, it might be relevant if I was testing astronauts for the extremes of operating conditions they might have to deal with. Most people work at desks, don't have to do in-your-head calculations that decide life-or-death. People that do typically have to undergo specialist testing anyway. So ditch the numerics and stick to the theory and making them demonstrate they understand it. * Statistics I can think of no less useful a thing than wasting test time on calculating statistics. This was only of practical use when people had to understand the operation of e.g. log tables (as we did when I started studying) because it was a relevant skill. But now ? It proves nothing but that they can type do numerical calculations under stress ( or can type accurately under stress ). It's devoid of practical value. Don't bother. Test the understanding of what they stats mean, not the ability to calculate them. > > Stop having calculators all together. We would prefer not to resort to this as we don't think forcing students to do lengthy arithmetic calculations is the best way to test them. We could try to avoid such things however sometimes it is simply necessary to ask such questions, for example, in an introductory stats class we would like to ask students to find the standard deviation of a set of data points. Asking them to do this without a calculator seems unfair however we can't simply avoid asking such questions if we want to test the students properly. > > > As I've suggested, this is not testing them properly. It's testing the ability to type into a calculator (or do mental arithmetic) under stress - quite useless skills when they'll spend almost their entire lives walking around with pocket devices that do it all better and more accurately and they'll often get away with just cut and pasting data in. Aim to test their understanding of what those statistical number mean and how useful they are in decision making. The mechanical act of do the calculation is simply the trivial application of formula in these cases - very, very few points or time should be allocated to this in an exam. > > Taking action against the group responsible for making the calculators. ... As far as I can tell they are not committing any crimes. > > > Depends on local laws. I'd strongly suggest getting the state body that governs your exam and education system involved. You might, at a worst case, consider getting your institute to sue them for the costs of dealing with the cheating. Clearly they knew it was cheating as the mechanism to activate the functionality is not straightforward. > > Simply ignore the problem. This is obviously not ideal as using these calculators gives students a clear advantage over those without them. Additionally, students using them often don't need to learn how to perform various calculations and can instead just plug in the various values and have the answer come out. > > > Simply admit it's not a problem. Provide students with information they need to solve a problem or develop an answer. Focus on testing ability to apply information. Forget completely about memorization and calculation - these are certainly not useful tests. There are much better ways to test a person's memory (ask a psychologist) and much better ways to test their ability to calculate and type under stress. So test what they understand about the fundamentals of the subject, and their ability to extract meaning from results. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_19: Every calculator can be put "on steroids" I am a reverse-engineer nerd, fiddled consistently with calculators (albeit never used for cheating) and can tell you that since someone found out the potential of calculator-modifying there is nothing you can do to stop it unless you provide calculators. Even in this scenario a student could sneakily switch the one he has on the table.... Every calculator, even the simplest of the Casios can be reverse engineered to display messages from e.g. an Xbee on its screen. Trust me. It is not easy. Don`t be too harsh on the original perpetrators... Punishment-wise I`d make a distinction on who just bought the modified calculators and on who actually carried out the mod. "Just buy" are the ones that deserve the biggest punishment, so determined at cheating that spent money on buying cheating hardware. Actual minds behind the reverse-engineering and modding (provided that they are the original makers of the mod, not just script kiddies), should be punished, but keep in mind that as far as I know it takes the very brightest of the pack from your average engineering class to successfully reverse engineer and modify a calculator. Try to give this as a lab task and see... Honestly, regardless of the grades they are getting, they probably will prove to be the best engineers after school. Don`t kick them out please! Modify your tests It is entirely possible to design tests not to require a calculator (in my engineering college it was basically forbidden on every test), personally I believe such tests are the best one as they require more symbolical calculation. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_20: A calculator provides approximate numeric solution only and would not be able to provide answers that cannot be represented with the help of its finite decimal display. Think tasks with the answers like sin(1/5), sqrt(3), 2777/4879 or similar. They can only be obtained analytically. This would reduce the problem to the few very high end models and also laptops are capable of running (rather expensive) symbolic math engines like Maple V. Also, such tasks would show students why ability to solve without calculator is still valuable. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_21: Some of these points have been brought up in other answers/comments, but there's still value in collecting them in one answer: 1. Evaluate your students in regular classes. Ask them questions, see how they respond. You should already have some idea of how well students are learning before the test. If students do well on tests but not when you actually talk to them, this is a red flag (Not necessarily a red flag for cheating. Even if they aren't cheating, there's likely something that you should be addressing.) 2. Have calculator-free tests At least some of your tests should be calculator-free. You should be testing your students' understanding of the material, not their ability to perform calculations. Ask yourself what you expect your students to learn, and how that can be tested. 3. Ask for calculator instructions If you really want to test students' ability to use a calculator, you can just ask them “What buttons would you press to get the answer to this question?” and not actually give them a calculator. This should be used sparingly, but is another tool available. 4. Redistribute Take all the students' calculators and randomly distribute them between the students. 5. Offer a bounty Combined with above: offer a bounty to students who find that the calculator they were given was modified. 6. Random sample You don't need to check every calculator, just a random sample. If the penalty is harsh enough (at the very least, they should be given a 0 for the course, if not expelled), this will still be a strong deterrent. 7. Look at legal options. Your causes of actions against the people making the modifications aren't too strong. Maybe tortious interference. However, if you can get the maker of the calculator involved, they have much stronger causes of action. For instance, if someone is selling a modified calculators and presenting them as normal, that's a violation of trademark. 8. Pay attention to use Walk around the room and watch how people are using their calculators. Are they being furtive? Using their calculators on questions that don't require any calculations? Pressing keys that don't make sense for the problem? 9. Look at patterns A modified calculator is going to be more useful on some questions than others. Look at whether there are students doing better on those types of questions. You can even deliberately make questions that only students with modified calculators can answer. Also, it seems like this issue could be reduced if classrooms had cameras recording students taking tests, but that's probably not feasible in the current culture. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/26	536	2,308	<issue_start>username_0: I am a teaching assistant for a biology teacher. When I took biology 3 years ago, she was my teacher. There is another teacher who she works EXTREMELY closely with, and there is essentially no differentiation between the two teachers regarding what I help out with, and I am close with both of them. Is it appropriate for me to get a letter of recommendation from one of them even though I took the class as a freshman and am now a junior teaching assistant? For any other freshman teachers, I would not consider getting a letter of recommendation; however, I have gone far above and beyond the normal duties of a teaching assistant -- namely designing and implementing labs, grading, and even teaching the class as a substitute (there was an official proxy but I did the teaching). Humbly, I am quite appreciated, trusted and I have no doubt that I would receive quite a stunning recommendation letter. I would love to have a recommendation from one of the two marvellous teachers that I TA for, but I cannot decide which one -- the one whom the position is designated to? I feel there is potential for the other to be offended, and I would much prefer that that didn't happen. A selfish part of me wants the 'better' writer to write my letter, although I don't know who that is and I would prefer not to think of it that way (though a part of me suspects that is it the teacher to whom my position is not officially designated). Just to clarify, I am in high school, and the recommendation letter is for undergrad/combined university programs. Is it appropriate for me to get a letter of recommendation from one of these teachers? If so, how should I choose? Edit: one of the teachers is also the advisor for a club that I am president of.<issue_comment>username_1: Pick the writer who can best attest to your performance and ability to work in a graduate setting. Being a student is one factor, being able to assist in teaching in another. You have the best knowledge as to who will be better for you. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: yes, anyone who has supervised your work is suitable to be a recommender. You should solicit recommends who can give you the best recommendation and also whose professional status is most impressive. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/11/26	1,065	4,145	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a Ph.D. graduate in biotechnology/molecular biology, who is actively seeking a post-doctoral position at a US or Europe-based institute. I'm neither from US, nor from Europe. Thus, I believe, my chances of getting a postdoc position is slightly harder, compared to some others. My Ph.D. supervisor was very strict in allowing Ph.D. students graduate, only after at least 3 different projects have been completed. My first project was completed long time ago and its paper was published at a high-impact journal. However, my second paper was rejected by an editor, thus we recently divided it into 2 sections and submitted them to average-impact journals. They are under review right now. The 3rd project's paper will be submitted in 2 weeks. I've contacted many well-known professors in my field, and they do respond to my e-mail, mostly saying they are interested in accepting me in their group, only if I can secure my own funding. Or, they say they are waiting for a grant to come up. But, every e-mail I get from them sounds very familiar to each other. They either have no new grant, or would like me to have my own funding. A PI I know recently told me, my chances were extremely low if I did't have at least 4 published papers. I've got 1 published, but 2 "under review" articles, and I'm the first-author of all. Do you agree with this PI? Should I wait until I get to reach to the level of having 4 published papers, which might happen after 6 months or something. Or, do you think papers "under review" are nearly as impactful as papers "published"?<issue_comment>username_1: In the UK and Scandinavia at least, provided you show that those papers are in review you should be ok except for very highly competitive labs. The 'well-known professors' are most likely to be running those kinds of labs BUT you may well still get in if you are experienced in a topic or technique they are looking for. I honestly doubt the professors are lying or trying to brush you off; nearly all postdoc positions only come up when project funding comes through. Bear in mind that the professors are probably answering several such emails a week so they do indeed keep a 'stock' reply and that is fair enough. So don't wait for your publications to happen but look for advertised positions in your specialism and/or with your skillset named. Good websites are [jobs.ac.uk](http://www.jobs.ac.uk/) and [Euraxess](https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs). Side note: I am aware that candidates from not-USA-or-Europe often get a harder time which is regrettable. My answer stands but I wanted to acknowledge that you do have it tough. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: > > Do you agree with this PI? Should I wait until I get to reach to the > level of having 4 published papers, which might happen after 6 months > or something. Or, do you think papers "under review" are nearly as > impactful as papers "published"? > > > They're not nearly as impactful because they're not published. There's no promise that a paper under review will be published, or in a particularly impressive venue. That being said, I personally don't have a mental threshold for the exact number of papers I expect a postdoc to have - the content of them is considerably more important than just volume. > > I've contacted many well-known professors in my field, and they do > respond to my e-mail, mostly saying they are interested in accepting > me in their group, only if I can secure my own funding. Or, they say > they are waiting for a grant to come up. > > > But, every e-mail I get from them sounds very familiar to each other. > They either have no new grant, or would like me to have my own > funding. > > > Honestly, this is the answer I would give you. I don't have free postdoc slots floating around in my lab - either I have funding for one, at which point I need them filled to do the work proposed in the grant, or I don't have one. Which means either a new grant needs to come in, or you need your own money - I can't simply conjure several tens of thousands of dollars out of thin air. Upvotes: 3
2017/11/26	1,199	4,626	<issue_start>username_0: Assume I’m writing a paper about randomness. I might have this text: > > Traditional TRNGs are (typically) external add on devices of varying size, cost and complexity [11][12][13]. > > > How would I cite three specific examples such as: > > 11. TrueRNG v3 – [Hardware Random Number Generator](http://ubld.it/products/truerng-hardware-random-number-generator/) selling for ≈£50 > 12. [Quantis Random Number Generator](https://www.idquantique.com/random-number-generation/products/quantis-random-number-generator/) selling for £1100 > 13. [Dice-O-Matic](http://gamesbyemail.com/news/diceomatic) accessed 25/11/2017 which is a DIY toy device > > > Are these even products, or are they just web sites? What if the referenced product was a Ferrari sports car instead? There are a few product citation-style questions showing up in the Similar Questions box, but they tend to be for [software](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8948/how-should-i-cite-products). Is there a difference? Note that I'm not asking a philosophical question, rather a formatting one. What do I actually type for each reference? What would you type if you were going to add a reference for say the TrueRNG?<issue_comment>username_1: In the example given, you are citing the specification, not the device. The same is true of the Ferrari. You are going to say something(s) about it, such as horsepower or wheelbase. So, find and cite the specification(s) needed. Edit: For the TrueRNG, you cite the web page, if that's the best information available, using whatever your discipline's citation style requires for a web page. You're still citing the source of the information, not the physical object. If you actually examine a physical product, e.g. reverse-engineer TrueRNG, then you describe the object you examined and the findings of your examination. So, "I disassembled TrueRNG model ABC, serial number XYZ, and measured the actual entropy generated by the frammistan module using Someone's Method and determined..." Similarly if you measure the acceleration of that Ferrari. (I don't think that's the question you're asking, but that's what the title implies.) Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I would think that citing "... of varying size and complexity" is different from citing "... of varying cost". For the former, you are trying to reference physical properties of the product, so you want to cite a technical spec sheet. Here the relevant things to cite are the model number of the product and version of the spec sheet that you accessed. For the latter, you are trying to reference the retail or market value of the product which varies between retailers and over time. Here the relevant things to cite are which retailer, the price they were offering, and the date they were offering it on. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I'd take this in two steps: 1. Build up a table of random-number generators that you might cite or/and think would make for an interesting comparison. 2. Refer to specific random-number generators according to their entry in your table throughout the rest of the text (rather than by brand name, etc.). ### 1. The table of random-number generators ["Comparison of hardware random number generators"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_hardware_random_number_generators), Wikipedia, is a good example. This table provides a wide variety of helpful information, from brand name and pricing to operating principles and technical specifications. Each piece of information in the table is cited based on source, rather than citing the sources for each product together. For example, technical specs tend to come from more technical sources while pricing information tends to come from commercial fronts. ### 2. Referring to specific entries in the text > > What would you type if you were going to add a reference for say the TrueRNG? > > > Personally I'd index the RNG's like figures or equations, e.g. "RNG (10)" instead of "TrueRNG". This can make it easier to concisely-and-unambiguously refer to the RNG's, plus it helps to avoid polluting the text with cheesy brand names. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: One option is to cite the vendor's website, since it (supposedly) contains the specs and all other needed info. This is the simplest way I saw used even for chemical/mechanical apparatus used by engineers--scientists in their articles. This has the downside of not being quite specific, but it's up to you (and maybe the journal editor) whether it's deemed sufficient or not. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/26	2,075	9,095	<issue_start>username_0: I was recently accepted for a PhD position after going through the application process of submitting the usual documents (CV, motivation letter,...) as well as an interview. I have heard, from my now colleagues, that during the application process, my supervisor had mentioned that I had come across as very motivated. I am curious however, if there is ever a good time (say after one has established a rapport with one's supervisor) to ask about the other candidates who fell short? Or is it something quite taboo?<issue_comment>username_1: I actually had the same curiosity after I was accepted, it is interesting because I also met the other candidate the day of my interview. I do not think it is taboo to ask but you have to wait for the right moment, it might take some time to get there. A possible shortcut is, once you are more integrated with the group, you can ask the phd/postdocs, because the professor might have asked the course of their opinion. I do not think that your question is just pure curiosity, it is actually useful to hear about how experienced people judge candidates and what qualities are more or less appreciated. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You can ask, but it's really none of your business. Admissions committee deliberations are generally treated as confidential. Asking about the other candidates and why they were rejected will almost certainly be seen as intrusive. It's the kind of thing that's likely to cause them to wonder how they made the mistake of choosing you over all those other candidates who would likely have known better than to ask that question. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: There are two reasons not to do this : * Anything said by the candidates would be confidential. Would you like other people to blab about your mistakes or just imply that other people were better than you? Most people would not. Also, some of the information given is likely to be personal. Maybe they disclosed a bit of medical information that was not for public consumption, maybe they had personal responsibilities they don't generally advertise but were relevant to taking up the position on offer. * If they tell you something and the candidate hears about it and doesn't feel it's fair or true or that it was confidential, they might call that lawyer and cause trouble. The most likely sacrificial offering the institute's lawyers would then offer up to deal with that problem would be ... you. :-) It would certainly make problems for your own career. There is, however, a correct time to ask about these things: when you're about to start a job where you'll be the one making the decisions. At that time you should ask peers and mentors about how they generally make decisions on this issues in non-specific terms. What you should certainly never do is ask about specific candidates and particularly not ones you were in competition with. Finally note that one thing most employers and institutes expect as a given is that people signing on are discreet. Asking about things that are none of your business is not being discreet and this would reflect poorly on you. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: My suggestion: Ask when you know your supervisor enough to know what kind of person they are. As you see from the answers and comments, there are many people who'd consider everything as confidental. My impression from academia, however, is that many people like to talk (unless things really labelled top-secred or medical details). So try to find out what kind of person your supervisor is - do they do smalltalk, and if yes, what is it about? Do they speak about other collegues and tell you department gossip? If they are open for things like that, you could try to start at lunch a conversation about the interview. Start with small questions and ask more if you feel your supervisor does not feel uncomfortable talking. However, do of course not ask for really private details and do not inquivise your supervisor if you feel they do not want to talk about a certain topic. What you also probably should avoid is asking about direct comparision of a candidate to you (e.g. whether somebody had more or less points then you in a certain task). Also, if possible, do not ask for names. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Yes, you can inquire about your selection process, but you need to proceed tactfully and professionally. 1. You will not be told the identities of other candidates. Application process is tacitly anonymous. 2. Your question should be structured as a request for feedback, so that you can further improve yourself. In essence, the feedback you request should be invariant to there having been a hundred candidates of just one candidate (you) during the selection process. 3. Knowledge of other candidates is almost immaterial since you will not be directly competing with them for the next stage of your professional career and certainly not for another few years. In fact, my first impulsive assumption as supervisor on hearing your query is that you want to leave and join another PhD program, wherein you may likely meet some of your previous competition. 4. If you must ask, discuss it from a perspective of further improving synergy with your supervisor(s). 5. (Example) A candidate from a non-English speaking background can ask supervisor about the influence of their English communication skills towards your selection and further growth. In this scenario, the supervisor might advise you to audit language development courses, as the case maybe. You might also use this discussion to request more opportunities to speak in the lab, discuss papers and improve your skills. -- Aside: I liked the question as a good example of the difference between random thoughts and curiosity and structured thought. You will learn as a researcher that there are numerous open questions related to almost anything you are researching. The ability to identify and narrow the set of questions most pertinent to your focus and even sequence them will distinguish you as a good researcher. You'll also learn about resource efficient planning, since you can't delve into every curiosity. Lets say you want to know X. The things you should know a priori. Why do you want to know X? What is your present best guess about the answer to X? How will a different answer to X from an expert change your process? How will you benefit from the answer to X and employ this benefit towards helping your career and the scientific community as a whole? If I were your supervisor, I might not actually answer your question about other candidates, but if you structure your inquiry properly with prior due diligence then at least I will be happy that you are on the right track to a successful PhD program! Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I do not understand why is this worth asking/thinking about? It is not a good idea. I can imagine a question about the acceptance rate can give you the insight how good you are, but more that I find it very intrusive and ego-feeding. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Don't ask about others, but feel free to ask about yourself. For example: * What were my strengths compared to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th candidates? * What weaknesses did I have compared to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th candidates? Or you can even be more specific, as in: * Did my traveling experience in South-East Asia set me apart from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th candidates? What about my motivation, did it set me apart from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th candidates? All the above questions are strictly about you, but they are logically equivalent to: * What are the weaknesses, strengths, experience and motivation of the other candidates? which would be highly inappropriate, so just don't do that. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: Of course no-one disrespects other's privacy, and sure this is none of your business, but curiosity is also natural, and for some their curiosity on other people is stronger than others. For those, they might don't understand why a natural tendency is perceived as intrusive, and they will be confused. For me in the past, this confusion invokes more questions, and the cycle will begin. I still don't think curiosity on other people is harmful, but my life lesson is that it's also natural for others for not having strong curiosity. In their natural point of views, this might be perceived as intrusive. Knowing their personality is crucial, and with time you will know when and how to ask to satisfy your curiosity. Think of the people you will ask as a small Stack Exchange community. There are two kinds of question that get popular. The first kind asks from curiosity, but it evokes controversy. They're still good questions, but some will disagree with it. The second kind not only asks from curiosity, but also shows the desire to really understand what's going on. The curiosity is not anymore peripheral, it is indeed the one that everyone wants to see it. And this will evoke their curiosity. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/26	1,009	4,373	<issue_start>username_0: I am developing a tool for bioinformatics ... it is an application that will be open source when finished. It is something that has use outside of bioinformatics as well. I am also using some open source tools to develop my application. When I need help with the open tools I'm using, it's kinda difficult for me to get the help I need without telling the people what I'm using it for. I asked my prof if I could make the app public while it's in development, and he suggested it might be a bad idea to do that because of the potential of someone scooping the work and publishing it before we get a chance to do so. My questions are: 1. How serious is this problem? Do people really just take someone else's work and publish it as their own? And do journals really allow this? 2. My prof mentioned this in terms of someone developing the tool on their own and then publishing it (i.e. take the idea but not necessarily the code). Is there anyway I could have my cake and eat it too - i.e. make the tool public and still guard against scooping? 3. How does your lab deal with open source tools? Do they get released to public before the publication?<issue_comment>username_1: Having developed academic open source software for 20 years, I have never heard anyone getting "scooped" by putting code out there. And I know lots of people who do all of their development out in the open, often years before they have it all together to make it into a publication. I believe that the reason why this never happens is that it's difficult to take someone else's code and understand it in sufficient detail without the author's deep familiarity with the subject. Certainly to understand it at a level that would allow that person to write up a publication about it and claim that it's their own invention. (That's in addition to the fact that everyone knows that that would be unethical.) It's so much easier to collaborate with the original author if one had to add something because then one would have the person who understands it all help you with it. So I wouldn't worry about this. Put stuff out there and see that people use it. You'll build a reputation that way, and that's what you're going for. If you keep things secret, nobody will know it but you also aren't going to gain any reputation points for it. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: In response to your third question, my group actively pushes to make our work open source. This is particularly important for our more refined/developed tools, which I believe are closest to your own work. The reasons behind this push are many but a primary incentive is the increased visibility and collaboration opportunities. Making our code available and open to all is a great way to increase uptake. We also believe that performing science 'in the open', as it were, improves the quality of the science done. Our group actually requires that all of our papers are published as open access, open source is therefore a natural extension of this. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I would like to echo Wolfgang: this just isn’t something that happens. But more to the point, your professor seems to misunderstand what “publishing” means: > > he suggested it might be a bad idea to [publish the application during development] because of the potential of someone scooping the work and publishing it before we get a chance to do so. > > > If you made your code public, you published it. Sure, this might not be the very academic type of publishing that your professor had in mind but that’s irrelevant here: for the purpose of scooping, it establishes a clear priority. If somebody actually took your code/idea and tried to pass it off as theirs in a scientific journal, this would be plagiarism and there are mechanisms to catch that. (Admittedly these mechanisms occasionally fail but they would probably at least help you getting your results published as well.) In summary: not only is scooping not a realistic concern with Open Source software, but early publication actually mitigates the risk of being scooped. In practice, most bioinformatics labs — particularly the famous ones — usually open-source their code way ahead of formal publication in a scientific journal. This is true for most recent bioinformatics software that you’re likely to use. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/26	478	2,057	<issue_start>username_0: I am actively looking for a post-doc position, and I have found an interesting opening. Nevertheless, this opening is asking three reference letters, not the contacts of three referees. This looks unusual, because, as far as I can see, usually three contacts are asked. Concretely, this means that I should send them the actual reference letters, or is it just a way to ask the contacts of the referees? Honestly I feel uncomfortable to ask to my referees to send me their letters.<issue_comment>username_1: When applying for postdoc positions or funding for them, in mathematics, I have thus far experienced the following: * Fill information about references to a website, which requests reference letters. (The Mathjobs website is kind of like this, though it is fairly local to North America, so I have used it only once thus far.) * Give contact information of people who can provide letters of reference. * Get the letters of reference and submit them yourself. You should read the instructions and ask the contact person if the instructions are unclear. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Do you know three people who would write something nice about you? They want to find a person who is active on campus and has good enough relationships to get these letters of commendation. They probably got stuck with bad candidates before and want people to vouch for you. Jump through that hoop! If you do not have 3 close people now, make 3 professors do it but don't get your hopes up. If you can, ask five people and have them return it to you. Then send the best three or four. Some professors can be brats and write bad letters or cold letters. If your references want to send it directly, they don't trust you or they may just want to send a generic one. Especially if professors don't know you, make a bullet point list of your accolades for them "for reference". They will agree more easily if you have the bullet points in hand. Don't call and say you are too dumb to know what a letter of reference is. Upvotes: -1
2017/11/27	394	1,688	<issue_start>username_0: As a part of one of the graduate course I am taking, I need to develop a business plan for a coffee shop startup. I have chosen a office building as the location of the shop. I want to provide some numeric data about the building. I had a chat with the financial investor of the building and he gave me some numbers giving clues on how profitable the coffee shop will be. As this data is not from a credible resource I am afraid that the marker may assume I have made it up. Do you think can I still make use of this data without treated as a plagiarist (or perhaps data fabrication)?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think you are using the right definition of plagiarism. It generally means to use someone else's ideas, words, or in this case, data, and pass it off as your own. You can use the data, cite it as a conversation with the financial investor of the building, and then defend or refute the basis of your findings, i.e. what is the equivalent coffee shops at another location compared with yours? As far as credibility goes. You can find resources that attempt model coffee-shop profitability and see if the numbers your financial investor match up. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The conventional way to attribute such information in your references is to cite your source as "So-and-so" (i.e. the person's name) -- "personal communication". Of course you should get the person's permission to reference them, ideally in an email or some other written format, to be sure that there will be no miscommunication about them having given permission for you to reference them and the numbers they told you. HTH. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2017/11/27	3,020	13,176	<issue_start>username_0: I am handling a paper as an associate editor that proposed an algorithm that I find to be weak. In fact, I was able to show that a very simple, brute-force approach actually has a better running time than their algorithm. Therefore, I will recommend rejecting this paper. Do I have an obligation to share my proof that the brute-force running time is better? I want the higher-level editors to have confidence in the rejection, but it also occurs to me that I might be able to improve my own result and publish it independently. Is this a violation of ethics? UPDATE: Well this certainly took off! I would like to add the following: * The overwhelming consensus is that it would be unethical for me to "scoop" the other authors, so I will not do that. The advice from all is greatly appreciated. * The journal is the top in its field, so we have to be extremely selective. The problem proposed is fairly interesting, but overall the paper does not meet our threshold. * When I say that brute force is better than their method, I mean it in a provable, big O sense. * The authors' proposed scheme is not only inefficient, it is written in a very confusing way. In fact, I asked them to compare their approach to brute-force as a way of helping them clarify their argument, and they did a bad job of it, which is what led me to look into it in the first place. * The fact that brute force performs better than their scheme is not totally trivial because it relies on a combinatorial argument that is not amazing, but not completely obvious either. * I will share my proof with the Editor in chief, but I have decided not to give it to the authors; I will consider publishing independently in the future if their work ever appears elsewhere. * Their paper is not on arXiv or any other website.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you are treading on thin ice, ethically speaking. Obviously you, as an editor, have no obligation to help the authors in any specific way, and you are free to tell them about your improvement or not, but rejecting their paper, taking the idea/problem, applying a different method to its resolution, and then publishing this under your own name seems problematic. As an editor, you are usually expected to treat the papers you are handling as privileged information, and you are specifically expected to not use your knowledge of rejected papers to scoop the authors - which is exactly what you plan to do. Say you reject the paper with comments along the line "important problem, solution is too simplistic". The authors now go back to the drawing board, come up with a solution similar to what you had in mind, and get their paper accepted. If you publish your idea first they obviously can't do this anymore - you have effectively made use of knowledge you learned as an editor to pull the rug from under the people who initially thought of the research project, even if they did not do a great job with the first submission. I understand that it sucks that if you told them about your idea you would be giving away information that, in different circumstances, may be sufficient for co-authorship. However, I would argue, as a reviewer / editor we sign up for helping the authors "for free" to some extent (that is, without expecting recognition). If you really don't want to tell the authors about your idea your best hope is that the authors get their work accepted somewhere else. In that case you are free to write your follow-up paper and cite the original paper. Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_2: As addition to [username_1 very thoughtful answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/99491/54543) I would give the authors a period of grace (say half a year or so, depending on the typical time scales of your discipline). If by then they did not publish an improved version matching the performance of your ideas from now, I would regard the confidentiality period to be over and the subject to be fair game for everyone including you. If they published the poor version somewhere else you should cite them. Do not copy from their submitted previous manuscript. Conduct your own research and present it as such. If you tell them now about a possible way to improve it's because you want them to improve and publish a better version. If they don't, you could still do it on your own then. But you would have to wait to find out. The waiting period is the key here and without it you are indeed acting unethically. The waiting period must be really quite generous. However, it should not be infinitely long because otherwise as an editor (or reviewer) you would unfairly restrict yourself in possible research if all topics you ever got to see were inaccessible to you in the future. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: If the paper is overall lousy then simply reject it. I'm sure the reviewers would give you plenty of reasons for this. However, if all it is, is a weak algorithm but otherwise well written, then it might still be worthy of publication (depends on the journal). Once published, you can then publish your own work and cite the paper. After all, your algorithm is indeed inspired by theirs. Also, how sure are you that your algorithm is "better"? Always better? 90% of the time better? On CPUs? What about GPUs? How does it scale? As an example, think about all the sorting algorithms out there. There is not a best algorithm. Depending on the dataset being sorted, any number of algorithms could give the best result. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: You have a valid reason to reject their paper, but no obligation to share your information. If you wanted to pursue it as research, wouldn't the best option be to privately contact them outside of your official duties, and ask to work with them? Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Does running time actually matter? It's a program for a paper, not something to be distributed and run commercially on many machines. Perhaps they coded it the way they did because that algorithm is more readable and understandable than a brute force approach. For example, if something in my paper required me to do something simple like add up the numbers from 1 to n, we all know the sum is equal to n(n+1)/2, but having a loop that goes from 1 to n and adds them together is simpler to read. Assuming this is the only 'lousy' thing in the paper that you take issue with, I don't see it as a reason to reject. If you could come up with a brute force approach that quickly, surely they could as well. Perhaps ask them why they chose that algorithm, or ask a senior editor at your paper for a second opinion, not random strangers on the internet. As far as using the algorithm you wrote yourself goes, the other answers have adequately stated that that would be incredibly unethical. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: This is one of the most feared and contentious acts in the publication of science. We all have heard stories of the paper that was rejected, only to serve as impetus for a subsequent publication by one of the rejecting reviewers. The worst case, which you would not be guilty of, is rejecting the paper for the sole purpose of benefiting from the idea. That's not the case here. If the optimality of the algorithm is the point of the paper, and you can clearly demonstrate their logic is flawed, you have every right to reject the paper on those grounds. But you should lay this out for them in the review, and give them a chance to rebut. If your logic is iron-clad, you'll win the argument. Whether it is ethically sound to then move forward with your own publication on the topic is unclear. Did the authors present this work at a conference? If so, and had you seen that talk, you would be justified in moving forward. If not, the manuscript is considered confidential, and your idea was spurred only through a confidential review process. It would be wise to discuss this with the general editor of the publication for guidance. Some day, they may review your own paper. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I believe rejecting a paper just on the basis of poor performance of their algorithm and then publishing your brute force algorithm is highly unethical because: to me it sounds like you tried the idea of making an algorithm only after getting an idea from that work. Secondly, brute force algorithm are not science and they can never win over a smart procedure, it is not ethical to reject a research work to just get yourself a publication. Then again, you can very well communicate to the authors that you have something better. Collaborate with them. Tell high level editors you can't handle this with as you are working together with them. That's ethical way to do it. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I think you have an obligation to academia to disprove his algorhithm with a brute force algorithm. Give your brute force proof to everybody and put it in the public domain. After you disprove it, if you have an algorithm that's better than his and better than brute force, you could offer to help him write a better algorithm. You and him can both be coauthors of the new paper with your new algorithm. Wait until everybody accepts that his original algorithm has been rejected before offering to coauthor with him the new algorithm. Tell him that you have a new, better algorithm, but don't tell him what it is until he agrees to coauthor with you in a written, signed document. That way, you get credit for helping, but are not taking away his idea. However, remember that some ideas are proposed in odd ways because of a need to avoid similar patents. An inefficient algorithm that is patentable is better than an efficient algorithm that looks like someone else's invention. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_9: Why not share the outline of your proposal in the review correspondence and ask the editor to share your contact details with the authors? In this way you entrust them with the decision to contact you and thereby solve the moral issue of bullying the authors (you re-establish the level playing field by letting them contact you). In this way, they are the one who have to up the ethical stakes by responding in kind. They might not do it, sure, but your review letter will be known to the editor and the other reviewer(s) and this should nudge the authors on the safe side. In any case, if the alleged existence of a brute force solution informs your opinion of the paper, you're duty bound to put that (and sketch some evidence of your claim) in your review. Certainly, many reviewers have shared useful suggestion with me in the past. These can make for lovely diner table conversations in conferences later on should you chance on the person. On the whole, you will not be worst off for it: it's not like you planned on inventing that brute force algorithm before you got privy information trusted to you. I know it's a low bar, but it seem to me this course of action would at least pass the golden rule test (which I suppose is really why you are asking on a public forum about it). Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: The fact that the article inspired your own results that you believe are publishable suggests that their article is also publishable. If their article is not good enough for the specific journal, you may recommend publishing it in a less prestigious journal. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_11: Assuming that you do not especially care about the topic of the paper that you reviewed, and that the idea that you had while reviewing is not exceptional and did not require huge amounts of work, I think the best course of action is simply to write up concisely that idea as part of your review, and give it away to the authors of the original submission. If they use it, I agree it's too bad that you won't have credit for it, but you will have gotten other people to polish and write up your idea -- which is probably significantly more effort than what it will take you to concisely describe the idea in the review. I'd say the main problem is if they don't use it, and you'd like the idea not to die off. I don't know what's a good solution in this case. Wait for their paper to be accepted somewhere, or wait for several years to be sure that they have given up? Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_12: The first thing you should do is to "recuse" yourself from the editorial process. That is, have someone else in the organization make the accept/reject decision since your own work now creates a conflict of interest. Put another way, you have an "axe to grind." After the decision is made, then you can make your move. Let's say that your paper makes a decision to accept/publish. Then you can publish your improvement later, citing the original paper. If your paper's decision is to reject, then you can approach the authors with your improvement, and honestly tell them that you had nothing to do with the rejection. (That's why you need to "recuse" yourself.) If they agree, you might offer to "run interference" for a second try at your shop; otherwise, you and they might publish elsewhere. Upvotes: 1
2017/11/27	848	3,462	<issue_start>username_0: I am a 2nd year PhD student. I regret my choice of grad school severely. The program here has a good reputation and I have no idea how or why it has a good reputation. The program here is absolutely terrible. The location is terrible and depressing, classes are completely useless, the qual system is really terrible (I passed them, I still think the way they're done is awful), most of my cohort are petty and childish (although I've found a few very good people here who I'm super grateful for), I have no support basically. I have met many people in the department that feel the same way: ranging from other grad students to professors. This program is awful and coming here was one of the worst decisions of my life. I had other good programs I could have gone to. I've found it much harder to read/do problems/etc. I barely do enough work just to pass classes. I try to focus on the stuff I want to do, but it seems like just by being here the subject is tainted. Last night I found a problem online I tried working out but couldn't. I spent all day today - I barely ate, I didn't do anything else, I just worked all day long on this stupid problem that had nothing to do with anything. It was a blast! It reminded me of why I love my subject. I failed to find a solution...but it was still very productive and I learned a lot. I let myself get obsessed and I didn't worry about all the issues here. How do I keep this feeling? How do I stay motivated? The department here feels like it saps all of my will to do any work out. In undergrad I was so determined. I took some time off between undergrad and grad and it only made me more determined. I want to feel like I did today. I looked into transferring into other programs but it seemed like it would be a huge pain and I've been able to make it through the worst part of the program pretty quickly.<issue_comment>username_1: You have to make a choice: quit and find something else or stay and take the best of it. Staying and not enjoying it is just a waste of time. Btw, what is your PhD about? Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I think the first thing is to take a break - a week away from your department, in which you read no email and keep contact with no one there. From the text of the question, I understand you may be stressed and burnt out, so you do need the break. If you forget these breaks, burnout can become depression, which would complicate your life even further. Other than that, try to hang out only with people who stress you the least, and if stressful people are in your office, work more from home, or switch offices. You didn't mention if you had an adviser, or not, but you said you had no support, so it could be an idea to go to an adviser with a less negative attitude, since you don't have a research assistantship to risk. Another option, is quitting the department for a better graduate school. I had a friend who did that for the same reasons you state, and the fact that he had passed the qualifying exam helped him get into the happier graduate program. I also want to say that doing research isn't always a happy process. You may work for two years on a project and seem to get good results, but when you do your final check before publication, you realize you had an error in your work and, without it, your results are trivial and useless. That's just a part of life as a researcher that will always depress you. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/27	723	3,023	<issue_start>username_0: I have a degree from a university in Germany, which I'm now trying to get evaluated by an institution in another country. This institution requires that the transcripts be sent directly from the university in a sealed envelope. Unfortunately, it seems this isn't something that German universities are wont to do (or at least not my former one): I have been told that presenting my original [Urkunde](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urkunde) (diploma) is enough, which is completely false in this case. Is it possible to get a sealed copy of my degree certificate and transcripts from a German university, and, if so, how/where do I do it? Attempted solutions ------------------- 1. I have been in contact with the Prüfungssekretariat (something like an "exam office"), and they told me two weeks after I first asked them upon me asking them again that they "currently don't have access to" these records and that I probably should have a copy of my records be "beglaubigt" ("notarized"). 2. I then contacted someone at the university in charge of Beglaubigungen, who offered to do so if I send them a copy. However, they have not responded directly to my request to have them sent in a sealed envelope directly to the institution in question. 3. I called the Zentrale (central hotline) and asked what I should do in this situation. I was then told I should contact the Studierendensekretariat ("registrar"). 4. I have literally spent the entire afternoon trying to call multiple different numbers for the Studierendensekretariat and they do not answer the phone. I have sent them an e-mail, but, based on my previous experiences with them, I do not expect them to answer timely or even at all. I am currently over 1,500km away from the German institution in question, so dealing with this in-person is not possible. While I was at the university, the only way things could actually get done is by going to the office you need during their opening hours (which are only a few hours and only on certain days) and then waiting for an extremely long time. Sometimes, the office would close before you get a chance to talk to anyone†. --- † Yes, this is a lot of circumstantial information, but this is, according to my experiences, fairly normal for German bureaucracy. Hopefully, however, these details will at least be useful to show at least what I've tried which hasn't worked.<issue_comment>username_1: Have you tried contacting the International Office at the university? They probably have to deal with this sort of thing fairly frequently for visiting or international students, and may be able to help you sort through the bureaucracy. (They should at least be able to tell you who exactly you need to call to get the transcript issued!) Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you can contact your academic advisor or director of undergraduate studies, you could ask them to mail the transcript themselves with a sealed university envelope. Upvotes: -1
2017/11/27	398	1,687	<issue_start>username_0: I am going to include some pictures of patients in my manuscript, which will be submitted to a scientific journal for peer review. In order to keep the subjects’ identity and following the data protection act, I need to hide their faces. My question is to know whether to put a black rectangle over their faces, especially their eyes or pixelising their faces. I have been told that putting a black rectangle is not recommended for this purpose, but I have never been told the reason. Could somebody please let me know first that: 1. Which method is better? 2. Is that the case that blackening the face is not recommended. If true, why?<issue_comment>username_1: The BMJ Publishing Group suggests [a very simple reason for the change](http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-authors/forms-policies-and-checklists/use-images): > > We no longer publish pictures with black bands across the eyes because bands fail to mask someone’s identity effectively. > > > We will need the patient to sign our consent form, which requires the patient to have read the article. > > > If you can "blacken out" the face, then why not just crop it out altogether? Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are in the United States, HIPAA regulations require that no identifiable information about the patient is published without his/her written consent. This includes photographs showing the face (fully or partially) or any other distinguishing features (tattoos, etc.). At the very minimum, you should cover the entire face with a black rectangle, or crop the face out of the picture. Alternatively, you can request written permission from the patient. Upvotes: 1
2017/11/28	1,071	4,840	<issue_start>username_0: I am looking to incorporate a license in the source code of a research project of University A, in which I was the last contributor. Historically the computer-science school has not forced researchers to publish the code with any specific license; they mainly care about the ranking affected by publications, and releasing the code publicly is suggested but not mandatory. Obviously researchers cannot sell the code as the commercial use is reserved to the institution (although software patents are very rare in my country). Given that the project could benefit from a dissertation that I have been developing on University B, what is the best license that fits for this case? I personally prefer to release the new improved version in a compiled format, and keep the new source code private, so GPL is not an option for me. Is the MIT license a better candidate? (It says “and/or sell copies of the Software” though.) The project in University A is an applied research based on state of the art that have existed freely for a long time.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes. MIT should be the first license anyone considers these days for an open source project, and you should choose against it only if you have a good reason to. MIT is very permissive, and so others are allowed to read your code and learn from it. With many of the copy-left licenses, due to their derivative works clauses, many people in places like national labs are not allowed to even read GPL-licensed source code because their lab doesn't use a GPL-compatible license and thus any "derivative work" would be license breaking (I know a few whose lawyers have been very adamant about this). Thus, you should think of GPL as "closed source" because, except in the GPL-only circles, lots of people cannot ethically read your code and work from it. The GPL license is made to make sure people contribute code back, and thus if this isn't your purpose you should avoid it. LGPL at least lets people link to it safely, so though still closed in some sense, it's not as bad. Along with MIT, BSD is a very good and popular permissive license. The no-endorsement clause means that if someone uses your code to do something, they can't use your name. A lot of academics closely guard their name as their main product, so in some sense this added protection may be useful. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You don't own the source code for the project, so you shouldn't be the one making this decision. The fact that you were the last one to contribute some code doesn't mean that you have the right to slap a license on the whole thing and dictate its further use. In fact, even if you wrote the whole code, copyright is almost certainly owned by the university. The university legal department is probably who actually owns this decision. Authority to decide the licensing might be officially devolved to the computer science department. Or it might be that CS is just doing their own thing because nobody really knows what is going on. You also might get away with just putting a license on it yourself. Someone in the department might even tell you that is fine because they don't care. The problem with such decisions taken without the real authority to take them is that someone might start caring later--for example, if the software becomes a successful product and somebody (not the university) is making money on it. Many open source licenses (including the MIT license) are incompatible with the university retaining rights to commercial use. The university would have to explicitly decide they are ok with giving up this right for such a license to be ok. Your own self-interest in the matter complicates things. If I understand you correctly, you want to open-source the project at university A solely so that you can take it to university B and use it (and you don't want to share it further after that). Frankly, this doesn't look great. If there is any ambiguity in the licensing, or any dispute arises, the fact that you did this for your own benefit rather than sharing with the research community is likely to color the whole thing. Any benefit of the doubt will be gone. I would not do this. Instead, explicitly discuss with the project your desire to contribute (and collaborate). Rather than open sourcing as a means to an end, get what you really need: permission to work on the code and collaborate with them from another institution. * They might decide that the best route to doing this is open source--in which case let the department lead that. * They might decide that simply giving you permission is the right route. * Or they might even say no--in which case be glad that you are finding out that answer this way rather than in a much more contentious way later. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/11/28	1,502	6,354	<issue_start>username_0: I am working with two fellow graduate students on implementing some algorithm for data extraction. We are in the mid-phase of our project and we still have roughly a month (20 days to be precise) to go before it is due. However, recently I have been confronted with a pattern of negative, and frankly quite arrogant behavior. Whenever I suggest something that can help out with the project, they will quickly shoot down the idea. It has became more and more apparent that they do this in order to avoid having to work on, or research the idea. For example, our algorithm is very slow on a standard CPU, I told them that the algorithm may run hundreds of time faster on a GPU. Obviously we do not have a GPU, so the team will need to contact people to find an efficient GPU, which is something that is available in our school, and also figure out how to run the algorithm on it. The idea was immediately shot down, at first they told me it was impossible to get speed up (this was at the very early stage of the project and they were not familiar with how a GPU works). Eventually, they realized not only you can get speedup, but also a significant amount. When I made the request again, they told me that it is probably not going to worth it. How can they know if we have not tried? This came up again just today. I told them that the data extraction model is not very efficiently stored, that is, the data structure storing the model does not have a very desirable insertion and retrieval time. The way of resolving this issue in my opinion is by finding a new data structure. They immediately shot down the idea and said to me that no such thing existed. I looked online and found a blog that, [in a very detailed manner](https://medium.com/@jmaxg3/101-ways-to-store-a-sparse-matrix-c7f2bf15a229), lists more than 5 ways of improving on our method of storing the model. Fine, then I asked them how would they solve the issue. They told me just to deal with it until the end of the project - out of sight, out of mind. I am afraid that when we run our algorithm on the real data set (which is 100x larger than the experimental one we are currently working with), we will again run into this storage issue and we would be out of time then, at which time they will probably say something like, "who knew, too bad!". At this stage I am beginning to wonder if we can efficiently work together. I get the feeling that they are basically telling me: go at it alone, if you succeed, then we will free-load on the overall success of the project without having wasted our precious time, and if you fail, then you should have listened to us. Where should I go from here?<issue_comment>username_1: You go up. But tread carefully. It is presumed that you have a group leader, or supervisor, or faculty member, principal investigator, that leads the research project. The next time you meet, you state, objectively, what the current problems and the solutions that you've proposed. You also state that after some deliberation, person X and Y believe that the solution would not work for reasons A, B and C. However, you remain unconvinced and would like to pursue this path for X amount of time and energy given your research: case 1, case 2, etc. You differ to the supervisor as to what will ultimately be done. (Unless this is a group project for a class of course). Then the decision is whether or not you have an option to seperate and work on your own. If you don't believe that you can form a positive working relationship, then staying would only make things worse. If you have no other options, then simple restate what I suggested, but as a pitch to person X and Y. At the end of the day, if this is for a grade, then time wasted is not lost, it just means you don't do that and it can still be part of your methodology discussion (we tried X, but it failed because of A, B and C, this is why we chose Z) Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Clearly, they want to avoid work. Now, explain the situation to the project leader and ask for separation of the team. Do the remaining work alone. Don't waste any more of your time on the teammates. You've done enough of effort to try to work with them. If the leader refuses to separate, go yet another level up: to the mentor of the leader. But that would be the next issue. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Are you sure you are not prematurely optimizing? You have stated that your algorithm is "very slow" and your data model is "not very efficient". However, it is not clear that these inefficiencies will actually prevent you from delivering the main goals of your project. You have a worry that you will not be able to scale to the necessary data size, which is a legitimate worry, but not proven at this stage. It may turn out to be no problem. Your colleagues' excuse-making--incorrectly claiming that solutions won't work or don't exist--is certainly unhelpful. Nevertheless, they may be correct that these ideas are not worth pursuing. Working on performance improvements that are not necessary to deliver the project may be a distraction from meeting the important goals. Step one: determine for sure whether optimization is critical to the project. Your worry about scaling to the full dataset is legitimate and important. What you should do about that worry is test on a full size dataset, as soon as possible. If you don't have access to the real dataset yet, then make your own test data, by copying the experimental data 100 times, randomly generating data, or whatever works. Also consider other ways that the performance may have an impact on meeting project goals, and test where it makes sense. Step two: if appropriate, make a case for optimization on the basis of it helping deliver the project. If you can show that improving performance is either necessary to meet your goals, or has a benefit that outweighs the cost, then make this argument. Back up your argument with evidence (like test results). Start with your colleagues, and if they are not convinced than discuss it with your supervisor. However, only do this if truly necessary--and one month from your end date, you should probably only be worrying about things that are absolutely critical to completing the project. Upvotes: 3
2017/11/28	4,087	17,061	<issue_start>username_0: An author has proven an interesting mathematical result, but notices that this result contradicts existing literature. Does the author have to find an explicit error or counter-example to the existing literature before considering submission? Can she submit the proven result to a journal, if she cannot find an error in her own proof?<issue_comment>username_1: As a reviewer, I would definitely recommend rejecting such a paper. I can certainly imagine that there will be such cases where there is an interesting conversation in the community to be held. However, this conversation does not need to happen via journal articles. The appropriate course of action would be to first discuss such a situation with a few experts. If none of them can resolve the situation, post the article on the arXiv and draw attention to via conference presentations, etc. If an apparent contradiction receives significant attention and yet is not resolved, then publishing an article describing the conundrum might make sense. This article would be very different from the one described by the OP though. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Certainly the fact that there is a contradiction with previous literature must be prominently advertised; to do otherwise would be scientific misconduct. I would not be confident in publishing such a paper unless I found the mistake in the other paper, or could give a counterexample showing they are wrong. After having carefully worked out the other paper and my own paper, and asked any experts with whom I have an established connection, I might contact the authors of the contradicting paper (if they are still active). After their response, or lack thereof, I would consider publishing a preprint and after that submitting to a journal. The journal is the slowest and most uncertain way of finding out where the problem is. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: TL/DR: Peer reviewed literature is not doctrine. That a result contradicts "accepted truth" does not mean that it should not be published. All that matters is that the result be properly checked for errors. If there are no apparent errors, then let the academic community decide why there are two seemingly correct yet conflicting results. If you find a result that contradicts existing thought, publish it. Whether or not a result contradicts standing thought should not affect its acceptance or rejection. Only the quality of the argument should have an impact. I say "should not" because it is sadly not always the case. If you are not certain as to whether or not your conclusion is correct, find someone with whom you could discuss the matter and see if they agree. If you can find someone prominent with whom you can co-publish, and who can add to the argument to make it more robust, then you might want to look into that. Automatically Wrong There seems to be a bit of a suggestion that if it contradicts existing literature, it must be wrong. Now, I suppose in mathematics, it is usually relatively "simple" to verify a proof, but even then there can be errors. Make sure you know what you're talking about. Get some feedback. But do not assume that you are wrong because the current literature is against you. If this contradiction were in science rather than mathematics, even more the reason to not assume that you must be wrong. Much of published literature, at least in science, overrides past literature. In science, we only assume that a theory is true, until we find evidence which contradicts it (Further discussion on the [nature of science](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/47043/why-does-science-carry-so-much-weight-in-philosophy-when-it-is-highly-fallacious/47078#47078)). Mathematical theory can be such evidence. Again, if your thesis is well thought out, properly explained, and an expert in the field cannot find an error with your work, there is no reason to assume that your answer is wrong. Just because an existing answer is accepted by academia should not dissuade you. Conflict Resolution There has been a suggestion that before publishing the paper, it should be determined which position is correct. However, that might not be possible, or neither party may have an answer. Publishing a result, so long as it is not apparently flawed, allows the community of experts to become aware of the potential alternative and work on explaining the conflict. As a professor recently said, the main way in which experts in a field communicate is through peer review. To refrain from publishing because the question of whose position is correct has not been resolved would in some ways be withholding potentially useful information from the academic community. Doctrine <NAME> made an interesting case. He suggested that because the other theorem has already been accepted, it should now take additional effort to overturn it. However, there is nothing that seems to be wrong with either theorem (at least according to the OP). David's suggestion means that if the OP's proof were conceived and received first, and it were the other result that was later identified, somehow the burden of proof would switch and now it would require exceptional levels of justification to get that result published. In other words, the order in which the result was produced is the only thing that is changing, and yet somehow that change takes the OP's result from requiring extraordinary proof to requiring ordinary proof and takes the currently established result and demands that now it would need extraordinary proof. When a result carries more weight, simply because it is already established as being "true" by a group of people, that result becomes doctrine. That is not how academia works. That is not how research works. The validity of a result, and the level of justification needed, is determined only by the result. So long as there are no apparent flaws, and the result has been reasonably checked for flaws, as all results for publication need to be, then the answer is obvious: publish and let the academic community work on resolving the conflict. <NAME> linked to a very interesting [example](https://mathoverflow.net/questions/234492/what-is-the-mistake-in-the-proof-of-the-homotopy-hypothesis-by-kapranov-and-voev). "In 1991, Kapranov and Voevodsky published a proof of a now famously false result." In 1998, someone came up with a contradictory result, but could not find the error in the original proof. Ignoring what would have been the apparent consensus advice of SE Academia, the result was published anyway. It was not until 2013 that an error was found in the original proof, and it might have taken a lot longer had Simpson not pushed the issue by publishing his own result. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: We had a similar situation once we were trying to solve an interesting problem in Thermodynamics of interfaces. While all earlier reports claimed a specific quantity to be always negative, we consistently received a positive value. We were skeptical and began to look critically at our work and also the earlier works. Such a situation in principle says something new is found which contradicts other. Most of the times you have to place your scientific arguments not just by stating why you are correct but also by at least speculation why others could have been wrong. (Please, keep in mind that others were well-renowned scientists who did good science. But we all make mistakes and most often correct them). Why is it good to speculate what could be wrong in literature? 1. Provides a stronger proof and explicitly claims other people are wrong. 2. Shows authors knowledge that he had understood others work before he claims something about it. Particularly helpful if your speculations are more logical and scientifically sound. Even a marginally acceptable argument, if valid, is sufficient enough to convince referees and readers. 3. Attracts more readers, often speculating other works requires citing them. Having cross-reference to earlier works is hugely a good practice. Attracts also the scientists whose theory you refute. By the way, in our work, we were happy to find a flaw in literature. We are now planning to prove our theory using multiple methods (theory, simulation, and experiment) before we begin writing about it. (That is why I do not provide details in this answer) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Forgetting the issue of publication, when two mathematicians find contradictory results, I think they have the collective intellectual duty to try to figure out what is going on. Generally this should mean that one of the purported proofs is wrong; however, it could also be that an even earlier result (used by one or the other contradictory proofs) was incorrect; conceivably, it could even mean that a contradiction has been found in whatever foundations of mathematics were being used, but we probably shouldn't take this possibility too seriously. Generally speaking, I would say the burden of figuring out the root of the problem lies with the author of the most recent result (were it only because the others of the other result might be retired or dead). So you can't just go ahead and say "I proved not-X" when X appears in the literature, you need to analyse why and where the proof of X is wrong. There are exceptions, however. One extreme example would be that if you can find a numerical counterexample to Fermat's Last Theorem (that anybody can check with a computer), you don't need to explain where Wiles's proof was wrong (or even understand it). More generally, if your proof of not-X is conceptually much simpler and/or much shorter than the proof of X found in the literature, I would say that this is a valid reason to shift the burden of finding an error to the authors of the latter. One valid reason (at least, valid from the point of view of intellectual honesty: it might be another matter to actually convince anyone) not to analyse the proof of X for error is if you don't understand the techniques used therein. If they are too complicated, this might fall under the "your proof is much more simple" category mentioned above. But a genuinely problematic situation might arise if two mathematicians from completely different domains were to prove contradictory results, neither being able to understand the intricacies of the other's proof; third parties would then need to get involved to resolve the contradiction. But in any case, any contradictory result you are aware of should be explicitly mentioned in a publication, and whatever reason you have not to analyse their proof in search of the error should be explained. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: Been there, done that. During my MSc thesis I found that some (quite perplex and rare) thing from a book did not work as described there. (To be fair, the book definitions were not wrong, but ambiguous, however, the examples clearly showed the intended approach.) The way I did it (slightly, but decisively different), it worked. I was very cautious (being a student) in formulating the thesis. But it worked out and I got my best grade on it. Putting the careful formulations aside, the thesis was like "they try to do XYZ in a abc way. It fails, here is a counterexample. If you change XYZ to XYZT, it works, have a look." In my eyes it was and still is a rock-solid research result. That's how science is made. PS: Oh, and this happened in Germany, so a MSc is not a sign of a failed PhD, but rather the standard degree. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Let me just note that Voevodsky (2002 Fields Medal) describes such a situation that he experienced himself (<http://www.math.ias.edu/~vladimir/Site3/Univalent_Foundations_files/2014_IAS.pdf>): > > In October, 1998, <NAME> submitted > to the arXiv preprint server a paper called > “Homotopy types of strict 3-groupoids”. It > claimed to provide an argument that implied > that the main result of the “∞-groupoids” > paper, which <NAME> and I had published > in 1989, can not be true. > However, Kapranov and I had considered a > similar critique ourselves and had convinced > each other that it did not apply. I was sure > that we were right until the Fall of 2013 (!!). > I can see two factors that contributed to this outrageous situation: > > > * Simpson claimed to have constructed a counterexample, but he was not able to show > where in our paper the mistake was. Because of this, it was not clear whether we made > a mistake somewhere in our paper or he made a mistake somewhere in his > counterexample. > * Mathematical research currently relies on a complex system of mutual trust based on > reputations. By the time Simpson’s paper appeared, both Kapranov and I had strong > reputations. Simpson’s paper created doubts in our result, which led to it being unused > by other researchers, but no one came forward and challenged us on it. > > > EDIT (01/01/2018): Let me add another (IMHO, relevant and interesting) example. <NAME> wrote (<https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0205076>): " Early in 1981, the editor of Foundations of Physics asked me to be a referee for a manuscript by <NAME>, with title “FLASH —A superluminal communicator based upon a new kind of measurement.” It was obvious to me that the paper could not be correct, because it violated the special theory of relativity. However I was sure this was also obvious to the author. Anyway, nothing in the argument had any relation to relativity, so that the error had to be elsewhere... I recommended to the editor of Foundations of Physics that this paper be published [5]. I wrote that it was obviously wrong, but I expected that it would elicit considerable interest and that finding the error would lead to significant progress in our understanding of physics. Soon afterwards, Wootters and Zurek [1] and Dieks [2] published, almost simultaneously, their versions of the no-cloning theorem... There was another referee, <NAME>, who recommended to reject Herbert’s paper. His anonymous referee’s report contained an argument which was a special case of the theorem in references [1, 2]. Perhaps Ghirardi thought that his objections were so obvious that they did not deserve to be published in the form of an article (he did publish them the following year [7])." Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: To publish a contradictory result (in maths, as opposed to natural science) without further explanation would be to say "there is an error in one of these proofs but I don't know in which". Unless the issue at stake is of very great importance that is probably not a statement that is interesting enough to publish. I would say you should be able to point out an error, a counter-example or a hidden assumption in the original work. Where there is no straight-forward mistake in either proof a hidden assumption should be considered possible and may be of real importance. An example is <NAME>'s purported proof that the results of quantum mechanics could not be produced by a hidden variable theory. This was contradicted by the development by Bohm of his pilot wave theory (a hidden variable theory that does just that). It was then realised that Von Neumann's proof, while not containing an explicit error, applied only to local hidden variable theories, and the pilot wave theory is non-local. This is an important distinction that (whether Von Neumann himself understood it or not) had not been generally appreciated. This was a case of a physical theory providing a counter-example to a mathematical result about physical theories, thereby revealing a hidden assumption. In pure mathematics it would be very unusual to publish a contradictory result with no attempt to resolve the paradox. Even in the rare instance you are suggesting the axiomatic basis of the field may need to be revised, you would be expected to have an opinion on the correct resolution. (The history of set theory provides examples of this type). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_variable_theory#Bohm.27s_hidden_variable_theory> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann#Mathematical_formulation_of_quantum_mechanics> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxes_of_set_theory> Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Sometimes, on further examination of the contradiction, one finds that both cases are true but that these cases are subtly different. The von Neumann proof above is an example. A trivial (formal because I don't remember an actual) example would if one result used an axiom system "A" with a seemingly simple extension "y" and the other used system "A" with the seeming equivalent extension "z" so that A+x gives results different from A+y whereas x and y may yield the same results if using B in stead of A. This is probably covered above in the post about some not so obvious result used by both papers being questionable. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/28	777	3,444	<issue_start>username_0: My significant other and I finish our master degrees at the same time and thus we are applying for PhD programmes at the same time. One major factor of accepting a potential offer would be if we could study at the same university, so I feel that mentioning a two-body problem would be advantageous for both, us and the admission committee. But where do I mention this? Is a line in the statement of purpose suitable here? > > If you admit me, please also consider admitting my significant other Jane Roe. > > > Some additional information: We both do research in computer science. While I do research in natural language processing my partner does research in computer vision.<issue_comment>username_1: I would not do this. For faculty applications there is an argument to be made that alerting the search committee about the two-body problem gives them time to come up with solutions. A faculty candidate is a large enough investment on the part of a department/university that spousal hires/accommodations are a reasonable thing. I have never seen a PhD student, however, who is so good that the admissions committee would give the idea of offering a place to the trailing spouse a second of consideration. They might, however, decide you are not worth the effort if they know a partner is involved. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I had the exact same experience two years ago, also both being in Computer Science in slightly different fields. In our case our chances were pretty similar as well. However, your sentence ('If you admit me, please also consider admitting my significant other Jane Roe') makes it seem your chances are much higher than your partner's. If your chances are similar I would mention it in convenient places. For instance when mentioning a project together, talking in person with professors or when a university has a special place to put it (I remember U.Washington had a special field), always remarking that your partner has a similar/better academic level. If they are not, you can always apply to different tier universities nearby (for example Boston has lots of colleges). Moreover, you should think about how strong the requirement of being in the same university/city is for you. In our case we ended up together in our top choice so there was nothing to reflect upon. However, looking backwards there's two things that I didn't expect that may be useful to think about: * Having your partner with you makes it much easier to handle day-to-day research's ups-and-downs. * PhD life has a lot more flexibility than expected: choosing a flexible advisor you could travel and spend multiple days a month together. Specially because in CS you can work from home/abroad. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The literal meaning of "please also consider admitting my significant other Jane Roe" is already conveyed by Jane Roe submitting an application. So you must be making an implicit statement of "please give my significant other Jane Rose special consideration\*". If they would admit your SO anyway, then this is not needed, so this only applies if they decide your SO is not the best applicant. Put yourself in their shoes. If you were charged with the task of finding the best candidates for a PhD program, and someone isn't your first choice, would you bump them up simply because they're dating someone who was admitted? Upvotes: 0
2017/11/28	1,237	5,003	<issue_start>username_0: I am in the fourth year of my PhD and I am due to complete in four years. My advisor wants 5 journal papers. I have: * One published article. * Two articles under review with two different journals, one of the articles has previously been rejected 3 times. * One manuscript being checked by my advisor. * Two more works-in-progress, but I seem to have reached a limbo with these works. Can someone tell me if my progress is bad, average or good? When I started my PhD, I would give a lot of effort to the work. I would keep track of how many hours I am giving to my work, would try to make up if the amount of hours dedicated to my work is less. Recently, for the past 3-4 months, I am unable to feel that dedication that I felt earlier. I can see I am working way less, but I can't find a way to make myself motivated to work faster and work more. I am feeling helpless. I am feeling very guilty that I am wasting my time. But when I sit with my work, things go blunt, my brain seems to stop working. I really don't know how should I get out of this phase. I am failing to get myself motivated to work harder. The interest is dwindling. I wish I worked more hours but I am failing to do so. I want to work harder which I am not able to do now. Please help me out here if possible. Advisor info: I do all the work, he just checks the grammar. I do not get any technical input from him. If I talk about how low I feel he would just say, " PhD is like this, don't lose hope". The repetition of these lines does not do any good to me.<issue_comment>username_1: Scientific work is always a high stakes gamble. You are never guaranteed to succeed and several failures in a row usually result in a quite depressing state when you lose the willingness to try anymore completely. It is nothing unusual. Here are the techniques that I usually employ when getting nowhere for a long time. 1) Step back and relax. Forget about it all for a month at least. Live your life (I hope there are some things you enjoy besides solving problems, working in the lab, and writing papers). 2) Talk to people in your field or go online (to MathOverflow, say) to see what they are working on and have trouble with. If you are not at the very bottom, there will always be a lot of people whom you can help. Boosts your self-confidence quite a bit. 3) Remember that you are under no obligation ("obligation" is not the same as "pressure") to produce anything or to prove to anyone that you are any good. You came to the parallel universe to wonder, explore, and play. So, just do exactly that. Read something funny in your field, ask yourself some "stupid" questions, etc. Just get the feeling that you belong to the scenery around you and can enjoy small streams and hills before trying to cross a big river or to climb a mountain. 4) Look at Hubble telescope images and try to imagine all the distances, times, and energies involved. That puts you with all your worries, ambitions, and desires in the right perspective. Don't care too much about the problems of something as insignificant as one unit in over 7 billion on some God's forgotten planet in the far corner of some minor galaxy, totally dispensable and replaceable any time. Concentrate on the outside world. You can figure out something about it before your time is over, that is the only game really worth playing in serious, and you are totally qualified to participate in it despite the fact that there always will be much stronger players around. There are more, but these four work well enough. And, of course, complain about your situation to your friends any time you want. No need to handle everything alone :-) Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: What you are feeling is totally normal and very common. You are so close, yet feel so far, burnt out from years of struggle, and still told to produce more and more. 1) Don't give up - you've come very far and are in line to earn the highest degree one can aspire to. If it was easy, everyone would have one. 2) Its time to become very familiar with the actual requirements for PhD at your institution. I'd be surprised if your school stated '5 published papers' as a requirement. This is your advisor's attempt to impose arbitrary rules and perhaps get more out of you. If its time to get this done, find out what the stated process is, and start it. Your professor will have some clout, for sure, but if you take the bureaucratic route, things will start moving. And don't worry about what he/she will think - this is about you and your work and your sacrifice. To me, your progress seems fine, though I haven't seen the content of your work. I have seen PhDs awarded with 0 published papers, and some of those projects were great ideas that just didn't pan out. I've also seen PhDs awarded to candidates with 5 crappy published papers. Chin up, get it done. Once you have it, no one can ever take it away. Upvotes: 1
2017/11/28	566	2,332	<issue_start>username_0: I spoke with a professor and learned that The University of Tennessee chemistry department turns a net profit. It receives zero tuition money. It has patents and research grants. How does it achieve this? Is this a common thing? How to find/execute profitable patent producing research? And How to win grants? [How to find/execute profitable patent producing research?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/99845/how-to-find-execute-profitable-patent-producing-research)<issue_comment>username_1: This is an incredibly complex question. The only way to get a near accurate answer would be to ask to meet the department chair and ask him or her. Given that UT is a public university you might be able to use the Freedom of Information Act to get your questions answered. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are a large number of soft-money research centers that are essentially stand-alone - they have to bring in enough research money to cover their costs, and don't receive tuition support, TA lines, etc. I suspect the most common place to find them is in the biomedical field. I worked for one when I was a postdoc. * How does it achieve this? There are a number of ways to do this. A generous initial endowment can help. Patents, and the licensing revenue that comes from them are, for some fields, a major source of income. And then there are grants. Lots and lots of grants. * Do they have strategies that get them here? Yes. One does not get there by accident. * Is this model reproducible? Given there is more than one such organization, the answer is clearly yes. Whether it's desirable or sustainable is, on the other hand, another question. In my experience, there is an immense amount of pressure on the senior leaders of such organizations, because if grant funding doesn't come through, there's no safety net, and you're immediately talking about firing people. And because the operating expenses for any academic unit are quite high, they often depend on a small number of large grants to support them (for example, where I was a postdoc, I don't think it was possible to write enough NIH R01-scale grants to cover things). That's a very high risk position. If a program gets cut, funding falls through, etc. there's suddenly a massive hole in the budget. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/28	997	4,180	<issue_start>username_0: A hypothetical situation: two (groups of) authors have independently proven the same result. How do we determine who gets credit? There are some obvious bounds - if Group A posts a paper to the arxiv, and Group B posts the same result to the arxiv n time units later and claims to be independent; if n=10 years, then clearly Group A gets credit. If n=1 week then it's less clear to me. Other than posting a paper to the arxiv, to what extent do talks count? What about talks containing nearly complete proofs? ETA: I'm aware that such situations occur not infrequently; I only say "hypothetical" in the sense that I'm not personally involved in such a situation and I'm just curious to know the community's opinion.<issue_comment>username_1: This situation is by no means "hypothetical". If you are not alone to be interested in the range of problems you are working on, it is pretty much guaranteed to happen to you sooner or later. The answer to the question as posted is "on a case by case basis". No general rule applies and no universal attitude exists. You can meet everything from bitter rivalry, fight for priority, and open hostility between the "groups" (or individuals) in question to a gentleman's argument of the kind "you go ahead and publish now and I'll hold my opus for a while". The simplest and easiest to handle case is when the proofs run on drastically different ideas and employ nearly disjoint sets of techniques. Then one may, of course, try to squawk that he was there a few days earlier but everybody understands that the real test is whose approach turns out more viable and useful on the long run (and quite often they both survive, just lead to different developments). There is no question about the possibility to publish each of them either. The worst case scenario is when the proofs are nearly identical or one is obviously superior to another, so once you see one paper, there is no reason to look at another one anymore. If the authors know each other and are on friendly terms, they can usually figure out some reasonable strategy (combining everything into one article under all names is the most common way out). Otherwise pretty much anything can happen. Most situations are somewhere in between. So, just apply your common sense, remember that good relationships are more beneficial on the long run than establishing priority, don't think that you (or anybody else) may really own a mathematical statement or its proof any more than one can own the wind or the light or that one can carry any "credit" beyond the grave, enjoy other people successes as your own, and you'll be totally fine. If the question is just about "how to cite properly?", when in doubt, cite both works and abstain from any judgement about priority, etc. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Situation 1 > > Two Groups, Same result, Different procedure, Uploads or publishes at same time to arXiv. > > > Both of them get credit for their work. Especially the procedure that is easy to reproduce and more concise, understandable, intuitive and errorless gets more citations as years pass by. Situation 2 > > Two Groups, Same result, Different procedure, One Uploads to arXiv before submitting to journal and other submits directly to a peer-reviewed journal, both of them gets published at same time in Journal. > > > Both of them get credit for their work. However, one who submitted to arXiv gets more outreach. Again here, the elegance of the work is still the predominant factor that determines who gets popular for the work. Situation 3 > > Two Groups, Same result, same procedure, both uploads to arXiv. > > > Clearly trouble. Why? Plausible plagiarism. However, both of them can still get the credit if they mutually agree to collaborate. Other ways to resolve the conflict is to keep making progress in the article and write more and more on it beating the other group. This is a perfect way to resolve. As two groups who continue will now produce papers which will hopefully fall in situation 1 or 2. Or sometimes will produce Different result going in different directions. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/28	2,025	8,289	<issue_start>username_0: When I finished my PhD, I was working on a small grant project worth €6000 with the aim of integrating computational software and public services offered by another institution. In our final report, I stated why we did not achieve one of the objectives (due to technical complexity discovered during the project beyond the project scope: the technical complexity might be known by experts; however, we were not experts at the time of writing the grant proposal). The other objectives were met; the grant report was finalized and left to my supervisor, who was the coordinator of the project. Due to several circumstances, the project was evaluated after 2 years. It was rejected, as the funding was not met in part of university participation, the reviewers rejected also the project due to not fulfilling some of the objectives. It seems that supervisor will be liable and need to return the funding, or it will be deducted from his salary. Am I morally liable to participate in this return, even though no fraud or misconduct was done?<issue_comment>username_1: Moral/ethical liability and fiscal liability are two different things. I am not sure how things work in Europe, but I would guess that the administrators above you are on the hook. I would avoid getting involved if possible. Good luck. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: You are absolutely not responsible for returning any funding, certainly not at a moral level and almost surely not legally either. You were engaged in research to the best of your ability; as you were not the person who obtained and was responsible for the funding, you are not responsible to the funder for any failures. Moreover, I think it is pretty unlikely that the funding body will actually claw back any money from your former supervisor. Unless there was genuine skullduggery and/or intent to misuse the funds, the worst that is likely to happen is that the supervisor will be required to resubmit a much better explanatory report. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I am not a lawyer, but I live in the same country as indicated on OP's profile so I can add some specifics. Per Czech law, not even your supervisor is the bearer ("nositel") of the grant; the research institution is. There have been at least a few cases where the director of a research institute rejected a proposal by a research team to apply for a very large and realistically obtainable grant, because the particular grant conditions meant that the whole institute would end up in financial difficulties should any objectives be unattained or disputed. Likewise, the institute (university, faculty) needs to deal with any situations like the loss of the principal researcher along the route. That just happens. You are not morally or financially responsible and neither is your supervisor (fully financially responsible) unless he can be proven to have caused the situation intentionally or in connection to alcohol or drugs, or WITHOUT any connection to his normal job description. First it would be unusual and difficult for the employer to assert his liability in the first place, and second, the liability would be capped at 4.5 times his average salary. On the other hand, your supervisor will likely see a reduced salary bonus or other indications of his sudden unpopularity. (Outside of the Czech Republic the legal/contractual situation may be more complicated.) This situation isn't exactly a career promoting achievement for your supervisor and you can learn some lessons from it as well. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: > > Am I morally liable to participate in this return even though no fraud or misconduct was done? > > > No (specially since there is no fraud or misconduct). However, you could be empathetic to your professor (he might have been too light on something). (I am assuming that both you are your professor are honest persons. We all do mistakes!) For European grants (H2020 calls for example), there is an obligation of means, not of results (otherwise, it is no more research): your institution should have allocated enough (human) resources on the project, and should be able to prove that (that is the job of lawyers, and accounting people, not of scientists, and that is why there is plenty of support personnel for research). At most your professor's lab will have its (current, i.e. 2017 or 2018) budget diminished by 6K€. This is bad for people working in it today (e.g. they won't be able to buy the computers needed for current research, or won't be able to attend conferences) and might be bad for future proposals. > > It seems that supervisor will be liable and need to return the funding, or it will be deducted from his salary. > > > This is very surprising (If this really happens, there have been some misconduct you are not aware of). But unless your professor was dishonest (e.g. stole University equipement to sell it on Ebay, or made a personal tourist trip instead of going to some conference) I don't think he will have to pay it - with his own salary. Of course, he could get some blame, or could be removed some bonus. > > the technical complexity might be known by experts, however, we were not experts in the time of writing the grant proposal > > > This happens all the time. I am writing (and I have written in the past) an H2020 proposal (and [seeking](https://opensource.stackexchange.com/q/6148/910) partners [for it](https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/events/cf/ict-proposers-day-2017/item-display.cfm?id=20516)), and like most persons, I can't be expert in all the domains of a proposal (and European funding requires more and more puridisciplinarity and "impact"). PS. I am not a lawyer, and I am working as a computer scientist in a French RTO. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: There is a huge difference between grants and contracts. A contract requires the recipient to perform something known to be likely possible (for example, paint a house, create a database structure, write a program with a well defined functionality and algorithm, measure the level of XYZ protein, etc). On the other hand, a grant always involves the risk of failure or negative result, accepted by both grantor and grantee. Example for a grant can be "Identify the inhibitor of XYZ protein syntheses" and example of negative findings can be that "neither ABC, BCD nor CDE are inhibitors of XYZ". Here you couldn't find what you asked the money for, but you also established that your best shots, ABC, BCD and CDE, were not valid choices. So even if you failed the grant, at least the next one trying to get the research done knows what not to start with. At the moment you wrote the grant, the scientific community was probably believing strongly that one of your choices is the right one, so your results will likely cause a change in perception, hence an advance. This way, you or somebody else will find that MNQ is the right approach to the problem. On the other hand, saying that "I've couldn't do research, was too busy teaching, but I've spent the money in a noble cause" disqualifies you from further grants. If your PI was not expert in the field, why was the grant awarded anyway? My understanding of being awarded a grant is that I have to demonstrate that I am the best person IN THE WORLD able to conduct this research (PhD in ML/CS here), or at least the 11th, but the first 10 specialists are busy with something else. Legally nobody seems to be liable of anything. You mentioned multiple objectives were met, so I guess there were at least three objectives in the grant, hence, missing one would be a "damage" less or equal then 2000. We seem to talk about petty cash here, or there is some personal issue your PI has with the granting agency. Even if some liability is to be established, the PI acted as an agent of the institution he/she works for. Since he/she cannot own patents on the perform research, I find highly unlikely to be personally liable in the things are not going as planned. Morally it is hard to judge. In an ideal world, both the granting agency and your PI carry some guilt, because of not doing their research ahead, which is explainable by the small amount in cause. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/28	529	1,987	<issue_start>username_0: This question is similar to ones about [accepted papers not being presented](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11428/the-fate-of-an-accepted-paper-not-being-presented); however, one thing that other answers fail to mention is how to list the paper in your CV. Quite simply what is the appropriate way to list an unpresented paper where you are are a) solo author, or b) a co-author?<issue_comment>username_1: > > The paper does appear in the proceedings > > > Its appearance in the proceedings makes it a publication, so you can (and should) include it in your list of publications. If you separately list your conference presentations, you can't include this paper in that list, because you didn't present it. Similarly, if your list of conference publications indicates which papers you presented [for example, by writing "(presented)" or making the presenting author's name bold], you can't give that indication for this paper, because you didn't present it. > > where you are are a) solo author, or b) a co-author? > > > This is irrelevant. The publication list in your CV should list all authors of each paper, ideally in the exact order they appear on the paper's title page. tl;dr: Just tell the truth. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I am mainly going to answer what would I do in such a case. IEEE allows the author to upload accepted version of paper in authors personal webpage. (I have one, so I will upload it. You can do it as well if you have one. Otherwise, upload a copy in Researchgate or arXiv). After doing that, I will update my CV. Conference Publications. > > <NAME>, Title of the paper, Proceedings of IEEE, 2017. (Accepted, Preprint can be downloaded at [URL]). > > > Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The only rule for CVs is that they must give an accurate record of what you have done. So the answer is simple: list it in a way that is accurate. Upvotes: 1
2017/11/29	2,198	9,131	<issue_start>username_0: I did not have a good experience when I TA'ed the first time. I faced a hostile student who refused to accept that he was wrong and didn't give me a good reason why he should deserve more marks. He showed a propensity for violence, shouted at me loudly, punched the table and gave me an extremely evil look. I was very afraid and shocked then. I know I should have stopped the meeting and called the security. But I was at a loss then. I don't like that I was so easily frightened by a bad student. Though I haven't met such a student later, one never knows when the next time will be. Can anyone advise how to become tougher when facing such "evil" badly behaving students?<issue_comment>username_1: Your responsibilities as a TA do not include being verbally abused or physically threatened by irate students. At the first indication of abusive behavior, immediately stop arguing or doing anything else that might further provoke him. Instead, in as calm a voice as you can muster, inform the student that you understand his concern but that you don't have authority to grant his request but that the course instructor does and that you propose to set up a meeting for him with the instructor. Immediately afterward, send email to the instructor explaining the problem and let the instructor deal with it. If it's already gone past that point, and he's pounding the table, shouting and exhibiting threatening behavior, get away from him as quickly as possible. Tell him you need to go to bathroom or whatever it takes to get away without being followed. Do not return. Call campus security. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: Given the escalating violence on campus, I think you need to treat all such cases very seriously. In my opinion only - in the immediate, hold your ground unless you feel physically threatened. If you have a perceived threat, you should direct your students to leave immediately (as yourself) and contact authorities. Even if you perceive no immediate threat, you should report the incident. You just witnessed an unstable individual acting out, and its likely to happen again. In your role as a TA, you represent your school and have a duty to protect your students. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I will share my experience with you as an answer here. I am a Ph.D. student working in Netherlands, and I am from India. Past line intends to say I don't understand Dutch and I can communicate with students only in English. There is always a communication hurdle partly because of my accent and partly from students reluctance to speak a foreign language. Communication gap always creates misunderstanding. Once there was a student, who misunderstood that I am going to fail him for not doing his homework. My exact sentence to him was, "Can you complete the homework problem before the practical ends? It might reflect on your grades if I do not mark you 'completed' in homework sheet." The student seemed depressed for a long time. I went back and asked him if he is doing okay. That is when I understood he misunderstood me. Finally, we agreed that he doesn't have to do the homework if he was able to explain verbally the calculation procedures and logical reasons to why use such procedures. He was smart and was able to do it. The moral is most of this short story is we can avoid miscommunication oriented troubles, and hostile behavior if we don't threaten the students. Fear gives rise to hostile behavior in most cases. But in some special cases where the student is intentionally hostile and mean and evil, I still believe a teacher has to understand the reason for such hostility and help the student. Psychologically, such troubles mostly arise from the environment and society. I have seen all throughout my academic career a dozen of teachers who do that. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: To me it sounds like you want to work on your personality and your confidence. And you have taken the first and most important step already: to identify the problem. Your question is about how to not let the aggression affect you, not about how to deal with the particular situation, for which excellent answers already exist: * make sure the problem is not based on a misunderstanding * always remain calm, polite and professional * do not tolerate abuse but call security and report it to the dean > > So what can you do to "become tougher" and stop being frightened? > > > May I recommend practicing a martial art, in particular Aikido? Besides the fun and relaxation that any sport gives you (which by itself could be enough to not let the problems at work get to you), it will help you to build confidence and, interestingly, deal with conflict. And by that I do not mean throwing them on the floor, but by "accepting" the attack instead of blocking it, while not letting it affect you (both in a physical and psychological sense). In other words: you cannot fight against someone who does not want to fight. This is the best way to deal with conflict. Seriously, give it a go and see if it helps. It did for me. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Being a TA you have to be presentable and professional. I have never faced a situation aggressive like what you described , but if I were you I would assess the situation quickly. Is it personal or not? If it is personal and disrespecting, you have to act immediately. Don't try to be nice, but remember to stay professional. Find if your university set some rules for situation like this, if not you find a way to punish him some how. Trust me all of your mates and professors will collaborate in the punishment game. If you find the student is just nervous of the grades but you know he is not a bully, then try to STAY FIRM, but don't aggravate him. Tell him you don't know anything about the exam or the grading. Stay firm and strong and tell him to go to the main instructor as that is not your responsibility and you can't help. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: This will be a partial answer, intended to supplement what Nicole wrote. I will focus primarily on the "how to toughen up" aspect of the question. My suggestions will apply both to men and women, although I acknowledge that this is an issue that may come up more frequently for women than men. First, please report this student to your professor or your department -- otherwise, you'll be inadvertently training the student to behave disrespectfully to TAs. As you gain experience as a TA, your self-confidence should grow, both in the academic (intellectual) realm and in behavior management. But how does one get from Point A (fear and uncertainty) to Point B (confident assertiveness)? The key is to allow your department to support you. Your department can't support you if you don't report incidents that make you feel uncomfortable. See also <https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/99629/32436>. For your peace of mind in the future: * Schedule your office hours at a time when your officemate will be in and out or you know there is plenty of traffic in your hallway. * Create at least one buddy relationship with a fellow TA, who is aware of your experience, and out of solidarity, would like to be in a relationship of mutual support re office hours. * If you are female: develop an awareness of what times of day are safer than others in your building and nearby streets; do not hesitate to call campus security for an escort while leaving your building at night, or to ask a fellow student to walk you to your car. * If English is not a language you're super comfortable in: improve your English, but in some fun, low-stress way, such as a workshop for international students, or a language pairing relationship, or a club. * If assertiveness is not your strong suit in general, ask at the university counseling center if they have any workshops or groups intended for this topic. * One fun way to build up self-confidence, that is often overlooked, is to work on one's physical fitness. You don't have to run a marathon to make small improvements. Just make sure the form of exercise you choose gives you pleasure -- perhaps you would like to go for a walk in an area dog park, if you like interacting with dogs. Perhaps you'd like to develop a hobby of getting to know all the parks in your area. Perhaps you'd like to join the Sierra Club or some other hiking club. Invite some fellow students to go bowling or play ping pong. Or just go for a twilight walk in a place where the bare tree branches make a beautiful tracery against the darkening sky. --- Edit: Here is what Step One should be. Please disregard the Step One I wrote in a comment. Step One: If you are ever in a situation on campus where you fear for your safety, immediately phone campus security and give your location. Use a calm voice but make sure your language clearly conveys the immediacy of the threat. Note that it is often helpful, after conveying the necessary basic information to the dispatcher, to offer the phone to the hostile party. This can work wonders with defusing their anger. Upvotes: 5
2017/11/29	272	1,073	<issue_start>username_0: Pretend that there is some image on the Internet that is commonly circulated, like a meme template involving a picture of someone's face. If the original thing had no source, but one (for whatever reason) needed the image and its citation, how would one try to cite the image?<issue_comment>username_1: I would cite such a source in the same way as an anonymous or unknown author's work would be cited. You should consult whatever style guide you're using for your current manuscript. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A citation does not need to point to the original source of the material; just a sufficiently authoritative reference. For instance, if you cite a mathematical result that dates back to the 18th century you can cite a textbook, not the original source where it appeared. In this case, you can cite the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_phenomena) of the meme if it has one, or something like [knowyourmeme.com](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/o-rly) (warning: possible time sink). Upvotes: 2
2017/11/29	1,038	4,370	<issue_start>username_0: I have been working on my PhD from home for several months now because my mom is sick, which was fine with my supervisor up until a few weeks ago. Before starting to work from home (in a different country than my supervisor is), we agreed that we would communicate every two weeks and that I would send reports about my progress. As I did so over the last months, I would rarely receive a response from my supervisor, who is a big name in our domain and is very, very busy. After a few unanswered emails, I had the impression that I should just contact him in urgent cases, so I stopped contacting him every two weeks. Now he is asking me to come back to work at the office because he thinks that I have not been communicating enough in the last weeks. I am aware that I should not have supposed that he only wanted urgent information and thus I should have continued sending him my weekly reports, but how can I tell him that it is because I never got any answer from his side? My wish is to find a good equilibrium in our communication style so that I can continue working from home!<issue_comment>username_1: I would say that, like others, you should tell him honestly. Something to the effect of: > > "My apologies for the lack of communication in the past few weeks. I was under the false impression that you only desired my reports in urgent cases, as there were several that you did not reply to. It was my mistake to make that supposition without explicitly asking you. In the future, I very much would like to continue working from home but I also would like to find the best way for both of us to communicate. We can certainly continue a report every two weeks but, in that case, it would be very helpful to me if you would be able to offer me a little bit of feedback for the report. I understand how busy your schedule is but I would truly appreciate it. Please let me know your thoughts. > > > Thanks, > > > [Your name]" > > > Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it would have been better for the advisor to send an acknowledgement email each time a report is received, and even better to give indications of whether the progress is OK or give the student regular 'pep talk' emails to keep the student motivated. While I can imagine a student getting a bit peeved with the lack of reply from adviser, that is an unfortunate rationalization to use to stop their updates to the adviser. Frankly, the reason to send the regular updates to the adviser is to prove that regular and sustainable progress is being made despite the special accommodation. If the adviser had any unvoiced concerns about agreeing to the arrangement, this likely caused all of those concerns (rational and irrational) to have blown up. One of those concerns is likely that a typical student needs more feedback than the advisor can give remotely, and that the student might stop working without it. (or might decide they don't need to keep the advisor updated as in this case :-) ). (this following wording is based on @Mark comment with a few tweaks.) "Sorry for what happened. I have been continuing to work and the progress is good. I have attached the (X) reports from each the X weeks that I did not send them. It was my mistake to stop sending these updates regularly. Can we meet to discuss the work that I've completed so far and your advice whether there are areas that are weak? I'd also like to discuss how best I might continue this special accommodation in which I continue my work while staying with my mom who is still sick. My expectation is that I would need to request this special accommodation would be XXXX more weeks(month)." My answer is not answering the question (how to tell advisor I stopped updating because he didn't reply to me) but I assumed that the real question was: how do I fix this so that I can continue the arrangement I had? In the face-to-face (or skype) discussion in renegotiating the accommodation is when one can figure out whether there is a regular feedback schedule that works for both parties. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: What a tough situation. I'd say be direct, but I might be inclined to print a hard-copy of the unanswered email chain just to have some first-hand evidence. This kind of situation is never fun to deal with. Good luck! Upvotes: 0
2017/11/29	1,050	4,124	<issue_start>username_0: I've often thought it was strange that one's value as a scholar is determined largely on the basis of one's research, yet one's ability to perform "good" (in quantitative and qualitative terms) research is based largely on the type of institution where one works. Consider the following scenario: Scholar A gets a job at an R1 straight out of grad school. Scholar A therefore has a light teaching load, generous sabbatical, a large research budget and so on. As a result, Scholar A goes on to publish prolifically in top journals. Scholar A's professional profile rises. The university that hired him pats itself on the back for having made the right bet in hiring him, since, of course, he turned out to be a "top" scholar. Scholar B, meanwhile, attended the same graduate institution as Scholar A, and wrote a dissertation that was deemed equally meritorious. Due to the vicissitudes of the academic job market, however, Scholar B ends up with a first job at a teaching-focused college rather than an R1. Saddled with a 3/3 teaching load and few opportunities for internal research funding or protected research time, Scholar B publishes little, and most of what he does publish is in second-tier journals. Even if he is a great teacher, he remains unheard of within his field, since status is determined mostly on the basis of research. Consequently, people who look at Scholar B's academic record ten or twenty years after his Ph.D. confidently conclude that he is a mediocre scholar, who would never have been fit for an R1 that hires top scholars. This would seem unfair. Scholar B might have been just as productive research-wise as Scholar A, had the former had the good fortune of working at an institution that facilitated an aggressive research agenda. But Scholar B ends up being deemed "not very smart" because he produces little research. In other words, it has always seemed to me that scholarly success is in many ways a self-fulfilling prophecy. The R1s that pride themselves on hiring "top" scholars don't actually pick or attract the right people as much as they create the conditions that allow one to turn into a top scholar (in a world where, again, that status is based mostly on your research). I happen to be a tenured faculty member at an R1 university, with a publication record that I am quite proud of. But I'd be lying to myself if I said that I would have published as much -- and earned the reputation I have in my field -- if I'd spent the years since my Ph.D. working in a more teaching-heavy place. I'm also in the humanities. I'm not sure whether the trend I describe above exists in the sciences.<issue_comment>username_1: > > Is research output determined by your type of institution more than your skill? > > > Almost definitely. It doesn't matter how much skill you have if you do not actually use the skill. There, however, are people at R1s who do not have the needed skills to be successful researchers. Your comments like > > Consequently, people who look at Scholar B's academic record ten or twenty years after his Ph.D. confidently conclude that he is a mediocre scholar, who would never have been fit for an R1 that hires top scholars. > > > and > > But Scholar B ends up being deemed "not very smart" because he produces little research. > > > are not universally true. I don't know many people who judge intelligence (i.e., smartness) based on research output. In my field we often have to evaluate how people who chose to work in industry will be able to fit into an R1 environment. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is absolutely true, and quite prevalent in all the fields. I did my masters in a institution that forces professors to teach 60% of their time and the research budget was/is extremely low. My supervisor was an MIT alumni with great knowledge in his field. His research output though was extremely low because of the institution. At the end he stopped publishing any of his works. My point is being in such a institution demotivates even the smartest people and they become unproductive. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/29	886	3,943	<issue_start>username_0: As a part of my PhD. I supervise master and bachelor thesis. Even though, I get extremely smart students I find that they are having troubles in writing up their research as articles. Often I end up writing it for them. What is the best way to motivate the students to make their own first draft?<issue_comment>username_1: When I did my masters, I had this problem. My old supervisor ended up rewriting a paper from scratch. He never really gave me any feedback except that my writing of the paper was not good and there is no way it will be accepted. I now understand that this approach was a waste of his time and a waste of a learning experience for me. Now I am working with a different supervisor and when I write a paper, I get a lot of comments and feedback and we end up doing 4-5 rounds or review. I think the initial draft is usually not good. But after all these rounds of review, I end up writing a "good" paper myself. Maybe your students need to realize that they have a problem that THEY need to address. You writing the papers on their behalf does not solve this problem. Initially, push them to write a draft regardless of quality. Then do rigorous review afterward. With time, their writing will definitely improve Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: They are going to be expected to have a level of writing skill upon graduation. If they don't have that, it can reflect poorly on your lab. It also harms them in the long run. You said that they have difficulty with writing up their research and want to know how to motivate them. I would point out that these are two different things. Difficulty writing a quality manuscript is understandable; professional writing is a skill which must be developed. In that case, I would patiently go through rounds of revision and be very strict in your reviewing (because other people will be). Then go over with them everything you marked and explain why you chose to change it. Be honest, but constructive. Don't say "this was stupid," say "I see what you were trying to say here, but what you say implies X, and we want to avoid that. If instead we say it this way, we avoid that implication entirely." If the problem is not that they lack the skill but instead lack the desire to learn how to write professionally, then this is a different problem entirely. If this is the case, I would sit down with them and bluntly tell them that you aren't going to waste any more of your time on them until they make an effort, and that if they aren't willing to put in the work necessary to become a professional in your field, maybe they should be seeking elsewhere for their development. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: This, as always, might be highly dependent on the field. So here's my opinion from a (synthetic) chemists point of view: It's fine to let bachelor/master students contribute but I wouldn't let them write the (first) draft. For writing a good paper you need a lot of background knowledge, which especially bachelor students usually don't have, and a good knowledge about all the subtle details on how to write such papers. What we usually do is let them prepare the supporting information/experimental section where they write up their experiment and also figures (which is the most important part anyways) while the main part is written by experienced supervisors who can also do it in a fraction of the time. But we like to include the students so they get to know the whole process of writing such a paper. We usually start letting students write their own manuscripts sometimes at the beginning of PhD using smaller projects and papers send to rather low impact journals (most of the time invited papers). After that it's usually fine to let them write first drafts of the more important papers and we never had anyone complaining or taking it badly even if we basically rewrote the whole thing. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/30	780	3,471	<issue_start>username_0: I have worked in a research institute (R&D for a parent company) for 10 years after my postdoc. I used to teach occasionally as an adjunct professor. Despite our R&D theme, I have an excellent record of publication (comparable with my peers in terms of quality and quantity; unquestionably good). However, I never applied for external funding, as our research fund was directly provided by the institute. I applied for some faculty positions but unsuccessful. They didn't give me a detailed feedback but mentioned that a criterion for the job is "demonstrated success in securing external funding". Should I give up? Because this is something I cannot do anything about it. Unless I assume a faculty position I cannot send research proposals for external funding. And if this is a mandatory condition, I can never assume a faculty position. I understand that external funding is important for universities, but I wasn't unsuccessful, just didn't need to apply because of my job. I understand that proposal writing might be different but my successful research shows that I can write winning proposals too. I have conducted all my research projects based on initial proposals, but they were internal.<issue_comment>username_1: I had a job profile similar to yours when I first applied for faculty positions: I held an R&D position for five years, but did not have an extensive external grant application record, and no successful grant applications. This was not a bar in securing a tenure-track position. It's widely understood in most fields that this will be the case, for structural reasons, and is thus not held against applicants. This would, however, be a bar for more senior positions. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: While having a history of external grants is helpful, it is not mandatory. I was in a similar position as you were, and managed to secure several offers. What you need to do is have good answers prepared for these two things: Why Not?: In my case, as with yours, I was in a research institute, which meant things were supported by large grants that were well beyond my "pay grade" to pursue, and where the priorities for postdocs were producing research and doing the things that kept funders happy, rather than chasing new funding. People were very understanding of these sorts of positions. How Will This Change?: Given you don't have a track record of getting external funding, you need to be able to articulate how you will go about getting one. Having a clear idea of what mechanisms you'll target, how you'll frame your research that way, etc. Basically, you need to frame not having grants as a deliberate, strategic choice in your old position that will change in your new one as you become an independent researcher. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is an interesting and pertinent situation. In a highly competitive academic job market, hiring committees are very interested in knowing the candidate is likely to bring in money. You have a unique case because you just didnt need to apply for external funding. No one will fault you for that. But they CAN object to your lack of experience with grant writing, the grant application/review process, knowledge of numerous funding sources, etc. While it would be time consuming, I suggest you write a grant proposal and include it in your application. Let them know that you have one already ready to go. Upvotes: 1
2017/11/30	503	2,234	<issue_start>username_0: I recently accepted academic offer from a UK university. I comminicated wtih the head of school via phone and email, and I have not yet received the official offer letter. I am wondering how secure this situation is? In particular if this is a good time to decline other offers (I feel bad to let them wait too long and decline their offer eventually)? Or should I wait until receiving the official offer? Thank you for your input in advance. I saw a similar question, but that is for postdoc positions and I suppose it is not exactly the same.<issue_comment>username_1: While a verbal offer should end in a contract (and can sometimes be taken as a contract - you may not even need a written contract in order to be employed), there are always things that can happen in between. Therefore it would be safer to wait before you decline other offers, but of course it would be nice from the university to send you the contract quickly, so you know what is going to happen (and so do the other institutes waiting for your decision). On the other hand, I once started in a position and only received the contract a few days later since the administration was on holiday... Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: An email offering you the job is not a 'verbal' offer, and although it's not as binding as a contract, I would certainly consider it secure, particularly from the head of school. Note that the contract may come via snail mail and if you're on a different continent that could take a while. Perhaps you could try to get a confirmation from HR that the contract has been sent. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: This is not an uncommon situation. The best thing to do is to ask the head of school how long until the formal contract is issued because you would like to alert the other universities you have applied. If they say a week, just wait. If they tell you HR is a pain and you will have the formal contract sometime in your first couple of years, hopefully they will volunteer that they have never had a problem. If not ask if it has ever been a problem. If they tell you 6 weeks, then it is up to you. Some people will wait, others will withdraw their applications immediately. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/30	588	2,621	<issue_start>username_0: I have a master and bachelor degree in Aerospace engineering. Master degree was from the most prestigious institute in my country (India). Then I moved on to my Ph.D., but this time into a different field. Physical Chemistry. Particularly because I wanted to do fundamental science rather than engineering. I am doing pretty good in my Ph.D. (in terms of publication and progress) Will having a degree from different fields be a trouble when I apply for a postdoc (in Physical chemistry) in top universities (like Cambridge or Princeton)? Also will this affect me when I try for a tenure track position?<issue_comment>username_1: In my experience, people are much more interested in your publications and research specialty then your previous degrees. A previous degree in a separate field is more of an asset that can open new doors; you are a credible person for any possible cooperation between your current and previous field (about which I know little; maybe creating or investigating materials that might be of use in aerospace engineering). Interdisciplinary work is difficult unless someone knows both of the fields and understands their concerns and languages. I suppose someone might see a positive or negative signal in you having changed a field (learning an entirely new field in your PhD studies is certainly impressive, or maybe you lack some fundamentals in your new field, and almost certainly you stand out from among many other candidates whose master's degree is in a more usual field), but this could go either way and depends on the person doing the hiring. I would not be worried. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: First, your PhD will be in the same field as you're looking for a postdoc/TT job in, so I especially wouldn't worry about it in that regard. People switch fields as their interests evolve, and having a PhD in Physical Chemistry implies you've now spent several years of fairly dedicated study in it. Similarly, as you're applying to positions in that field, I don't think you need to worry about sending a signal about hopping around a lot, as you're only really talking about two fields and a single transition. Generally, I think people are far more interested in your publications, your research interests, and what you might bring to the table. I've seen people "re-task" themselves in postdocs or tenure track positions from different fields because they could tell a coherent story about why they should be there. For the record, my BA, PhD, Postdoc and current job are all in different (albeit related) fields. Upvotes: 2
2017/11/30	939	3,470	<issue_start>username_0: I am doing a PhD and I have submitted an article to be peer-reviewed 9 months ago to a certain journal. I haven't got any response yet from the journal, their server indicates the "Under review" status. The problem is, I cannot wait more longer since the acceptance of the article is a requirement to validate my PhD. Do you think I can stop the reviewing process and send it to another journal? What if I sent it to another journal at the same time? Or, would the reviewing process speeds up if, e.g. I pay for the open access? EDIT: I forgot to mention that the status cited above stipulates that: > > At least one Reviewer has accepted to review the submisѕion, however the required number of reviews for the submisѕion have not yet been received. > > > I have provided 5 names for the peer-reviewing process of my article, and mentioned that 1 potential reviewer from another university should not review it (because of competitive reasons).<issue_comment>username_1: *"Under review" for nine months is normal in some disciplines* > > Do you think I can stop the reviewing process and send it to another > journal? > > > No. This will most likely delay the process even further. > > What if I sent it to another journal at the same time? > > > No. This is (most likely) prohibited. > > Or, would the reviewing process speeds up if, e.g. I pay for the open access? > > > No. Open access is entirely independent of the reviewing process. The former is handled by the publisher, the latter is handled by your peers. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Whether the 9+ month review is normal or delayed depends on the field you are in. In my field of Computer Science, 9 months is pretty normal; sometimes it takes more than a year to get the first decision. Okay, given that you think this is delayed, what you could do: You could send a gentle reminder to the journal editor regarding the status of your manuscript. For example. > > Dear Editor > > > Greetings! > > > I am writing regarding the manuscript entitled "A long waiting Ph.D." > with manuscript Id JOUR-2016-0987, which is under review at present in > your esteemed journal. > > > I was interested to know a probable date by which I could expect the > first decision. > > > Looking forward to a response in this regard. > > > Sincerely, > > > Author > > > Journal of Long Review > > > If you do not get a response from the editor or the status does not change within a month or two, then you should remind again by following up the above email. Again, if you don't get any response, consider that the journal does not respect your work and effort; and then send a formal withdrawal email. But, be careful when you are withdrawing the paper. When you don't get a confirmation email of the withdrawal, You should follow up with journal few times and then send final email for withdrawal confirmation. Remember that withdrawal has to be confirmed by both the sides to be considered a valid withdrawal. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In my fields 9 months is long and I would have already contacted the editor. It is not acceptable that a referee agree to take the task and spread this on a months period. You could tell the editor about your phd status and requirement and s(he) will likely make sure that none of the referees forgot to review or finish to review your manuscript. Upvotes: 1
2017/11/30	340	1,414	<issue_start>username_0: My GRE score is only 790 (77 percentile). I am an international student applying for PhD in applied mathematics at Tier 1 schools in the U.S. I am from the top university in my country and have a strong academic record and good recommendations. I have communicated with some faculty at some of these universities and they have expressed interest in my profile. I am worried that my application would get filtered out just because of the GRE score. So I was wondering if I should send this score at all?<issue_comment>username_1: Many US universities are going to ask for the GRE results. You probably won't be able to avoid having to send them. Also, many schools pull the GRE data from ETS the testing service that administers the GRE. That means even if you take the GRE a second time all of your GRE exams will likely be received by the university. That is not meant to discourage you. The program's admissions committee has final say on the matter and they look at other factors too. If you are not good at exams, but good at applied work highlight that in your review process. Good luck!!! Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Just retake your GRE as quickly as you can. ETS allows you to choose which score you are sending. If you obtain a higher result and choose it to be sent, the previous lower score will not be visible to the institution you are applying to. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/30	1,622	7,063	<issue_start>username_0: I am currently in the process of writing my SoP for applications to PhD in Physics programs starting Fall 2018 (in the US schools). I am definitely writing about the content that I have studied rigorously as well as about the research projects that I have been involved in and so on. But I also want to involve something about a paragraph (not a specifically small one) about some of the colloquial talks and articles that I have read during my undergraduate years that have played a significant role in shaping my interests inside theoretical physics. I have been quite a YouTube buff and have watched a lot of semi-popular level talks and have been quite motivated by them in my interests. These talks have been very useful in making me aware of the current frontiers of research as well as in narrowing down my interests for good. Of course, these are not the only factors but these are among the non-negligible factors. So, I wanted to ask whether mentioning this part would be considered good or it would give my statement a non-serious and a childish tone. Or worse, might it look like I am confusing real physics with what is shown in the popular level talks? Along with anyone interested or knowledgeable about this kind of a situation, those with a first-hand experience of looking at someone’s statements with such references or those with a first-hand experience of writing such a kind of statement are particularly requested to comment/respond.<issue_comment>username_1: I can offer some advice, but take it with a grain of salt. Firstly, I suggest that a decision of including such content into a SoP should be primarily driven by relevant expectations from schools you have decided to apply to (many schools likely even have guidelines on preparing SoP and other required or desired documents). Secondly, if the relevant expectations from SoP are flexible, I suggest you to have a section (instead of a paragraph) dedicated to explaining your motivation. IMO, it should include not only motivation specific to your chosen domain (theoretical physics), but also motivation to dive into science, in general. However, to prevent this from being interpreted as less serious / too lightweight, it is important to find and use relevant solid references. One example of such semi-popular, but solid and well-known, source is the famous talk by Dr. <NAME> "You and Your Research" (text of the talk is available [here](http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html) and relevant video of the talk - [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw)). Thirdly, such semi-popular references ideally should be complemented by references to solid research papers (seminal and/or survey papers) on specific aspects of your research interests. Good luck! Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: From my experience, telling the tale why you became so fascinated with one particular topic is to be kept to a minimum. It does not add any weight or edge to your SoP, other people will have their more or less interesting story. You can use maybe one or two sentences and I don't see any need to have a "not a specifically small" paragraph on why you became fascinated with a topic. It might sound harsh, but they will not care. You have to use the limited space in your SoP for other things. But that's another question/answer. In short, I would avoid citing pop science to a very bare minimum, especially in a field as rigorous as physics. Unless you use this reference to show something you have achieved. For example, I read pop science X which inspired me to run experiment Y which has produced Z. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: First of all, let me emphasize on the CV part. Because your statement of purpose is usually considered as a whole with your CV. My personal preference is to list these things. I divide my CV in half. In first half, I list all the academic-related things. Such as publications, reviewerships, academic awards etc. The second part contains non-academic things about me. Such as my hobbies, life achievements, my educational YouTube videos about algorithms, and even my reputation in this very website! This achieves two things: 1. If people do not care about my personal life, they can just not read that part. 2. By a tiny chance, they might find something interesting about me to put me a few inches ahead. It might be an answer I gave in Academia.SE, or some point I've mentioned in my YouTube video. In your case, you might put another section entitled Slightly academic related. All in all, your CV is you in a nutshell. Thus, if you think that one has to know something, then you better put it in your CV. As for the statement of purpose, after you clearly write your research plans and your interest area, if you think some of these activities support your purpose, then putting them usually shows your ambition. Of course, I would not suggest you to put any single thing, but you might mention them in case someone finds them interesting. If your research related statements are strong enough, I would not think that the whole statement of purpose will be childish. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This is a partial answer, to supplement what @user4050 wrote. As s/he explained, you probably should not use up valuable space in your essay for tangential content. But I can think of a few possible exceptions: * The instructions ask you to talk about how your interest in your field began or evolved. * The instructions ask you to talk about Science Outreach (which is becoming a hot topic these days). * You yourself have a serious and abiding interest in Science Outreach. * You have a serious and abiding interest in Science Pedagogy, and believe that the right sort of youtube video fits integrally with the teaching of science. * You have made videos of the type you described, you're proud of them, and you want to continue this hobby while in grad school, and you have some way of explaining how this hobby connects integrally with your studies and your research. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm no expert, but your question gets at some very broad self-marketing considerations, so here's my thinking. If you're talking in your SoP about why you got interested in the first place or what motivated you to actually go into the field, I'd just make a brief reference to popular science reporting and science outreach sparking your interest. If there is a particular video or article, you could mention the specific topic it covered as an example of this outreach, but I wouldn't talk about the delivery format (especially if it was a video, unfortunately). Absolutely, if the speaker was a well-known scientist, you could say you were inspired by a talk they gave. It doesn't have to be a talk you heard in person, and probably these days, people would assume it was a video. But, to me, it's a little like the difference between getting some initial info from Wikipedia and actually citing it as a reference. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/30	514	2,331	<issue_start>username_0: I have two funded projects. One works great but the other is terrible (probably wrong postdocs and PhD students). When I send future proposals, my history is evaluated against the overall research output, right? There is no factor indicating one of my projects has failed, right? I have two options: 1. Let the weak project fail and focus on the successful one to improve my overall research output. Then, I have a strong record of publications for the future proposals. 2. Use some funds from my successful project in the problematic one (e.g., hiring more people) to save it at the cost of sacrificing the successful one. By the way, I am an assistant professor of chemistry (close to promotion) and the projects have been funded by European schemes, if it matters.<issue_comment>username_1: While a common practice, that would be fraud. Less fraudulent would be to bill everything that 'counts for both' to the stronger project, to conserve money to get the weaker projects done. (Equipment, staff meetings, etc). For you, depends on how your department weights grants brought in vs. papers published. If they value grant money more, that you've damaged your chances of getting more is not something your should reveal, while papers are something you can play up. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: It's hard to give a general answer, obviously different fields and different research areas differ in many important ways. 1) In my experience reviewers looks at overall past productivity vs overall level of support, not whether some specific past project was successful. Having some projects fail is the normal working of science. There are some exceptions, for example high profile projects like centers or inter-institutional collaborative efforts. In those cases there is certainly a strong incentive to declare success on a specific project. 2) In terms of what you should do: I think it is almost always a bad idea to throw good money after bad money (the "sunk cost" fallacy). If anything, I would move support from a failing project to a successful one. Again, there are certainly exceptions. Maybe the failing project still holds a lot of promise, and just a few months of effort by an experienced postdoc can push it over the hump. This is something only you can judge. Upvotes: 0
2017/11/30	1,480	5,606	<issue_start>username_0: I want to add non-cited references to bibliography for two reasons. 1. Sometimes, it is not clear whether I referred to it or not. Clearly, not only citing a statement is a citation, but also citing an idea is a citation. But if I didn't cite the ideas and if another idea comes across my mind, sometimes I can not sure my idea is inspired by the references or not. In that case, I want to add the references to bibliography. 2. There are some references I didn't cite but it would be useful for the readers. May I feel free to add non-cited reference to bibliography? Addition: Maybe I had to clarify I am in Mathematics field, and many authors add the references to bibliography as a "reference", not as a "cited writing". If I cited anything, then I will definitely notify the readers the citation specifically. However, is it not allowed to add some papers or books to bibliography that I just referred to?<issue_comment>username_1: If an idea or a statement is novel and it's appearing for the first time there is nothing to cite. Anything else needs to be cited. And don't add any citations in the bibliography which you are not citing in the text. Otherwise the reader will wonder why you didn't cite it. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: No. There are some "rules" that cannot be broken. One of those is regarding the citation. I would perhaps write something like "(author,YYY) said.... (for more examples see author1,YYYY; author2, YYYY)" And then put the reference in your written text to whatever you believe is useful as an extension of an idea you are giving. Use words like "For examples, see...", "See \_\_\_\_ for \_\_\_" where you can put the reason why you believe the reader should look at those "extra references". Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on the style you are following. I like this [APA style blog post](http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/02/whats-a-reference-list-for.html) > > For many students, the purpose of the reference list is to prove that they completed the assignment. They were assigned a research topic; they researched the heck out of it; and the reference list is there to demonstrate their hard work. > > > The blog goes on to differentiate the difference (at least in their opinion) between an APA style reference list where everything that is cited is in the list and everything in the list is cited and a bibliography (e.g., Chicago Manual style) where there can be things that are not cited. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: My writing rule is that I list in the bibliography only what I indeed cite. Bibtex helps there a lot. But if you want to provide some further reference to the readers, then why not just cite them? Like, > > The reader might find the works by Spongebob, (1749); <NAME>, (1997); Squidward et al., (2018) useful. > > > just more sane. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I prefer to always cite everything, and indeed, to use bibtex so that it only adds cited items to the bibliography. (I belive this is the default, also.) If there is an item I feel would be useful to readers, then I feel it is better to write a sentence in the text which explains how and to whom it would be useful. For example: > > numerical studies on the subject include the monograph of Author~\cite{Author:2014} and two articles~\cite{Author:2010,Author:2013} > > > Likewise, if there are related ideas, then it is often nontrivial to understand how they are related, or what part of an article in particular is related. Explaining this to the readers is a service the writer should do. For example: > > Lemma 3 in our work is similar to an approach of Gauss~\cite{Gauss:1814}, while the proof of the main theorem has the same ideas as a proof of Euler~\cite{Euler:1755}. > > > These both make it easier for a reader to write relevant literature. It is not uncommon to first find an article related to what one wants to find, and then read the introduction to find more possibly related papers, until finally finding what one is after (if it exists). Texts that say a few words about the relevancy of bibliography items are vastly superior to texts which only list related works, or, even worse, only contain them in the bibliography without any context. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: You can effectively achieve the same result while avoiding the dilemma of whether you can add such bibliography entries or not: ### Dedicate a sentence or paragraph to mentioning additional sources not otherwise used. Even if something is not used directly, you're putting it in the bibliography because it's relevant, right? Well, put a sentence or a paragraph at the end of your "Introduction" or "Related work" section, or even at the end of the (sub)section where you almost-cite those sources, which can go something like this: ``` \paragraph{Additional sources} Other effects of foo on bar are surveyed in \cite{Source123}. An alternative conception of the frobnication of bars to the one presented here can be found in \cite{Source456}. ``` Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I have done this on a couple of occasions and originally had the same worry, my solution was to just add a sentence explaining its relevance to shaping my text. e.g > > PERREN, C . and MLECEK, M . (eds .) (2015) Perception in architecture: here and now . Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. > > > > > > > This book helped to shape my knowledge whilst exploring the other texts. No Citation. > > > > > > > > > Upvotes: 0
2017/11/30	944	3,677	<issue_start>username_0: As I read in some papers, most verbs in a paper are written in the passive third person. For example: "This method was experimented; satisfying results were achieved..." My question is, is this a must and all types of papers in all journals should be this way? For example, if I write "I experimented with the method", is this wrong and editors could reject the paper? If the answer is yes, what is the reason that the author has to write the paper that way?<issue_comment>username_1: Have a look at the style guide of the journal you're targeting. It has the only authoritative answer to your question. Having said that, passive voice is not a "must" in the sense that active voice were unheard of in academic writing. Here is a [paper](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1465116500001001003) written in active voice, first person singular. Common preferences for either active or passive voice differ between disciplines. (I've heard that in mathematics the first person plural is fairly common, i.e. "we".) Preferences also differ between authors. I find the first person singular active voice most authentic, simple, and lively. It is often emphasized, however, that passive voice sounds more neutral and objective. When deciding which voice to use, consider the style guide first, then your discipline's customs (ask your peers!), and your personal preference last. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Papers may be written in whatever voice you choose :-) Some journals might specify, but contra. @herring's answer, I don't recall any biomed journals requiring one or the other. Some "authorities" argue that this passive voice is less exciting or authentic. This is probably true in regular writing but makes methods sections a string of "I/We did X. Then we did Y. Then we did Z.", which is also jarring. I suggest deciding based on what need to be emphasised in each sentence. Sometimes, the only important part of the sentence is the thing that was done. Use the passive voice there. For example, you might write something like: > > After thawing, tissue samples were fixed in 4% PFC, dissolved in 1x PBS, for 15 minutes. They were then prepared for immunohistochemistry by washing them in 1x PBS (5 minutes), permeabilizing them (2X SSC for 5 minutes), and dehydrating them using a series of ethanol baths (70%, 95%, 99%, 100%; 5 minutes each). > > > Here, no one really cares who processed the tissue samples--it could be the first author, it could be the last author, or it could even be a robot or an external company. The reader cares about what was done. Other times, the identity of the do-er is more important. These cases call for the active voice. Consider something like this: > > Other Folks et al. (2016) collected data from a broad sample of cells. However, we hypothesised that this effect only occurs in a specific subpopulation of dividing cells. To test this, we used.... " > > > Because the text compares your work with someone else's, the reader cares about who did what. The active voice emphasises this, but maybe steals a little thunder from the actual action. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: An editor for a linguistics journal removed all pronouns that referenced the researchers/writers in an article, and turned the sentences into passive voice sentences. Scientific journals, especially those involved in reporting scientific experiments, tend to favor the use of passive voice. Anyone writing papers or making presentations to people in the field of English (such as during MLA Conferences) should make sure to avoid the passive voice. Upvotes: 1
2017/12/01	1,161	5,005	<issue_start>username_0: Summary of question I've been getting ready to apply to grad school, and now I have good reasons for not doing so. My letter writers have already uploaded their letters. Basically, it's the last minute, and I'm changing my mind, and not applying. How do I (a) thank them, (b) tactfully tell them I'm not applying, and (c) ask that they still write me a letter next year or the following year? Details For some months, I have been preparing to apply to graduate school. I have readied my test scores, research experience, and mostly finished my statements. It is December 1st, and I have already submitted some applications for fellowships. Over the past three weeks, I've sent emails for recommendation letters, which were uploaded by my recommenders (they were written last month, and the prior month). However one thing has happened this week: I realized that I had neglected to research the PhD students recently admitted to the programs to which I have applied. After doing so, I now understand that I am woefully under-prepared for graduate school relative to last year's cohort--even at my safety schools, which are around #50 on various popular ranking sites (I only mention rankings to demonstrate that I was not being overly arrogant in my school selection--though clearly, perhaps I was a little!). Unfortunately, now, I have an even bigger problem: even if I got into a great grad school, I don't think I could rise to the occasion like everyone around me would, and would probably be very demoralized by this. After much deliberation, I am considering applying next year. Over this year, I will work part-time, attempt to gain experience through personal projects (I am in computer science, and have research ideas, so this is feasible) and teach myself more advanced subjects, and then apply to work in a lab, or apply for a research-based master's degree, in one or two years. I went to a relatively unknown school with few courses in my area of interest, so I think the time will be well spent and increase my confidence and knowledge. I don't think I'm falling prey to imposter syndrome, because, well, the major conference publications, master's degrees at elite universities, and impressive resumes of the PhD students at my safety schools are rather objective measures of my relative inexperience. Here is my question: how can I tactfully notify my letter writers that I am planning on not applying, while still thanking them for their recommendation, and letting them know that I would still appreciate their letter when I apply next year or the year after that? And faculty, if you were in this position, how would you feel about the student? I really don't want to anger my recommenders. They're excellent, hard-working, wonderful people, and I already feel guilty that I might be letting them down.<issue_comment>username_1: > > I had neglected to research the PhD students recently admitted to the programs to which I have applied. > > > Please don't compare yourself to others. There are other, more productive comparisons to make, if you really need to make comparisons. Compare your transcript with the course sequence at the schools you were going to apply to. Do you have all, or almost all, of the prerequisites under your belt for your first two semesters? If there are one or two courses missing, can you take those in winter, spring or summer? It's often easiest to get a good start to graduate study if one doesn't significantly delay beginning. I understand that you are concerned you may be being overambitious at this stage. But if you received or are about to receive a Bachelor's degree, with good understanding and good grades, let that be your can of spinach to help you keep going with the applications. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You do not need to tell them anything if you do not wish to. I get repeated reference letter requests from former students some years. This might mean they decided not to actually apply the previous year, or they didn't get into any programs, or whatever. It doesn't especially matter to me what the reason is, and having already written a letter for the student, it is not that difficult or time consuming to bring it's contents up to date. But if you do decide to tell these professors that you are not applying this year after all, I would recommend something concise like this: > > I wanted to let you know that I will actually be postponing my grad school applications until next fall. Thanks for your help with this process, and I hope I can count on a recommendation again next fall. > > > You don't need to elaborate on why you are delaying; they don't need to know. (You can cite "personal reasons" if you want to say something more.) However, it is a good idea to mention that you intend to apply again in the future, because that means that any time that they have already invested in your letters has not been wasted. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/12/01	1,385	6,168	<issue_start>username_0: I reviewed a manuscript submitted to a high-impact journal. The quality was low and I believed it could not reach the journal’s standards even by revision. I clearly recommended rejection. Now I received the revised version for review. Two of three reviewers (myself included) had suggested to reject the original paper. The third reviewer suggested a major revision. Nonetheless, the editor had asked the authors to revise the manuscript (I never experienced this before). Clearly, the editor is in favor of publishing this paper (for personal or professional reasons; I cannot judge). What should I do? I publish 80% of my works in this journal, and it is very important for me to avoid any conflict with the editor.<issue_comment>username_1: I don´t see the problem. Review it how you would review any other paper. If it is still (after the major revision) not up to the standards of the journal, recommend rejection. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: When you recommended rejection, you presumably listed a series of issues that made it unacceptable. On the revision, you go back and repeat the list of issues and simply say for each one, "The revision has/has not corrected this problem". If you reach the end of your list and all the issues have been corrected and no new issues have been introduced in the revision, then you say the paper is now suitable for publication. If the issues have not all been corrected, then you say "The paper is still not suitable for publication because the issues I noted previously have not been corrected." Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Treat the manuscript as if you've never seen it before. Re-evaluate the paper like you normally would and in the future avoid invitations from that editor, if at all possible. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: You should review the paper from scratch. One thing I wonder why nobody considered in the comments and answers is that the points raised in a rejection report are usually different from those in a report asking for a revision. * When you suggest rejection, you raise the points justifying why the manuscript cannot be revised (otherwise, you should recommend revision). * When you suggest revision, you list the modifications, which might be suggestive or tiny corrections such as typoes. These are not normally listed in the former case. In the first report, you have probably argued why the manuscript is not suitable for publication. For whatever reason, the editor has felt that the manuscript can be revised. If you think the revised version is capable of being further revised to be publishable (from your answer, I assume the current version is not). Then, you should review it from scratch like a new submission. If you want to suggest a major revision, you should clearly mention the points, which can be modified in a further revision. Since the authors have probably addressed your points. If you want to reject the manuscript again, you have to justify why the revised version is not acceptable. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: it is very important for me to avoid any conflict with the editor. I think it works the other way around. > > The editor chose you as a reviewer because you publish in the journal, and can therefore judge papers submitted. > > > not > > The editor will be more likely to accept your papers because you are helpful to him by reviewing. > > > Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Existing answers suggest either review from scratch or going through your reasons for rejection point-by-point. You may need to do both. There are two reasons for a reviewer seeing very serious problems with a paper. One is that there are real problems with the underlying research. The other is that the research was not conveyed clearly, and the reviewer had a basic misunderstanding. The usual advice for authors who think they have the second case, reviewer not understanding the paper, is to rewrite to make the paper much clearer, and specifically to prevent the reviewer's misunderstanding. The assumption is that a reviewer not understanding a paper is a symptom of a very unclear paper. Reading the revised paper as though it were a new paper may give you a different basic view of the research. If so, forget your prior objections and continue to process the paper as though it were new. If reading the paper from scratch does not substantially change your view of the research, look at the reasons for which you rejected it and see if they have been handled. If not, continue to recommend rejection for the same reasons. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: At least in my field, the reviewer's job is not to accept or reject the paper. That is the editor's call. Your job is to provide enough information to the editor to make this decision. "It can't meet the journal's standards" is a subjective statement, and it is up to the editor to decide this anyway. Write objective statements in your review. First of all, are the results correct? Does the analysis back up the paper's claims? As for the less objective aspects, such as impact and significance, don't just state your opinion, but back it up. Don't tell the editor what to decide. Instead, help him decide. I have seen reviews where the referee clearly didn't go through the paper in detail because they decided early that the paper is too insignificant to merit a proper review. They gave a few unhelpful criticisms and recommended rejection. In reality they simply didn't get the point. This is of course a somewhat extreme (but sadly not too uncommon) situation. Probably this is not what happened in your case. Nevertheless try to avoid even the appearance of such an attitude. After you have given your general assessment, provide whatever recommendation you feel is correct. But keep in mind that this is merely a recommendation, and it is the least important part of your review. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: The proper answer is to recuse yourself as unable to make an objective conclusion, and allow a colleague to approach the paper with a fresh perspective. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/01	1,170	4,973	<issue_start>username_0: Two years ago, when I was doing my master’s degree, I was working on a computational project. My supervisor was well-known in the field and a highly reputed person. We were doing a great job, trying to solve a long-standing problem. When we made significant progress in our work, we wanted to publish it in a journal that has significant outreach for works related to our problems (We were working on flow acoustics). So we submitted out our article to a journal. The article went into review. Came back after two months. There were two referees. One of them was positive and then came the arrogant reviewer report. > > I feel that the authors of the article have no knowledge of how certain computational methods can never reproduce physics. > > > Authors should try to reproduce the result with more reliable experimental procedures. [cites two articles from author A, B, and C] > > > Furthermore though the computational method is validated against work of author D, I believe authors should at least try to validate their procedure with works of [cites again different article from author A, C, and B, C, E and X, C] > > > Authors did not cite relevant literature [mulitple articles from author C] > > > I recommend publication after major revision. > > > It is rather obvious that author C is either our reviewer or someone close to our reviewer who is asking to cite irrelevant articles and threatens to reject our work on no scientific basis (our computational methodology was well established, robustly proved, highly cited and widely used). Unfortunately, the journal had no appeal process. We wrote in our rebuttal to the editor that if author C is one of the reviewers, we would like to be peer-reviewed by a different reviewer. However, the editor never seemed to care. No care was taken by the journal to provide us a fair review. Is there an efficient way to tackle such arrogant reviewers?<issue_comment>username_1: From your answer, we can guess that you received a "major revision" decision. In that situation, your job is to modified your manuscript according to the reviewers' comments, not to try to find out who are the reviewers. Taken out of context, the comments you mention do not seem arrogant. Those comments are usual demands from reviewer, but I can't judge, not knowing your work, if they are relevant. In that context, you deal with those comments like with any other comments: 1. You accept and make the changes where appropriate. 2. If the comments are not applicable, you explain why to the editor and let him/her judge. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: In the short term you need to accommodate the referee but you can always contact the editor-in-chief to voice your displeasure. A longer term solution is not to send to this journal again. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It is hard to say without knowing the details of your work, but I suggest taking a step back. There are of course arrogant reviewers, but equally it could be that there are good reasons to test your methodology in further contexts. What stood out for me was: > > It is rather obvious that author C is our reviewer who is asking for self-citation and threatens to reject our work on no scientific basis (Our computational methodology was well established, robustly proved, highly cited and widely used) > > > It sounds like your work is empirical, is that correct? In which case your methodology cannot be robustly proven, only supported or disproven. I think that's what the reviewer is getting at; they want to see you try and disprove your work in further contexts. Take the following quote: > > Furthermore though the computational method is validated against work of author D, I believe authors should at least try to validate their procedure with works of > > > You suggest your methodology is well established, but it seems like the reviewer is trying to, again, ask you to test whatever is novel about what you have done in further contexts. It is challenging to say for sure, especially as we do not know which work the reviewer is citing (nor much about your work). However, I think the so-called arrogant reviewer's review needs a reappraisal. As for whether they are author C, personally, I have given reviews asking authors to cite numerous works of other authors (not myself) when the paper has made an alarming omission. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Other answers suggest you should try to assume that the reviewer is well-minded and act accordingly. This is definitely the null hypothesis. But if you - after a good night's sleep - have still the strong impression that the reviewer just does not like your method and wants you use/cite his method, you should think about withdrawing and going to another journal This does not mean that a major revision is not necessary - but your chances may be higher with a fresh set of reviewers. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2017/12/01	2,441	10,020	<issue_start>username_0: The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics at the University of Bonn hosts workshops such as 'Young Women in Harmonic Analysis', 'Young Women in Geometry' and 'Young Women in Mathematical Physics' biannually, I think. I am very interested in attending such a workshop as they are seldom found within the topics I am interested in. However, the title of the workshop begins with "Young Women". Moreover, the description on their page states that "the workshop provides a platform for female graduate students and postdocs in mathematical physics..." Now, before you lambast me for even considering it, note that they also write "everybody is welcome to attend the workshop. We encourage all participants - male and female". My worry is that male participants are technically permitted so that they do not break any discrimination laws and that if I were to attend such a workshop, I may find myself in the awkward situation of being the only male there facing the scowling looks of my female contemporaries. Thus, my question is: can I apply (from a common sense, ethical, moral, situational point of view...because technically, I obviously can)?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you should attend if you want to. From their [site](http://www.math.uni-bonn.de/veranstaltung/ywhapde2016/), the point of the workshops is giving women a "platform...to present their research". In other words, the point is that the speakers are women, not that username_3 present is female. I would expect there to be plenty of men in the audience (And if the point is to empower women, surely they are more empowered when they can share their work with username_3, not just other women). Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_2: I wouldn't say it would be awkward. On the contrary, it would be very pleasing for the organization commitee that the workshop has reached beyond their targeted audience despite the title. Of course, by audience I should clear out that if you're not in the field, it would be awkward even if you were a female. But they organize a workshop to encourage female students to present their work, and a male (clearly invited in the web page) supporting them is great, in my opinion. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: > > "We encourage all participants - male and female" > > > There is no need to look into it further than that. They encourage you to come and you want to go. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to apply. Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_4: Yes, you are definitely welcome to attend. Looking at previous workshops in the "Young Women in..." series, you can see from the [photos](http://www.math.uni-bonn.de/veranstaltung/ywrep2016/participants.htmpl) that some of the participants appear to be male. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_5: Not only should you definitely go if you would like to, but you and other readers can use this as an interesting moment (and this is not meant as an attack on the original poster in any way) to reflect on the fact that women have experienced this 'but won't I feel like the odd one out' kind of feeling ever since they were first "technically permitted" at math conferences and technically allowed to get mathematics degrees, be mathematicians etc. (I work in geometric analysis myself, actually) Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_6: Well I'd suggest that if the workshops are "to provide a platform for female graduate students and postdocs" then they will want to present to a diverse audience and to sensitize young women ( thinking of an academic career ) and men to the value of having women successfully in those fields. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: There are two kinds of workshops organized for women. A. One kind is a place where women can build confidence, for example, by presenting to an audience where there will be lots of supportive women in attendance. Men are welcome here if they go into it with an attitude of wanting to support the mission. B. The other kind is aimed specifically at just women. There are specific reasons for organizing this kind of event. Perhaps historically there have been problems with sexism and/or actual gender violence at mixed gender, but male dominated, events. This kind of workshop could be organized as a stand-alone, or within a larger, mixed gender conference. Whatever the ground rules are, they will be announced. The workshop you're interested in clearly posted their ground rules, because they didn't want any misunderstandings, and because supportive males in the audience would be an asset to the event. Thanks for asking! I hope this is just a first step and that as time goes on, you'll (a) hesitate less about contacting the organizers with a question, and (b) learn more about gender issues in science. I believe that as women get better integrated into traditionally male fields, those fields will benefit from a healthier gender balance. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: > > "everybody is welcome to attend the workshop. We encourage all participants - male and female" > > > This is your answer. The title (and indeed the content) is meant to showcase the work of promising young women in X field, but it's pretty clear they more than happy to have a general audience. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: I think the other answers cover the general case well, however, I can give you a more specific answer: A few years ago, I and a few colleagues were also interested in some of the talks in one of those workshops in Bonn. Since some of us were male and we missed the deadline to apply anyway, we sent the organizers a mail if we could show up anyway for one of the days (Bonn being close enough for a day trip). In short, the answer was yes, the talks are public, similar to any other talks they have Bonn. While the audience of course consisted mostly of the female participants, there were also quite a few male phd-students, post-docs and professors attending. They were just not the ones giving the talks. So in other words, if you are interested in going, just drop the organizers a mail and go there. Just do not expect to be invited to give a talk. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: One solution would to be what American blacks did when attending a meeting where there would be mostly whites, 100 years or so ago: Just come in, take a seat in the back, and say I'll just stay here out of the way and not bother anyone. Now I'm not saying this the optimum solution, just that it will work if nothing else will. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: I've been in a situation like this where I wanted to attend a workshop to support a female friend, but the name of the event made it sound like it was definitely geared towards women. In that case I reached out to the event coordinator and asked her if men were able to attend, she said they'd be happy to have me join them and that there were a few other gentlemen planning on attending as well. Moral of the story is, if you're not sure reach out to the person organizing and ask. Plus, you may not be the only dude there as it is. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: From anecdotal experience, my advice is that you should attend if you want to but expect it to be as exclusive as the event title sounds. If you were an Art History major attending a conference titled, "Young Engineers After College", don't be surprised if you end up feeling alienated. Don't be shocked when you're the brunt of a few "A Liberal Arts major walked into a bar..." jokes. I refuse to be vocal about whether or not this is a form of prejudice, I'm simply stating that you may feel out of place. I've gone to five different Women in [insert STEM topic here] conferences. At each event, there are a handful of jokes by the speaker(s) along the lines of, "Women do it better" and "Let's be honest ladies, men make it unnecessarily complex, am I right? Ha ha ha". The few men that attend are huddled in the corner and typically omitted from the entire discussion all together. Realistically, what would you expect from an event that is clearly advertising itself to be for a select group of people? The topic of discussion isn't about a group of people, e.g. "How to encourage women to choose STEM", it's for a group of people. The former encourages all to attend in order to solve a problem; the latter encourages a select group of people to attend. If the event organizers didn't want an exclusive audience, they wouldn't have set an exclusive title. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: Not allowing men to attend would be sexist. As they explicitly state that "everybody is welcome to attend the workshop" and that they "encourage all participants - male and female", they already explicitly give men permission to join the workshop, even though it may be directed towards women. Nevertheless, it may indeed be awkward if you decide to join the course if you're the only man present. I'd be inclined to discuss this with one of the organizers and base my decision on her (I assume it's a she) input. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_14: Yes. The organizers explicitly write that "everybody is welcome to attend the workshop. We encourage all participants - male and female." This probably means you wouldn't be the only man. If you're still uncomfortable, you can contact the organizers and ask their permission. But I'm 99.99% sure they would say yes. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_15: I would have thought that attendance of men at such an event is likely encouraged, not just allowed. I recently wrote up a preprint attempting to outline the achievements of twenty female mathematicians and received positive feedback from many other female mathematicians working in academia who were happy that I had made this effort and attempted to outline the achievements of mathematicians working in such a diverse range of fields (I think the fact that I happen to be a man myself is not seen as relevant). Upvotes: 2
2017/12/01	2,168	8,681	<issue_start>username_0: I read [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/99600/how-to-toughen-up-against-hostile-students-as-a-ta) question where a teaching assistant asks how to deal with an aggressive student. In her answer, the user <NAME> gives advice to call campus security. Now, in my naive foreign thinking, whenever the word "campus security" came up, I imagined this to be similar to a discotheque's security people: a single strong person (or a team) who would be in the university building during its opening hours, helping de-escalate conflicts and throwing out aggressive people. However, the user "apparente001" advises the OP to "do not hesitate to call campus security for an escort while leaving your building at night" (in a comment). This suggests that campus security is more: A university employee apparently may call these security people at any time to any (reasonable?) place to escort them (I assume, provided that some incident happened like the one described by OP). From the Wikipedia article, I understand campus police (is this the same as campus security?) to be police officers who only serve in university. However (at least in my country), I could not simply call the police to escort me at night when something "vague" like the incident described in the question happened. (I do not want to say the the incident is not serious - however, I doubt a police officer would escort me at night if I told them that very incident). So I take it that campus security/campus police must be something different: an organisation any university employee can call at any time. Can you tell me more about this concept? In particular, the question which interest me are: 1. Is campus police/campus security the same concept? 2. What exactly does campus police/campus security for university employees? When can they be called and for what purpose? 3. Can university students (if they are not at the university building) also call them? If yes, to what extend do they help them? While the original question specifies no country, I have the feeling that the OP and the user "apparente001" are talking about US or Canada. (I may be wrong, through.) Therefore, I also would be (mainly) interested in information about these countries.<issue_comment>username_1: It can be all of the above. For example, UPenn has a legitimate, and accredited, [police department](https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/about/uppd/accreditation/), they also use a [private security service](https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/about/security-services/) that monitors the buildings and grounds, a [walking escort service](https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/about/security-services/walking-escort/) as well as a [door-to-door shuttle service](http://cms.business-services.upenn.edu/transportation/schedules/evening-on-call-shuttle-service.html). There are [security phones](https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/about/security-technology/blue-light-ephones/) all over campus. Basically, US universities take safety very seriously. Whoever you get in touch with, will make sure you get the help you need. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Many universities (both public and private) in the US have campus police. These are actual police officers who can carry guns and have the power to arrest someone or write a citation. On a large campus with tens of thousands of students, this can be a quite sizable police force. The campus police typically have jurisdiction limited to the university campus, but in some cases, they share jurisdiction with local police in the area near campus. Other universities have campus security. These are security guards who operate much like the security guards you might find at a sporting event or concert. They don't have full police powers, but they can certainly remove someone from campus who is misbehaving. When an incident becomes serious, they'll call in the local police force. "Security" is often used as a generic name for these forces, whether or not they have actual police powers. On many campuses, there is a mixture of police (more highly trained and paid more) and security guards (less trained and less expensive) that are assigned to deal with different kinds of situations. So, 1. Not exactly. Campus police have full police powers (to arrest, use deadly force, etc.) Campus security typically has less authority. 2. Campus police or security are typically the first responders for criminal activity (robbery, assault, etc.) They enforce campus rules that may not carry criminal penalties. Campus security can call in the local police for more serious incidents. Anyone on campus (students, faculty, or staff) can call in the campus police or security, although making a frivolous complaint could get you in trouble. 3. Unless there's some jurisdiction agreement between campus police and the regular local police force, it wouldn't be appropriate to call the campus police to respond to an incident off campus- the campus police would transfer your call to the appropriate police department. Note that "campus" might include all university-owned buildings, even if they're physically distant from the main campus. In particular, university-owned housing is typically "on campus." At another level, most campuses in the US have their own set of rules for student conduct and an administrative process for judging students who are charged with violating the rules. This is separate from the legal system. It gives some leeway to university administrators to deal with infractions that might be crimes if they were handled by the regular legal system. This can be controversial, particularly when it extends to more serious offenses such as sexual assault. P.S. Some large campuses in the US also have their own staff to provide firefighting and emergency medical assistance. When there are science and engineering labs, it's particularly important that firefighters be trained in how to deal with emergencies involving hazardous materials. Many campuses in urban areas have free escort services- a student (or even a staff or faculty member) calls up security to request an escort to walk with them (or give a ride in a car) from one part of campus to another. You can't expect instant service, but a typical wait time might be 20 minutes. The escort might be provided by a campus police officer who is already out on patrol, but it's more common for there to be a group of non-police employees and vehicles dedicated to this. These services are mostly used late at night- if you've been working in your lab until 1 am, you might want an escort back to your dormitory or the parking garage. In the US, the Clery Act requires colleges and universities to prepare an annual report with statistics on crimes and other incidents (such as fires) that occur on and near campus. Potential students often read these reports to determine whether a campus is "safe." This has made campus safety an important concern to administrators. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You're running into a side effect of a capitalist system. For the most part, US universities, both public and private, are run as businesses, and the main customers are the parents. If the parents believe that a particular university is not safe, well there are plenty others to choose from. Therefore the campus police/campus security will do whatever is needed to make the students feel safe, within reason. As faculty you will benefit from this approach, so yes, if you don't feel safe, don't hesitate to call them. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: > > 1) Is campus police/campus security the same concept? > > > Slightly different, though they often have the same function. Most campus police have arrest powers and are official police agencies, while campus security doesn't have arrest powers and are just a security group. There are occasionally both on a single campus. > > 2) What exactly does campus police/campus security for university > employees? When can they be called and for what purpose? > > > I mean, once can call them for anything. They can do campus escorts, reporting crimes on campus, questions, etc. > > 3) Can university students (if they are not at the university > building) also call them? If yes, to what extend do they help them? > > > They can, though if they are off-campus, there's often nothing they can do, though they may be able to put you in touch/get in touch with the police in the area who can help. On occasion there are informal agreements where campus police might deal with local complaints from/about students instead of the local police. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/02	1,441	6,155	<issue_start>username_0: ### Scenario I am in college and in group projects. We have to work together with other team members to architect the design and dividing the tasks. Once the tasks are assigned to each person and when it’s over, we have to combine each other's task into a single system, which might need redoing and correcting some tasks. ### Problem I am the kind of person who wants to finish his task early before the deadline and avoid anxiety at the end. How do I deal with people who do their task just before the day and integrate all tasks just hours before the deadline, thus causing huge work just hours before the deadline? Could someone enlighten me on how to handle this scenario or correct my approach to the problem?<issue_comment>username_1: The question might be out of scope, but I will give you my opinion. You can't control what your teammate does. Working in a group setting, you will different approaches to the work, people who are like your teammate, people like you, people who never show up for example. The goal here is whether or not it will impact the bottom line: making sure that the project is: * Turned in * Of high quality If you work together in the future, address this issue and schedule team sessions ahead of time and manage your time well. What I did when assigned a group project was to literally schedule all of the meetings for the entire semester (or quarter for you) this way, they don't have an excuse for not showing up and doing the work. Weekly meetings will allow you to check in periodically with your individual contributions and direct how the overall strategy would look like. If you won't, then it will not affect you. Move on. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think this is similar to interviewing a potential housemate. "Do you clean up after yourself in the kitchen?" gives away the answer you'd like to hear, whereas "How often do you think each housemate should wash dishes?" and "How many times per semester do you think the bathtub and shower should be cleaned?" will be more likely to get honest answers. So, when the groups are forming, ask people open-ended questions about the work rhythm that fits them the best. Once you've made your best guess as to which classmates you think are the best fit for you, then I think you should give a clear I-message, pretty much the way you did in your question here: > > I am the kind of person who suffers horribly with anxiety if an assignment gets finished up in the last few hours before a deadline. What works best for me is to set milestone deadlines along the way, and to set the final deadline for two days before the official deadline. This is what gives me the peace of mind I need. Would you be comfortable working that way? > > > If you find that the milestone deadlines aren't being met, then I suggest that you either informally get out of the group project, with an alternative individual project; or that you present medical documentation of an anxiety disorder to your university, with the recommendation that you be given individual projects in lieu of group projects. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As you have mentioned, this is a group project. Thus, you cannot expect everyone to meet your own ambitions and standards. > > I am the kind of person who wants to finish his task early before the deadline and avoid anxiety at the end. > > > Then maybe other person is not that kind of person. Maybe your teammate is asking the question > > How do I handle my teammate who forces me to finish my task way before the deadline? > > > in some other website. Best way is to sit down together and set a plan, and maybe task-related deadlines. Then, you have right to say that he's not behaving according to the plan. Otherwise, handling someone is not a job that you are entitled. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You literally have a genius on your hands, use him for different tasks, tasks which require innovation. Lie him about the deadlines. He's a gold mine, don't waste him! Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: If your teammate hands in good work, just leave them be. They have different time management approaches and if it works out in the end, all is good. Trusting your teammate to actually do their work instead of constantly reminding them to finish earlier, is part of learning how to work as a team. On the other hand, if your teammate hands in work is unfinished/of low quality, you should set fixed merging-deadlines with time to do corrections. Try a reasonable approach first, arguing on based on past events (not enough time for adjustments etc). Not all people are stubborn/lazy. I would not advise to lie to them though. It's rude and defeat the purpose of good teamwork. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: With my Software Engineer's hat on - I haven't worked in academia for decades... The things you need to pin down early are the interfaces between all the components. Until you have those, nobody really knows what they are supposed to be developing. Once the interfaces are properly documented, you can start developing against those as far as you like. Just watch out for misunderstandings on what the words in the documentation actually mean. Once you think your bit is done, consider how you can test it without everybody else's stuff around it. For software, that's test harnesses and mocks. For electronics, that would be a test box that monitors the outputs from your system and provides reasonable inputs. For other things, such as business processes, have a ponder on how you can test them yourself. You don't have to actually implement everybody else's components. Just make something that looks like their parts, for the purposes of the tests that you designed. At the end of the process, you should have reasonable confidence that your component works correctly and is ready to be integrated. You can now de-stress until the final integration period. And even then, the people who haven't independently tested their parts will be the ones running around trying to fix them at the last moment. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/02	512	2,333	<issue_start>username_0: Thanks but what if I write an article in English and use some quotations in Turkish since my intended readers are bilingual; that is Turkish and English? I refer to Ms <NAME>'s Bilingual Wordsmiths: The Challenges of Writing in Two Languages<issue_comment>username_1: Stick to English for the entirety of the article if you are publishing it to a journal, website, where the primary language is English for both its content (and if not more importantly) its readers. If you quote Turkish (or any other language for that matter) make sure that you provide an English translation. Just because your intended readers are bilingual, doesn't mean that they all have the same level of competency in both languages to understand both fluently. Provide a common means by which those with less skill can understand your quotes. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If the intended reader can reasonably be presumed to be fluent in both languages, then no translation should be necessary. I work with literature in three modern Romance languages with texts that are modern to medieval. I do not provide translations for Spanish or Portuguese when I write in English, and only provide them for Asturian where the meaning of the quote is not clear from the perspective of a modern Spanish or Portuguese speaker. I do not generally expect to see translations generally when I see quotations in French or Italian, and if the article is on medieval literature, I do not expect to see translations for Latin, but I do generally expect it for Latin in articles on modern literature and for Romanian in general, and anytime there is a finer language distinction (for example, comparing two words that would be translated similarly into English). For other regional/minority languages, the practice is similar to what I do with Asturian — if they can be reasonably understood without potential for misunderstanding, no translation necessary, but otherwise, translations are provided. The editor that you work with will make the final say, of course. If they feel translations are necessary for the journal's audience, then they will request translations. Likewise, if you already provide translations and they don't think they are necessary, then they will recommend removing them before publishing. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/02	606	2,736	<issue_start>username_0: My professor agreed to give me a LOR. However, despite many reminders, he has yet to send it in. I called him up a week before the deadline and he was annoyed at this. I then considered asking someone else but he emailed me asking me for supplementary documents. Again there has been radio silence from his side after that. Now, the deadline has passed. I think professors can still send in LORs and I’ve asked another professor to write a LOR for me after explaining my situation. My question is do I email my earlier reference to tell him I don't need his LOR anymore? How do I word this email? Should I show my indignation at being taken for a ride?<issue_comment>username_1: Stick to English for the entirety of the article if you are publishing it to a journal, website, where the primary language is English for both its content (and if not more importantly) its readers. If you quote Turkish (or any other language for that matter) make sure that you provide an English translation. Just because your intended readers are bilingual, doesn't mean that they all have the same level of competency in both languages to understand both fluently. Provide a common means by which those with less skill can understand your quotes. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If the intended reader can reasonably be presumed to be fluent in both languages, then no translation should be necessary. I work with literature in three modern Romance languages with texts that are modern to medieval. I do not provide translations for Spanish or Portuguese when I write in English, and only provide them for Asturian where the meaning of the quote is not clear from the perspective of a modern Spanish or Portuguese speaker. I do not generally expect to see translations generally when I see quotations in French or Italian, and if the article is on medieval literature, I do not expect to see translations for Latin, but I do generally expect it for Latin in articles on modern literature and for Romanian in general, and anytime there is a finer language distinction (for example, comparing two words that would be translated similarly into English). For other regional/minority languages, the practice is similar to what I do with Asturian — if they can be reasonably understood without potential for misunderstanding, no translation necessary, but otherwise, translations are provided. The editor that you work with will make the final say, of course. If they feel translations are necessary for the journal's audience, then they will request translations. Likewise, if you already provide translations and they don't think they are necessary, then they will recommend removing them before publishing. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/02	328	1,340	<issue_start>username_0: I was reading a Introduction in a Master's thesis, and this particular example appears to be overly lengthy. [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3GCOE.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3GCOE.png) Is there a consensus on how many points can be adequately addressed in an introduction? or a maximum number of pages? or is this question fully subjective? The goal here is to learn more about best approaches to writing an introduction, regardless of content.<issue_comment>username_1: No, there is no "manual" or restrictions on what can and cannot be done in writing the introduction of a paper or thesis. If there are any such restrictions, they are "local"—specific to a particular journal or department (in the case of a thesis or dissertation). However, that doesn't mean that the example you cited is reasonable: however, without reading the associated content, it's hard to know for sure. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This example is from a Master's thesis, so the total number of pages is expected to be larger than, say, in a paper. Whether or not the length is appropriate depends on the quality of the text but, in general, I'd say it is fairly reasonable to have a 10-page-long thesis introduction (although each field has its own guidelines). Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/12/02	232	989	<issue_start>username_0: A reviewer asked for modifications, which are not necessary. It is obvious that he has not understood my work. What should I do?<issue_comment>username_1: No, there is no "manual" or restrictions on what can and cannot be done in writing the introduction of a paper or thesis. If there are any such restrictions, they are "local"—specific to a particular journal or department (in the case of a thesis or dissertation). However, that doesn't mean that the example you cited is reasonable: however, without reading the associated content, it's hard to know for sure. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This example is from a Master's thesis, so the total number of pages is expected to be larger than, say, in a paper. Whether or not the length is appropriate depends on the quality of the text but, in general, I'd say it is fairly reasonable to have a 10-page-long thesis introduction (although each field has its own guidelines). Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/12/02	273	1,229	<issue_start>username_0: When I recently submitted a paper to a conference, there was a checkbox asking whether the first author is a student. Did you encounter anything like that? Does this means the reviewers will consider this and will be less strict?<issue_comment>username_1: As suggested in @Distic's comment, the purpose of this question is probably to identify candidates for a student paper award. > > does this means the reviewers will consider this and will be less strict? > > > In a decent conference, probably not. The audiences of these conferences expect that high standards are applied to submissions. These standards need to be enforced regardless of the authors' identities. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It can mean lots of things and only the conference organizers can tell you the reason. There could be student paper awards, travel awards, or student presentation sessions. There could be research speed dating or a desire to have more student presentations in each section. Likely the peer review will not change, but the selection process might chnage. Paper selection is not just about the best paper, but about the best fit given the goals of the conference. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]
2017/12/02	835	3,591	<issue_start>username_0: This question is related to the articles that are often cited in introduction or motivation section of any article. Often while writing an introduction, I mostly cite the famous works that are relevant to my work. Some other time I also cite the recent works from high-impact journals that are relevant to my work. This is primarily because these works are more show-cased and are widely available. However, even though these works are relevant, is it ethical to just cite popular relevant works? What if an author published a more relevant work and it never got popular because he published in a low-impact journal? (This is refutable by saying: “Interesting work always gets cited and gets popular, irrelevant of the journal’s impact factor.”)<issue_comment>username_1: * If your purpose is to cite general references for a topic, it is better to cite a recent review article (if available; as suggested by the OP), as summarizes all recent works on that topic. Not only this makes your manuscript and its references better weighted but also properly guides the readers (random references are not useful). * If a relevant review article is not available, cite the references which better fit your statement to be referenced. If there is no other preference, it is better to cite references from the leading journals of the field (regardless of the impact factor), which are read by most of the readers. * If you cite a specific finding, then the reference should be cited regardless of the host journal. As a side note, for the general references, it is better to cite references you may use in the rest of your manuscript too. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: No, omitting work you know to be relevant simply because its publication venue does not have as high an impact factor is not ethical. The purpose of citations is to point your reader to the relevant additional literature, give credit to the work that came before you, and position your work in the broader space. Indexing the most prominent venues (and thereby reinforcing their prominence) is not one of their purposes. If you read the paper, and it materially impacted your work, you should cite it. And you should cite other papers that are relevant. You don't have to cite every thing that has ever been written on the topic (and as username_1 mentioned, review articles are a great thing to cite), but quality of individual papers, not prestige of their publication venue, should be the deciding criteria. > > This is refutable by saying "Interesting work always gets cited and gets popular, irrelevant of the journals impact factor." > > > I do not believe that refutation, but even if it were true, it would not be true if authors approached citation as you are proposing. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: A decision to cite someone is not always, but very often based on the catchy title, on friendship, or on the hopes to get reviewed by authors of the cited manuscript, to do research with them if they are rich, to collaborate, to push one's PhD students to them later, to get invited by them, etc. Citation counts do not have as much to do with the actual scientific paper quality as you think. Having said that, it is not only unethical, it is simply stupid to cite only high-impact papers. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Impact factors are calculated from citation counts. If everyone just cites based on impact factor, in the end impact factors will become meaningless as they'll just be measuring last year's impact factor. Upvotes: 1
2017/12/02	789	3,449	<issue_start>username_0: Regarding to a course for undergraduates (especially in computer science, but i would love to hear opinions from others too): Is it okay to assign free marks for assignments? Meaning, the students who submitted the assignments will be assigned full marks. If yes, in total how much percentage of free marks you assign from the overall 100% of the course? Is 30-40% too much? How many assignments do you give? This is because, students tend to discuss or copy paste the assignments from friends. And I don't want them to do that because of fear of losing marks. When I say I don't deduct marks for a particular exercise, I see that some students are willing to take the challenge and be creative with their answers, although their answers sometimes are wrong. I believe that people learn from mistakes. But people might question me if I just give them full marks for 30~40% from the overall course marks. I couldn't measure whether I am too lenient, unbelievable, too dumb, etc, because of lack of experience. So please, any opinion would be appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: This heavily depends on your country, institution and position (most professors can get away with everything in regard of teaching if they research well). In my country in Central Europe, this strategy is in universities not unheard of (because of the arguments you mention). One of my high school teachers even claimed that she is not allowed to give marks about the content of the homework, only about whether we did it in time, read the assignment careful and wrote comprehensively. Of course, you could also make the homework weigh less. Personally, I like this approach if you not mark the contents but whether or not they tried the tasks in a reasonablr fashion. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would not assign a very high percentage of the overall course grade based on "participation." I currently assign 10% to homework (although this could become as much as 15%, as I have a 5% "floating" component that I set equal to the best overall individual component of the grade). The reason for not setting "participatory" components to be too large is that you lose the ability to make more meaningful distinctions between students under such a system. The smaller the scale available, the less room you have to distinguish between above average, average, and below average students. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: While I like the general idea, out of experience I can tell you that it might not work as well as you expect. For one course, we had too many students and not nearly enough TAs. So as it was impossible to correct everything, we had to change our approach and reduced the grading criterion to "reasonable tried to solve the exercise problem", i.e. "not just copied the question". Nearly all of the grade was determined by the final exam anyway. Despite having explicitly announced this, whenever I sampled what they handed in, a lot of it was definitely copied (by hand) from somewhere else. Whenever we reused an exercise, they even copied the official solutions somebody handed down from the previous year. What worked a bit better was to give them a voluntary assignment, which was corrected as hard as in the exam but would not count for the final grade at all. However even there I saw some too identical solutions and of course many did not even hand in anything. Upvotes: 1
2017/12/02	1,112	4,401	<issue_start>username_0: Due to the recently passed tax bill by the United States Senate, graduate students will incur more taxes on their income which is already small. This will certainly affect my academic performance and research productivity. One of the professors in the department promised his students to compensate them by supplementary scholarships or awards. Can I ask my adviser to do the same thing to me?<issue_comment>username_1: First, it is not quite a law yet as it still needs to go through conference and be signed by the president. Regardless, you can ask for a raise, but arguing for a raise on the basis that your personal situation has changed is not really a good strategy. Most people ask for a raise when they can make a case that they have been performing well. Many advisors do not have spare money floating around. Stipends can be set at the department or university level. As I said in [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/29271/why-are-tuition-fees-for-phd-students-so-high-in-the-usa-despite-not-taking-any/29274#29274) graduate student tution is an odd thing. Universities may either automatically increase stipends or decrease tution. It is really too soon to know. Your best bet is to probably unionize and make sure the university begins treating students responsibly. The issue, at least as I see it, is that advisors need to justify to funders why a PhD student is needed as opposed to a permanent RA or post doc. When PhD students are cheaper than the other alternatives, it is easy. In my field, the NIH post doc rate is about $40,000 a year. This means there is only a little gap in costs between a PhD student, after covering tuition and fees, and a post doc. The problem is not really the change in tax code, but rather in the fact that full time researchers are being charged tuition. This is something, at least in my opinion, that needs to be addressed on a university/department level and not with the individual advisor. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Such a request is likely to go nowhere. Most departments have a "fixed" stipend system: people get a pre-determined stipend, although this can be augmented when needed. Usually, such "raises" are to "reward" students for bringing in outside money, or for moving from the master's phase of a program to the doctoral phase. The better approach would be to organize with students across the university to see what can be done (perhaps lowering the amount of the tuition charge associated with the waiver?). Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: > > Due to the recently passed tax bill by the senate, graduate students > will incur more taxes on their income which is already small. > > > It is not law yet. > > One of the professors in the department promised his students to > compensate them by supplementary scholarships or awards. > > > They should not have done that. For something that affects literally every graduate student waiting for the university to figure out what they want to do before putting together some sort of patchwork solution is likely to be way more useful in the long term. > > Can I ask my adviser to do the same thing to me? > > > You can certainly ask. But graduate student funding often comes from fixed pots of money, and lots of faculty don't just have piles of unallocated money sitting about. Further, many departments are aggressively opposed to having compensation in a department vary by advisor. Beyond that, if you asked me, my answer would be "Lets wait and see what the university intends first." Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The people who run universities in the United States are acutely aware of this legislation, even though it isn't in final form yet. There will be a reconciliation process, in which the House and Senate bills are merged. (Kind of like making sausage!) When that happens, possibly in the next couple of weeks, you and everyone else will know what will happen to grad students' taxes. The bill still has to be signed into law by the President, and that seems very likely to happen. Then it will be appropriate to ask what your university will do for all graduate students in your situation. Be aware that it may take some time for them to figure it out, but they probably can't leave grad students in a position of no or negative income. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/02	1,796	7,830	<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently taking a class that doesn't have a required textbook, which is why I took it. My professor is now saying that due to her scanning and printing out handouts for use we are each required to give her $15. I'm confused by this because isn't the money supposed to go through my university, as a fee for the class, rather than through her? I just want to know if she's allowed to do this<issue_comment>username_1: A professor should not be asking directly for money from the students. If the professor is scanning and printing things out for the students at her own expense, then something is wrong. Either the assignments and handouts should have been compiled into a course book, or the department should be helping to defray the professor's expenses. Regardless of the request, I would be very uncomfortable giving money directly to the faculty member. It could be paid to the department, which would then reimburse the faculty member. But I would never hand cash or a check over to the faculty. This sets a very bad precedent. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: I have never seen anything like this (I'm from France). I could imagine it might make sense, but as a student I would also find it a bit weird and would prefer that the money collection part were managed by the university rather than by the professor directly. As a professor, if I ever needed to do something like this, I would request explicit consent from each student before incurring expenses on their behalf, and I would provide a receipt when asking for reimbursement so that they know that they are reimbursing me the actual printing cost. In any case, if this makes you uncomfortable or if the fee seems unreasonable to you, but you don't want to make a fuss, one option could be to ask the professor to send you a PDF and do the printing yourself, or to make copies yourself of a fellow student's copy of the course material. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Group orders of printed materials are frequently organized by professors in my experience, just to get better prices for the students. However, these are usually prefaced with "of course you can acquire these materials on your own, but they're going to be $X if I order them and I believe they are usually $X+z otherwise. Please put your name down on this page if you would like me to order one for you." It may be that your prof is just bad at communicating. But what's odd in your case is that it seems to a) not be voluntary/your prof didn't give you an alternate avenue to acquire the materials and b) it's just copying worksheets, which should be part of regular expenses. ~~I can't believe the department wouldn't have a copier available for the prof to use for free!~~ Edit: I stand corrected, there are apparently many places where professors are charged for copying, in which case it may be those costs your prof is trying to recoup. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: As others mentioned numerous times already, the geolocation might dictate how appropriate this "requisition" is. To start with, copying textbooks is already some questionable ethics, and selling a copied (even partially) copyrighted material is somewhat shady. Besides, it makes little sense to force students to use the sources with low availability. I remember a few times when the book was really hard to come by, and it was before the time when internet became widely available. Despite this, all the time there were numerous options, either the book was available for free in the library, or the teacher hands out a few copies and people were able to photocopy for the rest for free. In a class of 30+ people finding someone with an unlimited access to Xerox machine hasn't been a real issue. These days at the university's library there is quite often a professional-grade book copier, which can also send scans to your university account for free (included in tuition fee). Besides, you can always make photos with your smartphone these days and decide whether you want print it out or read from a screen. To sum it up, technically getting textbook copies has never really been an issue. Taking all of this into account and the fact that your professor hasn't informed you beforehand or left you with other options signifies poor organization of studying process to say the least. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Check your department policies. It likely varies from school to school, but every department should have their policies available for students. It may take some digging, but getting the official information will be worth it if it makes you uncomfortable. My wife had a similar situation her final year. Her professor created a booklet of worksheets and required each student for $15 to pay for the printing and binding of the book. She claimed that doing it this way would save the students money as she could get them at cost. We checked the University website and found the department policy page. It took us about 20-30 minutes to find the relevant information It was explicitly stated in the policies that faculty and staff were not allowed to take money directly from students and any required course materials had to be made available through the campus store or online. We emailed the professor our concerns and a copy of the policy (and copied the department head). The professor apologized for violating policy and made the material available through other methods (the campus store also sold them for $15 btw). If the material isn't required, or there is no specific policy, then ask the professor for digital copies to be made available. Most professor's I knew were very accommodating in making course materials available in multiple formats. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: The issue here is sometimes the professor is actually doing this as a cost saving technique. You can buy the required materials for $15 or buy this textbook for $200 of which we only cover 1 chapter. Some schools are lucky enough to have an actual binder department, which can do this for them at much cheaper price and some schools don't. Whether or not it is wrong depends on your schools/departments rules and regulation. Some places have a cost threshold, and below that it is not mentioned. Sometimes it is a case of either the instructor forgetting to put it on the syllabus or they missed a deadline after which it can't be changed for another semester. There could copyright issues here, but some instructor have actually gone through the effort to get written permission from the author or publisher to at least make it legal in terms of copyright. I suggest you get a copy of your student handbook, probably online at their website or in the admissions or registration office. See what it says, and if it contradicts the policy email the instructor and let them know. The downside here is if the instructor has been doing the students a favor, the instructor may be force to list a $200 textbook. Instead of just paying $15, now you need pay $200. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: No, she is not allowed to do this, unless your syllabus states you can incur photocopy costs, and I've never seen that. At most institutions your syllabus is a contract, and wide departures are subject to formal grievance. Without that in place, what's to stop her from charging you for 300 pages per week at $0.10/page? She probably has no sinister motives, but you are not obligated to pay. (Ironically, having a required text would likely set you back far more, but that was a factor you were able to assess prior to entering the contract). But, I suggest you simply tell her you can't pay. Bringing this up at a higher level might have consequences she might not deserve. Asking students for payment directly looks pretty bad. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/03	184	793	<issue_start>username_0: How can I find (and execute) profitable, patent-producing research? Specifically, I want to produce financially rewarding patents. Are there any steps to success? There always seems to be an element of luck, but how do I maximize chances?<issue_comment>username_1: Pick something that has just become possible, or which people have only recently realized is possible, and which hasn't been worked to death by others. Look for untilled soil. If you're the first to tackle a problem, pretty nearly anything you do will be new and potentially patentable. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: One method is to do applied instead of basic science or math. So of stem its easier in the engineering and technology/programming than in the basic science and math. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/03	922	3,628	<issue_start>username_0: As a retired school teacher, and to become a professor at a university. Is it okay to get into a PhD program at the age of 65 and complete it to become a professor? Or is it too late and I can’t get employed at a university?<issue_comment>username_1: The realistic answer is: you can enroll in a PhD program at age 65. However, you are highly unlikely to get a tenure-track professorship after finishing a PhD program at that age. The big reason for this is that you're already above the retirement age, and many schools do have rules about how old you can be and still advise students. Moreover, you probably wouldn't represent a good "long-term investment." On the other hand, you may be able to obtain a position as a part-time lecturer or adjunct faculty—in other words, for positions where you are not directly supervising PhD candidates. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: It could be hard to get into a PhD program since potential advisers will be looking for students who will have many productive years ahead to establish a legacy. But you don't need a PhD to be a lecturer at most universities here in the US. You only need a master's. It's not the same as the tenure track positions, which actually have professor titles, but the students still call you professor. I'm 66. I fell into teaching when my department chairman at University of Washington Bothell posted a request onto an IEEE email list for industry veterans to advise teams of seniors on their Capstone projects. I thought I was volunteering to do it free and was surprised it paid and even more surprised they'd pay me. With only a master's, it was never on my radar that any university would let me do this. At Washington, I was an affiliate (part-time), but that led to being recruited to a full-time three year appointment at University of Michigan. It's possible it could happen to you, too. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: This may be difficult for younger academicians to comprehend: There is the adage that 'Those who can, do; those who can't, teach'. Let's say that I earn a B.S. or M.A. in computer engineering and go onto to start my own company, make a gazillion dollars, sell that company and start another. I sell that company and now have a net worth of twenty billion dollars. I'm sixty years old, I have the time and money. I've made my fortune, set up a foundation to do good works, and am now eager to explore other areas of life. I think, why not get that PhD? It has nothing to do with teaching; it's about challenge, accomplishment, and completion. And who knows, maybe some university will hire me--not because I'm young, but because I have wisdom and life experience. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: In most academic fields in the US it takes most people 10 years or more to go from the start of a Ph.D. program to starting a tenure-track academic position. This includes the time to get a Ph.D. plus one or two postdoctoral or visiting assistant professorship positions. If you start at 65 you're going to be looking for permanent positions when you're 75, and odds are that means you'd be looking at 10 years of preparation for a position you're likely to hold for less than five years. You would also probably need to move to a new city at least twice during those ten years. That doesn't seem like a great plan from your point of view. Also it's not clear at this point whether you will still be interested in and able to do the job in your late 70s. Lots of people at your current age are effective faculty, but the vast majority choose to retire before their late 70s. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/03	1,042	4,363	<issue_start>username_0: I started a postdoc in a new lab a few months ago. In my former lab, people worked on a variety of activities all the time. By these I mean activities other than the funded project and teaching, e.g. reviewing papers, grant writing, participation in working groups/editorial boards/societies/etc, (co)authoring papers on other topics, meeting researchers from other departments for informal discussions, and so on. Of course to a reasonable extent that it doesn’t conflict with the main activities for which the researcher is paid. I was thinking that is the norm in academia, however in my new lab people seem to work only on their project and don’t do anything else. While I am not prohibited to work on these things, I am uneasy and puzzled to continue, but also I am not sure if bringing this topic to my professor is the best idea. Should I continue working on these without an explicit permission? It is really important for my career to do other work too, e.g. I am currently finishing a paper I have been working on during free time, but it has nothing to do with my current project (which is good for my cv). Can I have repercussions if I publish a paper on a topic that is not part of my funded job? Can I just say I worked on it in my free time or during weekends?<issue_comment>username_1: To involve in activities for what you are not paid is ethical as long as you do it in your free time. In EU most people follow a strict office hours like 9-5 with a break in between. In such cases whatever you do after 5 p.m or before 9 a.m is your choice. You are paid or funded only for the hours. But, some people mostly researchers tend to not like having a strict office hours. For instance, I would sometimes work in the middle of the night as soon as I get an interesting idea. In such cases, you can still work on projects that you are not being paid off as long as you stay productive in your paid job too. Other scenario is what you do as leisure time project having connections to what you are paid for. Like getting a ground breaking idea from a project you are paid for but then publishing that idea on your own without acknowledging the funding source. That is unethical. You should at least state that in your acknowledgement as "Results of this research work arised during authors work during "this project" funded by "this source". Finally, doing such unrelated works in your unpaid time is good for your career. It shows your passion. Wonderful part in such projects is that you are your own boss. And that shows on successful completion you are capable of handling total freedom without procrastinating. And to involve in such projects you don't need permission from your Professor. But letting him know depends on how close your relationship with you professor is. My PI is a wonderful person and spends almost 2 hours a day with me. We share a lot of stuff and it would be awkward for me to hide such a thing with him. But if the PI is super busy and never caring, you don't have to explain him about your leisure time activities. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: > > I was thinking that is the norm in academia, however in my new lab people seem to work only on their project and don’t do anything else. While I am not prohibited to work on these things, I am uneasy and puzzled to continue, but also I am not sure if bringing this topic to my professor is the best idea. > > > I agree that the norm in academia is, and should be, that staff on all levels need to have sufficient freedom to pursue their own interests in addition or within the funded project(s). As a postdoc, this is particularly troubling, because you need to use your postdoc time to diversify your research themes, skills, and collaborative network. Basically, if you are a postdoc and sitting in your office all day working on a single project, you are doing it wrong (and hurting your career big time). I don't think that sneaking a little side project here and there by your professor is sufficient. As a postdoc, you should be able to dedicate significant work time towards progressing your own career. I suggest you bring this up with your professor, and, if they don't appear to understand or accept your concerns, I would start brushing off the CV and get back onto the job market. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2017/12/03	1,223	5,225	<issue_start>username_0: Firstly, I do not believe this to be a duplicate of the related recently posted question due to the key fact that that user was anonymous to his class and I am not. This has happened 3 times now. While taking standardized tests, someone cheats. These aren't just classroom tests, but rather officially proctored, nation-wide tests. The first time, some students had significantly more time, both starting before the official call to start, and ending after the official end. The Proctor was pretty relaxed, and either didn't notice / didn't care. The second time, someone's phone went off twice, and on full volume (the student in question had to stand up and manually turn the phone off). The Proctor did not alert his superiors, although many students had lost a significant amount of time and the incident negatively impacted our scores. We were told beforehand that any distractions during would be an immediate invalidation of the test (we even had to keep our phones in a box), but this seemed to go unnoticed. The third time was similar. I complained to my peers afterward, and they all told me not to tell anyone or do anything for fear that it would cancel or negatively impact our scores (most of them did well). I didn't feel comfortable with this, but I didn't report anything both for fear of both my reputation being impacted, and for fear of my scores being cancelled on a test that I studied significantly for and potentially did well on. If I were to report any of these incidents, most people would immediately know that it was me who had filed the report, and I would be severely socially ostracised. I did/do not desire this at all. In hindsight, I should have kept it to myself, not expressed my worries to my friends / acquaintances, but unfortunately this did not happen. In a situation like this, what is the appropriate course of action post-disclosure? Report the student in question and risk negative reputation, a cancellation of scores, and hard work put in (but do the right thing and have fairness reign), or keep the cheating to oneself (and preserve reputation but carry a dishonest weight)?<issue_comment>username_1: To involve in activities for what you are not paid is ethical as long as you do it in your free time. In EU most people follow a strict office hours like 9-5 with a break in between. In such cases whatever you do after 5 p.m or before 9 a.m is your choice. You are paid or funded only for the hours. But, some people mostly researchers tend to not like having a strict office hours. For instance, I would sometimes work in the middle of the night as soon as I get an interesting idea. In such cases, you can still work on projects that you are not being paid off as long as you stay productive in your paid job too. Other scenario is what you do as leisure time project having connections to what you are paid for. Like getting a ground breaking idea from a project you are paid for but then publishing that idea on your own without acknowledging the funding source. That is unethical. You should at least state that in your acknowledgement as "Results of this research work arised during authors work during "this project" funded by "this source". Finally, doing such unrelated works in your unpaid time is good for your career. It shows your passion. Wonderful part in such projects is that you are your own boss. And that shows on successful completion you are capable of handling total freedom without procrastinating. And to involve in such projects you don't need permission from your Professor. But letting him know depends on how close your relationship with you professor is. My PI is a wonderful person and spends almost 2 hours a day with me. We share a lot of stuff and it would be awkward for me to hide such a thing with him. But if the PI is super busy and never caring, you don't have to explain him about your leisure time activities. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: > > I was thinking that is the norm in academia, however in my new lab people seem to work only on their project and don’t do anything else. While I am not prohibited to work on these things, I am uneasy and puzzled to continue, but also I am not sure if bringing this topic to my professor is the best idea. > > > I agree that the norm in academia is, and should be, that staff on all levels need to have sufficient freedom to pursue their own interests in addition or within the funded project(s). As a postdoc, this is particularly troubling, because you need to use your postdoc time to diversify your research themes, skills, and collaborative network. Basically, if you are a postdoc and sitting in your office all day working on a single project, you are doing it wrong (and hurting your career big time). I don't think that sneaking a little side project here and there by your professor is sufficient. As a postdoc, you should be able to dedicate significant work time towards progressing your own career. I suggest you bring this up with your professor, and, if they don't appear to understand or accept your concerns, I would start brushing off the CV and get back onto the job market. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2017/12/03	339	1,339	<issue_start>username_0: Following APA style, "[if you are citing a work written in a non-Latin script (e.g., Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Russian), the reference must be transliterated into the English alphabet.](http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/12/citing-translated-works-in-apa-style.html)" Sometimes, for a given language, e.g, [Persian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Persian), there are more than one system for transliteration and the researcher needs to choose one of them. In such cases, shall we tell our audience what system have been used for transliteration? If yes, where is the best section to put it in an academic journal? In the methods?<issue_comment>username_1: It depends on the journal style, so only the editorial office can give a definite answer. I'd suggest using the Acknowledgements section, which often sits between Conclusions and References. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It is unlikely that you need to specify in your references which system of transliteration was used. The purpose of the references is for the reader to be able to look up the paper, and this should be possible regardless of the system used. If you do need to to specify the system anyway for some reason I am unaware of, a footnote attached to the reference(s) in question would be a good place. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/03	2,359	9,811	<issue_start>username_0: If one looks superficially at the publications of author X, he seems to be one of the top scientists in his field. But looking more closely his citations are 60% from himself 35% from his co-author, and 5% from others. (Some people might say: “It doesn’t matter, probably he is the only one working in such a field and he has to cite himself.” However, let’s say that it is not the case.) This author is only one example of many people who do self-citations. Many of us have grown up to see citation as a measure and started to mishandle it. As it is easy to do so. My questions are: 1. Isn’t there a system which monitors unethical self-citations apart from the peer-review process, where such authors pass such tests and still extensively cite themselves? 2. Isn’t there a system that blacklists authors who involve in similar unethical activities as “fake scientists” and never allows them to publish anywhere else? 3. Do institutions not realize that such professors are a potential threat to science and ask them to resign? 4. Don’t such people demean real science people who spend years of hard work to publish their work?<issue_comment>username_1: 1) I suspect social values concerning self-citations may vary field by field, but in my (partly-former) sub-discipline within AI, self-citations are not frowned upon as far as I can see. 2) It's not necessarily that people think it's a good way to increase the h-index because some metrics exclude self-citations. Instead, self-citing helps boost the profile of the paper, which in turn benefits real citations. 3) Even if self-citing is terrible, then the few that do self-cite a lot force others to do so too, that is, some people may simply be doing what they have to do. People are gaming academia in such cases, but not Science itself. I don't think citations and the h-index are partly-constitutive of Science. So, if it is wrong, then it is violating an academic rather than a scientific norm, in my opinion. The 'real science' remains science regardless of if it is cited a lot or not at all. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think there is a good way around self-citations, since most of the time, your current research builds upon your previous research, and therefore, your previous research (or that of your collaborators) is relevant to your current research. However, from my experience, self-citations form a small part of the overall number of citations. Assuming the author's group is not the only one working on a topic, there seem to be two other problems here: 1. other people don't seem to cite his work, which could mean that he is ignored, his work isn't visible or his work is just not good and/or relevant enough. 2. basing quality on number of citations is flawed. The number of citations is closely related to an authors H-index, which is criticized regularly. The same criticism should be valid for number of citations. To tackle the "problem" of self-citations (I would not say this is a problem in the majority of cases), some citation-based measures are based on citations excluding self-citations. This does of course get tricky when collaborators are citing someone's work, but the large bulk of self-citations will be removed this way. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: To answer the questions directly: 1. There is no such "system" that I know of. There are a variety of independent "watchdog" groups, bloggers, etc, who sometimes draw attention to what they see as abuses in academic publishing, and occasionally notorious cases will be discussed in academic or popular media. But I'm not aware that these people or organizations monitor these issues in a systematic way, beyond individual cases. There is certainly no single global body overseeing the issue. 2. Again, there is no system. Academic publishing is decentralized and every publisher makes their own decisions about how to run their journals. Individual publishers might have their own internal blacklists of authors who have committed abuses in that publisher's journals, and whose work will no longer be considered by that publisher. But there is no global blacklist, nor any central organization that would have the power to enforce it. Many people would consider such a blacklist to be unethical - such systems have in the past been abused to exclude people for inappropriate reasons - and in some jurisdictions the idea of an industry-wide blacklist might be illegal. 3. Institutions make their own decisions. They might not know about such abuses until they are brought to their attention by someone else. They might or might not consider them significant enough to fire a researcher. They might be swayed by the researcher's success in other areas. There might be disagreement within the institution about what to do. In many places there are tenure policies that can make it difficult to fire a researcher; it might require a broad consensus among faculty and administration that the researcher's actions are unacceptable, as well as requiring a long and costly legal or quasi-legal process. Institutions might not feel that self-citation abuse is worth the effort. 4. Arguably. However, that is a matter of opinion and off-topic for this site. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: There is a system that ignores such citations. Ideas RePec (Research Papers in Economics) compiles citation counts for economics research. Author rankings are computed that exclude self-citations and which, when ranking journals or working paper series, exclude citations from that same outlet. For example: <https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.person.nbcites.html> Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Single-author self-citations (in peer reviewed publications) are hardly capable of generating a significant citation count (for peer reviewed publications) or H-index, unless author X publishes at a very high rate in peer reviewed journals. The story is different with large collaborations: if each of ~100 authors cites their paper in their next few publications, this generates several 100 citations. Edit. Oft course only peer reviewed publications should be considered to assess scholarly impact. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: The problem is that citation counts are nothing better than a gross approximation to a measure of quality. You can see this from the fact that "Smith is a moron who published an extensive series of papers [1-7] claiming that influenza is spread by eating cabbage; Jones [8] has conclusively demonstrated this not to be the case" gives Smith's junk many more citations than Jones's proper science. > > 3. Do institutions not realize that such professors are a potential threat to science and ask them to resign? > > > They're not a threat to science at all. They're a threat to people who believe that science is about counting citations. > > 4. Don’t such people demean real science people who spend years of hard work to publish their work? > > > No. We demean real science people who spend years of hard work to publish their work by reducing that hard work to "I have ten citations and you have six so I'm better than you." Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Self citation is a reasonable thing to do if you want it to be easy for people to follow the history of your work. Most progression of science is gradual and most progression of each scientists individual work is also gradual. Therefore it is not very strange if a scientist explains the gradual evolution of their work by citing themselves. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: This is bound to happen; researchers follow their line of inquiry. And yes, it will help their H-index unless manually corrected. But, most top-tier institutions are wise to this, and a hiring committee will look at this in-depth. At my former institution, the H-index was recomputed less self citations. Hiring committees and grant panels won't fall for this, so don't be too concerned. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: There is nothing, at all, unethical about self-citation. Authors should cite their previous work where it is relevant to their current work, as should co-authors and anyone else who refers to the work. On the other hand, treating citation counts as a measure of ability in unethical. As with every other metric of this kind, it perverts and distorts science. Your question therefore is aimed at the wrong problem, and because the question is based on an incorrect premise there is no good answer to it. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: You don't monitor. You let them do. It looks unfair, and yes it has negative consequences on researchers morale, though no matter the amount of self-citations and citations obtained on the shoulders of other researchers work, only due to having placed their name on others papers they haven't read, they will not get anywhere near the number of citations of really breakthrough papers. I met one of these self citing professors. In his whole career he placed his name on thousand of papers he has not even read and encouraged self citations at any level, praising number over quality. He had his fingers in multiple research departments, and to do that he was mainly doing the boring work of the politician. In twenty years of this boring work, his number of citations was an order of magnitude below the citations of a single successful paper (such as Nakamoto, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" or the Rivest, Shamir, Adlemann "A method for obtaining digital signatures and public-key cryptosystems"). But in the meantime he and his similar kept alive research lab and departments, getting on researchers and students, while taking all the administrative and managerial work. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/03	490	2,084	<issue_start>username_0: The professor I am trying to contact has multiple email addresses listed on the department page. I mailed to one and got no response since two weeks; then I mailed to the other and still no response since a week. I was wondering if he was receiving my emails at all and I decided to check more into the department page and found out that it hasn't been updated for a good 10-15 years. All the student lists refer to people who passed out decades back, and this made me think that the email addresses listed may also be outdated. His recent papers show a different email address, and at this point I am in a bit of a fix, since I don't want to sound rude by pestering him with emails (if he indeed did receive it and chose not to reply) but at the same time I'm not sure if he received them at all. Would it be good idea to mail him at his most recently used address?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, write again to the most recent (as mentioned on publications) email address. If you worry about making him feel like you are spamming him, explain shortly that you tried the what you think are old emails first, but then found this (now used) address. The old "excuse for double posting" might also work in slightly changed wording. You cannot expect someone to check all old email addresses, especially should those be from a different university. Of course it could be that all your emails were forwarded or are connected to the same mailbox, hence you might want to include a short note explaining your potentially multiple emails. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is highly appropriate; professors get bombarded with e-mail and often thing's slip through and e-mails change (although I still get e-mail from most of my old e-mail addresses-- doesn't mean I respond to all!). By repeatedly trying, you are showing perseverance and a true desire to get in contact. Be polite, explain why you desire to get in touch, be formal (no Dear Tom, if you haven't met), and be nice. If the professor thinks it spam, they will let you know. IMO. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/03	456	1,961	<issue_start>username_0: I am interested in pursuing a particular program and I find the name of some of the past students from professor's website. Is it odd to write an email to these past graduate students and ask about the job and their future career? could you please tell me what should I write to be natural? I am particularly worried about finding the job and future career.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, if you are interested in working for that professor as a graduate student, ask their former students what the professor is like before you join the lab. Ask about the professor's leadership style and reputation. Ask lots of people and you will learn a lot about what makes a good professor. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In regards to your question what you should write I have but a few hints: Students may be dependent for a very long time on their former advisor. Therefore, they may not want to badmouth their advisor to a stranger and answer some questions untruthfully (or ignore your request). So you should (if you want to get honest answers) formulate questions in a way such that no answer is negative. I. e. if it's very important to you that your advisor helps you a lot, you should not ask "Does the advisor helps a lot?" but rather sth. like "Is the advisor more hands-on or hands-off"? Also, of course ask as detailed as possible. The same things go for the "future career". Since I would consider it rather impolite to start an email with many questions, you should ask by writing "Is it okay to ask you a few questions about your advisor and your future career"? Maybe you should also clarify what you mean by "future career". If this is at all possible, you may ask to meet the students in person (of course in the way which is most comfortable to them). In a personal meeting, people are more likely to tell you true negative things (if they got a good impression of you) since their is no written trail. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/04	651	2,834	<issue_start>username_0: When I was a undergraduate student, I worked in a professor's lab doing research about "A". I helped the senior members to do some work they didn't want to do, like designing a website for their demos, or doing some basic calculations. You don't have to have the background knowledge of A to do that work. Then they added me on two papers, though I was always the last one. Afterwards, during my master study, I conducted real research individually in another field "B". Now I am trying to apply for study in an interdisciplinary field that merges fields A and B. The problem is I know little about A. I am a afraid that the professors in the admission committee would ask me something about A and I definitely can't answer. And they would think I lied, which I didn't. Should I put the papers on my CV?<issue_comment>username_1: As long as you can describe what your role in the paper was, you are fine. If you didn't play any scientifically relevant role, you shouldn't have been on the paper. Helping with calculations may count as scientific contribution, designing a website not (except for very special cases, e.g. where the website was used to analyse data). It is not uncommon to have early papers that do not fit with one's later work, and where one doesn't know much about, since one's role was very minor. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Your list of publications has to be complete. You should not omit any papers for which you are an author. If you are uncomfortable with some items on your list, you may add a note on why you happen to be a co-author, but dropping some work is not a good practice. In your case, I'd say that there is nothing wrong with these publications: The other authors agreed that your contribution was worth co-authorship and that's usually ok (assuming that the other authors know their field and acted appropriately). If somebody asks about that paper, you can frankly say that you did the calculations but that you can not answer questions about background/other parts or such. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would definitely put them on your CV. The admissions committee for a graduate school would be well aware that the author list order is significant. If they ask you about the paper just guide your answer towards what you contributed. The admission committee probably doesn't really want to know about the paper but rather more about your contributions anyways. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I worked for a research hospital for 30 years as an editor. I can promise you that anyone conversant with publishing and research knows that the second, third, fourth, fifth writer, etc. contributed in a minor way. Contribution at all describes a lot about a person's level of interest in the subject matter. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/04	727	3,045	<issue_start>username_0: My potential Masters advisor seems very interested in taking me on as a student since my first email to him was 5 days ago and he is already discussing which project to do with me. He said he aims to work on a project with his grad students that will help them with their future goals. He mentioned one direction I could go with a project. However, it requires a lot of math and statistics. I actually enjoy statistics and what he's proposing sounds very interesting, however, I am worried I don't have the knowledge to take on this project. I took 2 stats courses in undergrad and he has my transcript. I will also be taking 2-3 more stats courses in my masters. These courses will be more applicable to this field. It would be much easier to find a project for me to do if I go with the way that he's proposing. How do I raise my concerns to him? What should I say?<issue_comment>username_1: Just be honest about your worries but also show that you are motivated. For example, you could go along the lines of > > The project sounds really interesting, but I am not yet an expert on topic XX. Can you suggest a textbook to work through or a course to take before starting my work with you? How long do you assume it will take to get the necessary knowledge? Is there someone from your team (e.g. another student) who knows more about it, would it be possible to put us in the same office? > > > Just show that you are willing to fill the gaps you still have, ask for advice on how to best do it and you should be ok. Learning new stuff and getting the knowledge needed to do a project is part of your task during a Masters after all. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: First thing, in a master or in a PhD, you are a student and it's normal to learn new things. If your potential advisor wanted someone for this project that already knew how to do it, he/she would hire a postdoc. Actually, learning new techniques, in statistic or other, is what every scientist do, during their entire career. Second, you are already planning on taking additional statistical courses and your potential advisor knows your background. It seems to me that you will be fine and that you can do this. This sounds a lot like impostor syndrom and you should read on that. In that case, I wouldn't talk about that to a potential advisor. Do talk about it if you need to, but preferably to professional help or people who know you. For the record, I wouldn't hesitate in talking about impostor syndrom with my advisor, but I know him, he knows me and we have an healthy mentor-mentee relationship... If you still want to touch the subject with your potentiel advisor, do it simply: > > I'm very interested in this project, but I'm worried I don't currently have to knowledge to do it. Are those courses sufficent to help me with the project? Will there be additional help available ? > > > This is the good moment to enquire about lab resource, which can be professional statistical help or colleagues. Good luck. Upvotes: 4
2017/12/04	2,994	13,256	<issue_start>username_0: I often get asked to review papers on new software tools. This always makes me wonder how one should review such a paper, or even whether software papers should undergo a typical review process at all? My private checklist typically consists of: * Is it available for download for others? * Does it run? * Did the authors provide benchmark problems? Do they give expected results? * Is documentation sufficient? * Go through numerical methods used in the software (briefly, no meticulous code analysis) If everything runs fine and produces expected results, I honestly have nothing else to “demand” from the authors. My referee reports are positive and (embarrassingly) brief in those cases. I’m of the opinion that the user community should “do the rest”; evaluate the software and decide whether it’s useful in their workflows.<issue_comment>username_1: I have never reviewed an article but as someone that produces software (in bioinformatics) this is what I would like to know from a reviewer, expanding from your list: * Is it downloadable and has a license? I modified your first point because the code should be available for others and should have a license to known what other users/developers can do with that tool. * Does it work well? Do the authors made an effort to write the best tool? * Could you install the tool in your settings? * Are my tests enough to check that the software work as expected? * What else could I do to ensure that it works well? * Is the language of the tool a good choice? Is there a community of users and developers for that niche in that language? * Is it under version control? Is the tool under versioning? The tools are usually developed when there is a problem: * Does my tool solve correctly the problem targeted? * Could this tool be used in other problems/situations I haven't thought of? * Are there other methods to address the problem I am not aware of? * Did I take into account all the relevant factors or I forgot something? The tools are usually tested in a given dataset or compared to different tools as noted in a comment. This can be interesting if negative results are reported too. * Did I choose a good dataset ? * Did I choose well the tools to compare my tool with? * Is documentation sufficient? * How easy is to understand how does the tool work? * Does it clearly explain when you should use this tool? * Does it provide enough examples or scenarios where this tool could be useful? * Are the functions/methods/modules... easily understandable? * Do I need to explain something better? The software sometimes is developed by several people and several years: * Is the tool documentation consistent? Did I forget to make the style and documentation coherent? * Does it have a clear focus? Or did I went off at a tangent with other functions that don't bring anything to the tool and/or problem? When using the software questions will come, you as a reviewer can check how will be handled: * Does it have support from the authors? In a mailing list, a forum or alike? Preferably open to avoid having two users to have the same question * Is the long term support explained or thought? As you noted some of these question might be addressed by the community but you as a reviewer have the opportunity to check that the article of that software explains and solve a problem for the community, that it is reasonable well done and well thought. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You might want to avoid reviewing trivialities and useless stuff. So, in addition to what [Llopis said](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/99950/80454), ask whether the tool solves an interesting* problem. Yes, this is a broadly and vaguely stated question, so feel free to adapt it to your area. For example, in formal methods, tools are the alpha and omega of progress, so, tool writers must get proper* academic credit for proper work by, e.g., producing better results on standard benchmarks than the competitors. Also, bear in mind that tool papers are usually different from research papers and should be evaluated differently, among themselves. Certain conferences have special pure-tools tracks. In such cases, it should be the task of the PC to provide the corresponding template for evaluation. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: One perspective is from the Journal of Open Source Software, which explicitly establishes reviewer guidelines that cover these questions (<http://joss.theoj.org/about#reviewer_guidelines>). A (slightly edited) quote of the demands: > > Software license > There should be an OSI approved license included in the repository.[...] > > > Documentation > There should be sufficient documentation for you, the reviewer to understand the core functionality of the software under review. > > > A statement of need > The authors should clearly state what problems the software is designed to solve and who the target audience is. > > > Installation instructions > There should be a clearly-stated list of dependencies. Ideally these should be handled with an automated package management solution. > > > * Good: A package management file such as a Gemfile or package.json or > equivalent > * OK: A list of dependencies to install > * Bad (not acceptable): Reliance on other software not listed by the authors > > > > Example usage > The authors should include examples of how to use the software (ideally to solve real-world analysis problems). > > > API documentation > Reviewers should check that the software API is documented to a suitable level. This decision is left largely to the discretion of the reviewer and their experience of evaluating the software. [...] > > > Tests > Authors are strongly encouraged to include an automated test suite covering the core functionality of their software. > > > * Good: An automated test suite hooked up to an external service such as Travis-CI or similar > * OK: Documented manual steps that can be followed to check the expected functionality of the software (e.g. a sample input file to assert behaviour) > * Bad (not acceptable): No way for you the reviewer to check whether the software works > > > username_2 guidelines > There should be clear guidelines for third-parties wishing to: Contribute to the software, report issues or problems with the software, or seek support > > > This is a valuable way of thinking about reviewing software, and I think we should move closer to this. But it is not yet accepted! In my field, most "methods" papers don't even include software - and those that do would almost certainly fail these tests. (I'd never heard of continuous integration until recently, for instance.) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I have only written but not reviewed such a paper yet. My personal perspective comes from the fields of complex systems and scientific computing, but I offer some generalisable ideas. I structure my answer by the typical criteria applied to research papers: ### Soundness This is arguably the most difficult-to-translate and most field-dependent aspect. For example, in a simulational or experimental field, it is not feasible to completely verify the results of a research paper, as this would mean completely redoing it from scratch – all you can do (and are asked to do as a reviewer) is to check whether the employed methods are appropriate and the results are consistent. On the other hand, in some theoretical fields, you can (and are expected to) check every calculation and proof. I suggest to apply the same standard to software papers than to research papers and in particular method papers in the respective field. After all, if a software paper gets accepted, it should be citable as “evidence” like a regular research paper and in particular, a methods paper: With other words, citing the software paper should suffice as evidence that the respective task was done properly¹. So, as a practical criterion: 1. Consider a typical paper that would cite this software paper. Assume that the paper satisfies you with respect to scientific soundness otherwise. 2. Suppose that the citation would be replaced with the content of the software paper. 3. Would you still consider the paper scientifically sound (according to the standards of your field)? More specific criteria would include: * Are the employed algorithms, libraries, etc. appropriately chosen, i.e., can they be hold to the same standard, do they fit the application, and are they state of the art? * Does the paper sufficiently back up claims made on the correctness, efficiency, and usability of the software? This point may slightly differ depending on the format of publication. For example, if the software itself is regarded as part of the publication: Can you verify these claims (possibly using provided tests, benchmarks, documentation, and examples)? * Does the software sufficiently adhere to good software-engineering practices such as tests that ensure that it works as intended? --- ¹ barring the correct handling of the software, which should of course be appropriately described by the citing paper ### Novelty If the venue of publication has a novelty threshold, try to translate it to software. Pragmatically, you ask yourself whether the paper in question will contribute positively to the journal’s impact factor (or some other metric). Some specific criteria that come to mind: * Can the new software perform any tasks that have not been automatised before? * Is the software more efficient, more accurate, or easier to use than existing softwares by a relevant factor? * Is the software a module for a programming language that did not have such a module before and that is relevant for scientists in the respective area²? * How likely would you consider it that a user of an existing software performing the same tasks will switch to the software presented in the paper? * Is the software sustainable, i.e.: Do you expect that the authors or somebody else will maintain the code in the years to come? Is the codebase maintainable and extendable or was it legacy code at the moment it was written? Does the software depend on some exotic libraries that may break in the near future³? --- ² Who would need a CAS library for [Malboge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbolge)? ³ This is an actual problem: One of my motivations to write a software for a specific task was that existing softwares either depended on discontinued and deprecated libraries or on a library that was heavily changed in a non-backwards-compatible way (which in turn was possible because hardly anybody used it). ### Other Criteria Most other criteria should be easy to translate, in particular when you think of a method paper: * Is the paper well written, using a reasonable structure, consistent terminology, and so on? * Is it clear for which tasks the software can and cannot be applied? * Are any shortcomings of the software (efficiency, scalability, problems with specific tasks) properly discussed? * Are possible future expansions and improvements properly discussed? Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The actual answer mainly depend on the specific journal/conference/workshop. My own experience is from High Performance Computing - there may be some field-dependent common practices, but I think most of it will be similar. The main thing I see differently is that you are not reviewing the tool, you are reviewing the paper. Also a paper about a tool is not the same as documentation. Focus your review more on the scientific contribution of the paper rather than the tool itself. Ideally the paper itself should be useful without the tool. I would even argue that a paper describing a failed attempt of developing a new tool can be a valuable contribution for a slightly restricted audience. There is no general limitation to open source tools (unless of course your venue is the Journal of Open Source Software). At least for HPC, paper about proprietary tools are not uncommon. However, publicly available tools do improve the reproducibility of a paper. At the same time, any scientific paper should include a proper discussion of related work. The paper should describe tools that use similar techniques or address similar goals and how the new tool is different. If the tool leverages a published technique, it should be referenced. The related work can also include references that underline use cases. A tool-paper doesn't need to produce an detailed description on how to use the tool, but should focus on the novel concepts applied in the tool, be it in terms of implementation aspects or features. Use cases are also an important part, but more with a focus to evaluate the tool (e.g. performance comparisons), and how it is useful rather than instructing the user how to use it. While some workshops have a clear focus on tools, there are not only pure tools papers. It is possible to present a tool for X-analysis/optimization on a workshop on X. Or if a tool makes heavy use of a technique from Y, it would fit for a Y-conference. This shift in audience should reflect in the focus of the paper. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/04	1,037	4,375	<issue_start>username_0: I am graduating with a pass grade in my Master's degree from a good university in London. I want to apply for a PhD scholarship at the University of Sheffield in non-communicable diseases. I did public health undergraduate degree and became interested in non-communicable diseases in low income countries as it's a neglected area overshadowed by the high rate of infectious diseases. I wrote my undergraduate thesis in this area. I also have a personal interest in this field because I lost my mum to cancer within one year of her diagnosis. My pass grade in the Master's can partially be explained due to difficulties with illness. Do I stand a chance of gaining my desired PhD place, taking into account the medical reasons for the low grade and my proven interest in the field?<issue_comment>username_1: The obvious answers is: ask (University of Sheffield, not us) informally whether a (formal) application has any chances of success. From my own experience in the UK, that answer depends (1) on which agency is funding the PhD studentship and (2) on any (additional) rules applied by the University/Department. AFAIK, research-council funded studentships in the UK require a minimum grade of 2.1 (upper second) in (any) undergraduate degree (but exceptions may be possible, I'm not sure). So if prior to said master course (where I assume you only obtained a 3) you managed that, this would be fine (I know a PhD student in a UK Physics Dept, who obtained only a 2.2 in UG Physics from Oxford, but has previously graduated with a first in architecture, which sufficied to satisfy the rule). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: First of all, all you can do is apply, and as username_1 said, you may be able to ask through informal channels what your chances are. Second, it may depend on the program you're applying to, and how holistic their application evaluation process is. Finally, really do consider whether going right into a Ph.D. program is the right choice for you. I understand your lower grades are partially (or even mostly) due to external influences (believe me, I understand), and grades don't reflect the whole student, but they are one indication. Your grief about your mother will likely continue to complicate matters, so how are you doing in that area? How raw is it for you still? Under objective scrutiny, are your focus, decision-making, and emotional stability representative of the you that you want to expose to the rigors of a Ph.D. program? Or should you give yourself a little more space before you start? Another question in this area is, are your low grades indicative at all that, maybe, you have a passion for public health but possibly not in this field? What changes do you want to effect in public health, and is your current field where that work happens or is it actually another field? (An extreme example would be if you're really more interested in public health policy where a law background would serve you better or public health infrastructure where you actually need engineering, or something along those lines.) And I'm sure you've exhausted this question there and back again, but is this the right program for you? Of course, the right program is not the best one but rather the one that is in line with where you want to go. I can't say one way or the other about your grades, but you should at least be applying to a program that has a focus on public health and especially one that values your passion, even if they can't admit you in your current situation. Just remember that a Ph.D. is an extraordinarily demanding thing, and that there are definitely people who regret the experience. If it is going to be a positive and productive step in your life and career, you need to be solid on the reasons you're there. It's especially worth evaluating a little extra if you're motivated at all by momentum, like if you stop, you won't be able to restart. I may be completely off-base with my advice. I just had to say it just in case you're like me, because so much of what you describe is exactly where I was earlier in my life. Ultimately, if you want to apply, apply. If you're on the fence, explore your other options and then make your decision. There are likely many more than you imagine. And if you're just waiting on tenterhooks to hear back, best of luck! Upvotes: 1
2017/12/04	242	1,048	<issue_start>username_0: I know that CS journals usually accept extended version of a conference paper with some, say 10%, new contents. But is it still true for non-CS journals?<issue_comment>username_1: I think it would be a better strategy to submit the extended version to a CS journal and a different approach of the problem with a different point of view (not just 10% extension) to the non-CS journal. For the reader of the non-CS journal having a non-CS way of expressing the problem/solution would be more beneficial. For the reader that sees both submissions there will not be a feeling of simply trying to get more publications with the same paper (not meaning to be rude or anything!). Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Most journals expect at least 30% difference from any previous published version of your work. Some CS journals do not require such a change, or do not enforce it. In other journals this requirement may be strictly enforced or less strictly — this depends on the editor and the specific journal. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/04	364	1,623	<issue_start>username_0: I plan to apply for Masters. I am currently working as a research intern at a reputed University in my currently. I was assigned a Ph.D. mentor on joining the project by the Professor. Ph.D. mentor guided me on a daily basis and has a better understanding of my work and abilities than the Professor. The professor has little knowledge about my capabilities and I'm afraid he'll give me a very weak LOR if at all he agrees to give. Is it advisable to get a LOR from my Ph.D. mentor considering she does not have an official University email address or the University letterhead?<issue_comment>username_1: It is not advisable to get a letter of recommendation, even for a masters program, from somebody who is still a graduate student. Letters from graduate students are generally given very little weight in admission to U.S. graduate schools, and there are good reasons for this. Graduate students cannot be relied on to have the experience to evaluate students skills, relative to other typical graduate school applicants, or necessarily to judge whether a student is ready to complete a program of graduate studies. Whether the letter from the graduate student is on official letterhead is of very little importance in comparison. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Although it looks more professional to have a faculty email address on a letter of recommendation, it is not a must. The person that you are asking might have left the university, and also they might not yet have started in another university. This would not prevent you from having the letter of recommendation. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/05	308	1,266	<issue_start>username_0: I recently contacted a potential PhD supervisor expressing my interest in working with him. I attached all application materials (personal statement, CV, etc), as he requested on his website. I received a prompt reply that he is accepting graduate students for the upcoming semester and to let him know if I have any questions. How should I follow up with him, and what sort of questions are appropriate to ask at this stage? I submitted my formal application to the program soon after receiving his reply.<issue_comment>username_1: Ask for a phone/skype call to discuss research interests, and to see if the two of you would be a good fit. > > Hi <NAME>., Would you be available for a phone/skype call next week to discuss research projects and to see if I would be a good fit to be your advisee? Thank you! > > > Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As suggested by @username_1, take a personal approach (phone/Skype is best). PIs want people who are passionate and who fit well. Plus, a bit of ego stroking never hurts. The candidate who takes initiative to call/Skype demonstrates interest and initiative, and a little bit of ego-stroking that can pay dividends. At that point, you become a person, not a piece of paper. Upvotes: 1
2017/12/04	1,127	4,545	<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently in a Ph.D program for pharmaceutical sciences. Long story short my background is cell biology and I originally worked in a Cancer lab. My lab relocated and I could not follow. I was placed into a medicinal chemistry lab. This is how things work here, we get little choice. Anyway, I love my PI hes great, and my lab mates also great. However I have no clue what I'm doing. I have a project thats moving along nicely but once again . . . I don't even know why it's moving along. I don't understand chemistry, I have a mere 8 credit hours from my undergrad in chemistry, and now I am asked to operate under conditions that would require a significant chemistry foundation. In my eyes all I have been doing is mixing what I am told to mix, run it through a column, perform TLC, NMR, and mass spec, and that's it. I don't know why I'm using one solvent over another. I don't know the mechanism behind any of my reactions, and hours and hours of googling has yet to teach me anything about them. No matter how many questions I ask (and I ask a lot) I don't retain anything or understand half of it because it's all upper level concepts to which I have no base to put them on. How am I suppose to defend any thesis like this? How could I ever start a career? I have no motivation in lab because I don't understand anything,at all. I don't have either the time or the drive to teach myself years of chemistry I never learned. Moving labs is 100% NOT an option here. I don't know what to do, any advice is appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: This does seem like a difficult situation but don't lose hope! > > Moving labs is 100% NOT an option here. > > > That means that you will have to adapt to your current environment - i.e. to learn some core chemistry concepts. Without them, it is indeed difficult to find motivation to work on a project you don't understand. > > I don't have the time, nor the drive, to teach myself years of chemistry I never learned. > > > Time: I'd say that catching up on the background is one of your main priorities and is essential for your future as a researcher (given the circumstances). Luckily, you don't have to catch up on "years" of chemistry - start off with the areas that are most essential to your work (not specific questions, however, but rather general topics that are closely related to your experiments). Drive: As you keep broadening your horizons, keep track of all the things you've learned to stay motivated! There will be a lot of things to catch up on but try to notice all those little moments when the knowledge that you've acquired makes your job easier - there will be a lot of them, and they certainly count. > > No matter how many questions I ask (and I ask a lot) I don't retain anything or understand half of it because its all upper level concepts to which I have no base to put them on. > > > Sounds like you already know what you need. Whether it is auditing a class, reading a textbook, or taking an online course, you need some foundational knowledge to build upon. Googling won't cut it. Most importantly, be patient. It will take a while to become proficient in a new area, but it's certainly possible. Celebrate small victories and use this as an opportunity for growth. Good luck! Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I'm going to assume, as you requested, that you're absolutely stuck where you are, unable to go anywhere else. I don't know this is true, but for the purposes of my answer, I'll assume that it is. Well, sure, you could try to play catch-up with a whole lot of chemistry. But there might be another way out of this. What if you were to take a step back and look at the various research interests of the PI? Find something that interests you, where you have something to contribute? In other words, find some point of interdisciplinary intersection. And leave the heavy duty chemistry to the people in the lab who trained in chemistry. If there's nothing that jumps out at you from the PI's publication record or description of current research interests, then try to find at least one paper that uses something he's knowledgeable about, and something you're knowledgeable about. Or, think in terms of what you want to learn from this guy, that would help you later when you get back to your cell biology. Hopefully this PI will help you find some intersection with him -- a topic of your own. If not, find someone else in the department to get you started. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/05	507	1,971	<issue_start>username_0: I had a scientific-assistant position from April 2012 till December 2016. I had two children in between and took the necessary time off, the extension of contract due to this break is also included in the time mentioned in the beginning. Now I am trying to finish the thesis, but I am not very happy with the quality of results and am finding it hard to defend. Rather than finish, can I apply for another PhD position or not?<issue_comment>username_1: You may write another thesis, however, you will not be able to be employed on a limited-time contract in this capacity again due to the [Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz). So doing a second PhD means doing it without any financial support (unless you are able to get a scholarship, but all funding sources I know of require that it's your first time). ETA: Based on comments and the other answer, you may actually be allowed to continue on a limited-time contract still for 4 years plus the length of your maternity leaves. In this case it seems possible to complete another PhD in this time if you can get another position. However, if it's only the lack of time/distraction of children that lead to your current thesis not being where you want it to be yet, it would seem more worthwhile to invest the time to improve it. Unless you have significant issues with your current advisor/lab that you didn't mention, there's no reason to think your results would suddenly be so much nicer the second time around! Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: From a formal standpoint: Yes, you can apply for a new position since you get two extra years per child. See ["Was ändert sich für Familien"](https://www.bmbf.de/de/karrierewege-fuer-den-wissenschaftlichen-nachwuchs-an-hochschulen-verbessern-1935.html). I don't know how easy it is to apply at a new institute though. But if you're well connected, it might work out. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/05	1,401	4,705	<issue_start>username_0: I am currently supervising a visually impaired student. I noticed that quite often I use phrases such as "from X, we can see that Y" or ask the student to "read paper X" or "you need to look at your maximization problem", etc.. Once the sentence hangs in the room I immediately feel awkward. The student is of course capable to perform what I mean. The student can understand that "from X follows Y", can "listen to paper X", can "revise the maximization problem", etc.. Nonetheless, I wonder what the guidelines in such situations are. Should I refrain from using these words? How would a student who is visually impaired want to be treated?<issue_comment>username_1: They want to be treated as normal - so phrases like “it can be seen that the result changes X “ are fine but “ take this and divide by this” are not if you are pointing at numbers for example. One of my friends who is in a wheelchair will say "I walked down to..." it's just part of "normal" conversation... Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: #### Most English words referring to visual concepts also have broader meanings Most/all of these words/phrases in English have at least one broader meaning than you are using here (but sometimes also the narrower meaning you are using) that would encompass non-visual forms of the concept at issue. Your narrower interpretation of the word takes the visual version of the concept, which excludes blind people, but there is often a broader meaning that encompasses non-visual analogies to what your narrower interpretation. Even in the absence of the latter, communication is highly dependent on context, and the context of speaking to a blind person will generally make it obvious that you intend to refer to non-visual versions of the concepts at issue. For example, one of the narrower meanings of the word [see](https://www.google.com/search?q=dictionary+see&rlz=1C1VDKB_en-GBAU963AU963&ei=46HHYY-lAtuE4-EPgZukEA&ved=0ahUKEwjPosqvhoD1AhVbwjgGHYENCQIQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=dictionary+see&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIHCAAQgAQQCjoHCAAQRxCwAzoHCAAQsAMQQzoICAAQ5AIQsAM6EAguEMcBENEDEMgDELADEEM6CgguEMgDELADEEM6CAgAELEDEJECOgUIABCRAkoECEEYAEoECEYYAVCsBFjQBmCKDGgCcAJ4AIABvwGIAecDkgEDMC4zmAEAoAEByAERwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz#dobs=see) is to "perceive with the eyes; discern visually", whereas a broader meaning for that word is "discern or deduce after reflection or from information", which encompasses discerning information through non-visual means. Similarly, the word [read](https://www.google.com/search?q=dictionary+see&rlz=1C1VDKB_en-GBAU963AU963&ei=46HHYY-lAtuE4-EPgZukEA&ved=0ahUKEwjPosqvhoD1AhVbwjgGHYENCQIQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=dictionary+see&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIHCAAQgAQQCjoHCAAQRxCwAzoHCAAQsAMQQzoICAAQ5AIQsAM6EAguEMcBENEDEMgDELADEEM6CgguEMgDELADEEM6CAgAELEDEJECOgUIABCRAkoECEEYAEoECEYYAVCsBFjQBmCKDGgCcAJ4AIABvwGIAecDkgEDMC4zmAEAoAEByAERwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz#dobs=read) is broad enough in meaning to encompass the comprehension of meaning from non-visual sources such as tactile symbols (e.g., [Braille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille)). In both these cases, the concept can be interpreted in its broader meaning to include non-visual referents for the concept, which are applicable to blind people. Moreover, even in cases where the formal definition of a word is strictly visual, and so would exclude a blind person, the context of speaking to them would imply that you intend to use the non-visual analogy of whatever concept you are talking about. So, for this reason, I would not stress about your use of words when speaking to a blind person --- if you speak the same way to them as everybody else then the worse that will happen is that you will occasionally use a visual concept/phrase which is implicitly intended to refer to its closest non-visual analogy. I can't speak to the feelings of blind people on the matter, but I suspect that most of them would like to be spoken to just like everyone else, and they are probably extremely adept at interpreting visual concepts to their non-visual analogies. In my limited experience, some blind people have gone to the trouble of developing witty self-deprecating humour to respond to speakers who accidentally invoke a purely visual concept when speaking to them, so if you do make a mistake, you might even get to hear a funny retort and have a good laugh together. (Also, as pointed out by [nengel](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/71814/) in the comments, this may be an "ask two blind people, get three answers" question.) Upvotes: 1
2017/12/05	3,437	14,825	<issue_start>username_0: I am an associate professor, who has received tenure in the US in 2014. After receiving tenure, I moved to Europe to help my family with some health issues, and found an associate professor position in a country where tenure is 'by law' meaning the position cannot be revoked or taken away. I am now looking to return to North America, and have begun to apply for associate professor job openings. I have applied for a position as tenured associate professor. I interviewed and was told I was selected by the department as their top candidate. However, the dean at the new institution just emailed me that the new position will be associate professor "tenure-track," meaning I would need to apply for tenure within 4 years. Clearly, what I had applied for is not what I am being offered. In my view, there is a flaw in their advertising. The position description clearly stated "the University of X invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor or Tenured Associate Professor in...." While I understand that each university has its own interest in mind, this seems like a very bad start of a relationship. If I accepted this demotion, I would probably do so with some resentment. The University in question is academically equal to the one I first received tenure from. I am seeking advice on how to respond to this proposition and would be very grateful to hear people's opinions.<issue_comment>username_1: Based on what you've said, > > In my view, there is a flaw in their advertising. The position description clearly stated "the University of X invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor or Tenured Associate Professor in...." > > > Well...yes, you're exactly right. It sounds like the department and the dean were not on the same page when the position announcement was posted. > > While I understand that each university has its own interest in mind, this seems like a very bad start of a relationship. If I accepted this demotion, I would probably do so with some resentment. The University in question is academically equal to the one I first received tenure from. > > > Again, I agree completely. You've had two different tenured positions, including one at a US institution of (you say, and I'm going with it) comparable academic quality to the one you're applying for. You applied to this position and interviewed for it -- presumably taking some trouble doing so, since you now live in Europe and have family there -- based on the information you received in writing that it would come with tenure. Only at the end of the process have you been informed otherwise. Well...yes, that's a seriously alarming bait and switch. In my opinion there is really only one thing to do. You should respond by calling attention to precisely the facts you mentioned to us, especially that (i) the position was advertised as with tenure and that's why you applied for it and (ii) your last two academic jobs have had tenure, including at US institution X (you don't need to explicitly say that it's of comparable academic quality; I would leave them to claim otherwise if they want to), that you are very excited and interested in the job, but only under the original terms: you are not contemplating making an international move from a permanent academic job to a possibly temporary one. In other words, I think the issue is serious enough to prevent you from taking the academic job...again, for exactly the reasons you say. The type of employer who will not be held to what they told you before is exactly the type of employer to cause you N years of deep worry that they might not give you tenure, and nothing in your question suggests that you should subject yourself to that. I really hope that they respond well to your holding your ground. Good luck! Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: To add to <NAME>'s excellent answer, sometimes an institution will hire at the Associate Professor level, but with a pro forma tenure review after one year. For various reasons, they are unable to hire someone directly into tenure. However, with such a short review period, tenure is virtually guaranteed. That does not appear to be the case here, with a four-year review cycle. I would not recommend accepting this offer. Regarding the immediate question, I concur with the advice to bring this up with the dean as a serious issue. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The job search in the US can be a confusing process. It sounds like the position was being advertised for someone with experience ranging from an assistant professor tenure track level to an associate professor tenured level. For whatever reason, they have made an offer to you at the associate without tenure level. This does not seem to me to indicate a flawed search. It is just what it is. For example, in my field tenured associate professors are expected to bring with them considerable extramural funding. The offer might be a compromise between your seniority/experience and things as an international candidate that you are lacking. You need to talk to the Dean/Search chair to understand this. Leaving a tenured position for a non=-tenured position is clearly a step down. To some, tenure is not the ultimate goal and increased salary or better quality of life (and possibly even decreased teaching or better start-up) can offset the loss of tenure. The amount you value tenure is something that you need to decide for yourself and then work with the Dean/Search chair to see if a mutually acceptable agreement can be reached. One thing that I would be concerned about is that at many universities nontenured associate professors are rare. While a non-tenured offer with a one-year probationary period is fairly common, a four-year non-tenure period seems odd. I would want to know how often this occurs and what benefits that provides over an assistant level position and what benefits you will get when you get tenure. It is also absolutely critical that you understand which of your previous accomplishments will count towards your tenure review and how the tenure process works for associate professors. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Assuming starting with tenure is a must for you, you should let the advertised nature of the position go by, as it's not really relevant. You just state that at your career level, you can't entertain an offer that doesn't come with tenure, and you hope that the offer can be modified accordingly. This is absolutely your situation, there's no mincing of words, and there's no way a silly argument about the semantics of their ad can start up. Whether you thought because of their ad that the position came with tenure is also fairly irrelevant. Either they see fit to ask their leadership about whether they can bring you in as tenured, or not. Update: In other words, treat the current situation like any other job offer where you're negotiating for an acceptable situation. Thank the Dean for his or her offer, and say how happy you are about their interest in you. Then say that you can't accept a non-tenured position. Perhaps in this case, you might even add a terse apology that you didn't make that crystal clear earlier in the interview process (as this really comes down to a communications issue, and it takes two parties to have a miscommunication). Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I agree with that last post, it is negotiable, noting that sometimes the process does take some time (as per the pro forma discussions) and may not be successful. My guess is that the 4-year clock suggests that the department or leadership is worried that coming from Europe you will not have considerable (recent) experience in the U.S. funding process or that they want to see proof that you will succeed. If I were in your situation, I would not move from tenured into a 4-year clock even if given strong assurances that granting tenure will "not be a problem". As to negotiating, I would highlight your success in U.S. prior, including award of tenure, and highlight your plan of attack for funding your lab. Plus, if you were top pick at the current institution, you likely can be top pick elsewhere. Finally, when moving (if you choose to), ask your current institution for a leave of absence; if things go bad, you can consider going back. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Oh dear. Well, I agree with username_1's take on the situation, but I feel it's important not to mince words and to be extra clear about what's going on: frankly, the only conclusion I can draw from your story is that the people you are dealing with are some combination of: unscrupulous, dishonest, acting in bad faith and/or incompetent. Let me explain. The university that invited you to interview knew full well that you are tenured and are expecting a tenured position, given your situation as someone who has been tenured for over 3 years and is now on your second(!) tenured position, in an institution comparable to theirs in reputation. It seems inconceivable to me that they would think an untenured position would be remotely attractive for you. Thus, if they invited you to interview for a position advertised using the words "the University of X invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor or Tenured Associate Professor", to my mind that means they are representing that: 1. they consider you (at least based on how you look "on paper") a qualified candidate for serious consideration for a tenured position, and 2. they know, and know that you know, and know that you know that they know (etc), that you would be traveling to the US for the interview on the expectation of being considered for a tenured position. If you accept that this is so, how is this consistent with their subsequent behavior, that is, the communication you received from their dean? As I said, there must be some bad faith, dishonesty or incompetence involved. Possible explanations I can think of are: * The department invited you for an interview but never intended to seriously consider you for a position. For some shady reason, they want to go through the motions of appearing to try to hire you (or appearing to try to hire someone) but not really wanting to finish the job. They are expecting you to say no to their untenured offer. * The department wants to offer you a tenured position, but the dean is against it, maybe because of some internal conflict with the department. So the dean is disingenuously trying to propose to offer you an untenured position, assuming that you'll say no (or perhaps hoping he'll get lucky and you'll say yes). * At the time the department invited you to interview, both they and the dean thought they would be able to offer a tenured position, but because of some change in circumstances (budget cuts or whatnot) they are now unable to do so. Instead of admitting that you made the trip in vain, which would be embarrassing, they are pretending they were thinking of an untenured position all along. * Etc etc. I should add that at my university, if we were thinking of offering an untenured position to someone who is already a tenured professor, we would make that very very clear to them before they come to interview to avoid a major waste of time and effort for them. It is clear to me (based on my experience having been a department chair for 3 years) that any university with competent people acting in good faith would behave similarly. To summarize: this whole situation smells like bad news. You can consider accepting the untenured offer if you think that it's something you can live with and are willing to overlook being treated in this shady way, but personally I think that a rational response would be to politely explain to the dean that you are expecting an offer at a level comparable to your current position, and that if he/she is unable to make such an offer, you wish him/her luck in recruiting someone else - just on the off-chance that there's been some innocent mistake and they will be able to offer you a tenured position after all. I wouldn't bother complaining or expressing outrage in your response to the dean about the rudeness of making you travel to the US under a dishonest pretext; these (most probably) unethical people are not worth trying to reason with - if they can't respond to your entirely reasonable request, just cut your losses and move on. Good luck! Edit: when you email the dean with your polite reply, it might be a good idea to copy the department chair, again just on the off chance that there's been an innocent mistake and that having people other than the dean aware of what's going on will help correct the situation more quickly. I don't think that scenario is very likely, but it's best not to make assumptions. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: The only verbiage you present from the university is: > > "the University of X invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor or Tenured Associate Professor in...." > [bolding mine] > > > That sounds to me that applications that are submitted will be considered for a Tenured Associate Professor or a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Perhaps there is more information that you are leaving out, but based on what you have presented, I don't see any reason to be confident that a tenured position would be offered. If distinction was important to you, you should have asked for it to be clarified. As for how you should respond, you should decide whether you are willing to accept these terms. If not, then tell them that you are not willing to accept anything short of tenure, and be prepared to not get the job. They might be able to work something out, but don't count on it. Also, "demotion" is not an entirely accurate term in this context, since it is not within a particular institution. EDIT: In English, words often distribute over "and" and "or". For instance, in "You can have soup or salad", "you can have" distributes over "or", giving the implicit meaning "You can have soup, or you can have salad". What distributes depends on context and can be ambiguous. You seem to have interpreted this as "the University of X invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor or applications for Tenured Associate Professor in...." That is, some applications are for a tenure-track Assistant Professor, and some applications are for Tenured Associate Professor. However, without this distribution, it can be interpreted as meaning that each application is for a position that will either be tenure-track Assistant Professor or Tenured Associate Professor. The university could have been more clear, but you shouldn't have just assumed that the interpretation that favors you is the correct one. Upvotes: -1
2017/12/05	1,836	6,977	<issue_start>username_0: I accidentally addressed my lecturer as Mrs instead of Ms in an email. Should I send a follow-up email explaining it was a typo or should I leave it be? --- Since requested multiple times in comments: The lecturer does not hold a doctorate or any other academic titles. She also did not specify how she prefers to be addressed before.<issue_comment>username_1: Leave it be; just be certain to be exactly correct in future messages. If she has a doctorate, she's "Dr. Familyname" in the U.S. and many other places. If she has academic rank, she's "Professor Familyname." In most universities in the U.S., the title "Professor" is acceptable even for those without doctorate or academic rank. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I have heard from women (in mathematics departments, in the US) that they prefer not to be addressed as Ms or Mrs. The issue is that some students address their male professors as "Dr." or "Professor" but their female professors as "Ms." or "Mrs." Perhaps you don't do this, but I would still recommend "Dr." or "Professor" unless your professor encourages otherwise. Indeed, I know of one female professor who tells students that she is happy to be called "Dr. X" or "Professor X", and happier still to be addressed by her first name, but requests that her students avoid "Ms" or "Mrs". It should also be added that this in the US, and cultural practices may be different elsewhere. I don't think it's necessary to send a follow-up e-mail, but since you are worried about it, I think it would be perfectly polite to write something very brief like "p.s. How do you prefer to be addressed? Is Dr. X better?" Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I have been seen academia in two countries: India and Netherlands. In Netherlands, most professors are super busy and they really know that such a mistake was typo. In such cases, if you send an additional mail it just is one more mail for them to read. (They will still not be angry at you for doing so) Thus, you don't have to explain such a typo and correct yourself next time. In India, almost most professors are busy. Above solution applies. But there are a few professors who take it personally and get offended if you do not address them 'Dr.' (P.S: In both of the above countries, there is high probability that you might get to work with a professor whom you can address "Dear First\_name,") Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In Academia a professional title should be used as the primary form of address. Perhaps I am in the minority of people that had instructors without PhD. If your professor has PhD, then the mistake (according to etiquette of the majority) was not calling her "Doctor" or "Professor". For that, I personally would correct and apologize as it really can be received by the Professor as a significant lack of respect, and since that was not your intent then an apology is appropriate. Likewise, non-PhD instructors should not be called "Professor" because that is a title one earns through their PhD completion and then progressing up the academic ranks, so is disrespecting of the Professors that have earned that title and rank. Here is a list of academic ranks by country: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_ranks> This has good info for addressing non-PhD instructors: [How to address an academic without a PhD](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15419/how-to-address-an-academic-without-a-phd) For non-PhD instructors, I'd follow general business etiquette such as this: <https://www.thebalance.com/when-to-use-miss-mrs-or-ms-3514830> Unless of course the instructor has instructed or voiced another preference. If a Professor has said it is acceptable to call by first name, I would only do that in private one-on-one. If the Professor has said it is permitted in a class setting, I would do so as long as there are no peers or superiors of the Professor present. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I cannot imagine she paid any attention to it, unless she should, by rights, be addressed as "Dr" or "Professor". I wouldn't bring it up. However, if it's really bothering you, or if she's already explicitly asked you (individually or as a group) to call her "Ms", you can briefly apologize the next time you see her. "Oh, by the way, I'm sorry I called you 'Mrs' in an email the other day. I know you prefer 'Ms' and I didn't realize until after I'd sent it." Also, just as a data point, I prefer "Ms" even when using my husband's last name because I was raised according to some now-outdated social guidelines. One of those guidelines is that a woman is "Mrs [husband's first name] [husband's last name]", because "Mrs [woman's first name] [husband's last name]" is only used once he's dead. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Apologize briefly - next time. ------------------------------ Next time you have a reason to send her an email, add a sentence saying "I noticed that in my last email I mistyped 'Mr. X' instead of 'Mrs. X'; please accept my apology." Also note that both honorifics may be wrong as @username_2 [suggests](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/99985/7319). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Leave it be. Don't overthink it. Chances are that she didn't even notice. And if she did, it's highly unlikely that she'll hold a grudge if you correctly address her in future communication. As others have pointed out, there is no consensus on what is the best way to address someone in professional communication. While many people prefer something as informal as "Hi {firstname}" (this includes people with a PhD or other academic title), others may be a lot more oldfashioned and consider that impolite. If you really feel insecure about how to address a person, it's therefore always better to ask him or her in person before you send your first mail. Still, in my experience, there's a big discrepancy between how we're taught to communicate when we're young and how we end up communicating professionally once we're actually out there working 40+ hours a week in a real job that requires us to communicate with multiple people on different continents throughout the day. In the real world, people tend to be much less formal (and more focused on getting things done) than we're taught to be as youngsters. This includes professors and other academic staff. So as I said in the beginning : don't overthink it. This cartoon captures it pretty well : [![enter image description here](https://phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd072508s.gif)](https://phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd072508s.gif) Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: Don't worry about it. Most professors are both hardened in many senses by the stress in their everyday job and also have lots of duties so they can't let such silly things bother them. There is a fair chance he has not even seen your email if it did not have a course name in the subject line. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/05	1,750	7,159	<issue_start>username_0: I am the course leader for a course with more than 600 students. This semester, I decided to conduct our end-of-semester quiz as a computer-based quiz using our school's learning management system. We needed to reserve multiple computer lab rooms due to the fact that the maximum capacity of a lab room is about 80 students. Unfortunately, we had always used a paper-based quiz in the past, and it was the first time that we had ever used computer-based quiz, so things did not go as smoothly as we would have liked. We had requested that the students should show up to the quiz venue 10 minutes early. This would give them time to turn on the computers and to log in to the quiz using a special browser (Respondus LockDown Browser) rather than the regular Internet Explorer browser. Unfortunately, our instructions to the invigilators and the students were not clear enough, so even though most of the students showed up to the quiz venue 10 minutes early as requested. The invigilators did not make clear to the students how to log into the computers and into the quiz, so many of the students started the quiz 5-10 minutes late. I attempted to communicate with the invigilators to give the students 5 additional minutes to complete the quiz. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication, some of the invigilators ended the quiz on time (so the students in their session had 50-55 minutes); whereas some of the invigilators gave the students extra time (so the students in their session had close to 60 minutes). After the quiz was over, some of the students who received 50-55 minutes complained to me that they were disadvantaged because they had less time to complete the quiz than other students. It may or may not have been the student's fault if he or she had less time for the quiz. * For some of these students, they had less time because they arrived late (which is their fault) * For other students, they arrived on time. However, because their computers booted up slowly, or the invigilators did not make it clear how to open the correct browser and how to start the quiz, they started their quiz late by ~5 minutes (this could have been avoided with better planning on our part). Questions: 1. How should I respond to these student's complaints? 2. Is there anything that I should do to "fix" the situation? Currently, I feel that the quiz was mostly fair to the students. I am able to see in the learning management system that fewer than 0.1% of the questions were not answered, which means that 99.9% of the questions were submitted properly. So although some students who had more time had the benefit of double-checking their answers, for the most part even students who only had 50 minutes had enough time to complete all of the questions.<issue_comment>username_1: In my experience as an Academic Tutor at my University I frequently administer similar online tests. These tests make up a cornerstone of the topic and as such should be fair and consistent to all students. One difference that we have is we administer our tests over the duration of the week (in standard tutorial sessions) instead of everyone at once. Note my University uses 'Moodle' as our software. Now in terms of ensuring it is fair to all students we require the test to be done on campus in a designated computer lab. This ensures that all students can be monitored/invigilated appropriately. The tests that we use also include a timer within them. These timers are set as static for all students, though it does allow us to specify extra time for particular students (non-english speakers etc..) The final thing we do is set a password on the test. This password is changed after each tutorial session (the tutor/invigilator changes it). This means that we can administer the same test across multiple sessions Each student needs the password to access the test, and by changing it we ensure that students cannot go home and do the test and cannot tell another student at home the password and allow them to cheat. Another policy you may find appropriate is a closed door policy. The rule I use is if the test has started you do not come in. You are late and you have therefore missed your opportunity to do the test. In the 'real' world being late could end in you being fired or worse. Therefore I expect all students to be on time. If they are late they may petition the topic co-ordinator with their excuse, if and only if the excuse is valid will they be permitted to sit the test 1 on 1 with a tutor. A closed door policy should be set up as follows: * Open exam room (10/15 min before exam) * Close the doors (5 min before exam) * Give pre-test speech * Start test (on time) * Conclude test Any students who attempt to come in once the doors are closed should not be allowed in. Finally some tips for invigilating tests/exams I recommend having a single point of reference for all students. For me I have a LCD at the front of the room which I can put notes on. It may be worthwhile printing out notes for your students. My notes will typically state the following: * When the test will open/begin (Time) * How to request assistance. * Any specific requests/procedures. * What to do when they are finished. * etc... The password will be given out at the start of the test, with invigilators on hand to help students with entering the password (especially if it is complicated) Lastly I recommend making sure that everyone is listening during the pre-test speech. Publicly call out students that are talking if necessary, but make sure everyone is listening. Then there can be no complaints they did not know the rules. I believe your approach is spot on. It seems to me that the students were late due to their own fault, and therefore should be left as is. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I believe there are a lot of circumstances that have to factor in to the decision, but to me, the most important initial detail is, do you have any way of reliably tracking whose time was cut short and who had the full time allotted? If not, it's going to be hard to analyze and correct the situation. I'm assuming that, since it was a quiz, it's not a huge factor in their grade, so what I might do is either renormalize the grading or pro-rate it. Basically, if the quiz was supposed to take 60 minutes, and the most any students were shorted (by no fault of their own) was 10 minutes (still less than 20%), then the new baseline can be considered to be 50 minutes, or 83% of the original time. To renormalize, multiply every student's grade by 1.2. For students over the new 100% mark, you could give extra credit or simply cap the score at 100%. Or you can do a quick-and-dirty pro-rate by adding 17% to everybody's score, again, either up to a maximum of 100% or going over and giving extra credit. I realize you have a huge class, which also implies you have a lot of early-undergrad students who might raise a bigger stink, but in my academic career, I've seen plenty of ex post facto shifting because of logistics, especially when a prof or the school is rolling out a new technological approach. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/05	1,169	4,639	<issue_start>username_0: I'm on a what appears to be a 12 month contract (Sept.- Aug.) While we only work 9 months out of the year, the standard academic job year, we are paid over 12 months. Well, I am now leaving my post mid-year and thus think I am entitled to half my salary because I worked half the academic year. The administration says that I'm only entitled to one-third (because I only worked one-third of the calendar year). As a result, I'm losing close to $7000. Has anyone ever run into this? Do you happen to know any sources I can cite?<issue_comment>username_1: Read your contract carefully. If you don't find the information, you should contact your worker's union. Just for information: In my country (in Europe), there is something called the 13th and 14th salary (twice a year, you get an additional salary). Everywhere where I worked so far, if you work only, say, 5 months, you would get an appropriate share of these extra salaries (i. e. in this case, 5/6 of a normal salary). However, I don't understand your summer salary system enough to be sure if it is the same concept. (If you would have to work only 9 months and would get payed for 12 months, it would only be fair to get payed for 12x/9 months if you work x months in my opinion). Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: In the US, many universities pay the nine-month (or academic-year) salary in twelve equal monthly installments so that faculty who are not teaching in the summer (or do not have research grants that pay salary in the summer) do not have to starve during the summer. (Those who teach in the summer or have research grants get additional salary for this work, over and above the 12 equal installments). The battle that faculty members are adults who are fully responsible for their finances and so should be paid their academic-year salary in nine equal monthly installments (and be responsible for putting away money for expenses during the summer when they won't be receiving a paycheck) has been lost a long time ago. If you quit after one semester (half-year), you will likely receive a lump sum upon leaving equal to the amount that you would have been paid over the summer. Each month that you worked, you got 75% of what you "should" have been paid (i.e. one-ninth of your academic-year salary) while 25% was put away in your name for the summer. If you had worked for all 9 months, the university would be holding 9x25% of your "monthly salary" which would be doled out in three 75% chunks over the three-month summer, that is, your "monthly salary" would be the same 75% that you were getting all year long. Now that you worked for only 4.5 months, the university has put away 4.5x25% for you for the summer, and you will get that money when you leave. It will be little over one-ninth of your academic-year salary. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I've run into this issue many times while I was serving as a department chair at a large US university. If your university's academic year salary system is similar to the standard one used at US institutions (which by your description it sounds like it is) then your analysis is correct, and your administration is wrong. The point is that paying your salary over 12 months is nothing more than an accounting trick to spread out your salary (paid for 9 months of actual work) over the 12 months of the year. The reasons why this is done (as far as I know) are: 1. tradition, 2. health benefits, 3. the psychological convenience to faculty of being paid each month and being continuously employed, and 4. possibly other advantages involving things like taxation and labor law. However, the trick is irrelevant to the fact that you performed 50% of your assigned duties for the year. It therefore stands to reason that you need to be paid 50% of your annual salary. I don't have any sources to cite, but this is just common sense. I can also say from my experience that this discrepancy between the schedule of payments to faculty employed on a 9/12 basis and the schedule of work they are performing causes a lot of confusion, even among experienced administrators: whenever someone joined or left the department in the middle of the academic year, some calculations needed to be done to figure out how to make the salary figures work out, and people would get confused and sometimes require a bit of gentle persuasion to get to the correct answer. Thus, [Hanlon's razor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor) might apply here, and it's definitely worth going back to the administrators and trying to make them see the light. Good luck! Upvotes: 2
2017/12/05	735	3,219	<issue_start>username_0: I think that I am pretty good at presenting my work during my PhD, and I am still being invited to conferences for some papers I did 2 years ago. Now, I am working in industry. My manager always complains about my presentations and my reports. I tried my best to follow his guidelines, but still he does not understand my presentations. What might be the expectations in industry different than academia in terms of presenting some work?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't know what is your employer feedback to the presentation but in general, one thing that I noticed that in academia we tend to emphasize methodology for about 10 slides, and in the industry, they only have one slide of the method and 10 slides of results and implication of results aka. discussion. If I were in your position, I would use the narrative language of a TED talk. Why this format? because this form is most suitable for the wide audience. I assume that your boss and people in your collective are from various background. We need more info about your current job, what industry is and who are your co-workers professionally. But if you are people from different backgrounds, you need to find a common denominator for all of you, so your ppt can be clearly understandable to the wide audience. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The comments above are correct--you're probably pitching to the wrong audience, and your presentation skills are probably not as good as you think they are. To put it undiplomatically, the great majority of (STEM) presentations in academia are horrible, but after a half-decade or so of grad school you become inured to this and recalibrate your expectations. You've probably noticed that a genuinely engaging and accessible academic presentation is often judged to be less deep and interesting than an incomprehensible one. This is not going to be the case in a business environment. The key difference is that the focus in a business presentation is on utility: You're not just trying to convey information, you're trying to be useful to your team and to the company. What are the people in your audience going to do with the content of your presentation when it's over? They want usable information, and they want it quickly and efficiently. Here are some ways to do this: * Include a "30,000-foot view" and (metaphorically) keep it in sight throughout the presentation. * Keep the narrative of your information focused. That is, make sure it's clear why each piece of information is relevant to whatever point you're trying to make. * Leave detailed background explanations to follow-up questions. * Be parsimonious and efficient in your flow of information. Pictures are generally better than words. I'm assuming you're in a role where you process and produce data, so that your reports and presentations are informative rather than persuasive. But many of the same principles would apply if you are trying to convince your audience of something. A final remark: People who give business presentations practice them. You probably have access to tech for recording a video of yourself, or at least a screencast with audio of your presentation. Use it. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/06	1,618	6,888	<issue_start>username_0: I have an undergraduate degree and I'm working as a medical researcher in a research lab, affiliated with a University. I've done very little since being employed, due to problems such as: 1. lack of usable samples for projects 2. equipment being broken down for long periods of time 3. issues getting trained on equipment & techniques 4. waiting on reagents with an otherwise unspecified delivery date Sadly, roughly the first 6 months or so into work I was given very little to do so had to try and self direct as much work as possible, which I filled by teaching myself software programming and data analysis automation. There were several attempts to get me trained on things that would support my project but due to people being too busy or not wanting to give up time for their own work, every attempt failed and the training would get forgotten about. This was a difficult situation as the people training me were not actually a part of my group (I don't actually do any work with my team), but collaborators/colleagues/students from other labs in the institute. Programming worked very well for a good 4-5 months but now I'm back into another rut with all of my equipment being out of order with an unspecified ETA on repair as well still waiting on reagents. Whilst I know this happens in science all the time, when it comes on the back of nearly half a years worth of not a whole lot it's hard to keep spirits high. This has caused a severe reduction in morale and 'excitedness' about work and I often come in day to day feeling depressed and unhappy because all I can do at the moment is busywork (lab stocklists, cleaning, etc). How do people go about dealing with a slow moving or otherwise stagnant project for long periods of time? I should mention that I love the environment I work in, including my boss and the people I work with. I got the opportunity to move to an entirely new state and experience a different way of living, which has been very nice. My boss is happy with my work (I was re-contracted) and says I have very good ideas and is sympathetic to my current situation but has little to offer in terms of solution, granted he's not able to speed up repairs or make my reagents come in faster! --- Clarification I thought this warranted a clarification. I have done some work which has contributed to the project and provided some good insight. I am now trained and fully autonomous in the work that I need to do. My only restriction at this point is having the equipment I need to work and the reagents for them. A problem which is kind of rife throughout medical research.<issue_comment>username_1: First, I'm not from your area and I don't know how things usually work in medical labs. But I have participated in several research project in field of computer science. Some of these projects were just as you described, and even though the fields are different, I think the situation is the same. My simple suggestion is to leave that lab for good. That might be a very bold decision, but unfortunately people like you (and me) have to take this bold decision for a brighter future. You have mentioned that the lab environment is very good, you love your boss and your collegues. That is great! But that is not enough. Simply put, the things you have done goes in your CV. Not your good relationships with your boss and collegues. As a person who is at the beginning of their career, you should activate your potential before it is long lost. I recently moved to another country from my hometown. And that was not an easy decision. Just like you, I had very good friendships, and perfect relationships with my supervisors. Thus, most of my relatives told me that these type of friendships are not to be found abroad, and I was gambling by leaving such a good environment. They were right. I do not have very close friends in my workplace here. We do not usually go out for a few drinks occasionally as I did with my collegues back in my hometown. However, I found two things way more precious in my new workplace. Shared ambition and productivity. I still do the job I love, I have good relationships in my new workplace, I have a great and friendly boss, and I actually work! To sum up, every single research project I have participated was exactly as you described. Despite the good relationships and laughter, lack of productivity and drudgery work made me feel like I'm wasting my life there. I realized that I was not happy. I moved on. I'm happy. If you prefer being productive for the expense of slight decrease in the close relationships environment, realize that you are not happy. You should move on. You will be happy. Also, if allowed, I suggest you also ask this question in [Workplace.SE](https://workplace.stackexchange.com/). Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If the equipment is broken, in my country researchers seek collaborator from other institutions, universities, and labs that have that equipment. Eighter rent, borrow or use for the benefit. What are things you can promise them? usually, it is sort of co-authorship or if collaboration is with someone above lab setting, it is a form of special bilateral institutional agreement for cooperation. This looks good on CV of executives. For another thing, I am not sure what you can promise them. There are many websites and social media platforms that you can ask for collaboration, it is out of the scope of your question to name it, but the second good option for finding collaborations are conferences, workshops, and researchers night. Generally, seeking for collaboration outside of your institution should be number one priority for you now. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I am not in medical research or academia, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt. I previously had a job where we were unable to perform a large percentage of our work due to broken equipment. The monthly meetings usually went like this: > > Them: "Why such little progress with X?" > > > Me: "Broken equipment, same equipment as last month..." > > > Them: "(Still) no money to fix it." > > > Me: "...then here we are." > > > After a few months, I mentally changed jobs. My job became "`find a way`". I started making phone calls, learning about the equipment, borrowing equipment from others, talking to people that do the repairs, trying to negotiate prices (which I'd take to management for approval, of course) - beg/borrow/steal and sometimes just fix the equipment ourselves. In your line of work, that may be impossible due to equipment calibration requirements or whatever - but maybe not. You seem an intelligent fellow - if you can learn to code you can learn to fix your own equipment, or find a way to get it fixed. In my opinion, that is your job now. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/06	1,566	6,827	<issue_start>username_0: I am a CS major, currently enrolled (about to finish) in a Software Engineering (II) course. My teacher told us at the beginning of the the first course (SE I) that the main objective of the class is to develop real world systems, as such she asked us to search for an NGO who was in need of an information system and go develop it for them during the length of the course. It is supposed that it is a way for the university to socially project itself (and supposedly us). To be fair to her it was assigned as a group activity but I decided to work by myself. I went to an NGO and asked if they were in need of a system and told me that they were, but that if I were to develop anything for them I couldn't just go and install it, I would merely be presenting it to the local authorities and they decided it was good they would propose it to a higher authorities. So the implementation of the system was (obviously) not guaranteed, and that was a requirement (the system must be implemented). My teacher said she wouldn't consider any systems that were not guaranteed to be implemented. I feel that is an overstretch considering we were (are) not certified professionals (yet), and the NGOs were not asking for the software. Other majors are (for the most part) not required to participate in real world activities (e.g. a civil engineering major is not required to go look for a real world construction and WORK on it, to ask for some information maybe, but not to go do actual real work). To be clear this was not a research assignment, she asked us to look for a real world system that needed to be developed and just go do it. The justification for this is that we would gain experience by doing it (both in systems analysis and working in teams) but she never really taught us any of that (no git, no unit testing, no UI testing, no integration tests, no nothing). To emphasize how she didn't even teach us how to work in groups: I told her that I had created a repository to host my project and show all the changes that occur, and suggested her to tell the others (who were working in groups) to do the same and make sharing code easier and she basically told me that passing the projects around in flash drives and making full copies of the different versions was a better way to do things. The few lectures we had were about types of software and software lifecycle without which were really shallow in nature (merely definitions of concepts). She would ask us to show her our progress weekly, and she didn't care of under the hood changes, if it was not visible on screen, she would say we had done nothing (with is something she even taught us: changes are not always visible). In the end everyone had a horrible time with that class (specially me as I was working by myself) and had to relive it for the next class. I saw how my classmates were doing disastrous jobs with their software (dbs with no passwords, no sanitizing SQL queries, every client was making a direct connection to the dbs instead of through an API, etc...) and she really didn't care at all, indeed she suggested some of those things, she really just cared about the UI looking nice. So the question is: Is it ethical for this teacher to require us to go work (unsupervised) on an unsolicited real world system (which was not backed, required nor supervised by university authorities), without being paid for it, and requiring that whoever accepted our work would have to guarantee that they would implement our software, and if they didn't we would fail the course? I think it is unethical, and a potential legal problem for her, the university and us the students, given the high potential of these systems malfunctioning or being insecure, considering these are sort of high profile organizations. But still I want to hear what is the general opinion on this matter and could I do about it. BTW since we had so few lectures we didn't even had a final test, instead we would have to prove that our systems were implemented to pass.<issue_comment>username_1: **Implementation is ethical. It is ethical for your teacher to require implementation of a system for real-world deployment. Albeit, it would be better if the word prototype were included. Deployment is unethical*. It is unethical for your teacher to claim that any such implementation is suitable for deployment. Side note. Your teacher cannot expect any NGO to deploy implementations. Additional remark. It is abysmal to teach students that "passing [source code] around in flash drives and making full copies of the different versions was a better way to do things [compared to using a repository]." Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: First of all, a part of your complaint about having a horrible time, the teacher not caring about under the hood changes etc, suggests to me an instructor who is not very competent. That sucks and I sympathize with you for having an incompetent teacher, but incompetence is not unethical. That is, someone just making mistakes or being bad at their job does not mean they are an unethical person. It’s bad in its own way of course, but those are two different things. Now, the part of your complaint where I see a potential ethical issue is where the instructor is requiring you to deploy the software you developed at a real-life NGO. It sounds like she is overstepping her authority here in a serious way, which raises ethical and potentially legal issues. She is: asking you to allow the fruit of your labor to be used by others, with no compensation to you and disregarding your ownership of rights to the work; * asking you to bear the potential legal liability to yourself from others using your work; * asking an NGO to use unvetted code developed by an inexperienced programmer, with potentially bad consequences for them; * putting you in an awkward situation of having to go around begging NGOs to use your work (or pretend to be willing to use it), wasting precious time building up a “skill” that has nothing to do with software development; * making you do all of those things under coercion since you need to comply in order to receive a passing grade in the class. I am not a lawyer so I cannot comment on the legal issues, but from an ethical point of view I have serious concerns. I can’t say it’s unquestionably unethical since that depends on the local laws and culture in your country and university, but at the very least you might want to bring the issue to the attention of people at your university, eg, an adviser or department chair, and ask for reassurance as to whether the instructor has authority to act as she is. In the United States, I am quite confident there would be numerous reasons why such conduct would not be permitted. Good luck! Upvotes: 2
2017/12/06	533	2,358	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted a paper to a journal in mathematics. For the last three and a half months, the status of the article is with editor. I sent a mail to the editorial office to update the status. They replied me saying they will ask the handling editor to contact me. After one more month I asked to expedite the process. No reply. Now for the last three and half months, there is no change in the process. Is it better to withdraw the article or wait for some more time?<issue_comment>username_1: It depends whether the paper was already sent to the reviewers or if it is standing on the editor's desk. I think that 3 months is too much time for deciding if the paper will be submitted to review or desk rejected (at least in Physics/Soft Matter/Phys.Bio.). However, I am aware that in some Mathematical fields the time from the paper submission to the publishing is general longer than in Physics. Sometimes the read is challenging for the editor and also finding the adequate reviewers. I had several delays with one of my papers because of the journal lost contact with the handling editors (2 times), make sure that this is not the case. I decided to not withdraw my paper because it is in the last round of reviews and I already spent a lot of effort in the process. Good luck! Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If the journal fails to respond to your requests over several months, this suggests that something or somebody is not working properly – even in very-long-review fields like mathematics. It may be that the editor is missing in action or that some communication got lost or the entire journal is malfunctioning, but what exactly is going on is hard to tell for any outsider. From your account of the situation I can only see two reasons why withdrawing may not be in your favor: * The next-best choice of journal is significantly worse (in terms of level or suitability). * The paper is already under review but the status doesn’t reflect it. In this case you actually lose progress by withdrawing. You have to decide for yourself how likely it is that one of these applies, but I consider them rather unlikely. Should you decide not to withdraw immediately, I would at least send another mail to the journal setting a clear short deadline (a week or so) for them to show at least some sign of life. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/06	1,498	6,027	<issue_start>username_0: I had my M.A. degree in a public university in the States. After working in media for two years in China, I want to pursue research and teaching career so I started to plan for PhD in media psychology (under communication). I had my GRE tested (the last one has expired) in Sept and got good scores. But due to my heavy workloads and procrastination, I hesitated to contact two professors who instructed my thesis and know me relatively well until I finished SOP in November. After a week, with my follow-up letter, both of them refused to write me strong LOR. My thesis advisor said "as the Director of PhD studies I am unable to write letters this year."And he suggested me to ask the other instructor. But the other one replied: "It is good to hear from you and nice to hear that you are applying to doctoral programs. Part of the reason that I was so delayed in my response is that I am a bit overwhelmed with work right now. Given all of my existing demands, unfortunately I do not think I am in a position to give the time and effort to write you a strong recommendation. I am sorry about this."I discussed about possibility of pursuing PhD with him when I took his seminar, but he was not very encouraging. But reading between the lines (especially "part of the reason"), I feel like they are not confident that I will succeed as a researcher. I asked my thesis advisor for more feedbacks like whether he thought I am less than qualified and where to improve and if I should take another M.A in Psychology. But he did not reply. ：（ I know to a large degree it's my ill plan to blame. But I am not certain if they are making excuses and whether to ask them for LOR next year. Is it often for faculty to refuse LOR because they don't see your potential with other excuses?<issue_comment>username_1: I am not sure anyone has really studied how professors tell students that they are not willing to write a letter for them. That said, it really doesn't matter. At a minimum your MA thesis adviser, and probably anyone you took an MA seminar with, owes you a clear explanation about what type of recommendation they would be willing to write for you and their policies on what you need to do for them to write you a letter. While I don't feel that taking a class with someone forces them to write letters for you, being an MA thesis adviser does. This doesn't mean they will write dishonest letters suggesting you are a strong candidate, but they owe you truthful letters in a timely manner, even if they don't think they will be strong letters. You should discuss with your former advisor what types of jobs, if any, they would be a strong recommendation for. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I very much doubt anyone has the kind of systematic data to actually answer your question. In lieu of that, some thoughts: > > My thesis advisor said "as the Director of PhD studies I am unable to > write letters this year." > > > Unless there is more content to this that you haven't posted, it's possible that this is not a scheduling thing, but some sort of requirement of the position itself, perhaps to avoid perceived conflicts of interest. > > "It is good to hear from you and nice to hear that you are applying to > doctoral programs. Part of the reason that I was so delayed in my > response is that I am a bit overwhelmed with work right now. Given all > of my existing demands, unfortunately I do not think I am in a > position to give the time and effort to write you a strong > recommendation. I am sorry about this." > > > This seems quite straightforward. You've bolded "part of the reason" and read a lot into those four words, but I'd suggest that this is probably just an unnecessary qualifier, or at most a note that even when we're not technically overwhelmed, faculty are not known for their rapid email turnaround times. You've also chosen to ignore their otherwise positive comments about you. My general advice is to take faculty at their word. Coming up with cloak and dagger reasons for faculty saying what they do is rarely productive, and in my experience, also rarely happens. "I'm busy" is also a bad polite excuse - if they didn't want to write you a letter, "I'm too busy right now" invites you to ask again, while "I don't think I could write you a strong letter" would make you go away. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: There's a chance they're trying to avoid writing the LOR because they don't think they can write one that's good enough to help you. If an instructor can't write an LOR they think will actually help a student based on what they know to be the truth (even if only because they don't think they know you well enough), most instructors will try to encourage the student to go to someone else. No one likes writing a bad reference. But they also struggle with how to do that without hurting the student's feelings. Some just won't tell you the bad news directly and they may foot-drag and hope you go away or they may make silly excuses about being busy or whatever. That's spineless and it's not right, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. So, if you ask someone for an LOR and they don't seem to want to do it, you should probably just ask someone else. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Writing an LOR without delay is just one of the basic duties an academic has to fulfil. If they find it too much for them, they are simply not up to the job. If they think they cannot write a very good letter for you, they should indicate so without beating about the bush. By basic duties I do mean very very basic. Ever heard of a garbage man who declined to pick up 10% of the track because he was feeling he had a little too much on his plate? --- Edit: funny how I always get downvoted on stuff I have been doing for decades as part of an eminent career. I really do know what I am talking about here. Who down voted this? Academics who too feel too overworked to actually do their jobs? Upvotes: -1
2017/12/06	436	1,991	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted a paper to a top journal last week. At first, the status showed "awaiting AE recommendation". A few days ago, it was changed to "awaiting reviewer selection". So I thought it passed the associate editor's evaluation and now they were looking for reviewers. Even yesterday the status was still "awaiting reviewer selection", but today it was changed to "awaiting EIC decision". What does this mean? Does this mean that the AE changed his/her mind and recommended to desk reject my paper and put forth his/her recommendation to the editor?<issue_comment>username_1: Sometimes tracking systems do not work very well and a change of status could mean nothing. Since I am a pessimist person I would give the same interpretation as you, but it is impossible to know. The wait is frightening but in this case is all what we have. Good luck! Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Usually, the handling editor (or whatever name they have in the journal’s system) handles a paper in one go, which typically includes: * They decide whether the paper is actually a good fit for the journal or they want to desk-reject the paper. * They decide whether anything needs to be done before sending the paper to peer review. * They select the peer reviewers. Now, an editorial management has to somehow summarise that you are waiting for this step. A good compromise between precision and conciseness would arguably awaiting potential reviewer selection or awaiting editorial assessment, but there are also journals who call this just awaiting reviewer selection. Thus the interpretation that suggests itself would be that the handling editor did find out something that has to be decided upon first. If you hadn’t already passed a step called awaiting AE recommendation, the handling editor recommending desk rejection would indeed be my best guess. Apart from that it could be something trivial like you botching a figure or the list of citations. Upvotes: -1
2017/12/06	9,215	34,666	<issue_start>username_0: I copied (and failed to cite) two lines of code from [the OpenJDK source](http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk7/jdk7/jdk/file/9b8c96f96a0f/src/share/classes/java/util/HashMap.java) for an undergraduate Data Structures project. Yet, the code comparison shows an alarming amount (40%) of similarity. Here is [the side-by-side comparison with my file.](http://moss.stanford.edu/results/66371865/match0.html) Based on these grounds, my professor wants to give me a -100% on the assignment, which would bring down my overall grade by 15% total, probably causing me to not make the C-wall (depending on how well I do on the final exam). For this reason (and my conscious), I decided to appeal. However, I believe that most of the similarity in the report comes from my copying of lines 142-152: ``` static int hash(int h) { h ^= (h >>> 20) ^ (h >>> 12); return h ^ (h >>> 7) ^ (h >>> 4); } ``` I did not cite these two lines, but I did intend to delete them later. In fact, this whole function can be removed without affecting the program at all, which results in [this file comparison.](http://moss.stanford.edu/results/436068260/match0.html) Then, only [lines 114-126](http://moss.stanford.edu/results/436068260/match0.html) are a problem: ``` MyEntry[] newArr = new MyEntry[newSize]; // Copy for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) { MyEntry e = data[i]; if (e != null) { data[i] = null; do { MyEntry next = e.next; int j = e.hash % newSize; e.next = newArr[j]; newArr[j] = e; e = next; } while (e != null); ``` However, this snippet is my own. I wrote these lines without referencing [HashMap.java](http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk7/jdk7/jdk/file/9b8c96f96a0f/src/share/classes/java/util/HashMap.java), and this is a common algorithm for chaining that I can explain thoroughly, and have known about for years. Yes, I know the fact I copied the other two lines compromises my integrity and made the 20% into 40% to begin with, so how can I prove this? I'm not sure how to defend this whole case before a Student Conduct Board who knows very little about programming. My board hearing is in a month. Does these two snippets of code constitute plagiarism of my entire project? Is -15% to my overall grade fair? Sidenotes: * Our projects are pretty extensive since we aren't allowed to use `java.util.` (like 1k+ lines for each project in 8 days), and I did not copy any other code. I'd say the actual data structure implementation is only meant to take about 1/5 our time spent per project. Over 30% of the class has been reported for academic integrity violations on projects over the semester, and the newly graduated professor doesn't seem to think himself or his assignments are the problem. I should have caught onto the warning before this last project of the semester...<issue_comment>username_1: Questions you need to ask yourself: * Did you cite your sources? Although the topic of plagiarism crosses different fields, not all fields are the same. Writing a program is not the same as writing an essay. Although both share similar components of thought, grammar = tabs/spaces, nouns = objects, prepositions = pointers, etc. Functionally they are different. As part of your assignment, did you cite that you got the sections of code from an open source library? Even if it wasn't a formal citation, then perhaps within the comments linking to the library? * How many ways can a person realistically complete a given goal? If the task was to sum a list of integers. Would it be plagiarism if 10 programmers' code used sum(object)? > > a common algorithm for chaining that I can explain thoroughly > > > This is where you need to argue that there is a point where a given piece of code has become common information, but you need to demonstrate that it is in fact, common. A non-expert would not have the background knowledge to presume that what you say is correct. You would need to provide examples. (Think of Hello World, who really 'owns' it?) * [Patenting Software is complicated](http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2013/02/16/a-guide-to-patenting-software-getting-started/id=35629/) IANAL, but it would appear that the actual law itself is complicated. > > Over 30% of the class has been reported for academic integrity violations on projects over the semester, and the newly graduated professor doesn't seem to think himself or his assignments are the problem. > > > A professor of computer science is not a lawyer, but he or she certainly has the capability of understanding computer science questions and ask him or herself whether or not there is malicious intent involved. If the plagiarism claims can be addressed with a simple document where you cite your sources (libraries, open source projects, github repos), then the claims should go down. Knowledge and learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. --- > > Thanks for this. Like I said before, citing code is foreign to me (and I've been programming since age 8), and I did NOT (but SHOULD have) cited those lines. Forgetting to cite two lines and committing plagiarism on the whole project are two different things, though, especially on a project of this size. How would you address that? > > > You make the argument that the current tests to determine plagiarism (such as in english) does not work well when it comes to programming and scripting, citing and documenting your sources is functionally different. In an essay, citation is to demonstrate where you got the idea from. In an program, it is to document how the snippet of code will help you achieve your goals. The purpose shifts from 'giving credit where it is due' to 'how is this going to help and what does it do'. With this in mind, look at "hello world". It is a universally known introduction to programming languages. But no experienced programmer needs to 'cite it' to understand it. It has become 'common' across all languages. However a specific compiler in C that will allow it to control a robot arm, is not common enough for a experienced (regardless of language) programmer to recognize it easily, hence the need for documentation. Within the world of Java however, it would be up to you to demonstrate that the code you would be 'common' enough to not be considered to require citation. As far as the case itself, you can make the argument that your actions don't constitute the traditional definitions and test for plagiarism. But don't expect that your audience (fellow peers) would understand given the severity and the credentials of the plaintiff (your professor). Another avenue would be to argue how the severity of the punishment -100% is not consistent with the scope of the alleged plagiarism. It is alleged, not proven. Until a definitive judgement is made, it is open to debate. To fail a student unilaterally based off of plagiarism would and should be appealed to a 'higher authority' or at the least, reviewed by a panel of knowledgeable individuals (versus laypeople). You stated that this class has an (in my opinion, enormous) percentage of plagiarism claims. While I don't have stats for back up my statement, 30% is ridiculously high. In my academic career, plagiarism was an RARE occurrence. So another point you can make is whether or not the professor is misapplying the concept traditional plagiarism to a field where it is fundamentally different. Another argument you can make is that code citation was never taught/stressed/expected by the professor in the class. You were taught what plagiarism was before, most likely when it came to composing essays, but never taught how it applied to coding. Although this argument might be missing a leg or two (especially in the realm of, you should already know), but how would it be reasonable to hold you accountable for something you've never been taught to look out for? --- > > Thanks, that's a good point to raise. He just uses MOSS from Stanford, like I linked in the OP. I don't know his cutoff of percentage similarity before he accuses people. > > > A plagiarism detector like that is a Tool to lend credence that X was plagiarized, a tool among many. It is by no means a end-all be-all test to determine plagiarism. Take a breath-analyzer test for DUI's for example, if I ate [Poppy Seeds and tested positive, would there be extenuating factors](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-10-18/news/0510180208_1_poppy-seeds-poppy-seed-morphine)? If all your professor is using to determine plagiarism is a tool, ask whether or not tools can be flawed. Although this is more rhetoric and logic than programming, I am sure no one can ever claim that a program is perfect. [(Except COBOL, because it is 100% perfect)](http://wiki.c2.com/?WhyWeHateCobol) So if it is indeed the only metric that your professor is using, what's the possibility for [false positives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_positives_and_false_negatives)? [Would it be just to unfairly punish students if a program determined that they cheated?](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/13/detect) With this said, read your student handbook if you can have an academic adviser through the process. Also contact your ombudsmen services if your school has one. This office can arbitrate issues such as this if the institution allows for it. In my opinion, a panel of fellow students (without legal or programming backgrounds) would not be best suited to determine if programming plagiarism occurred. --- > > Clarify, is -100% actually 0%? Or is your professor not only giving you a 0% for the assignment, but also further penalizing you an additional amount? I.e. A+B+C=100 (A=20,B=20,C=60), a 0% on A would mean total 80%, a -100% on A would mean total of 40%. - username_1 > > > He is further penalizing me an additional amount. I would not be receiving a zero on the project (which my grade could afford), but actually my overall grade is being hurt MORE than the 7% the project is worth. –TheSmartWon > > > Tricky thing here... (given the update) if the board finds in your favor, this does not mean that the professor would treat you as he/she would other students moving forward. You may find yourself under even closer scrutiny. --- > > @user2264247 He looked at the MOSS with me for about 5 minutes today > (exactly the one I posted in the OP), and he only focused on that hash > function. He did not even know what the function did before we talked, > so I don't think he previously reviewed it. Him and his colleague (idk > why she was in the room) stated, that because I copied two lines, my > whole program is guilty of plagiarism and that they would accuse me. > They really didn't seem to think twice or care about it, probably due > to the large number of cases they go through. – TheSmartWon > > > @FrankFYC That colleague and him also publish papers together, and > teach companion courses. They are good friends. It's just his name > accusing me on the "integrity violation report", but I'll raise that > point for sure. I have no idea what she was doing in the room, all she > did was quickly dismiss all my arguments that my professor might > otherwise have listened to. It brought her joy to prove me wrong on > every point I raised, it was kind of sadistic. I was like another > insect trapped in their web! – TheSmartWon > > > If this was the United States. Read about [FERPA](https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/pdf/ht12-17-08-att.pdf). I am not an expert, but I would presume that if your professor allowed another faculty member to see your grades, it would be a violation. This might be the act that blows up in their face. If you are in the US, make sure to establish the fact that both professors were in the same room as you when you discussed the report. Please see [username_3's answer to a question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1312/who-can-see-a-students-grades). Given the number of other cases, would you presume that the other professor was in those cases as well? As in, the other professor was privy to other student's grade? They can deny it all they want, but if more than one student claims that both professors were in the room, this would be in effect, a [class action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_action) (ha, pardon the pun) issue. Document everything, and set up an appointment with your university's FERPA Coordinator (like a dept. set up to receive FERPA complaints). Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Plagiarism is passing someone else's work as your own. From what I see, you have passed someone else's work as your own. In your defence, you provide a list of statements: * the plagiarised fragment of code is small * the plagiarised fragment of code is not necessary * the professor's assignments are hard * the professor is newly graduated * the Student Conduct Board knows little about programming I can't see how any of them are relevant to the issue in question. The central question is: have you used someone else's work in your own without references. If you did, you plagiarised, and you're facing consequences. Learn the lesson and do not repeat the mistake again. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You should definitely protest the proposed punishment, because many institutions do not allow for such a punishment as the one your professor wants to assess. (In other words, your instructor can't give you a grade of -100%, or any grade less than zero for a given part of your grade.) On the matter of copying code as plagiarism, that's a much thornier claim. Using somebody else's code is a problem, but if there really isn't another way to do something, then how do you claim plagiarism? Plagiarism doesn't extend to "obvious" statements. For instance, it's not plagiarism if two calculus textbooks solve an integral using a series of equations in the same way, because basically it's the only way you can do it. On the other hand, if you write a bunch of text around it that's the same, then you've committed plagiarism. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It appears strongly likely that you did plagiarise, and if this is the case you'd be better to proceed by recognising your mistake than continuing to argue. Looking at your code, there is a great deal that appears to have been taken from the HashMap.java file. I strongly suspect that you began with this code and then modified it to produce your code, or closely followed it as a template when writing your own. The highlighted code sections have picked up some of this, but other sections closely resemble the other file too, although with slightly altered comments and ordering. If this is the case, then the code you have shown us is not your own original work but actually a plagiarised version of HashMap.java. Leaving in the two lines which are unconnected is a smoking gun of the link that is likely to be conclusive to the panel. Your point that they are unnecessary will actually count against you because you will be unable to explain why they are there at all. And whether this was your intent or not, it is likely that the panel (and your professor) will see your changed comments and ordering as an attempt to cover up your tracks and conceal your plagiarism from automated tools. The panel is more likely to show leniency towards a student who appears to at least be contrite, and recognises that they've made a mistake, than a student who denies wrong-doing in the face of apparently very strong evidence. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: There may be not many reasonable algorithms which implement chaining, but there are literally billions of possible 32-bit hash algorithms. There's no point in claiming that one of them in particular is "common knowledge", or that it's released under GPL, or that you were about to remove it. If you did remove it, your case would look completely different, and I would argue you should be claiming independent duplication. In your current position I don't think you can convince anyone that you have picked the same hash algorithm independently from OpenJDK. So I believe your best option is to recognize the wrongdoing, then argue that the amount of actually plagiarized code is relatively small and the penalty your professor wants to put in place is disproportionate. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Other answers have addressed the philosophical/moral questions such as "Is it plagiarism?" "Is it wrong?" etc. But - I would argue you should be focusing on the practical problem at hand, which is: > > I'm not sure how to defend this whole case before a Student Conduct Board. > > > So you have a case to argue... --- First, read up on the legally-relevant documents: * Student disciplinary regulations * Student council procedures * Lists of external laws that officially apply * Exact statement of the charges against you * Precedent - past student conduct board decisions on such matters. * Session protocols from past student conduct board sessions (if they're available, which may not be the case). Then determine if you are allowed, and whether it's a good idea, to be represented by someone: A laywer; a law student; a member of faculty; a student council member etc. If that's available to you, you should at least consult one (even if you don't end up bringing them along) - they surely have more experience than you. Now, determine if you really want to argue "this part of what I copied doesn't constitute plagiarism". Maybe you could make that argument, I don't know. Even to laymen - if you have enough time (which you may not), you may be able to explain how programs are compiled from source code and how some code is not really used. You could present examples of what seems like plagiarism but is in fact nearly-identical code written independently by different people. Frankly, I doubt this would get you very far ahead considering the circumstances. Even if you are right theoretically (a question about which I'm not commenting), and even if you could explain this to the board - it might not want to hear such an argument. On the other hand, I would guess (baselessly!) that a more convincing argument might be something like (brief summary): > > I'm very sorry for what I've done and do not deny it was disallowed, inappropriate and immoral. > > I was tempted to plagiarize because of ABC, which, while not excusing my behavior, has also led 30% of the class to be tempted to plagiarize, suggesting an objective problem in addition to my personal failing. > > I've made amends in ways XYZ. > > In cases C1 and C2, which I argue are comparable, the penalty was much lower. > > Finally, I would like the board to take my personal circumstances DEF into account when considering this case. > > I will abide by any decision the board renders. > > > and leave it at that. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Plagiarism is a difficult topic in computer science, as there is only a limited number of code pieces that lead to the same result, and only one of them can be considered an optimal solution. You in fact did copy the code from the Java libs, both the actual code and the naming of variables suggest that. Therefore it would have been your duty to cite this properly. In this strict point of view your professor is correct, and probably he is also correct in the other cases you mentioned. If many people make mistakes, it still is the problem of the one person making the mistake, not the one correcting it. If it is ethical is however an entirely different topic. When programming complex functions it is good practice to not [re-invent the wheel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinventing_the_wheel#In_software_development), but instead use existing, well-tested code from others. However - as from the linked article - "reinventing the wheel is often necessary in order to work around software licensing incompatibilities" If you had the specific order to not copy existing code and you failed to obey that order, the issue is on your side. Software patenting is a severe problem in the United States, several smaller companies went bankrupt because of it, larger companies own certain patents only to use them to counter-sue should the be sued (see Apple vs Samsung). Essentially software patents have transformed to a kind of weapon that can be used to erase unwanted competition from the market. Therefore it is important for any software developer (in your country) to be able to detect and work around such licensing issues. I do not know the intentions of your professor, but it might be possible, that he added that clause specifically because he is aware of the consequences of 'code-stealing', and his harsh reaction is a way to teach you to avoid those issues in situations where it would really hurt. In other, not so narrow-minded parts of the world, software patents or 'plagiarism' as in your case are much less of a problem. This means that in other countries your work could have been considered differently, some might have even reduced your points for not copying existing code (unnecessary reinvention of the wheel). But you are not living in "other countries" so also from an ethical point of view your professor might be harsh but he is still correct. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: The title of your question "does two lines of copied code constitute plagiarism", isn't exactly accurate, in my opinion. I think that you will have a very hard time arguing that this isn't/wasn't plagiarism. The similarities between your code and HashMap.java don't end at the two lines or at a single "common algorithm". 1) You picked the exact same default capacity and load factor: ``` /** Has to be a power of 2 / private static final int DEFAULT_CAPACITY = 16; /* The load factor / private static final float DEFAULT_LOAD_FACTOR = 0.75f; ``` versus ``` // The default initial capacity - MUST be a power of two. static final int DEFAULT_INITIAL_CAPACITY = 16; // The load factor used when none specified in constructor. static final float DEFAULT_LOAD_FACTOR = 0.75f; ``` In fact, the "Has to be a power of 2" comment already means you are caught red-handed, because, there is, in fact, no good reason to require that the capacity is a power of two in your code. The fact that the size is a power of two is only used for an optimization in the HashMap.java version of the code, and this optimization isn't used in your code. You are probably lucky the student conduct board doesn't know much about programming. 2) The two `get` methods are very similar: ``` public V get(K key) { if (key == null) return null; int hash = key.hashCode() % data.length; // System.out.printf("Getting %d %d %s\n", key.hashCode(), hash, // key.toString()); for (MyEntry e = data[hash]; e != null; e = e.next) { if (e.hash == hash && (e.getKey() == key \|\| key.equals(e.getKey()))) return e.getValue(); } return null; } ``` versus ``` public V get(Object key) { if (key == null) return getForNullKey(); int hash = hash(key.hashCode()); for (Entry e = table[indexFor(hash, table.length)]; e != null; e = e.next) { Object k; if (e.hash == hash && ((k = e.key) == key \|\| key.equals(k))) return e.value; } return null; } ``` It seems strange that you both picked the exact same, very specific way to do the key comparison (first comparing the hashes, then the pointers of the keys and then finally using key.equals). 3) ...as is the `put`-method: ``` public MyEntry put(K key, V value) { int hash = key.hashCode(); // System.out.printf("Adding %d %d %s\n", key.hashCode(), hash, key.toString()); int i = hash % data.length; // Collisions for (MyEntry e = data[i]; e != null; e = e.next) { if (e.hash == hash && (e.getKey() == key \|\| key.equals(e.getKey()))) { MyEntry old = e; e.setValue(value); return old; } } addEntry(hash, key, value, i); return null; } ``` versus ``` public V put(K key, V value) { if (key == null) return putForNullKey(value); int hash = hash(key.hashCode()); int i = indexFor(hash, table.length); for (Entry e = table[i]; e != null; e = e.next) { Object k; if (e.hash == hash && ((k = e.key) == key \|\| key.equals(k))) { V oldValue = e.value; e.value = value; e.recordAccess(this); return oldValue; } } modCount++; addEntry(hash, key, value, i); return null; } ``` 4) ...as are the `add` and `grow`-methods: ``` void addEntry(int hash, K key, V value, int bucketIndex) { MyEntry e = data[bucketIndex]; data[bucketIndex] = new MyEntry<>(hash, key, value, e); keyList.add(key); if (size++ >= threshold) grow(); } /\\* \* Grows the array 2x current size \/ private void grow() { int newSize = 2 \ data.length; @SuppressWarnings("unchecked") MyEntry[] newArr = new MyEntry[newSize]; // Copy for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) { MyEntry e = data[i]; if (e != null) { data[i] = null; do { MyEntry next = e.next; int j = e.hash % newSize; e.next = newArr[j]; newArr[j] = e; e = next; } while (e != null); } } data = newArr; threshold = (int) (newSize \* DEFAULT\_LOAD\_FACTOR); } ``` versus ``` void addEntry(int hash, K key, V value, int bucketIndex) { Entry e = table[bucketIndex]; table[bucketIndex] = new Entry<>(hash, key, value, e); if (size++ >= threshold) resize(2 \* table.length); } void transfer(Entry[] newTable) { Entry[] src = table; int newCapacity = newTable.length; for (int j = 0; j < src.length; j++) { Entry e = src[j]; if (e != null) { src[j] = null; do { Entry next = e.next; int i = indexFor(e.hash, newCapacity); e.next = newTable[i]; newTable[i] = e; e = next; } while (e != null); } } } ``` Of course, a HashTable is a fairly common data structure and there are only so many ways to implement a given algorithm. However, the two copied lines show that you did definitely use HashTable.java as a starting point for your own implementation, and the further similarities in the design, illogical comments and code structure would lead one to believe that you did take more than just a little "inspiration" from HashTable.java. Note that both your and their put and get methods use a for-loop to iterate over a linked list, whereas the grow/transfer methods uses a while-loop to do the same. It seems strange that both pieces of code would make this same decision independently. > > Our projects are pretty extensive since we aren't allowed to use java.util.\* (like 1k+ lines for each project in 8 days), and I did not copy any other code. I'd say the actual data structure implementation is only meant to take about 1/5 our time spent per project. > > > It seems clear that you weren't allowed to use HashMap.java, and that, if you had wanted to use a hash table, you'd need to implement your own. By copying large parts of HashMap.java you've tried to circumvent this restriction. "It's only a small part of the project" doesn't take away the fact that you took code, that was not your own work, and tried to pass it off as your own (even though the expectation was that you'd write this part of the assignment yourself). If the assignments were truly unrealistic given the time span allocated, it would have been better to turn in a failing solution. If many students turned in a failing solution, the professor might have considered the possibility that the assignment was too hard. If the plagiarism had gone unnoticed then the professor might have (incorrectly) concluded that the assignment was of appropriate difficulty, penalizing the students who (attempted) to complete the assignment fairly and according to the rules. The penalties for plagiarism can vary greatly by institution. -100% on your assignment could be heavy handed, but at our institution the penalty could have been anywhere from 0% on the assignment, an automatic fail for the course in question to expulsion from your studies for 12 months. Plagiarism, at most institutions, is treated similarly to cheating on an exam and the punishments might be stringent. If the only punishment were getting 0% on the plagiarized assignment then there would be no harm in "trying" to plagiarize if you'd fail the assignment anyways without resorting to plagiarism. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_9: ### You might want to withdraw your appeal (if able) At first glance, your argument looks entirely reasonable. This is, if you copied two lines of code (assuming that such was allowed) but simply failed to include a citation or forgot to remove it (as you've claimed), then that could basically be chalked up to an honest mistake, on-par with a typo. Such a mistake would be unfortunate, but hardly merit major punishment. However, as others have noted, a closer look at the code makes it look like you completely copied the original code and then went out of your way to try to obfuscate that fact. This causes all sympathy to go out-the-window; if anything, you may be getting off too lightly. But, then there's your appeal. The appeal itself appears to be based in a dishonest premise, much like this question does. *It looks like you're lying to the honor council!* Such a lie would seem to be grounds for further punishment. This is, first there was the cheating - the severity of which you've now called attention to - and then also the apparently fraudulent defense. I don't know what to tell you. On the one hand, this is pretty gross and it might actually be better if you learned your lesson now. But as an answer to this question, assuming that you're trying to minimize punishment, it'd seem like you might want to exit the appeal and leave things alone, rather than risk making them worse. ### Reference: Regarding the right to not self-incriminate In the American legal system, it's sometimes thought that defendants can claim innocence without further penalty if that claim is later found to be false. This follows from the [Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) which grants protection against self-incrimination. The funny part about this is that, if you watch a lot of [Law-&-Order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_%26_Order)-type shows (as many Americans do), you may be used to the idea that defendants can lie about not being guilty without penalty, which one might be inclined to apply to other court-like settings, e.g. an honor council review. The thing is that honor councils aren't courts of law; the right to not self-incriminate doesn't apply. So if you lie in your defense to an honor council, you're still lying before the exact people who'll judge you for that exact misconduct. Edit: Went to fact-check myself on this point, and it appears that the Supreme Court ruled that lying in one's own defense can increase sentences: > > The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that criminal defendants who take the stand and testify falsely in their own defense may constitutionally be subjected to additional prison time for obstructing justice. > > > The decision overturned a ruling by a Federal appeals court in Richmond, which held in 1991 that the Constitution bars judges from imposing an additional sentence under Federal guidelines as punishment for "a disbelieved denial of guilt under oath." > > > -["Court Says False Testimony Can Bring Longer Sentence"](http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/24/us/court-says-false-testimony-can-bring-longer-sentence.html), NYTimes (1993). > > > So, apparently defendants can be penalized for lying in their own defense even in US courts. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: I have both experience in teaching (and handling plagiarism) and software patenting/litigation. I've graded clusters of homework all showing the same error or the same imperfection. I've seen students not able to start their IDE coming up with concise and expert homework solutions, where all the variable had names like "theCounter", "variableA" and "myself", but other than that, their author looked like already having 10 years of experience in the field, and clearly not in need of an undergraduate degree. A software patent case may be reduced to proving that a single line like "x=0" has been plagiarized. This includes proving motive, people (the fact that company A has attracted people from company B) and state of the art at the time of the alleged plagiarizing (and not now, when the proposed approach is obvious for everybody). Software patent trials are not sterile discussions on how the Smith–Waterman algorithm performed on plaintiff's and defendant's code. In your case, it seems that you at least "looked" at OpenJDK code before starting yours. Irrefutable evidence is the hash function: the probability to replicate this by chance, according to Mr. Data and C-3PO, is one in 67 trillion-billions. It is further clear that you were not looking for a hash function, but for a hash map implementation. Searching "hash function for strings" or "hash function for strings java" does not yield a result from OpenJDK. Once you have seen the OpenJDK implementation of hashMap, the problem was straight forward to you. From all the possible ways of approaching the hashMap, conscious or not, you have chosen the one from OpenJDK, because you were terribly biased. Your code comments are useless. Commenting "length" as "the length" proves that you didn't comprehend the problem, and commenting was intended here to merely fulfill a grading requirement. You waste grader's time. Correct would be: "hash = the Hash of the element to be searched", "Length: the size of the hash table" "returns the position in the hash table of specified length for the element of hash h. It never exceeds the length minus one". Further, you say "get returns the value at the index", which is blatantly wrong for a hash map. Get would return the value at the key. Mixing key and index is a "capital offense" if you do data structures. My judgement here would be "guilty as charged". You didn't spent time thinking of the solution, but you took an existing solution and probably implemented independently. It defeated the purpose of the homework, which was intended to make you think data structures. Citing OpenJDK source would only make your guilt more obvious (a classic case of self-incrimination during defense). It's like being given a Math problem and you end up citing the book and page showing a solution of the problem. You did a good search job, but the intent of the problem was to make you solve it. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/07	1,678	7,337	<issue_start>username_0: I was reviewing a paper related to my field (computational fluid dynamics) a while ago and, while reading a part of the methodology section where the numerical scheme and the equations were explained, I had a weird sense of déjà-vu. Regretfully, I found out that the author had plagiarized about three to four paragraph from a paper published two years ago. What was even crazier is that the author had plagiarized me, since the paragraph he had copied were from a paper I actually had previously published, thus explaining the feeling of déjà-vu. I obviously noted that in my review and in my message to the editor, but I did not reject the paper directly. I acted this way since it was in the methodology section and related to mathematical formulas and really did not affect the outcome of the result. Was I in the wrong? Should such small plagiarism warrant instant rejection or is it sufficient to point them out and let the editor deal with that?<issue_comment>username_1: It is not for a reviewer to decide whether the plagiarism has actually happened and whether the paper has to be rejected because of it. This is the editor's call. However, it is reviewer's duty to note the similarity and express concerns about possible plagiarism to the editor, supported by evidence. Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic integrity and should not be tolerated. The amount of the copied text is not really relevant here: authors should not pass someone else's words and work as their own, however big or small it is. If the text was borrowed, it should've been properly attributed. This is not about the validity of result, but about the principles on which the academic community stands. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: There is no such thing as unimportant plagiarism. And three to four stolen paragraphs is not small. You did the right thing to report it to the editor. But I also would have rejected the paper. There is no place in academia for academic misconduct. It certainly shouldn't be published. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I think that you did the right thing. I believe that some unimportant parts can be copied and a limited amount (certain percentage) of plagiarism is unavoidable. If the author wants to refer the same thing which is included in your paper, it makes no sense to change the wording a little so that it doesn't get caught in plagiarism issues. If the majority of the work that the author presents is original and not published before, then copying a small amount of essential details should be acceptable. How large were the 3 or 4 paragraphs and did they really capture the essence of the whole paper are the questions, which only you can answer. The gist of what I want to say is that if the author has presented a new, novel and an original idea, which has not been published before then a small amount of copying must not matter. These are my personal views. Of course, you can refer it to the editor with your views on it and let him deal with it in whatever way he finds it appropriate Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I think you should reject it until the plaigiarism is corrected then if all else is good it can then be published. The correct example should be set - this should be a simple correction for the author. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: Regarding unimportant plagiarism, I have to note that sometimes plagiarism is unintentional. Last year, we submited a paper to a top-tier conference, where we accidentally plagiarised two sentences from a paper of the program chair (who we were pretty sure that were also one of the reviewers). The paper was still accepted to be published. That program chair published a well-known paper 10 years ago, which formalized a model, and proposed a naive algorithm (brute-force) to compute some entities on this model. The approach was demonstrated on some toy programs, written in a toy language, with a couple lines of code. We were the first, in 10 years, to propose a practical algorithm for this model, which scales to thousands of line of Java. Of course, all of us read that paper countless times, and discussed it for several months. As a result, many of its sentences stuck in our heads, and somehow made their way to our paper. Notably, two sentences were exactly identical, since they described the settings for the problem. One of the reviewers, whose review only appeared after the rebuttal phase, explicitly said that he did not read technical details, and only wanted to give editorial comments. So we were almost sure that he was the program chair. That reviewer was extremely upset about our discussion in the related work, since we only compared our algorithm with the naive brute-force, and he felt we did not give credit to the model that we implemented (we formalized the model in a different way). In particular, he pointed out those two sentences that we lifted verbatim from that well-known paper, as a proof of the influence of his paper to ours. But that didn't result in a rejection, and it was not a conditional acceptance, i.e. they didn't review our paper again. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I agree with others that this is not a small act of plagiarism. With that said, it's hard for you to identify the motive behind it. What if they had copied it as placeholder material with the intent of replacing it later or properly citing it, and simply forgot? I agree with you that it should not have been immediately rejected, but not because I view it as minor plagiarism. Instead, the results of their research have the potential to contribute to science. By rejecting it on the merits of the author instead of the merits of the research, you could be doing more harm than good for science. The issue of plagiarism should be addressed some different way; for example, by the editor notifying the author's institution so that they can handle the issue, which will be better equipped to determine why the plagiarism occurred. If it becomes a recurring issue, then the editor can consider simply blacklisting the author from submitting in the future. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: Once published, the plagiarized text will "haunt" the authors for the rest of their life. If the fragment is not important with respect of the original contribution, but merely useful to the reader to understand the concept, suggest a simple reference like "[BlaB at all] provided the explanation of Prandtl-Glauert Singularity equation on transition to supersonic speed:" << add here the "plagiarized" explanation >>. This is still bad if the review is performed by non-specialists using software. For them, "rewording" the phase is more useful, even if you "steal" the concept. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: You can also tell the authors that entire paragraphs are just copy and paste work from ref (your work) and this is detrimental to the overall paper as it might even open discussion about plagiarism. You think that they can easily rephrase the methods section. They will suspect it is you as likely just the original author can recognise that. But they shall be grateful for ever as you didn't rejected as well as you didn't start a big unpleasant issue. It is likely a lazy young that will likely take the lesson. Upvotes: 1
2017/12/07	667	2,595	<issue_start>username_0: Our lab is having its holiday party tonight at a somewhat fancy hotel restaurant. How do I address a PI (Principal Investigator) of our lab? I’ve never met her this semester – she spends time at another research institute and communicates with us via group emails. Given that a party will be a casual meeting, how should I address her? By her first name, say, "<NAME>", or is it better to address her more formally, such as "hi, Dr. Samsonite"? Our lab consists of about twenty members. Update So I met her just a short while ago in her hotel room where she is staying through the weekend, and I decided to adress her as I normally would, thanks Aeismail for the useful tip. She seemed just fine with it, so a big thanks to all for the answers and comments. Party time!<issue_comment>username_1: Address her as "Dr." unless she invites you to call her by her first name. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: The person best suited to answer this question would be your PI. You could simply say, "Hey, I'm so glad you could make it! By the way, do you prefer Dr. Samsonite or something else?" It's likely that your PI doesn't know the culture of your particular lab, so she may even ask what people there prefer. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would choose the first applicable option from the following list: 1. The way she has asked you to address her 2. The way she introduced herself to you in person 3. The way someone else from the lab introduced her to you in person 4. If you have a significant history of email communication specifically directed at each other (i.e. she is emailing you, not just emailing the group), the way she signs emails specifically directed at you, assuming it's actually a name or title and not, say, initials 5. The highest or most specific title (Professor, Doctor, or so on) you know or believe her to hold 6. If you really have no clue about #5, the default way you address other academics of similar standing who you don't know - probably either Professor or Doctor, depending on field When meeting someone in person for the first time, items 1-4 tend to not apply and you wind up at #5, which basically reduces to [username_1's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/100131/236). --- Note that generic forms of address like "Mrs."/"Ms."/"Mr." don't appear anywhere in this list. They would come in as a last-ditch default option if you weren't talking to an academic, but within academia, titles like "Prof." and "Dr." are common enough that you take them as a default. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/08	2,420	9,633	<issue_start>username_0: When reading submissions by students, for example coding assignments or bachelor theses, I stumble upon code or text not originally written by the students themselves, usually not referenced properly (see the edit below). After being confronted with this, I often hear or read statements like: * ["I did write it myself -- using a source, and making some of my own modifications."](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/100081/does-two-lines-of-copied-code-constitute-plagiarism#comment260223_100097) * "Wikipedia explains this topic very well. I didn't know that I am not allowed to copy the article in my thesis. Wikipedia is even on my list of references!" * "Our code looks similar, because he helped me with some bugs I had." * Or that [plagiarism in the methodology section is small and unimportant](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/100112/how-to-handle-plagiarism-on-method-that-does-not-affect-outcome-results-when-rev) ([original version](https://academia.stackexchange.com/revisions/100112/3)). I usually tend to see these statements as lame excuses, because I thought it would be common sense how not to plagiarize, but maybe they are right that they really do not know it better. It seems like they think the correct way to avoid plagiarism is to modify the source even more instead of doing it on their own in the first place. Our usual approach to tackle this problem is to state that we do not want plagiarism, search for indications of plagiarism and then have endless discussion about it afterwards. There are methods to circumvent this partially, [for example by providing individualized tasks](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/27003/61201), and our university also provides workshops that teach you for example how a reference list should be built, but I am searching for ideas for the everyday teaching (programming labs, supervising students writing a thesis...) to promote the mindset that taking the text or code from someone else and modifying it is not the correct way, especially when it comes to graded submissions or publications. EDIT: After receiving multiple comments about what I am worried about is not plagiarism, I would like to explain this aspect a little more by means of some examples: * There is no reference at all: This is clearly plagiarism, period. * The reference is not sufficient: This is the Wikipedia case from above. Having only "Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/>" in the list of references without any indication which part of the text is from which article and which part is written by the student does not help at all and is in my opinion nearly as bad as having no reference at all. * There is a proper reference: As others have noted, this is not plagiarism. Still, in the context of grading, we have to look deeper: + Written exam: Everyone should agree that a student should fail an exam if he copies the solution by another student even if he writes "This solution was copied from the student sitting next to me." + Code Assignments: I had cases where students wrote "I copied this part from ..., because I was not able to do it myself and the rest of the program would not work without it". This is totally fine for me, but the student should not expect to receive points for the copied part, but only for the other parts written by himself. The same holds for code [copied from other sources and modified afterwards](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/100081/does-two-lines-of-copied-code-constitute-plagiarism#comment260223_100097). + Lengthy text passages: This is the example of copying significant parts of a Wikipedia article, again. But this is already covered in [several](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/20270/is-verbatim-copying-several-paragraphs-of-text-with-citation-considered-plagiari) [other](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/66449/is-it-plagiarism-to-copy-from-the-textbook-and-referencing-properly-but-not-usin?rq=1) [questions](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14138/how-large-may-included-parts-from-other-peoples-work-be-in-an-academic-paper/14139#14139).<issue_comment>username_1: It seems to me that you have an "Academic Integrity" issue as opposed to a "Plagiarism" issue. Academic Integrity covers many areas including: * Plagiarism * Collusion * Fabrication and so on... In my personal experience the biggest 'excuse' that students will plead is ignorance. What this causes is the following cycle: * students submit work * work is marked * issues are found * issues are discussed with student * student pleads ignorance * student is educated * (sometimes) student is allowed to resubmit The problem here is that education comes after the crime, and any resubmissions can drastically delay students receiving marks and feedback (which feeds into other assignments). Now I do not have a solution that will stop all cases of academic dishonesty and personally I do not think it is possible. If people want to cheat, they will. The key is to remove the accidental plagiarisms so that the focus is on the intentional cases. To remove the ignorance excuse the answer is simple: education. Now you are already employing education as your solution, however, you are doing it after the submission. The key is to do it as soon as possible. Personally, I use part of my first tutorial class to teach the students what Academic Integrity is, and then get the students to work through some examples and questions. Lastly, I require them to complete an "Academic Integrity Quiz" which is regulated by our University Library. Before the students can gain access to our assignment submission boxes they MUST have scored 10/10 on that quiz (this is automated). Unlimited attempts are allowed on the quiz as well. The solution above forces students to learn about Academic Integrity and thereby removes the "I didn't know" (ignorance) excuse. I hope this helps. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There is likely no silver bullet. However, I have found some traction with aggressively educating students in the first few sessions. (So: this echoes username_1's answer, without depending on the outside-regulated quiz assessment.) I have a statement on code plagiarism on the syllabus. Note: To my surprise, there was no crystal-clear statement that I could find online as a reference. In some sense this requires me to clarify exactly what will count as plagiarism in the context of my class. I also outline the exact penalties. This is handed out on Day 1 (of course); on Day 2 I verbally quiz the class together. "Is X plagiarism? Is Y? Is Z?" The answer to all is "yes"; include every excuse you've ever heard here. Since I started this in the last year, it cut my incidences down by about half, especially on the first few assignments. (Previously lots of copying, now none in the first few weeks.) When copying happens, I apply the penalties precisely as stated, and then announce that it happened in the next class meeting (obviously not identifying individual offenders; but use this as a reminder and confirmation that the stated penalties are being applied). I tend to have a few more cases near the end of the semester when a few lagging students become hazy, have fallen behind, and/or get desperate with more challenging work. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I ask my students to read this and paraphrase it as part of the first homework assignment. I have no evidence showing that it reduces the amount of dishonesty, but at least they can't say they didn't know. <https://www.cs.umb.edu/~eb/honesty/> Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I mention potential real-world consequences, because the proof of plagiarism never goes away: * tenured professors who plagiarized in their PhD have had their diploma retracted and consequently lost their job; * political nominees have had to withdraw their candidature after journalists found they plagiarized in their graduate thesis; * newspaper editors have been fired because plagiarism is a time saver, but it caught up to them; * companies have been sued and lost money over violation of intellectual property involving software source code. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I will add few words from student perspective. Others answers points out that providing education to students is very important. I think it is also important to show students that you care about this. Publish clear guidelines what is allowed and what is not. Explain to students reason behind this guidelines. Talk about it in class. Think if your grading encourages plagiarism. Answer student’s questions about plagiarism. Allow student to ask if specific example is plagiarism or not. If I am expected to provide perfect homework at the beginning of semester and cannot fix mistakes later I start to think that goal of the assignment is not learning. I think is better if you expect student to send homework few times so they could improve and fix mistakes over time. I also feel that that is not fair if assignments are poor quality or there are too many of them. Publish high quality assignments and say why you think that it is important to finish them. Say why you think that assignments are good use of time (instead of reading a textbook or other activity). To summarize my answer – you can do something so students will find following rules meaningful and fair. I know about cases where the same student did not cheat when he had perfect opportunities and cheated where there was considerable punishment, strict checking and supervision. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/08	2,230	9,767	<issue_start>username_0: I reviewed a paper submitted for a smallish magazine. It presented an algorithm to perform some allocation task and compared its performance to that of several other algorithms from the literature performing the same task in several ways (the results, i.e. the allocation, can be evaluated based on the usage of several different resources, so a result could use less of resource A, but more of resource B, and so on). My opinion was that, although the algorithm was badly presented and the paper was nigh-incomprehensible, the results presented seemed good, so the authors deserved another shot at better explaining themselves, so I did not suggest to reject it altogether. The first review round went through with a unanimous "major revisions" verdict. Then I was asked to review the second submitted version of the paper too. In this new version, the algorithm had been compared to a much broader range of algorithms. Problem is: even though the algorithms it was being compared to changed, the comparison charts remained exactly the same, and looking at them side-by-side revealed no difference whatsoever (no explicit numerical data was provided). What is worse is that the change was not even one-to-one. In the first submission, the algorithm (let's call it A) was compared with the same three other algorithms in all categories (resource A usage, resource B usage etc.) while in the second submission, each resource comparison involved different algorithms, so for example, A was compared to B,C and D in resource A utilization, but it was compared to C, E and F in resource B utilization, and so on. Nonetheless, each chart in the second submission was identical to one from the first submission. At this point, I was fairly certain that at least the second round of comparisons had been completely faked, i.e. the authors just changed the labels on the charts. Asking one of my senior coworkers, I was advised to just ignore the issue and to not raise a ruckus, since this issue has a high chance of backfiring: we are not an academic institution, we are the R&D department of a pretty small private firm, hence we have very little political weight and scientific reputation. I am wondering if I really should raise this issue with the editor, with whom my firm has business relations, as we are partners in several government-funded projects, or I should heed the advice of my colleague. While the paper has very little chance of being published as the second submission is also nigh-unreadable, a co-author of this paper has an extremely high h-index (100+), hence I feel if my suspicion is founded, it really should be brought to the light.<issue_comment>username_1: Most (all?) peer review processes allow you to write a private note to the editor that isn’t shown to the paper authors. Use this to raise your concern with the editor, providing a detailed explanation of the evidence. As for the public part of the review, it’s entirely legitimate to note that the description in the paper is insufficient to reproduce the results (which it seems to be, from your description): if the data isn’t faked, the authors should have no issue describing the method in sufficient detail that the reader is able to recapitulate it completely. In fact, your description of the vague results in the paper alone would be grounds to demand an appropriate revision. To address your senior coworker’s comment: they are wrong. Data fabrication is a serious breach of research ethics. As a reviewer, you mustn’t let it slide under any circumstances — regardless of rejection status of the manuscript. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: You should definitely report your concern, but assume good faith. This certainly sounds like a significant problem. However, fabricating data is a very serious (even career-ending) allegation. You shouldn't accuse someone of this without very strong evidence, and I don't think you have it in this case. There could be an innocent explanation. * You might have misunderstood what they are doing. For example, rather than running all new tests, did they use the same results for their algorithm, but then compare it to different algorithms? (I'm not sure from the question whether this would be possible). * It could be a simple error. For example, what if they accidentally opened the wrong image file and added labels to it? I would raise the issue, but rather than saying "this looks faked", something like this: > > The authors purport to have run new comparisons, and yet the results on the graphs are exactly the same as in their previous draft. I don't understand how this can be correct. Could they please explain, or correct the graphs if necessary? > > > Another thing you should do is ask for more detailed results and more information about their methods. It sounds like their reporting on what they have done is far from adequate. How they respond to this request might give more evidence on whether the results might be faked. If they are unable to convincingly explain the strange results and fully describe their methods, you should then at least raise the concern with the editor. I don't think you have enough cause to do that yet, though. If there is further action to be taken, it will be the editor's responsibility. [Here is what the Committee on Publication Ethics recommends to editors in this situation](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts-new/what-do-if-you-suspect-fabricated-data-0). If the authors cannot satisfactorily explain themselves, it should result in a report to their institution and an investigation. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Unfortunately, you have a much better chance of bullying someone without any repercussions whatsoever as an anonymous journal-referee than as the most lousy moderator of academia.stackexchange. ;-) More seriously: no worries, simply go for criticism if your report is anonymous. If you report is not anonymous (which is seldom), do the same thing as you do when writing a good-looking recommendation letter which is actually "a little questionable" in its actual contents. In any case, you’ve done a much better review than the overwhelming majority of the research-level referees already. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: That is why we have reproducibility requirement in science. Whatever was measured must be verifiable independently by others. Over and over and over... But if the claims don't get accepted for publication anywhere it won't even be known to the community what to try to verify or to disprove. Imagine Mickelson-Morleys paper of the measurement of the speed of light being refused everywhere for example. Would clearly be no good. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: I have contributed as a reviewer to over forty papers to date. In most cases, I suggested (or “hinted”, because whenever possible I prefer not telling the editor what to do) rejecting the paper. I have signed a third of my reviews, but I only signed a negative review once. I am striving to sign my reviews more often. I understand there can be some backlash. More often than expected. Unfortunately too many editors nowadays have ties with authors, and some authors just cannot take being criticised. The main reason I do not sign all of my reviews is fear of backlash, especially because I am still a postdoc. Thus said, find my recommendation below. Raise the issue of duplicated images openly, and emphasise on the fact that the submission had already deep issues in its original form. Comment on any other facets of the new submission and finish your review coldly. If you are forced by the system to suggest a recommendation, chose rejection. I believe you have all the reason to reject a paper which hasn’t improved significantly when given the chance, and there should be no ruckus over that. Just do not come around accusing authors of misconduct over duplicated images because sloppy behaviour is not fraud. If you just must, merely hint some concern over the issues to the editor in private, but in your place I'd avoid that because of potential side conflicts that you mentioned. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: "the second submission is also nigh-unreadable" This in itself seems like a reason to reject it totally. Either: 1. It is unreadable garbage (Reject NOW!) 2. The subject matter could be too complex for you to understand. I would try and ask other about the contents of the rest of the paper to see if anyone understand any of it. Find some skilled in that area of research. Authors failed to understand the definition of "major revisions", send back for more major revisions. If you let garbage through you will never by scientifically respected. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: Considering that the paper describes the algorithm, by definition, the author isn't hiding it... so why not just require the author to send you the source code, not binaries, but the actual source, which you can build, run, and thus create the data yourself? The source should include not only his algorithm but also all other algorithms that were used in the paper for comparison. Then compare the data you got from running his code with the data in the paper and see if there are any differences. IMO this should be a standard for any paper about algorithms - submit the source code that anyone can build and run and prove it. You can also set up a standard regarding what is and isn't allowed to be used in the source, so that you (or anyone else) can easily build it without needing proprietary libraries. For example, "VS 2017 username_2 Edition - C++ or C#" or Python or Java will probably cover 99% of such cases. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/08	2,390	10,286	<issue_start>username_0: I am in an interesting situation, I have a masters degree in electrical engineering but have been working as a software engineer for about 10 years. I have a lot of interest in doing peer reviews and contributing to research part-time in computer science. But I find it very hard to convince anyone to let me review their work. My question is, is it possible to do so while working in a day job? If so, how can one go about signing up to do peer reviews? All the journals seems to want to see credibility before you can peer-review any articles or papers. How can one get started midway through their work career?<issue_comment>username_1: In general, and I accept that there may be some exceptional sub-field I do not know about, peer reviews in Computer Science are conducted by researchers. You need experience doing research (viz. writing papers) in order to understand the quality of what you are reading. Most people are introduced to peer review during their PhD studentship when a program committee member delegates one or more of their papers to a PhD student, typically their own student. Once someone has a PhD, they may then be invited as a program committee member or a journal reviewer by the program chair/journal editor. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to Thomas’ answer, peer review (in my experience) is somewhat of an “invitation only” closed club: journal editors need to know your name, and they do so because you have published in the relevant (sub-)field. And even then, editors tend to favour senior researchers or people they otherwise trust. Case in point, I’ve published several papers during my PhD and (co-authored) during my postdoc. Yet the only peer review invitations I have received so far have been due to a specific recommendation from former group leaders to the editors. This will probably vary across fields. But the fundamental principle is the same: editors need to put some level of trust into the competence of the reviewer. And since the research happens at the cutting edge (otherwise it wouldn’t be very interesting research), the reviewers are often chosen from a fairly small pool of people known to work at that cutting edge. Unless you have recently done outstanding, publicly known work in a field of active research, it’s unlikely that an editor would consider you as a reviewer. Merely having proficiency in already established methods is not useful. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As an editor, when I need peer-reviewers, if I don't know someone with expertise in the topic at hand, I look to see who has published peer-reviewed work in a similar area recently. No-one signs up to do reviews, it's up to me to go out and find them. Which means, if you haven't published peer-reviewed work recently, you aren't likely to get any invitations. So, in my case, if you want to do peer-reviews, the first step is publishing something in a peer-reviewed journal. Otherwise, no one will know you're there. This doesn't mean someone who isn't publishing is never qualified to provide a peer review. But if I don't know you, and you haven't published anything yourself, I have no way to evaluate if you are qualified to provide a good review. Another thing to keep in mind is that the distinction between an interesting paper, and an interesting publishable paper, may not be clear to someone who isn't actively pursuing academic work in the area. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: For some journals, you may register as a peer reviewer through a website. I recall certain elsevier journals, though the publisher may be considered expensive/restrictive for the research community. (In fact, a search for "register as a reviewer" in a web search engine does provide some entry points.) Many editors are suffering because they don't find reviewers for months! You simply have to write an e-mail to a managing editor (or to all the editors) of a journal. No guarantee you'll get a paper if you contact just the main editor of a single journal, but my best bet is that there is a pretty good chance if you contact all the editors of, say, 100 journals. However, doing a *proper* peer review of a *serious* and *well-written* 50-page paper takes time. Up to several months, if you have to acquire knowledge beforehand and really go into detail. For such papers, during reading, you won't get enough grounds to stop and reject. Don't expect it to be doable in the evenings. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: To answer your questions: * is it possible to do so while working in a day job?: Yes. All peer-reviewers are done by people who have other jobs. The only caveat is to make sure you employer does not prohibit it (I do not know why they would, but there might be some (real or perceived) concern over intellectual property rights). * If so, how can one go about signing up to do peer reviews? All the journals seems to want to see credibility before you can peer-review any articles or papers. Other answers have described the traditional approach for being a reviewer. I have used another method for one journal I wanted to review for: Network and volunteer to a reviewer. Specifically, I had a mentor tell me to peer review as a way to enhance my standing within a professional society. He told me to email a former professor of mine who was an editor for a journal and offer to review for him. That got my foot in the door as a reviewer with the journal. In your case, do any of your MS faculty server as editors? Or, do you know any other editors? Perhaps you could reach out to them to be a reviewer. Send them a short note and volunteer to be a reviewer. * How can one get started midway through their work career? If you're able to get your foot in the door, do a good job. Be prompt, be professional, and be rigorous. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: One of the main issues (which I think has not yet been mentioned in other answers) is that to be a good reviewer you need to be current on what is going on in the field. So if you're not an active researcher, it will be hard for you to properly evaluate new work in context. So instead of looking to get more into academia starting by doing peer reviews, perhaps consider getting involved with research. You could either start doing things that are of interest to yourself on your own and then contact experts when you make some progress to give feedback, or try reaching out to people/groups who you'd be interested in working with (preferably someone you know, like former professors, as "cold calling" has low response rates). Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: It's usually the opposite problem -- once you start publishing, you end up on the page editors' lists of possible reviewers, and never get off of those lists again until you die. Given that, the real requirement for referees is that they publish in the field they review. If you haven't done so, you will have a hard time convincing editors of your qualifications. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Very long shot. I have on occasion asked an editor who sent me a paper to review if I could pass the task along to a junior colleague (who had no reputation yet). The editor trusted my judgement, my colleagues did the job well and so got a foot in the door. Perhaps contacting one of your former professors would work this way for you. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: Another answer describes an example about someone without the qualification. In most answers he was successful in becoming a reviewer. That was after a professor who knew him provided a reference. Let me put some emphasis that the main point is that that he was referred to the editor by someone already known, and assumed to be competent to the editor. Only that established the assumption that he would be a valuable reviewer - concluded from the professors assumption of the same. The editor may have based his decision on this assumption alone, without caring about any other indications of the reviewers competence at all, and rightly so. An example where this would make perfect sense is when the professor knew that the reviewer is qualified to publish leading edge papers of the subfield, but did not publish on it due to some unrelated reason. Say a psychological condition of *chronic paper writing phobia. This may seem exceedingly rare to happen in the real world. But since the answer of username_8 provided a second real world example, in addition the one used in the first paragraph, just three minutes after I posted this answer, I allow myself to hope there is some non-zero credibility* to it. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_10: I have 25 years experience as an industrial researcher with an exceedingly short publication list (2 papers written when I was in school in the late '80s) and have been an active reviewer for years. So emphatically NO! you do not have to be active in research in order to be a peer reviewer. It's a chronic complaint of editors and reviewers alike of how overworked they are, and yet they completely overlook the incredibly large number of people with advanced degrees that are not in academia. Or worse yet, insist that they are unqualified... So go ahead and contact editors. It might be wise to temper expectations (don't bother with Nature or Science for instance), but start asking. And then once you do start reviewing, be sure to record them with Publons. That will give you credibility so that you can work your way up the ladder. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_11: I can think of one counter-example to my experience as an ex-Editor of a prestigious CS journal who would never have reviewers such as the OP. That counter-example was a scientist at the (U.S.) Naval Research Laboratory. He never did any direct research or publish papers. What he did do intensively for a couple of decades was to follow certain topics of interest to the NRL in the best scientific research journals and conference proceedings, and retained and assimilated it. He had a prodigious memory and ability to relate to what was in his memory. I would not have hesitated to have him be a reviewer for these topics he followed. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/08	1,720	7,514	<issue_start>username_0: I have a hard time understanding statements such as: > > Scientist X discovered Y in 1960 and was subsequently rediscovered by Scientist Z in 1980. > > > How does one prove that plagiarism has not taken place? This is also extensively observed in some really old math theorems, chemistry and so on. How does one prove that the similar work produced was as a result of one’s own independent work and not resulting from another’s. Even if something was re-discovered subsequently, why is it even given merit?<issue_comment>username_1: Remember that research was a lot harder to track down before the Internet Age. We couldn't as easily do literature searches because databases were much more restricted in scope and scale. Therefore, we can guess that keywords might not have found the earlier results. In chemistry, it's possible that alternate methods could be used to synthesize a molecule, which would certainly justify its republication. In mathematics, an alternate, more elegant route for the proof or justification would also merit "rediscovery." It's only plagiarism if the same methods and techniques were used after consulting the old material: in other words, only if it's a straight-up reproduction. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In mathematics genuine rediscovery seems to me quite common, and it is usually plain that the rediscovery is not plagiarism for reasons related to its content and exposition. Often the rediscovery occurs in a substantially different subfield than the original discovery and is motivated by different considerations than those that motivated the original discovery. In other cases the result is essentially the same, but the techniques used to prove it are different. In other cases the results can be proved to be equivalent, but this is not self-evident from their statements, or to their authors (or others), and it requires some work, or at least some insight, for people to realize that something is being rediscovered. Sometimes a result that is now considered important in and of itself was proved in passing as a supporting lemma in an old paper, and only once the rediscovery has taken place is it recognized that the result had already appeared. Many results are forgotten - at the time they are published there does not exist an audience prepared to understand their significance - later this audience comes to be and the result is rediscovered - still later someone in that audience realizes that the result had been obtained much earlier. Finally there is what might be the most common pattern - at the time the relevance of the discovery was not recognized or the work of the person who made it was not paid much attention (for various reasons, e.g the worker published little, wrote in a strange language, died early, etc.). Others come along, and with similar motivations pursue the same lines of research. It is usually clear that such rediscovery is not plagiarism simply from the style and organization of the exposition. More often the results are not exactly the same in the so-called rediscovery, although there may be some overlap. Each of the scenarios described can be illustrated by numerous examples, but as doing so takes some work (to get the details straight) I'll limit myself to the following two that are more or less fresh in my mind. Here's an example. It is a theorem proved by <NAME> in 1987, and generally attributed to Lebrun, that there exists no integrable complex structure on the six-dimensional sphere that is orthogonal with respect to the standard Riemannian metric. The existence (or not), on the six-dimensional sphere, of an integrable complex structure (with no further condition) is a famous open problem in differential geometry (and one for which many false "proofs", both affirmative and negative, have been published, even quite recently). The theorem proved by Lebrun is an important partial result in that it shows that the most natural ways of proving an affirmative resolution fail. Recently the open problem has been revisited and it has been realized that it (actually something more general) was proved in 1953 by <NAME> (surely some specialists knew this earlier, but the broader "community" seems not to have (I learned it from a comment made by <NAME> on [MathOverflow](https://mathoverflow.net/questions/1973/is-there-a-complex-structure-on-the-6-sphere/253490)); in a different context, a different result from the same paper of Blanchard was rediscovered by <NAME>, as he explains in the his MathSciNet review MR0397030 of a paper of S.T. Yau). Blanchard's article has probably been overlooked partly because it was written in French and Blanchard only published a few papers, so probably his work was not well known to later workers, particularly as the use of French in mathematics declined; more likely, people weren't ready to appreciate its import it at the time, when the general understanding of integrable complex structures was still undeveloped. (A review of this particular theorem can be found in [this article](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.difgeo.2017.10.013) of <NAME>.) Here's another example (really of independent discovery). There is a mathematical structure now known under the names left-symmetric algebra, Vinberg algebra, pre-Lie algebra, and chronological algebra (among others - the multitude of names for one object is already indicative of the sort of lack of communication that often underlies rediscovery and independent discovery). It was discovered essentially simultaneously in three radically different contexts in the early 1960s. <NAME> introduced such algebras under the name "left-symmetric" in his study of homogeneous convex cones (these are finite-dimensional left-symmetric algebras). <NAME> introduced the graded (so slightly more general) version of these structures, under the name "pre-Lie" algebras, in his study of deformations of algebras. They are also closely related to the B-series introduced by <NAME> in the context of the analysis of Runge-Kutta type methods for the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations (here it is infinite-dimensional pre-Lie algebras that are relevant). The "chronological algebra" terminology arose in the work of <NAME> and <NAME> on control theory. These contexts are superficially quite different and the particular algebras that appear in the different contexts have different characters. There was for a long time essentially no overlap between people working in these areas. It took many years for people to assimilate that essentially the same mathematical structure was being studied in parallel in different contexts, with different points of view and different techniques. In retrospect there are good reasons for the appearance of this algebraic structure in these apparently diverse contexts, and understanding why the same structure was appearing in these apparently disparate contexts is itself quite illuminating. I view these kinds of rediscovery and independent discovery as useful. They often shed new light, illuminate complementary points of view, or bolster confidence in complicated arguments. It is desirable to give credit where credit is due, but the obsession with novelty for its own sake in publication sometimes ignores that methods and exposition can be novel even if the results are not, and that this can be useful for better understanding and utilizing the results. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/08	1,134	4,417	<issue_start>username_0: I'm was doing some continuing education in a Canadian University this fall. I was looking at my list of final grades on their website (none of them seem to be in so far), but one of them is marked IPR. I did a bit of Googling, and found that IPR stands for (supposedly, anyhow) Inward Processing Relief. Is this the case, and if so, what does it mean? Does it mean that they haven't finished processing the grades yet? If so, why do I only have it on one of my courses? Screenshot for reference: [![IPR](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UnRzR.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UnRzR.png)<issue_comment>username_1: [More Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=canada+ipr+grade&oq=canada+ipr+grade) suggests that IPR actually means "In PRogress". This is commonly used as a temporary placeholder when grades are required to be submitted but the real grade is not yet available. I'm not sure why it would show up for one course and not the others - it may have to do with how the paperwork was done by that individual professor - but I would suggest you ignore it for now. Most likely it will be replaced by the real grade around the same time that your other grades are posted. If it still appears on your record after a reasonable time, ask the professor and/or the department for an explanation. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I am a former lecturer in Canada. As Nate has already answered, it (almost certainly) means In Progress. I'll add (while this still falls under the "grades not yet available" scenario) that the student could see IPR for a course well after grades are normally available because they contested their grade and it's under review; some institutions may use a special notation for that (mine used `GNA`). The professor may also have agreed to give the student an extension on some critical work to account for extenuating circumstances during the term, or delay the exam, while not forcing them to re-register in a following term. [My alma mater](https://calendar.carleton.ca/undergrad/regulations/academicregulationsoftheuniversity/acadregsuniv2/) calls this `IP`, and it can be used for a myriad of other reasons: > > `IP` In Progress – a notation (IP) assigned to a course by a faculty > member when: > > > At the undergraduate level, an undergraduate thesis or > course has not been completed by the end of the period of > registration. > > > At the graduate level, a graduate thesis, research > essay, independent research project or comprehensive examination has > not been completed by the end of the period of registration. The IP > notation may also be used at the graduate level when a research > seminar has not been completed by the end of the period of > registration provided the research seminar has been approved by > Graduate Faculty Board as being eligible for the use of this notation. > > > In the case of re-registration in any of the above courses, the IP > notation will remain; a final grade will normally be assigned in the > final period of registration. Where there is no re-registration in any > of the above courses, the IP notation must be replaced with an > appropriate notation or grade within the prescribed time period, or be > replaced by a notation of WDN. > > > Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I'm pretty sure this means "In Progress". However, grade scales at the college level tend to vary by the institution and are not constant within a country. At my alma mater (CUNY College of Staten Island, United States), there are [actually several different grades](http://csicuny.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/Undergraduate-Catalog/Academic-Policies-and-Procedures/Grades) used for situations like this: * INC, for Incomplete, meaning that the student was supposed to finish the course at the end of a previous semester but has not done so for some valid reason, and the instructor has allowed the student to continue working on the material until a future date. * PEN, for Pending, used for administrative purposes when a grade cannot be assigned until further review, such as when dishonesty is suspected. * Y, used when a student is partway through a course that spans multiple semesters. * Z, used when the instructor has somehow failed to assign a grade at the end of the course. Any of the above could be reasons for an IPR at your institution. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/09	738	3,199	<issue_start>username_0: I am about to submit a paper in which one of the algorithms I used is heavily based on the code available on one of the TensowFlow tutorials. In fact, I mostly copied the code from the page and made the necessary modifications for my specific case. I did cite, in the paper, both TensorFlow and the page, and disclosed that the neural net architecture I was using was based on the one on the page. The licensing terms of the code (Apache 2.0) mention that the user is free to build upon the code and redistribute it. I am not in CS, and am applying the model to a specific problem in my field. However, in copying the code (which I believe will not be disclosed) I am afraid I might be doing academic misconduct. However, on the other hand, if that was the case, using open-source libraries would also be frowned upon, given that the user is essentially copying code. Will I be committing academic misconduct or anything that is ethically frowned upon in academia by submitting results parts of which were based on copied code? PS: In response to a comment, I cited TensorFlow and the webpage in the paper, which will be published if accepted, but the code itself (which was heavily based on the code available in the webpage) won't be posted anywhere (as far as I know).<issue_comment>username_1: You are doing the right thing as long as you clearly cite your sources. In other words, as long as you say that your code is based on someone else's code, and as long as you clearly cite what that "someone else's code" is and where a reader can find it, you are ok. The fact that the basis for your work is open source does not require you to share your code as well (though that would clearly be in the spirit of open source software). Open source software generally just means that if you give someone else an executable of your implementation using an open source package, that you also need to give them the source code of your implementation. (The details vary based on the license in question, but that's the idea.) As long as you write the code only for yourself, there is no need or requirement to share it with others. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If you include other people's work in your paper, you need to reference it. "Other people's work" includes - but is not exclusive to - the following : * words you're quoting from a lecture, a conversation or other oral context * words you're quoting from a paper, book or other publication * photographs that you include from a paper, book or other source * graphs that you include from a paper, book or other source * source code that you include from a paper, book, Github page or other source The Apache 2.0 license allows you to legally build upon the code and redistribute it in pretty much any context. Just attribute any borrowed code to the original author(s) either in the comments of your code or as a normal source reference and you should be fine. Remember that we're all standing on the shoulders of giants. There's nothing wrong with borrowing other people's code if that code is properly licensed (as it is in your case). Just don't pretend it's your own and you'll be fine. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/09	2,038	8,261	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a master electrical engineering student in a state university and I just took my very last final exam on Wednesday. I totally screwed up. I could not solve any of the problems (4 problems). It has never happened to me before. I thought I studied enough for it but I guess not. I'm looking at like 20 on the final which is 35% of the total grade. I had about 80% before final. What's sad is that I did study for it and I feel crushed that I couldn't do it at all. I had a 3.5 GPA before this. Since there are only 10 classes in masters, if I fail 1 class would be fatal to the GPA. My main concern is I'm about to graduate and look for a job, but this is going to ruin my GPA. I sent an email to professor yesterday saying: > > I know I did very poorly on the exam. I thought I understood the material and would be able to perform similar like the midterm but clearly I was wrong. I spent a lot of time doing homework and study but I really don't have excuse for this kind of performance. > > > Would you please consider withdrawing me from the class if you are able? I really can not have a D or F. . . . I understand this is my own responsibility and thank you for the semester. > > > I sent it Friday 9 am. Of course, I haven't heard back from the professor. My question is: should I just wait for the grade to show up on Wednesday next week and see what happens or go talk to the professor?<issue_comment>username_1: Wait for the results, then go and see the relevant people - everybody can then act on a real situation instead of "well this" and "well that"... You don't know what the marking scheme was so what you think you should have put and what is being looked for may be two different things. I messed up a double compressor output temperature - expected zero and was panicking.... Grades came out with 18/20 : turned out the process was worth more than 1 temperature... Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: As [Nate Eldredge](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010/nate-eldredge) cautions in his comment above, it's probably up to you, not the instructor to submit a withdrawal request to the registrar. Usually, the instructor's only involvement is to approve or disapprove your request. But once you've taken the final and depending on your school's policies, it's probably too late to withdraw anyway. That said, your life is almost certainly not ruined. If you wrote anything at all, you will likely get some partial credit. And who knows how your instructor will curve the results. If you had trouble even after doing your best to prepare, it's quite possible others did as well and that the curve will be much easier than either you or the instructor expected. Sometimes instructors accidentally write a test that's too hard or has errors that make a problem impossible. (I taught EE at Washington and now teach CS at Michigan, so think about how I would know this happens! :) Finally, even if your final grade is low enough that you need to repeat, this is still not fatal. Students are rarely aware of just how many of their peers have to repeat classes. And guess what, they still get jobs. Yes, of course I understand why you're upset. But you're not dead yet. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: First off, generally nobody cares about your GPA other than your school and any school you want to go to. Second, I have had tests in Engineering school that I felt about the same way. In most cases, the test was overly hard, and some things weren't covered. The teacher re-scaled. I had many test that literally everyone "failed", and the scaled scores meant that almost everyone passed. You can try to call the prof, go to their office, and/or email them to see how you did in the course as a whole. Or, wait until grades come out, and appeal to the professor. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In undergrad classes, there is often a bell curve used for assigning the final grade, with the people in the middle receiving a C. In grad school, it's different. Usually, excellent work will receive an A and good work will receive an A- or a B. Let's suppose that up until the final, you were somewhere around an A-. Of course, how the final affects your grade for the course will be influenced by how the other students did on the exam. But let's suppose the worst case scenario for the moment: you had a bad day, or you misjudged what sorts of things would be emphasized in the final exam, or the type of problem solving needed for this course isn't a good fit... but most of the other students did well enough to validate the exam in general terms. In this case I'd expect the poor showing in the final exam would bump you down to approximately a B (based on the weight of the final exam of 35% that you mentioned). (Since you said you were at around 80% going into the final, I'd be very surprised if you got anything worse than a C for the course.) I suggest you get in touch with your advisor if you have one, or the graduate program director, on Monday to share your concern. S/he can ask the professor to take a look at your exam and provide some informal quick feedback about the exam and your overall performance in the course. I hope you will be open to the idea of demonstrating your mastery of the material through alternate means over the break. Possibly such an option could be negotiated. But in that conversation on Monday I would just express your concern, without making any proposals. (Also, no histrionics please -- you can say you're feeling anxious, but please speak calmly.) While you are waiting, I suggest you do some housework, get some exercise, read a potboiler, and do some practice problems from your textbook, in case everyone did badly and the class is offered a re-take -- and also for your edification. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Where I teach, it's too late to withdrawal. You basically have two options: firstly, if you pass, you can just take the hit on the GPA. Unless your looking at a PHD program, most employers don't consider your GPA score important when hiring and after a few years work it's work performance that is important. The second option is like a withdrawal, just take the course over and the second grade replaces the first grade on the GPA. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: As other answers have said, you don't know how the professor is going to grade the final. You can talk to your classmates and see how they did to see if you're the only one who had trouble. I don't know what you mean when you say this will destroy your GPA. If you're taking 10 classes and each class is out of a 4 point scale, that means that each class is .4 points in your GPA, so a GPA of 3.5 would be brought down to 3.1. It would probably be more fruitful to ask for an incomplete than a drop. Also, most schools allow you to retake classes that you get worse than a C- in. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Wait to see what mark you actually get first, then if you feel it necessary, try to have a word with your professor. In my experience (in the mathematics department in a large university), staff are always interested in discrepancies between a student's past record and his performance on one exam. This can of course be "negative interest" (he did surprisingly well... was he cheating?) but it can very well also be "positive interest" (he did surprisingly badly... should we give him another opportunity, for example a supplementary exam). If your past record is good, I should think the least you can expect is for your professor to give you a respectful hearing and to carefully consider if there are any options. Though do be prepared for the possibility that it is not the professor's decision and he/she may be unable to help. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Thank you everyone. I went to talk to my professor today after all. He smiled at me and said he gave me a B-. I did bad on final and he told me dont even look at it. LOL. He said I did decent on mid term and my project. It is not right to give me too bad of a grade just because of a bad exam. I can sleep better tonight. XD Now life goes on and I shall start doing a couple EE related projects myself while looking for a job. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/10	464	1,948	<issue_start>username_0: Can I also have my finance/economics professor recommend me? I have a good relationship with her. Would it matter if she isn't from the CS department in my college?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, absolutely. Your references should be people who know you, your work and your capabilities best and can give the admissions committee the best possible insight into what to expect from you. That matters a lot more than what department they're in. For that matter, they don't even have to be former instructors. You might also turn to a former supervisor at an internship you did one summer if the work you did for them was especially impressive. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think that Nicole’s [answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/100242/83038) hits the main point, but there’s a second question lurking here: does a letter of recommendation from a CS professor carry more weight than a similar one from a non-CS professor. The purpose of letters of recommendation is to testify to your known or expected ability to do computer science research. A CS professor will be intrinsically trusted more than a non-CS professor, and amongst non-CS professors those who have experience with CS work or those who work in CS-related fields will carry more weight than those who don’t. For example, a quantum computation researcher who is in the chem department will count for more than most other kinds of chemistry professors. This should not be taken to disagree with anything in Nicole’s answer. If you barely know a prof or didn’t do research with them, it’s far far harder for them to vouch for your skills as a researcher at all than if they did do research with you. All research experiences you have will be - to some extent - relevant and it’s definitely worth seeking out professors from any department that can speak strongly and in detail about you and your prowess. Upvotes: 2
2017/12/10	632	2,579	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a 3rd year Ph.D. student in an engineering discipline, and I realize that I am better at starting projects than closing projects. By closing, I mean that the work gets published either in a good journal or a top conference. I currently have 3 projects on the side (each of them started as a course project or a fun side project) apart from my thesis work. My advisor is flexible with this, but at the same time he would prefer me to invest all of my time in my thesis work (which is completely reasonable). Given that I would like to continue in academia after Ph.D., I would like to hear tips and tricks on how to be a good closer. Should there be a restructuring in the way I think about publishing?<issue_comment>username_1: > > I am better at starting projects than closing projects. > > > Well, this is not really about you, but the thing in the background is having an idea for a project is often much simpler than working it out and finalizing it. Some other words of wisdom are the devil is in the details. So by declaring that you "are better at starting than at closing" you mount a straw man to distract you from the hard part of research. I agree, the first steps into a new idea are usually fun and some first results are easy to obtain. But, as you also noted, along the way it gets harder and often messier. Going through this, staying focused and sticking to the problem is an integral part of research. If you would answer with "I could close the project if I wanted to, but I am just better in starting new ones." I'd challenge you to go for it and really finish one project before you start the next one. As for the question "How can I get better at closing?". One thing is simply to realize that finishing a project/finalizing a manuscript is a hard but important task. Sometimes it feels boring to edit the manuscript once again, go over parameter settings once again, recheck derivations once again, update the bibliography once again... but this is a part of doing research: Bring it in a form that is useful to others. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As the [Pareto phenomenon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle) states, many results are reached with the first initial steps. It is always hard to do the job properly till the end, which in your case means attaining the highest level of perfection worth a publication in a top-tier venue. (As for your remark about taking on several projects at once, this is a different topic: you didn't ask any question regarding it.) Upvotes: 2
2017/12/10	225	1,005	<issue_start>username_0: Some grant proposals mention that they only want funds for students and no funds for faculty such as summer salaries. Would this point increase the chances of being funded by some agencies? Specifically, if two similar competitive projects were proposed and one asked for faculty salaries and the other didn't, would this make the difference?<issue_comment>username_1: There is no clear answer. It depends. If funds are available for any of the two, the former is likely to win. Giving money to the faculty raises the chances that the faculty would be actively contributing. If the money is available for only one project, then there is no simple answer: the former may have more impact, while the latter may be cheaper. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This of course depends on the kind of competition, agency, country, etc. Those agencies and competitions I'm familiar with, always rank applications based on merit and not on financial need. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/12/10	386	1,781	<issue_start>username_0: My references for my graduate program applications include an adjunct professor and an industry professional (both not very academic) and I am not sure if they really have time to invest in writing the recommendations for me, although I am pretty sure they will write for me if I asked them to. I heard that often time the reference would ask the students to draft the letter before they even edit and send away online because they are usually busy and really don't give a damn on your application or simply because they haven't written any recommendation before. So I wonder if it is okay to just ask in the first place something like "I can also draft the letters for you if you don't have time (Are there better ways to express this request?)" when I reach out to my references to write the recommendations for me? Another good thing about this is I can basically write in a way that includes what I think the admission committee would consider valuable in my letter. I mean, after all, I know about my program much better than my references, and I know how to better phrase my experience to make them relevant.<issue_comment>username_1: There is no clear answer. It depends. If funds are available for any of the two, the former is likely to win. Giving money to the faculty raises the chances that the faculty would be actively contributing. If the money is available for only one project, then there is no simple answer: the former may have more impact, while the latter may be cheaper. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This of course depends on the kind of competition, agency, country, etc. Those agencies and competitions I'm familiar with, always rank applications based on merit and not on financial need. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2017/12/10	438	1,970	<issue_start>username_0: I have heard that while recruiting in faculty member positions people look at the career of the applicants very critically and if someone has a year without a paper might face difficulties in getting permanent positions. I was wondering how important the issue really is in the context of securing permanent teaching/research positions. Edit : I am asking this as a theoretical high energy physics postdoc.<issue_comment>username_1: With respect to getting an initial faculty position, I'm not sure that there really is a penalty associated with having "no papers" in a given year, especially with the vagaries of the publishing system. Is a person with one paper in two successive years a stronger candidate than a person with no papers one year, and then three or four the next? Or was it just that one paper took too long in review for one candidate but not the other? I think one has to look at the overall record to make a fair determination. Besides, the relative significance of the articles will also play a role. One paper in a top journal in your field is probably worth more than two papers in a random low-impact journal. Spend less time worrying about things that aren't in your control, and focus on what is: doing solid, publishable research and writing a strong application. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have a colleague who did not have a paper published in one year, but had 13 the next -- he had been writing papers all along, but for some reasons his papers submitted in year X all got accepted quickly, the papers submitted in year X+1 all required multiple rounds of reviews, and were published in year X+2 where also his papers got accepted quickly. So he ended up with none in X+1 and lots in X+2. That's an extreme case, but everyone understands that getting things published is a stochastic process. What's more important is the number and quality of publications you have. Upvotes: 5
2017/12/11	928	3,787	<issue_start>username_0: Is there a standard typeface and/or word template that people use when submitting to non/semi-technical Springer journals? Previously I have always used Latex, which typically meant a conference or similar template was used. I have obviously searched but could not find anything, so I am wondering what the unofficial, if one exists, standard is? I ask because I think it does give a better impression if the standard formatting that reviewers are used to is used.<issue_comment>username_1: Springer offers the [SVJour3 Latex class](http://www.e-publications.org/springer/support/spr-chicago.html) (with a [manual](https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs40571-014-0022-7/MediaObjects/40571_2014_22_MOESM5_ESM.pdf)) for preparing manuscripts for Springer journals. I use Latex for its referencing and figure-handling capabilities, but I submit most of my work to social-science journals, not all of which have Latex templates. In general, managing editors at these journals are expecting submissions to be in Word. However, the typesetting at large publishers such as Springer is typically done by central teams that can handle a wide range of formats. As such, there is no technical problem in submitting Latex files but you have to overcome the editor's unfamiliarity with this format. To do that, the following has always worked for me. 1. Submit the article as a PDF, with the Latex file, Bib file and any figures in a Zip archive as supplementary material. Crucially, include an extremely polite cover note to the editor: * explaining that the manuscript has been prepared in Latex so there is no Word version, * reassuring them that the publisher's production department will be familiar with handling Latex files, * suggesting that they contact their production editor if they aren't sure if they can accept this format. 2. Expect the managing editor to reject the article out-of-hand because your manuscript is a PDF and they haven't read your cover note. 3. Reply to the rejection by emailing the managing editor, again (very politely) asking them to contact their production department to check if they can accept Latex. You may also want to explain (briefly) why you've written the manuscript in Latex (maybe because Word can't handle special characters or equations very well). Step 3 generally produces a 'well you learn something every day' reply from the managing editor. If they still won't accept it, you may have to copy your manuscript over to Word ([overview of options for doing that](https://www.tug.org/utilities/texconv/textopc.html)). Think carefully, though, since converting to Word may require lots of manual formatting/checking that you will then have to repeat if you make any changes during the peer-review process. One reason you might not want to do submit in Latex is that the above procedure slightly increases the workload of journal editors, who are typically working for free. On the other hand, you may feel that it's worth it because you're helping future authors who may want to submit manuscripts prepared in Latex for various reasons. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You could try other editors like authorea or typeset. These are based on latex (and include lots of journal templates) but you can export the draft as a .docx file. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: The Word or Latex class are located here: <https://www.springer.com/de/authors-editors/book-authors-editors/manuscript-preparation/5636> Note. I'm having severe issues with the Word template, specifically the macro doesn't seem to work well cross-Word, e.g. when using different machines with different Word versions. I think Spring should update this and make the release of this "tool" much more clear. Upvotes: 0
2017/12/11	1,679	7,152	<issue_start>username_0: I am a tenured professor and co-chair at a small teaching college. I received an email last Friday morning from the head of facilities requesting confirmation of my attendance at a meeting for this coming Thursday, with the subject line "Facilities storage needs and 'MY\_DEPT' space." The email was also sent to my Dean, another professor (prof. X) in another department in the same building, and another member of facilities. The text of the email read, "new time suggested because prof. X can't make the original one." That was it- no other text. I immediately 'replied all' with "This is the first I've heard of this meeting request. Can someone please tell me what this meeting is about so that I can better prepare for it?" My Dean replied a few hours later with "We can fill you in next week, MY\_NAME." My first thought is that facilities wants to take away space from my small discipline in my small department for their 'storage needs'. In the past 6 years, we've lost two offices, a classroom, and three small storage spaces to facilities, so I may be paranoid. My second thought is that it is unprofessional for my Dean to refuse to answer a direct, rather innocuous question. I'd appreciate any advice about how to interpret my Dean's behavior, and how to proceed from here.<issue_comment>username_1: Clearly the dean has a reason why he does not wish to communicate details about the subject of the meeting in advance. Maybe he does not wish to start rumors or cause trouble without everybody involved being present, which sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Regardless of whether you think his reason is good or bad, he has is reasons and apparently this is the way he wants to work. There is no need for you to change the way he wishes to organise this. Don't worry about it and go to the meeting unprepared, just like all the others. If it was anything you needed to prepare for he would surely have asked you to do so. > > edit: > > > Given all the negative comments and downvotes, I feel the need to give additional details: the title of the question is: "Dean will not tell me what upcoming meeting is about. What do I do?". Here are the facts (taken from OP's question): > > > * An email was sent by the facilities department > * OP replied to all (including the dean) to ask about the subject of the meeting because he wanted to come prepared. > * The dean replied (shortly and very clearly) that he does not wish to discuss the details before the meeting takes place. > > > The question is, and I quote, about "the behaviour of the dean", and states "what should I do". > > > The answer is simple: The email was sent by the facilities department, and the dean does not want to get involved before the meeting takes place. In other words: you appear to have an excellent dean who wants to discuss issues only in meetings where everybody involved is present. Firstly, he may not have noticed that you replied to all, and secondly, he may prefer to discuss controversial issues in person. Finally, if you are unprepared there is always the possibility to honestly say so (because you did not know what the meeting was about), and to come prepared to a second meeting. It is highly unlikely that all decisions will be made in the first meeting (and by unprepared I mean unprepared in the sense that you do not have more information than others are willing to share with you. Not unprepared by being stupid and naive. The subject of the email was quite clear, but that was not the question) > > > Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Go talk to the Dean prior to the meeting, and resist the urge to "reply all" to any mail that might be even remotely contentious. Email and text messages are good for exchanging facts, such as the time of the meeting. They are much less good for dealing with disagreement or even potential disagreement. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: It sounds like someone is after your space. You need to be prepared to defend your space during the meeting. It sounds like the Dean is not really on your side. I would call up the other professor to see if you can get a better feel for who is attacking you and what is being attacked. I would also potentially call the head of facilities, although I would do that after talking to the other professor. As with all attacks on space, you need to compile a list of all your space and how it is being used to further the goals of the university. You probably also want to know about the space allocation of other departments of similar size and requirements. You should see if you can get info about who most recently lost space so you can make a claim that it is "someone else's turn." If they are really taking your space for storage, you can fight that with showing that you actively use the space. If things during the meeting go poorly, and given the Dean's response it sounds like they will, you may need to switch from defending all of your space to minimizing the loses (this means knowing which space is really important and which can be sacrificed). While it is possible that the Dean is on your side and that there is in fact new space for your department, the reason I think the Dean is not on your side is that for good things, they could have asked you to prepare something. If there was a push for new space, they might ask you to prepare an audit that demonstrates what you would do with new space. If they were in the process of fighting for you against facilities, they would most definitely want you to prepare to defend your space. The fact they are setting you up to be unprepared means they want you to be unprepared, and that is never a good thing. Good luck Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: You are being set up for a blinded attack on your department's space, resources, and -- ultimately -- prestige. Unless you plan to retire soon, you should fight back strongly. Prepare a strong argument supporting your department's need for more space than it has. You should probably ask for a particular room, or a specific amount of square footage. A strong offense is a vital part of an effective defensive portfolio. Next semester, don't wait for your adversaries to attack. Start campaigning for more space, more funding, and more resources immediately. Get some of the college staff on your side. At an opportune time, you call for a meeting on this subject. You probably won't have to do too much of this -- the goal is not to increase your department, but to send the signal that your department is important and you won't be pushed around. When someone breaks into my house to steal my computer, my TV, and my microwave, I don't compromise with him by letting him take only the TV. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: Reference the fact that your discipline has had facilities taken from you before, and that based on the recipients of the email it sounds like something similar is happening again. Then state that if something similar is happening again, you would like to know going into the meeting rather than finding out at the meeting. Upvotes: 3
2017/12/11	3,131	11,682	<issue_start>username_0: The [Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)](http://www.cnrs.fr/) is the major funding body in France. With nearly 32,000 staff members it is bigger than the [US NIH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Health) and [US NSF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Foundation) combined, yet only has a 1/10 of the budget. Both CNRS and NIH have multiple institutes (although the NIH institutes are all health related and CNRS covers a range of science). The [CNRS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique) then has 952 mixed research units, 32 proper research units, 135 service units, as well as 36 international units while the NIH has a large number of intramural labs. What are these different research units and how are they staffed (full time researchers or academics with other teaching duties)? Is it at all like NIH intramural labs or MRC centres?<issue_comment>username_1: Wikipedia is your friend. Read the [CNRS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique) wikipage, and look at [CNRS official website](http://www.cnrs.fr/). CNRS is the largest public pure research organization in France, with a staff exceeding 31000 persons, located in many geographical areas in France; many CNRS teams share [office buildings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office#Office_buildings) with e.g. some French universities; several French research teams ([UMR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Scientific_and_Technical_Research_Establishment)) have mixed staff, some funded by a University, and some other funded by CNRS, perhaps even working in the same office room on similar research. Getting employed by CNRS is really very hard, and there is a lot of competition. BTW, CNRS researchers are not very well paid, and most of them are not only very competent, but generally passionate about their research. They are not (contractually) tenured members of some University, even if most of them do teach a few courses somewhere (in addition of their researcher work), either at some University or at some [Grande Ecole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandes_%C3%A9coles). > > It's supposedly some unknown research center somewhere in Europe > > > CNRS is the largest [basic research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_research) agency in Europe (mostly funded by the French public State budget). It is French (even if of course it gets some research grants from outside, e.g. from French [ANR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agence_nationale_de_la_recherche) or European Commission's [H2020](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framework_Programmes_for_Research_and_Technological_Development#Horizon_2020)...) CNRS researchers are working in all kind of science and research (e.g. biology, history, computer science, physics, sociology, paleontology, chemistry, mathematics, etc etc etc ....). Most of them have at least a PhD ([doctorat d'université](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctorate#France)), usually even their HdR (habilitation à diriger des recherches). Even if CNRS researchers are French civil servants, they are not all French citizens (even if most of them are). There are some other public (French state owned) organizations in France doing research, e.g. [INRIA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Institute_for_Research_in_Computer_Science_and_Automation), [INRA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_la_recherche_agronomique), [CEA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Alternative_Energies_and_Atomic_Energy_Commission), [INSERM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inserm), (and dozen of other smaller research institutions) etc... Unlike CNRS, these other organizations are usually dedicated to some specific science or technological domain, and usually work on applied research. > > Online material on the cnrs isn't helpful at all > > > Why do you say that? The [Overview](http://www.cnrs.fr/en/aboutcnrs/overview.htm) page of CNRS website is quite informative (and looks quite objective to my French citizen eyes)! And the [CNRS wikipage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique) gives a complementary look. French economy is not [used](https://www.ccomptes.fr/sites/default/files/2017-06/20170626-rapport-valorisation-recherche-civile-CEA.pdf) to fund research (in the sense that private corporations in France spend much less money in funding research, notably in public labs, than their counterpart in the USA or even in Germany). So the funding of French research works differently from North American country (and is [lower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_research_and_development_spending), in terms of percentage of GDP). BTW, I don't understand well what the [NSF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Foundation) exactly is in the USA. My perception is that it mixes the role of CNRS and of [ANR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agence_nationale_de_la_recherche) in France. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: CNRS research units, also called [laboratories](http://www.cnrs.fr/fr/recherche/labos.htm), are of several kinds: * The 952 Unites Mixtes de Recherche ("Mixed Research Units", UMR) are run in association with another institution, for example a university, or another research agency such as [Inserm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inserm), [INRA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_la_recherche_agronomique)... They are created by a contract between CNRS and the other institution for a five year duration (renewable). They are staffed by CNRS personnel and by the other institution's personnel. They are typically headed by a university professor or a CNRS directeur de recherche (research director, senior scientist), who presides over a laboratory council which has statutes, internal rules and regulations. Besides the researchers themselves, CNRS (and the other institution) also employs technical and engineering staff, as well as temporary staff (postdocs, PhD students) which are members of the laboratory. * The 32 Unités Propres de Recherche ("Proper Research Units", UPR) are fully run by the CNRS. They are staffed by CNRS personnel. Other than that they are similar to UMRs. * The 36 Unités Mixtes Internationales ("Mixed International Units") are international research units, created by a contract with a foreign institution. I don't know much about them but I expect that they are run similarly to a UMR. * The 135 Unités de Service ("Service Units") are support units for other research units. An example would be a celestial observatory, who provides services for e.g. astrophysics research labs. It is also created by a contract between CNRS and another institution for a fixed duration, renewable. * Finally, there are [126 public-private research structures](http://www2.cnrs.fr/sites/communique/fichier/structurescommunescnrsentreprises_mars2017.pdf), run in collaboration with private companies. Some of them are mixed research units (cf. above), but most (110) are simply common laboratories, which are created on a contract basis for 4 years. Each of these is part of one of the ten national institutes of the CNRS (biology, chemistry, ecology and environment, human and social sciences, information and computer science, engineering and systems, mathematics, physics, nuclear and particle physics, universe sciences). Each unit is overseen by one of the 18 regional delegations. CNRS researchers are hired on a national basis by the [national committee for scientific research (CoNRS)](http://www.cnrs.fr/comitenational/accueil.html). More precisely, they are hired by one of the 41 sections of the CoNRS (which are sub-subdivisions of the 10 national institutes), each one composed of elected members and appointed members (by the ministry as proposed by CNRS). After being hired during the yearly national admission campaign, a researcher is posted in a research unit (of any kind), and may move to another after some years. They are automatically tenured, like all French civil servants, and their missions, duties and responsibility are roughly equivalent to those of an associate professor (for junior scientist) or full professor (for senior scientists) — the main obvious difference being the lack of teaching. More information can be found in [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique), the [website of the CNRS](http://www.cnrs.fr/fr/organisme/presentation.htm), or, if you are courageous, French law ([here is the law defining the status of CNRS employees](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006064345)) – indeed, recall that CNRS is a public research agency, its employee are civil servants, and its mission and its organization are defined by law. --- The comparison with the NSF is a bit misleading. As far as I understand the NSF does not directly employ researchers but instead funds university to hire them through grants. This would be closer to what the [National Research Agency (ANR)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agence_nationale_de_la_recherche) and the [European Research Council (ERC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Research_Council) are doing. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As requested, I'm turning several of my comments into an answer. Please note I'm giving quite a superficial view - both because I don't know much more and because a detailed analysis would be too long for an answer. To understand the CNRS, you really need to understand the French legal, political, and cultural context. France has very strong protections for permanent employees of any organization. It is essentially impossible to fire anyone. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Pan Am, the airline that went bankrupt 20+ years ago, still to this day has employees staffing counters at Charles de Gaulle airport (with no customers) because it would not be worth the trouble to close down and fire them. I might remember wrong, but feels like a reasonable exaggerated version of the truth. It is also very hard to reassign the basic duties of an employee. If their original contract says their job is to do X, then the employer cannot start asking them to do Y instead. In the US, most of the NSF and NIH budgets are used to indirectly employ researchers. The NSF/NIH contracts with universities, paying the university to conduct research. The university in turn uses the money to employ researchers and pay their salaries (as well as pay for their office space, staff support, et c). If the US government decides to reduce research funding, the university can fire the researchers, or at least reassign them to other duties such as teaching classes. (Note that employees of the US government do have civil service protections that make them harder to fire, so it would be harder to reduce or reallocate research funding if researchers were hired directly by the government.) In the context of French employment law, no university (or any other entity) would be foolish enough to employ someone they can't fire (or even reassign their duties) when the funding for their position is temporary! Hence, the government is essentially forced to directly hire researchers (and assign them to work at universities) rather than giving funds to universities to hire researchers. (This is not quite right, because the ordinary French universities (i.e. excepting the Grandes Ecoles) are much closer to being part of the government than in the US, where even universities that receive government funding are usually quite independent.) Upvotes: 2
2017/12/11	854	3,592	<issue_start>username_0: There are lots of journals that only publish online. However they are indexed by scopus and ISI so they are unlikely to be predatory journals. Are they safe? What are the chances that some hacker erases the journal’s database and all the records of publications are lost? Surely it’s better to have printed copies of volumes and stuff. At least that way there is always proof that one’s article has been published.<issue_comment>username_1: Any reputable online-only journal will have a plan for data retention that goes beyond what's visible to the user. There will be backups somewhere. Print journals may have the advantage of having a physical repository copy existing, but even those are not necessarily of "archival quality" (that is, printed on acid-free paper and using techniques that promote their long-term preservation). Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It seems the ArXiv stores its data [on Amazon S3 cloud servers](https://arxiv.org/help/bulk_data_s3). I would assume Amazon has a data safety and backup policy that is as professional as it gets. Presumably also most journals don't store their data on their own servers, but use one of the large file hosting services. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Being online-only is orthogonal to the issue of journal quality. Any new, quality journal will almost always be online-only these days, for economic reasons. Any new or existing predatory journal will generally be online-only, for economic reasons. Probably the best working guide to a journal's quality is *"Do I read and cite papers from this journal?"* On the issue of archival security of publications, you should look for explicit statements on the journal web page about that. An open-access journal that takes this issue seriously will have plans that involve archiving content on at least one third-party, independent, and ideally distributed, service. Some other answers here have mentioned technical issues, such as using well-regarded storage services such as Amazon S3. But the quality of such services is not relevant if the company using them goes out of business and no longer pays to maintain the service. Archival security should persist even if the publishing entity itself does not. For example, many open access journals in the medical field will archive their content with [PubMed Central](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/about/intro/), a service of the US National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. Until recently, that might have seemed like a gold-standard of stability and security, so additional facilities that are international, collaborative, non-profit, and ideally distributed might provide additional peace of mind. For example, look at the [CLOCKSS and LOCKSS](https://www.clockss.org/clockss/FAQ#CLOCKSS_and_LOCKSS:_What_is_different.3F) initiatives. An example of an online-only, reputable journal that pays attention to independent archiving is PeerJ. Their page [here gives an example of the attention paid to these sorts of policies](https://peerj.com/blog/post/40018981867/long-term-archiving-and-peerj/), which you might compare with when seeking a journal in your field that takes these issues seriously. Such information is not always prominent on a journal website however. In a comment to another answer, user [@Emilie](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25030/emilie) points to a very useful central resource: "the Keeper's registry, that tells you WHERE the archive (or backup) of a journal are: [thekeepers.org](https://thekeepers.org)". Upvotes: 3
2017/12/11	3,206	13,347	<issue_start>username_0: There is an optional prompt on my PhD application: > > censoredSchoolName University regards the diversity of its graduate > student body as an important factor in serving the educational mission > of the university. We encourage you to share unique, personally > important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as work > and life experiences, special interests, culture, socioeconomic > status, the quality of your early educational environment, gender, > sexual orientation, race or ethnicity. Please discuss how such factors > would contribute to the diversity of the entering class, and hence to > the experience of your censoredSchoolName classmates. > > > If I were to answer, what I would write is something about how I grew up in a large family with five siblings all attending college around the same time, so though I come from a middle-class family, I have had to handle much of the financial responsibility of my education. In addition to this, neither of my parents have attained higher than a non-scientific Bachelor's degree, and I have mostly blazed this path under my own independence and ambition. But I feel that this might not be what the question is really looking for? What I've written above does not make me diverse in the way that I think the University probably wants. I'm a middle-class white male, I will say, which my application has of course already reflected. I'm wondering if I might be better off leaving it blank rather than coming off as forcing a hollow answer, or even pitying myself when there are certainly other applicants with serious disadvantages.<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, nobody is discriminating against middle-class white men. This prompt is an opportunity for applicants who feel they are stronger than the standard academic metrics might suggest to make a case for that by highlighting other unique contributions that they would make to a program. Not coincidentally, people from underrepresented groups or who have had to overcome other difficulties generally fall into this category. If you feel you fall into this category, then by all means answer this question with your story. If you don't feel you fall into this category, then one possibility is to try explaining your own personal commitment to enhancing diversity and giving opportunities to others who might not have had them earlier on. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: This is a prompt that allows you to defend your weaknesses or bolster your strengths. These types of questions are designed to bring the person, not the paper, into view. People who are 4.0/40/800/99%ile all appear the same on paper grades-wise, it's the writing prompts that put us past the numbers. If you disingenuously mention that you are an average applicant, of course no one will put that in your favor. If you want to sell yourself, you sell that parts of you that are unique. I would use this question to justify why my past educational history of getting a 1.5 GPA in one graduate school is not indicative of my current performance, and explain how this setback influenced me and my educational and professional prospects, and how I ostensibly recovered from it and received a Master's degree in a completely different subject with a more acceptable 3.6 GPA, covering my work history and renewed focus on other extra-curricular activities and maybe point out my renewed interest in painting. You'll notice that not once did I mention, or even need to mention, my ethnic background, because I didn't feel it was relevant for making me unique. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Leave it blank ============== You don't have to play along with the diversity people, but that doesn't mean there won't be any consequences. Throughout my time in undergrad, the US military, and now grad school, I have steadfastly refused to answer questions about my race. And why should I? My father is from Mexico and is still a dual citizen. As far as I can tell, that gives me a pretty good claim to be Hispanic. I am born in Boston, I don't speak Spanish, and I don't particularly like anything Mexican. Am I hispanic? What is my hispanic [blood quantum?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_quantum_laws) Am I white? Who cares? What ought to matter is the content of your character, or so I've heard. Just don't be surprised when people don't want to let you go. I have been called into a senior officer's office (in the military) and forced to answer a question about my race. When I told him it was 'American', he filled out the forms in question for me as white. I haven't always got off easy, but I've done alright in life, and without participating in such racist activities as classifying people based on their skin color. PS: The original form of your question was just fine. If you have sneering contempt for this kind of diversity question, then you do. Don't let people bully you into thinking your opinion isn't valid. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: To agree with [@username_3's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/100326/38709): ### Leave it blank In principle, there're ways that you could use that field to your advantage by crafting a sufficiently clever response. For example, as [@ElizabethHenning suggested](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/100319/38709), it could be an opportunity to talk about the value of diversity, signalling a political alignment that'd be statistically likely to work in your favor. Objectively speaking, doing so ~~would probably~~might increase the odds of your application getting accepted. The problem's that, if one buys into that premise, it'll come to influence their character a bit, however slightly that might be. Every time a person thinks of themself as having been disadvantaged, they lose a bit more [personal power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control). Cumulatively, it becomes a [self-reinforcing phenomenon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness#Expanded_theories). Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: As with all things, this has nothing to do with you. It has to do with money. Your university doesn’t actually care beyond what is required to comply with laws and state and federal regulations regarding “race”. You are not required to answer it. So if you don’t want to, or have a problem with these kinds of questions, then don’t answer it. Since you are white middle-class it should neither help nor hinder you very much. If you were non-white, it could very well help you and would be worth your time to answer. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I would say that growing up with many siblings and the financial responsibility that comes with it is, indeed, the kind of diversity that many universities want to have. At the end it's not about gender/race by itself, but about possible difficulties you've had on your path to academia, and race/gender are very obvious sources of such difficulties, but not the only ones. Plus, it signals a degree of early adultness that many people don't have even when they go to grad school, even less so at age 18, both in the financial side (you were self-sufficient, or almost, quite earlier than most people), but also, if you think it is true, you can elaborate on how living with so many siblings turned you into a person who knows how to work in team, etc. In my PhD application, in my statement of diversity, I briefly mentioned about being a woman in a STEM field and all this, but I mostly talked about studying and performing music quite seriously at the same time I was doing math in college. Moreover, my main letter writer also emphasized that I had quite a few shitty jobs during that time. With these two things I (and him) were trying to explain my low GPA (high GRE though) and my extra years to get my bachelor's, but that I actually had quite a bit of self discipline. I don't know if that helped, but I got into some of the top programs I applied to. The same professor wrote, a year after, a letter of recommendation to my friend and colleague P, who was working for him at the same time as me, saying that P worked in a supermarket on evenings and weekends all his college years to pay for it. P also got offers from good PhDs. A statement of diversity, as I understand, is not necessarily "what color is your skin" but "what makes you unique and different from others, or what added value other than academic performance are you bringing to our department". Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Thank you Anonymous for appreciating my comment. I suppose that makes it good enough to be a succinct answer. The admissions committee is made up of people. I would suggest showing them your humanity and social intelligence in the best way that paints the most professional picture of yourself. Did we apply to the same school? That looks like the prompt I received. Hopefully you're not applying to the same program as me. Anyway, you don't have to say that your race is what makes you special. You could talk about what makes you intellectually diverse. How do you handle when you get an unexpected result in your experiments? How do you work with others? What have you learned from collaborating with others and what have they learned from you? What are your views on mental health? I knew an intelligent student who committed suicide last month. Some professors talked fondly of him at his memorial. Some people might be applying to a program because they like how collaborative it is, and that you are allowed to be a TA in another department or something. The point is mental health and a good work environment is important to a university's reputation and production. Of course you can leave it blank, but you don't have to emphasize that you are a white middle class person. The admissions committee is made up of people. I would suggest showing them your humanity and social intelligence in the best way that paints the most professional picture of yourself. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_8: You should answer the question, because each personnal story is valuable and unique. You don't have to find your background original. Most people would describe themselves 'normal', so it would be a good idea to ask a friend about what they find special about you, about the interests or experience you have for example. No friend would answer 'You're my friend because you're from -this minority race/gender/religion group-'. Friends don't care about a lot of the aspects mentionned in the question, so focus on the ones that matters. There are original personnal traits that are perceived as 'diverse', but in fact a lot of them don't contribute to others at all. Sharing about your experience demonstrates effort and authenticity, and that will certainly contribute to the experience of your classmates. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: > > There is an optional prompt on my PhD application: > > > Whoa! There's the problem. IMHO anyway. If you really want to go do research someplace, talk to the faculty in the group you're interested in. Go for a visit. Discuss potential research avenues. Perhaps even read something at their behest to see how you like it. Then, if they unofficially express interest in you coming to work there (and yes, I did say [work](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/68926/7319)) - then either they can take care of the formal application, or you can go through the demeaning motions of applying to a web form - but then you wouldn't need to fill these kinds of boxes since, supposedly, it should be in the bag. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: I hate to discourage you, but I highly detest institutions that ask for your very private, personal details but themselves provide boilerplate, elusive texts which are (up to the school name and address) not school-specific or even country-specific. Essentially, their approach is "do as I tell you to do, not as I do myself". As an answer, you could provide a top-level boilerplate, equally elusive text on diversity which seems specific but, in fact, is not specific and not revealing any personal details beyond your CV. Feel free to take a look at the diversity statements of different schools (they are mostly completely interchangeable up to the school name), mix them, adapt them to your name, and pepper with "personally", "subjectively", "in my experience", etc., at appropriate places. This is a good exercise: you'll demonstrate your language proficiency in selling fog. This is what the diversity statements often boil down to in reality. In your life, you might have to do it every once in a while, and writing a diversity statement is an excellent opportunity to start. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: The question does not seem like the typical generic "optionally check here to identify your race/ethnicity", but more likely a question to provide some insight into your though processes. If you are applying to a social sciences grad degree, I'd give serious thought to answering the question. If you are applying to a chemistry or some program like that you might be able to get away with not answering the question. Also, some institutions ask these kinds of questions not because they want to, but because they have to. Upvotes: 2